Chapter 244
“We can attack now as their strength and moral disposition should be at the lowest.” Xiao Yu made the decision as he believed that the bandits would be having mental and physical fatigue after the long siege. In addition, the bandits shouldn"t have enough food supply which meant that their physical strength had to be at the worst.
Charge~ Kill~
Xiao Yu"s knights were the first to rush out while the rest followed after them. They swept through the bandits. The battle finished much quicker than expected. About 1,000 bandits were able to flee away but everyone else was killed on spot.
Xiao Yu ordered everyone to evacuate from the place after they were done with the bandits. He commanded them to burn everything. Xiao Yu was aware that the real Red Beard would get the news of the situation and would come over to check the place. The situation would be much more difficult at that time.
Some caravans were very reluctant to burn all the handicrafts, clothes and other things in here. They wanted to go to Ratchet town to grab some wagons and come back to carry out everything. These goods were acc.u.mulated by the bandits over a decade. The monetary value of everything was much more than the caravans could make in years. They could become rich in moments. That"s why some of them opposed Xiao Yu"s idea about burning these things. In reality, Xiao Yu was too lazy to explain the situation to these people. Since ancient times, the greed was the most common cause of death for this kind of people.
Xiao Yu was decisive in terms of his own people. He took them to leave the place.
Xiao Yu knew that the Ratchet town would be in chaos very soon too so he asked Touba Hong to temporarily find another place as a stronghold. Xiao Yu didn"t go on to pursue the others.
The location that Xiao Yu came up as a stronghold for Touba Hong was Wuhe town which was close to Lion territory. It was the pa.s.sage town from Western Cloud Empire to Sky Lion Dynasty. This way, he could support Touba Hong in problematic times. Moreover, Wuhe town was far away from the imperial capital which made it to be afar from usurpator"s reach.
Xiao Yu and rest went to Ratchet town to find Tyrande and others. Afterwards, they rushed to the Wuhe town.
…
…
Few of the caravans listened to Xiao Yu"s recommendations as most of them chose to stay in the Ratchet town. Vast majority of the caravans returned back to the bandit base to recover all the goods. There was no power to organize them which resulted in bloodbath at the first stage. They fought against each other. Many were killed or injured while they tried to decide who will get what. At this time, a team of people broke into the base. They were led by a man wearing a red cloak and mask.
The man turned furious when he saw the scene happening in the base. He gestured to his followers and a ma.s.sacre began. The cavalry behind him charged towards the caravan members. There were few people who were left alive for questioning. Afterwards, their skin were peeled off.
Those captives learned that the leader of this group was a woman when they were questioned by her. Her voice seemed ethereal and wonderful.
“Touba Hong! I didn"t expect that this little prince would dare to destroy my base! I will ma.s.sacre the Touba clan after your father will be stripped off his t.i.tle.” The woman"s cold voiced echoed out.
…
“What are you thinking about?” Xiao Yu was arranging people to join Touba Hong after they had reached the Wuhe Town. However, it seemed that Touba Hong wasn"t himself and was in a trace these couple of days.
“You said that the coup will happen soon… My father and brothers are in dangerous situation.. I have to save them.” Touba Hong said in a faint tone as he looked at the direction of the imperial capital.
At first, Touba Hong thought that he would have time before the coup so he was planning to build an army and save his relatives. But according to Xiao Yu he didn"t have time.
Xiao Yu sighed: “You can send some kind of a message to your father but you can"t go. It"s too risky. If you are caught by these people then the Western Cloud Empire will be finished for good. Now, you have to focus on building your army as soon as possible. Moreover, there is no guarantee that anything will change even if you inform your father. Actually, he may not even believe you. You must be careful with each step that you take at the moment. If your father believes your message then he could do a favor to you and kill the usurper…It doesn"t make sense for you to travel there… Would the usurper change his mind if you go there?”
Touba Hong nodded after he listened to Xiao Yu. He sent his most trusted underling with special gifts to his father. There would be a letter containing the information regarding the coup by the gift. Touba Hong believed the letter wouldn"t reach his father"s hands if he only sent a letter.
…
Emperor Touba Ye was holding a feast for his ministers and chancellors at the imperial palace. He believed that such banquets were good for the monarch to improve relations with his va.s.sals.
Touba Ye was an excellent emperor in terms of tactics and strategy. He was smiling as he looked at the civilian and military people. All of them looked happy and sincere which was a sign of the prosperity in the empire. Touba Ye believed that the situation in the Western Cloud Empire was much better than in the Sky Lion Dynasty. Actually, he was waiting for an opportunity to march into the Sky Lion Dynasty and occupy it for good. He didn"t want just to be the emperor of the Western Cloud Empire but the whole continent.
Touba Ye believed that he would be the greatest king in the history and the prophesized king if he could control whole continent. He had ordered many divination masters to be found and brought to the imperial capital when he had heard of the prophecy. All of them told the same message too. In this age, the greatest king of the kings would be born. He would ride a dragon while wearing a beautiful armor. He would use his army to sweep through the world. Touba Ye believed that he is the king that was told in all of the prophecies.
Nevertheless, Touba Ye was feeling restless recently. He felt as if something was wrong and something extraordinary was going to happen. Moreover, he had observed his ministers and found out that they didn"t have the fear in their eyes that they had years ago. Those ministers, va.s.sals and chancellors acted very loyal to him and each other. They flattered him like they did before. But Touba Ye had his own suspicions. In addition, these ministers had stopped quarreling with each other. Normally, they would argue day and night for more political power.
The number of quarrels had decreased a lot of few ministers had died. It seemed that all the ministers were united in one front now. It was as if Touba Ye was living in a utopia. It should be a good sign but it made Touba Ye feel uneasy.
A bodyguard came in to the hall and reported that Touba Hong had found a precious and rare item and had sent it as a gift to the emperor.
Touba Ye laughed sincerely from bottom of his heart at the news. He was proud of his 9th son. Touba Hong was selected as a disciple to master Ao Du at a young age and had shown exceptional skills. Most importantly, Touba Hong was a filial son. He would send gifts to Touba Ye wherever he went.
Touba Ye wanted to pa.s.s the throne to Touba Hong but because of politics he couldn"t.
It didn"t take long before Touba Hong"s man ran to bow in front of Touba Ye: "9th Prince Touba Hong had sent this special gift to show his filial piety towards the emperor."
“Haha … stand up.” Touba Ye felt happy. He wanted to open the gift box but one of the ministers came out to talk to him. Touba Ye put the box on table to talk to the man.
However, Touba Hong"s man didn"t go away but said after a moment of hesitation: "Your majesty, 9th prince hoped that you would check the gift personally."
Toube Ye didn"t expect Touba Hong"s man to interrupt him. What was the problem? Why would he ignore the ministers for a gift?
Nevertheless, Touba Ye couldn"t blatantly ignore Touba Hong"s request. He laughed: "Touba Hong hasn"t changed at all. He is the child I remember."
Touba Ye opened the box and took a glance. He was about cover it when the things inside the box caught his attention. There was a special pattern drawn on piece of paper. In addition, there was a small sword and few drops of blood.
It meant that some ministers were going to protest against him and major events would happen. It was a sign of civil disobedience.
Why would Touba Hong draw this pattern?
Touba Ye knew that it was extremely unusual situation. He covered the gift box as he pretended to enjoy the gift inside the box. Even the maid standing behind him couldn"t see what was inside the box.
Toube Ye took out the gift from the box which was a mechanical doll. He twisted it and put it on table. The doll began to wave and act like a child. It"s actions were stiff but it looked cute.
“Haha. Touba Hong is really the kid I remember.. He have sent such a rare think to please me.” Touba Ye added.
The ministers also joined to say good words about Touba Hong.
Touba Ye listened to all the ministers. Afterwards he added: "Do you all think good about Touba Hong?"
All the ministers said positive things about Touba Hong.
Toube Ye nodded as he closed his eyes: “In that case, as the emperor I"m going to give a decree today! I decide that Touba Hong will be the next emperor. There doesn"t need to be any ceremony for him to claim the throne. Anyone who dares to violate this decree will be regarded as a treason to the throne. Inform the news to all parts of the empire.”