After completing her patrol, Chen Ming gazed into the distance from the watchtower, attentively observing the outside world.
For some unknown reason, the faint sounds of weapons clashing echoed again from afar. As Chen Ming was about to dispatch scouts to investigate outside the city, she noticed someone being hoisted up in a basket. Taking a closer look, she was surprised to find that the person in the basket was none other than Ren Feihong.
Chen Ming hurried over, a restrained yet helpless expression on her face, and asked, “…Why did Attendant Ren suddenly leave the city?”
Among her current colleagues, Shi Zhuhe remained a relatively normal scion of a noble family when he wasn’t performing, but Ren Feihong often left Chen Ming inwardly marveling at how the Emperor truly valued talent over trivialities.
Chen Ming pulled Ren Feihong aside to check for injuries – after all, if anything happened to her, how could she explain it to Jianping afterwards?
Ren Feihong said, “I am unharmed, and even if something were to happen, with General Shi overseeing the overall situation here, it would not be a cause for concern.”
Though limited by the enemy’s capabilities, Shi Zhuhe had yet to display any remarkable talent for warfare. Nevertheless, as colleagues and subordinates, both Ren and Chen knew that he was methodical in his work, fair in rewards and punishments, and unconstrained by rigid conventions. As deputy generals and military commanders, these were precisely the qualities they expected from their superior.
Chen Ming said, “You could have sent scouts out of the city.”
Ren Feihong smiled. “I had nothing better to do at the moment, and sending scouts alone might not have yielded reliable information. It was better to go and see for myself.” She continued, “I took a look outside – it turns out the Gan and Ge clans are fighting again, and this time Gan took the initiative.”
Among the soldiers who followed the Ge clan were some originally from the Gan clan’s private troops. When Ge Pu launched her fierce assault on the Gan manor earlier, she had not deployed these men. However, when Gan Qu led a surprise attack, the Ge clan was unprepared. Facing their former master, these troops immediately mutinied.
Moreover, in preparation for leading the army westward to ambush Jianping’s forces, Ge Pu had taken the accumulated provisions from the mountain stronghold outside Lujia City before her departure. Seizing the opportunity, the Gan clan set fire to these supplies, reducing them all to ashes.
With the supplies destroyed and the rear troops in mutiny, Ge Pu temporarily lost control of her army. She personally led her soldiers westward in a hasty retreat, managing to shake off the Gan clan’s pursuit after a frantic march.
Seated on her horse, Ge Pu lashed out with her whip in frustration.
Looking back now, she realized she should have decisively counterattacked the Gan clan instead of rushing to leave. However, the situation was chaotic at the time, and engaging in a battle seemed to offer no advantage, so she chose to avoid it. By the time she realized the extent of her losses, she had already lost the initiative.
Ge Pu was filled with regret. In the faint light of dawn, the biting wind against her face felt even colder, casting doubt on whether her past ambitions had been right or wrong. After all, she was no seasoned veteran like Wang You, lacking experience in commanding tens of thousands of troops. Now, on her first battlefield, achieving greatness was secondary – as long as her performance wasn’t too poor, it would already be considered acceptable.
Dian Wue and the others should not have placed overly high expectations on Ge Pu and her cohort. On one hand, they were concerned that sending their own personnel to take charge of the troops in Lujia City would provoke discontent among the local powerful families. On the other hand, they genuinely lacked outstanding combat talent. Under normal circumstances, they would have gradually promoted capable individuals through successive battles, but as the major conflict had yet to truly begin, Dian Wue was left to devise strategies on his own.
Although he harbored resentment toward the Emperor due to the Great Master Xuanyang incident, he was also wary of Wen Yanran’s capabilities. Upon learning that the Emperor had boldly appointed newcomers as generals during the pacification of the Western Tribes – and with notable success – he couldn’t help but fall under the illusion that “we could try the same approach.”
However, although Wen Yanran had formulated the broad strategy for attacking the Western Tribes, she did not personally command the front lines. She understood herself well, and her statement to the ministers – “I am unfamiliar with military affairs and only speak of strategies on paper” – was not feigned humility. Thus, the one responsible for implementing the orders during the campaign against the Western Tribes was Tao Jia, who had extensive experience in military operations. As for true young talents like Zhong Zhiwei, Tao Jing, and Song Nanlou, they either had years of experience serving in the imperial guard and had also trained troops for the Emperor in Jingyuan for a period, or they had received rigorous instruction from their families from a young age, benefiting from a deep heritage of military learning. Moreover, these young talents did not begin independently commanding armies until the middle to later stages of the campaign.
Ge Pu steeled herself, gathered the remaining troops at her disposal, and realized she had only six thousand elite soldiers left for combat. Seated on her horse, she fell silent for a moment, then, without looking back, directly led her cavalry forward in a swift advance, capturing a small town near Jianzhou called Jinyang with a thunderous assault.
Just as Ge Pu lacked sufficient combat experience, the magistrate of the small town of Jinyang had even less. When he discovered the city was under attack, not a hint of resistance crossed his mind. Instinctively, he gathered his belongings and prepared to flee, only to be easily captured by Ge Pu’s well-prepared subordinates.
Ge Pu looked coldly at the county magistrate, thinking that compared to this man, the death of the Gong clan leader was not all that disgraceful.
Ge Yu expressed admiration. “Sister, how did you know we could capture Jinyang so easily?”
Ge Pu replied, “Back when Jianzhou was fighting the Western Tribes, many officials in Dan Province abandoned their posts and fled. If Dan Province has already decayed to this extent, would the surrounding regions of Great Zhou be any different?”
She had long known that among the higher officials were many incompetents – without that, the eastern regions would not have dared to revolt so easily.
However, although Jinyang had been captured, what frustrated them was that the small town had little in the way of grain reserves, preventing them from staying for long.
Ge Pu ordered the county magistrate to draft a document stating that bandits were active around Jinyang and that local militia had been organized for resistance. She then used the official document to send someone to report the situation, hoping to deceive Jianping’s forces.
The squad dispatched to deliver the report consisted of cavalry. They set out under cover of darkness, and after a day and a night, they happened to run straight into Tao Jia’s vanguard.
When they were still several miles away from the enemy, they could already feel the earth trembling.
The troops dispatched from the central camp of Jianping resembled a dark torrent, flowing eastward. The banners fluttered overhead, stretching as far as the eye could see. As the cavalry squad watched from the hillside, a sense of awe struck their hearts.
Perhaps they, too, could muster tens of thousands of soldiers, but the imposing might of a battle-hardened army was something they could never hope to match.
Even before their masters moved, the mounts began neighing nervously, retreating in small steps. Fear spread through the air. After a moment of hesitation, the cavalrymen turned and fled in panic.
In this era, the overall level of talent was disappointingly low. Not only were the officials of the Great Zhou court mediocre, but the quality of the rebel forces’ members was equally lamentable.
Their panic-stricken flight drew the attention of the army’s scouts, who captured them on the spot and discovered the documents on their persons.
It was an hour later when Tao Jia received the report from his vanguard. Having been warned by the Emperor, he had long suspected something was amiss in the east and that an ambush might be in store, but he never expected his opponents to expose themselves so directly, skipping the intricate scheming phase entirely.
With matters at this point, there was no need for theatrical performances. Tao Jia ordered Tao Jing to lead the cavalry straight to the gates of Jinyang. Upon arrival, instead of launching an immediate assault, Tao Jing fully utilized the mobility of his cavalry – advancing and retreating, shifting left and right, feigning attacks and then withdrawing – constantly harassing the rebel forces inside the city. Ge Pu and her forces had only just captured Jinyang, leaving the city’s morale unstable. With the arrival of Jianping’s troops outside, anxiety grew even more intense, eventually escalating into outright internal strife.
Ge Pu finally realized that, given her current capabilities, she was not fit to command an army independently. Now, even if she wished to flee, she was trapped within the city with no easy way out. Moreover, her troops were exhausted and demoralized, utterly unable to fight.
From a distance, Tao Jing saw the gates of Jinyang being opened from within. The leaders of the local rebels, the Ge clan and others, emerged to surrender. He immediately dispatched his men to capture them on the spot.
Bound and brought before the enemy, Ge Pu felt utterly disheartened. It seemed all she had learned before was nothing but empty theory on paper. She had looked down on the officials sent to Lujia City, only to find that she herself was not much better.
Tao Jing said, “Actually, if you were determined to flee, it wouldn’t have been difficult. All you needed was to drive the elderly and weak out of the city first, then hide among them. Even if you couldn’t save your soldiers, you could at least have escaped with your life.”
Ge Pu replied bitterly, “Even bandits have their own code of honor. How could I do something so harmful to the common people?”
Among the rebel leaders brought to the tent, most trembled in fear, unable even to speak. In contrast, Ge Pu, who could still converse with Tao Jing, stood out as exceptionally courageous.
Tao Jing looked at her and said, “By raising troops and inciting rebellion, do you not consider that harming the people?”
Ge Pu replied with pride, “If the local officials had governed with clarity and integrity, why would we have resorted to rebellion?”
Tao Jing slowly shook his head. “Your family was also a powerful clan in the region. Did you not conceal population, shift tax burdens onto the commoners, and drive them to desperation? The situation in Lujia City is half the responsibility of the local officials and half the responsibility of wealthy households like yours.”
Ge Pu reflected on the past, a profound sense of desolation growing within her. Finally, she let out a long sigh. “That you, General, can acknowledge half the blame lies with the local officials – I can die without regret.” Then, she bowed forward. “As a defeated general, the only thing of use I have left is my head. I implore you, General, to use it to intimidate the rebels and prevent further casualties.”
Tao Jing nodded. “In that case, I shall spare your family, including the elderly and the weak.” With a wave of his hand, his guards immediately stepped forward and led her away. Moments later, the heads of Ge and the other rebel leaders were presented, circulated among the troops for the surrendered soldiers to see, and then hung outside the gates of Jinyang and Lujia City.
Within just a few days, Jinyang was swiftly captured and just as swiftly pacified. Tao Jing dispatched people to reassure the city’s residents. After his father arrived, he followed the main force to Lujia City, reuniting with Shi Zhuhe and the others, and brought with him the Emperor’s commendations for them.
With Shi Zhuhe and his forces now having secured the eastern gateway, Dian Wue and his allies would find it significantly more difficult, even if they wished to advance westward.
The Gan clan, who had survived in the manor outside the city thanks to Shi Zhuhe’s divide-and-conquer tactics, suddenly realized something. They had believed that by pursuing the Ge clan, they could seize the initiative. Yet, when looking at the entire board, the initiative had never truly been in their hands.
Only a few in this world have the right to play this game, using invisible hands to manipulate the rise and fall of worldly affairs. The Emperor within the Taiqi Palace was naturally one of them, holding pieces to contend with the tide of the times. As for figures like Dian Wue and others… they were perhaps nothing more than a surging torrent.
This torrent might wash away the entire board, or it might be effortlessly suppressed by the hand of the player without them even realizing it.
Thinking of this, Gan Qu couldn’t help but gaze westward. The sky was layered with scale-like clouds, and within the highest veil of white mist, palace halls seemed to stand tall and imposing, evoking both awe and fear.
Upon arriving in Lujia City, Tao Jia and his forces immediately deployed troops to strengthen the city’s defenses while thoroughly investigating the situation in the surrounding towns. It was only at this point that Dian Wue and his allies, finally reacting, released the long-suppressed news:
The Marquis of Quanling, Wen Jinming, had rebelled.
Declaring himself the “True Master Pingtai,” Dian Wue proclaimed that the false ruler Wen Yanran had illegitimately seized the throne. The true rightful sovereign of Great Zhou, he asserted, was the former fourth princess, the Marquis of Quanling. The True Master Pingtai honored her as the Sovereign and, with the four eastern provinces as his base, led an army to march against Jianping.
