Chapter 65 – The Huangzhou Military Exercises

Chapter 65 – The Huangzhou Military Exercises

In early August, Zero-Two arrived in Huangzhou leading a unit of martial arts experts who had been converted from secret agents into soldiers.

The young Emperor had gone missing. Li Mao had declared himself Emperor under the dynastic name Great Ming, cementing his reputation as a usurper. Yi Shang’s legitimacy remained unshakeable. The primary conflict now was the struggle between the Yin Dynasty and Great Ming, complicated by the meddling of several ambitious vassal kings.

The South had largely submitted to Yi Shang. Huangzhou, situated on the southwestern border, comprised a total of eight commanderies, with its provincial seat in Qi County. The current governor was Tang Xian, and the commander was Yue Kun. Due to its remote location and smallest territory, the province had rarely been touched by conflict, leaving its military forces relatively weak — it had not even been assigned a regional governor.

Half a month prior, Zhan Changfeng had discussed the matter with Yi Shang, after which Yi Shang had intensified correspondence with Huangzhou, which had indicated a willingness to submit. Accompanying Zero-Two and the others on this trip was an envoy dispatched by Yi Shang. If negotiations went without incident, Huangzhou could be secured without a single drop of blood.

Yet for seven consecutive days, Tang Xian responded with nothing but evasions, showing no intention to negotiate. On the eighth day, he and Yue Kun acted in concert and proposed a military exercise.

“Yue Kun comes from a family of martial cultivators and has reached the peak of the Postnatal realm. Tang Xian is on close terms with the Yue family and appears to have attached himself to them,” Zero-Two finished reading the intelligence report and summarized.

“A governor attaching himself to a military commander — what exactly does the Yue family think it’s doing?” Zhan Changfeng set the medicine jar aside and wiped her hands clean. “Accept the proposal. But since they were the ones who suggested the military exercise, the rules should be set by us.”

“From what Tang Xian has said, it seems they only want to hold a martial bout, not a full army engagement. In terms of individual combat, my unit alone is more than sufficient to win. Even if that Yue Kun throws every skilled fighter from the Yue family into the mix, I guarantee he’ll lose so badly he won’t know which way is north.”

“Huangzhou is a variable — it can’t be judged by ordinary reasoning. Have you investigated the Yue family’s ancestry?”

“They settled in Huangzhou around the twenty-fifth year of the Shenzong reign. Their origins are unremarkable, though each generation has produced one person who entered official service.” Zero-Two added, “Their precise background has yet to be traced.”

“The twenty-fifth year of Shenzong — that would be over a hundred years ago now.” Zhan Changfeng pondered for a moment. “Set the martial bout three days from now. Weapons are to be standardized military-issue across the board. During the bouts, the use of any outside objects is strictly forbidden. The Prenatal realm martial cultivators I recruited have already arrived — have them put on armor and stand by. If anything goes wrong during the bout, send them in.”

“The martial bout is actually the lesser concern. Given how Tang Xian has repeatedly gone back on his word, he likely already harbors divided loyalties.” Zhan Changfeng’s eyes deepened. “Have everyone ready. Should either of those two make any suspicious move, withdraw from Huangzhou immediately — or uproot them entirely.”

“Yes!”

Zhan Changfeng extended her arm, and an Eagle descended upon it. She pressed a finger to its head and planted a Mirror-Seal Soul-Mark, then looked toward Zero-Two. “I have matters to attend to these days and cannot keep track of every detail. Take it with you — whatever happens there, I will know promptly.”

“Huangzhou must be taken, but it doesn’t have to be right now. Everything is to follow the pace of Imperial Aunt’s progress there.”

Zero-Two said, “Your subordinate understands. This time, the envoy may return — but I will certainly leave a force behind in Huangzhou.”

“That would be best.”

Huangzhou commander’s Residence

Inside a main hall with its doors locked tight, ten men sat on each side, lounging with casual dominance, their auras suppressed and restrained, like tigers and wolves lying in wait.

The man at the head seat was especially imposing — with silkworm-ridge brows, sharp upturned eyes, a suit of chain armor, a long beard cascading to his chest, prominent temples, and eyes blazing like torches. “The Yin envoys have agreed to the martial contest. Have you all heard?”

“But they suddenly insisted that only standard-issue weapons may be used during the bout, with no outside objects permitted whatsoever. Could it be —” one of the men hesitated. “Could it be that they’ve discovered something?”

“Even if they’ve discovered something, it’s too late.” Yue Kun stroked his long beard, his expression turning reminiscent. “To think that back in the day, my ancestor was nothing more than a lowly martial apprentice who emerged from Cangyun Ravine, building a vast family fortune from nothing. Now that it is our generation’s turn, to go further, we must claim our own territory and declare our own kingship — or even…”

His eyes blazed with fanatical light, mirroring the gaze of every person in the hall. “Return to Cangyun Ravine.”

Someone in the lower right seat sighed, “Who knows where Li Mao found his backers in Cangyun Ravine. It’s truly enviable.”

“We are not the Li family, but we can use the Li family to rise with the tide. In the future, if even a few of our descendants can catch the eye of the great clan behind them, our family will have truly arrived.”

The elderly man beside Yue Kun spoke slowly, with a hint of satisfaction, “Although Yi Shang’s reputation is at its height right now, look across these thousands of years of Shenzhou — has there ever been a woman as Emperor? Among the current powers, only Li Mao has the bearing of one who can truly succeed.”

Yue Kun said, “Father speaks sense. Therefore, Huangzhou is absolutely not to be surrendered. Yi Shang has already recovered the Three Southern Provinces and Hengzhou in the northwest. If she gains Huangzhou as well, the entire southwest will be under her seat, and that would be extremely disadvantageous to the greater situation. Conversely, if we hold Huangzhou as our own territory and coordinate with Li Mao in the north, we can put her in a pincer, and grind her down until she’s finished.”

“Hmph. That man surnamed Tang is truly cowardly and spineless — on one hand wanting to join us in building a great enterprise, on the other afraid of being branded a treacherous rebel. He doesn’t understand: the winner writes history. If we win, we are the righteous ones who follow the will of Heaven, and that Yi Shang becomes the criminal who brought suffering to the people.” The thick-bearded second son of the Yue family sneered. “Brother, we absolutely must win this one brilliantly.”

“Indeed. Our army is not yet strong enough to face Yi Shang head-on. The purpose of this contest is simply to drive the envoys back. Yi Shang is busy consolidating four provinces, with Li Mao and other vassal lords watching like tigers from the side — she will never move against us militarily. That is the time we need to secure total control over Huangzhou.”

Yue Kun knocked his fist on the table. “I have seen the people they brought. The lowest are at the Postnatal realm, and the highest — there may even be someone at the Prenatal realm. Now with these rules for the martial bout, things may not be in our favor.”

The Yue family members were stunned.

Old Patriarch Yue rubbed his ear. “Kun’er, are you saying that among those three thousand people, the lowest cultivation is the Postnatal realm?”

Yue Kun nodded gravely. His Yue family possessed their ancestor’s cultivation techniques, and by frantically expanding their lineage, they had grown into a great clan of two thousand. Yet only five hundred were capable of practicing martial arts, and of those, barely over a hundred could be called true martial apprentices — with only a dozen or so having entered the Postnatal realm.

Those dozen or so, compared to other martial families and sects in the jianghu, were already enough for the Yue family to hold their heads high — to say nothing of the fact that they also had two individuals in the Prenatal realm!

Yet when Yue Kun first laid eyes on the Yin Dynasty’s arrivals, he had nearly been shocked motionless on the spot. They could casually produce several thousand Postnatal realm cultivators — was this truly the power of the imperial family?

But then he reconsidered: even a royal house of such power had still had its throne stolen by the Li family. One could only imagine how formidable Li Mao’s backers truly were.

The hall fell into a heavy silence.

The second son of the Yue family raised his bushy brows and declared in a booming voice, “Seeing how calm and composed Elder Brother is, you must already have a plan!”

Yue Kun burst into hearty laughter. “Maode, you know me best. There’s no need for any of you to worry — think about what kind of place Huangzhou is. When the time comes, I’ll invite some friends of like mind to attend and witness the occasion. I won’t let those people run roughshod.”

Everyone’s hearts brightened at once, and they clasped their hands together and called out, “We await the family Head’s instructions!”