Chapter 763: Two-Person Battle, Two-Nation Battle (8)

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Jiang Ni stopped at the alley corner.

Throughout their escape, whether to stop or go, and if they stopped, how they would fight – whether a brief skirmish or a fight to the death – was always up to Xu Fengnian. Tonight was no exception.

Xu Fengnian slowly walked out of the alley and looked at the street. Indeed, preparing for the worst-case scenario always made things simpler and less troublesome. The best outcome would be Li Mibi and Tuoba Pusa entering the city half a day later. An average outcome would mean they had already abandoned him, the bait, and returned. Xu Fengnian sighed, then looked at her with a complicated expression.

Jiang Ni simply waited quietly for him to continue.

Xu Fengnian said softly, "This time, we won't follow the old rules. We need to target that old dog Li Mibi. Our previous fights, where Tuoba Pusa seemed to be the target, were just a ruse. Tuoba Pusa has recovered some of his strength and is determined to leave; without Xu Yanbing and the others to intercept him, we can't stop him. But as we agreed beforehand, if the worst happens, you withdraw first, and I'll cover the rear."

Jiang Ni neither confirmed nor denied, hesitating for a moment before asking, "Do you know why Beiliang is so confident about Gu Jiantang commanding the Eastern Front?"

Xu Fengnian retorted, "Isn't it because they're sure the Liyang imperial court will remain idle?"

Jiang Ni sneered, "Is it that simple?"

Xu Fengnian leaned against the wall and said softly, "Intelligence did suggest that a group in Tai'an City couldn't sit still, boldly proposing that the Two Liaos border army shouldn't just stand by, but should coordinate with Beiliang. Of course, it wouldn't be direct aid, but they could gain considerable border merits, like Yuan Tingshan in Jizhou. However, these voices were quickly suppressed by Gu Jiantang. Among them, Xu Gong, a Vice Minister who was inspecting the border, initially advocated strongly for war but suddenly switched sides, never mentioning proactive attacks again. This drew much criticism in Tai'an City, completely eroding his already meager reputation. Some even threatened to make this Vice Minister of War a border official for life. The Fushui Manor only knows that Lu Shengxiang sent an urgent dispatch, traveling eight hundred li, to the capital, straight to the imperial study. As for what the memorial contained, the Fushui Manor doesn't have the extraordinary ability to find out."

Jiang Ni hesitated, on the verge of speaking.

Xu Fengnian smiled faintly, "Let's not talk about it. I'll just assume there's an unforeseen issue on the Eastern Front. Anyway, I can't control the fate of the Two Liaos, even if I wanted to. If the Eastern Front collapses, it will be Gu Jiantang's headache."

Jiang Ni didn't give a direct answer. "Who do you think hates Gu Jiantang the most in the world?"

Xu Fengnian paused, "Gu Jiantang became one of the Four Great Generals of the Spring and Autumn period due to his achievement of conquering nations. Southern Tang is irrelevant; there wasn't much fighting there. But he did conquer Dongyue previously, fighting some remarkable battles. The only people who truly harbor deep-seated national and family hatred for Gu Jiantang should be the survivors of Dongyue."

Xu Fengnian muttered to himself, "But even Dongyue's royal family was thoroughly subdued long ago, and most of their prominent military generals are dead. The Dongyue literati were among the first to surrender to the Liyang Zhao imperial family, becoming pawns for Zhang Julu in the early Zhang-Gu rivalry, especially the Five Bureaus for Scrutiny and Review outside the Censorate and Ministry of War. Nearly half were Dongyue literati. The most famous father-son censor pair, for instance, impeached Gu Jiantang's Ministry of War every year during the last decade of Yonghui. But truthfully, these people only scratched the surface for Gu Jiantang, the Grand Pillar General. Perhaps Gu Jiantang in the Two Liaos wished they would criticize him more, otherwise he wouldn't be secure in his position. A great general stationed far away is never afraid of trivial complaints from inner court officials. On the contrary, what they fear is having too good a reputation."

Jiang Ni let out a snort of laughter.

Xu Fengnian let out an "Oh," with an expression of sudden realization.

She asked doubtfully, "Did you really guess it?"

Xu Fengnian nodded.

Jiang Ni pursed her lips, clearly dismissive.

Xu Fengnian said, "Isn't it just Wang Sui?"

Her eyes widened.

Xu Fengnian blinked, "It really is?"

She shook her head vigorously.

Xu Fengnian's face was full of helplessness.

Two riders galloped towards Xuelian City. After entering the city, the soft clatter of hooves on the cobblestones was insignificant amidst the continuous din of the sleepless city. A few drunkards were squatting on the street outside a tavern, "speaking their mind" through vomit. They inadvertently looked up and saw the faces of the two riders illuminated by the dim lights but paid them little mind. Unable to control their urge, they retched in the direction of the two riders, like a celestial maiden scattering flowers. Feeling much relieved after their thorough purge, they then noticed one of the knights, whose hair was as white as frost and snow, looking coldly in their direction. The drunkard grinned, wiped his mouth haphazardly with his sleeve, never expecting his stomach to churn violently again, as if heaven's thunder had ignited earth's fire. He propped himself up with his hands and vomited. As he continued to vomit, he felt something was wrong. He shook his head, forced his eyes wide open, and saw a pool of crimson on the flagstones. Then his head heavily hit the ground, never to open his eyes again. Drunk to death, the man died in his stupor. The other middle-aged knight, looking dispirited, said nothing about the old man's outburst of anger. Putting himself in his shoes, he probably would also feel like killing someone indiscriminately. After two grand schemes – first to kill Yan Wenluan, then to kill Xu Fengnian – almost half of Beiliang's top martial artists had been lost, and crucially, neither plan succeeded. The vast spiderweb extending from the Southern Dynasty all the way to Beiliang had been torn to shreds. No matter how much the old man cultivated his temperament, it was inevitable he would be consumed by rage. The white-haired old man seemed to realize his lapse and gave a self-deprecating smile, saying softly, "King of the Northern Court, allow me one last gamble. I'll bet that Xu isn't content with a mere draw and will personally venture into danger, waiting for us to take the bait here in Xuelian City. Xu Yanbing and Tantai Pingjing will likely arrive in six hours. During this time, if Xu Fengnian not only appears but deliberately exposes weaknesses and plays cat-and-mouse with us, I promise you, no matter how golden the opportunity seems, I will withdraw and return north. We will evacuate Xuelian City before Xu Yanbing and Tantai Pingjing enter."

Tuoba Pusa nodded. For him personally, this thousand-mile battle of life and death between them had concluded the moment that sword flew. Tuoba Pusa could accept defeat and let go; at worst, he would fight again in a different chess game in the future. This battle greatly benefited Tuoba Pusa, refining both his mental state and cultivation, akin to using another's stone to polish one's own jade. Of course, it was also inevitable that he would serve as a whetstone for Xu Fengnian, honing his martial arts and shaping his destiny. The future life-and-death struggle between them would only be more perilous, and Tuoba Pusa was well aware of this. However, since Li Mibi had saved his life, Tuoba Pusa followed the shadow chancellor's wishes and continued south. He would not intentionally harbor a tiger for future trouble just for the sake of their contest for the title of the world's foremost martial artist. If he could kill Xu Fengnian early, Tuoba Pusa would have no lingering regrets, just as he had told Xu Fengnian previously: in his eyes, the martial world meant nothing. He aspired to ride across the Central Plains, become the foremost founding hero of the New Beiliang, and then genuinely become the "greatest martial artist" in future historical records. For eight hundred years, since the fall of the Great Qin, countless states vied for supremacy. Numerous strategists and famous generals emerged in the Central Plains. Among the outstanding ones were the three revitalizing generals of the Dafeng Dynasty, the two paragons who almost turned the tide before the Dafeng Dynasty's demise, and the twelve generals whose portraits hung in the Qingyun Pavilion after the Great Chu's founding. During the Spring and Autumn period, as nine states confronted each other, the Strategists and Military Strategists among the Hundred Schools of Thought rose to prominence, both flourishing. In the early period, Dongyue boasted General Li Gonglin, the "Military God" who single-handedly defied Great Chu, and Han Yufu, the unparalleled scholarly general who led cavalry across the desert multiple times. Following them were the Four Great Generals of the Spring and Autumn period: Xu Xiao, the Human Butcher; Ye Baigui, the Armored General of Western Chu; Wang Sui, the Prince Consort of Dongyue; and Gu Jiantang. Now, Cao Changqing, Dong Zhuo, and Lu Shengxiang, among others, began to use hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers as chess pieces, shaping the political landscape with their discussions, and even young talents like Zhong Tan, Xie Xichui, and Kou Jianghuai rapidly emerged.

Li Mibi looked up. It was a high building where moonlight and lamplight competed for brilliance at its upturned eaves. The old man suddenly chuckled softly, "I hear the King of the Northern Court generally dislikes affectation, yet you possess a calligraphy scroll by Yuan Fengshen, a founding hero of the Dafeng Dynasty. Later generations enjoyed ranking historical figures. Yuan Fengshen, whom the Dafeng founding emperor praised as the 'Great Wall of the Frontier,' is not widely known in historical records compared to contemporary generals due to his early demise, thus his ranking is quite low. Huang Sanjia, whose ambition soared to the heavens, once spoke of two regrets in military strategy, listing Yuan Fengshen and Prince Consort Wang Sui – who, at the age of adulthood, was entrusted with the fate of a nation in a crisis – together as 'miraculous' martial artists whose time was not to be."

Tuoba Pusa felt neither fondness nor aversion towards Li Mibi; he neither feared him nor sought to appease him. In Beiliang, those who could maintain Tuoba Pusa's mindset were few and far between, countable on one hand. The former King of the Northern Court, Xu Huainan, and the two successive Kings of the Southern Court, Huang Songpu and Dong Zhuo, all failed to achieve it. The old man, who had dedicated half his life to Beiliang's lasting prosperity, lamented, "I have never liked the martial world, perhaps due to what I saw and heard during my travels as a young scholar. The Nine States of the Spring and Autumn period all tried to recruit martial world figures within their territories. Great Chu saw them as caged birds, Southern Tang as swallows before the hall. Later, Liyang also issued embroidered carp pouches to those martial vagrants, a clear message: you are merely carp in the Zhao family's pond."

The old man loosened the reins, rubbed his hands, exhaled a breath, and said with a smile, "Over the years, I've been like a fisherman, helping His Majesty tend to that small pond in front of the palace. It's no wonder Liyang people are arrogant, always saying Beiliang has no martial world, because they have Li Chungang, Wang Xianzhi, Deng Taia, Cao Changqing, and now a large wave of rising talents led by Xu Fengnian. Indeed, we in Beiliang have no true martial artists. Four of the Five Great Sects are subjects under His Majesty's authority. You, the King of the Northern Court, are a military general; Hong Jingyan is the Khagan of Rouran. It's a wonder that Huyan Daguan and Luoyang appeared at all, only to then run off to Liyang. It even forced you, the God of War of Beiliang, to specifically visit the Liyang martial world and take a look at Mount Hui before the War of Liang and Mang."

Tuoba Pusa was somewhat surprised. He remembered Li Mibi as a behind-the-scenes figure who believed silence was worth more than a hundred words. The first time he entered the imperial city, having earned his way with military merits, he saw two elderly men with graying temples sitting on the steps outside the hall, casually munching on dates. Among them, Xu Huainan, who commanded half the nation's military, was familiar. When Tuoba Pusa was young, he was able to rise rapidly through the Beiting military ranks, distinguishing himself among the privileged and powerful families bearing the Murong and Yelü surnames. Xu Huainan's impartial non-interference played a significant role. During that audience with the emperor, Tuoba Pusa spent most of his time patiently waiting outside the hall. What he remembered most vividly was the old man who was eating dates whole with Xu Huainan. Upon seeing him, the old man's scrutinizing sidelong glance was like a snake coiled in a dark corner, flicking its tongue, exceptionally cold. From start to finish, Xu Huainan, who was second only to the emperor, engaged him in pleasantries and courtesies. The other old man, a rare old snake emerging from its damp lair to bask in the sun, simply continued to chew dried dates expressionlessly. Even after Tuoba Pusa was summoned into the hall for his audience, a chill still ran down his spine.

Li Mibi probably didn't know the profound impact he had once made on the future God of War of Beiliang. He turned his head and chuckled, "During the Hongjia Northern Exodus at the end of the Spring and Autumn period, our Beiliang reaped the benefits, but many of the displaced considered themselves rootless duckweed, longing to return to their ancestral lands. Even if they couldn't do it while alive, they wanted their descendants to carry their ashes south after death. I, Li Mibi, am also a displaced person, just like Xu Huainan. However, while they yearn to return to their roots, I have never had that thought. In medical texts, there's a plant called dandelion, used to treat venomous insect and snake bites. Its seeds float far away on the wind after leaving the stem and root wherever they land. Wherever they land, that place becomes home."

Although Tuoba Pusa earned the Empress's trust and esteem by never involving himself in the "family affairs" of Beiliang's two major clans, he was not unaware of the subtle shifts in power between Beiting and the Southern Dynasty over the years. Tuoba Pusa generally understood the deeper meaning behind Li Mibi's implied words. In fact, for two decades, the great clans of Beiting had largely used such tactics—fabricating rumors and slandering with great skill—to suppress the rising Southern Dynasty families and ensure their own status as first and second-tier noble clans. However, hearing it from Li Mibi, the progenitor of Beiliang's espionage, made Tuoba Pusa take it with extreme seriousness.

The old man tugged on the reins, and his mount slowed. He said worriedly, "Over these years, I've done two things: openly, I've overseen the fishpond; secretly, I've cleared the fallen leaves in the courtyard. The latter could be described as catching those butterflies that emerged from their cocoons in foreign lands, collecting them one by one into cages. I always enjoyed it, but unfortunately, the results were not significant. Eventually, even His Majesty thought I was making a fuss. Although it didn't go so far as to suspect me of harboring bandits to inflate my own importance, her interest has waned in recent years, especially after Xu Huainan's death, which greatly saddened His Majesty. I know His Majesty feels both guilt and resentment regarding this matter. The guilt is that the ruler and subject could not have a good ending, leading to Xu Huainan's untimely death. The resentment is directed at me, because it was my vigilance and suspicion that gave that young man named Xu an opportunity to take Xu Huainan's head, bringing shame to the entire Beiting. But I have a strong intuition that even though I've dug for twenty years and haven't found a single bamboo shoot, there are certainly a few malevolent escapees, deeply hidden in the Royal Court and the Southern Dynasty, patiently waiting for a certain opportunity."

Tuoba Pusa frowned, "Since even you, esteemed sir, cannot unearth them, how could a few escapees, after twenty years, possibly succeed?"

The old man softened his tone and chuckled, "I cannot compare to the Grand Chancellor Taiping, nor am I like you, Tuoba Pusa, or Dong Zhuo. I am an amateur in both military and political affairs, let alone possessing any great foresight. However, years of doing the dirty work that seems to happen right under my nose have cultivated a good habit, albeit a minor one: I always make sure to first understand the people and matters right in front of me, otherwise I cannot rest. My mind is focused solely on those powerful clans and noble families rising and falling. Unlike many of you, who are still clashing fiercely with the Beiliang Iron Cavalry, you have already set your sights further south on Tai'an City, the Central Plains, and the Guangling River. There's something I've always wanted to ask, but couldn't. Today, it's just me and the King of the Northern Court. May I ask you to enlighten me?"

Tuoba Pusa said in a deep voice, "Please ask, esteemed sir."

Li Mibi's tone was exceptionally blunt, "Could it be that no one, besides me, Li Mibi, has ever considered that Beiliang might win and Beiliang might lose?"

R1058 (9ai.com)

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