Chapter 855: Life and Death Rest on This One Gamble

Tong Ming understood.

Only if Niu Youdao died could the balance of power in Nanzhou be broken. Whether this was wartime, and whether it would affect Yan's enormous interests in Zhao, did not matter. What mattered was that Yan's three great sects could not allow chaos to erupt in Zhao and inside Yan at the same time.

So long as Niu Youdao died, so long as the deed was already done and the rice had been cooked, the three great sects would have no choice but to face the resulting situation.

Once Niu Youdao was dead and Nanzhou fell into disorder, the three great sects would need a stable rear. They would have to work together to suppress and control the chaos in Nanzhou, and they would no longer have the leisure to oppose the imperial court. As for assigning responsibility to satisfy both domestic and foreign parties, that could naturally all be laid on the dead Niu Youdao.

The assault on the imperial palace, the casualties among disciples of the three great sects, and the killing of personnel from the six diplomatic missions could all be blamed on Niu Youdao.

Given the current situation of the various states, each was constrained by its own interests and none could do anything to Yan. So long as Yan gave them an accounting, the matter would naturally fade with time.

"Yes!" Tong Ming acknowledged and ran off.

By the time Tong Ming returned to report, Tong Mo had already calmed down. He slowly sat and said, "Make arrangements for the family. Taking too many people would be inappropriate and draw too much attention. Send the direct-line members out of the city first to the place prepared in advance."

"If this matter blows over, let them return. If I never contact them again, have them conceal their names, sever every connection to the surname Tong, forget everything that ever happened in this capital, and never mention a single word of it again. Perhaps they may escape this calamity."

Tong Ming's heart trembled.

This was arranging for the family's evacuation.

The Prime Minister was already preparing his affairs after death, already preparing for failure.

The appearance of the six states' envoys at the besieged residence made both master and servant realize that this had been a trap prepared by Niu Youdao. Whether they could still kill Niu Youdao was no longer certain.

They had to prepare for the worst.

"Master, if something changes, when will you withdraw?" Tong Ming asked in a trembling voice.

Tong Mo sighed. "I cannot leave, and I must not leave. If I flee, that will confirm the charge that I tried to kill the six states' envoys. Once that label is fixed on me, even if I escape Yan, where could I possibly go?"

"An old bag of bones who has offended six states, lost his power, and become useless will not survive anywhere."

"Given the current situation, no one can do anything to Yan. Once all sides start smoothing things over, they will need only one man to bear the guilt and finish the matter. The weight of Yan's Grand Minister of Works is enough to serve as that scapegoat!"

"So, Tong Ming, I cannot leave. If I flee, I lose completely. If I remain here, there is still a chance. The moment I run, every chance disappears. All seven states will hunt me to the end, and my family will be implicated as well."

"If I stay here, then even if we lose, they will already have me in their hands. Every side will have received an accounting, and the various states will no longer need to mobilize great forces. Perhaps my family will still have a path to survival."

"If I run, not one of us will escape."

"Prime Minister..." Tong Ming choked, his voice trembling.

He understood.

Life and death rested on this one gamble!

Yet he found the reality almost impossible to accept.

Everything had still been fine yesterday. How had the Tong clan, whose power in Yanjing reached into the heavens, suddenly been forced to the edge of destruction?

This violent storm aimed at the Tong family had arrived without the slightest warning.

The man who had never dared show himself in the capital had suddenly entered the city, suddenly barged straight into the imperial palace, and suddenly pushed events to this point at terrifying speed.

Everything had happened too quickly, too abruptly. Everyone had been caught unprepared.

With the Tong clan's power, they had failed to catch even the slightest omen beforehand. There had been no warning and therefore no chance to prepare. In so short a time, there was no way to account for every front.

Clearly, even the three great sects had been caught off guard.

Tong Mo waved a hand, signaling that Tong Ming need say no more.

...

The six diplomatic missions had only six Heavenly Sword Talismans between them, while the assassins had ten.

Once the six talismans were exhausted, the danger facing the missions could easily be imagined.

Yet at the most critical moment of the battle, a large army appeared.

Troops came surging toward the area around the fighting, seizing positions and rapidly deploying.

They were accompanied by great numbers of siege weapons: massive siege crossbows, stone-throwers, and other heavy equipment, all rushed into position at once.

From the precision and rhythm with which so many troops occupied their assigned locations, it was obvious meticulous preparations had been made beforehand. At the very least, every unit had already memorized the battle plan.

The residence where the fighting had erupted was not far from one of the military camps.

Everything that needed to be prepared had long since been prepared inside that camp.

Once the proper moment arrived, the army needed only move directly into position.

Siege crossbows were rapidly spanned and their firing angles adjusted. Great numbers of stone-throwers were made ready. Countless archers drew and nocked their arrows.

Wang Heng, one of the Four Capital Region Commanders—and the former father-in-law of Song Yanqing, Niu Youdao's one-time senior brother in the Shangqing Sect—drew his sword and shouted furiously, "They dare create chaos in the capital! Leave no survivors! Attack!"

Clang!

The siege crossbows crashed into action.

Countless steel spears hummed through the air, flying over the rooftops ahead before plunging into the residence where the battle raged like a rain of iron.

At street corners, alley mouths, and even inside the courtyards of surrounding homes, bowstrings snapped in unison.

Arrows poured down on the battlefield like a torrential rain.

Some were fire arrows.

Huge stones came whistling through the air one after another, smashing into the target compound.

Jars of lamp oil were hurled in as well.

Small wheeled carts bearing battering logs were shoved toward the compound walls from every direction.

The moment a wall collapsed, siege crossbows were pushed forward to fill the gap. Hammers knocked steel spears into place, then the weapons fired at a flat angle, sweeping through everything before them.

Inside the great residence, where both sides had been making their final desperate struggle, friend and foe alike suddenly looked up.

Chaos exploded instantly.

Steel spears with force enough to pierce metal and split stone struck the artificial hills in the gardens, shattering and collapsing them.

When they struck large trees, they punched straight through.

Huge stones smashed down with howling force, crushing roof beams and destroying every structure in the grounds.

Arrows fell with dull thuds, seeming to occupy every inch of the compound.

Fire arrows ignited the hurled oil.

Flames erupted in an instant.

Thick smoke rolled upward as the blaze rapidly climbed toward the sky.

"Ahhh!" the assassin leader roared in grief and fury.

Without the slightest hesitation, he activated his final Heavenly Sword Talisman to resist.

Its power was immense.

It could easily destroy the incoming attacks directly before him, but the effect was like using a sledgehammer to smash mosquitoes.

What it cleared away in one moment meant nothing to the dense, unending barrage that followed.

The surrounding army was attacking as an organized system.

Some troops were responsible for firing, others for continuously replenishing the weapons and ammunition. They could maintain this offensive for about an hour without difficulty.

The army's long-range assault system operated without pause, launching wave after wave of indiscriminate attacks.

Such a vast offensive machine had concentrated all its destructive force on a single small target.

The result was terrifying.

Everything before it was crushed like rotten wood.

The attacks came simultaneously from every direction.

Under such overwhelming coverage, by the time anyone realized what was happening, there was not even enough time to blast open the ground and hide below.

All they could do was fight with everything they had to resist. The slightest delay would leave them riddled like sieves.

Heavenly Sword Talismans had advantages, but they also had disadvantages.

Their power was enormous, yet once that enormous energy had been released, the user became heavily constrained by it. The speed at which one could rise into the air or shift left and right dropped drastically.

Amid the smoke and flames, the assassin leader exhausted his Heavenly Sword Talisman and failed to break through.

Several steel spears pierced his body as he fell from the sky.

Before he even reached the ground, a storm of arrows tore into him, turning him into something like a hedgehog.

Whether there was still any movement in the target area no longer mattered.

The army's attack continued without pause.

Flames climbed into the sky and smoke billowed upward, as though they intended to burn everything to nothing.

Wagons and horses kept hauling fresh steel spears, arrows, and other supplies from the military camp.

Old Second Wu and the others, all in disguise, watched the madness from far away.

The sight made every hair on their bodies stand on end.

They were deeply grateful they had withdrawn early.

Otherwise, even the underground tunnel would probably have been blasted into collapse.

...

At the Gao residence, Gao Jiancheng listened to the intelligence his men had gathered, including the report that the army was bombarding the target without restraint.

His face twitched.

"They even mobilized the army. And they're using siege weapons inside the capital itself. A cornered dog truly has jumped the wall. They've gone mad!"

Fan Zhuan said, "A group from the Tong household secretly left the city in separate batches. Niu Youdao's people have already been notified."

Gao Jiancheng gave a slight nod.

...

Inside Prince De's Residence, Grand Marshal Shang Yongzhong of Yan stood in an upper pavilion and stared toward the place where flames illuminated the night sky.

His cheeks were taut.

"Your Highness, everything outside suddenly sounds like war. What happened? Your Highness, I'm frightened..."

A young and beautiful favored concubine beside him would not stop prattling.

At last Shang Yongzhong lost his temper.

He spun around and slapped her across the face.

"Get out!"

The beautiful concubine staggered and fell, utterly stunned.

No one knew how many people spent that night filled with fear and unease.

The entire capital had fallen into enormous panic.

...

The rebellion inside the imperial palace was suppressed.

Yet Xi Yao, Shen Baochun, and Luo Mingjian did not dare leave Shang Jianxiong's side lightly.

They sent only a portion of their disciples rushing toward the other battlefield.

By the time those men arrived, the residence where Niu Youdao had been staying had been almost completely flattened.

Not a single building remained.

Not even one tree could be seen.

Everything burned beneath roaring flames.

The heat was probably enough to roast anything several zhang below the ground.

No living person could be seen.

Under the forceful restraint of the disciples from the three great sects, the attacking army finally withdrew to its camp.

Wang Heng, still wearing his battle armor, stepped into his own room.

A black-robed figure stood inside with his back turned.

Wang Heng cupped his hands. "Eunuch Han, the matter is finished. This general guarantees there can be no living person left in that compound."

"Very good. I will return and report."

The figure wrapped in the black cloak turned and walked away.

As he passed Wang Heng, a cold flash suddenly shot from beneath the cloak.

Blood sprayed from Wang Heng's throat.

He clutched his neck with both hands but could not make a sound.

Slowly, he collapsed.

The black-cloaked figure walked away.

Yet Wang Heng, lying on the floor, had somehow drawn his own sword.

Blood stained the blade.

The scene had been arranged to look as though he had drawn his sword and cut his own throat.

...

"Prime Minister, the entire compound was flattened. The flames still haven't gone out. It's unlikely anyone could still be alive."

Household steward Tong Ming entered and reported to Tong Mo, who sat behind the desk with his eyes closed as though resting.

Tong Mo slowly opened them.

"In other words, no one personally witnessed Niu Youdao's death."

Tong Ming looked troubled and could not answer.

Tong Mo asked, "Has everyone from the family left the city?"

"They all departed safely. They'll move away from this place of trouble as quickly as possible."

Tong Mo rose.

"Help me change clothes. I'm entering the palace!"

The palace gates were sealed tightly by military forces.

Several carriages arrived one after another.

The moment the situation calmed, Tong Mo, Shang Yongzhong, and Gao Jiancheng all came.

After a disturbance this large, none of the three could pretend ignorance.

All had rushed over in the middle of the night.

After stepping down from their carriages, the three looked at one another.

No one spoke.

The palace gates opened a narrow passage.

Heads held high, the three men walked inside.

[End of Chapter 855]