Chapter 1683

She sighed: "I heard, I heard that after the Li family at the front alley entrance was robbed and reported it to the authorities, the bailiffs came, robbed their house all over again, and even beat the old man to death!" Seeing her husband didn't make a sound, she simply laid her cards on the table: "Alright, alright, if you won't go, then stay here. I'll take the child myself."

The husband sighed: "My brother-in-law, who serves in the palace, said the King wasn't killed by General Bai, but by a Heavenly God..."

"Shh, shh!" the wife said hurriedly, "Do you not want your life? You dare to speak of this? Taking a step back, even if it were a Heavenly God... then those people in the palace city brought it upon themselves! Didn't the public notice say it was divine punishment, divine punishment! Only those who do wrong will be punished!"

So what if he was the monarch? If he angered a Heavenly God, shouldn't he be punished?

But the sheer terror of a Heavenly God acting personally still left the couple trembling with fear.

Hearing this, Bai Ziqi gave a faint, mocking smile.

He had just had a secret conversation with Elder Liang and learned that the temple was deeply involved in this coup, not only providing temple soldiers to help Bai Tan storm the palace but even inciting refugees to riot in the early stages.

The refugees were the poorest and most miserable; the number of those who devoutly believed in the Heavenly God was considerable, and many refugee leaders even allowed themselves to be driven by the temple. After the palace coup, Bai Tan led the refugees to attack the wealthy and distribute grain, which pacified the refugees' emotions. The temple subsequently joined in the persuasion, and this riot gradually came to an end after the afternoon.

At present, there were still two refugee factions refusing to settle down, and the authorities were currently negotiating with them.

Of course, the so-called "authorities" now were Bai Tan and his faction.

"Palace Master, Bai Tan requests an audience."

After last night, apart from the Heavenly God, the only person who could make Bai Tan refer to himself as "requesting an audience" was Qingyang.

Bai Tan strode into the courtyard of the Quiet Lake Lodge and felt a bit strange seeing Qingyang sitting under a tree.

It was freezing cold; why would a wounded patient stay outdoors blowing in the cold wind? But Bai Tan was too lazy to think much about it. Counting from yesterday afternoon, he had been racing against time for over a dozen hours, under immense mental pressure, having only snatched a quarter-hour nap in between. Now his eyes were bloodshot, and his brain felt a bit numb.

What he lacked most right now was a good rest.

But he didn't dare.

Not to mention the external threats, Tianshui City alone had a thousand and one things waiting for him to settle.

An illegitimate rise to power always brought such troubles. Qingyang glanced at him and smiled: "How does it feel to rule over Tianshui City?"

Bai Tan had been a high official before, but he had a capricious King of Yao pressing down on him, and he had to spend all day guessing the old man's thoughts; now it was better, the vast Tianshui City listened only to his orders.

Bai Tan shook his head: "There is endless work to do."

Time was tight. While he worked hard to sort out the internal affairs of Tianshui City, he was also starting to expand the army. Overthrowing the King of Yao's rule was just the beginning; he had to consolidate the whole country before he could claim the throne.

From the moment he had the heart to rebel, he knew this path was destined to be difficult.

Rebellion, hah, could rebellion ever be easy and pleasant?

So Qingyang only said he "ruled over Tianshui City," but this feeling was truly too exhilarating.

The taste of holding absolute power—whoever tried it would find it impossible to stop! Qingyang added casually: "Why do you look even more exhausted than the King of Yao?"

Bai Tan had been injured on the day he started the uprising, but now his eyes were bloodshot and dark circles hung beneath them, making him look worse than he had then.

These words made Bai Tan's heart shudder.

Comparing him to a dead man was bad luck.

But he couldn't lose his temper at Qingyang, so he had to rub his nose: "How is the Regent's injury?"

He glanced at his personal guard, who immediately took out a box and placed it on the table.

"This is a secret medicine from the palace, exclusively for the King's use. It nourishes the internal vital energy and heals external wounds."

He was being generous with the King of Yao's property; this medicine was originally for the King's personal use.

Now, all the King of Yao's treasures belonged to him.

Qingyang was very polite: "Good, General Bai is very thoughtful."

The tone on both sides was very courteous.

Bai Tan was anxious to seize power in Tianshui City, while Qingyang returned to the Quiet Lake Lodge to heal. With the King of Yao dead, the distance between the two seemed to have grown, not as close as when they were secretly plotting the rebellion.

Both sides knew very well that the past was the past, and now was now.

Previously, everyone had a common goal: to topple the King of Yao and overthrow the Yao regime. Once this target fell, the partners would turn their spears and start sizing each other up.

If Qingyang weren't the Regent sent by Beijia, Bai Tan might have raised his butcher's knife against her last night.

Fortunately, her status was special, so Bai Tan didn't dare harbor evil thoughts toward her for the time being; instead, he now had to seek her help.

Qingyang knew Bai Tan's intentions perfectly well, but on the surface, she only exchanged pleasantries, not mentioning a word of it.

After all, Bai Tan was tied up with miscellaneous affairs and had no time to play tai chi with her. After saying a few empty pleasantries, he finally changed the subject and got to the point: "Does the Regent know where General Zhongwu has gone? I sent messages to the north, but there has been no reply."

Qingyang shook her head: "I notified you and Elder Liang to act early, and also had Luodian and Zhongwu cooperate. That is why Yuwen Yong has not returned to Tianshui City yet. As for where Zhongwu is, he hasn't contacted me; perhaps there will be a flying message tomorrow or the day after."

Bai Tan's heart sank.

At first glance, Qingyang's explanation was flawless, and her attitude was calm; in fact, the words were self-contradictory.

That coup was improvised and advanced; everyone was caught off guard. Yet Zhongwu and Luodian were able to receive the news in time, which meant Qingyang had a method of real-time communication with them and didn't have to wait for bird-demon messengers.

How was it that now, they couldn't be contacted?

Bai Tan had been an official for decades and knew how to read between the lines. Qingyang said this deliberately, likely with two meanings. First, Yuwen Yong was being held back by her, and she could stop holding him back at any time; second, she couldn't control Zhongwu's movements.

In other words, what Zhongwu wanted to do was not under her control.

This stance was worth pondering, because in the prior three-party planning, Qingyang clearly stated that Zhongwu was a very important piece in this plan. If the palace coup failed, Zhongwu could cover their retreat; if they succeeded, Zhongwu could also block attacks from other forces.

The agreed-upon condition was that General Zhongwu would lead an army back to aid Pixia after the coup succeeded, and the Yao nation would be responsible for supplying weapons, money, and grain, and could no longer make excuses like in the King of Yao's time.

This condition was not excessive at all, and could even be called quite generous, so Bai Tan naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

Now she said Zhongwu had lost contact, at such a delicate moment!

Did this mean Zhongwu also had ulterior motives? The conditions agreed upon before the uprising had very little binding force on these fierce generals and proud soldiers.

What Bai Tan worried about more was whether this also meant that Qingyang and the Beijia behind her had changed their attitude toward him? Sure enough, even after killing the King of Yao, the troubles remained endless. A wave of irritation surged to Bai Tan's forehead, but on his face, he had to be doubly sincere: "Leading troops outside, emergencies happen. I understand! How is the fighting on the northern front?"

Qingyang smiled: "Yuwen Yong suffered two defeats in a row, probably because he panicked when Zhongwu withdrew and the King of Yao died. The pass was broken, the northern Yao army fled in disarray and was chased by the Luodian nation to the southwest toward Mount Tong, losing over two thousand men."

Even though Bai Tan had foreseen this result, he was slightly moved when he heard it.

Under Xue Zongwu, the northern Yao army's combat power was quite good. It made no sense for it to plummet in just three or four months. The sudden collapse was likely due to low morale and a complete lack of fighting spirit.

In fact, when the Luodian army attacked the pass, they yelled and screamed: that the King of Yao was dead, that the Yao nation was finished; that General Zhongwu had already withdrawn, that they had no reinforcements; that Tianshui City had been stolen, and they were still foolishly guarding the pass—who were they acting as guard dogs for?

The most terrifying thing was that someone in the army confirmed that the southern Zhongwu camp was truly empty!

With the rear in chaos, Yuwen Yong himself was preoccupied with national affairs and couldn't focus, resulting in a battlefield error that the Luodian people exploited. If his personal guards hadn't risked their lives to save him, Yuwen Yong himself would have been captured.

Thus, a major defeat was inevitable, and Yuwen Yong gathered his remnants and fled west.

Qingyang guessed that he had received news of the Tianshui coup and knew there was no King to serve upon returning; perhaps he also knew the entire Yuwen family had been slaughtered, so he simply found a place to settle down first and plan for the future.

Bai Tan nodded: "I just received news that Luodian has already moved south to Lancang."

Qingyang's overall plan this time was meticulous. She had secretly colluded with the Luodian Left Sect Leader Qu Ruhai beforehand, asking him to cooperate with the Yao palace coup by raising troops to move south. If the coup didn't go smoothly, Luodian could contain Yuwen Yong and the military forces in the central and northern parts of the Yao nation, which was very important; if the coup succeeded quickly, Luodian should retreat to the north, and Bai Tan would cede three tribute lands, including Shuangxi, as a thank-you gift for Luodian's help.

These three tribute lands had always been managed by Xue Zongwu, so they were rich in resources and high in output.

However, the Luodian nation didn't stop after defeating Yuwen Yong but continued to invade Yao territory, which was clearly ill-intentioned.

Qingyang didn't feel surprised at all: "I warned you long ago that allying with Luodian is like asking a tiger for its skin."

She had said everything she needed to say, and now she was very calm.

Forces that could survive on the Glittering Gold Plain were all opportunists. For the first time in years, the Luodian people broke through the blockade and entered the northern Yao territory, and seeing the monarch killed and the capital in turmoil, how could they let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

Even if they couldn't swallow the Yao nation, they would still bite off a large chunk of fat from it!

Bai Tan gave a bitter smile: "I know."

Before the coup, the focus of the conflict was the King of Yao, and Bai Tan's only goal was to take Tianshui City, not hesitating to ask a tiger for its skin.

This was his choice, and he had to bear the consequences.

He wouldn't be naive enough to think Qingyang would restrain Luodian for him.

At this point, he had to state his purpose first: "Regent, after Zhongwu returns, I want to arrange a meeting with him outside the city to have a good talk."

He emphasized the words "outside the city."

Tianshui City was already his; why would Zhongwu throw himself into the tiger's den? Setting the meeting place outside the city at least expressed some sincerity.

And he was asking Qingyang to come forward and act as the intermediary.

Qingyang smiled: "That doesn't seem difficult. What do you want to talk to him about?"