Chapter Eighty-Eight: A Woman of Talent

This time Jiazhou City fell not because the Lin Clan was weak, but because they all looked down on the so-called rebels. Had Wang Yancheng chosen to defend the city to the last, then with only four thousand men inside, it would honestly not have been easy for the Eastern host to take it. Ye Pei and Jiang Zhongqing might have been able to storm the walls here, but those four thousand could more or less have worn them down to death. On the battlements, Ye Pei had already fought with all his might and cut down nearly two hundred men; that was a feat rarely seen. For four thousand men to win by relying on one or two people alone, one would perhaps need a being who had already ascended beyond mortality.

Even if Ye Pei and Jiang Zhongqing had broken through and opened a gap for those behind them, four thousand defending against six thousand would still have been far easier. A city can be forced by an attack of triple strength; that is to say, as long as the garrison does not fall below one third of the enemy force, there is still a chance to hold out against a determined assault.

But Wang Yancheng had not chosen that path. He had chosen instead to summon reinforcements and meet them head-on. This passive acceptance of battle by the Lin Clan meant they had no idea who exactly was coming against them. By the Eastern Clan’s usual practice of fielding scholar-generals, there should not have been any truly formidable fighters among the enemy. That very assumption had led the Lin Clan to taste the bitter fruit they themselves had sown at the war’s outset.

When Zi Qingrong saw Ye Pei returning covered in blood, her eyes reddened and she was on the verge of tears. Ye Pei hurried over to her side with a sidestep and smiled. “Don’t cry. It’s all someone else’s blood. None of it’s mine.”

Zi Qingrong held back her tears. “Really?”

“Of course it’s true. Do I look like I’m hurt?”

Seeing Ye Pei come back lively and unharmed, Zi Qingrong believed him and nodded. “Then that’s fine. Go change your clothes and I’ll wash them for you. Fresh blood can still be washed out.”

Ye Pei nodded and smiled. “Then thank you, my lady. But first let’s clean up and prepare to enter the city. There are still troops waiting at the gate.”

It was, of course, a lie to say he had no injuries at all. They were only superficial wounds, nothing that would matter.

On the other side, Zhuang Tianlan had much the same reaction as Zi Qingrong. And with Jiang Zhongqing having unleashed his killing move and looking even more exhausted than Ye Pei, Zhuang Tianlan grew all the more worried.

By the time Yang Tianrui reached the battlefield, the fighting was nearly over. Liu Ziwen explained the entire course of events to him in detail, and his admiration for Ye Pei and Jiang Zhongqing only deepened. At that moment Yang Tianrui laughed heartily and said, “You two sisters-in-law needn’t worry. Those two are perfectly fine. If not for their brilliance this time, whether we could have won this battle would still be an open question.”

Ye Pei waved a hand. “Brother Yang flatters us. Let’s hurry and clear things up so we can take over Jiazhou City.”

That night, Dongfang Boyi, Yang Tianrui, Liu Ziwen, Ye Pei, Jiang Zhongqing, and several commanders from the Xiao and Yin Clans sat atop Jiazhou’s walls drinking wine.

The people of Jiazhou City, in truth, felt little about this. As a border city of the Lin Clan’s territory, they had never tasted much of the sweetness of Lin rule; the taxes, however, had not been short by a single coin. As for Dongfang Boyi’s affairs, they had stirred great sympathy among the populace, and the young lord of the Eastern Clan had won them some measure of goodwill. A fallen noble flower was always most likely to awaken pity in the benevolent common people. Moreover, after the Eastern host entered the city, they did not move into the inner city. Only the higher-ranking officers, with a small contingent of troops, advanced to sweep away the Lin Clan’s remaining personnel, so the people truly had no reason to hate them.

“Losses have been tallied for this battle,” Liu Ziwen said. “Our side has suffered one thousand two hundred forty-five dead, five hundred thirty-nine severely wounded, and more than two thousand lightly wounded.”

Yang Tianrui nodded. “So that leaves us with roughly four thousand combat-capable troops.”

Ye Pei said, “Then I think we can garrison Jiazhou City for a while first. If we press on with only four thousand men... with Jiazhou City left without a proper governor, and our strength limited, we’ll very easily find ourselves beset from all sides.”

Yang Tianrui nodded. “Brother Ye speaks reasonably. Brother Jiang, what do you think?”

Jiang Zhongqing shook his head. “I don’t understand this sort of thing. I only know to follow Brother Pei into battle.”

Ye Pei smiled and continued, “We can’t remain planted here forever, either, or else this campaign loses all meaning. First, we need to wait for recruitment from the Xiao and Yin Clans. Second, after winning such a battle, we can already send envoys to contact the other tribes that are hostile to the Lin Clan and invite them to join our campaign. This victory can show them that our strength is extraordinary; I believe their doubts will already have lessened considerably. And in the past, the Eastern family had a great reputation in Lin territory. Now that the Eastern Clan’s young lord has raised the banner of revolt, those people will surely be willing to answer. It’s just that once such a wide alliance is formed, Brother Yang, you must be even more careful not to appear in public.”

Yang Tianrui fell into thought. “I’ve been considering that as well. Although the Lin Clan’s top-tier force is gone with Lin Hezhi’s death, they still have many capable fighters. I will have to step forward sooner or later. But if my appearance stirs dissatisfaction among the other tribes, the variables would become too great.”

Ye Pei thought for a few seconds, then said, “Brother Yang, please rest assured. I have a way.”

“Oh?”

...

The night was deep. A crescent moon hung in the sky, and its pale light spilled across the battlefield before the city, as though offering passage to the souls who had fallen beneath the sun. Even the vast fields of crimson seemed to soften by a few degrees.

“Qingrong.”

“Mm?”

Ye Pei and Zi Qingrong stood upon the city wall, enjoying the night breeze. To the young man, the girl’s flying hair was the fairest sight in the world; to the girl, the young man’s robe and sleeves, fluttering in the wind, were the most reassuring support she could ever lean upon.

“What about the fighting that lies ahead... what should you do?” Ye Pei gazed into the distance, his eyes full of worry.

Zi Qingrong smiled. “I’ll just stay with you, then. It’s not as though I can remain in the city you conquered by yourself.”

Ye Pei gave a wry smile. “But staying with me isn’t safe either... Even if you remain in the camp, where in war can one truly be safe?”

Zi Qingrong considered this. “You’ll protect me, won’t you?”

Ye Pei nodded without the slightest hesitation. “Of course!”

“Then that’s all right!” Zi Qingrong said, yet when she looked at him again, she saw that Ye Pei still wore a gloomy expression. She asked, “Ye Zi, is something else bothering you?”

Ye Pei said slowly, “I’m thinking... what becomes of Dongfang Boyi in all this? Though he is to be supported as a new king in the future, during this whole period there has been little for him to do. How is he to act as king afterward...?”

Zi Qingrong thought for a moment and said, “On that point, I do have some ideas.”

A faint smile appeared on Ye Pei’s face. “Let’s hear them.”

Zi Qingrong seemed a little cold, so she moved closer to him. Seeing this, Ye Pei removed his cloak and draped it over her shoulders. Zi Qingrong smiled and said, “What you’re worried about is nothing more than his inability to command obedience, his lack of the people’s trust. Right now, the common people’s faith in the state is far weaker than their faith in the gods, so he can simply act in the name of a god. If this campaign of his is truly ordained by heaven, and his leadership is also the will of heaven, then it will be much easier for people to accept him as the new king.

“First, he’ll need fine words and smooth lies, so that the people understand he is carrying out heaven’s will to put an end to the Lin Clan’s harsh rule. That will win their hearts. But since the common people are not easily deceived, someone will certainly question how he can claim heavenly mandate. If you can persuade Xingyan to appear, then there’s a good chance this plan will succeed.

“Of course, when he’s speaking those fine words, he mustn’t go on and on about heavenly mandate alone. The people may worship the Star God, but they always care more about their own concerns. So heaven’s will must be joined to the people’s will. As the saying goes, what heaven sees is what the people see; what heaven hears is what the people hear. He must handle that properly. Of course, I could write the boasting speech for him too.”

As Zi Qingrong spoke, she looked nothing like the delicate young lady she usually seemed to be. Rather, she was like a stateswoman whose mind held mountains and rivers, whose eyes contained the stars.

Ye Pei’s eyes lit up as he listened to all of this. He held her tightly and laughed. “Qingrong, I never thought you had such political insight!”

Zi Qingrong returned to her usual girl-like manner, her lovely face faintly red. “I never really had the chance before... and you never talked with me about such things either...”

Ye Pei was smiling from ear to ear as he looked out into the distance. “Even with Dongfang Boyi as he is, he still seems almost like a puppet. But he has already gained much from this cooperation, and whether he can truly sit firmly on the lord’s throne will be his own affair. It seems my fiancée is the one who’s truly surprising me.”

Zi Qingrong looked at Ye Pei with smiling eyes, and after a moment said, “Ye Zi, you haven’t heard me play the zither yet.”

Ye Pei turned back. “Mm... even though you’ve been carrying it with you all this time, I really haven’t heard you play.”

Zi Qingrong said, “Wait here.”

With that, the girl climbed down from the wall, took her instrument from the camp tent, and came back.

Watching Zi Qingrong sit on the small stool and arrange the strings, Ye Pei smiled. “Come to think of it, I still have a zither I want to give you—the legendary ancient zither, Spirit Boat.”

At that, Zi Qingrong looked up in delight. “Really? Where is it?”

Ye Pei said, “When I left the Riverlands back then, I felt that life and death were uncertain, so I left that zither in the Sacred Rite Domain...”

“Oh... I see...”

Ye Pei hurriedly said, “Don’t worry. Tomorrow I’ll send someone to the Sacred Rite Domain and tell Chen Mo to bring the zither here. I’ll also have him bring some troops to help me.”

Zi Qingrong smiled but said nothing. Then her jade-like fingers settled upon the long zither resting across her knees.

How could one describe Zi Qingrong’s mastery of the zither?

Far away, it was like heavenly music winding through the air;
Near at hand, like a celestial visitor in song.
Clear are the ripples of the blue river,
Chill is the heart of a young maiden.
Iron horses lay aside their armor and blades,
Beacon fires scatter their last embers.
Beneath the moon stands a warmth like jade;
In this life, I give myself only to you. — Ye Pei

The next day, a large number of messengers and envoys set out from Jiazhou City, heading to the various tribes. Another would undertake the long journey to the Sacred Rite Domain. At the same time, a letter was dispatched to Sacred Rite Mountain, asking them to clear the way for the forces of the Sacred Rite Domain. Ye Pei was not certain whether Ni Manxiu was actually on Sacred Rite Mountain, but Ni Manxiu had once said that Sacred Rite Mountain would do its utmost to satisfy any request of Ye Pei’s. Although everyone on Sacred Rite Mountain disliked Ni Manxiu, he still sat in the office of High Priest, and what he said retained considerable weight there.