Chapter Twenty-Four: The Commanders-in-Chief of the Three Armies Come Under My Banner

The man before them, named Han Cong, was once a captain under Dou Yuan’s command. To become a captain naturally required extraordinary skills. One either had to have the experience of being the first to scale an enemy wall, or have beheaded an enemy commander amidst a chaotic battlefield; at the very least, one had to have slain hundreds of foes. Regardless of the path, it was certain that such a person had endured desperate, life-or-death combat. Yet, a general who had rendered such distinguished service to the Great Yong Dynasty had now fallen into such a pathetic state, no different from a common refugee.

"General!" Han Cong suddenly knelt before Dou Yuan and struck his head heavily against the ground.

"What on earth has happened?!" Dou Yuan was shocked. A man’s knees are worth gold; for a battle-hardened warrior like Han Cong to kneel voluntarily, he must have endured experiences far more harrowing than any battlefield.

"Han Cong’s home is in Tanzhou, General. Do you recall?" Gao Changsheng spoke up to prompt him.

"Tanzhou?" Dou Yuan frowned, his thoughts drifting back two years.

"Two years ago, Tanzhou suffered a flood the likes of which had not been seen in a century. Over a million acres of farmland were submerged. The Imperial Court was deeply shaken by this. Emperor Shenwu even summoned his ministers through the night to discuss countermeasures. I was there myself; how could I forget?" Dou Yuan said in a deep voice.

"Indeed," Gao Changsheng replied with a cold smile. "Then, General, do you remember whom His Majesty ultimately entrusted with the disaster relief?"

"The... Crown Prince?" Dou Yuan’s pupils dilated. He understood the hidden meaning in Gao Changsheng’s words. It meant that the Crown Prince had not exerted himself in the relief efforts for Tanzhou. As a general preoccupied with military campaigns, he rarely concerned himself with politics, leaving him ignorant of the true outcome in Tanzhou.

"General!" Han Cong wept, shielding his face. "Two years have passed, and the plight of Tanzhou has not improved at all! The court promised to dredge the rivers, but after two years, there is no sign of it. Out of five hundred thousand residents in Tanzhou, only a few thousand households received any relief grain. Corrupt officials and wealthy merchants seized the opportunity to buy up land, using the flooding as an excuse to drive prices into the ground. We, the farmers who relied on the land to survive, had no choice but to sell our property to stay alive. In the end, the land is gone. Even though Tanzhou has recovered, we have no home to return to; we are forced to become refugees! General, is this the end that we soldiers, who shed our blood for the Great Yong Dynasty, deserve?!"

Dou Yuan let out a long sigh and patted Han Cong’s shoulder, yet he could not utter a word. If it were merely local officials embezzling relief funds, Dou Yuan could report it to Emperor Shenwu. But this involved Crown Prince Gao Changling. Given the Emperor’s character, anything involving the imperial bloodline became a matter of royal pride. Even if the Emperor were concerned for a moment, he would eventually downplay the matter to protect the dignity of the throne. The common people would continue to suffer, and the Crown Prince would remain in his high position, with nothing changing.

"Han Cong, what of your family?" Dou Yuan asked, trying to change the subject. "I recall you started a family after you retired. Where are your mother, wife, and children?"

Han Cong let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "Dead. They are all dead! There was a two-year drought, and too many people died. If not for my luck, I would never have made it to Jinyong City!" Han Cong gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with rage. It was clear his ordeal went beyond mere loss of family; he had likely been hunted as well.

Dou Yuan stood frozen. He did not need to think twice to know that those hunting Han Cong were tied to the Crown Prince. Was he expected to offend the Crown Prince for the sake of Han Cong?

"Heh!" The Daoist priest Miaofa stepped forward with a smile. Dou Yuan glanced at Gao Changsheng, who showed no sign of rebuking the priest, indicating that Miaofa held a significant position under him.

"Pray, speak, Daoist," Dou Yuan said, not daring to slight him out of respect for Gao Changsheng.

"General, have you considered how Han Cong’s plight might affect the rank and file? When the northern campaign begins, if the hundred thousand soldiers learn of what happened to him, will the morale of the army not be shaken?" Miaofa’s words struck at Dou Yuan’s heart.

"What is your objective?" Dou Yuan glared at him. He understood that if Han Cong’s story spread, the army's morale would plummet. There might even be an internal mutiny before the campaign began.

"General, you misunderstand!" Miaofa said solemnly. "I would never do anything to harm the army; I am merely incensed by Han Cong’s suffering. I do not wish to see it repeated for any other soldier. But to prevent that, one must address the root cause, and that root is the Crown Prince!"

Dou Yuan gasped. Miaofa had laid his intentions bare. No—Miaofa represented Gao Changsheng. That meant Gao Changsheng’s true target was the Crown Prince.

"Why do you think I would help you move against the Crown Prince?" Dou Yuan asked, stealing a glance at Gao Changsheng.

"Because of Han Cong!" Gao Changsheng said confidently. "And because there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the camps just like him. And because you, General Dou, have endured the bullying of the Empress and the second and third princes for the sake of your men!"

A person’s decisions are driven by motives. Dou Yuan was willing to ally with Gao Changsheng to escape the Empress’s control—that was his motive. And to ensure soldiers like Han Cong would no longer suffer was another. Perhaps targeting the Crown Prince conflicted with his own interests, but he was the commander of the three armies. That alone meant he could not abandon his men.

"Ha, haha!" Dou Yuan laughed bitterly. "I have barely escaped the wolf’s den only to jump into the tiger’s mouth!" The wolf’s den was the Empress; the tiger’s mouth, of course, was Gao Changsheng.

"General, you flatter me," Gao Changsheng replied. "Compared to the Crown Prince and the Empress, I am no tiger. My own life hangs under their claws. But rest assured, General—since I have promised to seek justice for Han Cong, I will give it my all. However, it is difficult for me to oppose them alone. I hope for your assistance!"

Gao Changsheng bowed deeply and solemnly. This time, he did not want an ambiguous answer, but a clear, unmasked commitment. Dou Yuan’s face remained pained, his heart still in turmoil, but as he looked at Han Cong, his hesitation faded.

"Dou Yuan pays respects to my Lord!"