Chapter 2043: Chapter 1820: The Army Returns
When Chen Xi and the others were about to appear, Mao Jie arrived fashionably late, as predicted by Sima Yi and Fa Zheng, but perfectly timed, leaving Fa Zheng with a lot to say yet unsure how to express it to Mao Jie.
The timing of Mao Jie’s arrival was so precise that Fa Zheng had no extra time to chat with him. If it were a coincidence, Fa Zheng felt he had lived all these years for nothing.
[Although I’ve been seemingly lax lately, General Zhao’s White Horse Soldiers have been patrolling constantly, shooting down any messenger birds that might appear in the sky. How on earth did Mao Xiaoxian manage to time his arrival so accurately?] Fa Zheng felt somewhat melancholic, thinking the opponent might have a method of communication he was unaware of.
Such a thing seemed incredible to Fa Zheng. He had almost completely blocked all channels of news transmission, intending to let Mao Jie, who disregarded him, suffer a hidden loss. However, the actual situation was that Mao Jie still accurately received the message and arrived timely.
As for Scout Cavalry, Fa Zheng absolutely couldn’t believe that the Central Plains had better scouts than the White Horse Soldiers.
"It seems this must be Official Mao," Fa Zheng calmly scrutinized Mao Jie, frowning slightly.
"I dare not in front of the Marquis of Taiting," Mao Jie laughed and said, "I came from Chang’an to welcome the victorious return of the North’s soldiers from their campaign against the Huns." Mao Jie never mentioned the fact he had thousands nearby when Fa Zheng defeated the Southern Huns.
Fa Zheng nodded, not engaging in conversation. He was uncertain about Mao Jie’s depth. The infantry and cavalry he led, aside from lacking bloodlust, were otherwise of high quality. As a civil servant leading troops without any military general, he must be either a novice or a monster.
Regarding Mao Xiaoxian, Fa Zheng’s instinct told him that the opponent could very likely be the latter and might even be a standout among them.
Seeing Fa Zheng ignoring him but not overly targeting him, Mao Jie stood behind Fa Zheng, smiling. There was no need to dispute here, as his purpose was to make Liu Xuande’s camp realize he’s only leading Tuntian Soldiers.
Cao Cao’s intent during the Chang’an crisis was clear to Mao Jie, but even if Cao Cao were willing to relinquish power, Xun Yu and other civil officials wouldn’t allow anyone to disgrace Cao Cao. Warfare is the business of military generals, but planning is the matter of civil officials.
Clearly, the ten thousand Mao Jie brought made Fa Zheng understand the opponent’s idea. Although Fa Zheng had a side of arrogance, he wasn’t a young lad anymore, aware of priorities, even if he intended to calculate, he’d wait for an opportunity later, rather than challenge here.
"Xiaoo Zhi, be careful, my intuition tells me Mao Xiaxian is very dangerous." Zhao Yun suddenly transmitted his voice to Fa Zheng. Fa Zheng heard this, frowned, scrutinized Mao Jie, then withdrew his gaze.
"Rest assured, I can’t act now, nor can he, so you can relax." Fa Zheng calmly transmitted back to Zhao Yun, his heart moving slightly. Zhao Yun, though without evidence, could declare danger means the opponent isn’t a simple character.
"Not a danger of strength," Zhao Yun again measured and transmitted, Fa Zheng remained indifferent without responding.
[I haven’t heard of Mao Xiaoxian’s Spiritual Talent, nor has he revealed it. Is it his Spiritual Talent?] Fa Zheng silently pondered.
"Zhongda, what do you think of Fa Xiaozhi?" While Fa Zheng and Zhao Yun were discussing, Sima Yi and Mao Jie were also exchanging views.
"Extremely wise, excellent nature, just too offensive in speech, but not arrogant." Sima Yi immediately replied.
"I’ve verified my initial guess." Mao Jie nodded and transmitted to Sima Yi; he really couldn’t find anyone to share with now.
"Congratulations," Sima Yi transmitted to Mao Jie with indifference; truth be told, he knew what Mao Jie was up to these years, but the details of Mao Jie’s verification eluded him, so he could only awkwardly congratulate him.
"There’s nothing to congratulate, soon we won’t be limited to Spiritual Talent alone, but the path I’ve taken demands extremely high standards for civil officials." Mao Jie said with a bitter smile, abandoning Spiritual Talent to forge a new path, only to find successors scarce.
"Let’s discuss later, better wait for Lord Cao’s return. You should know more than I do about the changes in Chang’an." Sima Yi transmitted to Mao Jie with a sigh.
"Indeed, Chang’an has changed, but the situation hasn’t reached the worst point yet, Zhongg Yihe has stabilized the Emperor, now it’s up to the Imperial Clan." Mao Jie transmitted calmly to Sima Yi, upon which Sima Yi felt unease.
Truth be told, upon knowing Fuu Wan’s death, Sima Yi already speculated, having realized early on that Fuu Wan and Dong Cheng were prepared to sacrifice themselves, so Fuu Wan’s death didn’t shock him much. But now, keeping the Emperor stable...
"Has the Emperor realized?" Sima Yi transmitted his query to Mao Jie, "Impossible, if he’s aware, he should understand the situation—nothing matters now, not just simple clan revolt, but Han loyalists supporting Han, not the Emperor!"
"I don’t know, but the Emperor’s indeed stabilized, the prior risky moves planned by Dong Cheng, Wang Zifu, etc. are halted," Mao Jie shook his head, not staying long in Chang’an.
"That’s not right, even if Dong Cheng was desperate, what are they risking for? Fuu Wan’s blood clearly shows the situation, what are they trying to achieve?" Sima Yi puzzledly queried, despite many exchanges with Liu Xie, unable to penetrate the collective naivety.
"Are you saying there’s an issue within? Well, but now Liu Xie’s power isn’t significant enough to matter, and Chang’an still has Zhong Yao stationed. "Besides, power is insufficient to deeply focus on these issues." Mao Jie didn’t care, especially with Zhong Yao in control.
Sima Yi nodded silently, not saying more. Like Mao Jie, he thought there might be issues, but Liu Xie’s had mere Dong Cheng’s private soldiers remaining, what could these do? Kill, but who?
Even bluntly speaking, purging everyone in Chang’an matters little to the world. Liu Cao Sunx’s faction can assemble a very young and complete bureaucratic system.
Sima Yi didn’t dwell on the Emperor’s affairs; it wasn’t his concern. For them now, greeting the triumphant returning army mattered more.
The returning army from Chang’an didn’t keep Sima Yi and the others waiting long. As soon as the first "Han" Command Banner appeared, it was followed by a dense, horizon-covering line of cavalry advancing slowly.
"Such a military force..." Mao Jie and Sima Yi, both strategists who hadn’t participated in the Northern Frontier War, were internally shaken, while Cao Ang was hopeful, others genuinely awed by the thundering silence of hoof beats.
"This is okay, but when engaging Northern Huns, it was a true killing intent saturating the land. Now it’s merely the natural aura of the main force, gather yourself to avoid disgrace." Fa Zheng clapped his hands diverting attention, preventing embarrassment.
"Wish I could’ve joined such epic battle," Mao Jie sighed deeply.
"Maybe there will be another chance," Fa Zheng sneered, Mao Jie, and Sima Yi immediately changed expressions, they perceived the world as Central Plains.
"Let’s go greet them; they’ve finally arrived after so many days," Fa Zheng spoke while heading forward with Zhao Yun, others reacted, mounted, and rushed toward the approaching Han Banner.
In the distance, Liu Bei and Cao Cao under the large flags were also watching the army they were welcoming. The White Horse Soldiers’ line needed no comment; Cao Cao primarily focused on the miscellaneous soldiers led by Cao Ang. For now, if issues arose, it would truly be disgraceful.
Fortunately, observed from afar, Cao Ang’s soldiers stood in formation no less than Zhao Yun’s White Horse, even surpassing them, leaving Cao Cao satisfied and amazed, entirely unaware of his eldest son’s level before.
