荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

With the domineering appearance of the Public Order Squad, the protest involving tens of thousands of Hu was ended, with more than twenty thousand Hu being jailed. Wang Chong’s posted memorial also sent a massive tremor through the capital.

After this, all the Hu became much more restrained, with the emissaries from their various countries even telling them to strictly comply with the laws of the Great Tang and not act recklessly.

As for the Imperial Court, it issued a decree to all the local governments that the Hu and Han should be treated the same, and the Hu were not to receive any special treatment.

......

In the northwest corner of the capital, in the Sage Temple deep within the plum forest...

“Senior Brother!”

Within the hall, Li Junxian lowered his head in reverence.

“Haaaa!”

A long sigh echoed through the hall. Master Zhu, holding one of Wang Chong’s posters, looked at Li Junxian and shook his head.

“Do you know where your mistake was?”

“Senior Brother, please instruct me!”

Master Zhu’s eyes were brimming with disappointment. Li Junxian pressed his head even lower. He had always felt nothing but respect for his senior brother.

“The reason you lost this round was not that you did not know the laws of the Great Tang well enough, or that you did not know about Tang Gaozu’s decree. It was because you handed over the hearts of the people. You did not lose to the Public Order Squad. You lost to this poster.”

Master Zhu shook his head and glanced at the poster once more.

He had criticized the scion of the Wang Clan, the writer of ‘Might Makes Right’, as a promulgator of heresy, but Master Zhu had to admit that the poster that he had written, the memorial that he had offered to the First Prince, was extremely convincing. It was no wonder these words had been able to win the cheers of the people.

“If you lose the hearts of the people, how can you realize the Harmonious World? Think very carefully about your errors!” Master Zhu sternly said.

“Junxian understands his mistakes!” Li Junxian declared with sincerity, not even attempting to argue.

The hall once more fell into silence.

......

Whoosh!

With the end of the incident, countless messenger birds took flight.

Amongst these, a hawk the size of a fist crossed mountains and flew all the way to the Tibetan Plateau. Several days later, it shot like an arrow into the royal palace of Ü-Tsang.

Incense drifted through the palace, filling the air with the unique scent of yak butter.

Tap!

An arm reached out of the smoke and received the hawk.

“As expected! It seems like the Great Tang’s militarist-Confucian conflict is far from over. That man is truly not easy to deal with.”

Dalon Trinling raised his head and muttered to himself, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Only a few words had been written on the letter.

‘Mochi Xiangyang captured! Operation failed!’

Dalon Trinling was not particularly surprised. How could someone who was able to kill Dalun Ruozan be that easy to deal with?

Mochi Xiangyang had not listened to his warning and had decided to risk himself. From the moment he had summoned the Hu to gather in front of the Imperial Palace’s gates, he had already failed, and failure had its price to pay.

“Great Minister, Mochi Xiangyang is dead, so what do we do now?”

Behind Dalon Trinling was a short, energetic, and extremely dangerous Tibetan general.

“There’s no need! Someone is already beginning to move.”

Dalon Trinling faintly smiled.

......

The Public Order Squad had appeared out of nowhere and shifted around the political structure of the capital, also bringing back to memory the decree issued by Emperor Gaozu. As the curtain fell, the conflicts subsided, but the undercurrent would never stop flowing and surging.

At the King Qi Residence...

King Qi sat motionlessly in a golden sandalwood chair, his brow furrowed. Behind him were his goateed advisor, the Three Elders of the Northern Sea, and the other strongmen that King Qi had recruited. A bizarre mood permeated the room.

They had rushed over upon receiving King Qi’s summons, but when they arrived, they saw King Qi sitting motionlessly on his chair, occasionally muttering to himself.

If King Qi said nothing, the others could only sit and wait.

Seeing that King Qi was still showing no signs of movement, everyone turned to the goateed advisor, their eyes exerting an invisible pressure.

Their intentions were clear, and the goateed advisor paled and broke out in a cold sweat.

King Qi had a temperamental personality, and it would be difficult to predict what would happen if he was interrupted in the middle of his thoughts. In the King Qi Residence, numerous servants and maids had lost their lives for provoking King Qi.

The goateed advisor worked up his courage and asked, “Your Highness...”

But before he could say anything, he heard the voice of his lord.

“You’re all here!”

At some point, King Qi had opened his eyes.

“Your Highness!”

Everyone lowered their heads. Meanwhile, the advisor sighed in relief, feeling like he had narrowly escaped death.

“Your Highness, for what reason have you summoned us?” the advisor cautiously asked.

“I have an important mission for all of you!” King Qi suddenly said.

He had apparently comprehended many things over this period of time.

“Do you still remember the sword attack the King of Foreign Lands used against the Three Elders of the Northern Sea outside the Imperial Palace gates? That sword art is unique in the Great Tang, and only one person can pass it down. I need you to investigate this matter.”

The thing that had left the deepest impression on King Qi during the Public Order Squad incident was not the establishment of the Public Order Squads or Gaozu’s decree, but the Art of God and Demon Obliteration that Wang Chong had used.

Su Zhengchen!

This name was a taboo in the Great Tang. The last will of Taizong was like a cage that firmly imprisoned this legendary existence of the Great Tang. Anyone who could obtain Su Zhengchen’s approval could inherit his supreme martial art and his formidable art of war. This was the greatest power in the world.

If one had this strength, one could even...

King Qi stopped this line of thought.

But everything about Su Zhengchen was a major secret, and even worse was that Taizong had ordered in his will that those who infiltrated the Su Residence would be executed! Not even the members of the imperial household dared to defy this order.

Each sovereign after Taizong, including the previous Emperor, had not tried to unlock this cage or weaken its restraints. Instead, they only made the cage sturdier, turning it into an iron law. It was even rumored that a group of special guards had been set up to especially deal with descendants of the imperial household who tried to intrude upon the Su Residence.

And unlike others, King Qi had long ago inspected the files in the palace, which clearly recorded how those Princes who had defied the edict had been heavily punished, even executed. All of this had left an extremely deep impression on King Qi.

Thus, although he dearly wanted to know the answer, he was extremely fearful and did not dare to use his full force.

But now that the idea had taken root, King Qi couldn’t remove it, so in the end, he had still summoned his men.

“Remember! Not a single clue is to be left behind! Otherwise, this king will not forgive you!” King Qi sternly said.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The hall quickly fell silent.

......

Time slowly passed, and as night fell and the capital fell quiet, while the people were still in tea houses discussing the incident, an inconspicuous estate that stood apart from the rest of the capital welcomed a guest.

Rap tap tap!

A light rapping sounded at the back gate of the Su Residence. Wang Chong had come in the third quarter of the Zi Period, dressed in casual clothes, his hair held by a white jade hairband.

The Su Residence was utterly silent. Behind the wooden door was seemingly another world.

“Is it Senior Brother? Hurry and come in! Master has been waiting for you for ages!”

As a child called out, the door opened with a creak.

An energetic and strange child poked his head out, and after taking a glance, he let Wang Chong into the Su Residence.

Although Wang Chong had met with Su Zhengchen several times, this was the first time Wang Chong had ever stepped into the Su Residence.

Quiet.

This was Wang Chong’s first feeling. Scholar trees with sparse foliage towered within the back garden of the Su Residence, and the ground was covered in a thick carpet of leaves.

“Little Jian, this is...”

Wang Chong glanced at Little Jianjian.

“It has nothing to do with me. I said that I wanted to sweep these leaves up, but Master said that we should just let nature take its course. I don’t know what he means, but this is the result.”

Little Jianjian stuck out his tongue and shrugged.

“Nature?”

Wang Chong frowned in thought, as if recalling something. But before he could ponder the deeper meaning, he heard Little Jianjian urging him on.

“Come on! Master has never left his residence before, but when he heard you were coming, he prepared alcohol and food to welcome you. It’s been a long time since he’s been this happy!”

A startled Wang Chong was dragged forward by Little Jianjian.

It had been more than sixty years since the Su Residence had been renovated, and even the red paint on the main gates had begun to peel.

But as the legendary and invincible War God of the Great Tang, Su Zhengchen possessed a vast estate, even larger than the estates of many nobles.

The Great Tang dispensed rewards according to achievements. The Su Residence had reached this size nearly one hundred years ago, so one could only imagine how resplendent it was in its prime.

After passing through several abandoned villas, Wang Chong spotted Su Zhengchen once more beneath several withered banyan trees. Just as Wang Chong remembered, Su Zhengchen did not exude any mighty aura, nor did he exude the dignity and lavishness appropriate to his status.

Su Zhengchen was wearing a cloth robe and seemed like an ordinary old man. He was seated on a bamboo chair, and in front of him was a simple wooden table. Several small dishes had been placed on the table along with a jar of wine and two white porcelain cups.

In the center of the table burned a small oil lamp.

This man was no different from any other elder of advanced age in the capital. In no way did this man seem like the Great Tang War God who had shaken the world.