Chapter 675: Next Spring Blossoms

Table of Contents

(There will be another chapter in the early hours, not counted towards tomorrow's update. Tomorrow will still have two chapters.)

As winter approached, the grasslands beyond the Great Wall were dry, with withered yellow grass. Any hint of tenacious green was especially delightful. The three men led their horses to a water source. From there, riding straight north for three more days would bring them to the tiled city. Xu Fengnian squatted down, scooped up a handful of water, splashed it on his face, and let out a long breath.

Sui Xiegue, who knew nothing of military affairs, casually asked, "Are these Northern Barbarians out of their minds? Why aren't they massing troops at the border in early autumn? Historically, haven't these nomadic barbarians, who live by water and horse, always invaded the Central Plains in autumn to plunder the harvest? What's there to plunder in the freezing winter?"

Xu Fengnian couldn't help but smile, while Tantai Pingjing calmly explained, "What you're describing is the general situation. In fact, many of the major catastrophes caused by nomadic tribes throughout history, which inflicted immense damage upon the Central Plains, occurred during winter invasions. They took advantage of frozen rivers, allowing their cavalry unobstructed passage. The Northern Barbarians, for instance, used this very method to penetrate deep into the Central Plains during the late Great Feng Dynasty."

Xu Fengnian continued, "The relationship between the nomadic tribes of the grasslands and the agrarian dynasties of the Central Plains is like that of a wolf and a tiger. The initiative has always primarily rested with the latter. Whenever the Central Plains dynasty experiences a transition between prosperity and decline, appearing fatigued—like a cub, a sick tiger, or one on the verge of death—that's when the Northern Barbarians become strongest. Consequently, every time there's internal strife in the Central Plains, the Northern Barbarians will invade south across the border, taking advantage of the chaos. But ultimately, from the Great Qin to Li Yang, the Central Plains dynasties have largely dominated the Northern Barbarians in battle. It's important to remember that official historical records of the Great Qin stated, 'Five barbarian soldiers are equal to one Qin soldier.' At the peak of the Great Feng Dynasty, official histories also noted, 'Barbarians have learned much from Qin's ingenuity, yet three are still only equal to one.' This means that even when the northern nomads acquired many of the Great Qin's casting techniques, three barbarians were only equivalent to the combat strength of one Great Feng armored soldier. However, today, Beimang, having absorbed countless refugees from the Spring and Autumn Period into its Southern Dynasty, is now so strong that in the Central Plains, the only forces that dare to claim they can fight Beimang with equal numbers and not collapse are likely limited to the elite troops of Prince Guangling, Zhao Yi, and Prince Yanchì, Zhao Bing."

Sui Xiegue couldn't help but ask, "Isn't the Li Yang Dynasty strong enough, having unified the Central Plains? Haven't they said that Li Yang's might far surpasses that of the Great Feng, even rivaling the Great Qin?"

Xu Fengnian laughed heartily, "If the current emperor, when he first ascended the throne, hadn't been so eager to demonstrate his grand vision and military prowess to the world, and hadn't engaged in those wars with Beimang, but instead had peacefully consolidated the power of the eight Spring and Autumn kingdoms, then in the coming tiger-wolf struggle between Li Yang and Beimang, whether my Beiliang has 300,000 armored soldiers or not would be entirely irrelevant; it would merely be the icing on the cake."

Sui Xiegue glared, "Was that Zhao emperor out of his mind? Didn't he have any strategists to dissuade him at the time?"

Xu Fengnian replied helplessly, "At that time, the outcome between Li Yang and Beimang was a fifty-fifty split. Who would dare to offer reckless advice? Furthermore, deep down, the Zhao emperor most wanted to use his own military achievements to overshadow the many renowned Spring and Autumn generals, led by my father and Gu Jiantang. In the world, how can people and events be so clearly divided into right and wrong, black and white? Take me, for example: I am Xu Xiao's son, and in my eyes, Xu Xiao is naturally a prince of a different surname who made countless great contributions with no major faults. So, in the eyes of Prince Zhao Zhuan, the current emperor must surely be the most diligent and benevolent ruler in Li Yang's history. Back then, Zhao Kai sought to ambush me in the reed marshes, and I, in turn, sought to ambush him at Iron Gate Pass. Neither of us was some heinous villain; it was just how things were. At the time, we were both pawns, and even more so, pawns pushed across the river."

Sui Xiegue mocked, "Oh, listening to your tone, it seems you've transformed into a chess player today!"

Smiling, Xu Fengnian said nothing in response to the Sword-Eating Ancestor's sarcasm. He stood up and gazed north. Along that line lay the Wazhu military town, Xijing, and Jinchanzhou. Further north was the Beimang royal court.

Tantai Pingjing, dressed in the white robes of a Qi practitioner, suddenly spoke, "For nomadic peoples, a powerful and stable Central Plains dynasty can also be a disaster. Especially if that dynasty's ruler champions achievements on the frontier and is surrounded by a group of brilliant generals who yearn to conquer the desert. The reverse is also true. The struggles between nomadic tribes and a rebellious dynasty, even if the Li Yang Dynasty were to fall and be replaced by rulers of different surnames, would not change..."

Xu Fengnian shook his head and said, "It can!"

Tantai Pingjing was incredulous. "It can?"

Xu Fengnian pointed a finger north. "As long as we can conquer this land and then build several Great Qin straight roads that traverse Beimang!"

Tantai Pingjing looked utterly bewildered. "Are you mad?"

Xu Fengnian narrowed his eyes and said softly, "I'm not mad. If anyone was mad, it was the young Grand Secretary who had just taken charge of state affairs at the time. Back then, there was a fierce debate over whether Xu Xiao or Gu Jiantang should guard the northwest gate. On the surface, both the father-in-law and son-in-law Grand Secretaries staunchly opposed my father becoming a prince with his own domain. However, I later learned an inside story: among the opposition, someone persuaded the old Grand Secretary, who had retired to his hometown but still commanded great authority. That person was Zhang Julu. Because this civil official, who had never served in the military, harbored an ambition unimaginable to any general. The young Grand Secretary intended to use Beiliang as the vanguard for attacking Beimang and the Beiliang Iron Cavalry as the main force, thereby minimizing Li Yang's troop casualties and logistical strain. Under this premise, Grand Secretary Zhang would allow the court to tacitly approve the Xu family's restrained infiltration of Xishu and Nanzhao."

Xu Fengnian slowly continued, "In this situation, understood implicitly by both the young Grand Secretary and Beiliang, many things were inevitable. The Han family, known for its generations of loyalty, was too stubborn and conservative. They didn't want to sacrifice their entire family's foundation to pave the way for the Xu family of Beiliang. Once they compromised, the Han family's status as the military bulwark of the north would disappear, and this family, which had fought the northern nomads for generations, would quickly become a fleeting memory. It's important to remember that when the Xu family went to Liang, the head of the Han family and my father, two close friends, were still drinking and chatting happily. If I'm not mistaken, my first arranged marriage was not with some later prince consort, but with a little girl from the Han family who still wore pigtails back then. She often hid behind her father, revealing half her face, and made a funny face at me."

Xu Fengnian kept his hands tucked inside his sleeves. "Initially, things hadn't fallen apart, and the Han family had made many efforts. Then Yuan Benxi intervened, severely undermining Zhang Julu. By the time my father mobilized his iron cavalry to cross the border and rescue the Han family's children, it was already too late."

Xu Fengnian looked up at the sky. "When I was little, I often dreamt of that little girl with pigtails whom I'd only seen half of her face. Half her face was covered in blood, and she kept crying, telling me it hurt."

Xu Fengnian said with self-deprecating humor, "I used to be most afraid of having nightmares about her, but later, when I wished to dream of her just one more time, it was no longer possible."

Xu Fengnian's back slightly stooped, as if under an unbearable burden, or perhaps recalling someone.

"When I was young and foolish, I said many angry things. I even told Xu Xiao to his face, something to the effect of, 'Becoming your son, Xu Xiao, was eight lifetimes of bad luck. That applies to me, and it applied to my mother too.'"

"As I grew up, I realized Xu Xiao had actually done the best he possibly could. Everything a father could give me, he did. He would always talk about how spirited and dashing he was in his youth, how many battles he'd won, and how much glory he'd enjoyed after leading troops. I used to be impatient listening to his old stories, and when I got annoyed, I'd say, 'Xu Xiao, a true hero doesn't dwell on past glories. Can we please stop rambling?'"

"All the shrewd and clever people in the realm mocked Xu Xiao as foolish for helping the previous emperor conquer the world, only to have the emperor's son guard against him like a thief for twenty years. In truth, everyone knew perfectly well that Xu Xiao would never rebel. If he had intended to rebel, the Central Plains would have long since been divided north and south by a river. But the more compliant he was, the more assertive Li Yang became. That's why the Zhao emperor sent Zhao Kai with the flask to the Western Regions and had Chen Zhibao cut off Beiliang's retreat, forcing the Xu family's entire force of 300,000 Iron Cavalry to fight Beimang to extinction. The Zhao emperor used these methods to help his son ascend the throne. In Zhao Zhuan's court, there would be no military figure like Xu Xiao, whose achievements eclipsed his lord; no civil official like Zhang Julu, who cared for the common people; within the empire's borders, there would be no powerful provincial governors too big to control, and no regional princes coveting the dragon throne. Only a severely weakened Beimang would remain, left for his son to accomplish the great feat that neither the Great Qin nor the Great Feng dynasties could achieve."

"Xu Xiao once said that the current emperor's magnanimity is far inferior to the previous emperor's, but he can indeed be considered a decent emperor."

As Xu Fengnian spoke, he squatted down, grabbed a handful of yellow sand, and clenched it tightly in his hand.

Sui Xiegue sighed softly.

Tantai Pingjing suddenly turned around and looked into the distance. A dozen or so riders were approaching, kicking up dust.

Their iron armor was stained with blood, and their swords and crossbows were damaged.

Xu Fengnian stood up. When the dozen or so riders, who had initially intended to quickly resupply at this precious water source, discovered the three of them, they seemed to be in a fierce internal struggle. Without water, neither they nor their warhorses would be able to withstand the pursuit of the enemy's Black Fox Cavalry, who were only a few miles away.

At a wave of the leading rider's hand, they charged towards the water source. The fourteen exhausted riders dismounted. As they filled their water bags and their warhorses drank and snorted, some cautiously kept an eye on Xu Fengnian and his companions, just in case. This area was already considered the Southern Dynasty's territory, far from Beiliang's border, so the probability of encountering their own people was about as low as encountering Northern Barbarians within Beiliang territory. These fourteen riders were all elite cavalry, lightly armored and equipped with light crossbows. Each man was powerfully built with superb horsemanship, and they all carried the latest generation of Liang blades at their waists, indicating they were among the Beiliang border army's most skilled skirmishers. However, this time they had likely been caught in an encirclement and chase by at least a hundred enemy cavalry. Every one of them was wounded. One warhorse, upon reaching the water, swayed a few times and then collapsed dead on the spot. The soldier choked back tears, not daring to look at his beloved steed. Without a word from him, two nearby riders handed him a less damaged bow and crossbow. This skirmisher, now without a mount, was destined not to return to the border alive, nor could he share a horse with a comrade, as that would only lead to another's death. The soldier slung his light crossbow onto his back, touched the Liang blade at his waist, gave a grim smile to all the other skirmishers, and then turned to face the Black Fox Cavalry who were pursuing them relentlessly, determined to prevent the transmission of military intelligence.

Just then, the leading skirmisher, already mounted, saw the extraordinary young nobleman smile and say, "How about I exchange three horses for one of your Liang blades?"

The man, who appeared to be a skirmisher standard-bearer, paused, then asked, "Are you also from Liang?"

Xu Fengnian nodded. "A true Liangzhou native."

The standard-bearer quickly said, "In that case, you may borrow a Liang blade, but I hope, young master, that you will come find me at Fenlang Pass later. My name is Zhu Geng. This time, my brothers and I owe you our lives! Your mounts are priceless, something we couldn't afford even by selling everything we own. Zhu Geng will surely never be able to repay this kindness in his lifetime. I'm not one for empty words, so I can only promise to kill thirty more Northern Barbarian riders for you in the future!"

Zhu Geng yelled at the soldier who had clearly been about to sacrifice himself, "Li Tingji, get back here! Get on a horse with us and return to Fenlang Pass!"

Xu Fengnian gave all three horses to Zhu Geng. As he handed over the reins, he uttered a sentence that Zhu Geng didn't understand but had no time to ponder: "A skirmisher squad is fifty riders. I owe you thirty-six lives."

The fourteen riders clasped their fists in thanks from horseback. Zhu Geng didn't forget to warn, "Young master, be careful. There are sixty Black Fox Cavalry and three hundred Beimang light cavalry no more than two *li* behind us."

Xu Fengnian nodded. After the fourteen skirmishers rode off into the distance, he looked at the two scarred warhorses and turned to Tantai Pingjing and Sui Xiegue. "Please, seniors, take these two horses to Fenlang Pass and wait for me at the Protectorate General's office."

Sui Xiegue was about to speak but was silenced by Tantai Pingjing's cold glance, forcing him to swallow his words.

Xu Fengnian, carrying the borrowed Beiliang blade in his right hand, slowly advanced.

His left hand, which had been clutching the handful of sand, opened its fingers, and the yellow sand scattered across the land.

Alone, he slowly walked towards the more than three hundred riders.

Next spring, in a certain small courtyard, the loquat tree would sprout new buds and blossom with new flowers again.

The spring after next would still come, but he didn't know if he would live to see it.