Chapter 134: Blood Letter

A flash of melancholy crossed Feng Yao's face, but it vanished instantly. She raised her teacup, took a small sip, and resumed her serene, uncontriving composure. Looking at Lu Liaoliao, who sat with lowered head and remained silent, she offered a faint smile.

"Liaoliao, tell Sister Feng Yao, is your caravan really coming to Nanzhao simply to conduct trade?"

Lu Liaoliao shook his head, fixing his gaze firmly on Feng Yao. "I want to meet King Geluofeng of Nanzhao. Can you help me, Sister Feng Yao?"

"In times like these, His Majesty is not someone who can be seen easily. To say nothing of your lack of status, even for someone like me, securing an audience with him is exceedingly difficult. By the way, what is your purpose in wanting to see the King?"

Feng Yao frowned, looking somewhat troubled, though she did not flatly refuse.

"My purpose in coming is twofold. First, I wish to persuade the King of Nanzhao not to abandon the Tang Dynasty and surrender to Tibet. Second, I need to obtain evidence to expose the lies of Xianyu Zhongtong, the Military Commissioner of Jiannan. The Tang army was clearly heavily defeated by Nanzhao at the Erhai River, with nearly the entire force annihilated. Yet the military report he submitted to the capital claimed a resounding victory."

Lu Liaoliao felt a heavy weight in his heart, sensing an oppressive gloom.

"Heh!" Feng Yao smiled and shook her head. "Liaoliao, you probably don't know. Back when Xianyu Zhongtong's grand army pressed against our borders, His Majesty repeatedly sent envoys to express remorse, indicating his willingness to return the Tang captives and seized items from the ninth year of Tianbao, and to restore the city of Yunnan (modern-day Xiangyun, Yunnan) to the Tang. He even warned: 'Now the massive Tibetan army is pressing upon our borders; if you refuse, I shall turn to Tibet, and Nanzhao will no longer belong to Tang.'

"Yet what did Xianyu Zhongtong do? Not only did he reject His Majesty's offer of surrender, but he also imprisoned the Nanzhao envoys. After the battle at the Erhai River, the Tang army suffered a disastrous defeat. Do you really think His Majesty would listen to the words of a nobody like you now?"

"Sister Feng Yao! Don't you think this war, aside from inflicting unprovoked suffering on the people of both nations and causing the vain loss of soldiers' lives, is completely meaningless? Won't you just help me? Let me meet the King of Nanzhao, please?"

Lu Liaoliao's expression grew agitated, and his gaze toward Feng Yao was filled with entreaty.

"Are you here representing the Holy Emperor of the Great Tang? Where are your official documents and imperial tally? Take them out and let me see." Feng Yao extended her hand toward Lu Liaoliao.

"I am not here representing the Holy Emperor of the Great Tang, and I have no official documents or tally. However, I have brought a secret letter written to the King of Nanzhao by Li Linfu, the Chancellor of the Great Tang. Sister Feng Yao! This war with the Kingdom of Nanzhao is entirely the desire of the Great Tang's Holy Emperor. Do you think he would ever dispatch envoys to put an end to this conflict?

"Right now, the Great Tang is widely recruiting troops from Henan and Hebei, preparing an army of two hundred thousand to strike Nanzhao once more. Regardless of whether Tang or Nanzhao wins or loses, neither side can endure the aftermath. Prime Minister Li Linfu wishes to prevent this impending war, which is why he had me bring this secret letter to the King of Nanzhao. Sister Feng Yao, you must help me arrange a meeting with the Nanzhao King."

"The Great Tang is preparing to send another army of two hundred thousand to attack Nanzhao?" Feng Yao's face turned pale; she could no longer remain seated and rose abruptly to her feet.

Lu Liaoliao gave a silent, solemn nod.

Feng Yao sank back helplessly into her chair, shaking her head in anguish.

"It's too late! After the Nanzhao army crushed the Tang forces at the Erhai River, to appease the anger of the Nanzhao soldiers and citizens, His Majesty piled the corpses of the fallen Tang soldiers into a monumental trophy of war, turned his back on Tang, and submitted as a vassal to the northern Tibetans. Right now, Tibetan envoys are at the city of Taihe, bestowing upon His Majesty the title of Zanpo, conferring a golden seal, and proclaiming him the Eastern Emperor. If your party heads to Taihe City now, you are simply marching to your deaths."

Lu Liaoliao looked at Feng Yao in utter despair. "Sister Feng Yao, let's think of something together. There must be a way."

"Do you suppose I don't want to stop this war? Every time the Great Tang attacks Nanzhao, my White Man tribe suffers the most severely. Our homes are destroyed, our men die in battle, and the women, children, and elderly are left displaced. But nowadays, His Majesty favors the Black Man tribe; my words carry no weight before him anymore."

Feng Yao's complexion turned ashen as she powerlessly lowered her head.

"Sister Feng Yao, do not panic just yet. Once I obtain the evidence of Xianyu Zhongtong's defeat and deliver it into the hands of Prime Minister Li, I believe he will find a way to prevent the Great Tang from mobilizing troops to invade Nanzhao again."

After much deliberation, Lu Liaoliao ultimately decided to accomplish this second task first. As for whether he could deliver the secret letter into the hands of King Geluofeng of Nanzhao, he would simply have to adapt to circumstances as they unfolded.

"Right here in White Chess Valley, I have taken in over six hundred Tang soldiers infected with miasmal poison, and I am slowly helping them heal. I wonder if these soldiers might be of some assistance to you."

Feng Yao raised her head and let out a soft sigh.

"Sister Feng Yao, you still possess such a merciful heart, taking in and treating even these Tang soldiers who destroyed your people's homeland and killed their kin. Such vast magnanimity leaves this younger brother in utmost admiration." Lu Liaoliao looked at Feng Yao with reverence, as if a layer of holy radiance enveloped her.

"Tang people, Nanzhao people—weren't they once like one big family? Although these Tang soldiers brought tremendous devastation to my people and my homeland, I cannot simply stand by and watch them die like this."

Feng Yao waved her hand dismissively, as though what she had done were a matter of utterly trivial insignificance.

Night fell, and the mountain valley where Feng Yao resided grew somewhat chilly. Burdened with worries, Lu Liaoliao tossed and turned, unable to find sleep. Princess Xiangcao, lying beside him, burrowed like a little kitten into his embrace, her pair of beautiful, bright eyes fixed intently upon him.

"Xiangcao, do you suppose your royal father, upon learning that you have returned to Nanzhao, might spare a moment to glance at you, and perhaps take a look at what kind of man his son-in-law is?" Lu Liaoliao hugged Princess Xiangcao a little tighter, asking with a glimmer of hope.

Xiangcao's expression dimmed, and she silently shook her head.

Lu Liaoliao let out a quiet sigh in his heart. The very reason he had dared to charge headlong into Nanzhao was precisely because he relied on Sister Feng Yao and Princess Xiangcao for backing. He had not anticipated that before even reaching Taihe City, the capital of Nanzhao, neither a wife of the Nanzhao King nor a daughter of the Nanzhao King could offer any real support. It seemed his only course was to first check on those wounded Tang soldiers and then figure out another plan.

Deep within White Chess Valley, the wounded Tang soldiers taken in by Feng Yao were kept in isolation. This was partly to prevent the contagion of the miasmal poison and partly to keep tribesmen who harbored a deep hatred for the Tang troops from seeking revenge.

The miasmal poison struck its victims down with frightening speed, yet curing it was exceptionally difficult. Feng Yao had them drink decoctions brewed from adlay seeds while simultaneously fumigating their bodies with agarwood smoke. Over three months had passed, and though none of the Tang soldiers had died since, their bodies remained extremely weak.

Accompanied by Feng Yao, Lu Liaoliao walked deep into the isolated valley. Looking at the dejected, hollow-eyed Tang soldiers one by one, he felt a churning mixture of emotions and profound distress.

Aside from the severely ill soldiers who still could not rise, Feng Yao instructed her guards to summon all those capable of walking. A vast, dark sea of men stood before Lu Liaoliao and Feng Yao.

Lu Liaoliao swept his gaze across the Tang soldiers, silently withdrew his military medallion, and flashed it before them.

"My name is Lu Liaoliao, a secretary under the banner of the Left and Right Yingwu Armies of the Great Tang's Northern Imperial Guard. I appear before you for no other reason than to expose the shameless lies of Jiannan Military Commissioner Xianyu Zhongtong, who abandoned you. I mean to present the truth of his defeat at the Erhai River and his cowardly flight to the Holy Emperor before us. Then, one day, I hope to enable you all to return to your hometowns. Right now, I need your help."

"We are merely lowly foot soldiers! Why would the Emperor and those high-ranking court ministers ever believe words from the likes of us? That shameless Xianyu Zhongtong, to prevent news of his defeat from spreading, went so far as to shoot down fleeing soldiers with volleys of arrows. We can never go back, and we can't help you."

Someone in the crowd of soldiers shouted out, instantly setting off a chaotic uproar of overlapping voices among them, with a few soldiers even breaking down into low, muffled sobs.

Lu Liaoliao withdrew a piece of white cloth from his tunic and unfurled it against the wind.

"A blood-written pact! Write your names and your military units using your own blood. I refuse to believe that in the face of this blood-soaked pact, our Holy Emperor can simply turn a blind eye! Even if he could look away, could the entire populace of Chang'an turn a blind eye?!"

"Is this thing actually useful?" a soldier standing near the front asked in a murmur.

"I, Lu Liaoliao, give you my word: even if I must risk everything, I will hold this blood-pact aloft all the way from the gates of Chang'an to the Prime Minister's residence in Pingkangfang. I will let the entire city see it, and I will let that Prime Minister, Lord Li Linfu, see just how the soldiers of our Great Tang stained the battlefield with their blood."

Lu Liaoliao raised the strip of white cloth high, letting it flutter in the air.

"Sign it! We'll sign our names! If anyone doesn't know how to write, they can press a bloody palm print on it for all I care!" a middle-aged man who looked like an officer shouted aloud.

Li Sanxiu watched with a faint smile as Lu Liaoliao spread out the white cloth, allowing the eager Tang soldiers to come forward, slash their fingers, and affix their signatures. He turned and spoke to several secret guards behind him.

"It seems the Prime Minister's judgment of character was correct. I wager this lad will surely pull this mission off."

"General, sir, I have an important report to make." A young soldier cautiously glanced around and spoke in a low voice to Lu Liaoliao.

Lu Liaoliao signaled Zhou Liuzi to keep an eye on the soldiers signing the pact and led the reporting soldier a short distance aside.

"This humble servant is named Wang Xiaotian, formerly a personal guard to Vanguard General Wang Tianyun. To allow the center and rear armies to retreat, General Wang fought to the death without falling back. Afterward, everyone said that General Wang Tianyun sustained heavy wounds and died heroically in battle. But the truth is, after he was wounded, General Wang was desperately rescued by Company Commander Duan Xiaohe and his men, who fled into the jungles of Mt. Wei, after which all trace of them was lost.

"Because I fell victim to the miasmal poison and couldn't keep up with the troop, I was rescued by this kind-hearted mistress. I just don't know what has become of General Wang, Duan Xiaohe, and the others who fled into Mt. Wei. If General Lu can win the support of General Wang Tianyun, I believe that scoundrel Xianyu Zhongtong will never be able to cover up the news of his defeat, no matter how hard he tries."

The young soldier named Wang Xiaotian gazed at Lu Liaoliao with eyes full of hopeful expectation.

"You are hoping I will send men into Mt. Wei to investigate the situation of General Wang Tianyun?" Lu Liaoliao looked at Wang Xiaotian with gleaming eyes.

With his hidden intentions laid bare by Lu Liaoliao, Wang Xiaotian grew visibly excited.

"General Wang Tianyun fought to the death for everyone else's sake, while that scoundrel Xianyu Zhongtong fled and safely retained his position as Jiannan Military Commissioner. Yet General Wang, Company Commander Duan Xiaohe, and the rest vanished into the jungles of Mt. Wei without a trace. There is no justice in this, and I, Wang Xiaotian, refuse to accept it!"

Lu Liaoliao patted Wang Xiaotian on the shoulder.

"Very well! I shall personally make a trip to Mt. Wei and unearth the whereabouts of General Wang Tianyun and his men. You just focus on recovering from your injuries here in peace."

With tears welling in his eyes, Wang Xiaotian stood straight and snapped a standard military salute to Lu Liaoliao.

In the early hours of the next morning, Lu Liaoliao, accompanied by Zhou Liuzi and a secret guard, and guided by a White Man warrior, prepared to set out for Mt. Wei.

"Ten men enter Mt. Wei, but nine fail to return alive. Mt. Wei is damp, rainy, and thick with miasma; even the locals dare not wander through it recklessly. Brother Liaoliao, do you truly mean to go?"

Holding a batch of prepared medicine, Feng Yao looked at him with deep worry and asked once more.

"Sister Feng Yao, rest assured. Remember how many times I was poisoned in the Five Sacred Teachings and came out completely unharmed? This tiny bit of miasmal poison cannot stump me. According to what the soldier Wang Xiaotian said, several thousand Tang soldiers may have fled into Mt. Wei. Since I am here, if I don't go in and search for them, I will never be able to find peace in my own heart."

Lu Liaoliao smiled at Feng Yao and tapped his own chest.