Chapter 1 A Spark of Life

On the border between the Northern Frontier Pacification Commission and Northern Liao, a caravan slowly moved forward, bringing a bit of life to this land that had seemed somewhat desolate in recent months. The banner displayed by the caravan was that of the Yuanpei Trading Company, a well-known Northern Liao merchant dealing in horses and furs. Before the conflict between Northern Liao and Dongping, they had already begun to trade in silk and other products, as well as cotton cloth, grain, and other goods closely related to people's livelihoods. The Yuanpei Trading Company had always maintained a wary attitude toward the trend among many Northern Liao businesses in recent years of importing large quantities of sophisticated Dongping-manufactured products, and they were very cautious about the flow of money in foreign trade. This alone was enough to hint at the official background behind them. At this time, the appearance of the Yuanpei Trading Company in this dangerous and sensitive area greatly surprised the Dongping scouts.

After entering the Dongping army's patrol line, the Yuanpei Trading Company had encountered three groups of scouts, one after another. The scouts did not make contact with them, but rather monitored them from a distance of several *li*. After a while, an airship slowly floated into position a dozen *li* away, silently observing. Only then did the scouts slowly withdraw, each returning to their original missions.

Watching the Dongping army treat their seemingly harmless team with such serious caution, an old man in the caravan couldn't help but sigh.

"Mr. Song, look, although the Dongping army only sent a few scouts and an airship, and there was no contact, this series of actions fully demonstrates the style of a strong army. And with airships in the sky, the movements of our Northern Liao army are completely exposed. How can we fight this war? Is it really like that Gao Senqi kid said, that we can only try to find bad weather or nighttime? Facing such a well-organized army, we won't gain any advantage in night battles, right?"

The man called Mr. Song revealed a faint hint of mockery on his face and said, "What the Gao family kid means is that in chaotic battles and night battles, the enemy can't possibly see all of his actions, and he's confident that he can use three to four times the manpower to overwhelm them."

Silence lingered between the two men. The old man sighed and said, "Such a war is better left unfought."

Mr. Song sighed and said, "Isn't that what we're here for?"

The old man was Chen Chengze, the *Zuo Jun Dutong* (Left Army Commander) of the Northern Liao Yu Lin Army, and also a childhood friend of the Northern Liao ruler. Although it seemed that his position was not high, it was because he himself wanted to avoid suspicion, and he had always remained in this position, which was not easy, but did not give him any real power. When it really came time to make decisions about important national affairs, it was often him who had already exchanged opinions with the ruler before the ministers even voiced theirs.

And this Mr. Song was similar to Jiang Yan by the side of the Chunan ruler, a pure strategist. But this fellow named Song Yi was not particularly skilled in military strategy, but rather in management. Half of the Yuanpei Trading Company's success was due to him. He was able to continuously provide the Northern Liao royal family with ample funds and also constantly offer advice to the Northern Liao ruler from an economic perspective, so he was deeply trusted as well.

This time, the two of them appearing here with the caravan was to find a way to connect with Ye Tao or someone of a similar level to see if there was an opportunity for peace talks between the two countries. And they both understood that Northern Liao's bargaining chips were not many, and the ruler's demands on them were also quite low. Submitting to Dongping as a vassal state and requesting the removal of the title of king were both quite basic conditions. Although Chen Chengze and Song Yi did not have the power to make any decisions, they could still bring back the conditions from Dongping.

The scout camp naturally reported this situation layer by layer. In the beginning, they were just asking whether to intercept and eliminate them. Although the other side was flying the banner of a trading company, the guards looked like soldiers, and elite soldiers at that, so they obviously had other intentions. But when the name of the Yuanpei Trading Company reached the forward camp's scout commander, he naturally noticed the difference. The other side was not just a trading company, but they were seeking contact, and he knew what the Yuanpei Trading Company represented. After a flurry of tense communications, the forward camp continued to report the intelligence to the Central Army Town while organizing the frontline troops to block the other side.

When Chen Chengze saw a large cavalry force reflecting the light of steel in the distance, he knew whether their trip was a fool's errand; there should be a result. The force intercepting them was a unit of the Iron Cloud Riders. They did not spread out into an attack formation. The 500-plus cavalrymen were arranged in a neat but loose formation, and standing at the very front were two cavalrymen wearing special armor. Seeing these two men simultaneously raise red triangular flags, universally recognized as representing envoys requesting parley, Chen Chengze breathed a sigh of relief. There would be no fighting, and since the other side was willing to negotiate, then his side had hope of completing their mission. Most importantly, they had at least survived, for now.

The caravan remained in place for two days before being allowed to proceed to the Central Army Town to await further instructions. But the people responsible for contacting them along the way were a few people from the Yunzhou Bureau of Commerce, seemingly deliberately treating them as an ordinary trading company. Chen Chengze was originally somewhat dissatisfied, but Song Yi said, "They also need to conceal things, which proves that they take our presence to heart. How many people would you dare let know about this peace negotiation right now?"

Hearing Song Yi's words, Chen Chengze couldn't help but sigh. Within Northern Liao, the topic of peace talks had only been briefly mentioned in the court, and then there was no further discussion. And on the way from Yanjing, after joining up with the team transporting goods, they were almost intercepted and killed by their own people. Fortunately, Gao Senqi was not crazy, and he had always had sufficient respect for these two elders, so he notified the Western Route Army to let them pass. But Gao Senqi also strictly ordered that this matter must not be spread, so as not to disturb the morale of the army. Within Northern Liao, there was not much enthusiasm for peace talks, even though they knew the odds of victory against Dongping were so small.

As for Dongping, that goes without saying. Dongping now had victory within its grasp, and who knew how many people were hoping to gain personal achievements in a battle to beat a drowning dog.

As for the Central Army Town, Song Yi, who didn't understand much about military matters, didn't feel much. But Chen Chengze was extremely surprised. The army could actually operate so quickly and nimbly, and the one leading everything was not one or two people, but an entire team of officers. And what allowed the entire system to operate smoothly was actually a female officer who had risen from the ranks of a servant.

After staying in the Central Army Town for two days, and conducting several real and fake transactions with the Bureau of Commerce and some Dongping merchants, Song Yi was finally informed that they would have half an hour to meet with Ye Tao the next morning.

Now that Ye Tao had brought his entire family to the Central Army Town, he naturally couldn't continue to be squeezed into the command post. The temporary Pacification Commissioner's residence was set up not far from the command post, and it was an aggregate formed by connecting four independent courtyards. Ye Tao hadn't played with architecture and engineering for a long time, but his slight experimentation, piecing together courtyards of different styles, didn't feel rusty at all. After slightly adding a few simple corridors and passages, and rearranging the gardens, it became warm and comfortable, very suitable for a large family to live in. And this courtyard was also very convenient for the security work of the guards. Once a few high points were controlled, everything would be under control. Ye Tao's current ability to design buildings with such ease made the craftsmen in charge of the renovation work praise him endlessly. This was the true skill of a master, the style of a divine craftsman.

The meeting with Chen Chengze and Song Yi was in this courtyard. Ye Tao did not make the two men feel wronged. Although there was no grand reception, and the meeting was not formally held in the living room, the arrangements in the side hall were still very much in line with the identities of the two men. Most importantly, although Ye Tao was clearly in a dominant position, he was not overbearing. He listened carefully to Song Yi's recounting, from beginning to end, of the awkward situation in the current Northern Liao court and the royal family's attitude toward seeking peace. The Dongping officials who came here to participate in the talks were of low rank, but Ye Tao stopped them several times from casually interrupting to express their opposition.

Only after Song Yi finished speaking did Ye Tao respond indifferently: "Mr. Song, I understand the meaning you conveyed. If your ruler truly hopes to avoid a situation of widespread death and destruction, then there should be some indication. If you are only using this contact as a test or a backup plan, then I think it is better to forget it. If possible, I also don't want to continue fighting, but I must complete a goal: Northern Liao must disappear. I understand your ruler's desire to preserve something for the family, but this condition conflicts with my goal. What I can accept is that Northern Liao surrenders and merges into Dongping, including military power, financial power, and so on. No place or person enjoys special privileges. Of course, if your ruler accepts such a request, I will naturally make appropriate arrangements. I think you also understand that we will definitely have precautions in place, but in terms of property, we can make appropriate arrangements."

Chen Chengze's eyes widened, his face full of anger, and he said, "You might as well say that you want to use a large army to conquer Northern Liao, without any room for negotiation."

Ye Tao smiled and said, "You can think whatever you want, I'm just telling you my position truthfully. In my opinion, peace is never a beacon of hope, but a fire that washes away everything and expects rebirth from the ashes." Ye Tao's calmness contained a hint of fervor. He was indeed still the Ye Tao who didn't love war, but he understood the huge difference between temporary peace and permanently resolving the trouble.

Song Yi sighed. Ye Tao's position was not unexpected to him. He was indeed very frank. Dongping conquering and destroying Northern Liao was only a matter of time. A person like Ye Tao would definitely not sit idly by and let Northern Liao become a trouble, especially since this trouble was not difficult for him to solve now. Song Yi sighed and said, "In that case... our trip can't be considered a wasted one. It's just that coming here again later would inevitably be a major undertaking. I wonder if Magistrate Ye has any arrangements so that I can convey the message to you?"

They can actually still talk like this? Ye Tao felt a little strange. Could it be that something big had happened in Northern Liao again?