"You are formidable, Prince of Han."
Rustling whispers gradually rippled across the square before the Meridian Gate. With the precedent of Crown Prince Yuan fresh in their minds, the bewildered officials naturally connected the head of the Xu family's unrestrained laughter to the Empress's disappearance. Amid this spreading unease, Marquis Wucheng suddenly spoke, his tone remarkably calm:
"Everything seems to be unfolding just as you desire."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan gathered his thoughts and countered, "It seems Her Majesty informed you of everything, Marquis Mu?"
Marquis Wucheng slanted his gaze and replied indifferently, "The entire plan required at least one person in the know to hold the fort in Di'an."
"In other words, Marquis Mu, you gave your tacit consent?"
"No, I never agreed."
Marquis Wucheng shook his head. "From the moment Her Majesty brought this matter to me until her secret departure from the capital, I tried my utmost to dissuade her. Though the breakthrough strategy you provided Her Majesty was flawless, Prince of Han, we had no way of verifying whether it was true or false."
Pocket realms—an extraordinarily scarce and vital resource. Ordinary people could only see the boundless wealth left behind by predecessors within them, but to a commander, a pocket realm's strategic significance far outweighed its economic value.
The troop-concealing function of an unknown pocket realm could alter the course of an entire major campaign.
From the moment Xu Yuan produced that map and the late Emperor's posthumous edict, Li Qingyan had seen through his intentions. The problem, however, was that the imperial clan had no way to confirm whether those pocket realms were real.
Reflecting on this, Xu Yuan offered an amused smile. "You failed to dissuade her, then?"
"Indeed."
Marquis Wucheng stood with hands clasped behind his back beneath the palace wall, raising his eyes toward the gate tower where the new monarch ought to have appeared.
"Her Majesty has been this way since childhood. Once her mind is set on something, she follows it through to the end. Her convictions are never swayed by outside voices."
"She truly is that kind of person."
Recalling past memories, Xu Yuan agreed wholeheartedly. Then, turning toward the burly elder, he lowered his voice and extended his hand with a smile.
"However, since she has made her choice, that means we have once again become allies, Marquis Mu."
"..."
The dark glint in Marquis Wucheng's eyes did not waver in the slightest at the man's overture. He merely stared quietly at the outstretched hand.
In the silent standoff, Xu Yuan took no offense, lightly laughing as he withdrew his hand.
"It seems that until word from the front in Hongnong arrives, you will not trust me."
Marquis Wucheng turned around, his back to the rising dawn, and fixed Xu Yuan with a grave glare.
"Earlier, when I saw that black-dragon carriage, for a fleeting moment I truly thought the man stepping down would be your father."
Xu Yuan's dark eyes reflected the rays of the rising sun. After a moment's silence, he said, "I suppose that counts as a compliment."
"It is a statement of fact."
As he spoke, boundless vigilance shone in the battle-hardened Marquis's eyes, his voice low and solemn:
"Whether withdrawing forces from Hongnong, staging a mutiny in Di'an, or now Her Majesty's personal expedition to the Tianhe River—all of it fell within your calculations, each move interlinked with the inexorable tide of events.
"Turning clouds with a flip of the hand, bringing rain with another, treating the world as a chessboard.
"Such methods are something I have only ever witnessed in the late Emperor and Chancellor Xu throughout my entire life."
Meeting his gaze, Xu Yuan shook his head faintly. "All that I have done would be nothing more than empty talk without her trust..."
"The problem right now is precisely that Her Majesty chose to trust you," Marquis Wucheng interrupted.
"..."
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, deep as the sea.
A silent stare. The crowd rustled.
A ferocious glint surfaced in Marquis Wucheng's eyes, carrying a bloodlust forged from a lifetime on campaign that chilled the bone. He locked onto the man's eyes.
"Prince of Han, you should know the means by which the late Emperor controlled Great Yan's various armies. The Beifeng Army, the Formation Breaker Army, and even the Imperial Guard—each army cultivates a distinct cultivation art, and all of them ultimately converge into the imperial clan's sacred art."
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Xu Yuan asked coolly.
Beneath his wide sleeves, Marquis Wucheng's hand clenched slightly. He asked, "In your view, Prince of Han, what was Her Majesty's purpose in summoning the Sect Alliance delegation to the capital?"
Had he heard this question prior to today, Xu Yuan might have hesitated. But at this moment, he answered straightforwardly:
"To relieve the internal pressure within the imperial faction, and to numb your faction's leadership—to make you believe the new sovereign would ally with the Sect Alliance to take action against me, the rebel who killed Li Zhaoyuan."
Marquis Wucheng's voice lowered further, dropping so low it carried a chill:
"Since you know this, you ought to realize even more that if any information on the map you gave Her Majesty is false, the consequences for the imperial clan would be catastrophic.
"Of the three imperial princes—Li Yucheng, Li Zhaoyuan, and Li Junqing—some are dead, others have fled. Aside from Her Majesty, the imperial clan can no longer produce another royal scion capable of succeeding the throne. If anything befalls Her Majesty, things might run as usual for a brief spell, but given time, these armies practicing disparate arts will begin carving out territories of their own."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan smiled faintly. "I believe I understand your meaning."
"No, you do not."
Marquis Wucheng shook his head, murder leaking from his gaze.
"Xu Changtian, the forces your Xu family currently has remaining in the Capital Region cannot exceed two hundred thousand, correct?"
Xu Yuan's heart sank slightly. He did not answer.
Marquis Wucheng did not need his answer. In a heavy voice, he continued:
"In the eyes of a commander, your Black Scale Army possesses a terrifyingly high degree of organization. They can disperse into small units where they stand, rush to their destination in small squads, and swiftly reform into an army. But having led troops for decades, I can still judge how many provisions and silver an army consumes to feed its men and horses.
"I can assure you:
"If those pocket realms do not contain the Black Scale soldiers you promised, then before the imperial officials carve up territories for themselves, we will drag your Xu family to hell with us!"
"..."
Listening closely to this threat, Xu Yuan still harbored no anger.
For he saw this veteran general's decades-long loyalty to Great Yan, and because the old general spoke the truth.
If the Hongnong pocket realms lacked the Black Scale Army, Li Qingyan—having crossed the natural moat of the Tianhe River to strike north of Hongnong—would almost certainly meet with disaster. The direct outcome would be the imperial faction's ministers fragmenting into warlord states, allowing the Xu family to reap the spoils.
Yet as the master of the Black Scale Army, Xu Yuan knew better than anyone whether soldiers were concealed within the Hongnong pocket realms. Thus, he candidly smiled at this elder who had spent a lifetime campaigning for Great Yan:
"Rather than wasting your time here pondering how to drag my Xu family down to hell, it would be far more realistic to spend that time thinking about how the court will march south to suppress the rebels once the Sect Alliance coalition collapses in Hongnong."
Marquis Wucheng still did not relax in the slightest. Almost syllable by syllable, he warned Xu Yuan:
"I hope your laughter earlier stemmed from that so-called ideal, and not a conspiracy, Xu Changtian."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan merely smiled faintly, glancing back at the restless crowd behind them.
"Whether it is an ideal or a conspiracy, you will know soon enough, Marquis Mu. Before then, I think you should pacify the crowd behind you. Although I personally do not care much for ceremonial propriety, this is, after all, Her Majesty's coronation."
"..."
After a brief silence, Marquis Wucheng cupped his hands in salute toward Xu Yuan. "Farewell, Prince of Han."
"Mm."
"..."
Marquis Wucheng turned and took several steps toward the officials of the imperial faction, then suddenly halted.
"Something else?" Xu Yuan asked.
Marquis Wucheng pondered for a moment before saying in a low voice, "I heard your campaign in Jiangnan has not gone well lately. Yuan Hao has been forced back to the coastal area where he originally made landfall."
Xu Yuan did not deny it. "That is indeed the case. After all, it is the heartland of the Sect Alliance."
"Over the past few days, I have been gathering logistical supplies and armaments in Qilu. If word arrives from Her Highness, we can immediately head south along the coast to support you. If our two armies join forces regardless of cost, we should be able to try carving out a route back for Yuan Hao."
"There is no need for that," Xu Yuan declined.
"No need?" Marquis Wucheng turned his head halfway, graying sideburns fluttering in the wind, confusion in his eyes. "You couldn't possibly intend to treat such a massive army as an expendable piece, could you?"
Xu Yuan remained completely unperturbed and replied in a placid tone, "From the very beginning of the campaign plan, I was prepared for Li Zhaoyuan to sit idly by. Naturally, I arranged a way out for Yuan Hao as well."
Seeing this, Marquis Wucheng did not press further. After a moment's contemplation, he added, "One more thing. Before Her Majesty departed, she gave me an instruction. She said you were in a great hurry to kill Li Zhaoyuan, meaning something must have been forcing your hand. If possible, she told me to assist you as much as I could. I agreed to her decree, but until Her Majesty's military triumph in Hongnong is confirmed, the voices within our imperial faction cannot be unified. So I cannot guarantee the others."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan's eyes crinkled slightly, a faint curve gracing his lips. "Thank you."
"Hmph. Take care of yourself."
Marquis Wucheng snorted coldly.
A slap followed by a sweet jujube—a stubborn old man whose actions spoke softer than his harsh words.
Watching him turn and walk back into the crowd of the imperial faction, Xu Yuan gently shook his head.
Then,
he turned his gaze back to Tianye, who had remained silent at his side. Turning his body, he slowly reached out a finger and lifted her chin, narrowing his eyes slightly:
"Though it was not for love, it seems you must still accept your loss in our wager, Tianye."
Chapter 808