Chapter 61- With Both Ma Yuan and Yin Hong Eliminated Su Hu Defected to Xiqi

It starts with Xia's tactics. He's not meeting Ma Yuan head-on. He's leading him on a chase, using his special mount, the Suboxiang. But he keeps doubling back, doesn't he? It's not just running away. No, it's deliberate. The text calls it yidili, the method of luring the enemy. Xia knows Ma Yuan is just pure rage and pride at this point. So he gives him little tastes of battle. Just enough. A few skirmishes here and there. Enough to keep Ma Yuan thinking, I've almost got him. Then Xia pulls back again. It's designed to frustrate him endlessly. And this chase leads them somewhere pretty awful, doesn't it? The landscape itself sounds terrible. Oh, absolutely. The description is intense. It's like the mountain pass itself is part of the strategy. Steep cliffs, cold shadows, high clouds. And dangerous animals. Yeah, hungry wolves, roaring tigers, the works. Plus it's all tangled vines, thick pine forest, bamboo groves everywhere. It's meant to be exhausting, physically and mentally. Imagine chasing your mortal enemy through that. You'd be tripping over roots, losing sight of him in the trees. Exactly. And the paths are described as ancient, winding, hard to follow. Ma Yuan is running on pure adrenaline and hatred. But the terrain is just grinding him down. So by the time night falls, he must be completely wrecked. The text uses the phrase li jin jinshu. Basically, his strength is gone, his muscles are shot. He finally collapses, needing rest. But Ziya's not finished. Oh, right. This is the really cool part. Ziya sets up a fake victory party. Yeah, up on the mountain summit. Ma Yuan, trying to rest, suddenly hears cannon fire, sees torches, fireballs. And he lifts up. And sees Jiang Ziya and King Wu seemingly celebrating on horseback, shouting about how they finally captured Ma Yuan. Wow, talk about psychological warfare. He hasn't even been caught. Nope, it's pure theater. And Ma Yuan, already exhausted, just loses it. He spends the entire night charging up the mountain, finding nothing. Then hearing shouts like, don't let him escape, down near the base. Chasing ghosts, essentially. Pretty much. He achieves absolutely nothing, but burns through every last bit of energy he had left. By dawn, he's not just tired. He's starving, utterly depleted. And his hatred is now mixed with this desperate, gnawing hunger. And that state, that's the crucial setup for what comes next, isn't it? It absolutely is. Because this is where the story takes that incredibly dark turn. Okay, so Ma Yuan, desperate, hungry. He hears someone crying. Yes, from a patch of thick grass. He pushes it aside and finds a woman there. She said she's just a commoner, suffering from a terrible heart ailment, Xin Kitang. And she's begging for help. Desperately. She wants him to fetch hot soup from a nearby village, says it's the only thing that can save her life. It sounds like a classic damsel in distress moment. But Ma Yuan isn't exactly Prince Charming here. Not even close. His reaction is ice cold. He basically tells her, look, you're dying anyway. And then he makes this horrifying proposal. This is the part that's just, yeah. He says, why not do a favor and let me, the poor Taoist, eat you? It's shocking. And he uses this strange phrase, doesn't he? Something about converting her. Yes, why? Converting you into a fast. Well, it's a really twisted use of language. How so? What does zai usually mean? Zai relates to Taoist practices, fasting, purification, religious observance. He's taking this spiritual term and completely perverting it to justify, well, cannibalism. Framing it as some kind of necessary act. Even a bizarre favor to him, the poor Taoist. Wow. So he's using religious language to excuse something truly horrific. It shows how far gone he is. Absolutely. It signals his complete moral collapse. He's abandoned any sense of common decency or compassion. He's operating on pure survival instinct and this warped justification. Her protest, how can there be a reason to eat people, just highlights how monstrous his suggestion is. And he doesn't hesitate, does he? No. The text is brutal. He steps on her chest and thigh to hold her down, pulls out his sword, cuts her open, and immediately starts drinking her blood. It says, scalding hot blood. Just driven by that hunger and desperation. Pure primal need at this point. But then comes the twist. He tries to reach in to eat her heart. The phrase is mu qin qi, feel for the heart to eat. His hands are just sloshing around in blood. He realizes there are no internal organs inside her. Bing, whoa, zang, nothing. Whoa. So it wasn't a real person. Not a real person. He instantly knows it's magic, some kind of illusion, a trap. So he goes from this act of, you know, ultimate brutality, straight into realizing he's been tricked. In the same instant. And while he's struggling, confused, hands stuck inside this magically empty body, health arrives, or rather, an intervention. This is wen shu guang fa tian zun. That's him. A major disciple of Yuan Shi Tanzun from the Jade Void Palace. He shows up riding a spotted deer, sword ready. The trap has worked perfectly. The empty body proved Ma Yuan's own depravity trapped him. Precisely. His own actions sealed his fate. And it gets worse for Ma Yuan. He tries to pull his hands out. But he can't. Nope. The woman's stomach magically seals shut, trapping his hands inside. Then his feet somehow fuse to her body too. He's completely stuck, basically squatting there. And globalized. And Tianzun is about to finish him off. Raises his sword for the killing blow. This looks like the end. Justice for the cannibal, right? You'd think so. But then, another voice calls out. Another intervention. This chapter is just packed. It really is. A voice shouts, Daoist brother, hold your sword! And in comes the zenti Daoist. Okay, and who is he? He sounds important. Very. He introduces himself with a verse, claiming to be ancestor Bodhi and a great master of the Dharma, the Western Teaching. This is a major power player from a different faction, essentially. The Western Teaching. Like Buddhism. Or a precursor. It represents the nascent Buddhist tradition within the novel's cosmology. And zenti immediately gives two very specific, very bureaucratic reasons why Ma Yuan should be killed. Bureaucratic. Even in a moment like this. Oh, yeah. Welcome to the politics of the gods in Fengshengyanyun. First, zenti points out Ma Yuan isn't on the Fengshen Bang, the official list of who is destined to die and be invested as a god in this specific conflict. So, technically, killing him now is against the rules. According to zenti, yes. It disrupts the destined plan for the Fengshen Bang. But the second reason is the kicker. Okay, what is it? Zenti declares that Ma Yuan actually has deep spiritual roots. Gening Sinki Zong. And, crucially, is fated to join his Western Teaching, the Wuchifang You Yuan. Wait, hang on. The guy who just tried to eat someone has deep spiritual roots and is fated for the West? That sounds convenient. Doesn't it? This is where you really see the underlying power dynamics. Is it destiny? War. Or is zenti basically seeing a powerful, albeit morally compromised warrior who's currently vulnerable and thinking, I can use him. It looks a lot like spiritual headhunting. Poaching a potential asset, basically. Yeah, that's strongly implied. Ma Yuan's cultivation level, his ganshing, is valuable. Zenti sees that potential and his current predicament makes him easy pickings for conversion, the actual cannibalism. Apparently negotiable if you're destined for the West. And how does Wenshu Guangfa Tianzhen react, the guy who is about to execute Ma Yuan? He agrees immediately. Just says, the poor Taoist accepts your command. Shows you the authority zenti wields, or at least the respect, according to the Western teaching. There's no argument about Ma Yuan's actions. Wow. So the conversion happens right then and there. Instantly. Yeah. Zenti performs a ceremony called Moqing Shouji, touching the crown of Ma Yuan's head, conferring enlightenment, or marking him for the Western path. And he tells Ma Yuan his old life was pointless. Pretty much dismisses his years of practicing Taoist five elements cultivation. W.O. Xing Shulian has a waste of time. Then he lays out this glowing future for Ma Yuan in the West. What's the pitch? Paradise, basically. Discussing the profound three vehicles teaching, San Cheng Daki, by the peaceful Eight Vajus Pool, enjoying total freedom in the Jeweled Seven Treasures Forest. It's an irresistible offer for someone currently stuck, squatting on a magical corpse, you know. Yeah, I imagine Ma Yuan's pretty motivated to accept at this point. He agrees instantly. Bows repeatedly. He goes from cannibal prisoner to holy convert in, like, 30 seconds. It's an incredible turnaround, but there's one more piece to this, isn't there? Something changes hands. Ah, yes. The transaction isn't purely spiritual. Before Zenti leads Ma Yuan off to the West, he gives something to Wenshu Guangfu Tianzhen. What is it? The God-Striking Whip. The Dingxian Bayan. And he tells Tianzhen to pass it on to Jiang Ziya. The God-Striking Whip. That's a hugely important artifact in the story, isn't it? Gives Ziya authority over the gods on the list. Exactly. It's a critical tool for Jiang Ziya to actually complete the investiture. We go from this, like, cosmic judgment straight into cold, hard politics on the battlefield. Okay, for Ziya, the clock's ticking, and the person blocking him is Yin Hong. And he's not just any general. No, he's the son of the previous Shang Qing. The very dynasty Ziya is supposed to overthrow. So, yeah, it's messy. Really complicated. All right, so let's start at the command center. Ziya's there. The key Daoists are there. It sounds urgent. What's happening right at the start? What's the setup? Well, the urgency is all about that investiture deadline. First thing, you see power consolidating. Guangfa Tianzhen shows up. He's just dealt with another threat, Ma Yuan. And crucially, he gives Ziya the Daxian Bian. The God-Beating Whip. Exactly. But as boom, the focus snaps straight to Yin Hong. And you see Qi Jingzi, who is actually Yin Hong's master, he's visibly upset. The source says his eyebrows are knitted together. His own student is messing up Heaven's schedule by fighting for the wrong side. Hold on. So the master's feelings for his student, that whole master-apprentice bond, the Shituji King, that takes a backseat to making sure Yin Hong basically makes his appointment for the afterlife list on time. That sounds incredibly cold. In the world of feng shen, yeah, pretty much. The divine mandate, Heaven's will, it trumps everything. Human feelings are, well, secondary. And that's why Qi Hong Dao Ren's arrival is so pivotal. Ah, okay. So Qi Hong shows up and kind of cuts through the feeling. Cuts right through it. Clarifies the only way forward, the only divine way. Which involves pulling out the seriously big guns, I'm guessing. Oh, yeah. Qi Hong asks Ziya straight up, basically, hey, remember when you broke those Tenju Arrays? You still got that Taiji Two thing, the Supreme Ultimate Diagram. And Ziya says yes, it's available. He does. And then Qi Hong lays it out. If you want to capture Yin Hong, it has to be Qi Jingzhi, his master, using the Taiji Two. No other way. Wow, the irony. The master has to be the one to basically take him out using this ultimate weapon. Impressing, isn't it? And Qi Jingzhi is really, really reluctant. You can feel it. But the others basically say, look, we have to do this. And we're afraid we'll miss the deadline. So his personal feelings overruled by the cosmic schedule. Okay, so the trap is laid. Ziya goes out, confronts Yin Hong. But it's not a real fight, is it? It's a lure. Exactly. It's a smart little military move wrapped up in this huge divine plot. Ziya rides out. They clash for just a few rounds, very briefly. Then Ziya pretends to lose. And here's the key bit. He doesn't run back to his safe city. He specifically flees towards the wilderness, the empty space to the south they'd picked out. He's leading him right into it. And Yin Hong, who's probably already nervous because his ally Ma Yuan vanished, he's going to chase him, thinking he's finally got Ziya cornered. Precisely. He takes the bait. Which brings us right to the moment of truth. Ziya leads Yin Hong into the kill zone. Qi Jingzhi is there waiting. He can't put it off anymore. And it's just tragic. Qi Jingzhi sees his student charging, totally unaware. And the text says, tears just start falling. He sighs about how stubborn Yin Hong is. Calls him basically an animal for breaking his word. And then he unfurls the Taiji too. Okay, we need to really understand this thing, the Taiji too. It's not just like a magic net or something, right? What is it? How does it work? Right. It's not a physical attack. It's called the Jinxia, a treasure that contains like everything, all of existence. And when Qi Jingzhi opens it, it instantly becomes this golden bridge, shimmering, inviting. A bridge? Why a bridge? It plays on arrogance, I think. Yin Hong sees this golden path appear out of nowhere and just scoffs. He calls it a cheap trick, an illusion. And his big mistake, he rides straight onto it. He walks right into the trap, willingly? Completely willingly. And that's when the diagram's true nature kicks in. It stops being just a bridge and becomes, well, a mental prison. It activates the four symbols, which create infinite changes. It literally weaponizes his own mind, his fears, his conscience against him. How does that, I mean, what does he actually see or experience? Is it just illusions? It's way more terrifying than that. It's personalized chaos. It taps directly into his thoughts. So he worries about an ambush. Bam. Ambushers suddenly attack him. They fight for a second, then poof, they vanish, leaving him totally confused. Whoa. He desperately wants to capture Xia. Suddenly Xia is right there. They fight again, and then Xia just disappears. It's yanking him back and forth between his fears and desires. So it's not a dream. It's like his inner world made real, but completely broken and nonsensical. Like the worst kind of trip imaginable, mixed with his deepest regrets. And the most chilling part, he starts thinking of home, of Chao Ge. And suddenly, he's there. He sees his dead mother, Empress Jiang, his aunt, Lady Yang. But they're like ghosts, silent, disconnected, no real interaction. It leaves him, as the text says, like he's dreaming or totally losing his mind. And he has no stable thoughts left. His mind is the cage. And inside that cage, he finally has to face the music, the broken oath. That's the climax inside the diagram. His own mother, Empress Jiang Niang Niang, appears as this sort of spectral figure. And she confronts him. She's the ultimate witness to why this is happening. He broke his promise. He chose to back the wrong side, the wicked side, against the righteous one. So it's not just being killed in battle. It's like a spiritual court-martial, based on a contract he himself wrote. Precisely. And she reminds him of the exact words he used when he made that vow. He swore that if he broke his word, his own limbs would turn into fly ash. It's his own curse coming due. Karma, basically. He must be desperate at this point. Does he try to plead? Oh, yeah. He begs his master, Qi Jingzi, who's outside the diagram, watching all this. He blames Shen Gongbao for tricking him. And you see that flicker again, that Xun, the master-student bond. Qi Jingzi hesitates for just a second. They haven't scheduled waits for no one, right? Not a chance. Shi Hongdao Ren steps in again, absolutely cuts to the emotion, reminds Qi Jingzi very sternly. Hmm. Xun, heaven's will is clear. And then the killer line, don't you dare delay his scheduled arrival time at the investiture of the god's platform. It's just brutal. The master's love versus the divine timetable, and the timetable wins. Mandate is absolute. So Qi Jingzi, heartbroken, holding back tears. He does it. He shakes the diagram, rolls it up, and then instantly unfurls it again. What happens to Yin Hong? Gone. Instantly. Him, his horse, everything just turned into fly ash. Utterly gone. His soul goes straight to the Feng Shun Tai, the investiture platform. Judgment delivered. Qi Jingzi is left grieving. But yeah, the war needed this sacrifice. Wow. Okay. So, the divine obstacle is removed. Poof. Fly ash. And then, what happens down on the ground with the actual human armies? Does everything just pause? Pause. Not even close. This is where it gets really interesting, politically. The instant Yin Hong is gone, and news must travel fast, or maybe the vibe just changes. The human generals react immediately. So who makes the first move? Su Hu. He's the Marquis of Jizhou, the main commander for the Shang loyalists at this point. He pulls his son, Su Quanzong, aside, like, right away. And they decide, basically on the spot, Okay, time to switch sides. Just like that. No agonizing. Su Quanzong even says something like, Look, we would join Zhu ages ago if it wasn't for tough guys like Lu Yu and, well, Yin Hong holding things together. It's pure opportunism. The power just shifted dramatically. So, survival instincts kicking in. What do they do? Just ride over to Ziya's camp. Much smarter than that. Su Hu immediately writes a letter. A formal defection letter to Ziya. But he frames it carefully, of course. He claims his heart, niece, belonged to Zhu for ages. He makes himself useful immediately. That's the key. He proposes a plan. Okay, what's the plan? He tells Ziya, You guys should launch a surprise night raid on our camp. Tonight? And then he promises that during the chaos, he and his son will personally capture the other main loyalist generals. He even names names. Zhang Lun, Lu Fu, and Gu Zong. The letter gets shot into Ziya's city on an arrow. Nangong Shi finds it, brings it to Ziya, and BAM! The defection is real. The plan is set. And the fate of the remaining Shang forces is pretty much sealed. Right after a Shang defeat. And the surviving generals, Zhang Lun, Lu Fu, Gu Zong, they're doing the standard thing. Talking about, you know, sending a report back to Chiyouj, the capital, asking for backup. They want to keep fighting. But their commander, Su Hu, he's playing things very close to the chest. He just tells them he'll deal with the matter tomorrow. Right. And they totally miss it. They don't realize Su Hu has already decided, basically, I'm done with Shang. He's secretly planning to defect, to go over to Xiqi, that very night. Exactly. And that quiet decision, that's the spark that ignites everything we're about to discuss. Okay, let's get into the raid itself. The military strategy. Yeah, this is where you really see the craftiness of Zhang Ziya, Xiqi's prime minister and top strategist. This wasn't just a random clash. It was timed perfectly, built on good intel. The sources mention the timing, right? Ziya gives the orders around noon. Mm-hmm, noon. Gives everyone time to get ready. But the actual attack doesn't happen until the second watch. So, around midnight. Why wait so long? Well, surprise, obviously. It's huge in a night raid. But I think the real brilliance here is how they combined the defection with the attack. Ah, right. Su Hu switching sides. Exactly. Because Su Hu was defecting from within, the camp's defenses, the patrols, any kind of warning system. It was probably already neutralized before Xiqi's soldiers even showed up. So, it wasn't really a high-risk assault. It was more like a cleanup operation set up from the inside. That's a good way to put it. A surgical mop-up. Yeah. And Ziya's deployment reflects that confidence. You've got Yellow Fei Hu and his sons, a powerhouse unit, hitting the front. Okay. Then Deng Zhiguan on the left flank, Nan Gongxi on the right, and the young gun, Ne Zha, covering the rear. Pretty solid. So, the signal goes off. A cannon blast, I think. Yeah, a cannon blast. And Yellow Fei Hu's troops just pour in. The source specifically says they found no cover. Meaning the Xiang soldiers were totally unprepared, sleeving. Pretty much confirms it. Su Hu's groundwork must have been thorough. No chance for them to mount any kind of organized defense. And the fighting itself sounds incredibly quick and decisive. Zheng Lun, the loyalist we mentioned, he rushes out on his fire-eyed golden-eyed beast. Right, wielding his demonic pestle. A fearsome sight, I imagine. He runs straight into Yellow Fei Hu and his sons, and that fight is described as unresolvable, like a stalemate. Yeah, a genuine clash of titans there. But, while Zheng Lun is tied up in the center, the flanks are collapsing. Completely. On the left, Deng Zhiguan meets Lu Fu. The source says Deng kills him with one slice. One slice, wow. Yeah, over incredibly fast. No contest, really. And the right flank. Yeah. Nan Gongxi versus Gu Zhang. Similar story, though maybe slightly different. Nan Gongxi engages Gu Zhang. Gu Zhang sees it's hopeless, tries to run for it. Bad move. Fatal move. Yellow Tianqiang, one of Fei Hu's sons, presumably intercepts him. A surprise spear thrust. And that's the end of Gu Zhang. Okay, so Lu Fu and Gu Zhang are down. And here's a really interesting detail the source throws in. You should really note this. It explicitly states the souls of Lu Fu and Gu Zhang went straight to the Fengshen platform. Okay, remind us the Fengshen platform. There's, like, the cosmic recruitment center. For gods. Essentially, yes. It's the register for those destined for ennoblement in the celestial bureaucracy after death. So, mentioning this isn't just color commentary. It's singling that these deaths were, like, fated. Part of a bigger divine plan. Exactly. It reinforces that whole mandate of heaven theme. The Jingqi isn't just winning battles through skill. They're fulfilling destiny. These outcomes were preordained. Got it. So with the flanks gone and destiny apparently on Xiqi's side, Zheng Lun's situation looks pretty grim. It was inevitable, really. Deng Zhugong, having finished off Lu Fu, circles back. He catches Zheng Lun from the side. The classic flanking maneuver. Textbook. Blocks the demonic pestle, grabs Zheng Lun's robe. Can you picture that? Yanks him right off his mount and has him tied up. Just like that. The raid's a total success. Decisive. Absolutely spectacular. And while all this fighting is happening, remember the quiet part of the plan. Su Hu and his son. They slip out and enter Xiqi through the west gate. Smooth as silk. By dawn, the Shan camp is effectively gone. Annihilated, captured, scattered. Okay, so the battle's over. Now we shift scenes, right? From the chaos of the night raid to the more controlled environment of Zhang Ziya's court. The silver antechamber, yes. And this is where Ziya shifts from a military commander to, well, master politician. He's setting the stage. Totally. First, he gets the reports from his generals. Yellow Fei Hu, Deng Jigong reporting the kill and capture. Nangong Shi reporting Gu Zong's death via Yellow Tianxiang. Establishes the victory clearly. And then Su Hu arrives. The defector. Right. And Ziya lays it on thick. Praising Su Hu's great virtue, his righteousness. Calling him a true hero for abandoning the pollution of the age. That language is very deliberate, isn't it? It's not just welcoming him. It's framing his treason as a noble act. Oh, completely. It legitimizes Su Hu instantly. Makes him look like a moral crusader, not a turncoat. And it sends a message to anyone else in the Shang ranks who might be having doubts. Come on over. The water's fine, and it's the right thing to do. Pretty much. Ziya's managing the narrative masterfully. And then comes the main event, Jing Lun. Right, the captured loyalist. He's brought in. Pushed forward, the source says. And despite being bound, defeated, probably roughed up, he refuses to kneel. Stands tall. Stands tall and just glares daggers at Su Hu. Imagine the tension in that room. Su Hu, his former commander, now standing there, celebrated by the enemy, while Zhang Lun faces death for the loyalty Su Hu just threw away. Oof, intense. And his defiance doesn't stop there. Ziya speaks to him, and Jing Lun just fires back. Calls Ziya a stupid fellow, a rebel. He doesn't hold back. Says he wished he could capture them all and drag them to Tarz for proper justice. He basically says, kill me now. I'm not surrendering. His line is, I have death only. Why speak more? Incredible defiance. So what does Ziya do? His reaction is immediate. Cold. Orders the execution. Push him out and chop him up. Whoa. Just like that. But this is where you see Ziya's calculation. You think it was a bluff? I think it was pure political theater. Was he really going to execute a general known for fierce loyalty? Someone potentially useful? Probably not. So the execution order was a setup. Exactly. A provocation. Designed to achieve a specific political goal, it sets the stage perfectly for Su Hu to intervene. Ah. So Ziya created a situation where Su Hu could publicly save Jing Lun. Precisely. Su Hu immediately plays his part. Kneels before Ziya. And pleads for Jing Lun's life. What's his argument? It's smart. He praises Jing Lun's loyalty and righteousness, valuable qualities, even if currently aimed at the wrong side. And crucially, he points out Jing Lun is highly useful. Practical. Very. He asks Ziya to pardon him, invoking this idea of releasing resentment and using the enemy. Turn foe into friend. And Ziya. Ziya smiles, admits the whole thing was basically orchestrated. He knew Jing Lun was loyal. The execution order, it was a deliberate move to let Su Hu be the hero, make the save. Creating a sense of obligation in Jing Lun. Correct. Making it easier for him to accept switching sides later. Exactly. It lowers Jing Lun's psychological defenses. Right. Makes the eventual persuasion easier. It's incredibly shrewd. Roofless, even. Wow. Okay, so Ziya sets the stage. Su Hu makes the plea. Now, Su Hu has to actually convince Jing Lun. This is the core persuasion moment. Yes. Su Hu goes over to the captured, probably still fuming, Jing Lun and launches into this incredibly structured argument. It's designed point by point to dismantle Jing Lun's loyalty to Sheng. Let's break it down. Argument one. Pure pragmatism. He tells Jing Lun, essentially, wake up and smell the coffee. The quote is, he who recognizes the times is a hero. Meaning? Meaning, don't be an idiot and die for a lost cause. Surrendering now isn't cowardice, it's being smart. It's the action of a gentleman who sees the machine in motion, recognizing reality. Okay, so it reframes surrender as wisdom, not betrayal. Yeah. Smart. What's argument two? This one's the big gun. The mandate of heaven. Ah, the divine right or lack thereof. Exactly. Su Hu paints King Zhu as lawless, someone who's caused heaven's sorrow and the people's resentment. Because the king is failing his duty, heaven itself wants Sheng destroyed. So loyalty to this king is actually going against heaven's will. Precisely. It elevates the act of switching sides from treason against a man to alignment with cosmic justice, a very powerful justification. Okay, that's a heavy hitter. Argument three. Precedent. He points to other respected generals already in the Shiki camp. Like Yellow Fei Hu, like Deng Zhigang. People Zeng Lun would know and maybe respect. Right. He says they aren't disloyal. They switched because the ruler lost his way. The argument is loyalty is owed to the position, the dynasty, the people, not to a tyrant who mistreats everyone. A bad ruler becomes a lone tyrant, forfeiting legitimacy. Shifting the definition of loyalty. Clever. Argument four. This one's about fate, destiny, looking at the track record. Su Hu basically says, look around Zeng Lun. Think about all the talented Sheng warriors Shiki has already defeated. The writing's on the wall. Pretty much. He argues this consistent pattern of Yuki success isn't just luck or better soldiers. It's evidence of heaven's will. It's the tide of history. Why fight something so inevitable? An appeal to overwhelming odds, but framed as destiny. And the final argument. Number five. The sweetener. Simple self-interest. He promises Zeng Lun unlimited enjoyment, status, prosperity. If he just switches sides now, join the winning team, secure your future. So it's a combination punch. Be smart. Be righteous. Follow precedent. Accept destiny. And hey, get rewarded. Exactly. Pragmatism, philosophy, history, fate, and personal benefit. It's a comprehensive case. And it works. Completely. The source says Zeng Lun felt like he was waking up from a dream or sobering up from being drunk. A sudden profound shift in perspective. He realizes his rigid loyalty was misplaced. Yes, but he has one last practical worry. He's afraid Zia's generals, the guys he was just fighting, won't accept him. Bad blood, you know. Understandable fear. How does Su Hu handle that? He reassures him. Says Zeng Lun's capacity for forgiveness and acceptance is like the ocean it takes in all rivers, and his generals. They're noble guys who follow Zia's lead. They'll be fine. And Zia confirms this. Immediately. Orders Zeng Lun released from his bonds. And Zeng Lun. The transformation is complete. He gets dressed properly, then formally bows to Zia, thanking him for his mercy. The loyalist enemy is now a loyal ally. Incredible turnaround. So what happens next? They've gained Su Hu, his forces, and now Zeng Lun. Jingyi's leadership is looking even stronger. Zia then takes Su Hu and, presumably, Zeng Lun and the other defectors to meet the big boss, King Wu. How does that meeting go? King Wu is gracious, welcoming, but he sticks to the official script, which is important. He says Xiqi will keep acting like dutiful vassals. They're just, you know, waiting for the Shang Emperor to see the error of his ways and return to virtue. Ah, maintaining the political cover. Even though they're clearly winning and aiming higher? Exactly. It's crucial for their legitimacy. They're positioning themselves not as usurpers, but as reluctant correctors, acting on behalf of heaven and the people. The moral high ground. And the news of all this. Su Hu's defection, the capture of Zeng Lun. It must send ripples. Oh, major shockwaves. The source specifically mentions that Han Rong, the commander of the strategic Sishui Pass, hears about Xiqi gathering all these heroes. He's panicked. Immediately sends an urgent report to Che.