Chapter 583

At this moment, at the entrance of the drill ground, a troop entered in neat, orderly ranks, two commanders riding side by side at the very front. On the left, a man about forty, his face like a dark date, his cheeks full of bristling whiskers, tall and stalwart, his black steed even larger than ordinary horses, mighty and imposing, his domineering aura evident. To his right, the commander wore no armor, only a dark blue warrior's garb with a black cloak, sword-browed, bright-eyed, straight nose, square mouth, extremely handsome, about thirty years old. His appearance was not outstanding among the burly commanders, yet as soon as this group appeared, everyone's eyes still focused on him.

Seeing this troop approach, the officer in charge of dispatch on the spot immediately went forward, came before the horses, bowed and saluted, saying: "Junior Officer Liu Yuncai pays respects to General Tang! Li Jiangjun!"

The slightly older, purple-faced commander was precisely the commander of the NanYang Water Stronghold, Tang Bohsi. He was one of Da Yong's ten fierce generals, having earned countless military merits; by his achievements his rank ought to have been higher, but because at Emperor Xue Shengkang's birthday banquet he drank too much, behaved improperly, and offended the emperor, he nearly had his head chopped off in the emperor's wrath, only saved by the intercession of Grand Marshal Weichi Chong and the Crown Prince Xue Daohong, which preserved his life; though the death penalty was waived, the living punishment was harsh, and he was demoted to NanYang Stronghold to guard Da Yong's southern border.

Although Yongjiang is also a strategic point, in recent years, as relations between the two countries have eased, there has been no warfare for many years. For a bold, warlike commander like Tang Bohsi, staying here to drill, unable to go into battle and kill the enemy, is like being imprisoned. Now Da Yong's true pressing concern is Bei Jiang; the Black Hu constantly raid south to harass Da Yong's borders, and Tang Bohsi has submitted countless memorials. He begged the Emperor to transfer him north to fight the Black Hu, but his letters vanished like stones in the sea, receiving no reply. Thus Tang Bohsi also sought the Grand Marshal Weichi Chong, yet to this day he has still received no response.

Tang Bohsi's gaze fell upon the neatly arranged corpses on the drill field, his thick brows knitting together. He whispered, "So many dead?"

The handsome man beside him asked, "What's going on?"

Liu Yuncai again cupped his hands toward him and said, "Reporting to General Li Jiangjun, the situation has just been clarified: these two ships were escorting Princess Anping of Dakang to the capital for her marriage to the Seventh Prince, but unexpectedly they were ambushed in the middle of the river, and the ships sank one after another. Upon hearing the news, we hastily dispatched rescue boats; so far only thirty-six have been saved. The bodies recovered already number over four hundred."

Tang Bohsi turned to that Li general, approached him, and whispered, "Brother, could it be that your arrival caused this? As soon as you came, the ship sank!" In fact, this Li-surnamed general was Tang Bohsi's sworn brother, and also Da Yong's number one fierce general, Li Chen Zhou. He had come this time especially to visit his sworn elder brother, never expecting to encounter a shipwreck.

Li Chen Zhou furrowed his brows and whispered, "Elder brother, don't talk nonsense!" He dismounted, and Tang Bohsi also dismounted alongside him.

Tang Bohsi said, "Damn it. I wasn't even at the stronghold today, yet such a big thing happened—has anyone reported this to Dakang?"

Liu Yuncai replied, "We have already sent someone to report it. But the Dakang side has not yet sent anyone over."

Tang Bohsi said, "Damn it, a married daughter is like water spilled—looks like Dakang doesn't care a bit about whether Princess Anping lives or dies!"

The speaker meant nothing, but the listener took it to heart. Long Xi Yue heard those words clearly. A pang of sorrow rose in her heart; though the rough-spoken general's words were coarse, they were not without reason. Although she was a princess of a nation, affection in the palace was thin—whether her father or her brother, they merely treated her as a political tool, no one cared if she lived or died, let alone spoke of happiness. She glanced at Hu Xiaotian, who happened to be looking at her as well; a warm feeling welled up in Long Xi Yue's heart. If she could safely get through this immediate ordeal, she could disregard status, wealth, and glory; having Hu Xiaotian by her side would be enough.

Li Chen Zhou's gaze withdrew from the over four hundred corpses on the ground, turned to the thirty-six survivors sitting in a corner of the drill field, guarded by our soldiers, and he said to Tang Bohsi, "Elder brother, this is no trivial matter; we must get to the bottom of it."

Tang Bohsi nodded, but inwardly he did not agree; in his view, the dead were all Dakang people, and even with a princess among them it was no big deal. He shouted, "Who is their leader?" His voice was unusually loud, so everyone could hear him clearly.

Hu Xiaotian and Wu Jing Shan exchanged a glance, and he was the first to stand up. Wu Jing Shan, this old man, had been soaked in water for half a day and had barely managed to save his life, but seeing Wen Boyuan's tragic death and the princess's unknown whereabouts, he was now panic-stricken and anxious; there was no hope of him explaining the matter clearly.

Liu Yuncai saw Hu Xiaotian rise from the crowd, came to his side, brought him before Tang Bohsi and Li Chen Zhou, and introduced him.

Hu Xiaotian cupped his hands and said, "Generals, I am Hu Xiaotian, the Dakang envoy for marriage." He then pointed to Wu Jing Shan in the crowd and said, "That is our Dynasty's Minister of Rites, Wu Jing Shan, Sir Wu."

Tang Bohsi grinned and said, "Minister of Rites, that's no small post!" He was a mere brute; in his heart he had always regarded Dakang as an enemy nation, naturally looking down on these Dakang officials, and his disposition meant he would not bother with mere formalities.

Li Chen Zhou was far more courteous, returning the salute with clasped hands and saying, "I am Li Chen Zhou; this is Tang Bohsi, commander of the NanYang Water Stronghold. Sir Hu, I do not know what has happened to you, how you have come to such a pass."

Hu Xiaotian saw Li Chen Zhou's gentle and refined manner, his speech also carrying courtesy, and he felt a favorable impression, thinking that Da Yong also had reasonable people. He sighed and said, "This is a long story. We were acting on the Emperor's orders, specially escorting Princess Anping to Yongdu to complete the marriage with Your Highness the Seventh Prince of your state. Having left Kangdu, we have endured hardships all along the way, and only with difficulty reached Da Yong's territory, yet we never expected that, just as we boarded the boat to cross the river, upon just entering Da Yong we would be ambushed."

Hu Xiaotian's mind was quick; at first hearing his words they seemed frank and sincere, but upon closer reflection they were far from the truth—the point of his statement was to emphasize that the incident occurred within Da Yong's territory, and by convention the country where the incident occurs bears responsibility.

Tang Bohsi clicked his tongue and sighed, "What bad luck!"

Li Chen Zhou, however, was not so easily fooled; his eyes flickered, and he suddenly turned to General Liu and said, "Officer Liu, where exactly did the Dakang fleet sink?"

Liu Yuncai loudly replied, "Reporting to General Li Jiangjun, both of Dakang's two ships sank in the middle of the river; at the time of the accident they were in Dakang waters, which is also why we initially did not launch a decisive rescue, but after seeing that the Dakang side sent no rescuers, we then dispatched our boats."

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed, "Who let you meddle? If it weren't for your interference, I would already have taken the princess back to Dakang and pushed all the blame onto you—after all, there's no one to contradict us."

Upon hearing this, Tang Bohsi flared up: "You're most ungracious—clearly the incident occurred within your own borders, why are you trying to pin the blame on us?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "General, don't be hasty; at the time the fog locked the river, I could not tell where the accident happened. I only heard everyone say the ships were about to reach NanYang Water Stronghold, so I assumed we had entered your territory; when the sky was filled with flying stones, I even thought it was your navy attacking us."

Tang Bohsi angrily shouted, "Nonsense! Do you think our navy has no eyes?"

Li Chen Zhou hurriedly persuaded Tang Bohsi to stop; from this exchange he also realized that this young man was not simple. Although he did not know the other's specific circumstances, this matter after all concerned the relations between the two countries, and moreover it involved a royal marriage alliance, so it must be handled cautiously. Li Chen Zhou said, "Sir Hu, may I ask whether Princess Anping managed to escape safely?"

Hu Xiaotian wore a dejected expression and said, "The princess has still not been found."

Upon hearing this, Li Chen Zhou's heart also sank; if Princess Anping had met with misfortune, that would be no small trouble. He lifted his head and saw, in the distance, a group of Dakang warriors still gathered around a corpse, and he asked, "Who is that?"

Tang Bohsi said, "Probably a high official."

Hu Xiaotian deliberately sighed and said, "He is our deputy envoy for marriage on this mission, General Wen Boyuan."

Li Chen Zhou said, "Wen Boyuan? I've heard of this person; he is said to be an outstanding figure among Dakang's younger generation—unexpectedly he met his end in Yongjiang, what a pity." As he spoke, he walked over.

The few warriors gathered around Wen Boyuan's corpse wiped away their tears and made way.

Li Chen Zhou looked over and saw Wen Boyuan lying stiffly there, eyes wide open in death, a sharp long sword plunged into his chest; he could not help but wonder, "Was he killed by someone?"

Tang Bohsi said, "Even a blind man could see that, this blade is not bad." Seeing the sword named Hu Po, his eyes lit up; he immediately conceived the notion of taking it for himself, reaching out to grasp the hilt, but before his hand even touched it, Li Chen Zhou seized his wrist, and Tang Bohsi exclaimed in astonishment, "What are you doing?"

Li Chen Zhou gave him a look, for after all, with so many people present, if Tang Bohsi openly took that sword, wouldn't he invite gossip?

Li Chen Zhou glanced at the blade and said in a low voice, "This sword is named Hu Po; it is the weapon used by the Blade Demon FengXingyun. I have heard that FengXingyun took him as a beloved disciple, so this must be the man." He then squatted before Wen Boyuan's corpse, pushed aside the disheveled hair fallen around his neck, wishing to examine the blade's edge more closely. The setting sun's light fell upon Wen Boyuan's body, casting his remains in a faint golden hue, but no matter how it was adorned, the fact of his lost life could not be concealed. Li Chen Zhou's eyes, however, were drawn to a glint on his chest; he slowly reached out, unfastened Wen Boyuan's collar, and a finely carved fish-shaped jade pendant appeared before his sight. (To be continued~^~)