Chapter 510: The Blazing Great Tide

The moment the changes in Jiangzhou City began to appear—the vast long winds, the exotic flying eagles, the divine steeds and coursers—the intelligence networks of every faction went as silent as the dead, not daring to stir in the slightest; only when the situation gradually steadied and slowed did they stake their lives to transmit what had happened here to the four corners.

In the imperial palace of the State of Ying.

Grand Tutor Jiang Su strode into the imperial palace in great steps; this Grand Tutor was extremely tall in stature, his expression solemn, his hair and beard white, and he habitually wore a robe of deep black, his entire bearing cold, hard, and murderous, like a mountain range forged of steel, commanding awe without anger.

In ordinary days, the people around him feared Grand Tutor Jiang Su more than they respected him.

But today, Grand Tutor Jiang Su's bearing was even more biting, like a cold, bitter wind; one need not even speak with the Grand Tutor—merely drawing near him, one would be touched by this stern and murderous qi.

No one dared to investigate deeply what person, what news, could have caused the ever-composed Grand Tutor Jiang Su to display such an obvious emotional fluctuation; Jiang Su went directly to the Star-Picking Tower to seek out Jiang Wanxiang.

Jiang Wanxiang was brewing tea; seeing Jiang Su arrive, he laughed and said: "The Grand Tutor is here, hahaha, you've come just at the right time, just at the right moment. I was just rummaging through things and found some fine tea I'd stored away before—at the time I thought it a rare treasure, too precious to drink."

"Now that I think about it, you don't bring it into life and you don't take it into death, so I might as well open it up and drink it all, that would be worthy of all the painstaking effort I put into gathering it."

Jiang Su sat down cross-legged, his back ramrod-straight, and said: "Is this tea still good?"

Jiang Wanxiang laughed heartily: "Hahahaha, not much different from ordinary tea."

"It's gone moldy!"

"If I hadn't opened it, I'm afraid the worms would have eaten the tea clean through, and by then it probably wouldn't even look as good as it does now. Lucky I opened it, or else my descendants would have thought I, Jiang Wanxiang, had no taste at all."

"Hahahaha."

It was a somewhat unlucky, somewhat regrettable matter.

Yet Jiang Wanxiang was quite open-hearted about it.

He laughed and said: "The Grand Tutor came in such a hurry today—has something happened?"

"Could it be that something has happened to the State of Chen?"

Jiang Su said: "How did Your Majesty know?"

Jiang Wanxiang said: "Though I am old and near death, my spirit scattered, my vigor not what it once was, unable to hold all the world's affairs in my hands, these matters still enter my heart. Though I am old, within my breast I am still bright as a mirror."

"Though the affairs of the world are many, few of them can catch the eye of you, Jiang Su."

"Matters that could stir your heart are even fewer still."

"At present, there is only the State of Chen."

Jiang Wanxiang calmly brewed tea, watching the tea leaves tumble and rise in the water, and said: "A man's life is like tea, rising and falling unpredictably; a nation's lineage is also like tea, fervent at the start, but in the end returning to cold stillness. The State of Chen, the State of Ying's dynastic fortune of more than three hundred years, has grown somewhat weary."

"Qin Wang strikes with vicious force, using four armies as a feint; Yue Pengwu, the top-tier marshal under heaven, is the main force. But great wars consume national strength and foundation. Though Qin is brave and fierce, like a man in his youth, full of high spirits, its foundation and logistics are still insufficient."

"Their time to rest and recuperate has been far too short."

"Qin Wang lacks money."

"The State of Qin lacks money even more than he does."

Jiang Wanxiang, dressed in loose robes, said with considerable satisfaction: "It is still that the nation was founded too weakly; national strength has instead become a drag on Yue Pengwu's great army. The speed of logistical supply cannot keep up, the speed of consolidating captured cities is also slow, and holding them also consumes manpower."

"Like a snake trying to swallow an elephant, like an ant trying to shake a tree."

"Speaking normally, this offensive of Qin's is swift and fierce, and can inflict considerable shock on the State of Chen, even gnawing off a large stretch of Chen's territory, but it certainly cannot annihilate the State of Chen."

"Just gnawing off a large stretch of territory—the livelihood, economy, governance, laws, and maintaining order within it would probably all be enough to give that boy Li Guanyi a splitting headache, hahaha, no matter what, it would still take a year or two to digest."

"Since ancient times, great nations have all been like this: the outside is slowly nibbled away, the inside collapses on its own. To think one battle could settle the world—that is a legend that comes along only once in a thousand ages. Qin's foundation is still far from reaching such a level."

Jiang Wanxiang had read deeply the green histories and military treatises; regarding the shifts in the world's situation, his perspective was seasoned and vicious, and he had his own unique ideas. In a few words, he spoke with conviction—this was the experience of his decades as lord of one of the great nations under heaven.

It was the common law of the world and of the green histories.

Jiang Wanxiang said: "So, what exactly is the matter?"

He continued to pour tea for Jiang Su; even now, he still remained unhurried.

The Confucians say, in every great event one must have a calm spirit.

The Militarists say, one who holds thunder in his breast yet wears a face as calm as Pinghu Lake may be made a supreme general.

Jiang Wanxiang remained unhurried, lifting his tea to sip.

Jiang Su's reply was concise and to the point:

"The State of Chen has perished."

Jiang Wanxiang: "……………"

The old man froze, then spat out a mouthful of tea, spraying it all over the War God's face.

"Cough cough cough, you, you said what? Cough cough cough cough!"

Jiang Wanxiang coughed violently.

War God Jiang Su raised his sleeve to wipe the tea from his face, meticulous and solemn in his movements, and along the way plucked a tea leaf from his cheek.

The tea leaf unfurled, its stem intact.

Then, without changing expression, he tossed it onto Jiang Wanxiang's face.

Jiang Su replied: "The State of Chen has perished."

Jiang Wanxiang murmured for a long while, sitting there, and said: "So quickly?! Even if Chen Dingye, that venomous dragon, had hanged himself on the back mountain, it wouldn't have been this fast." He had Jiang Su recount the matter in full, in detail.

After Jiang Wanxiang finished listening to Jiang Su's account, he was silent for a long while.

In the end he only sighed: "I said, in the long green histories, those who annihilate a nation in a single battle appear perhaps once in a thousand years, but someone like Li Guanyi, who succeeded not through a single campaign but through a single raid—perhaps there is no second such case in all of history."

"However, what you, Grand Tutor, have said is still not quite right in some places."

"Where is it not right?"

Jiang Wanxiang said: "Although the capital of the State of Chen has already fallen into Li Guanyi's hands, Chen's territory is still quite vast; among the other armies, the one advancing fastest, Yue Pengwu's, is still a thousand li away—such a long distance."

"Within it, cities and counties are too numerous to count; local strongmen, great families throughout—when facing such a situation, if you say they will all be meek and obedient, falling to their knees and bowing before Qin Wang's great army, do you think that's possible?"

"Where under heaven is there such reasoning?"

"In whose heart is there no ambition, in whose heart is there no desire? And in whose heart is there no wishful thinking? Within this vast territory, the cities great and small will probably continue to resist stubbornly, resisting the spear-tip of Li Guanyi's forces."

"Some hope to establish themselves independently; some fear the fate of the great families under Qin Wang's banner; and some are waiting to sell themselves dear, displaying their own strength and value, then waiting for Qin Wang to offer a high price."

"To completely subdue these will also take time."

"At least two years."

Jiang Su's expression turned solemn and resolute as he said, "And what of it? Your Majesty."

The words were plain, yet carried a peculiar stillness.

Jiang Wanxiang, who had been deducing the situation aloud, froze. He looked at the towering, austere War God before him, who set down his tea cup, pressed both hands on his knees, and countered:

"Your Majesty, what do all these things mean to Li Guanyi?"

"This minister has clashed with him many times. At the very beginning, when Elder Murong brought him here, he already bore the title of Qin Wu Hou, but back then, this minister could have crushed him with a single hand."

"At that time, he had not yet entered my sight."

"Compared to Master Jiankuang Elder Murong, he was nothing more than a slightly outstanding young junior."

"The second time, in the Western Regions, he could already behead enemy generals amidst ten thousand troops, already employ feint strategies on the battlefield, already fight this minister to a bitter end head-on, gravely wounded yet not slain."

"At that time, he was a rather troublesome opponent."

"Because of that vitality, because of this army's momentum."

"Later, when this minister and he fought at the border, he could already stand alone before this minister. By then, he was no longer a junior; like Elder Murong, he was a true opponent."

"And based on this minister's understanding of him, he absolutely will not compromise."

Jiang Wanxiang was stunned.

Jiang Su, clad entirely in black, said solemnly, "He will keep fighting. Facing those who wait to sell themselves to the highest bidder, those who carve out territory to rule themselves, those who protect the noble houses' status, he will show no mercy. He will fight, fight without cease, until he fights his way to complete victory."

"Then, can any of these noble houses, cities, or local powers stop the Qin Wang's advance?"

"The so-called vast territory, to the Qin Wang, is merely land awaiting his recovery. The road ahead holds no enemies, no opponents—only stains to be swept away one by one, only the corpses of a bygone era that should have died but did not."

"Chen Kingdom no longer has any chance of turning the tables."

"Then, in this minister's eyes—"

"Chen is already dead."

"This outcome is already fated. The two years that follow are nothing more than the Qin Wang carrying out this result, displaying his military strategy—nothing more than tedious business for the Shi Guan to exhaust their ink over."

"Your Majesty, how could one harbor even the slightest illusion about an enemy?"

"Li Guanyi is an enemy, an opponent representing the sharp edge of the younger generation, a mortal foe to us. To truly respect such an enemy means holding no illusions about his resolve, his will, or his methods."

"This is a true, steel-like opponent."

Jiang Wanxiang was silent for a long while. The aged monarch said:

"The Grand Tutor values him highly, and admires him greatly."

Jiang Su replied, "Yes."

"In all the world under heaven, looking in every direction, he may well be the greatest and most worthy feat of pride in this minister's life, or perhaps, the one who ends this minister's lifelong campaigns. He is an opponent, but sometimes opponents are the ones who understand each other best."

"If I win, then the Great Ying Kingdom shall still possess the realm, and a new golden age shall be forged."

"If I fall, then the entirety of this old three-hundred-year era of chaos shall end along with this minister's death. To offer the end of chaos as a sacrifice unto death—for a general, there could be no more exhilarating, no more fitting, an ending than this."

Jiang Wanxiang was left speechless: "You really dare to say that."

The desk was empty; the old man kicked the War God in the leg.

Then he himself sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

Grand Tutor Jiang Su was nearly the most balanced in offense and defense among martial legends. Before Master Jiankuang, he had the strongest attack, and the one strike Master Jiankuang used to break through the barrier was meant specifically to pierce Jiang Su's defense—one could imagine the sheer vigor of his physique and qi-blood.

Jiang Wanxiang felt as though he had summoned all his strength only to slam his big toe's nail hard against a protruding, unyielding rock. His cheek twitched, and he said, "vengefully":

"Then why doesn't my lord simply kill yourself and be done with it?"

Jiang Su replied composedly, "Because even an old man like this minister wishes to win. I too wish to end this age of chaos in the manner of this minister, in the manner of Your Majesty. If it is to be a fight, then naturally we shall kill each other with everything we have."

"Old fellows like us have our own choices too—how could we make wedding clothes for others? To give everything, to stop at nothing, to fight on the battlefield until every bone in our bodies is shattered—only that is worthy enough to match the end of an era."

"If I do not defeat Li Guanyi, how shall the realm be settled?"

"If Li Guanyi does not slay me, how shall peace be opened?"

"The great tide of the world has surged to this point, with not the slightest room to turn. In the end, it can only come to this."

Jiang Wanxiang looked at the Jiang Su before him. The aged emperor said, "The Grand Tutor actually brings up death, actually brings up defeat. Has Li Guanyi given the invincible War God such tremendous pressure?"

Jiang Su said, "For a general on the battlefield, to think of defeat before thinking of victory is common sense."

Jiang Wanxiang said, "But in every great battle in the past, my lord never spoke of defeat."

Jiang Su held the tea cup in his hand, his intact eye gazing out the window. This powerful, domineering, invincible, unscrupulous, filthy, hideous divine general who had upheld this nation for hundreds of years said:

"Therefore, he is an opponent."

"Those defeated in battles where one wins every fight are nothing but weeds. Only those upon whom life and death are wagered earn the right to be called opponents. Is that not so? Your Majesty, he is the opponent of you and me, and also the opponent of these three hundred years of Great Ying, the opponent of the realm in our eyes."

Jiang Wanxiang burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, good!"

"I never imagined that, on the brink of death, there would still be such an opponent to face."

"Grand Tutor."

"This is the fortune of you and me!"

"However, it is also for Li Guanyi's sake—this emperor must now make that 【Final Decision】. Such a formidable foe can no longer be held at arm's length. Even if it is ugly, even if it means stopping at nothing, we must stake everything we have."

"But, Grand Tutor, there is one thing you have said wrong."

Jiang Wanxiang calmly raised his tea cup and said, "You just said, can any of these noble houses, cities, or local powers stop the Qin Wang's advance?"

"I say, yes."

"Because he is poor!"

"Waging war costs money, hahahahahaha!"

Even the corner of Jiang Su's mouth curved into a slight arc. In this late May of the Central Plains, within this vast imperial capital that had endured three hundred years of dynasty, the magnanimous monarch and the War God raised their tea cups and clinked them together as if in a toast.

Then they burst into laughter.

They laughed, casting aside all hostility, all pressure, all ideals, simply laughing Mu Zi Yi.

If that is so.

Then let us fight to the death!

The annals of history stretch through a thousand autumns.

Only a hero's hand can lay a hero low.

And sometimes, even when one knows the greatest opponent lies ahead, there can be no turning back — to carry through one's own path, to hold firm one's will, and to brandish one's weapon, to gallop across this chaotic age until the great vow is fulfilled, or to die without turning one's heel — whoever can do this is a true hero.

The Great Khan of the Turks was silent for a long, long time that day.

The man who had defeated him, Li Guanyi, in an even fiercer manner, at an even more unexpected speed, had also defeated the Emperor of Chen, Chen Dingye; Chen Dingye this time abandoned the capital they had held for many years, and went north.

Northward, to Beicheng.

The Great Khan was silent for a long while, then only sighed: "Li Guanyi, Li Guanyi."

"What fine moves, what fine moves indeed!"

The Great Khan, who had fought and campaigned his whole life, had begun to doubt himself before this — wondering whether he had spent too long on the grasslands, whether he had long since passed his prime, whether his blade had dulled and his horse grown weary, no longer fit for war.

Could it be that I do not know warfare?

Could it be that my former title of the Second Divine General under Heaven was merely a jest?

Now, seeing Chen Dingye's state, seeing the dire straits Chen had fallen into beneath this military might, the Great Khan regained his confidence.

It seemed, then, that he was still very strong.

It was not that he did not know warfare.

It was because his opponent was, beyond his years, simply too strong — this was no fault of war.

Only, such a formidable lord was still so young.

Jiang Wanxiang had already aged beyond recognition, with only a few years left to live; he would likely pass away even sooner than that old swordsman whose lifespan had been exhausted yet who had been forcibly kept alive by a Lifespan-Extending Gu.

Looking at it thus, the lord of the Central Plains should return to Qin.

Will the Central Plains be unified once more?

The Great Khan's expression was heavy. Although the nations of the grasslands had no so-called historical records, they too had epics passed down by word of mouth — when the Central Plains kingdoms fell into chaos, it was the grasslands' most joyous time.

At such times, the grass grew lush and the cattle and sheep grew fat.

When the Central Plains kingdoms were once again unified, they would surely begin to expand in all directions.

A unified Central Plains would turn its blades toward the grasslands, and come to fight once more.

This was almost a tradition of the Central Plains.

And after enduring the Central Plains' gu-raising chaos of warfare, the armies of the early founding period were ferociously strong beyond imagination; the eras that produced those sorrowful epics were almost always the eras when the Central Plains was unified and its monarchs rose in might.

"…Absolutely cannot, in this situation, simply watch as the Central Plains unifies once more. To do so would be to sit and await death. Yet neither is he an opponent I can match. Now, what is to be done, what is to be done…"

The Great Khan was silent for a long while. He sat on the slope outside the royal tent of the grasslands, his curved blade thrust into the earth beside him; when the wind blew, the grass of the steppe rose and fell like waves.

Much like the great momentum of Qin Wang.

The Great Khan raised his head and drank mare's milk wine, his brows furrowing.

He seemed to have already seen the shape of the future: if he did not involve himself in Central Plains affairs, the Central Plains would surely unify within ten to twenty years, and Li Guanyi's age at that time would be exactly thirty to forty.

According to the epics passed down by word of mouth, and the lessons of past experience, when the founding lord of the Central Plains was at this age, it was precisely the period when he was most in his prime, most bold and heroic, and most possessed of enterprising vigor — and his aggression toward the grasslands and foreign peoples was at its strongest.

His daily routine would be: morning court, the harem, then attacking the grasslands.

The Great Khan nearly cursed out loud.

Why — why did this lad, when he had finally accumulated the faintest momentum toward unifying the world, only have twenty years behind him? Twenty years old — how could he possibly be so young?!

Looking at it thus, by thirty he could unify the Central Plains.

With such boldness and such methods, he would not lie dormant.

Moreover, this lad seemed to hold grudges well.

At that time, he would surely come to campaign against the grasslands.

But if he were to intervene in Central Plains affairs now,

It would still be very hard to win.

Before the Great Khan lay only two paths. One: now, while Qin Wang had not yet grown to his absolute peak, to stake everything on the table, to exert every ounce of strength, to try to sever Qin Wang's blazing military advance.

The other choice: to live ten or twenty years of peaceful days,

And then wait for the Central Plains to be unified, and after the founding, the youngest and most martial-spirited monarch, after a period of rest and recovery, to lead his armies to pierce clean through the grasslands.

Damn it all.

This lad might even achieve the legend of the Martial Dao.

The Great Khan gazed at the vast sky and finished his mare's milk wine. He had once said that after his death, what happened to the grasslands was no concern of his; by the time Qin Wang reached his peak and came to the grasslands, he should already have passed away.

Yet when the moment of decision arrived, he began to drift into a daze once more.

Gazing at the sky and the grasslands, he said: "Mu Zhahe, what should I do?"

"If you were here, you could surely tell me which to choose — should I do it for myself, indulge in pleasure, and let my life run its course, or should I do it to avenge you, for the sake of this vast grassland, for the sake of our sons of the steppe, and stake my life one final time?"

"Tell me what to do."

……………………

The news of Qin Wang's attack on Chen — the first to learn of it were the monarchs of all the kingdoms under heaven, and only afterward did it slowly spread outward, from high officials and nobles to renowned scholars of the great families. When there were still a few days until Qin Wang's capping ceremony, Qin Wang led his army out to strike.

Then striking, taking cities, restoring order.

Even at the fastest pace, finishing this whole sequence of affairs had already taken several days.

On this day, Qin Wang's capping ceremony had finally arrived. Qu Hanxiu rose early, brimming with joy, and even specially washed his clothes once, appearing especially solemn and reverent, preparing himself for this ceremony that would be enough to make his name resound through later ages.

Qu Hanxiu exclaimed:

"This day has finally come!"

"For this old man to have such an experience, even dying now would be worth it!"

And early that morning, Qin Wang left Jiangzhou City.

General Yue Qianfeng and Duan Qingyu were both somewhat astonished by Li Guanyi's actions and asked, "Your Majesty, at this time there are still many matters in Jiangzhou City that have not been dealt with. Where are you going?"

Qin Wang waved his hand and replied:

"To the coming-of-age ceremony."

General Yue Qianfeng said in confusion, "The coming-of-age ceremony — ah, a sovereign's coming of age, that must certainly be a very grand occasion. But this place is an awfully long way from our Jiangnan, and the Crimson Dragon auspicious omen hasn't arrived either. How does Guanyi plan to get back?!"

But Qin Wang only let out a few great laughs and waved his hand.

He had already ridden out of Jiangzhou City on horseback.

General Yue Qianfeng could only stare at Li Guanyi's retreating back, growing ever more puzzled.

"The coming-of-age ceremony is today, and he's leaving now?"

"Will he make it back to Jiangnan in time?!"

?? Begging for monthly votes, friends~