Chapter 7: A Nobody Discusses Great Affairs

Since Liu Chengyou took charge of the Longqi Army, his control over it had been exceptionally strict, and by now, the soldiers above and below had gradually grown accustomed to those restraints. However, life in the military camp was extraordinarily dull—aside from the day-in, day-out training, the only moments of relaxation came when soldiers took turns leaving camp to visit family. Of course, there were many bachelors in the army, and more of them would choose to go carouse in Jinyang, spending their meager pay at taverns, music halls, brothels, and the like until it was all gone.

When they occasionally had leisure time, the soldiers mostly liked to gather together and shoot the breeze. Just at this moment, a squad leader carrying a bowl of clear water walked over to Captain Li, handed it to him, and said with a mix of emotion and curiosity: "Captain, has this Great Jin dynasty really fallen just like that?"

His tongue rolled between his teeth, swallowing the bits of meat, then he took the water bowl and drank a big gulp. Only then did Captain Li swing his legs and say: "That's right, the Great Jin emperor was captured by the Khitan and taken north into Khitan territory."

"Ai, the Great Jin had so many troops and horses, yet they still couldn't beat the Khitan!"

"What's so strange about that? I heard that young emperor was in the capital, building palaces left and right, scouring everywhere for beauties, even taking his widowed aunt Lady Feng into the harem for his pleasure. Day and night he danced and listened to music, ignoring affairs of state, caring nothing for military intelligence, and showing no concern for his soldiers. To end up like this and still keep his life—that's already his good fortune!" Captain Li seemed to know quite a bit, explaining to his men.

Their conversation had long since drawn the attention of the surrounding soldiers, who all pricked up their ears. One soldier, upon hearing this, immediately cursed: "An emperor so fatuous and dissolute—no wonder he couldn't hold onto the realm!"

"It's just a pity for those soldiers who fought to the death against the Khitan, defending their homes and homeland." This remark seemed to strike a chord with Captain Li, and a look of indignation surfaced on his weathered, wind-scoured face.

"I heard, Squad Leader, that you took part in the great battle at Yangcheng back then?" Following up on his words, that squad leader suddenly asked.

"That's right!" This remark seemed to hit Captain Li's proud spot, and he perked up, sitting up straight with a reminiscent look on his face as he said: "Two years ago, the Khitan launched a great southern invasion. The court sent troops to resist, but the initial battles went poorly, and the main army was heavily surrounded by the enemy south of Yangcheng. The Khitan were extremely treacherous—they cut off our army's supply lines and water sources. The soldiers couldn't bear the hunger and thirst, and could only drink muddy water to quench their thirst."

"Then wasn't the main army in great danger?" The squad leader quickly immersed himself in the scenario, pressing nervously.

Hearing the question, Captain Li's emotions became even more engaged, and his speech quickened: "Of course it was. At that time, the situation was already extremely critical—tens of thousands of troops were in imminent peril. But—"

Just like a storyteller, his voice took a sharp turn, and Captain Li paused for dramatic effect. Only after the soldiers urged him on did he speak with measured cadence: "But our army was blessed by heaven. At Yangcheng, a violent wind suddenly arose, sand and dust blotted out the sun, and it grew as dark as night. The Khitan army had been exceptionally arrogant before, wanting to capture us all and march on Daliang. Thinking so little of us, the soldiers of all units were enraged and had long been resolved to fight to the death. So when the order came down, the entire army seized the opportunity to sally forth with all their might. In a single battle we utterly routed the Khitan, pursuing them north for over twenty li before withdrawing. Rumor has it that the Khitan sovereign was so frightened he fled all the way to Youzhou before daring to look south..."

Having spent no small amount of saliva describing the Battle of Yangcheng to his men, Captain Li swept his gaze around. They had all listened attentively, and he was quite satisfied with their reaction.

"The Jin army is magnificent!" Someone shouted excitedly.

But the captain shook his head: "Who could have imagined that in just a year or two, the Khitan would still breach Bianjing, and the emperor would be captured by them. What a tremendous humiliation!"

"The fatuous ruler ruined the state!"

At this point, however, that squad leader blinked a few times and asked with confusion: "If I may ask, Captain, in that battle back then, how many Khitan bastards did you kill, and how much merit did you earn?"

Hearing this, a flicker of awkwardness crossed Captain Li's face, and he immediately glared at the squad leader: "Though I was only a lowly squad corporal under Formation Commander General Fu (Fu Yanqing) at the time, when it came to breaking the formation and engaging the enemy, I was always charging at the very front. These hands of mine personally chopped off the heads of two Khitan men. Later, even Army Commander Fu praised my bravery..."

"Then how did you end up under the Prince of Beiping?"

That one sentence stumped Captain Li, and his face couldn't quite hold its composure. Seeing the dull-witted look of the squad leader who had asked, he grew irritated, smacked him on the head, and grumbled: "I naturally admired the Prince of Beiping's prestige and virtue, so I came specifically to pledge myself to him!"

By this point, the sharper ones had realized the squad leader was bragging, but no one called him out on it. Captain Li's expression gradually turned serious, and in his brownish pupils there appeared a trace of melancholy, as if he were once again recalling that perilous battlefield experience from back then.

Captain Li had indeed participated in the Battle of Yangcheng. When the Jin army launched its desperate counterattack, he had been in the charging formation, but before he could even get close, he was struck down by Khitan arrows. Fortunately, he survived; unfortunately, all the brothers in his squad were killed, and he was left abandoned in the wilderness. Afterwards, he crawled out from the pile of corpses with great difficulty and was rescued by a mountain farmer. After recovering from his wounds, he became a straggler. It happened that Liu Zhiyuan was recruiting soldiers in Hedong, and Captain Li, who had no desire to return to the Later Jin imperial army, heard of this and crossed the Taihang Mountains to join.

With a heavy sigh from Captain Li, the atmosphere in the tent suddenly became somewhat oppressive.

"Since the old emperor is gone, I wonder who the new emperor will be?" A soldier muttered, breaking the somewhat stagnant mood.

"Who else could it be?" As if reminded, Captain Li suddenly snapped back to himself and cursed: "I heard that just the day before yesterday, the Khitan sovereign ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor in Bianliang!"

"What?" The tent erupted in commotion, and the squad leader beside him widened his eyes: "How can a Khitan be the emperor of our Central Plains?"

"Why not?" Captain Li now displayed his knowledge, snorting coldly: "All these years, hasn't it been whoever has the strongest troops and horses who gets to be emperor? The Khitan sovereign has several hundred thousand troops, so of course he can be emperor."

Hearing this, some soldiers began to lament: "So from now on, are we supposed to honor that Khitan emperor as our lord and fight wars for him?"

"That's not necessarily so!" Captain Li's tone now became meaningful.

The squad leader raised an eyebrow and quickly followed up: "Captain, have you heard some news again?"

At this mention, the squad leader's gaze wandered, he looked around in all directions, shifted his seat, and only then lowered his voice and said carefully: "I heard from the Commander that the Chief Inspector and the other Army Commanders have no intention of surrendering to the Khitan barbarians. They are secretly planning to support the Prince of Beiping as the Son of Heaven!"

As soon as these words fell, everyone exchanged glances in bewilderment. Only the squad leader reacted extremely quickly, slapping his thigh hard and exclaiming excitedly: "That's right! How could we sons of Cathay honor a barbarian invader as our lord! The Prince of Beiping is of high virtue and great prestige, with awe-inspiring renown—he should be the Son of Heaven!"

"Exactly! In all the world today, besides our Prince of Beiping, who else has the qualification and the strength to be emperor?"

"If the Prince of Beiping becomes the Son of Heaven, what is there to fear from the Khitan?"

"If we establish the Prince of Beiping as emperor, we can all enjoy wealth and honor!"

The atmosphere was suddenly stirred to a fever pitch, with the soldiers blindly voicing remarks both excited and suppressed, while Captain Li and the squad leader exchanged a knowing glance.