The Reticent Blade

By June, Liangzhou Prefecture had become an enormous steamer, the soldiers and citizens nearly suffocating under the relentless heat.

Inside the Command Post, Qi Yanzhu sat at the head of the hall, his face dark as scorched iron. His fingers tapped aimlessly on the armrest, his thoughts unreadable.

Below him, the military officers of the city sat in orderly rows.

The air was thick with tension.

"General..." One of the vice commanders couldn't hold back any longer.

Qi Yanzhu lifted his gaze slightly, signaling for the vice commander to speak.

The vice commander's brows were deeply furrowed. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Do we fight, or do we retreat? You must give us an answer!"

Qi Yanzhu pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. The words he had repeated for days now left his lips once more.

"Wait a little longer..."

The officers shook their heads as they left. Soon, only Qi Yanzhu remained in the room.

No one knew what Qi Yanzhu was waiting for—except himself.

He was waiting for an imperial decree that had yet to arrive.

Ever since the report of Qi Zongbi's disastrous defeat on the Northwestern front arrived last month, Qi Yanzhu had known that the situation was beyond saving. Northern Qiang had two possible paths.

Their first option was to seize the momentum and press southward from the northwest, completely breaking through Qi Zongbi's defenses. It was unlikely that Qi Zongbi would sit idle, in fact he would certainly pull back, reorganizing his lines. If he could stall the Northern Qiang long enough, their momentum would wane, and their advance would falter.

The second path lay at his feet, in Liangzhou Prefecture. With the Northwestern front retreating, it could no longer form an effective pincer with Liangzhou, so the city was cut off from reinforcements. The Northern Qiang only needed to shift their forces toward Liangzhou and merge with the army already encircling the city. When that happened, Liangzhou would fall without a fight. Once the city crumbled, the vast central plains would be left bare before the invading horde like a defenseless maiden.

"Even a fool could figure out which choice they'd make!"

At that thought, a flash of fury crossed Qi Yanzhu's eyes. He couldn't keep himself from slamming his fist onto the table. "Qi Zongbi has damned me!"

Even as he said it, he knew Qi Zongbi wasn't entirely at fault. The Northwestern front had been stretched too thin. In the end, Qi Zongbi was only one man; he couldn't be everywhere at once.

After all, no general could guarantee they would be undefeated.

Many had already realized that the Liangzhou Prefecture was beyond saving. That was why, half a month ago, Qi Yanzhu had ordered his garrison to evacuate any remaining civilians, urging them to pack their belongings and flee southward.

And yet, he himself had not withdrawn. By all logic, he should have led his army in retreat long ago. Every extra day spent in Liangzhou brought him one step closer to being completely surrounded by the Northern Qiang. His officers had urged him to leave time and time again, but each time, Qi Yanzhu had given them the same reply.

"Wait a little longer."

It was all he could say. No one else understood the burdens weighing on his mind.

He had been a general for many years. Although he had faced opposition from the factions in the court, his battlefield achievements remained undeniable. It was precisely because of that, he valued his reputation all the more.

To others, the imperial decree was just a formality, but it meant everything to Qi Yanzhu.

With an imperial decree, his retreat would be justified. If he left without one, he would only please the factions eager to label him as a deserter.

But where was that damned imperial decree? Could no one in the entire imperial court see the reality of the situation?!

He left the Command Post, ascending the city wall. Resting his hand against the battlements, he gazed toward the Northern Qiang encampment in the distance. They hadn't launched an assault for a long time now, but the quieter they were, the uneasier Qi Yanzhu felt. He knew exactly what this lull meant. They were preserving their forces, waiting for reinforcements.

They were experiencing the silence before the storm.

***

That night, in the imperial capital.

On a secluded path outside Tianjing, an unremarkable carriage stood still by the roadside, as if waiting for something.

After a long while, the faint sound of wheels and hooves drifted through the night. Another carriage approached from the distance, steadily drawing closer.

The two carriages halted a few yards apart. From the waiting carriage, a figure stepped down, bowing respectfully toward the approaching vehicle.

Silence lingered within the approaching carriage for a moment before the curtain was lifted. A figure emerged, assisted by the coachman as he stepped onto the ground.

The man who had bowed became even more deferential. He stepped forward quickly to support the newcomer and led him toward the waiting carriage.

Once the two men boarded, the first carriage immediately turned around and retraced its path, vanishing into the night.

With a light command from the coachman, the waiting carriage began moving steadily toward the city gates.

The city gates loomed in the distance, the towering walls like a beast crouching in the darkness.

As the carriage approached, patrolling soldiers raised their torches and stepped forward to conduct an inspection.

Just then, a hand extended from within the carriage, holding up a token.

The soldier took a brief glance and immediately stepped aside, bowing in apology. With a wave of his hand, the massive gates swung open without a sound.

The carriage rolled through the streets of the imperial capital, the silence of the night broken only by the rhythmic clatter of wheels grinding against the stone-paved roads.

After a long journey, the carriage finally came to a halt before a grand estate. The coachman dismounted and moved to lift the curtain, but before he could, a hand pushed it aside. One of the two men waiting inside clamored out and extended his hand..

The man still within the cabin removed his hood, revealing deep, penetrating eyes. Strands of silver had begun to weave through his black hair. He lifted his gaze toward a gleaming new entrance plaque. In the dim light, the golden characters read: Li Manor.

"Assistant Minister Li," the man murmured softly.

The waiting man immediately bowed slightly and leaned in. "Your Excellency, please instruct me."

The other cast him a sidelong glance. "In all this time, I imagine you've scraped plenty of silver from the local officials?"

Assistant Minister Li chuckled. "Your Excellency jests. These were mere tokens of respect from my disciples—how could I refuse?"

The man sighed, shaking his head before striding into the manor first.

Assistant Minister Li lingered a moment, cautiously scanning the surroundings. Only after ensuring that no Imperial Guards or Eastern Depot spies were lurking nearby did he quietly shut the door.

No one would have imagined that in the midst of the crisis on the Northwestern Front, Qi Zongbi had secretly returned to the capital.

This Assistant Minister Li was none other than Li Qingtang, the Assistant Minister of Rites. To the imperial court, he was merely another bureaucrat among the ranks of civil officials who had no ties to Qi Zongbi's faction. Few knew that his entire rise to power had been secretly orchestrated by Qi Zongbi's hand.

Aside from the two of them, no third person knew that Li Qingtang was a hidden agent Qi Zongbi planted within the imperial court.

As the two passed through the front hall and into the inner chambers, Qi Zongbi casually inquired about various matters.

"Is our spy within the Imperial Guards still in place?"

Li Qingtang walked with his head lowered, answering every question without hesitation. "He remains in position, but the time isn't ripe yet. Best to let him lie low a while longer. I am also investigating the new Imperial Guard Commander, Lin Kebiao. No one in this court is clean. The moment I find his weak spot, I'll impeach him and have him removed."

"And what of the Eastern Depot?" Qi Zongbi gave a slight nod. "Yue Dou is now the Head Eunuch of the Ministry of Ceremonies, isn't he? Who holds power over the Eastern Depot?"

Li Qingtang stole a quick glance at Qi Zongbi's expression. "It is officially overseen by Eunuch Chen, but in truth, it remains under Yue Dou's control. Eunuch Chen is one of his men."

"As expected." Qi Zongbi nodded.

"Oh, right," Qi Zongbi suddenly recalled. "Why hasn't Liangzhou Prefecture withdrawn its forces? When did the court issue the imperial decree?"

"Rest assured, my lord." A cold smile curled at the corner of Li Qingtang's lips. "Qi Yanzhu will likely never receive that imperial decree."

Qi Zongbi's expression changed instantly. His brows furrowed deeply as he stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean by that?"

Seeing Qi Zongbi's face darken, Li Qingtang hurriedly explained, "I only sought to ease your burdens, my lord. You had a setback in the Northwest, so why should Qi Yanzhu be allowed to escape unscathed?"

Qi Zongbi's eyes widened in shock. He seized Li Qingtang's arm in a vice grip. "You intercepted and murdered the imperial messenger?! Li Qingtang, you have some nerve!"

"Spare me, my lord!" Li Qingtang paled in terror, hastily begging for mercy. "It was a necessary measure! Now, Qi Yanzhu will either die in battle before he can retreat, or he will be forced to flee without a decree. Either way, we will have grounds to impeach him! How could we possibly hold him accountable if he received an imperial decree?"

Qi Zongbi flung Li Qingtang aside, stamping his foot in fury. "This concerns the fate of the nation! How could you be so reckless?!"