Chapter 1139 – Defeating Xu Pei, First Kill of the Lords (Part 9)
“Please, Lord, take a look.”
After teasing Wei Ci, it was time to get down to business.
Back in ancient times, engaging in warfare meant having a justified reason—essentially, you couldn’t just start a war without cause.
Once you had your reason, the official announcement had to be made to the world in a very formal manner.
Jiang Pengji handed the writing of the proclamation to Qi Guanrang and decided to be a hands-off leader.
She was okay with speaking in plain language, but writing in classical prose was really a tall order.
In ancient times, scholars didn’t use dirty language to insult others; they had to do it elegantly, yet with a punch.
Qi Guanrang didn’t disappoint her; the proclamation read like a burst of a small universe, extremely sharp and venomous. Over a thousand words, every single one hit hard, every line pierced the heart, and every piece of dark material was substantiated—no arguments could be made against it. The ferocity was such that it could dig up the graves of someone’s ancestors, making readers feel like they’d burst a blood vessel. Jiang Pengji loved this kind of writing.
Jiang Pengji was very satisfied as the audience watched the stream while munching on snacks, enjoying the translation from the big boss in the live chat.
After reading it, the audience remarked that the proclamation seemed rather ordinary.
【Yida Gum】：Although I really like Rang, this proclamation is honestly quite plain; it certainly doesn’t make me angry.
【Star Rainbow Candy】：Agreed, I doubt Rang’s fan club will unleash a shellacking, right?
【Snoopy】：The literary quality of the proclamation is commendable, but the content—personally, I don’t think it would provoke Xu Pei. Broadcaster, you need a master like Chen Lin. I hear after reading Chen Lin’s proclamation, Old Cao broke into a cold sweat, and his headache just went poof!
The audience felt no waves of emotion in their hearts.
In their eyes, even a ten-year-old could win a spat of this magnitude.
【Old Driver Alliance】：Consider the historical background; do you think Qi Guanrang’s insults just start with the quality tenfold, greeting each other’s parents and ancestors? Like NMB, CNMB, WCNMB? A proclamation at this level is already pretty harsh.
Living in an age of information explosion, the audience was on a virtual platform where people could freely vent their innermost darkness, casually cursing others’ female relatives. While ancient folks had their share of foul-mouthed people, for cultured individuals like Qi Guanrang who grew up reading poetry, asking them to say something like NMB would be as hard as our broadcaster conquering the Nine Provinces.
“If this proclamation gets released, there’s no doubt Xu Pei will hold a grudge.”
Jiang Pengji teased, and Qi Guanrang remained unshaken.
Grudge or not, as long as their lord didn’t lose, he wouldn’t have to fear how many people would resent him.
“Alright, let’s use this proclamation and send it out,” Jiang Pengji stated, “I can already imagine Xu Pei’s face turning green, holding back blood.”
Qi Guanrang bowed, “Yes.”
Once the proclamation was made public, Xu Pei soon received the news.
Xu Pei’s reaction was even more intense than Jiang Pengji had imagined, his chest heaving dramatically, as if he was about to hold his breath.
“Lan Ting—did Liu Xi really say that?”
Xu Pei pointed north, looking utterly aggrieved, his face was not just pale; he could hardly breathe.
“The proclamation has been sent out; it won’t be long before the lords across the land catch wind of it.”
Han Yu brutally stated the facts.
Xu Pei choked up, itching to slam the table in frustration, but years of upbringing held him back.
Who can’t send out a proclamation? If Liu Xi dared to pull something, he shouldn’t be surprised if Xu Pei countered.
In verbal duels, his talent pool under him had never lost.
Though Xu Pei favored relying on distinguished families while looking down on commoners, he wasn’t foolish; he ensured the families he relied on were genuinely capable.
For instance, among his civil officials, each one was a well-known talented individual on yearly evaluation lists.
Saying the overall literary quality, Jiang Pengji genuinely couldn’t match them in a head-to-head.
With the proclamation already sent, they were bound to retaliate, and there was no backing down this time.
Xu Pei asserted, “Liu Xi’s vanguard of over ten thousand is still stationed outside Shanweng City, right?”
Han Yu replied, “Still there.”
“Find a reason to take it out; how could I allow the enemy to linger beside my bed! Liu Xi’s elite could equal an ordinary thirty thousand troops; if we allow them to train outside Shanweng City, the world will laugh at us! It’s better to eliminate them and give Liu Xi a warning.”
Xu Pei grumbled furiously, decisively making decisions with no hint of his usual hesitation.
Han Yu responded, “Yes.”
Letting the enemies’ elite remain on their territory was risky, and finding trouble shouldn’t come at this price.
Qin Gong held a grudge against Xu Pei for usurping his lord, and that guy would surely look for an opportunity to take revenge for Xu Fei.
If they wiped out this vanguard, it would dampen Jiang Pengji’s morale and boost their own, plus give her a little warning.
If Qin Gong was their only challenge, this plan had a high chance of succeeding; that elite force could easily be swallowed up.
However, alongside Qin Gong, there was also Yang Si assisting him.
Yang Si was no simpleton; after two years of dealings with Xu Pei, would he still not understand Xu Pei’s nature?
Upon reading the proclamation, he suddenly slapped his thigh.
Cursing, he said, “What a marvelous scholarly piece by Qi Guanrang! You insulted him so delightfully, but poor Suo is going to suffer for it!”
Qin Gong was taken aback, confused as ever.
Cheng Yuan asked, “What does the military adviser mean?”
Yang Si replied, “Xu Pei is the most petty. With Qi Guanrang insulting him in this manner, he can’t lash out at the lord, so he must turn his wrath on us! If all goes according to plan, tonight after dark, there will be movement outside Shanweng City—this place isn’t safe!”
Based on his understanding of Xu Pei, that petty character who could dawdle like a little lady, was fiercely determined when agitated.
Time to hightail it out of here!
If it was a small scale battle, then ten thousand elites would be more than sufficient.
However, when he quickly reinforced Xu Fei earlier, they didn’t bring much outside of food and essentials; no siege equipment.
Without siege tools, they wouldn’t be able to inflict much damage on Shanweng City and would rather be the ones losing.
A real man can bend and stretch; fight if they can, retreat strategically if they can’t.
With a quick turn of thought, Yang Si decided on retreat.
“The main forces are close to Hu Jun now; retreating now will coincide perfectly with joining them.”
Qin Gong was speechless.
At this moment, Yang Si was particularly thankful that his lord valued the transmission of intelligence.
Had they delayed the transmission of this proclamation for another couple of days, they probably wouldn’t even know how Xu Pei would’ve set them up to fail.
“If we retreat now, we’ll certainly alert Shanweng City and provoke pursuit—” Qin Gong frowned, suggesting, “How about waiting until dark, keeping the tents and campfires intact, and then leading the soldiers to retreat slowly? By the time they notice, we’ll already be far away.”
As Yang Si expected, Xu Pei gathered troops that same day, preparing for a night raid.
However—
He came up empty-handed!
When the army arrived, not just a single figure was left, not even a ghost shadow.
“Yang Jingrong!” Xu Pei immediately thought of Yang Si, suddenly experiencing a toothache, “Is he applying oil on his feet as he makes his escape?”
What a swift escape! Had the spirit of a scholar been devoured?
