weaving

Although he was warmly entertained with delicious food and drinks, Liu Tichun was extremely anxious inside – he had not come for personal enjoyment, and the important mission he was shouldering had not made any progress yet.
Liu Tichun couldn't figure out Zhang Cheng's purpose, why he was being treated so warmly, yet why he didn't ask Zhang Cheng why he had come.

He opened his mouth several times to explain the reason and purpose of his trip, but Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng changed the subject with other topics. In order to accomplish his mission, Liu Tichun could not forcefully stop Zhang Cheng from speaking.

Time passed by, second by second.

…………

"Commander, Erhu has come here with a request. I hope you can understand Erhu's predicament and the difficulties of my rebel army. Please give Erhu and the rebel army a way out."

Looking at Liu Tichun kneeling before him, Marquis Yongning Zhang Cheng chuckled inwardly, but feigned surprise on the surface, helping him up and asking urgently, "My good brother Erhu, what's wrong? Quick... get up, let's talk after we get up!"

With the help of the Earl of Yongning, Liu Tichun stood up and said earnestly, "Commander, Erhu has come here with an important mission. Please let Erhu finish speaking."

“Okay. Sit down and we’ll talk slowly.” Zhang Cheng agreed readily.

"Erhu, I implore the commander-in-chief to spare my rebel army. My rebel army will surely repay you in the future."

“Brother Erhu, I don’t expect anything in return. I just consider you my own brother. Since you’re the one who asked me for this favor, I’ll help you no matter what, even if it means offending the court in the future!”

Marquis Yongning Zhang Cheng spoke with the same sincerity and genuine emotion, which truly moved Liu Tichun. He stood up again to kneel, but Zhang Cheng grabbed him and said, "Erhu, we're brothers, you can't keep kneeling like that."

Liu Tichun then sat back down in his seat, looking somewhat uneasy.

In fact, before arriving at the government army camp, Liu Tichun was prepared to die. He even thought that if the negotiations failed, he would risk his life to capture Zhang Cheng and force him to retreat.

But reality repeatedly slapped him in the face...

The Earl of Yongning was not as cruel and hateful as he had imagined; in fact, he was quite kind and respectable. His continuous and enthusiastic advances began to change Liu Tichun's preconceived notions about the Earl of Yongning and gradually shook the lofty and majestic image of the King of Chuang in his mind.

"Alright. Now let's talk about what conditions the rebel king has offered, and what I need to do to let him go."

"Commander-in-Chief, the King of Chuang is willing to offer five thousand taels of gold and fifty thousand taels of silver for you to reward your soldiers; and he is also willing to leave fifty thousand starving people to serve as your military merits."

"I only beg the Commander-in-Chief not to be so ruthless, but to provide a clear path for my army to safely withdraw from Kaifeng. In this way, the Commander-in-Chief will have saved Kaifeng from its peril and driven my army out of Kaifeng, thus fulfilling his obligation to the court."

After Liu Tichun finished stating his conditions and demands, he looked at the Earl of Yongning with trepidation. The Earl still had a smile on his face, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“Commander, if you push him too far, the rebel king will surely fight to the death. Even if his armor and weapons are not as good as yours, and his guns and cannons are not as sharp, he still has a large army and will attack from all sides. Even if you win in the end, you will suffer heavy losses…” Liu Tichun said while observing the subtle changes in Yongning Earl’s expression. He continued, “There is an old saying, ‘When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked.’ I’m sure you know that, Commander.”

The fact that the Commander-in-Chief has achieved his current status in the court can be attributed to "relying on the rebels." It is precisely because of figures like the rebel leader that the court needs the Commander-in-Chief to stand in the way, which is why he is given money and manpower as needed, and is constantly rewarded with high-ranking positions and generous salaries.

But once the rebel leader's forces are gone and he disappears without a trace, the imperial court will likely not allow the commander-in-chief to regain his current prestige. At that time, it's possible they will reduce the number of soldiers under his command, restrict the allocation of funds and provisions, and might even find a pretext to demote him directly!

Seeing that the Earl of Yongning's expression had stiffened slightly, he thought that his words had worked, so he continued, "Moreover, even if the commander-in-chief tries his best to intercept them, he may not be able to stop the main force of the rebel king's cavalry. If the rebel king escapes from Kaifeng, even if only a few dozen people are left, it is hard to guarantee that he will not make a comeback."

Back then, no matter how formidable Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting were, in the Battle of Tongguan, the rebel leader was left with only eighteen horsemen and was forced to hide in the Shangluo Mountains. Yet, just over a year later, thousands of troops emerged to fight their way out.

Even when they were in the Yufu Mountains, their food supplies were exhausted, and their men and horses were worn out, with less than one in ten of their more than ten thousand men remaining, and fewer than a thousand horsemen still standing, once they entered Henan, they rose from the ashes and grew like a snowball until they now number in the hundreds of thousands.

Seeing the change in Zhang Cheng's expression, Liu Tichun assumed that Zhang Cheng had taken his words to heart, so he pressed on while the iron was hot: "Commander, when the two tigers came, the rebel king said, 'I can fail ten times, a hundred times, or even a thousand times, as long as I don't die, I can rise again; but can Zhang Cheng do that? How many failures can he withstand?'"

Upon hearing this, Marquis Yongning Zhang Cheng's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible cold light, but it vanished in an instant, and he still smiled and said, "What the King of Chuang said is absolutely true. He can fail a hundred times, or even a thousand times, but I cannot tolerate the slightest mistake. If I fail even once, I will probably be doomed forever!"

"Yes," Liu Tichun said with delight, "So please, Commander-in-Chief, spare my rebel army, but only if my army safely withdraws from Kaifeng Prefecture. We will provide you with plenty of gold, silver, military merits, and heads, and you will not be shortchanged."

"Erhu, you must remember this well. This time, I only agreed to let the rebel army leave Kaifeng Prefecture because of you. It wasn't because I coveted those gold and silver treasures, and it has absolutely nothing to do with that Li Zicheng."

Liu Tichun was taken aback again upon hearing this. He wasn't sure how much sincerity Zhang Cheng had in his words, but since he had already agreed, and his purpose for the trip had been achieved, he felt much more relaxed.

"Erhu thanks the Commander."

Zhang Cheng looked at him and slowly asked, "Erhu, tell me the truth, have you ever thought about joining my army, serving the country, suppressing the rebels and destroying the slaves, establishing unparalleled achievements, and leaving your name in history?"

Liu Tichun's eyes widened, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer.

To say "yes" would go against my conscience, and I fear that if it were to reach the ears of the rebel leader one day, it would be detrimental to me.

If I say "no," it would be my true feeling, but I fear that I might offend Marquis Yongning, Zhang Cheng, and cause my mission to fail.

After pondering for a moment, still unsure how to answer, he could only bite the bullet and change the subject: "Commander, why don't we discuss the specifics of the withdrawal?" (End of Chapter)