Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

“Your Majesty, is it fragrant?”

Xu Yanmiao sat atop a large boulder, resting his chin in his hands. Around him was a dense, misty forest, barely visible through the thick fog that had risen after the heavy rain.

The old emperor let out an awkward laugh.

The fragrance of the rain-soaked vegetation was indeed pleasant, but they were utterly lost.

In truth, the mountains north of the Qinling range generally had sparse vegetation and lacked dangerous beasts or insects, making them relatively safe. However, this was Shanhai Pass—a treacherous, formidable area surrounded by towering, unbroken mountain ranges and pristine forests. The old emperor had specifically chosen this region for hunting.

Initially, they hadn’t planned to venture deep into the mountains and had even brought a guide. Under normal circumstances, there should have been no issue finding their way. Unfortunately, bad luck struck when an unusual torrential rainstorm caught them off guard. In their haste to find shelter, they abandoned the idea of taking cover under trees—warned by Bai Ze’s internal voice that they might be struck by lightning—and scrambled to locate a cave.

Even then, they were still on track. The guide had not lost his bearings, and though the heavy mist that followed the rain could have been disorienting, they could have waited it out.

But what truly complicated matters was their encounter with borderland barbarians, who inexplicably recognized the emperor and immediately launched an attack. Forced to flee amidst the chaos, the group found themselves thoroughly lost in the mountains.

The old emperor checked the arrows in his quiver and adjusted his bowstring, letting out a cold snort. “If not for this accursed fog, those barbarians wouldn’t have gotten away with leaving only twenty bodies behind.”

Marquis Yongchang, who always wore a brass arm-ring, finally revealed its purpose. Removing the ring, he pressed one end to the ground and lay his ear against it. After a brief moment, he stood, his expression grim. “Your Majesty! They’re approaching.”

The emperor tossed his quiver over his back. “Move!”

The Minister of Revenue, who had been fashioning small traps from vines and branches, quickly abandoned his work and dusted off his hands before joining the retreat.

After only a short distance—

[Wait, no! Wrong way! That path is blocked!]

The emperor hesitated but pressed forward in the direction he had chosen.

[No, no! That way! Over there! That path is safer and easier to navigate!]

The emperor’s face darkened as he maintained a stony expression. Fine, he thought, but he couldn’t just pivot every time that voice gave instructions. Doing so would make even the dullest observer suspicious.

Finally, after some time, he cautiously altered their route, feigning indecision as if carefully selecting the best path.

In his mind, the voice continued to comment incessantly:

[Oh no! This isn’t right! Look out—there are wild animals ahead!]

Among the party, the officials were drenched in sweat, practically spinning in place like frantic ants on a hot pan.

“Ah!” Marquis Yongchang stomped his foot in secret frustration. If only the voice had mentioned left or right, it would have been so much more helpful!

[Yes! This is the correct way!]

At last, a divine breakthrough!

The emperor remembered the direction but made a show of pausing to assess and pretending to weigh his options before proceeding with apparent deliberation.

At the rear of the group, Xu Yanmiao exhaled in relief.

[Finally, we’re on the right track. If we were caught, it would’ve been a disaster.]

[Darn it! If only I weren’t from the south and unfamiliar with northern mountains, I’d have volunteered to lead already!]

The emperor and the officials thought in unison: “!!!” You could have volunteered anyway! Dream it up, claim divine inspiration, or even attribute it to sheer intuition—anything would have worked! Why didn’t you step up?

The dense fog lingered as the party cautiously pressed on, their torches barely illuminating the treacherous mountain path, slick with rain.

Behind them, the sound of shouts and clashing weapons drew closer—the barbarians were catching up.

The emperor shot a glance at Xu Yanmiao. “Xu—”

[Danger!]

Before the emperor could say “hide,” a chill ran down his spine. Acting on instinct honed in battle, he sidestepped. A spear hurtled past him, tearing through the air, its tip embedding itself into the ground with a dull thud. The emperor’s pupils constricted in response to the near miss.

He looked up to see shadowy figures emerging through the fog ahead.

More barbarians? They had split their forces? But how had they managed to flank so swiftly?

“Curse it all!” Marquis Yongchang spat, drawing his hand-cannon from his waist.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The opposing force banged drums and shouted battle cries.

The wind howled, carrying dust and debris as the two sides edged closer. Gradually, the emperor’s group could make out the figures through the mist—brawny, weathered men, most appearing in their fifties or sixties, armed with swords and shields. Some wore tattered clothing, while others had donned battered armor.

So, these were elite barbarians.

The emperor’s heart sank, but his face remained composed. Calmly, he drew an arrow and notched it onto his bow.

The barbarians in front raised their weapons.@@novelbin@@

And behind them, the pursuing horde surged forward—a seemingly endless wave of figures flooding the mountain trail.

Surrounded on all sides, the emperor’s group braced themselves for a desperate battle.

The wild cries came from behind: “Kill that Han dog emperor!!!”

The old emperor felt something was off. Why did it seem like the accents of the two groups of barbarians were slightly different? The barbarians in front of him spoke Central Plains Mandarin with surprising fluency.

Could it be that fluency in Mandarin was a criterion for barbarian elites? Terrifying thought!

Before he could make sense of it, the group of barbarians clad in tattered armor suddenly had a collective realization. Their eyes lit up: “What? It’s the emperor?!”

The leader immediately prostrated himself, full-body to the ground: “Your Majesty!!!”

The old emperor was dumbfounded.

The officials were dumbfounded.

Xu Yanmiao was dumbfounded.

Only the barbarians behind them were still shouting about killing the dog emperor.

Xu Yanmiao snapped out of it and quickly began sifting through the system.

[Oh no, this group in tattered armor isn’t actually barbarians. They’re wild men of the mountains! No wonder they were howling earlier; it’s their way of scaring off wild animals.]

Wild men?

The ministers of the Great Xia were stunned.

Was this their first time encountering wild men?

Wild men lived so well now? With shields and armor, no less?

The wild men’s leader brandished a broadsword and rallied his men, shouting, “Sons, we’ve trained for years—”

The sons chorused back, “For this very moment!!!”

The leader roared with laughter: “Good! Follow me to rescue His Majesty!!!”

They charged forward with great enthusiasm. They moved effortlessly through the mountainous terrain, and even the thick fog could not hinder their vision. Within moments, several barbarians barely managed a scream before falling lifeless to the ground.

The old emperor gasped audibly, utterly astonished: “Has my prestige extended even to the wild men tribes?”

The Marquis of Yongchang, the Minister of Revenue, and the other officials quickly fell into their usual routine: “Your Majesty is wise and valorous; your renown has spread far and wide, reaching even the wild men.”

[Why is everyone blindly agreeing with the emperor? How could wild men speak Mandarin, know the saying ‘trained for years to be used in a moment,’ or shout about rescuing the emperor?]

The old emperor, momentarily smug, suddenly stopped.

The officials, suddenly self-conscious, fell silent.

[Wait, why aren’t the Marquis Yongchang and the others continuing their flattery?]

The officials: Guess why.

Xu Yanmiao didn’t bother guessing. He kept searching the system, only to be shocked anew:

[Wait, wait, wait. There’s a note here… The so-called wild men in this mountain are actually ‘former soldiers who got lost and lived with the wild men tribes for years.’]

The officials: …

What kind of disgraceful soldiers are these?!

Everyone silently looked down at the ground.

The old emperor said, “Oh, so I’m wise and valorous, my renown spreads far and wide… What then? Why did everyone stop talking?!”

Author’s Note:

A total of 30,000 people boarded the ships in waves. Besides flag bearers, sailors, and warriors, the fleet was equipped with diviners, Jin Yi Guards, various craftsmen, and medical personnel.

The 200 ships spread out across the sea. Among them, 15 were grain ships carrying a total of 300,000 stones of grain, replenished along the way, and 30 were water ships specifically for fresh water storage.

[The data here is sourced from China’s Oceanic History: A Study of Ming Dynasty Naval Power.]

There’s a theory about Zheng He discovering America, proposed by British scholar Gavin Menzies, but it requires further research.

In the story, the timeline aligns roughly with Zheng He’s voyage around 1421, which lasted about two years. This fleet will eventually return home in the narrative.

(There are similar theories: “The Yin People and Qin-Han Alchemists Reaching America,” first suggested by British missionary Medhurst, and “Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties Monks Crossing to America,” proposed by Zhang Binglin and published around 1900 in the French newspaper Le Monde Moderne.)

As for the feat of firing 20 arrows in rapid succession, it’s inspired by Emperor Gaozu of Tang (Li Yuan):

Tang Gaozu led his troops to combat bandits at Longmen County. A bandit leader, Duan’er, had thousands of men laying siege to the city. Gaozu personally led a dozen riders in a counterattack. He fired 70 arrows in succession, each hitting its mark, defeating the bandits who fell with every shot. The following day, the bandits were decapitated, and their heads piled into a mound. All arrows Gaozu fired were retrieved from the corpses, showcasing his incredible skill.—Excerpt from Essentials of Military Classics.