Chapter 488

Extra Story 2 — Grenades Fear Water

Extra Story 2 — Grenades Fear Water

In the eighteenth year of Jianyan, in early spring, the cold of spring had yet to lift from Hebei, but on Dali's Wuliang Mountain, a hundred flowers were already in full bloom.

Deep among the flowers, a waterfall suddenly appeared in the mountain, spraying pearls and spitting jade with majestic force. Because rock goats often crossed in herds over the rocky cliffs behind the waterfall, it was named Goat Mountain Waterfall. Below the waterfall, a deep lake had formed naturally, its waters clear with visible fish. And by the shore of the deep lake, a huge boulder stood tall.

This boulder was extremely tall, enough for dozens of people to stand on it and view the waterfall. Besides that, three of its sides were smooth and unusually neat, especially the side facing the lake, which was as smooth and flat as a jade disc, almost like a mirror, complementing the lake's surface in a delightful way that made viewers marvel.

Wang Shixiong, Vice Commander of the Great Song Imperial Guard, stood beneath the boulder, staring blankly for a long time, unable to speak.

After a while, it was Wu Yi, the Great Song envoy to Dali, who cleared his throat dryly, snapping Wang Shixiong back to his senses, who then turned back awkwardly:

"Forgive me, everyone, but I truly couldn't help my lapse... The Son of Heaven's decree said that beneath the Wuliang Mountain waterfall there is a great boulder, specially named the Wuliang Jade Wall... Ten thousand li away, and it's exactly as described—clearly, the current Son of Heaven is truly Heaven-blessed."

With that, he opened the imperial decree in his hand and read it hastily. The many Gao clan members accompanying him from Dali, from the current clan head holding the ducal title and Dali's Buxie (Chancellor) Gao Liangcheng on down, had no time to think and respectfully knelt in obeisance.

The decree was merely two sentences long, indeed bestowing the name Wuliang Jade Wall. After the Gao clan members, from Gao Liangcheng down, rose, they couldn't help but feel some panic—this Wuliang Mountain lay between the Dali capital and the Gao clan's core fief of Weichu, with temples and tea gardens. It wasn't remote, but calling it a prominent place was nonsense. That the Central Plains Son of Heaven, ten thousand li away, could know about a rock in a mountain within their own fief was truly astonishing.

Of course, some more seasoned Gao clan members, taking advantage of the waterfall's noise, quietly chuckled and said, "This is a decree from the Great Song Son of Heaven. If this rock exists, it's naturally proof of his vision across ten thousand li. But if it didn't, would we dare to refuse the Son of Heaven's favor? We'd probably have to help find one out."

To this, someone else disagreed: "What's so special about this? The Northern Branch is blinded by greed, dragging Great Song into the game for power and profit. With an inside agent, let alone a rock, what in the country could be hidden from that Son of Heaven? This is just deliberate intimidation."

Once these words were out, those around either grew indignant, sneered, sighed endlessly, or glared fiercely, but in the end, no one spoke further about the naming decree.

And so, turning past the Jade Wall, they arrived at a temple in the mountains. Here, tables and seats had already been set up, with fine tea and fruit laid out... There was certainly no Sword Palace, but Dali revered Buddhism, and no mountain lacked temples. Earlier, when the Dali capital caught fire, half of what burned were temples, and Wuliang Mountain was no exception. As for fine tea, ever since the Zhao Song Emperor had pushed for border trade over a decade ago, Dali's tea leaves, along with copper ore, had become the most important export goods. Aside from daily tea bricks for Shu and Lianghu regions, top-quality tea could be sent directly to the central capital of Bianjing and the capital of Yanjing, competing with famous teas from the southeast.

Enough digression. Once there, everyone exchanged pleasantries again. Then, Gao Liangcheng, by virtue of his ducal rank, took the seat of honor with Wang Shixiong. Next, Wu Yi, the Great Song envoy to Dali and Imperial Brother-in-Law, sat in the first seat on the left. As for the first seat on the right, it was occupied by Gao Zhenshou, Gao Liangcheng's nephew, the head of the Gao clan's Northern Branch, based in Dali's Northern Tongmou Prefecture.

After Gao Zhenshou, the temple's abbot sat down awkwardly, deliberately separating this Northern Branch head from the local Southern Branch members... The rest of the Northern Branch members who had come with Gao Zhenshou mostly sat on Wu Yi's side.

The Northern and Southern Branches were as distinct as the Jing and Wei rivers.

"Duke Gao."

After sitting, Wang Shixiong first swept his gaze over this strange scene in the hall, then glanced at Gao Liangcheng, speaking directly before even drinking tea. "Although I came bearing the imperial decree, I am only here to listen to both sides of your clan. The final result will depend on the Emperor's decision... So, if you have anything to say, feel free to speak openly. There's no need to mind me."

Gao Liangcheng also set down his tea, stroking his beard with a wry smile: "As the saying goes, family scandals shouldn't be aired in public. Yet today, the Gao clan's scandal is to be known to all under Heaven. I, Gao, am ashamed to be..."

"Uncle cares about face, but I, your nephew, have no time for such idle thoughts." Before the Dali Buxie (Chancellor) could finish, the Northern Branch head, Gao Zhenshou, interrupted him, speaking coldly from his seat. "Commander Wang, this time, we of the Northern Branch are the aggrieved party, bringing our case before the Son of Heaven. Since my uncle doesn't want to speak, let me do it... This matter is simple to the extreme: our Gao Northern Branch is the true direct line of the Gao clan—everyone under Heaven knows this. Therefore, the Gao ducal title, the position of Dali Buxie, and the authority over Shanshan Prefecture should all rightfully be held by me, the direct grandson of the Gao clan! That's all there is to it!"

As soon as these words were spoken, before Gao Liangcheng could respond, the Southern Branch members below erupted. Someone immediately stood up and shouted, and the Northern Branch members, not to be outdone, rose and cursed back. Both sides were in chaos, turning the Buddhist hall into a noisy mess.

The monks present all hung their heads low, while the four leaders—the Gao uncle and nephew, and Wang and Wu—could only fall silent for a moment.

After a while, Gao Liangcheng lowered his voice and spoke nearby: "Two Imperial Envoys, could you allow me to have a private conversation with my nephew Zhenshou, and then give you an answer?"

"If you and your nephew are willing, there's naturally no problem." Wang Shixiong glanced at Gao Zhenshou across from him, then spoke solemnly with a cupped-fist salute. "But please understand, Duke Gao, that this meeting between uncle and nephew at Wuliang Mountain was decreed by the Emperor. I ask that you treat each other with courtesy, or else..."

"Where are your thoughts going, Commander Wang?" Gao Liangcheng immediately gave a wry smile. "After all, he is my close nephew."

On the other side, Gao Zhenshou glanced at the chaos in the hall and nodded calmly: "Rest assured, two Envoys. Since my uncle wants to speak heart-to-heart, I, as his nephew, naturally won't be petty. Besides, this time, I originally intended to be open and honest with my uncle."

"I understand, I understand." Wang Shixiong stood up, still composed. "But it's my duty. No matter how unpleasant the words, I must say them. Otherwise, what would the Emperor use me for? Everyone, let's go back to the Jade Wall. The waterfall is loud there; you can say whatever you want without fear of eavesdropping."

With that, Wu Yi also stood up. The four of them exchanged salutes, then left the chaos in the hall and, led by the monks, returned to the waterfall. This time, however, the Gao uncle and nephew stayed by the Jade Wall beneath the waterfall, while Wang Shixiong and Wu Yi climbed to the top of Goat Mountain Waterfall... The two were old friends from the past, now serving in different posts, and rarely had a chance to meet. Logically, they would have a warm reunion.

But with official business at hand, even if they wanted to talk about personal matters, they couldn't quite shift the topic.

"Brother Dewei (Wang Shixiong's courtesy name), you don't know the situation in Dali?" Wu Yi asked in surprise.

"It's not that I don't know, but it's too chaotic—I simply can't make sense of it." Wang Shixiong admitted frankly. "But to be honest with you, the Emperor and the Western Court didn't send me here to act as some judge. They want me, in my capacity as Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard, to put on airs and make a show, constantly reminding Buxie Gao that the Emperor is watching him, and that the Emperor has two hundred thousand iron-armored Imperial Camp troops."

Wu Yi nodded, but then clasped his hands behind his back on the cliff's edge, looking down at the Gao uncle and nephew, and pressed further: "If that's the case, with so many figures in the Imperial Guard, how did you, Brother Dewei, get this assignment?"

"I got this assignment for two reasons. One is you—everyone in court knows we're old friends. The other is that I came up under the Prince of Qin's command, so the Prince of Wei, who's in charge of the Western Court, couldn't easily reject me..." Wang Shixiong gave a dry laugh. "In our court, it's like water and wood standing side by side, Qin and Wei intersecting, and the four regions of north, south, west, and center are divided."

Wu Yi nodded repeatedly but finally didn't expand on that topic, instead speaking directly about Dali: "Actually, although the situation in Dali is complicated, it boils down to just two words: internal strife..."

"Tell me slowly." Wang Shixiong immediately turned serious.

"First, after the Nanzhao Kingdom fell, heroes rose everywhere. Although the Duan clan defeated the Yang clan, they planted two congenital roots of disaster. One, local tribes governed themselves, and Dali could never fully reconcile the Eastern and Western White and Black Barbarians, to the point where the Eastern Thirty-Seven Tribes of Black Barbarians felt wronged and prejudiced, rebelling whenever they found a chance...

"Two, the Duan clan's origins were humble. Like the Yang, Gao, Meng, and Dong clans, they were Sinicized local strongmen and tribal chieftains, all former border officials of Nanzhao and the Great Tang. They served as colleagues in court and lived as fellow subjects on the same land. Moreover, even their founding and rise to power relied on the combined efforts of various tribes. So once they gained power and sat on the throne, they couldn't command genuine awe from the others..."

"These are the two roots. Next came the internal strife... As soon as the founding Duan Siping died, his younger brother allied with the powerful Dong clan of the country and usurped the nephew's throne..."

"This..." Wang Shixiong, who had been listening intently, suddenly couldn't help but speak up.

"I know what you're thinking, Brother, but it's not the same thing." Wu Yi sighed in response. "The Taizong succeeded Taizu. Although there were rumors, it didn't lead to armed conflict, and there was no deposition... In the Duan clan's case, after father-to-son succession, the biological uncle allied with the ruling Dong clan, raised troops, and seized the throne, and also invited a wolf into the house. From then on, the Dong clan held power over the court."

Wang Shixiong nodded repeatedly but gestured for him to continue.

"The first internal strife was uncle versus nephew. The second was the Dong clan's decline and the Gao clan's gradual rise... About a hundred years ago, the Gao clan deposed the then Dali ruler and reinstated a descendant of the founding Duan Siping's line. But after the Gao clan rose, they too became powerful ministers, even more autocratic than the Dong clan, as you've seen...

"The third internal strife was when the Gao clan became increasingly uncontrollable and finally deposed the Duan clan outright, proclaiming themselves king. However, before dying, the self-proclaimed ruler Gao Shengtai specifically asked his son to return the throne... That was about fifty years ago.

"The fourth internal strife fell upon the Gao clan itself... The Duan clan's succession was chaotic and weak. The Gao clan, nominally Buxie (Chancellor), was effectively the ruler, handling all internal and external affairs themselves. But to secure their authority, the Gao clan also practiced brother-to-brother succession instead of father-to-son, and over time, internal factional strife emerged. The current Dali ruler, Duan Heyu, is an ambitious man. About several decades ago, he took advantage of a good opportunity in the Gao clan's succession to actively divide the northern and southern Weichu and Tongmou Prefectures among Gao Taiming's sons, thus establishing the Gao clan's Northern and Southern Branches... The current Buxie is Gao Liangcheng of the Southern Branch, who has been in power for twenty or thirty years. But Gao Zhenshou of the Northern Branch is the Gao clan's direct eldest line..."

"So that's what this is about?" Wang Shixiong finally understood. "Brother Gao Zhenshou is getting older, his wings are growing. On one hand, Tongmou Prefecture is growing stronger through trade with us. On the other, his younger brother Gao Zhenming studied at the Imperial Academy in the central capital and passed the jinshi exam by the river. So he's using the Emperor to reclaim the Buxie position?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"The crux and core is naturally the Gao clan's Northern and Southern Branch strife—who else but the Gao clan truly holds power in Dali?"

Wu Yi spoke freely, looking far off at the uncle and nephew below. "But the current internal strife isn't just about the Gao clan's two branches. Duan Heyu has been on the throne for decades, governing diligently and being a competent ruler. Yet, plagued by natural disasters and man-made calamities, internal troubles and external threats, he could never revive Dali nor shake the Gao clan's authority in the slightest, to the point where he's lost his ambition... Now, it's not just the Gao clan's internal strife. There's also Duan Heyu, disheartened by the death of his Virtuous Consort Wang, wanting to enter the monastic life, resulting in his sons being used by the Gao clan's branches to fight for succession—that's Duan clan internal strife. And there's Dali's defeat by Vietnam's Ly Dynasty a few years ago, hollowing out the country, with the Black and White Barbarians on the verge of another uprising... This is the total eruption of internal strife!"

Wang Shixiong nodded thoughtfully: "No wonder the Western Court said it was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity..."

"It's not once in a thousand years." Wu Yi shook his head repeatedly. "I spent three years in the Court of State Ceremonies, then went on a mission to Japan once, then mediated disputes between Dali and Vietnam, and finally stayed in Dali for three years. After thinking it over repeatedly, I only understood one thing: that the hardest thing in the world is to live a peaceful, stable life and prosper steadily. For so-called small states, frequent chaos and gradual decline, just barely surviving, is the norm. You've been used to peace and prosperity in our country, so you think this is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity! In reality, the situation in our country over the past seven or eight years is the true once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!"

"It's all thanks to the sage Son of Heaven on the throne." Wang Shixiong quickly responded.

Wu Yi still shook his head but was unwilling to say more... It wasn't a lack of friendship, nor disdain for Wang Shixiong's military background, nor a denial of his words. He knew that without reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand li, without personally and extensively experiencing the conditions of these small states, one couldn't truly feel this from the heart.

While Wang and Wu were chatting idly from their high vantage point, the Gao uncle and nephew below had to get into crucial words concerning the rise and fall of the state and the survival of their clan.

"Zhenshou, I've heard the Song people say that a centipede dies but never stiffens. A clan like ours, several hundred years old, though it has some problems, is deeply rooted and lush with branches. For it to decline, it would have to self-destruct from within to be utterly defeated. Now, for the sake of winning an argument, you're dragging that Zhao Song Emperor into the game—aren't you going to ruin the Gao clan's grand plan?" Gao Liangcheng stood by the Jade Wall, his face full of helplessness.

"Why must you be so sanctimonious, Uncle?" Gao Zhenshou sneered in response. "You've already ruined the Gao clan's grand plan thoroughly. You started it; can't I, your nephew, finish it? Besides, without the Zhao Song Emperor, would our two branches stop fighting? Could you keep the Buxie position?"

"Even if I can't keep the Buxie position, I won't let you have peace." Gao Liangcheng finally turned cold.

"That's why I brought the Zhao Emperor in." Gao Zhenshou was unafraid. "Gao Liangcheng! Say what you will, but our Northern Branch is the direct line. I am the direct eldest grandson of the late Duke of Zhongguo! Even the other collateral branches recognize me! Now that I'm older and my power is established, you should step down and yield!"

"And if I don't?" Gao Liangcheng also grew fierce. "I've led the Southern Branch in managing Weichu for decades. Unless you send a massive army to take it, who can shake my foundation? Though Great Song has hundreds of thousands of battle-hardened elites, they're not used to the climate, the roads are difficult—they might not be able to topple me!"

"Then I won't lift it." Gao Zhenshou remained composed. "Duan Heyu's sons are fighting for succession, the country is in chaos. I'll open the road from the north, lead five thousand Zhao Song armored troops into the capital, depose and install rulers myself, and appoint myself Prime Minister... If you want to be a prefectural prime minister in Weichu, go ahead—what's it to me? Even if you proclaimed yourself the Buddha of Wuliang Mountain, I daresay that lord in Yanjing would be happy to issue an imperial decree... He's willing to enshrine even a stone, let alone an uncle who governs an entire prefecture as a living man."

Gao Liangcheng was dumbstruck, then forced a rebuttal: "I still have Shanzhan Prefecture (Kunming)."

"Shanzhan Prefecture has barely any flatlands, and to the east are all Black Barbarians who refuse to submit to the Duan or our Gao clan... If I open the road and let the Song army in, can you hold Shanzhan Prefecture? Don't you know that the Yang clan of the Black Barbarians has been seeking kinship with the north, begging for a duke's title?" Gao Zhenshou's smile grew colder.

"Zhenshou, you are inviting a wolf into the house." Gao Liangcheng lowered his voice in response. "If the Great Song comes in, and the Yang clan and Black Barbarians rise again, what good is that for our Gao clan in the end? We'll only lose Shanzhan Prefecture for nothing... And over time, Zhao Song will inevitably swallow the Duan clan, and the position of Prime Minister will be suffered in vain."

"If that's the case, uncle, why not hand over Shanzhan Prefecture and the Prime Minister's seat to your nephew me?" Gao Zhenshou found it laughable. "Then naturally, I won't invite the wolf into the house anymore."

Gao Liangcheng could only sneer in return.

Seeing the other's attitude, Gao Zhenshou also became blunt:

"Uncle! The situation now is that you have Weichu, that's true, but no matter what, in the future you can at most keep only the one prefecture of Weichu! As for me, I originally only had Tongmou Prefecture, and no matter what, it won't get any smaller... Why shouldn I fight?"

"Fellow clansman..." Gao Liangcheng was helpless, forcing himself to look earnest and sincere.

"Fellow clan! Fellow clan! And 'inviting a wolf into the house'? As if Weichu and Shanzhan have had any share for our Northern Branch these past decades!" Gao Zhenshou grew more impatient. "Your Southern Branch's conduct is even worse than the wolves in the north. At least they trade fairly and treat people with courtesy, and let my second brother pass the imperial exams all the way and get appointed as a Department Magistrate. But your Southern Branch, after decades, has only treated our Northern Branch like thieves to be guarded against... The Northern and Southern Branches stopped being one family long ago! And all of this is the result of you, a collateral descendant, stubbornly clinging to power and refusing to step down!"

"We can't only talk about clan's private interests; we must also speak of state affairs." Gao Liangcheng tried to make one last effort. "If you do this, what will become of Dali's national strength?"

"Enough is enough!" Gao Zhenshou was thoroughly disgusted. "As if we didn't let you and Duan Heyu do great things... When Jiaozhi had internal strife, you supported Weng Shenli, pouring weapons, money, and grain like flowing water, emptying the national treasury—did it succeed or not? Did our Northern Branch hold you back? The savings from years of trading tea and copper with the north were all drained away by your schemes!"

Gao Liangcheng let out a long sigh, and sat down on the newly enshrined Wuliang Jade Wall, not caring at all that water splashed onto him.

"Uncle, some words can only be said here."

Seeing this, Gao Zhenshou also spoke somberly. "Why did you disregard a century of diplomatic relations between Dali and Jiaozhi to support Weng Shenli? Do you really think I don't understand? Wasn't it because the might of Zhao Song's Northern Expedition and the decisive battle between Song and Jin frightened you? Wasn't it because you saw the Liao dynasty destroyed and fleeing west, and the Great Song reborn from the ashes, and started calculating in your hearts..."

"Yes." Gao Liangcheng looked weary. "Everyone rose from the chaos at the end of the Tang dynasty. After a hundred or two hundred years, every single one has declined from generation to generation, their inner resources exhausted one by one. And yet the Great Song fell quickly and revived just as quickly, now seeming poised to unify the realm. Naturally, every family has to find its own way to survive. The Western Liao started anew and took a different path, while we are like a centipede that's dead but not stiff. So Duan Heyu and I discussed this plan, thinking to swallow territory to strengthen ourselves and deepen our strategic depth on one hand, and on the other to divert the trouble southeast, throw Jiaozhi into chaos as a sacrifice, to buy ourselves a few decades of peace. But..."

"But at the root of it, hasn't it already failed?" Gao Zhenshou interjected. "After fighting for four or five years, the treasury is empty, the people are exhausted, the Black Barbarians are about to rebel again, and in the end we still lost. And yet the Great Song, after their Northern Expedition, first spent seven or eight years repairing the Great River. Now that their national strength is full, they pretend they've just freed up their hands, looking around—and now it's our Dali's turn to fall under their gaze... So, uncle, don't pretend. I don't believe you haven't prepared for this."

"Of course I've considered it." Gao Liangcheng covered his face and replied. "And I've already privately hinted to that Imperial Uncle Wu. The Zhao lord in Yanjing probably knows too... Zhenshou, if the Northern Branch truly insists on fighting to the end, I'll just offer up Dali!"

This time it was Gao Zhenshou's turn to be dumbstruck, frozen in shock.

"Why so astonished?" Gao Liangcheng lowered his hands and asked calmly. "Since if you win, I can at most keep one prefecture of Weichu, can't be Dali's Prime Minister, and would have to hand the duke's title to you... Why not proactively negotiate with the Zhao lord and become a proper Commandery Prince of Weichu? The Zhao lord has also hinted that if things go smoothly, he'll grant me Jingshu Prefecture and Xiushan Commandery as well, and let my second son go out to Guangxi as a Imperial Camp Commander, to start a branch of the family in the Great Song, so that Weichu won't have the same mess of Northern and Southern Branches again."

"The Zhao lord has also made promises to me." Gao Zhenshou hesitated, then forced himself to speak. "He spoke to Zhenming face to face, saying that if one day the Dali succession ends, and the Great Song establishes Yunnan Circuit, they will only take Shanzhan and Jianchang Prefectures as direct-administered territory. If direct-administered officials are not suitable for local customs, he can enfeoff these two prefectures to one of his sons, and everyone will honor this Zhao Prince of the Blood as their common lord... As for our Northern Branch, besides Tongmou Prefecture, we can also get Shanju and Tengchong Commanderies, and then become a proper hereditary Commandery Prince... My second son will naturally stay in the Great Song, serving as a rotating official with many favors and rewards, and will not contend for my position with my son."

The uncle and nephew looked at each other, both feeling their mouths go dry.

After a moment, it was Gao Liangcheng who continued the low-voiced calculation: "If it's like this... the Duan clan can also keep Dali's home prefecture and Yongchang Prefecture, and perhaps Nongdong will also be the Duan's, still a hereditary princely title... As for the eastern Wuman tribes, they will surely be allowed to govern themselves, and a major clan like the Yang can also get one commandery and become a proper Commandery Prince."

"If it's like this... why can't it be done?" Gao Zhenshou thought for a moment, then stomped hard beside the jade wall. "None of the families lose anything..."

"It's not that it can't be done." Gao Liangcheng sighed. "It's that the Gao clan's century-long hegemony and the Duan clan's century-old foundation will be buried together... And Shanzhan Prefecture will be lost."

"But in the current situation, can the Gao clan's hegemony and the Duan clan's foundation really continue?" Gao Zhenshou looked at the two figures above the waterfall, shook his head, and waved at his uncle. "This is an open scheme."

"Yes, it's an open scheme."

Gao Liangcheng stood up, seized his nephew's hand, and spoke earnestly. "That lord has seen clearly that Dali is now hollow inside, and moreover split into four parts... The Duan clan, the two branches of the Gao clan, and the eastern Wuman tribes—each governing independently, fighting among themselves, in complete chaos. So he draws a pie to fatten himself, wanting to take Shanzhan Prefecture for nothing and establish a circuit. The Wuman tribes need not be mentioned—they are truly blood enemies. But if our Gao clan's Northern and Southern Branches, along with the Duan clan, could unite, that lord would never launch a long-distance expedition, wasting elite troops and resources for a mere Shanzhan Prefecture... Our ancestors' foundation could then continue!"

Gao Zhenshou turned back to look at his uncle, was silent for a long time, then finally spoke: "I don't want the Prime Minister's position anymore, nor the jurisdiction over Shanzhan Prefecture. But can you give me the title of Duke of China and the military authority to suppress the Black Barbarians in Shanzhan Prefecture? I also need something to take back and convince Zhenming... He already considers himself a Song man now."

Gao Liangcheng tried several times to speak, but thinking of his own sons, he ultimately could not answer.

Gao Zhenshou sighed, and finally slowly withdrew his hand: "If that's the case, let's each negotiate with the Zhao lord on our own terms."

"Indeed, indeed!" Gao Liangcheng also smiled bitterly, but couldn't help recalling that saying: "A centipede that's dead but not stiff—splitting into two and preserving the foundation is not bad at all."

One month later, the Zhao lord received a secret letter in Yanjing. He opened it, and there was only one sentence:

"At the Wuliang Mountain sword debate, Wang Shixiong, borrowing Your Majesty's prestige, subdued the enemy without fighting. The Dali Duan clan is now powerless."