Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Hou Junji glanced at Huang Tianzhao and smirked. This minor show of emotion immediately had Huang Tianzhao’s ears turning red, but he really couldn’t see how what he had said was wrong.
“Grand Marshal Huang is underestimating the King of Foreign Lands too much. The reason he has dispersed his soldiers to various places is that he is waiting for us to make the first move and reveal a weakness. The moment we move, he’ll call forth his army and openly charge into the palace. And don’t forget that our goal has never been to kill the King of Foreign Lands!”
The Ghost King’s jeering voice immediately made Huang Tianzhao see the light. They had not gathered here to kill Wang Chong. Their true goal was the man within Taiji Palace. As long as they could succeed and place the First Prince on the throne as the new sovereign, even Wang Chong would have to bend the knee.
Whether he was willing or not, it would no longer be his choice.
Going out of their way to attack the King of Foreign Lands Residence was the far inferior plan, and this wasn’t even considering the ill effects this would have on the First Prince’s future reign with all the commoners watching. And even being surrounded might not be enough to hold down Wang Chong.
Everyone staring at him made Huang Tianzhao go red in the face, and he hastily shut his mouth and said not a single word more.
“Kim U-Seok, keep a close eye on the King of Foreign Lands Residence. Do exactly as I order you to!” the Ghost King said.
“Yes!”
Kim U-Seok hurriedly bowed.
“Reporting!”
Suddenly, a guard rushed into the hall.
“Your Highness, the Second Prince and Third Prince have arrived!”
“What?!”
The First Prince’s eyes brightened, and everyone else in the hall rejoiced.
Second Prince Li Yao and Third Prince Li Ju were both members of the imperial bloodline. With their esteemed status, they each had a private army of one thousand soldiers. Moreover, with the First Prince’s approval, the two of them had been on the outside recruiting soldiers for this operation for a very long time.
With the assistance of these two, the operation had even greater chances of success!
“Hahaha, Imperial Brother, Third Brother and I have arrived!”
Even before the pair appeared, a loud laugh came through the door. A few moments later, the two brothers, clad in golden armor and leading a group of generals, strode into the hall.
“Second Brother, Third Brother, you’re finally here!”
The First Prince joyfully walked over, his arms wide open, and the three brothers embraced.
At the same time, the King of Foreign Lands Residence was brightly lit and brimming with tension.
“Warning! This is the last day of the True Dragon Plan! User must resolve this crisis quickly or be obliterated!”
The Stone of Destiny’s voice reverberated through Wang Chong’s mind, the third time he had heard it over the last few days, but he was unmoved. Even without the Stone of Destiny’s warning, Wang Chong had already received news that Zhang Zheng’s army would arrive tonight. The gruesome Rebellion of the Three Princes from his memories would take place today.
Wang Chong stared at the chessboard as he asked, “What is the state of our forces?”
“Your Highness, everyone is ready and awaiting your orders,” Cheng Sanyuan deferentially said.
Wang Chong slightly nodded and said little more. His eyes were focused on the chessboard, where black pieces crisscrossed in a giant net while the white pieces were perilously surrounded.
Creee!
The shrill cries of eagles could be heard above the residence, particularly loud in the night.
The birds from the Eastern Palace had come again and again, almost blocking out the sky. The King of Foreign Lands Residence had been almost completely locked down.
But Wang Chong had no time to worry about such things.
“Where is Zhang Que?” Wang Chong suddenly said.
“Zhang Que is currently leading the eagle team in fighting back,” Xu Keyi replied. Everyone in the hall felt their hearts sink.
In a battle, spies and information meant almost everything, and what was happening tonight would have far more influence than a single battle. Without a fast method of communication, the battle to come would be almost impossibly difficult.
Without the birds, the King of Foreign Lands Residence could only rely on manpower to send messages. This was an extremely primitive and ineffective method. More importantly, all the spies of the Eastern Palace were attacking the King of Foreign Lands Residence’s people in an almost brazen fashion. While the curfew was ongoing, almost every message came at a cost in life.
“In addition, Zhang Que just sent word that the Second Prince and Third Prince have entered the palace.”
This new development only made the air more oppressive.
Even though the Eastern Palace was still biding its time, everyone could smell the danger in the air, the storm getting closer.
“In addition, family members from the Duke of Guo, the Duke of Wei, and Imperial Censors Duan and Cao have come over. They said that this morning, the First Prince summoned almost all the officials to court to discuss an extremely urgent matter, but even though all the officials went this morning, the gates are already closed and they still haven’t come back,” Cheng Sanyuan reported, and Wang Chong’s heart sank.
In any dynasty, someone plotting rebellion would always have to seize control of the officials so that all the voices of protest could be strangled in the cradle.
And the ones who had suffered the most in the Rebellion of the Three Princes were the court officials.
Once the curfew was implemented, Wang Chong had warned the officials of the capital to find excuses to avoid attending morning court. But people like the Duke of Guo, the Duke of Wei, and Imperial Censors Duan and Cao all placed the state above all, and there was no precedent for a court official to refuse attending court.
But it was precisely the stubbornness of these loyal officials that made them so admirable.
“Tell them to be at ease for now. I’ll definitely find a way to save them!” Wang Chong said.
“Yes!” Cheng Sanyuan deferentially said.
After saying this, Wang Chong focused once more on the chessboard, where the black pieces had long ago transformed in his eyes into countless soldiers. An arrow on the bowstring had no choice over whether it was loosed or not. This was the First Prince’s situation. No one understood more than Wang Chong that the First Prince could not delay another day. But at this moment, the capital was shrouded in a fog of mystery, and there was a question in this fog that Wang Chong needed to answer.
When would the Eastern Palace begin its operation?
The one hundred thousand soldiers of the Imperial Army, boosted by tens of thousands of additional soldiers, meant that time unquestionably stood on the Eastern Palace’s side, as did the initiative. But even though the Eastern Palace controlled all the gates, it had still not started its rebellion. It was definitely waiting for the right moment.
Until this moment, Wang Chong could not act carelessly, no matter how many soldiers he had. Carelessness could lead to accusations of treason that the Eastern Palace could exploit.
This would be the chance the Eastern Palace was waiting for.
But if Wang Chong was a beat too slow and waited until the rebellion had already firmly established itself in the Imperial Palace, then none of Wang Chong’s soldiers that he had prepared for so long would be able to do anything.
The slightest error in the time of deployment would lead to entirely different results. The fate of the empire was tied to a single order from him, and Wang Chong did not dare to take this responsibility lightly.
Hou Junji, just what are you waiting for? Just when are you going to deploy your soldiers? Wang Chong silently ruminated.
Zhang Zheng’s Beiting Protectorate army was on the road to the capital, but Wang Chong sensed that someone of Hou Junji’s personality would not wait for the Beiting Protectorate army. After all, the one hundred thousand soldiers of the Imperial Army were more than enough to start a rebellion.
Time slowly passed, and the mood of nervous silence continued to grip the hall.
Whoosh!
Elsewhere, in the King Song Residence, the old butler, wearing his gray robe, stood at the entrance to the main hall. Behind him, half-hidden in the shadows, was the Guard Commander, Luo Tong. Farther back were the orderly and grim ranks of the residence guards.
More than half of the lights in the King Song Residence had been extinguished, leaving only the lights on the perimeter walls and around the main hall entrance. The light was dim, but in the gloom, one could see that the King Song Residence had many more soldiers than before. Bowstrings were pulled, sabers and swords unsheathed. Everyone was on their guard, ready for any sudden attack.
“What is the state of the King of Foreign Lands Residence?”
The old butler looked over in the direction of that estate, his robes rustling in the wind. He could see that more than half the capital was dark, and a suffocating mood was pressing down on the city.
Luo Tong’s sonorous voice came from within his armor. “The heavens above the empire are about to shift. Even the slowest person in the capital can sense this. The King of Foreign Lands Residence only has one thousand soldiers. Is there still no movement from him?”
“He’s waiting!”
The old butler nodded. Calm would precede a storm, and the mountain would be quiet before its collapse. This was one of Wang Chong’s most outstanding traits.
The old butler had watched him mature from a hedonistic scion into a Great General, even a supporting pillar of the empire. Wang Chong was one of the proudest achievements in his life.
“There’s nothing we can do about this rebellion. The only person the empire can rely on is him! I hope he can succeed!” the old butler muttered.
Luo Tong said nothing, and both looked toward the King of Foreign Lands with hopeful eyes.
Time continued to slowly pass, and the capital turned more bleak and quiet with it. The already sparse lights more than halved, casting more and more of the city into the darkness.
But the murderous intent in the streets only increased, and even the barking dogs started to fall silent.