Chapter 105

In early April, the rain did not stop.

But suddenly, the various military camps around Nanyang became active. Even soldiers on leave who were amusing themselves in the city, and officers who had gone to the east gate of Nanyang Prefectural City to participate in the imperial "Nanyang Happy Match" event, all hurried back... The reason was simple: the His Majesty in the city had suddenly left the city, personally came to the main camp at the foot of Yushan to take command, and then issued an edict ordering the entire Imperial Guard Central Army to assemble.

With such a posture, everyone knew what was happening without being told. There must have been a breach in Xiangzhou to the south, and His Majesty was about to fulfill the promise he made at the foot of Fangcheng Mountain that day, preparing to personally lead the army in the rain to punish the rebel Fan Qiong.

Regarding this matter, the various units of the so-called Imperial Guard Central Army currently stationed in the auxiliary capital Nanyang were naturally all itching for a fight, each eager for battle... With such military morale, an outsider might think that the young Zhao His Majesty was divinely martial, like a reincarnation of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and had in just a few months forged this Song army of complex origins into a fearless iron force, with everyone willing to die for His Majesty!

But those in the know naturally understood—wasn't this just to fight Fan Qiong?

Fighting the Jin was one thing; fighting against a rebel who had been a former colleague was another. Everyone knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, so who was really afraid of whom?

And once fear was gone, everyone in the army naturally vied to be first... Soldiers thought of plunder, officers thought of earning merit for promotion, and even the generals of the Imperial Guard Central Army were somewhat eager, each hoping to use this opportunity to expand their own troops a bit.

It must be known that His Majesty's favoritism towards the reckless Han Wu was almost common knowledge. Previously, the thirty thousand troops of Ding Jin from Huaixi, as well as the Zhai Chong unit that had rescued the emperor, were all assigned to Han Shizhong's Imperial Guard Left Army. The so-called Imperial Guard Central Army, which had always followed His Majesty himself, had never received a single reinforcement.

And this time, there was no way the reckless Han Wu would come to snatch people away.

Not to mention that among the various unit commanders, there were those with special reasons, like Wang De, Wang Yaksha, who had always wanted to remove the "Vice" from his title of Vice Commander-in-Chief, and the Xin brothers, who had been eager to prove themselves ever since failing to participate in the battle on the Huai River.

"Big Brother, can we take another route?"

They were to set out the next day. The main camp of the Imperial Guard Central Army at the foot of Yushan was almost shrouded in rain. Inside a dry military barracks, two people were sitting opposite each other at a small table, staring at two official documents on the table with furrowed brows, looking somewhat uneasy. They were the Xin brothers. After a long while, the fourth brother, Xin Yongzong, finally broke the silence with a furrowed brow. "What's the use of submitting it so directly?"

"There's no time. Once the drum sounds, it will be the last chance." The eldest brother, Xin Xingzong, sighed. "Besides, those people in the central government are all avoiding us now. How could they be willing to help easily? Even sending money won't work."

"True." Xin Yongzong was the first to become dejected upon hearing this. "But isn't this matter just a single word from His Majesty? Yet why would His Majesty give us brothers any face?"

"It's all my fault for dragging you brothers down." The so-called eldest brother is like a father, the youngest brother like a son. Seeing his younger brother like this, Xin Xingzong couldn't help but look gloomy. "Fortunately, His Majesty hasn't specifically excluded us. We can still manage to get by... I say, let's just submit it. If we can't get the vanguard position, then we won't. At this point, we brothers might as well play it safe."

Xin Yongzong heard his elder brother's words and seemed about to speak, but stopped. He was clearly unwilling, but he sat there restlessly, unable to come up with any clever plan.

Correspondingly, seeing his younger brother so uneasy, Xin Xingzong also looked gloomy but had nothing to say.

To be fair, it was no wonder Xin Xingzong and Xin Yongzong were acting like this.

It must be known that the Xin brothers were four in number: the eldest, Xin Xingzong; the second, Xin Qizong; the third, Xin Daozong; and the fourth, Xin Yongzong. Adding a cousin, Xin Yanzong, made five brothers. They were all prominent figures of recent years:

The eldest, Xin Xingzong, was the one who had vied for merit with Han Shizhong back in the early days of suppressing Fang La. However, calling it "vying for merit" was a bit of an overstatement for the reckless Han Wu, because Xin Xingzong's official position at the time was much higher than Han Shizhong's; at most, it was suppressing Han's merit... In fact, during the subsequent campaign against the Liao, Xin Xingzong was on equal footing with Zhong Shidao, serving as the commander of the Western Route Army.

Therefore, although the chaos of the Three Kingdoms had erupted, and this man had achieved no military victories in several years, suffering repeated defeats, he still managed to secure a position as a Commander of the Imperial Guard Central Army based on his seniority—it couldn't be any lower.

The second brother, Xin Qizong, was currently in Guanxi. His situation was unclear, but before it became unclear, he had also been a Commander of an army leading four or five thousand men.

The third brother, Xin Daozong, was the only one among the brothers who had tried to switch to a civil official career. When Zhao Jiu ascended the throne in Shangqiu, he was appointed by the temporary court as the Judicial Commissioner of Jingzhao (Chang'an). However, due to blocked roads, he couldn't go (or rather, couldn't die trying), so he followed the eldest and fourth brothers to the southeast to prepare for the temporary court's move to Yangzhou.

Later, because the situation on the Huai River became tense, Li Gang sent the three brothers back. But then they were summoned by Zhao His Majesty at Bagong Mountain. As a Commander, he led his troops to follow Zhang Suo, the Military Commissioner of the two Jingdong circuits, to Jingdong.

The fourth brother, Xin Yongzong, had a similar trajectory to the eldest. He was also a Commander at this time, but his troops were essentially split from his elder brother's army.

As for the cousin of the four, Xin Yanzong, he was no slouch either. Back when Zhao Jiu was still the Grand Marshal, he had led his Bazhou troops to the Marshal's office and was already a Vanguard Commander there. He seemed to be a better fighter than Xin Yongzong, who was more of a pampered son. However, this time he had stayed behind in the southeast and hadn't returned. A few days ago, an official document from Minister Li Gang arrived, stating that he, along with Generals Miao and Liu, and another Commander named Wang Yi, had been organized into the Imperial Guard Rear Army, becoming one of its main generals.

Objectively speaking, these five brothers and five Commanders, in this special era, were even stronger than the nine Prefects of the Lin family. It was truly a winning hand... because the nine Prefects had been appointed gradually over decades, while the five Commanders of the Xin brothers were all serving simultaneously.

In fact, before Bagong Mountain, there was a saying in the army about the Four Great Generals of the Imperial Guard: Liu, Zhang, Han, and Xin. Liu was Liu Guangshi, Zhang was Zhang Jun, and Han was Han Shizhong. These three were independent commanders of major fronts, while Xin referred to Xin Xingzong, who led a nest of brothers.

However, a good man doesn't boast of his past glory. Speaking of the present, fate played a cruel trick. Xin Xingzong, who was skilled at currying favor, never imagined in his life that he would have his imperial favor stolen by the reckless Han Wu... This was the most ridiculous thing under heaven!

It really was the reckless Han Wu's fault.

Don't just take the Xin brothers' word for it. Even the horse-feeders in the Imperial Guard knew that the current predicament of the brothers was entirely due to the name "Han Shizhong."

Setting aside the fact that His Majesty and Minister Li Gang had deliberately separated the brothers for well-known reasons, the two major blows the Xin brothers suffered were both at Bagong Mountain. One was their failure to participate in the battle to uproot the camp north of the Huai River, which permanently relegated them to the status of a second-rate unit in the Imperial Guard. The other was that during the reorganization, the highly senior Xin Xingzong was stuck at the rank of Commander, becoming just another face in the crowd.

However, the planner of the battle north of the Huai River was none other than Han Shizhong himself. Whether intentionally or not, he never mentioned these brothers in front of His Majesty. As for His Majesty's actions during the reorganization, they seemed entirely designed to give face to Han Shizhong... There was no choice. At that time, the temporary court was moving west, and it was the Imperial Guard Left Army and the Imperial Guard Central Army. According to the traditions of the Song army, the two forces were inherently antagonistic. If Xin Xingzong had been allowed to rise to prominence, given the reckless Han Wu's arrogance at the time, he might have truly turned around and secretly drawn his blade!

Everyone says His Majesty is partial to the reckless Han Wu. The civil officials say it, Zhang Jun says it. Even Wang De, Wang Yaksha, when he drinks, spouts nonsense, saying that if His Majesty hadn't favored Han Shizhong, he would have achieved this and that by now... However, when the civil officials talk about partiality, it's a matter of civil-military conflict. When Zhang Jun, Zhang Boying, talks about partiality, it's simply a matter of rivals for favor among the victors. Even Wang De—would he dare to utter the word "partiality" in front of His Majesty? As if he, Wang Yaksha, weren't the highest-ranking officer in the Imperial Guard Central Army right now.

In fact, the biggest victims of His Majesty's partiality towards the reckless Han Wu were none other than the Xin brothers. Only, compared to Zhang Jun and Wang De, the Xin brothers didn't even have the ability to cry out for justice anymore...

"Defense Commissioner!"

Just as the Xin brothers were sitting with worried expressions, waiting for the drum to sound from the central army headquarters, a voice suddenly called out from outside the barracks. "Is the Defense Commissioner in?"

The so-called "Defense Commissioner" referred to the title of Defense Commissioner.

A few days ago, several ministers in the auxiliary capital, along with the Ministry of Personnel, had organized the various appointments made by the previous temporary court and patched up the various messy assignments pointed out by Zhao His Majesty... For example, when Zhao His Majesty had vaguely appointed Zhang Suo as the Military Commissioner of two circuits, he had forgotten to mention a concurrent position in the Imperial Library. This time, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhang Suo jumped from a Direct Scholar of the Dragon Diagram Hall straight to a Scholar of the Zizheng Hall.

Others like Ma Shen and Liu Hongdao also had their various benefits supplemented. Li Gang was even specially given the title of Military Governor, becoming a bizarre existence of a Minister plus Military Governor.

Correspondingly, the various Commanders of the Imperial Guard Central Army also had their nominal ranks uniformly organized. They were mostly at the level of Deputy Commissioners of the Horizontal Ranks. Wang De was at the highest, only at the thirtieth rank, Military Virtue Grand Master, on par with Yue Fei, not reaching the level of a full Commissioner of the various departments. Only Xin Xingzong, with his truly longest seniority, had been a Regimental Commander of a remote prefecture in his early years. Since he had committed no fault this time, the central government had no choice but to reluctantly give him the title of Defense Commissioner of a remote prefecture.

As for Wang De's recent muttering, his delusion of using this military merit to advance to Commander-in-Chief and concurrently serve as the Defense Commissioner of Nanyang's Four Walls—that was another matter... This position had become somewhat muddled due to the two sieges of Dongjing.

Returning to the present, according to the titles of the time, the Xin brothers of the Imperial Guard Central Army were naturally called "Great Xin Defense Commissioner" and "Little Xin Grand Master." Fortunately, this was the case; otherwise, if all five brothers were Commanders and were to gather one day, how would they be addressed?

"Three Ways, Number One Under Heaven?" "Fourth Yong, Peerless in the World?"

"It's Hu Hongxiu." Xin Yongzong was momentarily invigorated upon hearing the voice. "He's a rare scholar in the army, a man with ideas, and someone with far-reaching connections. Let's hear what he has to say."

The elder brother, Xin Xingzong, shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this, unconvinced: "This man certainly has ideas, but he has too many of his own. And these days, he's been keeping his distance. Given our current situation, I'm afraid we can't get him to offer us any advice."

However, despite saying this, the man had already arrived outside the barracks. He was a genuine scholar who had abandoned Fan Qiong after the Jingkang Incident and followed the brothers through over a year of hardship. Moreover, he was a man with "far-reaching connections." And the Xin brothers were currently in a lowly state—how could they afford to be negligent?

So, the two brothers went out together to welcome him and led this mere "Baoyi Gentleman," Hu Hongxiu, into the barracks... Baoyi Gentleman was exactly the same official rank that Niu Gao had just received from General Cui of Luoyang a few days ago. It was the fiftieth rank among the fifty-three ranks of Song military officers, about twenty levels below Yue Fei's Military Virtue Grand Master.

Historically, Niu Gao was Yue Fei's deputy commander, while Hu Hongxiu was Yue Fei's chief of staff and the main general of one of the Yue Family Army's units.

To elaborate, Hu Hongxiu was in his twenties, with a fair face and a tall stature. He had a broad forehead and a long, straight nose. If not for the slightly conspicuous knife scar on his temple and the leather belt he wore, he would be the very model of a fine young man from outside the Donghua Gate... In fact, he was a graduate of the Imperial University. During the Jingkang era, he abandoned his pen to join the army, serving under Fan Qiong in charge of city wall defense. Later, when Fan Qiong changed his allegiance, he abandoned Fan Qiong and followed the Xin brothers, Xin Daozong and Xin Yongzong, who were then traveling from Hedong to Nanjing (Shangqiu) to find the Grand Marshal's office. That's how he ended up here.

As he entered the door, he sat down casually. He glanced at the documents on the table, listened to Xin Yongzong's eager explanation, and then, while wringing the rainwater from his sleeves, shook his head with a wry smile:

"You two are going about it completely backwards, like climbing a tree to catch a fish..."

Upon hearing this, both Xin brothers—the fourth brother, who had high hopes, and the eldest, who had been somewhat disappointed but still held a faint hope—both looked dejected.

However, Hu Hongxiu paid no attention to their expressions. He wrung out both sleeves, re-tied his belt, and then calmly continued speaking slowly:

"In my humble opinion, you brothers have made two major mistakes. One is that you, Defense Commissioner, don't know when to advance or retreat..."

Upon hearing the last two words, Xin Yongzong instinctively wanted to retort, but Xin Xingzong himself felt a stir in his heart and directly held his brother back.

"Grand Commandant Han has been granted the authority to establish a military command and oversee all military affairs in Huaixi. Whenever rewards and honors are issued in Nanyang Prefecture, for military officers, Grand Commandant Han is always first; for the ministers, there is always an extra portion for Grand Commandant Han; for the close officials, no matter how far away, there is always a share for Grand Commandant Han... Not only that, I've heard that since His Majesty bestowed that jade belt, for half a year, even though both Nanyang and the southeast have presented tributes, His Majesty has never been seen wearing a jade belt in public again. Even at the last grand court assembly at Fangcheng Mountain, he only wore a gold belt..."

Having said this, Hu Hongxiu, sitting on his camp stool, smiled faintly and then looked at Xin Xingzong, whose face had already turned pale: "May I ask, Defense Commissioner, is such favor and trust something you brothers can easily shake? And given the enmity between you, Defense Commissioner, and Grand Commandant Han, as long as he is here, how can you possibly rise to prominence?"

"Then what should I do?" In a daze, Xin Xingzong almost blurted out.

"What can you do?" Hu Hongxiu couldn't help but laugh. "Defense Commissioner, forgive my bluntness. For an old military hand like you who has reached the top, if you don't want to surrender to the Jin, don't want to end up like Fan Qiong, and still cling to the literary splendor and prosperity of the Great Song... of course, that's probably exactly the case... there is only one path left: to voluntarily request retirement. Once you step back, the other Xin Commanders will suddenly see a clear path and be able to move forward."

Little Xin, hearing this, was furious, but it was Big Xin himself who sighed: "Actually, I had already thought of this layer, but no one sorted it out clearly for me. Thank you, Young Master Hu, for the reminder."

"No matter. If I may say so, take this opportunity. Among the seven divisions of the Imperial Camp Central Army, plus the Imperial Personal Guard, eight units in total, every man will surely want to be the vanguard. But here at Nanyang, one unit must remain behind on garrison duty, which everyone will avoid like the plague. Defense Commissioner, why not speak frankly to His Majesty? Say that your old wounds make it hard to endure the rain, request to stay as the garrison, and ask to be assigned to guard Wuguan after the battle…"

"I understand your meaning, Young Master Hu," Xin Xingzong said, glancing at his younger brother, forcing himself to rally somewhat. "If I do this, and then Old Fourth requests to be the vanguard, there's a nine or ten out of ten chance he'll win the top spot!"

Old Fourth Xin Yongzong, standing nearby, was delighted at heart, but immediately rose and personally poured a bowl of ginger soup for Hu Hongxiu.

Hu Hongxiu, not one to stand on ceremony, took the bowl, drained it in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and continued shaking his head with a smile: "This is the other of the two great mistakes I just mentioned regarding the Defense Commissioner, and also the fundamental reason I came to find you two today… In this battle, if you want to earn military merit, how can you compete for the vanguard? To be the vanguard is destined to be like going south by driving north, climbing a tree to catch a fish—utterly futile!"

Before his elder brother could speak, Old Fourth Xin Yongzong pulled a stool over to sit beside Hu Hongxiu, imitating the handshake greeting recently popular in Nanyang, and earnestly took his hand to inquire:

"Please, Brother Hu, for the sake of our year together wandering in hardship, show us brothers the clear path!"

"I was going to say it anyway." Hu Hongxiu calmly withdrew his hand. "Martial Classics Master Xin (Xin Yongzong's newly acquired rank, Martial Classics Grand Master, 32nd grade), let me ask you: if you win the vanguard, where will you go to fight?"

"Naturally, follow the Baihe (Yushui River) south all the way, break Dengcheng, and take Xiangyang!"

"Is Dengcheng so easy to break?" Hu Hongxiu suddenly turned serious and asked back. "Is Xiangyang so easy to take?"

"It shouldn't be that hard, right?" Little Xin, the Martial Classics Master, was clearly puzzled. "Does Fan Qiong still have a way out by now?"

"It will still take some time." The elder brother Xin Xingzong, more experienced, spoke up. "His Majesty's decree did not pardon those troops who surrendered to the Jin, and Fan Qiong took advantage of this to pile those surrendered troops at Dengcheng north of the Han River, while gathering his own main force into Xiangyang. In other words, the troops at Dengcheng have not been pardoned, and with such a disposition, they will probably put up a stubborn resistance for a few days, and only scatter after seeing blood, which will delay things for a while. As for Xiangyang…"

"What about Xiangyang?" Xin Yongzong still didn't understand.

"Isn't it raining?" Xin Xingzong sighed. "To break Xiangyang, we must first break Dengcheng, then cross the Han River. But crossing the river in the rain is extremely difficult! Not to mention that by the time we cross, the water will have risen. And no matter how much of a bastard Fan Qiong is, he did defend Dongjingcheng… The ferry crossing will surely be held by his most elite and reliable unit."

Hearing this, Little Xin turned to look at Hu Hongxiu again.

Hu Hongxiu made no attempt to hide his plan and directly offered his strategy: "Martial Classics Master Xin can request to lead a detached force, go upstream to Niushou Town, attack the Monk Zongyin, then cross the river from there, and from the south bank, launch a swift raid on Xiangyang city!"

The Xin brothers exchanged glances. Old Fourth Xin Yongzong was clearly seeking help, as he didn't grasp the advantage of this plan. The elder brother Xin Xingzong was silent for a moment, then awkwardly spoke frankly: "Little Hu, I'm afraid I didn't catch the key to this strategy… Although Niushou Town has few troops, the Monk Zongyin commanding there has also not been explicitly pardoned by decree. Not to mention a lone force crossing the river to raid the famous city of Xiangyang, which holds ten thousand troops. I, a Commander, command only fifteen hundred men. If things go wrong, wouldn't we be completely annihilated?"

Hu Hongxiu was extremely frustrated and could only offer a brief explanation: "Defense Commissioner, let me ask you two more things. Has the Monk Zongyin not been pardoned, but has he surrendered to the Jin? Have his subordinates been explicitly forbidden from being pardoned by decree? And with the rain so heavy, why does His Majesty insist on moving troops now? Has His Majesty lost his mind, or are all the many staff officers and generals at his side a bunch of fools?"

"You mean…" Xin Xingzong paused, then spoke with some difficulty. "The Monk Zongyin must be a soft and useless coward. We can make promises to his subordinates to induce his unit to surrender. And in Xiangyang city, there must have been a major upheaval?"

"What else could it be?" Hu Hongxiu saw that Big Xin had figured it out but was still hesitating, while Little Xin remained completely clueless. Deeply disappointed, he couldn't help but respond coldly.

However, Xin Xingzong was no ordinary man. He was a major general of the Western Army who had risen from the side of Tong Guan. If nothing else, he was first-rate at reading people. Seeing Hu Hongxiu's expression sour, he also sighed:

"Young Master Hu, I understand your meaning, and I know what you say is excellent. But although my brothers and I are not at the end of our rope, we are in a precarious position… Allow me to ask you two questions as well, and then we'll decide. How about it?"

"Please speak, Defense Commissioner." Hu Hongxiu, though puzzled, remained open and honest.

"First, Young Master Hu, you have been in our brothers' camp for a year. Everyone knows you regard the Jingkang Incident as the shame of your life, never daring to forget it for a moment. However, to accomplish anything, one must first have a position." Xin Xingzong paced with his hands behind his back in the barracks, sighing. "You are a graduate of the Imperial University, with wide connections and battlefield experience. Your father-in-law, Wang Shuzhan, is the Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Your brother-in-law and close friend, Wang Ruohai, was recently selected as an attendant by His Majesty's side. Your sister-in-law is even the daughter-in-law of the Imperial Uncle Zhao Shi… This Imperial Uncle was instrumental in supporting His Majesty's ascension at Nanjing. In other words, if you wanted a position, you could always jump up to get one. But in the past few months, since you returned from the southeast with us, you've seen so many people around you rise quickly. You, who want to accomplish things, why have you remained completely still?"

Hu Hongxiu suddenly smiled again: "The Defense Commissioner's other question must surely be: why, after remaining still all this time, have you suddenly come out hopping like a frog with the rain today? And since you're out, and everywhere is short of people, why didn't you go to your own father-in-law, but instead came to the army to find two down-and-out generals?"

"Exactly!"

"Then I'll speak plainly." Hu Hongxiu sighed. "Chen Dong and I were close friends at the Imperial University. Although I heard in the southeast that His Majesty had exiled Huang Qianshan and cleared Chen Dong's name, I have always harbored a grudge. I both resent that Wang Boyan was not demoted and doubt whether His Majesty has truly changed… With this knot in my heart, how could I be willing to seek an official post?"

"So that's it." Xin Xingzong suddenly understood. "Of course. You were all prominent figures at the Imperial University during the Jingkang era. How could you not know each other and associate? It never occurred to me."

"Whether it occurred to you or not, the dead are hard to bring back." Hu Hongxiu said with emotion. "And these days, from Bagongshan to Caizhou, and then to Nanyang, although I still hold a grudge against Wang Boyan, I've seen that the central government has at least shown some signs of revitalization. His Majesty also seems to be genuinely doing things, not just fooling us like he did in Nanjing back then. So, although my heart is still uneasy, I couldn't help but want to come out and test the waters."

"Who isn't the same? After going to the southeast, His Majesty seemed like a different person. Everyone looks at him with suspicion…" Xin Xingzong could well understand.

"As for why, now that I've stirred up some thoughts, I came to find you two instead of my father-in-law's side, I have nothing to hide…" Hu Hongxiu gave a bitter laugh. "First, my brother-in-law Wang Ruohai was also a close friend from the Imperial University, and also a comrade of Chen Dong, Ouyang Che, and others. But in these past few months, he has been jumping up and down, flattering various lords to get an official post, even going through Wang Boyan's connections. I've grown disgusted with that side!"

"…"

"Second, naturally, it's because of that bastard Fan Qiong. I had some dealings with him in Dongjing. Back then, I wished I could kill him with my own hands, but because I was powerless and cowardly at the time, I could only hug the proclamation disbanding the city defense and weep as I left the city. This is one of the greatest regrets of my life!"

"That's when we got to know each other," Xin Yongzong couldn't help interjecting.

Speaking of this, Hu Hongxiu was clearly recalling past events in Dongjing. He completely ignored 'Fourth Xin,' his hatred palpable and overflowing. He paused for a long time before calming down, then sat there, speaking slowly and deliberately, continuing with a solemn tone:

"Third, ever since the Jingkang era, after personally experiencing the siege, I became convinced that to pacify the world, military force must come first! And if there is truly a chance to restore the Two Rivers, welcome back the Two Emperors, and avenge this shame, I, Hu Hongxiu, would rather be a centurion than a secretary! What are mere official posts and the division between civil and military in the face of the millions of people in the Two Rivers? They're nothing but farts!"

Xin Xingzong stared at the leather strap on the other's sleeve for a long time, then, disregarding the gap in their ranks, cupped his hands and bowed: "If that's the case, I entrust my younger brother to you, Young Master Hu!"

Hu Hongxiu, knowing full well that there were dozens of ranks between them, hurriedly stepped aside to avoid the bow… However, as he just stood up, the sound of drums came faintly through the rain, startling both men into solemn attention.

There was no doubt that this was the Zhao Emperor, the one who made people 'look at him with suspicion' yet couldn't help wanting to jump out and take a look, beating the drum in the central camp to summon the generals.

PS: I got confused trying to force the 'Big and Little Defense Commissioner' joke… Only Xin Xingzong was qualified to be Defense Commissioner; everyone else, including Wang De, was not qualified… The main issue was that when I started writing, I treated the Remote Commandery Defense Commissioner and the 53rd rank of military officers as two separate things, when in fact they are highly correlated… My apologies to everyone; it has been corrected.