The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 107

Chapter 107

From the very first day that the Marquis of Yan, Wei Shao, became the new master of Bingzhou, Chieftain Yuan Wang of the Beihe tribe had begun to closely observe him.

Not only had this man seized for himself the lands of Bingzhou, which the Chen family had ruled for decades, but Yuan Wang also knew that the subsequent actions of this Han man would inevitably influence the destiny of all the Qiang people living along the Huang River, including his own tribesmen.

Yuan Wang had heard a fair share concerning the conduct of this new lord of Bingzhou. Over the past few years, this great northern warlord appeared quite different from Chen Xiang, yet Yuan Wang had never harbored any illusions regarding the Han people.

Although the former Colonel of Qiang Relations, Master Li, from several decades ago had been an exception, Master Li was not a warlord who truly held the absolute power of life and death. Furthermore, Master Li had ultimately perished due to the marginalization and suppression inflicted by those very warlords.

Therefore, last year, although he was among the first to learn of Wei Shao's intentions to conciliate and pacify the Qiang people, he did not believe it and consistently maintained a cautious attitude. He neither allied himself with the Shaodang Qiang nor accepted Wei Shao's pacification.

Until now, when Gongsun Yang, acting as Wei Shao's envoy, was dispatched directly to his territory.

Regarding this, he felt somewhat surprised.

Gongsun Yang was a man of immense personal charm—refined, elegant, and possessing extraordinary eloquence. When he conversed with others, he was never overbearing or forceful; rather, his words flowed like a trickling spring, gently seeping into the heart. Before one even realized it, he could make the other party accept his viewpoint and subsequently become genuinely convinced.

Gongsun Yang had already been here for many days.

Yuan Wang had gradually begun to feel a bit moved by his words.

He had never seen Wei Shao with his own eyes, and all his impressions of this thunderously famous northern warlord had previously come from hearsay.

Yuan Wang had once heard of a particular deed he had committed.

It was said that in his early years, he had subjected the enemy who killed his father in war to the punishment of slow slicing. Even after the man died a death of a thousand cuts, his hatred remained unappeased, and he had the remains minced into a fine pulp.

Although rumors were mostly exaggerated, the mere existence of such a tale clearly illustrated the sheer magnitude of this man's heavy, violent aura, causing one to shudder without even being cold.

This was, in fact, one of the reasons why he had harbored misgivings toward Wei Shao's pacification efforts last year.

How could a man so thoroughly filled with such a violent aura be any different from the likes of Chen Xiang?

Yet, during these past days, he had truly experienced the personal charm of Gongsun Yang. It was akin to witnessing Master Li once more, who had been profoundly revered by the Qiang people all those years ago.

Consequently, this had also slowly dissolved some of his previous apprehension toward Wei Shao.

Particularly last night, he had once again conversed through the night with Gongsun Yang by candlelight. After returning, he discussed the matter with several elders of the tribe.

Although there were still hesitant voices among the elders, Yuan Wang made up his mind and decided to submit.

He had never expected that early this morning, an envoy from Diao Mo would suddenly arrive, delivering a piece of disastrous news that practically shattered his heart the moment he heard it.

His only grandson, Yuan, who had vanished half a year ago, had first been abducted by the Han people to Jinyang to be sold as a slave, and subsequently fell into the hands of Chen Xiang's son, and was now presumed to have met his end.

The envoy also delivered a letter from Diao Mo. In the letter, Diao Mo claimed that both Feng Zhao and Wei Shao were vicious wolves. Feng Zhao associated with the powerful Qiang clans merely to buy and drive the Qiang soldiers to throw away their lives for him. As for Wei Shao, he possessed the wild ambitions of a wolf and was thoroughly unworthy of trust. He strongly urged Yuan Wang not to blindly believe the promises of the Han people, stating that although he currently had dealings with Feng Zhao, it was merely to exploit the friction between Feng Zhao and Wei Shao to reclaim that piece of land in Shang that had been the ancestral habitat of the Qiang people for generations, which was currently occupied by the Han.

During Diao Mo's youth, his father had been forced to send him to Bingzhou as a hostage, where he was confined for several years before being released to return home in exchange for a massive amount of wealth, cattle, and horses. Diao Mo possessed great ambitions and was exceptionally brave and resolute; Yuan Wang had always regarded him as a nephew. Having just heard news early this morning regarding his grandson, who had been missing for half a year and whom he longed for almost daily, and given that the account was delivered with such certainty, how could he not believe it? Consumed by a mixture of grief and fury, he had fainted on the spot.

His only beloved grandson had actually been plundered by the Han people and had died in the lands of the Han!

Upon awakening, although Yuan Wang did not go so far as those around him, who wished to vent their rage by slaughtering Gongsun Yang and severing ties with the Han entirely, he could no longer continue discussing matters with him under any circumstances. Thus, his face shifted as he sought to expel him.

Yet, who could have foreseen the sudden twist of fortune, where the grandson he believed dead this morning would actually appear alive right before his very eyes? Upon learning that he had actually been rescued by the wife of Wei Shao, who had dispatched men to escort him all the way home, his immense grief transformed into immense joy. After his emotions settled slightly, he suddenly recalled something and could not resist asking Yuan whether the wife of Wei Shao had requested him to return and persuade them to submit. To his surprise, Yuan did not know, stating that before the Lady sent him away, she had not uttered a single word regarding the matter in his presence, and he was completely unaware.

Yuan further spoke to his grandfather, saying that having experienced this brush with life and death, though he had personally tasted the abuse and contempt of the Han toward the Qiang, he also knew that among the Han, there was no shortage of kind and wise individuals. Just as it was among the Qiang, where the good and the bad were intermingled—when going out to battle, some defended their homes and lands, while others raided commanderies and counties—one could not generalize the whole based on a single part.

Amidst his astonishment, Yuan Wang hesitated no longer. Only then did he hurriedly turn back to express his intention to conclude the covenant with Gongsun Yang.

Gongsun Yang had actually not quite processed how all of this had come about, and how it had suddenly involved the Lady. However, since Yuan Wang had changed his mind on his own accord, it was exactly what he had been hoping for, so how could he possibly decline? He accepted immediately. Yuan Wang stepped out of the tent and announced to the gathered tribesmen that the tribe would form an alliance and conclude a covenant with the Marquis of Yan, henceforth ceasing all hostilities and laying down their arms.

Gongsun Yang also proclaimed his Lord's legal covenant.

Yuan Wang had held the chieftain's staff of authority for several decades, possessing extremely high prestige and commanding the deep affection of his people. Besides, who among them did not wish to live a stable and peaceful life? Upon hearing him announce the news, every single one of them cheered. Right then, the two parties smeared blood to seal the covenant before the sacred altar. Once the ritual concluded, they slaughtered sheep and oxen, hosting a grand celebratory banquet with singing and dancing, creating a bustling scene that was in no way inferior to the Qiang New Year festival.

Gongsun Yang managed to extricate himself, seizing a spare moment to seek out Jia Si and ask for the full story.

The moment Jia Si opened his mouth, he said, "I beg the Military Advisor to speak on my behalf before the Lord! Otherwise, I will have no face to ever meet the Lord again!"

Gongsun Yang was already unclear about the situation, and being met with such an outburst left him even more bewildered. He said, "What exactly has occurred? How could the Lady have shown a life-saving grace to the chieftain's grandson? And what do you mean by those words?"

Jia Si recounted the entire course of events, finally stating, "Other things matter less; I am willing to accept the Lord's punishment, and once punished, it will be over. However, entirely due to my negligence, Chen Rui was allowed to return to Jinyang. Utilizing a hidden underwater passage he had previously discovered, he sneaked into the government office in the dead of night, intending to abduct the Lady..."

Gongsun Yang's scalp went completely numb, and a layer of goosebumps instantly erupted along the back of his neck. "Did anything happen to the Lady?"

Jia Si hurriedly shook his head. "Fortunately, she is unharmed. Chen Rui was also shot dead on the spot."

Gongsun Yang remained uneasy and questioned him repeatedly. Finally, upon learning that the Lady suffered no other major harm but had been considerably frightened and suffered a minor bout of illness—and fortunately, before Jia Si departed, her spirits appeared to have already restored to their original state—did he finally, slowly let out a sigh of relief.

...

Regarding the immense shift in the Lord's attitude toward this daughter of the Qiao family whom he had married, over the past year and more, no one understood it more clearly than Gongsun Yang.

Gongsun Yang recalled that at the very beginning, the Lord was entirely unwilling to marry her. It was only after he received instructions from Lady Xu and spent a great deal of effort coaxing and persuading him by his side that the Lord finally nodded his agreement.

Following the wedding night, he had sent the Qiao daughter away. At that time, he was not even willing to escort her out of the city; it was only after he himself wasted a considerable amount of breath that the Lord reluctantly escorted her out of Xinyang.

The scene from back then remained vivid in his memory. Who could have known that barely over a year later, the current Lord would change to a degree that astounded even Gongsun Yang?

It was a genuine astonishment.

Not long ago, when the Lord was injured, a mere three days had passed and he had barely set foot on the ground to walk when he was already brooding over returning to Jinyang.

Given his physical condition at the time, it was naturally unsuitable for long-distance travel. Gongsun Yang had initially acted as he always did, advising him to dismiss the notion.

The first time, the Lord was successfully dissuaded by him, ultimately abandoning the thought. Yet Gongsun Yang could clearly perceive that his agreement was extremely reluctant.

Furthermore, although the Lord did not say it explicitly, from the nuances of his words, Gongsun Yang could distinctly gather that the reason he was in such a tearing hurry to return to Jinyang was likely purely to go and see his Lady, who had already arrived there.

Gongsun Yang, of course, feigned ignorance.

The second time, the Lord brought up returning again. Once more, he was dissuaded.

By the third time Gongsun Yang offered his counsel, he could distinctly perceive that the two gazes the Lord fixed upon him carried a meaning roughly resembling, "Why must you be so meddlesome and provoke such annoyance?"

Gongsun Yang had no choice but to invite the Lady over.

Even now, he remembered with absolute clarity the morning after the Lady arrived at the grand camp. He had yawned as he stepped out of his own tent, encountering Li Chong and Zhang Jian, who were emerging at the same time. When the three of them met outside the Lord's grand tent, each of them bore an awkward expression that was clearly a mutual understanding, yet they all had to act as though nothing were amiss.

In the end, the three of them simultaneously laughed it off, covering up the moment.

He could only blame his own lack of thorough consideration. He had merely wished for the Lord to remain at ease to nurse his injuries, which was why he invited the Lady to keep him company. Yet he forgot that the Lord was currently in the prime of his youthful vigor; how could he possibly withstand the situation where "a brief separation brings a reunion sweeter than a new marriage"?

For the purpose of forbidding spying and preventing eavesdropping, when setting up camp, an open space of at least ten zhang square was traditionally cleared around the commander-in-chief's grand tent.

That night, those closest to the Lord's grand tent were precisely himself, Li Chong, and Zhang Jian.

Although they were separated by a distance of ten zhang, because the night was deep and the surroundings quiet, Gongsun Yang still managed to hear certain extraneous noises originating from the Lord that were unsuited for his ears.

Initially, he assumed it would pass quickly. Therefore, he turned a deaf ear. He had not expected it to be intermittent; every time he believed it was about to conclude and prepared himself to fall asleep in peace, that unspeakable noise from the Lord would once again bore into his ears. Hearing it caused him, despite his advanced age, to feel restless and thoroughly unable to fall asleep.

He had no idea how Li Chong and Zhang Jian, into whose ears the sounds must have also drifted, managed to sleep through that night. At any rate, he eventually gave up on sleeping entirely, getting up to light a lamp and sit down to read the fourteen chapters of the Military Treatises of Guiguzi.

It was only when he finally flipped to the seventh chapter that his ears attained complete silence.

...

Gongsun Yang had assisted Wei Shao for many years. He originally believed he had grasped the Lord's temperament reasonably well.

He was irascible, easily angered, and sparse in benevolence, yet he was also one who would correct his mistakes once he recognized them. As his years advanced, his restraint grew increasingly steadfast, and his persona also became increasingly profound.

The military camp was a thoroughly severe and chilling place, where regulations were as numerous as ox hairs; even shouting, running, or looking around heedlessly could result in punishment.

However, these regulations were all established for the common soldiers and lower-ranking officers. The higher one's military rank, the more privileges one enjoyed.

How much more so for a commander-in-chief of the Lord's stature?

If he so desired, even if he engaged in nightly revelries within the grand tent, no one would deem it improper.

Yet the Lord had always led by example, particularly regarding the rule "prohibiting women," which was the most prone to breeding unsavory conduct within the camp; he had never once crossed the line.

Gongsun Yang still recalled that three years ago, during a march on a campaign, Wei Shao learned that an officer had secretly hidden a woman inside a baggage wagon to travel along with them. He instantly ordered men to search out all the women and kill them on the spot, while several involved officers were subjected to flogging, and were even demoted after receiving their punishment.

Since then, no one dared to violate the order again.

For a Lord of this nature to actually create such an immense disturbance within the grand camp now was naturally not something done intentionally.

Precisely because it was unintentional and even a case where emotions were difficult to control, it highlighted all the more the exceptional nature of the current Lady to the Lord.

This was also the reason why, the moment Gongsun Yang heard Jia Si mention Chen Rui breaking into the government office at night just now, his scalp had instantly gone numb.

If, by some terrible chance, the Lady had perished at the hands of Chen Rui, Gongsun Yang could not fathom how the Lord would react.

Fortunately, it was a false alarm involving no real danger.

Only then did Gongsun Yang set his mind at ease. Seeing that Jia Si had finished speaking and was staring at him, he smiled and said, "General Jia may set his mind at rest. Since even the Lady no longer blames you, over on the Lord's side, there will naturally be no trouble either."

...

The following day, Gongsun Yang concluded his current journey to Huangzhong, and was personally escorted out of the territory by Yuan Wang, who led his people.

Half a month later, Wei Shao and Feng Zhao engaged in battle at Liyin in Shang.

The tens of thousands of Qiang soldiers within Feng Zhao's army experienced a shift in their morale before the great battle, becoming unwilling to be driven to fight for Feng Zhao any longer.

Feng Zhao flew into a rage, executing a batch of the ringleaders.

The Qiang soldiers held absolutely no status within Feng Zhao's army; their rations and military pay were docked at every turn, they were driven to the absolute front during combat, and they enjoyed no leisure during ordinary days, being utilized for everything from repairing roads and building houses to opening mines and gathering salt. Their labor was exceptionally grueling, and promotion was even more difficult, leaving them long harboring discontent. On the eve of this great battle, words began to circulate privately among the Qiang soldiers, stating that after Yuan Wang led his tribe to submit to Wei Shao, other tribes along the Huang River had followed suit one after another. Wei Shao had concluded a legal covenant with the Qiang. Not only that, but the Wei army was also willing to recruit Qiang individuals who voluntarily joined the military, promising that once enlisted, their treatment and promotion would be identical to those of the Han, and so forth; the news grew larger and larger like a rolling snowball.

These Qiang soldiers were every single one of them individuals who loved battle and flaunted valor; they were already dissatisfied with their current situation, and their morale was restless. How could they possibly be intimidated by Feng Zhao's executions? On the contrary, public sentiment surged violently. When the eve of the great battle arrived and both sides converged to open combat, the Qiang soldiers driven to the absolute front suddenly staged a mutiny, turning their weapons to charge toward Feng Zhao. Feng Zhao's battle lines fell into utter chaos; although he resisted with all his might, how could he withstand the full-scale assault of Wei Shao's army, which seized the momentum to charge forward in massive waves? They were utterly routed.

Feng Zhao suffered a crushing defeat, ultimately leading a remnant force of several hundred men southward to flee to Hongnong before managing to steady his position. In his helplessness, he dispatched men to Luoyang to beg for Xing Xun's forgiveness, awaiting subsequent instructions.

...

The Battle of Liyin concluded in a magnificent victory. Wei Shao busied himself for two days, arranging the post-war matters one by one, intending to first make a trip back to Jinyang.

On the day Gongsun Yang returned from the Huang River, he had already informed Wei Shao of how the Lady had rescued Yuan Wang's grandson, thereby assisting himself in successfully concluding the alliance and covenant in the end.

However, regarding the matter of Chen Rui breaking into the government office at night, which he had heard from Jia Si, he had not mentioned it at that time.

It was only until this very moment, while observing his countenance, that he slowly and deliberately spoke of it.

Once he finished speaking, he kept his eyes fixed upon Wei Shao. Seeing his face suddenly turn rigid and his gaze appear to reveal a ferocious expression, he hurriedly said, "Lord, set your mind at rest. According to what General Jia stated, the Lady is safe..."

"Military Advisor! Why did you not inform me at that time?"

Wei Shao suddenly interrupted his words, his voice thoroughly rigid, matching his countenance perfectly.

Gongsun Yang was startled and explained, "Lord, do not give way to anger. At that time, the great battle was imminent, and I was deeply afraid that the Lord would be distracted..."

Wei Shao had been sitting behind the desk; before he could even finish speaking, he flew into a towering rage, abruptly rising straight to his feet. Ignoring Gongsun Yang's calling from behind, he uttered not a single word and strode directly outside.