I wouldn’t want to be buried with you, yet I’d be forced to. Therefore, there’s simply no chance that I would abandon you and run for my life.
"My lord, I will not leave you behind."
"Damn it, now’s not the time for melodrama, okay? If Siniang were here to perform ’Farewell My Concubine’ with me, I might actually feel something. But you..."
"I, Zheng Hongze, Commandant of Liang Town for Qian, am here by the command of the Grand Commandant of Qian’s Northern Three Towns. I have a message for your leader!"
Zheng Fan sneered and said, "Well, look at that, someone with the same surname."
"How should I respond?" Liang Cheng asked.
"Negotiate. Have a proper talk with them. You go and discuss everything from salary and benefits to pension plans, social security, housing funds—the whole nine yards—and slowly drag out the conversation with him."
"To buy time, right?" Liang Cheng was beginning to understand. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel※fire.net
"Go and start the talks first. Miracles don’t just happen; you have to fight for them."
Liang Cheng left Zheng Fan alone on horseback and dismounted. He took another horse from a nearby barbarian soldier and slowly rode forward.
Zheng Fan, meanwhile, lay slumped over his horse, reaching a hand to feel his back.
"Grand Commandant, why not give the order to strike?" a middle-aged man in light armor, holding a longsword, challenged as he rode up to the command chariot.
The chariot was an open-style carriage with a roof but no side railings, pulled by men or horses. In the imperial capital of Qian State, during every Lantern Festival or other celebrations, many theater troupes or renowned courtesans from major houses would perform on such chariots while parading through the streets. Adapted for military use, it had become a mobile command post for the commander-in-chief.
At this moment, thousands of armored soldiers stood guard around the chariot, upon which stood only three figures: one at the front, two behind.
The man in the lead, about fifty years old, had a distinguished appearance, a fair and clear complexion, red lips, and white teeth. He wore a brocade robe and naturally exuded the commanding aura of a superior. Behind him stood two middle-aged men clad in purple official robes.
The man questioning from below, though dressed in armor and carrying a sword, was clearly just putting on an act; neither the armor nor the sword looked right on him, appearing utterly uncoordinated.
"Insolence! Lord Wu, how dare you speak to the Grand Commandant in such a manner!" one of the middle-aged men standing behind Grand Commandant Yang admonished, pointing at Lord Wu.
Lord Wu dismounted, but he stumbled and nearly fell from his horse. This unexpected mishap visibly deflated his imposing manner. After ascending the steps onto the chariot, Lord Wu bowed to Grand Commandant Yang and said, "Wu Yingwu, Regional Governor of Chen Town, pays his respects to Grand Commandant Yang."
Only then did Grand Commandant Yang turn. He approached with a warm smile, gently took Wu Yingwu’s saluting hands into his own, patted them, and said, "Lord Wu, I am already aware of the matter concerning your father-in-law. Please, accept my condolences."
The prefect of Mianzhou City—that skinny, tall old man who had indulged in pleasure to his dying day before being beheaded by Zheng Fan’s men—was Wu Yingwu’s father-in-law. Wu Yingwu was not from a common background; he hailed from a scholarly family whose fortunes had declined. He had managed to enter officialdom thanks to the financial support and appreciation of his father-in-law, the prefect. The prefect had also married his own legitimate daughter to Wu Yingwu, taking him on as a promising son-in-law. It could be said that without the old prefect’s patronage and support, Wu Yingwu would not be where he was today.
Of course, the Qian State’s Northern Three Prefectures were Chen, Liang, and Wei. Under their jurisdiction were three towns: Chen Town, Liang Town, and Wei Town. Each town was controlled by a Regional Governor. In the Qian State, these Regional Governors were equivalent to military district commanders in the north, and these positions were all held by civil officials. Wu Yingwu’s appointment as Regional Governor of Wei Town also indicated that his father-in-law was not only skilled at consuming Five-rock powder but also possessed a top-notch ability to judge character. The old prefect had managed to hold onto the lucrative post as prefect of Mianzhou City, an important trade hub, largely thanks to his connection with Wu Yingwu.
"Grand Commandant, these Yan bastards are cruel, wicked, and utterly irredeemable!" Wu Yingwu implored. "I beseech you, Grand Commandant, to swiftly dispatch troops to annihilate these Yan bastards! I wish to use their heads to console the spirits of our great Qian’s people whom they have brutally murdered!"
"Why the hurry?" the middle-aged man who had previously chided Wu Yingwu spoke again. "The men are already surrounded. It’s not as if they can sprout wings and fly away, can they?"
Wu Yingwu snorted and retorted, "I, on the other hand, have heard that a certain someone’s wife and daughter have also fallen into the hands of those Yan bastards. That someone is clearly putting personal interests before public duty, so naturally, he’d be reluctant to act against these Yan bastards."
Hearing this, Meng Changqi, the Regional Governor of Liang Town, seethed with anger and was about to counter when Grand Commandant Yang cut him off, "Enough, enough! As Regional Governors entrusted by the imperial court to oversee these territories, you are behaving . How does this differ from common ruffians and shrews in the marketplace?"
Seeing Grand Commandant Yang’s anger, the two Regional Governors fell silent, daring not to speak further.
It was crucial to understand that this Grand Commandant Yang held overall command of military affairs for Qian’s Northern Three Prefectures; he was the direct superior to the three Regional Governors. Furthermore, the three imperial consorts from the Yang Clan in the imperial harem all hailed from his Yang Family. Although they were his nieces, not his own daughters, they were still considered close senior relatives within the family.
Logically, in the Qian State, the realm was jointly governed by the scholar-bureaucrats and the imperial family. It was an inherent tendency of scholar-bureaucrats to suppress military officials. Concurrently, the scholar-bureaucrat class would not permit a situation where imperial relatives by marriage wielded significant power.
However, this Grand Commandant Yang was an exception, for he was a eunuch.
In his early years, when the current Qian Emperor was still the Crown Prince in the East Palace, Yang had been his Attendant. After the Crown Prince ascended the throne, Yang recommended three sisters from his own Yang Family of Xiahang for palace service. The three sisters deeply won the Qian Emperor’s favor. Consequently, Yang was once again entrusted with significant responsibilities. He was even able, as a eunuch, to hold a nominal post in the Privy Council while also being dispatched to the northern frontier to command Qian’s Northern Three Towns.