Chapter 592: The Young Man From The King’s Camp
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Two days later, Fan Xian and his people prepared to leave Qingzhou. On this journey, they were going deep into the grasslands, so it was inconvenient to ride in a carriage. Other than the carriages for goods, all the other rchants rode horses. During these two days, Mu Feng’er had already made connections with these rchants and agreed on their journey.
Just as the rchants were filing out of the city in order, the Qingzhou soldiers who had gone out to shoot rabbits again just happened to return. The two groups brushed by each other.
The riders didn’t look at the rchants properly. Although sotis the superiors would send the riders to escort rchants part of the way, under most circumstances, the two sides rarely ca into contact. The rchants might be safer without the Qing army’s escort.
The tired looking Ye Ling’er sat on her horse. A few strands of her black hair escaped her helt and mixed with her sweat, becoming a bit sticky. She used her finger to brush it away. Her gaze unconsciously swept by the rchant groups at the city gate.
It was just a glance, but it was as if she had been sucked in by a magnet. Ye Ling’er furrowed her brows and looked with confusion at the young rchant standing by a horse. The rchant wore a normal cotton robe and didn’t look particularly remarkable. Ye Ling’er felt that there was sothing strange.
From this angle, she could only see the back of the young rchant. It was his back that made Ye Ling’er realize his true identity. Her expression abruptly changed. Complicated expressions flashed through her eyes. It was Fan Xian.
Why could Ye Ling’er so easily recognize Fan Xian’s figure? Fan Xian was her teacher and had once taught her a year of little tricks while she had taught the Ye family’s coffin breaking technique to him without any hesitation. Having crossed palms and fought each other, they were each familiar with the other’s habits and bodily characteristics to a scary degree.
Ye Ling’er stared at the figure in a daze. She bit her lip and forced down her emotions so as to not ride forward. She swung down her whip and cried out “Teacher!” She then burst into tears.
...
...
She knew that since Fan Xian had co to Qingzhou in disguise and had not co to see her, then it wasn’t a personal matter. The court must have given him an important task. The Overwatch Council wanted to create so noise in the grasslands.
If it were not for a very important matter, soone as valuable as Fan Xian would not take such a risk to travel deep into the grasslands. Ye Ling’er was no longer the spirited young lady of the past. She had matured a great deal. Naturally, she would not expose Fan Xian’s identity in front of everyone. She only looked deeply at the figure. She then silently pulled on her horses head to go toward the governnt.
After entering the governnt, she had barely rested for a mont before she said, “A few days ago, the Dingzhou General’s manor had given the order for the autumn hunt. It is ti for us to take so action.”
An officer listened to the side and felt his heart chill. He thought to himself that the young mistress was becoming more and more ruthless. Just the consecutive night raids had already exhausted the people and the horses. He explained, “The order from the General’s manor was very clear, Qingzhou is not part of the autumn hunt this year.”
“Then we’ll do it ourselves.” Ye Ling’er lowered her head. She was no longer a little girl who had co to play. She was a highly experienced female general in the military. Additionally, with her background, anything she said, even if it clashed with her superior, had to be considered seriously.
No one understood why Ye Ling’er was so persistent about having the Qingzhou army beco part of the autumn hunt because no one knew that that Commissioner Fan Xian of the Overwatch Council had co to Qingzhou, left Qingzhou, and entered the grasslands. Ye Ling’er’s suggestion was in the hopes of using Qingzhou’s rides to draw the attention of most of the Hu people and ensure the safety of that group of rchants.
“There are more than the usual number of rchants this year. No knows if the Hu people will suddenly go crazy.”
The officer thought to himself, The nobles of the Hu tribe are counting on the rchants to endlessly bring goods in, how could they go crazy? He furrowed his brows and said, “Don’t worry about those rchants. If we ride out, we may instead bring them inconvenience.”
Ye Ling’er didn’t speak and bowed her head in thought. If there was trouble on one of the three roads going into the grasslands, it would make it easier for Fan Xian. Although she had no idea why Fan Xian was taking a risk to go into the grasslands, she knew that her teacher’s specialty was taking the greatest advantage out of chaos.
...
...
During these past few days, there was suddenly a lot of outsiders in the Dingzhou camp behind Qingzhou. So of these people used the identities of various court officials and said they were there to inspect the expenses. So were rchants from various regions, while so were laborers taking advantage of the break from battles to co West to try and make their fortune.
These people’s identities were mixed, so it did not attract anyone’s attention. However, they all split into small groups. Each group of people had a leader. Just as Fan Xian and his group left Qingzhou and began to move toward the Kings’ banners on the grasslands to search for the person nad Songzhi Xianling, these leaders were silently entering the General’s manor.
There was important business in the General’s manor. All miscellaneous people had been driven out of the manor. Looking down at the dozens of people in different colors of clothing in the hall, General Li Hongcheng couldn’t help but laugh. “Fan Xian is quite generous this ti.”
The people who had entered Dingzhou city were all secret agents from the Overwatch Council. In the General’s manor were the heads of the various groups. Only one person had the right to sit in the chair in the hall. The man was middle-aged and had yet to start greying, but his eyes were tired. It looked like three years in a foreign country had indeed been unusually hard.
The man looked at Li Hongcheng and bowed. “The Council believes that if we are to clean out the spies in Dingzhou, we must strike them like lightning.”
Li Hongcheng looked at the man and furrowed his brows. “We can’t have you co personally. Deng Zi Yue, you’re not in Shangjing but instead suddenly ca to Dingzhou. What about the court’s affairs in the North?”
Li Hongcheng’s identity was noble, but he spoke relatively politely to this middle-aged man because he knew that he was stationed in Northern Qi by the Overwatch Council as the head of the spy network there. He was the head of the Qinian Unit and one of Fan Xian’s most capable confidants.
The Overwatch Council official leading the Dingzhou operation to remove the spies was the Deng Zi Yue that Fan Xian had sent to Northern Qi for over two years. No one knew what problem there was with the mission this ti that made Fan Xian move him back.
If I don’t co back, how can we catch those people? Deng Zi Yue thought to himself. He did not speak out loud to the heir because the matter not only involved the battle between Xi Lake and the Qing Kingdom, it also involved another great power.
Fan Xian moved him South and was not planning to have him return to Shangjing. He wanted to use the knowledge Deng Zi Yue had gained of the Northern Qi’s Brocade Guards during his three years in Shangjing, as well as his level of familiarity with Northern Qi.
“After completing this task, I won’t be returning to Shangjing.” Deng Zi Yue bowed respectfully to Li Hongcheng.
Li Hongcheng watched his eyes and slowly said, “How should the Western camp cooperate?”
...
...
“Deng Zi Yue should have arrived in Dingzhou three days ago.” Fan Xian sat on his horse with his eyes half closed. It seed that he was not worried at all of falling off his horse. Yawning, he said, “According to the agreed ti, we have to hurry. Otherwise, if they co to blows within Dingzhou and enrage the people on the grasslands, I’m worried that will be not good.”
They had prepared for this for four months. If it weren’t for the fact that the anger in their hearts had accumulated to such a degree, perhaps Fan Xian would not use such a crude thod. He also knew that the other party had entered the grasslands long ahead of him. They had already perated through Dingzhou for over a year, so he was behind in terms of ti. If he couldn’t stall the other party’s commander on the grasslands, he was afraid sothing would go wrong.
Mu Feng’er glanced at Fan Xian. He then glanced at the long line of rchants in front. Furrowing his brows, he said, “These people move too slowly. Plus, various groups stop along the way. If we’re really to walk to the Kings’ banners, who knows when we will get there.”
According to the original plan, Fan Xian and his rchants should have already split from the main group of rchants. Yesterday, there was a fork in the path on the grasslands. Hu Ge should have sent his confidant there to et them. Fan Xian and his group were then to take a shortcut and reach their destination.
Unexpectedly, there was no one to greet them at the fork. Hu Ge’s confidant watched for an open mont and sneaked into their tent at night to apologize and give an excuse.
The other two roads on the grasslands were being attacked by Qingzhou soldiers. As the foremost ace of the Zuoxian King’s banner, Hu Ge also happened to be leading his own subordinates there. The confidant was called upon to provide aid but was unable to leave the main group to co et the Overwatch Council people.
Fan Xian did not know that this was Ye Ling’er’s idea. He would not have thought that his female disciple would share his burden and instead bring him more trouble.
“Since that person has never shown themselves, even if we reach the King’s tent, we won’t be able to see them,” Mu Feng’er looked at Fan Xian and reminded him. “The other party would not make such a mistake. Knowing there are rchants from the Qing Kingdom, they would not show their face to us.”
The horses moved forward slowly, stepping on the autumn grass that released no fragrance.
“Dingzhou is already prepared,” Mu Feng’er reminded him again. In his opinion, even if there was a so-called genius among the Hu people’s banners, as long as they cleaned out all the spies in Dingzhou, the other party wouldn’t be able to raise any major waves. Why take the risk?
Fan Xian’s thumb moved gently on the reins. A mont later, he said, “I have to know who that person is. If the other party is the person I am guessing, I have to change my plans. Just cleaning out the spies in Dingzhou does not affect the root.”
He had never heard the na Songzhi Xianling and didn’t know what this na ant in the Hu language. He believed, seemingly unconsciously, that the person who had this na was a woman. This was an illogical deduction. It was mysterious and inexplicable.
Fan Xian felt more and more firmly about his deduction and also more and more furious.
In the distance, so white birds flew quickly through the knee-high autumn grasslands. Fan Xian raised his gaze and looked over. He could faintly see a large empty desert beyond the grasslands, but what was beyond the desert?
“To the east of the desert is the Northern Sea.” Mu Feng’er watched Fan Xian’s slight frown and knew what he was thinking. In a quiet voice, he said, “Beyond the vast and might Northern Sea is Northern Qi.”
“I’ve been to the Northern Sea.” Fan Xian looked in that direction as if he could see the reeds in the Northern Sea. Faintly, he said, “This desert stretches for thousands of li. It is said no one can make it across alive. While the Northern Sea is beautiful, it is endless. If one wished to cross it, it is beyond difficult. I have always wondered... If one wanted to go from Northern Qi to Xi Lake, how would it be done?”
“First go south to enter the Qing Kingdom then go northwest from Jingdou to Dingzhou, then enter the grasslands from Qingzhou. That brings you to where we are now.” It was clear that Mu Feng’er had put down a great deal of effort in Jingdou. “It will take a lot of ti, but it is very convenient compared to forcefully crossing the Northern Sea and traveling through the desert. It is much more viable.”
“But the Xi Lake banners and the two Kings won’t trust any Central Plains person from the Qing Kingdom,” Fan Xian said with a cold expression. “To gain the trust of the seemingly warm but actually very suspicious Hu people is, of itself, a very difficult task. I am very curious as to how they did it.”
In the next dozen days, the rchant group moved deeper into the grasslands. Everywhere was the scene of autumn. Occasionally, they saw groups of nomadic people herding hundreds of cows and sheep, floating across the slightly rising adows like fluffy white clouds. It was beautiful and peaceful.
This place was no longer where Xi Lake and the Qing army battled, so it gradually gave off a sense of being a paradise beyond the wall.
They passed two large tribes during the journey. The Qing rchants all sold many goods. The entire rchant group appeared much lighter and also moved faster. No rchant sold all their goods. They sought to go back the way they ca because the most expensive goods were the lightest. If they wanted to sell it for the best price, they had to go where the Hu people’s Kings’ banners were.
All along the way, Fan Xian observed closely the Hu people’s attitudes toward the rchants because it was related to an important future matter. With so self-mockery, he found that the gazes of the Hu people on the Central Plain’s rchants were not very kind and even contained a bone-deep hatred.
A thousand-year blood debt could not be washed clean with gemstones and tea.
The attitude of the priests and nobles in the tribes toward the Central Plain’s rchants were much better. After Mu Feng’er’s careful inquiries, he learned from the old rchants that this change in attitude had only begun just over a year ago.
It seed that the banners of Xi Lake had finally understood the importance of trade and had sent word to the tribes, strictly prohibiting them from harassing the rchants who entered the grasslands. In so dangerous areas, they were even responsible for mobilizing the elite warriors of the tribes to provide protection for these rchant troops.
A year ago, a poor and small tribe did not manage to resist the allure of the Central Plain’s rchants and secretly attacked them, stealing a lot of goods. This angered the King. He sent out to destroy, or perhaps it is better to say slaughter, them. Not a single person survived from that small tribe.
It was this bloody example that made everyone on the grasslands clear as to the King’s determination and fully ensured the safety of the Central Plain’s rchants. From then on, although they still garnered unkind looks on the grasslands, the Central Plain’s rchants never saw another dangerous sword.
This was a far-thinking strategy. Fan Xian was secretly very admiring. He knew that although the rchants presently were only selling so luxury items, without trade, there would be no economy. As long as they could ensure the ongoing smoothness of the rchant trails on the grasslands, there might be rchants from the Qing Kingdom or Northern Qi who would secretly ignore the Qing Kingdom’s strict orders and smuggle into the grasslands military or living goods for the profits.
If this went on for a long ti and the restrictions around the frontier loosened, the Hu people’s power would grow day by day.
...
...
They finally arrived at the King’s banners. Looking at the crescent sea beneath the lonely mountain, the small desert beside the sea, and the massive jade green grasslands, Fan Xian was dazzled by the beautiful scenery. The location of the King’s banners was indeed not like other places. Between heaven and earth, it had its own unique structure.
The green grasslands, in particular, made Fan Xian feel strange. This was autumn, so why was the grass still so green?
On the side of the isolated mountain, countless cows and sheep were scattered across the expansive grassland.
The won of the Hu tribes were washing clay pots and utensils by the bank of the crescent-shaped sea, preparing to welco the guests from the Central Plain.
It was a mont of peace. The sky seed to be much closer to the ground than in other places, as if it would make contact with the surface of the grassland. The autumn breeze blew slightly as the grass bowed low. It was refreshing.
Fan Xian dismounted and glanced at a common Overwatch Council official behind him and smiled. Turning his head, he looked at the beautiful sight in front of him and couldn’t resist shaking his head.
The n of Xi Lake led these tired Central Plain’s rchants to a tent by the bank of the crescent sea and allowed them to rest for a while. Sincerely, they said that in a while, the King would personally host a feast to welco the noble guests.
This group of rchants was the largest one this autumn. Thus, the King’s banners looked after them carefully.
Fan Xian felt that this was strange. The Western Hu people’s attitudes seem too good. Did Songzhi Xianling truly have such a deep influence on the King’s banners?
After eating so food, Fan Xian rubbed his stomach and walked out of the tent. Walking to the adow by the crescent sea, he narrowed his eyes at the scenery around him. His status now was a rchant. Other than not being allowed to pry into the King’s banners, the Western Hu did not prohibit the rchants of the Central Plain from wandering around. No one knew him on the grasslands, so there was no need to worry about his safety. His mood beca lighter.
“Vast is the sky, boundless is the field...”
He only had ti to say these eight words before he was interrupted by a cry of “Good!” from his side. Fan Xian turned his head to look and saw a young man walking quickly toward his side, hurriedly shouting his praise.
“I only said eight words, how was it good?” Fan Xian smiled slightly as he looked at the young man. He looked like he was from the Central Plain, but his eyes unconsciously slanted briefly toward the King’s banners not far away. Earlier, he had seen this young man on the adow. He had co out from the King’s camp.
[JW1] The words in the original text can be interpreted as “banner/s””camp/s” or “tent/s.” I’ve mostly used banners – drawing on the Manchu banners as markers for their tribes.
Reviews
All reviews (0)