Chapter 267: Chen Ping's Dead End

"My Lord, you absolutely must not!"

"My Lord, with the plague currently upon us, you must not mobilize troops lightly!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the civil and military officials of Liangzhou Prefecture were all terrified and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

Has this Chen Ping truly gone mad?

At a time like this, Liu Zheng's name as a Contemporary Sage has spread to the four corners of the earth; he occupies the moral high ground, and you want to dispatch troops? Once you dispatch troops, not only will it appear that you harbor ulterior motives and cannot sit still, but it is also an open defiance of the imperial laws!

When that time comes, Chen Ping will only be dragging this group of people toward Hell!

Chen Ping looked at this group of people trying to dissuade him and sneered coldly: "What, are you afraid?"

"Afraid?"

"My Liangzhou Prefecture has an army of two hundred thousand; are we still afraid of his mere ninety thousand in Yinzhou?"

A look of violence flickered in his eyes: "Prefect Liu imprisoned the Prefect of Changzhou first, slandered this official later, and has now openly defied the Crown Prince; with the plague upon us, he is looting a burning house—his heart deserves to be punished!"

"Liu Chang!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Issue the order: the Liangzhou Army is to prepare for departure, target Changzhou, to reinforce the Crown Prince!"

"Yes!"

With the order given, the Liangzhou Army reorganized its equipment, and for a time, there was panic within Liangzhou City.

When the common people heard this news, they were also stunned.

Who are they going to fight?

Fight Prefect Liu? Are they crazy? Isn't Prefect Liu one of our own? When the Xiongnu invaded Liangzhou, it was the Yinzhou Army that went over to turn the tide.

Now you want to go and fight Prefect Liu?

Immediately, many elders of the Powerful Clans, literary masters, and student representatives within Liangzhou City walked to the gates of the Liangzhou Prefecture to shout and petition—in any case, these people coming, this operation, they were all used to it.

"Inspector, why is this?"

"Prefect Liu is known as a Contemporary Sage; he repelled the Xiongnu, pacified the Western Regions, and resisted the plague. His meritorious deeds are known to all, and he is the fortune of our Liangzhou! Why must you dispatch troops to crusade against him?"

"My Lord, you need to give us an explanation!"

Chen Ping could hear the voices of these people from within the residence, and he closed his eyes in annoyance.

Does he have a Method?

Heh.

Does he have a Method?

If he had even the slightest Method, did they really think he was truly willing to dispatch troops at this time?

No.

He has none left.

At this moment, he has already been forced into a dead end!

Who could have imagined that even the plague could not kill those hateful Liu father and son! Not only did it not kill them, but he even cured it? He actually defeated the plague!

Who could have imagined it?

Could this Prefect Liu truly be a Heavenly God descended to earth?

This trap he set by going against his own conscience actually ended up earning the other party a royal title...

A royal title.

This is something Chen Ping has dreamed of! He has spent his whole life working hard, plotting, and maneuvering, just waiting for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne so he could be granted the title of a King of a Different Surname.

But what about now?

Liu Dahao, whom he once played in the palm of his hand until he went bankrupt, is actually going to be enfeoffed as a King?

Can he endure it?

He cannot!

Everyone knows that every Feudatory King in the world must control the territory of a province. If this Liu Dahao is enfeoffed as a King, who will have the final say in this Liangzhou? As for him, Chen Ping, a mere Inspector, where will he go?

This is a fight to the death!

Either he dies, or Liu Dahao dies!

He has been forced into a corner with no way out.

At this time, the Crown Prince's request for reinforcements also reached Chen Ping's hands, which finally allowed him to heave a sigh of relief. With the Crown Prince's will, the pressure on his shoulders was much lighter.

Liangzhou City.

At a secret gathering.

Sitting on the floor was a group of civil and military officials from Liangzhou Prefecture. At this time, they sat together furtively, whispering in low voices.

"Gentlemen, Liangzhou is in imminent danger; tell me, what of the road ahead?"

"My Lords, it is not that I am pessimistic, but the current situation is such that the Yinzhou Army is powerful and strong, and the hearts of the world are turning toward them; they cannot be stopped. Chen Ping has made several major mistakes, all gathered upon himself; if the matter is exposed..."

The group of people looked at each other, and all fell into silence.

Just as mentioned before, when has this Liangzhou Prefecture ever been of one mind? Every official has an interest group they represent behind them. When everyone is making money together, they are naturally happy on the surface. But now that this ship is about to capsize, who is still going to stay with you?

This matter of the plague.

Others might not know!

But how could these civil and military officials not know?

This was all Chen Ping's doing!

At the time, they actually had objections in their hearts. However, Chen Ping was dictatorial and overbearing, would not listen to dissuasion, and thought his plan was perfect and would surely kill the Liu father and son. They did not expect that the situation would reverse now...

A white-haired old man chuckled and said: "Gentlemen, the matter of the plague concerns the state, and the Emperor bringing out a royal title shows how significant it is. This official believes that a mere Crown Prince is afraid he will not be able to protect Chen Ping this time."

The others nodded one after another.

They were in the know, aware that the overall situation in Liangzhou was effectively settled at this point.

This was merely Chen Ping's final madness.

"Then, we..."

"One word: stall!"

The crowd laughed heartily, reaching a tacit understanding.

And so.

For two days in a row, those two hundred thousand troops of the Liangzhou Army simply could not set out.

Chen Ping was furious: "What is going on? When will the grain and supplies arrive?"

"My lord, they are still on the road..."

"If the keys to the armory cannot be found, can't you just smash them open for me?"

"What about the bedding!"

"My lord, the bedding was chewed up by rats; we cannot gather enough..."

"What is wrong with these horses? Can they still run? Why are they having diarrhea non-stop? Who fed them croton beans? Who was it!"

Chen Ping was so angry that he went to make arrangements himself, yet everything remained chaotic.

He did not know.

This might be the last time he would be ordering people around in the Liangzhou Prefecture.

Because at this moment.

Ma Yong, having traveled without stopping, had already returned to Jinghua.

"Report—"

"Report—"

"Emperor, Emperor, Ma Yong has a memorial to present! It is of the utmost urgency, of the utmost urgency!"

The main hall of the Imperial Palace.

A quarter of an hour later.

The air seemed to have frozen.

Xie Tianyao was so angry his hands were trembling; the memorial was nearly torn to shreds by him, and he stood up abruptly, throwing it fiercely to the ground: "Let Us see, let everyone see!"

"Audacious, utterly audacious!"

Xie Tianyao was filled with towering rage: "A dignified Inspector, so narrow-minded that to stop the Yinzhou Army from passing through Dunhuang, he actually resorted to the wicked scheme of a plague!"

"This empire of Ours is being ruined by such people!"

"A scourge!"

"A black sheep!"

The civil and military officials were terrified, kneeling on the ground, not daring to lift their heads.

Tears shimmered in Xie Tianyao's eyes: "My subjects, My common people..."

"Emperor..."

"Emperor, please calm your anger!"

"Emperor..."

Once the Emperor shed tears, the officials naturally followed suit and wept.

For these past days, everyone had been speculating.

But at this moment, it was confirmed!

Chen Ping was finished!

He was completely doomed!

Xie Tianyao shed a few hypocritical tears and said coldly: "Proclaim: Liangzhou Inspector Chen Ping has disregarded Heaven and Earth, spread a plague, committed heinous crimes, and is intolerable to the state!"

"Order Yinzhou Prefectural Governor Liu Dahao and Pingdi General Zheng Yuxing to immediately apprehend Chen Ping and execute his nine generations to uphold the law and cleanse the world!"

"Yes!"

"The Emperor is wise!"

【Author's Note】

Thank you to Brother Migrant Worker for the update-urging talisman, and thank you to the great Yongyuan Releiyingkuang for the tip, thank you, thank you.