ROHYX Chapter 690 : Untitled

"General, look out…!" As soon as Qiu Wanshan heard the warning, he instinctively ducked down behind his horse. As he lowered his ...

"General, look out…!" As soon as Qiu Wanshan heard the warning, he instinctively ducked down behind his horse. As he lowered his head, he saw an arrow fly over his head and hit a guard standing next to him.

One of Qiu Wanshan's men cried, "General, let's retreat!" They had been fighting for over two months and still hadn't managed to gain the slightest advantage over Lin Fengyuan.

And once again, the battle ended with Qiu Wanshan pulling his troops back.

Back in the inner city, Gu Jiu reported, "The supplies still haven't arrived. We can hold out for ten more days at most." He felt extremely frustrated; they were fighting desperately on the front lines to stop the rebels, yet the Emperor and those officials couldn't even provide them with enough provisions.

Lin Fengyuan remained silent, clearly lost in thought.

Gu Jiu pulled Lin Fengyuan back from his thoughts by saying, "General, an Imperial Court like this isn't worth giving our lives for." Even if they didn't defect to Yan Wushuang, they couldn't keep risking their lives for that dog of an Emperor.

Lin Fengyuan gave a small smile and replied, "Do you really think the Emperor merely failed to send the supplies in time? Someone has been tampering with things along the way. Never mind—send a message to Yu Qi and have him meet me tonight."

Gu Jiu understood what he meant and asked, "General, are you saying the Yu family is behind the delay in the supplies?"

Lin Fengyuan wore a faint smile, but it was full of mockery. "If they hadn't done this, how else could they have forced me to submit? What I don't know is what secret dealings the Yu family has with Yan Wushuang." Yan Wushuang was not someone who was easy to deal with, and the Yu family wasn't composed of good people either. It was a pity he didn't have enough power yet; otherwise, he'd do what Yun Qing did and rebel outright.

Yu Chunhao had already been in Huangzhou for three days. Unable to appear openly, he had to ask someone to request a meeting with Lin Fengyuan on his behalf. Lin Fengyuan wasn't in a hurry to see him, because he knew Yu Chunhao would come to him eventually.

That evening, Yu Chunhao entered Lin Fengyuan's residence. As he walked in, he saw someone brewing tea. Chunhao smiled and said, "I didn't expect General Lin to be skilled in the tea arts as well."

Lin Fengyuan's mother had been very beautiful; otherwise, the Duke of Dingguo wouldn't have taken her in as a concubine. Lin Fengyuan bore sixty per cent of his mother's resemblance. As he sat there making tea, his movements were as fluid as drifting clouds and flowing water¹, making him a pleasing sight to behold.

After filling the two teacups, Lin Fengyuan set the teapot down and asked, "Was it your people who tampered with the supplies?" Although he already suspected it, he still needed to ask directly.

Yu Qi naturally didn't want to admit anything. "Something must have delayed them on the way."^🦊

Lin Fengyuan lifted his teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "What do you want me to do? Just say it—don't try to turn a corner and skim the edge³." After all, Yu Qi had come secretly, so of course, he wanted to discuss things that couldn't be spoken of in public.

Yu Qi responded, "The rebel forces are unstoppable, and this war won't be settled anytime soon. The state treasury is empty, and the court simply can't afford to keep spending like this…" Seeing that Lin Fengyuan was focused solely on drinking his tea, Yu Qi gritted his teeth and continued, "We want to send someone to negotiate a peace treaty with Yan Wushuang."

Putting down his teacup, Lin Fengyuan looked up and said, "Peace treaty? I'm afraid the deal has already been settled, and I'm the only obstacle left!" Yan Wushuang had already publicly declared that the Emperor was a traitor to the nation. Under such circumstances, the Emperor would rather die than negotiate with him, which was why Yu Qi hadn't dared to meet Lin Fengyuan openly.

Realising that Lin Fengyuan was very shrewd, Yu Qi replied, "We are also thinking of the common people. If the fighting continues like this, even more people will die for nothing."

Lin Fengyuan didn't even look at Yu Qi. "I really admire you scholars—after becoming a prostitute, you still want to put up a chastity memorial arch⁴. Where in this world is anything that convenient? If you want to seize power, then seize power. Dressing it up with nice words is just lying to yourselves."

Could the Yu family really control someone as rebellious and unrestrained as Lin Fengyuan? Yu Qi admitted he wasn't sure. "You know the situation in Huangzhou better than I do. It will fall to the rebel army in half a month at most." Without reinforcements, how could Lin Fengyuan possibly hold those rebels back?

Lin Fengyuan didn't waste any more words. "It seems you've all already made your plans? In that case, I won't be the one who fails to read the situation. Hebei is a nice place—what do you think?" He was asking for benefits.

Yu Qi took a small sip of tea, and the taste really wasn't good. "That little place, Hebei, would be far beneath your talents, General Lin. How about the position of Commander of the Imperial Guards?" The Imperial Guards were responsible for the security of the entire Imperial Capital and held great power.

Although the title 'Commander of the Imperial Guards' sounded impressive, the Imperial Guards were actually a tangled web of factions. No matter how hard he tried, he could never make everyone obey him. Besides, appointing him to the position was merely a way to pit him against Yan Wushuang, allowing the Yu family to gain the fisherman's benefit from their conflict. The Yu family's calculations were sharp, but it still depended on whether he accepted. 'I'm not an ambitious man. Just give me a small place, and I'll be perfectly satisfied.' Lin Fengyuan didn't want to stay in Liaodong because it would inevitably become Yan Wushuang's domain sooner or later.

After a moment's silence, Yu Qi answered, "I'll give you an answer in three days." He couldn't make this decision alone; he had to consult his zufu ⁵.

Lin Fengyuan naturally knew Yu Qi couldn't make the final call. "Since you've reached an agreement with Yan Wushuang, then tell him to settle down for a few days and stop attacking the city."

Gu Jiu, who knew the whole story, asked, "General, working with the Yu family is like seeking the tiger's skin from the tiger itself⁶, isn't it?" They even dared to withhold military provisions—just how cold-blooded could these people be?

Upon hearing this decision, Lin Fengyuan smiled. "Commander of the Xiaoqi Battalion? Your Yu family really went to great pains." The Xiaoqi Battalion was not under the Yu family's control, so appointing him as its commander demonstrated their great calculation. However, Lin Fengyuan also knew very well that the Yu family would never allow him to hold a regional position. Since that was the case, commanding fifty thousand troops wasn't a bad option—at least he would be able to protect himself.

News of Huangzhou's fall reached the capital, and the Emperor flew into a rage. "Where is Lin Fengyuan? How was he guarding the city?"

The Minister of War, Hu Daren ⁷, replied tremblingly, "General Lin was gravely wounded. We don't know whether he's alive or dead." Lin Fengyuan certainly did not want to bear the reputation of being a general who surrendered and caused the city to fall.

Yuchen soon received the news as well. Upon hearing that Huangzhou had fallen, she said anxiously, "Now that Huangzhou has fallen, won't Yan Wushuang surely march straight for the capital?" Yan Wushuang hated the Emperor and the Song family to the bone; if he really reached the capital, he might not even spare Wangye ⁸and his Shizi ⁹.

Momo Gui was also a little flustered, but she forced herself to appear calm and said, "Wangfei ¹⁰, don't worry. Even without Lin Fengyuan, there are other generals. With a realm as huge as the Great Zhou, how could we possibly fail to find someone who can stand against the rebels?"

However, Yuchen was far from as optimistic as Momo Gui, as she pointed out, "Yan Wushuang is using the banner of 'restoring order and righting chaos'; he has the moral high ground, while the Emperor has lost the people's support. The current situation is terrible."

Momo Gui responded, ""Wangfei ¹⁰, who knows where Yan Wushuang picked up that child he's using to impersonate the late Crown Prince's bloodline? Don't overthink it. Nothing will happen, "Wangfei ¹⁰." Even if something went wrong, they still had Wangye ⁸, who would be the one to take the brunt of it at the front!

Seeing Yuchen's tightly furrowed brows, Momo Gui tried to comfort her. ""Wangfei ¹⁰, if things truly reach that point, Wangye ⁸ will make proper arrangements for you and Shizi. If Yan Wushuang really reaches the capital, we'll simply flee then. We're not fools. We won't just sit here waiting for him to come and kill us."

Yuchen laughed bitterly. "The world is in chaos—everywhere is dangerous. They say, 'thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river¹¹', and it's absolutely true. When Yuxi rebelled in the past, our entire family lived under constant threat. Now that Yun Qing has taken the northwest, even if Yan Wushuang captures the capital, it won't affect them. But we, on the other hand, are the ones in danger." The affairs of the world were unpredictable, but this change had come far too quickly, leaving Yuchen feeling unable to adjust.

Momo Gui advised, ""Wangfei ¹⁰, it's useless to dwell on these things. The Lord Shizi's class is about to end—please bring him back for lunch!" Since the tutor had been invited to the Wangfu ¹², Zhou Yan returned to the rear courtyard for all three meals each day.

Yuchen did not move, but instead began speaking of the Duke's household. "Dage ¹³ is still in Henan. With no man in the household to handle affairs, it really puts my Dasao¹⁴ in a difficult position."

Momo Gui muttered, "If you ask me, the Duke is really heartless. The Old Lady is ill, yet he can remain in Henan without returning." Han Jianming remained in Henan on the grounds that his severe injuries made long travel unsuitable, but aside from the Han family, everyone else thought it was just an excuse.

Yuchen said, "With Dage away, the Duke's household is actually safer. Unfortunately, I don't have a biological brother—otherwise I'd have someone I could entrust things to." The Third Branch truly had no one capable, and now that the Chiang family could barely protect itself, she couldn't possibly add to their troubles.

Seeing that Yuchen seemed to be preparing to retreat, Momo Gui's eyelid twitched. "Wangfei ¹⁰, things haven't reached that point yet! Besides, if something really happens, Wangye ⁸ is still here!"

Yuchen responded, "We should still prepare for the worst—if something truly happens, we won't be caught off guard." It wasn't that she couldn't rely on Jing Wang ¹⁵; she just felt that having an extra layer of preparation was always beneficial and never harmful.

Momo Gui, hardening her scalp¹⁶, asked, "Then what does "Wangfei ¹⁰ intend to do?"

Yuchen also had no thorough plan for the moment. "Let me think about it." Too little time had passed since they received the news, and they had to be cautious—the fewer people who knew, the better.

Footnotes Full List

1. 如云流水的手法 (rú yún liú shuǐ de shǒu fǎ) — idiom/metaphor; "like drifting clouds and flowing water." Meaning "graceful, smooth, natural movements."
2. So, Yu Qi was Yu Chunhao's nickname?
3. 拐弯抹角 (guǎiwān mòjiǎo) is a four-character Chinese idiom (成语 chéngyǔ) used metaphorically to describe a way of speaking or acting that is indirect, circuitous, or evasive.
4. This phrase, "当了婊子还想要立牌坊" (Dāngle Biǎozi Hái Xiǎng Yào Lì Páifāng), is a very vivid and common Chinese idiom. Its figurative meaning is to describe someone who does evil or shameful things but still wants to maintain a good reputation.
5. 祖父 zǔfù: paternal grandfather
6. 与虎谋皮 (yǔ hǔ móu pí) literally means "to negotiate with a tiger for its own skin." Figuratively, it means trying to get someone to do something that goes completely against their own interests — an impossible or dangerous task.
7. 大人 dàren: title of respect toward superiors
8. 王 wáng: king, 爷 yé: lord
9. 世子 shìzǐ: heir of a noble house
10. 王 wáng: king, 妃 fēi: consort
11. The proverb, 三十年河东三十年河西 (Sānshí Nián Hédōng, Sānshí Nián Héxī), literally refers to a river that shifts its course over decades, so what is east becomes west and vice versa. Figuratively, it means fortunes rise and fall over time; situations reverse; tables turn.)
12. 王府 wángfǔ: king's residence
13. 大哥 dàgē: Eldest Brother
14. 大嫂 dàsǎo: eldest brother's wife; sister-in-law
15. 王 wáng: king
16. 硬着头皮 (yìng zhe tóu pí): literally "to harden one's scalp," meaning to force oneself to do something despite reluctance or worry.

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