Chapter 462: Adept at Sacrificing to Heaven

Outside the city of Ye, an altar built on the orders of Huangfu Weiming stood tall. At this very moment, "the hundred officials" had gathered in force, and the heaven-sacrifice ceremony was underway.

In the early Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras, Brother Ji would have one of these altars built every year, dismantled after a single use—extravagantly wasteful.

Each time, he would have two imperial princes participate in the heaven-sacrifice ceremony, as a mark of imperial favor.

Whoever participated in the sacrifice to heaven seemed one step closer to the position of Crown Prince. Brother Ji used this method of "raising fish," maintaining political balance.

Ascending the throne and proclaiming oneself emperor was no small matter. Even though it felt wasteful, Huangfu Weiming had no choice but to follow the "rules": first build the altar, then sacrifice to heaven, then ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, and only then appoint the civil and military officials.

More vacant official posts meant more chips with which to buy people's loyalty. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child.

The campaign in Henan having stalled, he was now ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor in Ye City in Hebei—was this not itself a case of putting on a festive face for a funeral?

Huangfu Weiming gave a somewhat self-deprecating smile and said to Prince Rong, Li Wan, beside him: "Your Highness, the heaven-sacrifice ceremony is beginning. Once the ceremony is complete, we can return to Ye City and commence the enthronement ceremony."

Prince Rong, Li Wan, was momentarily dazed, then asked in bewilderment, "Commander, isn't the sacrifice to heaven supposed to be held at Mount Tai?"

Huangfu Weiming was also taken aback by these words, and for a moment could not tell whether this Prince Rong was genuinely stupid or playing dumb!

The "sacrifice to heaven" that Brother Ji held every year was a plea to the heavens for favorable weather and a prosperous, peaceful nation throughout the year. So the altar could be thrown together casually.

But the "sacrifice to heaven" required for ascending the throne and proclaiming oneself emperor could not be so perfunctory—it had to be held at Mount Tai.

Or else simply ascend the throne and skip it entirely.

It was just like holding a wedding banquet: either you don't hold one and just get the certificate, or you hold a proper, full-scale affair. No one simply goes out to a restaurant for a meal and calls it done.

Prince Rong asking this foolish question, on the one hand, made him seem "very knowledgeable," well-versed in the significance and procedure of the heaven sacrifice, yet on the other hand revealed him as a pure piece of trash who could not distinguish the primary from the secondary.

He completely failed to see how perilous the situation was with the rebellion launched in Hebei!

"Your Highness, do not delay the auspicious hour. Mount Tai is a mountain, and the Taihang Mountains are also a mountain. It is enough to go through the motions."

Huangfu Weiming said with a bitter smile.

"True. I have thought too much."

Li Wan hastily bowed to Huangfu Weiming in apology. Only, on this occasion, Li Wan bowing to Huangfu Weiming was extremely inappropriate!

Huangfu Weiming hurriedly stopped him, saying, "You do me too much honor, Your Highness. Please, after you."

Only then did Li Wan snap back to his senses, nod with feigned composure, and walk toward the altar ahead.

Just then, Li Guiren in full armor hurried over to Huangfu Weiming's side and whispered in his ear at length.

Huangfu Weiming, who had been as steady as an old dog, instantly turned pale!

"Where is Wu Lingxun? Where are his troops?"

Huangfu Weiming, both anxious and angry, looked at Li Wan, who had just stepped onto the altar, and was somewhat at a loss for what to do.

"Commander, Wu Lingxun's troops are currently fighting this government army and are on the verge of collapse.

Should this general lead troops out to attack?"

Li Guiren asked in a low voice, glancing at the civil and military officials participating in the heaven sacrifice, somewhat undecided in his heart.

An attack was acceptable, but the commotion would surely be great. Today was the day of Prince Rong Li Wan's enthronement; nothing could go wrong, and it was best for the troops not to move if they did not have to.

Otherwise, those fence-sitters who had only just been won over might not know what choices they would make.

Li Guiren understood this principle, and Huangfu Weiming naturally understood it as well.

"Leave it for now. We will discuss it after the heaven sacrifice and the enthronement ceremony are concluded."

Huangfu Weiming said, feigning composure while his heart was in a panic.

"Understood. Then this general will take some elite retainers and quietly go to reinforce the north bank of the Zhang River."

Li Guiren cupped his fists in salute, said this, and turned to leave.

Only after he had gone did Huangfu Weiming realize that his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

……

Heading north through the Taihang Mountains, how steep and towering they rise! The sheep-intestine pass twists and bends, cart wheels are shattered upon it.

How desolate the trees, the north wind's sound is sorrowful. Bears and brown bears crouch before me, tigers and leopards howl along the road.

This was Cao Cao's description of the Bing-Ye Road in his "Song of Bitter Cold." That year, he was leading troops to attack Bing Province, and as he hesitated before Huguan, unable to advance, he wrote this poem that would be passed down through the ages.

The demonic Bing-Ye Road could be called the most legendary of the Taihang Eight Passes, and could also be termed a "Schrödinger's road" that baffled even ghosts and gods.

This route was very unusual.

When Bing Province and Ye City were both controlled by the same political faction, this incomparably treacherous road would miraculously become "unobstructed," and everyone loved to travel it.

For example, during the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi, the Bing-Ye Road was the most unobstructed route between Ye City and Jinyang. That's right—though it was difficult to traverse, it was safe, and it went directly there.

Back then, Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, Gao Yang, loved to travel this road, making over a dozen trips along the Bing-Ye Road between Jinyang and Ye City in a single year!

However, just as the principle in the theory of contradiction holds that advantages and disadvantages can transform into one another, an originally advantageous factor, once the external environment changes, can very likely turn from the best condition into the worst.

The Bing-Ye Road was precisely such a case.

Once Taiyuan and Ye City belonged to two different and hostile political factions, its advantages vanished and its drawbacks were magnified infinitely, so that those veteran generals would avoid the Bing-Ye Road whenever they possibly could.

Cao Cao's "Song of Bitter Cold" had already vividly illustrated that marching an army down this road was tantamount to gambling with one's life! If you did not win, even retreating would be extremely difficult.

Moreover, it was very fair: whether departing from Taiyuan or from Ye City, the difficulties faced were exactly the same.

Once an army entered Fukou Pass, it would enter a "black box state"—no one could say what "demons and monsters" awaited them within those narrow mountain paths. When you reached the exit, it would be Hukou Pass, with not a single city for resupply or rest in between.

The narrowness of the field of vision also meant that scouts on both sides had to traverse the entire road and reach the far end before they could learn whether the opponent had dispatched troops!

However, there are only thieves who steal day in and day out, but no one has ever heard of someone guarding against thieves day in and day out. Having scouts walk the entire length of this road every day to check whether the opponent was making moves was indeed rather impractical! One could only judge whether this road was dangerous at any given moment by scouting the enemy's troop movements and deployments.

If a large army were massed near Huguan, then traveling this road would become extremely dangerous.

The cautious Huangfu Weiming did not dare to dispatch troops to attack Hukou Pass, but he had prepared two defensive lines on the outer perimeter of Fukou Pass.

The first defensive line was at Zhaoyi County and Fuyang at the entrance to Fukou Pass.

Three thousand troops under Wu Lingxun were stationed here.

The second defensive line was the main camp on the north bank of the Zhang River, with five thousand troops, led by the Hu general Bi Sichen, who was of Turkic origin.

After all, this was not the primary defensive line, and no movements from the government army had been reported near Huguan, so Huangfu Weiming had not stationed too many troops here.

He heard that the imperial troops on the Hedong side had already massed a great army at Taiyuan, planning to dispatch forces from Jingqing, attack Zhend, and cut off the rear route of the Hebei rebel army.

Huangfu Weiming had already sent messengers to issue orders, commanding Shi Siming to return to defense, retreating from Feihu Jing back to Hebei. On his own side, he had Li Huaixian lead twenty‑thousand troops to rush to Jizhou's Xindu, and also recruited soldiers in Xindu, enlisting Hebei united troops to strengthen the force, preparing to jointly ambush the imperial army with Shi Siming.

As for Li Guiren's troops, they were concentrated around Xinxiang and Ji County, guarding against imperial forces crossing the Yellow River from Henan to attack Hebei. Their coming to Yecheng today was only because they were to attend the enthronement ceremony.

What Huangfu Weiming could not figure out was why imperial troops would break out from inside Fukou Jing. Why had this contingent not been detected by Hedong scouts earlier?

Yet pondering these was already too late; the most important thing now was to hurry and finish the enthronement ceremony, then deal with these side matters!

However, what Huangfu Weiming did not anticipate was that the troops under Wu Lingxun had already been defeated by that army and scattered in flight.

Even Wu Lingxun himself was defeated and captured.

At this moment, on the south bank of the Fu River, Wu Lingxun knelt there with a despondent face, not daring to lift his head, utterly refusing to look at Fang Chongyong, who was wiping the bloodstains off his ancient sword.

"Your Excellency Huangfu, you just threw three thousand men into Fukou Jing? How reckless, truly reckless!"

Fang Chongyong looked at the kneeling, speechless Wu Lingxun, sheathed his Swift Wind Illusion Blade, and asked with a strange expression.

Fukou Jing, together with Yedao Road, such an important route, yet they failed to station heavy troops, not even repairing a camp at the entrance! One must say it's extremely perfunctory!

"Jiedushi, look, the river water is bubbling. If we toss this guy in, will he be cooked by then?"

He Changqi pointed at the roiling, bubbling surface of the Fu River, saying it was like water boiling over, as if he were a naive, clueless child.

"Whether he cooks or not I don't know, but he'll definitely be dead."

Fang Chongyong made a mocking remark and didn't bother to address He Changqi further.

They had just left Fukou Jing when they saw Wu Lingxun leading a large group by the Fu River, hauling a massive fishing net to fish!

Very abstract!

Of course, one must admit Wu Lingxun knows his stuff. His behavior this time was not odd at all.

Because the Fu River abounds with carp and crucian carp, though bony, the flesh is tender and renowned far and near. Ordinary folks could never afford such "premium goods."

Nowadays, the Hebei rebels' provisions have been largely burned by Fang Youde's men, and the military rations are no longer as plentiful as before. Having the soldiers fend for themselves by fishing and hunting daily is not unimaginable.

Seeing a huge crowd of soldiers fishing by the Fu River, He Changqi, as the vanguard, was stunned on the spot, unable to believe such a thing could happen.

Yet this did not prevent him from leading his troops in a wave attack to completely crush Wu Lingxun's unit.

By the way, the fish hauled ashore were also feasted upon by the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, and now Fang Chongyong was surrounded by waves of grilled‑fish aroma.

"May I ask, General, which unit of brave men do you come from?"

Wu Lingxun asked cautiously.

"You see, I haven't examined him yet, but he has turned to examine me."

"He Laohu, give this brave man a stretch, let him clear his head."

Fang Chongyong chuckled coldly, instructing He Changqi to give Wu Lingxun a dose of intensity.

Soon, the bruised and battered Wu Lingxun was brought back before Fang Chongyong.

"What is your name, how are the deployments around Yecheng, are Huangfu Weiming and Li Wan here now?"

Fang Chongyong fired questions like a rapid volley, and Wu Lingxun could only answer each in turn, daring not to hide anything.

"Tell Huangfu Weiming, as long as he dares to lead troops out of Yecheng, I will kill him without mercy. Bring any number of troops, I will slay them all!

Go!"

Fang Chongyong waved his hand broadly, pointing toward the southern direction of Yecheng.

"Eh?"

Wu Lingxun thought he had misheard. So simple, they were letting him go like this?

"You won't leave? Planning that I chop off one of your hands before you go?"

Fang Chongyong frowned and asked.

"Alright, alright, thank you, General, thank you, General."

Wu Lingxun took two steps forward, then turned back, and, bowing his fists to Fang Chongyong, asked, "Regardless, may I still ask your name, General."

"Fang Qing, courtesy name Jutian."

Fang Chongyong said with an indifferent expression.

Fang Qing? I've never heard of him!

Wu Lingxun nodded silently, inwardly sighing that he had been beaten by a nobody with no chance to retaliate!

Indeed, has the era changed?

Wu Lingxun muttered to himself, finding this rather odd—why is this nameless man's troops so elite and ferocious?

Though perhaps unintentional, having traversed Yedao, exiting Fukou from Huguan, and still possessing such stamina, he truly could be called a brave and battle‑savvy warrior!

With troops like that, how could its commander be mediocre?

"Our Jiedushi was formerly called Fang Chongyong, courtesy name Guozhong; we are the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army!

When you report back, don't be lax and call us some cats and dogs!"

He Changqi coldly reminded, "…"

The words startled Wu Lingxun into a stumble!

Fang Guozhong! Yinqiang Xiaojie Army!

"Damn! Something huge just happened!"

Wu Lingxun scrambled southward, his helmet falling to the ground, which he didn't bother to pick up.

After he left, He Changqi asked Fang Chongyong in puzzlement, "Jiedushi, why inform Huangfu Weiming of our movements? Wouldn't it be better to disguise as a pig and eat the tiger, killing all the way?"

"I estimate that around Yecheng there are likely more than thirty thousand elite soldiers. It was only luck that we managed to defeat Wu Lingxun this time; that doesn't mean we can always win at such minimal cost."

Some think that the strong feign weakness as a ruse to lure the enemy into action. The weak boast strength, also as a ruse, to lure the enemy into inaction.

"We now have roughly three thousand men, no pack animals, only dry rations; clearly it's best to leave the Yecheng area quickly, no need to tangle with Huangfu Weiming."

"The more arrogant and overbearing we become, the less Huangfu Weiming dares to act rashly. By the time they recover, we will already be aboard a large canal boat, entering the Yellow River."

"Jiedushi, you're still formidable!"

He Changqi gave a thumbs-up, speaking with flattery, but soon he frowned and asked: "What's next? Are we going to storm the Zhang River defense line?"

Fang Chongyong hadn't spoken yet, when beside him, Che Guangqian added: "Jiedushi, this is just to scare Huangfu Weiming; our next step is to head straight east to Huishui County. That's an important ferry point on the Yongji Canal. If we're lucky, we'll find grain barges there; if we're unlucky and don't find any, we'll go along the Yongji Canal to Weizhou's Yuancheng to look; if we still can't find any, we'll go to Beizhou to look—we're sure to find something."

Che Guangqian explained things to Fang Chongyong.

Simply put, Fang Chongyong never intended to go south to Ye City and break through the Hebei rebels' defenses; instead, he would head east along the canal to look for grain barges, then travel by water to Bianzhou!

Meanwhile, Huangfu Weiming, who must defend Ye City, will not only not pursue Fang Chongyong and the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, but will also gather nearby rebel troops, creating favorable conditions for Fang Chongyong's side to seize grain barges at the canal crossing.

This is the method of "using weakness to feign strength," manipulating the enemy according to one's own plan.

Put bluntly, Fang Chongyong now has no reinforcements outside and no stored grain inside—what good is bravery and ferocity?

Seizing Bianzhou, securing a good base to slowly hold out, watching Brother Ji and Huangfu Weiming fight to the death—that would be splendid!

"Relay my orders: we march now to Huishui County!"

Fang Chongyong issued the order in a deep voice.

(End of chapter)