SEHE Extra 1.1

Unification of the Realm (1)

“Imperial decree arriving——”

The sharp, piercing voice cut across the sky above the frontier garrison.

Jiang Yi stepped out from his tent, impatiently asking, “What policy has the court issued this time?”

“Could it be that Anjing has erupted in conflict again, and they want us to get involved?” his deputy general said beside him.

“These officials do nothing but gossip all day, and on top of that they love fighting over power. We still have hard battles to fight on our end — who has time to deal with their nonsense?”

“Ever since we captured Qi Lan, the chaos over in Great Xi has actually started winding down faster. If we don’t press on to their capital soon, the war will stall again.”

“Why not suggest to the young emperor that he release Qi Lan and let them tear each other apart from within?”

“What a terrible idea. Have you forgotten — four months ago the young emperor abdicated and yielded the throne, making himself a carefree little prince, handing the entire realm over to that man surnamed Pei?”

“Right, how did it happen that out of nowhere, we went from being people of Great Yu to people of Great Tao?” The deputy general scratched his head. The dynastic change had come so suddenly that many people, like him, still hadn’t adjusted.

“What can you do — the ones above said there’d be a coup and there was a coup, said the dynasty would change and it changed.”

“Alright, enough from you all.” Jiang Yi cut off their chatter, for he had spotted the monitoring officer of the Elu Bureau standing in the open ground directly ahead — a blue narrow-sleeved, round-collared robe of an inner attendant looking thoroughly out of place in the military camp.

“General Jiang, deputy generals — our Emperor will arrive at Wenhui Pass in ten days. Please make ready to receive the imperial procession,” the monitoring officer said.

“Coming to the front lines? An imperial expedition in person?” Jiang Yi and the other commanders were stunned. Hadn’t Pei Yanci only just taken the throne? It had been merely four months — that seat wasn’t even fully secure yet. Why would he think of coming to the battlefield himself?

“What about Anjing?” a deputy general called out. “It had better not fall into chaos again — if fighting breaks out, the ones who die will be the common people and us.”

“Rest assured, our Dugong Daren is holding Anjing, performing the duties of regent and overseeing governance in the Emperor’s absence,” the monitoring officer said, twisting with pride.

“It’s over. The realm is finished,” a deputy general muttered under his breath.

“Eunuchs dominating the court, with even more power than in the previous emperor’s time — this is the omen of a nation’s ruin,” another man editorialized.

The others went on whispering in the tent, and the more they talked the more they felt that Great Tao would not last long, and that an age of chaos was about to begin.

“Looking at the situation now, we can only take it one step at a time.”

Jiang Yi’s brow remained tightly furrowed for several days, until ten days later, when the imperial convoy’s troops slowly wound their way from the mountain paths all the way to Wenhui Pass.

He stood before the gates of the fortified pass as banners and standards billowed in the wind, and from the imperial carriage descended a familiar face.

Those behind him and around him all quietly drew a sharp breath.

They had not expected that this newly enthroned emperor was so impossibly young.

Pei Yanci wore a robe of deep black silk-woven five-clawed medallion gold dragon pattern, the collar and cuffs edged with silver squirrel fur, with glimpses of the twelve-chapter embroidered gold-thread patterns beneath, a crown of pearls and jade hanging down in tassels — his entire bearing one of noble, proud elegance.

He had never paid much attention to such things, but ever since Tangxi Zhui had been following at his side, his daily meals, dress, and living had truly become considerably more refined. Even coming to the frontier, Tangxi Zhui had prepared each day’s clothing and necessities for him in complete sets in advance.

“General Jiang, it has been a long time,” he said, taking Huo Cun’s hand to descend from the imperial carriage, and with each word came a puff of white vapor in the cold air.

Behind him, Qi Lan, Wang Lingche, and several officials followed.

Jiang Yi’s expression was complex.

A few months ago they had exchanged letters.

At that time, through Tangxi Zhui’s deliberate spreading of rumors, he had already heard no small amount of talk about Pei Yanci consorting with Tangxi Zhui. Constrained by the fact that he and Pei Yanci had always been on good terms and harboring some inclination to follow him, but unwilling to fully commit, he had said only that he could dispatch one hundred thousand troops to support him.

Having previously held command over the southern provinces, he had long understood the strength of those vassal princes.

Now that Pei Yanci had become emperor, he felt the back of his neck go cold. This man looked very much as though he had come to call him to account.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jiang Yi respectfully bowed before him.

“Your Majesty.”

It still felt awkward.

Before, they had been bosom friends with arms around each other’s shoulders, business partners splitting profits, and then colleagues before their parting. In the blink of an eye, not even a year had passed, and the man had become emperor while he remained the same general.

A general, moreover, who was moments away from being executed for inaction and having backed the wrong side.

They had all been on Pei Yanci’s side before — and then at that final critical moment, he had unwisely played a transparent little trick and lost his chance to become a founding meritorious subject.

“Please rise, Jiang Daren.” Pei Yanci personally stepped forward to help him up.

If Jiang Yi had any presence of mind at this moment, he would know that Pei Yanci harbored not the slightest intention of blaming him.

With both internal troubles and external threats, this was precisely the moment when capable men were needed. Former officials of the previous dynasty — especially commanders guarding the frontiers — typically raised their armies to rebel against a new dynasty, march on Anjing, and crown themselves emperor, or simply entrench themselves at the frontier and declare themselves king. The fact that Jiang Yi was still diligently helping him hold the frontier and fight battles was already quite loyal and upright.

Jiang Yi simply followed him in a daze to the general’s quarters inside the fortress.

A crowd gathered around the sand table. Pei Yanci asked, “What is the current state of the campaign?”

Jiang Yi pointed to the sand table. “We have already taken thirteen provincial cities and are closing in on the Great Xi capital, but our forces are currently stationed at Linhu Prefecture and cannot advance a single step further.”

The closer they drew to the capital, the fiercer the Great Xi army’s resistance. Great Yu had once thrown its full national strength into attacking Great Xi — if this time there was still no progress, it would all come to nothing, and for several decades there would be no hope of destroying Great Xi.

Pei Yanci had thought of this very point. From the previous dynasty onward he had laid out his plans, using the death of Emperor Xiaoming to stir the common people to volunteer for military service in great numbers. Now that he had been on the throne for over four months, they were about to enter the deep of winter, and if they could not advance further, Great Yu would have no choice but to sound the retreat, and every sacrifice made until now would have been in vain.

“Qi Lan, is there any breakthrough to be found between Linhu Prefecture and the capital?” he asked the man beside him.

“Your Majesty, how can you consult a man of a foreign tribe?” a deputy general behind Jiang Yi said with displeasure. “What if he feeds us false intelligence and colludes with the Great Xi enemy forces from within? Would our brothers not die in vain?”

“He may be a man of Great Xi, but the blood of the Grand Princess also flows in his veins.” Pei Yanci overruled them all and had Qi Lan step forward. “Don’t be so hasty to object. More minds make for better solutions — he knows the situation in Great Xi far better than any of you. Let him analyze it.”

The other deputy generals fell silent.

Qi Lan at this moment also, unusually, assumed a grave expression, and said, “From Linhu Prefecture to the capital, the journey itself presents almost no difficulty. I know every commander Great Xi still has who is worth anything — I will speak privately with General Jiang later about each commander’s style of command. The real difficulty, in fact, lies in what comes after we surround the capital. The area surrounding the capital, unlike Anjing, is flat and open on all sides. The moment a large force approaches, someone will light the signal fires to warn the city, making a surprise attack utterly impossible. And once the battle begins, the capital’s advantage as a place easy to defend and hard to attack becomes apparent. Its city walls stand over ten zhang high and are four zhang thick — ordinary scaling ladders cannot reach the battlements, and even siege catapults cannot hurl stones high enough.”

“Not only that,” a deputy general added, “archers are rendered almost useless in this kind of siege. As long as the defenders stay behind their walls and refuse to come out, cavalry units are equally futile — it only adds to our losses.”

Pei Yanci said, “Do none of you have any good solution?”

Jiang Yi and the others shook their heads.

They had occupied Linhu for over two months and still could not take the capital.

“The capital also knows that once winter sets in, our soldiers cannot endure the bitter cold of the north. As long as they hold out for another half-month or so, we will certainly withdraw. That is why even though we have had the capital surrounded for two months, those inside have shown not the slightest sign of movement.”

“What is the situation in the northern prefectures of Great Xi?”

“Not many soldiers left there either.” Jiang Yi pressed his index and middle fingers together and gestured over the sand table, explaining the current situation to Pei Yanci. “Overall, our troop strength stands at this — and supplies are beginning to show signs of shortage here and there. They are no better off, otherwise, the one hundred and thirteen northern prefectures would have mustered by now.”

“Zhen came this time with fifty thousand troops, and a man from the Ministry of Works,” Pei Yanci said with a smile. “He may well prove useful.”

“The Ministry of Works?” Jiang Yi was puzzled. “What would a man from the Ministry of Works do on a battlefield?”

“You will know soon enough,” Pei Yanci said mysteriously. “Jiang Yi, come with Zhen to the front lines.”

These words, once spoken, startled everyone present.

“Your Majesty, this is not appropriate.”

“If Great Xi learns that Your Majesty is at the front lines and throws its full national force against you, we cannot guarantee Your Majesty’s safety.”

“Your Majesty, please reconsider.”

They held no great loyalty to the new dynasty and its new emperor — they were only fulfilling a subject’s duty and offered their perfunctory words of counsel.

“Zhen has chosen to lead the imperial expedition in person. That means Zhen has already prepared for exactly this.”

What Pei Yanci said could not be questioned by anyone.

After resting for a day, he took two ten-thousand-strong personal guards and set out once again with Jiang Yi for Linhu Prefecture in Great Xi.

Inside the carriage, Qi Lan sat by the window with his hands folded across his chest, basking in the sun, dozing idly.

Pei Yanci instructed Wang Lingche to prepare paper and brush, then spoke while Wang Lingche recorded — from matters of military discipline to issues of logistical supply, every aspect covered. After returning to court, a proper set of regulations would have to be drafted without delay.

Great Yu’s conscript-garrison system had already collapsed. A new system of military conscription had to be established.

One matter after another — all things that touched upon the vital arteries of the nation’s governance — came from Pei Yanci’s mouth in an unhurried, orderly fashion, as if he were reminding someone of minor inconsequential details before setting out on a leisure trip.

But Wang Lingche’s ears dared not miss a single word.

“You studied the Great Yu Legal Code before,” Pei Yanci said — after the Wang family’s youngest daughter had died suddenly, this man had shut himself in his room during that period and spent the time memorizing legal codes. “The Great Tao Legal Code also needs you to oversee its drafting. Give it to Zhen before the end of next year at the latest.”

“Understood,” Wang Lingche said, wiping away sweat. He was currently the Minister of the Dali Temple, ranking among the Nine Ministers, and was kept so busy his feet barely touched the ground every day.

Qi Lan’s body swayed gently with the carriage, but his ears had not missed a single word of Pei Yanci’s clear, warm voice.

Once Wang Lingche had stepped off the carriage, Qi Lan’s eyes opened a crack.

Pei Yanci was sitting by the window on the other side, a map in his hands.

“Are you not afraid that my words might lead you into a trap?” Qi Lan suddenly spoke.

Pei Yanci shifted his gaze slightly from the map and said, “Doubt those you employ not, and employ those you doubt not. Since Zhen trusts you, Zhen naturally trusts your words as well.”

Of course it was all nonsense.

He had watched how, after Qi Lan finished speaking, none of the deputy generals refuted him — they had instead offered supplementary points — and only then had he concluded that this man was not playing tricks.