Chapter 1392: Sorrow

If Hao Yuntu insisted on this course, the consequences would become serious.

The court officials were easy enough to handle. If necessary, replace the disobedient ones with men who understood the situation.

Huyan Wuhen was another matter entirely.

If Huyan Wuhen refused to submit, could he simply be replaced as well?

If they moved against Huyan Wuhen at a time like this, Qi's military morale would collapse.

Keep Huyan Wuhen steady, and the army's heart would remain steady. Then the situation could still be maintained.

That was why the Sect Leaders of the Three Great Sects had tried to persuade Hao Yuntu.

He simply refused.

If even the three Sect Leaders could not persuade him, Hao Hong had still less hope. In fact, Hao Hong did not even dare come see him. His appearance would probably enrage Hao Yuntu even further.

In the end, the Empress came.

The woman came to speak for her son.

Once her son ascended the throne, she would become Empress Dowager of Qi. She would never again need to compete with the women of the inner palace for imperial favor. Even the Emperor himself would have to bow before her.

Now that matters had reached this point, she also had no choice but to fight for her son.

If they failed, who would spare Hao Hong?

Not only her son. If Hao Yuntu regained power, or if another new ruler ascended the throne, she herself might become a deposed empress in an instant.

She had spent a lifetime fighting within the inner palace.

She could not accept such an ending.

People said nothing was more venomous than a woman's heart.

She knew perfectly well that once the sluts of the inner palace began kicking someone who had fallen into a well, they could be more vicious than men hacking one another apart with swords. Merely imagining it made her shudder.

So what was one slap?

As long as the Emperor would issue a formal edict passing the throne, she would willingly endure ten slaps, a hundred slaps.

Only by enduring the bitterest hardship could one rise above others.

"Afraid now?"

Supported on his feet, Hao Yuntu threw back his head and laughed.

It was a sorrowful laugh.

He laughed until he began coughing.

Only after Bu Xun helped regulate his breathing did the coughing finally subside.

Hao Yuntu bent down, pressed one hand against the Empress's forehead, forced her head back, and looked down at her.

"Virtue unworthy of the position, and yet you force a rebellion. Now you know fear? Wretch, do you want to know how my Supreme General will deal with all of you?"

"Your Majesty!"

The Empress was terrified by the threat. She wailed, "Your Majesty must consider the overall situation!"

"Get out!"

Hao Yuntu kicked her away, then kicked her again and again.

Bu Xun supported him but made no attempt to stop him.

If this continued, however, something truly might happen.

The cultivators outside finally rushed in and hurriedly dragged the Empress away.

Hao Yuntu, panting heavily, was helped back down and laid on a reclining chair.

After his breathing steadied, he suddenly asked in a low voice, "Is there still any way to contact the Supreme General?"

Difficulty covered Bu Xun's face.

He bent down and whispered, "Your Majesty, we've already been isolated. Not even a scrap of a message can get out. If Your Majesty has something to say, tell this old slave. There are still a few of my people inside the palace. I'll look for another opportunity to try."

Hao Yuntu remained silent for a while.

In the end, he slowly shook his head. "Forget it. It's useless now. The general trend has already gone against me. I can't keep the Supreme General any longer."

Bu Xun was startled. "Your Majesty means the Supreme General will betray you too? Or are you afraid those people outside will use his family as hostages to threaten him?"

Hao Yuntu murmured, "The Supreme General has spent his whole life amid iron and blood, on horseback and in war. He is a pillar of Great Qi, a man who fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How could a few hostages threaten him? He would never endanger the soldiers for the sake of his own family. If they truly dared use that method, they would only be lifting a stone to smash their own feet. Hao Hong, that unfilial wretch, does not dare. The Three Great Sects do not dare either."

Bu Xun asked, "Then he will betray Your Majesty?"

"Betray?"

Hao Yuntu slowly shook his head.

"Years ago, if he had not been pressured, he would never have let his son marry Qingqing. He has always deliberately kept his distance from the imperial clan. He never wanted to fall behind any particular prince and become the sharp weapon in a struggle for power, nor did he want to become the killing blade in my own hands. He is the Supreme General of Great Qi, not the Supreme General of any one man. To him, who sits on the throne is not all that important. Under the situation before us now, if he raises troops in opposition, Qi may fall into complete chaos."

Bu Xun understood.

For the sake of the larger situation, Huyan Wuhen would most likely accept the Three Great Sects' decision.

Which meant His Majesty had no hope of regaining power.

Bu Xun's heart sank in sorrow.

...

"The Empress couldn't persuade him?" Yuwen Yan asked.

A disciple shook his head. "No use. He even injured her."

Yuwen Yan waved him away.

Nearby, a clerk had finally finished imitating Hao Yuntu's handwriting.

After blowing the ink dry, he presented the document with both hands for the three Sect Leaders to inspect.

The three accepted it and looked.

Bei Xuan gave a satisfied grunt and nodded. "The handwriting truly is identical. Once the imperial seal is affixed, it will be enough to pass the false for true."

San Qianli sighed. "Keep the succession edict in reserve for now. Let us hope the elders at the front can persuade Huyan Wuhen."

Yuwen Yan and Bei Xuan exchanged looks.

Both understood what he meant.

In truth, the succession edict did not necessarily need to be written by Hao Yuntu himself.

If the officials at court all declared it genuine, then naturally everyone throughout Qi would treat it as genuine.

The key remained Huyan Wuhen.

No matter how perfectly the forged edict imitated Hao Yuntu's writing, it would be useless if Huyan Wuhen refused to accept it.

Hao Yuntu was still alive and well, yet suddenly passed the throne. On an affair this large, how could Huyan Wuhen accept a single piece of paper without question? He would certainly seek confirmation of the truth.

And how could the chaos in the capital possibly be hidden from the military intelligence agents under his command?

Everything now depended on the position Huyan Wuhen took when the elders at the front tried to persuade him.

If Huyan Wuhen refused to support Hao Hong, then this succession edict truly could not be issued first.

Once the edict went out, changing course afterward would make the situation extremely difficult to clean up.

This was not a matter for childish games.

Originally, they had wanted to ask Huyan Wuhen's attitude first and then make a decision.

But after thinking it over, they realized there was no point.

If they asked beforehand, the answer would certainly be no.

How could Huyan Wuhen so easily agree to become a rebellious subject?

Some things were easy to imagine.

Only after acting did one discover they were nowhere near as simple as expected.

...

The Empress left the palace and went straight to the Huyan residence.

Officially, she was visiting her daughter after childbirth.

In reality, she had come to see Huyan Wei.

That was also Hao Hong's intention.

Since she could not persuade her husband, the Empress came to persuade her son-in-law instead.

She begged him, for the sake of family ties, to send a message to his father Huyan Wuhen and help persuade him.

Even if Huyan Wuhen could not be persuaded to support Hao Hong, she at least hoped he would not act rashly.

At this moment, stabilizing Huyan Wuhen mattered more than anything else.

...

The entire capital was suddenly placed under martial law.

Everyone in the city, high and low, was frightened and uneasy.

The upheaval had come far too suddenly, without the slightest warning beforehand.

Wuxin stood silently in the courtyard.

After hearing the report, he suddenly asked, "Prince Ying's residence was surrounded too?"

Guo Man nodded. "It was. But for the moment nothing has happened. The people inside are only being confined to the residence."

Wuxin lowered his head slightly. "Keep watching. If anything unusual happens, tell me immediately."

Yan Baoru, standing nearby, could not help sighing and shaking her head. "This struggle for power truly is frightening. Yesterday he was still an Emperor standing high above all others, holding the power of life and death in his hands. In the blink of an eye, he has fallen into a completely different world. I suppose the great rises and falls of human life are no more than this."

...

Inside the central army tent, Huyan Wuhen sat behind the command table with both hands holding the Regent's letter.

Gradually, an imposing light gathered in his tiger-like eyes.

Half his hair had already turned white, and he looked noticeably older.

Day after day of exhausting himself over an unfavorable military situation had inevitably left its mark on his appearance.

The elders of the Three Great Sects stood below, carefully watching every change in his expression.

After reading the letter, Huyan Wuhen slowly said, "The moment this commander leaves the capital, that place becomes livelier by the day. Every strange thing under Heaven seems capable of appearing there. It's truly a pity I can't witness it with my own eyes. Regent. What a fine Regent!"

Bang!

Huyan Wuhen suddenly slammed both palms onto the command table and surged to his feet, fury blazing across his face.

The three elders almost jumped from the sudden shock.

They exchanged glances.

Even when holding discussions in their own sect council halls, they rarely experienced this kind of fright.

Yet the furious aura erupting from Huyan Wuhen truly was intimidating.

It was the sort of imposing force that promised rivers of blood if angered.

An iron-blooded presence cultivators simply did not possess.

The Xuanbing Sect elder coughed dryly. "May I ask what has enraged the Supreme General so greatly?"

Huyan Wuhen's tiger-like gaze swept across all three.

He gave a cold laugh. "A single letter suddenly arrives, and all three elders happen to run over to watch me read it. Are the three of you trying to tell me you knew nothing beforehand? If you insist on treating me like a fool, then there is nothing left to discuss. It was merely an ordinary letter. The three elders may return!"

The words left all three elders awkward.

They had come precisely because they wanted to know his position.

How could they simply leave?

"Well..." The Tianhuo Sect elder hesitated, then finally sighed. "Now that matters have reached this point, there is no need to conceal anything. The Supreme General has surely seen Prince Yu's letter. The situation is already what it is. We would like to know the Supreme General's view. Please give us a clear answer so we can report back to our sects."

The Daqiu Sect and Xuanbing Sect elders both nodded.

Huyan Wuhen slowly walked out from behind the long command table and advanced toward them one step at a time.

What was this supposed to mean?

The three elders were speechless.

Standing their ground felt wrong, yet somehow Huyan Wuhen forced them backward step by step.

Eventually they bumped into the weapons rack behind them and could retreat no farther.

The Tianhuo Sect elder had no choice but to raise one hand and press it against Huyan Wuhen's chest to stop him. "Supreme General, please conduct yourself with restraint!"

The instant he reached out, Zha Hu appeared like a ghost and seized his wrist.

Huyan Wuhen lifted one hand slightly, signaling Zha Hu to withdraw.

"Does my opinion matter?" Huyan Wuhen asked. "The Three Great Sects stand high above everyone. How could petty figures like us have any right to speak? If this old man has guessed correctly, His Majesty has probably already been placed under house arrest by the Three Great Sects, hasn't he? You can depose even His Majesty the moment you please. What am I? If you're afraid I'll cause trouble, then simply seize me as well. Wouldn't that be cleaner and easier?"

The Daqiu Sect elder painstakingly tried to reason with him. "Supreme General, calm your anger. It hasn't reached that point! The Supreme General is a pillar of the state. Whoever dares move against you, I would be the first to object! But the Supreme General must also keep the greater situation in mind. Whoever dares disregard the greater situation, I would likewise be the first to object!"

Huyan Wuhen said, "You still know what the greater situation means? Do you understand what moment this is? Yet you actually create the affair of changing commanders in the midst of battle. Don't you know that is a great military taboo?"

The Xuanbing Sect elder said, "Supreme General, His Majesty's body truly can no longer bear the burden!"

Huyan Wuhen shook his head, white hair stirring around him, sorrow carved across his face. "Even so, you cannot handle it like this! At a time when everyone should be joining hearts and strength to resist an external enemy, if His Majesty's health cannot endure, then all the imperial princes should have been summoned to work together, assist him, and shoulder the crisis. Every prince has court officials and factions supporting him. The influence each has cultivated openly and secretly over many years cannot be underestimated. The Three Great Sects could have used the throne itself as bait and told them openly: whoever wins this crisis wins the throne. Which prince would not fight with everything he had? With ruler and subjects united above and below, why should a great state like Qi fear one petty internal rebellion? But what have you done? You create internal chaos of your own accord, throw your own formation into disorder, and act blindly in affairs you do not understand. You are going to destroy my State of Qi!"

[End of Chapter 1392]