Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan crowded into a noisy restaurant, with great difficulty managed to find an empty table near the corner, ordered some pastries and light refreshments, and ate at their hearts' content.
Xu Ziling casually asked, "Fenghan Xiong seems to have special admiration toward Luoyang, am I right?”
Ba Fenghan nodded and said, "Among the cities and towns of the Central Earth, Luoyang and Chang'an give me special impression, simply because these two cities have royal air, which no ordinary city can imitate.”
"How about Jiangdu?” Xu Ziling asked.
"I have not been to Jiangdu,” Ba Fenghan replied, "That is your, Ziling's birthplace, naturally you have a profound affection toward that place, just like me with my steppe and desert.”
And then, smiling, he said, "However, by comparison, I still prefer northern cities and landscape. That kind of arduous, imposing and wonderful mountains and rivers has a completely different flavor to the enchanting, bright and beautiful South; it is more suited to my taste.”
Xu Ziling nodded and said, "Ba Xiong is like the Great River and lofty mountain range of the North, be able to withstand the test of the wind and the frost over the years, unafraid to face the difficult and nasty environment. Zhong Shao and I are, after all, southern people, very easy to develop love of ease and comfort and hate work. Even though we trained martial art, we do not have any stringent rule to follow. Hee …!”
Ba Fenghan laughed and said, "I'll say Kou Zhong is more akin to me, and you are not one who love ease and comfort and hate work. It's just your natural instinct is you don't like confrontation. But if someone really provokes you to fury, I will be very worried about that person!”
Xu Ziling smiled and said, "Am I that terrible?”
Ba Fenghan turned serious as he said, "I rarely admire anybody, but you are an exception. In normal times you look suave, as if you don't care about anything. But each time we are facing the critical juncture between life and death, you always show unswerving determination, no-nonsense willpower, plus the ingenuity of coming up with brilliant scheme to escape from the enemy, otherwise this morning we would not have been here, eating light refreshments in Luoyang.”
Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, "I have never thought about that side of me. Right! Should we think of a way to make contact with Zhong Shao?”
Ba Fenghan muttered to himself, "I wonder how's Zhong Shao and Wang Shichong's business deal? It should have been settled conclusively by now, but it's inappropriate for us to meddle. It would be best if Kou Zhong is coming to look for us. We only need to leave some signs like originally agreed, so that he knows where we are.”
Xu Ziling nodded in agreement, but then he frowned and said, "So what are we going to do in the meantime?”
Ba Fenghan laughed involuntarily and said, "Ziling, you are too accustomed to have your days with Kou Zhong. Tell me, when you were together with Kou Zhong, have you ever had to think about what to do or what not to do?”
Embarrased, Xu Ziling said, "I seem to be too accustomed to that, but there's always the first time for everything. Ay! Later we … hey!”
Ba Fenghan doubled up in laughter; he laughed so loud that other patrons on several tables nearby raised their eyebrows.
Finished laughing, Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, "We are going to see a beauty whom we both know first, to see if she has some information about your Yu Yi, while making inquiries on the latest news about the Jade Annulus of the He Clan. Ziling, what do you think?”
"A beauty that we both know?” Xu Ziling asked incredulously.
Ba Fenghan revealed a strange expression first, before smiling and said, "Dongming Princess Shan Wanjing ought to be considered one of those, right?”
"What?” Xu Ziling blurted out.
※ ※ ※
Wang Shichong and Kou Zhong were standing on the bridge of the battleship [orig. ‘viewing platform'], with their gaze fixed on the direction of Luoyang.
Kou Zhong said, "Does Shangshu know that Li Mi had been to Xiangyang to pay a personal visit to Qian Duguan, to persuade him to supply him with manpower and provision when he attack Luoyang from the south?”
Shocked, Wang Shichong said, "Qian Duguan is not afraid of death? Unexpectedly he is this brazen!”
Kou Zhong said, "Li Mi has always been known for his cunning, he deliberately conspired with the Four Big Bandits and Jianghuai Army to take over Jingling, while pressing against the various cities on the north. It was indeed a brilliant ‘killing two birds with one stone' stratagem. He made Du Fuwei too busy to mind the South, while at the same time making various cities south of Luoyang afraid of the Jianghuai Army and thus they threw their lots with him. Therefore, if Shangshu is too late in attacking the Wagang Army, sooner or later you will fall completely under siege. By that time it would be too late to be sorry.”
Wang Shichong was greatly astonished, "How did Kou Xiao Xiong know the North-South situation so clearly?” he asked.
Kou Zhong smiled and said, "Naturally in order to deal with Li Mi. That old thief issued the ‘Duke of Pushan Decree', making us, two brothers, fell into danger time and again, several times we nearly died and escaped only by the skin of our teeth; how could we not try to quench this manhunt?”
After thinking in silence for half a day, Wang Shichong suddenly said, "Supposing this time I cannot defeat Li Mi, should I go west to ally myself to Li Yuan?”
Kou Zhong wanted to say, ‘This battle will be won', but then he had another idea and answered the question with a question, "Between Li Yuan and Li Mi, which one Shangshu thinks is a bit more terrifying?”
Smiling ruefully, Wang Shichong replied, "I previously have never had any regard toward Li Yuan. Even when he rose in rebellion in Taiyuan, crossing Longmen [dragon gate] into Guanzhong, successively defeating venerable Old Song and Qu Tutong, I still thought it was just a fluke. But when Li Yuan's second son Shimin routed Xue Ju and Xue Renguo father and son's Xiqin Army [western Qin] at Fufeng [county in Baoji, Shaanxi], and then pursuing the retreating enemy he pressed on to Longcheng, I have no choice but to change my view. Because Guanzhong no longer has any threat from the west, they can concentrate on the east, to take over the Central Plains, becoming the biggest threat to Luoyang after Li Mi.”
Kou Zhong said, "Shangshu seems to be very clear about Li Clan's situation, you probably know that Li Shimin is a person who has the high aims of pacifying the Central Plains in his heart. Therefore, unless Shangshu is willing to bow before him, if you let Li Shimin acquire more strongholds and strengthening his position in Guanzhong, sooner or later Luoyang will fall into his hands.”
Wang Shichong sighed and said, "Luoyang is the hub of water transport of the world, but for that same reason it is also caught in the middle of the enemies on all sides battling each other. Even if Li Mi is gone, it still has to deal with attacks coming from four sides eight directions, unlike Li Clan's situation, where they could attack or retreat as needed.”
Kou Zhong said, "Therefore, after getting rid of Li Mi's threat, Shangshu must move your troops to Guanzhong. Whether you like it or not, you must control the Li Clan so that they cannot leave Tongguan even for half a step, and then Shangshu could press on you victory by taking advantage of the canal Li Mi leave behind, to progressively nibble away the cities and towns in the vicinity, to increase your strength, so that others outside will have no other way.”
Smiling wryly, Wang Shichong said, "I'm a bit tired! I want to go into my cabin to rest.”
But Kou Zhong was sighing inwardly.
All along Wang Shichong was not a material for the contention over the world; he was absolutely nothing like Du Fuwei, he fell short compared to Xiao Xian, so naturally it was even more difficult to compare him with powerful talents with great aspiration like Li Shimin or Li Mi.
※ ※ ※
"津桥东北斗亭西，到此令人诗思迷；
柳丝袅袅风缲出，草缕茸茸雨剪齐；
After agreeing on where and when to meet again, they went their separate ways around the city center.