It dawned on him that the problem lay with Kou Zhong.
Under current circumstances, no matter how Shi Feixuan would make her choice, she would never pick Kou Zhong.
Just like Liu Heita said, the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan' itself is only a trivial matter, but Shi Feixuan selecting the Emperor was the big matter involving the land under the heavens.
Shi Feixuan being the representative of Ci Hang Jingzhai, combined with Ning Daoqi's power and prestige, as soon as they announced to the world that they have given the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan' to certain person, how would the outstanding heroes all over the world react?
Therefore, Kou Zhong must not allow this matter to happen.
Previously Kou Zhong used to say that he wanted to snatch the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan' away for himself. Perhaps half of it was spoken in jest.
But now it was a totally different story.
If Kou Zhong entered the fight over the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan', could he, Xu Ziling, stay out of it?
If not, wouldn't it evolve into enmity between them and Shi Feixuan and Ning Daoqi?
※ ※ ※
Wang Shichong, in company with Kou Zhong, the high-ranking military officers, and the various martial art masters moved quickly to mount their horses, and then under the escort of nearly a thousand personal guards, they galloped through Imperial City to the north toward Palace City.
Along the sides of the road they saw soldiers in full armor, obviously the control over Imperial City has completely fallen into Wang Shichong's army.
The surrounding city wall was about nine li long, with palace gates all four sides. The Heavenly Gate was in the middle of the south wall. To the south it faced the Duan Gate, to the north it faced Xuanwu Gate, and the palace halls in between had their main gates all connected by a central axis.
Under the thundering hoof beats, the entire Imperial City seemed to be shaking.
Kou Zhong was riding on Wang Shichong's left side, while Ouyang Xiyi was riding on the other side. Ahead of them Lang Feng, leading thirty riders, was clearing the way. It was such a vast and mighty momentum.
Very soon the Heavenly Gate was in sight. It was actually a double-gate, the depth was twenty-something steps, with imperial city watchtower to its left and right, which were connected by an eighteen-step wide city wall. There was a twelve-zhang open area outside the city gate. This moment the atmosphere was solemn, which was quite intimidating to the onlookers.
The middle gate of the Heavenly Gate was wide open, yet not even half a shadow of guard was to be seen. A baffling situation that was clearly contrary to common sense.
Wang Shichong looked calm. As they were speeding along, he turned to Kou Zhong and said, "Inside the Heavenly Gate, there is Yongtai Gate, and after that is precisely the lord's palace, Qianyang Hall, where general assembly and ceremony are being held, which double as the hall to receive foreign envoys. That fellow Yang Dong usually never goes there.”
"How come I don't see a single palace guard at the Palace City?” Kou Zhong wondered.
Someone behind him replied, "Looks like we scared them off.” But no one considered this as a joke.
Wang Shichong said in heavy voice, "The Imperial Bodyguards under Dugu Feng's control are divided into Yi [assist], Ji [cavalry], Wu [martial/military], Tun [stationed troops], Yu [chariot driver], Hou [nobility/high official], and so on, twelve guard units. Each unit is approximately five hundred men, so that the entire military strength is more than five thousand men; a number that cannot be scorned at. With the solid city walls that they defend, and in line with Dugu Feng's character, they can't possibly retreat without any fight, so we must be a bit more careful.”
Everyone acknowledged with loud noise, their voices shook the Imperial City.
In the blink of an eye, the vanguard had reached the Heavenly Gate. But as they were about to charge inside, a man, with his hands behind his back, stepped out the gate, laughed aloud, and spoke slyly, "Shangshu Daren is bringing your troops pressing on toward the Imperial City like this, I wonder what business do you have?”
※ ※ ※
Liu Heita heaved a deep sigh. He said, "The world is already in chaos; if Shi Feixuan was more involved, the situation would be even more complicated.”
And that was the exact reason why Xu Ziling had headache.
Both Shi Feixuan and Wanwan were the representatives of two major sects, upright and heretical; and both were outstanding martial art masters, which were hard to come by. And now that Wanwan had become their archenemy, if Shi Feixuan was involved, it would not be something fun for the two boys.
Xu Ziling could not help asking, "Where is Shi Feixuan now?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Liu Heita replied, "I heard ten days ago she made an appearance in the vicinity of Luoyang, but afterwards she disappeared without any trace; no matter what, nobody could find the slightest bit of clue on her whereabouts. Just from this fact, we can tell the degree of her brilliance.”
Remembering Wanwan, Xu Ziling could already infer how formidable Shi Feixuan must be. And then thinking that she might become enemy with he and Kou Zhong, momentarily he did not know what to say.
Even if he did not promise Kou Zhong that they would part ways after obtaining the ‘Duke Yang's Treasure', he could not possibly leave Kou Zhong under current circumstances.
Liu Heita went on, "This is precisely the reason I came to Luoyang this time. If we could acquire the ‘Jade Annulus of the He Clan' from Shi Feixuan's hands, it would be the same as half of the world already belonged to King of Xia. Therefore, what's happening in Luoyang this moment can be called a magnificent and unprecedented event. To obtain the world, who would not want to take a chance?”
Xu Ziling also remembered Li Jing. Perhaps he came to Luoyang this time was for the exact same reason, i.e. he was trying to win over the ‘Jade Annulus of He Clan' for Li Shimin. "In Liu Dage's opinion, who would have the chance to win over the ‘Jade Annulus of the He Clan'?” he asked.
Liu Heita laughed involuntarily, "Ziling's use of these words ‘win over' may not be too appropriate,” he said, "Let's not talk about Ning Daoqi watching on the side, merely Shi Feixuan herself, whose swordsmanship has reach the great heights, is enough to prevent anybody from having a wild fantasy. Therefore, using the word ‘beseech' instead of ‘win over' might be more appropriate.”
Xu Ziling was amused inwardly, because he was thinking on behalf of Kou Zhong, hence unexpectedly he unconsciously used the word ‘win over'. A bit embarrassed, he asked, "Who's most likely to beseech and receive the treasured jade annulus?”
Smiling wryly, Liu Heita replied, "I would love to tell you that it ought to be Duke Dou. But the fact is that is not necessarily true. There are at least three men who have equal chance with us, who are also the three most qualified men to unify the world.”
He paused, and then went on, "If I were Shi Feixuan, I would evaluate each person in terms of military accomplishment, administration, reputation and so on to consider whether he is fit to be the future Son of Heaven receiving the heaven's command. Therefore, the first person to have the best chance will be, no doubt, Li Mi. Coincidentally he had just scored a victory over Yuwen Huaji, he also opened the storehouses to provide relief for the people several times in the past, his reputation is stellar; who could match him?”
Xu Ziling's heart sank even deeper. If Li Mi obtained the ‘Jade Annulus of the He Clan', how could Kou Zhong and he still have any chance of contending against him?
Liu Heita continued in heavy voice, "The second candidate would be Wang Shichong. Just look at the stability of Luoyang. It is a clear proof that he is able to govern well. Plus his base of operation is at the heart of the Central Plains, his prestige is acknowledged at the four winds, so it's hard for others to lightly overlook him.”
Xu Ziling nodded and said, "These two are definitely men who can contend against the King of Xia. Is the last one Li Yuan?”
"Li Yuan can indeed be considered one,” Liu Heita replied, "It's just that he himself is a lecher, plus he attached himself to the Tujue. Although he has power, his chance of being selected by Shi Feixuan does not seem to be too great.”
Recalling his Ol' Dad, Xu Ziling said, "Do you think Du Fuwei has no chance of being chosen?”
Liu Heita replied, "Du Fuwei's reputation has never been good, plus recently he has been colluding with the Tiele people. If he wants to obtain the ‘Jade Annulus of the He Clan', I am afraid the only way would be to rob it from someone else!”
Xu Ziling shivered slightly in his heart, because he was fully aware that Yin Gui Pai would also be involved. Besides, Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, Qu Ao and Du Fuwei were all eligible candidates to challenge Shi Feixuan. Therefore, even though the latter had Ning Daoqi's support, but because the opponent was simply too strong, her situation was not without any danger.
The situation was indeed too complicated.
Liu Heita's excitement was aroused; he laughed aloud and said, "Although the world is falling apart, those who can gain acceptance, those who are qualified to be the king are but a few. Right now south of the Great River we have nothing more than Xiao Xian, Lin Shihong, Shen Faxing, and the Song Clan, four major powers. After you killed Ren Shaoming, currently Xiao Xian is the most powerful, too bad Baling Bang still has the tainted reputation of human traffickers, so that it would be difficult for them to win Shi Feixuan's favor.”
After a short pause, he continued, "Among the various powers north of the Yellow River, other than the three I just mentioned, the rest, Xue Ju father and son, for example, had just been defeated by Li Shimin, so that whether they are able to defend themselves remains to be seen, hence they are not worth mentioning. As for Liang Shidou, Liu Wuzhou, two men, they only rely on barbarians' support to have a bit of fame and power, so there is no glory in that; I doubt that Shi Feixuan would even give them a glance. And then there are Gao Kaidao, Li Zitong, Xu Yuanlang and the like, separately they have been pushed into the corner by us, Li Mi and Du Fuwei; it would be hard for them to advance even for a cun, and would be difficult for them to gain acceptance. If we push this matter further, there is still Li Gui of Wuwei [prefecture, Gansu]. Too bad he is leaning toward the western frontier, in everything he depends on the barbarians; how could he have any bargaining chip to win the people's favor?”
Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, "Listening to Liu Dage's tone, are you saying that who will become the Emperor will be entirely within Shi Feixuan's power to decide?”
Liu Heita smiled and said, "Whether that is the case or not, it still depends on future developments before it can be decided. But judging from the various powers sending their people to see Shi Feixuan, it is obvious that they attach most importance to this issue; otherwise, how could I have free time to sit here and talk to you?”
And then, averting Xu Ziling's burning gaze, a bit shy, he asked, "Is your virtuous sister well?”
Xu Ziling felt a stab of pain in his heart. "Su Jie is married!” he dejectedly replied.
Liu Heita's imposing figure shook. After staring blankly for a long time, he coughed dryly and said, "Hey! I was going to … ay …”
Xu Ziling suddenly did not feel like facing Liu Heita anymore; he only wished to go away the farther the better, and would never have to talk about Susu, ever.
If Xiang Yushan was indeed just a despicable human trafficker, what should he do?
Seeing Xu Ziling suddenly stood up, Liu Heita was stunned, "Ziling is leaving?” he asked.
Grieved, Xu Ziling replied, "I just want to drink a cup or two alone. I'll come back to find Liu Dage a bit later!”