Chapter 535: Emperors Meet Amidst Snow and Wind

The Northern Liang Grand Review was likely the most concise and brief in the twenty years since the Xu family took control of Northern Liang. However, it was also the most significant gathering of talented generals. The old, meritorious veterans in the Military Pavilion were almost in tears, for they knew better than anyone the difficulty of uniting an army's spirit—a spirit that, once lost, is nearly impossible to recall. Just as Liu Yuanji, despite his harsh criticisms of the Crown Prince, was in fact worried that their hard-won foundation would be squandered by a prodigal son before the Liyang dynasty and the Zhao imperial family could fully ruin it. More pragmatically, figures like Han Tuizhi feared that the new king would fail to command respect, not even superficially. Would they truly have to relocate their entire families to the hostile Central Plains, only to face a slow reckoning from the Zhao family? Would the Zhao emperor bestow meager leftovers when pleased, and demand their heads to curry favor when displeased? Therefore, when the Crown Prince, wearing the world's only jade-white python robe, rode his horse across the icy river and shouted "Draw swords!" at the drill ground, ten thousand Northern Liang soldiers simultaneously unsheathed their blades. Everyone present understood that Xu Fengnian would now be the rightful King of Northern Liang. The old veterans felt a sense of relief. Some even wondered if, since the Great General had failed to conquer Northern Mang in a single push, perhaps this young King of Northern Liang could achieve it. This long-held, deeply cherished hope made them cling to life, no longer willing to idly watch their descendants fall into ruin. In truth, many of these elders were not truly senile, like Liu Yuanji, who genuinely overlooked his descendants' misdeeds; rather, they distrusted the Xu family's line of succession. They thought, "What harm is there in securing more of the Xu family's wealth for ourselves now?" However, from this point forward, they would need to meticulously re-strategize.

While the Military Pavilion remained relatively calm, primarily populated by old veterans accustomed to warfare, the visiting scholars in the Literary Pavilion were genuinely terrified. Previously, they had only heard tales of the Northern Liang cavalry's unparalleled combat prowess in Liyang, without truly grasping its might. Scholars from Yan Chi and Guang Ling, who had witnessed the military tactics of other regional kings, were particularly skeptical that Northern Liang's forces could be significantly superior. However, seeing the vast, oppressive formation of armored soldiers with their own eyes, even from a distance, was suffocating. When ten thousand soldiers simultaneously unsheathed their blades, it felt as though the very wind and snow paused in deference, causing most people in the pavilion to tremble violently. Moreover, earlier, some busybodies had named the generals on the drill ground, each name renowned. As these ten men stood shoulder-to-shoulder, leaning on their swords, no one could entertain the notion that Northern Liang was declining. The silent majesty radiating from the drill ground compelled those in the Literary Pavilion to ask themselves: Could Gu Jiantang, who had resigned as Minister of War, defeat the Northern Liang cavalry? Could King Yan Chi, second only to Xu Xiao among regional kings, truly contend with them? Even if the prominent figure in the python robe never reached the heights of his father, if Xu Fengnian commanded three hundred thousand elite troops, could anyone truly bully him? Yu Luandao, however, was not burdened by such chaotic thoughts. He simply saw the distinctive python robe, watched him leap with a spear across the icy river, and observed his slow, measured steps as he ascended the platform. As Yu Luandao traced the hilt of his renowned saber, "Daluo," he suddenly felt there was no need to ask anything further.

After an hour-long military review, every Northern Liang blade was returned to its sheath. The man in the python robe then disappeared. In the Military Pavilion, Great General Yan Wenluan greeted the gathered officers. Yuan Zuozong, though both the Great General's adopted son and the cavalry commander, still walked half a step behind Yan Wenluan, only walking abreast with Gu Dazu, the renowned general from Southern Tang during the Spring and Autumn period. Huangfu Ping, lacking in both experience and prestige, lagged behind, appearing somewhat isolated, with no verbal or visual interaction with Old General Zhou Kang, "the Brocade Partridge," who stood nearby. Nevertheless, since Huangfu Ping had secured a place on the drill ground, no one dared openly contend with him. As for the covert maneuvering and displays of individual prowess, they would undoubtedly be plentiful; the crucial factor would be when Huangfu Ping could successfully consolidate military control over Youzhou.

The Literary Pavilion was visited by Chu Lushan, the Northern Liang Protector-General. When the foreign scholars saw "Fatty Chu" dismount outside the building, they were terrified. They noticed that even a high-ranking border official like Li Gongde, the Commissioner of Military Affairs, wore a strained smile in the presence of this "man-eating demon." Within the Literary Pavilion, only Master Wang maintained his composure; upright scholars from Liyang like Huang Shang simply chose to avoid him entirely, preferring not to be bothered. As Chu Lushan, clad in heavy armor, ascended, the new building creaked ominously, making people worry if the stairs could bear the weight of both man and armor. Fortunately, this "mountain-like fat pig" stopped at the fifth floor, too lazy to exert himself further. After meeting Hu Kui, who had descended to the fifth level, and exchanging nods, and then spotting Yu Luandao beside the Prefect of Liangzhou, the Northern Liang Protector-General returned. When Chu Lushan finally mounted his horse and departed, the scholars and literati breathed a sigh of relief. If the Crown Prince's past infamy was merely for his dissolute behavior within Northern Liang, then "Fatty Chu's" reputation was truly atrocious—mutilations, flaying, pouring wine into skulls; which of these acts did not deserve divine retribution? Yet, this "fat pig" had gleefully ascended to become Northern Liang's highest official, proving that "only scourges endure for a thousand years!" On his way back, Chu Lushan summoned two scouts, Li Hanlin and Lu Dou. One was the Crown Prince's childhood friend, and the other benefited from the upcoming marriage alliance between the Xu family and the Lu family of Qingzhou; neither could be considered ordinary Northern Liang soldiers.

Chu Lushan dismissed his dozen personal guards, taking only Li Hanlin and Lu Dou to the icy riverbank, where the ice had begun to break. Chu Lushan tugged at the cotton collar inside his armor, gazing at the river, remaining silent for a long time. Li Hanlin, who treated the Qingliang Mountain princely residence as his own home, had often interacted with Chu Lushan. However, after becoming a scout, frequently engaging in life-or-death exchanges with Northern Mang cavalry, he looked at the fat man he had once casually befriended with newfound reverence. It became difficult, even impossible, for him to joke lightheartedly as before; it wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he truly dared not. Only after personally experiencing the smoke of war, where even a skirmish with a few hundred enemy soldiers could mean life or death, did he truly grasp the ruthless intensity of this three-hundred-pound "fat pig" who could effortlessly open the path to Shu with just a thousand riders. In the Northern Liang army, it was commonly acknowledged that in battles involving fewer than ten thousand men, no matter how perilous or brutal the situation, Chen Zhibao achieved the greatest military merits, and Yuan Zuozong sustained the fewest casualties. However, the fat man before them, whose literary and intellectual talents were completely overshadowed by his formidable and fearsome reputation, was the one who could bring a conflict to an end the fastest! In the Battle of Bashui in Northern Han, Chu Lushan once annihilated three thousand elite Northern Han soldiers in just half an hour, though his own two thousand troops suffered eighteen hundred casualties! Such bloody engagements were innumerable under Chu Lushan's command. It was rumored that when training new recruits, Chu Lushan would always say, "Congratulations, everyone! Either you die tomorrow, or the day after, you become a captain and enjoy life elsewhere." After Xu Xiao established his territory, Chu Lushan, as his adopted son, only led troops on the border for the first five years before leaving the frontier. Few now remembered that this "fat pig" held the record among Xu family soldiers for being the first to scale city walls and plant flags—a record that remains unbroken to this day.

Chu Lushan thought for a moment, then finally spoke, "Some things are better told to you personally by the King of Northern Liang."

When Xu Fengnian ascended the platform wearing the prince's python robe, it signified that Northern Liang had changed kings that very day. This, of course, severely violated the Liyang dynasty's feudal rites. But would the Zhao imperial family, which owed its very throne to the Xu family, dare utter a word of dissent? Even if the Zhao emperor, full of arrogance, sought to punish Northern Liang, he would first have to contend with the blades of Northern Liang.

Li Hanlin, who had been tricked into going to the Southern Dynasty and then almost abducted to Jizhou, squatted down, holding his helmet in his arms. He grinned and said, "I've mostly figured out the general situation. My old man was pressured into stammering before the Grand Review, and I'm not so foolish that I couldn't piece together most of it."

Li Hanlin continued with a laugh, "I don't like to hear those kinds of words from Brother Nian. Don't think that just because he's become the King of Northern Liang, he's no longer the good-for-nothing brother of Li Hanlin; there's no such luck. Anyway, for this entire life, I've decided to just live off Brother Nian. If by some chance I make a name for myself, and he dares not give me a truly grand official position, just watch me throw a tantrum."

Chu Lushan reached out a hand, rubbed Li Hanlin's head, and chuckled, "Being a scout is a good thing, but don't you dare die. Otherwise, His Highness will take his frustration out on me, the Northern Liang Protector-General. Hanlin, you and I are like family, so I'll be frank: if you dare die before your old man, I swear I'll take it out on your father!"

Li Hanlin stood up, spat a few times, and rolled his eyes. "Protector-General, don't use your high office to say such inauspicious things!"

With a wave of his large hand, Chu Lushan laughed and cursed, "You deadbeat brat, scram!"

Li Hanlin unceremoniously sprinted away. Lu Dou, born with the unusual trait of double pupils, did not forget to bow respectfully before taking his leave.

Chu Lushan glanced eastward; straight east lay Taian City, the most prosperous capital in the world. He sneered, "What a massive piece of fat!"

As Chu Lushan lowered his head and walked towards his warhorse, he let out a cackling laugh. "Eating meat is what we fat guys love most."

Amidst the wind and snow of the frontier, two carriages finally met.

The drivers were the young man who had just become the King of Northern Liang, and Tuoba Pusa, the Northern Mang God of War.

The man and woman riding inside were, as one might expect, figures of supreme earthly status.

Empress Murong of Northern Mang, and the former King of Northern Liang, Xu Xiao.

Both carriages halted simultaneously. Xu Xiao had not even brought Xu Yanbing, Northern Liang's undisputed foremost martial artist, choosing instead to bring only his eldest son, who was dressed in ordinary clothes. In the end, it was still two carriages, two people facing two.

Xu Xiao bent down, lifted the curtain, and stepped off his carriage. The old woman in the opposite carriage, with unspoken understanding, dismounted at the same time. Xu Xiao cast a sidelong glance at the man ranked second in martial prowess, then looked at the "leisurely arriving" old woman. He scoffed with a tsk, "Murong, back then you were so wretched, a shameless woman crying and pleading with me for a biscuit. Now you're truly magnificent, even having Tuoba Pusa as your driver. Look at me, I've only brought my own son; I can't compare to your airs."

The old woman wore her old fur coat, without a mink hat, allowing the wind and snow to lash against her weathered face. She listened to Xu Xiao's sarcastic remarks without a single retort, maintaining a serene, faint smile. Such an expression, in the vast Northern Mang's two dynasties, could make anyone's eyes bulge in astonishment.

Xu Xiao snorted coldly, "Spit it out! I don't have the patience to stand here in the wind and snow with you."

The old woman reached up to smooth her snow-white hair back from her forehead and smiled. "Old cripple, how many times do I have to tell you? My surname is Murong, but I am not simply 'Murong'."

Xu Xiao snapped, "How am I supposed to know a surname can have two characters? I didn't know before, and I won't know in the future!"

The old woman remained unperturbed. She took a few steps closer and said softly, "During your Central Plains' Spring and Autumn period, there were ten great noble clans, two of which had compound surnames. If I recall correctly, they all fell at your hands, Xu Xiao. Don't you remember? Did you devour them all? Xu Xiao, Xu Xiao, you truly are old. It's a good thing you were never handsome in your life; you were that way when you were young, and you're even uglier now that you're old."

Xu Xiao chuckled, "Why would a man like me compare looks with a woman? Besides, did you think you were good-looking back in Liaodong? Compared to my wife, you're ten thousand miles away! Only that old pervert from Northern Mang, with his judgment clouded by greed and blind as a dog, could have taken a liking to an ugly woman of your build."

The old woman remained completely unfazed, smiling faintly. "When I was young, whether I was beautiful or not is a matter of personal taste, hard to say, but I certainly wasn't ugly. Besides, even when women age and their looks fade, they can still adorn themselves with a golden hairpin like a small dragonfly. But who believes that youth still exists among us, Xu Xiao, wouldn't you agree?"

Xu Xiao tucked his hands into his sleeves, shivered, and scoffed, "How sappy, truly sappy."

The old woman lowered her hand from her forehead, spreading her hands before her. She glanced down, then looked up, her gaze settling on the age spots on Xu Xiao's face. "We are both old now," she stated calmly. "I am unsightly, and you are hunched. There's no need to contend over who is superior anymore. As for me, my only defeat in this life was being too obsessed with victory, thus losing only to myself; that was not good. You are too sentimental, which is also not good. Even having reached the pinnacle of officialdom, you still do not live happily. Otherwise, if you had been willing to defer to me and come to Northern Mang, you would never have needed to tolerate anyone's moods. You should know that even I would not give you a hard time."

Xu Xiao turned his head and spat heavily into the snow.

The Northern Mang Empress dismissed his gesture with a smile and said, "There's nothing major I need to discuss with you. Everything I wanted to say was made clear back in Liaodong. This trip south was simply to see Xu Xiao, who is still alive, before you die. The only small matter I wish to convey is that I have decided that after your death, I will first cripple your Northern Liang, then proceed south, and finally set Taian City ablaze. Consider it an offering of incense at your grave."

Was this truly a "small matter" casually mentioned in a few words?

It was so preposterous that even Huanglongshan, the Zhao emperor, along with Zhang Julu and Gu Jiantang, would likely find it utterly ridiculous!

Xu Xiao narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Then Northern Liang will be waiting for you. But don't be surprised if, when the time comes, the Northern Liang cavalry, cutting through like gourds and dicing vegetables, slaughters its way all the way to your lair."

The old woman softly chuckled, clutching her stomach, and looked up at the falling snow. "When we parted in Liaodong, you bought this fur coat for twenty taels of silver. I turned back twice then, and each time I only saw your back, Xu Xiao. Three times is too much, so I chose not to turn again. Sometimes I wonder, if I had turned back just one more time, would I have seen you turn around and make a funny face?"

Xu Xiao turned and walked away without looking back, stating flatly, "No."

One carriage turned around first and drove away, heading south and vanishing into the heavy snowfall of the northern lands.

The old woman remained rooted to the spot, silent. Just as the driver was about to speak and offer counsel, he heard the Northern Mang Empress snap, "Shut up!"

The old woman covered her face with her hands, her expression obscured.

The wind and snow wailed, like a woman weeping.

The old woman released her hands, raised a slender arm, and smoothed her frosty white temples. She then chuckled softly, "The human face has gone, none knows where, but the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze," she murmured, then added, "laughing at it as if it were a stray dog."

In the southward carriage, Xu Fengnian slowly drove the horse. Having nothing else to do, he put a piece of snow into his mouth. Behind him, Xu Xiao asked for some, but Xu Fengnian paid him no mind.

Xu Xiao rubbed his cheek and chuckled, "Bringing a son along to meet an old woman who yearns for his old dad, that's really not very proper."

Xu Fengnian remained silent.

Xu Xiao reached out and gently placed a hand on Xu Fengnian's shoulder, saying nothing further.

After a long silence, Xu Fengnian said with a resolute tone, "I can bear it."