“Your Highness the Princess, Liren, you two stay,” Suo Lun said.
Immediately, everyone else withdrew. Only Princess Zhi Yan, Ashi Liren, Suo Lun, and Gui Xingfu remained present.
Gui Xingfu remained kneeling prostrate upon the ground, his forehead pressed against Suo Lun’s foot.
Suo Lun said, “Gui Xingfu, both you and your son Gui Qinqu are clever people. Speaking with you requires not the slightest effort.”
Gui Xingfu kowtowed heavily once and said nothing.
Suo Lun said, “Tell me, what do you think my next plan is? And what value do you hold within my plan?”
Gui Xingfu kowtowed once more before straightening his body and saying, “Your plan is to support Gui Qinshao as Linhai City Lord, then have her publicly support Princess Zhi Yan. Then use the matter of Zhi Li’s ** being cut to threaten him into withdrawing his troops. Then the situation will fall into temporary calm, and you will have won another city.”
Suo Lun said, “Then what do you think your value is?”
Gui Xingfu said, “I can make your plan even more legitimate. I can first publicly admit my mistakes, declaring the injustice of my declaration of war on Tianshui City. Then I will publicly announce my allegiance to Princess Zhi Yan, after which I will voluntarily abdicate, announcing Gui Qinshao as Linhai City Lord.”
Then, Gui Xingfu continued, “Moreover, the scandal of Zhi Li’s ** being cut, exposed by my own hand, would carry far greater destructive power.”
This venomous snake was truly ruthless. To preserve his life, he would do anything.
Gui Xingfu’s words were correct. Having him personally announce allegiance to Princess Zhi Yan, stabbing Zhi Li fiercely in the chest, would bring destructive power far exceeding what Gui Qinshao could deliver with such a blow.
He believed this single blow would already cause Zhi Li to twitch in pain and vomit blood wildly.
After all, Gui Xingfu was Zhi Li’s absolute confidant, his absolute trusted aide. One could even say he was a loyal hound without exaggeration.
Even he had completely betrayed him. The shock this would bring to the world was utterly unparalleled.
Suo Lun gazed at Gui Xingfu for a long while and said, “You indeed have value, but you underestimate me.”
“Please, Your Majesty the Regent, enlighten this old servant,” Gui Xingfu kowtowed heavily.
Suo Lun said, “You took chestnuts from the fire for Zhi Li, going to such great lengths to create such a spectacle. I seize the momentum to counterattack. How could I possibly stop at merely obtaining Linhai City?”
At these words, Gui Xingfu trembled, his mind racing swiftly, and said, “Could it be, you also wish to completely seize Luanyang City?”
Then he immediately thought further. Count Tuli Wen, the Luanyang City Lord, had already been imprisoned by Suo Lun, but some time ago had been assassinated by someone Tu Lingduo sent. Was there a deeper conspiracy within this?
What if the one who was assassinated was not the true Count Tuli Wen? The true Tuli Wen was still in Suo Lun’s hands?
In this way, Suo Lun taking Luanyang City would also be as easy as turning his hand.
Instantly, Gui Xingfu felt boundless awe in his heart. Suo Lun was precisely this kind of person. With every step he took, he planned three moves ahead.
For Zhi Li to lose the allegiance of Linhai City and Luanyang City overnight would be a completely fatal blow.
It would mean that among the nobles of the world, four houses now pledged allegiance to Princess Zhi Yan. Moreover, the combined power of these four houses accounted for one third of all the nobles in the world.
Instantly, Gui Xingfu kowtowed heavily and said, “Your Majesty the Regent is far-sighted and deep in strategy, unmatched in wisdom and cunning. This old servant admires you.”
Suo Lun shook his head and said, “You are skilled at manipulating people’s hearts, proficient in the arts of political scheming, but your vision is too small. Luanyang City? Why would I display this meat that I have already half-eaten so early? What I want is not Luanyang City, but the entire Southeastern Province!”
At these words, not only Gui Xingfu, but even Princess Zhi Yan and Ashi Liren were completely stunned.
They could not react all at once.
Suo Lun said, “I want to kill Zhi Wei. I want to become Governor of the Southeastern Province.”
His words were like thunder, stunning everyone present into dizziness. They looked at Suo Lun in complete disbelief.
Even Princess Zhi Yan could not believe her own ears.
This great battle was completely a great calamity for the Suo clan, a calamity of life and death.
Suo Lun’s return, helping Tianshui City survive this crisis and calamity, would already count as a victory. And capturing Linhai City, taking Gui Xingfu and others prisoner, would count as an inconceivably great victory.
Yet they had not expected Suo Lun’s appetite to be so enormous. He actually wanted the entire Southeastern Province, and he wanted to kill Zhi Wei.
Who was Zhi Wei?
The younger brother of King Zhi Bian. He had survived the succession crisis over twenty years ago.
Now he had governed the Southeastern Province for several years, his power and influence overwhelming the heavens, his hands holding over a hundred thousand heavy troops. Within the entire Fury Wave Kingdom, his status and power ranked among the foremost.
Even Gui Xingfu performed the rites of a subject before him.
Not only Gui Xingfu, but nominally Suo Lun was also Zhi Wei’s household vassal. Because Zhi Wei was one of the two great nobles managing the Southeastern Province on behalf of the King. By convention, every year Suo Lun had to visit his ducal residence to pay respects to his liege lord, and present tribute.
Zhi Li had two pillars beneath him. One was Tu Lingtuo, controlling four hundred thousand Dragon Guard troops. The other was Duke Zhi Wei.
And Suo Lun actually wanted to directly cut off one of Zhi Li’s arms!
If Suo Lun succeeded, the consequences were completely unimaginable.
Gui Xingfu even trembled, and it was trembling with excitement.
Suo Lun’s idea, he had never even conceived of it.
If, Suo Lun truly succeeded? What would be the result?
It would completely shock the world. Zhi Yan could directly stand as an equal to Zhi Li. Added to Suo Lun secretly controlling Luanyang City, and perhaps laying even deeper plans.
In this way, the possibility of Zhi Yan ascending the throne was not at all illusory, but held great probability.
Gui Xingfu trembled and closed his eyes. At this moment, Zhi Li appeared to be at the height of his power. But if this round of great battle truly allowed Suo Lun to succeed, then… Zhi Li’s defeat was already nearly apparent.
Too terrifying!
Suo Lun said, “Gui Xingfu, your value does not lie in helping me capture Linhai City, for that is already food upon the plate. Everything I do next, every deployment I make, serves but one purpose: to kill Zhi Wei and seize the Southeastern Province. If you wish to survive, you must demonstrate your value in this regard.”
“I obey…” Gui Xingfu kowtowed heavily.
Suo Lun said, “The first thing you must do next is immediately send word to Zhi Li in the royal city, saying that Linhai City is besieged and in imminent peril. The forty thousand troops you led have been completely annihilated on Chaos Stone Island, and you are currently fleeing towards the royal city.”
Gui Xingfu trembled and said, “You, you wish to open battle early against Zhi Wei’s over a hundred thousand troops?”
Suo Lun nodded and said, “Yes!”
Gui Xingfu said, “Zhi Wei is prone to initiating warfare. Could you not use the Divine Dragon Sceptre to behead him?”
Suo Lun said, “That will not work anymore. There will certainly be countless experts by Zhi Wei’s side. Even Gao Yin’s martial arts could not behead him face to face. And if he openly defies the imperial decree, then henceforth His Majesty the King’s decrees will be worthless. So to kill him, the only path is on the battlefield, defeating him in a legitimate and proper manner. Then publicly issue a decree to have him cut in half at the waist!”
In ancient China, Cao Cao held the Emperor to command the nobles.
And at this moment, King Zhi Bian was nearly unconscious, only barely maintaining his life with the greatest difficulty.
The Divine Dragon Sceptre, the imperial seal, and so forth were all in Suo Lun’s hands. He was completely acting on behalf of the King in wielding the power to draft imperial decrees.
The King’s decree was the sharpest weapon. He must protect this weapon well and not allow it to break.
And once Zhi Wei openly defied the imperial decree and emerged completely unharmed, the authority of the King’s decrees would be completely ruined. Then what followed would be true chaos across the world.
Therefore, Suo Lun must guarantee that every decree he issued was as good as gold, settling heaven and earth with a single word.
Only thus would the decrees he drafted grow increasingly weighty, increasingly powerful.
And Zhi Wei’s head, along with the blood of his over a hundred thousand troops, would happen to dye red the decrees Suo Lun drafted, granting them terrifying deterrent force, making them weigh ten thousand jun.
Zhi Yan said, “Husband, you wish to have a decisive battle with Zhi Wei at the Wind Thunder Fort defensive line?”
Suo Lun nodded and said, “Yes!”
Princess Zhi Yan said, “How many troops do you plan to mobilise?”
Suo Lun said, “Everything we have. Sixty thousand troops!”
After recapturing Tianshui City, Suo Lun had continuously recruited soldiers and bought horses in the name of the Princess’s Residence. Now Tianshui City already had over forty thousand troops.
Added to the twenty thousand cavalry Ashi Liren brought as reinforcements, plus the over ten thousand troops who had surrendered.
Now the troops in Suo Lun’s hands numbered over seventy thousand. He planned to use sixty thousand troops for a life-and-death decisive battle with Duke Zhi Wei at the Wind Thunder Fort defensive line, leaving only over ten thousand to defend Linhai City and Tianshui City’s thousand-li territory. It could be called staking everything on a single throw.
Gui Xingfu suddenly asked, “Then how does the Wind Thunder Fort defensive line’s defences compare to Chaos Stone Island castle?”
Suo Lun glanced at him and did not respond.
The Wind Thunder Fort defensive line was countless times more fortified than Chaos Stone Island castle.
Over these past two years, Suo Lun had invested at least several hundred thousand gold coins into the Wind Thunder Fort defensive line.
Originally, Wind Thunder Fort was merely a medium-sized castle like Nanlin Fort. But now it had become a castle group defensive line several li long.
Suo Lun’s sixty thousand troops against Duke Zhi Wei’s one hundred and fifty thousand troops.
Added to the fortified Wind Thunder Fort defensive line, astronomical numbers of oil bombs, astronomical numbers of gunpowder packs, astronomical numbers of catapults.
This battle, of course, could be fought!
Gui Xingfu’s forty thousand troops besieging Chaos Stone Island castle’s ten thousand defenders had still lost so miserably.
Ashi Liren asked, “How many days until Tu Lingtuo’s grand army arrives at Tianshui City?”
“Nineteen days,” Suo Lun said.
Tu Lingtuo’s grand army was heading south first this time, then advancing along the southern border plains towards Tianlang Pass.
Two hundred thousand troops, the vast majority infantry. A journey of several thousand li would take a long time to traverse.
Suo Lun said, “Therefore, we must complete the decisive battle with Duke Zhi Wei within half a month!”
Then he looked at Gui Xingfu and said, “You will write two secret letters right now. One to Zhi Li, one to Zhi Wei. Linhai City is surrounded and in imminent peril. Your forty thousand troops have been completely annihilated, and you are fleeing towards Zhi Du.”
“I obey,” Gui Xingfu kowtowed.
Then, with the most proper speed, he wrote two secret letters, affixed his seal, pressed his fingerprint, and signed his name.
Suo Lun took the secret letters and handed them to Zhi Yan, saying, “Yan, you will make the trip personally. Take these two secret letters to Chuyun Commandery, and send them by flying kite to the royal city and Zhi Wei’s camp!”
“Alright.” Princess Zhi Yan tucked away the two secret letters, mounted her griffin beast, and flew towards Chuyun Commandery.
The reason the secret letters were sent from Chuyun Commandery was to convince Zhi Li and Zhi Wei, making them believe that Gui Xingfu had already fled to Chuyun Commandery.
Suo Lun said, “Return to Tianshui City. Send orders to Linhai City, Chaos Stone Castle, Tianlang Pass. All elite troops are to assemble at the Wind Thunder Fort defensive line, awaiting the life-and-death decisive battle with Zhi Wei!”
“I obey!”
…
After returning to Tianshui City!
Suo Lun immediately gave the order to imprison Gui Xingfu in a top-secret dungeon, not allowing him to meet with Gui Qinshao or Tuling Si.
After bathing and changing clothes, he directly collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep!
Since rescuing Gui Qinshao, all the way until returning to Tianshui City, heading south to Tianlang Pass to receive Ashi Liren, heading north to fight the great battle at Linhai City, heading east to capture Gui Xingfu. For several days and nights, he had not slept.
An even greater decisive battle was imminent. This time, he would face Duke Zhi Wei’s one hundred and fifty thousand troops.
This battle would truly decide the fate of the Suo clan and Zhi Yan. It would decide the fate of the Fury Wave Kingdom.
This battle would be the most important battle since Suo Lun came to this world, and also the greatest battle.
Zhi Wei’s one hundred and fifty thousand troops were still two hundred li from the Wind Thunder Fort defensive line. These three days would be the calm before the great decisive battle, and also the only time Suo Lun could sleep.
This sleep, Suo Lun slept as if the heavens and earth were darkened, a full ten hours before waking.
Moreover, it was not a natural awakening.
Because a smooth, fragrant, delicate body had secretly slipped into his quilt, directly straddling his waist.
“I want to sleep with you, I want to sleep with you…” Gui Qinshao panted beside Suo Lun’s ear, utterly excited, utterly emotional.