Longzang

Chapter 1099: Uprising
In the late summer and early autumn of the thirteenth year of the Hongjing reign, the weather was favorable and the crops were plentiful, making it a rare year of bumper harvest. Good news came from all over the country, and then the rebels rose up in rebellion.

In the imperial court, Prince Ji was furious. He threw dozens of memorials from various prefectures reporting good news in front of his ministers and roared, "Rebels! Rebels again! Didn't you say this year would be a bumper harvest? Didn't you say the weather would be favorable and there would be no disasters in any place? How come there are rebels again? Just how much have you embezzled? Will you only stop if I give you the entire imperial treasury?"

With a whoosh, the officials were shocked and knelt down. Sun Chaoen was not only the fastest to kneel, but also the only one who lay prone.

Prince Ji was so angry he laughed. He grabbed a stack of memorials and threw them at Sun Chao'en, yelling, "Didn't you say you had wiped out all the bandits before?"

Sun Chaoen bowed his head and said, "The old rebels have definitely been wiped out. This batch must have risen up this season."

"To rise up in rebellion?" Prince Ji's voice was chilling.

Sun Chaoen prostrated himself on the ground and said, "Your Majesty is right. There must be someone who is so corrupt that even in a year of plenty, the people cannot survive. I believe that we should thoroughly investigate the officialdom in the south, especially the generals of the southern border army."

Sun Chaoen's words immediately sparked a wave of agreement. Many senior officials and ministers, tacitly understanding each other, began to attack the generals leading the southern army.

Although many senior officials and ministers in the Ji Kingdom's court are at odds with Sun Chaoen, they still share a common stance on many issues, such as jointly dealing with military generals and nobles.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was also a powerful force, but the Chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was too strong and loyal to Prince Ji. Therefore, the civil officials wisely united to eliminate the opponents they could deal with first.

At this moment, King Ji was furious, and his gaze toward the ranks of military officers was hostile. Under the piercing gaze of King Ji, the General in charge of the southern border army had no choice but to step forward and say, "Your Majesty, the bandits in the south are nothing but a rabble. With the elite border army and the formidable passes, I expect they can be wiped out in the blink of an eye."

Prince Ji gave a heavy snort and said, "It had better be as you say!"

The General of Zhennan then reported, “With the strategic advantage of Dingnan Pass, the rebels will have no chance of breaking through and will only be able to operate in a corner of the border. Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to send a capable minister to the south to investigate the reasons for the rampant banditry and to find out which level of government officials has embezzled the people’s food supply!”

Prince Ji said in a deep voice, "That is the way it should be!"

Prince Ji then appointed three to five officials, led by imperial censors, to travel south to investigate local officials for corruption and other illegal activities. This appointment brought a sense of smug satisfaction to many high-ranking civil officials.

This time, the imperial envoy team was almost entirely composed of upright civil officials, including old friends and protégés of powerful figures. Once they arrived in the south, wouldn't they be able to investigate and punish whomever they wanted?

At that time, the upright officials will be safe and sound, while their political enemies will suffer heavy casualties.

The high-ranking officials were adept at using such tactics, but they hadn't expected Prince Ji to be so cooperative this time, barely even trying to infiltrate the imperial envoy's group. The officials secretly speculated that the sudden banditry had likely driven Prince Ji to desperation, leading him to make this blunder.

Regardless, now that they had the imperial sword, the officials planned to slaughter countless people in the south, leaving rivers of blood. By then, even if Prince Ji realized something was wrong, it would be too late; the entire south would fall into the hands of the Qingliu faction.

The matter was thus successfully concluded, and due to the urgency of the military situation, the imperial envoy departed the capital the following day for the south. Meanwhile, in a residence somewhere in the capital, several auspicious birds took flight and headed west.

Two days later, a spirit bird landed in Wei Yuan's palm. Wei Yuan activated the hidden array on the spirit bird and heard a message, followed by a route map.

Wei Yuan opened the map, compared it briefly with the route map, selected a location, and then gave the order.

Qingming mobilized far faster than Ji Jun. In the blink of an eye, a force was ready to go. An hour later, three flying boats took off, one carrying troops and the other carrying troops and providing escort.

Three flying boats ascended into the sky, swaggering over the heads of the Ji army's defense forces. On the Ji army's position, all the Dharma Generals looked up, watching the three azure flying boats fly thousands of feet through the air.

The defending general immediately issued a strict order forbidding any soldier from attempting to attack the airships, even from taking aim. Anyone found doing so would be court-martialed and severely punished.

Above the celestial realm, Cangwu slightly opened his eyes, glanced at the three flying boats that radiated azure light, and couldn't help but utter a vulgar curse.

Wei Yuan has recently become very wealthy and powerful, and all his soldiers have been blessed with good fortune.

The three airships successfully reached their destination, unloaded the troops, and then flew to another location to hover in the air and wait.

Half a day later, as the imperial envoy's entourage passed through the narrow passage between the two mountains, a sharp whistling sound suddenly rang out above them, and countless cannonballs rained down from the sky, blasting thousands of soldiers into a rout. Then, bullets rained down from the mountain peaks on both sides, felling hordes of soldiers who tried to escape through the flanks, and forcing them back to the center of the road to be bombarded.

The cannon fire continued relentlessly, and after two full quarters of continuous bombardment, the valley finally fell silent. The only official at the mid-stage of the Dharma Aspect realm attempted to escape by leaping into the air, but eight flying swords pierced through the sky, instantly killing him in mid-air in a fight of eight against one.

All eight flying swords possessed the strength of the Dharma Aspect level, but only one was at the late stage of the Dharma Aspect level. The other seven, serving as auxiliary swords, were all at the early stage of the Dharma Aspect level, specifically the Golden Core Dharma Aspect level. However, the seven Golden Core cultivators, with three Yang and four Yin elements, formed their own sword formation, multiplying their power. A single strike shattered the protective magic power of the Imperial Censor, and then the leading general of the Azure Netherworld, at the late stage of the Dharma Aspect level, killed him with a single blow.

Three days later, news reached the capital of Ji Kingdom that the imperial envoy delegation had just entered the southern border when it was attacked by rebel forces and wiped out. From the censor down, no one survived. Ji Kingdom's military law was harsh; if the imperial envoy died, all the guards would be executed. Therefore, even if there were surviving soldiers, they dared not return to camp, much less go home. Instead, they had to flee to other places and become outlaws.

Upon receiving the news, Prince Ji was furious, and the entire court was also greatly shocked, unable to understand how the rebels could be so resourceful as to be able to accurately ambush the imperial envoy.

This loss to the upright officials was devastating, especially considering that the censor was a young man with the potential to become prime minister. His death is a heavy blow to the upright officials in the court.

Therefore, the Qingliu faction first suspected the military generals, believing that the military officers had seen through the civil officials' tactics and deliberately arranged the assassination. The military generals, on the other hand, believed that the Qingliu faction was using a ruse to frame them.

No one doubted Sun Chaoen, because he had been working hard to suppress the military generals and wanted to clean up the south. He was a natural ally of the civil officials and the reformist faction in the matter of the imperial envoy. From any perspective, Sun Chaoen would have hoped that the imperial envoy could arrive in the south smoothly.

The various factions argued and bickered, but ultimately no conclusion was reached.

Prince Ji's gaze swept suspiciously over the assembled officials, but each of them displayed exceptional acting skills, displaying either anxiety, anger, or thoughtfulness, without revealing a single flaw. Over the past decades, those who lacked acting ability had been either beheaded or exiled, none spared; those who remained were all masters of their craft.

The court was accustomed to the inability to reach a conclusion in its discussions. In any case, the rebels were currently only active in the border areas, and Prince Ji already knew that Li Zhi was mobilizing troops and gathering in the southwest. However, Li Zhi's first challenge was the formidable Dingnan Pass, and Prince Ji simply did not believe that Li Zhi, with his long and arduous expedition, could capture Dingnan Pass.

What King Ji was truly worried about was the Southern Qi, where Li Zhi's father, Duke Hui'en, had personally led an army of 300,000 to the border, confronting the Ji Kingdom's eastern border forces. Although war had not yet broken out, everyone knew it was only a matter of time.

As for having a legitimate reason for the attack, that's not a problem at all. If you're willing to look, you can always find a reason. Even if Prince Ji had gained a few extra pounds around his waist, that could be a reason for the attack.

Just as the eyes of the Ji Kingdom's court and the public were focused on the eastern border, a rebel army appeared outside Dingnan Pass.

This rebel army was very strange. They set up camp dozens of miles away from the city gate, and then began to dig trenches and various strange positions in front of the camp, and then pushed heavy artillery into the positions.

Meanwhile, on a strange battlefield a hundred miles behind the main camp, rows of cylindrical structures, each several meters tall, slowly rose up. The one in charge here was the towering Wang Hu. He ran his hand over each missile, establishing a spiritual guidance. Then, checking the time, he waved his hand, and a missile spewed flames, slowly ascending into the sky, then accelerating faster and faster until it disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Wang Hu then flew into the sky and guided the missile with his divine sense. Moments later, it fell like a meteor toward the wall of Dingnan Pass.

The soldiers guarding the wall had never seen a missile before. Most of them only saw a flash of light appear beyond the clouds, and then the missile appeared in front of them in an instant!

The missile fell so fast that General Faxiang, who was guarding the city wall, had just climbed up when the missile landed, followed by a terrifying fireball that slowly rose into the air.

The shockwave blew everything off the walls within a hundred feet, and within thirty feet, even those at the Dao Foundation level were severely injured; no one below the Dao Foundation level survived.

This missile, carrying over a ton of explosives, was incredibly powerful. A single shot blasted a massive breach in the city wall. But Wang Hu didn't stop there; subsequent missiles rained down one after another, bombarding the city wall dozens more times, leaving eight or nine more huge gaps.

Then came the roar of heavy artillery. This time, the rebels prepared a full hour of artillery barrage. Hundreds of heavy cannons bombarded the area continuously, firing more than 100,000 shells. Within a hundred feet of the wall, nothing grew, and there was no living thing left.

Wang Hu then waved his hand, and his infantry advanced, occupying the empty Dingnan Pass. In the hasty advance, several soldiers accidentally fell, and a heavy cannon exploded, adding to the casualty figures.

Ten days later, the battle report reached the Ji Kingdom's court, stating that the defending army had been besieged by hundreds of thousands of rebel troops. The defending army fought bloody battles for several days and nights, suffering heavy casualties and killing more than 100,000 rebels. However, they were outnumbered and were defeated.

The news of the fall of Dingnan Pass silenced the entire imperial court.

Prince Ji was momentarily lost in thought, then suddenly looked at Sun Chaoen, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Sun Chaoen, undaunted, stepped forward and said, "I believe that this rebellion has nothing to do with Qingming Weiyuan."

Prince Ji's expression softened slightly, and he asked, "Why?"

Sun Chaoen said, “It’s very simple. If Wei Yuan doesn’t want to talk anymore, he can just march straight ahead. He has already amassed three million troops. Which general in the court dares to say that he can stop three million fierce soldiers? If any official says that he can hold them off for half a month, I, Chaoen, will immediately commit suicide to atone for the King’s sins!”

Upon hearing this, not a single military officer in the entire court responded.

Sun Chaoen waited a moment before continuing, "If Wei Yuan wants something, he should just say so. Why send people to cause trouble in the southern border region, tens of thousands of miles away? Is he just wasting his time?"

Prince Ji nodded slowly, the murderous intent in his eyes fading.

(End of this chapter)