Chapter 311: 320 The Name of the Pillar of State

Pshhh—

A small, red, palm-sized tiger cub was sprinting through the air when a streak of Sword Light flashed from behind, cleaving the tiny figure in two.

Before the tiger cub could even let out a cry, it transformed into a stream of light and vanished.

"Hah, a petty trick."

An old man in plain clothes, white-haired but with a vigorous Spirit, raised his hand and returned his sword to its Sword Sheath. "It was pitch black last night, so this thing hid in the shadows, surely intending to ambush me. A pity it couldn't fool this old man."

By now the sky had brightened; it was already the morning of the second day. The forest was darker and much quieter than the outside, not even a bird's call could be heard. Following the Chaos of last night, some plans had been forced to a halt. The old man in plain clothes hadn't slept all night, oscillating between plotting and fury. By dawn, his temper was even more inflamed, and he paced back and forth in his own forest, sword in hand, wanting to hack at something to vent his spite.

This pacing led to a discovery; he found a strange little tiger in a patch of Shadow, and without a word, the old man slashed it to death, his mood improving slightly.

He sheathed his sword and returned to his tent, only to see a young man leaning back in a chair, eyes fixed on the sky.

At the sight of this person, the old man's suppressed anger flared up again. He barked, "Your Highness, why are you sighing again? Do you have any dignity left as a prince? If others saw this, wouldn't it throw the army into disarray?" His tone was so severe that it no longer sounded like "advising a prince."

This prince had been like this the entire journey, and he wasn't the only "minister" to notice his despondency; it was just that different people had different temperaments. The previous high minister had tried to enlighten him with a gentler approach, hoping to rebuild his confidence through victory, but unfortunately, he had failed. This old Pillar of State, however, was older and more experienced; with the situation going poorly, his rage had mounted, and he couldn't be bothered to indulge him, lashing out bluntly.

The young man raised his head at these words, his eyes bloodshot—whether from staying up all night or from suppressed rage, it was unclear. He retorted with a sneer, "Army? Where is the army? I thought you had sent them all to their deaths, Pillar of State."

The Pillar of State bellowed, "I still have tens of thousands of troops outside, and plenty of talent. They are simply busy with important matters and haven't been mobilized yet. Those who died this time were merely rascals hired from the Jianghu; they aren't worth a penny, even if a thousand or ten thousand of them die."

The prince gave a bitter laugh and said, "It might fool others to say that, old General, but don't try to deceive me. Jianghu people may be worthless, but is the 'Ghost Pushes the Mill' platform we use to organize them also worthless? The Jichun City branch of 'Ghost Pushes the Mill' was flattened by someone, and it looks like the Yunzhou branch won't be saved either. Decades of our hard work have been ruined in an instant. Is this loss small? Furthermore, your two right-hand men—one a young general, the other a garrison commander—led their teams out and never returned, losing all contact. You haven't even been able to eat for the past two days because of your grief; is that fake too?"

The Pillar of State was struck in a sore spot; his eyes were wide enough to split, and he glared fixedly at the prince, wheezing heavily.

Seeing him flare up like a wounded tiger, the prince felt a pang of cowardice and was just about to yield and let the matter slide when he heard the Pillar of State say, word by word, "Yes, my two confidants are gone. The young general may have fled on his own, but my garrison commander has likely sacrificed herself. I raised her with my own hands for three years, viewing her as my successor; how could I not be heartbroken? She was so young, so talented, with such a bright future, yet she perished halfway—how could I not feel it a pity? However, she died for the country, a death well-deserved; how could I not be proud of her? Regardless, the dead are dead, and the living still have their responsibilities. If the young are not afraid to pave the way, why should an old man like me fear following in their footsteps to charge once more? Your Highness, you may sit securely on your high platform and watch us charge into the fray for you, but do not sap our morale; you must be worthy of those who have sacrificed themselves."

He spoke with such sincerity that the prince was moved by his loyalty and no longer responded with cold sneers. However, he did not abandon his opinion, instead urging, "We all know of the loyalty and courage of the garrison commander and the young general, and the Imperial Court knows it too; we will certainly not let the loyal and virtuous bleed in vain. Whether it be rewards or commendations, we will not be stingy. But it is precisely because too many have sacrificed themselves, and it is such a pity, that I must advise you. We do not have many people, and we cannot afford such attrition. Their deaths were because we, the ones planning the strategy, made mistakes. The waters of Zhuoyu Villa are very deep, and the waters of Yunzhou are even deeper. In my opinion, we do not have the strength to continue."

As he spoke, he slowly took the Pillar of State's hand and said earnestly, "Pillar of State, let us withdraw our troops. Let us preserve our strength to accomplish great things. The grand plan for Yunzhou does not lie here."

The old Pillar of State gradually calmed down and said, "Your Highness, one can retreat in the face of temporary setbacks. We can retreat from Zhuoyu Villa, but should we retreat from Yunzhou? If you use the grand affairs of Yunzhou as an excuse to withdraw today, what if those affairs also suffer setbacks? The situation in Xun City is already unfavorable; should we simply abandon our Yunzhou grand plan? Should we stop looking for the Dazai? Should we stop conferring the title of Pillar of State? Should we return to Kungang? The pressure from the Snow Mountain King over at Kungang is not small; should we give that up too? What about Yang Prefecture? Jiangzhou? Wujing? Should we abandon them all?"

After he finished speaking, the prince fell silent. In truth, he understood the situation the Turtle Bandits faced now even better than the Pillar of State. Although they had been accumulating strength for many years, they had mostly focused on gathering manpower and did not hold much territory; if they lost any piece of land, they had no idea how many years it would take to win it back.

The old Pillar of State suddenly laughed heartily and said, "Your Highness, you need not be despondent; the situation is not bad."

The prince let out an "Ah?"

The Pillar of State said, "Because I have not yet made my move. Once I make my move, the situation will surely be turned upside down."

The prince was silent, unsure for a moment if he was boasting, but couldn't help saying, "Minister Shi sent word that there is at least one Sword Hero on the mountain, perhaps more. Not to mention the Sword Guests, and the Land Inspection Bureau has even dispatched a Deputy Garrison Commander. The old Pillar of State is also a Sword Hero..."

The Pillar of State said, "A Sword Hero is not the same as another Sword Hero. When I became a Sword Hero, they were still wearing split-crotch pants..." Seeing the prince's expression falter, he smiled and added, "Rest assured, I have no intention of going up the mountain now."

He laughed, "I am a man who leads armies, not a fierce general who charges into formations alone, but a high general who commands the overall situation. The secret to fighting a war lies in using the many to bully the few. My previous layout was just that: recruiting more hands to drown Zhuoyu Villa with the momentum of thunder. It is just that they recruited even more people, catching us off guard instead. Now that they have more people, we cannot fight, so we wait. We wait until their numbers dwindle, and then we use the many to strike the few. Last night, when Shi Chunqing opened the portal and called for me, let alone the fact that the Xuyu Gate was shattered—even if it weren't, I wouldn't have gone. It was an obvious trap; why would I jump into it?"

He spoke very casually, not caring about the state of Shi Chunqing on the other side.

The prince asked skeptically, "Is that so?"

Last night, when the portal shattered, the Pillar of State had truly looked like he might charge in at any moment; despite his age, he had still resembled a tiger descending a mountain. He had been terrified at the time and had almost thrown himself in front of the Pillar of State to stop him—the Turtle Bandits really couldn't afford to lose the Pillar of State. Now the Pillar of State was saying he wasn't being impulsive?

"I need not mince words, for I am old. If I were decades younger, at the age of the garrison commander, I might truly have charged in before the portal collapsed to take a gamble. But I have fought wars for so many years now; how could I not know the meaning of advance and retreat? If they have more people today, what is the harm in holding our position? When those people come down the mountain, we will go up, and I will personally take the sword. In the end, Zhuoyu Villa is but a small matter; our true grand plan for Yunzhou will take several more years. Since we are not leaving Yunzhou, what difference does it make when we take this sword?"

The prince nodded; there was nothing else for it. Holding their position... wasn't that just retreating? It was just phrased more nicely. As for the future... they would deal with the future when it came.

He asked again, "What if that sword finds a Sword Guest in a while?"

The Pillar of State laughed, "If it does, so be it. We'll just kill the Sword Guest, won't we? Can't a sword change its Sword Guest? The only thing to worry about is if the Gaoyuan Marquis sends someone to take the sword. But that is unlikely. This is the first sword of Zhuoyu Villa; they won't give it away easily. Even if they wanted it, they would just send someone to retrieve it. We could intercept them on the road. It would be even more convenient to act on the road."

The prince nodded again.

The Pillar of State said, "Moreover, during this time, I will also be gathering help. Who doesn't have reinforcements? Just yesterday, I specifically invited..."

Just then, a voice said, "Old Brother Xia, am I late? Oh, Prince Cheng is here too."

The prince was startled and turned around in surprise, saying, "You... ah, the Pillar of State has arrived?"

A person walked out from the forest, looking to be about twenty years old. His head was covered in red hair like burning flames. His features were quite handsome, but his brows were filled with a murderous aura, and his eyes were bloodshot, as if covered by a film of blood.

This made his entire appearance look bright red.

This image had a kind of intense aesthetic, but walking down the street would certainly cause a stir—mutated hair meant this was someone from Yinhuo Township, infected by Yin energy. To the common people, these people were like the source of a plague, to be avoided at all costs.

Although the Land Inspection Bureau under Yunzhou's governance had gradually tried to recruit people from Yinhuo Township and had promoted them, seemingly easing some prejudice, the effect was not immediate. Anyone who went out with a head of red hair would surely be pointed at; no one would dare approach them easily, and they couldn't even buy a steamed bun. Even if someone from Yinhuo Township dared to leave their sealed village, they would mostly wear hats to cover themselves up.

That this person dared to openly show his red hair, beyond having extraordinary courage, was mostly due to an untamable ruthlessness in his bones.

This was the prince's first time seeing this young man, but one look at the red hair told him who it was. This was the second Pillar of State of the Turtle Bandits in Yunzhou, the East Pillar of State. He was a leader among the younger generation of the Turtle Bandits and enjoyed great fame among them for his mysterious background and intense personality.

Though it wasn't exactly a good reputation.

For such a small Yunzhou to have two Pillars of State—this was all for the century-long grand plan of the Turtle Bandits.