Chapter 1516: Unease

Shao Sansheng understood. Thinking it over, he saw the logic as well. Then something occurred to him. "The Shang Mirror? Could that be the real reason they moved against Xiaoyue Pavilion?"

Shao Pingbo tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Young Master, think about it. Xiaoyue Pavilion held the Shang Mirror. Could Shang Chaozong have ignored the consequences and acted against Xiaoyue Pavilion because he wanted the mirror? Half of Qin's former territory is now in Shang Chaozong's hands. If he obtains the Shang Mirror, he'll have the qualification to establish himself independently and proclaim himself emperor."

Shao Pingbo shook his head. "Impossible! The occupied territory in Qin has only shallow foundations. Zijin Cave still has considerable interests inside Yan. Zijin Cave would never abandon its interests in Yan for territory it has only recently occupied and barely established. If Shang Chaozong declared independence now, would the Yan court simply sit and watch? Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain would inevitably drive the Yan court to send troops and swallow Zijin Cave's territory within Yan. Shang Chaozong's forces are currently dispersed because he has to control the occupied lands. He would never choose this moment to declare independence and start a war."

He paced back and forth in thought. "That is exactly why I find it strange that Shang Chaozong chose this moment to tear away all pretense. Unless..." He pondered, then said, "Could Shang Chaozong have a way to settle Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain? If so, I'm afraid Shang Jianxiong won't be able to keep that throne."

He shook his head again. "There's no use thinking too much now. We'll wait and see. I want to see what play Shang Chaozong intends to put on."

Shao Sansheng looked somewhat worried. "Young Master, if Shang Chaozong truly can replace the Emperor of Yan, then once he integrates the strength of all Yan, he'll create no small obstacle to Jin's future eastern campaign."

Shao Pingbo chuckled. "You're still worrying about that now? That person and the Three Sacred Venerables have clearly reached the point where a final decisive battle is imminent. Their victory or defeat is what will truly determine the future shape of all under Heaven."

That was true enough. Shao Sansheng nodded slightly, then suddenly sighed. "Young Master, the Qi army has already been heavily encircled by Gao Pin. Gao Pin has driven Qi into a dead end, and they're making their final struggle like a trapped beast. It looks as though Gao Pin is preparing for the final battle, intending to finish everything in one stroke. Qi won't last more than a few days. Will the Young Mistress be in danger?"

Shao Pingbo said, "It isn't convenient for us to say anything openly about this. I'll have the Princess step forward. Many sons and disciples of ministers at court are studying in the Imperial Academy under my control, and their futures are in my hands. If the Princess speaks, there shouldn't be many at court willing to oppose me. Liuer's safety should not be a problem."

"That's good." Shao Sansheng relaxed slightly. He had spent his entire life absorbed into the Shao family and had long since become part of its inner core. He was old now and truly did not want to see any more misfortune befall the family.

Shao Pingbo, however, looked melancholy. Years ago he had forced his younger sister to marry into Qi. Now he himself had helped Jin destroy Qi. When that day came, how was he supposed to face her? Could he still claim that everything he had done had been for her own good?

When he forced Shao Liuer to marry into Qi, he had never imagined that he himself would one day lose Beizhou, much less that matters would develop into the situation they had now. Other than sighing over the ever-changing affairs of the world, he truly did not know what else to say...

Two vast armies confronted one another. On a grassy rise, Luo Zhao sat upright in the saddle and gazed into the distance. The outline of the Qi capital was already visible.

As far as he was concerned, Qi was finished. There were no clever tricks left to play in a crushing battle like this. Huyan Wuhen had only six hundred thousand troops remaining, withdrawn to defend the Qi capital and its outskirts. Gao Pin's forces, claimed to number eight million, had already trapped them here completely. There was nowhere left to retreat, and even wings would not carry them out.

A great edifice on the verge of collapse could come crashing down in an instant.

After a crushing round of battle, with the Jin army surging forward like mountains toppling and seas overturning to bring the war to an end, Qi could no longer see any hope of victory. Huyan Wuhen finally lost control of the situation. Large numbers of Qi troops deserted and surrendered to Jin of their own accord.

The Three Great Sects of Qi could no longer control matters either. The cultivation sects of Qi that had originally been under their authority also began looking for chances to surrender.

Without all those large and small sects beneath them lending support, how much strength did the Three Great Sects themselves possess to face an offensive like raging storm waves?

They had refused to surrender earlier and wanted to surrender now? There was no longer much room for negotiation. Those who surrendered had to prove their sincerity.

Gao Pin turned the defectors around and used them against Qi, driving the Qi army into its current straits and causing the Three Great Sects of Qi severe losses as well.

The six hundred thousand troops who had fought to the death without surrendering and held on until now were precisely Huyan Wuhen's diehards. They could also be called the most elite soldiers in the whole of Qi.

With eight million troops, wiping them out would not be a problem. But facing six hundred thousand of Qi's finest who lived by the principle, "Better to be shattered jade than an intact tile!" would inevitably cost Jin dearly as well. This gave Gao Pin quite a headache.

That was why the two sides remained deadlocked even now. Gao Pin sent a letter to the Qi army ordering Qi to accept defeat and surrender.

Yet Luo Zhao, looking somewhat lost at this moment, was not thinking about any of that. He was thinking about the news he had just received: Shang Chaozong had slaughtered Xiaoyue Pavilion to the last.

He had suspected before that Xiaoyue Pavilion's journey might bring either fortune or disaster, but he had never imagined an ending like this, much less that it would come so quickly.

He did not know whether he should feel fortunate that he had not left with Xiaoyue Pavilion...

Hao Zhen climbed onto the city wall and gazed into the distance. The Jin army stretched dark and dense on every side, as though a black sea might surge forward at any moment and drown them. The grief and indignation in his heart were impossible to describe.

He knew Qi was finished. Even Huyan Wuhen had no power to turn back the tide. Yet never in his dreams had he imagined that Qi would come to an end in his hands, that he would become the ruler who lost the state.

The letter Gao Pin had sent was less an appeal for surrender than a threat of force. If they did not surrender, then once the city fell, not even chickens or dogs would be spared. The city would be massacred.

When the surrender demand was presented at court, the hall fell completely silent. No one voiced an opinion.

Hao Zhen understood very clearly that if he surrendered, his life might be spared, but he could forget ever knowing freedom again. Jin would most likely keep him under house arrest for the rest of his life.

The officials at court were different. They might no longer enjoy their former glory and wealth, but after surrendering, even if they could no longer hold great office, they could still scrape together some minor post and at least preserve the safety of their families.

Inwardly, many wanted to surrender. They simply feared the six hundred thousand troops inside and outside the city, so at a time like this no one dared be the first to speak.

Within the city, Empress Shao Liuer hurried from street to street. Disregarding the dignity of her imperial status, she appeared everywhere in public and no longer dared dress in splendid robes. With Hao Zhen's two sons by his former Princess Consort beside her, she rewarded and comforted the soldiers and visited the common people, hoping to do whatever she could to steady their hearts.

As Empress, she could truly be said not to have enjoyed a single proper day of imperial splendor. She did not know how much effect any of this would have. She was simply doing her utmost, hoping she could help even a little.

At the headquarters of the Three Great Sects, which had withdrawn into the city, their senior figures had gathered to discuss whether to surrender.

It truly was somewhat late to be discussing surrender now. They had almost no bargaining power left. Yet the Three Great Sects could never have surrendered earlier either. How could they have considered it before being driven to this point?

Jin's position was clear. If they surrendered, Jin could give them territory where they could establish themselves, but not within the Western Three States already occupied by Jin. Their territory would instead be in the former lands of Qin.

Jin had told them plainly that after a period of rest and reorganization, its armies would march east. If they could help seize the former Qin territories, then land could be divided out to them. If they failed to take those lands, there would be nothing for them.

Put bluntly, Jin wanted the Three Great Sects to throw themselves wholeheartedly into the eastern campaign.

That condition had been difficult to accept before. But now?

If they refused, one option was to fight to the bitter end, and what that ending would look like was obvious enough. The other was to flee now, but after escaping this place, where could they establish themselves?

What state would dare take them in without concern? Xiaoyue Pavilion's fate was already there as a warning.

...

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare my life!"

Inside the imperial palace of Yan, Chief Steward Tian Yu hurried toward the Imperial Study and saw a eunuch being dragged out by guards, crying and begging for mercy.

At the entrance to the study, Tian Yu asked one of the guards what had happened. The guard said he had no idea what the eunuch had done to anger His Majesty.

Tian Yu fell silent. Ever since Shang Chaozong announced that His Majesty had been one of the culprits behind Prince Ning's murder, His Majesty's temper had become exceedingly foul. The smallest matter could provoke him, and several eunuchs had already been beaten to death with staffs.

Every eunuch assigned to attend him now trembled with fear. Seeing His Majesty was like seeing the gates of the underworld.

Tian Yu composed himself and entered. He immediately saw a shattered teacup on the floor and objects thrown everywhere.

Behind the desk sat Shang Jianxiong, his expression dark. His mood truly was terrible. He had no idea how Shang Chaozong had learned the truth. The moment Shang Chaozong released the accusation, the court naturally issued an immediate public rebuttal.

Yet the reason Shang Jianxiong was in such a foul mood was not the accusation itself. It was the way Shang Chaozong had slaughtered Xiaoyue Pavilion.

To avenge his father, mother, and elder brother, Shang Chaozong had actually ignored the consequences and opened the gates to slaughter. The resolve and will he had shown in taking revenge tightened every nerve in Shang Jianxiong's body.

By openly naming him as one of the killers at a time like this, what was Shang Chaozong trying to do? Shang Jianxiong vaguely sensed that something was wrong. An inexplicable pressure and panic grew within him. He felt that Shang Chaozong would not loose an arrow without a target.

He regretted it bitterly. He regretted not disposing of Shang Chaozong immediately when he had thrown him into the imperial prison. He had allowed the man to grow into a threat too powerful to uproot, leaving behind the disaster he faced today.

Tian Yu approached on quiet feet and reported, "Your Majesty, Long Xiu, Sect Leader of Xiaoyao Palace, and Meng Xuan, Sect Leader of Lingjian Mountain, have arrived as well."

Shang Jianxiong shot to his feet. "What are they all running here for?"

Not long ago, Gong Lince, Sect Leader of Zijin Cave, had arrived. Shang Jianxiong had personally gone to pay his respects, only for Gong Lince to refuse even to see him.

Now Long Xiu and Meng Xuan had arrived as well. For all three sect leaders to appear at a moment like this filled Shang Jianxiong with intense unease.

Tian Yu said cautiously, "I asked. Both sect leaders said Sect Leader Gong sent them word and invited them here for a meeting."

Gong Lince was precisely the power standing behind Shang Chaozong. What did he intend to do? Shang Jianxiong said heavily, "Come. We'll go pay our respects to the three sect leaders."

Outside a row of government offices in the palace, Shang Yongzhong, Grand Marshal of Yan and the official responsible for military affairs, strolled along as though he had nothing to do. He wandered into the office of Grand Minister of Works Gao Jiancheng.

"Ahem!" Shang Yongzhong cleared his throat.

Bent over official documents, Gao Jiancheng looked up. Seeing who it was, he smiled. "Your Highness has graced us. Is there something you wish to instruct me on?" Then he caught the look Shang Yongzhong gave him and immediately tilted his head toward the other people in the room.

Once everyone else had withdrawn and there were no outsiders left, Shang Yongzhong hurried to Gao Jiancheng's side, bent down, and whispered into his ear, "Just now, the sect leaders of all Three Great Sects arrived."

Gao Jiancheng gave an "oh." "Presumably they have some business. What, does Your Highness intend to go pay your respects?"

Shang Yongzhong clicked his tongue, glanced around, and lowered his voice. "Lord Gao, why pretend to be muddleheaded? The sect leaders of all Three Great Sects suddenly arrive at a time like this. What good could possibly come of it? Even I can see something's wrong. With Lord Gao's shrewdness, I refuse to believe you haven't noticed any clues."

[End of Chapter 1516]