Chapter 74

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

Yanzhou.

It was now October and the climate in Yanzhou was getting colder. During this time, in the past years, people constantly worried about the coming winter and had always been on high alert against the Beidi people’s attacks. The hustle and bustle of autumn this year however, was a big contrast from that of previous years.

Although they had been hit with a snowstorm and had a poor harvest this year, the people were not worried at all. The Northern Warlord had waived this year’s taxes and had even recruited workers for the land reclamation and construction of the irrigation system. Not only were they fed, they were even well paid. With their wages and the food harvested from the farms, they could get by with ease.

Furthermore, with the threat from Beidi people having been extinguished, Yanzhou was in a celebratory mood. 

In the General’s Manor, An Chang Qing, with his now enlarged belly, was tirelessly reading the reports that Anfu had sent him.

In mid-September, An Chang Qing’s pregnancy was becoming more discernible. By October, his belly had grown considerably and could no longer be hidden with clothes. As such, he declared himself ill and stayed inside the mansion. 

The manor’s servants had all been carefully screened. Those who were deemed loyal and tight-lipped were allowed inside while the rest had been assigned to the outer court. Hu Shifei and Yu Xiao had taken residence inside the manor and were already preparing for An Chang Qing’s delivery.

When the news that An Chang Qing would be on bed rest first spread, Qi Wei and the gang along with the old officials all tried to pay him a visit but were all rejected by Xiao Zhige. But as this matter prolonged, the people who had been working with An Chang Qing felt lost without his leadership. They tried several times to visit and ask him for advice, much to Xiao Zhige’s disapproval. However, with An Chang Qing’s involvement in these projects and his growing boredom of being shut inside the manor, the couple discussed and decided that An Chang Qing will receive guests behind a screen and Anfu will facilitate with the passing of documents.

Xiao Zhige was not happy with the decision so An Chang Qing compromised that he would only work for an hour a day.

An Chang Qing had just put down his pen after adding his input on an official scroll when he heard Xiao Zhige’s voice at the door, “Time’s up.”

An Chang Qing glanced at the clepsydra and mumbled, “Wangye is more on time than the clock.”

Xiao Zhige went on to pack up the documents on his desk as though he did not hear him. He then led An Chang Qing out and they went for a walk. 

The two held hands and strolled in the garden behind the courtyard. This place had been renovated with beautiful rockeries, a pond with flowing water and a scenic pavilion. When An Chang Qing became pregnant, Xiao Zhige would always accompany him here for their walks before returning to their room for dinner.

An Chang Qing’s appetite had been gradually decreasing even though his belly was getting rounder. Xiao Zhige was always worried and would try his best to coax An Chang Qing to eat more. Compared to him, An Chang Qing felt that Xiao Zhige was more like the one who was pregnant. 

This night, Xiao Zhige was particularly quiet during dinner. An Chang Qing finished his meal and realized that something was wrong. He put down his chopsticks, wiped his hands with the handkerchief Anfu handed him and asked with some concern, “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Zhige remained silent. He reached for the scroll inside his sleeve and handed it to An Chang Qing. An Chang Qing took the scroll and after reading, he sneered, “The Crown Prince poked the hornet’s nest and now asks you to clean up his mess.”

Xiao Zhige had already predicted the outcome regarding the situation in the South. What he did not expect was for it to escalate this quickly. He had estimated that it would take at least until An Chang Qing had given birth for the South to be in complete chaos, only then would Emperor An Qing send him to stamp out the rebellion. But alas, his calculation was thrown off by the Crown Prince’s arrogance and foolishness coupled with the inept Southern militia. And now, he had to march off in advance to pacify the rebellion.

An Chang Qing was already six months pregnant. According to the handwritten recount, the man had given birth almost two months earlier than normal women. Which meant that An Chang Qing’s pregnancy would last eight months and his due date would be in December.

It was only two months away but he had to leave for the South. What if he couldn’t return in time…

Xiao Zhige did not speak but An Chang Qing could tell.

“When will Wangye be leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

An Chang Qing nodded and said, “Then I’ll help you pack your things today.”

“No need.” Xiao Zhige grabbed his hand and looked at him deeply. His lips moved as though wanting to say something but he wasn’t sure how to put it into words. After a long while, he simply embraced him and let out an apology.

Being pregnant as a man was difficult enough even without the complications of childbirth. Now he had to do it not knowing if his husband would be back in time to be by his side.

An Chang Qing placed his hand over Xiao Zhige’s and weaved his fingers in between. He smiled and comforted, “It’s not like this is the first time you’ve left for war. I’ll be home waiting for you.”

If this was in the past, he would’ve been feeling anxious and worried. But the current An Chang Qing was no longer the incompetent and timid illegitimate son of the An family. He could tactfully handle Yanzhou’s state affairs which allowed his General to be absent without any worries.

At this point, he was decidedly unafraid. 

He also believed that Xiao Zhige would be able to resolve the conflict in the South as he would be able to watch over Yanzhou in his absence while awaiting his triumphant return.

He took Xiao Zhige’s hand and placed it over his bulging belly and whispered softly, “This child is very obedient. After you’ve pacified the Southern States, bring us there to have a look. I’ve never been to the South.”

Xiao Zhige’s initial misgivings were soothed by the calming of An Chang Qing’s gentle voice. He rested his head on An Chang Qing’s shoulder and took a deep breath as he touched his belly, “Alright. Wait for me. I’ll conquer the South and take you both there for a vacation.”

That night, the two went to bed embracing each other. An Chang Qing tended to sleep on the side due to his enlarged belly while Xiao Zhige opened up one arm for him to rest his head on and the other gently patted his back. An Chang Qing had long fallen asleep while Xiao Zhige stayed awake, watching him the whole night. When the first light appeared on the horizon, he gave An Chang Qing a soft kiss on his forehead before quietly getting up and leaving.

Anfu heard the sounds and was about to come in when he saw Xiao Zhige signaling for him to stay quiet.

Xiao Zhige did not have much to pack. After washing up, he changed into light armor and quietly rode off to the barracks where twenty thousand of his troops had been waiting. 

Xiao Zhige raised his black and golden spear and the soldiers immediately shouted in unison as they marched South under the war flag with the initial “Ge”.

…..

The three Southern States were currently in chaos. Amongst them, Ruan Zhou had become the quintessence turning point of this battle as Qing Zhou and Yong Zhou had already fallen into enemy’s hands. 

Ruan Zhou was the final defense that guarded Yejing. Although it was well prepared and had been able to hold its ground, the prowess of the wrathful rebels in their manic state could not be underestimated. If left unassisted, Ruan Zhou would eventually fall.

Emperor An Qing’s order was for Xiao Zhige to march for Ruan Zhou in haste to drive back the rebels then head for Yong Zhou and Qing Zhou. However, Xiao Zhige had no intention of following his order. Such an anarchic situation was exactly the opportunity he had been waiting for.

He led his army of twenty thousand men through Su Zhou and Yu Zhou, heading straight for Qing Zhou first. The uprising began in Qing Zhou and of the three Southern States, it was also the most prosperous. When the rebellion had started, the big shots of Qing Zhou were only caught off guard by the brutal killings. After the shock, they had immediately hired guards and built an army of their own to fight against the rebels. These people were tyrannical tycoons who had money to spare and food to waste. After recruiting enough fighters and rations, they had begun to act out their brutal revenge, going so far as to branding all commoners as rebels and slaughtering them in cold blood.

Xiao Zhige made the decision primarily to address the merciless landlords who had been oppressing the people. Ultimately, it had been these oppressors who had caused distress among the people and sparked their need to revolt; not killing them was not enough to appease the people’s anger. Furthemore, in recent years, these landlords had been conspiring with each other to amass greater wealth and power. To eradicate this network, Xiao Zhige had to first punish the oppressors by killing the chicken to warn the monkey.¹ 

Xiao Zhige and his troops marched day and night to reach Qing Zhou but the first thing they saw upon arrival was Qing Zhou’s garrison stationed outside the city’s gates. Xiao Zhige sent someone to request the gatekeeper to open the gates but they received no response. Instead, it was the Qing Zhou army’s General, Zuo Qiu, who had heard of Xiao Zhige’s arrival and hastily went to greet him.

“Qing Zhou’s four gates have been overtaken by the rebel army and mercenaries. Each side has control over two gates, neither side will open the gates for us.”

Zuo Qiu was over forty years old but for a General of an army, he had neither charisma nor an authoritative aura. Instead, he was a white chubby man in armor, looking somewhat comical.

“As the General of Qing Zhou, not only were you unable to resolve the civil unrest, you were even driven out of the city like a stray dog.” Xiao Zhige spoke coldly as his gaze swept over him like a sharp blade.

Zuo Qiu trembled as he pleaded in a pitiful tone, “Wangye, please understand. There was nothing I could do about it. Those rebels charged at us with no regard for their lives. They were suicidal. The only thing we could do was to stay out of their way.”

Zhou He Lan had been in Qing Zhou prior to the uprising and Xiao Zhige was very well aware of what had transpired. When the rebels had started killing the rich and powerful, Zuo Qiu had sent his troops to suppress them and had failed miserably. And to add insult to injury, the rebels had attacked Zuo Qiu’s estate and he had almost been killed. Scared out of his wits, Zuo Qiu and his family had fled and had been staying at the military camps outside the city. The General who was supposed to protect the city had abandoned it. Qing Zhou then plunged into utter chaos. The rebels continued their mindless killing and the landlords retaliated with the same blood thirst. Zuo Qiu, the General of Qing Zhou, who had been supposed to take charge in such a situation was ironically ignored by both sides.

As a result, the military had now lost control over the city gates. 

What kind of General Zuo Qiu was, it would be brought out in his soldiers. Qing Zhou’s 8000 soldiers were just like Zuo Qiu, poorly trained both physically and mentally. They were all only hoping to ride on Xiao Zhige’s tailcoat back to the city after he had successfully resolved this conflict.

Xiao Zhige chuckled grimly. His eyes turned cold as he announced loudly, “General Zuo Qiu of Qing Zhou, neglected his duties, fled the battle in shame, and abandoned his city! He will be beheaded according to the law! Take him away!”

Zuo Qiu’s originally smiling face froze up. Immediately scared by his words, he shrunk his neck back like a turtle and shouted, “I’m Qing Zhou’s General personally appointed by His Majesty! If I were to be punished, it has to be done back in Yejing to determine my sentence. Even if it’s Wangye, you cannot execute me like this!”

Xiao Zhige looked at him with an empty expression and said, “A General outside of his city is subjected to foreign rules. You’re now under my jurisdiction, you will be subjected to my rules.”

After speaking, Xiao Zhige raised his hand and immediately, two soldiers strode towards Zuo Qiu and grabbed him by both sides. Zuo Qiu shouted frantically, “Soldiers, stop them!”

However, Zuo Qiu’s underlings were not in any way braver than him. Facing the toughened soldiers of Yanzhou, they were like timid rabbits being stared at by eagles, none dared to make any resistance. Zuo Qiu was forced on his knees and dragged in front of Xiao Zhige.

Xiao Zhige wasted not another minute and ordered, “Execute him.”

Zuo Qiu’s face was white as a sheet. He wanted to beg for mercy but the words did not have time to leave his throat before he was cut down by Tie Hu’s swift motion.

Tie Hu then turned to look at the Qing Zhou soldiers and chided, “Cowards.”

 A few of Qing Zhou’s lieutenants had a bitter look on their faces but dared not speak up due to the fear of the Northern Warlord’s lack of hesitation when it came to killing. 

Xiao Zhige sized up the remaining Qing Zhou soldiers and frowned. At this point, there was no time to retrain them. He simply waved his hand and commanded, “Have someone send word to the people behind the city gates. If the gates remain closed, we will use force.”

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1 杀鸡儆猴 sha ji jing hou – killing a chicken to scare the monkey. Simply put, it’s to give others a warning by punishing someone as an example