"To speak frankly, centuries-old influential families can vanish in an instant. What then is the significance of our meager wealth and positions?
A national war is imminent. Is what we—you, I, and all of you—are truly vying for merely this small measure of military authority in our hands?
This is a national war! This is a national war!
Our Great Yan has waited a hundred years for this opportunity. The historical annals are right before us; we have the chance to leave our names in them!
To be frank with everyone, I sent a memorandum to Lord Jingnan’s camp this morning, but not a single word has come back from the Lord.
Yesterday, in the command office, we all said that Yan having only the Jingnan Army and the Zhenbei Army was too few. We agreed we also needed to field a strong army.
Fine words, indeed! No sooner were they spoken than we were slapped in the face that very night.
I am a northerner by birth! In the north, we live by one principle: however many of our people the barbarians dare to kill on Yan State soil, the Zhenbei Army will go to the barren lands and kill twice as many of theirs!"
As he spoke, Hui Wenzu took a deep breath and shouted, "We may have our internal squabbles usually, but this time, it’s not that simple! Tomorrow, every family, every unit, don’t hold anything back! Bring out the best fighting troops under your command!
We will assemble here! We will organize our forces here! And together, we will march to slaughter our way into Qian State! For every one of us the Qian people killed last night, tomorrow we will slaughter two of theirs!
We will not return to camp until we’ve killed enough!
The soldiers under my command will be the first to storm their cities, the first to capture their strongholds!
Military honors, you can take them first! After the battle, for any losses in weaponry, men, and horses, I will be the first to replenish them for you!
I just want to ask one thing: you’re all damn men with balls, aren’t you? Do you dare to go out with me tomorrow and fight to reclaim our lost honor?!"
Hui Wenzu shouted with great agitation, his face flushed and practically steaming.
The five Generals present all knelt on one knee, clasped their fists, and said in solemn tones, "We obey your orders!"
Officially, they were all of equal rank; Hui Wenzu was also a General. However, due to the difference in their assignments, Hui Wenzu usually had a slight edge over them. But at this moment, these five Generals regarded Hui Wenzu as their superior and themselves as his subordinates.
It wasn’t that Hui Wenzu’s speech had been particularly inflammatory. They were all mature men, hardened old dogs of war who had clawed their way up through the military ranks; they weren’t youngsters who could be easily incited by a few slogans.
The reasons for this were, firstly, that last night’s events had caused Yan to lose significant face, allowing Qian people to charge in and then fight their way out.
Secondly, they knew in their hearts that, right now, they indeed needed a leader to unite everyone’s strength and achieve a turnaround victory.
Since Hui Wenzu was willing to make such a declaration, it showed he had adopted this stance. Besides, those who had responded to Hui Wenzu’s summons and made a special trip here from their own encampments were already somewhat emotionally aligned with him; they had, in a sense, already passed a preliminary screening.
Zheng Fan and the other Commanders and Captains also knelt on one knee on the ground, pledging their agreement in unison.
"We won’t bother with any blood oaths," Hui Wenzu continued. "We are the Yan Army, not mountain bandits. I hope none of you have forgotten that you are Yan people!
Alright, everyone return and prepare. Tomorrow, we gather our forces here and march out!"
The various officers departed one after another.
Zheng Fan remained behind.
Hui Wenzu gestured with his eyes for Zheng Fan to follow him into a half-collapsed tent. Outside, his personal guards stood watch, ensuring no one else could approach.
"HUFF... This is pissing me off!"
After entering the tent, Hui Wenzu plopped down on the ground, still grumbling and cursing.
Zheng Fan also sat down on the ground with him.
This time, however, Zheng Fan wasn’t as natural or warm in Hui Wenzu’s presence as he had been previously. Googlᴇ search N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
"Your Green Willow Fortress is so close to here. Didn’t you detect any disturbance last night?" Hui Wenzu began his questioning.
Zheng Fan smiled wryly. "Across all the border fortresses, only my Green Willow Fortress lit the beacon fires last night."
Hui Wenzu was momentarily stunned.
Despite Yan’s border appearing to have a large deployment of troops, the system here is utterly chaotic, a fact he, Hui Wenzu, was well aware of. Firstly, this was the mess left by his predecessor, Xiao Dahai, and even the fault of the dilapidated state of the fortress system from further back. Secondly, the Imperial Court had recently crammed many Generals over here. With so many troops arriving and Lord Jingnan not taking responsibility for organizing them, everyone was running around like headless flies. There was no one truly in charge; it would be a miracle if things were orderly.
"Alas." Hui Wenzu sighed, his gaze toward Zheng Fan softening considerably.
Actually, Zheng Fan also knew clearly in his heart that despite what Hui Wenzu had said to him back in Hutou City about preparing to offer the city to the Earl of North Border’s faction, Hui Wenzu was different from him.
Hui Wenzu was a dyed-in-the-wool Yan person. Now that the Earl of North Border was clearly standing with the Yan Emperor and preparing to march south, if he himself continued this unsightly behavior of preserving his strength and avoiding battle, and if Hui Wenzu found out, Hui Wenzu would dare to turn hostile and disown him.
To put it bluntly, some of the arrangements and embellishments from last night were essentially a performance for Hui Wenzu. Fatty Hui was currently his biggest backer and also managed so many resources in Nanwang City; naturally, he had to be kept happy.
"Sir, I dispatched troops to pursue that Qian cavalry unit last night, but we couldn’t catch up. They had superior numbers, and I was afraid of being ambushed."
That statement was half-truth, half-lie. Hui Wenzu nodded, indicating he understood, but his expression had cooled somewhat.
Evidently, Hui Wenzu had guessed something and was deliberately conveying this shift in his demeanor to Zheng Fan. He suspected Zheng Fan of avoiding battle and was using this subtle change to warn him.