Chapter 447: Xiangfan, Water Bandits, and a Beauty

A small boat moved from the river into the lake.

The eight-hundred-li Chunshen Lake, with its vast and misty waves, has always been a place of strategic importance for military strategists, as it accommodates six rivers and discharges into the great river.

A large ship broke through ten thousand layers of waves, traveling slowly across Chunshen Lake.

Yu Liancheng and Yu Youwei were playing chess on the ship; the board was crisscrossed with black and white pieces. The white cat Wumeiniang crouched to one side, dozing off, looking lazy, though it seemed much fatter than before.

"Before the Spring and Autumn period, the north and south stood in opposition. Whether the north wanted to water their horses in the southeast or the south wanted to raise an army for a northern expedition, they all had to pass through the eight-hundred-li Chunshen Lake. The three cities, three passes, and three mountains of Chunshen Lake have always been noted by military strategists. Among them, the three cities of Xiangfan, Xingyang, and Wuling are the most important, and of these three, Xiangfan, regarded as the waist and spine of the world, is the most important of all."

"In the past, the former Western Chu official Wang Mingyang was entrusted with a mission in a crisis, resisting Xu Xiao's one hundred thousand troops and armor, holding the city for three years. Later, when Western Chu was destroyed and Western Shu perished, that Jixia Scholar who came out of Shangyin Academy still swore to die rather than surrender."

Yu Liancheng placed a black piece, chatting with Yu Youwei about the geographical situation of Chunshen Lake and the past of the Spring and Autumn period while playing chess.

How many events of the past and present are all left to laughter and talk.

Yu Youwei's beautiful eyes brightened, and her slender, jade-like fingers followed by placing a white piece: "What a Wang Yangming. I have also heard that this man would rather break than bend, with a noble and pure character. Moreover, he was proficient in military strategy and held the title of the number one defensive general of the Spring and Autumn period. It is indeed so."

She did not have the slightest good feeling for Xu Xiao; it was Xu Xiao who led men to conquer the six states, causing the world to suffer. Being able to hear that Xu Xiao had been thwarted naturally made her feel slightly excited.

Yu Liancheng sighed softly: "When Xu Xiao besieged the city, it lasted ten years. People in the city were sold cheaply like livestock, and exchanging children to eat was nothing unusual. Wang Mingyang even cooked and killed his own wife and children with his own hands. Every inch of the wall was stained with blood, and every inch of grass and wood held a village's sorrow. By the time the city fell, of the two hundred thousand people in Xiangfan, fewer than ten thousand remained."

Yu Youwei's smile suddenly froze: "I—I have never heard of this."

"It is only because the ten-year siege was too tragic, so the Imperial Court did not allow any scholars or historians to put it to paper."

Yu Liancheng sighed leisurely: "Xu Xiao, the number one famous general of the Spring and Autumn period, and Wang Mingyang, the number one defensive general of the Spring and Autumn period, both achieved success upon a mountain of ten thousand bones. Regardless, they both left a heavy mark in history. The ones who truly suffered were the common people of Xiangfan; that was nearly two hundred thousand lives."

Yu Youwei sighed softly, unable to help but think of a sentence.

——In prosperity, the people suffer. In ruin, the people suffer.

The ones who truly suffer are still the displaced common people.

Yu Liancheng placed another piece and smiled: "It is said that ten years after the city fell, there were still hundreds of thousands of lonely souls unwilling to leave the city, wailing every night. The Liyang Dynasty had to have the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain go to Xiangfan to set up a Universal Great Offering. The number of altar positions reached a shocking thirty-six thousand five hundred, which can be considered an unprecedented feat. It is just unknown whether those thousands of ghosts were willing to be liberated."

Yu Youwei suddenly shivered, her beautiful eyes looking at Yu Liancheng with a few traces of pleading: "Can we not go to Xiangfan?"

Yu Liancheng smiled slightly: "If you win this game of chess against me, you don't have to go."

Yu Youwei had originally intended to return to Jixia Academy to pay respects to her father. After speaking with Yu Liancheng, she agreed to go together, though he would determine the route.

Yu Youwei bit her cherry lips and said: "Why must you go to Xiangfan?"

Yu Liancheng smiled: "There are two chess players there whom I want to meet; perhaps I might even be able to subdue one of them."

"Fine, since that is the case, don't blame me." Yu Youwei twisted a chess piece; her slender fingers were even whiter and more lustrous than the piece.

As the top courtesan of the four prefectures of Beiliang, she was naturally proficient in all things: zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Her chess skills, while not comparable to a national master, were top-tier in the world, and she was very confident in this.

And then...

And then she lost.

Yu Liancheng's chess skill was not a bit worse than hers. If he calculated seriously, he would walk one step and calculate ten, a hundred steps...

Up to now, almost no one had been able to beat him on the chessboard.

——Those who could beat him had their chessboards flipped by him.

"Fine, you win."

Yu Youwei put down the piece and conceded very magnanimously, though her cherry lips were slightly pouted.

"How is your Sword Technique practice coming along?" Yu Liancheng also put down his piece.

"I was just about to ask for your appraisal."

The courtesan whose real name was Yu Xuanji outlined a charming smile, truly possessing beauty that could topple a country. With a flick of her cloud sleeves, a brilliant radiance flew out from within, as fast as lightning.

Yu Liancheng flicked his finger to shoot out a chess piece, which hit the sword body with a "ding" sound.

Yu Xuanji turned her wrist and thrust out sword after sword. Her movements were elegant and gorgeous, her posture light and nimble, her figure graceful, and it was exceptionally brilliant. It was a sword dance with hidden murderous intent.

It was just a pity that her opponent was Yu Liancheng, who had broken her Sword Technique in the flick of a finger.

After eighty-one swords, the courtesan Yu panted slightly as she retracted her sword into her sleeve, then fixed her beautiful, shimmering eyes on Yu Liancheng, waiting for his critique.

"You have the foundation of a sword dance and no small amount of talent. Coupled with my personal instruction, you have already grasped the essence of various things and can be considered to have entered the hall," Yu Liancheng nodded in praise, then smiled: "However, the transitions are not yet smooth and natural enough. After dinner, I will teach you personally again."

"No need, I will just practice it until I am proficient." Recalling the close-contact sword training from the past few days, the courtesan's fair cheeks could not help but flush with a hint of red, then she sighed softly again: "It is just a pity that although I have practiced a set of Sword Technique, I have no place to use it."

She was not like Murong Wuzhu, who looked forward to being a swordswoman, but as her Sword Technique improved, she was always a bit eager to try.

It just so happened that the only target she could strike was Yu Liancheng, so she could not help but feel a bit depressed. She couldn't very well chase Wumeiniang and beat it up, right? It seemed... that was not impossible; it would be just right to help it lose some weight.

Yu Liancheng looked up into the distance and smiled: "Soon you will have one."

"Ah?"

The courtesan Yu was startled, but before long she understood the reason.

The ship traveled for a while longer when suddenly a sound of fighting was heard. The sound grew closer, and before long, a scene of slaughter appeared before their eyes.

They saw a large ship anchored on the river, and that large ship was surrounded by dozens of small boats. Chains flew up one after another, firmly locking onto the large ship.

And on the small boats, water bandits with strong builds and fierce faces raised their blades and swords, leaping onto the large ship.

Then came the sounds of killing that shook the heavens, blood splattered everywhere, and corpses lay across the ship. Even though there were many guards on the large ship, their numbers were ultimately too few, and they were killed in disarray.

Just at this moment, a wave hit, and everyone standing on the large ship swayed.

A delicate cry came from inside the cabin, and a woman in white fell out. She was truly a beauty capable of toppling a country, and the scene immediately fell silent, not a sound to be heard.

Yu Liancheng watched this scene from afar and thought to himself: The beauty trap is old-fashioned, but with such a beauty, who could not have thoughts?