Chapter 554: The Stratagem of Yan Daiqing of Saibei

Yan Daiqing??

Xue Tianxing and General Yuan Shitong both had odd expressions.

The moment that name reached their ears, a flood of cold, vicious stratagems surged into their minds. These two famous generals, long accustomed to the harsh winds and frosts of the northern lands, both felt a chill run down the back of their necks in an instant, and could not help but sit up in solemn respect.

Xue Tianxing had not yet answered.

Yuan Shitong had already said solemnly, "May I ask which Mr. Yan Daiqing you are!"

The newcomer smiled and said, "Yan Daiqing of Saibei."

Yuan Shitong was stunned, scratched his head, looked at Xue Tianxing, and said in confusion:

"Never heard of him. There's no one called Yan Daiqing in our Saibei."

Xue Tianxing sighed inwardly, merely cupped his fist in a salute, and said, "It must be Master Wen Qingyu himself. We have already prepared wine and meat in the camp. Master Yan Daiqing, please!"

Wen Qingyu smiled and said, "General Xue, how did you know?"

Xue Tianxing took out a letter and said, "A falcon carried word across ten thousand li, and it was precisely a letter written by Master Yan Daiqing himself." The letter said that if someone arrived and claimed to be Yan Daiqing, there was no need to hesitate.

That was indeed Wen Qingyu.

The plain and reliable-looking young man flipped through the letter, laughed freely, and said, "Ah, this fake actually dares to criticize me, the real Yan Daiqing. Truly, utterly unreasonable! Hahahaha."

Xue Tianxing thought for a moment, then said, "Then, Master Yan Daiqing, please enter the camp and have some wine and meat."

Wen Qingyu smiled and went inside.

Saibei was after all bitterly cold; its supplies could not be mentioned in the same breath as the Central Plains or Jiangnan. They only had large chunks of pork stewed soft and fragrant with cabbage and vermicelli. The two men offered toasts, ate their fill, and Yuan Shitong sighed deeply, saying:

"Originally we wanted to lead the army south to join forces with Your Majesty, but that bastard Jiang Su, after conquering half of the Turks, ended up cutting off our route."

"We're blocked here by the State of Ying—can't go up, can't go down, so we can only sit and stew on this frontier. Since you've come, Master, with your divine stratagems, do you have any brilliant ideas?"

Wen Qingyu sipped his wine and smiled: "That is precisely why I have come."

Wen Qingyu's eyes lowered slightly.

In the first year of Qin Huang, he and the Staff Monk Thirteen had gone to the Academy, hoping to invite those elderly seniors into Jiangnan, but they did not succeed. Knowing the matter could not be done, Wen Qingyu had no choice but to give up helplessly.

Those undying old fogeys were still formidable.

This time, the Staff Monk Thirteen had been asked in turn whether he had let go.

After a painful reflection, he felt his Ta Xin Tong could still be improved further.

The two of the younger generation still came down.

Now, from the grasslands, borrowing the falcons tamed by the all-capable Old Lei Meng, they had trekked for months, circumventing the frontier fortresses laid down by the State of Ying, and successfully entered beyond the passes of the Northern Domain to rendezvous with Yuan Shitong and the others.

As for Old Lei Meng, he had already returned to the Chen Kingdom sect, the Beast-Taming Villa.

The Villa Master of the Beast-Taming Villa had originally been deeply worried. In this world of endless strife, their sect's every skill lay in their exotic beasts; their own martial arts were all mediocre. But in these times, where could one so easily find exotic beasts?

The Sect Master himself was only at the Sixth Heaven level. Relying on the sect's foundation of exotic beasts, he could probably hold off ordinary Grandmasters of the jianghu, but against truly ruthless hands, he could not. He had originally thought that in such chaotic times, his sect was finished.

Then, out of nowhere, fell a great, thick thigh to cling to.

Even the leg hair was thicker than the Beast-Taming Villa's.

Old Lei Meng, after all his meritorious service, was a General of Crafts in the Fire Qilin Army. He had brought along some cavalry to put on a show. When the jianghu folk heard the rumble of thunder and saw a hundred cavalrymen in sturdy armor and sharp weapons charging over, their presence alone seemed enough to flatten the Beast-Taming Villa without much trouble.

The Beast-Taming Villa was greatly alarmed.

What?! The Fire Qilin Army of Qin Huang has come?!

What, he intends to trample the jianghu under hoof? He's even sent out the veteran generals of the Fire Qilin Army?!

At first they thought His Majesty Qin Huang meant to trample the jianghu under hoof.

Then they discovered it was their own sect's foundation that had arrived!

What outer disciple?

That was the sect's very roots!

This long-sleeved, socially adept Villa Master of the Beast-Taming Villa wished he could sweep the memorial tablets of those old fellows off the table with one sweep of his arm, then enshrine Old Lei Meng in their place. You are the true Patriarch.

Old Lei Meng naturally would not do such a thing. He respectfully offered incense to the several Patriarchs.

Then he proposed persuading the Beast-Taming Villa to join the Fire Qilin Academy.

The Beast-Taming Villa agreed without the slightest hesitation. It is no longer the jianghu's Beast-Taming Villa, but the Fire Qilin Academy's branch academy for the Department of Beast-Taming, ranking alongside the Gu-Worm lineage's Insect-Taming school as one of the unorthodox branches within the Fire Qilin Academy.

It is a required course.

Disciples of the Fire Qilin Academy must take either Beast-Taming or Insect-Taming as an elective.

Lest they come to grief while traveling the jianghu.

Having successfully delivered Wen Qingyu here this time, Yuan Shitong was overjoyed and asked how to face the State of Ying and how to assist Qin Huang of the Central Plains. Wen Qingyu merely smiled and said: "General Yuan, there's no need to rush. A centipede dies but never quite stiffens. Given Ying's territory and population, with just the men we have here, there's simply no way for us to have any major impact on them."

Yuan Shitong knew this too, but he took another bite of the stewed meat before sighing: "Then what should we do?"

Worry is worry.

But the food couldn't be allowed to shortchange oneself.

Eat when it's time to eat.

Wen Qingyu said: "To break through a territory as vast as Ying's by external force—setting aside whether it's even possible—at the very least it would require a force not far inferior to Ying's foundation, brutal fighting, mutual attrition, with both sides paying an enormous price, before success could even be possible."

"It would be better to let their own internal problems surface."

"Let them kill themselves."

Yuan Shitong was thoroughly puzzled: "Kill themselves?"

"Who would kill themselves?"

Wen Qingyu smiled: "When the top and bottom are not of one mind, when ruler and ministers are at odds, that alone is enough."

Yuan Shitong was still somewhat confused, but Xue Tianxing had already seen the light in his heart. He stopped Yuan Shitong's questions and only drank with Wen Qingyu. After night fell, Yuan Shitong fell fast asleep snoring, while Xue Tianxing went to pay a visit to Master Wen Qingyu.

He handed over the Juan Sect recording the various words and deeds of that 'son of Tai Ping Gong'—whether his early merits or his later schemes to seize power and reputation, all were recorded within, without any concealment.

Master Wen Qingyu read through it, smiled and nodded, saying:

"Thank you for your trouble, General Xue."

Xue Tianxing said, "I dare not."

After he handed this dossier to Wen Qingyu, it was as if the matter had never happened; he no longer inquired about it, only discussing with Wen Qingyu the matter of the Ying Kingdom — how the Ying Grand Tutor confronted the Qin Emperor, holding the Qin Emperor firmly at the border for several years.

Xue Tianxing sighed with feeling: "But even Ying Emperor Jiang Yuan, these past two years has been indulging in carnal pleasures and desires, yet the Ying Kingdom remains a scene of harmony and peace. I hear this year is another bountiful harvest, and praises of great peace ring out unceasingly from every region."

Wen Qingyu said, "That is a good thing."

Xue Tianxing looked at Wen Qingyu without changing expression.

The latter looked at Xue Tianxing, smiling as he said: "Even in the former Chen Kingdom, that emperor deposed back then by the Divine Martial Wang Chen Fubi also had his 'Four Hundred and Eighty Temples of the Southern Dynasty,' and especially when he lavishly rewarded the monks, the fragrant oil used every day was an astonishing sum."

"But even so, with years of campaigning in the southwest, contending with the Western Regions, and clashing with the Ying Kingdom, the Chen Kingdom was not drained of its foundations. Only after that, during the Regent's period, during Chen Dingye's period, and up until a few years ago, did the accumulated ills erupt all at once."

"This is the foundation of a nation with a long reign and vast territory."

"The bloodline is too thick, and moreover every year's harvest and population growth will restore part of the foundation. In many dynasties, an emperor indulging in carnal pleasures in the rear palace is actually the most trivial matter among those that bring dynastic change and national decline."

"The real major cause is the dispersal of military authority and the chaos of noble families and great clans brought about by an incompetent emperor."

"But before Jiang Wanxiang died, he had already cut down those great noble families and great clans that might bring such calamities, and the overall situation was held down by Jiang Su. If one wishes to rely on Jiang Yuan's misdeeds alone to drain the vital energy of this great dynasty of three hundred years, it would take at least twenty years."

Xue Tianxing fell silent.

For a moment he did not know whether to consider these twenty years long or short.

If long — in mere twenty years, one could drain the foundations of a great nation that possessed nearly half the realm under heaven, a reign of over three hundred years, and had even just emerged from a full sixty-year reign of a brilliant and far-sighted monarch.

Fast — truly too fast.

This was practically a transcendent wastrel.

On the other hand, he felt that needing twenty years to drain the Ying Kingdom's foundations and unify the realm meant years upon years of warfare, which was really too prolonged. The realm suffers, the common folk suffer, the soldiers suffer.

Wen Qingyu said: "However, fortunately this is merely that monarch's own doing. Beyond this, we can still give him a little push."

"All men have desires. A poor scholar and a prime minister who holds power over the realm are both men, but when faced with a choice about a matter, they choose differently."

"Even the magnificent Divine Martial Wang Chen Fubi, when he became regent, gradually indulged in cruelty, and ultimately fell out with the Duke of Great Peace."

"The control brought by authority truly above ten thousand men, the power of life and death over others — any person's inner desires and ripples will be magnified. What we need to do is merely let his desires magnify a little faster."

Xue Tianxing instinctively looked at Wen Qingyu.

It was late at night. On the desk, a candle burned; the flickering firelight cast this gentleman's face in shifting light and shadow. Wen Qingyu raised a finger to his lips, dividing his face into two halves, smiling gently and sincerely:

"A foolish ruler holding court will in the end meet destruction — it is only a matter of late or early."

"But we can offer a tiny, insignificant bit of help, that is all."

"Just a tiny bit."

Xue Tianxing looked at the candlelight in Wen Qingyu's eyes, and for some reason suddenly thought of that fire in the Tangut royal city that burned the Wolf King's great dream to ashes.

This is truly the number-one schemer of the Western Regions, Yan Daiqing.

What manner of magnanimity does His Majesty the Qin Emperor possess, that he could command such a man?!

And by what means could he make such a figure willingly follow the Qin Wu Hou, who at that time was merely a man with a small patch of territory and ordinary martial skill?

Truly no ordinary person!

Xue Tianxing's expression remained composed.

Raising his cup, he toasted: "I shall wait to see the gentleman's methods!"

"General Yuan Shitong and I are willing to be driven by the gentleman's stratagem, to lay down our lives."

After drinking several cups, he rose and took his leave.

Wen Qingyu saw him out, watching this famous general's figure vanish into the dark night, never to be seen again, before murmuring to himself: "Xue Tianxing — worthy indeed of the fox-like cunning general under the Duke of Great Peace back then."

"Rather similar to me, in fact."

He looked at the dossier recording the words and deeds of the 【Son of the Duke of Great Peace】, his expression somewhere between a smile and not.

The next day, Wen Qingyu made a great show of going to visit this son of the Duke of Great Peace. Li Xingyi, whose martial skill had been stripped from him, upon learning Wen Qingyu was coming, concluded he was doomed to die, his heart despairing — yet he had not expected Wen Qingyu to be so solemn and earnest about it, and was overwhelmed by the unexpected honor.

Wen Qingyu praised Li Xingyi's past merits lavishly.

Yet regarding the many evil deeds he had committed, he avoided mentioning them entirely.

Moreover, before the entire army, he announced rewards for Li Xingyi, rallying the soldiers' morale. This place was not far from the Ying Kingdom's border pass. Wen Qingyu ordered General Yuan Shitong and Xue Tianxing to go provoke a battle; the Ying Kingdom's defending general came out, and the two sides fought a great battle.

General Yuan Shitong and Xue Tianxing, following Mr. Wen Qingyu's instructions, feigned defeat and retreated.

Abandoning the hundred li of territory under their control.

Under such circumstances, they secretly wrote a letter of surrender and had Li Xingyi go to negotiate peace. Li Xingyi's heart gave a jolt — he had not intended to go — but Wen Qingyu had already put him on the spot, so he had no choice but to go, though fortunately Wen Qingyu went along as well.

The Ying Kingdom's defending general Wang Chuanning sneered and asked what business they had!

Wen Qingyu stated his purpose, saying: "We are but two generals, an isolated army ten thousand li from home, and the Qin Emperor grants us no reward, sends no support — he means for us to die here!"

He also secretly told that Wang Chuanning: "This Li Xingyi is the adopted son of General Xue Tianxing, serving as a stand-in for the son of the Duke of Great Peace. Over these years he has gained considerable reputation among the Great Peace Army beyond the passes of the Northern Region, and has rendered great service through hardship."

"Now, although the Qin Emperor holds half the realm, he certainly does not wish Li Xingyi to return."

"He regards us as discarded pieces!"

"Since he is unjust, he cannot blame us for being unrighteous!"

"We have heard that His Majesty the Sage occupies the realm, his fame spreading in all directions. We are willing to lead the Great Peace Army in surrender!"

Wang Chuanning's heart stirred greatly.

He also knew about the matter of the fake son of the Duke of Great Peace. If it were himself, with a foundation like the Qin Emperor's, he would certainly not wish to keep such a fake son of the Duke of Great Peace around — he would have to kill him.

He was also tempted by the benefits of 【the old subordinates of the Duke of Great Peace surrendering to the Ying Kingdom】.

Based on his understanding of Jiang Yuan, His Majesty loved grand achievements.

And because of matters from his youth, he harbored a deep grudge against the Qin Emperor Li Guanyi. Such an affair that would harshly slap the Qin Emperor's face — he would certainly not let it slip.

After several moments of hesitation, Wen Qingyu produced an item and said: "To show our sincerity, we are willing to present this!" He opened the casket, and inside were twenty-four luminous pearls, radiant and brilliant.

"We have heard that Empress He Ruo takes the greatest delight in rare treasures from across the realm. These are a national treasure from the southwest lands — the very item the Duke of Great Peace once used in his marriage proposal, obtained by our General Xue. We had intended to present it to the Qin Emperor, but never expected him to be so heartless!"

Wang Chuanning was overjoyed, and finally agreed, saying:

"Good, good!"

"In that case, rest here for now. This general will report to the court forthwith, and rewards shall arrive within days."

Xue Tianxing and General Yuan Shitong were astonished at these twenty-four pearls, saying: "Such treasures—I heard they had gone to the southwest?" Master Wen Qingyu said: "Indeed, but the news did not spread widely; at least this Northern Border general would not know."

General Yuan Shitong was somewhat baffled: "Then if the genuine ones are in the southwest, where did these come from?"

Master Wen Qingyu smiled slightly: "Counterfeits made by Old Lei Meng."

The counterfeits Old Lei Meng had made that day, Master Wen Qingyu had sold off separately to the noble houses.

Now these things had returned to his hands.

Naturally, this was the ardent hope and sincere support of the many great noble houses.

General Yuan Shitong said instinctively: "This—this isn't fake? It might fool a frontier general like Wang Chuanning, but it certainly cannot fool the people of the Ying Kingdom—what do we do?!"

Master Wen Qingyu smiled slightly: "What we want is for it to be recognized."

General Yuan Shitong was shaken with doubt, bewildered and uncomprehending.

Xue Tianxing seemed to have grasped part of it, though he had not seen the whole picture.

But just this little bit alone was enough to send a chill through his heart. The gaze he turned on Master Wen Qingyu carried astonishment and an instinctive wariness. That warm and approachable Mr., it seemed, smiled faintly.

Amiable and genial, sincere and dependable.

A dignified first-rate fierce general instinctively took a step back.

Wang Chuanning sent word of this matter by swift horse. Jiang Yuan saw the memorial first, wild with joy—even the matter of Qin Yulong could be set aside—and threw back his head in great laughter: "Hahahaha—Li Guanyi, Li Guanyi!"

"How wretched you are. Your grandfather was nothing but a mud-legged peasant scratching a living from the dirt—how can you contend with me? Now even your father's old retainers no longer acknowledge you. How satisfying, how satisfying!"

Jiang Gao felt something was amiss and submitted a memorial, but it was rejected.

Thus Wang Chuanning was promoted, and Wang Chuanning was specially ordered to delay his coming. Messengers were dispatched at speed to spread word of this matter throughout the realm, so that everywhere in the Ying Kingdom people were discussing it, the common folk all agog with curiosity.

In the end, Jiang Yuan even set up a 【Grand Treasure-Presentation Ceremony】.

Common folk, noble houses, men of the jianghu—all could go to watch.

One could see how highly this new Ying Emperor Your Majesty regarded Qin Huang. On the day of the Grand Treasure-Presentation Ceremony, everyone came. Wang Chuanning personally carried the treasure-pearls aloft, loudly proclaiming that the true treasure belonged to the virtuous, and such things.

Jiang Yuan, swelling with pride, opened the casket and displayed the bright pearls.

Twenty-four pearls, all of one size, sealed tightly within, never having seen the sunlight outside. Wang Chuanning had valued this thing more than his own life, ensuring nothing could go wrong.

Were those twenty-four pearls?

They were his own glory and wealth. For Jiang Yuan, they were even more a victory over Li Guanyi. He held dominion over the realm and did not care one whit for these so-called twenty-four bright pearls; what he cared for was only the feeling of trampling upon Li Guanyi's face.

The crowd craned their necks to watch. Beneath the sunlight, the twenty-four bright pearls blazed with radiant light.

Truly fine treasures.

Wang Chuanning knelt on the ground and cried aloud: "All under heaven know—the rarest treasure in the world belongs to the virtuous. This treasure abandons Qin Wang and returns to—"

Before the words had fallen, the surrounding hubbub suddenly ceased.

Wang Chuanning froze, suddenly feeling a chill.

Within that chill there was even a cold killing intent. Wang Chuanning stiffly raised his head and saw the twenty bright pearls—before the sealed casket had even been opened—visibly dimming before his eyes.

A crisp sound of shattering came from the air.

The pearls visibly crumbled, then slowly dispersed.

Silence, not a crow's sound.

No one needed to say anything. The change at this moment had already made it clear that these twenty-four pearls were absolute fakes. And at this very moment, Wang Chuanning was speaking of "the virtuous possessing it," which carried an unintended, faint irony.

Jiang Yuan's expression darkened, but he could still barely maintain his composure.

Only after returning did he laugh self-deprecatingly: "The Taiping Army is indeed cunning."

"To suffer another loss at their hands."

Wang Chuanning lost face and received no reward. Though Your Majesty did not heavily punish him either, Wang Chuanning still inexplicably felt a terror in his heart. He raced back faster than he had come, determined to kill Li Xingyi.

Bursting into the place, he roared in great fury:

"Li Xingyi, you've got some nerve!"

"How dare you make a fool of this general, make a fool of Your Majesty!"

Li Xingyi had only just been enjoying himself here for a while, feeling he had finally escaped the Taiping Army. Though the road had been hard before, he knew very well that his identity as 【Son of Tai Ping Gong】 was truly valuable.

So long as he kowtowed respectfully, spoke ill of the Taiping Army, Tai Ping Gong, and Qin Huang Li Guanyi's ingratitude and cold-heartedness, he could obtain glory and wealth. So long as he slandered Tai Ping Gong and the Taiping Army, he would be safe.

He could curry the Ying Kingdom Emperor's favor.

Just as he felt he had found a way to live, he heard this roar of fury. He looked up in astonishment and saw that general with reddened eyes, gripping a blade and hacking down. The blade-edge was fierce. Li Xingyi's heart filled with dread, and instinctively he tried to block it.

But how could he block it!

He was cut down directly by that blade, blood pooling on the ground. Wang Chuanning had not expected this man to be so easy to kill, and felt some regret in his heart. He asked: "Where is that honest-looking scholar?!"

He went to search, but the place was already empty—only an abandoned building remained—and he was filled with great regret.

"Damnable!"

"To have fallen into this man's trap!"

Master Wen Qingyu rode at speed beyond the Northern Border pass, with General Yuan Shitong and Xue Tianxing following on either side. General Yuan Shitong still sighed with some feeling, thinking Li Xingyi had met such a death. Master Wen Qingyu smiled slightly: "Why must the two of you sigh?"

"Now all under heaven knows that this Li Xingyi tricked the Ying Kingdom's great emperor, lent his name to the Taiping Army, possessed boldness and valor, and died beneath Wang Chuanning's blade—one may call him a brave and fierce hero."

"To have such a reputation after death is also worthy repayment for the Taiping Army's kindness over the years."

General Yuan Shitong merely sighed and said: "That is so."

Xue Tianxing, however, felt a chill of dread.

With a few casual words, he had carried out his own stratagem—using Jiang Yuan to spread the Taiping Army's fame, and using Jiang Yuan to kill Li Xingyi, without sullying Qin Huang's reputation, preserving Qin Huang.

Xue Tianxing's and General Yuan Shitong's reputations, and the reputation of this contingent of the Taiping Army, were likewise preserved.

Most importantly, he hadn't dirtied his own hands, preserving himself completely and thoroughly.

When camping along the way, Wen Qingyu burned the juan sect recording Li Xingyi's deeds in front of Xue Tianxing and General Yuan Shitong, saying: "The reputations of the two generals need not be damaged because of one man, lest later generations say the two generals raised such a person."

"Li Xingyi was a good man."

"He had great righteousness, and died under Jiang Yuan's sword for the sake of that righteousness."

Xue Tianxing and Yuan Shitong figured out the key to it and were both filled with admiration.

Having achieved such a feat, Xue Tianxing already considered it to be first-rate in the present age.

But one matter afterward left Xue Tianxing utterly bewildered and at a loss, making him even more fearful and wary of this young scholar, as if dreading a god; yet because of the Ying Nation Great Emperor's grand treasure-offering ceremony, this matter became known to all under heaven, and inevitably drew some mockery.

Jiang Yuan was quite carefree about it, saying he had misjudged the man, fallen into a trap, and become a laughingstock of the world.

Wen Qingyu used the Changfeng Lou to spread a single sentence across the land.

【A counterfeit emperor who picked up a throne nobody else wanted only deserves fakes】

It was just a casually tossed-off line, yet it seemed to strike directly at Jiang Yuan's reverse scale; the Jiang Yuan who had previously been able to laugh at himself before the world's mockery now flew into a great rage, smashing who knows how many treasures, and roared angrily:

"A mere pair of famous generals ranked in the forties or fifties, with mere tens of thousands of troops—how dare they humiliate me like this! The northern border savages insult the Son of Heaven; today I would move seas and shift mountains, still hoping to succeed—how much the more so against these savages!"

The Ying Nation Great Emperor was enraged.

He paid no heed to the standoff at Saibei, to Grand Preceptor Jiang Su blocking Qin Huang, or to the canal still being excavated.

He wished to issue a decree to all the armies under heaven—

March north to punish them!

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