"We managed to capture the Governor in one fell swoop. The various counties in Qin Prefecture have been split up, and there's no one to command them. Hence, their resistance is weak.
"Although we only have 20,000 men, we have to send out a division to attract the attention of the Imperial Court. The troops attacking the capital are of great importance, and only good generals can do so." Xie Cheng Dong spoke out plainly.
When King Lu heard this, he sighed, "I wanted to work together with the North and South. Who knew that Ji Bei Hou would be so useless. In the blink of an eye, we've been defeated."
King Lu slammed his fist on the table as he spoke, his face was filled with frustration. He pondered for some time before he made a decision. He then shouted, "Han Hongwu!"
"Here!" Han Hongwu strode in. He looked to be around 30 years old, and his handsome face was expressionless, as though it was made of steel.
Xie Cheng Dong looked at him and didn't speak. King Lu was once said by the Emperor to be like Xiao Zhen. He wasn't a useless person. Not only did he manage to win over the various generals in the capital, he even had some generals in his own palace.
This Han Hongwu was 19 years old when he was attacked by bandits. He used up his entire family's wealth to recruit soldiers to capture the bandits. He then joined the Imperial Army as a seventh ranked military officer. At that time, there were thousands of bandits on Mt. Tong. He was ordered to kill them and was promoted to a sixth ranked military officer.
By the summer of the following year, he was promoted to a fifth ranked military officer. It was just that this was the end of the war, and he didn't have another chance.
Because Han Hongwu was a villager, he was ostracized and was removed from his position. King Lu stepped in to save him, and thus he became a loyal subordinate of King Lu.
King Lu raised his head and looked at Han Hongwu, "You are skilled in the art of war, and I am well aware of that. I shall give you five thousand elite soldiers, and seven thousand soldiers from the two counties. You shall go and conquer Qin Prefecture. Is that possible?"
"Don't worry, King Lu. I have twelve thousand men. The Governor of Qin Prefecture has been captured, and the counties are without a leader. I shall take care of them quickly." Han Hongwu heard King Lu's orders and knelt down.
"Good!" When King Lu heard this, he turned around and looked at Xie Cheng Dong, "Mister Xie, are you willing to join me and lead an army to attack the capital?"
Xie Cheng Dong looked at King Lu and sighed, "King Lu is valiant and valiant. No one in this world can match up to you. This humble subject is honored to be able to follow your lead."
These words weren't false. Although they had planned to attack the capital city, it was only a strategy and not a real attack. However, it would still be extremely dangerous for them to charge into the heart of the Imperial Court. King Lu was the one who dared to take the risk. This meant that he had a lot of luck.
Furthermore, with King Lu's words, it seemed as though King Lu's luck had increased by several folds.
Upon closer inspection, King Lu's aura had changed drastically. Yellow Qi rose to the top of his head, while purple Qi descended. Black Qi surrounded the purple Qi, forming the shape of a Flood Dragon.
Hiss! Seeing King Lu's aura, Xie Cheng Dong's eyes started to hurt as he hurriedly closed them. If he wasn't King Lu's most trusted subordinate, he wouldn't have been able to see this. Hence, he didn't dare to pry any further. At this point, he sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling both happy and worried.
Luck didn't come out of thin air. Even the Earth Dragon was only yellow Qi. According to this world's Daoist, a hundred thousand people were red, a million were yellow, ten million were green, and sixty million were purple.
When the dynasty unified the world, they counted fourteen million four hundred and eighty thousand households, which equated to seventy million people. Even the Emperor only had purple Qi. How could there be such a change? Could it be that what King Lu and the Blind Daoist said was true?
Thinking about the Blind Daoist, Xie Cheng Dong felt a shadow cast over his heart. The last time someone reported that a monastery had been destroyed by lightning. It was suspected that it was a Heavenly Tribulation. However, the Blind Daoist's whereabouts were unknown.
At this point, he didn't have time to think about it. King Lu then ordered, "Alright, there's no time to lose. Pass down my orders. Prepare the army and set off tomorrow."
"Yes, your majesty." Everyone acknowledged the order.
King Lu paced several steps before he thought of Pei Zi Yun. He then raised his head and looked at the skies outside the door. He then sighed, "The chaos in Ying Prefecture has been quelled in the blink of an eye. Pei Zi Yun is indeed talented. What would my father think of him?"
Capital City
The sun was scorching hot, and the palace maids who were walking around were dressed thinly. However, they were still sweating profusely. As they neared the palace, they moved even more quietly.
A eunuch hurried into the room and saw the Emperor dressed in a silk robe. He was lying on the bed resting. The room was very clean and tidy. Only the incense from the Coiling Dragon Furnace could be heard.
The eunuch knelt down and kowtowed three times, "Long live your majesty!"
Seeing that the Emperor didn't react at all, he knelt down once more and spoke carefully, "Long live your majesty, this servant has brought urgent military news."
"What has that unfilial son done?" The Emperor lay on the bed, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He understood that with his current situation, the only person he could contact was King Lu.
He propped himself up and stared at the eunuch. After some time, he spoke, "It's you. Stand up and speak."
The eunuch slowly stood up and spoke, "Your majesty, there's an urgent report. King Lu has already conquered Qin Prefecture's Dragon Lock Pass."
Hearing the report, the Emperor wasn't enraged. He propped himself up and looked even thinner than before. His face was filled with wrinkles as though it had been carved by a knife. He then sighed, "I know now. Heh, King Lu is indeed capable. How should I feel now?"
After sighing for some time, the Emperor then spoke, "Life and death are common. At this point, I'm no longer angry. All I feel is sorrow."
"To think that in the past, I wielded the three-foot sword and swept across the lands. At that time, I laughed at the ancestors of the Emperor. They were heroes of their generation and accomplished many things. However, they didn't manage their son's death well. Their son's death was a joke to the future generations. Unfortunately, it's my turn now."
The eunuch's tears flowed down his cheeks as he choked. He wanted to say something but couldn't. He could only choke out, "Your majesty, the Imperial Physician said that you're fine. Your majesty just needs to take care of your body."
"The Imperial Physician and all of you have been saying that I'm fine. I know that I don't have much time left." The Emperor laughed, his expression was unreadable. His voice became softer and softer, "My body isn't strong enough to quell the rebellion myself. It's all up to the Crown Prince now."
As he spoke, more news came. The eunuch wiped his tears away and received the report. He then returned, "Your majesty, there's good news. Ying Prefecture has been pacified."
He then handed the report to the Emperor. Hearing this, the Emperor was taken aback, "Oh, so fast?"
He then regained his composure and asked, "Did I say that the report was sent out that fast?"
The eunuch hurriedly explained, "Your majesty, this is a copy of the report. It was sent over by the Dao Records Bureau. According to the imperial court's rules, this isn't considered an official report. This is to prevent Daoists from taking advantage of the situation, and to prevent Daoists from gaining power. The official report is still on its way. It'll take at least half a month for it to arrive."
"En, I understand. Show it to me!" The Emperor said. It was fine if Daoists took advantage of the situation. The key was that during the intense battles, there had been many instances where Daoist techniques had been used to send messages.
After killing people and investigating the matter, it was discovered that both sides were loyal. The only problem was that the process of sending messages had been distorted. The Daoist techniques did not involve nobles, nor did they involve important matters. This was something that had been investigated for generations. Hence, important information was not sent in this way. Instead, it was sent in the traditional way.
The Emperor looked at the report. These reports were all copied, and were smooth to the touch. He could smell the fragrance of the report. The first one was Pei Zi Yun's report. He opened it up and looked at it before stopping, deep in thought.
"Your majesty, is there something wrong?" The eunuch asked softly.
"There's nothing wrong. It's just that Pei Zi Yun's explanation of the report was ingenious. It's very logical." The Emperor replied softly, his eyebrows furrowed. He then continued reading the report.
"It's all because of your majesty's good fortune that you have so many good officials." The eunuch complimented him, but the Emperor did not say anything else. He continued reading Count Zhong Qin's report. As he continued reading, his eyebrows furrowed again, and his face darkened.
The room was filled with smoke from the incense burner. The eunuch looked at the change in the Emperor's expression, and started sweating profusely.
The last report was from Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun. The Emperor looked at it and laughed. He then shook his head. The eunuch was curious, what was written in the report?
The Emperor then said, "Take a look."
"Yes!" The eunuch acknowledged and took the report carefully. As soon as he finished reading, his heart started pounding. His shirt was drenched in sweat, and his hands were trembling. He didn't dare to speak.
Looking at the eunuch's expression, the Emperor leaned back on his throne and let out a long sigh. He then closed his eyes, as if he was tired from reading the report.
After some time, the Emperor opened his eyes, "Help me up, I want to walk."
"Yes, your majesty." The eunuch supported the Emperor as he walked a few steps before reaching the corridor. This was actually a place for him to rest and recuperate. It was next to a pond and a garden. The sun was shining brightly, and the plants were lush. Birds flew across the sky, and butterflies and bees danced around. The Emperor stopped walking and looked at the lake in the distance. The willow tree beside the lake had leaves falling into the water.
"Ai!" The Emperor sighed. The eunuch then spoke softly, "Your majesty, why are you sighing? He's just a Daoist. Your majesty can do whatever you want to do with him."
Hearing these words, the Emperor slapped his fist lightly and said, "Pei Zi Yun does have some talent, and I treasure him. It's just that he's a Daoist, and Count Zhong Qin's words cannot be ignored."
"Your majesty is right." The eunuch said this and didn't say anything else. The Emperor then asked, "The Crown Prince should know about this as well. What's his reaction?"
"The Crown Prince is very happy. He's writing a list of requests for Pei Zi Yun to be conferred the title of True Sovereign. He'll present it to Your Majesty soon." The eunuch spoke. Although the Crown Prince was now in charge of the country, everything was still under the Emperor's control.
"Hm, I understand. Things are urgent now. The imperial court doesn't need to wait for the official report. Let's make a copy of the report and discuss the rewards for the meritorious officials, as well as the candidate for the Governor of Ying Prefecture. Now that the war is over, it's time for the civil officials to govern the country."
"When the official report arrives, issue an imperial edict for the Governor to take up a post in Ying Prefecture. Summon the meritorious officials to the capital city. Based on the official report and the intelligence reports, we shall decide on the rewards for them. When they arrive at the capital city and I meet them, I shall announce the rewards." The Emperor spoke.
"Yes!" The eunuch acknowledged.
Hall of Literature
The Crown Prince started writing. At this point, a voice came from outside, "Crown Prince, the Emperor has an imperial edict."
"Your son receives the imperial edict!" The Crown Prince walked out of the hall and received the imperial edict. The eunuch read it out loud, "King Lu has rebelled, and the war is urgent. In order to calm the hearts of the soldiers, the Crown Prince has summoned all the important officials to discuss the rewards for the meritorious officials in Ying Prefecture, as well as the candidates for the Governor. This is to calm the hearts of the people in Ying Prefecture, and also to guard against the plague and famine."
Hearing the imperial edict, the Crown Prince hurriedly replied, "Yes, your son obeys."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
