The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 98 Adjustment of leave
At the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), Xiao Yi arranged for the soldiers to take turns on guard duty, while he returned to the guardhouses in the two corridors.

"General, someone is looking for you. They've been waiting outside the gate for quite some time."

The visitor was a servant in blue from Li Tao's residence, inviting him to come over for a meal when he had some free time.

"I am not on duty tomorrow, so I will pay my respects at noon."

"Yes, Master, we will await the General's arrival at that time."

Xiao Yi then approached Lao Pan and Hua Nong, saying, "Now that the battle is over and the situation has stabilized somewhat, let the brothers take turns resting for half a day tomorrow, but they are not allowed to cause trouble. I still need to go to the Imperial Guard Headquarters tomorrow morning, so I'll trouble you to take care of things."

"Don't worry, General."

"I also have to pay a visit to Lord Xinchen's residence. What gift would be appropriate to bring?"

Hua Nong thought for a moment and said, "Buying the Four Treasures of the Study is the best option."

“That makes sense. Do you have a map? A map of the current state and county defenses.”

"Yes, I'll bring it to the general."

Where is Guo Xin?

"He was summoned by the commander-in-chief..."

Back in his duty room, Xiao Yi removed his armor and immediately felt as light as a swallow.

He ate, practiced archery, washed up, sat under the candlelight looking at the map, and studied the strategy for fighting Liu Chong and Liu Xin.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded outside the door.

"I'm not drunk..."

Xiao Yi frowned, opened the door, and saw Li Chongjin.

“Brother Chongjin, how about you take turns on duty for the next two days, and I will escort the funeral procession on the 27th?”

"Great! How did you know I didn't want to attend the funeral of this tyrant?"

Li Chongjin's dark cheeks flushed slightly as he readily agreed.

Xiao Yi made his point clear again, saying, "This is the Empress Dowager's request."

“That woman is difficult to deal with. When Emperor Gaozu established the country, she advocated not to seize the people’s property, which is a righteous reputation. Under her watchful eye, you can’t just listen to her, but you also can’t offend her and make things difficult for her… Brother, I’ll teach you to send soldiers to stand guard, and you and I can shirk our responsibilities and stay away.”

"Thank you for your guidance, Brother Xie Chongjin. I will report to Commander Wang tomorrow."

"Hehe, your uncle is going to the palace today, and you're on duty. It's tough, standing there in armor while the old men groan and groan. It's a real ordeal. Standing as punishment in school is the worst... The next two days are up to me!"

As he spoke, Li Chongjin barged into Xiao Yi's duty room.

Ignoring the water stains, he plopped down on the tea table, let out a burp, and seemed to be getting even more drunk.

"Xiao Lang, talking to you makes me feel so much better... Waaaaah..."

The crying came so suddenly that Xiao Yi was taken aback.

"Brother Chongjin, what's wrong?"

"I feel bitter in my heart!"

Li Chongjin pounded his chest, making a loud thud, and said, "My uncle wants me to get married. A man doesn't easily shed tears, only when he's truly heartbroken... Waaah!"

He let out a sudden cry, fell backward, rolled off the tea table, and sat on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

Xiao Yi tried to help him up twice, but couldn't, so he simply sat down on the ground with him.

"It's a good thing to get married and start a family. Who will you marry, Brother Chongjin?"

"Ma Shi, daughter of Ma Duo from Shenzhou."

"Brother Chongjin, you don't like it?"

"I've never even seen her before..."

Xiao Yi thought to himself that Guo Wei was probably not worried about his nephew's marriage, but rather about forming a political alliance.

Why Ma Duo?
Shenzhou?

He stood up and looked at the map.

The current territory is not large. If you draw your finger south from Kaifeng, past Xuzhou, and further south is Shenzhou... Xuzhou?
Liu Xin was in Xuzhou, and Wang Jun mentioned the severe flooding in Xuzhou today.

Xiao Yi immediately understood Guo Wei's plan: to win over Ma Duo and create a pincer movement against Liu Xin from the north and south.

"Waaaaah... Brother Xiao! My heart aches so much!"

"Don't worry, maybe the young lady from the Ma family is very nice."

"You don't understand, you don't understand the feelings between men and women... I've known since I was a child that I can't marry her, but my heart... Waaah... I'm going to kill Wang Chengxun!"

Li Chongjin suddenly stood up.

Caught off guard, Xiao Yi quickly stopped him.

"Brother Chongjin, how did things come to this?"

"You don't understand my heart!" Li Chongjin roared, his eyes red-rimmed. "I have sworn to protect her for life. Even if we cannot marry, I will never let a treacherous man like Wang Chengxun covet her. She must marry a man that I, Li Chongjin, can respect... Waaah! It hurts so much! My heart aches so much!"

"You're drunk, go back and get some sleep."

"I'm not drunk. I've never been this sober before. Do you know why? Because my heart is aching so much! Wow! Kill! Kill!"

Everything happened so suddenly.

Xiao Yi held Li Chongjin tightly, who was as strong as a tiger, and felt the other's immense strength.

He was exhausted after a long day, and this unexpected incident caused him to feel a muscle cramp in his left shoulder.

"Come on, come on!"

"Let go...who dares to stop me?!"

As expected of scouts, Xihou and Hudeng were the first to rush over and hug Li Chongjin.

Xiao Yi quickly let go and stretched his muscles.

"Oh!"

But then they saw Li Chongjin with two people hanging on his legs rushing out of the room, running across the long corridor, and heading towards the inner gate of Xuanwu Gate.

"Stop him!"

If Li Chongjin were to charge through Zhimen with shouts of killing, it would be no small matter.

Wu Gouzi, Wei Liang, and Lü Chou rushed out, not even bothering to pick up their shoes after they fell off.

The soldiers rushed forward and finally subdued Li Chongjin. "Who's pinning me down?! Waaah, like a silkworm spinning silk until death!"

"Damn, I'm exhausted."

"I'm impressed, that's really impressive."

……

"Xiao Yi! You bullied Wu Niang, I'll kill you!"

Xiao Yi suddenly opened his eyes, and the hideous black face that had lunged at him disappeared as daylight broke.

I had a strange dream.

He stretched, got up, and left the duty room, just as Old Pan was carrying breakfast over. Although the palace had assigned servants to attend to him, Old Pan insisted on personally overseeing everything he ate.

Where is Brother Chongjin?

"The effects of the alcohol have worn off, I'm getting ready to go on duty. General, would you like to see him?"

"No. By the way, did we secretly keep some of the spoils?"

"General, this is standard practice in the army; the extravagance is recorded in the public funds."

"Give me a sword."

"Yes."

After having breakfast, Xiao Yi tidied up and left the guardhouse in the two corridors.

He glanced back and felt something was off today, as if something was missing.

At the Imperial Guard headquarters, messengers and clerks were busy running back and forth.

The line to see Wang Yin was very long. Xiao Yi consciously stood at the back, but a military academy officer came over and asked him to state his name.

"Xiao Yi".

"Since you are General Xiao, please follow me directly to the council hall."

"Thank you very much."

Xiao Yi walked forward and heard a soft murmur coming from behind him.

"Who's that kid? Not waiting in line?"

"Didn't you hear? Xiao Yi with his flowery spear has chosen Yan Kunlun slave."

"I don't believe you, you look like a pretty but useless person..."

Xiao Yi ignored them and walked through the long corridor. The register room was filled with the rustling sound of soldiers writing their names.

As they approached the council chamber, Wang Yin's shouts and curses could be faintly heard.

"I don't care! If the rations aren't replenished within a month, I'll be court-martialed..."

Xiao Yi guessed that Guo Wei was probably preparing for a battle with Liu Chong.

Of course, the best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting; that would be even better.

This is tantamount to eavesdropping on military secrets; he gets close without orders.

After waiting for a while at the bottom of the stone steps, a general came out of the council hall with a face full of grievances.

When Wang Yin saw someone coming, he casually flipped the map on the table to the back. When he saw it was Xiao Yi, he flipped it back and looked at it without even looking up, showing no sign of being a stranger.

"This humble general greets Commander Wang Jie."

"No need for formalities. Come visit me more often when you have time. Don't be shy."

"This humble general has something to report," Xiao Yi said. "The Empress Dowager has instructed me to rest tomorrow and escort the two palaces to the funeral the day after tomorrow."

"Ah."

Xiao Yi glanced at the map and, sure enough, Wang Yin's gaze fell on Xuzhou.

After a while, Wang Yin came to his senses and said, "You are very composed in your actions. Even for small matters, you know to report them... You can follow the Empress Dowager's instructions. There is only one thing: do not miss any messages sent to her from outside the palace. If you encounter any messengers sent by Liu Chong, Liu Xin, or Liu Yun, arrest them immediately."

"Here."

"I'm sure you won't make a mistake even if I don't give the order. Is there anything else?"

"This humble general would like to inquire whether Su Fengji has been captured?"

"Why?"

“I have been raised by Li Song with great kindness, and I should avenge him to uphold my loyalty and righteousness.”

"Good! If my two sons were like you..."

Wang Yin suddenly stopped talking, licked the old scar on his lips, and said, "Come here."

"Yes."

“Let’s take a closer look.” Wang Yin pointed to the map and said, “Li Ye and Su Fengji must be planning to surrender to Li Hongxin in Shanzhou. It’s 350 li away. They set off on the afternoon of the 18th, and I sent out the fastest light cavalry early on the 19th. Logically, they should have caught up by now, but this morning two light cavalrymen just returned from Shanzhou. Li Hongxin has surrendered and swore that he did not see Li Ye and Su Fengji.”

Xiao Yi said, "That's believable. He couldn't possibly have arrived in Shanzhou faster than our light cavalry. He must be hiding along the way."

“There are three main roads. The Shanzhou Road is the fastest and easiest to travel. I have increased manpower to thoroughly search the post stations and residences along the way. I have also sent people to search the ancient Xiaoshan Road and the Luoshui boatmen's trail. Even the Mangshan Gorge has not been spared.”

Xiao Yi leaned closer to examine the map closely. The post stations, ferry crossings, and passes around Shanzhou were marked densely on the map.

He didn't believe that Li Ye and Su Fengji had the ability to escape Wang Yin's search, unless they weren't on one of these three routes.

"Is it possible that they went to the east bank of the river instead?"

"We've taken that into consideration. Checkpoints have been set up on all roads, big and small, including the narrow paths along the riverbanks from Biankou, Zhongmu, and Zhengzhou all the way to the south bank of the Yellow River; the Xiaoshan woodcutter's path that goes west past the Luoyang official post station and directly to Xiashi Pass; and the private canal routes on the tributaries of the Bian River."

Wang Yin traced a faint line across the map with his finger, his eyes like those of a hunting eagle.

"How could he possibly hide from my light cavalry?"

Xiao Yi closed his eyes, imagining what he would do if he were facing the cavalry's encirclement and pursuit.

He opened his eyes and pondered, "Unless, they're not on any road."

"Returned?"

"Yes, if it were me, upon discovering the light cavalry ahead, I would realize there's no escape. I would immediately turn back along the original route. The light cavalry wouldn't check people going in the opposite direction, so the most dangerous place is the safest place."

"This is the only possibility."

Wang Yin murmured, his fingers lightly tapping the three characters "Kaifeng City" on the map.

(End of this chapter)