Blind Bei then said, "My lord, it’s not a question of *if* they will, but that they *definitely* will." Blind Bei chuckled. "To be honest, I truly never conceived of this ho-swapping strategy before. But now, speaking with the benefit of hindsight, it feels entirely reasonable.
The emperors on both sides are different, and so are their generals. The two Lords dared to leave the Yan Emperor in Yanjing to fend for himself. The Yan Emperor must have known the strategic plan in advance, yet he also dared to place his own life, and simultaneously his capital city, in such a precarious situation.
However, the Emperor of Qian State, the Qian court, all the Qian officials, and the Qian State army—which has been suppressed and tad by civil officials for so many years—they wouldn’t dare to truly gamble on who could swap territories faster. They will certainly return to reinforce; indeed, they must."
Zheng Fan closed his eyes and began to recall the journey south. It had been mostly across plains, vast and open. The border armies of Qian State will abandon their strongholds, leave their fortified camps, and rush back as reinforcents. And then, what awaits them will be...
"Blind Bei, have you realized? The solution we’ve been wracking our brains for, day and night, turns out to be this simple."
Blind Bei remarked with feeling, "My lord, it seems our current perspective is still lacking."
"Yes, our perspective is still lacking."
Zheng Fan shook his head and looked towards the city. The sounds of fighting from within were gradually fading.
In truth, once the iron cavalry successfully breached the gates, the city’s remaining resistance was rely a formality. Moreover, this formality didn’t seem to be carried out with much conviction.
By now, Old Xiao and Little Ma had steadied themselves. They stared apprehensively at Zheng Fan and his n—at these... Yan bastards.
Zheng Fan then pointed to the suonas in the hands of the master and apprentice and said, "Play a tune."
"Ah, yes, yes, sir! To be able to play the suona for such a distinguished personage is a blessing my apprentice and I have accumulated over eight lifetis!"
With that, Old Xiao slapped Little Ma on the head, who was still standing there dumbstruck.
The two of them puffed up their cheeks and began to play.
Initially, the tune was joyful and lively. But after playing for a short while, tears stread down the faces of both master and apprentice. It wasn’t that they were concerned about the nation’s future; it was purely a genuine display of their terror.
Naturally, the suona’s lody began to turn desolate.
Zheng Fan was not angry at all but instead turned to Blind Bei and said, "This piece is quite interesting. It manages to express both traditional roles of the suona."
Blind Bei nodded.
Fanli, not understanding any of this, simply continued to stand there.
Zheng Fan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
THUD! THUD!
Old Xiao dared not play any longer. He imdiately fell to his knees and kowtowed, pleading, "Your Eminence, spare my life! Your Eminence, spare this old man’s life! I didn’t do it on purpose, I really didn’t!"
Seeing his master kneel, Little Ma also quickly knelt and began to cry.
A great personage like him would naturally want to hear festive music, yet the master and apprentice had sohow both ended up playing a funeral dirge. It’s all over, it’s all over. We’re going to die, we’re going to die...
"Get up. You played very well indeed. I am quite satisfied."
Zheng Fan said this. Gazing at the sun, already nearing dusk, he remarked with deep feeling, "When I first heard the suona, I didn’t grasp its true aning; listening again, I am the man in the coffin."
Zheng Fan was quite pleased with this atmosphere and the sentint of the tune. However, Liang Cheng, galloping over from a distance on horseback, shattered Zheng Fan’s entire reverie with a single sentence: "My lord, Li Fusheng wants to massacre the city!"
"Damn it!"
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