Chapter 1727

Su Yuchi's marble-hard facial contours showed no expression, though his heart was bleeding, he gripped his sword hilt and shouted: "Fire arrows!"

The mournful cries outside cast a heavy shadow over Yunyang City; the rain had stopped, but the wind became unprecedentedly fierce, carrying the scent of blood on its gusts, and the soldiers and civilians within Yunyang City were under extreme oppression.

In the Deyang Pavilion south of Yunyang City, four men were sitting in a private room drinking; one of them was none other than the King of Zhenhai, Hu Xiaotian, who had not left that day, and together with Xia Zhangming, Xiong Tianba, and Zong Tang had gone out and returned, sneaking into Yunyang City. Although Yunyang's western gate was heavily guarded, the other three gates remained open for normal traffic, making entry into Yunyang not difficult. In fact, even a strict blockade could not stop Xia Zhangming, who excelled at commanding birds.

This time Hu Xiaotian was not only trying to save the disaster victims of Xichuan; since Su Yuchi took up residence, Yunyang had actually become an obstacle to his westward advance, and the recent Xichuan earthquake gave him a rare opportunity.

Xia Zhangming said softly: "My lord, we just received news that Dakang is mobilizing troops on its southwestern border; it seems they intend to take advantage of the situation to recover Xichuan."

Hu Xiaotian said calmly: "Although Li Tianheng is having bad luck, he hasn't lost all his ability to resist. Dakang's troop buildup is certainly not for attack, but to prevent refugees from entering the heartland."

Zong Tang nodded in deep agreement: "Exactly, Yunyang is an example; they want to keep the trouble inside Xichuan, letting Xichuan fall into chaos from within first."

Hu Xiaotian said: "In most cases, dynasties and states fall not because of external forces, but due to internal causes."

At that moment, the outer door was lightly knocked, and Liang Yinghao, who had gone to gather information, walked in.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and gestured for him to sit, but Liang Yinghao didn't wait to sit before lowering his voice: "Everything indeed went as you predicted, my lord; Su Yuchi refused to let refugees enter the city, and for survival they built a pontoon bridge, forcefully crossing the moat intending to ram the gate, whereupon Su Yuchi ordered them shot, resulting in countless casualties outside the western gate."

Xiong Tianba cursed angrily: "What the hell, this old turtle is so obstinate—does he really want to watch all those commoners die at the gate?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "How do the townspeople view this?"

Liang Yinghao said: "From what I and my brothers have learned, resentment runs deep; I've heard that even Su Yuchi's most capable subordinate, Yuan Qing Shan, was arrested for defying orders."

Hu Xiaotian slowly nodded: "Su Yuchi has indeed not handled this matter very well."

Liang Yinghao said: "Just now I met with the Beggar Sect's An Zhai, and he has already ascertained the location of the tortoise-shell war chariots and the thunderclap ballistae."

Xiong Tianba said: "Good, as long as we destroy their war chariots and thunderclap ballistae, there'll be nothing to fear; uncle, why not send me over?"

Hu Xiaotian glanced at him and said: "Why destroy them?"

Xiong Tianba said: "If we destroy the tortoise-shell war chariots and the thunderclap ballistae, we can then send a large army to assault the city."

Hu Xiaotian slowly shook his head: "Don't forget, I am now the Prince Zhenhai of Dakang, and you are all Dakang's generals; doing this would amount to rebellion."

Xiong Tianba didn't understand, but the others all sensed there was more to Hu Xiaotian's words.

Xia Zhangming said: "My lord, do you have a plan?"

Xiong Tianba shouted: "To hell with being a Dakang general—I refuse to be bound by this bastard court; uncle, why should we follow Dakang and suffer? I think you should just make yourself emperor."

Zong Tang said: "Little bear, stop shouting; listen to what the lord says."

Hu Xiaotian said: "The court's refusal to let refugees in is fundamentally because they want Xichuan to descend into internal chaos; this heavenly disaster will accelerate Xichuan's collapse, and even without sending troops to attack Xichuan, it will implode under the immense pressure." He paused, then added: "The court is waiting for an opportunity; once it arises, they will launch their forces into Xichuan, and the current troop buildup is precisely preparation for that invasion."

Xia Zhangming said: "But why are they only concentrating troops in the south, without sending any to Yunyang?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "The two most important cities in Xichuan are Xiezhou and Xizhou; controlling these two is tantamount to controlling Xichuan's lifeline. Xiezhou lies in southern Xichuan, closer to Dakang's border, while Xizhou is relatively nearer to Yunyang. Originally, a two-pronged attack on Xichuan would yield twice the result with half the effort, but now the road from Yunyang to Xizhou has been severed by the earthquake and landslides, making any northern assault impossible. Hence they have concentrated their forces in the south, ready to break through in one strike when the opportunity arises."

Zong Tang said: "Do they then not care at all about the refugees' lives?"

Hu Xiaotian said softly: "If we were compassionate and let the refugees enter our territory, it would inevitably increase Dakang's burden, while Xichuan would gain a brief respite; thus Dakang strictly controls the border. As for Yunyang, it is not currently a priority—we need only hold fast, not allowing any refugees in, so as to keep the trouble within Xichuan's borders."

Hearing this, Xiong Tianba also understood and exclaimed indignantly: "The court is truly vicious—willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives just to recover Xichuan."

Xia Zhangming said, puzzled: "But my lord, you have already proposed letting them admit the refugees, with us taking them in—why then does Su Yuchi refuse to agree?"

Hu Xiaotian sighed inwardly; his own motives were not pure either, but regardless of motive, helping the refugees is still beneficial, and he is not just talking empty words—if Su Yuchi agrees to let the refugees in, he will certainly take full responsibility. However, Su Yuchi is a man of principle; anything the court forbids, he will not waver on. Moreover, Su Yuchi likely suspects Hu Xiaotian's motives, fearing he might use the opportunity to extend his influence into Yunyang.

Hu Xiaotian had long wanted to seize Yunyang, and he had considered several plans, but quickly realized Su Yuchi's vigilance was extremely high, making success difficult; he had also contemplated assassinating Su Yuchi—given his and Xiong Tianba's martial prowess, that would not be hard—but while killing Su Yuchi would be easy, winning over the hearts of Yunyang's populace would be difficult. Nevertheless, Su Yuchi's excessive rigidity has already bred discontent among the city's soldiers and civilians; today's massacre of the refugees, though it temporarily served as a deterrent, has revealed his ruthless, cold-blooded side to his subordinates, causing their loyalties to begin to waver.

Hu Xiaotian turned to Zong Tang and said: "Are the preparations ready?"

Zong Tang nodded, while the others were all completely bewildered, unaware of what Hu Xiaotian had asked Zong Tang to prepare.

I haven't been feeling well these past two days; that's all for today. I'll rest early and hope to recover soon. (To be continued~^~)