Chapter 74: Contest of Wills (Part Eight)

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The grand camp of the Qianyu Yue Division, home to over a thousand warriors.

After night fell, the vigilance seemed even tighter than during the daytime alliance of the Nine Tribes. Nearly all the warriors the Qianyu Yue Division had brought on this journey were now scattered throughout the camp, forming layer upon layer of security. Outside the encampment, patrol riders circled as well. Yet, after having been thoroughly routed by Xu Le and Yuchi Gong during the day, these riders no longer ventured as far as they had before. Now, they only moved in the area a mile or two from the camp, their former arrogance—so bold that it seemed they could unify the entire grassland at any moment—was nowhere to be seen.

A faint, lingering scent of blood drifted on the night wind, as if to remind all that this alliance of the Nine Tribes had opened with ominous slaughter, and no one could guess how it would end.

Mounted knights moved in silence, their figures flickering in and out of the darkness. Their steeds, too, seemed listless; the occasional whinny only added a note of desolation to the night.

Zhang Wansui and his party appeared quietly not far from the Qianyu Yue encampment—a group of more than ten, all on high alert.

Zhang Wansui himself was a formidable general on the battlefield, and his personal guards were all elite warriors carefully selected from the Mayi Yingyang Garrison. For some time, they had stayed far from the patrol range of the Heng’an Yingyang Garrison, sending someone to contact the Turks at an agreed-upon location only every few days. Only today had they finally received a response from the Turkic noble, who informed them of the time and place to meet.

The whole group had come now, everyone on edge. In Mayi, they truly understood the might of the Heng’an Yingyang Garrison stationed in the same prefecture. Thousands of elite soldiers held the border like an unyielding nail hammered in, fierce and tenacious—a thorn in Wang Renqiong’s side. If their secret dealings with the Turks to oppose the garrison were discovered, these dozen men would vanish without a trace, beyond any hope of rescue.

Yet, at the designated meeting point in the vast wilderness south of the Heng’an Yingyang Garrison’s foothill fortress line—a place usually crawling with patrols—there was not a single Heng’an soldier in sight tonight. It was as if the garrison had completely abandoned the area.

A squad leader among Zhang’s party rode up, lowering his voice: “Commander, something is odd! In past autumn gatherings, when the Nine Tribes came to trade, Heng’an’s troops always kept up their patrols. When have they ever been this lax?”

Zhang Wansui, tense, stared into the darkness ahead, replying impatiently, “Why overthink it? We have our own duties to fulfill.”

Suddenly, the pounding of hooves shattered the night, startlingly loud. The sound of bowstrings being drawn and weapons clashing could also be heard.

Zhang Wansui’s group immediately sprang into action, drawing their bows, nocking arrows, and aiming toward the source of the commotion.

A spark of fire flared, illuminating a group of Qianyu Yue riders in the darkness—about a dozen, bows drawn and aimed at Zhang Wansui’s party.

Zhang Wansui hastily called out, “We’re from Hedong, sent by Master Wu to negotiate business with your noble!”

The leader of the Qianyu Yue riders paused, signaled his men to lower their bows, and rode over, speaking in accented Han, “Follow me!”

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Zhang Wansui signaled his men to put away their bows and arrows, patted the armor hidden beneath his cloak, and followed.

The two groups proceeded through the darkness toward the Qianyu Yue encampment, one ahead, one behind. Though their weapons were lowered, each man still kept a hand on his blade. No one spoke, and the atmosphere was taut as a drawn bow.

In the darkness, teams of Qianyu Yue patrols appeared one after another. Their leader exchanged a few low words with each, and they faded back into the night. All these patrols were fully armored, many with their mail worn openly, faces tense and wary, as though facing an imminent enemy.

Zhang Wansui’s unease only grew.

It was not unheard of for Turks to impersonate members of the Nine Tribes to attend the autumn market, usually to spy out the situation in Mayi Prefecture. But when the tribes came to the market in Yunzhong, they never dared to swagger about like this.

Now, right outside Yunzhong City, the Qianyu Yue Division seemed to have brought all their elite forces and were fully armed. Yet not a single Heng’an soldier was patrolling the area. How could that be normal?

Had the Nine Tribes, or the Turks, already struck some deal with the Heng’an Yingyang Garrison?

Wasn’t he, Zhang Wansui, walking straight into a trap?

But now that he was here—on a mission personally assigned by Wang Renqiong—how could he just turn back and face his master empty-handed?

In the end, Zhang Wansui’s resolve hardened. If it meant death, so be it—what else could he do?

The long, seemingly endless road finally came to an end. Their party was led straight into the Qianyu Yue encampment. The guards silently opened the gates and let them in.

Inside, the scent of blood was strong, as if a battle had just taken place.

The faces of Zhang’s guards turned ashen, but Zhang himself seemed more at ease. After all, during the Yang Xuangan rebellion, he’d escaped from fields of corpses and seas of blood; what was this compared to that?

Once inside the camp, a new group of men guided them deep into the settlement, stopping before the royal tent. The flags of Gaida Uto and Gaida Heiguo still fluttered atop the tent, but the guards stationed outside as the final line of defense now wore blue wolf-tail hats—Turkish warriors.

The Turks, of the Zhibi Division.

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The largest of the Nine Tribes, the Qianyu Yue Division, had indeed pledged itself to the Turks.

A blue wolf rider from the Turks gestured for Zhang Wansui to dismount. At this, Zhang became even more straightforward—he dismounted, surrendered his weapons, and had his guards remain outside the tent, then strode in without hesitation.

Inside, the tent was brightly lit and smoky, the air slightly acrid. At the head of the tent sat Zhibi Luoluo and Zhibi Sili.

Zhibi Luoluo still wore that same sullen and fierce expression. As soon as Zhang Wansui entered, her cold gaze fixed on him. This A Xianshe of the Zhibi Division always seemed to exude a palpable aura of bloodlust.

Zhibi Sili, on the other hand, appeared weary, slouching on a folding couch, yawning from time to time, looking utterly uninterested. When Zhang Wansui entered, he gave a lazy glance before turning away, bored.

Zhang Wansui didn’t know who these two were, but with the Qianyu Yue Division’s heavy guard outside and actual elite Zhibi blue wolf riders within, how could these two not be the leaders?

He stepped forward and bowed, saying, “I come by order of Master Wu to discuss trade at this Yunzhong market with your noble. I apologize for my tardiness and beg your forgiveness.”

Zhibi Luoluo spoke, her voice like two pieces of rusty iron scraping together, piercing to the bone.

“…Master Wu? Why not just say Wang Renqiong’s name? You saw for yourself how Liu Wuzhou of Heng’an ignores our presence here. Are you really still afraid he’ll come and arrest you? We are here to hear what Wang Renqiong has to offer. If his terms aren’t good enough, we’ll go straight to Liu Wuzhou instead—it’s only a few steps away!”

Zhang Wansui’s face finally turned pale.

Though he knew not to trust everything this Turkish noble said, he could not deny what he’d seen with his own eyes—Liu Wuzhou’s unusual indifference to the events here.

Could it be that Liu Wuzhou had also allied himself with the Zhibi Turks? He could only hope the terms Wang Taishou had prepared would be enough to move these Turkish nobles.

Zhang Wansui hesitated, but Zhibi Luoluo gave a pleased smile—on her perpetually grim face, the smile looked worse than a grimace.

“The night is long, there’s plenty of time to negotiate. Wang Renqiong is eager to head south and seize the Sui Dynasty’s lands—what’s a mere Mayi Prefecture in comparison?”