Big Moon Ballad

Chapter 2617 Mutiny
Late at night, Shanhaiguan.

The entire fortress was plunged into darkness, and the torches of the patrolling soldiers, like two fiery dragons, constantly patrolled the streets within the city.

The firelight on the Great Wall in the distance flickered in the darkness, and the atmosphere everywhere exuded an air of martial law.

The lights of Liuyun Tower burn day and night, but the atmosphere of past revelry is gone. Countless lanterns sway under the eaves, but those who walk among them are all fully armed soldiers.

"Now that we're here, wouldn't you like to take off your armor for a while?"

In a room on the top floor of Liuyun Tower, Wan Liuyun smoked his pipe and looked at Li Meiniang, who was wearing silver armor and sitting at the table drinking tea.

Li Meiniang's face was even thinner than before. Upon hearing this, she didn't speak, but only shook her head.

She examined the teacup in her hand. "I came here just to ask if there's any new information."

"Just now, Meng Shi sent a letter to Chen Zichu, urging him to return to Nan Chu immediately."

“I’ve given you all the information I have,” Wan Liuyun tapped his pipe. “The ranking ceremony has ended. Baoyue won in the end, but then an earthquake occurred, and she fell into a crevice in the ground, but was later rescued.”

"She should have returned to Former Qin by now. Meng Shi was with her and should be back soon as well."

"With the Queen of Northern Wei gone, can you still keep those Northern Wei soldiers in check?" Wan Liuyun asked. "I heard that Lord Yunzhong and Lord Guihua are not dead and have returned to the Western Rong. What about over there..."

She gestured towards the direction outside the city walls with her lip, "Are they still charging every day?"

“It’s just some routine provocations,” Li Meiniang frowned. “Small groups of troops always appear around Lingbi. The Second Prince and the people from the Zen Temple haven’t gone far from the city wall.”

The Western Rong people's provocations these days have not yielded much benefit. Each time they are repelled, they flee into the desert, and the soldiers guarding the city cannot easily pursue them, leaving them only on edge.

“Currently, the soldiers guarding the city are in groups of ten, rotating every four hours,” Li Meiniang said. “I try to assign one Silver Cicada Guard to each group, and those Northern Wei soldiers… are generally quite cooperative.”

Apart from a few veterans, the current Silver Cicada Guard consists mostly of laborers and deserters she has recruited over the years, and they are quite loyal to her. However, the other Northern Wei soldiers are only loyal to those Northern Wei generals who have occupied the border for many years, and their loyalty to Yelü Hua and Meng Shi is very limited.

When Meng Shi was alive, she was able to keep those veteran soldiers in check by virtue of her status as queen. After Meng Shi left the border, the entire Northern Wei army became much more restless.

Li Meiniang had no choice but to dismantle the Silver Cicada Guards and insert them one by one among the Northern Wei soldiers to serve as a surveillance unit.

“Although the current King of Northern Wei is young, he will eventually establish his own prestige,” Wan Liuyun sighed, knowing Li Meiniang’s difficulties. “He’ll be fine once he gets through these next few years.”

Not everyone is a born leader like Lin Shubai or Lin Baoyue, who can win the hearts and minds of soldiers from different countries with their strong abilities and personal charisma.

In fact, the border garrison is rife with various factions, making it a very complex and intertwined organization.

“I just hope nothing bad happens before Her Majesty the Queen returns,” Li Meiniang said, looking out the wall. “General Baili sent me a letter during the day, saying that the rebels in the Western Rong are gathering.”

The Black Tiger Army is now under the command of Baili Celing. He and his spies, who were originally stationed in Xirong, are stationed in Shacheng, outside the Eternal Night Great Wall, monitoring the movements of the entire Xirong.

“Rebels…” Wan Liuyun lit another pipe, his expression very complicated. “It seems that Lord Yunzhong has really returned.”

Although Zhao Guang nominally inherited the title of White Wolf King, the nobles and princes within the Western Rong did not submit to him, and a schism broke out among the twelve Di kings.

The old White Wolf Royal Court, which Chunyu Han moved the capital to before, is now occupied by the two Di Kings and the Zen Temple, supported by Yun Zhongjun. Zhao Guang and Ji Ange stay in the new White Wolf Royal Court, which is closer to the north.

To make them easier to distinguish, people in Shanhaiguan now refer to the two royal courts as the North Royal Court and the South Royal Court, respectively.

The new king, Zhao Guang, resides in the Northern Royal Court, while the two Di kings, supported by Yun Zhongjun, reside in the Southern Royal Court.

Sand City was next to the Northern Royal Court, while the Southern Royal Court was south of the Western Rong, close to the Northern Wei. Although the Southern Royal Court had long been in ruins, it was still very close to the Eternal Night Great Wall.

“If the Second King of the Di tribes truly desires the throne of the Western Rong, he should be heading north to subdue the various Western Rong tribes right now,” Wan Liuyun said coldly. “Yun Zhongjun, however, has ordered him to stay in the south. Has he not yet realized that the other party harbors ill intentions and does not genuinely want to support him to ascend the throne?”

“That was a fool to begin with. Yun Zhongjun clearly has Chunyu Ye as his own son. Who would believe that he would sincerely support the other Zhai kings?” Li Meiniang said coldly. “Yun Zhongjun probably promised the two Zhai kings even more fertile and prosperous lands.”

"You mean?"

"Where else could be more prosperous than the land of the Western Rong?"

Li Meiniang stood up, picked up the sword on the table, and looked out the window, "South of the Eternal Night Great Wall."

Wan Liuyun's heart tightened. Just as Li Meiniang picked up her sword, there was a knock on the door.

"Master Wan, Young Master Ji has arrived."

Wan Liuyun gasped. Ji Qingyuan had no cultivation level, but during his stay in Shanhaiguan, Li Meiniang had always entrusted him with the task of transmitting important intelligence, simply because this person was absolutely trustworthy.

Ji Qingyuan wouldn't come to Liuyun Tower unless something major happened.

The door opened, and Ji Qingyuan, dressed in black night clothes, stood outside.

As if she had known he would come, Li Meiniang asked softly, "Which group had an accident?"

“The scheduled contact from Group Eleven hasn’t come,” Ji Qingyuan said. “It’s already an hour late.”

In recent days, Li Meiniang has been secretly having the Silver Cicada Guards, who are stationed in the Great Wall patrol team, contact Ji Qingyuan every hour through crows. If any group of people is late in contacting him, Ji Qingyuan will have to come and report it personally.

"One hour..."

Li Meiniang gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, looking at the torches on the Great Wall in the distance. Everything seemed normal there, but only she knew that the thing she had been guarding against had happened.

“Group 11, is that the team Chen Liu is in charge of?” she whispered.

“Yes,” Ji Qingyuan said hesitantly, “Captain Chen, he…”

“He should be gone by now,” Li Meiniang said softly.

Ji Qingyuan suddenly opened his eyes wide, seemingly still unable to comprehend the cruelty of this matter.

Li Meiniang quickly recovered from her grief, abruptly shoving her sword into her waistband. "Quick, run! Something bad is about to happen!"

"What……"

Before Wan Liuyun could finish speaking, drums suddenly sounded from the Great Wall in the distance.

Those were war drums that were only sounded during battles, but it was nighttime now, and the Western Rong people generally did not attack cities at night.

"What's wrong? Is it a night attack?" Wan Liuyun asked anxiously.

“No,” Li Meiniang turned around as she reached the door, her eyes wide open and her face pale.

"It's a mutiny."

Sorry to keep everyone waiting. "Da Yue Yao" is officially entering its final stage. I have many feelings about it. In the final period, I will try my best to resume the rhythm of updating twice a day.