Prince 015

Leng Shaobai didn’t answer. He was thinking.

He had been in the middle of clearing out an enemy’s turf when a message suddenly arrived from the External Affairs Bureau. The Prince had ordered him to prepare on the spot and raise a peasant rebellion.

Something struck Leng Shaobai’s heart. Why did the Prince make rebellion sound so casual?

But his ingrained habit was simple: whatever the Prince said, he did.

Especially since the Prince had mentioned a specific name: Gu Sanqiu. Leng Shaobai immediately began searching, and eventually found an unremarkable famine victim.

He didn’t understand why the Prince wanted this man, but he didn’t ask. He simply kept Gu Sanqiu by his side.

The uprising was simple enough. The brothers from the money house first dismantled the porridge stalls, then spread word that the local authorities had forbidden them from continuing relief efforts. Many of the disaster victims grew agitated. Next, they made sure the victims saw the kindly people who fed them being beaten by government officers. At that moment, someone hidden among the crowd raised an arm in defiance, and the chain reaction began.

A rebellion force of no small size was thus born.

After they took Haixi, the Prince’s second order arrived.

After reading the note, Leng Shaobai ate it. His heart pounded. Though he had once been merely a death warrior, his time leading the Action Bureau on endless missions had taught him a great deal.

He knew, at least, that the noble houses could not be touched. They were tightly bound to the Ningxi faction in the imperial court. To move against those families was to declare war on the Ningxi faction.

Therefore, this order could not have come from the Prince. It had to be seen as his own.

From Haixi to Fengyang, every noble family along the way suffered calamity. The rebel army, caring nothing about their connections, broke through their gates and hauled away every treasure in sight.

This also let Leng Shaobai glimpse the Prince’s intention: the wealth from just a few noble houses alone could fuel decades of struggle.

He dared not keep a single coin from these confiscations. Instead, he neatly sealed everything and waited for the trade caravan brothers to take it away.

Still, they left him a few chests—along with a message from the Prince.

“Be generous with your men. Punish offenses, reward merits.”

Leng Shaobai immediately ordered those chests of gold and silver distributed. That day, the rebel army celebrated like it was New Year. Most of them had been ordinary commoners, never seeing so much money.

They firmly believed that following Leng Shaobai would lead to riches.

Leng Shaobai didn’t dwell on that. He merely stood on the street, watching the money house brothers move out to begin swallowing up the industries that had once belonged to the noble families.

“Sometimes victories don’t come from fighting or killing. Money can buy you a win, too.”

Leng Shaobai turned and saw Old Dog, who had appeared without warning.

“You always have something to say.”

“Waging war or beating people, that’s not my strength. I don’t know much about it.” Old Dog grinned. “But I’ve had my eyes on these silk shops, taverns, and tea houses for a long time.”

Seeing that Leng Shaobai wasn’t interested, Old Dog pressed on. “What’s on your mind?”

Leng Shaobai remained silent. His mind was still on the suggestion his subordinate had made: with their current momentum, they could rush straight to the capital, and then the Prince could…

Old Dog followed Leng Shaobai’s gaze. He was staring at a mountain in the distance.

“Stop thinking useless thoughts.” Old Dog’s words snapped Leng Shaobai awake. “I can roughly guess what the Prince told you to do. Based on the route, the next stop is Hexi County. Don’t go doing anything foolish.”

He paused. “Our Prince is stronger than you, me, and that basket-case combined. You think you can make decisions for him?”

Leng Shaobai’s face darkened. “I am one of the Prince’s death warriors. I have no right to make decisions for him!”

“Now that’s the spirit.” Old Dog clapped him on the shoulder. Then he swiveled his head, spotted something, and charged off. “Slow down! That crystal is valuable! A couple more of you, help carry it!”

News that noble houses were being wiped out one after another flooded into the court, making the Ningxi faction uneasy. They petitioned furiously, demanding the rebellion be crushed. Even the Ministry of War had prepared orders to deploy troops—but, at exactly that moment, the eunuch faction tightened its grip on their throat.

If the Emperor didn’t approve, could they just move troops on their own? Wasn’t that no different from rebellion?

The most ironic part was this: for the court to dispatch soldiers, both the Bureau of Military Affairs and the Ministry of War had to consent. And as it happened, those two offices were controlled by the eunuch faction and the Ningxi faction, respectively—a fact that later contributed directly to Liaoning’s forces sweeping southward virtually unopposed.

Wang Changlin and his allies were grinding their teeth in frustration. The high-ranking officials themselves were safe enough, since the larger noble houses were in or near the capital. But the lower-ranking officials under them couldn’t endure it.

Left with no other choice, Wang Changlin’s son Wang Yufei went on behalf of his father, the Grand Preceptor, to seek a truce with Li Shanxiang.

This was the first time in months that the Ningxi faction had shown weakness.

But Li Shanxiang flatly refused.

He kept saying, again and again, that the Emperor must first give his consideration—a reply that made Wang Yufei want to punch him. The Emperor had already agreed to send troops to suppress the rebellion. Li Shanxiang simply wouldn’t budge.

“The eunuch faction is ruining the country! The eunuch faction is ruining the country!” Wang Changlin spat the words after listening to his son’s report, nearly vomiting blood from fury.

That very night, he went alone into the palace, demanding to ask the Emperor whether he was willing to abandon the ancestral legacy just to protect those eunuchs.

The Emperor received him kindly. The Emperor had always been gentle by nature, and his speech was kind—but that very attitude only infuriated Wang Changlin more.

“Your Majesty, the rebels have already seized Fengyang! They now hold six entire cities in their hands! If Your Majesty continues to waver, the Great Zhou dynasty is in danger!”

The Emperor drew a long breath. “Didn’t I say it earlier? The Ministry of War and the Bureau of Military Affairs are responsible for arranging the suppression.”

Wang Changlin nearly leaped from excitement, his finger pointing straight at Li Shanxiang, who stood to one side. “Your Majesty, ask him! Ask why Li Shanxiang keeps refusing to release the military tally!”

Li Shanxiang’s expression froze. “Grand Preceptor Wang, you need to be careful with your words. I’m merely the head of the Directorate of Ceremonial. What does the Bureau of Military Affairs have to do with me?”

“Don’t you play dumb with me now! The whole court knows that the Commander of the Bureau of Military Affairs is one of your men, Li Shanxiang!”

“Your Majesty! He’s slandering me!” Li Shanxiang immediately grew upset. And he wasn’t entirely lying—outsiders thought the Bureau of Military Affairs was also controlled by the eunuch faction, but in truth, the power rested with Prince Qi’s people.

“Eunuchs ruining the kingdom! Eunuchs ruining the kingdom!”

“All right, all right, stop arguing. The two of you are my right and left hands. You must calm down and discuss this peacefully…”

Wang Changlin felt speechless. This was exactly why the Emperor had ended up in his current position—he was an utter mediator.

“How about this. Summon the Commander of the Bureau of Military Affairs. I will question him face to face!”

“As you command, Your Majesty.” Li Shanxiang shot a smug glance at Wang Changlin and sauntered away unhurriedly.