Chapter 652: Behead Him!

The three men had not become Sect Leaders of Yan’s three major sects by being fools.

Why had they deliberately summoned those five Elders before?

Because they already understood certain things perfectly well. They knew some people wanted to preserve their strength and refused to exert themselves.

But what could they do about it?

Yan was already in mortal danger. Were they supposed to kill those Elders and throw their own three sects into internal chaos as well?

Now Nanzhou had suddenly played this hand, and the three Sect Leaders did not even know whether they ought to be pleased.

Those five had racked their brains to make Nanzhou take the field so they could preserve their own strength.

Now that Nanzhou had taken the field, its first move was to force those same five men to exert themselves.

After circling around and around, everything had come right back to where it began.

The three Sect Leaders could only wonder whether those five now felt as though they had lifted a rock only to drop it on their own feet.

The struggle between the five Elders and Nanzhou had become quite a spectacle.

The three Sect Leaders almost felt their own feet aching on the five men’s behalf.

Everything had been perfectly straightforward before. If they had simply done their part properly, that would have been the end of it.

Now not only did they still have to exert themselves, but doing so would earn them no gratitude at all.

If the rebellion-suppression campaign failed, they would suffer enormous losses.

If it succeeded, Nanzhou would take all the reputation.

The logic was obvious.

The five regional armies had already suffered defeat after defeat.

If they won now, the victory would naturally be credited to Nanzhou’s superior command.

The five regional lords would still be the ones risking their lives, but the merit would belong to Nanzhou.

The three Sect Leaders looked at one another in silence.

For the sake of preserving Yan and the interests of their three sects, none of them could object to Nanzhou’s decision.

Yet somehow it still felt as though their three sects had lost out.

Somehow, Nanzhou still seemed to have played the stronger move.

“Ah. I have no objection.” Meng Xuan gave a bitter laugh, raised his cup, and drank.

Long Xiu and Gong Lince had no objections either.

The eunuch understood and withdrew.

...

Inside a command tent, Xiaoyao Palace Elder Shi Sheng and Su Qitong stared at one another.

After a period of silence, Shi Sheng lowered his head again and looked at the rebellion-suppression military law in his hand.

His brows remained tightly knitted, his face full of frustration.

Only after quite some time did he look up again.

“Would Nanzhou’s troops truly dare attack Haozhou’s army?”

Su Qitong replied, “Elder Shi, that isn’t a question you should be asking me. It is one I should be asking you.”

“Would Nanzhou truly dare attack forces supported by the three major sects?”

Shi Sheng slowly exhaled.

How was he supposed to explain this?

The key was that no one from the three major sects could openly stand up and condemn the matter.

Yan was on the verge of destruction.

Their three sects were themselves being dragged toward ruin by the rebellion.

Nanzhou had never said it intended to attack the three major sects.

It had said it would enforce military law against regional lords who failed to suppress the rebellion.

That was being done to preserve Yan.

It was also being done to preserve the interests of the three major sects.

How could Shi Sheng, as an Elder of one of those three sects, publicly condemn that?

He waved a hand. “Answer my question first.”

Su Qitong’s eyes flickered.

Now he understood.

On this matter, Shi Sheng had no leverage against the young Prince’s side.

They had him pinned.

Thinking of his own ties to Prince Ning’s faction, Su Qitong found himself uncertain whether he ought to feel pleased that the young Prince was finally spreading his wings.

After considering his words, he said slowly, “Military law proclaimed publicly is no child’s game.”

“Elder Shi, I cannot speak for others, but I know Meng Shanming very well.”

“Military law is as immovable as a mountain. If someone delays a military operation, there is no question of whether he dares or not.”

“Leaving the three major sects aside, if Haozhou’s troops dare delay a military order, Nanzhou’s forces will absolutely enforce military law!”

Just then a shout came from outside.

“Report!”

An intelligence report was delivered.

Nanzhou had not sent four hundred thousand men.

It had sent only one hundred thousand!

After reading the report, the two men looked at each other.

Shi Sheng tried another angle.

“You brought two hundred thousand Haozhou troops. Do you truly need to fear a threat from a mere one hundred thousand?”

Su Qitong tapped the report in his hand.

“Elder Shi, those are one hundred thousand cavalry!”

“They come and go like the wind!”

“They are the Yingyang and Wulie Guards!”

“This is not about whether we fear their threats. It is a real, concrete threat!”

Shi Sheng hesitated again.

“What if all five regional lords delay their advance?”

Su Qitong replied, “Does Elder Shi still believe Nanzhou would not dare enforce military law?”

“If I were the commander of Nanzhou’s army, I would kill one to warn a hundred.”

“Whoever is closest to Nanzhou’s forces would be the first unlucky one.”

“And we are the closest!”

Shi Sheng became visibly conflicted, unable to make up his mind.

The feeling was miserable.

Openly defying the orders of the Grand General for Suppressing the Rebellion was impossible.

With both Yan and the three major sects facing a crisis like this, how could he dare openly resist?

He was an Elder of one of those three sects.

Even if someone gave him the courage, the most he dared do was obey in public while secretly dragging his feet.

But if the other side intended to use force, then once Nanzhou truly moved to enforce military law, righteousness and reason would both be on Nanzhou’s side.

If Nanzhou launched an attack, fighting back would be wrong.

Not fighting back would also be wrong.

Instead of fighting the rebels to the death, they would be fighting the imperial court’s own rebellion-suppression army.

There was no position of reason or legitimacy for that.

Again, Shi Sheng was an Elder of one of Yan’s three major sects.

At a time like this, faced with something like this, neither the imperial court nor the three major sects would speak on his behalf.

Still unwilling to accept it, he asked, “What if we avoid them and hide?”

Su Qitong said, “Elder Shi, this is an army of two hundred thousand men. Where are we supposed to hide something that large?”

“So many people depend on continuous supplies of food and material. There is no way to conceal them.”

“They have four legs. Most of us have two. Can we outrun them?”

“Surely you don’t expect us to break the army into small groups and scatter into hiding?”

“If we truly did that, we would not even have a final scrap of cloth left to cover our shame. We would be openly admitting we were avoiding battle.”

“How would Elder Shi explain that to the three major sects?”

Shi Sheng paced back and forth.

The command seal of the Grand General for Suppressing the Rebellion was in Nanzhou’s hands, and it left him feeling badly constrained.

Inside, he cursed the people who had decided to hand military authority to Nanzhou.

Suddenly another shout came from outside.

“Report!”

This time it was not intelligence.

It was a military order from the rebellion-suppression command.

Haozhou’s forces were ordered to march immediately on Luoxia Ridge and seize the pass held by the rebels at any cost.

Afterward, Haozhou’s army was to advance in a full offensive, drive the rebel forces east of Qianli River, then hold the river line and seize control of every bridge and boat crossing it.

The rebels were not to be given another chance to advance west.

Haozhou was then to coordinate with the other four regional armies in encircling and destroying the rebels.

“Report!”

The first order had demanded an attack at any cost.

Su Qitong and Shi Sheng had barely begun discussing whether to carry it out when another military order arrived.

The new order gave them three days.

If Luoxia Ridge had not been taken within three days, Haozhou would be judged to be avoiding battle and deliberately delaying the campaign.

Nanzhou’s troops enforcing military discipline would immediately launch an attack on Haozhou’s army.

Three military orders came one after another, each more aggressive than the last, leaving no room whatsoever for negotiation.

Shi Sheng ground his teeth in hatred.

At the same time, the other four regional armies also began receiving orders from the Grand General for Suppressing the Rebellion.

Xu Jingyue of Gongzhou was ordered to advance on Yuanzhou, now occupied by the Cangzhou rebels, sever the supplies coming to the rebels by sea, and block and compress their forces from the south.

An Xianzhao of Tuzhou was ordered to launch a full offensive from the north and compress the rebel position from that direction.

Xin Mao of Fuzhou was ordered to launch a full offensive from the east and compress the rebel position there.

Zhang Hu of Changzhou was ordered to break through at Dangmen Mountain, drive his army straight into the rebel heartland, and stand ready to coordinate with the four other armies in their encirclement.

It amounted to simultaneous attacks on the rebels from four directions, leaving them unable to attend to every front, while a fifth army plunged into their interior to create havoc.

Every order carried a deadline.

Each army was required to achieve specific strategic and tactical objectives within a fixed period.

Yet all five regional armies continued watching and waiting.

...

“Very good. Suppress the regional lords, not the rebels!”

Inside the central command tent by the river, Luo Zhao slapped the intelligence report onto the table and strode to the map.

His voice turned heavy.

“What is Wu Gongling doing? Why hasn’t he contracted his forces yet?”

“Does he intend to sit there with his army scattered like loose sand and wait to be swept away?”

Wen You replied, “Their side says they will decide according to how the situation develops.”

Luo Zhao turned sharply.

“With his forces this dispersed, he cannot possibly drag the war out against Yan’s rebellion-suppression armies.”

“Contact Han immediately. Have both our sides pressure Wu Gongling together!”

“Yes!”

...

One day passed.

Haozhou’s army still had not moved.

On the battlefield, Shang Chaozong acted like thunder and fire.

The fifty thousand Nanzhou cavalry already assembled and standing ready immediately set out.

They drove straight toward Haozhou’s army.

There was no questioning the decisiveness of the move.

“Report!”

Military intelligence arrived.

Su Qitong read it, and his expression changed.

He turned to Shi Sheng.

“Elder Shi, Nanzhou’s troops are charging toward us with the force of thunder.”

“The checkpoints we established along their route have already been swept aside. More than a thousand of our men have been killed!”

“Elder Shi, this is no game. They truly mean to attack us!”

Shi Sheng snatched the report from his hand.

After reading it, his face changed drastically.

“A pack of reckless fools! They actually dare act this presumptuously!”

Earlier, he had still harbored some hope.

He had wanted to wait and see whether Nanzhou truly dared move against his forces.

Who could have imagined that they would not even wait three days?

After a single day, they were already charging over with killing intent.

Shi Sheng tore the report to pieces and irritably waved a hand.

Haozhou’s army immediately broke camp and marched toward Luoxia Ridge.

The troops already positioned at the front received the order and launched their assault on the pass at once.

The rebels defending Luoxia Ridge were not especially numerous.

The only real problem had been that Haozhou had previously refused to exert itself because it wanted to preserve its strength.

Now that it fought seriously, it paid a little over one thousand casualties and took the pass in less than half a day.

The vast Haozhou army poured through Luoxia Ridge and advanced directly toward the rebel forces beyond.

Nanzhou’s cavalry arrived almost on their heels.

They followed behind Haozhou’s men, practically holding a blade to their necks and forcing them forward against the enemy.

...

“Your Highness, Xiaoyao Palace Elder Shi Sheng has arrived!”

A general entered Shang Chaozong’s central command tent to report.

The people inside exchanged glances.

Everyone knew the man had come to demand an explanation.

They all looked toward Shang Chaozong.

His face expressionless, Shang Chaozong said, “Stop him. Drive him away.”

“If he dares force his way in, have the cultivators of Jin, Wei, and Qi seize him!”

What followed unfolded exactly as ordered.

Shi Sheng did force his way in.

And he was indeed seized.

“Shang Chaozong, what enormous dog guts you have! You actually dare lay hands on me!”

Outside the tent, Shi Sheng roared in fury.

He and the two disciples who had accompanied him were restrained by cultivators from the Western Three States.

Shi Sheng had originally intended to use the deaths of the checkpoint guards as an excuse to make trouble and publicly humiliate Shang Chaozong.

Who could have imagined Shang Chaozong would have the nerve to arrest him?

As for the cultivators of the Western Three States, they had long since detested this crowd.

They had been badly betrayed by these bastards before and were more than happy to seize the three men cleanly.

Hearing the curses from outside, the people inside the command tent looked at one another.

Shang Chaozong asked, “Still no movement from the other four armies?”

A general replied, “We have not yet received any report of movement.”

Shang Chaozong’s voice turned cold.

“It seems this Prince will have to kill someone as a sacrifice to the battle standard.”

“The man outside is roaring and disturbing military morale...”

“Behead him!”

Everyone inside the tent was shocked.

Ga Miaoshui and Huang Lie stared with widened eyes, wondering whether they had heard correctly.

“Your Highness...” Meng Shanming spoke, apparently wanting him to reconsider.

Shang Chaozong swept him with a cold gaze.

Meng Shanming stopped before finishing the sentence and fell silent.

Shang Chaozong flicked the cloak obstructing his arm behind him.

Then he reached toward the command-arrow holder on the table, drew out one command arrow, and flung it outside the tent with a sweep of his hand.

Every gaze followed the arrow as it tumbled through the air.

It flew out through the tent entrance and fell.

The point happened to strike the grass and remain lodged there at an angle.

Then came Shang Chaozong’s ringing command, sharp enough to seize the soul.

“Behead him!”

[End of Chapter 652]