Chapter 533: Virtue Unfit for the Position, Inevitable Punishment

At the top of Cangzhou City's wall, the "Sword Saint" Pei Min leans on the parapet, gazing toward the Yongji Canal. Of course, visibility in the night sky is low, and at the far end one cannot see the canal at all.

The distant view is false; impatience is real, impatience that keeps him awake at night.

In the torchlight, Pei Min's brows knit into a "river" shape; after a long while the tight brows relaxed, turning into a long sigh.

"Why do you sigh, Lord Pei?"

Li Quan stepped forward and asked.

"Da Guan Zi (Li Quan's Daoist name), you wonder whether he will …"

Pei Min asked hesitantly.

He was clearly worried that Fang Chongyong would not follow Li Quan's plan.

A bit of hope and fear.

"If Fang Qing does not trust Li, then he is not a person to entrust with great matters.

Li's scheme, success or failure would be irrelevant.

If he trusts Li, then Li's scheme will surely succeed; everything is destiny.

Then why should Lord Pei worry?"

Li Quan's expression remained calm as he explained, looking confident.

Pei Min gave a slight nod and said nothing more.

He intended to recommend Li Quan to Fang Chongyong to accomplish great deeds. After all, his own life had already run its course, and having Li Quan follow him would waste his talent.

But Li Quan said he needed to "observe" first. For Li Quan, leaving Pei Min did not automatically mean following Fang Chongyong.

This is the principle of master choosing minister, and minister also choosing master.

Li Quan made his meaning clear: if Fang Chongyong trusts him and acts according to the plan, he can easily capture Gao Miao.

If he does not trust him, it can only be said that the other lacks destiny and is unfit to serve.

That's fair.

Therefore, when Li Quan first met Fang Chongyong, he never produced Pei Min's "recommendation letter"; from start to finish he observed from the shadows, weighing repeatedly.

"Da Guan Zi, this …"

Not long after, Pei Min raised his hand as if to speak, but seeing Li Quan's composed face, he swallowed the words again.

"Lord Pei, rest assured, even without Fang Qing, if you need to get out, Li has plenty of ways."

Li Quan said nonchalantly.

Pei Min nodded slightly; if Li Quan said he could get out, then he could. Yet taking his troops with him would be difficult.

Unlike Wang Zhongsi, Pei Min is not a die‑hard follower of Brother Ji.

He is a direct descendant of the Hedong Pei clan, the thirty‑first generation.

What the Pei clan aims to do in chaotic times is to "wait for a price and sell," not to follow a single emperor to the end.

When chaos begins, gathering all possible strength to accomplish great deeds is the only way to succeed.

Hence Pei Min first thought of Fang Chongyong. Li Quan's test is actually Pei Min's test as well. It concerns life and death; no one dares to bet on an unreliable person at a critical moment.

"Let's have a small drink."

Pei Min said to Li Quan, patting his shoulder, estimating that he would not be able to sleep tonight.

The two went to the city‑tower betting room; after three cups of wine, Pei Min looked at Li Quan and asked puzzled, "Liu Kenu guards Changlu County; will he break his promise and instead aid Gao Miao?"

This time Gao Miao arranged his troops, Pei Min was responsible for defending Cangzhou City, Liu Kenu for defending Changlu County, and Gao Miao himself guarded the riverbank, tasked with ambushing the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army.

At this crucial moment Liu Kenu's choice is vital. He may not achieve success, but his knack for failure is solid.

Li Quan waved his hand and said:

"Liu Kenu was once a commander under Xue Chuyu, very senior, repeatedly earning battle merits.

In public and private, he has no reason to help Gao Miao."

Li Quan waved his hand; he had already calculated these patterns clearly.

Xue Chuyu was the former Military Governor of Youzhou before Zhang Shougui, who falsified battle reports, turning a defeat into a victory, and was later reported and dismissed by Brother Ji.

Yet many border generals Xue Chuyu promoted locally in Youzhou have now grown, Liu Kenu being one of them.

Ten or twenty years have passed; Liu Kenu should have risen, but because Huangfu Weiming raised troops, he lost his original post, effectively demoted.

He has no fire in his heart, which is terrifying.

Why did Huangfu Weiming treat Liu Kenu this way?

In fact it was simply because Huangfu Weiming had too many trusted men to place, each like a radish in its own pit. Since Liu Kenu is a direct descendant of Xue Chuyu, he is a child without patronage, not a target of Huangfu Weiming's deliberate scheme.

The world is often this realistic.

"Gao Miao is not a villain, but his virtue does not match his position; he will inevitably suffer for it—what a pity."

Pei Min poured a cup for Li Quan and another for himself.

"If the Crown Prince were to sit in Guanzhong and pacify the Hebei rebellion, the world could at least maintain a superficial peace.

If Huangfu Weiming seized Chang'an, then … endless wars would ensue."

Li Quan sighed; he is exceptionally clever and well‑read, yet faced with this situation he cannot devise a solution.

"Indeed, Li Wan's accession is improper; if he ascends the throne, the princes will surely rise in rebellion.

By then, the turmoil will not be settled in a year or two."

Pei Min nodded slightly, evidently sharing the same thought.

He is already scheming, planning to unite Fang Chongyong's strength to secure a foothold in the coming chaos.

If he can do it, how much more can others?

The world might finally settle!

Pei Min and Li Quan sat in the city‑wall betting room of Cangzhou, discussing the state of the world while awaiting news from the Yongji Canal; neither dared to sleep at this critical moment.

We kept holding out, holding out, until the sky turned a fish‑belly white, and then a cavalry unit, torches aloft, rushed toward Cangzhou City!

"It must be Gao Miao arriving!"

Li Quan pointed at the horsemen that were faintly visible beneath the city walls, gradually drawing nearer, and said.

"Men, change the banner!"

Pei Min decisively ordered the flag change; a few messengers at his side hurriedly tore down the military banner atop the city wall and replaced it with one bearing "Yinqiang Xiaojie Army".

Soon, someone shouted from below the city, "General Pei, open the gate quickly! Pursuers are behind!"

Hearing this, Li Quan shook his head at Pei Min, indicating that he need not say anything.

If matters are not kept secret, they fail; leaving oneself a way out does no harm.

Pei Min remained silent, and the deputy commander and his personal troops on the tower also kept quiet, as if they hadn't heard.

The voice from below the tower seemed to be Gao Miao himself, but it sounded extremely frantic and hurried at that moment.

Pei Min was unmoved and did not expose himself at all.

"Lord Pei, fire the arrows now! Drive Gao Miao away!"

Li Quan, standing nearby, whispered a suggestion.

Thus Pei Min summoned messengers and ordered the archers on the city wall to shoot directly at the shouting Gao Miao.

The arrows were poorly aimed, and Gao Miao, mounted on his horse, emerged unscathed.

Obviously, Liu Kenu indeed acted as previously arranged: he kept the gate closed, did not expose himself, gave no reply, and merely changed the banner to feign death.

Gao Miao this time truly experienced what a treacherous heart feels like.

After he left with his few cavalry, Pei Min and Li Quan finally stepped down from the tower, gazing toward the direction Gao Miao departed, a flash of pity passing through their eyes.

"It was somewhat unsporting, to say the least."

Pei Min sighed; he still had to save some face. Yet in this matter, what they did was indeed disgraceful.

Li Quan, however, wore a solemn expression as he said to him, "Lord Pei should be grateful that we are not Gao Miao today. Today you sympathize with Gao Miao; when we later become like him, who will sympathize with us? The clash of battle arrays is not a contest of swordsmanship; as long as we win, that is enough!"

……

This crossbow unit employed a two‑stage firing: the first and second rounds each released one hundred bolts, and after reloading, the first squad had already surged out of the woods for a follow‑up volley.

The riders quickly dismounted, raised their round shields in formation for protection. The crossbowmen pressed on relentlessly, hemming them into the vicinity of a fish pond by the field ridge.

During the melee, the pursuing troops from behind arrived.

"I am Gao Miao! Fang Qing, you despicable scoundrel! Come, take my head off my neck!"

Gao Miao tossed his round shield to the ground, brandished a horizontal blade, and roared at the surrounding hill troops that encircled him.

At that moment, the crowd split a path. Fang Chongyong, escorted by He Changqi, stepped forward, looking at Gao Miao with a foolish‑stare.

"Now that things have come to this, is it any fun to say this?"

Fang Chongyong asked calmly.

"If you wish to kill, then kill, but a word must be made clear! Otherwise I cannot die in peace!"

Gao Miao, straining his neck, shouted.

"Then speak quickly."

He Changqi, beside Fang Chongyong, couldn't help retorting.

"Fang Qing! If not for two of your subordinates' generals suddenly rebelling, could you have won today?"

"Could you still be standing here watching Mr. Gao's joke?"

Gao Miao said resentfully, his eyes blood‑red. His thin, tall body trembled with anger, wishing he could beat Fang Chongyong mercilessly to vent.

But those things could only be contemplated in his mind; now he couldn't even touch Fang Chongyong's hem.

A typical duck dies stubbornly.

"Li Baochen's fifty‑thousand pursuers are behind me; why didn't I let them withdraw and instead pit three thousand elite troops against me directly?"

Fang Chongyong asked.

Gao Miao was instantly at a loss for words; living with double standards is pointless. One can't say only you may use a ten‑one trick, but not let others cheat, can one?

"Then how did you know I was lying in ambush? Did someone leak the secret to you?"

Gao Miao followed with a question.

Upon hearing this, Fang Chongyong was too lazy to answer, and simply spread his hands toward him.

"Give him a horse, let him leave, wherever he wishes."

Fang Chongyong said to He Changqi beside him.

"Jiedushi! This cannot be done!"

He Changqi hurriedly stopped Fang Chongyong.

Gao Miao was also startled by the remark; releasing the enemy commander so casually was not a usual maneuver.

"Each serves his own lord; leave a margin, so we may meet again later.

Go, give him a horse."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand lightly, signaling He Changqi not to make a fuss here.

"Understood!"

He Changqi, reluctantly, fetched a horse, stepped forward, and handed the reins to Gao Miao, his face like a tiger, saying nothing.

"If you are not satisfied, go back, reorganize your troops, and come back to fight until you submit."

Fang Chongyong pointed toward the southern direction.

Gao Miao gave him a deep glance, clasped his fists in a bow, then flipped onto his horse and rode southward, soon disappearing from sight.

"See them off."

Fang Chongyong pointed at the wounded enemy soldiers moaning on the ground.

He Changqi led a few personal soldiers forward, cutting down each one with a single blow; he finished quickly, and a large amount of fresh blood flowed into the pond, turning it completely crimson.

"Go deliver the order: everyone must assemble outside Cangzhou City."

Fang Chongyong had He Changqi personally lead troops to inform Che Guangqian and the others that the battle on the canal side should already be over.

"Jiedushi, let Gao Miao go concerning this matter……"

He Changqi seemed to remain preoccupied with that previous scene.

"This Jiedushi has his own opinions; I'll explain them to you later in detail."

Fang Chongyong pointed to the west, gesturing for He Changqi to hurry and attend to his duties.

After an hour, all of the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army had gathered outside Cangzhou City. By then they had lost most of their transport ships and most of their supplies.

It was not as calm as it appeared.

Although they had annihilated Gao Miao's trusted personal troops, what Pei Min actually intended and what the situation inside Cangzhou City truly was remained a matter of half guesswork and half ignorance for Fang Chongyong.

Not long after, the gate of Cangzhou City was opened by someone.

Pei Min, accompanied by Li Quan, personally went out of the city to greet them, thereby giving Fang Chongyong full face.

"Lord Pei, Mr. Li, this Jiedushi has already annihilated the troops under Gao Miao's command."

Fang Chongyong stepped forward and summed up the battle situation in a single sentence.

"Lord Fang, is it possible to behead Gao Miao himself, or to capture him alive?"

Li Quan asked with great concern.

"He was not captured; he escaped on a lone horse."

Fang Chongyong kept his usual expression, shook his head, and spoke earnest nonsense.

Pei Min and Li Quan exchanged a glance; then Pei Min looked at Fang Chongyong, made a gesturing invitation, and said, "This is not the place to talk; please, Jiedushi, enter the city for a discussion."

"That would be excellent."

Fang Chongyong nodded, pretended not to know Pei Min, and led the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army slowly into the city.

The atmosphere at the city gate was very peaceful, with no sense of imminent conflict.

The party arrived at the government office, where a banquet had already been prepared in the main hall. Fang Chongyong settled his subordinates to take their seats and drink, while he himself followed Pei Min and Li Quan into the study of the office to discuss important matters.

After they were seated in the study, Pei Min pointed to Li Quan and said, "This person, who goes by the Daoist name Daoguanzi, possesses the talent to govern the world. I am old; having him follow me would only waste his talent. It would be better for him to stay by your side and help you devise strategies."

Li Quan also clasped his hands in salute to Fang Chongyong and said, "Lord Fang possesses both courage and strategy, with an extraordinary bearing. I am willing to serve you at your behest, sparing no effort. Please do not disdain me for my old age, Lord Fang."

"Not at all; Lord Fang having obtained Mr. Li is like a fish finding water."

Fang Chongyong, flattered and startled, hurriedly steadied Li Quan.

(End of chapter)