At the south gate of Xue Lin City in Yanbei,
“Fugui, look…” Hou Zhongluo said, warmly shaking Zhou Fugui’s hands outside the south gate. “I should have set up a grand procession to celebrate the brave general’s victory. However, in this urgent situation, we can only celebrate properly once you return victorious. I will host a banquet for you then, to welcome you back.”
Whenever troops marched out, there were military rituals, involving sacrifices to heaven, earth, gods, and banners. This was followed by a mobilization ceremony, where the commanding general would receive imperial edicts, military orders, axe, and other symbols of authority. It was an extremely elaborate process. Yet, here Zhou Fugui, ordered to lead his troops to the capital, was merely bid farewell by Hou Zhongluo and his men outside the south gate of Xue Lin City. This was rather hasty and simple. The reasons were twofold. Firstly, Zhou Fugui’s march to the capital was not an expedition but an effort to help Empress Murong Qing secure the throne. It was a Yan internal affair, and as Hou Zhongluo had said, the more discreet and low-key, the better. A grand and boisterous send-off would be detrimental. Secondly, Hou Zhongluo, having indulged in a night of feasting and revelry, had forgotten about it until this morning, and had rushed here dishevelled.
“Urgent matters require expedient measures? Precisely…” Zhou Fugui chuckled, then clasped his hands, using the gesture to free himself from Hou Zhongluo’s grasp. “Your presence here to see me off is more than enough. However, Your Excellency, I have one request before I depart. I hope you will grant it.”
“Hmm, the brave general is returning to the capital on orders. Is there anything I would not grant?” Hou Zhongluo readily agreed.
“Provisions must precede the army. I implore Your Excellency to ensure that our supplies are not interrupted.” Zhou Fugui stated.
“Heh heh, General, you worry too much.” Hou Zhongluo replied with a forced smile, holding up three fingers. “As for provisions, how could I not know? Rest assured. Not only that, but I am dispatching three armies, totaling fifty thousand men. You will lead the first contingent, and two more armies will follow to support you.”
Zhou Fugui feigned delight, saying, “In that case, I shall not fail Her Highness the Empress and Your Excellency.”
The two following armies were likely meant to monitor him, or perhaps the eunuch had ulterior motives. If Empress Murong Qing failed to secure the throne, these two armies would immediately march on the Snow Bear Army, and the eunuch would then concoct whatever excuse he pleased. Zhou Fugui sneered inwardly. This damned eunuch had been scheming against him all along. He would have his revenge someday!
“There is no time to delay. Let us depart.” Hou Zhongluo then waved his hand.
Zhou Fugui nodded, slung the Heaven-Shaking Dragon Spear over his shoulder, mounted his horse, and rode to the front of the more than ten thousand Snow Bear Army soldiers assembled outside the city. He surveyed them, then raised his spear and commanded, “Move out!”
Zhou Fugui, clad in his brilliant armor, exuded a majestic presence. The armor gleamed like glazed pottery, like a tree bearing jade branches in the northern wilderness, planted in the snow. His eyes, as dark as the abyss, seemed to drown anyone who gazed into them, leaving them breathless. His stern face was as cold as glacial ice on a snowy mountain.
“The finest steeds graze on lush clover, and the general’s might is none other than Yan’s Bravest!”
Zhou Fugui’s valiant bearing even drew silent admiration from Hou Zhongluo, who felt it would be a pity to settle scores with him later.
Hou Zhongluo had wanted to adopt Zhou Fugui as his godson, but Zhou Fugui had refused, citing his mother’s wishes. This was clearly a snub born of disdain, and Hou Zhongluo was filled with shame and anger. However, he needed Zhou Fugui’s service for now, so he endured it, planning to settle the score later.
………
“Fugui, that, that damned…” Murong Huiying, who had accompanied Zhou Fugui back to the capital disguised as a man and had remained amongst his personal guards, spoke to Zhou Fugui after they had traveled a considerable distance from Xue Lin City.
“That damned hermaphrodite!” Zhou Fugui interjected on Murong Huiying’s behalf.
“Hou Zhongluo seems to have discovered me.” Murong Huiying said with a charming smile.
“He recognizes you?” Zhou Fugui pondered.
“I met him once during the grand court in the capital,” Murong Huiying replied, her brow furrowed with worry.
For some reason, the usually frank and lively Murong Huiying was becoming increasingly melancholic.
“You only met him once, so there’s no need to worry too much,” Zhou Fugui reassured her. “Does that damned hermaphrodite have photographic memory?”
Murong Huiying shook her head.
“Yingying…” Zhou Fugui continued to comfort her. “Even if he recognized you, what of it? We’ve already left Xue Lin City. Once we’re away from here, the sky’s the limit, and the sea is boundless.”
“Fugui, you cannot truly achieve ‘the sky’s the limit, and the sea is boundless’ yet,” Murong Huiying said softly.
“Worry not, worry not,” Zhou Fugui chuckled. “Worst comes to worst, I’ll become a bandit king, and you’ll be my queen.”
“Pfft!” Murong Huiying couldn’t help but laugh.
Zhou Fugui’s feigned nonchalance helped to alleviate some of Murong Huiying’s distress.
………
“Giddy up… giddy up… giddy up…”
Zhou Fugui spurred his horse, galloping swiftly, with Pi’e, Hu Jue, and five hundred personal guards surrounding him, charging up a hillside like a whirlwind.
Pi’e had finally found a sturdy black horse that could barely carry him, and he could barely ride it.
“My Lord…” Pan Jianggui, the commander of the eight-eyed camp, and Ye Lihu, the banner commander, who were waiting on the hillside, hurried to greet Zhou Fugui as he arrived. Ye Lihu grabbed the horse’s reins, bringing Zhou Fugui’s steed to a halt.
“They are still so carefree and peaceful?” Zhou Fugui dismounted, handed his riding whip to Pi’e, and observed Xiao Family Village, shrouded in mist below, with his spyglass. He then sneered coldly.
At dawn, a thick mist enveloped the foot of the hill. From the hilltop, the entire Xiao Family Village was submerged in fog. A similar haze lay over the fields, creating a veiled landscape like a delicate ink wash painting. Occasional barks of dogs and coughs could be heard from within the village. Wisps of smoke curled upwards, and a few sparse figures, out chopping wood or hunting, could be seen at the village entrance, painting a scene of tranquility.
“Indeed?” Pan Jianggui replied with a smile. “They still think we are just a passing Yan army.”
“They even asked if we wanted to rest in the village,” Ye Lihu added with a laugh. “But they wanted to charge us a toll.”
“Hahaha!” The generals gathered around Zhou Fugui burst into laughter.
“On the brink of doom, and they still think of extorting money,” Pan Jianggui chuckled sarcastically.
The enmity between brothers could not go unavenged. Wei Liang, his sworn brother, had met a tragic end in Xiao Family Village at the hands of the village head, Xiao Ningshan. This debt of blood had been etched in Zhou Fugui’s heart for years. Today, returning to the capital, he intended to take Xiao Ningshan’s life and exact his revenge.
Xiao Family Village was on the cusp of disaster, yet blissfully unaware.
“My Lord, Old Xu requests to be the vanguard. Let us charge in and out three times, leaving no soul alive,” Xu Mancang, commander of the Breaker Camp, growled fiercely, brandishing his saber.
“Xiao Ningshan deserves to die, but not every person in Xiao Family Village,” Zhou Fugui admonished Xu Mancang with a glare.
“My Lord…” Li Qing, an advisor to the Snow Bear Army, said with concern. “I believe we should follow Mancang’s suggestion and slaughter the entire Xiao Family Village, leaving no one alive.”
As Zhou Fugui rose in rank to become the Brave General of the Great Yan and founded the Snow Bear Army, his prestige within the military grew day by day. Therefore, at this moment, Li Qing and other fellow townsmen of Zhou Fugui rarely addressed him as “Fugui” or “Erlang,” but rather as “My Lord” or “Commander.” Xu Mancang, a rough fellow, had only changed his address after repeated instructions from Li Qing.
“Oh? And why is that?” Zhou Fugui inquired.
“It is a matter of common sense,” Li Qing replied. “Under whose orders is My Lord killing Xiao Ningshan? The court or the border commander?”
“Hmm, your intention… is to silence witnesses?” Zhou Fugui said with some hesitation.
The Empress had ordered Zhou Fugui to lead his army back to the capital, but not to target Xiao Ningshan, the head of Xiao Family Village. Furthermore, Xiao Ningshan had intricate ties with Xue Lin City, and even with the imperial court.
Zhou Fugui loathed Xiao Ningshan and, by extension, all the people of Xiao Family Village. However, Ye Guanti had once told him to make more allies, fewer enemies, cultivate benevolence, win over the populace, stockpile provisions, and not seek hegemony. Thus, Zhou Fugui was unusually hesitant.
Good medicine is bitter, but alas, the one who offered it had already switched allegiance. Perhaps the envoy from Linyue seeking peace with Yan was also his idea.
“How can we just kill so many people in such a large village?” Murong Huiying, who knew Zhou Fugui better than anyone and was always by his side, saw his hesitation and spoke up. “Who committed the crime? Execute the ringleader. Then, publicize his sins. As for the court and the government…”
Murong Huiying smiled slightly and continued, “They are already in chaos. Who would care about a trivial matter on the frontier?”
“Well said!” Zhou Fugui exclaimed with delight. He waved his hand and loudly commanded, “Order the White Horse Black Collar contingent to advance to the rear of the village. Order Chen Kunkun’s main force to the right flank, and Wu Tianqi’s contingent to stealthily approach the left flank. Surround them, and allow no one to escape. The rest of us will follow this general, use fire as the signal, and charge in through the main gate. Gentlemen, this is the first battle since the founding of our Snow Bear Army. Though our enemy before us is but this small village, do not let it tarnish our army’s reputation. Anyone who disgraces me will face severe punishment!”
“Your subordinates obey your command, My Lord!” The generals roared their assent and spurred their horses down the slope, each calling out to their respective troops, preparing to assault Xiao Family Village.
“Little Taoist priest, where are you going?” After all arrangements were made, Zhou Fugui spotted the young Taoist priest Ge Rufeng attempting to slip away and grabbed him, asking with a smile.
Xiao Ningshan possessed dark arts, and Zhou Fugui could not afford to be unprepared. He had brought the young Taoist priest Ge Rufeng along as a safeguard.