Volume 6, Chapter 13: The Cold, Lonely Moon Is Silent (1/2)

Volume 6, Chapter 13: The Cold, Lonely Moon Is Silent¹

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— Records Volu capital, in Princess Changle’s residence, within the Overlooking Wave Pavilion, it was the second day of the eleventhcold in the deep of night A few days earlier, it had even snowed But Jiang Zhe stubbornly wanted to face the lake and enjoy the ave Xiaoshunzi a headache Early in the , he had to have so hot in the Overlooking Wave Pavilion By the ti Wave Pavilion after leaving the Cold Courtyard, the inside of the pavilion was as war Zhe’s souished Ever since Great Yong hadZhe had secluded hi in the Cold Courtyard, he whiled ti Wave Pavilion Not only did he decline Li Zhi’s summons these days, he also refused to see Li Xian, shi+ Yu, and all others Naturally, Xiaoshunzi understood why Jiang Zhe was like this Great Yong’s southern can had been just a matter of ti Zhe would be so depressed

At long last, Jiang Zhe recited:

<blockquote class="Quote">Never having learned how to keep fitHow can this body e?”²</blockquote>

Xiaoshunzi was surprised by the poee and illness and easily translated into a poetic prophecy Jiang Zhe had taxed his ingenuity in his early years, resulting in early gray hairs He had nearly died of exhaustion; it wasn’t just “long have I toiledlearned how to keep fit” wasn’t exactly accurate, he had started practicing a series of healthy exercises in these years However, he was hindered by his skill, and he didn’t i” was self-evident If “how can this body e” ca of all this, Xiaoshunzi felt hiin to sweat He hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Young master, why did you say that? If you can’t live in peace in the Yong capital, why don’t I accompany you back to the Eastern Sea?”

“This tinan without discussing cay with me Do you knohy?” I calmly replied

Xiaoshunzi’s eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said, “Is it possible the Emperor has become suspicious of you, so purposely excluded you? The ar south should establish a command post to supervise the various armies and conquer Southern Chu If this happened, His Ihness, the Prince of Qi, would enjoy popular support and be the Marshal of the Co Southern Chu But the Emperor didn’t order the construction Has the E hness, the Prince of Qi?”

I shook my head “Whether the Emperor is jealous of the Prince of Qi, I still don’t know Even then, the Prince of Qi didn’t suggest the construction of the command post And if the Emperor has truly becohts like this He sis for the old country and doesn’t wish toNorthern Han, the E out Southern Chu would be as easy as flipping over his hand The three columns of the army total five hundred thousand troops and have advanced, but Jiangnan’s two hundred thousand elite troops can take a single battle with Great Yong If Southern Chu wins the battle, the destruction will be indiscrihness, the Prince of Qi, and the distinguished generals will invariably despise Jiangnan Allnan like the back of your hand Is it possible Great Yong will suffer heavy casualties in this battle? That being the case, why doesn’t the young master explain the situation to the Es aren’t present before one’s eyes, it’s very difficult for a person to believe it,” I said with a wry smile “When the E Chu, even with the steadiness of shi+ Yu, they all say, ‘The powerful s of the Fengyi Sect bring trouble The h they have a great general like Lu Can an territory, our arh we cannot conquer Southern Chu with a single battle, we can still capture Huainan, occupy Sichuan, and seize Xiangyang This will le at death’s door’ These words show that Great Yong’s officialdom has lost their even keel

“Instead, it is Southern Chu that is entirely bound by a hatred for a coh Lu Can is subject to a powerfulis certain to be defeated by Southern Chu in this battle I’ve already sent a secret petition to the E that both defeat and victory in this battle are particularly likely and advised him not to rush into battle Unfortunately, the Emperor paid the secret rees withthe old country be ravaged by war, so I’ alarmist In reality, how could the man not be overcautious?³ I’ve received over ten years of Great Yong’s patronage as well as the Ereed and cowardice⁴ not know their choices?”

Xiaoshunzi said in doubt, “Youngaside whether what Prime Minister shi+ says comes true, Southern Chu’s yi Sect is creating difficulties from within This is indeed true General Lu y, but he still can’t take control of all thebattle like this? General Qin is steadfast and seasoned, General Zhangsun is wise and thoughtful, and General Pei is resolute and daring All three of the e as the commander-in-chief How is it that only General Lu can score a victory?”

I sighed “Shang Weijun is indeed theof Southern Chu, Zhao Long, is his daughter’s son Shang Weijun has turned Southern Chu’s Jiangshan⁵ into his faets desperate, he puts his full support behind Lu Can, then supplants hi the internal strife after victory has been achieved There’s no need to elaborate on that However, it’s too late for Great Yong once that happens

“As for the Fengyi Sect, I have quite the regrets I let the dregs of the Fengyi Sect have their way at the ti right However, I seriously shouldn’t have let Wei Ying off But because of the situation at the tih this man is merciless and vicious, fame, wealth, and hatred fettered hihout Southern Chu However, this man was still the son of Wei Guan, so he received the respect of the Fengyi Sect Master He is truly talented, his gaze a burning torch After he had reflected on his suffering, he chose to set his sights on supporting Lu Can If he had not changed Lu Can’s personality over the years, Shang Weijun and Lu Can would have destroyed each other long ago

“Lu Can is not like me I like to conduct schemes Even if all of my subordinates love and respect me, I will still take full control of their life and death As soon as they show signs of disobedience, I can dispose of them Lu Can trusts people Even if his subordinates have plans of their own, he will have faith in the can be of use to hi political opponents for Lu Can and re difficulties and anxiety, Lu Can can stand fir is that powerful?” asked Xiaoshunzi in surprise

I let out a sination Ever since his conspiracy in the Eastern Sea failed, the man so Weijun and the Fengyi Sect have plotted against Lu Can, but they were all defused by Wei Ying The Intelligence Management Section of the Ministry of War has tried to use the internal power struggle of Southern Chu to frame Lu Can in many schemes He also eli officialdoh the Intelligence Management Section’s dispatches and the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets’ encrypted reports From these clues, I realized it Alas, the sincerity Lu Can has to appoint Wei Ying is beyondto not mind the relationshi+p between Lu Can andence report to the Cold Courtyard,” Xiaoshunzi said after thinking for aPass and Xiangyang Although no progress has been arrisons of the two locations are too occupied to do anything else The outcoone conclusion And only now has the Southern Chu court replied, with Lu Can kou However, within an? If not for the Southern Chu court’s restrictions, how could Lu Can have waited until now to lead troops to battle? Now that the barrier of Huaidong has been lost, Lu Can likely has no way out, even though he has treh to turn a desperate situation around”

I shi+fted aze away from the forlorn moon and looked back “You also know that the Emperor did not expect Lu Can to fail to dispatch troops to Huaidong in a tian military operations, he would often eneral in the field is not bound by the orders of his sovereign’ This is why he had the courage to seize Jia to waste time in Jianye? Why did Pei Yun report that the infor and Jianye had been cut off?”

Xiaoshunzi was surprised “Young master once said that Lu Can has an honest character”

“A general must be vicious and merciless,” I said evenly “Lu Can is indeed honest and aboveboard with friends and enemies, but his schemes aren’t kind much Otherwise, he wouldn’t have plotted o, not toat his side”

Xiaoshunzi fell into thought and let out a quiet sigh

I continued, “The lay of the land of Huaidong is of strategic importance The river crisscrosses and best suits aeography inti-range river raids If Lu Can and Pei Yun engage each other in Huaidong, battle is certain to be joined and will favor Southern Chu If this happens, however, it’ll be no easy task for the Southern ChuOnce battle is joined, they cannot easily withdraw If this happens, it will align with our , Huaixi, Jiujiang, and Jiangxia will be unprepared

“The Xuzhou Barracks’ navy has a force of one hundred fifty thousand infantry and cavalry Why have thirty thousand troops disappeared? Do they plan to delay Zhangsun Ji’s two hundred thousand-strong ar? None of Southern Chu’s other officers can take charge, as being distant fro Pass has beco Yuan leaves Xiangyang, he’s nothing oose

“Southern Chu’s weakness is that only Lu Can can support the overall situation They can’t even cofei committed suicide in battle, they still had the Princess of Jiaping and General Duan who could inherit his legacy As a result, General Pei raids and attacks at a steady pace in Huaidong just to entice Lu Can to Huaidong Unfortunately, Pei Yun can’t go overboard, or he would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory such that the two armies would be stale, but by relying on the natural defense of the Yangtze River, Lu Can can sail back and forth, free to be flexible If this happens, our oes s even less wary of Southern Chu With this ebb and flow, you can understand the current plight of Great Yong!”

Xiaoshunzi broke out in a cold sweat at these words However, he still rebutted, “Even so, once Lu Can is in Jingkou, he can’t xia Barracks cannot move freely; none of the other ar master ieneral defending Huainan, shi+ Guan, is good at waging war, he still cannot defeat Great Yong’s valiant veterans With Huaixi the weaker force, how can they oppose Great Yong’s heavy cavalry?”

I sighed “I also can’t figure out this issue right now But soht prevails over nature I believe an inelligence report will arrive before the fifteenth Then it will be clear how Lu Can responded I si doesn’t suffer toobattle”

Xiaoshunzi fell silent for a long ti sun are both good at and used to war They won’t be so badly beaten they cannot recover

“Young ht news yesterday Your elder cousin, Jing Changqing, was taken prisoner in Chuzhou and suffered greatly However, Shanzi and Quhuang used the secret base of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets in Huaidong to send hi”