Chapter 60: Defection
What Feng Changhuan had taken out was the Congshan chess manual. It was said that no one had yet been able to solve it.
Seeing the unconcealable surprise on Feng Jun’s face, Feng Changhuan sneered inwardly. This Congshan chess manual was from the hands of the contemporary Xiangqi master, Ma Fengzi. It was not just difficult to solve, but even harder to find. It was the essence of a chess manual that countless chess lovers coveted and dreamed of. Feng Changhuan had only obtained this unique manual by chance, so he was certain that Feng Jun had never encountered it before.
Seeing Feng Jun’s hesitant moves, Feng Changhuan couldn’t help but snort coldly.
An incense stick burned by the table. The guards stood silently at the side, and the two women were even more nervous than the players. Danfang sat beside Feng Jun, seeing him make each move with caution and deliberation with the unfamiliar manual, while Feng Changhuan was at ease and without hesitation. She was so scared that she broke out in a cold sweat, her whole body trembling, clutching her own arm and praying to the heavens for protection.
“Click.”
Feng Jun used a “chariot” to capture another of Feng Changhuan’s “pawns.”
Seeing that Feng Changhuan not only didn’t care but was also charging forward recklessly, Feng Jun couldn’t help but shake his head, not knowing who had the upper hand now. He hadn’t lost a single piece, but he was stuck in his own territory, making no progress. And although Feng Changhuan had lost all his pawns and even a cannon, his charging chariot was already at the city gates, heading for Feng Jun’s general with a fierce momentum.
“Heh.”
Feng Changhuan’s chariot was aimed directly at Feng Jun’s undefended general.
Danfang couldn’t help but gasp.
At the critical moment, Feng Jun fortunately moved an “advisor” from the side to barely defend. This advisor had originally been surrounded by other pieces in a corner, difficult to guard against and notice. Feng Changhuan raised an eyebrow, seeming a little surprised, but this was, after all, just a desperate struggle.
Feng Changhuan smiled. “Your Highness, the secret of this chess manual is the way of an emperor. To charge forward for one’s goal without any worries. Your Highness is so indecisive. If you can’t give up anything, you will get nothing.”
“Not so,” Feng Jun shook his head.
“Click.”
Feng Changhuan’s eyes widened.
“Your Majesty, you are wrong.”
On the chessboard, as Feng Jun moved his “cannon” back, all his pieces suddenly formed a formation, surrounding Feng Changhuan’s general. Feng Changhuan had originally wanted to rescue it, but found that he could block the “horse” but not the “cannon,” block the “cannon” but not the “chariot.” All the pieces were connected, forming an impregnable encirclement like a bronze wall. And he didn’t have many pieces left. Even though he was in Feng Jun’s territory, he couldn’t protect his own general!
Feng Changhuan stared blankly at the lost cause, the already decided chessboard, unable to react for a moment.
Danfang let out a sigh of relief and slumped in her chair. The woman beside Feng Changhuan, on the other hand, cried and knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Feng Jun, begging him for forgiveness.
“Miss, the ground is cold. Please get up first.” Feng Jun stood up and helped the woman up, comforting her in a gentle voice, “This prince will naturally not lay a hand on a weak woman, especially one so delicate and beautiful.”
As he spoke, Feng Jun even took out a silk handkerchief from his robes and handed it to the woman. After helping her sit down, he smiled. “Your Majesty, do you know why Ma Fengzi named this chess manual ‘Congshan’?”
[Translator’s Notes: Congshan : This name means “to follow what is good” or “to be virtuous.” It’s derived from a classical phrase.]
Feng Changhuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Feng Jun stretched out a slender finger and picked up a chess piece, gently taking Feng Changhuan’s general into his palm. “Congshan means to treat well the people who risk their lives for you, to treat well all your chess pieces, even if it’s just a pawn. This is the way of an emperor.”
“The position of an emperor is high and mighty, and below it are the thousands of ministers and common people. It is they who hold up this throne. If you lose them, the throne will collapse.”
Feng Changhuan looked at Feng Jun without a word, his eyes dark and unreadable, but they held a dangerous and hard-to-detect anger.
“Your Majesty, do not be deceived by this chess manual. The person who set it up was targeting someone of high status like you.”
“What is your relationship with Ma Fengzi?” Feng Changhuan’s tone was low.
Feng Jun let out a meaningful laugh, opened his folding fan, and fanned it slightly.
“You… are Ma Fengzi himself?”
Feng Qi didn’t reply, but he also didn’t deny it.
“Heh.” Feng Changhuan thought to himself, So at the beginning of the game, Feng Jun’s daze was not because he was shocked by this never-before-seen chess manual, but because he was amused. Feng Jun, Ma Fengzi, quite clever.
Tsk, I was tricked by this fox.
Feng Changhuan threw the long sword at his waist onto the chessboard, crossed his arms, and said to Feng Jun, “My arm, how do you want to take it?”
Take advantage and then be good.
Feng Jun immediately knelt down and said with a fawning smile, “This prince would naturally not dare to offend or clash with the Son of Heaven’s dragon might. I only ask for Your Majesty’s arm to be well, so you can smoothly sign the contract.”
Feng Changhuan waved his hand. “Bring up the contract.”
After Feng Jun’s guard handed the contract to Feng Changhuan, he swept a glance over it. “It’s nothing more than asking me to defect and send troops to help Bei Miao.”
“Yes.”
Feng Changhuan smiled. “But if I do this, what benefits will I get? Helping the King of Youzhou, I might even be able to take the opportunity to kill him and seize the throne of Bei Miao.”
Feng Jun was first startled by Feng Changhuan’s direct words, then he said calmly, “Your Majesty, there is still the Li family in the capital, watching covetously. And the King of Youzhou is a native of Bei Miao. The throne is not an easy matter. On the contrary, if Your Majesty sends troops to help, in consideration of your chivalry, it would be no problem for Bei Miao to offer six cities from the southwest to the north.”
Feng Changhuan raised an eyebrow.
Feng Jun continued, “There will be a battle between Bei Miao and Hong Xi sooner or later. Everyone knows this. What’s the harm in delaying it for a few years to build up our strength? Besides, Your Majesty can also obtain six cities without losing a single soldier. Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone?”
Feng Changhuan thought for a moment. “I agree.”
Before Feng Jun could thank him, he heard Feng Changhuan say, “But, I have one more condition. If you can’t do it, everything is off.”
“Your Majesty, please speak.” Feng Jun’s smile was stiff and twitching.
He had a bad feeling…
Feng Changhuan walked in front of Feng Jun and pinched his chin. “You will stay for a while.”
Feng Jun was pinched until it hurt and subconsciously shrank back, but Feng Changhuan pinched even harder, pulling his entire body forward.
“Stay, or not.” There was a smile in Feng Changhuan’s eyes, but also an imposing glint. Feng Jun thought to himself, If I don’t comply, I will be sliced into a thousand pieces by this invisible knife.
Feng Jun thought to himself, What a joke. His Majesty wants to put me under house arrest as a hostage. Do I have a choice?
He smiled submissively. “Naturally, I will obey the holy command. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great favor.”
The grand army did not stop, traveling day and night, and finally arrived at the Ruanzhou Canyon in three days.
Looking at the majestic canyon entrance before him, Wen Ning’an thought to himself, It will be fine once we pass through this canyon.
The canyon entrance was like the wide-open mouth of a crocodile emerging from the water, narrow and dark, as if it wanted to swallow people whole. The sound of water could be heard from inside, and even more, the “woo-woo-woo” sound of echoes like ghosts crying and wolves howling, which could be heard even before entering the canyon.
“General, everything is ready.”
Hearing Ren Feiyang’s words, Wen Ning’an nodded. “Advance!”
After slowly walking into the canyon, their vision was blurred by the white mist, and the sunlight could not shine in. However, each soldier in the army held a torch, which lit up the originally dim passage and also dispelled the cold and mist.
The surroundings were filled with faint cliffs and scattered lush greenery. Everyone was focused and on guard. No one spoke, only the clatter of the horses’ hooves.
“General, it has been scouted.” Zheng Hanshui rode up to Wen Ning’an and said in a low voice, “The surroundings are indeed surrounded by streams, and fresh water is within reach, just a scoop away.”
“Good.”
After Zheng Hanshui returned to his original position, Wen Ning’an paused, then turned to Feng Qi, who was riding beside him, and asked, “Did you hear that?”
“I heard it long ago. It’s about time.”
The army had reached the middle of the canyon, and there was no room to turn back. According to common sense, the You King’s army should have made a move by now.
Before Wen Ning’an could reply, he heard a “boom,” followed by a miserable scream from the rear of the army. Signal flares exploded one after another, and the sound of horns was incessant.
The enemy had appeared!
Wen Ning’an immediately spurred his horse and shouted, “Don’t panic! Form up—”
Boulders kept rolling down from the top of the canyon. They came with a fierce momentum, and how could flesh and blood resist? For a moment, many soldiers were injured by the large and small stones and fell from their horses. Some were even trapped underneath, unable to move.
“Left wing, right wing!”
The Left Army and the Li family’s army worked together, taking out white silk. One person on the left and one on the right, they pulled the white silk open and held it horizontally in mid-air.
Above the white mist, the enemy army saw strips of white suddenly appear below, blocking all their targets. Although these white strips were soft, they were extremely tough, intercepting all the boulders on the fabric, reducing their momentum and buying the soldiers time to dodge.
The enemy general sneered.
It’s just white silk. What can it do? He immediately waved his hand and had his men release fire arrows.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—”
Wen Ning’an looked up and saw the sky covered by a rain of arrows. The slender, cold arrows were mixed with firelight, and for a moment, the sky seemed to be lit up, so bright that it hurt one’s eyes.
Wen Ning’an waved his hand to stop the adjutant who was also preparing to order the archers to get into position. “Don’t shoot! If they shoot and we also shoot, what will happen to this white silk!”
“Yes!”
The archers turned to get fresh water to extinguish the flames on the white silk. After all, although the white silk was fire-resistant, it was hard to avoid being damaged under a rain of arrows.
The army’s goal this time was not to defeat the You King’s army, but to successfully break out of the canyon. So Wen Ning’an did not linger in the fight, but led the army and charged towards the exit.
“General! There’s an ambush ahead!”
“It’s alright, charge!”
Ren Feiyang saw the dense mass of the You King’s army in front, and the continuous stream of hidden weapons and boulders “greeting” them from the top of the canyon, but the army was charging forward as if they were not afraid of death. He couldn’t help but worry. They were not afraid of an ambush, but they couldn’t stand their fighting strength being constantly worn down by the hidden arrows from above!
Ren Feiyang was about to speak, but seeing Wen Ning’an and Feng Qi’s confident expressions, he didn’t say any more.
As long as it’s the general’s order, I’ll go even to the gates of hell!
“Kill—”
Ren Feiyang swung his sword and cut off the head of one of the enemy soldiers, but he only heard a “thud” and a white shadow flashed before his eyes.
What was that?
Ren Feiyang was startled. He looked down and saw… the corpse of a You King’s army soldier!
A corpse falling from the sky?
Ren Feiyang looked up at the top of the canyon and saw the faint sound of fighting. The corpses of the You King’s army and… the Hong Xi army were constantly falling down.
Ren Ning’an was horrified. I see…
Who knew when General Wen had reached an agreement with the King of Hong Xi! It was not hard to imagine that the expression on the You King’s army’s faces must be very interesting right now. Their original reinforcements and allies had so unexpectedly turned their blades on them. They must have been extremely shocked.
Wen Ning’an sneered. The ambush from above would probably not pose much of a threat to them under the King of Hong Xi’s attack, and the ambush in front was no longer scary.
“Kill these rebels!!”
In an instant, morale soared, and the sound of killing shook the heavens.
Feng Qi saw Wen Ning’an galloping among the army, his long, dark hair flying in the strong wind, his armor shining dazzlingly in the firelight. His eyes held both the joy of fighting and a calm judgment, like a god.
This was another victory for Bei Miao!
