Kays Translations

Chapter 138: Rebellion Must Be Started Early

Zhao Youdan exerted all his strength, filled with endless fear and panic, and fled back to the Nanliang Mansion in disarray.

The news Zhao Youdan brought back sent Zhao Guoshan into a state of panic. Another two thousand elite soldiers had been sent in, and even General Zuo, Guo Guibang, was missing—presumably, it was more likely that he was dead than alive.

Earlier, they had lost nearly four hundred Foundation Establishment experts, and now over two thousand elite troops had been lost again. The elite forces of Nanliang Mansion had already been reduced by seventy percent.

Flustered and uncertain, Zhao Guoshan had no choice but to consult with his strategist and civil official, Li Yuanming.

Li Yuanming was also shocked, but at this moment, he was making an effort to calm himself down, closing his eyes in contemplation. After a long while, he finally opened his eyes and said quietly, “Sir, at this point, there is only one option left: we must pretend to surrender tomorrow morning. This will give us the chance to capture the main generals of Anyang. Only by doing this can we have a slim chance of survival.”

Zhao Guoshan, after all, was a district governor. After the initial panic, he gradually calmed down. After hearing Li Yuanming’s suggestion, he immediately shook his head. “Relying on just one method is too risky. Bei Chen Yuqing and Yan Zhengqing are not fools; they may not fall for it! Is there no other way?”

Li Yuanming’s tone became much heavier. “There is another way, and that is… to send people to ambush Anyang and capture several important figures from there! If we can capture Xia Qingqing, then… all our problems will be solved!”

Zhao Guoshan was clearly stunned by this bold “strategy.” After a long period of silence, he spoke with a mix of expectation, nervousness, worry, and a helpless sense of having no other choice: “How… likely is this to succeed?”

Li Yuanming immediately replied, “Wait for General You, Zou Zhiquan, to arrive. Select 100 elite Foundation Establishment experts and launch a night raid on Anyang. This way, the success rate should be over fifty percent!”

“Fifty percent? Too low!”

Li Yuanming let out a small sigh. “Sir, Anyang is guarded by Xu Ren. With this person stationed in Anyang, it only adds variables to the situation.”

Zhao Guoshan thought for a moment and suddenly looked at Li Yuanming. “What if you lead the team personally?”

“An eighty percent chance!”

Zhao Guoshan hesitated for a moment, then finally gritted his teeth. “Then, I must trouble you to take this risk, sir.”

Li Yuanming immediately became serious. “I will do my utmost!”

The atmosphere became somewhat heavy, and after a long pause, Zhao Guoshan asked, “Sir, do you think reinforcements can come from Zhongshan County now?”

Li Yuanming immediately shook his head. “Zhongshan County cannot protect itself now.”

“Cannot protect itself?” Zhao Guoshan repeated.

————

Over a thousand miles away, in Zhongshan County’s administrative center, Ding Mountain Mansion, the district governor of Zhongshan, Shi Chengsong, was discussing matters with his strategist and general.

However, Shi Chengsong was known for his volatile temper and would often resort to violence, so the only person who could discuss matters with him was his strategist, the civil official of Zhongshan County—Gu Songfeng.

At this moment, there was a letter from Zhao Guoshan, the district governor of Luliang County, placed between them. The letter conveyed two messages: first, that they had been attacked, and Anyang was acting unpredictably; second, that the attack from Anyang was too fierce, and they were unable to withstand it, so they urgently needed help.

Anyang’s unpredictable actions had thrown everyone off. Not only was Luliang County in a passive position, but Zhongshan County was also in a precarious situation—though it seemed Zhongshan County had temporarily avoided disaster, it had to be understood that Zhongshan and Luliang were like two grasshoppers on the same rope. Once one couldn’t hold under the pressure, the other would surely follow!

Naturally, upon receiving the plea for help from Luliang County, Shi Chengsong wanted to “help.” There were two possible ways to assist: one was to send troops directly to Luliang County, and the other was to shift the focus and directly send troops to attack Anyang.

However, the situation wasn’t that simple; it was, in fact, quite complicated.

Therefore, Gu Songfeng, the civil official of Zhongshan, rubbed his temples in distress. “Sir, we really can’t send troops right now. Whether it’s to help Luliang County or to attack Anyang, we have no justification! We would be acting without a legitimate cause.”

“Anyang has a princess stationed there, and Li Xian has been appointed as the Eastern Governor, so they have the right to deploy troops openly and justifiably.”

“But we do not have that right. Unless…”

“Unless what?” Shi Chengsong seemed to have thought of something but still asked Gu Songfeng.

Gu Songfeng sighed deeply. “Revolt.”

Even though he had already guessed the answer, Shi Chengsong still took a sharp breath. “If we revolt now, do we have any chance of success? To the northeast, we have Anyang; to the north, we have Kaiping County; to the west, we have Wuyang County, where the imperial capital is located; to the southwest, we have Ningzhou County; further southwest is Nanyang County, and to the south is Dongyuan County.

This is a complete encirclement; we cannot even get a foothold!”

“There is a chance! If we are going to rebel, we must act quickly!” Once the idea was out, Gu Songfeng was no longer hesitant. “Before Anyang completely conquers Luliang County, we must immediately join forces with Luliang County and revolt.

But we can’t simply revolt; we need a plausible excuse. And the excuse is simple! The excuse is that the Great Xia Empire is corrupt and the people are suffering. The governor cannot bear to see the suffering of the people, so he is forced to rise up.”

“At the same time, we will use this excuse to recruit talented individuals from all over the world. We can also use it to confront Li Xian, Xia Qingqing, and others, negotiating to buy us a little breathing room.”

“As long as we get even the smallest chance to breathe, we can free ourselves from the threats of Li Liang in the north, the Kaiping County army, and the strange war artifacts of Anyang.”

“Additionally, we should contact the Kong family in Nanyang County to sign a mutual defense agreement. The Kong family has long harbored ambitions, and they certainly won’t be inclined to fight us.”

“To the south, we have Dongyuan County. Dongyuan is controlled by the Yuan family, whose intentions are still unclear. But that’s not a problem. As long as the Kong family in Nanyang doesn’t move, and we join forces with Zhao Guoshan of Luliang County, I doubt the Yuan family in Dongyuan will take any action. At this time, if anyone believes that the Yuan family doesn’t have ulterior motives, no one would believe it!”

As expected of a strategist, Gu Songfeng had a sharp mind. His quick analysis made Shi Chengsong realize that half of their encirclement problem could be solved. But there was still some danger left. “Our military strength is currently insufficient to fully withstand the joint forces of Anyang’s Li Xian and Kaiping County’s Li Liang.”

“That’s simple!” Gu Songfeng pointed to the northern part of the sand table. “Here, in Xinan County, the First Prince is in a struggle with Li Liang for control. The current governor of Xinan County has already been rendered powerless.

Therefore, we can contact the First Prince and join forces to fight against Li Liang and Kaiping County’s army.

This would alleviate most of the crisis. But it’s still not enough, not completely secure. We can also reach out to the State of Cai and ‘purchase’ some soldiers.”

Shi Chengsong’s eyes began to light up. If possible, who wouldn’t want to feel the power of an emperor? But he still hesitated. “Let me think about it some more.”

Gu Songfeng became anxious. “Sir, there’s no time to think! Anyang has launched a surprise attack on Luliang County, and the situation is undoubtedly urgent, or Zhao Guoshan wouldn’t have sent the letter for help!

If Luliang County falls, it will all be over! Everything must be done as quickly as possible— the sooner, the better! We must resolve these issues swiftly so that we have a chance to defend against possible attacks from the imperial capital of Wuyang County to the west.”

When Shi Chengsong heard about Wuyang County, he couldn’t help but sneer. “The last time the Imperial Guards launched a northern campaign against the State of Cai, they only returned with 3,000 men. Does the imperial capital still have an army now?”

Gu Songfeng immediately disagreed. “Sir, you cannot underestimate the emperor’s banner. Even if the emperor doesn’t have a single soldier in hand, he can still attract many people with ulterior motives to ‘swear allegiance.’

Take Li Xian as an example— the emperor only gave him the nominal title of ‘Eastern Governor of the Great Xia Empire,’ and yet Li Xian raised an army and openly marched into Luliang County to conquer it!

That is the power of the emperor.”

“Furthermore, the imperial capital still has Li Yulong and Yuan Yong. There’s no need to elaborate on their methods. Moreover, Li Yulong is the father of both Li Liang and Li Xian!”

After hearing Gu Songfeng’s analysis, Shi Chengsong stopped hesitating. He immediately ordered people to head to Nanyang to contact the Kong family, reach out to the First Prince in the north, and purchase soldiers from the State of Cai.

At the same time, Gu Songfeng was sent to Luliang County to meet with Zhao Guoshan and discuss the rebellion plan.

At this moment, within the borders of the Great Xia Empire, a hidden storm began to brew.

To the north, Li Liang and the First Prince were locked in a struggle for control over Xinan County.

To the east, Li Xian and his forces launched a surprise attack on Luliang County, leaving the governor of Luliang, Zhao Guoshan, in a perilous situation.

On the side of Anyang, Xu Ren dispatched Yan Ze’an to meet with Li Liang, attempting to persuade him to abandon his fight with the First Prince over Xinan County and instead join forces with Anyang to launch a full-scale assault on Zhongshan County.

Meanwhile, in Zhongshan County, the civilian official Gu Songfeng urged Shi Chengsong to send an envoy with a personal letter from the governor—though, in reality, it was Gu Songfeng’s strategic wisdom—to meet with the First Prince. The goal was to form an alliance that would help suppress Kaiping County and the forces of Li Liang and Li Xian.

As for the First Prince, he was still furious. His envoy, Yuan Cai, had been driven out of Anyang by Xia Qingqing, leaving him both heartbroken and angry.

The Second Prince, now the Crown Prince, realizing that he had been duped by Li Xian, hastily marched south, intending to ally with the Kong family. The Kong family’s stance, however, was to return to the imperial court and prepare to unite with Yuan Yong to expel Li Yulong from the capital.

At the same time, Zhongshan County dispatched envoys to Nanyang County to meet with the Kong family, hoping to establish a mutual defense agreement.

Meanwhile, the Wang family and the Third Prince joined forces with General Shangguan Guang to carve out a territory in the southwest of Great Xia, in Guangling County.

Amid these shifting alliances and rising tensions, the Great Xia Empire found itself in a precarious state, and surrounding nations watched eagerly, their eyes fixed on the unfolding chaos.

It was clear—an unimaginable storm, one fraught with confusion and conflict, was on the verge of erupting.

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