Jinting Han people

After the Luoyang Imperial Guards set up camp in front of Chenggao Pass, the atmosphere in Xingyang immediately became tense.

With the army having marched out of the pass, their desire for battle was self-evident. Upon learning this, the Northern Expeditionary Army and the Eastern Expeditionary Army immediately dispatched scouts to spy on the surrounding area and monitor the movements of the Luoyang Imperial Guards. Sima Yi, in order to conceal the advantages and intentions of his night raid, sent envoys to both armies to challenge them to a duel, while simultaneously sending cavalry to provoke them, making it appear as if he wanted to engage Lu Ji again, while in reality awaiting the results of Mao Bao's reconnaissance from the two armies' camps.

The Northern army, demoralized by their defeat, indeed did not respond to the attack. Lu Ji's side was busy reorganizing its troops and restoring morale, refusing to engage regardless of the Imperial Guards' provocations. The Eastern army, initially aggressive and eager to agree, hesitated due to the Northern army's inaction. The Prince of Fanyang then told the envoy sent by Sima Yi that he needed to first negotiate with the Northern army, and once the two generals agreed on a specific date, they would engage the Luoyang Imperial Guards in a decisive battle.

As a result, scouts from all three sides constantly spies back and forth, each wanting to know the latest status and movements of the other. Although peace is maintained on the surface for the time being, in reality, war could break out at any moment.

However, due to the great victory at Mangshan, this tense atmosphere did not spread to the Imperial Guards. Most people thought the enemy was nothing special, and a sense of complacency arose, leading to a recent slackening of the soldiers' defenses and discipline. Liu Xian was quite dissatisfied with this. As the saying goes, "He who travels a hundred li is only halfway there at ninety," and it is precisely at times like these that one must remain calm and not slacken in the slightest. This was a valuable lesson Hao San had taught him during the Battle of Gumu Plain, where Hao San fought to the death.

Therefore, during the period of waiting for news from Mao Bao, he frequently checked for omissions and deficiencies, visited wounded soldiers accompanying the army, rectified military discipline in various units, and inspected logistical supplies, day and night, to ensure that the army was always in a state of combat readiness.

That night, he led Meng Tao and a few others to inspect the sentry posts around the camp. Recently, enemy cavalry scouts had been rampant. They had heard that a righteous army was coming to their aid from the west and were eager to find out the specific situation. Liu Xian naturally had to guard against them closely and not give them any chance.

The Imperial Guard camp was built against the mountain, and most of the sentries were scattered throughout the forest. Liu Xian patrolled back and forth among them, which was essentially just a stroll through the forest.

The night sky was veiled with thin clouds, and the stars twinkled intermittently. The vast expanse of the sky was like a canopy, and wisps of inexplicable blue smoke rose from the horizon, only to be gradually dispersed by the mountain breeze. The wind chilled my soaked military uniform to the bone. Low bushes covered the surrounding mountains, and it was easy to spot pairs of bright, peering eyes looking in my direction. Looking towards the mountaintops, specks of blue phosphorescence twinkled like stars.

Those were probably foxes or jackals, out hunting at night, but they had been startled and vanished in a flash. Meng Tao was somewhat frightened. He asked Liu Xian, "There are many tombs on Mount Mang. Could it be that we've disturbed some ghosts?" Liu Xian just smiled. He didn't know if ghosts existed. If they did, and if they could truly influence the mortal world, there would be many spirits protecting him. Therefore, he never felt afraid of the night.

After checking several outposts, the group was tired and sat down to rest on a bright hillside, where they could see the camp burning brightly with torches at the foot of the mountain. This sight reminded Liu Xian of the time when he robbed the Golden Valley Garden in his youth. Back then, he, Shi Le, Zu Ti, Liu Yao, and others had also looked down at the Golden Valley Garden from this mountain, but that seemed like a dream from a very long time ago.

As he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a faint rustling sound, like the movement of animals or the sound of branches falling, but it was definitely not the wind. Liu Xian looked in the direction of the sound and saw a faint dark shadow in the woods a few dozen paces away. Because the moonlight couldn't reach it, Liu Xian couldn't make out what it was. So he paused, stood up, and subconsciously wanted to move closer to see it more clearly.

Unexpectedly, the moment he made a move, the dark figure panicked and disappeared into the woods at a considerable speed. This time, Liu Xian heard it clearly: it was human footsteps! This couldn't be one of their own sentries; he didn't remember having any sentries here. So who could it be? The answer was obvious: it was probably an enemy scout!
Upon realizing this, Liu Xian didn't hesitate and immediately gave chase. Meng Tao and the others hadn't even realized what was happening, but seeing their lord go first, they followed. However, they were a step too late; the two in front ran incredibly fast and, without torches, quickly disappeared from sight.

Liu Xian forged ahead through the dark, dense forest. It was pitch black ahead, and he could only vaguely see the obstacles and thorns around him. However, based on the sounds coming from ahead and his usual agility, he managed to keep up the chase for a while.

Just then, a sharp, piercing sound came from ahead. Liu Xian's alarm bells rang. He instinctively dodged to the side in the opposite direction. A moment later, he heard a "clang" sound, which Liu Xian recognized very well—the sound of a crossbow bolt hitting a tree.

Although it was difficult for the enemy to hit their target with arrows in the darkness, Liu Xian became hesitant after learning that the enemy possessed a powerful crossbow, and his movements slowed down considerably. After searching for a while, the enemy's footsteps receded into the distance, and finally, a horse's neigh could be heard from afar before it quickly disappeared completely.

Liu Xian knew he had lost his pursuer, but he still groped his way through the thorns and soon made a discovery. When Meng Tao and the others caught up with him by torchlight, they found Liu Xian holding a crossbow, examining it closely in the dappled moonlight.

Seeing Meng Tao approach, he first sighed, "It's a pity we didn't let Nan Qiao come along; he would definitely have caught up with them." Then he handed the crossbow to Meng Tao and asked, "Did you notice anything strange?"

Meng Tao looked it over and said, "Hey, isn't this our hand crossbow?"

“Yes!” Liu Xian nodded. He retrieved his crossbow and said with a serious expression, “I have been to the Northern Expeditionary Army Headquarters. In different places, the crossbows are made of different materials and have different designs. The Northern Army’s crossbows are mostly made of mulberry wood, while our army uses jujube wood.”

"The man who just fled was using one of our army's crossbows. I initially thought he was a scout from the Eastern or Northern Army, but now it seems he should be one of our soldiers. So why did he run away when he saw me?"

Liu Xian quickly got the answer: "There are two possibilities. One is that the enemy killed our scout and then seized the loot. The other is that although he was one of our soldiers, he violated military law and was either a deserter or an inside agent."

Deserters often have very weak willpower and are extremely lacking in initiative. Based on the situation just encountered, this option can be largely ruled out. That leaves only the inner quarters.

Thinking of this, Liu Xian felt a sense of crisis. He was currently in the northwest part of the army camp, very close to Hulao Pass. Logically, enemy scouts would have a hard time getting this far, so there were very few sentry posts here. If it was an accident, that would be one thing, but if it was truly from within, the consequences would be unimaginable. Just how much intelligence had the enemy gathered? How much of their own strength and weakness did they know?

He immediately ordered Meng Tao, "Go find Li Sheng and have him check immediately how many scouts are missing from the army? Do you have a specific number? Do the headcount and accounts match?"

"Then I'll call Zhu Yan (Zhuge Yan) to bring a few dozen men over. I'll wait for him here and then we'll search the mountainside again."

When Meng Tao left on his orders, Liu Xian stood there, waiting for Zhuge Yan. His hand stroking the crossbow, Liu Xian's heart was far from calm; he sensed a conspiracy.

To be honest, the Imperial Guard, numbering nearly 100,000 men and located in the capital region, is a complex and intricately connected group of all sorts of people. Each person has a single thought a day, resulting in roughly 100,000 different ideas. It would be truly bizarre if someone told Liu Xian that there weren't any bribed spies within their ranks. Wasn't he himself using spies against the Northern Army? According to the captured Qian Xiu and others, the Northern Army wasn't entirely united, which was perfectly normal.

An ordinary spy wouldn't be a big deal; junior officers don't have access to top-secret information and wouldn't significantly impact the battle. But this person's location is far too sensitive, and his use of a crossbow suggests he's not an ordinary soldier. If it was captured on the battlefield, that's one thing, but if not, this person is very likely a personal guard of a high-ranking officer, which carries significant implications. Could it be that someone in the Imperial Guard's high command is plotting a defection?
Thinking about this, Liu Xian's thoughts inevitably began to wander:

Since Sima Yi and Liu Xian came to power, the imperial guards in Luoyang had indeed been unusually quiet, completely unlike the chaotic period from the time of Empress Jia to the time of Prince Qi. Liu Xian originally believed that this was because he had taken various measures, handled things appropriately, and won over a considerable number of people's hearts, which was why he had achieved this effect.

But what if I overestimated myself? Is there actually someone secretly orchestrating this, deliberately downplaying the commotion? I seem to have overlooked one thing: Wang Yan, who commanded the Imperial Guards for over a decade, is right across from me! Could it be that he hasn't planted any seeds of future events?

However, as Liu Xian pondered this, he realized he was overthinking things, because there were many contradictions and inexplicable aspects to it.

Given that Wang Yan was driven away by their own suspicions, if he had any hidden plans or schemes, why didn't he use them during the Battle of Mangshan? A single blow to defeat the Imperial Guards would have allowed them to enter Luoyang directly; why wait until now? Furthermore, what were Wang Yan's motives? If he wanted power, wouldn't it have been simpler to support the deposed crown prince back then? Why go through all this trouble?

Moreover, maintaining such a network is extremely costly. If there were such a powerful figure who could maintain this vast network for Wang Yan after his departure, who could it be? Probably no one would be qualified. And what would be their motivation for doing all this? Liu Xian couldn't even imagine it, nor did he think there would be such a person around him.

So the most likely explanation is that he simply encountered someone whose face he couldn't quite make out. He might just be an enemy scout who had strayed off course and wandered into this area. After all, the unexpected events in life are hard for outsiders to imagine unless they are personally involved.

Even with these self-comforting words, Liu Xian still couldn't shake off his unease. Luoyang had witnessed too many coups, and his predecessors—whether cunning as Empress Jia, open and honest as Wei Guan, treacherous as Sun Xiu, or hard-hearted as Sima Wei—all met the same end: annihilation.

With so many precedents to follow, it's hard for Liu Xian not to think things through.

But after thinking it over, he realized he was just scaring himself. In the end, he could only clear his mind and think: I should continue the investigation.

About half an hour later, Zhuge Yan arrived with his men and continued to search along the camp with Liu Xian. On the way, after hearing Liu Xian's explanation, Zhuge Yan indeed felt that it was making a mountain out of a molehill. He yawned and complained, "At this hour, whether it's princes or dukes, everyone is resting. Only a commander like you would be busy with this."

Liu Xian just smiled when he heard this, and said, "It's always better to be careful than not."

The group of people, carrying torches, moved through the mountains and forests, the shadows of the withered trees swaying back and forth in the flickering firelight. As the night deepened and the forest grew colder, the foxes and wild dogs that had occasionally appeared before had all disappeared, and the cries of crows and vultures filled the air, sounding extremely noisy in the silent night sky.

They walked for another hour, and the journey was very peaceful. They asked the various sentries along the way, both visible and hidden, and they all said that everything was normal. There had indeed been enemy scouts harassing them a few days ago, but after killing dozens of them, there were far fewer suspicious people. Most of the suspects were in the fields and farmhouses at the foot of the mountain, and there were hardly any people in the mountains.

According to this account, Liu Xian's previous experience seems to have been an illusion. After all, apart from Liu Xian, no one else clearly saw what happened at the time.

But Liu Xian didn't think so. The more normal everything seemed, the more suspicious he became. Enemy scouts usually moved in groups, so if only one person appeared behind the camp, it confirmed his suspicion: the person who escaped must be from the inner quarters. As for whose inner quarters, that remained a mystery.

So he led his men back the way they came and returned to the place where they had met before. Liu Xian looked down at the campfires of his own troops below the mountain and asked Zhuge Yan, "Which of our units is closest to here?"

Zhuge Yan replied, "It is General Zu's camp."

This matched Liu Xian's memories; it was indeed Zu Ti's camp. He had hoped to deduce the possible allegiance of the inner quarters based on the camp's location, but now it seemed that his plan had failed. After all, Liu Xian simply couldn't believe that Zu Ti would betray him. But if it wasn't Zu Ti, then who could it be?

Unable to find an answer, and with it getting very late, it seemed Liu Xian had no choice but to put the problem aside for the time being and lead Zhuge Yan and the others down the mountain.

After walking for two hours on mountain paths, everyone was exhausted and just wanted to rest. Unexpectedly, after walking about two miles, they faintly heard a woman singing overhead. Getting closer, they heard a mournful, melodious song with a lingering resonance. Liu Xian was very surprised; he recognized the voice—it was Yang Xianrong's. She was repeatedly reciting "Xie Lu," the lyrics of which were:
"The dew on the leek, how easily does it dry up? The dew dies and falls again tomorrow morning. When does the dead return?"

The poem is short, but its melody is like the endless, lingering sound of winter snow. People in Luoyang often use this song to mourn their loved ones. But Liu Xian had no time to appreciate the song; he was simply surprised. Why was Yang Xianrong here? Shouldn't she be in the military camp? Could it be related to what happened in the inner chamber earlier?
Thinking this, he followed the sound closer. After walking several dozen steps, more than ten guards sprang out of the woods and surrounded him. The leader was Linghu Sheng, who, upon seeing Liu Xian, quickly came to his rescue, clasping his hands in greeting, "Marshal, are you out patrolling the camp so late?"

Liu Xian nodded slightly, then pointed to the Empress not far away and asked, "Why is Your Highness here? It's so late, why isn't she in the camp? Could something have happened to her?"

Linghu Sheng nodded and sighed, "Some things have happened, so His Highness wanted to come out and relax. I couldn't refuse."

Liu Xian asked thoughtfully, "What happened?"

Linghu Sheng sighed, "The news from half an hour ago said that Duke Xingjin (Yang Xuanzhi) succumbed to his injuries and passed away yesterday at noon." (End of Chapter)