Chapter Eleven: Finally Recognizing the True Face of Lüshan

  Since that night, Concubine Min sneaked into Ye Zhi Kui's room every night, and the two of them were like a raging fire that couldn't be extinguished. Although she tried her best to please Ye Zhi Kui in every way, they never exchanged a word except for her soft gasps. After their pleasure, she would leave quietly, and the next day, she would become the dignified and elegant Concubine Min again. And Ye Zhi Kui treated her as if nothing had happened, continuing to order her around like a servant.

  It was another night, and Consort Min silently lifted the quilt to get dressed and leave. However, Ye Zhenkui, who had never stopped her before, suddenly grabbed her hand tonight and spoke up for the first time, saying: "We're only a day's journey away from Pyongyang."

  Min Fei's body trembled slightly as she turned around to carefully look at the face of her second man. Her first man was Li Xi, a weak and incompetent person who only knew how to indulge in luxuries and had never entered her heart. Their marriage was a political arrangement. But this man in front of her, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, his face as white as jade, and especially his deep and captivating gaze that made people unknowingly fall into an abyss, originally she had approached him with the intention of having another child, but now she was completely lost. Sometimes he was gentle and elegant, sometimes he treated her like a little girl, calling her over and sending her away, making her completely lose her footing.

  Ye Zhi Kui saw Min Fei and did not make a sound, the bitter entreaty was: "Don't go, forget your previous identity, just be my woman."

  Min Fei shook her head, she couldn't let go of this calamity-stricken nation, nor could she let go of this kingdom that was about to become a puppet.

  She lowered her head, lightly kissed the crown of Ye Zhi's forehead, and stroked his lips with her hand once more. Her voice trembling, she said: "I am named Zi Ying, you are my only virtuous pearl, I hope you won't forget me." Then, with a heavy heart, she gritted her teeth and left.

  Ye Zhi Kuai wiped away the tear that Min Fei had left on his face, clenched his fist and muttered: "Zi Ying, you wait and see, even if it's the entire Joseon country, they can't take you away."

  On August 23, 1945, Ye Zhichao and Nie Shicheng's troops retreated from Yashan and arrived outside Pingyang Castle. On the evening of the 23rd, Ye Zhichao ordered each camp officer to arrive at the central military account at midnight to discuss entering the city. Ye Zhi Kui looked at the time, now it was still around 5 pm, more than an hour away from Ye Zhichao's scheduled time.

  For Ye Zhi-chao, Ye Zhi-kui has always been a complex and entangled figure. Having inherited the memories of his previous self, he also inherited various emotions. The previous Ye Zhi-kui was raised by Ye Zhi-chao himself, and it was Ye Zhi-chao who helped him study abroad. It can be said that Ye Zhi-kui's closest person in this world is indeed Ye Zhi-chao. However, as a modern-day Ye Zhi-kui, he clearly understands the magnitude of Ye Zhi-chao's guilt. The responsibility for the failure of the Pyongyang Battle should be borne by him alone. It was his incompetence and lack of courage that led to the defeat. He neither launched a southern campaign nor took risks to divide and conquer, but instead concentrated most of his troops in and around Pyongyang Castle, spending his days drinking and feasting with his generals, waiting for the Japanese army to attack.

  And after the Japanese army surrounded Pingyang, he was even more disheartened and timid, and actually proposed to abandon the city and retreat north. As the commander-in-chief, you should first consider how to defend the city, but instead, you spend all day thinking about how to escape. It is precisely this kind of defeatist thinking that has led to the Qing army's repeated defeats. Morale in battle is very important; if you are afraid and run away, you will be defeated, and after being defeated, you will become even more fearful, falling into a vicious cycle. By the later stages of the war, the Qing army had already begun fleeing with their tails between their legs before they even saw the Japanese.

  At this time, Ye Zhichao had not yet been appointed by the imperial court as the commander-in-chief of all armies stationed in Pyongyang, but the news of Cheng Huan's great victory had already been reported to the emperor, and he believed that it would not be long before he was appointed. Ye Zhiyong would never allow history to repeat itself, and the breakthrough could only be made with Ye Zhichao. He, who was deeply respected by Ye Zhichao, believed that his words still carried weight in Ye Zhichao's heart.

  This was his first time going to see Ye Zhichao, previously he also didn't dare to go because Ye Zhichao was the most familiar with Ye Zhiwei, he was afraid that if he had any big changes it would arouse Ye Zhichao's suspicion. Now it was unavoidable, and after such a long war, even if the current Ye Zhiwei had some big differences from before, it could be attributed to how war matures men.

  Ye Zhiwei was alone, holding a food box containing a cooked carp. Ye Zhixiao loved to eat fish and it was almost time for dinner, so Ye Zhiwei brought the fish along.

  Ye Zhi Kui rushed to the gate of Ye Zhi Chao's camp, where two bodyguards hastily blocked his way. Ye Zhi Kui glared at them with wide eyes, but the bodyguards dared not meet his gaze and still barred his path, saying: "Young General, the Commander-in-Chief has ordered that no one is to disturb him."

  Ye Zhi Kui saw the unusual expression on his personal soldier's face, which further piqued his curiosity. He darkened his face and coldly said, "Do you know what you're doing? Get out of the way." As he spoke, he ignored his personal soldier's attempts to stop him and walked in directly. The personal soldier paced back and forth anxiously, while Ye Zhi Kui said without turning his head, "Don't worry, I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens."

  As he entered the room where Ye Zhichao was resting, Ye Zhiwei heard a faint humming noise. He pushed open the door and saw Ye Zhichao half-reclining on the bed, motionless, with a long gun in his hand, the muzzle pointing at the flame. Ye Zhiwei could see that he was smoking opium. Judging from Ye Zhichao's appearance, he was quite addicted to it.

  Ye Zhiwei threw the food box to the ground and rushed forward, snatching the pipe gun and throwing it to the ground, trampling on it fiercely. Ye Zhichao was half asleep and had no idea what was happening, couldn't see clearly, and shouted loudly: "Come! Come, take this madman out and beat him with twenty big boards!" Several bodyguards quickly heard the voice and ran over, seeing that it was Ye Zhiwei, they all stood aside in silence. Ye Zhiwei let out a loud roar: "Still not going down?" The bodyguards disappeared instantly with a few swift movements.

  Ye Zhi-chao got out of bed, hastily picked up the cigarette on the floor, regardless of its dirtiness, lit it against the flame, and took two puffs before finally exhaling a long breath and calming down.

  Ye Zhi's eyes had been coldly observing from the side, waiting until Ye Zhishao was satisfied before walking forward and saying sorrowfully: "Uncle, what are you doing? How can I explain this to others?"

  Ye Zhi-chao looked at his familiar yet unfamiliar nephew, thinking of his brother who had sacrificed himself to save him. Seeing the determined and painful expression on his face, he felt that Ye Zhikui had matured and was no longer the timid child who needed his protection. He couldn't help but feel happy for his brother.

  He thought of his own situation and let out a long sigh, saying: "From Yun, I'm now inseparable from it."

  Ye Zhihui interrupted him and said: "Uncle, opium is harmful to people. Look at you now, you've lost over ten kilograms compared to before. Even the Daoguang Emperor was able to quit his addiction back then. I believe that as long as you have the heart, uncle can also quit."

  Ye Zhi-chao had long lost confidence, and after hearing Ye Zhikui's words, he remained silent. Ye Zhikui stepped forward, grasped his hands, and said: "Uncle, trust me, I will definitely help you quit, the army still needs your heart now."

  Speaking of the army, Ye Zhichao finally came to his senses and smiled: "From Yun, I didn't expect you to be good at fighting, it seems that sending you to Prussia back then wasn't a mistake. This time you've made great contributions, your uncle has already taken care of everything, my nephew will soon rise to prominence, and the Ye family will also rise to power. Your uncle is old now and can't give you much more support, everything depends on yourself. Also, after this war, your uncle feels that his energy is not what it used to be, so from now on, Yun, you should come up with more strategies for your uncle."

  Ye Zhiwei heard his heartfelt words and completely accepted this uncle from the bottom of his heart, answering with tears in his eyes. The two uncles chatted for a while longer, but since there was still a military meeting later, Ye Zhiwei didn't stay long either. Before leaving, he called Ye Zhicha's personal soldiers to his side and instructed them to take good care of Ye Zhicha, gradually reducing the amount of opium until Ye Zhicha quit it.