Chapter 143: Shocking the Court and the People

To save time and keep the soldiers in a state of high spirits, Shi Chengsong, the Governor of Zhongshan Prefecture, immediately led an army of 200,000 north, preparing to capture Anyang in one fell swoop!
As long as Anyang can be taken, not only will countless riches and powerful weapons be acquired, but it will also open a passage to the Kingdom of Cai; this way, Zhongshan Prefecture will be safe. To be more precise, Shi Chengsong himself will be safe.
At worst, if Zhongshan Prefecture declares itself part of the Kingdom of Cai, the Great Xia Empire will not dare to act recklessly!

With 200,000 troops in motion, the grand army stretched for more than thirty miles. This time, Zhongshan Prefecture was truly going all out, with no retreat, fighting for a slim chance of survival!
Anyang was facing an unprecedented crisis!
As Shi Chengsong led the 200,000-strong army to attack Anyang, far in the south, the Kong family was also in discussion.

The elder of the Kong family, the former Grand Preceptor of the Kingdom of Cai, Kong Xiang, sat in the position of seniority; the head of the family, Kong Donglai, sat in the main seat. To Kong Donglai’s right was an empty seat, once occupied by Kong Donghua—unfortunately, Kong Donghua had been killed by Li Xian. This empty seat remained as a symbol of the unforgotten hatred!
Kong Donglai was also accompanied by two sons: the eldest, Kong Yingzhi—who had gone to the Qingyun Mountain Valley for business, and had recently met with the Crown Prince—and the second, Kong Yingcai—who had been sent as an envoy to the Kingdom of Cai.

Surrounding them were many civil officials and military generals, and the Kong family naturally had its own strategists, scholars, and diviners.

Once everyone had gathered, Kong Donglai, the current head of the Kong family, spoke, “Everyone, I have something to discuss with you.

Yesterday, my son Kong Yingzhi met with the Crown Prince. For now, we are prepared to cooperate with the Crown Prince to help him gain benefits; but the condition is that the Crown Prince must help us secure an opportunity to rejoin the court.

I want my uncle, Kong Xiang, to return to the imperial capital. We also plan to team up with Yuan Yong to drive Li Yulong out of the imperial capital.

Originally, this plan was very clear, but just last night, a messenger from Zhongshan Prefecture arrived with shocking news—they are preparing to rebel!”

A stir…

Once these two pieces of news were revealed, the small “local government” of Nanyang Prefecture was immediately in an uproar, with officials and generals alike stunned and speechless.

The deal with the Crown Prince seemed good—if nothing changed. But with Zhongshan Prefecture’s rebellion, things had become much more complicated.

After the initial shock, everyone turned their attention to Kong Xiang—he was a former Grand Preceptor, after all. At this point, everyone was eager to see what Kong Xiang thought.

Seeing everyone’s gaze, Kong Xiang finally couldn’t pretend to be deaf and mute. “Everyone, I believe we should continue to cooperate with the Crown Prince. For the time being, the Crown Prince’s name can still bring us significant political benefits. If I can return to court, it will remove many obstacles for the Kong family’s development.

We won’t have to endure situations like today, where an imperial edict comes today, and a verbal decree comes tomorrow, forcing us to jump through hoops.”

It turned out that the Kong family was also in turmoil. Although the Great Xia Empire had already become virtually nonexistent, and the emperor’s edicts were nothing but useless paper after leaving Wuyang, the emperor was still the emperor. While the Great Xia Empire was “nominally in existence,” that nominal status still held considerable weight.

For instance, now, every few days, an imperial edict would arrive. While the edict was useless, it was still infuriating. Each time, the Kong family had to show a “deep gratitude” act—this was a loss of face. After accepting the edict, they would stash it away, ignoring it entirely—which was not a good look for the family.

And where did these edicts come from? They were issued by the combined forces of Li Yulong and Yuan Yong! As for the emperor, he naturally enjoyed seeing the Kong family suffer.

Often, the previous imperial edict would urge the Kong family to promptly pay their taxes—of course, the Kong family would ignore it; the next edict would be a direct reprimand! Using the imperial edict to scold people was an act that further embarrassed the Kong family.

If such edicts piled up, the Kong family would find itself isolated, both internally and externally. This would lead to a point where they would be abandoned by everyone. It was a classic case of boiling a frog in warm water, using a formal title to entrap the Kong family in injustice.

Thus, the Kong family had to return to the imperial court, at least to erase these humiliating matters.

After a brief pause, Kong Xiang continued, “As for Zhongshan Prefecture’s rebellion, there’s no need to rush. We’ll act as if we don’t know anything. We’ll deal with it when His Majesty issues the edict.

According to my estimation, His Majesty’s edict won’t come for at least five days.

In five days, Zhongshan Prefecture should be able to capture Anyang. By then, we can feign cooperation with Zhongshan Prefecture, dragging out the war until His Majesty passes away.

If Zhongshan Prefecture’s 200,000 troops can’t take Anyang in five days, we’ll use Zhongshan Prefecture to establish our authority! We can take the opportunity to control Zhongshan Prefecture.
In fact, Zhongshan Prefecture’s rebellion has provided us with the best chance to return to the imperial court!
Additionally, we must actively study gunpowder weapons!”

After discussions, the Kong family finally decided to pretend not to know about Zhongshan Prefecture’s rebellion and continue cooperating with the current Crown Prince. Meanwhile, the Kong family had begun preparing for war. Among the preparations was a substance called “gunpowder”!

Li Xian had already sold gunpowder everywhere; however, this mixture of substances couldn’t be hidden from the spiritual senses of cultivation experts. A little careful observation would allow them to identify its components. But due to issues with purification and other technical challenges, the gunpowder sold in Anyang was especially potent, and of course, it was quite expensive.

Nevertheless, gunpowder had already begun to spread; in several recent wars in Anyang, the power of gunpowder had been fully demonstrated!

In the north, Yan Zean sat with Li Liang, the eldest son of the Grand Prince of Kaiping, discussing matters. “Grand Prince, the new Anyang Prefecture in the north is a hot potato; you really don’t need to compete with the First Prince for it—let him have it. Let the First Prince give Cai Kingdom a headache.

The best option is to move south and vie for Zhongshan Prefecture.

We plan to make a deal with Yuan Yong and have the Yuan family control Luliang Prefecture while we control Zhongshan Prefecture…”

“Report! A messenger from Anyang says there is an urgent matter.”

Just as Yan Zean was speaking, he was interrupted.

“What’s the matter?” Yan Zean immediately frowned. It wasn’t often that the word “urgent” was used; the last time it was used was when Yan Zean led the Cai Kingdom’s army on the second campaign to Anyang.

Soon, someone entered to deliver a message, and to Yan Zean’s surprise, the messenger was General Wang Jian!

After seeing Yan Zean, Wang Jian gave a wry smile. “To prevent any mishaps, I had to deliver this personally. Zhongshan Prefecture has rebelled! Because Zhongshan Prefecture has been secretly in contact with Cai Kingdom, Mr. Xu is worried that Zhongshan Prefecture might take the lead in attacking Anyang and open a passage between Zhongshan Prefecture and Cai Kingdom.”

Yan Zean stood up in surprise, while Li Liang was stunned into speechlessness. “So it’s happened, just like that?” Li Liang muttered under his breath.

Around Li Liang, his strategist, Zou Hui, was also dumbfounded. At this moment, Zou Hui’s mind was racing in circles. Despite turning over several possibilities in his mind, he was still unable to figure out how to maximize the benefits for Kaiping Prefecture and Li Liang amidst this sudden change. This was far bigger than any of them had anticipated!

Fortunately, Yan Zean remained calm. “Grand Prince, immediately contact the First Prince. The First Prince has the responsibility to quash this rebellion. We need to cease the conflict between you and the First Prince. Use this opportunity to withdraw from the competition for Xingan Prefecture and stop contesting with the First Prince. Give him a way out.”

Yan Zean paused for a moment and then continued, “Additionally, mobilize troops immediately and collaborate with Anyang to intercept Zhongshan Prefecture’s forces moving north.”

“Focusing on these two points should be enough,” Yan Zean concluded before hurriedly leaving to return to Anyang and prepare for the unexpected turn of events.

That evening, the city of Wuyang was suddenly rocked by the frantic arrival of a group of cavalry. “Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Zhongshan Prefecture has rebelled! Zhongshan Prefecture has rebelled!”

It felt like a massive bomb had been dropped into a small pool, and within half an hour, the entire Wuyang city had erupted into chaos.

Within that half-hour, all the officials and military leaders in Wuyang City were summoned to the court, their faces showing shock and disbelief.

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