Chapter 554: Yan Daiqing

Yan Daiqing??

Xue Tianxing and Yuan Shitong’s expressions turned strange.

Upon hearing that name, a flood of cold, vicious schemes surged into their minds; both famed generals, long accustomed to the harsh winds of the north, felt a sudden chill at the nape of their necks and could not help but bow in solemn respect.

Xue Tianxing had not yet answered.

Yuan Shitong had already bowed solemnly: “Which Mr. Yan Daiqing might you be?”

The newcomer smiled and said: “Yan Daiqing of the northern frontier.”

Yuan Shitong froze, rubbed his head, and turned to Xue Tianxing in confusion:

“I’ve never heard of any Yan Daiqing in our northern frontier.”

Xue Tianxing sighed inwardly, merely bowed his fists in greeting, and said: “It must be Master Wen Qingyu before us. We have already prepared wine and meat in camp. Mr. Yan Daiqing, please!”

Wen Qingyu smiled: “General Xue, how did you know?”

Xue Tianxing pulled out a letter: “A falcon delivered this message from ten thousand li away—it was written in the hand of Mr. Yan Daiqing himself.” The letter stated that if the man arriving claimed to be Yan Daiqing, no hesitation was needed.

That man was Wen Qingyu.

The plain, reliable young man flipped through the letter and laughed freely: “Ah, this impostor dares to accuse the real Yan Daiqing? Truly, utterly unreasonable! Hahaha.”

Xue Tianxing thought for a moment and said: “Then, Mr. Yan Daiqing, please enter camp and partake of the wine and meat.”

Wen Qingyu smiled and entered.

The northern frontier was harsh and cold; its supplies could not compare with those of the Central Plains or Jiangnan. They served only large chunks of pork, stewed soft and fragrant with cabbage and vermicelli. The two toasted wine and shared a hearty meal. Yuan Shitong sighed deeply:

“We originally planned to lead our troops south to join His Majesty, but Jiang Su seized half of the Tujue territory and blocked our path.”

“We’re trapped here by Ying Guo—can’t advance, can’t retreat, just stuck in this desolate place. Sir, you’ve come with divine strategy—do you have any brilliant plan?”

Wen Qingyu drank and smiled: “I came precisely for this.”

Wen Qingyu’s eyes lowered slightly.

In the first year of Emperor Qin’s reign, he and the staff monk Shi Shi went to the Xuegong to invite several elder masters there to Jiangnan—but failed. Wen Qingyu knew the matter was hopeless and reluctantly gave up.

Those old immortals were still formidable.

Monk Shi Shi had just been asked whether he had given up.

After deep reflection, he felt his Heart-Reading ability could still be further refined.

Two young generations had come down.

Now, using the all-powerful falcons raised by Lei Laomeng, he had traveled for months across the grasslands, bypassing Ying Guo’s border fortresses, and successfully entered the northern frontier beyond the passes to meet Yuan Shitong and the others.

Lei Laomeng had returned to Chen Guo’s Yishou Mountain Villa.

The master of Yishou Mountain Villa had been deeply worried: the world was in chaos, and their sect’s strength lay entirely in their exotic beasts; their own martial skills were mediocre. But where could one find exotic beasts so easily in today’s world?

The sect master himself was only at the Sixth Heaven level. Even with the sect’s beast reserves, he could barely hold off ordinary Jianghu masters—but not the ruthless ones. He feared his sect would perish in this turbulent age.

Then, a colossal leg descended from the heavens.

Even the leg hair was thicker than Yishou Mountain Villa’s entire foundation.

Lei Laomeng, having rendered great service, was a master craftsman in the Qilin Army. He brought a few cavalrymen to lend prestige. When Jianghu figures heard the thunderous hooves and saw a hundred armored riders charging forth, their aura suggested they could crush Yishou Mountain Villa without effort.

Yishou Mountain Villa was stunned.

What?! The Qin Emperor’s Qilin Army has arrived?!

What?! He plans to ride through the Jianghu? Even the Qilin Army’s top generals are sent?!

They first thought the Qin Emperor intended to ride down the Jianghu.

Then they realized: it was their own sect’s foundation arriving!

What outsiders?

These were the sect’s roots!

The smooth-talking master of Yishou Mountain Villa nearly swept the ancestral tablets off the table with one arm and placed Lei Laomeng upon the altar: You are the true Patriarch!

Lei Laomeng would never do such a thing. He respectfully burned incense before the ancestral masters.

Then he proposed that Yishou Mountain Villa join the Qilin Xuegong.

Yishou Mountain Villa agreed without hesitation. It was no longer a Jianghu sect—it was now the Qilin Xuegong’s Yushou Division, standing alongside the Wugu sect’s Yu-chong branch as a minor lineage of the Qilin Xuegong.

It was mandatory.

All Qilin Xuegong disciples must choose either exotic beasts or beast-controlling insects.

To avoid being humiliated in the Jianghu.

Having successfully delivered Wen Qingyu here, Yuan Shitong was overjoyed and asked how to confront Ying Guo and assist the Qin Emperor. Wen Qingyu merely smiled: “General Yuan, don’t rush. A hundred-legged insect dies but doesn’t go stiff. With Ying Guo’s territory and population, our small force here cannot possibly make any major impact.”

Yuan Shitong knew this well, but he took another bite of stewed meat and sighed: “Then what should we do?”

Worry as they might,

they must not deprive themselves of food.

One must eat.

Wen Qingyu said: “To break through a vast land like Ying Guo by external force alone is not impossible—but it would require an opponent with comparable strength, a brutal struggle, heavy losses on both sides, and only then might success be possible.”

“Better to let them destroy themselves from within.”

“Let them kill themselves.”

Yuan Shitong was baffled: “Kill themselves?”

“Who would kill themselves?”

Wen Qingyu smiled: “Disunity between ruler and ministers is enough.”

Yuan Shitong still did not fully understand, but Xue Tianxing’s mind was clear. He stopped Yuan Shitong’s questions and simply drank with Wen Qingyu. After nightfall, Yuan Shitong snored loudly, while Xue Tianxing went to visit Master Wen Qingyu.

He handed Wen Qingyu the scrolls recording the words and deeds of the “Son of the Taiping Duke”—all his early merits and later schemes to seize power and fame, recorded without concealment.

Master Wen Qingyu flipped through them, smiled, and nodded:

“Thank you, General Xue.”

Xue Tianxing said: “I dare not.”

After handing over the scrolls, he acted as if nothing had happened, never mentioning it again, and merely discussed Ying Guo with Wen Qingyu—how the Ying Chancellor had held back the Qin Emperor for years along the border.

Xue Tianxing sighed: “Yet even Jiang Yuan, the Ying Emperor, has indulged in lust and pleasure these past two years, yet Ying Guo remains peaceful. Rumor says this year’s harvest is bountiful, and praise for peace echoes everywhere.”

Wen Qingyu said: “It’s a good thing.”

Xue Tianxing watched Wen Qingyu without expression.

The latter looked at Xue Tianxing and smiled: “Even the old Chen state, under the deposed emperor whom Shenwu Wang Chen Chengbi overthrew, had ‘Four Hundred and Eighty Temples of the Southern Dynasties.’ When he lavishly rewarded monks, the daily consumption of oil was a staggering sum.”

“Yet even so, Chen Guo never exhausted its reserves despite years of campaigns in the southwest, resistance against the western regions, and clashes with Ying Guo. Only during the Regent’s era, under Chen Dingye, and until a few years ago, did accumulated problems erupt all at once.”

“That is the depth of a long-lasting, vast nation.”

“Its blood is too thick. Each year’s harvest and population growth restore part of its reserves. In many dynasties, emperors indulging in palace pleasures were the least significant cause of dynastic collapse.”

“The real catastrophe came from the emperor’s incompetence—leading to fragmented military power and chaos among noble clans.”

“But Jiang Wanxiang, before his death, eliminated all major clans that could cause such chaos. The overall situation was held firm by Jiang Su. To drain the blood of this three-hundred-year empire through Jiang Yuan’s recklessness alone would take at least twenty years.”

Xue Tianxing fell silent.

For a moment, he could not tell whether twenty years was long or short.

Long? Twenty years to exhaust a nation ruling nearly half the realm, with three centuries of imperial legacy, and just emerging from a sixty-year reign of a brilliant monarch?

Fast. Too fast.

He was an extraordinary prodigal.

On the other hand, twenty years to drain Ying Guo’s reserves before unifying the realm? Such prolonged warfare was too long—the world suffered, the people suffered, the soldiers suffered.

Wen Qingyu said: “Yet fortunately, this is merely the emperor’s own doing. Beyond that, we can lend a slight hand.”

“All men have desires. A poor scholar and a chancellor ruling the realm are both men—but they choose differently.”

“Even the illustrious Shenwu Wang Chen Chengbi, when he became Regent, gradually descended into cruelty and tyranny, eventually breaking with the Taiping Duke.”

“The absolute power of being above ten thousand men amplifies every desire and ripple in the heart. All we need to do is slightly accelerate the expansion of his desires.”

Xue Tianxing instinctively looked at Wen Qingyu.

It was deep night. A candle flickered on the desk, casting shifting light and shadow across the master’s face. Wen Qingyu raised a finger to his lips, dividing his face into two halves, smiling warmly and sincerely:

“A foolish ruler holding court will inevitably fall—it is only a matter of when.”

“But we can offer a small, insignificant help.”

“Just a little.”

Xue Tianxing stared into the candlelight in Wen Qingyu’s eyes and, for no reason, recalled the fire that had burned down the Langwang’s dreams in the Tangut capital.

This was the true master of the world’s deadliest schemes—the Western Frontier’s Yan Daiqing.

What kind of magnanimity did the Qin Emperor possess to command such a man?!

And by what means had he persuaded this extraordinary person to follow him—when Qin Wu was merely a marquis with a small territory and mediocre martial skill?

Truly, not an ordinary man!

Xue Tianxing’s expression remained calm.

He raised his cup and toasted: “We await your methods!”

“Myself and Yuan Shitong pledge ourselves to your plan—body and soul.”

After several cups of wine, he rose to take his leave.

Wen Qingyu saw him out. When the general’s figure vanished into the night, Wen Qingyu murmured to himself: “Xue Tianxing—no wonder he was once the Taiping Duke’s cunning fox of a general.”

“He’s rather like me.”

He looked at the scrolls recording the “Son of the Taiping Duke,” smiling faintly.

The next day, Wen Qingyu openly visited the Son of the Taiping Duke. Li Xingyi, stripped of his martial arts, assumed he would be killed upon Wen Qingyu’s arrival and was resigned to death—but was stunned when Wen Qingyu treated him with such solemn respect.

Wen Qingyu greatly praised Li Xing’s previous contributions.

Yet he avoided mentioning all the evil deeds Li Xing had committed.

Before the Wan Army, he announced Li Xing’s rewards, rallying the troops; this place was not far from the border of Ying Guo, and Wen Qingyu ordered Yuan Shitong and Xue Tianxing to challenge the enemy. The Ying Guo garrison commander had left, and both sides engaged in a great battle.

Yuan Shitong and Xue Tianxing followed Wen Qingyu’s orders and feigned surrender, retreating.

They abandoned control of a hundred li of land.

Under these circumstances, they secretly wrote a letter of surrender and sent Li Xing to negotiate peace. Li Xing’s heart skipped a beat—he had no intention of going—but Wen Qingyu had already trapped him in place, leaving him no choice. Fortunately, Wen Qingyu went with him.

The Ying Guo garrison commander, Wang Chuanning, sneered and asked, “What do you want?”

Wen Qingyu stated his purpose: “We are only two generals, stranded ten thousand li away. The Emperor of Qin gives us no rewards, no reinforcements—he intends for us to die here!”

He quietly added to Wang Chuanning: “This Li Xing is the adopted son of General Xue Tianxing, raised as a substitute for the son of the Taiping Duke. Over the years, he has gained great prestige and earned immense merit within the Taiping Army beyond the northern frontier.”

“Though the Emperor of Qin now holds half the realm, he will never allow Li Xing to return.”

“He sees us as expendable!”

“If he is unrighteous, we cannot be blamed for being unloyal!”

“We have heard that Your Sacred Majesty holds all under heaven, and your renown spreads far and wide. We wish to lead the Taiping Army in surrender!”

Wang Chuanning was deeply moved.

He knew of the false Taiping Duke’s son. If he himself held the throne of Qin, he would certainly kill such a fraud without hesitation.

He was also tempted by the advantage of the Taiping Army’s former troops surrendering to Ying Guo.

Knowing Jiang Yuan well, he understood the Emperor loved grandeur and glory.

And due to his youthful grudge against Emperor Li Guanyi, he would never pass up a chance to humiliate him so thoroughly.

After much hesitation, Wen Qingyu produced an object and said: “To express our apology, we offer this gift!” He opened the box and revealed twenty-four luminous pearls, radiant and brilliant.

“We have heard that Empress He Ruo most delights in rare treasures of the world. These are national treasures from the southwest, once used by the Taiping Duke in his marriage proposal—acquired by my General Xue. We had intended to present them to the Emperor of Qin, but never imagined he would be so heartless!”

Wang Chuanning was overjoyed and finally agreed:

“Good! Good!”

“Then rest here for now. I shall immediately report to court—you shall receive rewards soon.”

Xue Tianxing and Yuan Shitong stared in shock: “Aren’t these treasures said to have been lost in the southwest?” Wen Qingyu replied: “Yes—but few know that. At least this northern frontier general doesn’t.”

Yuan Shitong was baffled: “Then if the real ones are in the southwest, where did these come from?”

Wen Qingyu smiled: “Made by Lei Laomeng.”

The counterfeits Lei Laomeng had forged that day, Wen Qingyu had sold to the great clans.

Now these very items had returned to his hands.

Naturally, this was due to the fervent hopes and sincere support of the many noble families.

Yuan Shitong blurted: “This… this isn’t real? It might fool a frontier general like Wang Chuanning, but it won’t fool anyone in Ying Guo’s capital—what do we do?!”

Wen Qingyu smiled: “We want it to be discovered.”

Yuan Shitong was stunned, confused.

Xue Tianxing seemed to grasp part of it—but not the whole picture.

Yet even that much made his heart tremble. He looked at Wen Qingyu with shock and instinctive wariness. The gentle, kind gentleman merely smiled again.

Warm, amiable, trustworthy.

A mighty general of the realm unconsciously stepped back.

Wang Chuanning sent word by swift courier. Jiang Yuan saw the report first and erupted in wild joy, even setting aside the matter of Qin Yulong. He threw his head back and laughed: “Hahahaha! Li Guanyi, Li Guanyi!”

“How base you are! Your grandfather was nothing but a mud-stained peasant—how could you possibly compete with me? Now even your father’s troops no longer recognize you. How delightful! How delightful!”

Jiang Gao sensed something was wrong and reported it, but was rebuked.

Thus, Wang Chuanning was promoted, ordered to proceed slowly, and envoys were dispatched to spread the news across the land. Everywhere in Ying Guo, people discussed it; the common folk were all curious.

Finally, Jiang Yuan even established the “Treasure Presentation Ceremony.”

Commoners, noble families, martial artists—all could attend.

It revealed how deeply the new Emperor of Ying Guo valued humiliating the Emperor of Qin. On that day of the ceremony, all came. Wang Chuanning personally carried the treasure forward, loudly proclaiming: “The virtuous alone deserve such treasures!”

Jiang Yuan beamed, opened the box, and displayed the pearls.

Twenty-four pearls, all identical in size, sealed away for so long, never seeing sunlight. Wang Chuanning treasured them more than his own life, ensuring absolute safety.

Were those really pearls?

To Jiang Yuan, they were his glory and wealth—and more than that, a victory over Li Guanyi. He held all under heaven; he cared nothing for twenty-four pearls. What he cherished was the feeling of stepping on Li Guanyi’s face.

All eyes turned upward. Beneath the sun, the twenty-four pearls shone brilliantly.

Truly magnificent treasures.

Wang Chuanning knelt and cried aloud: “All under heaven know: treasures belong to the virtuous. This treasure, forsaken by the Qin King, now returns…”

His voice cut off. The surrounding noise suddenly ceased.

Wang Chuanning froze. A chill crept over him.

That chill carried a cold, deadly intent. He stiffly raised his head—and saw the twenty-four bright pearls, now visibly dimming the moment the box opened.

A crisp, shattering sound echoed through the air.

The pearls visibly cracked, then slowly dissolved into nothing.

Utter silence.

No one needed to speak. The transformation proved the pearls were absolute forgeries. And now, as Wang Chuanning spoke of virtue, his words carried an ironic mockery.

Jiang Yuan’s expression darkened, but he forced himself to maintain composure.

Only when he returned home did he bitterly laugh: “The Taiping Army is cunning indeed.”

“I’ve been fooled again.”

Wang Chuanning lost face. He received no reward. Though the Emperor did not punish him severely, Wang Chuanning felt a deep, trembling dread. He raced back north at even greater speed—determined to kill Li Xing.

He burst into the quarters, roaring in fury:

“Li Xing! How dare you!”

“You dared to mock me—and the Emperor!”

Li Xing had just begun to enjoy a brief respite, feeling he had finally escaped the Taiping Army. Though the road ahead had been hard, he knew well: his identity as the “Son of the Taiping Duke” held great value.

As long as he bowed respectfully, spoke ill of the Taiping Army and the Taiping Duke, and denounced Emperor Li Guanyi’s cruelty, he could gain wealth and glory. As long as he slandered the Taiping Duke and his army, he would be safe.

He could win the favor of the Ying Guo Emperor.

He had just begun to feel he had found a way to live—when he heard the roar. He looked up in shock to see the general’s eyes red, gripping a blade that slashed down—its edge sharp, deadly. Li Xing’s heart seized in terror; he instinctively raised his hands to block.

But how could he stop it?

The blade cleaved through him. Blood spilled across the ground. Wang Chuanning was startled—he hadn’t expected the man to die so easily. A pang of regret rose. “Where is that seemingly honest scholar?!”

He searched—but the place was empty. He was filled with bitter regret.

“Damn it!”

“I’ve been tricked by this man!”

Wen Qingyu rode across the northern frontier, Yuan Shitong and Xue Tianxing flanking him. Yuan Shitong still sighed: “Li Xing died like this…”

Wen Qingyu smiled gently: “Why sigh? Now all under heaven knows: it was Li Xing who mocked the Emperor of Ying Guo, championing the Taiping Army—dying bravely at Wang Chuanning’s blade. He died a hero.”

“To have such a reputation after death? That honors the Taiping Army’s long-standing debt to him.”

Yuan Shitong sighed again: “Indeed.”

Xue Tianxing was shaken.

He had casually executed his plan: using Jiang Yuan to glorify the Taiping Army, using Jiang Yuan to kill Li Xing—without tarnishing Emperor Li Guanyi’s name, preserving him.

The reputations of Xue Tianxing and Yuan Shitong, and of this Taiping Army, were preserved too.

Most importantly, he had dirtied no hands—completely safeguarding himself.

During a night camp, Wen Qingyu, before Xue Tianxing and Yuan Shitong, burned the dossier recording Li Xing’s deeds. “Your reputations must not be stained by association. Otherwise, future generations might say you raised such a man.”

“Li Xing was a good man.”

“He died for great righteousness—killed by Jiang Yuan’s blade.”

Xue Tianxing and Yuan Shitong finally understood the truth. They bowed in reverence.

To Xue Tianxing, such a maneuver was the pinnacle of the age.

But one thing that followed left him utterly bewildered—and filled him with dread and caution toward the young scholar, as if fearing a god. Yet because of the Emperor of Ying Guo’s Treasure Presentation Ceremony, the matter became known to all, drawing mockery.

Jiang Yuan remained remarkably casual, admitting he had been deceived, and laughing at himself before the world.

Wen Qingyu sent a single phrase through the Changfeng Lady’s network:

【The fake emperor who picked up a discarded throne deserves only counterfeit treasures.】

Just a casual remark—but it struck directly at Jiang Yuan’s most sensitive nerve. The man who had laughed at the world’s ridicule now flew into a rage, smashing countless treasures. “How dare two generals ranked forty or fifty, with mere tens of thousands, defy me?! Northern barbarians, insulting the Son of Heaven! I shall move mountains and drain seas to crush them—how much more so this rabble!”

"Two generals ranked merely forty to fifty, with tens of thousands of troops—how dare they insult me thus! These northern barbarian pests scorn the Son of Heaven; if I can uproot seas and move mountains and still hope for victory, how much more so against these pests!"

He ignored the standoff in Saibei, the Taishi Jiang Su blocking Li Guanyi, and the still-digging canal.

He prepared to summon all imperial troops—

To march north and punish them!

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