Chapter 1311: A Moment of Darkness (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
‘King Qi Residence’!
These three words were written in bold and vigorous calligraphy atop the gate to the estate.
“Has everything been taken care of?”
A muscular figure loomed in the dim light of the hall, his body exuding a dangerous aura. King Qi, in his dragon robe, had apparently been waiting for some time.
“Your Highness, everything has been taken care of. w.a.n.g Chong is now the Demon King of Slaughter in the capital and the city clamors with the accusation that he is a bloodthirsty devil. No one supports him now!”
The two spies of the King Qi Residence kneeled on the ground.
“You weren’t discovered, right?” King Qi asked.
“We were not! We were extremely cautious. But we noticed Tibetans and Goguryeons around the crowd. It appears that they hired people to mix with the crowd and guide the conversations. We also noticed five or six other factions besides this!” the two spies reported.
“Oh!”
King Qi was somewhat taken aback. But he quickly regained his composure and smiled.
“Haha, good! Don’t worry about them. This is just everybody hitting a man when he’s down. This kid offended so many people that even if I do nothing, he’s doomed!”
King Qi was satisfied to hear this report, a sinister smile appearing on his face.
With w.a.n.g Chong’s impeachment and Master Zhu’s appearance, he now had a rare opportunity to suppress King Song and deal with the w.a.n.g Clan, resolving these problems that had plagued him for so long. And King Qi could certainly not pa.s.s up this excellent opportunity to beat a man while they were down.
“Hmph, w.a.n.g Chong, let’s see what you do now!”
King Qi turned around, staring into the darkness as his eyes flashed with vicious light.
……
Day after day pa.s.sed. After being stripped of his positions, w.a.n.g Chong was forbidden from leaving the w.a.n.g Family Residence for a period of at least two months so that he could think over his errors. But even so, everything proceeded according to plan as his orders were transmitted through Su s.h.i.+xuan, Zhang Que, and the others.
“Milord, the first batch of five thousand people from Sindhu have set off for the promised land. The others are boarding the boats to follow.
“I’ve already reported this matter back to the subst.i.tute High Priest in Sindhu. He is extremely satisfied with this matter, and the High Priest has also sent word that they believe in Milord. Moreover, regardless of what life is like overseas, it will probably be better than staying in Sindhu.”
Xue Qianjun stood straight in the study, holding several letters as he reported to w.a.n.g Chong. Next to him were Zhang Que, Su s.h.i.+xuan, Xu Keyi, and all the others.
“Mm, I see!” w.a.n.g Chong nodded and turned to Xu Keyi. “What of the great clans?”
“According to our previous agreement, all the great clans have maintained utmost secrecy. The hybrid rice is now secretly being planted in several prefectures and commanderies in the south. While the rainfall in the north is lacking and the terrain elsewhere is not suitable for rice, the other places say they will try to plant the hybrid rice as soon as possible. The entire matter is being accomplished through the influence of the great clans, not the official bureaucracy. Many people don’t even know that they’re planting hybrid rice.
“In addition, the craftsmen we gathered have already completed the construction of one hundred large warehouses. More are on the way to completion, and I am confident that half of all the warehouses will be complete within three months. It is just that the craftsmen are still somewhat confused about the temperature and humidity Milord spoke of, or else the warehouses would have been finished even more quickly,” Xu Keyi sternly said.
w.a.n.g Chong nodded. In his last life, the lack of food eventually forced him into dire straits that led to the defeat of his army. But if he prepared ample supplies beforehand, everything would be different. This was one of the most important countermeasures w.a.n.g Chong was implementing for the calamity.
Once everyone else had finished with their reports, w.a.n.g Chong turned to Su s.h.i.+xuan.
“What about the Confucians?”
The moment w.a.n.g Chong said these words, everyone in the room suddenly had very awkward expressions.
“Your Highness, the situation with the Confucians… is not very good at all. Master Zhu’s words have had an immense effect on us, but the ‘wolf and dog’ incident from before has still left a deep impression on the minds of the people. Although not everyone understands us, there is still a significant number of people who support us and are still wary about the Great Tang reducing its armies and making peace with the surrounding countries.
“In addition, according to Milord’s orders, we’ve set up our own book store and printing press. All of our books are being printed and the Confucians have not been able to affect us much in this aspect,” Su s.h.i.+xuan said.
w.a.n.g Chong nodded. These s.h.i.+fts were within his expectations. Master Zhu was the spiritual leader of the Confucian school, and none of them could accurately estimate his influence. In the s.p.a.ce of a single night, he had rendered all w.a.n.g Chong’s previous efforts meaningless, and even all the book merchants had ceased selling his books.
But w.a.n.g Chong had never given up hope. Opening the minds of the people required time, and even when facing a lofty existence like Master Zhu, w.a.n.g Chong would never yield.
“All of you are dismissed!”
w.a.n.g Chong turned his focus back to the papers on his desk, taking up his brush and continuing to write. This was the third book, following ‘Might Makes Right’ and ‘Doctrine of War’, and it was called ‘War and Peace’. This was what w.a.n.g Chong had been occupying himself with in his two months of house arrest.
‘War and Peace’ was targeted at the current conflict between militarists and Confucians and the topic being discussed amongst the people, whether to fight or make peace.
‘War or peace’ was a constant problem of humanity, and those who did not properly understand this problem would constantly get into conflicts. Ideological conflicts like the one between the militarists and Confucians would never cease. War and peace had never stood on opposite sides, because the ultimate goal of war was peace!
All the wars that all the dynasties of the Central Plains had engaged were for this purpose.
The people had to understand that war was in the service of peace, that true peace was that which was obtained by one’s own efforts. Only this could prevent the people from being lost and confused. Only a powerful Great Tang could obtain true peace and bring eternal happiness and safety to the people.
But this book was still incomplete. w.a.n.g Chong estimated that he still needed a few days to complete it.
Bang!
As Cheng Sanyuan, Su s.h.i.+xuan, Xu Keyi, and the others prepared to leave, a ma.s.sive boom came from outside the w.a.n.g Family Residence, accompanied by a roaring crowd. This sudden clamor immediately drew w.a.n.g Chong’s attention.
“What’s going on?!”
w.a.n.g Chong creased his brow and raised his head.
His subordinates at the door of the study instantly grimaced.
“Milord, it’s the Double Fifth Festival1 soon. Many young scions of the capital have arranged to go sightseeing at this time. They should be in the middle of preparing for this now and should pa.s.s by soon,” Su s.h.i.+xuan hurriedly said.
“That’s not right!” w.a.n.g Chong immediately said. “The Double Fifth Festival is at least fifteen days away. Even if the scions of the capital made plans together, they would leave five days in advance at most!”
Su s.h.i.+xuan paled, and the rest of the subordinates all suddenly remembered something. w.a.n.g Chong had once been a hedonistic good-for-nothing of the capital, interacting with all walks of society. He naturally understood the activities of young scions of the capital.
The Double Fifth Festival explanation would not be able to fool him.
“Milord, it might just be a pa.s.sing crowd. I’ll go take a look. They should be leaving soon!” Xu Keyi immediately said, and then he strode away. No matter who it was outside, he would just need a few moments to drive them away.
But Xu Keyi had underestimated this matter, and he was only able to get two steps out of the study before a ma.s.sive roar came from beyond the walls of the estate.
“King of Foreign Lands, come out! King of Foreign Lands, you Demon King of Slaughter!”
An intense cry could clearly be heard.
“Wait a moment! Su s.h.i.+xuan, Xu Keyi, Cheng Sanyuan, you’ve been hiding something from me!”
A thunderous voice came from behind them as w.a.n.g Chong put back his brush.
Su s.h.i.+xuan, Xu Keyi, and Cheng Sanyuan trembled as if they had been struck by lightning bolts, their faces turning ghastly pale.
Their plan had failed to keep up with the s.h.i.+fting situation. Though they had done their utmost to keep the matter concealed, they had failed to imagine that the truth would be so quickly exposed.
Hoping to salvage the situation, Cheng Sanyuan bowed and hastily said, “Milord, the situation is not what you imagine. Leave this matter to us and we’ll quickly take care of it!”
But a moment later, w.a.n.g Chong flitted past him in a flash of light, headed toward the source of the noise.
“What are you looking at?! Hurry and follow!”
Su s.h.i.+xuan, Xu Keyi, and the others instantly grimaced.
The voices were getting louder and louder, the clamor of the crowd greater and greater.
“King of Foreign Lands, you war demon!”
“No forgiveness for deceiving the sovereign!”
“King of Foreign Lands, get out here!”
One roar after another came from outside the walls of the w.a.n.g Family Residence. From the sound of it, a crowd of nearly one thousand people had gathered outside.
“Su s.h.i.+xuan, Xu Keyi, Cheng Sanyuan, get over here!” w.a.n.g Chong icily said.
Su s.h.i.+xuan, Xu Keyi, and Cheng Sanyuan hastily stepped forward, their expressions fearful and uneasy.
“What is the situation with the Confucians?!” w.a.n.g Chong coldly said.
“Milord, Master Zhu truly has had a great effect on us, but there are still many people who support us,” Su s.h.i.+xuan said, his face pale.
“At a stage like this, you still want to hide things from me?” w.a.n.g Chong harshly said.
Their faces immediately became as white as paper.
______________1.The Double Fifth Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, is held on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese calendar.↩