"How does it feel to take a strong city without bloodshed?" Wen Yanbo appeared happily behind Cloudzheng. His mood had improved since releasing his anger.
"I thought you would have beheaded Ye Li Hengjing."
Wen Yanbo stretched out a slender finger and tapped his hat, smiling: "Killing is not the best way to vent your rage; Ye Li Hengjing was just an old dog living on borrowed time. I wouldn’t find any joy in killing him but keeping him alive will allow me to humiliate him more."
Cloudzheng laughed and pointed at Yanzhou. "So, you still intend to deal with them?"
Wen Yanbo chuckled: "Countries are like this; when we are strong today, tomorrow it might be the other way around. Whoever is stronger dictates the terms.
When Song's three armies invaded Western Xia and failed, if Liao had taken advantage of this opportunity to tear up the Treaty of Chanyuan and attack with Western Xia’s E Yuanhao, Song might have faced annihilation.
To prevent a Liao invasion, we spared no effort to provoke Emperor Hui of Liao into blaming Western Xia's E Yuanhao. The death of Princess Xingping gave us an excuse. Thus, the previous emperor led his troops against Western Xia but was defeated and fled from Helu.
Only then did our hearts find peace; there could be no alliance between them now. However, it is regrettable that Song, Western Xia, and Liao had formed a tripartite balance, making us feel sorrowful!
This northern campaign has made us victors, so we have reclaimed the dominant position. As a hegemon, one must act like a hegemon; as long as we remain strong, Emperor Hui of Liao will be forced to beg for our mercy. This is not about whether he has any backbone but about power.
If they want to enter Bianjing, first, they need to offer us their most precious gifts!"
Cloudzheng laughed: "Bloodsucking?"
Wen Yanbo roared with laughter: "General Cloud, don’t make this sound too gruesome; our wealth is so abundant that we don’t need to bleed."
Cloudzheng shook his head and said, "Bleeding is a habit, not something you choose. When Song becomes the only stable and prosperous nation, wealth will flow like water. Thus, the rich get richer while the poor remain poorer.
When they have nothing left to lose, life becomes cheap. Those with nothing to lose are the scariest. If they don’t fear losing anything, they won’t hesitate to take risks.
I prefer fighting a rational general rather than an irrational mob; their determination can create miracles.
I even know that a group of destitute young people, relying solely on dreams, built an empire."
Wen Yanbo, puzzled, asked, "Do you mean the story about the soldiers who fought so valiantly that they made many famous generals fall?"
Cloudzheng smiled and said, "Believe me, it really happened. I know very well!"
Confused, Wen Yanbo shouted after Cloudzheng’s retreating figure: "Don’t go! Explain clearly; didn't you make this up?"
Cloudzheng laughed heartily, waved goodbye, and walked away, humming a strange tune.
"Before my familiar eyes
Strangers invade bit by bit
But his story I remember
They left behind a group of simple youths...
Who strolled on with ease."
Wen Yanbo stopped abruptly. Cloudzheng’s odd accent was unheard of; it reminded him of the spy reports mentioning that Cloudzheng had an unusual dialect when he first came into this world.
The experienced Wen Yanbo, who lived in Song for fifty years and heard countless regional accents, found Cloudzheng's speech peculiar once it wasn't his native Sichuanese. Each word was clearly pronounced with a rising and falling tone, giving it its own flavor. This wasn’t the dialect of a small place but that of a great clan!
He paused, listening intently to every sound as he committed them to memory. For someone with photographic memory like Wen Yanbo, this was not difficult.
(To be continued.)