Chapter 25: A Superficial Compromise

They had nothing to say, and the refugees behind them could naturally understand such simple logic as well. One after another, they began shouting their agreement.

Though these refugees feared Lu Xiaoyuan’s authority—even the old matchmaker and the others dared not offend him—they still possessed basic human feeling.

If not for Xue Chengqian, every one of them, along with whatever family members they had left, would have died beneath the blades of the Northern barbarians. For such a life-saving kindness, they could at least speak a few words in his defense.

Hearing everyone acknowledge Xue Chengqian’s contribution, Lu Xiaoyuan suddenly threw back his head and laughed.

“So the marvelous stratagem used today was your idea, Xue Chengqian. Truly, you are an exceptional man. A merit such as this is naturally something no one can take from you.”

“It is not that I meant to say Lieutenant Luo Fang contributed nothing. I merely wished to remind him not to become too arrogant, and to understand the importance of standing united against a powerful enemy.”

“Luo Fang and Xue Chengqian, you have both rendered great service. I shall certainly submit a memorial to the imperial court recommending you. Once the court sends its officials, you will surely receive generous rewards.”

Xue Chengqian could not help but sneer.

Another empty promise.

Lu Xiaoyuan was the commander of Riverwatch City. As an important northern stronghold of the imperial court, Riverwatch had gathered so many troops that the city must also contain abundant supplies to support the army in battle.

Yet he had not mentioned any immediate reward. Everything would have to wait until the imperial court sent someone to bestow it.

Who knew what he would say when he submitted his memorial?

Who knew when the imperial court would send an envoy to the northern frontier?

Xue Chengqian could not simply seize supplies, weapons, or even military authority from Lu Xiaoyuan. But neither could he allow Lu Xiaoyuan to dismiss their achievements with a few casual words.

So Xue Chengqian deliberately echoed Lu Xiaoyuan’s statement.

“Your Excellency is right. The Northern barbarians are savage by nature. After suffering such a major defeat today, they may well send troops to retaliate.”

Lu Xiaoyuan paused, then asked doubtfully, “Since you have a way to melt the ice on the Fury River, the river can once again become a natural barrier. Though the Northern barbarians are foolish, surely they would not attempt to cross it by force in the dead of winter?”

Xue Chengqian sneered. “Does Your Excellency know that my method of speeding the thaw requires a special kind of soil to be spread across the ice beforehand, and the timing must be calculated precisely?”

“We can prepare in advance only if we know where the Northern barbarians intend to cross and attack. If we wished to melt the entire Fury River, the manpower and resources required would be impossible to estimate.”

“Moreover, winter has already arrived. We may melt the ice today, but who knows when it will freeze again? The Northern barbarians possess many excellent cavalrymen who come and go like the wind. Commander Lu, are you truly confident that you can keep them trapped on the opposite bank of the Fury River?”

Lu Xiaoyuan’s expression changed at once.

He had assumed that, with the strange method devised by Xue Chengqian, the natural barrier of the Fury River could once again serve its purpose.

He had not expected the method to have such severe limitations.

Fortunately, Xue Chengqian had revealed them himself. Otherwise, if Lu Xiaoyuan had mobilized the city’s elite troops to spread the soil and melt the ice, only for the Northern cavalry to take a long route across the river and launch a surprise attack, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Wait.

Lu Xiaoyuan looked at Xue Chengqian in surprise.

This man had always shown himself to be exceptionally shrewd. Why had he taken the initiative to reveal the weakness of the ice-melting method?

If Lu Xiaoyuan had been in his place, he would have concealed it as much as possible, perhaps even exaggerated its effectiveness, then found a way to lure Riverwatch City’s elite troops outside.

Lu Xiaoyuan could not determine Xue Chengqian’s intentions. But he had already made up his mind. No matter how eloquently Xue Chengqian spoke, he would hold firmly to his original decision and send not a single soldier beyond Riverwatch City.

After pondering briefly, he sighed. “In that case, Riverwatch City remains under threat from the Northern cavalry.”

“Fortunately, Heaven has sent us two outstanding men. Since you have defeated the Northern barbarians once, I trust you will be able to hold back their cavalry in the future as well and keep the people safe. The defense outside the city shall be entrusted to you.”

Luo Fang’s expression changed.

Even a fool could tell that Lu Xiaoyuan intended to preserve his strength and had no desire to send troops outside the city to fight.

When the battle with the Northern barbarians had been at its fiercest, Luo Fang had sent Kang Yu to the city gate to request reinforcements, yet no one had answered.

The moment Lu Xiaoyuan heard Xue Chengqian say that the threat had not passed and that the Northern barbarians might still reach Riverwatch City to take revenge, he immediately tossed the entire burden back onto them.

Before Luo Fang could respond, Xue Chengqian clasped his fists.

“How could we disobey? However, we struggled greatly even against a hundred Northern cavalrymen. If we are to fight them to the death again, the strength of our Righteous Pacification Camp must be increased.”

Lu Xiaoyuan had assumed that Xue Chengqian intended to use the opportunity to demand reinforcements. But he had emphasized only the Righteous Pacification Camp. After a moment’s thought, Lu Xiaoyuan suddenly understood what he meant.

“Rest assured. Since I have granted you command of the Righteous Pacification Camp, you may naturally find ways to expand its strength so that you can face the enemy.”

“In addition to the provisions and supplies I allocate to you, all spoils captured in battles against the Northern barbarians shall also belong to your Righteous Pacification Camp.”

At these words, Lieutenant Huang grew anxious.

“Your Excellency, how can that be? The Northern barbarians’ warhorses are exceptionally fine. Even our Imperial Guards—”

“Hmm?”

Lieutenant Huang did not finish. Lu Xiaoyuan’s fierce glare made him shrink back.

Only then did Xue Chengqian reluctantly offer another military salute.

“Your servant accepts the order.”

Seeing him declare his acceptance on the spot, Luo Fang hesitated, then saluted as well. He made no further argument about their achievements or Riverwatch’s garrison abandoning them to their deaths.

That did not mean he had let the matter go.

When Lu Xiaoyuan left them behind and, protected by his guards, hurried into the midst of the refugees to win their support, Luo Fang, Kang Yu, and the others pulled Xue Chengqian aside.

“Boy Xue! What were you doing just now? How could you let Lu Xiaoyuan deceive you so easily?”

“We have just rendered great service. As the commander of Riverwatch, he should naturally reward us generously. Passing the matter off to the imperial court is nothing but an excuse!”

“And after they stood by while we faced death, they should at least have been forced to give us an explanation in public.”

Hearing Luo Fang fire off one objection after another, Xue Chengqian slowly asked in return, “In your opinion, Old Luo, if we had confronted Lu Xiaoyuan on the spot, could we have forced him to publicly promise to send troops to protect the people outside the city?”

“And even if he had agreed then, would you have trusted them?”

Luo Fang was rendered speechless.

Kang Yu said unwillingly, “At worst, we could simply fall out with that corrupt official! Letting us face death without sending help was bad enough, but in front of everyone just now, he was clearly trying to suppress Old Luo.”

“And the old matchmaker and Liu Shang—those two survived because of us, yet they stabbed us in the back. If Lu Xiaoyuan refuses to send the Imperial Guards outside the city and the Northern barbarians attack again, do they really think they can survive on their own?”

Xue Chengqian sighed. “Do not forget that, right now, we must fight with all our strength merely to struggle for survival. When staying alive is already so difficult, what grounds do we have to act out of momentary pride?”

“Rather than openly turning against Lu Xiaoyuan, we should consider how to expand our own strength and truly take our future into our own hands.”