Three Sacred Hall archbishops and two thousand Papal Cavalrymen were a mighty force.
Of course, this was the battlefield on the northern border, and the Mount Song Army headquarters had several thousand black-armored cavalry under its command. If they really had to fight, they naturally had a chance.
The problem was that Ning Shiwei and his most trusted subordinate officers had already died in the deep night of the snowy mountains. The position of Divine General of the Mount Song Army headquarters was empty, and the several thousand black-armored cavalry and even more ordinary soldiers were all in a state of panic. They simply didn't know whose orders they should listen to.
The most important problem was that even if someone dared to stand up and give orders, who would dare to take on this responsibility?
Divine General Cheng Tao and Divine General Jian Xi belonged to different camps, and Snowhold Pass and Blue Pass had always found each other displeasing to the eye. But now, in the face of the Orthodoxy's powerful pressure, they had no time to care about their old grudges. They looked into each other's eyes and attempted to obtain some sort of assistance or support from the other.
The Prince of Zhongshan and Tianhai Chenwen were no longer looking at each other, because their previous wariness and worries had already become reality.
Three years ago, Zhou Tong was executed by a thousand cuts on the snowy street, the previous Pope returned to the sea of stars, Chen Changsheng succeeded him, and then quietly vanished in the snow.
The capital quickly regained its calm and the situation steadily advanced. Many people guessed that this was probably some sort of agreement between the Orthodoxy and the Imperial Court, or more accurately, between Shang Xingzhou and Chen Changsheng, master and disciple. As long as he did not remain in the capital, nothing would happen.
The Pope was not in the Li Palace, but was comprehending and cultivating in the world. This was the first time in history that such a situation had occurred.
Everyone knew that this was actually the Pope being exiled.
But no one looked down on the young Pope, much less laughed at him.
In the eyes of the common people, he was only willing to leave for the sake of the overall situation, for the sake of all living beings, for the sake of resisting the demons.
In the following three years, Chen Changsheng truly did not return to the capital.
Other than the one time he appeared on the battlefield of the snowy plains, no one even knew where he was.
In these three years, the Orthodoxy had similarly been extremely silent.
The Li Palace was quiet. Those famous stone pillars had become much older and the ivy on the walls was covered in dust.
The Grass Moon Guild was silent in the twilight. The osmanthus flowers in the Palace of Pure Osmanthus exuded a honey-like fragrance, but no bees came to visit. The House of Moss was still as dark as before. The tile-roofed platform looked like a quiet porcelain after being washed by the rain. Many maple trees outside the Department of Traditional Education had been moved to the Autumn Residence. The Temple of Natural Law in the snow was extremely deserted.
The archbishop of the Hall of Literary Glory, Daoist Baishi; the archbishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons, Mao Qiuyu; the archbishop of the Hall of Subjugation, Daoist Siyuan; the archbishop of the Divine Edict, An Lin; and the archbishop of the Hall of Drifting Clouds, Linghai Zhiwang. Each of them held a treasure of the Orthodoxy and resided in one of the five Daoist halls. They paid no attention to the secular world and rarely saw outsiders. Only the Grass Moon Hall was currently without a master.
The Heavenly Dao Academy and the other five Ivies strictly enforced the rules. The Daoist churches in the various prefectures also kept a low profile.
The All-School Martial Exhibition ended without any success, and even the Ivy Festival and the Grand Examination were stopped for three years.
On the surface, the reason given by the Imperial Court was that the Demon Army was invading the south and the situation was tense, so they had to pause, but everyone knew the real reason.
The Lingyan Pavilion had been turned into ruins by the Divine Empress and the Orthodoxy did not agree to open the Li Palace to the public. What meaning was there in this Grand Examination?
Only in the late autumn of this year, when the snowy mountains welcomed that bloody night, and on this winter day, did the world finally learn of some news about the Pope. At this moment, three Prefects of the Orthodoxy led two thousand Orthodoxy cavalry out of the capital. Without anyone knowing, they arrived at the Mount Song Army headquarters in the distant north.
What did they want to do?
This was the Prince of Zhongshan and Tianhai Chenwen's deepest wariness, their greatest unease.
After three years, the Li Palace was finally no longer maintaining its silence. The Orthodoxy was prepared to once more make its voice known to the entire continent. What did this mean?
"Has His Holiness the Pope finally begun to miss home?"
The Prince of Zhongshan stood up and sarcastically said, "If this means a civil war in the Great Zhou Dynasty, then this is truly marvelous."
Back then, in order to have the Divine Empress spare his life, he had not hesitated to pretend to be a madman and treat himself so cruelly, so what did he have to fear?
But today, his opponent was also a very unyielding person.
Linghai Zhiwang, the youngest of the Prefects of the Orthodoxy, was an extremely rare Sacred Hall archbishop with military experience. If the Pope had not summoned him back to the capital, he would have long ago become a Divine General of the Great Zhou, his seniority even greater than that of Divine Generals Cheng Tao and Jian Xi.
In truth, if Chen Changsheng had not appeared, many people believed that he and Daoist Siyuan were the most likely candidates to become the next Pope.
What did a person like him have to fear? And this was not even mentioning the fact that he had endured in that gloomy and damp place of the Moss Institute for three whole years. Not only had his violent nature not been smoothed out, it had long ago reached the verge of exploding.
"Your Highness is muddle-headed!"
Linghai Zhiwang's unyielding and callous voice echoed through the Mount Song Army headquarters.
The crowd on the street and a few people of slightly lower cultivation in the army headquarters felt like a clap of thunder had exploded in their ears, and they couldn't help but feel dizzy.
He stared into the Prince of Zhongshan's eyes and harshly said, "Should the Orthodoxy not respond to the assassination of His Holiness the Pope?"
The Prince of Zhongshan's gaze was extremely sharp. "Secretly mobilizing the Orthodoxy cavalry to the northern border is your response?"
"Correct." Linghai Zhiwang raised his chin and proudly said, "Because I want to investigate this case."
The assassination of the Pope was naturally a massive case, but how was this case to be investigated?
It was the four sentences he had said before entering the Mount Song Army headquarters.
The Tianhai clan would hand over the person!
Not a single person from the Zhu clan or the Emotion-Severing Sect would be able to escape!
All the officers and soldiers of the Mount Song Army headquarters would be captured and brought back to the capital for the Li Palace to interrogate!
The Imperial Court would have to give a clear explanation!
If they really did as Linghai Zhiwang demanded, the Great Zhou would assuredly be thrown into turmoil.
The Prince of Zhongshan remained unmoved. He impassively asked, "And if I agree to your four conditions?"
The matter of the snowy mountains had nothing to do with him. Although he had once thought about seizing the Cinnabar Pill, he had not had the time to act.
"That is what the Imperial Court should do!" Linghai Zhiwang had no intention of backing down because of his words. He harshly said, "But before the Li Palace can clearly investigate this case, no one can think about becoming the commanding general of the Mount Song Army headquarters, because it might affect our investigation."
Tianhai Chenwen sighed and asked, "Unless His Holiness the Pope designates this person to do it?"
He was naturally speaking of Chen Chou.
The Prince of Zhongshan's complexion turned even nastier. "Truly preposterous!"
Linghai Zhiwang's face was expressionless, cold and detached, just like his voice.
"The Cinnabar Pill is His Holiness the Pope's pity for all living beings. There are people in the court who are so daring as to scheme for this treasure and even plot to harm His Holiness. Do you really think that you won't have to pay a single price? And even if you agree to these four conditions, what use is there? Would the Prince of Xiang dare to agree? "
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(I am currently trying to save up manuscripts. Once I reach twenty thousand characters, I will write as many as I can every day. When the time comes, I should be able to write a little more.)
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