Chapter 78: Half a Month of Wind and Clouds

Of course, there was a small problem: no mounts. Wherever the heroic spirits passed, alien creatures also retreated three zhang; the Heishuicheng Army couldn't fish for sand monsters to use as horses like before and had to honestly take it one step at a time.

They walked like this for over ten days, until their water and food were almost exhausted, and the team finally reached the end of the Red Cliff Road.

Once they reached there, the Great Wind Army stopped escorting them and turned around very decisively, ignoring the friendship of half a month of traveling together.

Along the way, they were silent partners. From the commander to the soldiers, He Lingchuan hadn't heard them say half a word.

After bathing, He Lingchuan changed into a set of clothes and rushed to the dining hall.

The family of three had long since taken their seats. He Chunhua was telling his second son about the Panlong Desert trip, and Lady Ying was eating with a smile, her appetite wide open.

He Lingchuan sat down and grabbed a big white flour steamed bun: "Old man, did you mention that I saved everyone?"

Lady Ying couldn't help but laugh: "What a thick face!"

With the family safely returned, she was in a great mood, personally picking up a large piece of braised pork for He Lingchuan, letting him stuff it into the bun, and adding two slices of pickled radish that were pickled just right.

He Lingchuan ate until his mouth was full of oil, mumbling: "In the desert, this was the only thing I thought about day and night!"

The He family was already used to his gluttonous eating style. He Yue said: "What about that broken blade? Let me see."

He Lingchuan casually drew the blade and placed it horizontally on the table: "Be careful not to get cut."

He Yue carefully stroked the blade body, feeling cold and stinging, and couldn't help but let out an "ooh," putting his finger in his mouth to suck it twice.

He Lingchuan stared: "Clumsy!"

He Yue was innocent: "I didn't even touch the sharp edge, yet I was cut."

He Lingchuan rubbed his finger back and forth on the blade body, even flicking the blade edge, sparking a clang, yet his finger remained perfectly fine: "You're more delicate than a woman."

For so many years, He Yue had long been immune to his cold sarcasm and took the initiative to change the topic: "Brother, Panlongcheng is so big, how did you discover that this blade was the Black Dragon's lifeline?"

He Lingchuan became energetic, while wildly exaggerating his photographic memory and attention to detail, while waving the blade until it flashed with cold light all over the hall.

Crash, the pottery jar four feet away shattered in response, and clear water flowed all over the floor.

He Lingchuan hadn't even used half his true strength.

Lady Ying's face turned pale with fright: "Stop, this is a place for eating, not for you to play with weapons!"

This blade was too fierce!

He Lingchuan put the blade away awkwardly and hurriedly asked his second brother: "By the way, you said the rebel army at Woling Pass has been pacified?"

"Exactly." He Yue had already reported to his father and didn't mind telling his elder brother again, "Actually, Nian Songyu and Sun Fuping were spouting nonsense. Before they arrived at Heishuicheng, the rebels at Woling Pass had been wiped out by the two great generals Wu Di and Ke Jihai; it was impossible for them to fell trees to build boats and go east with the water!"

He Lingchuan was stunned: "Then, 'Iron Barrel General' Zhao Ronglue...?"

It was precisely because Sun Fuping had faked military intelligence that He Chunhua had decided to follow them to Panlongcheng, looking for the legendary Great Fang Hu that could defeat the enemy and protect the capital.

As a result, He Yue told him that the rebels hadn't even been able to walk out of Woling Pass?

Then what did the Xunzhou Governor and Sun Fuping seek the Great Fang Hu for?

"The Iron Barrel General did indeed die in battle. When the two generals Wu and Ke arrived with 100,000 elite troops, the rebels happened to be infighting, and their strength was reduced on its own. Even so, it was still several fierce battles, with heavy casualties on both sides; we only won by a narrow margin." He Yue smiled bitterly, "Sun Fuping only told a small half of the truth. Mixing truth and falsehood made it hard for people to distinguish, and even Father was deceived."

"No wonder!" He Lingchuan let out a light hiss: "No wonder Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu urged us to leave as soon as they arrived at Heishuicheng; they were worried that the eastern route would suddenly open and the true news would be passed over."

"The situation is very unfavorable for the Grand Marshal; they wanted to use us, so they had to play the time difference. Otherwise, once the news from the capital arrived, they would turn from honored guests into wanted criminals."

"Then what about the Grand Marshal?" Intuition told He Lingchuan that this was the main event.

"Elite troops and famous generals were all sent to the south, and the capital was empty. Grand Marshal Dong Haoming thought there was an opportunity and sent people into the palace to assassinate, intending to rebel!" He Yue continued, "He must have planned it for a long time, hiding 1,600 elite troops in several manors on the outskirts of the city. Some manors weren't even under the Donglai Mansion's name, so they didn't attract attention. On the morning of the incident, the South City Guard opened the gates directly to let the Donglai Mansion army into the city, and there were also insiders in the Imperial Guard, leading two killer generals under the Grand Marshal directly into the palace to assassinate the King!"

Just doing it like that? The Grand Marshal was also a ruthless person. He Lingchuan wanted to give a thumbs up, but

He Chunhua nodded: "The Grand Marshal holds a high position and great power, and the King is often ill. If he succeeds in regicide, he could claim the King died of illness, have the inner court officials forge a last will, and let the Grand Marshal be ordered to assist the new ruler and command all officials. By then, he would hold the new ruler hostage to command the vassals, making the situation a fait accompli, and the generals would not necessarily dare to make any untoward moves."

When ambitious men contend, it is nothing more than the two words: luck and momentum. Once the momentum is lost, the task cannot be accomplished.

He Lingchuan asked what he didn't understand: "Why not use poison? A white blade in and a red blade out doesn't look like dying of illness."

"The King has physicians by his side with profound medical arts; poisoning is not feasible."

"The King is his son-in-law, and won't the empire eventually belong to his grandson? Why is the Grand Marshal in such a rush to usurp power personally?"

He Chunhua was silent for a moment before saying: "I heard the relationship between this father-in-law and son-in-law is poor, and the reasons must be very complex. It seems there has been conflict recently: the Northern Demon Nation has repeatedly invaded our borders, and the King demanded a resolute counterattack, but the Grand Marshal believed that national strength is exhausted and fires are burning everywhere, so it is not appropriate to mobilize the military further; he thought it best to negotiate peace and appease them. According to the information I received, the King and the Grand Marshal publicly argued about this at the Royal Court at least four times. Afterward, the King was so angry he couldn't eat, called the Eastern Queen over to scold her severely, and punished her by making her kneel in the Imperial Garden for half the night."

Scolding his wife because he couldn't win an argument against his father-in-law—our King is truly a man of the bedroom. He Lingchuan scratched his head: "That doesn't count as a major matter worth the Grand Marshal rebelling over."

He Yue shook his head: "The Grand Marshal is dissatisfied with the current state of the country, believing the King's lack of administrative skill has led to a hundred ills, so he wants to take his place."

"Understood, he just doesn't want to wait anymore." He Lingchuan sighed deeply, "If you want to rebel, what excuse won't work? By the way, did he succeed?"

"No. The King happened to be out that day, staying the night at the home of Duke Puwen, and kept it a secret. The Grand Marshal's inside men in the palace didn't know and went in to assassinate him according to the original plan, only to find nothing. Upon receiving the news, the King fled overnight... ahem, withdrew from the capital, retreated to defend Little Xishan, and ordered all armies to return to the capital to protect the King."

"The Grand Marshal's rebellion was thus exposed. Wei Ao, the Superintendent of Xuanzhou, returned to reinforce the fastest, repelling the Grand Marshal's attacks twice at Little Xishan, holding out until Ke Jihai arrived with his army. Seeing that success was hopeless, the Grand Marshal led his army west and retreated to defend Wuzhou."

(End of chapter)