Ma Jiyou came from a family of military generals, but his military talent far surpassed that of his father and grandfather. In his early years, he led troops to annex five small countries between Hong, Su, and Lan. In the protracted struggle between Hong and Chen, he reversed Hong's losing streak and became invincible. If it weren't for the constraints imposed by Lan, Ma Jiyou would probably have taken advantage of his victory and destroyed Chen ten years ago.
After decisively defeating the Chen army ten years prior, Qian Sheye promoted Ma Jiyou to Grand General, granting him half of the nation's military power and bestowing upon him an iron certificate of immunity from death, granting him the privilege of obeying imperial summons but not orders. Therefore, while Qian Sheye's orders to other ministers were considered imperial edicts, those given to Ma Jiyou were exclusively "imperial decrees."
What are your orders, Your Majesty?
After exchanging greetings, Ma Jiyou invited the eunuch who had delivered the imperial decree to sit down and inquired about the matter.
"His Majesty was overjoyed to hear that the General had conquered fifteen cities of Chen. Therefore, he ordered me to convey his imperial decree, urging the General to continue his efforts and destroy Chen."
Ma Jiyou laughed heartily: "I'm afraid it won't be easy, my lord. The State of Chen today is different from the State of Chen ten years ago. Ten years ago, the State of Chen was rich and the army was strong, but the generals were weak. Now, the State of Chen is poor but the army is strong and the generals are powerful. Liu Guang is a famous general. He is not easy to deal with. He is not easy to deal with."
The eunuch nodded repeatedly and said, "Taking fifteen cities from Chen is enough. His Majesty's edict also said that everything is up to the General to do as he sees fit. The General is the backbone of the country, so you must be extra careful."
Ma Jiyou then asked, "How is everything in the capital?"
"Thanks to the General, everything in the capital is as usual." The eunuch understood the implication of Ma Jiyou's question. "His Majesty's attendants are all praising the General's military achievements."
After seeing off the eunuch, Ma Jiyou climbed the city wall again. This Wutai City was a vital passage to the Yuhu region. If the Chen army wanted to recover the Yuhu region, it had to pass through this city. If Ma Jiyou wanted to expand his gains, he also had to send troops out of this city.
"Liu Guang should be here by now." Thinking of the Liu Guang he was about to face, Ma Jiyou's heart skipped a beat. As generals of the same generation, both Liu Guang and Lu Xiang were his targets for defeat. Lu Xiang was dead; if he could defeat Liu Guang on the battlefield, then the title of the greatest general of our time would undoubtedly belong to him.
With a slight smile, Ma Jiyou suppressed his ambition. If the outcome of the battle were merely a matter of his own reputation, he would have gone all out to defeat Liu Guang and claim the title of the number one general. But now, the outcome concerned the fate of both nations, and he could not act rashly.
"The destruction of Chen can be achieved either by gradually nibbling away or by swallowing it whole. The outcome of the battle is not decided in a day or two," he thought to himself. "I only need to hold onto Wutai City. Liu Guang, surrounded by powerful enemies on all sides, will not be able to hold out against me here indefinitely. Once he goes to deal with Li Jun in the east or Ling Qi in the south, I can seize the opportunity to enter. Apart from Liu Guang, what are the other generals of Chen worth?"
"General, why not take advantage of Liu Guang's predicament in Yuzhou while he is tied down by Li Jun to seize more cities? With the might of our army, we could even capture Luoying before Liu Guang returns!" a general asked in a low voice.
Ma Jiyou patted him on the shoulder with a smile and said, "Liu Guang is no ordinary man. He has an army of 800,000. He took 200,000 with him to conquer Yuzhou, 200,000 are stationed on the southern border, and another 400,000 are stationed in the country. My Great Hong Kingdom and the Chen Kingdom are sworn enemies. Why would he leave a large number of troops on the border between the two countries in case of unforeseen circumstances? Is there no treachery involved?"
"The General's intention..." Chief Clerk Deng Zhen said, "Could it be that our surprise attack was actually anticipated by Liu Guang?"
“Exactly, he left me with the fat meat of Luoying, hoping I would take a bite out of it. At this time, his troops stationed in various places blocked my way back, and he returned from Yuzhou to surround and kill me in one fell swoop.” Ma Jiyou said, “Unfortunately, Li Jun is more powerful than he expected. I’m afraid he didn’t gain any advantage in Yuzhou.”
Deng Zhen lowered his head slightly. Although Ma Jiyou came from a family of military generals, he was always humble and unpretentious, especially towards his close friends. Therefore, his soldiers were willing to fight to the death for him.
Ma Jiyou paid no attention to Deng Zhen's inner thoughts. He strolled slowly along the city wall, occasionally patting the shoulders of the soldiers around him and straightening their armor. Although it was a small thing, every soldier who was swept by his gentle gaze felt their spirits lifted.
Looking at his men, whose morale was high, Ma Jiyou couldn't help but smile with his hands behind his back. With such an impregnable pass and such a united will, no matter how powerful Liu Guang was, he would have to stop at the foot of Wutai City.
Just then, a rider on horseback came flying from the southeast corner. The soldiers at the gate blocked his way with their spears. Before he could ask any questions, the rider pulled out a token and asked, "Where is the General?"
"They're on the city wall." Ma Jiyou raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing the soldier's reply; it must be a scout he had sent.
"Reporting to the General, Liu Guang has ordered Xue Wenju to lead 50,000 troops and is already marching towards Wutai!"
"Xue Wenju?" After sending the scouts to rest, Ma Jiyou pondered for a moment. Deng Zhen said from the side, "Xue Wenju is a general of the Chen Kingdom. He is good at defense but not offense. Liu Guang sent him to attack the city, using his weakness instead of his strength. Could there be a trick involved?"
Ma Jiyou didn't answer immediately. He paced back and forth a couple of times, and everyone fell silent when they saw him deep in thought. After a while, Ma Jiyou said, "Liu Guang didn't come himself. Does he look down on me, Ma Jiyou?"
"In my humble opinion, Liu Guang doesn't look down on the General, but rather wants to use Xue Wenju to lure the General out," Deng Zhen said. "Once we leave Wutai City, our army will lose its geographical advantage, and we'll likely be taken advantage of by Liu Guang."
"The chief clerk is absolutely right." Ma Jiyou's eyes gleamed, and he drew his sword, patting the city wall. "I suspect Liu Guang is using Xue Wenju as his cover while he himself is in the shadows. Hmph, what does my personal honor or disgrace matter when it comes to repaying the King's kindness? All generals, listen up! No matter how the enemy provokes us, our army must remain steadfast and defend Wutai. No one is allowed to leave the city. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"
※※※
Liu Guang returned to Luoying City and hurriedly went to see the young emperor. Although he now held immense power and had been appointed Grand Marshal of the Army, Grand Tutor, and Duke of Zheng, he still had to maintain appearances.
Upon leaving the palace, they were greeted by ministers who were deeply concerned about the current situation. The campaigns against Yuzhou and Suguo had ended in defeat, while the Hongguo army had seized the fertile and prosperous Yuhu region. This made the ministers uneasy, and they were eager to get definite news from Liu Guang, who held the reins of the nation's military and political power.
"You all worked hard while I was away." Liu Guang's demeanor showed no sign of tension. He did not show any arrogance in front of the ministers. On the contrary, he was very respectful. Therefore, although he was a powerful minister from outside the capital, the ministers could not criticize his conduct.
"I dare not, I dare not. It is truly our incompetence that we have failed to share the burden for the king. If it weren't for the Grand Tutor's timely return, we would have been helpless." Left Prime Minister Wei Da, whose official rank was half a grade higher than Liu Guang's, spoke to Liu Guang with the same respectful tone as if he were facing his superior.
Liu Guang bowed to him and smiled, saying, "Prime Minister, you are a man of great learning and bear the heavy responsibility of governing the country. I am more than enough to deal with the Hong Kingdom bandits. Why bother the Prime Minister?"
After exchanging greetings with the other officials, Liu Guang suddenly felt a sudden, inexplicable tremor in his heart and involuntarily gasped. He was familiar with this feeling; he would experience it whenever he faced a perilous situation on the battlefield.
“Killing intent…” he thought to himself, looking around. All he could see were high-ranking officials of the Chen Kingdom and palace guards. He recognized the officials, but there were many guards, and although they were all elites he had ordered to be selected, he couldn’t recognize them all at once.
"Gongsun." He turned his head and gave Gongsun Ming beside him a wink. Gongsun Ming followed his gaze and saw that he was pointing at the guards, so he gently shook his head to indicate that there was no problem.
The feeling of unease vanished in an instant, and Liu Guang thought to himself that he had been overly cautious and had simply misunderstood, and couldn't help but laugh at himself. But when his gaze fell on the remaining few Chen officials, his heart skipped a beat again.
In recent years, he had been in charge of the government in Chen, promoting many talented mid- to low-ranking officials. Qin Qianli, a fourth-rank Hanlin scholar who had suggested he come to Chen, was now the Minister of Personnel; Guan Peng, a fourth-rank Vice Minister, had become a second-rank Vice Minister of the Secretariat; even Ximen Rang, who had strongly advised against his coming to Chen, had risen from an ordinary censor to the powerful Censor-in-Chief, wielding considerable power over remonstrance. These people were all quite talented and dedicated to their duties, sharing much of his burden, but they maintained a distance from him in private, generally keeping their distance with respect. Why, then, were they waiting for him outside the palace gates this time? Could there be something amiss?
"Grand Marshal," said Imperial Censor Ximen Rang, "the nation is in dire straits, and the people are filled with anxiety. Why does the Grand Marshal not personally lead the campaign against Ma Jiyou, but instead send Xue Wenju, who is skilled in defense but not in offense, to attack the city?"
Liu Guang's heart skipped a beat. Ximen Rang's words were blunt and he was obviously not as respectful as Wei Da and others. Moreover, he was the one who most opposed his entry into Chen State. Could that murderous aura be on this man?
He was suspicious, but still smiled and walked toward Ximen Rang, saying, "Doctor Ximen, do you think my State of Chen is facing some national crisis?"
"Outside, Li Jun of Yuzhou is rampant in the east, Ma Jiyou of Hongguo runs rampant in the north, and Ling Qi of Huaiguo is eyeing us covetously in the south. Inside, the remnants of the Lianfa rebels are showing signs of resurgence, rumors are spreading among the people and the people are restless, and years of war have emptied the national treasury. Beset by internal and external troubles, the country is on the verge of collapse. Does the Grand Marshal really need me to remind him?"
Liu Guang said, "According to the doctor's advice, what should I do?"
"To repel external aggression, we must first pacify internal strife." Ximen Rang paused slightly, seemingly considering how to express his plans. Just then, Liu Guang suddenly felt that throbbing in his heart again, but seeing that Ximen Rang's expression was normal, and thinking about Ximen Rang's words, he felt that there was nothing suspicious about them.
As he pondered, he didn't notice Qin Qianli slowly approaching from the side. Qin Qianli stared at the two of them. His feud with Ximen Rang was common knowledge throughout the court, so others assumed he had come to vie for power with Ximen Rang and therefore found it unsurprising. Qin Qianli stared at Liu Guang, who was now only two steps away. Suddenly, he took a large step forward, flipped his right hand, and struck at Liu Guang.
"Assassin!" Gongsun Ming shouted, trying to push Liu Guang away, but within three steps, things were too unpredictable and difficult to react to. He saw a sharp blade in Qin Qianli's hand about to fall on Liu Guang!
Liu Guang was, after all, a martial artist. Although he was old, his reactions were still much faster than those of the scholar Gongsun Ming. Before Qin Qianli's blade could pierce him, Liu Guang dodged to the side, the short knife slicing past his arm. Qin Qianli tried to pull back his knife to stab again, but it seemed that the back of the blade had already been firmly gripped by Han Chong.
The change happened in an instant; those around only heard Gongsun Ming shout, and before they could react, it was over. Qin Qianli tried twice, but couldn't wrest the knife back from Han Chong, and had to abandon it. He didn't flee, but stood there and sighed to the heavens: "So be it, so be it! It's not that I'm not loyal, but that I was powerless. Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I deserve to die for offering the plan to let the thief in; I only hate that this three-hundred-year-old empire has fallen into the hands of this dog of a traitor!"
Liu Guang's expression remained unchanged, but he understood everything in his heart. Qin Qianli was loyal to the Pei family dynasty of Chen and had always regretted that he had taken control of the Chen government. Now that Chen was beset by internal and external troubles, he thought that by getting rid of him, the Pei family could regain power, so he sought out this sharp blade to assassinate him.
“This sword is quite good. It must be the ‘Sleeve Rainbow’ forged by the ancient Yue people. It is said that if you keep this sword in your sleeve, it will be as long as a rainbow piercing the sun and indestructible when you draw it,” Liu Guang said slowly. “You even found this ancient sword used by assassins in order to assassinate me. I suppose you didn’t just decide to do this on a whim.”