Surrounded by Princes and Nobles

Emperor Yang of Sui instructed Li Dong to state his request, promising to grant whatever he asked for—be it mountains of gold and silver—without any hesitation as long as he voiced it.

Li Dong smiled and replied, "I am grateful for Your Majesty's extraordinary grace. I desire nothing; I merely fulfilled my duty and served the imperial court with utmost loyalty. How could I dare harbor excessive ambitions?"

If this were anyone else, upon receiving the emperor's promise, they would surely demand mountains of gold and silver without holding back. At the very least, they would beg for an official post to ensure a ceaseless flow of wealth pouring into their pockets for the rest of their days—what a life that would be!

As a time-traveler, however, Li Dong understood the impending chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Being no ordinary man, he naturally would not ask for an office in a short-lived dynasty, thus sparing himself from standing alone against the tides of a turbulent world and perishing when it fell apart. Yet this did not mean Li Dong had no desires; his aspirations were far grander, his sights set much higher.

First, he wished to ask Emperor Yang to help release Dou Jiande and Liu Heita. Furthermore, he wanted to request an army from the emperor to lead troops into battle and achieve even greater meritorious service. Only in this way could his identity as a commander prove useful, allow him to leverage his strengths to the utmost, and secure an invincible footing in the upcoming era of turmoil.

However, the timing was not yet ripe. To abruptly demand an army would inevitably arouse the suspicion of the naturally distrustful Emperor Yang. The emperor had just invited him to make a request, and he immediately asked for military forces. Wasn't that a glaring sign of pre-calculated plotting?

Moreover, the twenty-four grand armies each had their own commanding generals and officers. Positions were currently filled, and even if some were incompetent, their posts were hereditary, won through ancestral valor. Had not General Mai sacrificed himself for the country, and his son inherited the rank of Right Tunwei General? There were no suitable military posts available to bestow upon Li Dong at present. To casually voice this request now would likely result in nothing more than a minor military rank, making it exceedingly difficult to climb back up later.

Since the emperor had offered boundless rewards, one could not simply make demands carelessly. Once the first request was made, asking a second time would not go nearly as smoothly. Therefore, he needed to decline repeatedly, leaving the emperor with nothing left to bestow, so that the emperor would remain indebted to him and be forced to devise a reward of his own accord. This would turn out far better than anything he could conceive himself.

That Li Dong desired nothing caught Emperor Yang completely off guard. Assuming Li Dong lacked grand vision and was merely overwhelmed by the suddenness of the event, the emperor mused with a smile, "You are probably dizzy with happiness right now. Think it over carefully and give me your answer when you have decided."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your immense favor. This subject truly desires nothing! I implore Your Majesty to retract this command!" Li Dong replied in a resonant tone, declining any form of reward time and time again.

This left Emperor Yang even more astonished. Li Dong's tone was resolute, far from a mere pretense of modesty; he genuinely did not want any official rank or material possessions. For a humble garrison soldier to possess such insight and perspective was truly precious!

As the Son of Heaven, is not all land under heaven the king's land, and are not all subjects along the shores of the seas the king's ministers? Could it be that he, as emperor, could not even fulfill the simple request of a lowly garrison soldier?

"Very well then! You may refuse, but I insist on rewarding you!" Emperor Yang quickly made a gesture to stop Li Dong from continuing his refusals. He added, "You cannot reject my reward. To defy my will and disobey an imperial edict is a capital offense punishable by decapitation!"

Inwardly, Li Dong felt a surge of triumph; sure enough, Emperor Yang had taken the initiative to offer a reward! Externally, however, maintaining a calm and unruffled demeanor, he bowed and replied, "I will strictly obey the imperial command!"

Emperor Yang leaned back against his dragon throne, straightened his posture, and commanded, "I shall reward you with... reward you with... Hahaha..."

Mid-sentence, Emperor Yang burst into laughter for no apparent reason, leaving the second half of his sentence unspoken.

After chuckling for a moment, he continued, "I will not grant the enfeoffment directly right now! I shall wait until all the princes, ministers, and military generals have arrived. I will host a grand banquet to celebrate you, and I want all those cowards and weaklings to witness it with their own eyes. For anyone who performs great feats for the Great Sui, I will never shortchange them."

"Even if you are merely a lowly garrison soldier, as humble as a blade of grass, a speck of dust, or a breath of air! I will never shortchange you! On the contrary, I will promote you, elevate you greatly. Let them turn red with envy, let them be consumed by shame!"

Hearing this, a wave of elation washed over Li Dong once again.

To be bestowed with honors in the presence of all the princes and high ministers was unquestionably a tremendous advantage. Those nobles and officials had seen the world and possessed exceptionally high standards. A meager reward would never astonish them; instead, it would elicit their sneers. The greater the reward, the deeper the envy it would ignite within them. Only thus would Emperor Yang achieve his intended objective: to spur them on, humiliate them, and make their mouths water with covetousness!

Regrettably, Emperor Yang lacked the breadth of mind of Emperor Taizong of Tang, who understood that commoners were like grains of sand or the air—seemingly dispensable, yet vital. Overestimating himself as he did, he never comprehended the eternal truth that water can both float a boat and capsize it. No wonder he failed to hold the hearts of the people and ultimately lost the empire.

Meanwhile, General Lai Hu'er returned to his military tent, dismissed all the garrison soldiers inside, and summoned Fei Qingnu.

With a countenance as dark as water and an air of formidable majesty, the general stared fixedly at Fei Qingnu's face, remaining silent for a long while. The air within the tent instantly congealed into ice, growing so biting cold that it made Fei Qingnu tremble with unmitigated terror.

After gazing at him for a long time, General Lai spoke slowly and heavily, "Fei Qingnu, Fei Wuben, if you do not speak the truth this very moment, even I, Lai, will no longer be able to protect the head upon your shoulders!"

From the moment he stepped into the tent, Fei Qingnu had noticed that the general's expression was grim and vastly different from usual, filling him with intense anxiety. Upon hearing the general address him with such a final tone, he nearly wet himself on the spot. If a general of Lai's supreme authority and status could not preserve his puny life, this was unquestionably a catastrophe of monumental proportions!

Fei Qingnu's legs turned to jelly, and he collapsed onto his knees, kowtowing repeatedly, confessing his guilt without cease, and begging the general to save him.

With incomparable grief, Lai Hu'er declared, "Speak for yourself, and do not make me repeat myself."

Fei Qingnu hesitated deeply within. He was weighing whether he should make a full confession to the general: how he had been captured at Sasu City and, in order to cling to life, had been coerced into becoming an insider for Goguryeo. Torn back and forth, he finally hardened his heart, resolving that even if he died, he would not utter a single syllable of it.

General Lai had never crossed paths with Eulji Mundeck; who could possibly know of his collusion with the enemy? What if the general was referring to some other offense, and out of a guilty conscience, he confessed to this capital crime—wouldn't that be equivalent to incriminating himself without being accused?

"This subordinate is guilty! A crime unpardonable! For the defeat at Sasu City, I bear unshirkable responsibility. In truth, Dou Jiande and Liu Heita are not to blame. I beg the general to punish me." Crafty as he was, Fei Qingnu skirted the issue and spoke of peripheral matters, carefully avoiding the incriminating core of the truth.

Furious beyond measure, General Lai barked, "On the verge of death, you still refuse to come clean! Do you or do you not know Eulji Mundeck?"

A shock rippled through Fei Qingnu's heart!

Oh no! Could General Lai have gotten hold of some evidence? That's impossible! When I transmitted messages to Eulji Mundeck, I shot them into Sasu City on arrows; not a single soul outside the city knew about it. The general must be bluffing me—I must not fall for it!

"This subordinate knows nothing! I have never had any dealings with that person. Someone must be envious of our solidarity and is trying to sow discord among us so they can divide and conquer us one by one. I implore the general to investigate thoroughly and avoid falling into the enemy's treacherous trap!" Pretending to shed a few crocodile tears, Fei Qingnu wailed in agonizing distress.

This remark directly fed into General Lai's lingering suspicions. He, too, suspected that Eulji Mundeck had employed a stratagem of alienation, and since he currently lacked concrete evidence, his accusations were baseless. As long as Fei Qingnu refused to admit guilt, no one could legally convict him. However, that fellow Dang Yuqian was the sole person who knew the truth of the matter.

For now, he could only maintain a cordial relationship with Dang Yuqian, ingratiating himself to the utmost and avoiding offending him at all costs, lest he report the matter to the emperor. Once Goguryeo was crushed and Eulji Mundeck slain, no one else would ever know.

Heartbroken to the extreme, Lai Hu'er waved his hand for Fei Qingnu to rise, then said, "Yesterday, I heard that you bullied Qin Shubao? You stepped on his back to mount a horse? That was a grave mistake. How can a military commander be at odds with his subordinates? To win people's hearts, acting as a stepping stone for them to mount their horses is the proper course."

As soon as these words left his mouth, sweat poured from Fei Qingnu like rain! General Lai truly possessed supernatural perception; even such a trivial matter could not escape his discerning eyes. But as for the charge of espionage, the general still lacked concrete proof. Well then, lowering one's head and admitting a minor fault—what harm could it be? As long as the green mountains remain, there is no need to worry about firewood.

Fei Qingnu replied with a look of shame, "This subordinate acknowledges his wrongdoing, and later I shall personally go and apologize to them."

"Wrong!" Lai Hu'er shouted in rebuttal. "Merely admitting fault is not enough. My point is that you must become their stepping stone—do you understand?"

A jolt ran through Fei Qingnu's heart. Just as he was about to speak, the tent curtain lifted, and a man strode inside.

Clad in a purple robe with a Qianniu saber hanging at his waist, the man walked brazenly into the tent, stood there with a swagger, and shouted, "An imperial decree! General Lai, receive the edict!"

Recognizing the man as an imperial bodyguard, General Lai hurriedly dropped to his knees to receive the decree. Fei Qingnu, who had just stood up, dropped back to his knees as well.

The man announced, "The emperor decrees that General Lai is to attend the imperial banquet tonight. Respect this!"

General Lai stood up, walked over to the purple-robed man, and smiled, "Third Brother Lu! His Majesty is in quite high spirits. With a great battle looming, he is still holding a banquet. Who holds such immense prestige?"

The man addressed as Third Brother Lu was the third-born in his family and a trusted confidant of the Sui Emperor. Curling his lip, he replied, "Who else could it be? None other than that Dang Yuqian whom you introduced to His Majesty!"

General Lai had already guessed who it was. Fei Qingnu, however, was completely unaware of the news, and upon hearing this, his soul nearly left his body. Yesterday, he had wanted to step on Dang Yuqian's back to mount a horse; today, the emperor was banqueting him! Clearly, in the conquest of Liaodong City, Dang Yuqian's contributions were monumental, and the emperor held him in extraordinary favor.

No wonder General Lai had forced him to act as their stepping stone! Could it be that when Dang Yuqian crossed paths with Eulji Mundeck, he had already uncovered his secret? Oh, heavens! He had run into catastrophic misfortune. How was it that whoever he offended turned out to be rising stars blazing with power? He had better follow the general's advice and humbly make amends to them! Alas! He would never, ever play the spy again, sweet mother of mine!

After exchanging a few polite pleasantries with General Lai, Lu Laosan departed to notify the other generals.

Fei Qingnu hastily promised General Lai that, after the banquet, he would definitely offer a full apology to Dang Yuqian. General Lai pointed out another path for him, suggesting he use Qin Qiong as an intermediary to plead on his behalf, which might improve his situation. Fei Qingnu agreed.

Taking his leave of Lai Hu'er, Fei Qingnu mounted a swift steed, rode out of the camp, and shot an arrow into the city of Eulji Mundeck. The message informed him that the Sui army would be feasting its commanders in a grand banquet that night, leaving the camp thinly guarded, and urged him to dispatch a heavy force to launch a surprise raid on the Sui camp, promising a decisive victory.

That very night, Emperor Yang of Sui hosted a lavish banquet, inviting all available princes, nobles, and high-ranking generals, including the Khagan Qoshana, King Boya of Khotan, and envoys from Baekje and Silla. Amidst more than fifty magnificent tables and over fifty powerful dignitaries, all served merely to accompany a single humble garrison soldier: Dang Yuqian, otherwise known as Li Dong.

Quietly touching the specially crafted copper coin hidden inside his tunic, Li Dong made a bold decision in his heart.