Chapter 36: The Beginning of Chaos (II)

Lu Ji’s heart skipped a beat. He grabbed the sword on the desk, took a deep breath, and headed toward the door.
“Master, look! Our residence is under siege!”
The bodyguard, named Lu Zhao, pulled his sword out with force. His mother had been saved from a serious illness thanks to the money Lu Ji had given her. With only two taels of monthly pay, it would be impossible to repay him anytime soon. Since he couldn’t repay his master in money, he must protect him even harder.
Now, the master and servant had come all the way to Fanyang, thousands of miles away, where the master could be poisoned by An Lushan at any moment. But since the master trusted him, he would protect him until his last drop of blood was shed!
Following Lu Zhao’s indication, Lu Ji looked toward the wooden door. Several figures were moving back and forth outside the paper window, with the clinking sound of swords against scabbards coming from time to time.
Could it be that An Lushan really intended to turn against him and kill him to use his body as an offering?
No, that couldn’t be. Brother Tian had a position in Fanyang. Even with his own connections, An Lushan would never allow him to be killed by An Lushan.
But then again, if An Lushan wasn’t plotting to kill him, why were there so many soldiers?
Suddenly, the wooden door swung open, and a group of servants carrying wooden boxes entered…
The governor’s residence, inner chambers.
An Lushan strode into the study. Seeing the Khitan envoy walking back and forth, he greeted him with a smile, saying, “A guest from afar, a friend bestowed by the heavens. You are like the spring breeze in winter and the rain after a long drought. Please allow me to treat you with the highest honors as a sign of my respect for the descendants of the divine wolf.”
The Khitan envoy had been sent by his khan to Fanyang to discuss an alliance, but An Lushan had ignored him for two full days. The envoy was furious, accusing An Lushan of disrespecting the Khitans. An Lushan then sent someone to tell him he would be received in the inner study, leaving the envoy at a loss.
As the saying goes, flattery never fails. This was clearly true among the Khitans as well. After hearing these flattering words, the envoy was quite satisfied. The dark clouds on his face gradually dissipated, and he spoke in fluent Central Plains Mandarin, saying, “Your Excellency, the governor, is too kind. It’s just that my khan’s demands have not yet been met. I wonder if there’s some difficulty on your part, which is why you sent someone to see me.”

These words were already extremely domineering. Moreover, the Khitans had once been defeated by An Lushan, and his deputy, Shi Siming, was so angered that he wanted to step forward to refute them. But An Lushan firmly grabbed his robe sleeve. After struggling in vain, Shi Siming flung his sleeve aside and left in a huff.

Seeing the awkward situation, An Lushan could only smile apologetically and say, “What are you saying, esteemed envoy? I am utterly loyal to the Khan. It’s just that security measures at the border are very strict these days, so it will likely take some time to deliver those military supplies.”

The envoy continued smiling and said, “It doesn’t matter if you, Lord An, neglect me, Utor. But if these words reach the Khan, those warhorses may not arrive in Fanyang on schedule.”

An Lushan rubbed his palms and sneered before grabbing Utor’s shoulder blades and lifting him up as if he were a chick. “Envoy Utor, leaving the Khan aside for now, I think you won’t be able to return to the northern deserts for a while. You’ve come all this way to Fanyang, surely because you’re highly regarded by the Khitan Khan. If we reach an agreement, it will benefit both of us. You’ll return to Fanyang with endless wealth and glory—surely you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in this cold place.”

His words combined threats and flattery. Utor blushed furiously at being hit so hard. He cast ahelp-seeking glance glance at An Lushan, but the once humble and polite military governor merely cleared his throat and said, “If you can’t cooperate with me, there’s little I can do either. Remember, we agreed on the horses with the Khan. Changing your mind now would be showing disrespect toward me, wouldn’t it?”

Utor was also a shrewd and worldly man. He had been panicked earlier due to the pressure of the situation. Once he calmed down, he saw the crux of the matter. An Lushan was extremely eager for those warhorses. If he refused, he might truly not be able to leave Fanyang. Although the Khitans were powerful, distant help wouldn’t solve his immediate need. Right now, even though he was a Khitan envoy on An Lushan’s territory, it was better to stay low-key.

After thinking it over, Utor adopted a humble tone and apologized, “What are you saying, military governor? The Khan is just getting a bit anxious. If you can deliver the military supplies to Yudujin Mountain as soon as possible, I guarantee the warhorses you need will arrive at the Fanyang military camp on schedule.”

Seeing Utor show weakness, An Lushan took the opportunity to say, “That’s great. Since you’re new to Fanyang, as your host, I should do my part. Stay here in the mansion for now. One day, I’ll personally show you around Fanyang. Though it’s not as prosperous as the two capitals, it’s still a prominent city in this region of Hebei.”

“Very good, very good.” Although Utoor was reluctant, the circumstances forced him to pretend to agree gladly. An Lushan clapped his hands lightly, and servants stepped forward. Without further words, Utoor left the hall with them. Once Utoor was far away, An Lushan sighed softly, “Siming, you were too impulsive just now. After all, he is a Khitan envoy. In the past, it might not have mattered, as the Khitans are our defeated enemies. But now that the emperor suspects me, I fear we must raise an army sooner. Right now, we should focus on these horses. Whether the Khitans are taking advantage of the situation or exploiting our weakness, we have to play it low!” Siming, however, grew impatient and complained, “Brother, as a military governor, how can you lose your dignity to those barbarians? In my opinion, we should reject their unreasonable demands. Now that the court suspects us, we risk our lives transporting military supplies for them, yet they still complain. Just look at the warhorses they sent last time—their quality was uneven. How many met their promised standards? Though the current emperor is foolish, in my humble opinion, this is still a matter concerning our Central Plains. Why bring in those barbarians? If something goes wrong and they exploit the situation, won’t we become sinners before the Chinese people?” An Lushan shook his head and sighed, “Siming, you’ve been with me for quite some time—how can you still not understand my thoughts? Right now, we are showing weakness. Though the emperor is foolish and indulgent, he remains the legitimate emperor. Raising an army rashly with our own strength is like throwing eggs at a rock or moths into a fire. We have no choice but to rely on the Khitans’ strength, and after we establish our dynasty, we’ll deal with this internal threat. A true man should endure temporary humiliation—how can you not understand that?” “But we are people of the Tang Dynasty, yet we have to curry favor with the Khitans. It makes me furious just thinking about it. Is this something a true man would do?” Seeing that An Lushan had said enough, Siming blurted out everything in his heart. Hearing this, An Lushan grew angry and said, “A true man must be flexible. If you only care about superficial fame, how can you call yourself a true man? Siming, you really disappoint me. Enough. With the Khitan issue already putting us at a disadvantage, I think we should accelerate our plans. You had better stay in the military governor’s residence and reflect!” With that, he left, leaving Siming standing alone in the middle of the hall.