Refusing the Marriage Alliance, I Founded a Dynasty - chapter 6

In the spring of the third year of Hongyou under the Great Yin, the Marquis of Boyuan defied the Imperial Edict, shocking both court and country.

The news reached the capital, Yong’an City, a month later. On the day the Sage Emperor learned of it, all the Rouran envoys were slaughtered in the posthouse.

No one knew who had acted. The court treated Rouran as a father; if not for ancestral rules, those envoys might have even resided in the imperial palace. Now, with the envoys dead, the Sage Emperor hid within the inner chambers, lost in Elixir and beauty. The ministers of the court split into factions, bickering and vying for power, seeking their own wealth, the safety of their descendants, and the perpetuation of their ancestral rites for generations to come.

Within the month it took for the news to reach the capital, the Meng Army swept through five cities in rapid succession.

The court had enjoyed peace for too long.

The Nobles of the court knew how to indulge in luxury, how to revel night after night, how the young men of the Five Tombs competed to lavish gifts, how the six dynasties of Taicheng vied for splendor.

The land of wealth had softened the bones of the Nobles, and the gentle tomb had dulled the blood and spirit of the civil and military officials of the Yin dynasty. To become an official, spend money; to kill someone, spend money; even when the enemy was at the gates, money was the answer.

So it was with Rouran, so it was with my father.

Heavy taxes left the people with nowhere to turn-some starved in the fields, some rose in rebellion.

I have seen corpses of the starved scattered across the wilds. I have seen Rouran driving borderfolk like cattle and sheep. I have seen men selling wives and children, calling it a good fate. I myself have gone hungry for three days and nights.

I am mercenary, I love money, so I refuse to bring dowry and fifteen border cities into a Marriage Alliance.

My father is mercenary too, and loves money. The Imperial Envoy sent in the court’s panic to admonish him as a traitor was executed on the spot. The next Imperial Envoy arrived with utmost humility and thirty chests of treasure, respectfully begging my father’s forgiveness. His Majesty was willing to rescind the order for his legitimate eldest daughter to enter a Marriage Alliance, and to restore him to court-so long as he withdrew his troops.

My father bowed northward, accepted the treasures, but the following month, ordered an assault on the next city.

“So long as the treacherous ministers remain, I shall not withdraw.”

I looked at the restless crowd, for once feeling a rare sense of confusion.

Why are there armies in this world so easily defeated? Why are there soldiers who flee before the battle even begins? Why do the common people tremble at the sight of soldiers? Why are there cities where military discipline has so utterly collapsed?

All along the way, the world praised my command as godlike, but I knew-the greatest enemy was not the court, but the rebel armies.

My father asked if I was ever afraid. I replied that what I feared was not slaughter, but the evil spirits within the court.

To take a city from the court required only days, but to reclaim territory from the rebels could take years.

I have never underestimated the power of the people. Thus, whenever I captured a city, I would govern it well-take over the administration, inventory the treasury, count the population, stabilize the people’s hearts, investigate injustices. In just three years, rumors spread that the Meng Clan was favored by Heaven’s Mandate.

Under the Meng Family’s rule, military discipline was strict, the people content, and taxes light. Under the court’s rule, corruption reigned, corpses littered the land, and the people lived in misery.

I turned and returned to the command tent, bowing before my father. In the seat of honor sat my Mentor-Mei Yuanbai. He was a great sage of the age. On the day I turned one, he left the mountains to name me, teach me my lessons, instruct me in strategy and military tactics. After I returned home at twelve, he persuaded my father to keep me by his side, sparing me the chaos of the inner residence.

He was renowned in the world, and all addressed him as Lord Mei.

I paid my respects to my Mentor with the proper rites, bowing reverently until he permitted me to sit.

Lord Mei handed me a Silk Scroll, signaling for me to read it.

I read it carefully, my heart turning cold.

Rouran was launching a major invasion.

Just across the river, at the very pass leading to the capital, Rouran was invading.

In the past, my father’s agent within the city had killed the Rouran envoys precisely because the journey was long and difficult, hoping to deceive Rouran into thinking the court had not yet reached an agreement, so they would wait and not attack from behind. By the time Rouran learned of the Great Yin’s internal chaos, General Xu Xinzhi had already reached the border and firmly held the central command. On the Rouran border, besides the Meng Army, there was also the self-proclaimed Prince of Fengyang, Xue Chongshan. Though the two sides had clashed, neither would stand by and watch Rouran pillage unchecked. Thus, the border could remain stable, and my father could focus on the front lines.

Xu Xinzhi was my father’s protégé, skilled in war and adept at hiding his abilities. When the Great Yin negotiated with Rouran, to prevent unrest, the Sage Emperor summoned Xu Xinzhi back to the capital with an Imperial Edict. Later, when the Meng Clan rose to Purge the Court, he secretly left the capital and returned to the border. Though his allegiance was unclear, he kept Rouran at bay. Xu Xinzhi would never surrender, so I asked my elders, “Did Xue Chongshan surrender?”

My father’s face was grim. Lord Mei said, “Xue Chongshan knows the Meng Clan aspires to rule the realm, and that a battle is inevitable. If the Meng Clan truly seizes the throne, he will be branded a traitor. Why not conspire with Rouran? He might yet vie for supremacy.”

I pondered for a while, then voiced my doubt: “I do not understand. General Xu faces two enemies. Though he is supremely talented, it will be difficult for him. What decision will the Sage Emperor make?”

My father snorted coldly: “What decision? My child, look again-this is an Imperial Edict I had intercepted.”

I took the bright yellow Silk Scroll and saw it was filled with admonishments, ordering Xu Xinzhi to immediately withdraw his army and return to the capital to suppress the Meng Clan rebels.

My heart chilled. Though it was not the first time I had witnessed the Sage Emperor’s callous cruelty, I was still disheartened.

How could such a muddle-headed ruler preserve the state?

My father asked me, “What would you do?”

I placed the Imperial Edict on the table, rose, knelt in the center, and bowed deeply, speaking earnestly: “I ask Lord to dispatch troops and aid General Xu.”

My father said, “Xu Xinzhi is cunning. Though he was my protégé, he does not support me. He is playing both sides-defending the border, so that no matter who wins, he will be a hero. Such a petty man-would you still help him?”

I replied, “General Xu may be a petty man, but he is not a treacherous minister.”

Though he wavers, does not take sides, and does not declare his allegiance, he truly defends the nation and protects the people. For three years, the border has been stable, and the people have suffered far less. He does not claim credit, and the Meng Family cannot fail to repay him.

What the court cannot give, the Meng Family will give.

What the court cannot save, I will save.