C499 The Death of Xue Chi
Wang Dashan and the other bodyguards came to realize that something was bothering Ling Zhang, but Ling Zhang showed no inclination to talk to any of them about it, and they were unable to guess what it was about, so they just stood guard around Ling Zhang lest anybody disturb him.
Ling Zhang was not having trouble untangling any knots in his mind. He was just astonished by his actions and was introspecting about whether he had gone too far.
Soon night fell and torches were lit in the encampment.
The battlefield was a total mess, but the soldiers responsible for the clearing up were all very efficient. The placement of the injured was dealt with first, and then there was the mass burial of the war dead and the matter of inventorying the spoils.
At the edge of the battleground, some cooks, who had specially brought some fresh ingredients from inside the fortress after the battle ended, had directly built some cooking stoves there and were now cooking a meal.
At the aroma of food, expressions appeared on the dull and lifeless faces of the soldiers who were injured and exhausted.
Ling Zhang leaped on to a height which overlooked almost the whole battlefield. During this battle, the enemy's will to resist had been quite weak, and it could be said that the North-Western Army had won a runaway victory, but the casualty number was still rather high. Those slightly wounded ones would be able to resume the journey after some rest, but those severely injured ones would have to be transferred back into Shengzhou Pass to receive medical treatment. The army needed some fresh troops. On top of that, there would be another several tough battles before they reached Jifang City, and they couldn't keep Yuwen Tong waiting outside Jifang City for too long, which meant they would have to finish those fights quickly. As a result, the army didn't have much time for rest and regroupment after this battle. They had to depart the day after tomorrow.
Late that night, Jiang Ke arranged for the troops to be settled in and then summoned all officers to have a meeting. After that, Ling Zhang wrote Yuwen Tong a letter and had a carrier hawk deliver it
...
On the north bank of the Wan River, Yuwen Tong was still lingering in Zhaoyang City. This time around his army needed a longer time to rest and regroup to be fully prepared for the next battle.
After receiving a message about the battle outside Shengzhou Pass which told him that Shan Congyi was dead, that the North-Western Army had inflicted a crushing defeat on Xue Chi's army, and that Xue Chi was retreating westwards with a couple of thousand soldiers, Yuwen Tong first summoned all the officers to make battle plans for the next fight. It was not until after the meeting that he got some leisure to sit behind his desk to peruse the letter Ling Zhang had written him in reply.
Ling Zhang didn't mention anything about his confusion in the letter, but Yuwen Tong, reading between the lines, perceptively sensed that something had been bothering Ling Zhang when he had been writing the letter. His eyebrows contracted slightly.
Ling Zhang had written the letter by himself. The strokes and the amount of strength Ling Zhang had used to write the letter were no different than usual, which meant that his qi had been steady, and he should be unharmed. If it was not about injury, what was it that had been bothering him?
Yuwen Tong carefully folded the letter, put it away and started writing a letter. He wanted to ask Ling Zhang and get to the bottom of it, but his writing brush had just touched the paper when he paused. Eventually he refrained from asking.
It was only too obvious that Ling Zhang had no intention to tell him about it because he didn't want to worry him. Currently, what he needed to do was have his army fight their way into Jifang City as soon as possible so that he could rendezvous with Ling Zhang and find out the truth.
...
The next afternoon.
Jiang Xi and the army he had taken to pursue the enemy still hadn't returned, but he had a messenger deliver a message back, which said that Xue Chi had died of his grievous wounds while running for his life, that Xue Yi and his surviving soldiers had fled to the nearest city and put up defensive positions waiting for them. Jiang Xi and his men were doing recon as the vanguard, waiting for the main force to arrive.
After reading the letter, Ling Zhang inquired of Jiang Ke, "How soon can we depart?"
Jiang Ke replied, "Early tomorrow morning. The placement of the injured has been properly handled, and the regroupment of the army is basically done. Those assigned to stay will take care of the rest. Some of our men in the fortress will come here to help."
Ling Zhang inclined his head.
The nearest Wan city was Langqiao City, which boasted the most substantial city walls in eastern Wan Kingdom. As an eastern border city, it was to the Wan Kingdom as Shengzhou was to the Great Wen. Its defense was strong, and taking it would take some doing. When it came to fighting a battle, Ling Zhang felt that he was a layman, that there was not much he could do to play a constructive role, so he decided to have the army rendezvous with Jiang Xi's men first. He wanted to depart before dark to see what that city was like.
Jiang Ke was somewhat hesitant. He had been under great mental stress when Ling Zhang had been galloping at the head during the battle. If it weren't for Ling Zhang's excellent kung fu skills and his twenty-four bodyguards, Jiang Ke would never have allowed Ling Zhang to go with the army. It was too risky.
"I'll keep myself safe." Ling Zhang could tell that Jiang Ke was hesitating, so he said on his own initiative, "I just want to go there to take a look. I won't do anything dangerous, so take it easy. There's no need to be nervous about it."
Jiang Ke gave a resigned smile. How could he not be nervous? Considering Ling Zhang's identity, he could foresee that the world would be turned upside down if anything happened to Ling Zhang. "Once we cross the border, we'll be on the Wan Kingdom's turf. It's best if you depart with the army. I know you'll be under the protection of your bodyguards, but it's getting dark, and I can't let you take such risks, because there's no necessity for you to do that."
Ling Zhang lapsed into silence, looking Jiang Ke in the eye. Jiang Ke didn't avoid his eyes and the two of them looked at each other for a while.
Then Ling Zhang sighed, "Okay, then, let's do it your way."
It was not that he couldn't play hardball. He didn't because he knew that he himself and the army were both Jiang Ke's responsibilities. Now that Jiang Ke disagreed, he decided to wait for a little while longer, for he tended to avoid bringing trouble to others whenever he could.
Jiang Ke was secretly relieved. "Thank you for understanding, Your Highness."
Had Ling Zhang insisted on having his own way, he wouldn't be able to stop Ling Zhang. Fortunately for him, Ling Zhang had always been a reasonable person.
...
The next day, the troops mustered early in the morning, broke camp and marched west. The army traveled at a fast speed. At dusk, they reached a place about twenty li away from Langqiao City, where they rendezvoused with Jiang Xi.
"After Xue Yi led his men into Langqiao City, the garrison in there posted more guards on the ramparts. I took some men and reconnoitered the city from the outside. The defense of Langqiao City is like this..."
As soon as they rendezvoused with each other, Jiang Xi started filling them in on the information he had got through reconnaissance down to the smallest detail. He talked unceasingly for quite a while and also drew a sketchy diagram of the array of defenses in Langqiao City.
Jiang Ke immediately summoned the officers to confer with them about the plan of attack.
Ling Zhang, after studying the diagram of Langqiao City's defense, specially went to a high spot overlooking the city. The ramparts of Langqiao City were just as high as those of Shengzhou Pass. It wouldn't be easy to climb up the ramparts. In addition, there were well-defended turrets on top of them. However, Langqiao City didn't have as many geographical advantages as Shengzhou Pass did. There was not much the garrison in there could do to make use of the terrain. At least they couldn't deploy a large-scale formation outside the city like Ling Zhang had done outside Shengzhou Pass not long ago. Another important part was that the garrison in Langqiao City were not as prepared as soldiers in Shengzhou Pass had been.
The Wan army were bent on going south, having the fond hope that they would be able to take Shengzhou Pass and then push on all the way to the capital of the Great Wen. It had never crossed their minds that the army of the Great Wen would go north and storm into their country. This was proved by the fact that the garrison in Langqiao City had posted more guards in a great hurry. Of course, the less prepared Langqiao City was, the more advantageous a position Ling Zhang's army was in.
The reason why Jiang Xi had hastily summoned the officers to make a plan of attack shortly after meeting Ling Zhang was that he could also tell that the garrison in Langqiao City was ill-prepared. He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity by attacking Langqiao City as soon as possible and catching the enemy flat-footed, lest they call for backup bringing the North-Western Army more trouble.
Jiang Ke and the other officers finalized a plan of attack that very night according to the intelligence Jiang Xi and his men had gathered.
Ling Zhang had little acquaintance with Langqiao City, but there was more than one store affiliated to Jiahe Chamber of Commerce in Langqiao City. Located at the eastern border of the Wan Kingdom, Langqiao City was of too great strategical importance to be ignored by Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, which was why the commercial organization had made no less preparations in this city than they had in the Wan capital.
Therefore, when Jiang Ke and the officers were making battle plans, Ling Zhang, who had just returned from the height where he had observed the whole Langqiao City, walked into the tent and gave them a big pleasant surprise.
"I got some plants in Langqiao City. They'll figure out a way to assist us from within when we attack the city gates, but they might not be able to last long, so we have to grab the opportunity and break the gates open when they are attacking the soldiers guarding the gates."
Jiang Ke, Jiang Xi and the officers were both delighted and astonished at the news. They were delighted because the plants in Langqiao City would make it much easier for them to break into the city, and they were astonished because they had never bargained on them having plants in Langqiao City.
Jiang Ke was the first to recover himself. He suppressed his amazement and immediately asked, "How many plants are we talking about, Your Highness? And when are they taking action?"
"There are two teams of them, about fifty men. They all have some kung fu skills. Each one of them will fight like ten common soldiers. They're all well-prepared and biding their time in the city. They'll make their move the moment we start battering the city gates," replied Ling Zhang. There were two teams of plants inside the city, and it wouldn't be a problem for them to create chaos by assaulting the soldiers guarding the city gates, but they might not be able to last long, so the troops would have to seize the opportunity and batter down the city gates quickly.
"All right. Since we have some plants to help us from within, things would be even easier." Jiang Ke immediately made some adjustments to some of the details of the plan of attack to cooperate with the men Ling Zhang had planted in the city.
Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi trusted Ling Zhang very much. The other officers didn't know Ling Zhang as well as the two of them did, but they had also seen with their own eyes how valiantly Ling Zhang had fought on the battlefield, so they were all aware that Ling Zhang was a real fighter. Though they were fairly doubtful about the reliability of Ling Zhang's plants, since Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi seemed to have complete trust in Ling Zhang, the officers raised no objections.
Apart from Jiang Ke's and Jiang Xi's trust in Ling Zhang, their awareness that Ling Zhang had a gigantic intelligence network and a lot of men at his service was also part of the reason why they had agreed immediately. At first they had been amazed, but soon they had caught on to what it was about, so they naturally started making arrangements without further ado.
...
Inside Langqiao City.
"The troops have encamped somewhere twenty li away from the city. Barring accidents, they'll attack tomorrow. Tonight we go back and get everything ready. Tomorrow morning we'll hide near the city gates and bide our time. When the time comes, we'll assault the soldiers guarding the gates to help the army take the city. If it's within our power to open the gates, we'll open them; if not, we'll do what we can to make it easier for the army to batter the gates down."
The supervisor of a couple of stores affiliated to Jiahe Chamber of Commerce were sitting in a circle in a room having a secret meeting, all their faces quite serious.
"Don't worry. I've got all necessary arrangements made already. Boss sent me a secret letter some time ago. Everything is in readiness."
"Good. We've been here preparing for this for years. Tomorrow we must display our strength, one way or another, and it's best if we open the city gates!"
The others exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with determination. Opening the city gates would constitute a great contribution. Tomorrow their opportunity to render meritorious service would come!
C500 The Fall of Langqiao City
The next morning, a bugle sounded the attack before daybreak. Soldiers equipped with shields, in a formation, were advancing at the front, escorting soldiers with scaling ladders to the foot of the ramparts. Marksmen among the archers were firing arrows at the opposing archers on the ramparts in the distance who were shooting arrows back. A giant battering ram had been delivered to the city gates with a customized cart by a group of soldiers who were now battering the gates repeatedly. The high city gates of Langqiao City were shaking more and more violently from the impacts, dust and rubble falling constantly. Soldiers outside could hear the enemies on the other side of the gates yelling frantically about holding the gates.
Such loud noises constituted an unmistakable signal. Jiang Ke and some others were all waiting for the plants inside the city to make their move. If the plants successfully created chaos, then they would be able to take the city sooner than expected, quicken the pace of their westward advance and minimize their casualties to save strength for their westward advance as well.
Time was ticking away and the fight was now in full swing, but the city gates still hadn't been opened. There was no sign of the plants taking action inside the city.
Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi remained collected, but the other officers became somewhat anxious and they all looked at Ling Zhang.
Ling Zhang appeared composed, looking in the direction of the city gates. The calm expression in his eyes seemed to have some kind of power that could set people's minds at ease. Though he didn't say anything, the couple of officers who were looking at him, at the sight of his calm eyes, subdued their anxiety and continued waiting.
Jiahe Chamber of Commerce had been making preparations in Langqiao City for quite some time. Ling Zhang had faith in his men and the arrangements made by his father.
Time was still passing, everybody present was paying close attention to the situation at the city gates.
Finally, when all of them were faint with anxiety, the city gates, which still hadn't been battered down after such a long time, were abruptly opened a fraction and the next moment, the soldiers operating the ram battered the pair of gates fully open at a single stroke. Jiang Xi, who was waiting outside the gates with his men, felt a great sense of relief. Staring at the open gates with burning eyes, he immediately stormed into the city with his soldiers!
"The gates have been opened! Everybody follow me into the city!"
"Kill them!"
In fact it had only been slightly over two hours since the start of the battle, but it felt much longer than that. At this moment, seeing that the city gates were finally open and Jiang Xi and his men had successfully fought their way into the city, the other officers who had been waiting all along were thrilled and immediately charged at the open gates with their men.
The open city gates were to the fall of Langqiao City as an ant hole to the collapse of a solid dyke.
The Wan soldiers standing guard on the ramparts, outside of the troops of the Great Wen flooding through the city gates, also had to face enemies coming from behind. It was only a quarter of an hour before the ramparts were taken.
When Ling Zhang led his bodyguards into the city, the city gates and the ramparts had been occupied by soldiers of the Great Wen. The army had flooded into Langqiao City. None of the Wan soldiers or the residents in the city had bargained on the city would fall so quickly. Most of them were still in shock.
Xue Yi had thought that with the defense of Langqiao City, his men would be able to defend against the attack from the army of the Great Wen for at least half a month. It had never occurred to him that they wouldn't even be able to hold the city for one day. The enemies that had entered through the city gates were now everywhere, and there was no way his men could kill them all. No matter whether he was willing to accept it or not, the fall of Langqiao City had become an undeniable fact.
Soon, the team led by Xue Yi, who had been forced into retreating again and again by the troops of the Great Wen that vastly outnumbered them, were cornered and then surrounded. Eyeing the general on horseback walking out of the crowd of enemies, Xue Yi, with an extremely ugly look on his face, said through clenched teeth, "Jiang Xi!"
"Oh, look who we have here. You're General Xue's son, aren't you? You've been fleeing with your men since the moment you realized you're on the losing side. I thought you'd flee all the way back to the palace and weep out your grief to Shan Congli. Speaking of which, why did you stop running? You suddenly came around and decided not to be a coward?" said Jiang Xi scathingly.
Xue Yi's face went purple with rage at the insulting remarks. Staring menacingly at Jiang Xi, he said, "Jiang Xi, you would have been the one waiting to be killed if the Great Wen hadn't resorted to those underhanded methods!"
"Ha. Funny you should talk about underhanded methods. Your sly monarch who's full of wolfish ambitions unilaterally tore up the peace agreement, attempting to annex our country. Now his attempt failed and he's getting his ass kicked, yet you have the nerve to accuse us. You had the balls to do it but have no guts to take the consequences? It turns out you Wan people are not only thick-skinned but also quite good at talking black into white. Shame on you," said Jiang Xi pointedly, looking at him with wintry eyes.
Xue Yi sniffed with a sulky face, "Cut the shit and just kill me already. I, Xue Yi, was never a coward on the battlefield. Do you have the balls to duel with me?!"
"Ridiculous. You're a turtle in a jar. Why would I waste my strength dueling with you?" jibed Jiang Xi. "But, since you really want to die so bad, I think it does no harm to grant your wish."
...
When Ling Zhang and his bodyguards arrived, Jiang Xi was fighting a duel with Xue Yi. Jiang Xi was a hundred times better than Xue Yi in terms of both kung fu and combat experience. Xue Yi was nowhere close to a fighter of Jiang Xi's caliber, and his defeat was certain.
Xue Yi abruptly fell off his horse and spat out a mouthful of blood, along with a couple of broken teeth. Before he could pull himself up, Jiang Xi's spearhead was at his throat. Nobody knew how many enemies Jiang Xi had thrown off their horses or killed with that spear. The aura of blood and death radiating from the icy cold spearhead was almost palpable. The moment the sharp chilly spearhead came into contact with Xue Yi's neck, a wave of fear instantly swept over him. However, what with the cold, derisive expression in the eyes of Jiang Xi who was looking down at him, Xue Yi fixed Jiang Xi with a gaze, unable to utter a single word to plead for his life.
"You've lost the fight. If you have your men surrender themselves, maybe my mood will lighten, and maybe I'll spare your life," said Jiang Xi. His tone was contemptuous, but the look in his eyes remained steely. Even his smile seemed to be unable to get into his eyes which was full of flinty murderousness. Jiang Xi had been fighting these enemies who always attempted to invade and occupy his home country for many years, and he had lost too many friends and relatives to the Wan cavalry. Spare Xue Yi's life? Even if Jiang Xi agreed, the spear in his hand wouldn't.
Xue Yi's heart lurched as he heard Jiang Xi say he might spare his life. Nobody could be utterly unafraid when faced with the threat of death. However, it was still the icy, knifelike glint in Jiang Xi's eyes that rendered him powerless to beg for his life. He knew that Jiang Xi was just making fun of him, that there was no way Jiang Xi was going to let him live.
As this thought occurred to him, Xue Yi's lips curved into a grin. His bloody mouth looked rather scary. "You think you've won the war? This is just one small city. The Wan Kingdom has numerous more cities out there. It's true that I, Xue Yi, cannot stop you, but there are a lot of people in the Wan Kingdom who can. You seriously believe you can make it to our capital city? Let me tell you something out of goodwill—someone capable of taking Yuwen Tong's life has been waiting for him for quite some time! You people killed my father and thousands of Wan soldiers, and Yuwen Tong will pay for that with his life. You wait and see!"
In the distance, Ling Zhang knitted his brows at these words and his eyes, as menacing as a sharp blade, flashed at Xue Yi lying on the ground. Just now when Xue Yi made those remarks, the middle of his forehead twitched involuntarily as a strong sense of foreboding rose from the pit of his stomach. Almost at the same time, he leaped from his saddle, flew across countless soldiers like a giant bird and then landed at the center of the surrounding circle, standing in front of Xue Yi, fixing him with a stare so threatening Xue Yi felt as though he were being weighed down by a mountain. "Be specific. Who's been waiting? What are you up to?"
Xue Yi was startled by Ling Zhang who seemed to have descended from the sky. On hearing the questions, he felt a twitch of psychopathic complacency, raised his head to look at Ling Zhang, intending to speak. However, the moment his eyes met Ling Zhang's, a sensation of coldness shot from the top of his head all the way down to his heels, and he felt as though his heart had been frozen in almost an instant. It was as if someone had just put a mountain on his soul, and he could barely breathe, overwhelming panic and fear flooding him in waves. "Wh-Who are you?!"
Xue Yi didn't know Ling Zhang. This was his first time clapping eyes on Ling Zhang's face. Under the influence of the sense of power radiating from Ling Zhang, his mind was in some kind of stupor and he was utterly unable to analyze who Ling Zhang might be.
"Tell me what you meant by that and I'll spare your life," enunciated Ling Zhang.
Because of those words of Xue Yi's which struck Jiang Xi as somewhat strange and the grave look on Ling Zhang's face, Jiang Xi also came to realize that something was not quite right. He pushed his spear slightly forward. The spearhead penetrated the skin of Xue Yi's neck, a trickle of blood flowing from the cut, winding its way down. However, compared with the sting from the wound, Ling Zhang's eyes scared Xue Yi even more. Almost his whole back was soaking wet with cold sweat. He opened his mouth and stuttered, "I-I don't know. I just heard Prince Yi say that someone in the capital city wanted to take revenge on Yuwen-Yuwen Tong. That man saved Prince Yi's life. It's said that he's powerful enough to kill people in a telekinetic way."
Ling Zhang frowned. That man saved Shan Congyi's life? He was able to kill people in a telekinetic way? Who was this man that had both medical skills and superb kung fu?
"Anything else?"
Xue Yi shook his head. "That's all I know. Prince Yi disclosed this in a fit of anger when he was told your Emperor had led his army across the Wan River. I don't know anything else."
Looking at Xue Yi's eyes which were full of fear, Ling Zhang came to know that he was not lying. On recalling that he had dismembered Shan Congyi, Ling Zhang felt a flush of vexation, spun around and walked off without even an extra glance at Xue Yi who was still lying on the ground. He wanted to talk with Jiang Ke. He had no idea who wanted to take revenge on Yuwen Tong, but since he had a foreboding, restless feeling, he must find Yuwen Tong. Ever since he had reached the sixth layer of the cultivation method, he had been having some alarmingly prophetic forebodings from time to time, and what he was feeling at this moment was no different from what he had felt on any of those occasions when he had had forebodings that had been justified afterwards. He couldn't bear to stay in this place for a single extra moment.
The moment Ling Zhang left, Xue Yi, heedless of Jiang Xi's spear which was still at his throat, limply sank to the ground, his whole body sopping wet with cold sweat as though he had just been dragged out of a pool. It was not until the mountainous pressure weighing him down disappeared that he came to realize that he was still alive, that he could still breathe. Recalling that a moment ago he had almost been killed by that aura, he trembled all over. Being on the verge of death turned out to be such a horrifying experience. If he had desired death a few moments ago, now he had begun to fear death.
Jiang Xi looked at Xue Yi whose eyes were showing panic and fright, disdainfully withdrew his spear, feeling that he would be disgracing his spear if he killed someone like Xue Yi who had started to fear death to such an extent.
"Guards, tie Xue Yi up and put him into detention."
"Yes, General!"
C501 Entry into Jifang City
A carrier hawk quickly flew into the sky above Langqiao City, heading for the middle of the Wan Kingdom. Knowing that he was no match for a hawk at speed, Ling Zhang wrote Yuwen Tong a letter to inform him before setting off to rendezvous with him.
A lot of people on the scene had heard those words of Xue Yi's. Since Ling Zhang was leaving, Jiang Ke summoned Jiang Xi and the other officers to have an emergency meeting.
"That guy sounds like someone who has some medical skills and pretty good kung fu, but we don't know who he is or for what he wants to take revenge on His Majesty. From the vantage point of the present, the only thing we could do is send His Majesty an emergency message cautioning him to keep a weather eye on anybody who tries to approach him," said Jiang Ke.
"His Highness has already had a carrier hawk deliver a letter to His Majesty, but..." Jiang Xi left his sentence hanging, a grave look on his face, which was fairly uncharacteristic of him. "At that time His Highness had a very serious expression on his face. I keep having this feeling that he had some kind of premonition."
Jiang Ke raised his eyes which then met Jiang Xi's, his eyebrows contracting slightly. He knew that Jiang Xi wouldn't say anything ungrounded, that the severity of this matter might be greater than they believed.
At this time, Ling Zhang, who had just sent a letter to Yuwen Tong, immediately started writing a letter to Mr Mu who was in the capital city, requesting him to come to the front. Firstly, prevision prevents calamity; secondly, only when Mr Mu arrived would Ling Zhang have some peace of mind. No matter what, he must have Mr Mu come to the front as soon as possible.
When all the letters were finished and sent, Ling Zhang immediately summoned Wang Dashan and a couple of others. "Go and pack your things as quick as you can. We leave in a quarter of an hour."
His bodyguards answered to only Ling Zhang. Their duty was to keep Ling Zhang safe, and they would never question Ling Zhang's decision. "Yes, Your Highness."
"Wait. Tell Qiu Bing to come here."
"Yes."
Ling Zhang summoned Qiu Bing because he wanted to ask Qiu Bing whether or not he could save Yuwen Tong if Yuwen Tong did fall prey to the enemy's trick.
Qiu Bing replied, "I have on me an alexipharmic pill and a panacean pill both of which were given to me by Mr Mu. I think they're enough to handle any of the situations His Majesty might find himself in before Mr Mu arrives. Besides, His Majesty is in the company of my master, and my master also has these two kinds of medicine, so there's no need for you to concern yourself about it, Your Highness."
If it weren't for his foreboding, Ling Zhang wouldn't have begun to worry after merely hearing some words of Xue Yi's, but he knew that others wouldn't be able to understand it even if he tried to explain it to them. "You may go and pack your things."
"Yes, Sire."
Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi happened to come to the tent to visit Ling Zhang at the same time. Both of them appeared somewhat apprehensive after failing to dissuade Ling Zhang from setting off to rendezvous with Yuwen Tong.
"You'll be traveling in the territory of the Wan Kingdom after leaving Langqiao City, and you'll have to get through Jifang City before you could see His Majesty. Presently the situation in there is unknown to us, but I'm sure Jifang City is at its highest security level, and there's no doubt you'll be challenged by a lot of guards and patrols when crossing the city. If they find out who you really are, there will be unimaginable consequences," cautioned Jiang Ke.
"Jiang Ke has a point. It won't be long before we get to Jifang City and meet His Majesty there. Do you think you can show more patience, Your Highness?" said Jiang Xi.
Ling Zhang shook his head. "No. I have to go there to see him as soon as possible. I have an idea how to get through all the security there. There's no need for you guys to worry about me. I'll keep myself safe. My decision is final and it's no good trying to talk me out of it. I'll have two of my bodyguards stay here, because I have plants in the couple of cities you're going to attack next as well, and my bodyguards will help you get in touch with them. It's impossible for those plants of mine to open the city gates as those in Langqiao City did today, but they'll prove themselves helpful when necessary."
Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi exchanged a glance, still looking rather concerned.
"If you've made up your mind to leave, you should at least take all your bodyguards with you. The twenty-four of them are your source of protection. With two absent, the rest of them wouldn't be able to fight in a complete formation," remarked Jiang Xi.
Ling Zhang cast him a look and demurred, "Who told you that? Some formations require twenty-four men, but the others don't. I know what I'm doing. All you have to do is show up in the eastern suburbs of Jifang City on time."
The glance from Ling Zhang convulsed both Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi's bodies. The sense of power Ling Zhang radiated in that instant made the two of them feel as though the one standing in front of them were Yuwen Tong. Neither of them dared utter another word to dissuade him.
In fact, before this day, Ling Zhang had never deliberately emanated any powerful air in front of Jiang Ke or Jiang Xi. He was a layman when it came to directing military operations, so he had been sensibly avoiding putting Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi under pressure, but now he really had to leave, which was why he cast aside those considerations.
...
An intense battle had just come to an end. Chen Jing's army lost control of yet another two cities and were forced into retreating northwards again and again. Chen Jing had strained every sinew to hold back the army led by Yuwen Tong, but the Wan Kingdom was still losing one city after another.
The carrier hawk had delivered the letter from Ling Zhang to Yuwen Tong the day before. After reading it, Yuwen Tong carefully searched his memory for quite some time but didn't remember making an enemy of anybody who possessed both excellent medical skills and superb kung fu, so he had no choice but to have Yao Yi and some others set out to ascertain it. Given that that person was the one who had cured Shan Congyi of his injuries previously, he undoubtedly had shown his face before and left some traces behind.
Yuwen Tong didn't think that Ling Zhang's worries were needles. He trusted Ling Zhang, which was why he didn't take the message lightly, though it struck him as somewhat baffling.
Yao Yi and some others also thought back to the previous events in an effort to help him figure it out, but none of them had any recollections of anybody fitting that description.
"There are only two possibilities. One is that all of us indeed don't remember that man, and I earned myself his enmity unawares, and I'll only recall it when I see him. The other one is that Xue Yi only knows some crumbs of information about this matter, and this man Shan Congyi mentioned has another identity.
"But no matter what, considering this man saved Shan Congyi's life, his medical skills must be consummate. Otherwise Shan Congyi would never have survived, seeing as how grievous his injuries were."
Yuwen Tong believed that the second possibility was more likely to be the truth. He had every confidence in his memory, which was amazingly retentive. He indeed didn't remember making an enemy of anybody who was both a miracle-working physician and a kung fu master. There was a high chance that that person had another identity which was familiar to him. And Yuwen Tong felt the possibility that he had earned himself the enmity of that person unawares was next to zero.
"They haven't started suppressing the information in the capital yet, but it'll be at least four days before we receive any messages from there. We'll stay close to you at all times in the next few days, especially Xie Shi. Under no circumstances should he leave his post," said Yao Yi.
Xie Shi, on hearing Yao Yi mention his name, said, "I'll prepare some medicine tonight, just in case. Before I left the capital city, Mr Mu gave me some alexipharmic pills and a panacean pill. I'll carry them with me."
Yuwen Tong raised no objections to the arrangements made by his bodyguards. It was true that he was very confident about his kung fu skills, but he wouldn't say no to those who offered to protect him when he shouldn't. After all, he was long past the age at which he could afford to act frivolously. Right now what he should concentrate his efforts on was forcing Chen Jing's army to retreat to Jifang City as soon as possible.
He was not going to be deterred from having his arm resume advancing by this message, and everything that needed to be done was being dealt with as planned.
There was, in addition, another matter that concerned him. He was certain that Ling Zhang had lost his composure and might be on his way to this city at this moment, and if he was, he would inevitably have to pass Jifang City.
Ling Zhang and his bodyguards disguised themselves as members of a common caravan in Langqiao City. With ID plates indicating they were affiliated to Jiahe Chamber of Commerce fastened to their belts, their carts loaded with goods, they headed straight for the next city. Thanks to the reputation of Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, they entered the city without much difficulty. Then they met some members of the Chamber of Commerce in the city, made some adjustments to their disguise, and, masquerading as hired bodyguards of Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, resumed the journey in the company of a caravan delivering goods to Jifang City.
Jiahe Chamber of Commerce had contacts in almost all levels of government authorities. There were officials who had taken bribes from the Chamber of Commerce in every Wan city. As Jiahe Chamber of Commerce had been weighing officials' pockets with money and doing business in an honest fashion, hardly any local authorities of the Wan Kingdom had ever made trouble for the organization. This time around, they only encountered some hindrance at the city gates of Jifang City, where each and every one of them was challenged by the soldiers guarding the gates. The main reason was that the geographical location of Jifang City was special, and in these circumstances, Jifang City had become the last barrier of the Wan capital, which the Wan army could use to stop Yuwen Tong's army from going further north. As a result, the city officials, all of whom feared death, were unwilling to bend the rules for even Jiahe Chamber of Commerce.
"All these are goods from the north, and they're the last batch," a supervior of Jiahe Chamber of Commerce said to the commander of the garrison. "You may have your men examine the whole shipment carefully. My boss said that Jifang City might be attacked in a few days, so he had me deliver some goods here, telling me that I may sell them to the garrison at low prices if they're in need."
On hearing this, the general in charge of the security at the city gates, who was the commander of the troops garrisoned in Jifang City and had been having dealings with Jiahe Chamber of Commerce on a frequent basis, said, "You guys always prefer to stay out of this kind of matters, don't you? Why are you being so enthusiastic on this occasion?"
The supervisor of the Chamber of Commerce, at the sight of the penetrating look in the general's eyes, hastened to smile obsequiously, "We do tend not to get involved in this kind of things, but we have to keep our business going. I mean, we have a lot of stores in Jifang City, and all of us want the business environment to stay peaceful. The garrison are having a tough time maintaining order and defending this city, so we figured we should do what we can to make a contribution as well, however small it is. Besides, our boss said that Jifang City will never fall, given how strong its defense is, so if we sell the goods to the garrison at low prices at this point in time, in the future the garrison would SURELY... I believe you know what I mean, General."
The general snorted coldly, "You people never miss anything you could profit from."
The soldiers scrupulously examined all the goods and searched every member of the delivery team. Having checked that there weren't any problems, the general gave the permission for the caravan to enter the city.
When being searched by the soldiers, Ling Zhang suspended the circulation of his internal energy to prevent himself from emanating powerful air, trying to make his eyes which were usually bright and commanding look listless. The soldiers searching him were not surprised to see this, for it was a natural thing that people were lethargic. These days rumors were circulating everywhere that the army of the Great Wen were going to attack this city, and a lot of people were worried that Jifang City was going to fall. The soldiers believed that these people of Jiahe Chamber of Commerce would never have come to Jifang City at this point in time had they had a choice.
"Get in. We like this shipment pretty much. Remember to deliver it to my encampment as soon as possible," said the general to the supervisor. Since Jiahe Chamber of Commerce had transported a batch of goods to this city to win the favor of the garrison in these circumstances, it would be stupid to say no. All these goods were good stuff, and people of Jiahe Chamber of Commerce were probably the only ones who had the financial strength to make the garrison a gift of these things to win support in this situation. He would be a fool not to accept it. The general in charge of the defense of the city believed that he was not a fool, so he naturally wouldn't turn down the offer.