Chapter One: Escape
In the first year of Da Li Qing Yuan, a white dew suddenly appeared, and the forest was filled with frost. The weather turned cold in an instant.
Frost falls in August, outside the capital city of Shangjing, on the official road leading to Yanzhou, a cavalry of over 100 men escorted a delicate carriage pulled by two horses, rushing towards the south direction of Ningwu Pass.
The knights were all clad in yellow armor, with four-foot-long cavalry swords at their waists, riding on tall and majestic war horses, staring straight ahead with a piercing gaze, exuding an aura of sharp killing intent. At the front of the formation, two large bright yellow flags fluttered in the wind, bearing the bold character "Yan", clearly revealing their identity.
They were the elite iron cavalry of the Great Yan Youlin Army.
At that time, the world was divided into six parts. The north was a powerful Li country, which entered the Central Plains as a nomadic nation and established the semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral Li Dynasty with its strong military power. It has been over 350 years since the founding of the country. It is the most powerful enemy that threatens the Great Yan Dynasty today. In the south of the Great Yan, the eight branches of the southern Yi tribe finally ended their separate governance and self-destructive situation in the face of the strong military power of the White Rock tribe, established the Southern Alliance, and cast a greedy eye on the Yi and Lu states of the Great Yan. At the same time, the Rongdi in the northeast, which rose 40 years ago, has been continuously eroding the surrounding tribes under the leadership of Khan Ashina Nuhaicheng, developing and growing stronger, and repeatedly invading the Shang, Yun, and Xing three states of the Great Yan, forming a north-south confrontation with the Great Yan over the past decade.
Apart from this, the remaining Western Shu and Eastern Mang were originally vassal kingdoms of Great Yan. They were small vassals attached to Great Yan, but due to Great Yan's continuous wars in recent years, the country suffered huge losses, and with three major enemies surrounding them, their control over the two countries has weakened, causing both countries to secretly harbor thoughts of leaving Great Yan.
So in the situation where internal and external troubles coexist, the Lang of the Great Yan Kingdom appeared outside the Shangjing City of the Li Country, there is only one saying that they are the escorts of the envoys who came to Li Guo for condolences and congratulations on the new king's accession.
It was just a simple diplomatic visit, but the entourage of the Yan envoy were all Yan's Youlin riders, which left people puzzled.
The Great Yan Feather Forest Cavalry is the great general of the Han Dynasty in front of the palace of the Emperor of Great Yan, selected from 300,000 elite troops of Great Yan. In Great Yan, except for the emperor, they do not bow to officials or participate in royal ceremonies. Since its establishment, there has never been a case where they followed a certain minister. This time, appearing beside a small envoy, it has led to many speculations. Your Majesty, have you lost your dignity? Is the identity of the envoys in this delegation unusual, or is their purpose of going abroad not just to attend the national funeral and the new king's enthronement ceremony?
Goodbye to the horse-drawn carriage that is wide and sturdy, making people even more puzzled.
Because the workmanship of this carriage is not only exquisite, but also the color of the umbrella on the top of the canopy is bright yellow. For eight hundred years since the founding of Yan, it has adhered to its ancestral teachings and etiquette, and bright yellow is exclusively used by the imperial family. How can it appear on a carriage ridden by an envoy? What really surprises people is the black pattern and the inscription "Temple Work" on the carriage. Those who don't understand think that this big car is nothing special, but those who do know that this is the logo of the Yan Imperial Workshop.
This carriage is for royal use only, ordinary people cannot use it.
So clever people immediately guessed that the person in this horse-drawn carriage was not just a Yan messenger.
But recently, no one has heard of any noble person arriving in the capital city. Who would use a carriage that only the imperial family of Great Yan can ride? Could it be... Everyone's mind suddenly thought of one person, the ninth prince of Great Yan, Ji Qingchen, who had been abroad as a hostage for ten years.
People can't help but sigh when they think of the ninth prince of Great Yan, who has been a hostage for ten years. They have also heard some rumors from within the palace that the prince and Princess Anle are deeply in love, and the princess had long ago secretly pledged her heart to him. If the old emperor were still alive, he would not have stood in their way. But now that the old emperor has passed away, the new ruler has just ascended to the throne and his position is unstable, requiring the support of the Empress Dowager, who happens to dislike this hostage prince from Yan. It's likely that the life of this hostage prince is quite difficult at present!
So seeing the cavalry rushing south in a hurry after leaving the city, everyone's heart was suspicious. The ninth prince of Yan was sitting in the carriage of the Yan delegation, and he rushed out of the city in such a hurry. After getting on the official road, the cavalry began to rush south, walking in such a hurry, could it be that he wanted to follow the Yan delegation back to Yan?
At this time, the cavalry had already stepped onto the official road under the guard of the Feathered Forest Riders and accelerated their marching speed. In a flash, they disappeared outside the Upper Capital City.
The cavalry set foot on the official road, and the imperial city had gradually disappeared into the distance. At this time, Ji Qingchen lightly lifted the curtain of the horse carriage, quietly gazing in the direction of the imperial city, lost in thought. He wore a white hemp long gown, with ordinary leather boots on his feet, his long hair neatly tied up behind him, without any crown or jade pendants on his head, his body neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, his skin slightly pale, without a beard under his chin, and no moles on his face. His entire being was simple, elegant, and refined, with every feature perfectly proportioned and harmonious, yet there was not a single striking feature that caught the eye, but it made people look at him once and never forget.
By his side was a man in red robes and high hat, with a refined and elegant demeanor, named Ye Qingchen, who was the envoy of this mission to leave the country, and held the position of Junior Minister of the Grand Yanhong Temple.
Ye Qingchen saw that Jiudian seemed to have a faint attachment to the Imperial City of Shangjing, and his eyebrows showed a worried expression.
Ji Qingchen gazed at the distant view of Luoyang City, the capital of the state of Wei, as it gradually disappeared from his sight. His heart was filled with a thousand emotions. He had been a hostage in the state of Wei for ten years and only today was he finally able to return home. At this moment, his heart felt a faint sense of melancholy.
Ten years ago, the Northern Rong could no longer bear the bitter cold and hunger of winter, suddenly launched a large-scale invasion to the south, raided the Yanmen Pass in the northeast, which was the gateway of the Great Yan, and fought fiercely with the garrison troops stationed at the Yanmen Pass for three days, resulting in the death of Ji Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Great Yan and the commander-in-chief of the Northern Liaoning campaign, and the annihilation of 100,000 elite soldiers.
This battle left Yan greatly wounded and had no choice but to abandon the Xiyangguan defense line, withdrawing its forces to a defensive line in Yunzhou.
At this time, the Li and Nan tribes took advantage of the situation to attack Great Yan. Under the leadership of General Li Qingyi of the Li tribe and the chief of the Baiyan tribe of the Nan tribe, a coalition force of 600,000 troops attacked Yan. With the powerful army of the Beijun added to this, the morale of the Yan army plummeted, and they were defeated all along the line, resulting in the loss of territory and the annihilation of hundreds of thousands of troops, with the country on the brink of disaster.
In a critical moment, the famous general of Yan, Bai Jin, and the prime minister, Pei Wenju, jointly devised a strategy. They sent envoys to the countries of Li and Nan to seek peace, agreeing to annual tribute, hostage princes, and marriage with princesses. This finally lifted the crisis of Yan being surrounded on all sides by Chu's troops, and afterwards the Yan army united its forces, drove back the northern Rong's great army, and escaped the fate of national subjugation.
Ji Qingchen was sent to a foreign country that year and became a hostage.
Ten years have passed, and time has changed many things. The upper class of the country is indulged in the fragrance of victory under the subtle influence of Emperor Li's reign, drunk with wealth and pride, and arrogant. The three kingdoms are trampled by horses, and the people are suffering and cannot speak out. The contradictions are becoming increasingly sharp, and the national strength is melting like ice and snow. However, the ruler and officials of Great Yan have been working hard to govern the country, using the ten years to finally cancel the annual tribute that was originally set, and retrieve the hostages sent to various countries.
Ji Qingchen knew that this time she returned to Yan, it was because Great Yan saw the new king of Liguojun had just ascended to the throne and experienced a coup, under the unstable political situation, they put forward such a request. Although Liguojun's national strength declined, Yan cancelled the annual tribute, but the friction between the two countries continued, if it were an ordinary time to make such a request, Liguojun might not have agreed.
Just thinking about returning to the country and facing a more complex and treacherous struggle for power, facing the brothers who have already become frantic for the crown prince position, Ji Qingchen's heart is a bit annoyed. For now, relying solely on the information Ye Qingchen told him, it is not enough for him to clear his mind and figure out how to deal with the subtle court relationships after returning to Junlin.
He let out a soft sigh, finding his thoughts to be somewhat disorganized. He stopped his idle fancies and lowered the carriage curtains, turning to Ye Qingchen who was sitting beside him and said, "Qingchen has been sent away as a hostage since he was seven years old, it's already been ten years now. I thought I would die in that foreign land, but unexpectedly there is still a chance for me to return home. This time, being able to return home, I must thank Uncle for his efforts."
"Your Highness's return to the country this time is not due to my efforts, but rather the imperial edict personally issued by Your Majesty. If it weren't for Your Majesty disregarding the opposition of the officials at the Taiji Temple court meeting and writing that letter to the new king of Ligu, I'm afraid I wouldn't have had the opportunity to be sent as an envoy to Ligu either, and Your Highness's return to Yan would not have been as smooth as it is now." said Ye Qingchen, the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple who was sent by Da Yan to Ligu.
"Didn't I tell you, Uncle, that you can just call me Qingchen in private?" Ji Qingchen said discontentedly, glancing at her uncle.
Ye Qingchen was slightly stunned, his heart warmed up, and he nodded his head in agreement.
Ji Qingchen's response was met with no gratitude from Ji Lightdust, whose tone instead held a hint of discontent. "Ten years ago, the Emperor disregarded the courtiers' objections and decreed that I be sent to a distant land as a hostage. Now, he again disregards their objections and summons me back to the country. What is his true intention in doing so?"
Ye Qingchen saw that his nephew didn't have a good impression of the current emperor, so he spoke with a heavy heart, "Qingchen, since you call me Uncle, we are family. I don't want to lie to you here. I'm not clear why the Emperor insisted on sending you as a hostage ten years ago, but this time the Emperor let you return, it must be for the examination of the princes at the Youlin Military Academy next March."
Jian Ji light dust was a bit dazed, Ye Qingchen continued to say, "This year's New Year's court meeting, His Majesty has already decreed that the four major metropolitan governments will be established in the Yan Guo border town. The Metropolitan Governor can direct several states' troops, armor, city walls, garrison, and grain storage, and judge state affairs. However, on the issue of selecting the Metropolitan Governor for the four major metropolitan governments, His Majesty is apparently very cautious. He seems to not want outsiders to hold this important position, nor does he want the Great Yan to repeat the embarrassing situation 400 years ago when the capital was in danger and the relief troops did not arrive in time. Therefore, he plans to select four talented imperial clan children from among the imperial princes to serve as the Metropolitan Governor of the four major metropolitan governments. That's why it was decided that in August, the martial skills of all the princes would be tested at the school grounds, with the intention of selecting a few capable imperial clan children to take on the role of Metropolitan Governor."
In those years, Emperor Yan was eager to win the smile of Mei Ren Bao Ji and set off a beacon fire to play with the vassals, fooling the diligent king's army, resulting in the failure of the diligent king's army to arrive when the Qiang tribe attacked and broke through the northern capital. If it weren't for Prince Ping's strong resistance at the critical moment of national crisis and his personal journey to Xishu to seek aid, which lifted the siege of the northern capital, I'm afraid the Great Yan would have been destroyed by the Qiang tribe long ago! Having learned a lesson from this near-destruction, Emperor Ping attached great importance to the control of the central government over the garrison troops in various places when he ascended to the throne. Over time, this emphasis became an ancient tradition that must be followed by the emperors of the Great Yan dynasty.
"The Emperor actually issued an edict to establish a Metropolitan Commandery? Doesn't he know that this will easily lead to the border towns having too much power, causing the capital's military strength to be weakened and difficult to control? Moreover, letting the imperial princes take on this important position, as long as they have the power in their hands, with my several ambitious brothers' nature, how can they let go of such an opportunity to expand their own power? When the time comes, the struggle for the throne will reach a boiling point, and the harm it will bring to Great Yan will be even more terrifying than the treachery of external officials." Ji Qingchen was slightly surprised.
"What else can be done? Your Majesty's body is getting worse and it's impossible to continue fighting. The current Great Yan is still surrounded by enemies on all sides, and to change the current situation, we must take defense as the main priority. If we don't go to war, the current position of Grand Marshal will not have much use. We can only establish a Governor's Office, let the Governor's Office govern the military affairs of several nearby states, in order to better defend against the surrounding countries. Letting you few princes or imperial clan children be the Grand Governors is still better than letting outsiders take charge, even if something unexpected happens in the future, at least it won't be like during Emperor Cong's time when the relief troops were delayed and lost the 800-year-old Jiangshan of the Great Yan dynasty. Alas! Your Majesty has no choice but to do this!" Ye Qingchen sighed and said.
"So, Father Emperor allowed me to return to the country just to let me participate in the Princes' Examination next March and compete for the position of Grand Commander?" Ji Qingchen asked calmly.
"Right! Otherwise, why would His Majesty summon you back to the country at this time? Qingchen, Uncle wants to tell you that this is His Majesty's sincere intention towards you. Uncle hopes you won't disappoint his expectations. Do you know that during last month's court meeting, when His Majesty proposed your return, he was immediately opposed by most of the ministers in the court? They didn't want you to come back because they were already supporting several princes, and if you returned to participate in the martial arts competition, there would be one more person vying for the position of the four great commanders. This would increase the pressure on the other princes, so your return this time is a blessing or a curse. I hope Qingchen can prepare himself mentally." Ye Qingchen said with deep concern.
"The Great Yan established four major military commands, which is equivalent to handing over two-thirds of the country's military power to the military commands. In this way, the commander-in-chief became a true vassal, with powers higher than those of the current camp manager. Can you say that it won't attract the attention of several imperial brothers?
Ji Qingchen sneered, "His Majesty summoned me back to the country at this critical moment, not just to let me compete for the position of commander-in-chief, but to force me to compete with several imperial brothers for the position of crown prince!"
Ye Qingchen subconsciously glanced around and then carefully asked: "Didn't Qing Chen mean that?"
"Yes! Why not?" Ji Qingchen suddenly said in a stern tone, "If I had always stayed in the State of Li, perhaps I would have thought of living out my days in peace. But now it's impossible. As soon as I set foot on the land of Yan, I am the prince of Yan. No matter which brother succeeds to the throne, do you think I still have a chance to live? Or maybe I do, but that would be just barely clinging to life, merely eking out my remaining years in fear and trepidation. When I was held hostage in the State of Li, I always thought about when I could return home and compete with my brothers for the throne. Now that I'm finally going back, if I didn't have such a decision, wouldn't it be a waste of this life?"
"Just, Light Dust, you want to contend for the throne, but think clearly, now in the imperial court, several princes have been operating for decades, their party members are all over the country and various states and garrisons. You just returned to Yan, wanting to compete with them for the throne, it's hard not to appear a miserable outcome!" Ye Qingchen solemnly reminded.
"Uncle! I would rather die as an inscription on a tombstone than live and be forgotten."
Ye Qingchen was taken aback, his expression turned serious, and he said in a solemn tone, "I didn't expect you to leave the country as a hostage again, not only did you not neglect your studies, but you also have such great ambitions. Good! Since you have this idea, I won't oppose it either. I only have one sentence: as long as I still have a breath in me, I will definitely support you with all my might."
"Thank you, Uncle!" Ji Qingchen was touched by his uncle's sincerity and felt a slight sense of emotion.
However, Light Dust, Your Majesty has been fighting for dozens of years and his body is getting worse day by day. The ministers in the court have also suggested setting up a reserve several times, but Your Majesty has not agreed. I suppose it's also because you want to observe the thoughts of the princes on this occasion of the eight kings' examination. So at this critical moment, the princes of Junlin City will not miss such an excellent opportunity to show off? We may encounter some twists and turns on our way back home, so be prepared mentally!
"Uncle said ——” Ji Qingchen was taken aback, seemingly understanding something, but hesitated to speak. After a while, he sighed and said, "Uncle, you don't need to say it, I already understand. Born in the imperial family, my life has never been mine to begin with. In this world, winners live, losers die, and in the face of victory or defeat, life and death are just inevitable consequences. Hehe! The phrase 'to grasp the world' indeed has too much magic power, for these four words, countless people have exhausted their minds, even sacrificing their dreams and dignity, losing their lives, yet there are still those who continue to pursue it relentlessly? Even I myself can only think about it openly, but cannot escape the convention!"
He finished speaking and slowly closed his eyes, as if he had fallen into deep thought.
Ye Qingchen knew what was on his nephew's mind and wanted to offer a few words of advice, but he didn't know what to say, so he remained silent.
Just as the two fell silent, the ground suddenly transmitted a slight tremor, and the sound of horseshoes came rushing from afar.
