A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 82

The wind over the lake carried the lingering chill of early spring.

Jiang Bojin had lost his forearms many years ago, and he had grown accustomed to being without his hands. Yet, the two severed sections of his forearms would still ache from time to time, especially on gloomy or rainy days, as if the remnants were being sliced by a sharp blade again.

He was highly tolerant of pain, but the cold wind made the discomfort hard to bear, and his residual limbs rubbed against his clothes.

Chen Luan changed the posture of the hand holding the Go piece several times, but he still hadn’t dropped it onto the board.

Since being transferred to the post of Assistant Minister of the Dali Temple (Ministry of Justice), his hands had been stained by legal cases and documents. The scholar’s gentleness had faded, and his brows and eyes now carried a hint of severity.

Chen Luan held the white stone, observing the board while listening to Jiang Bojin speak.

Jiang Bojin said: “Nanzhou must be recovered. Beiyong and those smaller tribes need to be kept stable. We also have to send a Crown Prince and ten thousand prisoners of war back to Dongyin. Now there’s this matter of private iron ore smuggling, and the court seems to be considering reducing the military power of the generals guarding the borders. We must plan ahead.”

This “plan” was meant for Chen Luan to hear, and also intended to be passed to Chen Liangyu through Chen Luan’s mouth.

Currently, in the military affairs of Great Lin, the east has Feng Jiakun and Qingge checking each other, and the south has Zhao Mingqin constraining the Heng family. Only in the north does Chen Liangyu wield absolute power. Furthermore, the Shuofang trade route is in Chen Liangyu’s hands. The annual tax revenue from the Shuofang trade route only requires the details to be submitted annually to the yellow register for the Ministry of Revenue to consolidate the accounts. As long as the accounts on the surface are fine, how the money is used behind the scenes—whether it is squandered, or genuinely spent on military and civil affairs—cannot be verified.

The Emperor’s favor extended this far.

But the Emperor’s favor is a double-edged sword.

She is currently deeply favored and enjoying unprecedented prestige. However, should the Emperor’s favor be lost one day, she could be easily accused of “monopolizing the Shuofang trade route and harboring separatist intentions.”

Last year, there were rumors that after the reopening of the Shuofang trade route, the Imperial Court intended to place the tax revenue of the Shuofang trade route under the unified management of the Ministry of Revenue, which Chen Liangyu refused.

This move was a dangerous sign.

Afterward, the Emperor became wary of the generals guarding the borders in various regions and was inclined to reduce their power.

In addition, the “blessings for descendants” policy in the Wanliaolu Record of Ten Thousand Officials, which was met with universal celebration when it was first implemented, showed its shortcomings within a few years of the new Emperor’s ascension.

Excessive officialdom.

The creation of numerous new official positions placed an enormous burden on the national treasury.

Xie Wenjun’s two inspections of the fields, measuring land and verifying tax silver, uncovered many accounts of “concealed fields and altered tax registers.” A large number of undeclared fields were returned to the populace, and the recalculated taxes and fines were used for state expenditure, preventing the national treasury from being depleted.

Last year, the Emperor ordered an audit of tax accounts across all regions, starting with the three northern prefectures. Chen Liangyu’s accounts showed no major problems. However, in other places, officials were continuously being escorted to Yongdu for questioning and accountability.

Now, various forces are converging on Shangyong City. Everyone has caught wind of the situation and is acting with extreme caution. Both civil and military officials, as well as their families in Yongdu, are speaking and acting gently and politely. All officials involved with taxation are living in fear and anxiety every day.

The entire Shangyong City is like a gunpowder keg filled with explosives. Everyone has half their bodies buried in the gunpowder, with a fuse exposed. One spark, and everyone will be blown to smithereens.

No one is willing to light that fuse first.

Chen Luan asked, “In your view, sir, what will the Emperor do?”

“The war is halting but not over. The world looks peaceful, but Beiyong was conducting military exercises in the north not long ago, and the Emperor wants to recover the subordinate state of Nanzhou. If he is not a muddle-headed person, he will not strip the power of the border generals at this crucial moment. Instead, he should appease them well and treat their families in Yongdu with courtesy.”

Jiang Bojin tapped his severed forearm on the Go board, urging Chen Luan to make his move quickly.

“Beiyong and those smaller tribes must be stabilized, lest they seize the opportunity to stir up trouble. The grassland tribes are easier to handle; they rely on the weather for survival and can’t withstand natural disasters. A few hundred cartloads of grain will keep them peaceful for a while. Beiyong is trickier. That prince called Zhai something? He seems difficult to appease. If we form a marriage alliance, it might buy a few years of peace. Beiyong is warlike, and even sending a noblewoman for a marriage alliance will only ensure temporary peace.”

Chen Luan had held the Go piece for a long time. Jiang Bojin urged him repeatedly, but he remained calm, staring at the board, trying to find a flaw in the strategy.

The steward hurried over, bowed, and said, “Marquis, the Grand Princess has sent a white horse, saying it is for the young mistress.”

The flaw had arrived.

Seeing that defeat was imminent, Chen Luan slapped the board, sweeping the pieces away in the process. “Go, call the young mistress.”

The game was completely ruined.

Jiang Bojin scoffed slightly, guiding the servant to place the stones back one by one according to the original board positions.

“Kid, you’re too inexperienced to try to cheat on me!”

Chen Luan refused to play any further, taking the opportunity to escape, leaving Jiang Bojin alone to fume. “Old man, I’ll wait for you to come back and finish.”

He was determined to settle this game.

When the steward called her, Chen Liangyu was in the study of Liangyuan, writing a memorial about the recovery of Nanzhou. Her mind was focused on her writing, and she didn’t pay attention to what the steward said. Only when she heard the words “Grand Princess” did she look up.

Chen Liangyu looked out the window, but didn’t see anyone. The steward repeated his report: “The Grand Princess has sent someone to deliver a horse; it is in the front courtyard. The Grand Princess did not come herself.”

Upon hearing that Xie Wenjun had not come, Chen Liangyu lowered her head, picked up her brush, wrote a few more characters, finished and organized the memorial, and then walked toward the front courtyard.

The visitor was one of Rong Jun’s lieutenants, wearing the scale armor of the Changning Guard. He was big and burly, with an iron-cage cart rolling behind him, which contained a white horse with hair as smooth as satin. Several guards, also wearing scale armor, escorted him on both sides.

The lieutenant bowed and saluted, saying, “General, the Grand Princess ordered this subordinate to deliver the Jade Lion and has another message for the General.”

Chen Liangyu’s eyes brightened. “What message does Her Highness have?”

The lieutenant said, “The Grand Princess ordered this subordinate to convey to the General, ‘All that you wish for will come true.'”

The words sounded ordinary to an outsider, nothing more than auspicious pleasantries like “May fortune fill your gate and the phoenix perch on a high plane.” Yet, Chen Liangyu’s heart was stirred.

All that I wish for will come true.

But if what she wished for was not a horse, but a person? Could that also come true?

The Jade Lion was tamed by Liang Qiuting, the King of Nanzhou, at the Southern Imperial Horse Farm, and immediately presented to Emperor Zhengyuan, Xie Yuan. The King of a subordinate state humbled himself and groveled for survival, his posture lowered to the dust.

Nanzhou was wealthy but sparsely populated and lacked military strength. If Great Lin decided to raise an army to reclaim it, Liang Qiuting would have no power to resist. Therefore, Liang Qiuting personally came to the Ten Thousand Blessings Festival, offering the utmost sincerity to proclaim allegiance to the North, even willing to increase the tribute by fifty percent for the next decade, in exchange for Great Lin not sending troops.

The Jade Lion was a rare steed, precious beyond measure. It was said that when Liang Qiuting presented the Jade Lion to Xie Yuan, Xie Yuan was extremely pleased and happy. Chen Liangyu did not know how Xie Wenjun managed to coax the Jade Lion from Xie Yuan and send it to her manor.

Chen Liangyu returned to the study, took a box from the vertical cabinet, unlocked it, and pulled out a slightly worn saddle, which she meticulously wiped clean.

The saddle was reddish-brown, which looked strangely mismatched with the frosty white coat of the Jade Lion. She personally fitted the saddle and sat beside the horse, watching the Jade Lion heartily chewing on its feed.

Chen Liangyu recalled Hong Zong Red Mane.

That year, she led troops to quell the turmoil in Nanzhou, luring the enemy deep, but Liang Qiuting’s reinforcements were inexplicably delayed for many days.

A hundred elites, with all their provisions exhausted.

Hong Zong chewed on a mouthful of dry grass dozens of times before swallowing. Chen Liangyu stroked its mane and said, “Not to your liking? This is all that’s left; bear with it for now.”

Warhorses, which expend enormous energy, were usually fed fine fodder. Dry grass could hardly replenish their strength. The place where they were trapped was a ravine in a desolate mountain, where everything was withered, and there was no water source. Both people and horses were exhausted.

Most of the hundred people who lured the enemy died from dehydration.

For Chen Liangyu, the most unbearable things were the humid, hot weather and the poisonous ants and insects of Nanzhou.

She grew up in the north with the dry, crisp wind. Nanzhou was damp and hot, causing her to break out in a rash when exposed to the moisture. The ants and insects had long legs and were larger than a small child’s palm. A single bite would result in a hard, red lump. The itching was intense, and she couldn’t help but scratch, which could truly cause the whole body to fester and make life a living hell.

Chen Liangyu led several attempts to break out, but they were all forced back into the mountain ravine. Without water or food, continued confinement would undoubtedly lead to death.

A famous steed is very humane.

Hong Zong swallowed with difficulty, finished the dry grass in Chen Liangyu’s hand, and then let out a mournful neigh that echoed through the long night. Then, it broke free from the reins in Chen Liangyu’s hand, leaped up, and crashed into the mountain rock, causing loose stones to roll down.

Chen Liangyu tossed a short dagger with an Eagle-Cloud pattern to one of her subordinates and, before Hong Zong breathed its last, they slit its throat and drained the blood.

Relying on that blood, a few people managed to survive for another three days.

The reinforcements arrived slowly three days later.

While Liang Qiuting used Liang Qiufeng’s troops to surround and intercept Chen Liangyu, he diverted his own reserve forces to attack Liang Qiufeng’s rear camp. After achieving victory, he seemed to only then remember that people were still trapped. Due to his breach of faith, nearly a hundred elite soldiers and warhorses died in vain.

Chen Luan spent some time in the lakeside pavilion in the back garden playing with cricket with Chen Huai’an, and then coaxed her to take a nap at noon. Jiang Bojin, whose Go game was unfinished, was relentless. After coaxing the young one, Chen Luan had to coax the old one. He finally found some free time and had just sat down to drink a cup of tea when the steward reported again.

“Marquis, someone from the palace has arrived,” the steward approached and whispered. “The scout reported that the commoner strategist beside King Liang Qiuting of Nanzhou has already left Yongdu, and an envoy from Dongyin named Meng Yuanliang has also traveled south toward Nanzhou by water.”

Chen Luan went out to greet the visitor. A purple-robed eunuch with folded hands was waiting in the front courtyard. Chen Luan recognized the face; it was the Emperor’s personal attendant. Only for important matters would a palace attendant personally make the trip.

The eunuch saluted Chen Luan and, in a thin voice, said, “Marquis, the Emperor has invited you and the General to the palace to discuss matters. Eh? Where is the General?”

“Playing with her horse in the stable in the back,” Chen Luan glanced at the steward.

The steward immediately said, “Marquis, someone has already been dispatched to inform the General.”

Saying this, he took out a brocade pouch from his sleeve and slipped it into the eunuch’s hand. The eunuch politely refused, but the brocade pouch ended up in his hand anyway. His hand sank under the weight, and a delighted smile spread across his face.

He naturally knew the purpose of the money pouch.

Eunuchs make a living by reading people’s expressions and are highly articulate, with flowery words ready to use. He showered Chen Liangyu with compliments. “This servant congratulates the Third Miss on acquiring a supreme steed, the best in the world. It is not this servant merely offering polite words, but only such a rare steed is worthy of a figure like the General, a true God of War.”

Chen Liangyu changed her robes and arrived at the front courtyard. The purple-robed eunuch finished his flattery and then lavished more praise on Chen Liangyu. His sharp voice dropped lower and lower as he said, “The Grand Princess and all the court officials are in the Chongzheng Hall. This servant overheard that the discussion seems to involve Nanzhou, the Ministry of Agriculture, corvée labor, and artisans.”