A Pawn Left by the Old Emperor

By now, the wine was properly warmed, and with two pinches of shredded ginger dropped in, a rich fragrance rose from the pot. He Chunhua's cook sliced off a slab of fish weighing about five jin, rubbed it with various seasonings, and set it over the fire to roast. Soon, the flames drew out the aroma of sizzling fat and peppercorns. Lu Yao chuckled. "And here I thought Lord He would have some special way of preparing it. Turns out it's roasted over fire after all." "Lacking the proper cookware, we make do with the glaze," the cook said as he turned the fish, brushing sauce across the meat with every ten turns. Once cooked through, the flesh took on a beautiful, glossy russet. When the fish was served before the two leaders, Lu Yao took a bite and found it was one roast with two distinct flavors. A fist-sized piece of meat was split in two; one half had crispy, crackling skin that melted in the mouth, its thick layer of sub-dermal fat soaking deep into the meat and removing any harsh astringency from the thick flakes. The other half seemed brushed with some unknown sauce—savory with a hint of fruity sweetness, balanced by a touch of acidity that cut through the richness remarkably well. "Not bad, not bad at all." Lu Yao took alternating mouthfuls of fish and wine, raising a thumb in praise. "As expected of someone from an old family of bells and cauldrons!" "You flatter me." He Chunhua lifted a morsel of fish to his mouth. "Even in my family's peak, none among us reached the Nine Ministers. We could hardly be called a house of bells and cauldrons." "When the Holy Master took stock of the Great Yuan officialdom, he singled you out by name," Lu Yao said with a dry laugh. "Said you were a true talent." He Chunhua raised an eyebrow. The "Holy Master" Lu Yao mentioned was, of course, the rebel leader Hong Xiangqian. It was said this man possessed vast supernatural powers, capable of reviving the dead and even wielding all manner of esoteric arts upon the battlefield. That last detail was extraordinarily unusual. As everyone knew, the royal court's armies could channel origin power during battle, exerting tremendous suppression over divine arts and sorcery. Throughout history, countless practitioners of esoteric arts had been hunted down and slain by government forces. Yet Hong Xiangqian had been able to unleash esoteric powers on the battlefield without any dampening of their effect. That was because he had established his own regime, giving him mastery over and access to origin power as well. That was likely why the Yuan royal court had been so desperate to crush the rebellion: if this scourge were not eliminated, a second regime within Great Yuan would take root and flourish. Though Hong Xiangqian was dead, a man like Lu Yao—who feared neither heaven nor earth and dared cause havoc even in the halls of King Yama—still showed genuine reverence when speaking of him. From that alone, He Chunhua knew Hong Xiangqian had been no ordinary figure, and certainly not merely the villain and fraud proclaimed by the court. Even so, as an imperial official, He Chunhua had no intention of showing admiration for him. "I heard that when calamity struck the He clan and wiped them out, only you survived, only to be banished to Qiansong Commandery by that old muddlehead of an emperor. You were barely in your early teens then, weren't you? Mm, you went to Qiansong Commandery as nothing more than a courier at a post station. A normal man would have resigned himself to dying there. But you managed to seize the opportunity when foreign enemies invaded, taking advantage of that desert out back... What was that desert called again?" "Panlong." "Ah, right, the Panlong Desert. When the winds and sand whip up, passage is blocked for months. Back then, that city was still under the control of the Andongese. You gathered a mob and slaughtered their special envoy right in the street. Must have scared the wits out of the locals, eh? Why didn't they execute you?" "The Andongese had occupied Blackwater City for years, and since Great Yuan never attempted to reclaim it, they assumed our country was weak and only propped up a few local compradors to manage the city," He Chunhua said calmly. "We killed those compradors alongside the envoy, then used the wild sand season to deal with the remaining Andongese inside the walls. By the time the wild sand season ended, Blackwater City had already been recovered." Lu Yao slammed his palm on the table and laughed heartily. "Splendid! How satisfying! Did the Jinzhou Inspector reward you handsomely?" "No." He Chunhua took another bite of fish. "I was arrested and thrown into prison. The moment I entered the cell, I received thirty lashes for the crime of assassinating an emissary from a friendly neighbor and inciting border warfare. Fortunately, the jailer sympathized with me, so he struck lightly and even brought plenty of medicine. The very next day, half the city's populace came out to petition on my behalf. Fearing a riot, the authorities released me. "I told the Jinzhou Inspector that the Andongese wouldn't use this as an excuse to retaliate, but he refused to believe it. Yet Blackwater City enjoyed peace for two full years, until the Andongese finally returned in force in the third year. The inspector had no means to deal with them, so someone advised him that whoever stirred up the trouble ought to resolve it. And so, they pushed me out to face them." Lu Yao nodded. "And you beat them back." "Three times. After that, they never invaded again," He Chunhua said. "The Jinzhou Inspector claimed the credit for himself, but word of my deeds had already spread to the capital. The king learned of it and granted me an exceptional promotion." Lu Yao looked puzzled. "How did you know the Andongese would swallow their anger after you killed their envoy?" "During my final year as postmaster, I heard merchants along Red Cliff Road mention that the King of Andong had died, plunging the country into relentless turmoil." "Just that? That hardly seems proof enough." He Chunhua gave a faint smile. "The eldest son of the King of Andong died young, leaving the second and fourth sons locked in a struggle for power. The second son was fierce and ruthless, while the fourth was cunning and resourceful. Neither could eliminate the other quickly, keeping the country in chaos. If that were the case, their strife was bound to drag on, leaving them temporarily incapable of minding insignificant places like Red Cliff Road and Blackwater City." Lu Yao stroked his chin. "How did you win the battles later on?" "The Andong royal house tore itself apart in civil strife, and the fourth son ultimately prevailed. But having languished for years, the kingdom was in even worse decline; sending troops to take Blackwater City was merely an attempt to save face. After attacking three times without success, they gave up the fight." He Chunhua smiled faintly. "Today, our state enjoys very cordial relations with Andong." "No wonder the Holy Master said that if the inland territories of Great Yuan had someone like you holding the line, our rebel army's northward march would never have gone so smoothly." He Chunhua's expression shifted slightly. That was extraordinarily high praise—and, at the same time, far too dismissive of Great Yuan's court officials and generals. "Your family suffered a terrible injustice, and you repeatedly proved your worth and displayed your talents in the remote borderlands. Why has the court never truly given you heavy responsibility?" He Chunhua gave a wry smile. That was a difficult question to answer. "The Holy Master mentioned it offhand back then: you were a pawn left behind by the old emperor for his successor—a very useful pawn," Lu Yao said with a grin. "On one hand, he kept you suppressed in Qiansong Commandery to grind down your sharp edges; on the other, he saved you for the next emperor to elevate, ensuring you would feel immense gratitude toward the monarch who raised you up and give your life in his service. After all, the one who slaughtered your family was his father, but the one who restored you would be him. What a shame that the current emperor is a complete straw bag, wasting the great gift the old man left him before dying. "Well? Did the Holy Master speak the truth?" He Chunhua lowered his gaze, remaining silent for a long moment before saying, "I appreciate General Lu feeling indignant on my behalf." "Why bother risking your life for an emperor like that?" Lu Yao gave a low sneer. "Even Dong Haoming, who served their family for years, has rebelled. Do you still intend to rush in just to swell their numbers?" "It is not as if all hope of setting things right is lost." Before Lu Yao could retort, He Chunhua asked, "The Grand Marshal's coup in the capital failed, and he has now retreated to hold Wuzhou. Its defenses are strong, provisions are plentiful, and the common people know only the Donglai Residence, not the Son of Heaven of Great Yuan. It is clear the Grand Marshal was prepared long in advance. If it were you, General Lu, how would you launch an attack?"