Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Mo Chu had gone through many ups and downs in his life. He had once served in a position only second to the king, and he had also been a prisoner before. Even the numerous crises he'd survived in the past couldn't compare to the shock and suspicion he felt now. He even felt horrified.
Sitting in the Commander-in-chief's tent, he met batch after batch of generals, drew up plans, planned routes, and a.s.signed tasks — these were all routine procedures and he had no difficulty carrying them out. The Dragon King's troops and Duodun's were receiving equal treatment. Mo Chu had only spared a few positions for his own followers.
The first night pa.s.sed quietly.
As he got up very early the next day, Mo Chu regained his composure. He ordered the army to break camp and waited for the two sides to approach him.
Duodun and the Dragon King adopted entirely different approaches.
When he was taking his noon nap, Liman entered his tent and sent Prince Duodun's greetings and the Second Consort's invitation. However, n.o.body on the Dragon King's side said anything to him the entire day. Dugu Xian and Li Shun merely fulfilled their duties normally and didn't make a single extra remark.
His meetings with the Second Consort and Duodun were all pleasant. All three of them were people that the Khan had valued greatly when he was alive, so they naturally had a lot to talk about. Mo Chu sentimentality recalled that he had once drunk the "urine wine" made by Duodun, which quickly bound the two together.
Duodun ordered all of the officers who had partic.i.p.ated in the previous mutiny to apologize to old general. Everyone of them drank a big bowl of wine, severely reprimanded themselves for their prior deeds, pulled out their sabers, and requested him to punish them with death.
Mo Chu magnanimously forgave all of them as he said, "To be honest, your deeds remind me of the Khan, Your Highness. Heh-heh. Back then, with only a few guards, he once stormed into the camp of our front lines and questioned the Commander-in-chief why he hadn't launched an attack yet. The troops performed brilliantly in that battle and it was one of the most wonderful battles that the Norland cavalry has ever fought."
Duodun didn't apologize himself. His main goal was to display the loyalty of his subordinates. Indeed, as long as he gave the order, dozens of officers, including several of his closest companions, would take their own lives before the old general.
Meanwhile, the Second Consort was responsible for mediating between them. "The Khan must have had his own profound reasons to have sent the both of you to the Western Regions. Alas, it was a pity that he ascended to the Heavens too early, and didn't leave any clear instructions about a lot of things, which has caused many misunderstandings."
Of course, Mo Chu understood what those "profound reasons" were, but he pretended otherwise. "That's true. The Khan was a visionary ruler and he never made useless arrangements. I really wish that I knew what he was thinking, but I can only be sure of one thing — that he definitely appreciated prince's straightforwardness and decisiveness. Hha."
The Second Consort also burst into laughter at Mo Chu's comment. "The gra.s.slands absolutely needs straightforward and decisive people, especially now. The Khan accidentally ascended to the Heavens, and now the Norland lacks a leader. Everybody wants to grab a slice of the pie, and even outsiders have their own malicious [;pts."
Mo Chu nodded his head repeatedly, but refused to make any concrete remarks.
The Second Consort was too embarra.s.sed to continue talking, so she signaled one of Duodun's companions to speak up.
"Golden Roc Castle is nothing more than a small sect in the Western Regions. Shangguan Fa shamelessly calls himself the 'Unique King,' but he's merely the leader of some killers. It was really surprising that he actually dared to interfere in Norland affairs."
Amazed, Mo Chu asked, "Golden Roc Castle interfered in the Norland's disputes?"
"A member of the Unique King's advisory board is working as a counselor in Luoluo's army," Duodun answered readily. "It is said that Golden Roc Castle will hand over Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s to Luoluo. Since the Dragon King has an irreconcilable hatred with the Unique King, he must have a.s.signed many spies to Jade City. Thus, this news should be reliable."
"Yeah, the Dragon King has spies everywhere, even in Heaven's Pa.s.s," Mo Chu replied perfunctorily, looking preoccupied.
After drinking for a little bit more, all of the officers took their leave, leaving just three people in the tent. Duodun made his intentions clear at this point. "The Dragon King suspects that you've been colluding with Golden Roc Castle."
"No way!" Mo Chu's face was filled with shock. "I may be the Governor of Jade City, but I seldom have any contact with Golden Roc Castle. Besides… I'm just an old man. Why would Golden Roc Castle even bribe me?"
"The Dragon King's counselor almost publicly declared that the old general's a mole," said Duodun coldly. "Of course, I don't believe that. But what does the Dragon King really think?"
"The Dragon King's sinister and sly," added the Second Consort. "His recommending you as Commander-in-chief was definitely not born out of any good intentions. The one he truly wanted to recommend was actually Dugu Xian. You have to be careful, old general."
"Hha. There's no need to worry. The Dragon King's merely an outsider. I think that his strength in the Western Regions is not even as great as Golden Roc Castle's, right? I have prince Duodun and the young king on my side, so why should I be afraid of him?"
"Yes, that's right. When it comes to experience and vision, we youngsters can never compare to you, old general. The Dragon King's basically a little worm; he can never be a threat to us."
For the rest of the time, they just enjoyed the feeling of drinking wine. After making the excuse that he was going to lead the army to somewhere the next day, Mo Chu left Duodun's tent before the third night-watch. For a Norland wine feast, leaving at this time was actually a little early.
Duodun's face went cold as soon as Mo Chu exited. "Such a wily old fox. I should have taken him down a peg."
"Don't do that yet. At least wait until we beat back Luoluo."
Duodun frowned — he was also a little discontented with the Second Consort. "You talked too much just now. People might think that I have no opinions of my own."
The Second Consort smiled and stroked Duodun's strong back as she mildly replied, "Fine. Whatever you say, I'll just listen quietly from now on."
"I'm asking you to say less, not say nothing."
The Second Consort nodded obediently. Having served the Khan for many years, she clearly understood when she should be discourteous and when to be tame. "Rest a.s.sured. Mo Chu wouldn't dare switch sides to the Dragon King's. Additionally, the Dragon King's strength is far from being enough to take over the Norland. Both of them are your p.a.w.ns, and I'm no exception."
A strong desire arose in Duodun's heart, but he had his sense of propriety. As he held the Second Consort's hand, he said in a gentle voice that he would reveal to anybody else, "You're not a p.a.w.n, but rather my hands. You advise me and control the p.a.w.ns for me."
The next day, during the early morning, news came in from the front lines that Luoluo had stopped his westward advance after hearing that the allied forces were prepared to fight against him. Currently, his army was stationed near Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s, and he had issued them a letter of challenge.
This letter of challenge was delivered to the camp a day later, and its contents caused a minor scandal.
The letter's address only contained four words: "To the Dragon King"
The letter of challenge was very brief, and its gist was that the residents of the gra.s.slands had been suffering from wars for too long. So, they should put an end to the chaotic situation by having a final showdown. Duodun and Shulitu's names were each only mentioned once in the letter, and Luoluo even expressed his hopes that the Dragon King would take good care of the two descendants of the Khan, as if they were hostages.
Gu Shenwei believed that Zhang Ji was the one who had written this letter.
The contents of the letter quickly spread through the entire camp. At first, the troops were angry with Luoluo, believing he had deliberately scorned the two princes. But before long, other suspicions risen in the minds of many people, who started to ask themselves, "Who exactly does this army belong to? If the enemy wins, then Luoluo will naturally be the new Khan. But, what about the allied forces? Do we have to have another showdown if we win this one? Would friends who have been fighting side by side for years have to turn on each other as soon as the first war concludes?"
Fang Wens.h.i.+ drafted a vehement letter in reply. It directly pointed out that Luoluo's family background was suspicious and that he didn't even have a claim to the throne, much less the qualifications to interfere in the affairs of the Khan's descendants. But in private, he admitted that Zhang Ji had made a brilliant move. "This is troublesome, Dragon King. Currently, not many people have reached blind and disorderly conjectures, but we have to stop this trend as soon as possible."
Duodun also felt that this was an urgent issue. Although he saw the Dragon King and Shulitu as rivals, he wouldn't gain any benefits from the alliance dissolving at this time.
With their respective considerations temporarily set aside, all parties of the alliance put down their guard and plots and called a meeting to consult each other. They unanimously agreed that it was necessary for them to make a clear statement to all the troops about the current situation and the future.
The next day, the entire army took a day off. Duodun and Shulitu walked to the rostrum hand in hand. They publicly swore to G.o.d that they would never resort to war to resolve the disputes between them, and that whoever succeeded to the throne would confer the t.i.tle of King to the other.
Additionally, all eighteen 10,000-men armies would be rewarded after the final showdown against Luoluo according to their personal contributions. The nine armies who fought the most valiantly would be granted the right to vote for the new Khan. Naturally, the only two candidates were the two descendants of the Khan.
Unprecedentedly, the two 10,000-men armies under the Dragon King's command were also eligible to compete for the voting right. This was the first time that an outsider had been allowed to partic.i.p.ate in the Khan's election in any way, but there was a unanimous consensus among the other armies that Western Region soldiers could never fight more valiantly than the Norland cavalrymen. That was because their main weapons were spears, and they didn't even know how to shoot from horseback.
After that, Duodun and Shulitu conferred the t.i.tle "The Dragon King of the Western Regions" to the Dragon King and made a promise that the new Khan would officially confer a king's t.i.tle to him. The words "Western Regions" in his t.i.tle imposed a restriction upon the Dragon King, and Gu Shenwei also stated that he had no intention to compete for the rule of the gra.s.slands.
After the army broke camp once again, Fang Wens.h.i.+ finally felt relieved. "Hha, Zhang Ji and Luoluo were hoisted on their own petards. They tried to drive a wedge between us, but they only boosted our army's morale instead. Now, everybody's yearning for the war and ready to go all out."
This right to vote was extremely precious. As long as the 10,000-men armies voted for the right candidate, they would surely become the Court Attendants Army of the new Khan and receive numerous rewards and privileges. Thus, this condition would undoubtedly spark some rivalries.
Fang Wens.h.i.+ started to a.n.a.lyze their advantages. "Those former Court Attendants soldiers can be organized into four 10,000-men armies. I'll be surprised if they fail to fight valiantly. As long as we manage to form another 10,000-men, Shulitu's victory will be a.s.sured."
Dugu Xian didn't care about who would be the new Khan, and he only focused on an obvious omission. "This 180,000-men army is too huge. You can't even see its tail from its head. Once the war starts, the situation will soon devolve into a chaotic bedlam. Besides G.o.d, n.o.body will be able to clearly see the battle situation. This means that it will be impossible to judge which army is fighting valiantly and which army isn't."
"Every time a war ends, the troops are rewarded according to their contributions. Are you saying that they always do this arbitrarily?" Fang Wens.h.i.+ was not convinced by Dugu Xian's argument.
"Of course not. But generally, there's only one Commander-in-chief or one king in a war. And it is he who will choose the most valiant soldiers according to what he can personally see. As for the battles taking place out of his sight, he will delegate the rights to his vice Commander-in-chiefs, the left and right wings. But our army is a little more complicated than that."
Gu Shenwei understood what Dugu Xian was trying to say. The decisive factor of the fight for the throne was not the most valiant 10,000-men armies, but rather the life-or-death fight between Shulitu and Duodun during the meeting to dole out commendations after the war.
"Let's put it aside for now. Currently, defeating Luoluo is our foremost issue," said Gu Shenwei.
Fang Wens.h.i.+ was a little disappointed. Although he had an encyclopedic mind, he lacked in-depth knowledge about wars. After a while, his eyes suddenly lit up, "Actually it will be better for us if the rivalry between Duodun and Shulitu reaches a deadlock. That way, we can take advantage of the opportunity to take Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s, and thus cut off the other arm of Golden Roc Castle."
Gu Shenwei believed that this was a viable plan. Without Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s and Heaven's Pa.s.s, Jade City's gateways would be wide open. This would isolate Golden Roc Castle, placing it in checkmate.
"After we defeat Luoluo, the Central Plains will be the only force that Golden Roc Castle can turn to," Gu Shenwei judged.
Fang Wens.h.i.+ freely commented, "With General Dugu here, I won't be of much help to the army, much less on the battlefield. I might as well pay a visit to the Central Plains and make preparations in advance. That way, we'll be able to cut off Golden Roc Castle's retreat when we're ready to make our move."
Gu Shenwei gave his consent. "Keep an eye out for Wei Song. He might ruin the plan. Find his enemies if possible."
Fang Wens.h.i.+ smiled. "I understand. The Dragon King wants to sever Wei Song's relations with the Central Plains, right? To be honest, I have done some research beforehand. This plan might work."
