Chapter 3

Ye Zeng nodded slowly

He slightly raised his head and saw that Meng Shouwen had already walked in front of him with the support of his personal guards. He then lowered his eyes again and said, "Your Highness, the Third Prince." After that, he quickly knocked his long boots on the ground a few times before turning them over to put them on, intending to rise and pay his respects.

However, the army of Chun has suffered many defeats, and when they engage in battle again, it is inevitable that fear will arise among the soldiers and horses. Although tonight's battle is strongly supported by Meng Shouwen, the seasoned generals like Feng Hui are filled with deep concerns, believing that victory is unattainable. As a result, they have long been prepared for a retreat in the event of defeat. Meanwhile, Meng Shouwen, in order to demonstrate his own ambition, insists on leading his troops to hold the rear guard, which ultimately leads to him being struck by an arrow and captured by the enemy.

Moreover, in the wake of the devastating defeat at the Great Camp in Henan, Chun State, the successive loss of thirteen heavily fortified cities over the past eight months, and the widespread discussions among officials about surrendering and seeking peace, Meng Shouwen still dared to accept the title of Commander of the Hebei Military Headquarters, hastening south on horseback to the front lines, standing against the enemy across the river as a member of the royal family. This alone is enough to command respect.

Meng Shouwen halted his movements, his gaze dropping to the ground, where he saw that the contents spilling from his boot were coagulated blood clots. A glance at his left leg caused his expression to change immediately

Ye Zengyi raised his eyebrows, his expression somewhat stunned. Before he could respond, he heard the soldier say: "The Third Prince's letter has arrived in the camp this morning, promoting General Zhuo to be the personal guard commander of the Prince and transferring him to the position of Eagle Charge General."

He paused for a moment before speaking again: "Even if Your Highness intends to promote this humble general, it must still follow the established practices of the Hebei camp. The title of General Yingchong is not one that can be claimed by a border general, and I hope Your Highness will reconsider."

Meng Shouwen raised the corners of his mouth, his expression difficult to discern: "Is it that you dragged this injury all the way back to save me?" Seeing that Ye Zeng remained silent, he turned around and waved his hand, signaling the other bodyguards to come closer. Then, with a half-smile, he said: "Look at his leg injury, and then look at my leg injury; it makes me seem like a woman!"

The next day at dawn, as Ye Zengfang emerged from his tent, he was stopped by someone who said that Meng Shouwen had ordered him to come over for a discussion.

Ye Zeng sat alone not far away, watching this somewhat amusing scene, lowering his head to press his lips together, and forcefully pulling off the leather boot from his left foot.

Ye Zeng thought for a moment and then straightforwardly asked: "I just heard the guards outside mention the matter of His Highness's personal guard commander..."

Meng Shouwen glanced at him and said, "If you do not understand, it is because you are too young. But one day in the future, you will come to understand."

Meng Shouwen glanced over, his gaze probing towards the river waves rolling up and down in the morning mist, and said: "It has become foggy. Let us wait here for Feng Hui's report."

However, if veterans like Feng Hui had not harbored the thought of certain defeat from the very beginning, perhaps tonight they would not have truly suffered a defeat so severe that even the commander was captured by the enemy...

Meng Shouwen's personal guards, upon hearing this, already displayed expressions of embarrassment. Xu Hong, without a second thought, stepped forward and ran to Ye Zeng's side, bending slightly and using the medicinal cloth he had previously used to clean and bandage Meng Shouwen's wounds to tend to his leg injury. With a hint of shyness on his face, he said: "If there were any offenses earlier, I hope that Lieutenant Ye will not take it to heart"

Ye Zeng met his gaze and said, "My aspirations do not lie here."

A wound approximately ten fingers wide slashed diagonally across his left tibia, with flesh torn and flying, exposing the bone beneath. The blood scab had formed and cracked numerous times, leaving a patch of blood foam blurred.

Before finishing his sentence, Meng Shouwen interrupted, saying: "Moving you from Feng Hui feels like cutting a piece of his heart out." He glanced at Ye Zeng's expression and retorted, "What, are you feeling wronged?"

As this thought flashed through Ye Zeng's mind, his contemplation was abruptly interrupted by a figure that crossed in front of him.

Meng Shouwen set down his pen, looked him up and down, and then smiled slightly, saying: "After washing off all that dirt and blood, you do look a bit more presentable."

He was well aware that Meng Shouwen was deeply respected by the soldiers, and even the veteran generals in the Chun Army's Hebei camp privately praised him highly

Meng Shouwen stood stiffly for a while, then suddenly raised the corners of his mouth and asked softly, "When were you injured?"

Ye Zeng lowered his head and said: "My original intention was not to save Your Highness; being able to kill Liang Yin was merely a stroke of luck, and the merit of repelling the enemy should not be attributed solely to me. Your Highness's bestowal of rewards this time is truly excessive."

Meng Shouwen further inquired: "In your opinion, why does our army fail to match the enemy's forces? Is it truly due to weak soldiers and horses, lack of training in formations, or incompetence in wielding weapons?"

Ye Zeng raised his eyes and said, "What does His Highness the Third Prince mean by this?"

As Meng Shouwen's pen tip trembled and his eyes glanced sideways, he slowly said: "As the commander of my personal guards, why should I follow the old practices of the border generals?"

Led by Xu Hong, several personal guards immediately knelt before Meng Shouwen upon seeing him, their voices choked with emotion as they pleaded for punishment. After they clearly observed the injuries on Meng Shouwen's body, they all hurriedly got up, panicked, and clumsily began to clean and dress his wounds

Ye Zeng was somewhat taken aback, merely gazing at Meng Shouwen, his brows slightly furrowed, and he slowly said: "Third Prince."

Feng Hui led several generals in armor, waiting quietly, but intended to plead guilty upon Meng Shouwen's return; Meng Shouwen, due to his injuries, did not speak much on this matter, but summoned the generals into the tent to inquire about the casualties in each division, then dismissed everyone to return to their tents to rest, planning to discuss the details further after dawn

Meng Shouwen looked at him and asked again, "Have you ever thought about the end?"

Meng Shouwen was not wearing armor; he was only dressed in a thick dark blue cotton robe. A black jade hairpin was fastened in his hair, which was tied at the back of his head. He was gently holding a purple brush in his hand, engrossed in writing something at his desk. Upon hearing a sound, he raised his head to look over, his handsome profile being split into two halves of shadow by the sunlight that streamed in from outside the tent.

Ye Zeng stood firm and asked, "May I inquire what merit the humble general has to receive such a promotion?"

Ye Zengwei slightly clenched his right hand hanging by his side and shook his head, saying: "In the eight months of battle between the two armies, there has not been a single victory. No matter how high the morale, it will inevitably be dampened. Since the defeat at the Henan camp and the successive loss of the thirteen strongholds in Henan, our Hebei camp has been fearful of the enemy like a tiger. Although we are unwilling to suffer another defeat, we also do not believe we can win. However, if we do not even believe in our own victory, how can we expect to have the morale to resist the enemy?"

He fell silent for a moment, said little to the soldiers, and then directly entered the tent

He did not think much and proceeded to the central military tent; however, as he approached the tent, a soldier guarding the entrance bowed his head and greeted him, saying: "General Ye."

"Kill the enemy, achieve victory. Kill the enemy, achieve victory." Meng Shouwen repeated, "But do you know that sometimes those who are at the end of their rope, if they could just say the right thing or do the right thing, perhaps the troops could lose thousands fewer lives, or perhaps they wouldn't have to fight so desperately at all"

Having said that, he pressed down on the pen with a horizontal motion and coldly stated: "General Eaglechong. No further discussion is necessary"

Ye Zeng frowned slightly, "Ye Zeng."

Ye Zeng shook his head again and replied: "Not yet."

Ye Zeng furrowed his brow

At dawn, several dozen personal guards had already returned, following the trail to gather at the shallow bank on the north shore where Meng Shouwen and Ye Zeng were located. There were still quite a few wooden rafts left from when the army retreated earlier, so Meng Shouwen sent a few men to launch the rafts downstream to first report back to Feng Hui's unit

Meng Shouwen did not answer but asked: "Have you ever been to Buzhi?"

Meng Shouwen slowly said: "Save me. Kill Liang Yin. Drive back the enemy forces."

Ye Zeng stood upright, not uttering a word

"What a promotion?" Meng Shouwen raised an eyebrow, picked up his pen, and tapped it against the edge of the desk. "Do you know what the first lesson I was taught when I studied military strategy in the palace as a child was?" Seeing Ye Zeng shake his head, he continued, "To kill one person and shock the entire army, kill him; to reward one person and please ten thousand, reward him"

Meng Shouwen arrived at the grand camp in Hebei at the end of October. Although he held the title of commander, his conduct bore no semblance to that of royal nobility. Whether in his daily life or in convening meetings with generals, he treated others with kindness, clearly distinguishing between rewards and punishments, and showed no signs of arbitrary cruelty. For the past two months, both the high-ranking generals and the soldiers have all been obedient to him.

The tone of this question was slow and relaxed, resembling casual conversation, which left Ye Zeng momentarily puzzled about its meaning. He could only instinctively shake his head and reply: "Not yet."

As a group of people entered the camp, the sky was already darkening

He did not wait for Ye Zeng to speak, suddenly stopped smiling, and said to the soldiers beside him: "This man carried me down from Liang Yinshi's ship, yet he said, 'Your Highness, each of your personal guards is truly brave, not fearing death to save you.'" He fixed his gaze on Ye Zeng, his voice raised slightly: "What did you say your name is?"

Reward the one who brings joy to the multitude

Ye Zeng seemed to be caught off guard, instinctively rising to stand properly, yet did not utter a word

"Your Highness the Third Prince." Ye Zeng performed a bow, observing the person before him, Meng Shouwen, who appeared entirely different from the day before. He thought to himself that this royal noble, who had come from the southern military front, ought to look like this at present.

Meng Shouwen smiled, paused for a moment without speaking, twirled the pen in his hand a few times, and then leisurely said: "There are the most magnificent houses, the most delicious dishes, the finest spirits, and the most beautiful women in Chunguo, don't you want to take a look?"

"Well said," Meng Shouwen nodded, "If that is the case, then why do you say that I have indeed overpraised you this time?" His expression was serious, yet a smile lingered at the corners of his mouth: "It is necessary to let everyone in the Hebei camp know of your achievements in defeating the enemy this time, " he paused and continued, "and even more so, I want the people both inside and outside of Chun Guo to know of the victory in this battle at the Hebei camp!"

The light inside the tent is somewhat dim, with floating dust particles gently dancing in the slender beams of sunlight

"Where do your ambitions lie?" Meng Shouwen maintained a smile on his face, yet his eyes betrayed no hint of mirth. "To kill the enemy and achieve victory?"

Until close to noon, the soldiers sent to report on the situation of Feng Hui's troops finally returned, stating that Feng Hui had ordered his men to disembark from the rafts, set up camp, and rest. He had also dispatched troops to pursue the remaining commanders. Since Liang Yin was already dead and a thick fog had risen over the river, it was anticipated that even if the enemy realized this was a trap, they would not have the courage to launch another attack in such heavy fog. Therefore, it was decided to send Meng Shouwen and the personal guards downstream to return to the camp for further discussion on how to deal with the enemy

He certainly knows that those personal guards who followed Meng Shouwen southward are all individuals of noble birth, most likely descendants of military families with a history of achievements. It is inevitable that they may exhibit some arrogance, and thus he has never held it against them. However, he is unaware of the intentions behind Meng Shouwen's current display.

Ye Zengyi frowned even more, yet found himself at a loss for words to refute.