Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Morning Light as a Guide
The moment the King of Western Yan fell off his horse helplessly, the Western Yan army instantly panicked. Some were at a loss, while others wanted to step forward to avenge their king.
In the chaos of the army, Zhou Jingzhi and Su Shang's eyes intertwined, one was calm and indifferent, the other was slightly resentful and unwilling.
Su Shang's personal guards blocked the Western Yan soldiers coming to attack him from behind. After a clear eye contact, Su Shang turned his horse's head and rode away in the opposite direction.
Zhou Jingzhi spoke up, "Pass the order down! Not a single Western Yan soldier involved in this battle can be let go."
——
After breaking out of the battle, Su Shang rushed towards the Western Yan King City without stopping.
This time, the King of Western Yan was determined to win the battle against the Jin Dynasty, so the troops he brought were almost the elite troops that could be dispatched from all over Western Yan.
However, due to being too complacent and underestimating the enemy, not only did the King of Western Yan lose his life, but the soldiers he led were also caught in chaos and danger.
The Western Yan soldiers who directly participated in the battle between the two armies' monarchs could not escape, but after the news spread, the other Western Yan troops who stayed at the garrison would also be leaderless and in chaos due to the loss of their monarch.
Taking advantage of the chaos at the front line and before the news of the King of Western Yan's death spread, Su Shang rode back to the King of Western Yan's palace at full speed.
At Su Shang's instigation, the King of Western Yan had personally led the army, leaving the fourteen-year-old Crown Prince behind as regent. When Su Shang returned to the palace, the Crown Prince exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you back, Su Keqing? But my father sent you back."
Su Shang frowned slightly, stopped a few steps in front of the Crown Prince, performed a Western Yan salute, and said, "I have been ordered by the King to return to the Royal City to protect His Highness."
"But now that you're gone, Father..."
"The battle on the front lines is intense. The king is worried about spies in the royal city, so he ordered Binchen to return and conduct a thorough investigation."
"Oh..." The Crown Prince seemed to understand, "So how's the war going on up there? Is Father okay?"
Su Shang raised his eyes and looked at him calmly: "Before Binchen came back, everything was fine, Your Majesty."
——
On the front line, a battle had just ended. Western Yan suffered heavy losses, with countless people captured and killed. Even the country's king died on the battlefield.
Zhou Jingzhi returned to the central military camp and listened to the generals' reports on the battle situation.
"In compliance with His Majesty's order, no one from Western Yan escaped from this battle, but the nearby Western Yan garrisons should soon discover something is amiss."
Zhou Jingzhi looked at the battle situation on the sand table and said thoughtfully, "It's okay. I never intended to hide it from them."
He stood up straight and raised his head, then gave the order: "First, spread the news that the King of Western Yan died in battle to our army. Have all the troops quickly reorganize themselves. Once the remaining troops of Western Yan learn of the King's death, they will attack immediately!"
All the generals bowed and accepted the order.
After all the generals had left, Gu Chou, who had accompanied the emperor from Chang'an, said softly, "Your Majesty, according to the timetable, Su Qilang should have arrived at the Western Yan King City by now."
After hearing this, Zhou Jingzhi was silent for a moment and nodded slightly.
Seeing that Gu Chou was still beside him and seemed to have something to say, Zhou Jingzhi asked, "Does An Ce have anything else to ask?"
Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Gu Chou no longer hesitated and said, "Your Majesty accepted Su Qilang's letter before, and worked with him to lure out the King of Western Yan. Now that the King of Western Yan is dead, Your Majesty still temporarily concealed the news for Su Qilang, giving him time to go to the Western Yan King City. Is it because Su Qilang and Your Majesty are still working together?"
Zhou Jingzhi raised his eyes and looked at the person who asked the question. Over the years, even when he was in trouble, Gu Chou was always by his side and treated him loyally, so he never doubted the person in front of him. He was just not sure about the answer to this question.
Zhou Jingzhi paced a few steps to the side and slowly spoke, "In his last letter, Su Xubai mentioned at the end that he would rush to Xiyan Royal City after this battle. The reason he gave was the same as before—cooperating with me from inside and outside to capture Xiyan Royal City. Although he wrote this in the letter, I still feel that he must have other plans."
Upon hearing this, Gu Chou immediately expressed his concern, "So he wants to use the Western Yan King City as a base, unite with the old Western Yan forces, and do something bad to you like he did to the Western Yan King?"
Gu Chou's worries were not unreasonable. You know, Su Shang was accused of treason when he first fled to Western Yan, and he also wrote a letter to Chang'an to provoke when Western Yan sent troops. If he had not taken the initiative to write a letter to propose cooperation, others would have already regarded him as a traitor. However, his actions were really capricious and unpredictable.
And a crucial point is that his father has died in Dajin, and the many honors of their Su family have collapsed like a tall building, replaced by more insults. From his point of view, the person who caused all this is the monarch of Dajin who is now cooperating with him.
How can we ensure that he has no desire for revenge?
Zhou Jingzhi pondered for a moment after hearing Gu Chou's words and said, "I don't think so. If he wanted to treat me like he treated the King of Western Yan, he wouldn't have had to go to the trouble of killing the King of Western Yan. Otherwise, if the news of him killing the King of Western Yan spread, he would no longer have a foothold in Western Yan, which would only harm him."
"Furthermore, he also brought most of Western Yan's elite troops into the fray. It's clear he desperately wants Western Yan defeated." People's minds are unpredictable. Zhou Jingzhi frowned. "Let the armies march according to their original plan for now. As for Su Xubai... he won't affect the overall situation."
——
Ever since the news of the death of the King of Western Yan spread, the morale of the Western Yan army has almost collapsed. Even though the Western Yan wanted to remedy the situation by placing the crown prince on the throne, the effect was minimal. The army of the Great Jin pushed them back step by step to the royal city.
The army was at the gates of the city. On the day Su Shang entered the palace of Western Yan to meet the new King of Western Yan, as soon as he stepped into the palace, the new King of Western Yan staggered towards him quickly.
"Su Keqing! Su Keqing! The Jin army is approaching the city. You must quickly think of a way to repel them!"
During the period of Jin army's counterattack, like the old king, the new King of Western Yan also relied on Su Shang's plans to repel the Jin army several times. Although the overall situation could not be changed, the new King of Western Yan felt that this was an extremely difficult result.
Moreover, the Jin army has been attacking cities one after another and has penetrated deep into the territory of Western Yan. They will definitely be exhausted one day. As long as Western Yan can hold on, they will always be able to seize the opportunity to counterattack.
And Su Shang was the only person who led their Western Yan army to victory during this period.
The new King of Western Yan regarded him as his lifeline.
Su Shang smiled at him, "Is this the way Your Majesty wants the war to end?"
The war is over... Yes, what he wanted was to repel the Jin army and end the war.
The King of Western Yan nodded repeatedly.
Su Shang still smiled: "Then Binchen does have a way."
Upon hearing this, the King of Western Yan's eyes lit up: "Guest Minister Su, please speak quickly."
"Your Majesty, please follow me."
Su Shang brought the King of Western Yan to the imperial desk.
"Your Majesty, please take a seat."
The King of Western Yan sat down slowly and asked, "Is there something that you, Mr. Su, want to show me?"
A fourteen-year-old young man who had just ascended the throne had not yet adapted to the change in his self-proclaimed name.
Su Shang looked at the long sword placed next to the imperial desk. He heard that the King of New Western Yan had been unable to sleep or eat because of the war in recent days, and even in his dreams he shouted to the Jin army not to kill him. That was why he always carried a sword with him.
Su Shang did not answer him. He simply spread out a piece of paper for him, ground some ink for him, dipped the pen in it, and handed it to him: "Your Majesty, write."
The King of Western Yan's smile faded in an instant: "What to write?"
Su Shang smiled: "A letter of surrender."
"What……"
"Your Majesty, don't you want the war to stop? Under the current circumstances, only surrender can stop the war." Facing the astonishment of the King of Western Yan, Su Shang still said as he pleased.
The corners of the Western Yan King's mouth twitched, and he said in disbelief, "Are you kidding, Mr. Su? I said I wanted to stop the war, but I didn't say I wanted to surrender. Mr. Su, you are the only one who can repel the Jin army. How can you say there is no way? I...!"
A flash of light appeared in his eyes, and the King of Western Yan shuddered when the cold sword fell on his neck. While Su Shang was speaking, he seemed to take a few steps casually, but he suddenly pulled out the sword that the King of Western Yan had placed on the sword rack.
"Step back!" Su Shang shouted back the palace maids who were about to step forward in the hall.
He placed the sword on the neck of the King of Western Yan, and the palace servants did not dare to act rashly upon seeing this.
Su Shang lowered his eyes and said coldly to the person he held hostage: "Write it."
"Write, write what?"
"Letter of Surrender."
The King of Western Yan's hands trembled uncontrollably and he was reluctant to write.
Su Shang saw through his concerns. "Do you think everyone can be a good ruler at the age of thirteen or fourteen? Do you think you alone can save your Western Yan from collapse? Do you think your ministers are willing to be your scapegoats and fight off the Jin army for your Western Yan?" Su Shang sneered and spoke more slowly. "Why don't you call in those ministers standing outside your palace and ask them what they think?"
"Outside the palace gate?!" King Xi Yan turned his head to look.
Su Shang curled his lips. "They were all petitioning you to surrender. Who would be so foolish as to risk their lives for the foundation of your Helian family? What do you think your father invaded the Great Jin for? Wasn't it also because of his greed? Unfortunately, his greed was not fulfilled, and he even implicated you."
"Although you're only fourteen, you've probably read a fair amount of history and know the fate of those who stubbornly resisted throughout history. So, if you want to survive, surrender is your only option. How old are you? How many good days have you lived? Are you so willing to be torn into pieces and hacked to pieces?"
Su Shang's voice was like a cold breeze blowing out of a cave. When it blew past the earlobe, it brought a chill along the ear canal and into the whole body.
"Write quickly." His voice was neither hurried nor slow, but the sound came out from between his teeth.
The cold sword was sharp, and there was a slight stinging pain at the neck. The King of Western Yan began to write the letter of surrender with trembling hands.
"Wrong! The person you want to surrender to is Shangguan Xu of the Great Jin Dynasty!"
An angry shout rang in his ears. The King of Western Yan did not care and did not dare to ask why. He quickly took another piece of paper and started writing the letter of surrender from the beginning.
——
When the King of Western Yan surrendered, all the ministers of Western Yan followed him outside the royal city and surrendered with the national seal.
Zhou Jingzhi led his troops outside the city, and Da Jin stepped forward to accept the letter of surrender from the King of Western Yan.
The King of Western Yan dared not even raise his head, only glancing at the person delivering the letter of surrender. When he saw it was almost in the hands of the Great Jin monarch, he shouted, "Your Majesty, the Lord of Western Yan, Helian Yongfeng, leads all his subjects in surrendering to the Great Jin… I am willing to give up the name of our country and place the entire territory under the jurisdiction of the Great Jin. I only beg the Emperor of the Great Jin to show mercy and spare the people of Western Yan from the scourge of war."
Zhou Jingzhi looked at the letter of surrender in his hand and understood why the New King of Western Yan hesitated for a moment and why his voice became weaker and weaker afterwards.
This is because the person the King of Western Yan wrote in the letter of surrender was not the monarch of the Great Jin but Shangguan Xu of the Great Jin.
The King of Western Yan trembled uncontrollably all over.
At that time, Su Shang put a knife to his neck and asked him to write that the person he wanted to surrender to was Shangguan Xu of the Jin Dynasty. But how could such a surrender letter not mention the ruler of a country, but the queen of a country?
The King of Western Yan was afraid that Zhou Jingzhi would become angry and refuse to accept his surrender and kill him directly.
Unexpectedly, he heard the king laugh softly.
The King of Western Yan mustered up the courage to look up at him, only to see that the man on the horse had gentle features, a handsome figure, and a jade-like temperament. He had just closed the letter of surrender, and there was still a smile in the corners of his eyes, without any sign of taking his anger out on anyone.
The young king's clear voice came: "King of Western Yan, you forgot a sentence."
The King of Western Yan clenched his hands, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. But he heard the man say, "Surrender to whomever you choose is one option, and surrender to the Great Jin is another. Otherwise, if your subjects of Western Yan refuse to accept your surrender, won't this letter of surrender be unclear?"
It can be said that the act of surrendering to whom, and because of whom, is also a sign of being convinced by that person. However, it is only directed at that person. In other words, if the letter of surrender does not clearly state which country to surrender to, then after that person's death, the surrendering person can use this as an excuse to tear up the surrender agreement and rebel again.
The King of Western Yan responded repeatedly: "Your Majesty is right. I will change my ways immediately."
——
In this war, Western Yan was transformed from a vassal state of the Jin Dynasty to a territory of the Jin Dynasty. For this reason, Zhou Jingzhi also had to stay in Western Yan for a period of time to arrange the jurisdiction of the various territories of Western Yan.
However, just as he and the King of Western Yan stepped into the palace of Western Yan, a flash of sword light suddenly appeared in the hall, and a masked man came towards him with a sword!
Zhou Jingzhi instinctively moved back to the side to avoid the sharp sword, then drew out the sword he was carrying and fought back.
The two swords collided.
The gazes of the two people facing each other converged.
The King of Western Yan beside him was so frightened that his legs went limp and he leaned on someone else.
At the same time, Gu Chou led the imperial guards to drive away the enemy.
Zhou Jingzhi pushed forward with his arms holding the sword and kicked forward at the same time.
The masked man also reacted, leaned back, and his feet touched Zhou Jingzhi, and he took a few steps back in an instant.
"Everyone get out." Zhou Jingzhi gave the order calmly when the masked men of the Imperial Guard surrounded them.
Gu Chou was stunned: "Your Majesty..."
Zhou Jingzhi met his worried eyes and insisted, "It's okay, just stand guard outside the hall."
Gu Chou knew that his Majesty only did things when he was sure of what he was doing, and seeing his Majesty's insistence, he also responded: "I will be waiting outside the palace. Your Majesty, please call me if you need anything."
Zhou Jingzhi smiled and said okay.
After everyone had left the hall, the masked man no longer made any moves to assassinate. He just stood there, looking calmly at Zhou Jingzhi.
Zhou Jingzhi: "Now that everyone has left, you still refuse to take off your veil and reveal your true face?" He added word by word, "Su Xubai."
The masked man lowered his eyes when he heard this, and a very soft laugh came from behind the veil. Slowly, he raised his hand and untied the tie behind his head.
Zhou Jingzhi watched Su Xubai slowly raise his eyes and look towards him.
Zhou Jingzhi: "This is the third time, right? You failed again. It seems your luck is really bad."
Su Shang: "You are so lucky."
"Also," Su Shan added, "it wasn't the third time, it was only two times. I wasn't involved in the first time you're referring to."
"But you want to?"
“Thinking is one thing, doing is another.”
"You haven't contributed to the situation at all?"
The hall was silent for a moment. After a while, Su Shang said, "You should have seen the contents of the letter of surrender."
Zhou Jingzhi simply said, "I saw it and wrote down a sentence."
However, his calmness made Su Shang's emotions surge even more violently. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. At this moment, he no longer wanted to argue or fight with that man to determine who was better as he had done before.
He said, "Since the founding of the Great Jin, the threat of Western Yan has always loomed in the southwest. Especially in the early days, Western Yan fought endlessly with the Great Jin, generation after generation. During the Yonglong period, Prime Minister Pei conquered Western Yan and made them submit to the Great Jin, bringing decades of peace to the western border. However, submission was only a temporary suppression of Western Yan. As long as their ambitions remain extinguished, they will inevitably strike back. Therefore, the only way to solve the problem once and for all is to completely destroy the Western Yan royal family."
Zhou Jingzhi: "So you rushed to Western Yan just to ignite their ambitions and then take advantage of the situation to destroy them?"
"Of course not," Su Shang denied flatly. "Your emperors have never been able to do this. They completely destroyed the Western Yan royal family. Now she has done it. Tell me, is she amazing? Her name is written on the letter of surrender. Tell me, who can match her honor?"
He smiled, a smile that was both unwilling and self-deprecating. "It's true that my status is not as high as yours, and her feelings for me are not as strong as yours, but that doesn't mean I can do less for her than you can. They say that the current Jin Dynasty is ruled by two saints, so I will make her holy light shine even brighter."
"Alright, I'm done." Su Shang dropped his sword, raised his neck, clenched his fists together, and pretended to be tied up. "Now everyone outside the palace is yours, and I'm standing here too. Are you going to take me back to Chang'an to punish me?"
Zhou Jingzhi lowered his eyes, curled his lips and chuckled softly, "As I said before, it seems you've always had bad luck. You've tried to kill me several times but failed. But fortunately, you only ever wanted to do these evil things." He suppressed his smile and said solemnly, "Western Yan has indeed been a long-standing hidden danger to the Great Jin. I had already noticed its anomalies in the first few years after I ascended the throne. So even without your instigation this time, the Helian family's invasion of the Great Jin was only a matter of time. Therefore, the downfall of the Western Yan royal family should be attributed to you."
"As the saying goes, merits and demerits offset each other. If your faults had harmed others, I wouldn't be able to make this decision. However, fortunately, your faults only harmed me, so I won't interfere with your future decision."
Su Shang: "Aren't you afraid that I will kill you again?"
Zhou Jingzhi: "Your luck has always been bad."
Hearing this, Su Shang's heart was in turmoil again. He shifted his gaze and said, "The matter between my father and fifth brother... You have to understand that everything in this world is just a matter of different perspectives, including good and evil. And I am my father's son and fifth brother's younger brother."
Zhou Jingzhi took a long breath and spoke, "Blood is thicker than water. As a bystander, it's easy to say the words 'sacrifice one's relatives for the greater good'. However, it's certainly too cold-blooded. However, it must be said that you are not only father and son, brothers, but also colleagues, officials of the Great Jin with your own responsibilities. Therefore, you have your duties."
"Good and evil are indeed positions, but as history has progressed, the world has long since taken a slant on this position. And from the moment you became officials of the Great Jin, your positions were already fixed on that side because of your responsibilities. That's what you call 'good.' So if you always uphold this 'good,' even if someone wavers, as long as others restrain and support them, there won't be a point where you sacrifice your own family for the greater good. There won't be a point where you're torn between two sides, forced to abandon your original position for the sake of family."
Every word the man in front of him said entered his ears. Su Shang chuckled softly, sighing and mocking: "It's meaningless now."
——
Although everything went smoothly during this expedition to Western Yan, there were still many things that needed to be arranged within Western Yan, and the journey was long, so Zhou Jingzhi's trip took nearly a year.
When he returned to Beijing, it was early autumn again, the first year of Zhaohui.
When Shangguan Xu and Zhou Jingzhi met again, he had not yet taken off his armor.
That was when all the officials gathered outside the city to welcome the royal army back to the capital.
The emperor returned home exhausted from the journey, so he had to dismount, change the imperial carriage, and ride into the city.
Shangguan Xu looked at him with a smile in front of all the officials. He saw him walking towards her step by step, and then took her hand and sent her to the imperial carriage first.
Still under the osmanthus tree, the osmanthus flowers were falling, and the petals landed on the shoulders and hair of the two.
The two of them sat side by side, as quiet as a beautiful painting.
"Have you read the contents of the letter of surrender from Western Yan?" Zhou Jingzhi held the hand of the person beside him and gently pressed it on his leg. He tilted his head and his eyes fell on the man's face for a moment, unable to move away.
Although his gaze remained fixed on her face, it wasn't scorching, but rather gentle. Shangguan Xu couldn't help but laugh when she heard the topic he was talking about. "Do I even need to read it? The contents of the surrender letter had already spread throughout the court and the capital when your victory report arrived. Now, I'm afraid it's known to the entire world."
"Isn't it good for everyone in the world to know?" he asked.
She deliberately frowned: "I still think we should keep a low profile."
"That won't do." Zhou Jingzhi said seriously, "If you keep a low profile, won't you be letting down other people's kindness?"
Shangguan Xu took a deep breath, squinted his eyes, and asked with a scrutinizing look, "Are you jealous or not? You say you are jealous, but you immediately sent back the contents of the letter of surrender, telling me all of Su Xubai's 'intentions'. You say you are not jealous, but your words are really sarcastic. Which of these two situations should I think about you?"
Zhou Jingzhi raised an eyebrow. "You're surprised by this. Since I haven't concealed my feelings from others, it means I'm honest. How can I be jealous? Besides, since I've taken on the responsibility of conveying others' feelings, I should always remind you from time to time."
"Hmm... so sour." Shangguan Xu made an expression as if he was touched by the sour taste.
"Where's the jealousy?" Zhou Jingzhi said bluntly, "Why should I be jealous of him? Do you think I need to be jealous of your feelings for me?"
It was another shameless remark, and Shangguan Xu couldn't help laughing. However, what he said was the truth. The affection between the two of them was such that no matter who expressed their feelings, there was no need for either of them to feel jealous.
When Zhou Jingzhi saw her smile, he couldn't help laughing too. He also knew that they had both changed a lot in those four years, but fortunately, in the end, they were still each other's companions.
The osmanthus flowers fell again, landing right on the backs of the two people's hands.
——
It is New Year's Day again. In the early morning, the Lizheng Hall is already crowded with people coming and going. The grand court meeting of the new year is about to begin.
Zhou Jingzhi's eyes followed his fingers as they brushed across her eyebrows, and he said with satisfaction, "Your craftsmanship has become perfect over the years, and this time you've done a great job again."
Shangguan Xu sneered helplessly and took the crown in his hand: "Bow your head."
Zhou Jingzhi did as he was told.
In front of the palace gate, the emperor was dressed in a black and red robe, looking majestic and heroic. The empress was also dressed in a Zhai Niao Yi robe, looking graceful, bright, elegant and dignified.
The two held hands, and the moment the temple door opened, the brilliance of the rising sun poured into the temple. The distant bells rang steady and powerfully. They stood side by side in the morning light, with the glow shining in front and behind them.
Guided by the morning light and accompanied by hand in hand, we will face the new morning and evening together from now on.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
