Nationalist Alliance
On the walls of Anyi, the tattered banner bearing the character "Xiao," in the morning breeze of the seventeenth day of the siege, finally ceased its hopeless swaying. It hung limply, like a warrior who had exhausted his last ounce of strength, its corners stained with a dark brown grime that was hard to tell whether it was blood or mud. Below the city, the Di Rong army, like the receding tide of black water, slowly retreated, churning up dust. Huyan Zhuo's ferocious wolf-head banner swayed one last, unwilling wave on the distant horizon before finally disappearing completely into the withered waves of grass.
They withdrew their troops.
There were no cheers, no relief at surviving. A deathly silence, like a plague, enveloped the ravaged, decaying city. The remaining defenders leaned against the charred battlements, their eyes blankly fixed on the ravaged camp and the ashes of the still-burning campfires left by the Di Rong outside the city. Their weapons were broken, their armor riddled with knife and arrow wounds, their faces frozen in weariness, numbness, and a deeper, more profound bewilderment. The refugees huddled among the ruins, too exhausted even to weep. Hunger and plague, like invisible giant hands, still gripped the city's throat. The Di Rong had retreated, but had temporarily replaced the executioner with time. Death continued its slow, relentless harvest.
With a grating creak, the city gates slowly opened a crack. A group of emaciated, almost unrecognizable envoys, supported by their emaciated forms, staggered out of Anyi and headed in the direction the Di Rong had retreated. They were a peace delegation cobbled together by Yan Song on the eve of the city's fall, using the last few bags of provisions and the few remaining attractive female servants in the city as "sincerity." The envoys carried a letter of surrender, handwritten by Yan Song and stamped with the seal of the Hexi Water Conservancy Bureau. Their words were humble, promising to cede territory, pay reparations, and offer grain, merely begging Huyan Zhuo to temporarily quell his wrath. This gamble, wagered on the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, unexpectedly won.
When the news reached Anyi, a suppressed yet uncontrollable uproar erupted from the stone fortress where Yan Song was hiding.
"It's done! Huyan Zhuo has agreed! Hexi is saved!" Yan Song's fat face, sunken from fear and hunger, was now flushed red with excitement, and his small eyes gleamed with the light of relief after surviving a disaster. "Quick! Prepare the horses! I will personally go to Commander Huyan's camp to finalize the details of the alliance! The survival of Hexi depends entirely on this!"
He hastily changed into the only remaining set of relatively decent official robes, and surrounded by trusted officers and servants, rushed out of the stone fortress as if fleeing a plague. He mounted his horse and galloped out of the city. His hooves trampled over the corpses lying in the streets and the muddy filth, splashing up nauseating waves. He didn't even glance at the lives struggling on the brink of death; his eyes were only on the "merit" that was about to be obtained—to secure a chance for Hexi (in reality, for himself and the Legalist nobles behind him) to prolong their lives.
Xiao Yuxuan stood atop the city wall, coldly watching Yan Song and his entourage disappear into the distance. His tattered armor remained on, and the wound on his forehead from the Luoshui sluice gate had reopened slightly, seeping blood from days of bloodshed and exhaustion. Sheng Guo stood silently behind him, the arm shield left by Jing Zhi on her arm riddled with fresh knife marks and arrow holes.
"General, we...held the position?" A young refugee with a broken leg leaned against the parapet asked in a hoarse voice, a glimmer of disbelief in his eyes.
Xiao Yuxuan didn't answer. He slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the city walls, both inside and outside. On the walls, soldiers lay unconscious, leaning against their weapons; wounded soldiers, their wounds festering, delirious with fever; below, mountains of rotting corpses lay unburied, women and children huddled in corners, barely clinging to life, awaiting death; the air thick with the stench of decay and despair. They held on? A cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. This city was rotten to the core, inside and out. Di Rong's blade had temporarily withdrawn, but hunger, plague, and the ruthless exploitation by the likes of Yan Song—weren't these all death warrants? This so-called "holding on" was nothing more than replacing a swift slaughter with a slow, agonizing death.
Three days later, the fate of the Hexi region was brutally nailed to the pillar of shame at Yinmapo, where Huyan Zhuo was temporarily stationed, dozens of miles away from Anyi City.
At the foot of Yinma Slope, a symbolic "surrender platform" had been hastily erected. Huyan Zhuo sat high on the platform, clad in a black wolf-skin cloak, his bushy beard bristling, his copper-bell-like eyes gleaming with the arrogance and cruel mockery of a conqueror. At his feet knelt Yan Song, the Director of the Hexi Water Conservancy Bureau. Yan Song's official robes were stained with mud, his forehead pressed against the cold ground, his obese body trembling slightly with fear, his mouth repeatedly uttering obsequious eulogies. Behind him were the few remaining legal officials and representatives of powerful clans in Hexi, all ashen-faced, prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.
Gu Yan, dressed in a simple, dark blue robe, stood alone among the kneeling crowd, his posture as upright as a lone pine tree on a cliff. He did not kneel, but calmly cupped his hands in the direction of Huyan Zhuo. His face, which always carried a hint of a smile, was now filled with an icy calm, his gaze deep, as if piercing through the humiliating ceremony before him, landing on a more distant chessboard. He represented the central government, an extension of the ruthless will of Legalism, and, more importantly, the player in this cruel transaction with Hexi as its chessboard.
Huyan Zhuo's gaze lingered on Gu Yan for a moment, a hint of amusement mixed with a barely perceptible apprehension. He knew that the power and methods behind this seemingly frail envoy were far more terrifying than those sycophants beneath his feet. His rough voice rolled across the grassland like thunder:
"The officials of Hexi have betrayed their promises and repeatedly violated our territory! When my heavenly army arrived, I intended to massacre the city to avenge this humiliation! Considering your sudden repentance and surrender of the city, I, with my benevolence, have granted your request! However, the laws of the land are clear, and your crimes cannot be escaped! This treaty is hereby established as a warning to others!"
As his words fell, a Di Rong shaman priest, clad in a brightly colored feathered robe and with a ferocious face painted, dragged a struggling, groaning pure black bull onto the high platform. The priest chanted incantations, and with a flash of cold light, his bone knife precisely severed the bull's throat! Hot blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing into a massive bronze goblet below, filled with murky wine! A thick, pungent stench of blood instantly filled the air.
"We swear an oath of blood! Heaven, earth, and spirits bear witness!"
Huyan Zhuo stepped forward first, extending his thick wrist as the shaman used a bone knife stained with cow's blood to cut a gash, dripping his blood into the blood wine. Gu Yan remained expressionless, calmly extending his left hand and letting the bone knife slice across his palm, dripping crimson blood. Yan Song and the others trembled as they rose, taking turns to cut their own blood. When the blood of all the "parties" had blended into the murky, foul-smelling wine, the shaman raised the giant goblet, chanting an ancient, blood-soaked Di-Rong oath, and then violently splashed the blood wine onto the cold ground of the surrender platform! The dark red liquid meandered like a venomous snake, seeping into the soil.
"Now that the alliance is made, those who break their oaths shall be punished like this! Their souls shall be scattered, and their tribes shall be forever condemned to the blood hell!" Huyan Zhuo's voice was like a curse from the deepest hell.
Then, a sheepskin covenant written in both Di Rong script and Central Plains seal script was unfurled. Gu Yan's voice was clear and steady as he read aloud the clauses, each one soaked in humiliation and bloodshed. His voice echoed across the open slope, each word like an icicle piercing the heart of every Hexi person present:
"Firstly: We shall cede three hundred li of fertile land west of the Luo River and south of the Black Stone Ridge to the Di and Rong tribes as their horse pasture! This boundary marker shall be erected here and shall never be moved!"
Several Di Rong warriors grinned and slammed a huge boundary marker, engraved with a ferocious wolf's head, onto the massive sand table representing the Hexi territory. The location was precisely the core area on which Anyi City depended for survival!
"Secondly: Annual tribute! The Hexi region shall pay an annual tribute of 1,000 yi of gold, 100,000 jin of fine iron, 50,000 bolts of fine silk, and 3,000 strong slaves to the Di and Rong tribes! The first tribute shall be delivered within three months, without delay!"
Yan Song and his men lay prostrate on the ground, their bodies trembling even more violently. Gold? Refined iron? Silk? Slaves? Hexi was already a scorched wasteland; these tributes would ultimately only turn into cruel tortures that squeezed the marrow from the bones of the displaced people!
"Thirdly: The Hexi region will never be fortified! The city defenses of Anyi, Xiling, and Yanhui will be dismantled, leaving only the towns and villages! Di and Rong merchants will be free to travel, and the officials and civilians of Hexi will not be allowed to obstruct or inspect them! If any Di or Rong warriors 'hunt' (rob) within the Hexi territory, the Hexi government will not intervene!"
Never defended! This means that the Hexi region has completely become a hunting ground for the Di and Rong tribes to take whatever they want! Yan Song pressed his forehead against the ground, cold sweat mixed with dirt streaming down his face.
"Fourth: All officials below the Governor-General of Hexi (i.e. Yan Song) must submit to the Great Chanyu of the Di Rong and pay tribute, and come to court every year! The laws and regulations in Hexi remain unchanged, but matters involving the Di Rong must be reported to General Huyan Zhuo for adjudication!"
Yan Song lowered his head even further, almost burying it in the soil. He managed to keep his position, but became Di Rong's watchdog.
"Fifth: Severely punish the culprit! Former General Xiao Yuxuan has repeatedly offended the Di and Rong tribes, and his crimes are unforgivable! The Hexi government is ordered to bring this man to Commander Huyan's tent within one month! If he is not brought to the tent by the deadline, or if anyone dares to release him, it will be considered a breach of the alliance. The Di and Rong cavalry will surely return and massacre Hexi, leaving no one alive!"
The final line, like a cold noose, tightened around everyone's necks! Huyan Zhuo's gaze, like a venomous snake, swept over Gu Yan's calm face, over Yan Song's trembling back, and finally settled on the blurry outline of Anyi City in the distance, filled with deep-seated resentment. The defeat at Guijianchou's hands was a profound humiliation for him! This humiliation must be washed away with Xiao Yuxuan's blood!
The covenant was read aloud. Gu Yan, representing the imperial court, Hu Yanzhuo, representing the Di and Rong tribes, and Yan Song, representing the Hexi Corridor, branded the sheepskin covenant with their own blood, marking it with a mark of humiliation.
"The alliance is now established; I hope Hexi will uphold it! I, the commander, will wait and see!" With these final, threatening words, Huyan Zhuo mounted his horse, and with a wild laugh and billowing dust, led his army in a final, truly retreating. Only a desolate scene remained before Yinma Slope, along with the still-dry, foul-smelling pool of blood-stained oath wine.
Supported by his confidants, Yan Song slumped to his feet, his face a mixture of exhaustion from escaping death and the dejection of being a puppet. He looked at Gu Yan and forced a fawning smile that was more like a grimace: "Many...many thanks to Mr. Gu for his mediation! The people of Hexi will forever be grateful! This...this alliance..." He hesitated, his gaze sweeping over the parchment scroll, especially the last clause concerning the capture and surrender of Xiao Yuxuan.
Gu Yan's gaze swept over Yan Song, over the distraught officials of Hexi, and finally settled on the horizon where the dust billowed by the Di Rong army had risen. A barely perceptible weariness and coldness flickered deep in his eyes. He slowly rolled up the heavy sheepskin covenant, his voice flat and emotionless: "The covenant is established, and it is the law of the land. Hexi, you'd better behave yourselves." With that, he ignored Yan Song and the others, turning to walk towards his carriage. Sunlight fell on his plain blue robe, but it seemed unable to penetrate the invisible chill that enveloped him.
When this copy of the alliance, written in blood and tears in Hexi, was delivered to Anyi City by Yan Song's trusted confidant on horseback and presented to Xiao Yuxuan, it was already evening.
Inside the dilapidated county government hall, which served as a makeshift command post, the lights were dim. Xiao Yuxuan sat alone on the cold stone steps. Before him lay the sheepskin covenant spread out on the floor. The flickering lamplight illuminated his sharply defined profile, and also the shocking terms on the sheepskin scroll. Cession of territory, reparations, enslavement, never being able to defend itself, submission and tribute… and finally, “Bound and offered to Xiao Yuxuan!”
The air seemed to freeze. Sheng Guo's hand, gripping the hilt of his knife, bulged with veins, his teeth grinding together, his chest heaving violently, his eyes burning with humiliation as he stared intently at the last line of the covenant. Several refugee leaders and soldiers who had rushed to the scene, having fought side-by-side in the Ghost's Sorrow, looked at the contents of the covenant. Their faces went from shock to deathly pale, then from deathly pale to ashen, finally leaving only a numb despair of being utterly betrayed and crushed into the dust.
“General…they…how could they…” A leader of the displaced people with a missing arm choked up and couldn’t continue.
Xiao Yuxuan didn't move. His gaze lingered on the dried, blackened "blood wine" mark, a symbol of their oath. The stench seemed to permeate the parchment. He slowly raised his head, his gaze passing through the broken window frame to the desolate street outside the government office. In the darkness, suppressed sobs and dying groans could be faintly heard. A small, thin figure was struggling to drag a tiny corpse towards the mass grave outside the city. It was the latest victim of the plague.
"Drinking poison to quench thirst..."
Xiao Yuxuan's deep, hoarse voice broke the deathly silence. He didn't roar angrily, nor did he make any mournful accusations; instead, he displayed a chilling calm that seemed to have seen through the ways of the world. He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the ghostly city outside.
“Gu Yan used three hundred miles of fertile land in Hexi, the marrow of tens of thousands of people, and my head, Xiao Yuxuan,” he paused, each word like an ice bead hitting the ground, “to exchange for the temporary withdrawal of the Di Rong troops, and for the false peace of ‘temporary cessation of border troubles’ in the eyes of the court. What a cunning chess game! What a ‘long-term stability’!”
He whirled around, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over Sheng Guo and the ashen-faced refugee leaders: "Do you see this? Every word in this treaty was written with the blood of the soldiers on the walls of Anyi, the bones of the refugees from the collapsed Luo River dam, and the lives of the people who are now wailing and waiting to die in the city! Ceding territory means cutting off the people's means of survival! Paying reparations means paying for the cruel torture of being squeezed to the bone! Never being able to defend ourselves means placing the necks of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children in Hexi under the butcher's knife of the Di and Rong tribes forever! Submitting as vassals and paying tribute means making the people of this land slaves for generations to come!"
His voice suddenly rose, carrying a penetrating force that seemed to tear through the night: "And to capture and offer up Xiao Yuxuan? Hahaha!" He let out a mournful, cold laugh, "It's nothing more than stamping this dirty deal with a seemingly 'fair' seal! Using the head of a 'criminal general' to quell the Di Rong's anger, to silence the voices of the court, to fulfill Gu Yan's 'achievements' of maneuvering, and to preserve the sycophantic official positions of the likes of Yan Song!"
He pointed sharply to the boundless darkness outside the yamen: "And what is the price of all this? It is that from now on, there will be no peace in Hexi! The greed of the Di and Rong tribes is insatiable! Today they cede three hundred li, tomorrow they want five hundred li! Today they offer three thousand slaves, tomorrow they want five thousand people! Today they bind Xiao Yuxuan, tomorrow they will demand that Hexi hand over all those who dare to resist! This alliance is not the foundation of peace, but the fuse that ignites an even greater war! It is a second butcher's knife hanging over Hexi's head, ready to fall at any moment! It's like drinking poison to quench thirst; it may stop the thirst temporarily, but it will drag the entire Hexi into an abyss of no return!"
A deathly silence fell over the hall. Only Xiao Yuxuan's voice, cold and furious like that of someone tempered by fire, echoed between the broken beams and pillars. Sheng Guo's fists clenched until they turned white, his nails digging deep into his palms. The numbness in the eyes of the refugee leaders was ignited, transforming into a flame mixed with grief and despair. Gu Yan's chess game, the court's schemes, Di Rong's greed, Yan Song's despicable nature... at this moment, this blood-written alliance was laid bare, exposing the pus and bones flowing beneath.
Xiao Yuxuan fell silent. He bent down, picked up the heavy sheepskin covenant from the ground, and without even glancing at it, tossed it into the brazier in the corner as if discarding a filthy object. The sheepskin quickly curled and charred in the flames, emitting a pungent stench. The flickering firelight illuminated the unhealed wound on his face and the resolute determination in his eyes, as cold as ice.
He turned and strode out of the county government hall, into the impenetrable darkness and despair of Anyi City. Sheng Guo and the others followed silently.
At the foot of a dilapidated courtyard wall, half-collapsed by artillery fire, Xiao Yuxuan stopped. This was the place where he had personally planted a few locust tree seeds at the beginning of the siege. The war and famine did not seem to have completely destroyed them. By the faint starlight, several frail, thread-like sprouts could be seen stubbornly peeking out from the cracks in the rubble and scorched earth. Their tender green color was almost invisible in the deathly darkness, yet it was so tenacious that it was heart-wrenching.
Xiao Yuxuan crouched down, extended his fingers, and gently brushed away the dust clinging to the tender sprout. He could feel the faint pulse of that tiny life at his fingertips. He gazed for a long time at this new green shoot struggling to emerge from the abyss of despair.
Gu Yan used a treaty that split the country to buy the court a temporary respite.
Yan Song used groveling and obsequiousness to prolong his life for a short while.
Huyan Zhuo used bloody terms to fill the chasm of greed.
And on this scorched earth, how much blood and tears will it take to water this tiny bit of greenery so that it can truly take root in this game of national division?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
