Chapter 146: Air Raid

“Crash…” Prince Xia Shu, standing nearby, crushed the jade tablet in his hand. Watching Kong Xiang corner Yuan Yong with two precise questions, Xia Shu finally understood: the Kong family had truly burned the bridge after crossing it! And they did so decisively, thoroughly!

At this moment, the Prince’s hatred for the Kong family far surpassed his feelings toward Li Xian.

Truth be told, the Prince and Li Xian had never collaborated, and there was even a subtle opposition between them. Therefore, it was somewhat excusable that Li Xian had outmaneuvered the Prince—though it couldn’t be called playing tricks, as it was more a result of their ongoing rivalry, with Li Xian simply having the upper hand.

But the Kong family was different. The Kong family had repeatedly promised to cooperate with the Prince, to team up with Yuan Yong to expel Li Yulong from the imperial capital. Yet, the first thing the Kong family did after returning to the court was to join forces with Li Yulong to expel Yuan Yong instead!

This situation… it was beyond words!

Yuan Yong, on the other hand, was completely stunned! This was not how things were supposed to go. Just before, Kong Xiang had sent word, saying that they were willing to “rekindle ties” with the Yuan family, but in the end, it wasn’t “rekindling ties,” it was “rekindling resentment”!

The entire court fell into a dead silence… For a long time… Suddenly, Wang Chuan of the Wang family stood up, “Your Majesty, I too have something to say. When General He Yaogong sealed the border, he not only failed to support Minister of Imperial Household Fu Minghui but even refused to open the gates to offer aid, which led to the defeat and near annihilation of the Imperial Guard.

Later, Your Majesty ordered Yuan Yong to confiscate He Yaogong’s entire family’s assets and exterminate his lineage, yet He Yaogong managed to escape.

But upon further investigation, I found that the people who were executed were merely ordinary members of the He family, while the key figures were replaced by slaves, death row prisoners, or forcibly abducted commoners! It seems there is a magic called ‘Illusionary Arts’ in this world.”

Upon hearing Wang Chuan’s words, Yuan Yong became enraged: “Wang Chuan, I had you personally check this matter! Didn’t you say everything was fine? Also, my men went to the border to capture He Yaogong, yet we found your Wang family’s letter in He Yaogong’s room! What do you have to say about that?”

Yuan Yong was so angry he lost control of his words.

Wang Chuan didn’t explain, but instead, he gave a cold smile and returned to his position. Indeed, “Silence speaks louder than words.”

After Wang Chuan sat down, Kong Xiang spoke again, “Your Majesty, regarding the rumors that Li Yulong and Li Xian teamed up to revolt against Zhongshan County, it is all baseless gossip. In fact, Zhongshan County had already secretly allied with the State of Cai. The Cai State’s Minister of Rites, Ye Mingquan, is currently hiding within Zhongshan County’s territory!

The rebellion in Zhongshan County was actually instigated by the greed of its governor, Shi Chengsong, and the covert manipulation of the Cai State.”

Naturally, this led to a fierce exchange of words. Yuan Yong was cornered by the combined efforts of Li Yulong, Kong Xiang, and Wang Chuan. In the end, unable to resist any longer, Yuan Yong voluntarily resigned. The sharp arrows aimed at him from behind were too ruthless, and Yuan Yong had no strength to fight back.

Before the morning court session ended, Yuan Yong had left the Cheng Tian Hall, abandoning the position of the Grand Chancellor, his exit marked by a sense of defeat.

In the court, the Emperor, his tired and murky eyes scanning the surroundings, asked, “Everyone, who do you think should take the position of Grand Chancellor?”

Wang Chuan immediately gestured to Kong Xiang and Li Yulong.

Kong Xiang bowed again, “Your Majesty, among those in the court with military leadership abilities and commanding talent, only Minister Fu Minghui is qualified.”

Li Yulong immediately expressed his agreement.

Wang Chuan’s eyes burned with anger. He had been completely ignored by both Li Yulong and Kong Xiang.

When Kong Xiang was brought down and the position of Grand Chancellor was left vacant, Wang Chuan had hoped to seize the opportunity for promotion. But in the end, Li Yulong took the position of Grand Chancellor. When Prime Minister Ouyang Wubing fell, Wang Chuan also sought the position of Prime Minister, but the Emperor made no further move. Now, with the position of Grand Chancellor changed again, Wang Chuan still found himself sidelined, with Fu Minghui officially appointed as the new Grand Chancellor.

From start to finish, Wang Chuan felt like a fool! A clown who jumped and jumped, but could never reach the roof!

Needless to say, when Wang Chuan returned home, his anger erupted. The entire Wang family was in a state of unease.

The capital city was bustling with activity. Although Zhongshan County had rebelled, the influence of the “industrial prosperity for the nation” ideology had made Wuyang City more prosperous than ever before. After realizing the benefits of industry and commerce, the people took it upon themselves to protect this prosperity.

But by this morning, countless people in the capital came to see off someone… well, more accurately, they came to watch the spectacle! The so-called “evergreen political figure,” Yuan Yong, had been exiled from the imperial capital along with his entire family.

Yuan Yong didn’t stay in his carriage. Instead, he stood proudly at the front of the lead carriage, flanked by two imposing guards. Everyone stood tall and confident, as if they were not being exiled, but were returning home as heroes.

As they passed through the gates of Wuyang City, Yuan Yong saw the officials come to see him off. He jumped down from the carriage, ignored everyone, and walked directly to Li Yulong, laughing heartily, “Brother Li, within the Great Xia, the person I admire most is you. Farewell.”

After speaking, Yuan Yong strode past Kong Xiang, Fu Minghui, Wang Chuan, and the others with a proud attitude, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He then jumped back into the carriage and left in a huff.

Li Yulong smiled wryly and said to Kong Xiang, “This guy, even as he leaves, is still trying to pin things on me.”

Kong Xiang chuckled, “Lord Li, it seems it’s time for our two families to settle some matters.”

Meanwhile, when the Kong family entered Wuyang City, Li Xian was halfway up Yunding Mountain to the northwest of the city, where the royal tombs were located, watching the sunrise.

“Song Xing, sit. It’s nice to watch the sunrise when you have the time. Only during this period will we still have time for such things. Soon, we might not even have time to sleep.”

Li Xian’s words implied that once the Emperor passed away and the Great Xia fell apart, there would be plenty to do. Everyone around him understood, but no one really cared about the fate of the Great Xia anymore. Cultivators, by nature, were detached, and many in this immortal domain had little concern for the concept of a nation.

The sun was as bright as ever. Li Xian watched it rise every day. Others might think he was simply enjoying the sunrise—many cultivators liked watching it too.

But only Li Xian knew that he was “comparing” the suns of two worlds. Compared to the stars, the sun was what he cared about the most—it was the biggest and closest star. The sun here was equally bright, but after observing it for a long time, Li Xian still noticed subtle differences, though he couldn’t quite explain what was different. It seemed… it seemed… full of vitality! Yes, that was the feeling.

Song Xing was telling a story, recounting a popular folk legend: “Young Master, according to folk tales, on the sun, there are the Golden Crow, the Fire Phoenix, the Vermilion Bird, and others. There’s also a legend that says the moon, or Taiyin, has the Moon Palace and the Moon Laurel Tree, while the sun has the Palace of Li Fire and the Divine Tree of Fusang.”

“Oh…” Li Xian pondered, his thoughts drifting. In another world, such stories would be treated as mere myths; but in this world, Li Xian instinctively listened as though the legends were “history.” Stories might be false, but history could very well be true.

As the sun fully rose above the horizon, an urgent letter arrived from Anyang. The messenger, out of breath and pale, had traveled by wind escape technique, appearing utterly exhausted.

The state of the messenger startled Li Xian, who quickly opened the letter to read.

The letter detailed that Luliang County had been taken over and Zhongshan County had rebelled. With 200,000 troops about to make desperate moves, it was expected that once Zhongshan learned of Luliang’s fall and the capture of its governor, they would do anything to establish a connection between Anyang and the State of Cai.

The situation was extremely urgent.

However, after reading the letter, Li Xian snorted disdainfully. “We already have flying machines. Why not use them to bomb Zhongshan’s military headquarters directly, even drop shells on the head of Zhongshan’s governor, Shi Chengsong? It’s that simple! You all make things so complicated! Even if we can’t decapitate them, we can still create panic within Zhongshan’s forces, make the generals afraid to show themselves, and the soldiers unable to find their commanders!”

He paused and frowned as a thought occurred to him. “If we don’t demonstrate the power of our weapons, how will we sell them? Developing in isolation is fine, but relying solely on Anyang’s strength won’t be enough to support the entire scientific system’s growth. We must rely on industry and commerce.”

Then, his eyes lit up as he saw the mention of a “poison master.” A poison master with boundaries?

Li Xian’s excitement grew as he read further. After finishing the letter, he immediately took up his pen and wrote a long reply. He handed the letter to Song Xing, who was to deliver it.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter