荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

“This, this... How!?”

The First Prince gnashed his teeth, his expression completely transforming.

“Your Highness, what’s wrong?” Zhu Tong’en asked in shock.

With Zhang Xun’s cooperation, the Lingnan matter should have gone smoothly, and besides, Wang Chong was still in the capital. But for some reason, the First Prince had been rendered motionless after reading Zhang Xun’s letter, and it was impossible to tell what was going on. Zhu Tong’en was left incredibly uneasy.

Whoosh!

Zhu Tong’en had barely spoken when there was a rustling of paper as the First Prince sent the letter flying over to Zhu Tong’en, who glanced at it and was rendered speechless.

“How could this be? The King of Foreign Lands seems to have been ready for this!” Zhu Tong’en muttered, finally understanding why the First Prince had such a nasty scowl.

Zhang Xun truly had followed the First Prince’s orders and attempted to stir up conflict amongst the Yue, but to his surprise, a group had suddenly entered the Yue territory with a large amount of grain and begun working to pacify the Yue.

The Yue were in conflict with each other because they lacked the farmland to grow sufficient food, so these tens of thousands of dan of grain immediately made them go from enemies to allies. Not only that, the group of newcomers had also stated that this was only the first shipment, and even more grain was coming.

This situation was clearly not what the First Prince and Zhang Xun wanted to see, so when Zhang Xun heard the news, he immediately sent his men to stop that group. But to Zhang Xun’s surprise, that other party took out the token of the King of Foreign Lands and said that they had come on the authority of the special envoy to Lingnan to placate the Yue.

Although Zhang Xun was the Deputy Governor of Lingnan, he was deeply lacking compared to Wang Chong. Even he had to pay respects to the name of the King of Foreign Lands.

Moreover, not long after this group had entered Lingnan, they had dispatched many warriors, farmland surveying experts, and plant cultivation experts. The warriors were guards while the others taught the Yue how to plant rice. With a display of power and kindness, the King of Foreign Lands had managed to obtain the obedience of many Yue.

In addition, the King of Foreign Lands had once more divided the lands of the Yue. With the intersection of the He and Gui Rivers as the center, he divided Lingnan into ‘Guangdong’ and ‘Guangxi’. The Yue were no longer allocated farmland by clan, but by region.

The Yue had no objections to this, and this single proposal caused many of the conflicts to dissipate.

“This...”

Upon seeing that last remark, Zhu Tong’en couldn’t help but inwardly sigh in admiration.

They had analyzed the problem with the Yue in Lingnan and had concluded that it was an impossible challenge that no one could solve. But Wang Chong had bought the hearts of the people with grain and used the chance to divide Lingnan into ‘Guangdong’ and ‘Guangxi’, thus turning the internal conflicts of the Yue into the conflicts of these two regions.

Moreover, Wang Chong had wisely chosen to use the He and Gui Rivers to divide the two territories, thus preventing conflict between them.

The Great Tang was divided into fifteen circuits, almost all of them established on the basis of divisions from previous dynasties and further adapted. It was rare for any further divisions to be made.

While Wang Chong’s division of the Lingnan Circuit into Guangdong and Guangxi seemed simple, it was easier said than done, and not everyone had the charm and understanding to pull it off.

What a pity that such a man insists on opposing the First Prince!

Zhu Tong’en internally sighed.

“Bastard! I won’t let things end here!”

The Eastern Palace reverberated with the First Prince’s furious cries.

......

Whoosh!

As the Eastern Palace was getting the news, another messenger bird was flying into the King of Foreign Lands Residence.

Wang Chong silently smiled after reading the letter from Su Shixuan.

“Not bad! With Su Shixuan there, the problem of the Yue will be solved!” Wang Chong said with a smile.

Su Shixuan had impressive executive abilities, and he was almost always able to perfectly execute Wang Chong’s orders. Su Shixuan had not only succeeded in soothing the Yue, he had also had them accept the idea of dividing their territories into Guangdong and Guangxi, divided by the rivers.

In a later era, the Lingnan Circuit would be divided into Guangdong and Guangxi, but such a thing had yet to happen in the current Great Tang.

(TN: The division of Lingnan into Guangdong and Guangxi took place during the Song Dynasty, where they were known as ‘Guangnandong’ and ‘Guangnanxi’, Southern Expanse East and West respectively.)

“Order Su Shixuan to take care of the farmland surveying and partitioning as well!” Wang Chong declared.

......

Time flew by, and everything was on the right track, matters in Lingnan proceeding smoothly. But it was an axiom of the universe that nothing would ever go according to plan forever.

Two days later, as Wang Chong was inspecting a new report from Lingnan, an explosion went off in his mind and the Stone of Destiny spoke once more.

“Warning! Special Event! A crucial figure is on the verge of death! Chance of failure in the Rebellion of the Three Princes has increased by 20%!”

Wang Chong’s heart thumped in alarm, and he looked up from the letter.

Too sudden!

Everything was quiet in the King of Foreign Lands Residence, and Wang Chong sensed nothing strange. And who was this crucial figure the Stone of Destiny referred to?

What’s the meaning of this warning from the Stone of Destiny?

Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil.

At this moment in time, any event related to the Rebellion of the Three Princes had his attention, and that wasn’t even considering the grave warning from the Stone of Destiny. Moreover, even if he didn’t know who this crucial figure was, the Stone of Destiny was never one to issue warnings without reason.

All of this made Wang Chong’s heart thump with intense unease.

Before Wang Chong had time to think, he heard a rush of footsteps.

“King of Foreign Lands, it’s bad! There’s been an incident!”

An anxious voice came from outside the hall, and then a familiar figure rushed in.

“Sir Lu?”

Recognizing the figure, Wang Chong stood up in alarm.

“What’s brought you here?”

The man who had rushed inside wore a wide-sleeved robe and had a refined and scholarly aura. This was Academic Lu Ting, whom Wang Chong had not seen in some time. But the man had an uncharacteristically worried expression and his hair was in disorder. He lacked any of his normal grace and confidence.

Wang Chong’s eyes widened as he sensed an ill foreboding.

“King of Foreign Lands, it’s terrible! Assassins attacked King Song and he’s in a coma!” Lu Ting shouted in panic.

“What!?”

Wang Chong felt like he had been struck by a lightning bolt, and his face twisted in alarm and fear.

Impossible!

This was Wang Chong’s first reaction.

When the Stone of Destiny had given its warning, Wang Chong had never imagined that it referred to King Song.

While King Song rarely showed it, he actually possessed immense strength on par with King Qi, and he would even be able to put up a fight against the likes of Gao Xianzhi. How could something ever happen to such a man?

But the pale face of Lu Ting made Wang Chong’s heart sink.

......

A few moments later, a carriage rolled out of the King of Foreign Lands Residence.

“What is going on here?”

Wang Chong sat next to Lu Ting, and the mood was tense.

The name of King Song wielded influential status within the empire. He was a pillar who had supported the state for ten-some years and had played a critical role in its prosperity.

There was almost no one in the empire who did not know about King Song. Even elite Protector-Generals like Zhangchou Jianqiong, An Sishun, and Geshu Han regarded him with utmost respect.

It was precisely because of King Song that the Protector-Generals were able to confidently guard the border without worrying about internal affairs.

If King Song fell, the empire’s military would undergo a shift tantamount to an earthquake.

“...We still haven’t investigated the incident, and when I received the news, King Song had already fallen unconscious. Even after further questioning, I’ve only learned that before the incident, King Song had gone out, and when he returned, he had already been poisoned for some time. But there are still no details on what actually happened,” Lu Ting reported, still himself shocked from the news.

He had known King Song for ten-some years and had been at his side for almost as many. Such a major incident had taken him completely by surprise.

“How could this be? Does not even the old butler know?” Wang Chong asked.

The old butler and King Song were inseparable. If there was one person in the King Song Residence who knew all the details, it had to be the butler.

“The old butler was more concerned than anyone else by King Song’s collapse, and ever since they returned to the residence, he’s been standing guard at King Song’s bed, not moving and not answering any questions. The old butler is one of King Song’s old subordinates and has watched King Song grow up, so he’s probably received an even greater blow from this than the rest of us.”

Lu Ting sighed.

He had tried asking the old butler, but the old butler simply wasn’t in the right state of mind to answer.

The carriage fell silent, both Wang Chong and Lu Ting going quiet.

Both of them were on King Song’s side, and this incident was a heavy blow.

The carriage soon reached the King Song Residence, which already had a large number of carriages outside its gates.

When Wang Chong emerged from the carriage, he sensed an oppressive mood in the air and saw a scene of chaos as people went in and out of the gates.