Finally, it was the nineteenth of the tenth month.
Since evening, Yutang’s military had come from every direction possible, to gather at the southern gate of Tiantang City.
The sight was akin to rivers of steel flowing endlessly towards the ocean.
All of them wore solemn faces and shiny armor, their military uniforms clean and spotless. All these rough men had cleaned themselves up to appear neat and tidy; most of the soldiers had even shaved their beards.
On a spacious piece of land near the southern gate, they halted their steps simultaneously and checked themselves again cautiously. Beyond their clothes and shoes, they had even wiped the dust off their warhorses’ hooves.
Only after straightening themselves up did they form organized formations and head towards the assigned campsite.
From the west, a hundred thousand soldiers, led by ten different generals, approached slowly in ten symmetrical rows; their flags fluttered loudly in the air but all ten flags were without the symbol of their generals.
Only four words were emblazoned on the flags – Western Troop of Yutang!
With a deafening holler, a string of horns resonated uniformly.
All the soldiers snapped to stillness simultaneously.
Boom!
A hundred thousand men had ground their spears on the floor, but only a single, sharp crack could be heard.
After the sound, pin-drop silence greeted the space as the entire army ceased to move.
Facing the foreign generals on the stage, the ten generals acted as if they did not see them and moved on to gesture their commands.
"Ours!"
It was only a single word, but it saw five thousand men from each row moving to arrange tables, chairs, and the wine that had long cavalrymen in heaps in the center.
The ten generals’ command looked like it meant – "Bring our tables, benches, and wine over."
All the other generals from the other countries on the stage seemed to hear another meaning.
Ours!
This place is ours!
Ours!
In less than an hour and without much commotion, the hundred thousand men from the western troops stood still around their tables, with an average of ten men to a table.
Another deafening roar tore through the sky.
"Sit!"
It sounded like roaring thunder crackling in the air, but it was only the sound of a hundred thousand men shouting "Sit!" at the same time!
As the word echoed faintly in the air, the entire western troop sat down uniformly; their backs in an upright posture. The ten generals sat as formally as the rest of their soldiers; there wasn't a hint of laziness or slack among any of the men.
The moment they sat down, they totally ceased all movement, resembling a hundred thousand statues that had somehow moved over quietly.
The uncanny discipline and precision of these hundred thousand men from the western troop had impressed the foreign generals, although none of them would have dared to admit it openly. Nonetheless, the looks on their faces changed from disdain to grudging respect.
Horns sounded from the north as another hundred thousand soldiers came marching in.
They arrived in a similar fashion as their western counterparts, in ten rows led by ten generals, and wore blazingly shiny armor and high spirits.
"Northern Troop of Yutang!"
Their flags fluttered in the air; the soldiers looked alert but at ease; even their horses held a dignified air.
"Ours!"
The northern troop’s generals cried at the same time.
"Sit!"
The performance was repeated, adding another hundred thousand statues into the mix.
Each table held only a single pot of wine – it was enough!
The sounds of galloping horses came from the south and stopped abruptly. The troops straightened up and dusted themselves off before another hundred thousand men and their ten generals sat down to join their compatriots.
From the east, The Eastern Troop of Yutang was Tie Zheng’s very own command, the main host of this affair.
The autumn wind billowed wildly; smoke and dust that came from the hundreds of thousands men’s movement were blown into the air. What it revealed was the hundred thousand-strong Steel Cavalry from the east that was already in their formations.
The same horns sounded as the hundred thousand men of the Steel Calvary moved forward.
It was still the ten rows led by ten generals similar to the previous troops.
The sonorous sound grew closer, their steps remaining as uniform as the previous troops despite the additional warhorses that were in the formation. Any other noise was not allowed in this display of discipline. The heaviness, the valiance, and the aura that greeted death in its eyes were showcased naturally.
"Ours!"
The ten generals hollered together; their voices filled with the pride and passion of self-sacrifice.
Han Sanhe and the rest stood on the stage as they watched in silence, the feeling of prohibition stronger than ever.
As the handful of notable generals of their time, they were acutely aware of the differences between the eastern troop and the other three troops.
After their generals had hollered "Ours", the Steel Cavalrymen, all hundred thousand of them, had simultaneously puffed up their chests and raised their heads together as one.
All of their eyes were glowing with a formidable radiance, like that of a wolf’s.
Even the warhorses they were mounted on looked fiercer than the average steed.
"Among Yutang’s four-sided troops… the eastern guard is indeed the strongest!" Han Sanhe said slowly.
The generals from the other countries were all business now; their gazes were concentrated at the four troops as they compared them to the own troops they led.
There was a total of four hundred thousand soldiers from Yutang’s military; all of them stayed uniform and alert from evening to the wee hours of the morning, not moving in the slightest.
As time passed, not only did the soldiers not show a single sign of fatigue, they were growing increasingly charged.
As for the foreign generals who were surrounded by Yutang’s four-hundred-thousand-strong army, each of them was at ease; they were graceful, showing the vaunted demeanor of great generals.
In the small hours of the morning, Yun Yang was resting at Residence of Yun. Nothing could possibly go wrong at Tie Zheng’s wedding. Yun Yang had been incredibly busy these days, it was of utmost priority for him to rest as soon as he could.
After all, he had to attend the wedding a little while later.
Therefore, it was unexpected to hear someone at the door as a voice called out, "Young Master Yun!"
Yun Yang was immediately shocked upon hearing the call. Was this not Tie Zheng’s voice?
What was the bridegroom doing here when he should have been impatiently preparing for his wedding?
Could something have happened?
Even if something were to happen, he still shouldn't have come here! This was the residence of Marquis of Heavenly Marquis; there was only Yun Yang, a popinjay, and no one else!
Nonetheless, it was Tie Zheng in the flesh. No matter what he had come here for, Yun Yang dared not delay in seeing him. With a flash of movement, he was already at the door. Fang Mofei was already there, ready to open them.
As the doors opened, Yun Yang saw Tie Zheng, who was decked in clothing and accessories of auspicious colors, standing by the door like a large tower, looking extremely serious.
"Marshal Tie! Why are you here at this time…" Yun Yang asked, "Has anything happened?"
Tie Zheng was initially surprised but realized that Yun Yang had misunderstood the situation, and chortled. "I have come to invite Young Master Yun to attend my wedding! To have a goblet of my wedding wine."
Yun Yang was shocked as well, pointing at himself, dumbfounded and a little puzzled. "Why did you think of… inviting me?"
No matter how looked at it, his current identity did not entitle him to this treatment.
Tie Zheng, Marshal Tie, the third person of importance in Yutang’s military after Qiu Jianhan and Leng Daoyin. He was the bridegroom of today’s wedding and he had come personally to invite a popinjay to attend his wedding – this was an immense honor!
Tie Zheng took a step forward, his face grateful as he lowered his voice and said, "How can thirty million taels not be worthy of me to come to your doorstep and invite you to have my wedding wine!"
The corners of Yun Yang’s lips twitched and he chuckled dryly. "I knew it! That simply can't keep a secret!"
It wasn't entirely surprising. How could Young Master Ma have withstood Tie Zheng’s questioning? Of course, he would have given him away.
Yun Yang smiled humorlessly, but he was still touched by the turn of events.
Regardless of the outcome, at least a part of his heart was comforted.
Tie Zheng laughed and extended his arm. "Young Master Yun, after you!"
An earth-shattering cheer had suddenly erupted at the city wall of Tiantang City.
Two squads of calvarymen came galloping in from the left and right as the red carpet looked like rolling waves on the ground rippling forward; it was a hundred feet wide and it stretched all the way to the stage.
It was about then that Tie Zheng entered, mounted on his horse. Next to him was a slim woman seated nervously on another horse, her hands gripping the reins tightly. She wore a bright red dress, a head scarf of similar color covering her head.
Next to the bride was another woman – Shangguan Lingxiu. She wore a dress of pink, the elegance of a lady tempered by her boyish grace.
The man accompanying Tie Zheng was Yun Yang, of course. Young Master Yun was clad in his signature purple robe as he rode a horse, looking rather excited.
As the bride and groom, bridesmaid and groomsman appeared together, wave upon wave of thunderous cheers rolled and crashed upon them.
A young and handsome assistant general was watching Yun Yang with jealousy from the ranks.
The scene that played itself out before his eyes had a story of its own. To make Shangguan Lingxiu the bridesmaid, Tie Zheng had gone to her residence to petition the old mistress a few times to finally have his plea answered. Qiu Jianhan and Leng Daoyin had gone to persuade the old mistress as well; only then could this favor have been granted. However, Yun Yang, as the groomsman, was truly a last minute addition.
Tie Zheng was genuinely thankful for Young Master Yun’s gift of such a princely sum and did not know how to thank him; it was only just now that he had a flash of brilliance. Young Master Yun was infamous for being a popinjay and no popinjay could refuse a chance to be at the center of the limelight. The limelight that was on the bridegroom would naturally swivel to his groomsman right after him.
Therefore, at the last minute, he had replaced his assistant general, who had long been waiting for this glorious moment.
That assistant general was a youth at the prime of his life, a rather renowned upcoming talent in the military who had been courting Shangguan Lingxiu for a few years now. He had been beside himself with excitement when he had been given the chance of a lifetime to stride onto the wedding stage with his goddess, despite it being Tie Zheng’s wedding.
Whoever’s wedding it was, we would still have been side by side, would we not? Even if he could not be with her in the future, the memory that would have been made was still a pleasant one…
Who would have known that Tie Zheng would inform him of the switch when they were so close to the wedding, his magnificent chance snatched away by Yun Yang!
How could the assistant general not be bitter? It was truly a blow to his love life, but he had no tears to spill for it, even if he had wanted to.