Chapter 1164 – The Prince of Zhongshan's Choice
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Just like all the other streets of the capital, the Road of Peace was extremely deserted.
The experts of the Tianhai clan and the princely estates had left the city some time ago to meet up with the rebel army, and they were now all outside the Imperial Palace.
Yet it was at this moment that the Prince of Zhongshan chose to leave the rebel army and return to his estate on the Road of Peace.
The princes of the Chen clan with the greatest prestige in the military were the Prince of Xiang and the Prince of Zhongshan.
His departure left the rebel army stunned, even shaken.
Qin Chi was the chief strategist of the princely estate. He had not gone north with the army, instead secretly remaining in the capital to coordinate between the two sides.
Upon receiving the news, he hurried back to the princely estate. Upon seeing the prince sitting in the palace armchair, he looked like he had seen a ghost.
The Prince of Zhongshan had been recuperating from his wounds in Blue Pass this entire time, and it was only today that he arrived at the capital. After meeting with the Prince of Xiang in the rebel army and engaging in a short conversation, he went back to his own troops. No one had expected him to then enter the capital on his own, go back to his estate, take a bath, get some sleep, and then change into a soft and thin silken gown. At this very moment, he was eating a bowl of zhajiangmian1.
"My dear prince… What are you doing, Your Highness? Does Your Highness not know that we are in the middle of a rebellion? That we have started a revolt?"
Qin Chi had an incredulous look on his face. "Your Highness should either join the rebellion or hurry up and make a decision. How could you go home and take a nap? Is this bowl of noodles that tasty?"
The Prince of Zhongshan put down his bowl and impassively said, "Annoying. Just say what should be done!"
Qin Chi's eyes looked around as he whispered, "From the situation outside the Imperial City, it looks like the Prince of Xiang is very confident."
The Prince of Zhongshan sneered, "You think that my royal brother will make me emperor?"
Qin Chi froze for a second. "Presumably… not."
The Prince of Zhongshan continued, "This being the case, what difference will his success mean to me?"
Qin Chi bitterly smiled and replied, "The problem is, if Your Highness does not yield to the Prince of Xiang, after he succeeds, he will assuredly kill you."
The Prince of Zhongshan replied, "That makes sense. Since His Majesty won't kill me, it would still be better for me to support His Majesty."
Qin Chi was dumbstruck once more, wondering, where did these words come from?
Before he could continue his persuasions, the Prince of Zhongshan's hand clasped around his throat.
His Highness's fingers seem to be made of iron. I really shouldn't have advised him to put down that bowl of zhajiangmian.
These were the last two thoughts of Qin Chi's life.
Even after his throat was shattered, he still could not understand how the prince had known that he was privately communicating with the Prince of Xiang's estate, or why the prince was doing this.
Even after Qin Chi's corpse was dragged away, the Prince of Zhongshan still did not feel very happy. Untying his clothes, he began to fan himself.
A beautiful concubine walked in and, seeing the situation, immediately took up a small fan to assist him.
What the strategist found incomprehensible even in death, this concubine could see crystal-clear.
Even if the prince didn't know that his strategist was privately communicating with the Prince of Xiang's estate, he still wouldn't have listened to his opinions, because the prince had never once viewed the Prince of Xiang's venture with any optimism.
Not even the power of the rebel army could convince him, nor could the fact that Prince Chen Liu, in his ten years as a hostage, had actually succeeded in persuading so many ministers of the court, proving just how extraordinary an individual he was.
"I hear… that Prince Chen Liu persuaded many people in the palace."
The concubine hesitantly glanced at the Prince of Zhongshan.
The Prince of Zhongshan replied, "Even if the tongue can serve as a weapon, it's still not an actual weapon, so what use is it?"
The concubine sighed and filled the wine cup in front of him.
The Prince of Zhongshan looked out the window at the autumn sky, his hand gripping the little wine cup, his mood not as relaxed and leisurely as it seemed.
The rebel army had seized the capital, but it still needed some time to capture the Imperial Palace.
Where did the Prince of Xiang's confidence come from? Why did he care so little about Chen Changsheng?
The Prince of Zhongshan suddenly thought of the matter and smashed the wine cup on the table. "The North-Pacifying Army!"
……
……
From its name, one could tell that the North-Pacifying Army was the strongest of the demi-human armies.
The North-Pacifying Army had originally been intended to assist the human armies and attack the demons, but not long after leaving the Cong Province Army headquarters, it had stopped advancing north. It had instead elected to march in circles around the plains.
At the start, many people thought the demi-humans were going back on their word, but when those two divisions of the demi-human army suddenly appeared outside Xuelao City, these people then believed that the North-Pacifying Army had been acting as a distraction. However, the facts now showed that all these speculations were wrong, or maybe incomplete.
Before those two divisions of the demi-human army had finished passing through the mountains bordering the Elf grasslands, the North-Pacifying Army had already mobilized. The twenty thousand demi-human soldiers quickly marched through the western highlands of Cong Province. After being let through Snowhold Pass, they silently brushed past the left flank of Tianliang County and finally arrived at the perimeter of the capital.
Mount Mo had collapsed ten years ago, transforming into ten-some short hills with all sorts of wildflowers growing atop them.
After passing through these hills, many of the demi-human soldiers had a wildflower on their collars.
Many peasants on their path had already noticed this demi-human army. The common people of the Great Zhou Dynasty often saw demi-humans, but they rarely saw so many burly demi-human men. They were naturally rather uneasy, but the thought of the human–demi-human alliance prevented them from shouting in panic.
The North-Pacifying Army was worthy of its reputation as the most elite troops of the Demi-human race. Demi-human soldiers were innately unruly, but even on this long march, the troops remained extremely disciplined. Even after they formally joined with the rebel army on the outskirts of the capital, they were still orderly, and there was none of the turmoil that many people had feared.
The addition of two thousand valiant demi-human warriors to the ranks of the rebellion led to a complete imbalance in the forces on the two sides. More importantly, the appearance of the North-Pacifying Army in the capital symbolized the White Emperor's stance. Only now did everyone realize that the White Emperor had allied himself with the Prince of Xiang for quite some time already.
After the northern expedition against the demons concluded, the experts of the Divine Domain would all probably need a very long period of rest and recuperation. Shang Xingzhou was old and Wang Zhice would not involve himself in worldly affairs. The Prince of Xiang, Cao Yunping, and the Saint that was the White Emperor truly had the sufficient qualifications to decide the structure of the entire continent.
The morale of the rebel army rose, but since the decisive battle against the demons was still taking place on the front lines, neither the princes nor the soldiers could truly feel bold and confident. Thus, even now, they did not use siege weaponry like catapults. However, if the stalemate continued, blood would inevitably flow.
The gates of the Imperial City were tightly shut, the rebel army and the defenders constantly exchanging curses. The rebel army was not using siege weapons, and it was perhaps for this very reason that the divine crossbows on the walls of the Imperial City had still not been fired. However, the obscene curses being slung through the air were no worse than swift crossbow bolts.
The tottering figure of Grand Tutor Bai Ying was assisted by several civil officials up the wall. As he looked at the rebel army below, he used a broadcasting artifact to give a tear-stricken speech. Seeing that the rebel army was unmoved, he began to feel anger rising from his belly. He began to directly call out the Prince of Xiang, his words mostly revolving around the phrase 'infamy throughout the ages'.
The rebel army parted like a tide as the Prince of Xiang rode a horse to the gates of the Imperial City. He said to Grand Tutor Bai Ying, "To die of no apparent illness after receiving the criticism of thousands is the conduct of a weakling, not me."
Grand Tutor Bai Ying despaired at these words. With his hand on his heart, he was helped down the wall by the attending officials.
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1. Zhajiangmian is a noodle dish consisting of buckwheat noodles topped with a fermented soybean paste.