Li Fengqi’s prediction was quickly proven correct.
As expected, Li Zong did not follow Qiao Hairen’s suggestion, but instead sent another envoy to the frontlines to supervise the battle. At the same time, he issued two imperial decrees ordering Jializhou and Luzhou to dispatch troops to provide assistance without delay.
At Zaohe River, Chen Yun met the envoy and received the imperial decrees, leaving him no choice but to grit his teeth and continue to fight.
Though mediocre and lacking talent, Chen Yun wasn’t a fool who failed to recognize the current situation. Over the past few days, the rebel army had established camps across from them on the other side of Zaohe River, while Yin Chengwu led small groups of soldiers over the frozen river surface now and again to provoke them. This strategy didn’t seem like a serious move, but rather meant to toy with their minds.
He vaguely sensed something was off, but the imperial decree from the envoy ordered him to block the rebel army’s advance across Zaohe River and wait for reinforcements. Chen Yun had no choice but to set aside his suspicions that something was wrong, and assembled his troops under the supervision of the envoy to prepare for battle.
This would be the first time the Shence Army took the initiative to attack. Chen Yun ordered his deputy general to lead some men to the bank of the river to challenge the enemy.
On the opposite shore, Yin Chengwu listened to the movement outside his camp without being angered by the deputy general’s curses. He smiled lightly, poured himself a cup of wine, then said gravely, “So that little emperor didn’t take Prince Yong’an’s advice.”
Yin Xiaozi picked up the cup but did not drink. He turned it between his hands. “He’s guilty of his crime; how could he believe Prince Yong’an’s words?” He smiled grimly, then tipped the contents of the cup out of the window. “In accordance to the plan, I will take his head as an offering to your brother!”
At the mention of his younger brother who died for no reason, Yin Chengwu’s expression also darkened. He downed his own cup of wine, placed the empty cup heavily on the table, and said coldly, “My boys will go and fight now!”
–
Amidst fluttering snowflakes, the Shence and Yin Family armies clashed for the first time on such a large scale. The Yin Family forces seemed to be at a disadvantage; they gradually retreated toward their own side of the river. Overcome with joy, the deputy general raised his arms, commanding his troops to pursue this victory.
Upon the frozen surface of the Zaohe River, which had thickened into a sturdy layer, the ice was slippery, and sharp ice ridges protruded here and there. It was difficult for soldiers to maintain balance as soon as they stepped onto it.
The deputy general wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to chase down the enemy, but once he set foot upon the ice, he realized that things were not as straightforward as he’d thought. After years of living in luxury, rarely encountering enemies, the Shence Army’s combat skills had deteriorated significantly. Fighting on ice was already difficult enough, but maintaining one’s footing proved even more challenging. Meanwhile, Yin Chengwu’s forces appeared to have been well-prepared for this battle. With some kind of sawtooth ring fastened around their boots, they swiftly recovered from their initial defeat. They rushed steadily toward them with steady steps and renewed vigor.
“We fell into a trap!” Startled, the deputy general immediately ordered his flag bearer to retreat. But amid their panic, the soldiers could hardly control their movements at al. They stumbled backward, slipping left and right on the icy surface. Seeing this, other soldiers grew increasingly cautious, until retreat slowed to a crawl. In the blink of an eye, the enemy closed in on them.
Yin Chengwu observed the pathetic state of the defeated Shence Army, lips curling into a cold smile. He thrust his spear forward and shouted, “Kill them all! Not a single survivor!”
–
The news of the Shence Army’s defeat traveled swiftly back to the capital, and silence fell upon the court.
After the court session, Li Zong summoned several important officials to the government hall for a discussion. Even Ye Zhili, who was avoiding suspicion, was called as well.
Li Zong sat on the throne, with the Grand Tutor Han Chan seated beneath him. Cui Xi, Chief Attendant; Ye Zhili, Minister of the Central Secretariat; Qiao Hairen, Minister of the Imperial Court; Wèi Shuqing, Minister of Works, and Qi Shao, Minister of War, sat in two rows, all wearing solemn expressions.
“Chen Yun was defeated again,” Li Zong leaned forward, gaze sweeping over the men before slowly asking, “Can my dear minister give me any good advice?”
Qiao Hairen spoke first, “Your Majesty, this subject previously suggested—”
“There is no need for you to repeat yourself, Minister.” Li Zong raised a hand to interrupt, displeased. “The rebel army has reached the Zaohe River and trampled upon our sovereign’s dignity. If we continue to avoid confronting them, how will the world perceive us? How will they see the Beizhao imperial court?! To shy away from battle is the act of cowards!”
“That’s right,” Cui Xi agreed. “Minister, perhaps your age has taken the courage out of you.”
Qiao Hairen’s lips parted slightly, then closed as he finally sank back down with a dejected expression.
No wonder Prince Yong’an had so easily revealed his plan to break through this impasse: it turned out that he had expected this outcome long ago. Qiao Hairen looked around at his colleagues’ various expressions and felt a sense of despair settle in his heart. How many among them truly wanted to put an end to the rebellion, how many were concerned about the soldiers who had died in vain and the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire?
The Minister of Works, Wèi Shuqing, continued. “Until we crush the rebel army, we cannot demonstrate the might of Heaven. But Yin Xiaozi has been leading troops for many years, and his abilities are exceptional; it will not be easy to find another general capable of facing him.”
“If Prince Yong’an hadn’t been poisoned, would we have ended up in this predicament?” Qi Shao swept his gaze between the emperor on the throne above him and Han Chan below, sneering mockingly.
“What is the point of Minister Qi saying these words now?” Han Chan shot him a cold glance. “Thunder and rain are all grace from His Majesty. Prince Yong’an’s actions today only prove that he had long since had ulterior motives, and now he is using this excuse to shirk responsibility.”
Qi Shao frowned. “Don’t slander others without proof, Grand Tutor!”
“That’s enough.” Li Zong slammed his hand on the table, interrupting their debate. His expression was displeased. “I have summoned all these ministers here today to discuss how we might repel our enemies, not to quarrel and argue before me!”
He stared at Qi Shao with a stern gaze. “Since ancient times, when a ruler demands death from his subject, that subject has no choice but to comply. Is there any dissatisfaction among my dear subject officials?”
Qi Shao lowered his lashes. “This subject would never dare.”
“Then let us continue discussing the topic at hand,” Li Zong glanced at him briefly before turning toward Han Chan. “Does the Grand Tutor have any suggestions?”
Han Chan pondered for a moment before saying, “The Shence Army has suffered defeat after defeat, and its morale low. Moreover, Chen Yun is mediocre and inept, so it is unsurprising that he led troops to such disastrous battles. Conversely, the rebel army has achieved victory after victory, and their momentum is soaring. The only viable plan right now is to find a respected and capable general to lead our troops, which may restore the soldiers’ spirits.”
Li Zong had considered this possibility, but there was a dearth of capable military leaders. Aside from Li Fengqi, there was no suitable candidate for the time being.
“There is no such leader available now,” Han Chan said with a soft smile. He looked up at Li Zong. “In my view, there is no need to search elsewhere. Your Majesty would be the most appropriate choice for commander.”
This statement stunned everyone in the room.
Qiao Hairen couldn’t help but speak up. “Your Majesty, as the ruler of the nation, your safety is crucial to its stability. How can you put yourself in danger?”
Qi Shao also disagreed. “Your Majesty has never led troops in battle before. It wouldn’t be wise to take command personally.”
The others remained silent, clearly thinking that this move was too reckless.
Han Chan wasn’t swayed. “Leading an army doesn’t mean fighting on the front lines,” he said calmly. “All that is needed is to oversee operations from the rear and boost morale. What’s wrong with that?” Seeing hesitation on Li Zong’s face, he added fuel to the fire. “When Prince of Yong’an single-handedly killed Xihuang’s greatest general, he was only sixteen years old. Your Majesty has studied military strategy since childhood and received guidance from Pring Yong’an himself. Isn’t that the general that we are looking for?”
Qiao Hairen and Qi Shao still opposed the idea.
Wei Shuqing looked confused.
Cui Xi smiled. “Your Majesty is wise and valiant, both brave and resourceful. Aren’t you exactly the kind of leader these gentlemen have been searching for?”
Ye Zhili, who had remained cautious and silent until now, finally realized something when he heard this. He shot Han Chan a subtle glance, lowered his eyes in thought, and said, “The Grand Tutor is right. There are only 80,000 rebels. Once reinforcements from Luzhou and Jializhou arrive, along with our 50,000-strong Shence Army, we’ll have enough force to crush them. If Your Majesty leads the army personally, it will boost morale and demonstrate Heaven’s might.”
Li Zong listened to their debate from above, but one thought kept echoing in his mind: ‘When Prince of Yong’an single-handedly killed Xihuang’s greatest general, he was only sixteen years old.’ Throughout his life, Li Zong hated being overshadowed—first by Li Wei, then by Li Fengqi.
Not only did he want to lead the army himself, he also wanted to annihilate the rebel forces. He would make everyone see that even without Li Fengqi, he could still sit securely on the throne!
“My dear ministers, there’s no need for further argument.” Li Zong raised his hand and made a calming gesture. “As the Grand Tutor says, what harm can there be if I personally lead this campaign?”
Qiao Hairen and Qi Shao were about to protest again, but Li Zong cut them off. “No more persuasion needed; I have made up my mind.”
With those words, he turned to Ye Zhili. “Everyone else may disperse. You stay behind, my dear minister Ye. Since you’re familiar with the Yin Clan, bring us up to speed on how they’ve been doing over these years. Knowing both ourselves and our enemy ensures victory in a hundred battle.”
Ye Zhili rose and bowed respectfully. “Yes.”
Seeing that the decision was made, Qiao Hairen could only shake his head with a sigh and stand up to leave. Qi Shao glanced at the evil spirits in the hall, shook his head, and caught up to Qiao Hairen. “Official Qiao, wait for me; I’ll leave the palace with you.”
Han Chan and Wei Shuqing walked out side by side, engrossed in their conversation. Cui Xi, who was standing by, caught up with them, and said with a smile, “I helped the Grand Tutor today, didn’t I?”
Han Chan paused, giving him a meaningful look. “Oh? And what does Cui-Changshi want in return?”
Cui Xi’s smile remained fixed, but his eyes gleamed with impatience. “Just hoping your play will be more entertaining, Grand Tutor. Don’t disappoint me now.”
“I’d advise Cui-Changshi to stop playing with fire, before he burns himself.” Han Chan scoffed. He paid him no further heed and left with Wei Shuqing.
Wei Shuqing looked back at Cui Xi. Cui Xi was wearing a red eunuch’s uniform, his face handsome, standing beneath the gloomy sky as snowflakes drifted around him like a soul-reaping ghost.
He frowned. “What a madman,” he muttered to Han Chan.
Han Chan’s expression remained neutral. “Pay him no mind. He can do little harm.”
--When Li Fengqi heard the news from Qi Shao, his eyebrows didn’t even twitch.
“Li Zong has always been like this,” he said. “Is this your first day as a Minister?”
Qi Shao choked back a response before lowering his voice with confusion. “But His Majesty… he wasn’t this extreme before. He used to listen to reason.”
Why was he acting so unhinged now?!
Ever since he started acting against Prince Yong’an, things had spiraled out of control.
Li Fengqi shot him a sidelong glance. “That’s because you never really understood him.”
He’d known about the unstable elements in Li Zong’s nature for a long time: sensitivity, paranoia, stubbornness. He thought of these as shadows cast by his childhood experiences. Even if they couldn’t be changed overnight, as long as he was around, he could prevent anything truly disastrous from happening.
Yet he never expected that he would be the first to take action.
“Do we know when His Majesty plans to set out to lead the army in person?” Li Fengqi asked.
“We’ll depart once troops from Lizhou and Jializhou arrive,” Qi Shao replied, sounding worried. “I have a feeling that there’s more trouble coming.”
He looked intently at Li Fengqi. “Has Wangye found out anything?”
Li Fengqi met his gaze calmly. “No.”
But he thought to himself, Even if I had, I wouldn’t tell you.
=== Author’s Notes ===
77: I would only tell my wife =3=
Qi Shao: ??? ??? ???
=== Translator’s Notes ===
(1) So, you may have noticed that there's a change in the title of this novel. Basically, way way back when I was translating chapter 1, I was trying to figure out a good title to use. As you know, chongxi/冲喜 is a wedding held in hopes that the good luck from the wedding would save someone from imminent death. At that time, I went with the phrase 'Wedding Celebration' because I couldn't think of another title that wouldn't be too wordy. However, today I woke up and realized, "Wait, if the point of this wedding is to bring good luck that would heal someone's poor health, then why didn't I just translate it as Good Luck Wedding??" And so the re-title. *sweatdrop*
(I can't believe it took me a year of translating to come up with title QAQ)
(2) Also, apologies and please bear with me, I’m kind of interchanging the translations/transliterations of the various positions across different chapters (e.g., I know I used “Taifu” before, and sometimes I’m using “Grand Tutor”, and sometimes it's "Imperial Tutor"), depending on what ‘sounds right’ at that moment. After this novel translation is finished, I’ll go back and revised the translations so that they’re consistent.
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