Chapter 027: Each With Their Own Plans

“Marshal Hong is so generous, giving us so many supplies?” Zhou Boxiong asked in surprise.

“Of course, these supplies won’t be given all at once, but in several batches. At the same time, Marshal Hong hopes that Qingyun Stronghold will begin to contact the other nearby mountain forts and find ways to gather them under one banner. We can also provide some assistance in this.” Wei Qian said. “What Marshal Hong wants is for all the mountain forts of the Daba Mountains to unite under his banner within a year, to become a thorn at the border of the Xia Kingdom—ready to harass and attack the Xia army and their borderlands if necessary.”

“To unite all the nearby strongholds, attack the Xia border and their forces, and for that, Marshal Hong is only giving us a few supplies?” Zhou Tianming pressed.

“No, these supplies are only to help Qingyun Stronghold develop and grow, and to unite the surrounding strongholds. Once you have achieved this, Marshal Hong will officially form you into an army. Chief Ye, you can be appointed a second-rank general, and everyone present here can become third-rank generals, entering Wu Dynasty and enjoying glory and wealth.” Wei Qian replied with a smile.

“I appreciate Marshal Hong’s goodwill, but I will need to think it over and discuss with the others in the stronghold. General Wei, what is the situation in the Wu Dynasty now? How old is the crown prince? Which of the princes have come of age?” Ye Qingyun nodded, then suddenly inquired about the crown prince and the other princes, following Fang Xian’s previous reminder.

As expected, when Ye Qingyun asked these questions, both Wei Qian and Huang Yuantao looked somewhat startled and exchanged a swift glance. Though they quickly looked away, Ye Qingyun caught the moment.

“Well, the Crown Prince is in his twenties now, his health is so-so. The princes who have come of age are the Third, Fifth, and Ninth princes, but most of them are already governing their fiefs elsewhere,” Wei Qian answered with a smile.

“Oh, I’ve been away from the Wu Dynasty for a long time and know little of its current affairs, so I was just asking at random, nothing more. Old Third, you’ve worked hard this time. General Wei, since you’ve come such a long way, don’t rush to leave. Please stay at our stronghold for a few days and enjoy our scenery. We’ll decide on this matter in three days,” said Ye Qingyun.

“Elder brother, I heard the stronghold has a formula that helps strengthen the body. Would it be possible to let me have a look?” Huang Yuantao rose and cupped his fist.

“Oh, the formula was developed by Fang Xian. He meant to give it to me as Hongxiu’s betrothal gift, but since I don’t know much about herbs, I let him keep it himself. Of course, all warriors in the stronghold who are of second-tier strength or above may bathe in the medicated bath at the infirmary every night, but herbs can’t be taken away, to avoid the formula leaking out. You and your son, and General Wei, can all go to the infirmary—Erniu will arrange the bath for you. It does help a bit in consolidating your foundation,” Ye Qingyun replied.

“Very well.” Huang Yuantao and Wei Qian had previously discussed trying to obtain this formula. If they could present it to the Ninth Prince, they would surely be handsomely rewarded.

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After returning to their own courtyard, Huang Yuantao stopped his son as he was about to enter his room and fixed him with a stare. “Back in the hall, Hongxiu didn’t look at you even once from start to finish. That means you hold no place in her heart at all, not compared to Fang Xian, who’s only been here a few months. You should realize this by now. Helping the Ninth Prince take control of Qingyun Stronghold and uniting the surrounding forts is what matters most. When we support the Ninth Prince to seize the throne, both of us will be in high positions, and women will be plentiful. Do you understand?”

Huang Shuhua’s body trembled, then he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale—but his eyes regained their brightness. “Father, you’re right. I won’t let this trouble me anymore. But Fang Xian—I must kill him with my own hands. In the end, Hongxiu will still be mine,” he said darkly.

“As long as you understand. Zhou Tianming and Ye Hongxiu have already advanced to first-class fighters. You need to make full use of the stronghold’s formula and temper your body. Strive to break through to first-class soon—only then will the Ninth Prince truly value you,” Huang Yuantao continued to instruct.

“Our young friend has already understood a lot. Don’t worry, Brother Huang. We have plenty of experts outside the mountain, in the Qingyang City military camp, including quite a few first-class fighters. If Fang Xian ever leaves the mountain, we can ambush and capture him for your son to deal with personally,” Wei Qian said with a nod.

That night, Huang Yuantao took Wei Qian and Huang Shuhua to the infirmary, where they were led to a private chamber and experienced a medicinal bath. It did have a faint effect on the body—one soak was roughly equivalent to a full day’s hard training.

“The formula works, but the effect is still rather weak, and it won’t mean much to the Ninth Prince. To use this to train third-tier warriors would take more than two years, and to train a second-tier fighter would take at least five. The real issue is the huge amount of herbs required,” they discussed after the bath. Only Huang Shuhua felt a noticeably stronger effect; the others found it minimal, so they gave up trying to obtain the formula.

What they didn’t know was that the bathwater they used had already been used by others, and only retained a tenth of its original potency.

Meanwhile, Fang Xian had issued a strict order to all those undergoing special training: they were not to discuss the effects of the medicinal baths or their progress with anyone except him and the old chief.

“I think if I keep bathing for about half a year, I should be able to break through to first-class,” Huang Shuhua said happily. For him, the effect was somewhat greater, but still limited.

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Although Huang Yuantao found it odd that Ye Hongxiu and Zhou Tianming had broken through to first-class in such a short time, he knew there’d be no point in asking them, so he let it go for now.

That evening at supper, Ye Qingyun had Hongxiu relay the events of the day in the main hall to Fang Xian, who asked for more details.

“What do you think?” Ye Qingyun inquired.

“There’s some truth and some lies in what they said. For example, Marshal Hong wanting to use Qingyun Stronghold to unite the nearby forts is probably true, but I suspect Marshal Hong is backed by a prince. So they likely only represent a certain prince, and if we get involved, we might get caught up in a struggle for the throne,” Fang Xian replied after some thought.

“What makes you say so?” Ye Qingyun pressed.

“When you suddenly asked about the Crown Prince and the other princes, they exchanged glances—that was one flaw. Also, if Wei Qian was here on behalf of the court to recruit us, he would’ve mentioned more than just Marshal Hong, and he would’ve brought an imperial edict. But none of that happened, so they’re representing a prince, not the court. You surely have spies outside the mountain, Father—send word for them to find out about the Crown Prince. If he’s in good health and has great prestige, there shouldn’t be a succession struggle. But if he’s unwell, then the princes are almost certainly vying for the throne,” Fang Xian explained as he ate.

Ye Qingyun nodded thoughtfully. “So what should we do—refuse outright, or play along? And what’s the purpose of their message about inviting disciples from the Five Venoms Sect into the mountains?”

“My suggestion is to agree to cooperate for now, and get as many supplies as we can. At the same time, request a large amount of common herbs. We’ll secretly train our own strong fighters while using their help to unite the surrounding forts and expand our numbers. But one thing: they must not be allowed to meddle in the stronghold’s management. If they need us to do something, we’ll send people to cooperate, but we won’t accept their command,” Fang Xian advised.

For him, expanding the population of the stronghold meant a greater harvest of “chives,” since in the past month his famous points had only increased sporadically.