Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 235: Borrowing the Path to Attack “Anyang”
Within the ruined city of Wuyang, hundreds of thousands of troops were stationed. The Nanyang Kong family had no ambition to occupy Wuyang City, nor did they desire to ascend the throne at this moment—the timing was simply not right. As a result, Kong Yingcai completely indulged his subordinates’ actions; in fact, he outright allowed them to plunder without restraint.
However, having learned from Anyang’s plundering of Cai State’s Huaihua County, Kong Yingcai adopted a similar approach—one should not rob the common people. There was little to gain from them, and doing so would only create resentment. Instead, the targets should be official properties. When necessary, a few scraps could be thrown out to win over the people, enticing them to join in the spoils.
The victorious Nanyang soldiers were even more brutal than bandits. Anything belonging to the government, lacking clear ownership, or owned by wealthy merchants was within their looting range. As for the citizens of Wuyang City, they were not entirely abandoned either. Through persuasion, coercion, and incentives, they were taken away—not by robbing their wealth, but by seizing the people themselves.
After experiencing such a war, the people of Wuyang City were already as skittish as startled birds. The moment they heard that Nanyang Prefecture was willing to take them in, they fled without hesitation.
Seeing Nanyang’s actions, others quickly followed suit. However, the core issue remained: who would ascend the throne? The standoff continued.
The Second Prince, who is also the Crown Prince, naturally did not want to give up. But the First Prince was not without qualifications either! Though he had made mistakes before, he had demonstrated the means of a true emperor—an emperor must not be too kind! By comparison, the Second Prince appeared rather weak and easy to manipulate.
So, who should be crowned emperor? The decision now rested in the hands of Kong Yingcai of Nanyang Prefecture and Gao Bin of Songzhou Prefecture. Everyone’s eyes turned to these two men. They were the scale that would tip the balance.
Kong Yingcai pondered for a moment and signaled to Gao Bin with his eyes.
Gao Bin was no fool. He glanced around and said, “Your Highnesses, please allow me some time to consider.”
Facing each other privately, the younger Kong Yingcai was the first to speak. “Uncle Gao, I believe the First Prince’s forces are too strong. Baofeng Prefecture has a solid foundation and commands an elite army of 500,000. If he grows any stronger, he could easily sweep across the land after taking Wuyang Prefecture.”
Gao Bin, showing no hesitation, replied, “And would that be a bad thing? Unifying the Great Xia before neighboring states react would be a great advantage.”
Kong Yingcai sneered internally, cursing the old fox. Outwardly, he smiled and said, “My Kong family is willing to support Songzhou in controlling Wuyang Prefecture. We can form a brotherly alliance and jointly conquer Guangling Prefecture to the west, as well as Anyang Prefecture and Dongyuan Prefecture to the east.”
Hearing this, Gao Bin grinned. “I also believe the Crown Prince should be enthroned. After all, he is the legitimate heir of the royal family. Moreover, an emperor should be somewhat weak.
But the Crown Prince is too weak. Separated by Anyang, he might not even be able to control Wuyang Prefecture.”
Kong Yingcai cursed the greedy old fox in his heart but maintained his pleasant smile. “That’s why Wuyang Prefecture will need your assistance, Uncle Gao. This is a rare opportunity to make history.”
Gao Bin nodded immediately. “Indeed, the Crown Prince will need my help to secure the throne.”
After further discussion on the details, the two returned to the front of the troops. Gao Bin was the first to speak, appearing righteous and dignified. “I, Gao Bin, Governor of Songzhou, have decided to follow the late emperor’s wishes and support the Crown Prince’s ascension.”
With that, Gao Bin turned toward the Crown Prince and bowed slightly. “Long live His Majesty.”
The Second Prince, also Crown Prince immediately beamed with joy. The First Prince’s expression darkened, but beneath his gloomy exterior, there was a trace of mockery.
Under the complex gazes of the crowd, Kong Yingcai also stepped forward and bowed slightly before the Crown Prince. “Long live His Majesty!”
The First Prince’s face turned entirely black with rage, his previous mockery now replaced by pure fury. At this moment, countless eyes locked onto him, the message clear: Hurry up and declare your loyalty to the new emperor.
The Eldest Prince clenched his fingers so tightly that his knuckles cracked, as if he could hear endless whispers of mockery around him. Ge Zhengfeng’s prophecy echoed in his mind: You have the fate of a crown prince, but not that of an emperor!
After suppressing his emotions for a long moment, the First Prince suddenly turned around. “I will only acknowledge him as emperor if he can reunify Great Xia!
Hmph!”
With that, he stormed off, filled with burning anger and humiliation. If he could, he would have slaughtered everyone present!
“Your Highness, please wait!” Yuan Zhao quickly called out, running after him.
The First Prince’s face was ashen. “What now?”
Yuan Zhao’s expression was serious. “Your Highness, by tradition, when a new emperor ascends, the remaining princes must be enfeoffed as kings. Please wait a few days for the coronation ceremony.”
Hearing this, the First Prince’s face darkened even further. Rage surged within him, his vision nearly blacking out with fury. “Yuan Zhao, do you believe I won’t kill you?!”
Yuan Zhao replied righteously, “Your Highness, this is the law of the land. When a new emperor is crowned, the princes must be granted titles.”
Completely enraged, the Eldest Prince gritted his teeth and spat out each word, “I… don’t… need… it!”
The First Prince finished speaking and turned away. However, the army under his command did not withdraw but instead stationed itself in the northwest of Wuyang City. The meaning was clear—I will not give up.
Once the First Prince had left, Yuan Zhao immediately took the lead in organizing the enthronement ceremony. Just as Xu Ren had predicted, the Crown Prince Xia Shu, held a simple yet solemn enthronement ceremony in the imperial palace of the Great Xia Kingdom. However, the ceremony was incredibly modest—there were no civil and military officials, no celebrations from the masses, no strict ancestral or heavenly sacrifices. Everything was merely a formality.
What was originally expected to take over a month was hastily completed in half a day. There was no choice—they simply couldn’t afford to wait, nor did they have the luxury of time to waste. Naturally, such a rushed enthronement ceremony was incomplete, and the new emperor did not receive the “Mandate of Heaven.”
Due to the hurried nature of the enthronement, even the new era name was undecided. As for conferring titles upon the First Prince and Third Prince, those matters were temporarily set aside.
Still, with this formality complete, the Crown Prince officially became the emperor, making things much more convenient in name. And what Yuan Zhao wanted was precisely this legitimacy.
The tense yet simple enthronement ceremony was over, and Yuan Zhao even secured the title of Grand Preceptor. The Crown Prince—no, the Emperor—sat on the throne, momentarily at a loss. Finally, he looked at Yuan Zhao and said,
“Beloved minister, what should I do next? Ah… the Great Xia Kingdom is in ruins, the nation is falling apart, and the people are suffering. My heart aches, my heart aches!”
Yuan Zhao almost threw up. Can you stop pretending? You are nothing more than a puppet emperor, an emperor in name only—no one actually cares about you. In reality, the Great Xia Kingdom no longer exists. The moment the former emperor died, the nation perished along with him. The former emperor left behind nothing but ruin; he didn’t even appoint a successor!
Taking several deep breaths to suppress his disgust, Yuan Zhao finally said, “Your Majesty, I believe Wuyang City is already in ruins. It has no natural defenses and is located in a battlefield surrounded on all sides. Therefore, we should abandon Wuyang City and relocate the capital to Luliang County, specifically to Nanliang Prefecture.
We should first return to Nanliang Prefecture to stabilize our position and consolidate our foundation before making further plans.“
The new emperor, Xia Shu, sighed in a show of false sorrow for a long time before finally accepting Yuan Zhao’s suggestion. Wuyang City was too far from Luliang County, with Anyang in between, and its location made it unsuitable for long-term defense. However, before leaving, the new emperor, following Yuan Zhao’s advice, issued three imperial decrees:
The First Decree conferred the title of “King of War” upon First Prince Xia Xu, assigning him to guard the northwest of the Great Xia Kingdom, including Baofeng County and Xin’an County.
The Second Decree conferred the title of “King of Literature” upon Third Prince Xia Guang, a former puppet emperor, assigning him to guard the southwest of the Great Xia Kingdom, including Guangling County and Nanyang County.
The Third Decree conferred the title of “Eldest Princess” upon Xia Qingqing.
The first and third decrees were unremarkable, following standard protocol. However, the second decree was highly insidious. Nanyang County wasn’t even within the Third Prince’s sphere of influence—it belonged to the Kong family. Now, with this decree, the puppet emperor, the Third Prince, and the Wang family had the perfect excuse to attack Nanyang County.
This was an intentional move to stir up trouble.
After the three decrees were sent out, the new emperor issued two more verbal commands:
Gao Bin, the governor of Songzhou County, was assigned to take over the southern defenses of Wuyang County.
Fu Minghui, the former Minister of Justice, Grand Commandant, and guardian of the imperial tombs, was assigned to oversee the northern defenses of Wuyang County.
The situation was getting more chaotic. Gao Bin, now backed by an official decree, took full advantage of the opportunity, immediately sending soldiers to capture key locations. Fu Minghui, however, ignored the fake decree altogether and continued guarding the imperial tombs, refusing to take part in the civil war.
After issuing his orders, the new emperor planned to “return to the capital” the next morning and head back to Luliang County.
As the grand procession departed from the imperial capital, the new emperor’s thoughts began to stir.
“Beloved minister (Yuan Zhao), do you think we could seize Anyang along the way? Even if we can’t take the whole city, capturing half of it would still be worthwhile!”
As he spoke, his eyes burned with unquenchable rage.
He had endured Anyang for far too long—finally, he had the chance for revenge.
“Li Xian, you little brat, once I capture you, I will make sure to humiliate you properly!”