Chapter 95: Rare Jade Fruit
Jiang Feng was thoroughly dumbfounded. He knew that his son must’ve had some miraculous encounters. Otherwise he never would’ve turned from someone who couldn’t even pa.s.s the foundational exams to becoming someone that was a thorn in the side for the Duke of Soaring Dragon.
“Chen’er, these… these Swordbirds, they are all very obedient to you?” Jiang Feng felt a bit out of breath.
“Father, this is my trump card. With just a single order from me, they will battle to the death at any time!”
Jiang Feng’s facial expression was unimaginably queer. He was both excited by his son’s miraculous changes, but at the same time also vaguely lamented the state of the universe and pitied the fate of mankind.
“Chen’er, these birds are bloodthirsty. If they move towards the capital and only attack the Duke of Soaring Dragon, that is justifiable because his crimes more than deserve death. But if they rage out of control, then the capital and people will be plunged into misery and suffering.”
At the end of the day, Jiang Feng was still a member of the Eastern Kingdom. He had always been benevolent, and although he had a deep and abiding feud with the Duke of Soaring Dragon, but his thoughts were still on the possibility of involving innocent citizens if this bird army went towards the capital.
“Father, I have complete control over the Swordbird army. However, since father is worried about involving the citizens of the capital, your son can also lure the Soaring Dragon Family out of the capital first and then fight to the death.”
“That would be for the best if it can be done.” Jiang Feng was not one to speak empty words of kindness and benevolence. “My Jiang family has a blood feud with the Duke of Soaring Dragon, and neither of us will rest while the other is still alive. If we don’t make use of this opportunity to completely eradicate the Long family by the roots, we will only be plagued with troubles in the future! There will be no place for us to stand in the great Eastern Kingdom.”
“Father’s words are exceedingly true. Although the heavens are thus vast, the great sons of my Jiang family may not have to find a foothold only in the Eastern Kingdom. Not to mention, it’s not a given thing as to whether or not this kingdom’s land still belongs to the Eastern clan after this war.” Jiang Chen laughed lightly.
“If it’s not named Eastern, would it be named Long instead? This must be avoided at all costs.” Although Jiang Feng had given up all hope on Eastern Lu, but he’d still rather have the Eastern family continue to control the kingdom if he had to choose. If the kingdom fell into the hands of the Long family, it would be an absolute disaster for the Jiang family.
“Father, why must it be named Long instead of Eastern? Have you ever had this thought father, for the kingdom to bear my Jiang family? Why should this be out of consideration?” Jiang Chen’s tone was noncommittal.
“Eh?” Jiang Feng’s stalwart body trembled. “Chen’er, your words…”
“Are treason and heresy?” Jiang Chen chuckled. “Father, in the world of martial dao, the strong is revered. This Eastern clan did nothing more than wrest their land away from someone else. It’s said that everyone takes a turn in sitting in the emperor’s seat, and it’s my family’s turn this year. Except, my Jiang family may not be interested in being a mere ordinary kingdom.”
Jiang Feng didn’t speak for the longest time. He had to say that his son’s words made a great deal of sense and caused him to feel a bit tempted.
As a duke, Jiang Feng wasn’t one who was foolishly loyal. On the contrary, he had his own opinions about the political situation.
Therefore, Jiang Chen’s words truly did cause his heart to palpitate with excitement.
Indeed, why couldn’t the Jiang clan be a contender?
Were princes, marquises, generals, and ministers all born into their positions?
The Eastern family clan was immoral, so why should the Long family be allowed to vie for their position and not the Jiang family?
Jiang Chen also knew that his old dad was undergoing a fierce mental battle. But if one thing was certain, it was that his old dad was tempted.
Who didn’t want stamp their names on the pages of history?
What male didn’t wish to achieve meritorious acts, carve out new lands, and be hailed as king and overlord?
Who made the rule that the sons of the JIang family couldn’t ascend to the throne and sit as the ruler of a nation?
“Father, this is a ‘Rare Jade Fruit’. If you eat it, it will unequivocally raise your training by one level.” Jiang Chen had received six Rare Jade Fruits from Mang Qi. He’d eaten three on the spot, and brought back the remaining three.
“Unequivocally raise my training by one level?” Jiang Feng was astonished.
“Mm. This is a spirit fruit that has absorbed the spirit energy of the heavens and earth. It’s quite rare, even one glimpse is difficult to attain in a hundred years.”
Jiang Feng absolutely trusted his son, but, he couldn’t help but ask, “Chen’er, wouldn’t it be a better thing if you were to eat this spirit fruit?”
“I’ve already eaten it.” Jiang Chen smiled. “There’s no use in eating too many.”
“Oh, then I won’t decline. Haha. “Jiang Feng didn’t hesitate upon hearing that his son had already eaten up. He took the Rare Jade Fruit and ate it in two or three bites.
“Father, you’ll need a few days to train after eating this fruit in order to break through. I’ll find a secluded spot in this part of the mountain valley and arrange for a portion of the Swordbirds to stand guard over you!”
“Chen’er, where are you going?” Jiang Feng was curious.
“If Father won’t let me bring the army to create a large disturbance within the capital, your son should at least go back and take a look. What if that Long clan does the perverse thing of searching throughout the city? I still have to look after the people there, right?”
Jiang Feng’s heart tightened, “Right, right. Although the Hall of Healing has firm foundations within the capital, but they don’t have any military power within their hands. If the Duke of Soaring Dragon throws all caution to the winds, then even the Hall of Healing will become very pa.s.sive.”
Jiang Chen knew this very well and nodded, his gaze flitting off towards the direction of the northeast.
The first thing he had done when returning to the Jiang Han manor was to take out Mang Qi’s tooth and infuse it with true qi, asking Mang Qi to send out the army of Swordbirds to await his commands.
Mang Qi was quite concerned with Jiang Chen’s matters and immediately counted out twenty divisions of Swordbirds. A full two to three million Swordbirds set out on their way in ma.s.sive, streaming columns. They arrived in roughly half a day.
At this time, the capital had dissolved into a state of utter chaos and confusion.
On the Duke of Soaring Dragon’s side, the elite personal guards of dozens of dukes had all gathered at one place. An army of fully ten thousand elite soldiers had surrounded the Jiang Han manor, Jinshan manor, and Hubing manor.
All the houses in the streets and alleyways of the capital had shut and barred their doors. No one dared to set a foot outside.
Not a single person ambled along idly on the empty streets. All the shops had also closed their doors, deathly afraid of being embroiled into this undeserved calamity.
Everyone knew that the capital had sunk into chaos, utter confusion, and disarray.
A slaughter was about to take place in the capital.
A cruel and brutal battle for power was about to begin exchanging blows .
Except, when the great army had surrounded these three manors, they discovered that these manors had long since been abandoned and not a single person was to be found.
“What? Escaped?” Long Zhaofeng surged to his feet when he received the news.
“Not a single person was to be found in the three manors!”
“Search, search the entire city! Several thousands worth of people from three families couldn’t have possibly all vanished in a single night.” There was a layer of frost on Long Zhaofeng’s face.
His fist was clenched tight, so tight that his knuckles creaked and cracked.
The depths of his hatred right now couldn’t be washed away by the waters of three rivers and five oceans. He even hated the Jiang clan more than he hated the royal family!
He only wanted to seize power from the royal family.
But his hatred of the Jiang clan stemmed from the death of his son!
Long Yinye was the son that he, Long Zhaofeng, had been most proud of, and his most distinguished heir.
Long Zhaofeng’s eyes were filled with the anguish and the hate of losing a son. To think that he, the Duke of Soaring Dragon, had been domineering all his life. It was always him who’d exterminated other family clans and him who killed those of other families.
When had it turned into those of the Long family being killed?
Therefore, Long Zhaofeng was not only enraged, he was furious! This wasn’t a simple matter of vengeance, but a greater matter of protecting the power and dignity of the Long family, as well as making an example for others to see!
“Your Lords.h.i.+p, the several thousand people of these three families couldn’t possibly have gone anywhere in the span of one night. They must be hiding somewhere.”
“Yes, the city gates are shut, they can’t leave the city either.”
“That may not be true. If they bribed the guards and had a royal order, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to leave under cover of the night!”
The strategists working for the Duke of Soaring Dragon all expressed their opinions.
Long Zhaofeng nodded faintly. “This is simple. Send people to inquire at all the city gates. Our Long family has connections at every city gate.”
The Duke of Soaring Dragon had plotted a coup and thus would pay special attention to this subject of city guards. He must have also expended a lot of thought and effort to smuggle in a lot of spies and make a lot of connections.
Just as he was speaking, another one of his confidantes walked in. “Your Lords.h.i.+p, your subordinate has already investigated all the various city gates. There was absolutely no large scale movement of people last night!”
Long Zhaofeng was overjoyed. ‘In that case, then they must be within the capital! Seal off the capital, dig three feet into the ground, and find them!”
He had a good pretext for making his moves, and under the banner of vengeance for his son, he had even fewer reservations .
If the royal family wanted to intervene, then he had the excuse of gaining revenge for his son.
If the royal family didn’t intervene, then he had even fewer reservations.
By now, all the armies of the various dukes were being dispatched and already heading to the capital. Even if Eastern Lu wanted to have a showdown, Long Zhaofeng wouldn’t be afraid.
Within the palace, Eastern Lu’s complexion was wan and he had some black circles beneath his eyes. It was obvious that he hadn’t slept at all during the night.
“Your Majesty, the Jiang Han manor, the Jinshan manor, and the Hubing manor are all deserted. It’s as if they vanished within a night.”
“What? They fled?” Eastern Lu was also greatly shocked upon hearing this news.
The Jiang family had fled? If this was the case, then the wishful thinking of profiting without effort would be nonexistent!
He was betting on the Jiang family and Long family fighting a bitter battle, and both sides suffering heavy losses so that his Eastern clan could profit from the middle!
“Your Majesty, the Duke of Soaring Dragon has gathered the personal guards of dozens of dukes under the banner of vengeance for Long Yinye, and is searching throughout the capital for members of the Jiang family. There is an atmosphere of fear and trepidation within the capital now, and such a fearful din that even the dogs and chickens have no peace.” The commander of the Tiandu army, Wei Tiandu, also had a deeply worried face.
“Your Majesty, urgent intelligence! The dukes from various territories have sent back urgent news that fifty to sixty small and large dukes have signs of large deployment of troops within their territories, and they’ve already started on their way. Judging from the direction of the army, they are heading straight for the capital!”
Internal intelligence reports came flying in ceaselessly like flakes of snow.
Wei Tiandu gave a great start of shock. “Your Majesty, the Duke of Soaring Dragon is finally rebelling!”
Eastern Lu’s body wavered slightly. “Fifty to sixty dukes? This Long Zhaofeng has actually lured this many dukes to his side?”
Eastern Lu flew into a great rage. He drew out his rapier and chopped the table in front of him into two with a wave of his hand. “d.a.m.ned things! My Eastern clan has always treated them well, why do they all rise against me? Why do they all go and lick Long Zhaofeng’s a.s.s? Who is he, Long Zhaofeng, to deserve such treatment?”
“Your Majesty, your subject feels that we should immediately send an emergency summons to those dukes loyal to Your Majesty and have them deploy troops quickly to aid the king and protect the land!”
It was as if Eastern Lu had awoken from a dream as he hastily commanded the eunuchs to carry out his royal decree, summoning all the dukes into the palace to await his commands.
One had to say, Eastern Lu had been too careless in his grasp of the situation as a king of a nation. He had been too pa.s.sive, and always plotted and schemed in small areas, while missing the greater picture. When he was finally enlightened, the situation was already greatly disadvantaged towards him.