"Is it not said that we have weapons? With you, my comrades. The King will mobilize his army, sharpen our spears and halberds. With you, we share the same foe! Is it not said that we have weapons? With you, my comrades. The King will mobilize his army, sharpen our spears and halberds. With you, we fight as one! Is it not said that we have weapons? With you, my comrades. The King will mobilize his army, sharpen our spears and halberds. With you, we fight as one!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The Snow Bear Army, newly formed, echoed with military songs within the barracks, rallying the troops. Amidst the solemn strains of the military songs, the various camps of the Snow Bear Army, led by their respective commanders, underwent rigorous training. The soldiers sweated profusely, their roars like thunder, as if engaged in a fierce battle.
"It's close to actual combat, but it's not actual combat after all," said Hu Yan Sheng, the commander of the Yan Border Army. He, along with a few others, watched for a long time from outside Xue Lin City, where the Snow Bear Army barracks had created such a commotion.
"Great Commander..." Tu Tis, the commander of Hu Yan Sheng's personal guards and a Zhonglang General, said upon hearing this, "The key to military affairs lies with the general. General Zhou and the others are all seasoned warriors!"
"Hmm..." Hu Yan Sheng nodded, then added, "Soldiers are neither strong nor weak; generals are either skillful or clumsy. Therefore, generals base their actions on strategy, with courage and strength as secondary."
"The Great Commander speaks wisely. However, General Zhou and the others were able to return safely from the Xiongnu royal court, so their strategy should not be underestimated," Tu Tis replied.
"Bring him to me," Hu Yan Sheng commanded after giving Tu Tis a stern look.
"Great Commander, have you truly decided?" Tu Tis asked.
"Do you have any better solutions?" Hu Yan Sheng retorted.
...
"Fu Gui, you go alone. The others wait outside." As Zhou Fu Gui and his men arrived outside the east gate of Xue Lin City, Tu Tis stopped them and said.
Hu Yan Sheng's sudden request to see Zhou Fu Gui made Zhou Fu Gui uneasy. The fact that their meeting place was outside the city made him even more perplexed.
"Yes..." Zhou Fu Gui nodded and ordered Pi E and Hu Jue to guard the entrance with five hundred personal guards. He then followed Tu Tis towards a temporarily erected tent.
Empress Murong Qing and Supervisor Hou Zhongluo had secretly ordered Zhou Fu Gui to kill Hu Yan Sheng and seize control of the border army. Zhou Fu Gui had no choice but to obey and prepare for the mission. Establishing the new army also served this purpose, to ensure his safety after eliminating Hu Yan Sheng. However, these matters were conducted in secrecy, known only to Zhou Fu Gui and Hou Zhongluo, with no third party aware.
Therefore, Zhou Fu Gui did not believe that Hu Yan Sheng had discovered this plan and was making a move against him in advance. Moreover, even if Hu Yan Sheng knew about it and intended to strike first, he would not have gone to such elaborate lengths. A mere command would have been sufficient to end Zhou Fu Gui's life.
To this day, Hu Yan Sheng remained the Great Commander of Xue Lin City and two other passes, the commander of the border army, and highly respected within its ranks.
Consequently, even if Zhou Fu Gui did not wish to comply with Hu Yan Sheng's summons, or wanted to prepare defenses, it would have been of little use. It was like an open trap, one that he knew was a trap, yet had to step into.
It was better to face it calmly.
"General Yong Wu, how have I treated you?" Tu Tis suddenly asked as they walked.
"Like a teacher, like an elder brother," Zhou Fu Gui replied.
In the Ice Bone Camp, Tu Tis was exceptionally strict, almost cold-blooded and cruel. However, Zhou Fu Gui understood this, as the reasons were self-evident. The battlefield was even more brutal and cold-blooded. The more rigorous, cold-blooded, and cruel the training, the higher the chance of survival on the battlefield. Zhou Fu Gui and his men's successful raids in the Mobei and safe return were also partly due to the harsh training in the Ice Bone Camp. Thus, much of the current training for the Snow Bear Army was modeled after the Ice Bone Camp.
In addition to the rigorous training of the Ice Bone Camp, the Snow Bear Army had added two more disciplines: horsemanship and mounted archery. The instructors, or rather, the drill sergeants, were the eight guards of Murong Huiying. These eight guards all hailed from the Fiery Camp, whose training was no less rigorous than that of the Ice Bone Camp.
Thinking of this, Zhou Fu Gui couldn't help but recall the petulant Murong Huiying, a warm smile inadvertently appearing on his lips.
Tu Tis glanced at Zhou Fu Gui with surprise.
Tensions were already high, so why was he still so relaxed? Tu Tis wondered inwardly.
"How has the Great Commander treated you?" Tu Tis asked again after a moment of contemplation.
"I can feel his care and concern," Zhou Fu Gui replied truthfully.
"You have some conscience, boy. Hurry inside, the Great Commander is waiting for you in the tent," Tu Tis said as they reached the tent.
Zhou Fu Gui nodded and strode towards the tent.
"General Yong Wu..." Just as Zhou Fu Gui was about to enter the tent, Tu Tis suddenly said coldly, "If you dare to harm the Great Commander, Tu Tis will take your life."
...
"Great Commander, what is this...?" Upon entering the tent, Zhou Fu Gui saw Hu Yan Sheng wearing a loose, wide-sleeved cotton robe, a bamboo hat on his head, and a long saber at his waist, looking as if he were about to embark on a journey. His usual black iron armor and black cloak were nowhere to be seen, so he asked in surprise.
Hu Yan Sheng's Han attire made Zhou Fu Gui even more astonished.
"Do you Han people not have the saying 'falling leaves return to their roots'?" Hu Yan Sheng replied with a slight smile. "I am old now, and it is time to retire to a life of reclusion, find a place in the countryside, and be buried there when I die."
"Gr... Great Commander... you are still robust and vigorous, why speak of re... retirement?" Zhou Fu Gui stammered, startled by his words.
Zhou Fu Gui was overjoyed by this, yet also felt an inexplicable sadness.
The reason Empress Murong Qing and Supervisor Hou Zhongluo wanted to kill Hu Yan Sheng was certainly not due to any deep-seated hatred. The veteran general Hu Yan Sheng had guarded the northern frontier for the Great Yan for many years, serving with unwavering loyalty and great merit. He held considerable prestige and reputation among the border troops, and no one could replace him. If Murong Qing and Hou Zhongluo were to act rashly, they would inevitably be branded as cruel and unjust in harming a loyal official. This was also one of the reasons why Murong Qing and Hou Zhongluo wished to use Zhou Fu Gui's hand to eliminate Hu Yan Sheng.
If Hu Yan Sheng were killed, and this incited a military revolt or public outcry, the blame could be shifted to Zhou Fu Gui and the Han troops. This was a tactic of killing with a borrowed knife, followed by discarding the tool when it was no longer useful. This was Hou Zhongluo's contingency plan, which of course he would not reveal to Zhou Fu Gui. However, Zhou Fu Gui had also anticipated this, though he found himself with no counter-strategy.
Their objective was nothing more than to seize power, to obtain control of the border army. Now, Hu Yan Sheng was voluntarily relinquishing his command and retiring to the countryside. Was this not a happy outcome for all? Zhou Fu Gui would no longer bear the stigma of killing a loyal subject or repaying kindness with treachery. How could he not be overjoyed?
Hu Yan Sheng, with his profound foresight, was not someone Zhou Fu Gui could compare with.
Zhou Fu Gui then exhaled a long sigh of relief, as if a great burden had been lifted.
Although Zhou Fu Gui had been ordered to carry out this unjust act and intended to obey, he had hesitated multiple times and still could not bring himself to do it, caught in a dilemma.
"General Yong Wu, are you not a Han, or rather... are you half Han and half Xiongnu?" Hu Yan Sheng asked again.
"Ah? How do you know? Who are you?" Zhou Fu Gui asked, again surprised and blurting out the question without thinking.
Zhou Fu Gui carried half the bloodline of the Xiongnu Tu Ge tribe, but he had never told anyone. Not even Murong Huiying. In this world, only his mother and his cousin Lin Yue knew, because this matter involved too much, touching upon events of the previous dynasty.
But how did Hu Yan Sheng know? Could he truly have some connection with his mother? Zhou Fu Gui mused inwardly.
"Zhou Fu Gui, you bear your father's surname, Zhou. If you were to bear your mother's surname, it would be Hu Yan, and you would be of the Tu Ge tribe," Hu Yan Sheng said.
"Who exactly are you?" Zhou Fu Gui asked.
Could this be his uncle, the quasi-Jin of Xiongnu Lin Yue's command? Had he encountered another relative here? Zhou Fu Gui thought to himself.
"Someone of your kin," Hu Yan Sheng replied. "Fu Gui, come, pour some wine, and let us sit down and talk."
Zhou Fu Gui looked at Hu Yan Sheng suspiciously, then took the wine pot and, still filled with doubt, poured a cup for Hu Yan Sheng. He then poured himself a cup and they both drank it down in one gulp.
Although Zhou Fu Gui had intended to face the situation calmly, he had still been somewhat nervous before entering the tent. After entering, his mind was filled with suspicion, making him feel parched.
"Fu Gui, there are two things I need to tell you," Hu Yan Sheng said, sitting down, swirling his wooden wine cup as he spoke.
"Great Commander, please speak. I am all ears," Zhou Fu Gui replied, kneeling on the ground.
"The first matter is that the Xiongnu Regent Queen has sent an envoy to Xue Lin City. They will then proceed to the capital to sue for peace. The Xiongnu envoy is extremely submissive, speaking of forever being a subject of the Great Yan, and so on," Hu Yan Sheng said slowly after taking a large gulp of wine.
"Lin Yue? Why has she sent an envoy here?" Zhou Fu Gui mused upon hearing this.
"You know the name of the Xiongnu Regent Queen?" Hu Yan Sheng said, looking at Zhou Fu Gui with a half-smile. "After suffering defeat, they merely wish to recuperate."
"Oh, why do you have that expression, Great Commander?" Zhou Fu Gui, noticing Hu Yan Sheng's peculiar demeanor, quickly tried to cover his tracks. "Having been in the Mobei for almost a year, how could I not know the name of the Regent Queen?"
I not only know her name, but I also know her maiden name, and even... Zhou Fu Gui thought to himself. Lin Yue also has the surname Hu Yan, and she is my cousin. Hu Yan Sheng also has the surname Hu Yan, so what is Hu Yan Sheng's relationship with Lin Yue?
Damn it, are all those surnamed Hu Yan crowding together? Zhou Fu Gui sighed inwardly.
"Oh, is that so?" Hu Yan Sheng said, looking at Zhou Fu Gui with disbelief. "The second matter, you must have already guessed. I have submitted a memorial to the court requesting to resign and return home to retire. The court has already issued an imperial decree, granting my request to return home."
"The court replied so quickly?" Zhou Fu Gui asked in surprise.
Setting aside whether the Yan court would grant Hu Yan Sheng's retirement, he and Hou Zhongluo had only conspired about a month ago. The messenger's round trip between the capital and Xue Lin City would take at least two months. Could this old man have foreseen this? Zhou Fu Gui thought to himself.
"When the right person is in power, why would it not be swift? My memorial perfectly met her wishes and suited her intentions," Hu Yan Sheng replied after taking another sip of wine.