This could be considered "deception," but neither the Blind Man nor Siniang saw anything wrong with it.
Ultimately, the Demon King's kindness was rely a matter of his current interest.
Among the seven Demon Kings, all had blood-stained hands; not a single one was a saint.
"And the fourth step?"
"The fourth step is optional. My lord's seals and other such items are all here with . Mimicking my lord's tone, I will write a morandum to the court and another to Lord Jingnan. Since we've been stationed at Snow Sea Pass, surely they'll provide so support, right? Although Yan State has fought several large-scale wars in recent years, leaving the populace sowhat weary, a lean cal is still bigger than a horse. It should still be possible to squeeze out so settlers to cultivate Snow Sea Pass. This Emperor of Yan State is a man of great vision and strategy; he understands the importance of Snow Sea Pass. He won't be stingy. Moreover, once our lord takes up the post of Commander of Snow Sea Pass, he'll be a valuable commodity. We can learn from the Earl of North Border's household: whatever we lack, we just ask the court for it. No need for us to be polite. If the wild people behave, we'll attack them. We'll report enemy activity frequently, and then, a bit less often, report a major victory. This ga of nurturing bandits to increase our own importance? It's as if we don't know how to play it ourselves."
Siniang nodded, leaned back slightly, and said, "After we move this ti, will we relocate again?"
Their next move, it was presud, would at most involve deploying troops from Snow Sea Pass, not relocating their entire base.
"That's not necessarily true." A hint of a smile touched the Blind Man's lips as he said, "Yanjing, the imperial capital—those places aren't necessarily worse than Snow Sea Pass, you know."
...
A prison carriage, confining a single prisoner, moved steadily onward. Five hundred Jingnan cavalry guarded it, front and rear.
Inside the carriage sat A'lai.
His hair was sowhat disheveled, and his gaze was a little unfocused.
He had been captured by the wild people and handed over to the Yan people.
He cursed those wild people, reviled them for their ingratitude, for forgetting their initial vows!
When facing the Yan people, he kept his mouth shut, not uttering a single word.
Of the food the Yan people provided, he ate only the most delicate portions, and he always bathed before nightfall. But even so, it was impossible for a prisoner to maintain a radiant complexion.
The Yan people had captured many wild people prisoners of war, among them nobles from the wild tribes, and brought them to see A'lai.
So of the captives fawned over the Yan people, affirming, "Yes, that's him!"
Others knelt before him, wailing. They might have been crying for their "king" and his current predicant, or perhaps for their own.
A'lai hadn't done much, yet in a way, it seed he had done a great deal. Once he clearly understood that there was no escape this ti, he stopped trying. He had co to terms with his fate. He no longer had a choice. As A'lai, he was utterly insignificant. But as a "king," he could still serve so purpose. He didn't know where the real king was hiding, or if he had already perished in the chaos of battle. The king... surely he wouldn't die so easily? Yet, in A'lai's view, death seed more like a liberation. For the Overlord of the Snow Plain, after losing his loyal warriors and seeing his foundation overturned, to stride gallantly towards death was the most exhilarating end. To live... either you had to bear the condemnation from the souls of over one hundred thousand wild warriors who had trusted you—even if you wanted to make a coback, could you truly manage it?
A'lai had initially thought Lord Jingnan would co to see him, and he had constantly been preparing for it. He was confident he could deceive most people, but when faced with that Southern Marquis of Yan, whose thods in battle were nothing short of miraculous, he actually had little confidence. He waited and waited. But he had passed Wang River, and then Ying Capital City, yet the Southern Marquis never ca to see him. Nor was he dragged in chains to the Southern Marquis's feet.
At first, A'lai had been puzzled, but now, he understood. Perhaps, they simply didn't care about him at all. The vast majority of the over one hundred thousand wild warriors had died in battle; the rest were captured. The vital strength of the wild people had been extinguished in a single day. Without the support of a great army, was the Wild King still the Wild King? Even on the Snow Plain, those tribes that had once willingly trusted and followed the Wild King, now facing such colossal losses—let alone supporting his coback, they themselves were likely struggling to survive. A'lai, having grown up on the Snow Plain, naturally understood its ways. Originally, the king could have changed everything; the Snow Plain could have beco a nation like Jin State or Yan State. But the king had failed. What awaited the Snow Plain was another dark age of ceaseless turmoil, conflict, and depletion.
A'lai suspected that perhaps even the Southern Marquis of Yan wasn't sure if he was the real one. But if the Yan people said he was real, then he was real. When the Yan people were strong enough, and the wild people weak enough... the truth... it actually no longer mattered. What the Yan people needed, that was the truth. Right? That's how it was, wasn't it?
The escort convoy stopped overnight at Xinsu City. There stood a military camp of the Jingnan army.
Late at night, a troop of travel-worn cavalry seed to arrive at Xinsu City. This was a squad delivering an imperial edict; they were using Xinsu City as a relay station to rest and change horses.
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