Chapter 413

Having traveled a thousand miles to come to the rescue, we must still secure tangible benefits for our effort.

The Great King wouldn't think of doing something good for Fanyang just to let the Snow Cavalry pass by without entering, purely as a sacrifice.

The bonfire of burning corpses outside the city had not yet been extinguished when night fell; Chang Li, following the good example, brought the Snow Cavalry into the city to rest. The Commandery Governor's Office welcomed them, and many male members of the Lu clan were present.

Chang Li lived to a ripe old age; as the saying goes, people become refined with age. Don't think that, just because he is a military officer, handling these social engagements is any great feat.

During the banquet he also mentioned the two Lu sons who are in Youzhou.

Outwardly, the Great King loves the common people and loves the Great Jin; but in front of the Lu clan he says he loves talent and cannot bear to see the Fanyang Academy suffer this disaster. The two Lu sons and Master Xie often attend the Great King's side, and the Great King already regards them as his own.

Lu Tong might complain behind his back, but to his face he could only thank the Great King repeatedly for his righteous rescue, promising that the Lu clan would cover the provisions for the army's return journey.

Is the Great King short on that bit of silver?

Chang Li smiled, nodded, and remained silent, waiting until he once again frankly invited Lu Xiu to go to the Northern Border together with Lu Jia and them, and while they were playing with the Great King, Lu Tong could only state his position clearly.

Sure enough, after driving away the wolf, they welcomed the tiger.

Lu Tong again thanked the Northern Border King, saying that the Lu clan had received great kindness from the Great King, and that from now on the Lu clan would, like the Xie clan, relocate the entire clan to the Northern Border, hoping to receive the Northern Border King's protection. Of course, aside from those who hold positions at the Fanyang Academy, after all the students cannot be abandoned.

"I don't know whether the two Lu sons have mentioned the Northern Border Academy to their family; our Northern Border Academy, in construction, far surpasses the number one academy under heaven." Anyway, that's what the Great King told him; he doesn't know whether it's true or false.

What he meant by saying that is, the Northern Border Academy can accommodate the entire Fanyang Academy, and can be moved there wholesale.

Others may not know what the Northern Border Academy is like, but Lu Tong truly knows.

He could only reply that the matter of the academy is not something he can decide alone; it still needs further discussion.

Chang Li nodded, saying, "I understand. However, our status is special; we cannot stay in Fanyang for too long. In three days, the Snow Cavalry will depart on schedule for Youzhou, and we hope the Lu clan will give His Highness a satisfactory answer."

I want to add one more reminder: after today, if the cavalry leaves, it will not be easy for the Lu clan to relocate en masse to the Northern Border.

The two Lu sons of the Lu clan once knelt outside the South Hua Gate, begging His Highness to protect the Lu clan, and His Highness agreed. Now, as the officer in charge, I must see this matter through clearly. I understand my duty—does the Lu clan understand as well?

Actually, Chang Li also understands: the crisis has passed, and no one wants to leave their homeland, which has been their ancestral home for generations.

Before leaving his seat, he added another line: "I will not force the Lu clan, but His Highness is burdened with myriad affairs; next time there may not be anyone who will ride a thousand miles on horseback to brave danger and rescue the Lu clan and the Fanyang Academy."

Lu Tong, of course, understands: "The Lu clan comprehends the Northern Border King's painstaking efforts. In three days, we will still trouble the General." He rose to salute and see off Chang Li—no small feat, for this man is the Lu clan's heir, with eyes seemingly on top of his head.

Chang Li also became more courteous, and the two sides exchanged friendly farewells.

Lu Residence

That night, Lu Tong returned and went to the ancestral hall to convene a clan meeting, informing everyone to pack up all their household goods; in three days they would move to the Northern Border together with the Youzhou cavalry.

"Really go to the Northern Border? We are the Fanyang Lu clan, our roots are in Fanyang..." Several elderly clansmen did not want to leave Fanyang in their old age.

"Exactly, the older we get, the more we have to leave our homeland."

"What about the ancestral hall? What about the ancestral graves?"

Lu Tong's face was expressionless, as if he wanted to go and see the Northern Border King's expression!

He had once declared that he would never go to Youzhou again in this lifetime. "Now, if we don't follow the Northern Border King, we will soon be buried in the ancestral graves and enter the ancestral hall."

As soon as he said that, his clan father picked up the teapot and tried to smash it at him, but he nimbly jumped up and pressed it down.

"Am I wrong? Do you think the Northern Border King is some naive, innocent child? Look at the great fire outside the city—it hasn't finished burning yet."

He raised an army to come to our rescue, which has already given the Lu clan ample face; if the Lu clan doesn't promptly fall in line, such an opportunity will not come again.

Everyone knows how the outside world is, so I need say no more. If you don't leave now, you may await the next besieging Prince Lu, or possibly retaliation from Chang'an.

The Xie clan isn't an obvious example, is it? There's word that Chang'an once sent people to Qingyang, but they came up empty. Qingyang now only has some elderly clan elders and distant branch lines; the main line and the younger generation were all secretly moved to Youzhou by the Northern Border King. In Lu Jia's letter, it says the Northern Border King allotted land and built residences for them in Youzhou, letting the whole clan continue to live together—that's not bad.

Let me put it bluntly: the Northern Border King is after the Lu clan's foundation and the Fanyang Academy. If the people don't leave, these cannot be preserved.

You've heard what kind of quality the incoming cavalry has, right? Even the Chang'an Imperial Guard couldn't stop them.

The Lu clan wants to survive and preserve its roots; this is the only way they can do it.

The room fell silent; after a long while, the clan chief sighed.

"Even if worse comes to worst, the Xie clan is there." Meaning Youzhou isn't some dragon's pool and tiger's den; the Xie clan is doing just fine living there, right?

After much discussion, like the Xie clan, those who are especially old decided not to uproot themselves; a few people were left to look after them, after all the ancestral hall and graves need tending. The rest, together with the Fanyang Academy, were all moved directly to the Northern Border.

It was a huge undertaking; after the discussion, everyone dispersed immediately, each going about their own business without further mention.

Lu Tong was still the librarian of the Fanyang Academy; he no longer looked after his family affairs, went straight to the academy, and announced this major decision.

The Fanyang Academy will close its doors in three days, with all teachers and students escorted by Northern Border cavalry to relocate to the Northern Border.

"...... It may have to be merged into the Northern Border Academy. I've been to that academy; it's larger than our Fanyang Academy, and the teachings are quite innovative, covering many subjects our academy hasn't touched. The current librarian of the Northern Border Academy is Xie Che of the Xie clan; you can all rest assured.

Three days later, the Fanyang Academy…… temporarily disbanded.

Everyone present, those who do not wish to go to the Northern Border, may also graduate and return home; there is no compulsion.

Those who wish to go to the Northern Border to continue their studies should come to register by tomorrow noon.

After the meeting, he led the Lu clan's students in packing the academy's books. Other things need not be taken, but the books must all be taken.

That day, the lights of the Lu clan and the Fanyang Academy stayed lit all night.

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Hehe:

How come some people still get hung up on the Macedonian phalanx, only saying that this infantry‑crushing formation is similar to it, without saying they're the same?

Macedonia wasn't pure infantry; it was a combined arms force that also had cavalry, whereas we are all cavalry, so of course they're different. Macedonia was formidable, but once mastered it required huge investment, and blades have always been expensive. As the Macedonian empire declined, it lost its luster and was knocked out by the more flexible Roman legions.

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The siege of Fan Yang was lifted; the populace ran back and forth spreading the news, having escaped a calamity they were unusually excited about. Though people had little appetite, the Fan Yang folk who had been hungry for a long time also had no appetite today, because the smell of burning corpses from outside the city wafted over.

As expected, Fan Yang will also leave behind the legend of the Great King.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Chang Li led his troops out of the city, targeting Peng Cheng.

Three thousand against Peng Cheng's over forty thousand; this time Chang Li was more high-profile, sending people to take turns shouting.

"Your leader Chen Hu and the rebel troops he brought have all been executed; the rebels inside the city should immediately lay down their weapons, open the city gates and surrender!"

"Those who surrender voluntarily will not be killed!"

"Five thousand rebels have already been burned outside Fan Yang city; if you don't believe it, send someone to look—they're not completely burned yet!"

"Countdown: if the city gate is not opened in half an hour, we will attack!"

The person in charge inside Peng Cheng was Chen Hu's former little brother from his bandit days; he panicked for a moment, thought about opening up, and felt the people outside were boasting.

Although their equipment is not bad, their boss is even more formidable; he hasn't lost since raising the rebel flag!

Just as he was about to shout back, a dark object came flying at him; he dodged.

It was an iron arrow with a bundle tied to it.

"What is it? You, go open it and have a look!"

The bundle hit the city wall; he ordered those nearby to inspect it. The unlucky fellow singled out carefully untied it, opened it, and let out a miserable scream, then plopped down on the ground: "Head, a human head! It's a human head!"

Ordinary arrows couldn't reach that high; Chang Li had brought a few crossbows, which didn't need to be used. They still hadn't identified it clearly when another was shot up from below…

"……It looks like, it looks like the military advisor!"

"This, this is General Shi!" One of the generals ennobled by the Lu King, one of his bandit brothers.

These rebels finally believed that those who had besieged Fan Yang had truly been defeated; for a moment panic spread. The time had come, and the Snow Cavalry began to assault the city.

The city's defensive advantage was bows and arrows, but this Lu state lacked the production capacity, making bows and arrows scarce. The Snow Cavalry's debut in siege warfare was a gift to this rabble.

These bandits have managed to get by smoothly until now, purely thanks to good luck—they haven't run into a tough opponent.

They do have a bit of cleverness, knowing to hole up in Peng Cheng and not go on eastern or western campaigns. If they were besieging Qing He instead, their chances would probably not be great, for the Qing He King still has reserves accumulated over many years.

Chang Li easily took Peng Cheng, planning to spend two days putting it in order.

The corpses of the resisters were piled in one heap, those who surrendered were crouched together in another heap, and minor officials with posts formed yet another heap.

After a simple and rough division, they placed Chen Hu's head forward; Chang Li had the soldiers ring bells to summon the populace to come and watch.

The first charge against Chen Hu and these rebels is plotting rebellion against the Bai Li clan, punishable by extermination of nine generations.

The second is slaughtering villages, fleecing the populace, and summary execution.

The populace summoned below fell silent like cold cicadas, listening as the charges against Chen Hu were read out one by one. They were numb, slow to react, and those tormented by Chen Hu clung to life with only a breath left. Until Chang Li said that of the forty thousand still under Chen Hu's command, those who had been forced to join and had not willingly committed crimes could return to their native homes—only then did the crowd stir. Many families in Peng Cheng had at least someone who had followed Chen Hu.

Chang Li also had no time to investigate each individual in detail; he could only scare them into having the local wardens of their households come forward to claim the people.

He could only record their names and native places, stating that any further participation in rebel activities or returning to harm their hometowns would result in the death penalty.

How to intimidate? With the Great King's old trick. This time he didn't move the bodies outside the city; instead he dug a large pit on the spot, piled over four thousand people together, drenched them with all kinds of oil collected from across the city, and set it alight.

The Snow Cavalry drove the remaining forty thousand alive to the edge of the pit to kneel, doubting that after this ordeal they would still be dishonest.

Soon the whole of Peng Cheng reeked of burning protein mixed with leather and cloth; the crowd kneeling at the pit's edge was terrified into being more honest than a quail.

The freshly dead tossed into the blazing fire, muscle contraction or tissue dehydration can produce an illusion of movement; to these ancients that truly seemed like movement, the Youzhou cavalry burned them alive, or some simply thought… they were feigning death? Thoroughly pulverized bones and scattered ashes.

Apart from the roaring flames, the scene was a deathly silence; those forcibly summoned to watch dared not breathe heavily.

The surviving rebels felt both fear and relief; if they hadn't knelt quickly enough, their heads would already have been moved to lie in the pit.

The Snow Cavalry's display of beheading already frightened this rabble; now making them watch from the pit's edge maximized the effect.

They somewhat understood: earlier, Chen Hu's smooth sailing with them was mostly because they faced only civilians or poorly armed county militia; against such low-grade foes a bit of ferocity might work, but now up against regular troops—where beheading is as smooth as slicing vegetables—these people finally realized fear and began to tremble.

Their iron-plated broadswords were cut off with a casual swing, and the second stroke already reached their necks…

Chang Li promised that ordinary soldiers, as long as they henceforth lived honestly and farmed well, the benevolent Northern Border King would pardon and send them all back to their native places. He also had them inform on each other; anyone proven to have harmed civilian lives would be enslaved.

"……If it turns out to be a false report born of personal grudges, once exposed the informer will likewise be enslaved! Please, ladies and gentlemen, do not test the Northern Border cavalry's straight blades."

Peng Cheng underwent a tumultuous two days; the cavalry drove over a thousand ineligible for pardon back toward Fan Yang. Put bluntly, these thousand were no good people—aside from those who had served as minor officials under Chen Hu, they were volunteers who had joined the rebellion and held lives in their hands.

Chang Li could not guarantee that no slippery fish remained; he only needed to ensure these thousand were not wronged.

Before leaving, he did not forget to toss Peng Cheng to the local gentry Wu clan, letting them manage Peng Cheng, and also not forgetting to burnish the Great King's reputation.

The Snow Cavalry settled Chen Hu; for most commoners it was a good thing. After reacting for two days they finally realized: the troops from the Northern Border are their benefactors!

When Chang Li withdrew his troops, the city's populace no longer needed to shout; the bold‑hearted came out on their own to see them off.

Chang Li walked to the city gate, turned back and bade farewell to the populace: "For years the rebel chief has held Peng Cheng; our Northern Border Prince is not unaware, but he himself is hard-pressed. He must be occupied with the western campaign, and with guarding against the Xiongnu and the various states of the Western Regions; all of Great Jin's strong enemies press down on our Northern Border."

After the western expedition, the Northern Border treasury is also empty; His Highness must still busy himself with gathering grain and military pay, and with sheltering the refugees who have fled to the Northern Border seeking him.

His Highness said those refugees have come thousands of miles to seek him; if Chang'an could take them in, they would not head north, and the Northern Border is their last hope—these refugees are subjects of the Bai Li clan, and he cannot ignore them.