Chapter Nine

This diplomatic event received the utmost attention from all levels of the Han army. Upon hearing the news, Lin Feng immediately summoned key figures such as Li Guangdi and Chen Menglei, to confer with Zhou Peigong and others. Ever since the intelligence agency’s grave failure during Tu Hai’s surprise attack, Chen Menglei had undertaken a rigorous overhaul of his subordinates—resulting in significant improvements both in efficiency and scope. Once Zhou Peigong concluded his tentative engagement with the Mongol envoys, the entire story behind this episode was swiftly and thoroughly uncovered.

If one were to trace the origins, the matter did indeed begin with Zhao Guangyuan, who was stationed at Xuanhua. After the fierce battle between the Han army and Tu Hai, Zhao’s cavalry suffered severe casualties. He had been striving to restore his force ever since. His situation was peculiar: he had plenty of warhorses, but not enough soldiers. It was well known that the training of cavalry was arduous: transforming a novice from a peasant to a warrior capable of fighting on horseback required at least ten months, and whether recruits had any riding experience was crucial. Previously, Zhao Guangyuan was garrisoned in Baoding, Datong, and other inland areas, where replenishing manpower was a persistent headache for the Han military. Despite their efforts, results were meager; it was disheartening to have fine horses but no qualified men.

Later, due to the influx of refugees, Wang Dahai’s troops at Xuanhua were urgently recalled, and the Han army’s only cavalry corps was redeployed along the Great Wall to guard against the Mongol tribes. Recruitment problems took a turn for the better: Zhao Guangyuan, now settled on the grassland’s edge, impatiently began enticing Mongol compatriots to serve as cannon fodder. Luck was on his side, for at that time, the Suiyuan region teemed with scattered Mongol warriors.

Since arriving in this era, Lin Feng had never engaged in any romantic pursuits. Frankly, blaming it on "burdensome official duties" would be sheer hypocrisy. Desire is a basic human instinct—much like eating or relieving oneself. If one can find time for meals and bodily needs, surely one can find time for women. Lin Feng’s restraint stemmed from a profound divergence in aesthetic standards.

After capturing Beijing, the Han army seized a great number of female spoils. Lin Feng, at first, was eager to inspect the troops' discipline, but the results left him dejected for days. The so-called "beauties" of this era were beyond imagination. According to Manchu standards, beauty meant a protruding chest and belly, a face like a silver basin, and thick, broad hips. Lin Feng could never accept such criteria—watching these burly "beauties" filled him with neither desire nor a sense of security.

Han women were slightly better, but they too suffered from fatal flaws. The rules dictated that virgins were typically between fourteen and sixteen, their figures not yet fully developed, and almost all had bound feet. Lin Feng had read many accounts of "three-inch golden lotuses" in later times, which sounded enchanting, but upon seeing them firsthand he was instantly nauseated. Not only were the feet foul-smelling, their appearance was terrifying—a normal human deliberately deforming their feet into something resembling hooves, merging with the calf into a single cylindrical mass... Even though Lin Feng considered himself highly adaptable, he could not stomach it.

“Oh, stand up and speak, stand up and speak!” Lin Feng said with a cheerful smile. “Come, please sit. May I ask your name, sir? You must be a trusted aide of the prince?”

Lin Feng’s reaction struck the envoy as odd. Customarily, Lin Feng should have politely thanked the prince for his greetings, returned the blessing, and only then permitted the envoy to rise. The Han side was known for strict adherence to ritual, never neglecting proper form—why the change? Though puzzled, the envoy, being a straightforward Mongol, obeyed Lin Feng’s instructions without protest, neither modest nor grateful, and sat down with a thump. “I am Khandaer, the prince’s steward!”

“Ah…” Lin Feng drew a sharp breath. The Mongols’ approach was certainly peculiar—sending a steward to negotiate such a momentous alliance. The Chahar prince surely knew how to make a show of wealth. Lin Feng smiled wryly, “So, Brother Khandaer, let’s be direct. Your requests are: entry through the Great Wall to winter, aid with food and clothing, and if I agree, you’ll give me a wife and two thousand Mongol warriors. Is that correct?”

Khandaer tilted his head, thought briefly, and nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

“But you know, those Mongol warriors are recruited at my expense, not gifts from you! Isn’t this a bit unfair to me?”

“But, Great Khan, this is the tradition handed down for generations…” Khandaer said in surprise. “When we ask Han people to forge iron or make clothes, we pay them! If the Han emperor forbids it, they all return to the heartland…”

Lin Feng was dumbfounded, suddenly at a loss for words. Clearly, the principal conflict lay in ideological differences—a topic not easily resolved. He forced a laugh, “Khandaer, you’re clever indeed. Have you served as an envoy before?”

“To answer the Han lord, I’ve never been an envoy. I used to manage cattle and sheep at the prince’s estate…” A look of sorrow appeared on his face. “Last time the Jurchen barbarians killed our old prince and all the ministers…”

Lin Feng couldn’t tell if the man was genuinely straightforward or playing dumb. He sighed, “Alright, my point is: if we reach an agreement today, these two thousand cavalrymen will henceforth belong to the Han army, with no more ties to Chahar. What do you say?”

“Of course!” Khandaer replied matter-of-factly. In truth, they had intended to include these men as part of the dowry.

“Then let’s discuss the marriage—this princess of yours, I’ve never seen her. You won’t foist an ugly woman on me, will you?”

“Humph!” Khandaer leaped to his feet, furious. “Princess Ado is the prince’s sister, the nightingale of Chahar's grasslands! She is as pure as a snow lotus on the Tianshan mountains, as radiant as a pearl from the depths of the sea. Countless brave warriors admire her beauty and kindness, and you—how dare you…”

“Okay, okay! She’s a beauty—I admit she’s a beauty, alright?” Lin Feng said awkwardly. “I didn’t mean it that way. I just suspect our tastes might differ…”

“May I ask, Great Khan, what is ‘taste’?”

“Ah… taste, well…” Lin Feng waved his hand, adopting a serious tone. “Actually, it’s not that I don’t admire Princess Ado, but I have some inconvenience—perhaps it’s embarrassing…”

“Inconvenience?” Khandaer was shocked, scrutinizing Lin Feng suspiciously. “I see you’re a healthy man, surely it’s not…”

“Oh! It’s not that!” Lin Feng shuddered under his gaze, replying uneasily, “It’s just that… my parents have already arranged a wife for me. If Princess Ado were to marry me…”

“Haha, Great Khan, among Mongol heroes, having many wives is a mark of honor!”

“Hmph! What nonsense! Khandaer, do you realize what you’re saying?” Lin Feng suddenly slammed the table in anger, his face flushed. “The Chahar prince is a direct descendant of the great Genghis Khan, child of the heroic Kublai Khan—how could she be so casually made a concubine?”

Khandaer was caught off guard, mouth agape, speechless.

“If I were to marry Princess Ado, how could she be a mere concubine?” Lin Feng’s anger subsided somewhat, and he spoke with regret. “But if I make her my principal wife, how could I justify it to my parents?”

“So… Great Khan, you don’t intend to marry into our family?” Khandaer asked, bewildered.

“No, no, I have long admired the Chahar prince; this alliance must go forward…” Lin Feng frowned, pacing anxiously at the head of the hall. After much deliberation, he looked around at his ministers, his eyes falling on the anxious Zhou Peigong. Suddenly inspired, he seized Zhou’s shoulder and laughed, “I have a solution!”

Zhou Peigong was dumbfounded for a moment before realizing, his face turning ashen.

“Brother Khandaer, let’s do this. General Zhou here is my chief commander and an invincible warrior. I guarantee Princess Ado will not be wronged if she marries him!”

Khandaer eyed the slender, fair-faced Zhou Peigong in disbelief. “He… is also called ‘invincible warrior’?”

“Of course! Would I lie?” Lin Feng smiled, thinking to himself: not much muscle, but in terms of intelligence, Chahar would be hard pressed to find his equal.

Khandaer, half-convinced, frowned. “If the commander is not available… and you value the Chahar prince and Princess Ado so highly, then this ‘warrior’ must be very important?”

“Absolutely! Ask around—General Zhou Peigong is my right-hand man, commanding countless troops and fierce generals. Isn’t that important?” Lin Feng boasted.

At the mention of “countless troops,” Khandaer’s eyes lit up. He scrutinized the blushing Zhou Peigong, then bowed respectfully to Lin Feng in the center of the hall. “Great Khan, if you arrange it thus, we must report to the prince for a decision.” He looked up and smiled. “But in my view, the prince will be delighted to ally with such a ‘warrior’ as General Zhou.”

Lin Feng laughed heartily, while Zhou Peigong turned away in agony. “Commander! Master! This matter—I really cannot obey…”

“What nonsense!” Lin Feng glared, scolding in a low voice. “How old are you, still a bachelor? Last time you said you’re the only surviving branch of your family—of the three great filial duties, the greatest is to have descendants, don’t you know? And you claim to be a disciple of the sages…”

“But…”

“What ‘but’? The reason Chinese men can stand tall is because of our reverence for classics, rites, and order—rank and hierarchy. Where has all your reading gone? Where have you put the teachings of the sages?”

Seeing Zhou Peigong’s astonishment, Lin Feng straightened himself as commander and said, “The sages said, ‘Heaven, earth, ruler, parent, teacher’—and as the ‘ruler,’ I rank above ‘parent.’ Since your parents have passed, by ancestral teachings, I have the duty and obligation to arrange your marriage, right?”

“…”

“Ah… to be honest, I have no choice—the sages have decreed it! Though I fear neither heaven nor earth, I dare not defy their words!” Lin Feng patted Zhou Peigong’s shoulder, smiling kindly. “So, Peigong, it’s settled. Stop brooding—the ruler’s command, the matchmaker’s word, these are inviolable truths. Prepare yourself as the groom!”

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The weather was hot, and without air conditioning at home, typing several thousand words left me near exhaustion. So updates are not very timely; I beg brothers’ forgiveness.