Chapter 113 Sharpening the Edge at the Palace Meeting
Yang Xiao looked up at Xiao Yan's increasingly aggressive chess moves and frowned in thought.
At that moment, a soldier rushed into the hall in a panic, startling them.
"What's the commotion?" Xiao Yan put down the chess piece in his hand, frowned, and looked back at the pawn that had rushed in.
"Reporting, reporting to Your Highness," the soldier knelt on the ground, panting, "General Xiao's battle formation has been broken, resulting in three consecutive defeats. Not only has Longcheng been lost, but the two prefectures of Hanoi and Shangdang have also been lost..."
"Losing two prefectures in a row?" Xiao Yan looked at the soldiers in disbelief, then waved his hand and laughed, "I thought losing the battle was enough, but I didn't expect to lose a city and two prefectures as well."
"It seems your Chang'an Formation isn't invincible after all." Yang Xiao placed a piece, using his cannon to block Xiao Yan's horse's leg.
Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head. Just as he was about to say something, the soldier interrupted, "It wasn't the Chang'an Formation. General Xiao's initial formation was broken by Bai Ming as soon as it was set up. After that, he pressed his advantage and forced our army into a series of defeats."
“Sigh,” Yang Xiao sighed, feigning regret, “I thought we already had a way to break through the Chang’an Formation.”
“There are ways to overcome this, of course, but you’ll have to figure them out slowly.” Xiao Yan smiled as she moved the horse that was blocking her way and waved her hand to signal the pawn to retreat. “Your chess skills have improved; you can already break my game.” She looked at Yang Xiao with a hint of helplessness and teased, “But why hasn’t your ability to recognize the path improved at all?”
Yang Xiao smiled, secretly touching her sash. She couldn't help but think of the blueprints completed yesterday and the rough annotations beside them. She looked up at Xiao Yan with a smile, "Then I'll trouble Your Highness to search for me."
The news of Bai Ming's capture of Longcheng spread immediately, and Yang Xiao felt overjoyed. Even her usually light sleep became more restful.
-
Within a few days, Xiao Yun's army was defeated and he returned home.
As soon as he entered the Azure Dragon Hall, he angrily pushed aside his servants and rushed into the ranks of officials. The officials who were standing there were startled and quickly scattered to make way for Xiao Yun.
"Yang Xiao! You fickle and treacherous villain!" Before anyone could react, he angrily pointed at Yang Xiao, who was standing next to Xiao Yan, "How dare you betray us and collude with the enemy?"
Yang Xiao was taken aback, pointed to herself, and then chuckled in confusion, "Where would I go to betray the enemy?"
Xiao Yan also stood up, frowning as he looked at Xiao Yun.
"Your Highness is wise. I stayed by your side the whole time during General Xiao's campaign, and I didn't even look for my brother." Yang Xiao sneered and looked at Xiao Yun with disdain.
"Zhong Li'an is definitely not dead, otherwise how could the morale of the Jizhou army be so high!" Xiao Yun pointed at Yang Xiao and angrily rebuked, "They even broke my formation. They couldn't break it so many times before, how come they could this time..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yang Xiao interrupted him coldly, "Whether Zhong Li'an is dead or not depends on the spies you sent. As an assassin, you can't even handle this simple matter." She raised her eyes and sneered, "What, your people only care about killing and don't care about life or death?"
"you……"
Looking at Xiao Yun's exasperated expression, Yang Xiao sighed, "The Long Serpent Formation is just a basic formation. I can break it with a little study. The Long Serpent Formation combined with the Wings and then the Chang'an Formation... can't even change the situation. What kind of formation is that? Did you really think that letting you lead troops would allow you to achieve the same results as your sister?"
Yang Xiao turned her head to look at Xiao Yan, only to find her staring at her with interest. Yang Xiao tilted her head and cast an inquiring glance at Xiao Yan. Seeing Xiao Yan smile and nod slightly, she put aside her concerns, walked around the table, and approached Xiao Yun, "With such a flawed formation, why would I need to accuse you of colluding with the enemy? If you really want to find an excuse for a defeated soldier, you can only blame the low-quality spies you sent earlier."
"And you still dare to say that," Xiao Yun said through gritted teeth, staring at Yang Xiao, "two of the three main forces I sent were killed by you."
Yang Xiao nodded and smiled, raising her chin to point to the person at the very end of the hall, "Isn't there Jia Ding? Isn't he still alive? To be honest, if he hadn't persuaded me with his smooth talk, I probably wouldn't have come here."
"Jia Ding!" Xiao Yun shouted angrily, "Why did you have to turn her against me of all people! If she had come to me, all she would have done was eliminate the troublemakers. Why is she only siding with Xiao Yan and opposing me at every turn!"
Yang Xiao glanced disdainfully at the stammering Jia Ding, then raised an eyebrow at the outspoken Xiao Yun, "I came here only so that the people could enjoy peace and happiness, while Xiao Yan's actions were all for the sake of stabilizing the people. And also..."
Yang Xiao sneered, "If it were anyone else trying to turn you, you'd probably just leave empty-handed, right? After all, who else would have the chance to be so thoroughly smeared with dirt, a stain they can't wash off?"
She continued pacing forward, "Zhongli An and Zhongli Shuo are brothers, and you and His Highness are also brothers. So how can siding with His Highness be considered opposing you? Could it be that you have harbored rebellious intentions all along?"
"Yang Xiao, you..."
"You can't even take two sentences?" Yang Xiao walked up behind him, turned around and stared at him coldly. "What about the fact that you almost killed me?"
The atmosphere inside the hall was extremely oppressive. All the civil and military officials held their breath and watched intently, afraid of making the slightest noise and disturbing these two formidable figures.
"I thought this place would be peaceful, with all civil and military officials working together to defeat the enemy," Yang Xiao coldly swept her gaze across the bewildered officials before her. "Who would have thought," she sneered, "that this court is rife with corruption and a chaotic mix of good and bad. When Xiao Yan usurped power, he had no choice but to cling to treacherous officials, yet now there are still those who dare to try and rise to the top by relying on the power of petty people." Standing behind Xiao Yun, she declared sternly, "With such a situation, how can it not be destroyed?"
Yang Xiao closed her eyes and walked toward Xiao Yan. "Nowadays, Your Highness is surrounded by loyal and virtuous people who are devoted to the country. Yang Song, Lu Qi, and many others are like that. But what about the others? They do not contribute anything to the country and are full of their own shameless desires. They also wantonly suppress those who truly have lofty ambitions! The deceased Cheng Feng is the best example."
She glanced around at Xiao Yun's men and said, "You have no backbone at all and only know how to do things in the gutter. I am just a military general, yet none of you have the courage to refute me. After losing a battle, instead of reflecting on your own incompetence, you first shirk responsibility and blame each other."
Yang Xiao sighed, looked at Xiao Yan with a smile in his eyes and shook her head, "Your Highness has really had a tough time, managing to build such a powerful force with a bunch of petty villains." She seemed to have finished scolding him, looked at Xiao Yan and smiled relaxedly, "It's also my fault for underestimating you before."
Seeing Yang Xiao's gaze shift from its previous sharpness to her helpless expression, Xiao Yan couldn't help but smile. She raised her hand and instructed a servant to pour Yang Xiao a cup of hot tea.
"Fine, Yang Xiao," Xiao Yun said angrily, pointing at Yang Xiao, "you say you're not feigning surrender to me, then show us! What evidence do you have to prove that you're sincerely surrendering to us?"
“Evidence,” Yang Xiao walked back to Xiao Yan’s side and chuckled, “All the evidence points to me assassinating Zhong Li’an. But is this so-called evidence really useful?”
Yang Xiao picked up her hot tea and drank it all in one gulp, completely ignoring Xiao Yun, who was too angry to speak. She placed the teacup on the table. "Next time we fight, I will personally take to the battlefield and capture the enemy general to vent your anger at your defeat. What do you say?"
Xiao Yun gritted her teeth and pointed at Yang Xiao, "Is this really true?"
"really."
“Alright,” Xiao Yan nodded with a smile, finally speaking, “This is the demeanor of a general. The dissatisfaction has been expressed, and the goal has been set, so let’s proceed accordingly. It’s understandable that people are dissatisfied with Yang Xiao, who is new here and has never fought a battle; but your behavior has utterly disappointed her, and there is a possibility of misunderstanding.”
“Next time I will definitely send Yang Xiao to fight. If she loses, I will punish her accordingly; but if she wins,” Xiao Yan’s voice suddenly became sharper, “none of you will be allowed to utter a single word of criticism against her!”
"We will obey Your Highness's decree." Seeing Xiao Yan's demeanor, all the officials could not help but clasp their hands in submission to her.
"Alright, that's settled for today. Everyone, disperse." Xiao Yan nodded and waved his hand, and everyone left.
Watching their figures disappear outside the hall, Xiao Yan couldn't help but sigh with relief. She pulled Yang Xiao to sit down, took a sip of tea, and smiled, "You're usually so taciturn, how come you're so ruthless today?"
"Isn't this why you value me so much?" Yang Xiao pinched the teacup and looked back at Xiao Yan.
"What do you mean?" Xiao Yan asked with a look of great interest.
"You climbed up by relying on treacherous officials, and then gradually distanced yourself from them—that's you." Yang Xiao changed her usual veiled tone and said seriously, "You rose to power by relying on treacherous officials, and then became hopelessly mired in their corruption—that's Xiao Yun. I've already been your scapegoat once, so why not be it again?"
Xiao Yan smiled upon hearing this and patted Yang Xiao's leg. "I knew it. Yang Song must have been lying to me before."
"If you try to deal with so many petty people in secret, you'll find it difficult. If you bring it out into the open, the world will criticize you and your siblings for being at odds. I am your opportunity, aren't I?"
"Why did you choose to help me?" Xiao Yan's eyes looked at Yang Xiao with even more sincerity.
"If I don't help you, who else can I help?" Yang Xiao couldn't help but smile. "Being in this situation, this is probably the choice that any discerning person could make, right?"
"But helping Xiao Yun would obviously be more beneficial for you."
“Then you don’t need to treat me like this.” Yang Xiao smiled and glanced at Xiao Yan. “You trust me so much, so why shouldn’t I help you break through this situation?”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you."
“I will repay your trust, but…” Yang Xiao stood up and paced forward, then looked back at Xiao Yan, her voice deepening, “You owe me a reason to completely trust you.”
“Wait until this battle is over,” Xiao Yan also stood up, “you will know everything you want to know, and you will not regret any of your choices before the battle.”
Yang Xiao nodded and turned to leave the hall.
"Let's go see General Yang first thing tomorrow morning."
Yang Xiao suddenly stopped in her tracks. She stood there for a moment, then let out a long sigh, turned around and solemnly clasped her hands in a fist salute to Xiao Yan before turning and leaving the main hall.
Xiao Yan gazed at her silhouette bathed in sunlight, his eyes involuntarily falling upon the jade hairpin beside the table.
She raised her hand and gently picked up the jade hairpin, examining it in the sunlight for a long time. Finally, she let out a long sigh, put the hairpin into the box with a sense of relief, and turned to leave.
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