Chapter 1093 – A Sudden Reversal (1)
Dian Yin was at a loss for words.
After years of being commanded by Yang Si, he had deeply understood one fact—
Just because these strategists learned the essence of a hundred schools and preached things like, “Sincerity is the essence of all things; without sincerity, nothing exists. Therefore, it is precious for a gentleman to be sincere,” does not mean they practiced what they preached. Each one of them was more of a drama queen than the last, flipping on their allies faster than turning the pages of a book.
What is integrity?
What is a covenant?
When it’s useful, it’s as solid as a rock. But once it loses its value, it’s not even good enough to wipe with.
Dian Yin thought of Yang Si and Han Yu—these two claimed to be confidants. Yet, how quickly they turned on each other!
As expected, the camaraderie of scholars was something this martial man couldn’t fathom.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t our lord be in danger?”
Dian Yin felt anxious, his face betraying genuine concern.
With the tension between their lord and Huang Song, and with Xu Pei stirring trouble, wouldn’t their lord be stuck in a situation where he’s attacked from all sides?
Yang Si, furrowing his brows, downed the remaining medicinal brew, finding solace only in the sweet candied fruits that could ease his wounded palate.
“In danger?” he chuckled as if hearing the greatest joke. Yang Si had known Jiang Pengji for years and had only seen her make others suffer; he had never seen anyone make her take a hit—Meng Zhan had been the first to try, and the outcome was common knowledge—Yang Si didn’t believe his lord would fall here. “Dian Deputy Colonel is mistaken. Our lord doesn’t eat losses.”
Yang Si was brimming with confidence.
Before Meng Zhan’s demise, he had crafted a deadlock, clearly aiming to support Huang Song and Jiang Pengji in a competition, hoping to drain her strength and make her suffer a quiet defeat. Who knew that Jiang Pengji reacted immediately, ordering Yang Si to bring troops to Chenzhou, taking a bold gamble!
If Yang Si had been inept or had other intentions, they could have lost not only Chenzhou and Cangzhou but possibly even Hujun. It was a full-blown gamble: win, and break through; lose, and they might lose their lives and fortunes too—
Despite such enormous risk, Jiang Pengji had high hopes for Yang Si, without a trace of doubt or suspicion.
This level of trust and reliance even left Yang Si astounded.
A gentleman should respond to a gentleman’s treatment.
Even though it was tough, Yang Si ultimately did not disappoint the mission; racing against time, he took control of the entirety of Chenzhou, not betraying that trust.
However, no matter how talented Yang Si was, he couldn’t entirely stop the spread of news, at best, he could delay it for a while.
Though brief, that was enough.
On the third night—
Huang Song was discussing matters with a few trusted strategists when faint rumbles and disturbances echoed from outside, only to soon quiet down.
He frowned and asked, “What’s happening outside?”
The content of their discussion was confidential. If heard by others, it could cause significant losses.
Soon after, a disheveled and ragged beggar was dragged in.
This person looked extremely filthy, with grime and dried black blood stuck to his face, but his eyes still held a glimmer of spirit.
“Reporting to my lord, I found a secret letter on this person,” said the guard, Huang Song’s vice general, stepping forward and holding up a miniature scroll that was not broader than a hand, “He claims to be a vice messenger under Yuan An, the commander of Chenzhou. I noticed him acting suspiciously, so I ordered his capture.”
Once the suspicious person was apprehended, he had kept shouting that he was the vice messenger under Yuan An and insisted he had important matters to discuss directly with Huang Song.
“Yuan An? This man serves under Yuan An, does he?”
Huang Song’s heart sank, and he quickly snatched the miniature scroll, his fingers deftly untying it, palm sweaty from tension and worry.
Receiving a letter from Chenzhou at this moment, with the messenger being a messy and limping vice messenger, left him feeling uneasy.
When Huang Song ordered a lamp to be brought, using candlelight to scrutinize the small, cramped writing on the bamboo slip, the limping vice messenger was pleading with red eyes.
“I bow to my lord—” the once robust vice messenger, now thin from evading Yang Si’s search, had to disguise his identity, living daily on the edge, and now looked ragged, his clothes hanging loosely as he cried, “Yuan An commanded me to risk my life to deliver this secret letter to prevent my lord from being trapped by Liu Xi—Liu Xi is plotting a surprise attack on Chenzhou and has captured Commander Yuan An!”
Cheng Jing and others quickly approached to inquire in detail.
Feng Jue’s expression was exceedingly grim, as if covered in a layer of black paint, “Who exactly is leading the surprise attack on Chenzhou? What’s the current status of the stationed commander? Speak clearly about what you know! Not a single detail should be hidden!”
In that instant, countless thoughts surged through Feng Jue’s mind.
Jiang Pengji’s main forces were still at the border of Qianyan County, and she only had five thousand elite troops stationed outside Mengjun City—how could she have the capacity to ambush Chenzhou?
Moreover, Chenzhou was next to Cangzhou, separated by only a pine river; if Chenzhou faced a great disaster, why did the news only arrive now?
Before the limping vice messenger could respond, Huang Song, who had already read the secret letter, spoke with a face as dark as iron.
“No need to ask. Hui Jiong will understand as soon as he sees this.”
He handed the letter filled with over a hundred small characters to Feng Jue, who read it and then passed it to Cheng Jing and the others for review.
Huang Song let out a bitter laugh, “We’ve been outsmarted by Lan Ting—”
On the surface, Jiang Pengji wanting to steal Chenzhou without anyone knowing, while planning in Huang Song’s territory was indeed impossible. He never expected that she had left a trump card in Hujun, completely evading Huang Song and the others’ awareness.
Feng Jue’s brows furrowed, almost able to squeeze a fly to death.
“I can’t believe it—this person is actually Yang Jingrong!”
With the victory in the Northern Border War, the talents under Jiang Pengji’s command had gained fame throughout the land.
The most outstanding strategist was undoubtedly Sun Wen, whose origins were unclear; he had previously been silent, but after the Northern Border War, all powers knew of him. Among the military generals, Fu Wang was undoubtedly the top, and no one could contradict that.
In contrast, Yang Si and Dian Yin were mere “invisible men.”
Yang Si had humble beginnings and had once served under Changshou Wang but had not achieved much merit, and then directly switched jobs.
Dian Yin had a background as a bandit; though he had great strength and combat power, he was illiterate and unlikely to lead an army.
These two had been “deployed” to Hujun by Jiang Pengji for many years, leading to a diminished presence, which now became even more negligible.
Except for Xu Pei’s faction knowing a bit about these two, outsiders completely ignored them.
Who could have imagined, silence could lead to such shock!
“Yang Jingrong? It’s him, Yang Si!”
Huang Song dug through his memories, his expression growing increasingly grim.
The relationship between Yang Si and Huang Song could only be described as a “doomed fate.”
Back in the day, when the Dongqing royal family had just relocated their capital to Chenzhou, Yang Si had still been serving under Changshou Wang.
Huang Song, with Feng Jue’s assistance, had repeatedly achieved military success and had given Changshou Wang plenty of troubles.
Yang Si had advised the Wang using a sowing discord strategy, causing Huang Song to be suspected by the emperor, resulting in him being pulled from the front lines to serve as a county magistrate in Haizhou.
