Chapter 5 Extra Chapter 5 (A Fleeting Dream: The Crimson Orchid Strategy) Crimson Orchid...
Chapter 86
On the emerald green water, a small boat floats and drifts. An old man in a straw raincoat sits on the boat with a boy. In front of them is a chessboard, black and white pieces intertwined, but the outcome is already decided.
The boat swayed gently, and a man in white robes and a red goblet sat opposite the chessboard, quietly watching the old man.
In the dim green light, he couldn't make out the old man's appearance, nor could he figure out where he was. He simply observed the person in front of him quietly. The boy was rowing the boat, swaying gently on the endless, boundless green water, the water still.
After a very, very long time, so long that it seemed like eternity had passed.
The old man suddenly spoke up: "You feel very wronged?"
Chi Zhanlan Ce stared at the chessboard before him, its outcome already decided, his face full of mockery. He sneered, "Isn't that right? If Heaven had treated me fairly, how could I have ended up like this?"
He pointed to the chessboard, where the black and white pieces were initially locked in a fierce battle, with the white pieces gaining an unstoppable advantage. However, the old man intervened in the end, causing the white pieces to lose their entire strategy and ultimately lose because of those last two pieces.
If Black hadn't placed the two key pieces that had already seized the initiative, how could Black possibly win when surrounded by White's pieces?
This is a divine arrangement; where is the fairness?
How tragic, how lamentable.
Upon hearing this, the old man shook his head and said nothing. He simply reached out, picked up the most crucial black stone, and handed it to him with a smile. Despite the faint green light illuminating it, he still couldn't see the old man clearly or discern the secrets of the world.
Chi Zhanlan Ce paused for a moment, then took it with his slender fingers.
Before his eyes, it was as if frames of images were flashing by, and he was as if he had been pulled into a dream, seeing a completely different ending.
In an attempt to seek peace, on the third day of the third month, Yan Danqing was killed by the Liang court, and his head was secretly sent to the Huai'an Canal. Subsequently, the Yan family army was thrown into chaos, Chi Zhanlan Ce died in Nandu, and the Northern Yan held a sacrificial ceremony, mobilizing the entire nation to avenge the Holy Son.
Starting from the Huai'an Canal, they fought their way through thorns and brambles, their iron hooves pounding flesh and blood, marching towards the southern capital of Daliang.
Three hundred thousand people drowned in the river, and this Central Plains he had dreamed of finally fell to the Northern Yan!
The Northern Yan people were excited and clamored, and they ravaged this land.
The lingering power and hatred left by Chi Zhanlan Ce eventually dissipated little by little after 300,000 people from Nandu were drowned in the river. As time went by, the lingering power disappeared, and the cohesion supported by hatred collapsed.
With the various tribes of Northern Yan suddenly acquiring such a large territory, disputes and conflicts gradually emerged over time.
In the first year, they plundered resources, and the entire Northern Yan was overjoyed. They trampled on the flesh and blood of the people of Daliang, and everyone in Northern Yan gained something, as if they had finally gotten what they wanted.
The following year, they began to divide the land.
In the third year, Chizhan Henu wanted to guard the main camp of Northern Yan, but Chizhan Chengye advocated entering the pass and moving the temporary headquarters to the northern capital of Daliang.
In the fourth year, a tribe secretly went to Daliang and declared itself king, which aroused the ambitions of other tribes.
The King of Northern Yan is getting old!
Chizhan Chengye has no future, so why should the world be ruled by Chizhan? Why can't it be ruled by the other two major surnames of Beiyan, Dong'e and Huer?
In just three or four years, the Northern Yan began to fight for control of the land of Daliang. All the tribes wanted to be the masters of this land, which was two countries and the largest territory in history!
The various tribes of Northern Yan attacked each other, and internal strife continued unabated.
The people of Daliang have become slaves, but that doesn't stop them from still harboring hatred and anger. This is their land, so why can't they be the masters of their own destiny?
Five years later, the entire Daliang and Northern Yan were in complete chaos, with constant fighting and bloodshed. One day you finished your act, the next you took the stage, and so on. In just a few decades, the land was reduced to scorched earth, barren and the population decreased by less than 10%.
The Northern Yan dynasty's glory lasted only three years, a fleeting moment.
Ultimately, this is the land of the Liang people.
In the end, it was the people of Daliang who established a new dynasty. The people of Northern Yan, who were plagued by internal strife and mutual attacks, retreated to the grasslands. By this time, the surname Chizhan had disappeared from Northern Yan, and even Dong'e and Hu'er were no longer powerful tribes.
At the beginning of the great chaos, the first to be attacked was the royal family, Chi Zhan.
How many years did the Northern Yan people occupy the land of Daliang? They were driven back beyond the pass, causing upheaval. For only three years, the land belonged to the Chizhan clan.
The situation in the world gradually recovered, but both Northern Yan and Daliang were severely damaged. History was like a torrent, rolling in, and everyone was just a grain of sand, swept forward.
Ultimately, it was transformed into words in history books—
[Foreign tribes wreaked havoc on the country, plunging it into chaos for a century. During this time, the people suffered terribly, living like dirt, resorting to cannibalism. Across three million miles of land, a bloody stain spread. Ultimately, both the Great Liang and the Northern Yan vanished from history.]
It doesn't matter what dynasty he came to next, because it was neither the Great Liang nor the Northern Yan. His ambitions and aspirations vanished after his death.
Chi Zhanlan Ce came to his senses.
He was still holding the chess piece in his hand when the scene before his eyes disappeared, and the chess piece was getting hot.
Silence fell on the boat. The old man leisurely sailed along, neither caring where he was nor where the boat was headed. Only the little boy diligently rowed the boat, controlling the direction.
Then, Chi Zhan Lan Ce shook his head and sneered, "That good-for-nothing Chi Zhan Cheng Ye can't even control a bunch of guys who are all ambition and no ability."
When he was still alive, the tribes of Northern Yan were very obedient. The Dong'e and Hu'er were nothing more than two hunting dogs on the left and right sides of his tent, shooting wherever he pointed.
Unexpectedly, Chi Zhan Cheng Ye's actions fostered their ambition and even led to the extermination of the Chi Zhan surname.
His younger brother shouldn't be called "Chengye" (meaning "successful endeavor"), but rather "Baiye" (meaning "failure to achieve success"). He has no ability whatsoever and only squanders the great achievements he made.
“Not everyone is like you.” The old man saw his disdain and chuckled.
Chi Zhanlan Ce held the black piece, stared at him, and asked sharply, "You only gave me a little over twenty years of lifespan, and you made me lose to the hands of fate. Do you think that's fair?"
Only in the penultimate cycle did he lose to Ye Xiren, who was cowardly but came to his death. Apart from that, he did not lose. If it weren't for fate's help, he would have won dozens of times. How could there have been the ending?
That's not fair!
He persisted!
Chi Zhanlan Ce stared intently at the person in front of him, wanting to know who he was, whether he was the one who arranged destiny, or the one who arranged the cycle between Yan Wan and Ye Xiren.
Could he send him back? I don't ask for divine favor, I just want him to have a fair journey through this world!
The old man shook his head, his raincoat swaying. "Tell me when this game of chess will begin?"
Upon hearing this, Chi Zhanlan lowered his head.
In the first year of Jingyou, when Emperor Xianzong ascended the throne, Northern Yan was just a small, barbaric country, divided and ruled by various tribes. They had plotted and coveted the Great Liang, but were driven back time and time again. The loyal and brave Marquis Yan family stood in the Sixteen Prefectures, forming the strongest barrier that they could never cross.
Every time a hand was reached out, it was chopped off by the people of Daliang.
However, after Emperor Xianzong ascended the throne, the situation changed immediately. Black dug its own grave, while White remained unchanged but gradually gained the opportunity to be played.
Afterwards, Emperor Xianzong continued to wreak havoc on the Great Liang Dynasty. He was incompetent and foolish, yet he was the longest-reigning emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty, reigning for more than thirty years. During these thirty years, the black pieces became increasingly dim, and every move they made was a suicide, leading the black pieces to defeat.
As if by divine intervention, Emperor Xianzong remained childless until his old age when he finally had a dull and timid son.
The Northern Yan gave birth to Chi Zhanlan Ce, who was exceptionally talented. As time went on, he became even more terrifying. He was like a white piece lit up by the heavens, destined to sweep away all the black pieces!
As Chi Zhanlan Ce came of age, the game of chess officially began, and the outcome was about to be decided.
"Is it really that God doesn't favor you?" the old man asked rhetorically.
Chi Zhanlan Ce was stunned for a moment. He suddenly remembered what Ye Xiren had once said—
【But where is there no divine assistance for you? You are too blessed by the heavens. If the heavens didn't help you, where would you get your brilliant mind and photographic memory? Where would you get your unparalleled strategic skills?
Since your birth, Northern Yan has nurtured your ambition, while the Emperor of Great Liang has done nothing, even raising a group of parasites that are eating away at the country from within...
Chi Zhanlan Ce suddenly looked at the chessboard. The white pieces were shining brightly, while the black pieces had already dimmed, as if the heavens had already written the ending and determined the success or failure of this game.
—It is the destiny of Heaven.
These four words suddenly came to his mind.
When did the change begin, with the white pieces gradually dimming and the gray black pieces being relit?
Chi Zhanlan Ce stared intently at the chessboard. The black chess pieces on it suddenly transformed into a mountain of corpses and a sea of people in his vision, turning into wronged souls struggling and clamoring on the chessboard, their grievances overwhelming.
They are the people of Beidu who were massacred, and they are weeping.
They are the people of Nandu who have been submerged in the protective river, and they are screaming in despair.
They were innocent civilians who had starved, been trampled, and died in battle along the way, staring at him with bewildered eyes and resentment...
They transformed into tiny specks of starlight and clusters of flames, gathering on the two black chess pieces, and even on some of the white pieces on the chessboard, starlight and flames emerged, their resentment and injustice surging towards one place.
final--
They transformed into the faces of Yan Wan and Ye Xiren.
Chi Zhanlan Ce suddenly raised his head, his breathing becoming rapid, his white face dimming—was it because of these lives?!
After a long pause, he said, "When I attacked Beidu, the Xingtai moved south. Daliang had a large population, and there were still many righteous people in various places. Not all officials and soldiers were willing to lower their heads and massacre the city. This was to make the subsequent battles go more smoothly."
“I am dead, and the future of Northern Yan is lost. If we cannot completely destroy Liang, a new court will soon emerge and oppose Northern Yan again. That is why the Southern Capital was sunk in the river.”
Chi Zhanlan Ce curled his lips into a smile, his eyes filled with mockery and stubbornness:
"The victor is king and the loser is a bandit. One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand. This is the way of history and the law of nature. I am a man of Northern Yan, and the people of Daliang are merely enemies in my eyes."
It's just killing the enemy, what's wrong with that?
The old man shook his head upon hearing this, his voice calm: "But in the end, most people in this world are ordinary people. They are the peddlers and laborers who were slaughtered in the north, and the innocent people who were drowned in the river in the south. Not everyone is like Chi Zhanlan Ce."
"It's not only Chi Zhanlan Ce who is human."
These chess pieces, these countless lives, are just numbers to Chi Zhanlan Ce, just dust beneath his feet, but they are all living beings, they could be any one of "you or me".
Destiny will look after everyone.
If one person is insignificant, then tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions... It's not that fate doesn't favor Chi Zhan Lan Ce, but that countless innocent people who died unjustly are resisting "the mandate of heaven"!
Seeing that his expression was still troubled, the old man picked up another chess piece that would determine the outcome and handed it to him.
Chi Zhanlan Ce lowered his eyes.
He then reached out and took it.
The images flickered before his eyes, and he was once again pulled into a deep dream.
At this moment, in a world without any cycle of reincarnation and without heart disease, the most ideal ending in Chi Zhanlan Ce's mind appeared before him.
After the fall of Beidu, Chizhanlan ordered the massacre of the city's inhabitants.
Afterwards, they caught up with the Emperor of Liang and slaughtered all the court officials. Many people in Liang were terrified, and their Northern Yan army was invincible, with no further obstacles.
They carried out a massacre.
The massacre of Beidu was just the beginning.
What should we do if the people of Daliang are numerous? Then kill them, kill them until they are few in number, kill them until they can no longer cause any trouble.
The more suppressed and frenzied the situation, the stronger the backlash. Yan Danqing reappeared, raising a large army of refugees. Those Liang people who had national and personal grudges against Northern Yan were determined to fight them to the death.
Even if I die, taking two Northern Yan people with me will make my life worthwhile.
In this frenzy, Northern Yan suffered heavy losses. Yan Danqing was a human weapon with no relatives left. Since there was no court in Liang, no one stopped him. Only batches of Liang people, filled with national and personal hatred, kept approaching him and fighting against Northern Yan together.
However, in the end, Chi Zhanlan Ce was more ruthless. Relying on cruelty and ferocity, he firmly occupied half of the northern part of Daliang. Yan Danqing guarded the south and refused to give an inch either.
One is attacking, the other is defending; neither can gain the upper hand.
They remained deadlocked for decades. Finally, Yan Danqing's accumulated injuries, heartache, and concern for his country and its people led him to die before Chi Zhanlan Ce.
In his later years, Chi Zhanlan Ceren conquered the entire Daliang.
In the end, the world belonged to him, Chizhan.
Despite the many twists and turns, Chi Zhanlan Ce was able to fulfill his long-cherished wish, making his life worthwhile and very satisfying.
But the world was pacified in less than a year. Before he could even consolidate his power, the Moto Kingdom, which came after the Northern Yan Grasslands, took advantage of the situation and secretly occupied the Northern Yan Grasslands. They thought that Chizhan Lance, having occupied the Central Plains, would not return, much less compete with them...
Chi Zhanlan Ce was furious. He was ambitious and capable, and no one in the world could stop him.
So he drove the Moto Kingdom out again.
They must pay the price for their actions!
The Chizhan Army set out again, and finally, on his aging day, he conquered the Moto Kingdom. He, Chizhan Lance, unified the three kingdoms, and this land under his feet, except for a few small surrounding kingdoms, all took the name Chizhan!
Is this the end?
No, there was more to come.
The year after conquering Moto, the small state of Zhou Qi, fearing that Northern Yan would send troops, took the initiative to attack them. Chi Zhanlan Ce was furious and once again mobilized his troops. This time, he suddenly found that there were no soldiers to fight and no food to eat.
He ruled over three kingdoms, but there were only a few scattered people farming the land. Where did everyone else go?
They starved to death, they died in battle.
But he was still the Chizhan Lance, and even so, he would not fail. It took him two years to destroy Zhou Qi and then take over another country.
Is the world at peace?
No, he had just returned to Beidu when Yunlai attacked from the west, once again challenging his authority.
Unlike Zhou Qi, who feared their destruction, Yun Lai, during the decades-long war between Liang and Northern Yan, saw two consecutive emperors with exceptional foresight, recruiting people and accumulating wealth, secretly strengthening themselves by taking advantage of their conflict.
Yunlai has come prepared, poised to unleash their power, and is poised to conquer the world.
Ninety-nine percent of the people of Daliang died. The remaining people did not want Northern Yan to win. In the decades of fighting, generations of people from Northern Yan also died...
As for Chi Zhanlan Ce, he has grown old.
As the Northern Yan was about to send troops to meet the attack from Yunlai, the elderly Chizhan Lance, with his full head of white hair, sat on the dragon throne, silently looking out of the palace, looking at... the setting sun.
Are you afraid of Yunlai?
no.
He just suddenly couldn't see the end.
Having fought countless battles and killed many, he gazed into the distance and suddenly realized that the village was deserted, the endless farmland was barren, the abandoned houses had collapsed, and the blood on the land of the three kingdoms had not yet dried.
Where did they go?
The elderly Chi Zhanlan Ce lowered his head and saw a mountain of corpses and a sea of white bones beneath his feet.
—They are here.
Dressed in white, the handsome Chi Zhanlan Ce suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the person opposite him. The ship fell silent, and the chessboard rippled gently like water.
Dozens of cycles might just be an opportunity for him.
If Beidu hadn't massacred the city, there would be no cycle of Yan Wan's fate. If the methods had been changed, there wouldn't have been repeated restarts. After Yan Wan's failure, if Nandu hadn't been drowned, there would be no cycle of Ye Xiren's fate...
Every bite and every sip is predetermined.
After a long while, Chi Zhanlan Ce shook his head, his eyes mocking: "I don't believe in any of this. What you've shown me are things that never happened. Fate just hasn't been on my side in this life."
He paused, then said:
"Old man, this life is already like this. In the next life, grant me a long life and give me Ye Xiren in return."
However, the old man did not agree. He simply shook his head and smiled, "How you choose, how you go, what you gain and what you lose along the way, are all your own fate. A single thought can make all the difference. If you want to get something, you have to do it. This old man cannot interfere."
Chi Zhanlan tilted his head, curious:
"Then who exactly are you?"
Isn't what people see after they die their destiny?
The old man smiled, took off his veil, and revealed a face exactly like his own, except that his hair was white, his face was full of wrinkles, and his cloudy eyes were infinitely clear.
—This is the elderly Chi Zhanlan Ce, his feet seemingly treading on mountains of corpses and seas of people.
He paused slightly, his eyes wide with surprise.
Subconsciously, he looked at the boy who was rowing the boat. The boy felt his gaze, raised his head, and smiled brightly at him. It was none other than the young Chi Zhan Lan Ce, who had aspired to conquer the world in his childhood. His eyes were clear and bright, as if he were still on the vast grassland, where the world was boundless and he was setting sail.
The ship fell silent again. Then, Chi Zhanlan Ce chuckled, shook his head, and threw the two chess pieces in his hand back onto the chessboard, where they landed in their original positions.
That's really interesting.
The chessboard rippled like water and then disappeared.
After a long while, he sighed softly: "If I could do it all over again, I would do it the same way. The winner takes all and the loser is nothing. That is who I am, Chi Zhan Lan Ce."
The boat, carrying people, drifted away on the green water, eventually becoming a black dot and disappearing from sight.
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Author's note: Just a heads-up, there are two more bonus chapters coming!
The next chapter is Yan Wan's happy ending, "A Fleeting Dream," which will feature Xixi and Danqing, but not much. The last epilogue is about Xixi and Danqing. Whichever you want to see, come whenever you want! The content is all in the title!
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