Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 142: The Death Knell
The sudden attack left Gu Songfeng and his group with no chance to escape, and not a single survivor!
Cheng Jiming examined the bodies of these individuals but found no items that could identify them—no badges, jade pendants, seals, or anything of the sort. Even their clothing was quite plain.
“Take the body of the leader, freeze it, and bring it back to the sky above Nanliang Mansion. Keep an eye on the movements there immediately.”
Shortly after Cheng Jiming returned, another aircraft arrived, carrying two individuals who were bloodied, disheveled, and clearly injured by cannon fire.
Upon seeing Cheng Jiming, the leader of the other aircraft shouted excitedly, “General, we’ve captured the Prefect of Lüliang County, Zhao Guoshan, along with his son, the young General Zhao Youdan, one of the three great generals of Lüliang County!”
“Really?” Cheng Jiming was overjoyed—this was a big catch! But why were they fleeing? Hmm, he couldn’t make sense of it, but it didn’t matter. Cheng Jiming immediately commanded the aircraft to head toward the army camp in Anyang, ten miles away.
He stopped the aircraft in the sky, then flew down on his sword and found Beichen Yuqing and Yan Zhengqing, who were meditating and resting.
After exchanging pleasantries and explaining the situation, the focus shifted to Zhao Guoshan and Zhao Youdan.
Beichen Yuqing and Yan Zhengqing boarded the aircraft and carefully examined the two prisoners. Finally, they confirmed: these two were genuine!
However, the severely injured Zhao Guoshan and Zhao Youdan were already in despair. Who would have thought that even fleeing at night wouldn’t work? This was too much.
Yan Zhengqing stood up. “These two must have been planning to abandon Nanliang Mansion and move to the southwest to join the large army. Lüliang County has 50,000 troops in the southwest that can be mobilized. But for the exact reason, we’ll need Prefect Zhao to tell us.”
Though weak, Zhao Guoshan snorted in disdain. He had given up hope and was no longer willing to cooperate. Or perhaps, he still held out some hope for Li Yuanming, who was heading north.
Beichen Yuqing smiled faintly and said, “General Cheng, you don’t need to wait for Li Yuanming. Our scouts discovered that Li Yuanming has already gone north and is likely headed to Anyang. He may already be in the dungeons there. Ha…
General Cheng, you should return to Anyang and report to Mr. Xu about the situation here. Also, inquire about his thoughts. We will wait here.”
Cheng Jiming immediately led the two aircraft back to Anyang, and this time, he didn’t get lost.
Watching Cheng Jiming and the two aircraft depart, Beichen Yuqing smiled, “Tomorrow morning, we will break the city and interrogate the culprits. Ha, this is truly a case of man’s plans not matching heaven’s plans. Zhao Guoshan wanted to abandon the city and flee, looking for opportunities, but instead, he completely destroyed his own chances.
Cheng Jiming is ruthless, though. Without hesitation, he just fired the cannons. The person who died—I’m sure was an important figure from Zhongshan County, though I don’t recognize them.”
At dawn, Beichen Yuqing and Yan Zhengqing stormed into Nanliang Mansion and took full control. Since Zhao Guoshan had fled, the process of capturing Nanliang Mansion was unusually smooth, with almost no resistance. They singled out those whose hands were stained with blood and executed them on the spot. They also gathered up relevant information, documents, and wealth from the mansion. Orders were sent to various places in Lüliang County to avoid making any moves and wait for the emperor’s instructions.
The situation in Lüliang County was temporarily resolved.
Cheng Jiming also returned with the two aircraft. In front of Xu Ren, Zhao Guoshan had no power to resist and was quickly broken with a few words. Before noon, Zhao Guoshan had spilled all the secrets like beans from a bamboo tube.
Xu Ren’s method was simple—he offered to “redeem his sins through merit.” If Zhao Guoshan could reveal some secrets, he would spare his life, including the life of his son. Xu Ren also guaranteed that Zhao’s wife and concubines would be kept safe.
But the revelation made by Zhao Guoshan shocked even Xu Ren—Zhongshan County actually wanted to rebel? They planned to unite with the Cai Kingdom and engage in internal and external collusion? The person who died was actually the most important strategist in Zhongshan County, and the only trusted advisor, Gu Songfeng!
Upon hearing this information, Xia Qingqing’s eyebrows shot up in anger. These treacherous ministers and rebels! Princess, do you truly wish to personally deal with these ungrateful wolves?
After imprisoning Zhao Guoshan, Zhao Youdan, and others, Xu Ren immediately ordered Wang Jian to lead the army to set up defensive positions.
Once the military deployment was complete, Xu Ren wrote letters to Li Yulong and Li Xian to gauge their stance. A major political event like “rebellion” required Xu Ren to seek Li Yulong’s advice.
Furthermore, Xu Ren sent out two groups of people. One group was to catch up with Yan Ze’an and seek his advice on such matters, while also informing him that the situation had changed.
As for schemes and tactics, Xu Ren believed he was no worse than anyone else; however, when it came to political struggles and the like, he needed the expertise of people like Li Yulong and Yan Ze’an.
The second group was sent to the southern capital of Lüliang County, Nanliang Prefecture, to inform Beichen Yuqing and Yan Zhengqing to avoid any major actions for the time being and to maintain the stability of Lüliang County as much as possible.
In addition, if Zhongshan County suddenly launched an attack on Lüliang County, they were to assess the situation: if they could fight, they should; if not, they should retreat to Anyang. If they couldn’t make it back to Anyang, they were to retreat to the coast and take shelter under the protection of the ironclad ships—this was the worst-case scenario.
There was one more condition: they had to protect Lüliang County’s governor, Zhao Guoshan’s wives and relatives.
Both of these groups of messages were sent by experts at the late stage of foundation building, traveling at full speed.
Standing on the city wall, Xu Ren frowned deeply. Such a huge change was bound to trigger new turmoil within the Great Xia Kingdom. It could even be said that Zhongshan County had, without a doubt, sounded the death knell for Great Xia! This sudden change had caught Xu Ren off guard.
So, Xu Ren’s actions this time were still a bit slow.
It was at noon on this very day, over five hundred miles away from Anyang, in the capital of Zhongshan County, Ding Shan City, when Zhongshan County’s governor, Shi Chengsong, officially declared—rebellion! No, it was an uprising!
Shi Chengsong had completely followed the plan left by Wen Cheng, Gu Songfeng. Since Gu Songfeng had not returned and there was no communication, Shi Chengsong assumed everything was going smoothly; otherwise, there would have been some word. This meant that Lüliang County should be fine!
And the information from the south, from Nanyang County, the Kong family, was quite interesting—”There is a drought in our county, please do not disturb us unless necessary!”
Upon seeing this message, Shi Chengsong immediately laughed. The Kong family was subtly indicating—”Go ahead with your rebellion, we won’t interfere; we are dealing with a drought and have no capacity to pay attention to you, let alone send troops.”
The Crown Prince was a bit far away, but Shi Chengsong couldn’t wait any longer. Considering the Crown Prince’s character, this matter was nearly certain! As Gu Songfeng had said: the uprising must be timely!
Suddenly declaring the uprising, then quickly mobilizing Zhongshan County’s troops, and striking a decisive blow against the soldiers from Anyang and the northern Kaiping County; only then could they secure a breathing space and have a chance to defend against the “potential” attack from the Imperial Capital. The reason it was termed as “potential” was because the Imperial Capital was already quite weak, and it was uncertain whether they could even form an army.
In Ding Shan City, the capital of Zhongshan County, Governor Shi Chengsong stood on the general’s platform. Below him, civil and military officials were solemn and respectful, with banners waving all around, and 200,000 elite troops in full display.
Shi Chengsong stood high on the general’s platform. “Gentlemen, officers, I, Shi Chengsong, Governor of Zhongshan County, today must announce a major event!
The Great Xia Kingdom has already decayed, with imperial power slipping away. As a result, many officials, under the Emperor’s name, have been extorting and plundering, acting arrogantly and tyrannically.
In the front, we have Anyang’s Shepherd, Li Xian, and in the back, Kaiping County’s Governor, Li Liang. They have been forging imperial edicts, leading troops to invade Zhongshan County, to steal our lands, to plunder our wealth, and to dishonor our wives and daughters. So, everyone, what should we do?”
What should we do? What should we do?
The sound of true essence being poured out reverberated across the heavens and earth, an angry roar that seemed to resonate with the very forces of nature.
Ad
Shi Chengsong’s trusted subordinates, who had long been prepared, took the lead:
“Not allowed! Not allowed! Anyone who dares to invade Zhongshan County, we’ll fight them to the death!”
With the lead taken, more voices began to roar:
“Yes, not allowed!”
“Not allowed! Absolutely not allowed!”
The voices rose and fell, twenty thousand people shouting in unison, the winds and clouds stirred, and the sound was like thunder!
Shi Chengsong raised his hand, and the voices gradually quieted. After the furious outburst, the 200,000 soldiers were now “fired up” with passion—this was the perfect moment.
Shi Chengsong continued to shout: “But Li Xian holds the imperial decree, and we don’t have it. What should we do?”
“Rebel against him!” A few scattered voices came from the crowd.
But soon, more voices joined in, and gradually all the soldiers began to shout in unison, “Rebel! The dog emperor gives us no way to live, so we’ll rebel!”
Shi Chengsong smiled with satisfaction—this was the effect he wanted. However… “We cannot call it a rebellion. We are not rebelling. We have no other choice. Therefore, we are rising up, to uphold the greater justice of the world, and to secure a way of life for the people of Zhongshan County!”
“Uprising!”
“Uprising!”
“Uprising!”
The powerful and resounding voices spread far and wide.
Zhongshan County, indeed, had sounded the death knell for the once-great Great Xia Kingdom!