Chapter 872: Chapter 519: Three Days Later, Burning City in Flames (Happy Lantern Festival)
But the treasure vault that was supposed to be "dazzling with treasures" is now empty and bare, not even a hair left!
"My treasures!..."
Master Gu Huo let out a heart-wrenching wail, as if struck by lightning, his face turning deathly pale. Suddenly, as if he thought of something, he abruptly opened another hidden door inside the secret chamber, entering a concealed courtyard.
There was a hot spring here, with a mature Black and White Double Trees planted within. But now, the hot spring had long since dried up, and the mysterious strange object with jade-like leaves had been uprooted long ago, leaving only a few dried and cracked leaves drained of spiritual power on the ground.
The old Taoist plopped to the ground, the light in his eyes gradually fading away:
The sky has fallen.
...
...
The Taicang government’s office was located slightly north of the center of the city, with imposing architecture, exuding the grandeur of officialdom.
In the inner courtyard of the government office, a room temporarily serving as the "frontline command headquarters" was filled with City officials and high-ranking officers, seated according to their ranks.
The atmosphere was restless, shrouded with a sense of tension akin to the clouds of war.
Zhao Douan, holding the position of "Chaos Suppression Grand Commander" appointed by the Empress, equivalent to a governor, sat in the primary seat, the nominal "Number One" leader of the Western Front Battle Zone.
Mo Chou, deliberately dressed back in female official attire, with a black gauze cap without wings and her eyebrows adorned with plum blossoms, sat beside him. She held the position of "Deputy Military Supervisor."
On Zhao Douan’s right, Xue Shence sat upright in armor, expressionless yet commanding respect.
On his left, Magistrate Sun Xiaozhun sat with dignity, putting back on his black gauze hat atop his head.
—With his fourth-rank magistrate’s position, he should have been seated behind the Capital Camp Commander, but as the chief officer of the prefecture, coupled with the unspoken rule in court where civil officials rank slightly above military generals of the same level, he’s ranked third.
Further down the line were Shi Meng, Yuan Feng, and some military officers under Xue Shence’s command, as well as local civil officials of the prefecture.
Zhao Douan glanced over, recognizing many familiar faces, and lightly coughed before speaking first:
"This Grand Commander, under the decree of Her Majesty, has brought reinforcements here to suppress the rebellion.
As for Taicang, I came here last year as well, and many colleagues present should still remember, so there’s no need for extra pleasantries. As this Grand Commander is ’newly arrived,’ I am not yet clear on the frontline situation.
Today’s gathering is to discuss the subsequent plans for quelling the rebellion, presided over by the Secretariat Envoy Xue."
Xue Shence nodded and pointed to the sand table placed in the center of the hall, explaining:
"Currently, the situation is roughly as follows: the Huai River divides into two lines. The Mu Prince of Yunfu is now entrenched on the Huai River, and intelligence shows that the Mu Prince is gathering some scholarly families of the Huai River, raising military funds, and aiming to build a second Mu Prince Manor on the Huai River."
His hand moved forward, pointing at a small flag on the junction between the Huai River and Linfeng, saying gravely:
"Stationed here is the Commander of the Southwest Border Army, Zhao Shixiong. This name, you are all familiar with, for he is the most troublesome adversary among the Yunfu rebel army. However, after the news of Her Majesty’s return to the capital spread, Zhao Shixiong stopped his northward advance and is now consolidating his territory."
Finally, his hand moved again within Linfeng Road, over to a county named "Ning’an," and slowly said:
"This place is the headquarters of the rebel vanguard leader Su Dan. Su Dan is stationed within the city, northeast of Ning’an County, at another location, Wenshui County, where he has stationed half of his troops, providing mutual support with Ning’an County.
The general stationed here is Su Dan’s wife’s younger brother, and using Wenshui County as a bridgehead, several surrounding villages and towns have small-scale rebel forces, all led by Su Dan’s trusted aides."
Zhao Douan looked down at the sand table map, immediately gaining an understanding of the geographic layout.
Sun Xiaozhun grew spirited, rubbing his fists together and said:
"Due to the scarcity of troops within the city, holding the line has been difficult, which is why counterattacking has been delayed, but now with Grand Commander Zhao leading two major camps here and with Mr. Xue in command, reclaiming Ning’an, and Fen Water is as certain as a nailed down board!"
The crowd nodded in silent agreement with this conclusion.
It was not blind confidence but rather a matter of course.
With the reinforcements’ arrival, the situation has reversed; now Taicang Prefecture is fortified with abundant troops, battling Zhao Shixiong might still be immensely challenging, but just dealing with Su Dan, if they couldn’t achieve that, then everyone seating here would have to commit suicide out of shame.
Shi Meng suddenly appeared worried and said, "But will Prince Jing give us time?"
He met the gaze of his comrades and earnestly said:
"With the army on the move, the Eastern Front’s Prince Jing surely knows, and the Secretariat Envoy has been at the Western Front for some time. If the rebels on Jiancheng Road cause turmoil now, destabilizing the Eastern Front and dispersing our forces, how should we respond?"
Zhao Douan kept silent, turning his head to look at Xue Shence, wanting to hear the answer from this "Military God."
The most awkward part of fighting on two fronts had appeared, with the Mu Prince in the west and Prince Jing in the east.
The court’s army could defeat either side independently but lacked the strength to face both simultaneously.
Yuan Feng supported, saying:
"Now that the two Vassal Kings have formed an alliance, they understand the logic of ’lips gone, teeth cold’ all too well, so Prince Jing is unlikely to simply sit by and watch us go all out against the Yunfu rebel army without taking action."
Xue Shence’s expression did not change, having already calculated in his mind, he spoke with conviction:
"In my judgment, before the thorough reclaim of the lost territories on Linfeng Road, Prince Jing will not cause trouble."
He met Zhao Douan’s gaze and explained:
"Certainly, Prince Jing and Mu Prince are allied, but the alliance is frail. Although neither wants to see the other annihiled, neither would want the other to become stronger than themselves, either.
Currently, Prince Jing is holding firm to the Huai River territories he captured, without stepping into Linfeng, whereas Mu Prince has taken a portion of Linfeng’s territory. In such circumstances, Prince Jing might even want to use the court’s hand to weaken the Yunfu rebel army’s strength."