A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 69

Chen Liangyu sat in an abandoned teahouse amidst the yellow sand. Pu Ping’er and Lin Yin stood behind her, while guards in eagle-head armor and ring-pommel sabers stood watch outside the shed.

From the distant yellow mist came the sounds of fighting and iron hooves.

In the beginning, trade between the Northern Region and the prairie was very prosperous. The people of the prairie tribes drove cattle, horses, and sheep into the city, exchanging them for tea, cloth, and grain from the Central Plains. The prairie people were wild, bold, and did not haggle—most importantly, they did not haggle. Consequently, this attracted many tea merchants, cloth merchants, and grain merchants from the south to travel thousands of miles through Zhudong to the north to do business with the prairie people.

Gradually, a thriving trade route was opened.

Yaocheng was located in the middle section of the Shuofang Trade Route. With caravans constantly passing through, tea and water were the most sought-after commodities, which is why, in those days, a simple teahouse for boiling water was erected every few steps along the road before and after Yaocheng.

After Emperor Xuanyuan went to war with Northern Yong, cities were often closed, and commerce declined within a few years.

Without the ability to exchange their cattle, horses, and sheep for grain, half of the prairie livestock could not survive the winter. The people living on the grasslands saw their population sharply decrease due to the shortage of food and warm clothing. One after another, small tribes vanished like puddles evaporated in the desert.

Later, the stronger prairie men spontaneously formed larger tribal alliances, riding large horses and carrying big sabers to raid the cities.

These people called themselves the “Horse-Blade Guests” (Dao Ma Ke) of the prairie. They claimed to be guests.

The common folk called them Horse-Blade Bandits.

The Shuofang Trade Route began in Zhudong, diagonally crossed Wuzhou, Yucheng, and Zhongwei City in the Northern Region, and extended into the prairie’s interior. Yaocheng was squeezed into the triangular apex formed by Zhudong, Wuzhou, and the prairie.

It was sparsely populated, remote, poorly defended, and had terrible security.

This very place was especially favored by the Horse-Blade Raiders, who repeatedly paid it a visit.

The Yaocheng garrison did not dare to fight the savage and brutal bandits. They made a token attempt to stop them and then retreated to the side.

These people came a few times every year. Since the Imperial Court didn’t care, why should they risk their lives? Anyway, they only lost some possessions and women; if a few people died, they would send some copper coins to the families to cover it up, and everyone would get along peacefully. That’s how it had always been done.

Chen Liangyu took the General’s Seal for the three prefectures of the Northern Region. On the imperial decree, Emperor Zhengyuan, Xie Yuan, had heavily emphasized the two characters “Auxiliary State” before the military rank of “General-in-Chief of Cavalry.” She was thus the Auxiliary State General-in-Chief of Cavalry.

Later generations abbreviated her title to Auxiliary State General.

Before leaving the capital of Yongdu, she had last visited the imperial mausoleum to pay respects to her relatives and Crown Prince Yizhang. Then, she took a detour to Taihuang Temple to offer three joss sticks to the spirit tablet of Empress Huixian, without letting anyone accompany her. After that, she made a turn, circled through Zhudong, saw off Yan Nian and Yan Baizhang, and then returned to the Northern Region via the Shuofang Trade Route.

Either Chen Liangyu was incredibly lucky, or the group of mounted bandits who called themselves “Horse-Blade Guests” were disastrously unlucky. A group of Horse-Blade Raiders had entered the city, engaging in extensive burning, killing, and looting, numbering one or two hundred cavalry, a mighty contingent.

When they were returning laden with loot, they ran squarely into Chen Liangyu.

Following her were a thousand heavy-armored cavalry.

Both groups stared blankly at each other for a moment.

The Horse-Blade Raiders were not unfamiliar with the armor that inspired fear in them. They immediately knew they had run into the Eagle-Head Army.

Horseshoes scattered, and the people, grain, and artifacts they had plundered were strewn all over the road.

Chen Liangyu gave the order: “Spare one with a mouth. Leave no one else alive.” She then dismounted and walked to a teahouse with a leaky roof to wait.

There were many such dilapidated teahouses on this trade route. The straw on the roofs was mostly incomplete.

The clang and rattle of colliding weapons soon stopped.

Jing He carried a man on his horse, whose clothing was characteristic of the prairie, favoring a piece of animal hide tied over the cloth—tiger and leopard skins were considered noble, while cow and sheep skins were considered humble. This man was wrapped in sheepskin, suggesting he was a person of low status in the prairie tribe.

Approaching the teahouse, Jing He grabbed the man and flipped him off the horse onto the ground.

The man cried out “Ouch” from the pain of the fall, trembling profusely.

Jing He hung a string of ears around his neck, still oozing blood. They had just been cut off from his dead companions for counting.

Chen Liangyu walked up and asked lightly, “Which tribe?”

The man looked at Chen Liangyu in terror.

He did not understand the Han people’s language.

The languages of different prairie tribes were also mutually unintelligible, and their speech sounded like gurgling, utterly without pattern, as if they feared anyone might understand them.

Chen Liangyu continued to ask in one of the most common tribal languages: “Kuirong, Qiudi, or Ximanuo?”

The man replied, “Qiudi.”

The three giants of the prairie today—Kuirong, Qiudi, and Ximanuo—had almost completed their annexation, swallowing up many small tribes. The prairie was divided into three, and their territories were re-demarcated.

The leader of the Qiudi tribe was named Qiurong, the person who had plundered the Great Lin border cities the most.

Chen Liangyu said, “Go back and tell Qiurong,” and pointed to the string of ears around his neck, “If you dare to trespass, it will be like this.”

She was not angry.

Her voice and expression were as if she were idly chatting, and after speaking, she looked up at the sky full of yellow sand, covering her mouth and nose slightly. The prairie man crawled on the ground at her feet, like an insect waiting to be crushed.

Finally, the pair of chilling military boots moved away from in front of him and walked off.

A dozen women, covered in dirt, sat huddled together on the desolate ground.

Chen Liangyu said, “Jing He, escort these people back, return the seized goods to the commoners, record the losses, and this general will go settle the score with Qiurong. Who is the Yaocheng garrison commander? Call him to see me.”

Perhaps because of the frequent harassment and massacres by the Horse-Blade Raiders, the Yaocheng garrison commander was often replaced, and she didn’t know who was currently in charge.

Jing He said, “Yes, Miss. I was just about to see what kind of coward he is.”

Bo Ping’er circled the group of women twice. A dozen pairs of eyes followed her movements, turning their heads back and forth. By the time she had finished her “ill-intentioned” scrutiny, the women were already blushing, their heads buried in their chests, feeling uneasy.

Pu Ping’er asked, “You let yourselves be bullied like this?”

No one answered her.

Pu Ping’er continued, “Do you want to fight back, girls?”

Three black lines appeared on Chen Liangyu’s forehead. “You truly never forget your main profession, no matter where you go.”

Lin Yin also said, “You shouldn’t recruit soldiers without picking a time.”

Pu Ping’er replied, “What time is there to pick for recruiting soldiers? If I picked a time, I wouldn’t want you. Girls, how about joining the army under the General-in-Chief?”

Lin Yin scoffed at her.

She followed Chen Liangyu and called out, “Chen Liangyu, General… General-in-Chief Chen.”

Chen Liangyu said, “What is it?”

Lin Yin asked, “Why doesn’t the Eagle-Head Army accept women?”

Chen Liangyu said, “Who said they don’t?”

Lin Yin said, “But I haven’t seen a single one.” She pondered.

Chen Liangyu stopped and seriously explained to her: “The Eagle-Head Army holds an annual selection. They set up a martial arts arena at the Suzhou Great Barracks. Anyone who wins twelve rounds can receive the eagle-head armor and eagle-pattern saber. The women soldiers of the Yunhui Army just arrived this year, and no one has competed yet, so naturally, you haven’t seen any.”

Pu Ping’er suddenly popped out. “This subordinate requests to take the challenge.”

Lin Yin said, “I will, too.”

“Good.” Chen Liangyu’s mouth curved up into a gentle smile.

Many years ago, when she went to the Commander’s Platform to compete, she had won the first eleven rounds. Feeling proud and satisfied, she was wiping her long spear in her tent, preparing for the twelfth round, when she heard some harsh words outside.

“Just humor her normally, but are we really going to be so childish even with the Eagle-Head Army selection?”

“Everyone knows how she won. With the Marquis and the Young Commander watching below, who dares to defeat her? If she really has the ability, go spar with Deputy General Jing. Deputy General Jing won’t go easy on her.”

“Exactly. Deputy General Jing is ruthless about the Eagle-Head Army selection. Only by defeating Deputy General Jing will anyone truly respect her.”

Two dark figures floated past the tent and walked away. In that match, she fought with reckless abandon and defeated Jing Ming.

She was fifteen that year.

She stood tall on the Commander’s Platform, holding a red-tasseled long spear, beneath the fluttering banners, dominating the field. This was less than a month before the famous Battle of Qiliandao Horse Hoof Valley.

Lin Yin said, “Then I must be the first female soldier to fight her way into the Eagle-Head Army.”

Chen Liangyu had already vaulted onto her horse. Her voice descended from above: “That’s a pity, you won’t be the first.”

Lin Yin was not discouraged. She said, “If I can’t be the first…”

Pu Ping’er said, “If you can’t be the first, then what?”

Lin Yin held up two fingers: “Then I’ll be the second.”

Pu Ping’er mounted her horse. “I thought you were going to swear some terrible oath!”

Lin Yin also flipped onto her horse’s back. “How can one casually swear a terrible oath?”

A thousand cavalry swept past, and the yellow dust seemed to grow thicker.

After the iron hooves had retreated into the distance, the Qiudi man frantically searched for and found the single remaining horse, mounted it, and fled at high speed.

A terrible oath should indeed not be sworn casually. Soon after, Lin Yin lost in the second round of competition against Pu Ping’er.

She was knocked down by Pu Ping’er’s spear, rolled a few times on the ground, and dusted herself off before standing up. She rushed to Chen Liangyu’s main tent and said, “General-in-Chief, this competition method is completely unreasonable!”

Chen Liangyu didn’t look up. “You lost?”

“Yes,” Lin Yin said. “But in battle, do we only compete with brute strength?”

Chen Liangyu said, “Then what do you want to compete in?”

“Military formations!”

Chen Liangyu’s eyes were fixed on the sand table. She held an imperial rescript in her hand, thinking about how to widen the Shuofang Trade Route while also figuring out how to make Qiurong suffer another major defeat.

Not long ago, she had dealt with the Yaocheng garrison commander and raided Qiudi’s lair, forcing their tribe to move north. Suddenly, the Imperial Court ordered her to halt the war, as they intended to negotiate the annual tribute with the three major prairie tribes—Kuirong, Qiudi, and Ximanuo.

There was something interesting: Xie Wenjun had actually exiled Du Peixun to this three-hundred-li barren land in Wuzhou. Before she received the edict, Du Peixun had already come to inform her.

“The Imperial Court is negotiating the annual tribute with the leaders of the three tribes: Qiudi, Kuirong, and Ximanuo, with the intention of reopening the Shuofang Trade Route and establishing mutual markets with the prairie. You’ve been pursuing and attacking Qiudi, and their tribal lair has moved repeatedly. The envoys sent by the Imperial Court arrive at the location only to find abandoned livestock pens and grass huts—they can’t find anyone! How can they negotiate?”

Chen Liangyu pondered briefly and said, “Is Princess Chang short of money again? Is she going to do business with the Horse-Blade Bandits?”

The You family, upon hearing that the Princess Chang of Great Lin and Chen Liangyu intended to keep the arrested individuals, begged for help everywhere. They sent four million taels of silver into the Eastern Palace and the Xuanping Marquis Mansion, remembering the hundred-plus aristocratic sons who died tragically in Zhudong.

In peacetime, the Great Lin dynasty collected no more than twenty million taels in taxes per year.

This sum of money was registered by the Imperial Secretariat and Central Affairs Department and entered the national treasury under the name of reparations.

Du Peixun said, “Your loss report states that Qiudi slaughtered a few old hens, smashed a few worthless clay pots, and the most valuable item was a small lamb. Yet, because of this, you want to go to war with Qiudi? This, General-in-Chief, is unreasonable! This is the second time this subordinate has come as a mediator. You refuse to listen, and already some officials in the Imperial Court have submitted impeachment memorials against you.”

“They want to shut down the Vulture Peak Academy on one hand, and submit memorials to impeach me on the other—are they deliberately making trouble for me! They say I want to go to war over a few chickens. On that day, I happened to pass by, and they had only killed a few chickens. What if I hadn’t been there? Today, they slaughter a few chickens; tomorrow, they kill a few cattle; the day after, a few people die. Are these all minor incidents, not worth starting a war over? Then, dare I ask, Minister Du, at what point is it worth fighting? Must we wait until we lose territory and cities, and then raise an army to regain the lost land? Qiudi’s saber isn’t at your throat. It’s easy for you to speak casually.”

Chen Liangyu became angry when this topic came up.

“I haven’t even scolded you, Minister Du. How are you serving as the Wuzhou Prefect? Yaocheng has been robbed by Horse-Blade Bandits time and again, and you stand by watching the commoners suffer without doing anything. Where is the backbone you had when you fiercely scolded Princess Chang that day? Has your spine softened?”

Du Peixun said, “This subordinate is only here to convey the opinions of the other officials to the General-in-Chief. If the General-in-Chief must scold someone, please don’t vent your anger on this subordinate.”

Chen Liangyu: “Since you came on their behalf, you deserve this scolding!”

Du Peixun said, “This subordinate is not unwilling to manage the situation. It’s just that because of the frequent raids, most of the city’s inhabitants have moved away. The remaining few are those who are dead set against leaving their homeland. We’ve tried to persuade them, but to no avail. That city is remote and sparsely populated. Historically, the Imperial Court’s grain and supplies have never been allocated to Yaocheng, so we cannot station heavy troops. We can only let the Wuzhou garrison patrol the area frequently. Haven’t you always advocated for avoiding war whenever possible? Why must you fight this war over a few chickens?”

Chen Liangyu said, “Qiudi has repeatedly harassed the border of Great Lin. I may not advocate for war, but we must beat them back and scare them off. Only then will they weigh their own strength before attempting to trespass in the future, and only then can our people live in peace! If we constantly retreat, shrink back, and send envoys for peace talks whenever trouble arises, it will only make them think that Great Lin is weak and easy to bully!”

Du Peixun said, “This subordinate cannot persuade you. You can talk to Princess Chang yourself in a few days. This subordinate will now prepare a memorial to beg forgiveness from Princess Chang.”

Chen Liangyu suddenly looked up: “Is Princess Chang coming to the Northern Region?”

She could only return to the capital of Yongdu during her scheduled review period or when summoned. Since it was not yet her review date and she had not been summoned, it could only mean that Xie Wenjun was traveling north and passing through the Northern Region for them to meet.

Du Peixun asked, “Didn’t you receive the Princess Chang’s handwritten rescript?”

“I did receive one,” Chen Liangyu said.

She had assumed the rescript was just more of the same, telling her to stop pursuing and killing the Qiudi tribe, and she had decided to fight a quick battle and then deal with the aftermath. That way, it wouldn’t count as outright disobedience of the edict.

After Du Peixun left, Chen Liangyu hastily searched for the piece of bright yellow silk brocade. It was indeed Xie Wenjun’s handwriting.

In the sixth month of the second year of Zhengyuan, Xie Wenjun made her second tour of inspection to the north.