Prince 016

The commander of the Imperial Guards arrived quickly enough.

But facing the emperor’s questions, his face twisted into a bitter grimace.

"Your Majesty, it’s not that we’re unwilling to cooperate. The main problem is..." He glanced at Wang Changlin. "...we simply don’t have the money."

For a moment, the study fell into dead silence.

No money?

Wang Changlin nearly laughed in anger. Everyone knew how much the eunuch faction had plundered. Li Shanxiang, before and after seizing power, had been scattering silver like water to win people over!

But now was not the time to dwell on that.

"Your Majesty, without money, we cannot fight this war. Our soldiers are not made of iron, and the Imperial Horse Administration can barely scrape together fodder as it is."

The emperor’s face showed sudden understanding, followed by a heavy expression of regret. "You have all suffered unfairly, I know. The court is indeed facing some difficulties..."

Wang Changlin finally understood. All this talk was simply a roundabout way to make the Ningxi faction cough up the funds.

Though anger churned inside him, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and promise that he would rally the court officials to gather some money.

Not until Wang Changlin had left did the emperor let out a laugh. "In all my years on the throne, this is the first time I’ve seen that old goat so furious. How amusing, how amusing."

Li Shanxiang smiled ingratiatingly. "Your Majesty, just wait. Tomorrow, when they start pooling their money, there will surely be more entertainment."

"Why?"

"These men are each greedier than the last. It’s the local noble families who will suffer, not the clans of the high ministers themselves. When it comes to raising funds, they’ll be biting at each other’s throats."

"Ai." Hearing this, the emperor’s smile vanished.

Li Shanxiang immediately sensed trouble. Had he said something wrong?

"Just thinking that these people are my only support, my ministers... Is this Great Zhou truly destined to fall in my hands?"

Li Shanxiang hastily interjected, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. It was my foul mouth..." He raised his hand to slap himself, but the emperor stopped him.

"This has nothing to do with you." Suddenly, the emperor laughed again. "At least I am not entirely alone."

Everything unfolded exactly as Li Shanxiang had predicted. The Ningxi faction split apart. Officials whose families were not in the capital were willing to contribute, while those with families in the capital remained indifferent. The matter even escalated into a brawl between the Vice Minister of Rites and a Grand Secretary.

Wang Changlin’s head was spinning. He had never imagined that these normally close officials would cause such turmoil over raising military funds. Even after he personally led the donations, the amount collected was pitiful.

The eunuch faction used this as an excuse to mock him relentlessly, driving Wang Changlin to the brink of rage. In a fit of fury, he forced every member of the Ningxi faction to pay up. In the end, they barely scraped together enough silver, but not without earning him curses behind his back many times over.

Wang Changlin knew this well, but he had no choice.

He knew the emperor was poor. He knew the treasury was empty. Where had all the silver gone? Into the hands of the eunuch faction and the Ningxi faction, and especially the overfed local noble families.

Only after receiving the funds did the Imperial Guards readily issue the corresponding military tallies.

But now a new quarrel erupted—over who should lead the army.

Wang Changlin suddenly felt his age. He was tired.

While they dallied, the rebel army had already swallowed up the entire Hexi region at lightning speed, then fortified their defenses and barricaded themselves within the cities. By the time the imperial pacification forces arrived, they were faced with the enemy holed up inside.

No matter how they taunted and provoked, the rebels refused to come out.

And since the imperial army was filled with members of the eunuch faction who had little enthusiasm for fighting, the two sides simply settled into a stalemate.

The commanding general ordered the Right Wing to bypass present-day Qigu County and strike directly at Fengyang, cutting off the rebels’ escape route. The Right Wing accepted the order—but never returned.

"Hall Master! Hall Master!" Big Black came barreling into the city, huffing and puffing. "Some shriveled eunuch wants to see you."

Leng Shaobai shot him a glare. "Mind your tongue."

"Fine. Some eunuch wants to see you."

"..."

When Leng Shaobai went out to greet the visitor, he found a pallid-faced eunuch. Seeing Leng Shaobai emerge, the eunuch immediately bowed. "Your humble servant greets the General."

"And you are..."

"Your servant is a deputy to Director Li, and the appointed military supervisor for this pacification campaign. I have come to offer the General a military merit."

"Oh?" Leng Shaobai, hearing that this man was one of Li Shanxiang’s underlings, already had a fair idea of what was coming.

"What? The Right Wing has collapsed? And we lost most of our grain and mounts? How is that possible?" the general exclaimed in shock. "Could a bunch of mud-footed peasants really be that formidable?"

"General, they were brutally fierce! We encountered the rebel army during our march and engaged them immediately, but they outnumbered us greatly and knew the terrain far too well. The Right Wing was caught in a desperate battle... And General You, he was struck down by the rebels!"

"Sss..." The general felt a splitting headache.

He had initially thought these were just a rabble of peasants, easy to crush. Now it seemed he had gravely miscalculated.

Word of the Right Wing’s rout spread through the army, along with rumors that the rebels had immortals among their ranks. In an instant, morale collapsed. These troops were barely trained to begin with, and now they sank into dejection.

Seeing their own supply of grain running low, and the message they sent to the capital for more provisions yielding no response, the commanding general gritted his teeth and ordered a full retreat. But the moment the army broke camp, the rebels, who had been hiding behind their city walls all this time, flung open the gates and charged out.

"They’re coming! Run!" someone shouted. One soldier triggered two more, two dragged a mob, and the supposedly mighty hundred-thousand-man army disintegrated in an instant. No matter how the officers screamed for order, it was useless.

Word soon reached the capital. And when news of the army’s need for supplies spread through the court, another furious debate erupted. This time, however, it was not the eunuch faction versus the Ningxi faction, but infighting within the Ningxi faction itself.

Some grumbled that they had paid out silver but reaped no benefit. Others sneered at colleagues whose families had been destroyed for their wasted efforts. Still others blamed Wang Changlin for ever forcing everyone to contribute.

Wang Changlin was nearly choked with rage.

But before he could catch his breath, a worse piece of news arrived: the imperial pacification army was in full retreat, stampeding toward the capital.

And then came the worst news of all.

The rebel army was right on their heels, also marching straight for the capital.

For an instant, the entire court fell silent. Finally, someone sensed the approaching crisis.

"Mobilize the Metropolitan Garrison! And the Palace Guard! We must annihilate the rebels before they reach the capital!"

Wang Changlin stepped forward. "Your Majesty, this old minister implores you—recall the frontier army to come to the capital’s rescue!"

His words jolted the others back to their senses, and they too begged the emperor to order the frontier forces back.

But the Supervisory Censor leaped out. "Are you out of your minds? The frontier army must guard against the Liao state’s incursions. If we recall them now, and the Liao take the chance to attack—what then?"

"What then? These rebels are heading straight for our capital! Do you want to see it fall into enemy hands?"