Chapter 304: Right Timing
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Da Chu.
"Congratulations, minister, for your promotion to Prince of Chu!"
Inside the minister's manor, many of his henchmen gathered as joy and laughter filled the air.
While Qi Country and Liang Country were in chaos, Wang Qiao had no leisure to care about the neighbouring countries. He finally seized the rare opportunity to force the emperor to grant him the title of Prince with perpetual title heritability[1].
Furthermore, by using "Chu" as his prince title, it obviously reflected his rapacious ambitions.
However, Wang Qiao had no fears.
"The garrison guards of the imperial capital are already within my command and these 200,000 troops are extremely skilful elites, no one would be able to defeat them! Furthermore, even the provincial military commanders and imperial guards have pledged their loyalty to me and there's no one left that can compete with me!" He thought as he squinted his eyes.
He knew that even if military occupied towns were to rise in revolt against him, by having the largest lands and the most elite large troops, he would be able to wipe each of them out.
"How many troops have risen in revolt currently?"
Wang Qiao asked suddenly as he sat up straight with a strong demeanour.
"There are three military occupied towns that have sent their troops. Liyang Prefecture's military governor Zhu Tong, Xinan Prefecture's military governor Li Chun and Wujiang Prefecture's military governor Wang Yujun have risen in revolt and started attacking other prefectures under the accusation that you were planning to overthrow the emperor. Based on my humble opinion, that was merely an excuse for them to expand their strength. These governors are all smart men! They knew if they did not seize the opportunity to rise to power now, when we rise to power, they would have no more chance!"
His adjutant immediately answered.
Wang Qiao clapped his hands and announced, "I will immediately report these three governors' plans to the emperor and an imperial decree will be issued immediately. This will list out their crimes clearly and we can then send troops to suppress them!"
At that moment, since he had not forced the emperor to abdicate and hand the throne over to him yet, he knew he still required the emperor for his plans to succeed.
"Brilliant, Prince!"
His audiences were all impressed.
"Haha... instead of being afraid, I am happy that they are rising up! The power distribution in the imperial capital is very complicated. Since I don't have much wealth nor land to reward you all, if you all defeat these three prefectures, you all will be promoted to nobility, with perpetual title heritability!" Wang Qiao laughed.
Usually, it was hard to gather loyal followers for usurps that did not undergo mass killings as the power distribution in the country were complicated and there were insufficient resources to reward them.
However, since the three military governors revolted, it gave him an excuse to do so.
Once the audiences heard it, especially the military officials, their eyes lit up as though it was on fire.
With Wang Qiao's speech, it undoubtedly promised the reward of nobility and at the same time, hinted that once the military occupied towns were suppressed, he would immediately force the emperor to relinquish his throne.
Only the emperor could grant titles of nobility with perpetual title heritability and such a hint was already very obvious.
"Reporting!"
Just as the atmosphere was warm, an anxious-looking imperial guard suddenly rushed over. "Prince, a disaster is imminent!"
"Tell me about it!"
A feeling of uneasiness immediately overwhelmed Wang Qiao and made him stood up. He then asked, "What exactly happened?"
"The emperor has suddenly fallen very ill after dinner…, the imperial physician does not dare to prescribe medication!"
"What?"
Wang Qiao's face turned unpleasant at once.
Even though he has already decided to have him dead once he ascended the throne, he still needed his name and authority as the Emperor of Chu, especially at the moment where he was about to send the troops to suppress the rebels. How could he be on his deathbed?
"Prince…"
At that moment, another horse rushed over, "The emperor… has passed away!"
Wang Qiao's face turned pale at once, he suddenly opened his mouth and blood spewed everywhere.
"Prince!!!"
...
5th Year of Yong An. News of Wang Qiao becoming the Prince of Chu and the death of the young emperor spread like wildfire across the world. There were now 7 troops that had rose in revolt.
After Da Qi and Da Liang, Da Chu has descended into chaos too.
Loading Island, Golden Court Lake.
Twenty large ships were berthed neatly at the pier. Thousands of soldiers remained silent as they gathered to watch the ceremony.
Once Xu Ting heard the news about the death of the emperor, he gathered the troop to commemorate the late emperor and held a rally to pledge loyalty before going to war.
"This Wang Qiao! How ferocious! He murdered the emperor to usurp the throne, what an unpardonable sin! Even though I am not a genius, I still have a 40-inch long sword and thousands of soldiers! I will punish this traitor and fight with him to death! To seek revenge for the late emperor!"
As Xu Ting stood high above on the platform and raised the Purple Suo sword, his voice could be heard clearly.
"Punish the traitor!"
"Punish the traitor!"
The crowds' yells were deafening and could be heard from afar.
"Send down my command! We will deploy at once!"
As Xu Ting gave his commands, the warships steered out of the pier towards the prefectures near Golden Court Lake.
These prefectures were not ruled by military governors; they were still under the governance of the imperial court. Even if there were any power-hungry ambitionists, they dared not openly raise their troops.
However, now that they had such a cause, that might no longer be the case.
Hence, Xu Ting decisively deployed at once so as to grab hold of the surrounding prefectures near Golden Court Lake and increase his power while the rest were still scrambling.
While the rest had no plans, he had plans, warships and an elite troop. Xu Ting was very confident.
On the shore, daoist Qing Xuan looked at the scene peacefully. His eyes glistened and thought, "The truculence and aggressiveness of the troops are like an inferno…, Xu Ting's fate energy changes thrice in a day, it is about to prosper and the heavenly trend is starting!"
In reality, the heavenly trend was merely a seed.
Without the right timing, the right conditions and the right people as soil and rain for the seed, the heavenly trend would not sprout and grow. Instead, it would brew disaster.
But however, at that moment, the three factors were all right; success was imminent!
"The original magistrate of Golden Lake Prefecture relinquished his position due to his illness. Hence, once Xu Ren took over the position, he garnered the support of all the districts. After ten plus years of gradual influence, things are falling into places and he can now support Xu Ting in his war! With their combined powers, the nearby prefectures will be of no match, and after seizing the entire Golden Court Lake, they would have their foundation to gather sufficient people dao fate energy to succeed. However, my sect is not gaining much from it, many opportunities have been snatched…, d*mn demons!"
When he thought of Xu Ting's Purple Suo sword, his expression turned even gloomier.
The sword was an auspicious sign. Of course, Xu Ting sent people to spread the news to bolster his strength.
The sword was like a treasure that signified the heavenly trends. For daoist Qing Xuan to ask for it back from Xu Ting was like courting death.
"Also, that Kong Luo was merely an unknown lone practitioner that was not very good. Now, since he had gotten the Green Qiu sword, his power has tremendously improved and he even defeated many of my sect's people. Xu Ting greatly favours him now and they even deployed together…"
Xu Ting could not be touched and neither could Kong Luo.
Xu Ting would be a fool to allow his compatriot to be killed for the sword. Thankfully, Qing Xuan could still benefit from the fate energy gained. However, if he were to anger the dragon energy, he would really be totally dead.
As Qing Xuan mumbled to himself, he felt as though there was a giant invisible net that was enveloping Xuan Zhen Sect.
Originally, it was still possible to gift these two swords as a form of investment.
But now, they had spent too much effort helping others with no benefit for themselves gained. Even the head of the sect became worried and despondent after hearing the rumours.
"The uprising of the humans is a heavenly trend and this Xu Ting has dragon energy within him… but now, with the steps Xuan Zhen Sect have taken, it seems like we have made the wrong moves…"
As Qing Xuan thought of how the heavenly trend was hard to predict, he was awe-inspired.
With the uprising of humans, killer tribulations became rife. As such, many were left dead in the process. Although Xuan Zhen Sect had treasures to suppress fate energy, there were usually no tribulations happening, but as for killer tribulations, how much effect these treasures would still have was really an unknown.
...
Dragon Palace, Golden Court Lake.
Fang Yuan sat opposite Golden Court Dragon God and in front of them was a chessboard. A water screen appeared out of nothing, and the scene of numerous warships departing was depicted.
"Your magical powers are truly an eye-opener!"
As Fang Yuan noticed Xu Ting's prospering fate energy, the Purple Suo sword on his waist and Kong Luo, he could not contain his smile.
"The Golden Court Lake is under my jurisdiction, hence, the water reflective technique could be used. If they leave Golden Court Lake or if his fate energy were to further increase, this technique of mine would be unable monitor them from afar."
The Dragon God smiled and straightforwardly placed a piece on the chessboard, "You are very observant and have planned well from the start. The way you handled the two swords was especially creative, I am very impressed."
Since the Dragon God was very mighty and resourceful, he easily knew about the two swords.
Furthermore, Fang Yuan and the Dragon God were truly on the same side. Compared to those people dao cultivators, especially those who aimed to monopolise fate energy, the Dragon God did not have a favourable impression of them.
With the Dragon God's intelligence, he could easily guess that once Xuan Zhen Sect rose in power, they would go around destroying temples and force these deities to submit to them and have contractual agreements to be their servants.
Even as people dao deities, dragons were haughty as it was part of their natural temperament.
As for his dragon descendant going against Xuan Zhen Sect, the Dragon God was glad to see such.
"With Xu Ting's fate energy, there would be no problem uniting the Golden Court Lake's nearby prefectures under his rule. These prefectures have numerous resources and its people are settled peacefully, it is truly a great place…"
Fang Yuan placed a chess piece in response and started to mention another area, "After Wang Qiao usurps, it will still take some time for him to quell the rebel towns. If Xu Ting wants to grow further, he has to go along An River and conquer those prefectures all the way up to Qi Lake. Only then would he occupy half the country and be considered extremely powerful."
There were many river systems in the Water Realm.
In Chu Country, Qi Lake, An River and Golden Court Lake were connected and those prefectures near it made up half the country! That made up one-sixth of the human population!
"The An River Dragon God's original form was a poisonous water dragon who loves blood sacrifices. He would definitely not sit back and allow the uprising of humans…, not sure if you are interested in the position of An River Dragon God?"
"The position of An River Dragon God?"
The Golden Court Dragon God thought for a moment and suddenly smiled, "With your extravagance, what requests do you have?
"I was born in Qi Lake, how about Qi Lake?"
Fang Yuan was not shy as he laid out his conditions directly, "We will help out one another and fight against the sects, it is also for us demons to obtain a lifeline against this heavenly trend!"
"A lifeline?"
The Golden Court Dragon God was puzzled.
"The uprising of the humans is a heavenly trend, however, all races are equal. Even if us demons are downfalling, it does not mean that we should be extinct. Even if the land was meant for the people dao, does it mean that there is absolutely no space for us demons?"
Fang Yuan smiled as he explained; the Dragon God was moved at once.
"That makes sense!"
The Dragon God stood up and looked into the water screen. Large troops attacked and plundered, gathering large amounts of fate energy. This made Fang Yuan's intentions harder to be comprehended by the Dragon God, the Dragon God could not help but to sigh. "We have always given in to the heavens and the people, and are always misunderstood by the demons. But now, we are in the same boat. This is all I can do and I will let history be the judge! I will not think too much now and after a thousand years, I will see what history has to say!"
[1] Perpetual title heritability allows the title to be passed down to future generation without downgrading of rank.