Chapter 427: Even We Are Left Powerless

Qing Wang and Chen Wang were playing chess in the garden of Prince Ning's mansion.

A guard rushed into the garden, rolling and crawling, and fell in front of the stone table: "Your Highness, Prince! Urgent news from Xibei!"

"Speak!"

"Fifty thousand reinforcements were ambushed at night before reaching the Xibei Main Camp, almost completely annihilated!"

Qing Wang sprang to his feet, grabbed the guard by the collar, and demanded, "Say that again?"

"Prince! The latest report—only a few thousand managed to escape! All provisions and supplies have been lost!"

"Useless! A bunch of useless scum!" Qing Wang kicked him to the ground. "Fifty thousand! A full fifty thousand troops! Xiao Yuanhang! Could it really be that no one can defeat you on the battlefield?"

Chen Wang slowly released his grip, and the chess piece in his hand snapped onto the board with a "pop": "We've lost another piece."

"Lost?" Qing Wang whirled around. "I haven't lost yet! Jingcheng still has thirty thousand troops, and we can draw forces from Jiangnan and Hedong! Send another fifty thousand! No, a hundred thousand! I won't believe we can't crush him!"

Chen Wang lifted his eyes, his gaze icy: "Send more? Xiao Yuanhang, with only fifty thousand men, in just two engagements, already routed our 110,000‑strong army."

"Now his morale is high, and he has secured provisions and arms. Sending more troops? Isn't that courting death?"

Qing Wang listened, his face turning ashen.

Chen Wang rose slowly: "If we add more troops, it's like adding oil—no matter how much we add, he will consume it all."

"The longer we stall, the more solid his foundation becomes, and the tighter our grain rations become."

"If we launch a massive conscription, the people's hearts will be thrown into chaos, and then won't they swing even more toward Xiao Jieyun?"

"Then what do you propose?" Qing Wang roared. "Do we just watch him build strength in Xibei and march back to Jingcheng?"

Chen Wang fell silent for a long moment: "Please, Supreme Master, make the decision."

Late at night, an ordinary small green cloth sedan was carried through the side gate of Prince Ning's mansion.

The sedan curtain was lifted, and a man in a black robe wearing a bronze mask stepped out.

A servant respectfully escorted him to the study, where Qing Wang and Chen Wang had been waiting for a long time.

The Masked Man walked straight to the desk and sat in the wide chair that originally belonged to Xiao Yuanhang.

Qing Wang and Chen Wang clasped their hands and said, "Supreme Master."

The Masked Man looked at them: "I already know. Fifty thousand troops, indeed a pity."

Qing Wang hurried, "Supreme Master! Xiao Yuanhang—he…"

"Defeat is defeat," the Masked Man cut him off. "Do you know why Xiao Yuanhang can win?"

Qing Wang was stunned.

Chen Wang mused, "Geography, popular sentiment, morale…"

"No." the Masked Man shook his head. "Because you are playing chess, while he is waging war."

"On the board you follow rules; on the battlefield you must use every means at your disposal."

Qing Wang stepped forward: "What do you mean, Supreme Master?"

The Masked Man waved his hand: "You need not concern yourselves with this for now; do not send more troops."

"Leave the sixty thousand troops in Xibei idle, just keep them pinned down."

Chen Wang's eyes flickered: "Supreme Master, is there anything you need us to do?"

The Masked Man pondered lightly: "Waive taxes in Jingcheng and the Jiangnan Region for three years, grant a universal amnesty, hold a banquet in the Empress Dowager's name to win over Jingcheng officials, and invite a world‑renowned master for the young emperor."

Chen Wang understood: "Compete with Xiao Jieyun for the people's hearts?"

The Masked Man nodded: "Exactly. You now hold great power; to sit securely on this realm you must win the people's favor."

"Only those scholars, full of moral pretensions, will entangle you endlessly."

"The common folk care only about who can give them a good life, so lure them with small benefits."

Qing Wang furrowed his brow: "But if this is true, how can the Imperial Court afford enough silver to supply the army?"

The Masked Man looked at him with obvious impatience: "What's waived today can be cleverly re‑taxed tomorrow. So, you still intend to fight for ten or eight years?"

"Yes!" Chen Wang glanced at Qing Wang, respectfully clasped his fists: "We will faithfully obey the Supreme Master's command!"

Qing Wang whispered, "Yes."

The Masked Man turned and left the mansion, returning to his own residence.

"Summon Gongsun Heng to see me."

"Understood."

Soon after, Gongsun Heng entered: "I am unaware of the Supreme Master's summons; what orders do you have?"

He had been silent for many days, already eager to prove himself; if he could not achieve anything, where would his "dragon‑following" merit come from?

The Masked Man looked at him: "I need you to swiftly place plague‑infested rats into Xiao Jieyun's Xibei Main Camp. Can you do it?"

Gongsun Heng was startled, thought for a moment, and replied, "Can."

The Masked Man nodded approvingly: "Indeed, you are the chief strategist under Gongsun Chi. How do you plan to proceed?"

Gongsun Heng clasped his fists and said, "Supreme Master, your praise is misplaced; this matter is not difficult."

"Simply lock several hundred rats into a small animal cage, feed them rotting meat, then cut open their bodies so they bite each other."

"Within half a month they will surely be diseased. Select the robust ones and rush them into Xiao Jieyun's main camp."

"The rats will scurry everywhere, naturally spreading the plague wherever they go. Once discovered, even if they try to trace the source, it will be impossible."

"Good!" the Masked Man's eyes glittered. "With you beside Gongsun Chi, yet still unable to unify the world in one go, that is incompetence."

"Go, see to it. When the four seas return their loyalty, you will be my top meritorious officer!"

"Yes!" Gongsun Heng's face showed startled flattery, "I am willing to lay my liver and brain at your feet, Supreme Master!"

The Masked Man thought for a moment: "Depart immediately; I give you half a month to travel from Jingcheng to Xibei. Can you accomplish everything en route?"

"On the road?"

If there is no enclosed courtyard, you'd have to feed the rats on a carriage—such a risk is astronomically huge…

Gongsun Heng was just about to speak, but when he raised his eyes he met the Masked Man's cold gaze, and a chill rose in his heart: "C… can… I can accomplish it."

The Masked Man nodded: "Go. Depart at once; in half a month I will have a plague over Xiao Jieyun's Main Camp!"

"After you finish, you need not return to Jingcheng; bring a carrier pigeon and report all of Xibei to me."

He produced a token of Qing Wang: "If you are certain the enemy forces are in disarray, you may use this token to go to the Xibei Barracks and issue orders, dispatch troops at once, and completely wipe out Xiao Jieyun's fifty thousand soldiers for me!"

"As a special envoy, you need not charge into battle; you only need to finish off Xiao Jieyun and bring back the Imperial Seal and the Emperor's head to Jingcheng."

The Emperor's head! The Imperial Seal! This would be an unprecedented feat!

If this truly comes to pass and my great undertaking succeeds, wouldn't I be ranked among the Three Dukes?

Gongsun Heng's hand trembled slightly as he took the token: "Thank you, Your Excellency!"

His sleeves fluttered in the wind as he turned and briskly walked out.

The Masked Man watched his back: "Xiao Yuanhang, you are invincible on the battlefield, truly unmatched, yet I intend to subjugate the enemy without fighting, leaving you with no field on which to wield your weapons."

"This time, I fear even your remarkably fortunate daughter will be at a loss."