Chapter 1714 - The Imperial Palace, the Western Drilling Ground!
Chapter 1714: The Imperial Palace, the Western Drilling Ground!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The current situation was extremely bad for Zhao Fengchen, as he was practically alone and the target of everyone else. Everyone in the hall could only offer him support from the rear rather than directly, particularly as they were facing the illustrious Army-Shattering War God of Taizong’s era.
Though no one in the room was an idiot, none of them believed they could take on the Army-Shattering War God in a contest of intelligence. The previous few incidents had all put the Army-Shattering War God’s terrifying intellect and strategies on full display.
If there was anyone who could help Zhao Fengchen contend against the Army-Shattering War God, it was Wang Chong.
The room was quiet except for the flickering of the candles.
The seconds continued to pass. The Imperial Army competition would begin at noon, the largest reshuffling of the Imperial Army in several decades. There wasn’t much time left.
“In truth, I’m not worried about Zhao Fengchen. What I’m truly concerned about is the three Grand Marshals!” Wang Chong said.
Everyone was taken aback by these words, but they swiftly understood, their eyes revealing astonishment.
The three Grand Marshals of the Imperial Army all had revered status and incredible strength. No one had ever imagined that the First Prince would strike at them.
“Reporting!”
Suddenly, there was a flurry of footsteps outside. This was already the Zi Period, and the King of Foreign Lands Residence was quiet except for the main hall, so these anxious footsteps rang out loudly.
“Your Highness, bad news! We just received a carrier pigeon from the palace! Two of the Grand Marshals were ambushed!”
The guard was sweating as he rushed into the hall and prostrated.
“What?!”
Everyone in the hall felt like they had been struck by lightning, their faces paling.
“How could this be? When did this happen? The assassins?”
Wang Chong’s uncle-in-law, Li Lin, immediately strode over and grabbed the guard by the collar.
The pale-faced guard raised his head and said, “This subordinate still doesn’t know the exact time, but it should have been an hour ago. Our men in the palace are investigating right now.”
Wang Chong’s little uncle, Wang Mi, rushed forward and asked in concern, “What of Lord Zhao? Is Lord Zhao okay?!”
“General Zhao is doing well. The assassins attacked his residence, but General Zhao wasn’t present, so he managed to escape this misfortune,” the guard said.
The mood in the hall grew heavy, everyone’s hearts sinking.
Although the guard had not identified the assassins, at this crucial moment, it was obvious who they were working for.
Li Lin turned his head and said to Wang Chong, “Chong-er, the situation has gotten even worse for us. Hou Junji actually sent men to attack two Grand Marshals. At present, our best option is to cause a stir over this incident and make the First Prince delay the Imperial Army competition, at least until the two Grand Marshals recover.”
After spending so long in the Imperial Army, he was no longer that minor commandant of the City Guard, and had a keen understanding of the danger and complexity of politics.
Their only plan was spreading around the news of this incident and having the Imperial Court focus on catching the assassins so that the competition could be delayed.
“It’s useless!”
Wang Chong shook his head, his conclusion taking everyone by surprise.
“If the one who made the plan was the First Prince, we would have a chance, but Hou Junji would never give us the chance to delay. If my guess is correct, while it was called an attack, no one except the two Grand Marshals even saw the assassins. And this was the reason the two Grand Marshals were only injured, not killed.
“Tomorrow, the First Prince will definitely say that there was no attack in the palace and that one of the Grand Marshals experienced a cultivation defect while training. As for the other one, I don’t know the exact details yet, but although his injuries probably aren’t severe, they will be enough to ensure that he doesn’t win in tomorrow’s contest.”
“!!!”
Everyone had already been left speechless by Wang Chong’s words.
“Your Highness, your subordinate will get in touch with the palace and see what’s going on!”
Zhang Que seemed to think of something, hastily speaking as he bowed.
“Mm!”
Wang Chong nodded. Although he already knew the answer, he didn’t try to stop Zhang Que. All of this was unavoidable. Earlier tonight, Wang Chong had already sent the Grand Marshals letters warning them, but they had been too arrogant and had refused to listen. Otherwise, things would not have turned out like this.
Fortunately, Zhao Fengchen is okay, Wang Chong said to himself.
Wang Chong had also warned Zhao Fengchen against returning to his own residence at nightfall, and it was precisely this small piece of ‘advice’ that allowed Zhao Fengchen to escape this danger.
“Your Highness, what do we do now?” Xu Keyi suddenly asked.
Everyone stared at Wang Chong, the hall so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
With one attack, the First Prince had forced them into an even more disadvantageous position, and everyone was rather caught off guard and unclear on what they should do.
Wang Chong slowly closed his eyes as he confidently said, “Don’t panic! This situation is still salvageable.” The tone in his voice caused everyone to subconsciously calm down.
The more dangerous the time, the more one needed to be calm. This was already a basic ability for Wang Chong.
“That man in the Eastern Palace is willing to resort to any methods for the sake of power. The Imperial Army is even more important than the border garrisons, so he would inevitably start working on it. Everything that’s happened so far is within my expectations, but it’s not that easy for the First Prince to gain control of the Imperial Army!
“You’re all dismissed! I have a plan!” Wang Chong sternly said, his voice instilling confidence.
“Xu Keyi, stay behind. Deliver this letter immediately to Heaven Deaf and Earth Mute. Have them go to Zhao Fengchen and do as I have laid out in the letter,” Wang Chong said.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Xu Keyi took the letter and swiftly departed.
As everyone left the hall, Li Lin intentionally lingered at the back.
“Chong-er, this matter is rather suspicious. The Imperial Palace is crawling with guards, and it should be incredibly difficult for outsiders to get in. Moreover, the residences of the Grand Marshals are surrounded by Imperial Army experts, and given that the contest is tomorrow, there should have been many more guards than usual. But even so, those assassins were still able to injure two Grand Marshals, and without even leaving a single clue. This isn’t something any ordinary assassin could pull off.”
“I have an idea on this matter. Tomorrow, it will all be revealed!” Wang Chong said.
“Ah, so you already had an idea!”
Li Lin nodded and quickly departed.
Wang Chong remained by himself in the room. After a long while, Wang Chong walked over to the model and examined the miniature Imperial Palace. His eyes gradually turned dark as thoughts shifted through his mind.
……
The moon set and the stars sank. Night soon passed, and at noon, the Imperial Army martial exhibition began within the Imperial Palace.
The site of the exhibition was the drilling ground on the western side of the Imperial Palace.
This was the largest drilling ground in the palace, more than ten thousand feet from north to south. The ground was covered in thick stone bricks, reinforced by metal and inscriptions.
Surprisingly, for this major reshuffling of the Imperial Army, the First Prince had not only allowed guests, but announced the event throughout the capital, even permitting nobles and great clans to come and spectate.
Bang!
At the time of the contest, the entire Imperial Palace was raucous, completely different from usual.
“The First Prince has invited so many nobles and great clans precisely so he can increase the influence of this event and have everyone accept the final result. And the First Prince has already seized control of Anxi, Beiting, and Big Dipper. Many of the great clans have begun to waver and wonder if they should join the First Prince. The situation is extremely bad!”
A resplendent carriage slowly passed through the palace gate. Within, Li Lin glanced at the other carriages also heading to the western drilling ground, his eyes tinged with worry.
He had come to deliver Wang Chong to the western drilling ground. Li Lin was an officer of the Imperial Army, so he was not affected by the quota of spectators for the contest.
Wang Chong silently frowned. In the Great Buddhist Temple incident, Wang Chong had done his best to try to keep the great clans from being swept up into the War of the Princes, but as the First Prince attained more and more power, more and more of the great clans had begun to waver.
But a moment later, Wang Chong’s brow relaxed.
“Which of the great clans has been the most active lately?” Wang Chong suddenly said.
“Guanxi’s Wei Clan,” Li Lin sternly replied.
The Guanxi Weis were a great clan with several hundred years of history, and the richest clan in Guanxi. Their family business spanned the entire empire, and they even frequently did business with the Arabs.
The business with the Arabs made up more than thirty percent of the Wei Clan’s revenue. More importantly, Wang Chong recalled that the Guanxi Weis had been an important participant in his cement road plan.
Wang Chong had even given them control over the roads in Guanxi.
“Everything has its price. The Guanxi Weis want to make money from us and then cozy up to the First Prince? When has there ever been anything so perfect in this world?
“Inform the clans working with us to end all cooperation with the Guanxi Weis. They are to be excluded from all work involving the cement roads, and none of the great clans are to communicate with them from now on. In addition, inform Yang Hongchang at Talas that none of the Guanxi Weis’ caravans or products can pass through Talas.”