Other aides immediately countered, "Attacking Xiazhou again will cost us heavily. Why shouldn't we take the elite Baling troops as reinforcements? The General cares for his men like his own sons, and our Xunzhou army needs rest and recuperation too!"
After the great battle of the Han River, the Yuan army had nearly collapsed, but the Xunzhou army had also suffered severe losses. How could they recover in just a few months?
Right now, Xiazhou's troops were weak and their mounts exhausted. Even General Zhao Pan, who was best at defense, had been transferred away. If Nian Zanli could borrow elite Baling troops at this time, it would be an absolute rout of the weak by the strong, knocking Chief Administrator He Chunhua of Xiazhou flat on his back and riding roughshod over him.
Defeat? Impossible!
With an assured, one-sided, runaway victory practically handed to him, why would he refuse? Why insist on a grinding tug-of-war with Xiazhou, getting bogged down in bitter fighting?
The Xunzhou army was the foundation he had built over a dozen years, the bedrock for seizing the realm in the future; it could not be squandered pointlessly.
Nian Zanli looked at Lv Huansheng and smiled. "If you don't have any good suggestions, keep your mouth shut."
Lv Huansheng shrank back and held his tongue.
Someone nearby immediately chimed in, "As for the annual tribute promised to National Preceptor Shuangye and the Baling Kingdom, there's no need to worry either. Once we conquer the Yuan Kingdom, we can easily afford that bit of money and silk. Just the other day, the Ke family spent seven or eight hundred thousand taels at Dun Garden to win a single sword tip at auction. Can an entire kingdom as vast as Yuan not even match the wealth of the Ke family?"
The other aides nodded. "Indeed. A slight increase in the security tax will patch that hole right up."
The main point was victory! As long as they won, everything else could be dealt with later.
Lv Huansheng couldn't hold back: "The Yuan Kingdom is starved of money and provisions. They say Zhao Pan's troops mutinied on their march to the northwest, and he was forced to pillage several villages and towns just to keep his soldiers from deserting entirely! Outside the Yuan capital, the common folk have been bled dry—the very earth scraped three feet deep. Where can we possibly dig up so much silver and silk to pay National Preceptor Shuangye?"
Nian Zanli swept a chilling glare across, and Lv Huansheng instantly lowered his head.
The other aides hastily chimed in, "You said it yourself—outside the capital! The Yuan capital is wealthy and its officials are fat. Their treasuries are brimming with coin and silk."
Another aide reminded them, "In the northwest, the Grand Marshal has won several victories and is stepping up his offensive. If we don't employ the Baling troops, then..."
After the battle of the Han River, the Xunzhou army had suffered heavy casualties and was now inferior in troop strength to the Grand Marshal. If they didn't bring the Baling forces south, the Grand Marshal might beat them to the punch and march into the Yuan capital first.
"Precisely!" A faint smile spread across Nian Zanli's face. "Now that the elite troops are secured, Lv Huansheng, return to Xunzhou tomorrow to prepare provisions. We march against Yuan within six months!"
Lv Huansheng could only comply.
Nian Zanli walked out of the tent, leaning on his sword as he looked back toward the northwest, his heart buoyant.
National Preceptor Shuangye's price was indeed steep, but how could victory come without a cost? With elite troops about to arrive, he would sever He Chunhua's head before next summer and drink from his skull!
***
He Lingchuan finished his pancake in a few bites, wiped his hands and mouth, and turned toward the Heavenly Palace's encampment.
Indeed, the Heavenly Palace had no need to show off fancy carriages at the Grass Sea. They had dispatched an entire battalion here, pitching ten pavilions in the prime viewing spots of the sandbar, all guarded by Heavenly Palace sentries.
With the Chief Duyun Emissary personally present today, everything here was arranged with exceptional pomp and grandeur.
The open ground outside the tents was packed with kneeling commoners—at least ten thousand closely packed souls, obscuring virtually every inch of the white sand.
Prostrating themselves flat on the ground, oblivious to anyone else, they murmured prayers under their breath.
Duyun Emissaries and lamp wardens were the mortal agents of the celestial gods. Usually dwelling high above in the clouds, they were rarely seen by lowly commoners. On an opportune day like this, devout believers rushed from all around to pay homage.
Many whole families, young and old, lay prostrate together in supreme devotion, willing to offer everything to the celestial gods.
Walking through the kneeling throng, He Lingchuan felt as though there was nowhere even to set his feet.
As expected, he was stopped before he could even get close to the tents.
The weapons of the Heavenly Palace guards gleamed coldly.
"Chiyan envoy He Xiao requests an audience with Emissary Bai to report grave intelligence."
The guard eyed him suspiciously, but the word "envoy" carried weight. One turned back into the camp to report.
A dozen breaths later, he returned and said, "Please follow me."
By adding that polite "please," He Lingchuan already knew Bai Ziqi's stance.
People bustled to and fro across the camp, busy as worker bees, for the Grass Sea festivities would soon officially commence.
He Lingchuan followed the guard into a smaller tent.
Bai Ziqi was conversing with someone. Seeing He Lingchuan arrive, he dismissed the person at once and smiled at him. "Oh? What brings you here to see me, He Xiao?"
He held a lofty position in the Heavenly Palace, second only to the Chief Duyun Emissary, yet he rarely put on airs when dealing with people.
He Lingchuan returned a smile, looked left and right, but said nothing.
Bai Ziqi took the hint, waved away everyone else in the tent, and rubbed his hands together. "Come, please sit, please speak!"
He had studied He Lingchuan for a long time and knew the man never visited without good reason.
Sure enough, He Lingchuan wasted no words. "There's progress on Qingfu Temple."
At the mention of "Qingfu Temple," Bai Ziqi instantly raised a hand to stop him, cast a sound-isolation barrier first, and then said gravely, "Continue."
"Not everyone at Qingfu Temple died. One slipped through the net—a man named Kong Jiaxiang. On the day of the fire, he happened to spend the night with his mistress and escaped the disaster," He Lingchuan murmured, dropping this earth-shattering news. "Upon learning that Qingfu Temple was destroyed, he fled back to his hometown in Yangshui."
Bai Ziqi listened to every word, his expression turning solemn.
"How did you learn of this?"
The Azure Palace was a formidable adversary, having swept clean every conceivable clue. He had mobilized vast manpower and resources, yet after searching for so long, had turned up nothing useful. How had He Xiao, newly arrived in Lingxu City, gotten his hands on this?
He Lingchuan came prepared. "After we captured Wu Kai at Baishaqu, I sent people to investigate his background back home. The response didn't arrive in time before we escorted the prisoner out of Baishaqu and headed for Lingxu City."
He presented a file. "This is an account ledger just delivered to us from Yangshui County, recording the relatives and background of Wu Kai's hometown. Kong Jiaxiang, originally a bookkeeper, is not only the elder brother of Wu Kai's daughter-in-law, but was also the temple keeper at Qingfu Temple. Presumably, Wu Kai introduced him to the position."
Bai Ziqi took it and flipped through its pages as He Lingchuan explained.
"I reviewed the casualty list from Qingfu Temple, and Kong Jiaxiang was listed among the dead." As the aggrieved party, the Chiyan Kingdom had the right to inquire about the case's progress, so Fu Shanyue had obtained the list. "Comparing it against the ledger sent from Yangshui County revealed discrepancies between the two records. I already sent an avian demon back to verify: Kong Jiaxiang is indeed still alive, residing in his ancestral home in Yangshui."
The pertinent information in the ledger had already been circled in red ink. Bai Ziqi scanned it in a few glances, praising him with repeated cries of "Good!"
"He Xiao, you are truly thorough. But why hasn't His Highness ordered the arrest directly?"
Yangshui lay within Chiyan territory; Fu Shanyue naturally had jurisdiction there.
He Lingchuan lowered his voice. "Lest we startle the snake in the grass, it is better to trouble Emissary Bai."
Bai Ziqi gave him a profound look. "Then please convey my thanks to His Highness, He Xiao."
Fu Shanyue refraining from making the arrest himself and letting Bai Ziqi do it was effectively handing him the credit. Because the Crown Prince of Chiyan had faced repeated dangers in Lingxu City, public interest in the case, far from dying down, had reached a fever pitch throughout the court and countryside; even the most remote rural outskirts of the Lower City were abuzz with talk.
Bai Ziqi had been running around for the elixir of immortality case for so long with virtually no progress of late. Both the celestial gods and the Demon Emperor inquired frequently, placing immense pressure upon his shoulders.
If Kong Jiaxiang's confession could truly serve as a fresh breakthrough in the case, the Crown Prince of Chiyan was doing him a massive favor.
It was not that his earlier investigations had been incompetent; rather, tracking down Kong Jiaxiang required Chiyan's active cooperation.
Missing persons were normal at the scene of a major fire. In a blaze fueled by such ferocious true fire, what was so strange about corpses being reduced to ash without a trace? Qingfu Temple was already missing several bodies. Without the ledgers sent from Yangshui County in Chiyan, they could never have discovered that Kong Jiaxiang was still alive.
The Azure Palace hadn't found him either, so he was finally one step ahead of his rivals.
He had to seize this opportunity.
He Lingchuan smiled. "I certainly will."
With this new clue in the elixir of immortality case, Bai Ziqi's attention would be diverted away from keeping tabs on him.
Given Bai Ziqi's cautious nature, combined with the sheer scrutiny surrounding the elixir case, he would very likely travel to Yangshui in person to make the arrest.
During this window, He Lingchuan would enjoy greater freedom, and getting things done would be much easier.
With the crucial intelligence delivered, He Lingchuan prepared to leave.
In high spirits, Bai Ziqi personally escorted him to the edge of the camp and bade him a smiling farewell.
This scene was certainly witnessed by more than a few observant eyes.
He Xiao was already a sensational figure, and having walked into the encampment of the empire's supreme seat of power in broad daylight, only to be personally seen off by a Duyun Emissary while chatting and laughing cordially...
What was going on?!
He Lingchuan was certain that among those onlookers were National Preceptor Shuangye's informants.
His deal with National Preceptor Shuangye seemed simple on the surface, almost as if he were getting the better end of the bargain. In reality, how could an old schemer like Shuangye ever make a losing trade?
Shuangye had realized long ago that He Xiao was the ideal person to deliver this clue about Kong Jiaxiang.
He Xiao was the original investigator on the case, and all the major breakthroughs in the elixir of immortality case thus far had been uncovered by him.
Furthermore, He Xiao was a Chiyan envoy, and Kong Jiaxiang's ancestral home was in Yangshui, Chiyan; that He Xiao would stumble across this lead during routine background checks made perfect sense.
Most importantly, as an outsider with zero connection to National Preceptor Shuangye, any evidence he submitted carried far greater credibility.
Even Bai Ziqi, suspicious to a fault, would have no choice but to believe it.
Of course, He Lingchuan had displayed some odd behavior back in Baishaqu, but none of it was tied to Lingxu City.
Once Bai Ziqi received Kong Jiaxiang's lead from him, he wouldn't waste time questioning its origin, which aligned perfectly with Shuangye's desire for a swift, decisive resolution.
Paying no heed to the stares or the ripple effect this encounter would cause, He Lingchuan walked back.
Hearing him heave a long sigh, the mirror in his breast pocket chimed in, "Now that you've handed over the clue, you and National Preceptor Shuangye are even. That wasn't easy."
"Even?" He Lingchuan scoffed. "Think again."
"Ah?" the mirror asked, puzzled. "What you asked of him, and what he asked of you—everything's done. Isn't that being even?"
"'Being even' means it ends here, with no strings attached," He Lingchuan said flatly. "After this, do you think my relationship with Shuangye has grown closer or more distant?"
Chapter 632