knife

Chapter 223 Imperial Edict
Grand Eunuch Huang Xuan, with his back hunched and neck shrunk, walked straight into the duty room of the Hall of State Affairs without looking to the side.

Today happens to be the day that Academician Zhou, the drafter of imperial edicts, is on duty.

Stepping into the small room where Scholar Zhou was resting, Huang Xuan closed the door tightly. Looking at Scholar Zhou, his eyes revealed hesitation and timidity.

"Did you bring it?" Scholar Zhou asked in a low voice.

Huang Xuan shakily pulled a box from his pocket and hugged it tightly.

Scholar Zhou, somewhat impatient, snatched the box away, opened it, and the Imperial Seal of the Qin Empire was revealed before him.

He pulled out a yellow scroll from the bookshelf behind him, unfolded it, and reached for the imperial seal.

Huang Xuan suddenly reached out and covered the box lid, saying, "Scholar, if the Prime Minister and the Grand Magistrate find out about this, we'll both be dead without a burial place!"

Scholar Zhou chuckled: "What are you afraid of? When Linghu Ye's 100,000-strong army enters the pass, who inside can stop them? When he succeeds, the two of us will be founding heroes. Not to mention our own wealth and glory, our children and grandchildren will also benefit for generations to come."

"What if it doesn't work?" Huang Xuan was clearly lacking in confidence.

"If it fails, then Linghu Ye will naturally be guilty of forging an imperial edict. What does that have to do with you and me?" Scholar Zhou chuckled. "Linghu Ye is arrogant and domineering. What's the big deal about forging an imperial seal?"

Hearing this, Huang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hands.

Scholar Zhou picked up the imperial seal and, with a snap, stamped it onto the scroll that had already been written on.

"Tomorrow, I will have someone send this imperial edict to the border. With this edict, Linghu Ye can enter the border legitimately," Scholar Zhou said smugly.

Huang Xuan stuffed the imperial seal into his robes and said repeatedly, "Then I'll leave it to Scholar Zhou. I absolutely dare not let anything go wrong!"

"What could possibly go wrong?" Scholar Zhou said dismissively, "Don't worry!"

Night slowly fell, and the city bells tolled in the distance, one after another, growing ever closer. The soldiers guarding the city gates prepared to close them while shouting loudly to those outside who hadn't yet entered the city, urging them to hurry up. Once the city gates were closed, they would never be reopened unless there was an urgent military emergency.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats echoed from within the city. The soldiers guarding the city turned to see three swift horses galloping towards them like lightning. Before they could react, the three riders had swept away like a gust of wind. One of the soldiers was slightly grazed and fell flat on his face, hitting his forehead hard on the ground. Looking up, the three riders didn't even turn their heads, continuing to gallop further and further away.

"Are you so eager to be reborn?" the soldier lying on the ground cursed. "When you fall into my hands, I'll make sure you wish you were dead."

In truth, this guy knew that anyone who dared to ride a horse through the city and charge through the city gates was someone they, as lowly soldiers, could not afford to mess with. So he just talked about it for fun.

If I actually meet these people again, I'm afraid I'll have to grovel and fawn over them.

Life is just so unfair.

The group of soldiers, cursing and swearing, forcefully slammed the heavy city gate shut, closed the massive gateposts, and then pushed in barricades and other obstacles to pile behind the gate. With that, their work for the day was considered complete.

Although I still have to work the night shift, it's much easier now.

Those three knights were none other than the men that Linghu Ye, the general from beyond the Great Wall, had placed in Chang'an.

Today, they finally obtained the imperial edict they had been dreaming of.

The Emperor ordered Linghu Ye, the Grand Marshal of the Andong Protectorate outside the pass, Duke of Zheng, and Grand Pillar of State, to enter the pass to defend the Emperor and quell the rebellion!
Do you think this thing is useful?

He actually proved useful.

This means that Linghu Ye's entry into the pass was justified, not a rebellion. He had returned to pledge allegiance to the emperor. Although everyone with eyes could see what was really going on, having this explanation at least saved face on the surface.

If Linghuye ever succeeds, this thing will be of great use.

But what if you say he's very useful?
Not necessarily.

At least Ma Liang from Yangguan didn't buy it at all.

Regardless of whether you have an imperial decree or not, the toll of one million taels is non-negotiable, not a single coin less.

If Linghu Ye really did enter the pass and had this imperial decree, would those powerful and wealthy families accept it?

That's debatable.

Both Chang'an and Luoyang would certainly say that Linghu Ye had forged an imperial edict.

Based on the principle that others must oppose what was said in Chang'an and Luoyang, wealthy families in other places might also support Linghu Ye.

Our primary goal is to take Chang'an and kill the emperor in the deep palace who is obsessed with alchemy and taking drugs. Then everyone can use their unique abilities to see who can have the last laugh.

The timing of these three individuals' choice was quite clever. With the city gates closed, the inside and outside were cut off. If anyone inside the city discovered something amiss and wanted to come out to chase them, even privileged departments like the Black Ice Guard could easily complete the necessary procedures, and they would have already vanished without a trace.

However, the force watching them was not the Black Ice Guard, but another group from beyond the Great Wall.

The horses galloped along the official road, the bright moon illuminating the ground as if it were daytime, so the warhorses had no trouble seeing the road.

Just as the three were relaxing, a sudden change occurred.

Suddenly, a large net rose from the ground in the middle of the seemingly flat official road, sweeping in from all directions. The three knights on horseback were skilled in martial arts, and almost simultaneously, they dismounted and leaped into the air, drawing their swords and slashing out.

With a hissing sound, the incoming net was cut into several pieces.

But as the net tore open, the sound of crossbow bolts firing in rapid succession sent a chill down the spines of the three knights.

This isn't your average highway robbery; this is damn well targeted at them.

The only entity capable of equipping such crossbows could be the Black Ice Platform.

"They're bastards from the Black Ice Guard! Fight them!" Landing on the ground, the leading knight looked around. His two men were riddled with crossbow bolts; though not fatal, blood was still flowing freely. As for the horses, they lay lifeless on the ground, barely breathing.

The three stood in a triangular formation, watching their opponent emerge from the darkness.

There are at least a dozen.

"Leave no survivors!" the leader said casually, waving his hand.

The battle was extremely tedious. The newcomers not only outnumbered the three knights, but their martial arts skills also far surpassed those of the previous three knights. Moreover, they showed no regard for martial ethics and immediately launched a siege.

In just a few moments, the three men who had been full of energy were turned into corpses on the ground.

They dragged the man-horse corpses into the grove, where a large pit had already been dug. They threw the corpses in, filled it with soil, and covered it with withered branches and leaves, so that no trace could be seen from the outside.

An hour later, in an inn in a small town dozens of miles from Chang'an, Zhang Qingyun lay before an imperial edict stamped with the Imperial Seal of the State, shaking his head and sighing, "If even this thing can be produced so easily, it would be truly unjust if the Qin Dynasty didn't perish!"

"Director Zhang, what's the next step?" a man asked.

"Send someone to send this back to the Protectorate!" Zhang Qingyun said with a smile, "It might come in very useful!"

Outside the Great Wall, at Longgoubao, the retreat of the army began in an orderly manner.

Zhang Ruo frantically searched for Chen Liang, thinking he had convinced Chen Liang to stop blindly following Linghu Ye's lead. But reality slapped him in the face.

Chen Liang wanted to meet Xiao Changche and Li Dachui, and it was Xiao Changche who made the connection. Li Dachui personally came to Longgou Fort to meet with Chen Liang.

However, this time, no third person was present when the two met.

Even Zhang Ruo didn't know what they had talked about.

Anyway, after Li Dachui left, Chen Liang began preparing for the retreat.

The talks must have broken down!

This is what Zhang Ruo was thinking.

When they found Chen Liang, he was pulling weeds in front of that slope.

"General Chen, why are we retreating?" Zhang Ruo asked bluntly, "How can you face your ancestors and relatives buried below?"

Chen Liang smiled and said, "Scholar Zhang, sometimes retreat is for a better advance."

"What exactly are your plans?"

"I'm sorry!" Chen Liang shook his head and said, "Since Deputy Protector Li didn't tell you, I won't have any more information."

"I am the inspector, I have the right to know!"

Chen Liang laughed and said, "Then you should ask Deputy Protector Li. I'm sorry, Scholar Zhang, our main force will be returning to Yuntai Wilderness tomorrow. Only a guard team will be left here. The Yuan people will come to take over. Scholar, you should also pack your things and come with us. Whether you go to Yuntai Wilderness or Duxian is up to you!"

Chen Liang tossed a large handful of weeds onto the ground and swaggered away.

Watching Chen Liang's retreating figure, Zhang Ruo stood there stunned for a long time before following closely behind.

Baoping City, Protectorate.

Mao Daxian looked at Li Dachui and asked, "Are you really not going to let Scholar Zhang know about this? Knowing his temperament, I'm afraid he'll stir up trouble again!"

"Let him stir things up!" Li Dachui laughed. "It would be abnormal if he didn't stir things up, which would put Linghuye at ease about Chen Liang. This time, we have a grand plan. If everything goes according to our plan, then the area outside the pass can be settled in one battle. Linghuye will no longer be a threat, and Zhebie will have to slink back to his hometown."

"Isn't this too big of a business?" Mao Daxian asked with some concern.

"There's no other way. Look, it's all interconnected. You can't do without any one of them. I've tried my best to simplify things," Li Dachui said.

"It's anything but simple. A single plan involves so many people and events, all vying for the best possible outcome. The difficulty is simply immense!"

"Man proposes, God disposes!" Li Dachui said, "We've already laid the net and are waiting. If a few sparrows fly away, there's nothing we can do. It's already good enough if we can catch the big sparrow."

(End of this chapter)