Liang Ye was a madman – this was a consensus among all four nations.
If he had only been mad, that would have been one thing, but this man had seized power and now led armies, causing trouble for more than just those in the imperial palace of the capital.
The person Loufan left in Ziyan City was an old general named Kashi Duolu. This man was a seasoned warrior, fierce and cunning. Not only Northern Liang, but many famous generals from Eastern Chen had suffered losses at his hands.
At first, Kashi Duolu didn’t take Liang Ye seriously, after all, the latter couldn’t even understand military texts. Moreover, being forced into personally leading troops in battle, any sensible person would have stayed quietly in the command tent to observe the battle. Even Wei Wanlin was better than the generals under Liang Ye’s command.
By all reasoning, that’s how it should have been.
However, in the first battle, when Kashi Duolu stood on his war chariot surveying the battlefield, he saw a Liang army general in black armor and red robes, riding an ugly horse with mottled fur, charging straight toward the command chariot with no apparent strategy. Blood and flesh flew wherever he passed, his methods so cruel they made one’s hair stand on end.
“Who is that person?” Kashi Duolu drew his bow and aimed at that terrifying killing demon.
“General, that’s the Emperor of Northern Liang!” someone behind him cried out in shock. “Both general and deputy general!”
The Northern Liang Emperor on horseback cleanly cut off their commanding general’s head, bloodily hung it on his long spear and waved it around, laughing with wild abandon. The Northern Liang soldiers following him in battle first fell into an eerie silence for a moment, then erupted in earth-shattering roars, their morale instantly soaring to its peak.
If one killed people in court, they would only be called cruel and tyrannical, but on the battlefield of slaughter, this act was undoubtedly the greatest encouragement to the soldiers. The cruel methods instead stirred up the ruthlessness in everyone’s hearts.
Liang Ye seemed to have eyes all over his body, easily dodging Kashi Duolu’s arrow. With blood-red eyes, he searched through the sea of blades and blood like a hawk. After locking onto Loufan’s command chariot, his face showed the pleased smile of finding prey. He too drew his bow, aiming at Kashi Duolu’s eyes.
Kashi Duolu stood grimly under the command flag. The arrow came piercing through the air; he swung his sword to cut it, but unexpectedly the arrow split in two, directly bursting the eyeball of the deputy general beside him. The deputy general let out a heart-wrenching scream.
“My son!” Kashi Duolu became furious immediately.
Liang Ye laughed arrogantly, spread his hands holding the bow, then made an insulting gesture used by Loufan people to curse mothers. He then turned to spear a Loufan soldier trying to attack him, shouting exuberantly: “Kill!”
The Northern Liang soldiers following him roared: “Kill!”
The Loufan people’s fighting style was fierce and brutal. While people from Northern Liang and Eastern Chen typically preferred strategic warfare, when faced with such a mad emperor who was even more brutal than themselves, even the Loufan people were somewhat bewildered.
In the first battle, instead of staying properly in the command tent, the Northern Liang Emperor seized the vanguard general’s position and led soldiers in a killing spree, shot the Loufan general’s own son with one arrow, cut off a string of Loufan commanders’ heads, and afterward arrogantly tied Loufan corpses to the city wall towers as a show of force – who the hell was the barbaric and brutal barbarian here!
It was the first time in Liang Ye’s life that he killed without restraint. His armor was soaked in blood and glowing red. When he came down from the battlefield, the soldiers’ gazes changed from respectful fear to fanatical admiration. Even when shouting “Your Majesty,” they seemed ready to strain their voices to express their excitement.
In his tent, Kashi Duolu looked at his son’s corpse with grief and hatred, determined to make the madman Liang Ye pay with his life for his eldest son. Meanwhile, Liang Ye listened to his subordinate generals discussing how to fight the second battle while idly wiping the indelible blood from between his fingers.
“Your Majesty, we captured 9,368 prisoners in this battle. How should we deal with them?” someone below asked.
“Bury them alive,” Liang Ye said with a smile. “Zhen thinks the spot where that old fool parked his command chariot looks good. Bury them there and stick a white flag on top – saves the Loufan people the trouble of searching.”
A more moderate general carefully reminded him, “Your Majesty, massacring prisoners of war may not be appropriate. If we enrage the Loufan people—”
“When they buried 100,000 of our Northern troops, did they consider what was appropriate?” Liang Ye lifted his eyelids indifferently to look at him, revealing a chilling smile. “When Zhen has buried 100,000 Loufan people, then you can remind me again.”
The speaking general broke into a cold sweat at his smile and lowered his head wordlessly.
“Your Majesty, as the army commander, you should stay in the rear. Rushing to the battlefield is truly inappropriate,” a general boldly advised.
Liang Ye looked at him with displeasure. “Who are you?”
“…” The person choked for a moment before saluting, “This minister is Lu Shu, Yunhui General Left Army Division.”
Everyone expected him to become angry, but surprisingly, Liang Ye brushed it off lightly and asked, “Before departure, Zhen vaguely remembers a young general from the Bian family arrived. Is he in the tent?”
At this point, a young general in his early twenties stepped out from the very back. He wore an exquisite light armor and white robe, had proper and handsome features, and carried a sharp and upright bearing. He knelt with clasped hands and said, “This lowly servant Bian Feng pays respects to Your Majesty.”
“What relation is Bian Cang to you?” Liang Ye asked with a smile.
“He is this lowly servant’s grandfather,” Bian Feng’s voice was strong and clear. Seeing Liang Ye narrow his eyes, he voluntarily explained, “This lowly servant was adopted by grandfather from a branch of the Bian family.”
Liang Ye chuckled, “You call Bian Cang grandfather, so Bian Cang is the son adopted by Bian Rufeng?”
Bian Feng said, “That is correct.”
Though everyone knew that Bian Xin was Bian Rufeng’s child, officially Bian Rufeng and Bian Xin were still declared as brother and sister. Liang Ye had heard before that Bian Cang had adopted a son for Bian Rufeng, but the old man had always kept him closely guarded. Now it was unprecedented that he had sent him to the battlefield.
Bian Feng knelt on the ground, not daring to say more, fine beads of cold sweat appearing on his forehead. The surrounding generals also vaguely knew about the true and false entanglements between the Bian family and the royal family, and they broke into a cold sweat for this young general.
Liang Ye said with an ambiguous smile, “As they say, a tiger father has no dog sons. Since you are Bian Rufeng’s son, the next battle will be entrusted to you. Let Zhen see what you can do.”
“This lowly servant accepts the command!” Bian Feng responded somewhat excitedly.
Liang Ye twisted his lips, malice flashing briefly in his eyes.
****
Just after leaving Danyang Prefecture, with the capital nearly in sight, Wang Dian received news of the second battle in the north – Northern Liang’s young general Bian Feng had defeated the old Loufan general Kashi Duolu despite being outnumbered, making a name for himself in one battle.
Also, Liang Ye had buried over ten thousand Loufan prisoners alive, and all defeated generals were hung up for public display.
“His Majesty’s actions are truly inappropriate,” Baili Cheng’an said worriedly. “Although the battlefield is cruel, His Majesty should still consider his reputation.”
For the common people, they certainly hoped their ruler would be benevolent and kind, rather than cruel and tyrannical.
Although it was a justified counterattack, Liang Ye’s behavior made him seem more villainous than the villains, cementing his reputation for bloodthirsty brutality.
Nothing excited someone like Liang Ye more than death and blood. Wang Dian looked at the news brought by Chang Ying, then at Liang Ye’s second letter to him – in the letter, Liang Ye vividly described how he was wounded, the pain keeping him awake at night, and only thoughts of Wang Dian could ease his pain. He also said that Bian Feng was very disagreeable and asked Wang Dian to help think of an excuse to have him executed.
“…” Wang Dian fell into his routine worry about Northern Liang’s doom.
No wonder the court officials had opposed it – letting a psychopath like Liang Ye command troops on the battlefield meant that when there was no danger, Liang Ye himself was the greatest danger to the Northern Liang soldiers.
As for the “serious injury” Liang Ye mentioned, Wang Dian felt that since he could write about it with such relish, he was probably making it up.
Chaos erupted outside. Wang Dian quickly put away the letter and pushed the still-stunned Baili Cheng’an off the carriage. Outside, dozens of guards were desperately fighting against over a hundred assassins.
Dense arrows pierced through the carriage curtains and windows. As Baili Cheng’an tried to look up, Wang Dian pressed down on his neck, pushing him to take cover on one side of the carriage.
Wang Dian sneered coldly, “It seems more than one person in the capital doesn’t want us to return.”
This “drawing the snake from its hole” strategy had indeed lured out more than one group.
This was already the third assassination attempt they had encountered on their journey.
Although this method was effective, using oneself as bait could lead to death with the slightest mistake. Wang Dian was incredibly bold, almost reckless, Baili Cheng’an thought, as he watched him unhesitatingly kill two assassins with poisoned sleeve arrows.
Warm crimson blood splattered onto Baili Cheng’an’s face, and half an exploded eyeball bounced onto his hand. He clutched the nearby carriage wheel, his face deathly pale, nearly vomiting.
“My apologies,” Wang Dian thoughtfully offered him a handkerchief, smiling apologetically. “I’m still not very skilled at killing.”
Baili Cheng’an took the handkerchief, and in his daze caught a glimpse of mockery and trembling excitement in Wang Dian’s eyes, but it vanished instantly, making him wonder if he had imagined it.
Wang Dian pulled him up with gentle but irresistible force. Baili Cheng’an’s pupils dilated as he saw an assassin charging at Wang Dian’s back. “Wang Daren!”
However, before the cold blade could reach them, a long rope suddenly whipped from the side. The assassin’s blade shattered, and immediately after, the rope wrapped around his neck, dragging him back several yards.
“Keep him alive!” Wang Dian turned and called out.
But before his words finished, the assassin was already dead, blood flowing from his seven openings, his convulsing body gradually falling silent.
Chang Ying retracted the rope, looking somewhat uncertainly at Wang Dian.
“It’s fine,” Wang Dian, always good-tempered, wiped the splattered blood from his face with the handkerchief. Among the flash of blades, his voice remained gentle. “Go investigate which family sent these people.”
On this Shangyuan Festival day, Wang Dian finally returned to the bustling capital after a long absence.
Amidst the commotion, black masses of troops dispersed on command, surrounding the grand mansions still immersed in the festival atmosphere.
“How dare you! Under whose orders do you dare surround the Tan residence!”
Several streets apart, multiple mansions were suddenly encircled by soldiers like iron barrels.
Some, relying on their status, maintained their dignity and said in deep voices. “Have your master come in person!”
However, the soldiers beneath their armor seemed not to hear, neither taking action nor speaking, as if they had simply been there from the beginning just to surround the mansions.
For a time, dark clouds loomed over the capital, hearts trembled with anxiety, and all the bustling joy returned to silence.
The heads of various families and important court officials were all “politely” invited to the imperial palace’s grand hall.
On the spacious steps before the hall, someone stood with their back to them, seemingly carefully examining the majestic and imposing dragon throne above. Hearing the commotion, they slowly turned around, showing them a gentle and modest smile.
“Greetings, honored officials. It’s been a long time.”
Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻