It rained in Jingdou of the Qing Kingdom while it snowed in Nanjing of Northern Qi. The small snowflakes floated slowly and beautifully in the air, filling the air with a chill and making the temperature drop to a level that irritated humankind.
On Nanjing’s powerful city walls, the general of the garrison division responsible for Northern Qi’s southern line of defense, Shang Shanpo, looked at the southwest plains with an indifferent expression. There was no snow accumulated on the plains, so it was still possible to see the black and hibernating fertile soil. His gaze pierced through the layers of wind and snow to land on the solemn Southern Qing Army, which had continued to exist for numerous decades.
The banners there fluttered and snapped in the wind. The barracks stretched onward. An endless and boundless blackness halted silently in the wind and snow. It was like a temporarily resting wild beast that could pounce toward Nanjing at any moment.
The Qing Kingdom’s Yanjing Camp and Northern Camp, two large border armies, had attacked with all their strength. During this period of time, they had consecutively broken through three lines of defense the Northern Qi army had laid down. They swept north like a prairie fire, killing countless Northern Qi soldiers along the way. They had reached a place 20 li in front of the Nanjing defensive line and were taking a break and regrouping.
It seemed that the bloodiest and cruelest city attack between the two powerful kingdoms was going to erupt beneath Nanjing. Shang Shanpo couldn’t resist narrowing his eyes and stroking his palm gently across the knife sheath at his side. He looked at his subordinates around him, moving as quickly as ants as they prepared the city guarding weapons in the cold air. He felt the tense and panicked atmosphere inside the city and couldn’t help letting out a sigh.
Hundreds of thousands of Qing Iron Riders had reached them. Beneath him was the Qi Kingdom’s most important city in the South, but how long could it last?
Shang Shanpo shook his head and issued a series of military orders to his subordinate officers. He then turned and walked off the city wall and came to the front line camp temporarily set up at the foot of the city walls.
This camp was isolated and quiet. It was guarded outside by his own personal guards. No one was allowed to come near. When he entered the tent, Shang Shanpo saw a man in common clothing with an air that intimidated without anger. Straightforwardly, he took a knee and said in a low voice, “Father, it seems that Wang Zhikun was terrified by the ambush a few days ago. He shouldn’t start an attack on the city in the next three days.
Everyone in the world thought that the pillar of the Northern Qi military, the man that the Qing Kingdom feared the most, Commander Shang Shanhu, was still with his soldiers in the city of the Song Kingdom at the mid-section of the Qing Kingdom. Who would have thought that right before the great battle of Nanjing was about to start, this majestic general had come alone, without anyone knowing, to Nanjing?
Shang Shanhu’s thick black brows trembled slightly. After a moment, he said in a low voice, “Although Wang Zhikun is a bit conservative in directing soldiers, he is not a coward. Otherwise, the Qing Emperor would not have allowed him to lead the Yanjing soldiers for more than a decade. The harassment these days makes it seem like our army is taking advantage. In reality, he is like a turtle. He hasn’t been tempted to send out soldiers at all.”
Shang Shanpo listened to his father’s voice buzzing around the tent. A glimmer of respect and admiration appeared naturally in his eyes. His father had secretly returned to Nanjing some time ago to prepare for the battle that was about to commence. If it were not for his father quietly moving soldiers like a god and using three lines of defenses to slice through, it would not have taken the Qing Iron Riders until now to reach Nanjing.
“Wang Zhikun is extremely shameless. They clearly have the troop advantage, and their morale is high. Yet, they chose to put on a show of guarding the city on the plains.” Shang Shanpo couldn’t help but curse out loud when he thought of this.
“One hopes for achievements but prays for no mistakes. This is where Wang Zhikun’s strengths lie,” Shang Shanhu suddenly withdrew his gaze from the map and looked outside the tent. He sighed and said, “For the Qing Kingdom, they have many soldiers and generals. They cannot be bullied by me.”
A glimmer of exhaustion suddenly appeared on the face of Northern Qi’s famed general. He had returned from the city in the Song Kingdom to Nanjing because he could not be assured of the defense there. Once the Qing Iron Riders broke through the Nanjing defensive line, the heart of the Northern Qi court would be directly in front of the carnage from the south. The court would definitely panic.
Shang Shanhu had basically split himself. The Qing Kingdom’s Iron Riders still thought he was in the city in the Song Kingdom and were probably absolutely terrified. He was secretly in Nanjing organizing this line of defense. There was only Shang Shanhu. Using this method, he could demonstrate the effectiveness of more than one Shang Shanhu.
Faced with the Qing army’s strict military discipline, first-rate military weapons, and the unusual battle power of a 100,000 soldiers, no matter how good Shang Shanhu was at using soldiers, he still could not relax. This time, it was not a battlefield operation. It was a head-on collision between two countries at the Nanjing defense line. In the end, it was still a battle of national power and aura.
Shang Shanhu was not afraid of Wang Zhikun. He understood his counterpart in the South too well to be afraid of him. During the years he had been in charge of Northern Qi’s Southern military affairs, his gaze had been focused the entire time on the Royal Palace in Jingdou far away to the South. He had always thought he understood the Qing Emperor’s military thinking. If the Qing Kingdom was truly going to invade North, logically speaking, they would gather the strength of the entire country to strike. They would pull together at least three Roads of border soldiers and forcefully push forward with unstoppable strength.
However, there were only two Roads of border soldiers outside Nanjing. It seemed the Qing Emperor was not as bold as he imagined. Shang Shanhu narrowed his eyes slightly, which were filled with worry. He wondered what exactly the ruler in the South was thinking about. Was there some trick that he didn’t see? Could he still hold onto this territory?
Confidence was the most important thing to a general. Faced with the Qing Kingdom’s powerful military strength, Shang Shanhu did not have the confidence of a definitive victory. He believed that he could hold back the opponent’s movement in invading North, but how long could he hold them back?
A kind of exhaustion took over Shang Shanhu’s heart. He suddenly remembered the secret letter the Emperor had sent to him a few days ago saying that Fan Xian of the Qing Kingdom had returned from the Temple and should have reached Jingdou by now. Was the fate of the Qi Kingdom to be entrusted to the illegitimate child of the Qing Emperor? Would Fan Xian kill the Qing Emperor? Could he kill the Qing Emperor?
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…
When Shang Shanhu observed the Qing military camp 10 li away from inside Nanjing, Commander Wang Zhikun was also using a cold gaze to look at the large city in the distance through the wind and snow from within almost 10 li of military tents. As long as they could break through this city, the most powerful riders of the Qing army could kill their way into the heart of Northern Qi. At that time, it would be a clean sweep forward. Although they still had to face the two lines of defense in front of Shangjing, presumably, it would much easier than what they were faced with.
They still had to defend against Shang Shanhu in the Song Kingdom city behind them while attacking Nanjing. Although the strength of the Qing military was steady, they lacked the air of bravery as when they expanded territory in the past.
“When does Shi Fei arrive?” Wang Zhikun asked. A deputy general at his side did not even have to think and answered straight away, “The general should arrive at the end of April.”
Wang Zhikun nodded in approval. At the beginning of this Northern expedition, the Emperor had drafted all of the strategies. Although, like Shang Shanhu inside the distant Nanjing, Wang Zhikun sometimes felt that the Emperor’s boldness this time could not compare to the past. His confidence in the Emperor had never weakened.
The Emperor wanted to send Shi Fei to take control of the wild soldiers of the Northern Camp. It did not make Wang Zhikun feel any negative emotions. He didn’t care about other people stealing his achievements or think that the Emperor did not trust him. It was because Shi Fei had been his deputy general in the past.
Furthermore, the Northern expedition this time was a battle to conquer the world. No general dared to hope they could achieve such an accomplishment just by their own strength.
Wang Zhikun occasionally thought that at least he was better off than Commander Ye, whose status was too respected. Commander Ye could only give orders from the Bureau of Military Affairs in Jingdou and could not personally lead troops.
How many years of preparation? Wang Zhikun stood at the entrance to the tent and allowed the snowflakes to fall on his armor. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Nanjing in the distance, thinking that his feet were actually already standing on Northern Qi territory. With this thought, boundless powerful emotions abruptly rose in his heart.
He had guarded Yanjing for more than a decade for the Emperor for the sake of this moment. The majestic picture was in front of his eyes, so what regrets were there in life?
Suddenly, a coldness flashed through Wang Zhikun’s eyes as his body slightly trembled. Although it was very cold, there were no problems with the Qing Kingdom’s logistics or morale. However, he kept feeling a powerful sense of unease in his heart. Sir Fan junior had returned to Jingdou. Would the Emperor be alright?
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…
There was a mountain stream atop the mountain that the Northern Qi Royal Palace was built against. The mountain stream flowed down mountain paths and accumulated in a clear pool with green stones piled to the side. The clear water in the pool would flow down the purposely excavated opening toward the outside of the Palace.
The Northern Qi Emperor wore a thick cloak with his dragon robe underneath. His brows, as sharp as swords, were raised slightly. His lips were tightly pressed together. He sat like this beside the opening in the pool and was silent for a long time, not saying a single word.
Haitang stood at his side with her back to him. Her gaze followed the clear water flowing out of the pool all the way until it reached the outside of the beautiful Palace, a slow-moving river that flowed through Shangjing in the winter.
Before the Dong Mountain incident, Master Ku He had talked with the empress dowager by this pool of water and decided some things. He left easily and, in the end, returned in a decrepit state, dying when his time came to an end. He had lost to the Qing Emperor.
The Northern Qi court was faced with the threat of the powerful ruler to the South again. The threat this time was more real and direct. Countless Qing Iron Riders had stepped onto the path to invade the North. No one knew when they would reach this old capital city and set alight this beautiful Royal Palace.
“I can’t put all my hope in him,” the Qing Emperor said slowly as his sharp brows smoothed slightly and his expression calmed. “Although I believe that there is an irreconcilable hatred between him and the Qing Emperor, the Qing Emperor is, after all, his father. When it comes to Fan Xian’s fickle and naïve emotions, I probably understand him more than most people.”
“Most importantly, according to Aunt Disciple’s words, the blind master had completely become an idiot.” The Northern Qi Emperor lowered his head and look at his slightly warped reflection in the water. Suddenly, he felt that the chill in the world had become a burden that he had never shouldered before. It was suffocating him with its weight. With some disappointment, he said, “If this is truly the case, who in the Qing Royal Palace could kill that ruler?”
“Everyone knows of the Qing people’s ambitions. I have prepared for this for many years. Only once the war started did I realize that I have still underestimated the strength of the Qing military.” The Northern Qi Emperor raised his face. Unswerving determination flashed through his eyes. “It is just two Roads of border soldiers, yet they have reached Nanjing. If the Qing Emperor had truly raised the strength of the kingdom to invade, even Shang Shanhu would probably not be able to hold out for too long.”
“If General Shang Shanu cannot hold out, what is Your Majesty going to do?” At this time, Haitang slowly turned around and asked calmly.
“Raise the strength of the kingdom and battle,” the Northern Qi Emperor replied with a slight smile without even stopping to think. “In the end, this world belongs to me. If it is to be destroyed, it still has to be done by my hands. I have never thought about surrendering.”
Haitang did not say anything more. She just gazed calmly out of the Palace, toward the North, and gently placed her hands together.
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…
On a piece of land blown by the ocean wind in territory controlled by Dongyi, where the kingdoms of Song and Liang intersected, the weather there was warmer and wetter than both Shangjing and Jingdou. The trees in the mountains kept a rare green color. Who knew that over the mountain range in front, through the land of the Song Kingdom, and through an isolated little city, one would come to a stern and snowy land?
That place of snow was where the Qing Kingdom sent out its soldiers, where the Northern Qi had defended strongly after retreating, and where countless lives had been lost.
Alone and defected from the Qing court, the Great Prince of the Qing Kingdom, who had been silent in the world for about a year, was in the mountains where it was as warm as spring. His gaze was focused on the sky as he imagined the harsh wind and snow.
Behind him were 10,000 loyal subordinates. There was a black line through the mountains, which were the 4,000 Black Knights Fan Xian had given him. However, these Black Knights led by Jing Ge did not seem very willing to obey his orders.
Luckily, Thirteenth Wang had returned to Dongyi and brought Jing Ge military orders written personally by Fan Xian.
The Great Prince pulled back his gaze and glanced at Thirteenth Wang by his side. There was no change in emotion on his soldierly face. Although the number of men he commanded now was not a lot, he was considered by Dongyi as the most powerful faction. If he entered into the war between the two countries, particularly if he attacked the city in the Song Kingdom that Shang Shanhu had cleverly taken last year, he would probably bring about a shocking result.
Fan Xian did not request or ask him to do this. Fan Xian had just handed all of his power to his elder brother. Then, through Thirteenth Wang’s mouth, he shared with him his analysis of the situation and did not say anything else.
The Great Prince gently kicked at his horse and silently led 10,000 elite soldiers toward the northwest. After a moment, the 4,000 Black Knights in the mountains also began to move with their never-changing severity and dark aura.
Silent on horseback, he knew very well why Fan Xian did not have anything specific to tell him. He was the same as Fan Xian. Although they were both bloodlines of Dongyi, they were, in the end, Qing people. Most of these 14,000 elites were also Qing people.
If the Qing Kingdom was invading North, were they, Qing subjects, going to betray the court and counterattack? Probably none of them could do something like this. Although these were all exiled people and had little loyalty to the Emperor, betraying the ruler and defecting one’s country were two different things.
Dongyi could not just watch as the Qing Emperor destroyed Northern Qi in one go. If that happened, Dongyi would naturally become the Qing army’s next target. Dongyi had surrendered to the Qing Kingdom in name but with Fan Xian and the Great Prince’s strength. The Qing court had no control there at all. Once an opportunity arose to truly conquer Dongyi with soldiers, the Qing court will presumably not allow it to pass by.
If such a time came, it would be over for Dongyi. The Great Prince would have no choice but to die. From the moment Chen Pingping died, the Great Prince had prepared himself mentally for such an end. Even though he knew what Fan Xian was preparing to do in Jingdou, the Great Prince still felt a darkness that he could not suppress in his heart.
Regardless of whether Fan Xian succeeded or failed, he would still feel gloomy because that person was his father. His mother was still in the Royal Palace in the Qing Kingdom, and his wife and concubine were still in Jingdou.
The Great Prince slowly raised his head and looked in the direction of Jingdou. For a time, he sighed. He then narrowed his eyes and was silent for a long time.
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…
The greatest battle under heaven had begun, and the killing fields were prepared. Bones were buried on the roadside while blood and flesh sprayed in the wilds. Crows cried out strangely in the sky amidst the wind and snow. Endless austerity and danger enveloped the entire world just like a shadow that could not be waved away, covering the sky above millions of heads.
Even at such a tense situation, many people’s gazes, including the generals on the battlefields, the lofty Emperor, and the lonely traitor, were actually all focused on Jingdou. They knew that the true victory and defeat, the direction of the world, still was in the Qing Kingdom’s Jingdou, between the father and son who were particularly cruel to one another and themselves.
Just as the Qing Emperor had once said to Ye Wan, he and Fan Xian’s life and death were the true focal points.
However, this situation was not one that humans could set up. It was the results of these decades, the final united scenario. In the process of this unification, the Emperor, the dead woman, Chen Pingping in the autumnal rain, and Fan Xian all added fuel to the fire making its so this situation had no way to be resolved, becoming a stalemate.
Only a sword could cut through the knot. Only life and death could resolve it.
Inside Jingdou, that was the focus of countless eyes. The common people did not actually sense much of the bloodiness on the frontlines. They didn’t even know about the startling matter that was happening right now in the Royal Palace. They continued to lead usual lives with calm emotions, except for the commoners by the intersection next to Tianhe Avenue who were continuously crying.
Inside the Scholar’s Manor, Scholar Hu could not hear these cries, but he knew what was happening inside the Royal Palace at the first instant. It was not a court conference day, but he still had enough spies and seniority that he was immediately dumbstruck.
A year ago, the officials of the He faction had been all killed Fan Xian and the Overwatch Council. During the past year, Scholar Hu, leading the Hall of Governmental Affairs, the three temples, three departments, and six ministries, had kept the Qing court in good order. Even while the Emperor was heavily injured and could not supervise, this scholar remained calm and quiet, unfazed in the face of catastrophe, managing to maintain the peace in the Qing Kingdom with great effectiveness.
When he received the current news, all of Scholar Hu’s calm and collectedness immediately disintegrated. He hadn’t put on any moisturizer, so the lines on his face were particularly deep. In a daze, he stood in the garden of the Scholar’s Manor, appearing particularly old and praying that the heavens would not bring any misfortune upon the Qing Kingdom.
In a simple residence in a cold and rundown square somewhere else in Jingdou, the Jingdou Magistrate, Sun Jingxiu, who had come out from prison a long time ago was coughing and drinking medicine with the help of his daughter. In prison, he had been tormented to an inch of his life. If not for the women of the Fan manor secretly looking out for him, this stern Jingdou Magistrate would probably have died long ago. The Sun family had long fallen. Other than the three generations of the family, the servants had left and concubines had escaped. Their days were truly wretched.
Sun Pin’er comforted her father in a gentle voice. She was thinking that she would have to visit the Fan manor to thank the princess for the medicine. However, she had nothing to wear. She then wondered if Sir Fan junior was alive or dead. For a moment, she involuntarily paused.
In the Fan manor right now, Lin Wan’er was sitting with a serious expression in the Flower Hall with Sisi sitting behind her. Each of them held a child. She faced the wife of the Teng family and said, “There is no need to escape. It’s just that the servants of the family should leave as quickly as possible.”
The wife of the Teng family guessed at something and was not willing to go. Lin Wan’er would not force her because these members of the Fan tribe and family would probably not be able to leave cleanly even if they did want to go. She just stared in a daze at Fan Liang in her lap.
Last night, Fan Ruoruo had been urgently summoned into the Palace. There hadn’t been any news of the Emperor feeling unwell, so Lin Wan’er immediately guessed something had happened. In particular, the strange atmosphere that had begun to permeate throughout Jingdou the previous night made her more confident.
You’re still alive! Why didn’t you come home first? Even if uncle wants to kill you and you want to kill uncle, but… but… Will you not let me see you one last time before that?
Thinking of this, sorrow rose from it. A few tears dropped from her eyes, landing on Fan Liang’s confused and young face.
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…
While Lin Wan’er was helplessly and sorrowfully worried about Fan Xian’s life, Fan Ruoruo, who had been summoned into the Palace, had already successfully escaped the watch of the internal court aces and disappeared into the depths of the Palace. The Royal Palace was in a mess and could not find her whereabouts. It seemed that not only did this girl learn something from Qing Mountain, the lesson Wu Zhu gave her that night in the snow in Cang Mountain was also far more successful than what Fan Xian taught her initially.
She was wearing the clothes of a serving girl, yet she wore it in a very moving way as the clothes slowly fluttered in the light rain. She followed the inner section of the palace wall and slowly headed in the direction of Taiji Palace. All along the way, she only saw eunuchs and serving girls, pale-faced from the sounds of killing, sneaking in the direction of the back palace. There was no one to care about who she was and why she was there.
Outside of an isolated door right before she reached Taiji Palace, she saw Eunuch Hong Zhu. It seemed that Hong Zhu had been waiting for her for a long time. The two of them calmly met each other’s eyes.
Fan Ruoruo looked at Hong Zhu calmly. Countless thoughts were spinning through her mind because she did not understand why, a few months ago, the powerful head eunuch had suddenly made contact with her in secret.
Hong Zhu bent his body and left the palace door. He didn’t explain anything because he had thought Sir Fan junior was already dead. After thinking for a long time, whatever remained hidden in his bones, made him seek out the young lady of the Fan family to speak of his connection with Fan Xian. Perhaps this eunuch did not want to guard the secret between him and Fan Xian alone and stand guard alone in the depths of the Palace.
Fan Ruoruo knew that her brother was still alive and had entered the Royal Palace with the help of this eunuch. This made her very happy. Immediately after, the joy turned into deep worry because she knew what her brother had come into the Palace to do.
She walked to the side of the palace doors, to the side of a large copper vat filled with water. She listened through the palace door to the terrifying sounds happening not far in the Royal Palace. It was the sound of metal rod piercing through armor and bone. The worry between her brows deepened further. She knew that even her teacher had come today.
She looked through the gap in the palace doors at the bright yellow figure in the distance in front of the front doors of Taiji Place. She pressed her lips together for a while and was silent for some time before she finally made up her mind.
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The Emperor put his hands behind his back. The hands in his sleeves gripped the white handkerchief with slight force. Only he knew that there were spots of cherry blossom-like blood marks on the white handkerchief. He had coughed up blood. Was he truly reaching the end?
Eunuch Yao had been sent away by him. He stood in front of the curtain of rain without a single guard around him. He appeared very lonely. In front of him, amidst the light rain, an even lonelier figure slowly approached him.
Wu Zhu had finally arrived.
The light rain continued to drip endlessly onto the black cloth on his face. The metal rod held tightly in his hand continued to drop blood without stopping. The stench of blood emanated from his soaked cloth clothes.
Who knew how many imperial soldiers he had killed before Wu Zhu had finally made it from the palace walls, step by step? The sharp tip of the usually invulnerable and indestructible metal rod in his hands had, after piercing through countless hard pieces of armor and piercing countless throats, been rubbed flat. Its body had curved.
Wu Zhu was not human, but he was also not a god. When faced with wave after wave of elite battle strength and no-holds-barred attacks, he was still injured. Especially from when he killed his way down from the palace walls. Imperial soldiers wearing thick armor used their bodies as enemy crushing giant stones to stand in his way, successfully stalling his steps and injuring this body.
The Imperial Army’s obstructions could not be said to be unheroic, but Wu Zhu still killed his way out. However, the metal rod in his hand was now useless. The black hair he had tied up tightly had long fallen into disarray. Countless holes had been added to the clothes on his body, and a piece of clothing below his waist had, for some reason, been burned to shreds.
What scared people the most was that during the chaotic battle, the young blind man’s leg seemed to have been smashed by some kind of heavy weaponry. Bent at a completely unnatural angle, it twisted behind him. It looked like the bone had been shattered into a strange shape and was impossible to walk on.
But, Wu Zhu continued to walk. Through the almost fallen piece of black cloth, he stared at the Emperor. Using the warped metal rod as a crutch, he dragged his already useless left leg and walked with great difficulty in the rain all the way until he reached the Qing Emperor.
The rain had long become light, falling sparsely. There was still accumulated water on the stone slates in front of Taiji Palace. Wu Zhu’s twisted left leg dragged through the rain making a terrifying noise.
Each time the leg rubbed against the ground, the corner of Wu Zhu’s thin lips twitched slightly. Presumably, he also felt pain but had forgotten what pain was. He just walked step by step toward the Qing Emperor in front of the palace.
The Emperor quietly watched the approaching Wu Zhu and suddenly asked, “I finally confirmed that you are not a dead thing. If you were a dead thing, where would your powerful love come from?”
The tightly closed palace doors suddenly opened wide. Ye Zhong, covered in filthy water, rode in atop a horse and lead what was left of the imperial soldiers, as well as his personal riders. They rushed in the direction of Taiji Palace. The hooves sounded like thunder, making the water on the ground tremble.
In an instant, hundreds of Qing elite soldiers once again surrounded Wu Zhu. When they looked at Wu Zhu surrounded by them, especially at his twisted leg that he continued to stubbornly stand on, they did not feel a sliver of joy, particularly the dozen or so Qing Temple Ascetic Monks that suddenly appeared at the Emperor’s side. When the powerful Ascetic Monks saw Wu Zhu, particularly the color of the fluids flowing from the wounds on his body, their faces became pale as their bodies trembled.
The blood flowing from Wu Zhu’s body was hot and red, but it was a golden red. Gradually faded by the light rain, not many people were able to notice it, but these straw-hat wearing Ascetic Monks noticed it.
It was as if all of the Ascetic Monks had been struck by lightning and knelt down in the rain in front of Wu Zhu. They were originally the Qing Emperor’s most powerful defense. Now, they had no choice but to bow down in front of this blind cripple.
With an emissary personally visiting the mortal realm, how could mortals fail to show respect? Was this heaven’s godly punishment of the Qing Kingdom?
It rained in Jingdou of the Qing Kingdom while it snowed in Nanjing of Northern Qi. The small snowflakes floated slowly and beautifully in the air, filling the air with a chill and making the temperature drop to a level that irritated humankind.
On Nanjing’s powerful city walls, the general of the garrison division responsible for Northern Qi’s southern line of defense, Shang Shanpo, looked at the southwest plains with an indifferent expression. There was no snow accumulated on the plains, so it was still possible to see the black and hibernating fertile soil. His gaze pierced through the layers of wind and snow to land on the solemn Southern Qing Army, which had continued to exist for numerous decades.
The banners there fluttered and snapped in the wind. The barracks stretched onward. An endless and boundless blackness halted silently in the wind and snow. It was like a temporarily resting wild beast that could pounce toward Nanjing at any moment.
The Qing Kingdom’s Yanjing Camp and Northern Camp, two large border armies, had attacked with all their strength. During this period of time, they had consecutively broken through three lines of defense the Northern Qi army had laid down. They swept north like a prairie fire, killing countless Northern Qi soldiers along the way. They had reached a place 20 li in front of the Nanjing defensive line and were taking a break and regrouping.
It seemed that the bloodiest and cruelest city attack between the two powerful kingdoms was going to erupt beneath Nanjing. Shang Shanpo couldn’t resist narrowing his eyes and stroking his palm gently across the knife sheath at his side. He looked at his subordinates around him, moving as quickly as ants as they prepared the city guarding weapons in the cold air. He felt the tense and panicked atmosphere inside the city and couldn’t help letting out a sigh.
Hundreds of thousands of Qing Iron Riders had reached them. Beneath him was the Qi Kingdom’s most important city in the South, but how long could it last?
Shang Shanpo shook his head and issued a series of military orders to his subordinate officers. He then turned and walked off the city wall and came to the front line camp temporarily set up at the foot of the city walls.
This camp was isolated and quiet. It was guarded outside by his own personal guards. No one was allowed to come near. When he entered the tent, Shang Shanpo saw a man in common clothing with an air that intimidated without anger. Straightforwardly, he took a knee and said in a low voice, “Father, it seems that Wang Zhikun was terrified by the ambush a few days ago. He shouldn’t start an attack on the city in the next three days.
Everyone in the world thought that the pillar of the Northern Qi military, the man that the Qing Kingdom feared the most, Commander Shang Shanhu, was still with his soldiers in the city of the Song Kingdom at the mid-section of the Qing Kingdom. Who would have thought that right before the great battle of Nanjing was about to start, this majestic general had come alone, without anyone knowing, to Nanjing?
Shang Shanhu’s thick black brows trembled slightly. After a moment, he said in a low voice, “Although Wang Zhikun is a bit conservative in directing soldiers, he is not a coward. Otherwise, the Qing Emperor would not have allowed him to lead the Yanjing soldiers for more than a decade. The harassment these days makes it seem like our army is taking advantage. In reality, he is like a turtle. He hasn’t been tempted to send out soldiers at all.”
Shang Shanpo listened to his father’s voice buzzing around the tent. A glimmer of respect and admiration appeared naturally in his eyes. His father had secretly returned to Nanjing some time ago to prepare for the battle that was about to commence. If it were not for his father quietly moving soldiers like a god and using three lines of defenses to slice through, it would not have taken the Qing Iron Riders until now to reach Nanjing.
“Wang Zhikun is extremely shameless. They clearly have the troop advantage, and their morale is high. Yet, they chose to put on a show of guarding the city on the plains.” Shang Shanpo couldn’t help but curse out loud when he thought of this.
“One hopes for achievements but prays for no mistakes. This is where Wang Zhikun’s strengths lie,” Shang Shanhu suddenly withdrew his gaze from the map and looked outside the tent. He sighed and said, “For the Qing Kingdom, they have many soldiers and generals. They cannot be bullied by me.”
A glimmer of exhaustion suddenly appeared on the face of Northern Qi’s famed general. He had returned from the city in the Song Kingdom to Nanjing because he could not be assured of the defense there. Once the Qing Iron Riders broke through the Nanjing defensive line, the heart of the Northern Qi court would be directly in front of the carnage from the south. The court would definitely panic.
Shang Shanhu had basically split himself. The Qing Kingdom’s Iron Riders still thought he was in the city in the Song Kingdom and were probably absolutely terrified. He was secretly in Nanjing organizing this line of defense. There was only Shang Shanhu. Using this method, he could demonstrate the effectiveness of more than one Shang Shanhu.
Faced with the Qing army’s strict military discipline, first-rate military weapons, and the unusual battle power of a 100,000 soldiers, no matter how good Shang Shanhu was at using soldiers, he still could not relax. This time, it was not a battlefield operation. It was a head-on collision between two countries at the Nanjing defense line. In the end, it was still a battle of national power and aura.
Shang Shanhu was not afraid of Wang Zhikun. He understood his counterpart in the South too well to be afraid of him. During the years he had been in charge of Northern Qi’s Southern military affairs, his gaze had been focused the entire time on the Royal Palace in Jingdou far away to the South. He had always thought he understood the Qing Emperor’s military thinking. If the Qing Kingdom was truly going to invade North, logically speaking, they would gather the strength of the entire country to strike. They would pull together at least three Roads of border soldiers and forcefully push forward with unstoppable strength.
However, there were only two Roads of border soldiers outside Nanjing. It seemed the Qing Emperor was not as bold as he imagined. Shang Shanhu narrowed his eyes slightly, which were filled with worry. He wondered what exactly the ruler in the South was thinking about. Was there some trick that he didn’t see? Could he still hold onto this territory?
Confidence was the most important thing to a general. Faced with the Qing Kingdom’s powerful military strength, Shang Shanhu did not have the confidence of a definitive victory. He believed that he could hold back the opponent’s movement in invading North, but how long could he hold them back?
A kind of exhaustion took over Shang Shanhu’s heart. He suddenly remembered the secret letter the Emperor had sent to him a few days ago saying that Fan Xian of the Qing Kingdom had returned from the Temple and should have reached Jingdou by now. Was the fate of the Qi Kingdom to be entrusted to the illegitimate child of the Qing Emperor? Would Fan Xian kill the Qing Emperor? Could he kill the Qing Emperor?
…
…
When Shang Shanhu observed the Qing military camp 10 li away from inside Nanjing, Commander Wang Zhikun was also using a cold gaze to look at the large city in the distance through the wind and snow from within almost 10 li of military tents. As long as they could break through this city, the most powerful riders of the Qing army could kill their way into the heart of Northern Qi. At that time, it would be a clean sweep forward. Although they still had to face the two lines of defense in front of Shangjing, presumably, it would much easier than what they were faced with.
They still had to defend against Shang Shanhu in the Song Kingdom city behind them while attacking Nanjing. Although the strength of the Qing military was steady, they lacked the air of bravery as when they expanded territory in the past.
“When does Shi Fei arrive?” Wang Zhikun asked. A deputy general at his side did not even have to think and answered straight away, “The general should arrive at the end of April.”
Wang Zhikun nodded in approval. At the beginning of this Northern expedition, the Emperor had drafted all of the strategies. Although, like Shang Shanhu inside the distant Nanjing, Wang Zhikun sometimes felt that the Emperor’s boldness this time could not compare to the past. His confidence in the Emperor had never weakened.
The Emperor wanted to send Shi Fei to take control of the wild soldiers of the Northern Camp. It did not make Wang Zhikun feel any negative emotions. He didn’t care about other people stealing his achievements or think that the Emperor did not trust him. It was because Shi Fei had been his deputy general in the past.
Furthermore, the Northern expedition this time was a battle to conquer the world. No general dared to hope they could achieve such an accomplishment just by their own strength.
Wang Zhikun occasionally thought that at least he was better off than Commander Ye, whose status was too respected. Commander Ye could only give orders from the Bureau of Military Affairs in Jingdou and could not personally lead troops.
How many years of preparation? Wang Zhikun stood at the entrance to the tent and allowed the snowflakes to fall on his armor. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Nanjing in the distance, thinking that his feet were actually already standing on Northern Qi territory. With this thought, boundless powerful emotions abruptly rose in his heart.
He had guarded Yanjing for more than a decade for the Emperor for the sake of this moment. The majestic picture was in front of his eyes, so what regrets were there in life?
Suddenly, a coldness flashed through Wang Zhikun’s eyes as his body slightly trembled. Although it was very cold, there were no problems with the Qing Kingdom’s logistics or morale. However, he kept feeling a powerful sense of unease in his heart. Sir Fan junior had returned to Jingdou. Would the Emperor be alright?
…
…
There was a mountain stream atop the mountain that the Northern Qi Royal Palace was built against. The mountain stream flowed down mountain paths and accumulated in a clear pool with green stones piled to the side. The clear water in the pool would flow down the purposely excavated opening toward the outside of the Palace.
The Northern Qi Emperor wore a thick cloak with his dragon robe underneath. His brows, as sharp as swords, were raised slightly. His lips were tightly pressed together. He sat like this beside the opening in the pool and was silent for a long time, not saying a single word.
Haitang stood at his side with her back to him. Her gaze followed the clear water flowing out of the pool all the way until it reached the outside of the beautiful Palace, a slow-moving river that flowed through Shangjing in the winter.
Before the Dong Mountain incident, Master Ku He had talked with the empress dowager by this pool of water and decided some things. He left easily and, in the end, returned in a decrepit state, dying when his time came to an end. He had lost to the Qing Emperor.
The Northern Qi court was faced with the threat of the powerful ruler to the South again. The threat this time was more real and direct. Countless Qing Iron Riders had stepped onto the path to invade the North. No one knew when they would reach this old capital city and set alight this beautiful Royal Palace.
“I can’t put all my hope in him,” the Qing Emperor said slowly as his sharp brows smoothed slightly and his expression calmed. “Although I believe that there is an irreconcilable hatred between him and the Qing Emperor, the Qing Emperor is, after all, his father. When it comes to Fan Xian’s fickle and naïve emotions, I probably understand him more than most people.”
“Most importantly, according to Aunt Disciple’s words, the blind master had completely become an idiot.” The Northern Qi Emperor lowered his head and look at his slightly warped reflection in the water. Suddenly, he felt that the chill in the world had become a burden that he had never shouldered before. It was suffocating him with its weight. With some disappointment, he said, “If this is truly the case, who in the Qing Royal Palace could kill that ruler?”
“Everyone knows of the Qing people’s ambitions. I have prepared for this for many years. Only once the war started did I realize that I have still underestimated the strength of the Qing military.” The Northern Qi Emperor raised his face. Unswerving determination flashed through his eyes. “It is just two Roads of border soldiers, yet they have reached Nanjing. If the Qing Emperor had truly raised the strength of the kingdom to invade, even Shang Shanhu would probably not be able to hold out for too long.”
“If General Shang Shanu cannot hold out, what is Your Majesty going to do?” At this time, Haitang slowly turned around and asked calmly.
“Raise the strength of the kingdom and battle,” the Northern Qi Emperor replied with a slight smile without even stopping to think. “In the end, this world belongs to me. If it is to be destroyed, it still has to be done by my hands. I have never thought about surrendering.”
Haitang did not say anything more. She just gazed calmly out of the Palace, toward the North, and gently placed her hands together.
…
…
On a piece of land blown by the ocean wind in territory controlled by Dongyi, where the kingdoms of Song and Liang intersected, the weather there was warmer and wetter than both Shangjing and Jingdou. The trees in the mountains kept a rare green color. Who knew that over the mountain range in front, through the land of the Song Kingdom, and through an isolated little city, one would come to a stern and snowy land?
That place of snow was where the Qing Kingdom sent out its soldiers, where the Northern Qi had defended strongly after retreating, and where countless lives had been lost.
Alone and defected from the Qing court, the Great Prince of the Qing Kingdom, who had been silent in the world for about a year, was in the mountains where it was as warm as spring. His gaze was focused on the sky as he imagined the harsh wind and snow.
Behind him were 10,000 loyal subordinates. There was a black line through the mountains, which were the 4,000 Black Knights Fan Xian had given him. However, these Black Knights led by Jing Ge did not seem very willing to obey his orders.
Luckily, Thirteenth Wang had returned to Dongyi and brought Jing Ge military orders written personally by Fan Xian.
The Great Prince pulled back his gaze and glanced at Thirteenth Wang by his side. There was no change in emotion on his soldierly face. Although the number of men he commanded now was not a lot, he was considered by Dongyi as the most powerful faction. If he entered into the war between the two countries, particularly if he attacked the city in the Song Kingdom that Shang Shanhu had cleverly taken last year, he would probably bring about a shocking result.
Fan Xian did not request or ask him to do this. Fan Xian had just handed all of his power to his elder brother. Then, through Thirteenth Wang’s mouth, he shared with him his analysis of the situation and did not say anything else.
The Great Prince gently kicked at his horse and silently led 10,000 elite soldiers toward the northwest. After a moment, the 4,000 Black Knights in the mountains also began to move with their never-changing severity and dark aura.
Silent on horseback, he knew very well why Fan Xian did not have anything specific to tell him. He was the same as Fan Xian. Although they were both bloodlines of Dongyi, they were, in the end, Qing people. Most of these 14,000 elites were also Qing people.
If the Qing Kingdom was invading North, were they, Qing subjects, going to betray the court and counterattack? Probably none of them could do something like this. Although these were all exiled people and had little loyalty to the Emperor, betraying the ruler and defecting one’s country were two different things.
Dongyi could not just watch as the Qing Emperor destroyed Northern Qi in one go. If that happened, Dongyi would naturally become the Qing army’s next target. Dongyi had surrendered to the Qing Kingdom in name but with Fan Xian and the Great Prince’s strength. The Qing court had no control there at all. Once an opportunity arose to truly conquer Dongyi with soldiers, the Qing court will presumably not allow it to pass by.
If such a time came, it would be over for Dongyi. The Great Prince would have no choice but to die. From the moment Chen Pingping died, the Great Prince had prepared himself mentally for such an end. Even though he knew what Fan Xian was preparing to do in Jingdou, the Great Prince still felt a darkness that he could not suppress in his heart.
Regardless of whether Fan Xian succeeded or failed, he would still feel gloomy because that person was his father. His mother was still in the Royal Palace in the Qing Kingdom, and his wife and concubine were still in Jingdou.
The Great Prince slowly raised his head and looked in the direction of Jingdou. For a time, he sighed. He then narrowed his eyes and was silent for a long time.
…
…
The greatest battle under heaven had begun, and the killing fields were prepared. Bones were buried on the roadside while blood and flesh sprayed in the wilds. Crows cried out strangely in the sky amidst the wind and snow. Endless austerity and danger enveloped the entire world just like a shadow that could not be waved away, covering the sky above millions of heads.
Even at such a tense situation, many people’s gazes, including the generals on the battlefields, the lofty Emperor, and the lonely traitor, were actually all focused on Jingdou. They knew that the true victory and defeat, the direction of the world, still was in the Qing Kingdom’s Jingdou, between the father and son who were particularly cruel to one another and themselves.
Just as the Qing Emperor had once said to Ye Wan, he and Fan Xian’s life and death were the true focal points.
However, this situation was not one that humans could set up. It was the results of these decades, the final united scenario. In the process of this unification, the Emperor, the dead woman, Chen Pingping in the autumnal rain, and Fan Xian all added fuel to the fire making its so this situation had no way to be resolved, becoming a stalemate.
Only a sword could cut through the knot. Only life and death could resolve it.
Inside Jingdou, that was the focus of countless eyes. The common people did not actually sense much of the bloodiness on the frontlines. They didn’t even know about the startling matter that was happening right now in the Royal Palace. They continued to lead usual lives with calm emotions, except for the commoners by the intersection next to Tianhe Avenue who were continuously crying.
Inside the Scholar’s Manor, Scholar Hu could not hear these cries, but he knew what was happening inside the Royal Palace at the first instant. It was not a court conference day, but he still had enough spies and seniority that he was immediately dumbstruck.
A year ago, the officials of the He faction had been all killed Fan Xian and the Overwatch Council. During the past year, Scholar Hu, leading the Hall of Governmental Affairs, the three temples, three departments, and six ministries, had kept the Qing court in good order. Even while the Emperor was heavily injured and could not supervise, this scholar remained calm and quiet, unfazed in the face of catastrophe, managing to maintain the peace in the Qing Kingdom with great effectiveness.
When he received the current news, all of Scholar Hu’s calm and collectedness immediately disintegrated. He hadn’t put on any moisturizer, so the lines on his face were particularly deep. In a daze, he stood in the garden of the Scholar’s Manor, appearing particularly old and praying that the heavens would not bring any misfortune upon the Qing Kingdom.
In a simple residence in a cold and rundown square somewhere else in Jingdou, the Jingdou Magistrate, Sun Jingxiu, who had come out from prison a long time ago was coughing and drinking medicine with the help of his daughter. In prison, he had been tormented to an inch of his life. If not for the women of the Fan manor secretly looking out for him, this stern Jingdou Magistrate would probably have died long ago. The Sun family had long fallen. Other than the three generations of the family, the servants had left and concubines had escaped. Their days were truly wretched.
Sun Pin’er comforted her father in a gentle voice. She was thinking that she would have to visit the Fan manor to thank the princess for the medicine. However, she had nothing to wear. She then wondered if Sir Fan junior was alive or dead. For a moment, she involuntarily paused.
In the Fan manor right now, Lin Wan’er was sitting with a serious expression in the Flower Hall with Sisi sitting behind her. Each of them held a child. She faced the wife of the Teng family and said, “There is no need to escape. It’s just that the servants of the family should leave as quickly as possible.”
The wife of the Teng family guessed at something and was not willing to go. Lin Wan’er would not force her because these members of the Fan tribe and family would probably not be able to leave cleanly even if they did want to go. She just stared in a daze at Fan Liang in her lap.
Last night, Fan Ruoruo had been urgently summoned into the Palace. There hadn’t been any news of the Emperor feeling unwell, so Lin Wan’er immediately guessed something had happened. In particular, the strange atmosphere that had begun to permeate throughout Jingdou the previous night made her more confident.
You’re still alive! Why didn’t you come home first? Even if uncle wants to kill you and you want to kill uncle, but… but… Will you not let me see you one last time before that?
Thinking of this, sorrow rose from it. A few tears dropped from her eyes, landing on Fan Liang’s confused and young face.
…
…
While Lin Wan’er was helplessly and sorrowfully worried about Fan Xian’s life, Fan Ruoruo, who had been summoned into the Palace, had already successfully escaped the watch of the internal court aces and disappeared into the depths of the Palace. The Royal Palace was in a mess and could not find her whereabouts. It seemed that not only did this girl learn something from Qing Mountain, the lesson Wu Zhu gave her that night in the snow in Cang Mountain was also far more successful than what Fan Xian taught her initially.
She was wearing the clothes of a serving girl, yet she wore it in a very moving way as the clothes slowly fluttered in the light rain. She followed the inner section of the palace wall and slowly headed in the direction of Taiji Palace. All along the way, she only saw eunuchs and serving girls, pale-faced from the sounds of killing, sneaking in the direction of the back palace. There was no one to care about who she was and why she was there.
Outside of an isolated door right before she reached Taiji Palace, she saw Eunuch Hong Zhu. It seemed that Hong Zhu had been waiting for her for a long time. The two of them calmly met each other’s eyes.
Fan Ruoruo looked at Hong Zhu calmly. Countless thoughts were spinning through her mind because she did not understand why, a few months ago, the powerful head eunuch had suddenly made contact with her in secret.
Hong Zhu bent his body and left the palace door. He didn’t explain anything because he had thought Sir Fan junior was already dead. After thinking for a long time, whatever remained hidden in his bones, made him seek out the young lady of the Fan family to speak of his connection with Fan Xian. Perhaps this eunuch did not want to guard the secret between him and Fan Xian alone and stand guard alone in the depths of the Palace.
Fan Ruoruo knew that her brother was still alive and had entered the Royal Palace with the help of this eunuch. This made her very happy. Immediately after, the joy turned into deep worry because she knew what her brother had come into the Palace to do.
She walked to the side of the palace doors, to the side of a large copper vat filled with water. She listened through the palace door to the terrifying sounds happening not far in the Royal Palace. It was the sound of metal rod piercing through armor and bone. The worry between her brows deepened further. She knew that even her teacher had come today.
She looked through the gap in the palace doors at the bright yellow figure in the distance in front of the front doors of Taiji Place. She pressed her lips together for a while and was silent for some time before she finally made up her mind.
…
…
The Emperor put his hands behind his back. The hands in his sleeves gripped the white handkerchief with slight force. Only he knew that there were spots of cherry blossom-like blood marks on the white handkerchief. He had coughed up blood. Was he truly reaching the end?
Eunuch Yao had been sent away by him. He stood in front of the curtain of rain without a single guard around him. He appeared very lonely. In front of him, amidst the light rain, an even lonelier figure slowly approached him.
Wu Zhu had finally arrived.
The light rain continued to drip endlessly onto the black cloth on his face. The metal rod held tightly in his hand continued to drop blood without stopping. The stench of blood emanated from his soaked cloth clothes.
Who knew how many imperial soldiers he had killed before Wu Zhu had finally made it from the palace walls, step by step? The sharp tip of the usually invulnerable and indestructible metal rod in his hands had, after piercing through countless hard pieces of armor and piercing countless throats, been rubbed flat. Its body had curved.
Wu Zhu was not human, but he was also not a god. When faced with wave after wave of elite battle strength and no-holds-barred attacks, he was still injured. Especially from when he killed his way down from the palace walls. Imperial soldiers wearing thick armor used their bodies as enemy crushing giant stones to stand in his way, successfully stalling his steps and injuring this body.
The Imperial Army’s obstructions could not be said to be unheroic, but Wu Zhu still killed his way out. However, the metal rod in his hand was now useless. The black hair he had tied up tightly had long fallen into disarray. Countless holes had been added to the clothes on his body, and a piece of clothing below his waist had, for some reason, been burned to shreds.
What scared people the most was that during the chaotic battle, the young blind man’s leg seemed to have been smashed by some kind of heavy weaponry. Bent at a completely unnatural angle, it twisted behind him. It looked like the bone had been shattered into a strange shape and was impossible to walk on.
But, Wu Zhu continued to walk. Through the almost fallen piece of black cloth, he stared at the Emperor. Using the warped metal rod as a crutch, he dragged his already useless left leg and walked with great difficulty in the rain all the way until he reached the Qing Emperor.
The rain had long become light, falling sparsely. There was still accumulated water on the stone slates in front of Taiji Palace. Wu Zhu’s twisted left leg dragged through the rain making a terrifying noise.
Each time the leg rubbed against the ground, the corner of Wu Zhu’s thin lips twitched slightly. Presumably, he also felt pain but had forgotten what pain was. He just walked step by step toward the Qing Emperor in front of the palace.
The Emperor quietly watched the approaching Wu Zhu and suddenly asked, “I finally confirmed that you are not a dead thing. If you were a dead thing, where would your powerful love come from?”
The tightly closed palace doors suddenly opened wide. Ye Zhong, covered in filthy water, rode in atop a horse and lead what was left of the imperial soldiers, as well as his personal riders. They rushed in the direction of Taiji Palace. The hooves sounded like thunder, making the water on the ground tremble.
In an instant, hundreds of Qing elite soldiers once again surrounded Wu Zhu. When they looked at Wu Zhu surrounded by them, especially at his twisted leg that he continued to stubbornly stand on, they did not feel a sliver of joy, particularly the dozen or so Qing Temple Ascetic Monks that suddenly appeared at the Emperor’s side. When the powerful Ascetic Monks saw Wu Zhu, particularly the color of the fluids flowing from the wounds on his body, their faces became pale as their bodies trembled.
The blood flowing from Wu Zhu’s body was hot and red, but it was a golden red. Gradually faded by the light rain, not many people were able to notice it, but these straw-hat wearing Ascetic Monks noticed it.
It was as if all of the Ascetic Monks had been struck by lightning and knelt down in the rain in front of Wu Zhu. They were originally the Qing Emperor’s most powerful defense. Now, they had no choice but to bow down in front of this blind cripple.
With an emissary personally visiting the mortal realm, how could mortals fail to show respect? Was this heaven’s godly punishment of the Qing Kingdom?
