Chapter Seventy-One: Struggle (V)

Zhang Wansui hailed from Yanmen Commandery, and his experiences did not differ much from those of Liu Wuzhou. Both were renowned in their countryside for their valor and strength, recruited as Eagle Guards, and then conscripted to join the campaign against Goguryeo.

However, unlike Liu Wuzhou, who fought life and death battles in foreign lands, Zhang Wansui was stationed along the Grand Canal, assigned as a river garrison to escort and guard the transport of military provisions. As part of the grain convoy troops, their status within the army was at the very lowest rung, trampled on by all. The expeditions to Goguryeo, fueled by the grand ambitions of the Emperor of the Sui, always mobilized the largest and most elite forces. At their peak, the vanguard had reached the outskirts of Pyongyang while the rearguard had only just left Luoyang.

To supply such a massive army with provisions was a Herculean task, nearly impossible to fulfill. Many of these river garrison soldiers perished from exhaustion or fled. If their mission failed, the noble-born generals leading them would mete out harsh punishments, sometimes even massacring the already overtaxed soldiers.

Zhang Wansui had joined the military with dreams of merit and glory, only to find himself trapped in a nightmarish existence. Of the dozens who had followed him from Yanmen, almost all perished or were maimed, with many being his own kin.

Amidst such hardship, the grain convoy troops nursed a bitter hatred for the Sui dynasty, wishing nothing more than to perish with it.

Then came Yang Xuangan, who severed the Grand Canal and raised the banner of rebellion.

He was of the highest nobility, a scion of the Duke of Yue. But to Zhang Wansui, it no longer mattered; all he wanted was revenge for the suffering he and his kin had endured. If only those who died under torment could rest in peace!

When the Emperor of Great Sui returned to quell the rebellion, a fierce battle broke out. It was a strange war—families of nobility had fathers fighting under the imperial banner, while their sons and nephews fought for Yang Xuangan. Around Luoyang, they fought to the death, brother against brother.

It was nothing but a contest among the great clans—whether the military aristocracy descended from the Xianbei Six Garrisons in Guanzhong and Longxi, or the ancient landed gentry of the east. The rebellion was launched to shake the Emperor’s rule, but true to the noble tradition of hedging their bets in troubled times, they each chose their side and fought each other.

Zhang Wansui could not fathom such intricate political games—he only knew he fought for vengeance and destruction.

The chaos of Yang Xuangan’s rebellion left the heartland of the Central Plains in ruins, with countless broken walls and orphans and widows. Zhang Wansui’s ferocity became legendary, and he personally slew several noble-born generals.

In the end, Yang Xuangan was defeated, and the Emperor’s prestige was utterly shattered; the lingering might of the Sui dynasty dissipated completely. Only then did the Emperor flee to Jiangdu, and warlords everywhere began to stir with ambition.

Zhang Wansui fled in haste, not daring to return to his homeland of Yanmen. He wandered to Mayi, even considering defecting to the Turks.

At that time, Wang Renqiong arrived to take up his post as Prefect of Mayi. He had previously been dismissed from office because his nephew had joined the Yang Xuangan rebellion. As fate would have it, Zhang Wansui had been one of that nephew’s most capable officers.

When he heard Wang Renqiong had assumed office, Zhang Wansui approached cautiously to offer his service, ready to flee at the first sign of trouble.

At the time, Wang Renqiong had just arrived in Mayi and sorely lacked trusted men. Knowing Zhang Wansui had served under his nephew, Wang saw him as a family retainer. With Wang Renqiong’s pride, he did not go so far as to greet him in person, but he immediately entrusted Zhang Wansui with the command of the Prefect’s personal guard.

Such trust moved Zhang Wansui to tears.

Through military service, rebellion, and flight, Zhang Wansui had learned that this world belonged to the great noble clans. Even the mighty Emperor of Sui, inheriting the glory of his ancestors, was powerless against them. To rise in the world, one had to attach oneself to a great house. That he could form such a bond with the Wang family, and that Wang Renqiong trusted and favored him, meant he must serve with all his might.

For years, Zhang Wansui had faithfully served Wang Renqiong—leading the Eagle Guards of Mayi in battle or diligently protecting his lord. Whenever the Wang family’s sons issued commands, Zhang Wansui obeyed without question, hoping that by following Wang Renqiong to glory, he might one day establish a name for his own family.

For those of humble origin, this was the only path to prominence.

But now, Wang Renqiong had sent him on a secret mission to contact the Turks!

As a trusted confidant, Zhang Wansui was privy to many secrets. Well-trained as a family retainer, Wang Renqiong never deliberately kept things from him.

Liu Wuzhou was a difficult man to tame, commanding the elite Heng’an Eagle Guards. A direct assault was uncertain, but leaving him unchecked posed a threat to Wang Renqiong’s ambitions in the south. Some proposed winning Liu Wuzhou over, but Wang Renqiong flatly refused, claiming Liu was a man of predatory ambition who would never submit. The only viable option was to eliminate him.

Yet removing Liu Wuzhou would require outside help. A bloody confrontation would leave Wang Renqiong too weakened to pursue his ambitions for the Central Plains, especially with Li Yuan in Hedong, who was no easy foe.

Thus, the greatest concern on Wang Renqiong’s mind was how to annex Liu Wuzhou’s forces at minimal cost.

Li Yuan would be delighted to see Mayi Commandery embroiled in civil strife, eliminating a threat to his rear. As for the devastated Yanmen Commandery, it had closed its gates and could provide no aid.

But north of Yunzhong, there were the Turks.

Fortune had it that the Turks remained.

Zhang Wansui’s assignment was to contact the Turks, so they could attack Liu Wuzhou from both north and south and destroy him.

Wang Renqiong’s offer was to cede the lands of Yunzhong to the Turks, while the elite Heng’an troops would become his own. The two sides would use the southern edge of the Yunzhong Basin as their boundary.

In Wang Renqiong’s view, once he absorbed the Heng’an troops, he could sweep south to Yanmen, unite the elite forces of Yanmen and Mayi, and then strike Hedong. After defeating Li Yuan, he would press west to Chang’an, conquer Guanzhong, and then watch as the eastern clans fought among themselves. When the time was ripe, he could sweep across the realm and make the Wang family the rulers of the Central Plains.

But this mission was truly humiliating...

Though Zhang Wansui harbored various thoughts and hesitated long before the meeting, in the end, he gritted his teeth and gave his bodyguard a subtle nod.

Since he was a hound of the Wang family, he would brave fire and blade if needed. To serve a noble house, one had to be prepared for such things.

As dusk deepened and the autumn wind pierced his face with cold, Zhang Wansui pulled his hood tighter, urging his horse toward the Turkish camp.

The sooner this humiliating business was finished, the sooner he could return. There was a whole world of splendor waiting in the Central Plains; he truly did not wish to linger a moment longer in this desolate frontier.

Inside the Turkish royal tent, Zhibisi and Zhibiluoluo sat facing each other, surrounded by Blue Wolf Riders, awaiting the southern envoy with leisurely composure.

In the dim light, Zhibisi broke the silence with a yawn, tears glistening at his eyes in impatience.

“When is Wang Renqiong’s envoy going to arrive? Once this business is done, we can go see the Han people's Yunzhong Autumn Fair. That’s the whole reason I came with Uncle this time!”

Zhibiluoluo’s cold face showed a hint of a smile. “Is a mere Yunzhong Autumn Fair enough to satisfy you? The Great Sui is finished, and the noble families of the Han are scrambling to curry favor with us. In time, even Chang’an and Luoyang will become nothing more than pastures for our Turkic horses!”

Zhibisi’s eyes widened and he waved his hands hastily. “Heavens, let’s hope they don’t all become pasture!”

Zhibiluoluo’s smile faded, his face growing somber as he shook his head.

When would this young chieftain learn to curb his fondness for Han ways? Without wildness, could he still be called a Turkic man? It was a most vexing thought!