See the light of day
"Urgent report from the imperial court—" Several people outside shouted and tried to rush in, so Zhao Peiming went out to check.
"Governor?! You're actually here!"
"What's wrong?" Zhao Peiming stepped forward and helped the villager steady.
"A messenger has delivered an imperial edict at the village entrance. Sha Jie has ambushed the Imperial Guard camp at Lingxi Pass and is poised to advance south. The Emperor has specifically ordered you, sir, to lead troops back to defend the area!" the accompanying soldier replied.
No, the imperial guards are right here. Why send the elite cavalry instead of the border guards? Is the emperor afraid I'll be left to establish my own independent regime, or have the imperial guards already slipped out of his control and he's short-handed? Zhao Peiming wondered.
"Where is the messenger? Tell him to bring the imperial edict to me! I can't leave until I see the seal on it with my own eyes!" Zhao Peiming patted Meng Yuxing on the shoulder, and then ran with the two of them toward the village entrance.
“Then I won’t disturb you. The general’s men will arrive soon. The leader will bring a jade pendant with the same pattern as the broken jade in your hand. You can tell the difference between the real and the fake.” Jiang Heng said and hurriedly left.
On his way to the training ground in the village, Jiang Heng bumped into a group of people walking back and asked, "How did it go?"
“It’s an imperial decree,” Zhao Peiming said, handing another jade pendant to Jiang Heng. He stroked Jiang Heng’s flushed cheek and then tucked a strand of his hair behind his hand. “I have to leave now. You… take care.”
Jiang Heng watched the group leave, the jade pendant burning in his hand.
Regardless of the possibility, it seems the Emperor is finding it difficult to mobilize the majority of the Imperial Guards. Jiang Heng thought, leading his horse. He had to get back to the court as soon as possible; the edifice was about to collapse.
Upon reaching Wanquan Pass, he saw wisps of gray smoke rising from the city gates, a scene clearly marked by devastation. Jiang Heng carefully led his horse through the gates, his eyes wide with astonishment as he slowly passed the swirling dust of history. All he saw were the frozen corpses of disaster victims by the roadside; some seemed to still hold a sliver of hope, but now it was all in vain—their dry, sunken eyes only indicated that their deaths hadn't been swift enough. In the distance, the meowing of a cat or the cries of a child swept in with the north wind. Jiang Heng was filled with anxiety; his heart ached. His cheeks were red from the cold, and his tears, though hot, clung to his eyelashes before falling, glistening.
Once outside the city, he didn't look back. Instead, he closed his eyes and kept walking. He was going to keep going until one day he could provide for them not just with indignation and tears, but with enough to truly make them prosperous. These painful scars were inevitable, but as long as he thought about it and acted on it, there was a glimmer of hope. Even if he was the only one left, it might just be him.
Jiang Heng mounted his horse, flung off the reins, and disappeared into the winter snow.
—————
“Brother Zhao, don’t you find it strange? Princess Yunrong just went to Shajie Pass not long ago, and now it’s winter. How dare they launch a sneak attack at this time?” Zhou Ze led a team to follow Zhao Peiming.
“But this is a ‘sacred decree’,” Zhao Peiming said in a deep voice, turning his head. “Disobeying it means certain death.”
"The official road is difficult to travel in the snow, could this have been foreseen?" Zhou Ze shouted through the wind and snow, "The deadline is too short, this is clearly an attempt to kill us!"
"My goodness, say less!" Wang Sheng shouted from behind.
If they take the official road, they won't be able to get back in time. If they do get back, they'll have to fight a desperate battle with Sarenmandula. Is this what a quick victory looks like? Zhao Peiming turned around and galloped towards Hengdao Mountain.
"Governor! Hengdao Mountain is a no-go! Fu Qinxiang may have buried her Imperial Guards there—it's too dangerous!"
"I knew she wanted to kill me! I'll ride her to my death!" Zhao Peiming flung the reins, and the Red Sky Horse galloped through the air, the two of them tearing through the snowy white sky like ghosts.
"Damn it, the governor has gone mad!" Zhou Ze spurred his horse. "I've gone mad too!"
The others were stunned, but they caught up with the determination to go all out.
Without hesitation, the entire cavalry followed Zhao Peiming, cutting a rift into Hengdao Mountain.
Just as they were about to enter the valley, Zhao Peiming raised his hand to signal the entire army to halt. Sa Ta stopped in the old riverbed, his hooves sinking into the mud and snow with a sticky sound. He looked up at both sides—grey-white cliffs soared into the clouds, the sky was only a thin slit, and snow-covered eaves hung like the fangs of a giant beast.
Wang Sheng didn't question anything, simply waiting for the general to give orders. Zhao Peiming's gaze swept over a spot on the rock wall, where the markings the sentries had recently placed still hung. Wang Sheng and the others also noticed that deep red mark, knowing that everything was arranged properly.
Zhao Peiming turned his horse around to face the troops and ordered, "Dismount and make preparations!"
The soldiers dismounted as ordered and stretched their limbs in the narrow riverbed. Half of them had followed Zhao Peiming since Donglin County, and they were already familiar with the cold there, so they could easily handle the snowy weather. Everyone tacitly understood that after this battle, the Great Zhao Dynasty would be ushered in a new era. Several veterans squatted down, grabbed handfuls of snow mixed with riverbed silt, and looked at them thoughtfully. The riverbed was too soft, unusually soft—as if it had been turned over.
Zhao Peiming called Wang Sheng and Zhou Ze over and whispered, "They will make their move at the second bend, the avalanche."
Wang Sheng's pupils contracted slightly: "As expected, everything was arranged."
“Thirty zhang away, there is a crack in the left wall, leading to an old underground river. Xiao Han and his men dug for three days and were able to reach the other side of the canyon,” Zhao Peiming took out a sheepskin map from his pocket, quickly unfolded it and then put it away. “We need to set off half an hour before the avalanche, in batches. Zhou Ze will lead the new army first, and Wang Sheng will lead the experienced soldiers to the rear.”
"But the enemy will see—"
“So we have to act convincingly,” Zhao Peiming looked at the cliff face again. “They need to be sure we’ve all entered the trap before they’ll activate it, so we have to make sure they can see it clearly.”
Wang Sheng understood; so that's how he "died." Zhou Ze took a deep breath and nodded.
Half an hour later, the troops remounted. Zhao Peiming took the lead, leading his troops into the narrowest part of the river. The howling wind pierced their ears. He raised his right hand and made a simple gesture, silently conveying the order to "prepare".
Just then, a snowflake drifted down from high above.
Instead of light snowflakes, clumps of snow slammed down in front of the procession.
"Speed up!" Zhao Peiming roared, "Charge!"
The swift cavalry began to gallop, their hooves kicking up black mud and white snow. However, the riverbed became increasingly soft, and as expected, the rear of the column sank into the mud, causing their speed to drop drastically and them to show signs of becoming disjointed.
"There are falling rocks above! Everyone be careful!" Wang Sheng shouted a warning while looking at Zhao Peiming—the governor raised his right arm and clenched his fist. He immediately led the team to change from three columns to two columns, and the other team leaders reacted instantly. The originally compact formation quickly lengthened and continued to move forward in a mighty and orderly manner.
A faint eagle's cry seemed to emanate from the top of the rock face; it was the sound of a specially made bugle call—the enemy was ready.
"Now!" Zhao Peiming threw the bundle in his hand toward the stone wall, and the hole disguised as a wooden plank and turf collapsed with a crash, revealing a dark passage.
Zhao Peiming reined in his horse and dodged: "Into the cave!"
The first hundred riders charged towards the cave entrance without hesitation. A large chunk of snow struck the middle of the column, knocking a soldier to the ground. When his comrades pulled him up, his left arm was broken and bleeding profusely. The snow chunks lay scattered on the ground, revealing the stone in the middle. All the witnesses were equally distressed, but their expressions remained unchanged. A real price was paid to make the charade seem real.
"The second batch!"
The soldiers at the rear had no idea what was happening ahead. They only saw more than a hundred people vanish into thin air in the blizzard, causing a commotion.
"Hold on tight!" Wang Sheng roared at the rear guard. "Stay close if you don't want to die!"
Seemingly sensing something amiss, the figure on the mountaintop fired a signal arrow towards Zhao Peiming's feet. As Chi Xiao retreated hastily, Zhao Peiming drew his curved sword and swung it fiercely: "Everyone! Advance—"
A low roar echoed from all sides. It wasn't the avalanche that came first, but the sound itself that caused the entire Hengdao Mountain to tremble. Zhao Peiming saw the entire mountainside moving downwards, with giant white waves rolling down.
"Get in the cave! Quickly!"
Wang Sheng's last squad surged frantically toward the cave entrance. The front of the snow wave had just reached the riverbed. Two soldiers and their horses fell into the snow. One of the yellow horses stretched its neck and struggled, its eyes wide open, before disappearing completely.
Zhao Peiming turned and went into the cave.
The relentless roar from behind gradually subsided.
"General, we've lost twelve men," Zhou Ze, who was at the front, reported.
Zhao Peiming nodded silently—they knew the plan, yet still chose to stay behind.
Where are the horses?
"The journey is going smoothly. We will reach Lingxi Pass in another two miles."
Wang Sheng emerged from the cave and looked back at the valley. At this moment, the thick snow covered the area, tinged with an eerie golden hue by the setting sun.
"Great! They probably all thought we were long dead in the snow!" Wang Sheng quickly caught up with the main group.
—————
"The remaining troops of the Sa Ta cavalry were killed in an avalanche while taking the route through Wangxia Valley. No one survived."
Fu Qinxiang stood in the main hall, gazing into the distance, quite pleased with her masterpiece: "Spread it out." With that, she turned and entered the hall, slowly walking towards the center.
The north wind whipped up lingering snow, relentlessly battering the palace gates, leaving the imperial city deathly silent. Countless eyes peered fearfully through the window lattices towards the main hall. Zhao Chen's former troops were engaged in fierce fighting on the outer perimeter, while Xie Feihua led her army to Tenglong Pass, attempting to breach the gates.
Fu Qinxiang sat down on the newly installed gilded chair below the imperial steps, dressed in a crimson python robe, her hand holding and caressing the jade seal. The officials were silent as cicadas in winter, their eyes constantly glancing at the warm, smooth object.
"Grand Preceptor," one of Fu Qinxiang's "generals" couldn't contain his excitement, "should we advance the time..."
"What's the rush?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it sent chills down everyone's spines. "The new emperor is ordained by Heaven, and with the imperial seal in hand, when isn't it an auspicious time?"
Her so-called new emperor was nothing more than a young prince of the royal family raised deep in the palace. She could not find the real prince anywhere, so she could only erase the rules and rewrite history with weapons and the imperial seal.
Just then, an unusual commotion arose outside the hall, seemingly a mixture of exclamations and the sounds of armor.
Fu Qinxiang frowned.
The heavy palace doors were slowly pushed open, and two figures walked in step by step against the light of the day outside.
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