The Ugly Empress

~~~~~~ 

Feng Ming never imagined that Zhao Lu was a clingy sort of person. Zhao Lu always had an indifferent attitude and his conduct was also quite cold. Yet, these past two days, Zhao Lu often came over just to see Feng Ming.

Feng Ming though maybe it was because Zhao Lu felt the pressure of his imminent departure to the battlefields. After all, if given a choice, Feng Ming himself also didn’t want Zhao Lu to go. But in this entire Feng country, there was no one else Feng Ming could unconditionally trust other than Zhao Lu.

Even though Zhao Lu was unexpectedly being clingy, he still didn’t talk very much and didn’t show any of his feelings. He was still cold as he was before, so Feng Ming didn’t think too much about it. Only Zhao Lu himself knew the reason behind his restlessness : Feng and Xue countries had always been leading up to war, and now the day of the final battle would finally arrive.

As Feng Ming and his ministers were discussing strategies for sending troops, everyone wanted to know Minister Lu’s opinions as well 

Lu Shichen said, “This servant is only an ignorant scholar, only knows civil matters like how to calm the people of the country. Regarding war and soldiers, this servant seeks to learn from Marquis Zhulu.”

Zhao Lu was looking at the map seemingly in deep thought. But internally, he was struggling; every word he was about to say gave him great pain and suffering.

Because the steps that he’d taken all of his life, every one of them was meticulously designed to deceive Feng Ming and to eventually bring victory for Xue Junliang.

Zhao Lu said, “Xue Country’s army is very well trained and strong, moreover, now that Emperor Xue had conquered Teng Country’s army, they could not be considered lightly. On the surface, it does seem like we are at a disadvantageous position… But, Teng Country was conquered and King Teng is now in prison, people’s hearts might not be quite harmonious. Taking advantage of this, maybe we can start by attacking Teng Country’s territory, breaking through their weak borders and occupying their land. After that, we can turn to attack Xue Country from two sides.”

Everyone nodded in agreement to Zhao Lu’s suggestions.

Lu Shichen said, “It is indeed a good strategy, but Teng Country is quite far, I’m afraid our army would be too exhausted after the journey. How can we easily conquer Teng country?”

Zhao Lu said, “The situation in Teng Country is not yet peaceful and secure. We can send some people to spread rumors among the Teng people, saying that Emperor Xue intends to kill Marquis Tengnan and holds a grudge against the people of Teng for killing the Empress. And hence, Emperor Xue wants to eliminate the whole Teng Country as revenge. This way, Teng people will be too afraid and anxious, and will not be thinking of going to war. In this situation, then I would lead an army of ten thousand light cavalry and disrupt the morale of the army in Teng, paving the way for us; making them surrender and open their gates.”

Everyone once again nodded in agreement to Zhao Lu’s suggestion, it was indeed a very good one. Feng Ming also agreed. If they occupied Teng Country’s lands first, Feng Country’s soldiers wouldn’t have to worry about food and water, and wouldn’t have to set up a new camp either. Then Feng and Teng could attack Xue country from both sides. Xue Country is in between the two countries. It would be difficult for Xue Junliang to defend an attack from two sides. 

Lu Shichen said, “The plan is excellent, but I’m afraid Emperor Xue might send troops to intercept Marquis Zhulu’s escape route. If the escape route is broken wouldn’t our army be depleted?”

Feng Ming said, “Then we can create a false alarm by attacking the Xue borders from the front. This will distract Xue Junliang enough so Marquis Zhulu can safely arrive at Teng Country.”

Zhao Lu nodded, while inwardly sighed in regret. Feng Ming really trusted him, even made plans to help him and protect him from dangers.

Feng Ming and his subordinates discussed and streamlined the plan until the sky turned dark. Just before the Palace gates were closed, the ministers were all dismissed, leaving only Zhao Lu, who stayed back in the Palace. 

Although many people thought that Zhao Lu had risen to his current position by climbing into the King’s bed, they still had to admit Zhao Lu was very knowledgeable regarding military matters and couldn’t help but respect him.

Because he was going to war tomorrow, Zhao Lu was exceptionally rough with Feng Ming. Feng Ming was a soldier, was once a military general, therefore he was not weak. But after being tossed around by Zhao Lu for multiple rounds, he was utterly exhausted.

Feng Ming had always been helpless when it came to Zhao Lu and could never refuse him, even a naive and blockheaded person like Lu Shichen could see it. On one occasion, Feng Ming was having a discussion with Lu Shichen about the incident at Ming River. The two had such a deep discussion that they almost forgot about Zhao Lu who was also present. Zhao Lu himself didn’t know what came over him when he suddenly stepped forward and kissed Feng Ming right in front of Lu Shichen.

Realizing that Zhao Lu might be jealous, Feng Ming was quite happy, but he also felt uncomfortable in showing intimacy in front of Lu Shichen. 

Lu Shichen, the innocent scholar, was not used to seeing such displays. His face turned bright red and he immediately averted his gaze. In the end he excused himself, all the while not daring to lift his eyes to look at the other two.

The next day, it was almost noon when Feng Ming finally woke up. Rui Xue, who had been anxiously waiting for him, quickly came over and helped Feng Ming wash and get dressed.

Feng Ming felt sore all over his body. Although he was used to the pain, he was still a human. He couldn’t help but move gingerly.

“Where is your Master?” 

Rui Xue frowned, her voice trembling, “Master said there was no use delaying things, so he already led his troops to start their journey very early this morning.”

Feng Ming was frozen for a moment, then he smiled and said, “What’s wrong? Are you worried for your master? I’m not even worried but you looked like you’ve been crying.”

Rui Xue wiped her tears, “This servant.. This servant is just worried about you, Your Majesty.”

Feng Ming said, “Well, don’t be. I believe your master will come back to me safely. Zhao Lu has never lost in any battle before.” 

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But what Feng Ming didn’t know was that Rui Xue wasn’t crying about the war. She knew that this time with Zhao Lu gone, he was gone for good and would never come back to Feng.

This morning, before his departure, Zhao Lu stayed for a long time by King Feng’s side, tenderly caressing Feng Ming’s hair. He reminded Rui Xue to take good care of Feng Ming. Feng Ming had no one else around him he could trust, therefore Rui Xue must give him company. 

After donning his armor, Zhao Lu immediately left. He threw one long look at the Palace behind him before ordering the army to start their march. The ten thousand soldiers, with their high banner signed ‘Marquis Zhulu’ left for Teng Country.

———-

When Teng Yun led the troops to Teng Country to repair the temple, he heard rumors that Xue Junliang was going to kill Marquis Tengnan. He was afraid the people, upon hearing the rumor, would grow restless and start an uproar, especially considering Teng Country had just been conquered by Xue Junliang. Fortunately, Teng Yun’s arrival dispelled the worries in their heart.

The local officials were still afraid of Xue Junliang’s authority, and although they did not want to contribute money and effort, they helped Teng Yun to repair the temple together by providing labor support. 

The three He brothers were still suspicious of Teng Yun and absolutely refused to accept Teng Yun’s leadership; they only wanted to kill him off. Also they felt it was better to be decapitated than help Teng Yun with the restoration process. Teng Yun didn’t force them. He only rolled his sleeves and worked together with the soldiers.

Seeing this, although the three He brothers were still unconvinced, they no longer verbally abused Teng Yun.

Many of Teng Country’s wealthy merchants heard about the project of repairing the temple, and came from all over the country to donate money. Refugees who had sought shelter at the temple and the local residents had no money they could donate, so they voluntarily enlisted in the army as soldiers. In only a few days, Teng Yun had gained twenty thousand soldiers.

Although Teng Yun had been away for wars, Teng was his home country after all. He knew which of the local officials were corrupt and which of them were honest. 

Teng Yun brought the three He brothers to these corrupt officials and dragged their sons and nephews to train as soldiers. These arrogant officials of course didn’t want their juniors to go and become soldiers, so Teng Yun made them choose between donating money for the project or giving away their sons to the army.

Officials who didn’t have sons were ordered to be arrested. He said that these people would bear bad intentions and had renegade natures and must be killed. Otherwise they would jeopardize the country and society. The corrupt officials were the ones who were most afraid of death, so they could only give away their money to Teng Yun as a bribe to let them go.

What Teng Yun wanted was exactly this result. He had intentionally brought the three He brothers with him. The corrupt officials would not be able to refuse because they wouldn’t dare fight against the brothers.

Soon, this matter reached Xue Junliang’s ears. Several of his officials reported that the prisoner, Teng Ying, had accepted bribes and robbed people of their money, thereby taking away the peace of the Teng people. 

Just after Xue Junliang read the court officials’ report, He Zhong came to report. He was sent by Teng Yun to bring the accounting books to the Emperor. The books stated that in the matter of only three days, the number of soldiers had grown to thirty thousand. They also had gained a large amount of money in the form of silver and gold, which was used as Military pay.

Xue Junliang asked He Zhong, “Did Teng Ying embezzle?”

He Zhong scratched his head and said, “The money we collected was all handled by us three brothers, he never once touched any of it.”

Xue Junliang nodded and said nothing. He also did not take any action. Since the other party made such a bold move, he naturally had a way to calm everyone. There was no need for Xue Junliang to make any waves. 

——-

Teng Yun’s scouts reported that Marquis Zhulu of Feng and his ten thousand army were all heading to Teng. Teng Yun had recruited an army of thirty thousand and currently did not lack grains and provisions, and the army’s funds were sufficient. Teng Yun was not worried about logistics.

But these thirty thousand soldiers were all new-recruits and had not received any formal training. If they had to go to war, they would not have any coordination and would not win against a trained army.

Teng Yun ordered the soldiers to dig pits and install traps. He also sent groups of soldiers on boats to the Zhi River to intercept Marquis Zhulu’s soldiers. 

Many of Zhao Lu’s front line soldiers fell down the pits and were immediately killed by Teng Yun’s soldiers who were waiting for them hidden from view. Although Zhao Lu’s soldiers were more well-trained, they still panicked over the unexpected traps. But soon they regained their balance and immediately turned their horses around to retreat.

Teng Yun didn’t order the soldiers to chase the retreating enemy. He opted to camp near the Zhi River and guard the bank.

Three He brothers were itching for a fight and wanted to attack the enemy head on. Teng Yun allowed the three to raid the enemy’s camp in the middle of the night, to harass the enemy army and prevent Zhao Lu from building a camp for the night.

The three He brothers led a group of cavalry and launched a series of sneak attacks on the enemy camp’s three sides, but they were not ordered to kill. They would just turn around as soon as they saw the enemy’s soldiers. The enemy soldiers, seeing only a small group coming, started to give chase. As a result, they were led into the area with the traps and fell down the pits. 

He Zhong got carried away in the excitement and forgot to watch his steps. He also fell down into one of the pits and his horse broke its leg. At this time, Zhao Lu led his soldiers to catch up with the He brothers. Afraid Zhao Lu was going to kill He Zhong, He Yi and He Ren immediately went to intercept Zhao Lu while ordering the other soldiers to help He Zhong.

Zhao Lu was very skilled and had been at war all his life. The two He brothers could not easily defeat Zhao Lu.

Teng Yun waited but the three He brothers still hadn’t returned. He sent people to find out what had happened. The scouts returned to report that the three generals were intercepted near Zhi River by Marquis Zhulu, and were now fighting with the Marquis.

Teng Yun knew the situation wasn’t good for the three brothers. He ordered the soldiers to make open fires and beat the drums loudly to emulate a real battle. He then brought thirty elite soldiers to the river to save the three He brothers. 

When Teng Yun arrived, He Zhong had just climbed out of the pit and was rushing to fight with Zhao Lu. Teng Yun ordered his people to circle Zhao Lu, but he didn’t want to fight for too long in case more of Feng Country’s soldiers came, then they would not be able to fight the whole crowd.

Teng Yun and his soldiers deliberately revealed a flaw in their encirclement, counting on Zhao Lu to take advantage of the flaw to break free and retreat to his army camp. Not wanting Zhao Lu to retaliate by bringing more soldiers, Teng Yun led his people to return to their own camp.

———

The army had its own process of sending reports about such incidents and soon the capital city was made aware about the altercation with Zhao Lu. Xue Junliang passed the report to Xue Houyang who was surprised when he read it. 

“But… Chen-di doesn’t understand. If Teng Ying was this smart, why would he help Teng Qianyi set fire to Yunfeng Palace?”

Xue Junliang shook his head, “I don’t understand either.”

Xue Houyang suddenly remembered an important point, “Your Majesty, Zhao Lu is leading soldiers to invade our territory. Although Teng Ying unexpectedly held  Zhao Lu back, this is not going to work long-term. Sooner or later Zhao Lu would find out that Teng Ying’s soldiers are all new recruits. Zhao Lu would then be naturally emboldened to attack. The situation in Teng is still tense, I think it’s better if we send troops there to defend the territory, this way people’s hearts can feel more secure.”

Xue Junliang laughed while shaking his head, “Just you wait, Zhao Lu will surrender to us.” 

Xue Houyang was not aware of the reason, but Xue Junliang didn’t elaborate, so Xue Houyang didn’t dare ask more questions.

———

Teng Yun was aware of how much government funds Teng country had, and realized it was not enough to train the soldiers. With him stationed south of Zhi River, he could only count on the river as the only boundary dividing them from Zhao Lu who was on the north side. Right now, Zhao Lu hadn’t sent any more attacks, and this alarmed Teng Yun more.

Teng Yun sat on a small boat overlooking the river towards the other side of shore and was contemplating countermeasures when he heard singing. A small boat was passing by, its sail was spread wide to catch the wind. The boat was slowly coming near Teng Yun’s. 

The one rowing the boat looked like a beggar, there was a pot on top of the sail. The beggar was rowing with a bamboo pole while singing some song. As the beggar’s boat came closer, the soldiers on Teng Yun’s boat became alert and thrust their long spears to stop the beggar.

The beggar laughed. With a flick of the bamboo pole he hit one of the soldiers’ spears, sending it straight into the river water and no trace of it could be seen.

The three He brothers saw this beggar had skill in martial art and were eager to check the beggar’s potential. They took their own weapons and jumped forward to attack. But before their spear could touch the small boat, poor He Zhong was hit square in the chest by the broken pot. He fell onto the floor and could not get up for a long time.

The broken pot was so dirty that it was black, and smelled very fishy. 

Teng Yun ordered the others to stand back then walked closer to the beggar and with cupped hands, he said, “Does this brave hero want to join the military?”

The beggar laughed again and said, “This young good looking person is actually intelligent.”

“The senior just now, didn’t fight with your full strength, indicating you have no intention for a petty fight with us and also harbor no ill intention.”

The beggar said, “If you know this truth, then why are you stationing troops in the Zhi River?” 

Teng Yun was unclear what the beggar meant and asked, “Please, senior enlighten me.”

The beggar said, “Zhao Lu has been staying low at the north side of Zhi River these ten days. If he really wished to attack, he would have already done so long ago. You can see the cooking smoke from Zhao Lu’s camp, but there is no sound of war drums. Isn’t this indication that Zhao Lu isn’t going to send troops to attack, and therefore, to borrow your words, harbors no ill intention.”

Hearing the beggar’s words, Teng Yun did feel it was reasonable. However, if Zhao Lu didn’t come to Teng to attack, was it because he was surrendering?

The beggar added, “General might as well send troops and have a confrontation with Zhao Lu. Even if you lose, you can still destroy his army provisions. Zhao Lu actually has no reinforcement to back him. Should your thirty thousand soldiers be afraid of his ten thousand soldiers?” 

Hearing this, Teng Yun was secretly surprised in his heart. This person had obviously come from a far away land but he still knew all the details very clearly. This made Teng Yun both happy and surprised. Teng Yun loved talented people and this man spoke clearly and his martial arts was good as well. If this person didn’t want to become a soldier, then at least Teng Yun could make him a trusted confidant.

Having a person like this in his army was certainly beneficial. Teng Yun immediately welcomed the beggar and straightforwardly asked to teach him more knowledge. The beggar didn’t refuse and said with a laugh, “I had once visited Teng Country. As soon as Marquis Tengnan saw me, he called me ugly and threw me out of the city walls. Who knew I’d meet another person with the surname Teng, but this one has a totally different attitude.”

At this time, the three He brothers interjected, “How come you’re called ugly? We three brothers are ugly, but you are ugly and stinky!”

Teng Yun stifled his laughter, respectfully invited the man to the big boat, ordered someone to fetch water for him to freshen up and clean up a bit. 

But no one expected that when the beggar freshened up fully, he was actually a beautiful man with an extraordinary appearance.

He Zhong said, “You dared say Teng Ying was a pretty face, but as I see it, you are even prettier than him!”

The man smiled, “It’s a pity that just a pretty face like me, accidentally defeated the general just now.”

The sentence shut He Zhong’s mouth quickly. His face turned red as he yelled that they could have a rematch anytime, saying it was a mistake the previous time. 

Because Teng Yun had treated him with courtesy, the man was also polite. He said, “My name is Zhao Tong. I am Marquis Zhulu, Zhao Lu’s close follower.”

“Zhao Lu!” The three He brothers shouted and immediately drew their swords to attack Zhao Tong. Zhao Tong didn’t even blink as he unsheathed his own sword smoothly and with a backhand flick of his sword, easily warded off the oncoming attack and returned his sword back to its sheath.

Laughing, he said, “No need to panic. In fact, I came here to deliver Marquis Zhulu’s letter of alliance and surrender.”

He Zhong said, “Are we fools to believe this!” 

Zhao Tong pulled out a letter that was tucked amongst the clothes against his bosom. It was a letter written personally by Zhao Lu, explaining that he was originally a citizen of Xue Country. To repay Emperor Xue’s grace, he volunteered to leave his homeland and go to Feng to become a spy and pass on information.

This letter was written long ago, before Zhao Lu was to leave Xue Country. The letter was sealed with Xue Junliang’s personal seal, written to avoid killing each other when Xue Country met Zhao Lu in the future.

It was just that Zhao Lu had never imagined that after he entered Feng Country’s military barracks, he would rise to become a general, let alone be brought to the Palace by King Feng himself and be appointed as a high ranked Marquis who held immense power over others.

As a Marquis, it became too difficult for Zhao Lu to get away. Because King Feng now sent troops to attack Xue Country, Zhao Lu could only choose his most trusted soldiers and escape from Feng Country to surrender at this moment. 

Reading this letter, Teng Yun’s heart trembled at Xue Junliang’s insight. Who knew Xue Junliang’s schemes were this deep and so far-reaching. Even Feng Country’s own Marquis Zhulu was Xue Junliang’s spy. This fact no one could have imagined even in their wildest dreams.

Teng Yun couldn’t help thinking, if someday, somehow, Xue Junliang found out that he was not the real Teng Ying, found out that his own Empress had been replaced by someone else. What kind of fate awaited Teng Yun then? Teng Yun really could not fathom what kind of person Xue Junliang was.

The next day, Teng Yun left the three He brothers to guard Zhi River while he and Zhao Tong went to see Zhao Lu in person.

Zhao Lu had already received the news of Teng Yun’s arrival. He and his ten thousand soldiers were all ready, waiting in a neat formation with their swords and helmets placed by their feet. No one carried any weapons in their hands to show their sincerity in surrendering. 

Zhao Tong paid homage to his master. Zhao Lu’s hand trembled when he struck his lance on the ground. Then he took off his helmet and hung it on top of the lance. Thereby finalizing the surrender.

——–

The news about Marquis Zhulu’s surrender reached Feng and shook the entire country. Everyone was talking about it, some people cursed Zhao Lu’s betrayal while the others took this opportunity to throw mud at his reputation.

Initially, Lu Shichen didn’t believe the rumors. He ordered people to inquire the truth, and when they came back, they reported they saw Marquis Zhulu’s camp was empty except thousands of helmets and swords left behind on the ground. 

Lu Shichen’s scouts even brought back Marquis Zhulu’s lance and helmet as proof. Now, no one could deny the news any longer. Lu Shichen, who always respected Zhao Lu, was so shocked he almost staggered at this news.

A few days later, a person came and begged to see Zhao Lu. That person actually was Rui Xue. She had an item tied on her back. It was a broken zither, covered in blood.

Rui Xue said, “Master… Your residence was searched and everything confiscated by the Palace. You are announced to have committed a heinous crime. People even demanded all of your subordinates to be killed. Prime Minister Lu helped me out of the city gate and told me to bring this broken zither to you.”

Zhao Lu reached out to touch the zither, his hands trembled slightly. He gently stroked the strings on the zither but said nothing. 

Rui Xue asked tearfully, “Aren’t you going to enquire about King Feng?”

“Oh… How is he?”

Rui Xue whispered, “King Feng is… this servanct can only say.. that he is still alive.”

Teng Yun, who was still unsure of Zhao Lu’s subservience. When he heard that a person from Feng Country had come to see Zhao Lu, he was naturally suspicious. 

Never had he imagined he’d come to hear such a sentence.

Teng Yun sighed. He had heard about the relationship between King Feng and Marquis Zhulu. He didn’t understand what kind of feeling could form between two men, but looking at Rui Xue’s genuine sadness, it seemed that the feeling was not fake.  Fate really conspired against people.