Chapter 278: Chapter 272: Blood Brothers_2
"Understood!" Cui Xiaomei was startled by her brother’s harsh tone and responded meekly.
After Cui Xiaomei and Li Dan departed, General Cui exhaled heavily. Cui Lansong asked, "Father, yesterday the Young Marquis proposed the construction of the Liangma Road from Ningzhou to Jinzhou. Why did you and General Qi strongly oppose it?"
"The future is uncertain. We still don’t know exactly what the Second Young Master and the Young Marquis have planned. The Second Young Master is focused on the administrative offices, managing finances and coordination. The Young Marquis is unfamiliar with military affairs. If he wants to build the Liangma Road, how many people will it require? What if Beiman launches a sudden attack? How should the jurisdiction between Ningzhou and Jinzhou be divided? This area isn’t even under Ningzhou City’s governance. Why should we build the Liangma Road? If you ask me, we should simply raise our troops and march directly to the Capital City—straightforward and efficient."
Cui Lansong had personally witnessed Xie Zhang’s death. Xie Zhang had always been the man he admired most and his greatest source of inspiration. He aspired to become a general like Xie Zhang.
He wanted to march into the Capital City even more than his father, and he could hardly wait to chop off Yuwen Jing’s head to honor the Young Marquis and the Eldest Young Master.
But how would they solve the issue of supplies? The Great Commander and Junior General Fang were still stationed in the Capital City. If their assault failed, and Beiman caught wind of their movements, they would be boxed in, facing enemies on both fronts. All of Yanyang would be plunged into chaos—how many innocent people would lose their families and lives?
"The Young Marquis has lost his parents, elder sister, elder brother, and concubine. He hates the Yuwen Royal Family more than anyone else. Do you think he doesn’t want to fight?" Cui Lansong said. "When the Second Young Master returned to the Capital City with over ten thousand troops, the Young Marquis wanted to storm the palace directly. But if the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry leaves its station and the Beiman Army advances, what will happen to the citizens of Ningzhou City? Wherever Beiman’s forces go, they bring slaughter, pillaging, and arson—atrocities without restraint. Who will protect the defenseless people of Yanyang? Since we’ve chosen to rebel alongside the Young Marquis, we should trust him. I know many generals in the army have greater loyalty to the Young Marquis’s father and the Eldest Young Master, but for now, the one in charge is the Young Marquis. The Second Young Master is deliberately staying away from military affairs, hoping the Young Marquis can establish authority over all the generals. If the Young Marquis wants to build the Liangma Road, we must cooperate with him. We chose to follow him in rebellion, and he is the commander of the cavalry and our future leader. If the one in the military tent were the Young Marquis’s father, would you dare challenge him? Why, then, do you confront the Young Marquis so boldly? Do you take advantage of the fact that his father is no longer here to support him? Or do you think he’s too young, relying on your seniority to disregard him? Twice now during military discussions, you’ve gone against him. He hasn’t said much, but have you seen how he retaliated? Over the past two days, he’s appointed people he brought from the Capital City—aristocratic young men—to handle sensitive tasks. In just half a year, he’s trained them to obey him and join this rebellion. It’s only a matter of time before he solidifies control over the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. You all had better not challenge him again, or you’ll lose your place in the military tent."
Indeed, Xie Xun had promoted Lin Xiao, Zhang Boxin, and Zhou Liyu as his deputy generals, and sent Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin out of the city with the Kyoto Capital Guard. Where were they headed? No one knew.
Zhou Liyu also led a mixed contingent of three thousand troops—combining the Kyoto Capital Guard and Iron Cavalry—out of the city.
Though the generals confronted him during military discussions, Xie Xun never showed anger. Instead, he immediately assigned tasks to those he trusted, a sign that did not bode well.
In the Xie Family mansion:
Xu Zhou was discussing the restructuring of the Iron Cavalry with Xie Xun. Xu Zhou believed this should not be rushed; the veterans in Ningzhou had not yet accepted the new leadership, and modifying the structure now would provoke resistance and turmoil.
"I understand, but I can’t afford to wait for a resounding victory," Xie Xun said coldly. "Beiman and Ningzhou have stopped fighting, and the smoke of war has cleared. If we wait for them to willingly submit, we might as well do nothing at all. The Liangma Road must be built immediately. The military settlements must continue their expansion, and two additional troops must be trained and stationed in West Continent and Huangzhou. I aim to conquer the twelve provinces; I can’t waste time here in Ningzhou City waiting for them to come around."
Xu Zhou sighed softly. Yes, the Young Marquis had missed his best opportunity. If not for his leg injury that kept him in the Capital City for two years, he would have already established his prestige in the military like the Eldest Young Master.
Now, the Young Marquis could only rely on himself to carve out his path.
Xu Zhou looked at the Young Marquis’s face, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the Eldest Young Master, and silently thought: earning the loyalty and trust of the troops was only a matter of time.
The Xie Family—naturally born for the battlefield.
They were divinely appointed commanders, seemingly born to lead tens of thousands, invincible wherever they went.
Xie Xun spoke with Xu Zhou until midnight. Xie Jue returned from the administrative offices, just as Xu Zhou was preparing to leave for some rest. "Second Young Master, don’t overwork yourself; make sure to get some rest."
"Hmm!" Xie Jue responded coldly with a nod. Xu Zhou noticed the bloodshot veins in his eyes and hesitated to say more. The Second Young Master had only slept two hours since arriving in Ningzhou, and even an iron body wouldn’t hold out much longer—especially since his eyes hadn’t fully recovered.
"Zhixu, come here and pick a title." Xie Jue closed his eyes and rubbed his brow, his eyes stinging with fatigue.
Xie Xun looked at the initial draft of the document his brother spread out in front of him. Although Xie Jue told him to pick, there were only two titles—Qin and Ning. Xie Xun pointed at Qin. "Prince Qin, then."
Xie Jue opened his eyes, still bloodshot. "I think Prince Qin sounds good too. Let’s go with that."
"Were you talking to Fengyu until midnight again?" Xie Xun’s beautiful phoenix-like eyes carried an icy depth, tinged with a shred of coolness. "Besides Brother Fang, isn’t it rare for anyone to connect with you, Second Brother?"
"Hmm!" Xie Jue was utterly exhausted. While rubbing his temples, he lacked the energy to speculate on his younger brother’s sensitive mood. "Your judgment in picking people is very sharp."
Xie Xun: "..."
Xie Xun felt a searing rage inside, his rationality collapsing. Fengyu had been cold and distant with him for half a month, their conversations rarely aligned, yet she spent her nights talking with his Second Brother. He understood it was for official matters and knew full well that his brother and Fengyu were innocent, but he couldn’t suppress the jealousy and frustration bubbling up.
Since when had his Second Brother ever praised anyone?
This was an exceptionally high—and extraordinarily rare—compliment.
"Zhixu..." Xie Jue opened his eyes and noticed the grievance lingering in his younger brother’s gaze. "I’m not going to give you some long-winded speech; I’m not good at that. I just borrowed five million silver taels from Third Miss, so for the sake of the money, you’d better follow her wishes."
Xie Xun: "..."
No wonder he complimented Fengyu—he had borrowed money from her!
The words sounded awfully familiar. Back when his leg was injured, and he had cursed Fengyu vehemently in the military tent, his Second Brother hadn’t even met Fengyu yet, but he had said almost the exact same thing.
"Tomorrow, announce to the world that you are establishing yourself as king in Ningzhou. By afternoon, gather five thousand Iron Cavalry and accompany Fengyu to Jinzhou to escort back five million silver taels and provisions," Xie Jue calmly instructed. "She will remain in Jinzhou. Return here as quickly as possible. If you’re unwilling, overcome it on your way to Jinzhou."
Xie Xun took a deep breath. "Second Brother, am I really your biological brother?"
"Looking this much alike? Probably biological."
Xie Xun: "..."
Xie Jue sneered. "Brother, my patience with you is running out. Be sensible; don’t provoke me."