Chapter 38: I Am Very Important to Him

The bright moon hangs in the sky, bathing the world in light.

Hulü Guang stood guard beside Li Shuang; inside the room, a gathering of Hu Ren tribal leaders had assembled.

Unlike the gloom that hung over Yunzhong City, on the front line against the rebels, and unlike the cautious vigilance of Pingcheng, constantly wary of the Chile and Rouran, the atmosphere here could only be described as cheerful.

“It’s time to rebel!”

The Hu Ren leaders cheered, filled with the bold ambition to ride south to Luoyang and sleep with the Emperor’s wife.

Seeing the crowd had vented enough, Kedigan stepped forward to set the tone for this meeting.

“It’s not yet time to rebel!”

The others paid no heed; someone demanded:

“Can Yuan Yu’s useless troops possibly stand against Po Liuhan Baling?”

Kedigan shook his head.

“Probably not!”

Whether from the Liuzhen garrisons or among the Xianbei tribal leaders here, their military competence was unquestionable.

“Then why not rebel? Are you afraid of the imperial guards in Luoyang?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the room filled with mirth.

Everyone burst out laughing!

The Luoyang imperial guards were a joke in the eyes of these Hu Ren leaders.

When Emperor Xiaowen enacted his sinicization reforms, he had not overlooked this very scenario—he had made thorough preparations.

When the Northern Wei moved their capital, they took with them vast numbers of elite troops and craftsmen from the northern frontier, restricted military supplies there, and imposed a strict provisioning system on the Six Garrisons.

Even if the Six Garrisons rose in revolt, the powerful central imperial guard in Luoyang could easily crush them.

But the Battle of Zhongli over a decade ago changed the situation.

The Southern Liang army won decisively; hundreds of thousands of Northern Wei troops were annihilated. Since then, the Luoyang imperial guards have never recovered.

A year ago, the Rouran invaded from the south; Li Chong led over a hundred thousand troops in pursuit, claiming to have chased them three thousand li northward—but caught nothing.

The people of the northern frontier aren’t fools; who would believe that?

Since then, everyone in the north had seen the weakness of the Luoyang court—and with it, the courage to rebel took root.

“Though the court’s troops are weak, their armor still exists. Don’t forget: Pingcheng still holds three thousand fully armored cavalry!”

Unlike the Southern Liang, the northern frontier had ample horse resources—but armor, especially horse armor, was extremely scarce.

How could a host of light cavalry possibly stand against fully armored cavalry?

“Luoyang still possesses over ten thousand sets of full armor; do not underestimate them.”

Equipment gaps cannot be bridged by courage alone.

Moreover, it remains unknown whether these Hu Ren leaders truly possess the courage they claim.

Kedigan’s words cooled the tempers of the Hu Ren leaders present.

All eyes turned to Li Shuang—the Ma Yi defender who had said nothing, merely sipped tea throughout, their nominal superior.

He set down his teacup and uttered the essence of this meeting.

“Meeting adjourned!”

The others reluctantly departed, leaving only Kedigan behind.

“Wuchuan and Huaihu have both fallen; these people are growing restless—perhaps they’ve already secretly allied with Po Liuhan Baling!”

Kedigan sat beside Li Shuang and slapped his thigh upon hearing this.

“You’re right—right now, prominent figures among the Eastern and Western Chile, the Xiongnu, and others have all received letters from Wei Kegu and Po Liuhan Kong Que, agreeing to rise together. They even wanted me to lead them—I’m not that foolish! That’s why they’ve come to you.”

“These Hu Ren are not to be trusted with strategy!”

Li Shuang sighed, and Kedigan nodded in agreement.

“Defender of Ma Yi, we must prepare early—don’t let these Hu Ren drag us down!”

Li Shuang looked at Kedigan and asked:

“How many troops do you have now?”

“One thousand elite cavalry!”

“How much equipment?”

“One hundred sets of full armor, two hundred sets of body armor. Also, swords, spears, bows, and arrows are plentiful.”

“What about livestock?”

Seeing Li Shuang ask so specifically, Kedigan grew uneasy, fearing Li Shuang intended to borrow from him.

“You know—we Kedigan clan isn’t as wealthy as the Erzhu clan; here in the north, we’re just a small tribe.”

“Give me exact numbers.”

“The Erzhu have six valleys of horses; we’re poor—we have only one.”

Li Shuang glanced at Kedigan’s plain attire, surprised that this man, who always looked broad-featured and straightforward, was so wealthy.

And he’d been pretending to be poor all along!

“Oh.”

Kedigan had assumed Li Shuang’s questions meant he wanted to borrow horses—he’d already prepared excuses. But Li Shuang’s calm reaction threw him off.

“Defender of Ma Yi, just say what you mean!”

“I’m merely lamenting that your family’s holdings may soon fall into someone else’s hands.”

Kedigan panicked.

“What do you mean?”

“Where is your tribe’s fief, Shanwu?”

“It lies on the vital corridor between Pingcheng and Yunzhong!”

“If you won’t lead, who else will they seize it from?”

Kedigan finally understood; his face turned purple.

Without even saying goodbye, he rushed out in haste.

Shortly after Kedigan left, Li Shuang’s personal guards approached and whispered something in his ear.

“Liu Lingzhu and Du Gu Ru are here—and they want to see me?”

The guard nodded.

“Shall the lord receive them?”

“Yes. And place them in the adjacent room.”

“Master, isn’t it rather bold of us to come here asking for loans?”

Facing the boy’s question, Liu Lingzhu remained calm, utterly unfazed.

“Normally, yes—it would be impolite. But now, it’s different.”

“How so?”

“That Du Gu Ru is brazen—besides the Guangyang Prince, she’s secretly colluded with dozens of noble youths, swindling vast sums of money. With her downfall imminent, I’m now the only famed shaman left in the north—my value has skyrocketed!”

Saying this, Liu Lingzhu couldn’t help laughing.

“A mere sum of money—surely the Defender of Ma Yi won’t begrudge it.”

Meanwhile, in the adjacent room:

The elder of the Du Gu clan stared at his holy maiden, his wrinkled face filled with worry.

“Holy Maiden, isn’t it rather bold of us to come here asking the Defender of Ma Yi to settle matters?”

Du Gu Ru shook her head, sitting perfectly composed, utterly unruffled.

“Normally, yes—it would be impolite. But now, it’s different.”

“How so?”

“That Liu Lingzhu is brazen—besides the Guangyang Prince, he’s borrowed money from over a hundred wealthy merchants and magnates. Now they’re hunting him down everywhere. With his downfall imminent, I’m now the only famed shaman left in the north—my value has skyrocketed!”

Saying this, Du Gu Ru couldn’t help smiling.

“All we ask is that he settle matters—surely the Defender of Ma Yi won’t refuse!”

As she finished, Du Gu Ru suddenly frowned.

“Holy Maiden, what’s wrong?”

“I feel sick.”

“Did you eat something bad on the journey?”

Du Gu Ru shook her head, speaking honestly:

“Every time Liu Lingzhu, that vile creature, comes within ten zhang of me, I feel nauseous.”

“Impossible—this is the Defender of Ma Yi’s residence; how could he be here?”

Du Gu Ru realized it couldn’t be.

“Probably just food poisoning.”

Meanwhile, in the adjacent room:

“Master, what’s wrong?”

Liu Lingzhu frowned.

“Every time Du Gu Ru, that wretched woman, comes within ten zhang of me, I feel ill!”

“But this is the Defender of Ma Yi’s residence!”

“Probably because I’m so delighted—thinking that wretch is about to be finished, I can’t help feeling triumphant.”

……