Chapter 448

Night.

Chang'an.

The evening breeze carrying the cold fragrance of osmanthus passed through the courtyard.

Blowing the candle flame on the stone table until it flickered.

Gao Changjing pinched a dark chess piece with his fingertips, his knuckles slender like jade. When he lowered his eyes, his eyelashes cast shallow shadows under his eyes, making that already handsome face look even more noble.

Cui Yizong, sitting opposite him, had frost on his temples. The white piece between his fingers hovered above the chessboard, but his gaze did not fall on the crisscrossing chess paths. He just said in a low voice: "Young Master, our people have all arrived in Chang'an!"

"Ready to await your orders at any time..."

Cui Yizong, around thirty-five or thirty-six, Qinghe Cui Clan.

"Very good!"

Gao Changjing dropped the dark piece lightly in the lower right corner of the chessboard. The piece fell silently but just happened to cut off the white piece's retreat. When he raised his eyes, there was a touch of casual smile in his eyes, but his tone was as cold as the moonlight in the courtyard: "How is the investigation into the Zhou Kingdom's court?"

The candle flame flickered, illuminating the dark-patterned silver threads embroidered on his cuffs, which flashed by.

That was the unique totem of the Gao Clan's Qi Kingdom imperial family.

In the territory of the Zhou Kingdom, it could only be hidden deep in the fabric.

"After toppling Dugu Zhao and Zhao Qian, Yuwen Hu has completely seized all power!"

Cui Yizong's gaze became solemn. He sighed, dropped the white piece into his own chess eye, and his fingertips turned slightly white due to the force: "In the Zhou Kingdom's court, there is no second voice, nor is there any force that can restrain him..."

To put it more accurately, this Grand Tutor and Grand Chancellor, who holds the five offices of the Heavenly Office, is the Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom in reality but not in name.

The actual controller.

Gao Changjing reached out and brushed the edge of the chessboard, his fingertips sweeping over a white piece that had been ignored: "In that case, it's much harder to deal with..."

With unified political decrees and no opposing forces, it means one cannot drill loopholes, use intensified contradictions, or incite internal strife...

Thereby disrupting the Zhou Kingdom's center and weakening its national strength!

Moreover, Yuwen Hu is a master of deep calculation; with power returning to him alone, it's even more troublesome...

He paused, the smile in his eyes faded, leaving only sharp sharpness. As if remembering something, he asked: "What about Chen Yan who entered the city yesterday?"

Hearing this name, Cui Yizong's pupils shrank, his gaze became stern, and he said in a low voice: "Young Master, that Chen Yan is truly an extremely formidable figure!"

"Oh?"

Gao Changjing pinched a dark piece, turned it between his fingers, and raised his brows slightly.

The candle flame popped with a crack, and he dropped the dark piece heavily in the center of the chessboard, just happening to cut the white piece's dragon in half: "How does he compare to the rumors?"

Chen Yan's various deeds, under the push of multiple forces, had long since spread to the Qi Kingdom...

Cui Yizong looked at the settled situation on the chessboard, then looked at the young but deep-thinking Young Master in front of him, raised his hand to gather the remaining white pieces in his palm, and slowly spat out two words: "Far more!"

"Tell me in detail!"

Gao Changjing was intrigued. He picked up the cold tea on the stone table and took a sip. The coldness of the tea slid down his throat.

After speaking, he put down the teacup and looked at the night outside the courtyard.

The outline of the distant Chang'an city wall loomed in the ink-colored night.

Cui Yizong gathered all the chess pieces on the chessboard into the wooden box, his fingertips sliding over the cold jade chess pieces, and said in a low voice: "This Chen Yan played a crucial role when Yuwen Hu toppled the two Pillars of State who were contending with him!"

"It can be said that he handled it single-handedly; he can be called the sharpest knife in Yuwen Hu's hand..."

After speaking, he looked up at Gao Changjing, hiding a touch of wariness and worry in his eyes.

After all, only after deeply understanding this Wei Duke of the Zhou Kingdom could one know how terrifying he was...

Gao Changjing was tapping the edge of the chessboard with the dark piece. Hearing this, he raised his eyes, thought for a moment, and an arc hooked at his lips: "If I remember correctly, Chen Yan is only eighteen years old this year, right?"

Chen Yan is only two years younger than him...

According to Cui Yizong's description, to be able to do this in the highest-level power struggle of the Zhou Kingdom, calling him a genius good at fighting is not an exaggeration!

"Exactly!"

Cui Yizong's fingertips paused, he nodded slightly, then picked up a white piece, dropped it diagonally opposite the dark piece, and said in a low voice: "He will only be nineteen after the New Year..."

Outstanding ability is not scary; what's scary is that this guy is still young!

If he is truly allowed to grow up...

Gao Changjing dropped the second dark piece, his gaze still locked on the chessboard, but his tone cooled down: "Yizong, continue!"

"This Wei Duke of the Zhou Kingdom is not only talented and honored as the Poetry Immortal..."

Cui Yizong narrowed his eyes, his fingers stroking the white piece, and said in a low voice: "He is also extremely good at warfare; he can be called a god of military strategy!"

"Heard a bit about this..."

Gao Changjing pursed his lips, dropped the third dark piece, forcing the white piece's path to become narrower and narrower: "Drunkenly fighting Wang and Xie, pacifying the rebellion in Qinzhou, suppressing bandits in Jingzhou, and this time pacifying the refugees in Hezhou, returning in a great victory!"

He paused and tapped lightly on the chessboard: "He can be ranked among the famous generals of this era!"

Although Chen Yan's opponents were not that strong, and he had never fought head-on with their Great Qi...

But based on this undefeated record, at least his level is there.

"Young Master, Chen Yan's actual achievements are far stronger than the rumors!"

Cui Yizong's white piece hovered in mid-air, his brows furrowed even tighter: "It can be said that he is on par with the older generation of the Zhou Kingdom..."

"Hmm?" Gao Changjing was stunned, looking at Cui Yizong in confusion.

This evaluation is not generally high!

One must know that the older generation of generals in the Zhou Kingdom were all known as ten-thousand-man enemies who could fight one against a hundred, and they were best at winning against many with few...

Cui Yizong dropped the white piece heavily on the chessboard, the relaxation on his face entirely faded, leaving only a sense of solemnity: "For example, in that Jingzhou bandit suppression, Chen Yan didn't just suppress the bandits..."

He leaned forward, his voice lowered, his eyes full of seriousness: "He also broke three thousand Turkic cavalry with a hundred riders!"

"This made the Turks conclude an alliance and retreat..."

This was the truth he learned only after spending a lot of money and inquiring from multiple sources...

Gao Changjing's fingers gripping the dark piece trembled violently, and that dark chess piece fell onto the chessboard with a "clatter," just happening to hit the middle of a group of white pieces, startling the surrounding pieces to sway slightly.

When he raised his eyes, the casualness in his eyes had long since dissipated, full of unhideable astonishment, and even his voice was a bit higher than before: "A hundred riders broke three thousand?!"

He paused, his gaze locked on Cui Yizong, his tone carrying a touch of incredulous urgency: "And it was Turkic cavalry?!"

At that moment, Gao Changjing's wariness arose...

Let alone winning, whether ordinary generals had such courage was a question!

The key is, one must know that Turkic cavalry were famous for being brave and good at fighting; breaking three thousand with a hundred riders is simply unheard of.

The candle flame reflected on his slightly opened lips; clearly, he was so shocked by this news that he couldn't come back to his senses for a while.

"Moreover, this time Chen Yan didn't just pacify the refugee rebellion in Hezhou..."

Cui Yizong pressed his fingertips on the chessboard, returning the white pieces scattered by the dark piece to their places, his voice as deep as the blue stone floor in the courtyard: "He also forced the surrender of six thousand Tuyuhun cavalry and fought all the way to the Tuyuhun Royal Court of Fusi!"

He paused and said word by word: "Forcing Xiahou Fuyun to sign a treaty under the city walls!"

Since the Former Yan, Tuyuhun had been a hegemon in the Northwest.

As a result, he was beaten like a grandson by Chen Yan with eight hundred cavalry while pacifying the refugees in Hezhou...

If this hadn't already spread throughout Chang'an, he wouldn't have dared to believe it at all!

Gao Changjing clenched his fists violently, and a slight crisp sound came from his knuckles. The previous astonishment had long been replaced by coldness, and cold light surged in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said: "This child is afraid to be a major threat to our Great Qi's future swallowing of the Zhou and unification of the world!"

Just based on this means of warfare, he must be a formidable enemy in the future.

What he needs to do by entering Chang'an this time is to make the Zhou Kingdom lack successors...

Paving the way for Great Qi's westward expedition!

The candle flame flickered, making the frost on Cui Yizong's temples look even gloomier: "Young Master, your subordinate thinks that the most formidable thing about Chen Yan is that he has killed countless people, stirred up the winds and clouds in Chang'an, and can still maintain a good reputation, be loved by the people of Chang'an, and even be honored as the 'Blue Sky of this Era'!"

In Cui Yizong's view, this point is the most terrifying...

It shows how brilliant his methods are!

Gao Changjing stood up abruptly, his robe sweeping across the stone stool with a light sound, and walked straight to the center of the courtyard.

The night breeze lifted the corners of his robes, and the dark-patterned silver threads flickered in the candlelight. He looked up at the ink-colored night sky, where stars were embedded sparsely on the sky, looking very much like the dark currents about to be unable to be hidden in Chang'an City.

"Heh!"

A cold, icy snort overflowed from his throat, wrapped in killing intent quenched in ice, but also mixed with a touch of expectation of meeting a worthy opponent.

His hand hanging by his side clenched slowly, his fingertips grinding over the thin calluses on his palm, and he muttered in his heart: "Chen Yan, you are indeed formidable; you can lead troops to break the enemy and play with people's hearts!"

The wind rolled the osmanthus fragrance onto his face. The ferocity in Gao Changjing's eyes gradually sank into bottomless cold light, but the corners of his lips hooked a very faint smile: "Then next, let's play slowly—let's see if you, this 'Blue Sky of this Era,' can protect the Zhou Kingdom, or if I can make Chang'an change its sky!"