But at this time, his fingers trembled, and an object appeared in his hand.
This was a black talisman, but unlike regular talismans, it was not written on paper but some kind of mysterious metal. In addition, the words were not written with cinnabar, but molten metal poured onto the surface. It seemed both powerful and mysterious.
“Amnesty of the Southern Dipper, rise!”
The golden-armored man chanted a spell, and then the mysterious metal talisman began to burn, igniting into a black flame. Dazzling streams of starlight emerged from the flames, transforming into a profound talisman symbol. The starlight and black flames wrapped around the men in black and flew them away at incredible speeds, whisking them away before the Origin Immortal Sword’s attack could even land.
Boom!
Wang Chong’s attack struck, releasing a massive explosion that sent dust rising ten-some meters into the air, but the men in black had already crossed over the perimeter wall and were rapidly vanishing into the distance.
“I’m taking these men with me. King of Foreign Lands, we will meet again!”
A voice continued to linger and echo in the air, but the men in black had needed only the blink of an eye to completely vanish.
Wang Chong did not pursue, only solemnly stared in the direction they had fled.
What was that thing? It allowed them to escape from the Origin Immortal Sword!
Even though he had interacted with the men in black many times and had come to understand many things about them, he would always discover something new with each meeting. They possessed all kinds of rare treasures and mysterious techniques. That mysterious black metal talisman that had whisked them all away was something he had never seen before.
And this was the first time Wang Chong had sensed the power of the stars from these men in black.
As Wang Chong was in a daze, a voice rang out in his ear. “Just who are these people?” A man emerged from the shadows and stopped next to Wang Chong.
Only one person could have appeared at Wang Chong’s side through this method at this time: the true master of the residence, Zhangchou Jianqiong.
Wang Chong took in a slight breath and broke from his stupor, turning to Zhangchou Jianqiong.
“How is it? Are you okay?”
“It’s fine. When you told me about it several days ago, I sent away the majority of the people in the residence so that they could avoid this danger. Only twenty-some people were left in the residence. In addition, before these people infiltrated the place, I had already ordered that I would handle everything, and that nothing in the estate should be touched, particularly water!”
As Zhangchou Jianqiong spoke, he took out the metal box from his bosom. With Wang Chong’s gift, Zhangchou Jianqiong had been able to identify the infiltrators amongst his subordinates.
When he first realized that his residence had been infiltrated, he had been shocked. If Wang Chong hadn’t been here, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“Did you see those men just now?” Wang Chong said.
“Mm!” Zhangchou Jianqiong nodded.
“Don’t involve yourself in this matter for now. When the time is right, I will tell you everything!” Wang Chong said.
Zhangchou Jianqiong had actually been in the estate when the men in black attacked, but Wang Chong had not allowed him to intervene. Zhangchou Jianqiong possessed quite a formidable cultivation level, but these men in black had mysterious origins and were even more powerful. Not even Zhangchou Jianqiong could singlehandedly fight against this ancient and powerful faction, and involving himself in this matter too much would not necessarily be a good thing.
Zhangchou Jianqiong grunted. He was quite curious about these men in black, but since Wang Chong had given his warning, he decided not to ask any more questions. Given the tacit understanding and trust between the two, Zhangchou Jianqiong believed that everything Wang Chong did had a reason.
“Although I don’t know what you’re planning to do, whenever you need me, no matter the time, you only need to ask for my help!” Zhangchou Jianqiong said, and he solemnly handed over the metal box.
The matter had temporarily come to an end, and the men in black would probably not attack again in the short term. Right now, he needed to focus on repairing his back garden.
“Hyah!”
At this moment, the rumbling of hooves could be heard in the distance, heading toward Zhangchou Jianqiong’s residence. The City Guard had finally arrived.
“Miyasaka Ayame, let’s go.”
Wang Chong exchanged a glance with Zhangchou Jianqiong, and then he called out Miyasake Ayame, and the two of them jumped over the wall, leaving before the City Guard could arrive.
The origin of the men in black was simply too mysterious. Until he fully investigated the matter, Wang Chong did not want to make too much trouble over it.
……
Wang Chong returned to his residence, where he sat alone in the main hall, his eyes half-closed and his head slightly raised as he silently thought.
Ever since he had returned to the capital, Wang Chong had come to more and more enjoy his sessions of solitary contemplation. Although the attacks against Zhangchou Jianqiong by the men in black had come to an end for the moment, things were only just getting started for Wang Chong.
Flap flap! The arrival of a bird made Wang Chong turn in the direction of the hall entrance. A few moments later, he heard the tapping of footsteps.
“Your Highness, new information!”
The door opened, and a figure lowered their head, glancing at the letter in their hand one last time before hastily walking in.
“We’ve just received word from the Wind Team! There’s been movement!” Zhang Que sternly said, his expression grave.
“The Wind Team?!”
Wang Chong’s brow rose in surprise, his expression shifting.
Wang Chong had many spies and scouts under his command, both military and martial artist, and they were scattered across various regions. From the moment they had been established, all the spies had reported to Old Eagle.
But while Wang Chong had many spies, the best spies were organized into four teams: Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain. Wang Chong had named them according to the principle of wind, forest, fire, and mountain in the art of war. He had once mentioned it to Old Eagle, and the loyal Old Eagle had naturally carried out Wang Chong’s orders down to the letter.
Each of these four teams had a special purpose and were not normally mobilized, nor would they frequently send reports to Wang Chong. They would usually only report extremely important matters that concerned their own domain.
“Talk!” Wang Chong immediately ordered.
Chapter 1669 - Zhao Fengchen Pays a Visit!
Chapter 1669: Zhao Fengchen Pays a Visit!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Zhang Que bowed his head and said, “According to the report from the Wind Team, the great clans are calling back their members, and some of the larger clans have begun testing the aptitude of their members, seemingly selecting for outstanding young members.
“The laws of the Imperial Court mandate that no clan can have a private army exceeding one thousand men, so selections like this are no longer very frequent. From what we’ve seen, thirty to forty clans have performed these selections, and after the tests were done, these strong and outstanding young members never appeared again. From what the Wind Team has learned, these young men were secretly sent into the Imperial Palace.”
Wang Chong grimaced at these words.
Of the four teams, the Wind Team was primarily tasked with gathering information on the capital, but the information this time was somewhat different.
In the Great Buddhist Temple Incident, Wang Chong had tried with all his might to stop the First Prince’s scheme and save those great clans from being caught in the whirlpool. But even if Wang Chong did his best, he couldn’t stop the lust for authority and power held by
these clans.
The First Prince’s plan at the Great Buddhist Temple had failed, but these people had still chosen to throw their lot in with him.
What Wang Chong had worried about the most was now taking place.
As the future Crown Prince, the First Prince’s greatest problem was his lack of soldiers, or perhaps his inability to touch them.
But now, the First Prince was able to borrow the power of the great clans who had attached themselves to him, using these factions that were spread throughout the prefectures and provinces to fill his ranks.
The Imperial Palace was a forbidden ground, and no force was allowed within besides the Imperial Army. By recruiting young men from the great clans, the First Prince had already broken the law.
“Have we learned anything from the palace?” Wang Chong asked.
“No!”
Zhang Que shook his head.
“Our forces have never been able to enter the palace! And this matter was kept under a tight cloak of secrecy, so our men have yet to gather any other information,” Zhang Que said.
Wang Chong couldn’t help but frown at Zhang Que’s words. With the Sage Emperor withdrawn, the palace was in disarray, and it was no longer a secret that the eunuchs and maids were being moved around with incredible frequency. Investigating the plans of the First Prince and the great clans was only getting more and more difficult as time went on.
After some thought, Wang Chong finally said, “Tell the Wind Team to continue. Report to me the moment they receive any news, but they can’t recklessly reveal themselves or take action.”
With the help of the Goguryeon Kim U-Seok, the First Prince was now recruiting many men, and the number of spies was increasing at an astonishing pace.
Moreover, it seemed that Kim U-Seok truly was a master when it came to raising birds and gathering information. Under the surface, the forces on both sides had begun to engage in a shadow war, and Zhang Que’s men were slowly being pressured.
After all, Kim U-Seok was being backed by the current regent.
In addition, no matter how many spies Wang Chong removed, Kim U-Seok would be able to rapidly train up more.
Zhang Que’s talent was outstanding compared to his peers, but Kim U-Seok was twenty-some years older and was richly experienced when it came to training men. Zhang Que was still somewhat lacking compared to this man.
Zhang Que quickly left. Wang Chong remained silent in the hall for some time afterward, then he stood up, walked to the map of the capital hanging from his wall, and drew a red mark on a place near the edge of the Imperial Palace.
Everything was now unavoidable, and the storm had already begun. Wang Chong knew that the capital would get more dangerous from now on.
……
The mood in the capital slowly turned more and more bizarre. An unprecedented storm was about to impact this powerful empire, but at this time, Wang Chong’s residence welcomed an unexpected guest.
In the privacy of the King of Foreign Lands Residence, Wang Chong met with Zhao Fengchen.
Wang Chong had not met with Zhao Fengchen since the last incident. As the first king of a different surname who had been personally crowned by the Sage Emperor, Wang Chong was at the height of his prestige and fame. On the other hand, Zhao Fengchen had always had a proud personality, and he would rarely visit Wang Chong’s residence unless he had something important to discuss.
Seated on a spacious sandalwood armchair, Zhao Fengchen exuded the steely aura of a soldier, his back straight and his shoulders stalwart. But now, his brows were tightly furrowed, and his head was lowered as if weighed down with many concerns.
“Lord Zhao!”
Wang Chong crossed the threshold and called out to Zhao Fengchen.
“Your Highness!”
Zhao Fengchen hastily got to his feet, his expression visibly relaxing.
“Lord Zhao, what’s happened?”
Wang Chong skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point. An officer of the Imperial Army had many duties to attend to and couldn’t be gone for long. Zhao Fengchen would only be able to tarry for a little while before returning to the Imperial Palace.
“In truth… it’s not too big of a deal. It’s just that a few things have happened in the palace recently that I can’t understand, so I hope that Your Highness can offer me your opinion,” Zhao Fengchen said.
Wang Chong sat across from Zhao Fengchen and examined the man. Wang Chong could tell that Zhao Fengchen’s expression was different, hesitant and worried, when he brought up the palace.
“Milord, please speak,” Wang Chong firmly said. He knew that Zhao Fengchen wasn’t a man who would come to find him for something simple.
“The transfers throughout the palace are getting more and more frequent. I’ve always had a rather close relationship to you, and the Eastern Palace has never liked that. Knowing this, I’ve always strictly carried out my duties in the palace without the slightest negligence. But a few days ago, the palace gave an order to decrease the number of soldiers in the Imperial Army. I knew that, given the First Prince’s attitude toward me, he would definitely try to cause trouble, so I had already mentally prepared myself. But on the actual day, I was left rather surprised by the result.”
Zhao Fengchen hesitated here before continuing.
Wang Chong said nothing. It hadn’t just been the harem incident. Zhao Fengchen had also played a major role in dealing with the Eastern Palace’s assassins. This matter alone should have been enough for the First Prince to regard Zhao Fengchen as a thorn in his side that needed to be extracted. From this viewpoint, any action on the First Prince’s part was no surprise.
“On the day of the inspection, I was truly surprised. At the time, all eighteen divisions of the Imperial Army, both the Imperial Forest Guard and the Feather Forest Guard, took turns marching on the plaza and drilling according to the traditions of the Imperial Army. In truth, it has been a long time since the Imperial Palace has conducted this kind of martial display. The Xuanwu Army hadn’t drilled in a long time, and our performance could only be described as mediocre. But what happened at the end was truly astonishing.
“I thought that the First Prince would use this chance to make trouble, but not only did the First Prince not make any trouble, he rebuked the other divisions and heaped praise on the Xuanwu Army. He even said that the other armies should learn from the Xuanwu Army. In truth, if the First Prince had fiercely scolded the Xuanwu Army in front of everyone and said that we had done nothing right, I wouldn’t have been surprised at all.”
Zhao Fengchen’s brow furrowed even deeper. Praise from the First Prince, particularly public high praise for the Xuanwu Army, was simply unimaginable to Zhao Fengchen.
Wang Chong also frowned. It simply didn’t make sense for the First Prince to do such a thing.
“And after that?” Wang Chong said.
“There was nothing after that. The entire incident seemed like an inspection, and afterward, the First Prince didn’t try to make trouble for the Xuanwu Army,” Zhao Fengchen said.
“Oh?”
Wang Chong’s heart thumped, and he finally understood why Zhao Fengchen had been so worried as to come and find him. No matter what angle one viewed it from, the First Prince’s actions were definitely abnormal.
The room quickly fell silent. Wang Chong lowered his head in thought while Zhao Fengchen silently waited, not wishing to disturb him.
In terms of intelligence, there was perhaps no one in the Great Tang that could compare to Wang Chong. For even the most puzzling of riddles, Wang Chong always seemed capable of peering straight into the core. And his view of the overall situation and understanding of military strategy were at a level that no other general in the Great Tang had yet reached.
As Wang Chong continued to think, the mood grew oppressive.
After some time, Wang Chong finally raised his head and offered his conclusion. “There’s no need for you to worry about this matter. Nothing will happen in the
short term.”
Zhao Fengchen breathed a long sigh of relief. Regardless of what the truth was, if this was what Wang Chong had concluded, nothing too big would happen.
“In addition, take this book with you. Read it over carefully. It might be of some help to you.”
Wang Chong took a book from a secret compartment and handed it over.
“Many thanks!”
Zhao Fengchen took the book and hastily left Wang Chong’s residence.
As Zhao Fengchen was leaving, Wang Chong stood up from his chair and gave a long and melancholy sigh in the empty room.
“I hope I’m overthinking things!”
Wang Chong turned to the map on his wall and made a red mark on the part indicating the location of the Imperial Army.
The Imperial Army was the last barrier of the Great Tang, the most important threshold guarding the Sage Emperor. Wang Chong was well aware that the First Prince was not engaging in such a large mobilization purely for revenge.
Zhao Fengchen had gotten too close to him, helping him with the matter of Asura. King Song had been attacked first, and then Zhangchou Jianqiong had been attacked for his half of the Commander Tally, and now, it was the Imperial Army’s turn.
Wang Chong could now only hope that he was overthinking things and that the First Prince’s ambitions had not reached that level yet.
Chapter 1670 - A Meeting of Old Friends!
Chapter 1670: A Meeting of Old Friends!
Several days later, another incident put a damper on Wang Chong’s thoughts.
While Zhangchou Jianqiong was indisposed and resting at home, the First Prince declared that the importance of the Bureau of Military Personnel meant that it could not be without a leader, so he was attempting to force through a proposal in the court to promote a temporary Minister of War to take Zhangchou Jianqiong’s place.
“Kong Wu?”
In the King of Foreign Lands Residence, Wang Chong couldn’t help but frown after receiving the news.
The First Prince was moving much faster than he had expected. Zhangchou Jianqiong had been attacked for the Commander Tally he possessed, and not long after he had started to ‘rest and recover’ at home, the First Prince had appointed his replacement. The post of Minister of War was extremely important and Zhangchou Jianqiong still occupied the post, so not even the First Prince could directly remove him. But it was completely possible to appoint a temporary Minister of War.
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