Rising Phoenix

With Prince Jin Siyu opposing them, the war did not look good for Tian Sheng. All the Imperial Courts plans relied on a sure victory, so the new General of the Army Chunyu Hong was under incredible pressure.

Letter after letter came in from the Imperial Court, urging this and suggesting that, but Chunyu Hong knew that the time had not yet come.

After successive defeats and most of their cavalry, scouts, and messengers dead, another loss would tip the war into an impossible situation.

"General! Let me take three thousand men to raid Qi County! Jin Siyu must be low on manpower, and he even has men stations to guard Mount Gedamu. There's no way he has many soldiers in Qi County, if we attack now we will surely win it back!"

The clean faced young man was neatly dressed and freshly rested, nothing like the weather-beaten veterans who knew the northern border well.

Before he could even finish speaking, many eyes had already flicked away dismissively.

"Young Master Yao," A smiling voice yawned, "While it is true that the Qiu County is not heavily manned, their neighbor Qiao County is close to their north camp and heavily guarded. As soon as news spread of the Qi County attack, they would immediately cross the Gedamu Mountains through Qian Jin Ditch. You would find yourself between an anvil and a hammer… hehe, Young Master, you are young and fresh and excited, eager to achieve merit. We all understand, but a war is not a story, brute courage is not enough… haha."

The calm man smiled, rubbing his knee as he left the final words unsaid as everyone else smiled in agreement.

"Vice-Commander Yao has set down his pen to pick up the sword, his bravery and patriotism is admirable. The Grand Secretary has raised an honorable son." Chunyu Hong quickly offered, mediating. "A group of suspicious mountain bandits have been spotted in the Gedamu Mountains, and we suspect them of colluding with Da Yue. Vice-Commander Yao can take a battalion of soldiers to spurred the bandits, clearing away one of our worries."

Vice-Commander Yao was Yao Yangyu, one of the Young Masters of Qing Ming Academy. Everyone who had joined the venture to South Sea had been greatly rewarded on their return, and Yao Yangyu had even been offered an office in the Kung Fu Department of the War Ministry, but he had refused and asked for a position on the battlefront alongside some of his classmates.

In the eyes of Chunyu Hong and the various veteran Generals and Lieutenants, these young men were treasured porcelain — too delicate to offend and too precious to use. These youths had all come to gather military merit for future promotion; in what world would Chunyu Hong actually use them to fight a desperate war?

"Suppressing bandits!" Yao Yangyu cried out angrily, his white face distorted with fury. " You want me to take a battalion to handle a few hundred bandits? To use a cow cleaver to kill a chicken? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

The young man jumped to his feet, kicking over his stool as he slapped open the tent's curtain-door. With a bellyful of anger, he ignored the disdainful eyes behind and and charged up a tall hill before lifting his chin and screaming into the clouds: "AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

His angry shout startled a soaring eagle but did little else, and once it was over, the Dijing Young Master slumped his shoulders and stared off into the desolate autumn landscape, grass withering as frost crept over everything. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since the South Sea expedition.

In that year, seas had transformed into mulberry fields, and mulberry fields into seas.

He could not forget how they had swept through South Sea, defusing unruly crowds, helping after tragedies, pitting wits against the entire South Sea government, and even destroying the cunning Chang Family's rebellion. Danger and excitement and greatness! But all gone in the blink of an eye, and the young man he so admired now vanished.

On their return to Dijing, everyone had changed. Even His Highness had transformed, his playful philandering replaced by silent gloom.

Just thinking about those days brought an ember of fervor into Yao Yangyu's eyes — those had been the most exciting days of his life, but with his leader's disappearance, nothing could remain.

Footfalls crunched behind him and heavy hands patted his shoulder. Yao Yangyu did not need to turn to recognized Yu Liang and the other Qing Ming students who had accompanied him to the northern battlefront.

They were all the same, safely bundled away in the Tian Sheng Army Camp, wiling away their days in frustration.

"I say," Yao Yangyu said suddenly, stirring from his daze. "Do you remember what Master Wei once said?"

"What"

"When the Yan Family were causing trouble at their Ancestral Temple, Master Wei ordered Prince Helian and I to the neighboring county to steal their grain. Prince Helian asked what they should do if the official refused to obey." Yao Yangyu replied, his voice cold and biting. "Master Wei said, them we could kill."

Yu Liang, Huang Baozi and the others chuckled, quiet yearning on their faces.

"Now I want to ask, if they refuse to let us fight, what should we do?"

He spun on his feet and laughed, striding down the hill.

"This war we can fight!"

"Yangyu, you must be cautious…"

"Yangyu, disobeying military orders is a capital offense…"

Yao Yangyu wore his armor and mounted his horse by the camp gate, chuckling at his friends. "When have I disobeyed a military order? They want me to suppress bandits, then I'll go suppress bandits. If we chase the bandits too far, then that's hardly a crime is it?"

"You want to retake Qi County with a thousand soldiers?" Yu Liang guessed, his eyes gleaming.

"I said nothing!" Yao Yangyu swatted with his horsewhip, leaving behind clouds of dust as he led his soldiers to the field.

Yu Liang and Huang Baozi exchanged looks before mounting their steeds and following.

That night, Yao Yangyu swept through the Gedamu Mountain Range, routing a couple hundred bandits and hunting them down before slowly edging into Qi County.

When the cow cleaver was unsheathed, a few chickens would not satisfy it.

Yao Yangyu was a gifted strategist, and used the night as cover instead of charging through the county. His men began digging pits every couple hundred meters, each about the size of a fire pit for cooking meals, dotting twenty miles of land from the Qianjin Ditch border into Qi County.

Da Yue had retaken Qi County a few days ago, and the current intelligence suggested that Tian Sheng was busy mustering armies at their main camp. Both sides were preparing for a final engagement, so the Da Yue soldiers in Qi County were more lax, trusting in the protection of the neighboring Qiao County and assuming that Qi County would not be the main battlefield.

The county rested under the peaceful moon, a few spearmen guards atop the main city wall almost drifting into sleep. They were completely unprepared for Yao Yangyu's men sneaking through and quietly picking off their sentries.

The surprise attack went smoothly. The Tian Sheng soldiers climbed over the city walls, quickly isolating various enemy squads in the poorly garrisoned city. By the time Garrison Commander Fang Dacheng realized something was happening, Yao Yangyu had already conquered the entire city and was besieging Fang Dacheng's headquarters.