Volume One, Chapter 15: Winning Over the Marquis of Eastshire

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Lu Yunduan looked at Luo Yi with a grave expression and hurriedly asked, “What happened?”

Luo Yi appeared dazed, panic written all over his face.

“My lord, the Marquis of Eastern Province has arrived at the city walls with an army of sixty thousand.”

The news struck Lu Yunduan like a bolt from the blue.

What he had feared most had finally happened. His troops had suffered heavy casualties, his men were hungry and his horses exhausted, and morale had plummeted. Moreover, Yongning City belonged to Eastern Province in the first place, so neither the army nor the people could be counted on to remain loyal. To go to war with the Marquis of Eastern Province under such circumstances would be nothing short of suicide.

Besides, from the very beginning, Lu Yunduan had regarded the marquis as an ally, not an enemy.

“Luo Yi, lock up the prisoners. Everyone else, follow me to the eastern gate. We will receive the Marquis of Eastern Province.”

Lu Yunduan spurred his horse toward the eastern gate. He ordered the gates thrown wide open, then rode out with only Gan Ning and Zhao Tieqi flanking him.

Behind the gate, however, several thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry stood ready for battle.

The Marquis of Eastern Province, Shi Chenghua, had led sixty thousand troops straight to Yongning City.

When Shi Chenghua saw Lu Yunduan slowly emerge, surprise flickered across his face. How had he come to be in Yongning City? It seemed the city had fallen into his hands.

“Lu Yunduan, you are certainly bold. You have not returned to Western Province and have instead dared to appear in my Eastern Province. Are you courting death?”

Shi Chenghua laughed contemptuously and pointed at him.

“Marquis of Eastern Province, it has been a long time. I never expected our reunion to begin with drawn swords.”

Lu Yunduan laughed along with him.

As the laughter faded, Shi Chenghua’s expression turned stern. His eyes fixed on Lu Yunduan like a tiger watching its prey.

Then he threatened him. “Lu Yunduan, for your father’s sake, leave Eastern Province at once and I will spare your life. If you refuse, my sixty thousand troops will show you what true hell is.”

At his words, the sixty thousand cavalrymen behind him bristled with hostility, their sharp eyes fixed on Lu Yunduan as they stood ready to charge.

Lu Yunduan was not the least bit frightened. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed.

“Marquis of Eastern Province, why be so hostile? What good would killing me do you?”

Shi Chenghua drew his sword and pointed it at Lu Yunduan.

“If I kill you and deliver your head to the imperial court, it will be a great accomplishment. Who could resist such an enormous reward?”

“When the birds are gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning hare is dead, the hound is boiled. Marquis of Eastern Province, do you not understand that what happens to me today may well happen to you tomorrow?”

His words shocked everyone present, especially Shi Chenghua.

Was Lu Yunduan not supposed to be a wastrel, as the rumors claimed? How could he possess such profound insight?

Could it be that his years of debauchery had all been an act? If so, then the Lu Yunduan standing before them was unfathomable indeed.

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A man with such a deep and calculating nature could not be underestimated.

“Marquis of Eastern Province, you have no way out now. Surely you have heard that the imperial court sent an army of fifty thousand from the Upper Capital to attack Eastern Province.”

Fear seized Shi Chenghua. He had assumed it was merely a rumor, never imagining it would prove true.

“Where is that army of fifty thousand?”

Lu Yunduan smiled wickedly, murderous intent filling his eyes as he spoke with a ferocious air. “The fifty thousand troops have already been defeated by me. Mu has been captured, and Li Longli and the others have been killed.”

Shi Chenghua’s composure finally vanished, replaced by terror.

He had never imagined that Lu Yunduan could defeat an imperial army of fifty thousand with only a few thousand men. Even less had he expected Lu Yunduan to kill so many generals of the imperial court.

Now, even if he leaped into the Yellow River, he could never wash away the stain. The imperial court would inevitably believe that he intended to rebel.

“Lu Yunduan, how dare you destroy the imperial army!”

“Hahaha…”

“Marquis of Eastern Province, I acted under the banner of Yongning City in Eastern Province. Outsiders will not think I was responsible. They will believe it was you—the Marquis of Eastern Province—who plotted rebellion.”

Shi Chenghua was so enraged that he spat blood, coughing up two or three mouthfuls as fury overwhelmed him.

“Lu Yunduan, you have set me up! How dare you pin the capital crime of rebellion on me? You are utterly vicious!”

“As the saying goes, a true man must be ruthless. As a great man, what is wrong with employing a little poison and cunning?”

[Anger Points +999]

[Anger Points +999]

[Anger Points +999]

Shi Chenghua was so furious that he could no longer speak. He could only spit blood.

“You… you…”

“Marquis of Eastern Province, we are grasshoppers tied to the same rope now. Killing me will only hasten your own death.”

Shi Chenghua had no answer. He could not refute Lu Yunduan, for every word he had spoken was supported by reason.

Gradually, Shi Chenghua was swayed. He signaled the soldiers behind him not to act rashly.

Lu Yunduan looked at him meaningfully, every word carrying a deeper implication.

“Now, can we have a proper discussion?”

Shi Chenghua considered the matter again and again. At this point, he had no other choice. If he wanted to stay alive, he could only cooperate with Lu Yunduan.

Shi Chenghua lowered his weapon, and the soldiers behind him put away their bows.

Seeing this, Lu Yunduan urged his horse forward and came to his side.

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“Marquis of Eastern Province, come into the city and let us continue this discussion.”

One of the generals beside Shi Chenghua hurriedly objected. “My lord, you must not! One must always guard against others. Entering the city now is far too dangerous.”

Shi Chenghua raised a hand, signaling him to say no more.

“It is of no concern. Even if you gave him a hundred chances, he would not dare harm me. Hear my command: if I have not returned within an hour, flatten Yongning City.”

“Your order will be obeyed!”

The response rolled out like thunder, a constant reminder to Lu Yunduan that if the hour passed without Shi Chenghua emerging, the marquis’s iron cavalry would raze Yongning City to the ground.

Shi Chenghua then entered Yongning City with more than fifty men. The eastern gate, however, remained open the entire time.

At the city lord’s residence, only Lu Yunduan and Shi Chenghua sat in the main hall.

Shi Chenghua dispensed with pleasantries and asked directly, “Lu Yunduan, why did you summon me here?”

Lu Yunduan did not beat around the bush. He went straight to the point.

“To join forces and rebel against the Li dynasty, of course.”

Shi Chenghua let out a cold laugh.

“What benefit would that bring me?”

“The benefit of staying alive.”

“If that is all, why should I cooperate with you? At present, you are a blazing-hot coal. Whoever becomes associated with you will be made the target of everyone’s hostility.”

“Because I can keep you alive. I am the only one who can.”

Lu Yunduan stared straight at Shi Chenghua, the determination in his eyes beyond that of an ordinary man.

Shi Chenghua thought that Lu Yunduan was probably telling the truth.

After all, titles, offices, and noble ranks meant nothing to him now. Nothing was more important than staying alive.

Once dead, he would have nothing.

“Very well. I will cooperate with you.”

“Do not be so hasty. Before we cooperate, you must first do something to prove your resolve to rebel against the Li dynasty.”

Shi Chenghua asked curiously, “What?”

Lu Yunduan replied unhurriedly, “Kill someone.”