Chapter 103

Grain Rain falls like silk threads, then like dust; boiling wine in wax-sealed bottles, we taste the new.

Peonies burst their calyxes, cherries ripen; I won't let falling petals diminish the spring.

At the end of the third month, at the turn of spring and summer, it was the Grain Rain season. In the Jiang-Han region at this time, a round of rain, responding to the season, began to push northward from the south. This finally allowed Fan Qiong, Fan Baochen, who had entrenched himself around Xiangzhou and officially become a "rebel" a few days earlier, to set aside some of his previous panic and anxiety, and then he managed to get half a good night's sleep for a rare change.

The reason it was called half was that amidst the continuous patter of rain, a little thunder gradually began to mix in. Though not harsh, it was enough to startle Fan Qiong, who was sleeping in his armor, awake. After waking, there was only endless confusion and blankness, and he could not remember a past event that kept repeating in his dream. It was that very event that made his heart pound so that he woke abruptly, then lost in a daze that was hard to bear.

To be fair, lying on the bed in the rear quarters of the Xiangzhou prefectural office, staring thoughtfully at the rain streaks falling outside the window, Fan Qiong himself could not understand how he had suddenly come to act that way.

It must be known that back during the Jingkang Disaster, he had led over ten thousand troops from Jingdong and was the first of the royal rescue army to arrive at Dongjingcheng. At that time, he was regarded as a hero, and that rescue action had indeed forced the Jin Jun to retreat—the so-called exchange of the three prefectures of Taiyuan for the Jin army's withdrawal...

Of course, what followed immediately was the total collapse of the Taiyuan campaign, the Jin army's return, and the death and utter demoralization of countless of the nation's famous generals.

Logically, if there had been a real change, a complete disappointment in the Great Song, it should have happened during that period.

But at this moment, lying on his bed watching the rain, Fan Qiong carefully recalled and found that he did not seem to have been completely shaken during that stage like others, because right after that he was appointed as the Capital's Four Walls Chief Patrol Inspector, becoming the de facto commander of the capital's garrison. This appointment was enough to make him, who still held over ten thousand elite troops, ecstatic... His strength undiminished, promoted and enriched, and becoming the only military reliance of the new Emperor at that time, with a bright future ahead—how could he have been shaken?

In fact, if he remembered correctly, after this incident, during the second siege, he had repeatedly sought opportunities to take the initiative to attack, showing no fear of fighting the Jin Jun. No matter how many soldiers died in battle or how many times he was defeated by the Jin cavalry, he never lost heart.

If he had died then, he would have been recorded in the history books, right?

However, it was just when he thought of this that Fan Qiong suddenly discovered a memory point he tried his best to avoid but could not overcome:

Let's say, that time when the Jin Jun took advantage of the winter freeze to fiercely attack Xuanhua Gate, he personally led his most elite thousand troops, planning to do the opposite—also stepping on the winter ice to cross the river and attack the Jin Jun. But as a result, the Jin Jun walked back and forth, and the river ice remained as solid as ever, yet when the Song troops stepped on it, the ice cracked right in the middle of the formation, and five hundred of the thousand men were lost in an instant.

It seemed that from then on, the entire city defense force lost its last shred of courage. He, Fan Baochen, also became convinced in his heart that the Great Song's Mandate of Heaven was lost, began to abandon himself to despair, and developed an inexplicable expectation for the Great Song's subsequent situation... Otherwise, he would not have later regarded Zhang Bangchang as a man with the Mandate of Heaven, and then done those things that led to his own utter ruin!

Things like not fighting the Jin Jun, being arrogant and overbearing—the clear imperial edict from the Emperor in Nanyang a few days ago was all empty. Fan Qiong had long recognized the reason the Zhao Emperor in Nanyang wanted to kill him—after Yuanzong (Song Qinzong) was detained by the Jin Jun, he was sent by the Jin Jun back into the city to openly escort the Retired Emperor, the civil and military officials, the imperial consorts, and the imperial clan nobles out of the city, and along the way he suppressed and blocked the common people!

At that time, when the temporary court had no troops but he held a heavy force, the Emperor and Li Gang had made a promise not to pursue past offenses. But now that the situation had improved, the Emperor, having withstood this wave of the Jin Jun's sweep, simply broke his promise and was coming after him again.

However, thinking about these things now was superfluous. Fan Qiong could only sigh that he had not seen back then that the one in Nanyang had such courage and resilience, able to maintain the situation to this day, so much so that he secretly regretted not staying in the north to surrender to the Jin Jun... He could only say that this Emperor was so forbearing and yet so ruthless, compared to the two Emperors in Dongjingcheng back then, he simply didn't seem like a seed of the Zhao family!

"Father!"

A clear shout suddenly rang out, startling Fan Qiong, who immediately grasped the hilt of his sword. Only when he saw that it was his own daughter Xiuniang approaching with an oil lamp did he relax.

"Father, there are too many mosquitoes. Should I burn some realgar and duckweed?" Fan Xiuniang, only sixteen this year, was startled when she saw her father raise his knife, but she still carefully stepped forward to ask.

"No need for that." Fan Qiong shook his head repeatedly. "Burning too much of that stuff makes one dizzy. We're at a critical moment now; you can't light that, and don't you go lighting it for me either..."

"Yes." Fan Xiuniang put down the oil lamp and answered carefully.

"What time is it?" Fan Qiong looked at the oil lamp, finally coming back to his senses from his earlier dream.

"Just past midday, but the clouds outside are too thick, so it's dark." Fan Xiuniang replied softly, then moved closer to continue asking. "Father, it's been three days. Will you take off your armor and change into clean clothes? Your daughter can also wipe the armor scales for you while I'm at it?"

Under the lamplight, Fan Qiong, whose body almost smelled rancid and seemed to carry a hint of blood, looked at his daughter's pure black eyes and was momentarily stunned, almost agreeing.

But in the end, he chose to shake his head again: "It's not just the Emperor in Nanyang; there are people in the city who want to kill our whole family too. Your father cannot let his guard down for even a moment!"

Fan Xiuniang lowered her head without speaking, then turned and went out. Soon she returned with a basin of hot water and a towel, wrung it out, and prepared to wipe her father's face and neck.

Fan Qiong, looking at his daughter's clean forehead and neat temples as she bent over, sighed inwardly. He remembered that back in the north, when he saw that Zhao Emperor scouring everywhere for laundry women, he had felt disdain. But a few days ago, when that Emperor in Nanyang had reverted to his old ways, he, already feeling that disaster was imminent, had thought of sending his daughter over to trade for his life. But with just a moment's hesitation, he had wasted his last chance.

"Father?" After a pause, it was Fan Xiuniang, holding the hot towel, who carefully broke the silence.

Fan Qiong came back to his senses again, took the hot towel, and wiped himself, sighing as he did so.

"Father." Fan Xiuniang looked at her father and couldn't help repeating the question that was destined to have the same answer. "The Emperor insists on Father's death. What should we do?"

"I won't die!" Fan Qiong finished wiping his face, tossed the now-gray towel into the basin, and repeated the answer he had given countless times. "As long as I can hold out for half a year, the Jin Jun will surely send a great army to Nanyang. Then your father will turn misfortune into good fortune!"

Fan Xiuniang wrung out the hot towel again, her expression hesitant, as if she wanted to say something but stopped.

"What do you want to say again?" Fan Qiong gripped his saber, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Don't tell me those concubines of yours in the back courtyard have been urging you to persuade me to go and beg for forgiveness? Have you forgotten how the last one died?!"

Hearing the last sentence, Fan Xiuniang recalled the scene from a few days ago and instinctively flinched. Then her face turned pale, and she quickly grabbed the towel and shook her head repeatedly: "It was Lady Zhang who said it, but she didn't tell me to persuade Father to go to Nanyang and walk into a trap. She said that this Emperor is as lustful as his life, and that a few days ago Father thought of offering me to him... Your daughter wants to say that I am willing to share Father's burden."

Fan Qiong's expression softened, but he shook his head again: "Too late!"

With that, this man, once a loyal minister of the Great Song, now something unknown, directly supported himself on his saber and stood up, not even looking at his daughter, and walked out the door.

Leaving aside how Fan Xiuniang worried about her father, as Fan Qiong left the rear quarters, followed the corridor into the front courtyard, he came face to face with several trusted personal guards waiting there.

"How is it?" Fan Qiong stepped up to the steps, no longer forcing gentleness as he had in front of his daughter, and spoke harshly.

In the rain, the leader of the guards knelt directly to report: "Grand Commandant, let me inform you, the city wall is too wide, and our men are too few. Today we happened to encounter a squad leader from the Left Army fleeing with an entire squad. We only managed to capture seven or eight men!"

"Useless!"

Fan Qiong, momentarily furious, opened his mouth to curse and even wanted to draw his saber and slash wildly. But as soon as he started, he found that a sore had somehow grown in his mouth. Speaking softly to his daughter earlier had been fine, but now shouting with force tore the wound, causing unbearable pain.

However, since he hadn't reached for his saber, he instead held his cheek and continued cursing: "Han Li, the Left Army Commander, is useless! To let an entire squad develop treacherous thoughts—I think he's developed them too! And you lot are useless too! How did you only catch seven or eight men? Don't tell me you've also become half-hearted?!"

The personal guards had no choice but to exchange helpless glances, then kneel together in the rain with their heads bowed.

Fan Qiong cursed for a while, only to find the pain in his mouth too severe. In the end, he could only hold his cheek and sit dejectedly under the eaves. It was a long time before he regained his strength, but by then the fear, dread, anger, and brutality in his heart were far from calmed—in fact, they grew even more intense.

"All taken alive?" After a pause, Fan Baochen, who seemed to have calmed down, suddenly spoke.

"Of course." The guard leader, drenched by the rain, answered carefully.

"Then pass the order: all officers above the rank of commander in the army, and all above the rank of squad leader in my directly subordinate central army, are to come to the prefectural hall!" Fan Qiong's eyes were bloodshot, but his tone was surprisingly light. "As before, I will execute them publicly. Let them all come to watch the punishment!"

The personal guards exchanged glances, said nothing, and quickly fled out into the rain.

Soon, in Xiangyang City, which had already been compressed into a large military camp, the news reached Fan Qiong's core force of ten thousand men—Han Li's Left Army, Wang Jun's Right Army, and the various units of the directly subordinate central army. They were all used to it by now, as this had been going on for three days.

The only thing worth mentioning was that Han Li, the Left Army Commander, had a bit more to worry about this time.

Relatively speaking, Wang Jun, the Right Army Commander—a former confidant of Fan Qiong who had lost two front teeth to a Jin arrow during the Jingkang incident—was naturally a bit more at ease.

After receiving the order, this famous gap-toothed commander, as usual, had his men stuff silver and wine into the messengers' hands before taking a few personal guards to the back courtyard of his residence to change clothes... According to Fan Qiong's rules these days, everyone who came to see him at the prefectural office could bring guards, but no one except his personal guards was allowed to wear armor.

"Academician Lin!"

Entering a heavily guarded, brightly lit room in the rear quarters, the gap-toothed Wang Jun immediately knelt and kowtowed to the ground. "Academician Lin, I take the liberty of begging you to change into coarse clothes and come with me to the prefectural office..."

The person reading by candlelight on the bed was naturally the indefatigable young Academician Lin, who was determined to do something for the Emperor. Hearing this, he glanced casually at the ground and couldn't help frowning:

"Commander Wang, the Emperor's edict arrived six days ago. Five days ago, you had your concubine's father find Mr. Li outside the city to ask him to connect with someone from Nanyang Prefecture. I, a proper Academician of the Jade Hall, the Emperor's trusted confidant and Inner Court Minister, took the risk to see you only because I saw you as one of Fan Qiong's foremost generals. Yet you've been making excuses for three days straight. Do you think, at this point, Fan Qiong still has a way out? Can you really keep vacillating like this?"

"Academician!" Wang Jun kowtowed again, then looked up with his gap-toothed mouth and earnestly pleaded. "I'm really not vacillating. I know that Grand Commandant Fan probably won't come to a good end this time, but Grand Commandant Fan has shown me great kindness... Back in the Jingkang years in Dongjing, when I lost these two front teeth to an arrow, I was just a lowly deputy squad leader. In two years, I became a commander in charge of three thousand of the most elite troops... For a time, how could I bring myself to do it?"

The young Academician Lin sneered: "Then why are you still kneeling here talking to me? You could have tied me up and handed me over to your Grand Commandant Fan to repay his kindness, wouldn't that be perfect?"

Wang Jun kowtowed again: "It's not that I don't know loyalty either. Loyalty to the Emperor, righteousness to the Grand Commandant—this is what they call in the martial world the dilemma of loyalty and righteousness being hard to reconcile. I remember back in Dongping Prefecture, with Grand Commandant Zhang Rong..."

"If you hadn't mentioned Zhang Rong's name, why would I have come into the city with you?!" Junior Academician Lin threw down his book, finally enraged. "What makes you think I'd agree to see you?! Zhang Rong is the Pacification Commissioner of Dongping Prefecture—who are you to keep toying with me here?!"

"Academician!" Wang Jun kowtowed again without pause, still speaking with a lisp. "I know no one would believe such nonsense, but I truly have my difficulties... And asking you today to come with me to the prefectural office is precisely so you can see my difficulties with your own eyes!"

Junior Academician Lin, seeing the sincerity in the other's words, hesitated once more.

"Academician, rest assured—all the officers in my army are from Jingdong, and none below Grand Commandant Fan recognize you," Wang Jun pressed his advantage while the iron was hot. "And with the rain pouring nonstop today, the sky is so dark it might as well be night. If you'll condescend to smear some yellow powder on your face and pose as my attendant to go along, there's absolutely no danger..."

Now, Junior Academician Lin had been strung along by this Wang Jun for several days since arriving, effectively under house arrest, and was growing irritable and restless. He wanted to see the situation there for himself to prescribe the right remedy. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly nodded.

And so, following Wang Jun's arrangements, Junior Academician Lin put on an inconspicuous set of clothes, smeared yellow powder on his face, and took advantage of the relentless rain and thick cloud cover to make his way to the prefectural office of Xiangyang City.

Of course, with Wang Jun—a man who ranked third but aspired to second in the city—leading the way, the journey went smoothly. Once there, Junior Academician Lin soon understood from the conversations among these men the reason for this gathering: ever since Fan Qiong had ordered the city sealed three days ago, for three consecutive days they had been publicly executing those who tried to flee. And today, despite the rain, they were actually going to kill people inside the government hall.

At this point, Junior Academician Lin, watching all of Fan Qiong's subordinate officers gathered here, finally understood Wang Jun's "good intentions." He realized that this gap-toothed man was trying to tell him that while the Zhao Emperor's name still carried weight and everyone understood the bigger picture, Fan Qiong's years of accumulated authority, combined with such brutal methods, meant no one dared to step forward as the first to act.

Beyond that, there was surely also the intent to intimidate him, a scholar, through these executions.

But to be fair, although Han Shizhong had once mocked him as a "tenderfoot," that was only because he was unskilled at riding horses—it had nothing to do with his courage in other matters. He himself had been on the battlefield before, so why should he fear so-called executions?

Just as Junior Academician Lin's thoughts were wandering, and the officers in the hall—all dressed in silk civilian clothes—were exchanging crude remarks, a harsh scraping sound of armor plates came from behind. Everyone in the hall instantly paled in fear and hurriedly took their seats.

However, Wang Jun was a clever man. With a slight gesture, three other attendants shielded Junior Academician Lin behind them, allowing him to calmly lean against the wall in the shadows.

On the other side, Fan Qiong, clad in armor and holding his cheek, came up without a word. He signaled his personal guards to act quickly. As the guards brought in various implements and the fugitives and began preparations, everyone from Han Li and Wang Jun on down grew puzzled.

Because, as they watched, the guards did not simply bind the fugitives. Instead, they first pried up the blue bricks of the hall floor, then poured water and dug up earth, driving a wooden stake about ten feet long firmly into the ground. They then placed braziers on all four sides before finally binding one of the fleeing soldiers... This posture looked nothing like a straightforward beheading, did it?

Could it be they were going to rip out his heart and lungs to make hangover soup?!

"Beheading every day is so boring!" Amid the hall's fear and uncertainty, Fan Qiong suddenly spoke while holding his cheek. "With the rain today, let's try something different! As for the rest, kill them first!"

At Fan Qiong's command, the fully armed guards immediately seized the few fugitive soldiers who hadn't been tied to the stake. Amid curses and struggles, the guards beheaded them one by one, and Junior Academician Lin was indeed not startled.

"This last one, the fattest..." After the others were killed, the bound fugitive soldier cursed a few times, then trembled and lost control of his bladder, gradually falling silent. In the hall's utter stillness, Fan Qiong finally continued casually, still holding his cheek, his voice cutting through the rain. "Skin him for me!"

At these words, not only Junior Academician Lin but even Han Li and all the other officers in the hall felt a chill run down their spines.

PS: Can't sleep, tonight's chapter, released early. Everyone, good night.