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Baisha County, Gatehouse.

Qi Guangbo, clad in full armour and draped in a blood-red cloak, stood before a map of Qingzhou on a frame, studying it intently.

Behind him stood the commanders of the Yunzhou army’s various divisions. Ji Xuan, wearing armour and a sabre at his waist, sat in the first seat on the left.

The commanders all appeared relaxed. Although they maintained silence, joy was evident in their expressions.

In just three short days, they had captured nine counties along the Qingzhou border and thoroughly destroyed the first line of defence, thus securing solid ground for the army’s rear.

Qi Guangbo’s eyes never left the map as he said coolly, “You all seem to be in fine spirits. Our first campaign is a resounding victory, no harm in feasting and drinking your fill tonight.”

The commanders were taken aback, exchanging silent glances, but no one responded.

Qi Guangbo ordered the deputy general at his side, saying,

“Tell me what’s happening within the town.”

The deputy general got up, glanced around the table at the assembled commanders, and said gravely,

“Before the Qingzhou garrison withdrew, they burned all the grain and fodder in the city’s granaries. At the same time, they gathered up a large quantity of cotton quilts and cloth, and set them alight as well. Furthermore, the wealthy households, merchants, and prosperous families had already evacuated in advance. Now, within Baisha County, there remain only the hungry poor and the refugees.

“The same is true of all the other nine county towns.”

“What?”

The commanders were all shocked.

The deputy general went on,

“Before this, the Qingzhou Provincial Administration had already ordered a scorched earth policy. Villages outside the cities are empty of people, nine out of ten houses deserted, and not a scrap of grain can be found.”

Qi Guangbo, still with his back to everyone, sighed,

“What a man, Yang Gong. They say the benevolent don’t lead armies, but I never thought he’d be even harsher to his own people. Still in the mood for drinking, gentlemen?”

The commanders fell silent.

They had broken through the Qingzhou border defence line and secured a forward base, but whether it was truly secure was now doubtful.

Ji Xuan mused,

“Yang Gong never intended to make a last stand at the nine border counties. By evacuating the rich and leaving behind only the poor and the refugees, he meant to leave this troublesome mess for us.”

Qi Guangbo tapped the Qingzhou map with his finger and nodded,

“Qingzhou spans tens of thousands of li, giving him all the room he needs to manoeuvre. Why make a last stand at the border? At present, the court’s reinforcements have not arrived, by choosing to slow us rather than fight to the death, he has taken the proper course.

“He has repaid us in our own coin, and how skilfully done.”

When storming towns and strongholds, one would wish for the enemy to be in as dire straits as possible: ideally, out of ammunition and food, chaos everywhere.

But once a town had been taken, it fell to the rebels to maintain stability; if unrest broke out, it would only hinder them.

Of course, if one aimed solely to loot, these things could be ignored, at worst, they could simply slaughter everyone.

That, however, was the way of foreign invaders. The Yunzhou rebels sought to win popular support and claim the banner of righteousness, they could ill afford to behave that way.

“He wants to drag us down with the poor and the refugees, hmmph. All the better, since our own militia suffered heavy losses storming the cities, these are prime conscripts,” one of the commanders remarked.

Every strategy had its drawbacks.

Ji Xuan glanced at him, saying,

“By implementing a scorched earth policy and burning the supplies, Yang Gong leaves us not a grain of rice. Our own logistics pressure will increase many-fold. This is like being cut with a blunt sabre, slowly bleeding us dry. Of course, we have little to fear.”

Yang Gong’s intent was clear: to weaken the rebels’ strength within the borders of Qingzhou as much as possible.

Everyone present was clever and experienced, it was not hard to see through the plan.

Qi Guangbo said coolly, “The National Teacher has been preparing for years, our foundation is strong, would mere Qingzhou be enough to exhaust it? In fact, we can use this to proclaim the justice of our righteous army.”

The commanders exchanged smiles.

Qi Guangbo said, “The warrior monks from the Western Regions should be making their entrance as well. I have already sent for instructions from the National Teacher.”

…

Qingzhou Provincial Administration.

In the rear courtyard, a round table was piled high with delicacies. Lina and Xu Lingyin were lying on the table, stuffing themselves.

The master and disciple wore identical expressions, their cheeks bulging like steamed buns.

“We eat fish and cured meat every day, it takes me ages on the loo,” Lina said the coarsest of words despite her delicate features.

There was a shortage of fresh vegetables and fruit on the boat.

“Master, I can still poo,” Xu Lingyin announced loudly, as if to say she was better than her master.

“Should we save some for Brother Erlang?”

Lina said this, but her eating only quickened.

On their journey to Qingzhou by boat, Xu Erlang’s respected teacher Zhang Shen and Li Mubai had come to fetch him, bringing their pupil ahead of time to Qingzhou.

Naturally, Xu Erlang could not leave Lina and Lingyin alone on the boat, so he brought them along.

“Second Bwother—Second Bwother isn’t hungry.”

Xu Lingyin insisted on giving Xu Erlang a new nickname.

“Not hungry? Well, nothing we can do about that…”

Lina replied seriously.

Meeting Hall, Provincial Administration.

Xu Erlang picked up a blue-and-white teacup, sipped the scorching tea, and sat silently, listening.

At the head of the pearwood long table was Yang Gong, the Qingzhou Provincial Administrator in scarlet robes. This prodigy of Cloud Deer Academy, famed as the Ziyang Jushi across the Central Plains, had grown noticeably thinner.

He had not slept for five days and nights. His thin face could not hide his exhaustion, but his eyes remained piercing and his willpower unwavering, as though he still possessed boundless energy.

“…So this is the situation in Qingzhou for now, we failed to hold the border.”

Yang Gong finished his lengthy speech, took up his teacup to moisten his throat, then turned to Zhang Shen:

“Jinyan, what do you think?”

Of the two former classmates who had come from afar to serve as advisers, Zhang Shen specialised in military affairs, just the sort of talent Yang Gong desperately needed.

Zhang Shen nodded and said,

“If it were me, I would not have let those merchants and wealthy families leave. The rebels would surely fight the war by extracting what they could from the occupied lands, the day the city fell would see their families ruined and destroyed.

“If they did not wish to lose everything, they would have helped to defend the city at all costs, which would have greatly worn down the rebels’ strength. Of course, that is based on the court being able to send reinforcements. Your compromise was well executed, Ziqian.”

Even as he said this, he glanced towards his prized student, his expression both testing and proud. He smiled and said,

“Cijiu, why don’t you analyse the situation in Qingzhou for everyone here?”

The magistrate, chief military commander, criminal investigation commissioner, and all their civil and military subordinates turned to look.

Xu Xinnian did not shrink from the occasion. He straightened his back, his gaze slowly sweeping over the assembly:

“This official believes, how long Qingzhou can hold, and how it should be defended, hinges on three points that everyone must first understand.

“One: The situation in Yunzhou!

“Yunzhou’s climate is humid and warm, the land is fertile, and every household has surplus grain. It is backed by a vast ocean and has countless salt fields. Over the past twenty years, the rebel clique has secretly infiltrated the imperial grain transport offices, quietly ferrying vast amounts of iron ore. Salt, iron, and grain are all in abundance.

“In such a wealthy land, attempting to wear the enemy down with refugees and the poor is a drop in the ocean.”

“Then, according to Sir Xu, Administrator Yang’s tactics are misguided?” the Prefect of Qingzhou asked, his brow tightly furrowed.

Xu Xinnian shook his head. “Administrator Yang’s tactics are not wrong, but the emphasis must shift. Do not try to exhaust them, but rather seek to wipe out their elite troops.”

He looked towards the map of Qingzhou and Yunzhou hanging on the wall behind Yang Gong, then said gravely:

“Let us return to Yunzhou for a moment. Does everyone recall Yunzhou’s other name?

“‘Bandit Province!’

“Since Emperor Gaozu, Yunzhou has been occupied by the rebel clique of the previous dynasty, their followers turning into mountain bandits that have wrought havoc on the region. For six hundred years, the problem of banditry in Yunzhou has never been solved.

“Do you still remember, sirs, the population figures at the last update of the household registers in Yunzhou?”

The assembled officials looked at one another, none knowing the answer.

They were Qingzhou officials, how could they know Yunzhou’s concerns?

Yang Gong tapped his finger on the table, discontent clear as he swept his gaze over the officials, then said slowly,

“The last time was in the thirtieth year of Yuanjing. The number of registered commoners in Yunzhou was recorded as 830,000 households, about three and a half million people.”

That was data from eight years ago.

Xu Erlang clasped his hands in salute, his face calm as he continued,

“If memory serves, every time the household registers have been updated, Yunzhou’s population has sharply decreased. That is the price of rampant banditry.”

By now, the officials understood what he meant.

“Their population limits the size of their army, and moreover, for decades now, drill and recruitment have had to be carried out in secret,” Xu Erlang said, lightly rapping his fist on the table with conviction:

“Their greatest weakness is the lack of elite soldiers. At all costs, we must do our utmost to wipe out their elite forces. That is our objective.”

“Well reasoned!” the assembly nodded slowly.

Zhang Shen, Yang Gong, and Li Mubai exchanged a smile.

Xu Xinnian held up two fingers.

“Second: fighting strength!

“Beyond-mortal strength is not a factor to be disregarded in any war. Sometimes, a single beyond-mortal expert can even turn the tide of a conventional campaign.”

The reason he said ‘conventional’ was because some battles were on an immense scale, such as the Battle of Shanhai Pass.

In wars that swept across all the great powers of Jiuzhou, a single beyond-mortal expert was rarely enough to turn the tide, not because they weren’t powerful enough, but because so many such experts would participate, there would be nothing unusual about it.

Of course, if it was a Beyond-rank or a first rank martial artist, that was another matter.

Li Mubai suddenly asked, “Who is the enemy’s commander-in-chief?”

Yang Gong answered, “His surname is Qi, given name Guangbo, a nobody.”

Zhang Shen’s brow rose. “A nobody commanding the three armies?”

Yang Gong explained slowly, “Being unknown does not mean being talentless. On the contrary, he is extremely formidable. He drove the refugees ahead of his troops, then had elite masters mingle among them to lull the defenders, allowing them to approach the city walls with ease. It was exactly like this that Huangling County on the border was taken by surprise, the city fell after only one day.”

Zhang Shen sneered, “The city defenders were too soft-hearted, letting the refugees approach, such negligence deserves death!”

Qingzhou’s Commander Zhou Mei sighed. “They’ve already fallen.”

Li Mubai said, “Which means, for now, we do not know whether this main commander is beyond-mortal.”

Yang Gong grunted in agreement.

“Apart from Agaruka Bodhisattva and Xu Pingfeng, who are responsible for holding up the Jianzheng, the rebels currently show no other beyond-mortal. But it’s highly likely some remain hidden, yet to make an appearance.”

As a fourth-rank Confucianist, a renowned scholar across the Central Plains, Yang Gong showed neither obvious flaws nor defects in talent or character.

Arrogance and underestimation of the enemy would not affect him.

“The court, too, is not short of beyond-mortal experts.” Xu Xinnian said.

At this moment, the first person to flash across the officials’ minds was not Sun Xuanji of the Sitianjian, but Xu Qi’an, whose fame blazed like oil poured on fire.

“The third point is reinforcements!”

Xu Xinnian’s expression became grave. “We refer to reinforcements on both sides. The Buddhist Sect and Yunzhou’s rebel clique are already in collusion, so it is only a matter of time before the Western Regions’ armies invade the border.”

“Once the court is forced into a two-front war, the reinforcements and supplies Qingzhou can receive will decline sharply. Yet for Yunzhou’s rebels, it will be like a tiger growing wings. This, too, relates back to the issue of fighting strength.”

The mood in the council hall grew tense. The officials furrowed their brows, anxiety hidden in their eyes.

The Yunzhou rebels were coming in force, and with refugees flooding the Central Plains, Qingzhou’s defence was already a daunting task.

Now, with an impending invasion from the Western Regions, the court’s attention would be divided. Qingzhou would clearly be neglected, for the might of the Buddhist Sect was well known.

They might even face a situation where Qingzhou was still bitterly holding out, only for the Western Regions’ troops to reach the capital.

“If only we could keep the armies of the Western Regions from daring to invade,” the Prefect of Qingzhou sighed.

Daydreaming… Commander Zhou, a military man, inwardly scoffed. If Duke Wei were still alive, he might have cowed the Buddhist Sect into hesitation, reluctant to start a war.

Who in the Great Feng now could make the Buddhist Sect hesitate?

Not even the Jianzheng frightened the Buddhist Sect, such a colossus ruling the Western Regions lacked nothing in top experts.

But talents like Wei Yuan were exceedingly rare throughout Jiuzhou.

“This is a dead end!”

A master of strategy, Li Mubai slowly shook his head. “It is impossible to contain the Buddhist Sect. Their march east is inevitable.”

Yang Gong slowly exhaled. “Therefore, what we must do is risk our lives to take out as many of the rebels’ elite as possible. The aftermath, we leave to my honourable gentlemen.”

It was truly helpless.

“With Duke Wei’s death, Yunzhou’s rebels dare raise an army, and the Buddhist Sect of the Western Regions, seeing no one to oppose them in the Central Plains, tears up their treaty and turns against us. And we can do nothing…” the Prefect of Qingzhou cried in grief.

Xu Xinnian fell silent. The Buddhist Sect of the Western Regions was powerful, boasting vast armies with Arhats and Bodhisattvas presiding in Ananda. Such a behemoth could not be checked by mere cunning.

Just then, he suddenly noticed two people had appeared in the corner of the council hall. One wore white, with most ordinary looks, bearing, and height. The other, with a thunder-god’s mouth and features so ugly he resembled a monkey, had eyes of dazzling azure, as if they could see through the human heart.

“Senior Brother Sun, why are you here?”

Xu Xinnian was greatly surprised.

He recognised this second disciple of the Jianzheng.

When did he arrive…? Yang Gong and the others were shocked, turning to look.

Protector Yuan glanced over everyone, then remarked,

“Their hearts are telling me: Who is this? Why is he here? Sun Xuanji? Are none of the Jianzheng’s disciples normal?”

After saying this, Protector Yuan was startled, quickly distancing himself, pointing at Xu Xinnian:

“That last phrase was what he thought.”

Xu Xinnian: “!!!”

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