Chapter 1 An Atmosphere Unexpected

Unlike what one might have imagined, the atmosphere within the hall was not oppressive, but rather, lively.

Seven dancers were gracefully twirling, while the Regent sat on the steps beneath the dragon throne, a handful of dried fruit in his left hand, enjoying the performance.

Nian Yao entered, the dancers continuing their routine without pause.

Xiong Tingshan, seated in a corner, beckoned Nian Yao over, signaling him to sit beside him. Nian Yao obeyed and took a seat next to Xiong Tingshan.

After a long while,

the dance concluded,

the Regent smiled,

and said,

"Reward them."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Once the dancers had retreated, the Regent leaned back, placing his hands on the steps, face upwards, gazing at the carved beams and painted rafters above.

Xiong Tingshan rose and leaned in, saying,

"Your Royal Brother is in high spirits."

The Regent shook his head, saying,

"If we win, it's because I strategized brilliantly, possessing profound wisdom, and remaining as still as a mountain; if we lose, it's because I indulged in pleasure, lacked ambition, and lived a life of drunken dreams.

In reality, it has nothing to do with listening to music or watching dances."

Xiong Tingshan nodded, saying, "That's the logic of it. If you win, everything you do is right; if you lose, eating half a bowl of rice more is a heinous crime."

The Regent pointed to the space beside him, signaling Nian Yao to sit.

Nian Yao sat down.

The Regent continued to lie on the steps, saying,

"The matter is what it is. Although the news from Feng巢 (Phoenix Nest - intelligence network) is simple, it's actually enough. Considering that His Majesty, the Emperor of Yan, issued a clear decree in the capital, this battle will surely be significant.

It's quite interesting, they just grandly welcomed Li Qing, bestowing upon her the title of princess, and immediately turned around to wage war against my Great Chu. That Emperor of Yan certainly distinguishes between family matters and affairs of state very clearly.

But no matter what, since they've decided to fight, we can only accept the challenge.

Zhennan Pass is the key. If the Yan people attack, they'll undoubtedly come that way. Nian Yao, you were stationed there before, tell me your strategy."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble servant's strategy is… to fight a dull battle."

The Regent laughed and said to Xiong Tingshan, "Fifth Brother, look at this servant of mine, alas."

Xiong Tingshan replied, "Doing less means making fewer mistakes."

The Regent nodded, saying, "I understand this principle, but I still feel uneasy."

Nian Yao immediately prostrated himself, saying, "This servant deserves to die."

"It's not because of you, but because I also know that if my Great Chu wants to contend with the Yan cavalry in the open field, we'll indeed be at a disadvantage."

Xiong Tingshan then said, "Royal Brother, even if our Great Chu infantry encounters the Yan cavalry, they won't necessarily suffer a loss. If the infantry formations are used well, coupled with our Great Chu's cavalry, which, though not numerous, can be considered elite, even in the wilderness, fighting the Yan people, the outcome is still uncertain, provided they are elite."

Nian Yao then said, "This servant is guilty."

Xiong Tingshan clicked his tongue, saying, "This is a discussion before the Emperor, no need to hide or calculate your status. You are, after all, a Great General of Great Chu. It's better to have a firmer backbone."

"Fifth Brother is right, we're all family here, be at ease."

"Yes, Your Majesty, yes, Your Highness. Your Highness, this servant cannot agree with what you said earlier. Admittedly, the elite of my Great Chu infantry are all brave warriors who have fought their way out of battles with the Shanyue people, coupled with my Great Chu's long-standing infantry battle techniques and formation tactics. If both sides set up their formations, even this servant would dare to command them to fight the Yan people face to face.

However, this transaction is not worthwhile.

The Yan cavalry is most formidable, and the Yan people's Southern Marquis, including a group of Yan generals represented by that Earl of Pingye, are most skilled at cavalry interdiction and flanking tactics.

After the Yan people annexed Jin, they don't lack land for raising horses, taking in all the knights of the Three Jins. Cavalry, after all, has four legs, and people are naturally faster on four legs than our two-legged infantry. Therefore, they can gain the upper hand on the battlefield.

And the flanking tactics I mentioned earlier are divided into large flanking maneuvers and small flanking maneuvers.

The large flanking maneuver is like the battle where the Northern and Southern Marquis of Yan opened up Jin, where the main forces of the Helian and Wenren families attacked Yan cities along the Mati Mountain line, but the two strongest cavalry forces of Yan merged, circled around, and appeared behind them, which led to the subsequent ten days of fighting and the annihilation of two families.

Small flanking maneuvers refer to the coordinated tactics employed by the Yan cavalry on the battlefield, relying on their well-trained and battle-hardened cooperation.

In the Second Battle of Wangjiang, although Tian Wujing successfully used the method of substituting beams and pillars to lure the main force of the Barbarian King to fight against his truly elite troops, at that time, the main force of the Barbarian army still outnumbered the main force under Tian Wujing's command.

However, on the battlefield, when both sides have more than ten thousand men, they begin to scatter, and when both sides have hundreds of thousands of men, the scale of the battlefield is even more unimaginable. If one side builds a fort and defends it, with layers of defenses, that's fine, but if both sides spread out completely in the wilderness to fight, the commander-in-chief simply doesn't have time to grasp the overall situation, at most trying to guide the battle with a reserve central army.

And the Yan people, relying on this method of using chaos to fight chaos, divide themselves into multiple routes in the charge, carrying out cutting and penetration in multiple directions, forcibly disrupting the main force of the barbarians, thereby collapsing them and then routing them!

This is the method of small flanking maneuvers.

In fact, when the two sides fight face to face, not many soldiers are killed in battle, but after the main force of the barbarians is routed, even if the Xuehai Pass had not been taken down by the Yan people's Earl of Pingye in advance, not many of the Barbarian main force would have been able to escape back to the snowy plains. As for my Great Chu infantry, if we win in a field battle, the Yan people can retreat calmly, and it's difficult for our army to catch up. Even if we forcibly catch up, it's difficult to encircle and annihilate them, and we must be careful of the Yan people feigning defeat and ambushing our army during the pursuit.

And if we lose, with the Yan cavalry charging to kill, it's estimated that few of our troops will be able to retreat.

Back then, when the Yan army attacked Qian, it was also like this, with the cavalry exerting pressure and charging into the formation. After the Qian army collapsed, they calmly hunted them down all over the mountains and plains."

Xiong Tingshan was stationed in Wutong County for many years, dealing with the disobedient Shanyue tribes, and among the Shanyue, there were many waterways and dense valleys, where was there an environment for cavalry warfare?

Therefore, he couldn't say that he didn't understand cavalry tactics, but after all, he had never really fought against cavalry corps. After hearing Nian Yao's words, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

The Regent reached out and patted his forehead,

saying,

"In that case, will my Great Chu never have a day to contend with the Yan people in the field?"

Nian Yao immediately said,

"Not so, Your Majesty. Since Your Majesty stabilized the situation, Your Majesty has been cultivating horse teams in the Imperial Guards. Although my Great Chu's horses are not as tall as the Yan people's, if they are trained properly, they can still be of use.

In this humble servant's opinion, my Great Chu must, like the Qian, continue to expand the recruitment of cavalry and continue to train them; secondly, externally, we should focus on a steady and solid approach, avoiding the Yan people's sharp edges;

Thirdly, if we really want to fight, we can, but we must choose two of the three elements of favorable weather, advantageous terrain, and popular support before we can attack."

Xiong Tingshan sighed and said, "Royal Brother, I think what this servant Nian Yao said is right. Their Great Yan is undertaking a long expedition, attacking my Zhennan Pass, having to cross the entire Jin territory.

My Great Chu is waiting for them in comfort, we might as well just grind them down at Zhennan Pass and see how many lives the Yan people intend to fill under Zhennan Pass. We'll keep them company.

When the Yan people are exhausted, my Great Chu will seize the opportunity to act.

You must know that there have always been rumors that the Yan Emperor's health is not good, while you, Royal Brother, are still young."

The Regent nodded. In fact, he already had a strategy in his heart. He was simply having his two most trusted generals "speak frankly" to each other.

Especially, his Fifth Brother had always wanted to lead troops to the front line. The Regent trusted that his Fifth Brother would not rebel. If he wanted to rebel, he could have done so long ago, there was no need to first surrender and then turn against him.

But what he was worried about was that his Fifth Brother would be arrogant and underestimate the enemy, and he was also worried that his subsequent arrangements would cause him to feel resentful. That was why he had specially watched the dancers perform and waited for Nian Yao to come over to talk to his Fifth Brother.

As the temporarily de facto emperor of Chu, no, to be precise, for several generations of Chu emperors, they needed to have this ability to be skilled in maneuvering, in order to maintain this symbiotic political form of Chu.

In fact, if we put aside the existence of the Zhenbei Marquis Manor, the Chu people actually did the best in this kind of political ecology among the four major Eastern powers.

The scholar-bureaucrat class in Qian had woven layers of nets, not only enveloping the military generals, but also including the officials. Even the current official family of Qian relied on the Yan people's southward invasion last time, which helped to tear a gap in that net, so that he could do something, remove several chief ministers in one fell swoop, and begin to truly take power.

There's no need to talk about Jin. The Jin royal family lives in the Jin Prince's Mansion in Yanjing, while the Situ family lives in the Chenqin Prince's Mansion in Yingdu.

They were all surrenderers, but the treatment of the royal orthodox family was not even as high as that of a vassal under his nominal command.

Yan was walking a tightrope, having nurtured the behemoth of the Zhenbei Marquis Manor. If it weren't for that incredible iron triangle relationship, the current Yan might not be busy expanding outwards, but busy with internal warfare.

"Nian Yao."

"This servant is here."

"You will set off immediately to Zhennan Pass to rearrange and improve the defenses."

"This servant obeys."

"Fifth Brother."

"Your subject is here."

"You stay in the capital and train the troops in your hands as soon as possible. In addition, before long, troops from all over will gather in Yingdu, and you will be responsible for coordinating them.

When necessary, you will need to go north."

"Your subject obeys."

"Don't blame your brother for not giving you a chance, but I want to be cautious in this matter."

The Regent was clear about Nian Yao's abilities;

Another point was that when facing Tian Wujing, Nian Yao did not have the slightest bit of the arrogance he had when suppressing the rebellion of the princes, but was consistent in being… timid.

This was the most reassuring thing for the Regent.

"Three days later, I will hold a grand ceremony."

The so-called grand ceremony was a tradition of Chu.

The nobles in Chu were divided into seven ranks. The grand ceremony was a meeting convened by the Chu Emperor, where the nobles of the top three ranks gathered to discuss matters.

Previously, after the Regent suppressed the rebellion of the princes, he had held a grand ceremony. It was at this grand ceremony that he confirmed his identity as the orthodox member of the Chu royal family.

"Let's start moving first, and then slowly see how much blood the Yan people intend to shed this time. The result of my previous discussion with the officials and merchants was that the Yan people should not launch another major war within five years after destroying Jin. Now, it seems that the Yan Emperor wants to gamble again.

What a… madman."

The Regent reached out,

scattering the remaining dried fruit in his hand on the ground,

saying,

"One who walks by the river too often is bound to get his shoes wet."

…

The news that Yan was about to attack Chu was blocked and suppressed.

Of course, it was impossible to hide it permanently, one, it was impossible, and two, it was not necessary.

Once the war started and the soldiers set out, who could it be hidden from?

If it was all hidden, who would fight the war?

The current blockade of news was only to give the political situation a stable transition period, so that the imperial court could deploy and arrange things calmly.

Three days later,

in the Golden Phoenix Hall of the Yingdu Imperial Palace,

the Regent sat on the dragon throne,

below him, sat more than sixty nobles.

Among them, the elderly and middle-aged each accounted for half.

The political custom of Chu was that half of the official positions in the imperial court were actually in the pockets of the nobles. Those without the equivalent noble status were not allowed to hold the position. Some official positions had even become hereditary inheritances of certain noble families.

In the center of the hall, a row of torches was burning.

It was said that in the past, when the Chu Marquis and his vassals held meetings, they always used torches as a guide, and everyone sat in a circle. Therefore, this ritual had been passed down.

In fact, the patriarchs of the major noble families, as long as there were no special circumstances, would basically serve in Yingdu. Even those who had to return to their fiefdoms to retire due to health reasons would send the next generation of designated patriarchs to Yingdu to take over their positions.

If the grand ceremony wanted to be held, it could really be like a court meeting, and the people could be gathered the next day.

The reason for waiting three days was that the true decision-makers of those nobles closer to Yingdu needed to rush over from their families, and these families were among the most powerful in Chu.

Such as the Zhao, Jing, and Dugu families.

And at this time,

after everyone was seated,

the old patriarch of the Jing family personally stepped forward, pulled out a torch, turned around, walked to the Regent, knelt down tremblingly, and raised the torch above his head.

The Regent reached out and took the torch, inserting it into the prepared iron cage beside him.

The old patriarch of the Jing family slowly got up and retreated;

All the nobles stood up together, faced the Regent, and, led by the old patriarch of the Jing family, performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows.

The Jing family had always been responsible for culture and education in Chu. From the earliest times, when they were by the side of the first Chu Marquis, the Jing family was responsible for sacrifices and rituals. It was said that the ancestors of the Jing family had served in the Ministry of Rites of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The grand ceremony ended,

the nobles sat down again, waiting for the Regent to speak.

The Regent reached out and beckoned to his side. Several eunuchs carried dragon robes, a *tongtian* crown (a type of traditional Chinese headwear), and all the accessories belonging to the emperor, placing them in the center of the room, and then quietly retreated.

Many nobles looked at each other in surprise. What was this all about?

Although everyone knew that the Regent's enthronement was only a matter of time, shouldn't today's grand ceremony be to discuss countermeasures against Yan's attack on Chu?

Why were dragon robes and *tongtian* crowns brought out?

The old patriarch of the Jing family and the old patriarch of the Dugu family exchanged glances. The former cast an inquiring look at the latter because he knew that the sword maker of the Dugu family had a good relationship with the Regent.

The old patriarch of the Dugu family shook his head slightly, indicating that he did not know the situation.

The old patriarch of the Jing family began to think to himself:

There had always been a tradition of "rushing joy" (celebrating an event to ward off bad luck) among the people of Chu, and if there was a war, if a man who joined the army had a marriage contract, according to custom, the wedding would be held in advance, first to represent loyalty, and second, as a blessing.

Could it be that,

the Regent wanted to have a "rush of joy" before the war began?

Then,

should he offer some advice?

In fact, the affairs of the court were no different from the affairs of peddlers.

Great nobles had fiefdoms and populations, and merchants had a little capital and a batch of goods;

Great nobles needed to have good relations with other nobles, and when the time was right, they would suppress and annex them; merchants needed to have good relations with their counterparts, and when the time was right, they would take advantage of others' misfortunes.

Great nobles needed to please the emperor, because the Chu royal family still held the most powerful force in Great Chu; merchants needed to please the officials of the market.

Therefore, it was not surprising that the old patriarch of the Jing family began to think about whether to go along with the tide at this time.

But the Regent simply pointed to the dragon robes and the *tongtian* crown placed on the ground in the middle,

very casually,

with a hint of disgust in his eyes,

and said;

"Which of you wants this?"

For a time,

all the nobles stood up again and knelt down together:

"We deserve to die ten thousand times."

"We are guilty."

Although they didn't know what the Regent meant, there were naturally court etiquette and rules, such as admitting guilt and expressing an attitude at this time, which was not wrong.

The Regent didn't let them hurry to stand up,

but shook his head,

and said:

"The Yan people are coming. This time, it seems that the Yan people's Southern Marquis is coming with a force several times greater than at the beginning of the year;

You tell me,

should I prepare a set of white clothes and plain clothes now, and then find a sheep,

take the initiative to open a door,

wear white clothes and lead the sheep, and surrender directly to the Yan people?

Somehow, I can get a position as a prince and enjoy wealth and glory for the rest of my life, right?"

The old patriarch of the Jing family immediately raised his head and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, how can you say such a thing? How can the country of my Great Chu be given to the Yan barbarians!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, this is the foundation left by our ancestors."

"Your Majesty, we swear to defend Your Majesty and protect Great Chu."

"Please, Your Majesty, take back what you just said, otherwise I will smash my head against this pillar."

"Your Majesty…"

"Enough!"

The Regent slammed the imperial desk, which was itself a cultivator, and also nurtured a spiritual object in his body.

With this slam,

the imperial desk broke directly,

with this shout,

the Golden Phoenix Hall was silent.

"Three days ago, I sent the Feng巢 (Phoenix Nest - intelligence network) inner guards to send messages to each of you, a total of sixty-four nobles above the third rank in my Great Chu, and the decision-makers are all seated here;

But in these three days,

only eleven families have truly mobilized the laborers, food, and soldiers in their fiefdoms, only eleven families!

I just want to ask, what are the remaining fifty-three families waiting for, what are you watching;

Are you waiting for me to beg you?

Are you waiting for me to bargain with you?

This Great Chu,

is mine,

that's right,

but this Great Chu,

is also yours!

This war,

if we want to fight,

then give me your all and fight it well, keep the Yan people out, and after the war, you will still be great nobles above the third rank!

If you don't want to fight,

that's fine,

I'll go to the Yan Emperor and beg for a prince's position to preserve the ancestral temple;

You,

can go and have a good chat

with that Yan Emperor who once trampled on the gentry."

————

I'm afraid everyone will wait too long, so I'll send out one chapter first. There will be another chapter around one o'clock in the morning, don't panic!