Ninety-four

After Huang Yi left, Yang Hong entered.

“Minister Yang!” Li Miao looked toward Yang Hong.

“Your Majesty, are you still troubled by that Meiqian bandit from Mount Song?” Yang Hong asked Li Miao.

Li Miao nodded. Those Mount Song bandits kept coming back. If he, Li Miao, had enough strength, he would have gone out to beat them up long ago instead of hiding within this dilapidated Jiangting City. Li Miao was no gentleman; he was a petty man, meticulous over every penny, and just as likely to repay hatred with hatred. A petty man’s rule was: if you can’t beat me, I’ll run—he would never fight to the death. But if he had the power, he wouldn’t stop until he had thoroughly beaten you.

That was why people said it was better to offend ten gentlemen than to offend one petty man.

Li Miao was now deeply frustrated. That Meiqian fellow was firmly on his hit list.

“Does Your Majesty have any plan?” Yang Hong continued.

“No!” Li Miao forced a bitter laugh. “If I had a plan, would I still be here with a furrowed brow?”

“Minister Yang, where exactly are Zhang Xun and Li Yin?” Li Miao asked, anxious enough not to even call his uncle. They were waiting for those two to save them. With three hundred elite Yulin Guards, Li Miao wouldn’t be in such a state.

He was nearly in tears, regretting his earlier pretense. If only he had left Zhang Xun behind and sent Li Yin alone to Tianzhu Mountain. Instead, he showed off, and now his main forces were lost.

“No news at all!” Yang Hong shook his head. Due to Meiqian’s siege, his scouts had lost contact.

“Damn it!” Li Miao said bitterly.

Looking at Li Miao’s troubled face from the main seat, Yang Hong felt a pang of sympathy mixed with self-reproach. It was his own incompetence that had allowed their young lord to be bullied by even a mere bandit.

“Your Majesty, if the situation is hopeless, perhaps we should retreat!” Yang Hong voiced what Li Miao most wanted to say.

“Retreat? How?” Li Miao’s eyes brightened. He had been searching for an escape route. He no longer cared about losing face by being defeated by bandits. But all city gates were unsafe— the south gate faced the Meiqian attack direction, the north gate was the obvious first target if Meiqian pursued them. As for the east and west gates, going west would lead to Yuzhou territory, where the remnants of the Yellow Turban rebels under Liu Bi were active. If Li Miao fled there, Liu Bi might see him as a contender for the throne, coveting the legendary jade seal Li Miao possessed.

The east and west gates were no better—they led toward Tianzhu Mountain, controlled by Chen Lan and Lei Bo.

“Your Majesty, we can use the east gate, then detour around Tianzhu Mountain to reach Jiangdong,” Yang Hong suggested.

“Can Tianzhu Mountain be bypassed?” Li Miao’s eyes lit up. He had finally found a way out.

“Of course,” Yang Hong nodded. When they fled from the Central Plains to Jiangting, they had bypassed Tianzhu Mountain. Otherwise, with Chen Lan and Lei Bo’s temperaments, they wouldn’t have let you pass safely. Heading east and detouring might even allow them to meet Zhang Xun and the Yulin Guards returning from Tianzhu Mountain.

“Excellent! Excellent!” Li Miao was so grateful he almost wanted to hug the little old man tight, if not for the many wrinkles on Yang Hong’s face.

Thinking of Yang Hong’s competence compared to another sycophant, Li Miao shook his head. How could the difference between two lackeys be so vast?

“Minister Yang, the difficult task is entrusted to you!” Li Miao declared.

“Yes, I shall take full responsibility,” Yang Hong replied and prepared to leave, but Li Miao suddenly stopped him.

“Minister Yang, don’t forget to bring money!” Li Miao shouted. Since they were heading to Jiangdong, they certainly needed funds.

Yang Hong nodded, understanding well that money was essential for travel. Without it, no one would generously feed you on the road—unless you were a woman with other advantages.

Yang Hong was about to leave again.

“Wait!” Li Miao called out once more. Seeing Li Miao’s struggling expression, he asked, “Minister Yang, inform my sister when you leave!”

“Princess Royal Highness?” Yang Hong nodded. “And the prince consort?”

“Him?” Li Miao thought of that man and said irritably, “Let him go to hell!” He was sure Huang Yi would learn of the escape anyway once his sister knew.

“I understand,” Yang Hong said, preparing to depart. Li Miao did not call after him again.

But Yang Hong’s foot was never meant to leave the council hall.

Just as he stepped out, a scout rushed in hurriedly. “Report! Report! Enemy forces at the east gate!”

“The east gate?” Li Miao was dumbfounded.

Was this some cruel joke? Li Miao couldn’t fight Meiqian, so running seemed the only option. But now they weren’t even allowed to flee—they were being cornered.

He had wondered why Meiqian’s troops, less than thirty miles away, hadn’t arrived sooner. Now he realized they had taken a detour to the east gate.

What deep hatred was this, to deny even a single escape route?

“What now, Your Majesty?” Yang Hong was at a loss, looking to Li Miao.

“What now? Cold noodles!” Li Miao moaned.

Outside the east gate of Jiangting City, Meiqian’s vast army had already arrived.

“Why don’t we just take the south gate? Why detour to the east gate?” Dongfang Ming asked in confusion. The south gate was closer, but they chose the longer route, turning a thirty-mile march into fifty.

“To prevent that brat Li Miao from escaping!” Meiqian lied without blinking. In truth, he was cautious. Though he captured the traitor Chen Nian from Chen Family Village, who claimed Jiangting City was a ragtag group of old, weak, and sick people, Meiqian didn’t believe it.

So he chose a different gate. If there were ambushes, he wouldn’t be caught in them. If none existed, as Chen Nian claimed, all the better—he would storm the city and wipe them out. Twenty miles wasn’t far; caution never hurt.

Unexpectedly, this twist of fate played into Li Miao’s hands. He truly intended to escape through the east gate.

“Bring Chen Nian to me!” Meiqian ordered.

“Right away!” Dongfang Ming nodded, and soon a young man, held down by guards, was brought before Meiqian.

Despite being a captive, Chen Nian smirked and knelt before Meiqian without fear. “I, Chen Nian, greet King Meiqian!”

“Chen Nian, you say Jiangting City is deserted, filled only with old, weak, and sick people?” Meiqian asked.

“Yes, King Meiqian. Jiangting City is full of old, weak, and sick!” Chen Nian replied.

“How do you know this?” Meiqian was still suspicious.

“I have been inside Jiangting. It is the refuge of that rebel little emperor Li Miao. The rebel great emperor is dead; where would the troops be?” Chen Nian was a schemer, skilled in flattery.

“Hmph!” Meiqian snorted. Calling Li Miao a rebel emperor was like insulting a bald monk. They were all bandits in essence, running profitless schemes. “You once visited Jiangting and were close to that little emperor. Why betray him?”

“Not betrayal, Your Majesty. I am loyal because I am impressed by you and willing to serve under your command!” Chen Nian flattered.

“Hmph! Stop flattering me! Tell me the truth!” Meiqian demanded.

Chen Nian awkwardly smiled and confessed his true reason for betraying Jiangting and Chen Family Village: the city did not provide enough provisions. If they gave no food, it was one thing. But what little they did give was insufficient, and he would starve to death. If they wanted him dead, he would drag them down with him.

Li Miao’s supplies had earned Chen Nian’s hatred, not gratitude.

“Heh!” Meiqian despised Chen Nian’s character but could not deny his usefulness.

If Jiangting City truly was just a collection of old, weak, and sick, what was there to fear?

“Orders given: prepare to storm the city!” Meiqian commanded.

“Yes, sir!” Meiqian’s bandits quickly began felling trees and fashioning siege ladders from local materials.

…

Inside Jiangting City, Yang Hong paced the council hall, repeating “What to do? What to do?” Meanwhile, Li Miao sat calmly in the main seat.

Chen Dao, standing nearby, admired his lord’s composure. This was what it meant to be calm and collected—to remain unshaken even as Mount Tai crumbled before you. Not even standing, just seated firmly like a fisherman on a rock.

But a closer look revealed Li Miao’s legs were trembling so badly he could barely stand. Unable to stand, he sat firm.

As for calmness, his face was as pale as death, lips twitching with tension.

“Your Majesty, what shall we do? There are no soldiers inside, thousands of bandits outside, Zhang Xun and the Yulin Guards are missing, and our only escape route is cut off. Perhaps we should surrender and hand over the legendary jade seal?” Yang Hong pleaded, seeing no other option.

He hoped to use the jade seal to buy time against Meiqian’s army.

Li Miao swore that if he still had the jade seal, he would never hand it over to that Meiqian fellow. But the key problem was that he no longer possessed it. The so-called Henan Luoquiya had completely ruined him.

“Preserve the green mountains and you need not fear firewood,” Yang Hong urged. “Your life is most important, Your Majesty!” He had sworn to care for the young lord before his former master died. The jade seal was a curse, having ruined both the old and young lords. Yang Hong thought it might be better to hand it over.

“No!” Li Miao refused without hesitation, joined by Chen Dao and Chen Shuzhi.

“Who says we have no soldiers?” Chen Dao stood up, displeased. “Your Majesty, though Zhang Xun’s Yulin Guards are absent, we still have our eight hundred child soldiers. As long as one remains, we will not let a single bandit outside touch you!”

The sentiment was brave but impractical. The eight hundred were children and no match for the seasoned bandits outside.

Still, Chen Dao reminded Li Miao that he did have some defense left.

Li Miao gritted his teeth. He had doubted entrusting his life to such young troops before, but now he had no choice. It was all because of that damned Meiqian. Without Meiqian, he wouldn’t be in such a predicament.

Since Meiqian wanted him dead, Li Miao was determined to tear a piece off him in return.

“Uncle, you are right. How could I forget? I do have troops—eight hundred elite soldiers!” Li Miao said to Chen Dao, taking a last-ditch gamble. Even if they were inadequate, numbers still counted.