Prince 014

Little did they know, their conversation had been overheard by a maidservant who was serving tea and water nearby. That very night, she passed the information to a handyman waiting at the back gate to collect kitchen scraps. The handyman dragged his wooden cart through the streets for a while, and only after making sure no one was following him did he turn and head straight for the Prince of Qi’s mansion.

When this fresh piece of news reached Fang Zhiyi’s ears, he let out a sigh. “If we stir trouble, we die. If we don’t stir trouble, we still die. It’s just a difference between dying sooner or later.”

Xiaoxiaohei reminded him, “Host, if they take action, it will also hasten the fall of the Great Zhou Empire. In other words, your original estimate of three years is no longer enough.”

It could not help but feel a bit aggrieved on the Host’s behalf. The Host had even spent his own money on disaster relief to calm what would have been a peasant uprising—and yet this was the result.

Fang Zhiyi suddenly chuckled. “That’s fine. I’ve said it before: when it comes to rebellion, I’m the professional.”

The next day at the morning court session, Wang Changlin indeed launched an attack. But the eunuch faction stood up and clashed with him just as fiercely. This was all within Wang Changlin’s expectations; it only confirmed his belief that the Emperor had already leaned toward or even taken control of the eunuch faction.

When Wang Changlin threw the issue to the Emperor, the Emperor once again urged both sides to step back for the sake of the Great Zhou’s stability.

Wang Changlin sneered inwardly, then turned and signaled his allies with a glance.

Very well, then. They would strike directly at the root of the problem!

First, they would indoctrinate the selected future young Emperor with the idea of the disaster caused by eunuch power, and then push him onto the throne!

After all, plotting to assassinate the current Emperor and install a new ruler, all while evading the watchful eyes of the eunuch faction—Wang Changlin knew such a thing could not be rushed. He merely schemed quietly in the background.

What did the eunuch faction matter? Behind them, the Ningxi faction commanded countless aristocratic families!

But before he was ready, the whole court was shaken by sudden news.

“Urgent report! Urgent report!”

The ministers, who had just entered and taken their places, turned their heads in surprise.

A messenger stumbled and crawled through the door, his clothes covered in filth.

“Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Haixi, Haixi has fallen to an uprising of rebel commoners!”

The ministers’ eyes widened in shock.

“Nonsense! A mere mob of commoners causing trouble, and you dare to shout before the Emperor!” Wang Changlin bellowed in anger.

The messenger waved his hands frantically. “No, it’s not just ordinary commoners making trouble! They’ve raised an army! An army!”

“Send in the local garrison to suppress them, then,” someone said.

The messenger grew frantic. “The local, the local garrison has already fled and scattered! The governor’s head has been severed and hung at the city gate!”

“Hiss!”

The crowd collectively sucked in a breath. Only then did they realize this time might be different from before.

“Wait, are you lying?” Another official stepped forward, pointing at the messenger. “Why haven’t we received any news from the Haixi side? Could those rebels have cut off all communication lines?”

His point was simple: many local officials were either affiliated with the Ningxi faction or the eunuch faction. They should have received news faster than military intelligence—yet no word had come.

The messenger looked helpless. “I barely escaped with my life! The local garrison commander, the governor, and every official above the ninth rank—all were killed!” He gritted his teeth. “The garrison soldiers have also sided with the rebels. Even the local clerks, scribes, and runners have all joined them!”

“What?”

Wang Changlin was stunned.

“Please hear me, Your Majesty,” the messenger continued. “I was originally a candidate for county magistrate and had a friendship with the governor, so I was temporarily staying at his residence to await an appointment… Everything seemed normal until the rebels stormed the city, yet no one reported it to the governor! I later learned that the Haixi garrison, which was supposed to have a thousand men, actually had fewer than five hundred. Those five hundred had secretly sided with the rebels. And of the more than two hundred salaried officials in the city, nearly two hundred were connected to the rebels.”

“The governor had long been isolated and powerless!”

When he finished speaking, the entire court was stunned.

Including the Emperor.

So someone had actually risen in rebellion against him?

What they did not know was that the so-called rebel leader was right now in the Prince of Qi’s mansion, leisurely drinking tea.

“Your Highness, maybe you should go out and take shelter for a while,” Zhu Hong suggested again. He could not understand how the Prince could remain so calm. This was a rebellion! And His Highness was still in the capital, enjoying flowers and drinking tea?

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. “Why should I?”

Zhu Hong smiled bitterly. Did you really not know why? He had never imagined back then that the Prince’s arrangements were ultimately for this purpose: hollowing out local officials, winning over grassroots personnel, bestowing favors upon the disaster-stricken people, and finally even personally instigating and leading the common people to rise in arms!

Was this not the act of a madman?

No wonder the violent hotheads in the Action Hall must be having a field day.

“The rebels are people I don’t know and have no connection to,” Fang Zhiyi said. “How could they possibly trace it back to me?”

Zhu Hong paused at these words, then thought it over. True enough.

Even though he himself knew what the Prince had done, outsiders—even many of those actually involved—had no clue about the Prince’s role behind the scenes. Moreover, even the people who had been sent to win over officials and gather support were all different. To this day, no one had noticed that these various figures with different names all shared a common hidden boss.

“But, Your Highness…” Zhu Hong wanted to plead further.

Fang Zhiyi waved his hand. “Forget it. You have an even more important task ahead.”

Zhu Hong swallowed the rest of his objections. “Your Highness, please give your orders.”

Fang Zhiyi handed him a piece of paper. “These names were sent back by Li Zizai. The people on this list—some have been sidelined, some demoted, others overlooked. Take care of them as you see fit.”

“Your Highness… you want to bring the border garrison into this too?” Zhu Hong felt another shock of alarm. The Prince truly had lost his mind!

Fang Zhiyi glanced at him. “Wouldn’t it be more interesting with a bit more liveliness?”

A chill ran down Zhu Hong’s spine. He had once thought that he had mastered about seventy percent of the Prince’s skills, but now he realized he still had a long way to go. The Prince’s ultimate goal had always been the entire empire.

“We should be reaching the Fengyang border soon. Have we heard back from the External Liaison Hall?” Leng Shaobai asked from atop his horse, his expression stern.

“Hall Master, our brothers from the External Liaison Hall just reported back. The Fengyang county magistrate has already been tied up by his own men.”

“Hall Master, I thought rebellion meant we’d get to fight some fierce battles, but this is boring,” a burly, dark-skinned man grumbled. “Wherever we go, the towns just fall apart. It’s no fun.”

Leng Shaobai shot him a glance. “Falling apart wherever we go? Do you think it would be this easy without the Prince’s arrangements?”

“I know, I know… But we’ve raised such a huge army and barely fought any battles. It feels like we’re just picking up the leftovers.”

“You want to fight? There will be plenty of opportunities later,” Leng Shaobai said.

The dark-skinned man’s eyes flickered. “Say, Hall Master, how about we take Fengyang and then march straight to the capital? We’ll carry the Prince on our shoulders and seat him on the throne ourselves!”