The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 170 Killing the King

"Minister Xiao Yi greets the King of Chu."

"Please take a seat quickly, don't be so polite. I truly envy the Emperor of Zhou for having such a capable minister as Xiao Lang."

Xiao Yi frowned, showing his displeasure with Ma Xige's flippant words, and asked, "Why doesn't the Prince of Chu bow to receive the imperial decree?"

Ma Xige simply smiled.

Liu Guangfu said, "Your Majesty has repeatedly petitioned the Central Plains, but received no response. He had no choice but to accept the investiture from the Tang Dynasty, becoming the King of Chu, General of the Heavenly Strategy, Military Governor of Wu'an and other towns, and concurrently Chancellor. How could he possibly accept the Zhou Dynasty's decree again? Besides, the Tang navy is currently stationed in Yuezhou."

Xiao Yi, who was determined to get rid of Ma Xige anyway, didn't really care about these things. He casually replied, "So, why would the King of Chu want to be a subject of Southern Tang, even if it means offending Great Zhou?"

"Lord Xiao, you flatter me. His Majesty's intentions are to maintain harmony and closeness; how could he possibly have meant to offend us?"

Ma Xige laughed heartily and waved his hand, saying, "Of course I am willing to accept the Zhou ruler's grace, but the Southern Tang must not know about it. There is no need for formalities, in case it gets into the ears of the Tang generals."

Xiao Yi, who had intended not to produce the fake letter of state, was delighted and said, "Distance cannot be maintained without courtesy. It seems there is no need to submit the letter of state."

"Hey, why are you taking this so seriously, Xiao Lang?"

"The etiquette cannot be abolished."

Ma Xige didn't answer, but instead patted Xie Yanyong's back and said with a smile, "Yong'er, look, you've made Xiao Lang angry, haven't you? Make him drink a cup of wine and persuade him to calm down."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Xie Yanyong gave a charming smile, picked up his wine cup and walked up to Xiao Yi, saying, "Young Master Xiao, please don't let me delay your important business."

Xiao Yi refused to drink any more and looked at Li Fang, saying, "Brother Mingyuan, present the letter of state to the King of Chu."

Xie Yanyong then noticed Li Fang, put down his wine cup, and stepped forward.

"What an elegant man! The Central Plains truly has many famous scholars."

"Don't dare to take it seriously."

Li Fang's expression turned bitter as he took out the forged official letter and handed it over.

Xiao Yi watched as Xie Yanyong gave Li Fang's hand a hard squeeze, then smiled and picked up the letter of state.

Over there, Ma Xige glanced at the first empty seat on the left and asked, "Why hasn't Eighth Brother arrived yet? Didn't you send someone to invite him?"

"Your Majesty, we sent someone to invite him, and he agreed to come to the banquet, but then he said he had something to attend to."

"What's his business?"

"They say... the herdsman is missing a horse."

Xiao Yi realized something was wrong and looked at Xu Wei, and sure enough, he saw a strange look flash in Xu Wei's eyes.

It seems that Ma Xichong has likely discovered their plan.

Just then, someone outside the palace bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Ma Xichong has sent someone."

"Summon."

The man sent by Ma Xichong quickly entered the hall, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, the military commander, after finishing his official business, suddenly suffered from severe abdominal pain and is unable to attend the banquet. Please forgive him."

“Give some precious medicinal herbs to my eighth brother.”

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yi's worries did not subside; on the contrary, they intensified.

He wasn't afraid the Ma brothers were stupid, but rather that there might be a clever one among them.

Ma Xichong must have been aware of Xu Wei's plan, but he didn't expose it. His refusal to come suggests that his ambitions are not small.

After exchanging glances with Xu Wei again, Xu Wei nodded, indicating that they should wait for the unexpected change before taking action.

He quickly looked around and saw that there were no weapons in the hall, only armored soldiers outside the hall with their swords at their sides.

Xie Yanyong received the letter of credence, turned around gracefully, and handed it to Ma Xige.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty."

"Good good."

"Yong'er unfolds for the King."

Ma Xige looked at it with a smile, then suddenly her eyes narrowed, and she reached out and wiped the letter on her face.

"What...what's going on?"

Xiao Yi, puzzled, asked, "King Chu, what's wrong?"

Ma Xige did not answer, but gave him a wary look.

Liu Guangfu quickly stepped forward, respectfully extended his hands, and whispered, "Your Majesty, please allow me to take a look."

He picked up the letter of state, glanced at it, his gaze froze, and then examined it carefully before saying, "This letter of state is fake."

"What?!" Xiao Yi feigned surprise, exclaiming, "How could it be fake?"

Liu Guangfu unfolded the letter and said, "This paper is not official paper, and it is not wrapped in silk, but in Shu brocade. The ink does not have the unique fragrance of pine soot ink, and the seal is too new."

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yi was immediately taken aback and said, "It's fake. This isn't the official letter I brought, but the content is the same... no, it's just one word different!"

On the official letter, Ma Xige's name had been changed to Ma Xichong.

Ma Xige flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table and shouting, "What's going on?!"

Xiao Yi looked bewildered and murmured, "It wasn't like this originally."

Liu Guangfu said, "If it were Lord Xiao, there would be no need to forge the official letter; he could have directly conferred the title upon Ma Xichong. It seems the official letter has been switched."

"Who would do such a thing?" Xiao Yi frowned slightly and murmured, "A spy from the Southern Tang?"

It was an unintentional remark, but he noticed a ripple in Liu Guangfu's indifferent eyes, a fleeting hint of apprehension before his gaze returned to its clear state.

Li Fang stood up, bowed respectfully to Ma Xige, and said, "Before we arrived in Chu, we still had the official documents. Only after we met General Tang Shizhu did we hand them over to him."

"Tang Shizhu?"

"Yes."

"Where are the others?!"

Xu Wei hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Tang Shizhu suffered a crushing defeat and looted merchants; his crimes are unforgivable. I have already executed him..."

"Well done."

Ma Xige praised, "Then send Tang Shizhu's head to Langzhou and tell the rebels that I agree to make peace with Langzhou."

Xu Wei was visibly taken aback for a moment before accepting the order, saying, "Yes."

"Send people to search and see where the real imperial edict has been hidden."

"Yes!"

Xiao Yi noticed that Liu Guangfu looked thoughtful and suddenly spoke.

"Your Majesty, I have important matters to report."

"explain."

Liu Guangfu hesitated but did not speak.

Ma Xige understood and waved.

Liu Guangfu then went over and whispered in his ear. During their conversation, Ma Xige's gaze kept glancing at Xiao Yi, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

After Liu Guangfu returned to his seat, the atmosphere at the banquet was not as lively as it had been.

Xiao Yi sensed something was wrong.

He guessed that Liu Guangfu had spoken ill of him, but the man had been perfectly fine the whole time. Had he suddenly discovered something?

My gaze fell upon Liu Guangfu, who was turning his prayer beads with his fingers, and upon looking at Ma Xige, I saw that she also had a string of prayer beads on her wrist.

Xiao Yi had a sudden thought and took the initiative to speak, saying, "Your Majesty, before I went south, I was quite worried."

"What are you afraid of?"

"In the Central Plains, I purified the Buddhist community and ordered many monks to return to secular life. I heard that the Chu Kingdom values ​​Buddhism, and I fear that the believers there may misunderstand me."

Ma Xige said, "You're overthinking it, you're overthinking it."

Xiao Yi said, "Yes, I thought that Lord Liu had misunderstood me because of this."

His directness made Ma Xige slightly embarrassed.

With a wave of his hand, Ma Xige sent Xie Yanyong to Xiao Yi for the third time.

“Lord Xiao, you have quite the stubborn streak… Come closer, let me tell you something.”

Xiao Yi tilted his head slightly.

Xie Yanyong chuckled before speaking softly, “Liu Guangfu said you are a fake envoy, at least not here to bestow titles upon His Majesty, and advised His Majesty to kill you.”

Xiao Yi was taken aback, not understanding how Liu Guangfu had figured it out.

Suddenly, Xie Yanyong blew a breath into his ear and said, "If you don't want to die, I can protect you..."

Xiao Yi suddenly reached out and grabbed Xie Yanyong by the neck.

"Yong'er?!"

"presumptuous!"

"Aren't you going to let go?!"

"Lord Xiao, please do not harm the harmony between our two countries."

"Eh-"

In the distance, another horse neighed.

Xiao Yi twisted it forcefully.

"Click."

Before the mockery in Xie Yanyong's eyes had faded, his pupils widened, and he breathed his last.

Ma Xige was furious and shouted, "Take him down!"

The guards outside the hall immediately rushed towards them.

Xiao Yi released his grip, casually pulled the gold hairpin from Xie Yanyong's head, and instead of retreating, he took the initiative to meet the guard who was charging the fastest.

"Brother Mingyuan, step aside!"

"Tiger--"

The wind whistled past my ears.

Xiao Yi dodged to the side, and with a flick of his wrist, the golden hairpin in his hand pierced the guard's neck, where it hung and swayed.

He grabbed the guard's corpse, blocked the next guard's blade, and seized a single-edged sword.

From the front of the main hall came the sounds of horses' hooves, shouts of battle, and the clanging of armor.

"Not good!"

Someone rushed into the hall, and seeing that there was fighting inside, almost turned around and ran away.

"They've rebelled! They've rebelled... The rebels, under the pretext of capturing a horse, have suddenly stormed into the palace."

Xiao Yi, who was quite experienced in rebellion, immediately shouted: "Ma Xige is wicked. To cleanse the court of corrupt officials, only the ringleader should be executed, and the rest will be disregarded!"

The morale of the palace guards immediately plummeted.

Immediately, Xu Wei's men arrived, clad in armor and exuding a murderous aura.

The guards were thrown into chaos.

Xiao Yi turned back and lunged at Ma Xige, who was behind the main seat in the hall.

Just a moment ago, Ma Xige was shouting for Xiao Yi to be taken down, but the next moment, his expression changed drastically, and he overturned the table and smashed it at Xiao Yi.

"Oh!"

Xiao Yi kicked away the table that had been smashed against him, and turned to see that Ma Xige had already run out of the back hall surrounded by guards.

At this point, there's no reason to hold back.

He drew his knife and gave chase.

One of the guards turned to meet the attack. Xiao Yi, who was unarmored, dared not take the blow head-on. He turned to the side, flicked his wrist, and the blade sliced ​​through like a venomous snake, finishing off his opponent.

"Come with me!"

"Chase!"

Xu Wei shouted and ordered, "Capture Ma Xige alive!"

They continued their pursuit, stepping over the corpses.

Walking west along the corridor, you'll reach a side door that's probably never opened. A pile of stones blocks the way in front of it.

"Protect the King."

"Open the door! Open the door quickly!"

“Take the king and climb out.”

"Fire arrows!"

"Whoosh."

"Whoosh."

Upon hearing the sound of something cutting through the air, Xiao Yi immediately ducked into a corner, leaving Xu Wei's men to pursue him.

But before long, the guards carried Ma Xige over the wall.

Looking around, the other side of the corridor connects to the palace.

Xiao Yi ran over, leaped onto the railing, stepped on it, grabbed the beam, pulled himself up with both arms, and jumped onto the roof of the corridor.

He took a running start above the corridor, jumped onto the roof of the palace, chased after it along the ridge, and nimbly jumped to the wall that Ma Xige had climbed.

He bypassed the archers.

Ma Xige, guarded by four men, fled to the outskirts of the palace, where many laborers were repairing it.

"Step aside!"

"Kill them!"

"Puff puff puff puff..."

A mournful scream rang out.

The four guards mercilessly swung their swords, slaughtering the unarmed, hardworking laborers beneath the wall.

At first, they only killed those who blocked their way, but later, seeing that the walls were high and the palace gates were too far away, they simply chased after and killed the laborers.

"Pile the corpses in the corner and send the king away..."

"puff."

Xiao Yi descended from the sky, his blade slashing down, killing one person first.

"kill him!"

"puff."

The two guards turned around and attacked.

Xiao Yi was unarmored and could handle fighting one person, but he found it difficult to win quickly against two.

"Don't let him get away!"

Suddenly, two wounded laborers who had fallen to the ground angrily grabbed the leg of a guard.

The guard was furious and swung his sword wildly, but he couldn't break free no matter what he did.

"puff."

Xiao Yi killed the guard, and with a single blade, he drew a sharp arc in his hand, slaying another man in quick succession.

Looking down, he saw that the two laborers were already dead.

Ahead, atop the pile of corpses, the last guard was carrying Ma Xige, lifting her up; behind him, across the palace wall, came Xu Wei's shouts.

"Capture Ma Xige, alive..."

Xiao Yi stepped forward and stabbed the last guard to death with a single blow.

Ma Xige suddenly fell down, but her hands clung tightly to the wall, unable to let go, hanging there, unable to go up or down.

She was so frightened that she burst into tears.

"Don't kill me, sob... I am the King of Chu... You heard me... Xu Wei doesn't want me to die..."

"puff."

With a single stab, blood stained the freshly painted red wall.

The plump body, wrapped in a magnificent royal robe, fell and landed among the corpses of the laborers.

(End of this chapter)