Bab 8: Chapter 8 Watching a Fire from the Other Side of the River
Editor: Henyee Translations
Watchtower.
It stood tall at the northeast corner, three stories high, from there one could overlook the Sky Prison.
According to the regulations established by the Imperial Court, the watchtower was manned by prison guards day and night, guarding against the infiltration or escape of martial arts experts.
Now that the defense was lax, most of the guards were skiving off their duties, naturally, no one went to the watchtower.
Zhou Yi opened the iron door to the watchtower, followed the narrow staircase all the way to the top, and surprisingly found someone already standing there.
"Lord Lei, what are you doing here?"
"Watching the show!"
Lei Suyu nodded slightly, looking towards the direction of the palace.
Lines of torchlight connected like dots in the pitch-dark night sky, extremely conspicuous, with faint sounds of shouting and killing echoing through the night air.
Zhou Yi feigned a shocked expression, "Someone is leading troops to strike the palace, is this a rebellion?"
"In front of this official, stop playing dumb."
Lei Suyu candidly said, "That is Long Tu leading troops to attack the palace's west gate, the leading commander is the captain of the Five City Military and Horse Commander, along with the top three gangs and ten martial arts schools in the Capital."
The Five City Military is responsible for guarding the Capital Inner City, patrolling the One Hundred and Eight Districts Market.
The Capital's Green Wolves, Soaring Eagles, and Golden Sand, the three major gangs, each control brothels, gambling houses, and livery stables, with thousands and tens of thousands of henchmen and fighters under their command.
The ten major martial arts schools, although seemingly having the fewest numbers, were all martial arts experts, best suited for leading the charge in assaults.
"..."
Zhou Yi muttered, "This adds up to at least thirty to fifty thousand people, the Imperial Guards at the palace number only three to four thousand, could today be a day of great change?"
Long Tu had been the Grand Secretary for thirty years, nearly all the Officials at the Imperial Court were his men, he also had many loyalists in the military, and officials affiliated with the "Long faction" were scattered across the local governments.
If they breached the palace tonight and seized control of the Capital and its surroundings, they could follow the example of the Sima family.
They could safely install a young sovereign on the throne, with Long Tu continuing to control the Imperial politics.
If they were more radical, they could declare themselves emperor and change the era's name, ensuring a smooth transition for the National Dynasty with the officials of the Long faction.
"Long Tu might have fallen for His Majesty's trap!"
Lei Suyu shook his head and said, "Just a few days ago at the assembly, Long Tu was still saying His Majesty was in good health, that he could live at least another three to four years..."
"Could His Majesty have feigned death?"
Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, that Dog Emperor had long since stopped caring about his reputation, it was possible he'd stoop to faking death to catch Long Tu off guard.
"The Emperor has not appeared in court for thirty-six years, Long Tu has overwhelming influence in the court and the palace, both inside and outside; how could he not be sure of the news?"
Lei Suyu pointed towards the direction of the palace's south gate, "The deputy commander of the Jinyiwei attempted to collude from within and without to breach the south gate, but fell into a trap and is now fighting his colleagues."
The Jinyiwei was the emperor's personal army, and the deputy commander was actually conspiring with Long Tu!
Zhou Yi felt a touch of schadenfreude, the Dog Emperor was abandoned by his followers, surely not enjoying the experience.
Lei Suyu said, "This morning, Long Tu was certain of His Majesty's death and even left a decree for His Highness Prince Qin to ascend, hastily assembling his forces to attack the palace."
After the failure of the former Crown Prince's rebellion, Emperor Chongming had not established a successor; Prince Qin was his third son.
Zhou Yi clicked his tongue, "Not picking the eldest, nor the youngest, does this mean His Majesty had foreseen this day coming?"
Lei Suyu exclaimed in admiration, "Among those in this Sky Prison, you really are the clever one."
"Lord Lei flatters me, I just like to frequent the pleasure quarters and listen to the storytellers recount history on normal days," Zhou Yi said.
The storyteller Zhou Yi mentioned was named Niannian, the currently most popular Oiran at the Spring Breeze Building.
"I also frequented the pleasure quarters in my youth, my mother would scold me every day for shaming our ancestors and dishonoring the Lei family. Later on, I realized that a man should achieve something worthwhile, thus I joined Long Tu and took charge of the Sky Prison within just over a decade."
Lei Suyu murmured, "Had I been a pleasure-seeking young master, content to be a captain in the Sky Prison... perhaps I could have avoided the punishment of family extermination."
Zhou Yi heard the first part of the sentence and retreated inconspicuously a few steps, his palm resting on the cloth bag at his waist.
Inside the bag was lime powder mixed with a deadly poison taught by a certain death row inmate; even top martial artists in the jianghu would lose most of their strength upon smelling it.
"You lad are too sly, offering your heart to this official, yet you are guarded at every turn!"
Lei Suyu said, "With such a cautious nature, it's no wonder you've refused promotion even after ten years of service."
"I'm naturally slow-witted, unable to fathom the schemes of those in high places. Better to be content as a prison guard."
Zhou Yi said with a smile, "When I get old, I will pass the job of prison guard to my son, and he'll pass it to his grandson. Generations of secure livelihoods, no matter who rules in the palace, they won't starve!"
"Now that is truly wise!"
Lei Suyu slowly said, "This morning it wasn't a message from the palace, but rather a command from Long Tu's steward, ordering me to falsely claim imperial orders and lead the Tianlao Imperial Guards to attack the palace. At the same time, open the prison gates and unleash all the prisoners to wreak havoc in the Capital!"
"Why would you..."
Zhou Yi showed confusion, wondering why Lei Suyu would defy orders from Long Tu.
It appeared that Long Tu's power was already overwhelming, and a change of dynasty seemed imminent. Going with the flow would ensure a share of the glory.
Moreover, Lei Suyu, having ascended to his position with the help of Long Tu's power, hadn't hesitated to take care of Long's clansmen who had run afoul of the law over the years.
Should Long Tu fall, the new emperor would undoubtedly purge the Imperial Court, and Lei Suyu wouldn't be spared.
Lei Suyu looked toward the Capital, where the light from torches had climbed the city walls only to plummet quickly, signaling intense battle.
"I have a premonition that Long Tu will lose to His Majesty, so I defied the command at the last moment. By keeping Tianlao steady and prevent chaos, my family's punishment could be reduced from execution to exile!"
Zhou Yi said, "If you, Lei, led the Tianlao Imperial Guards to ambush Long Tu from behind, perhaps you could achieve a great feat?"
"What if my premonition is wrong? Long Tu's thirty years of preparation may not be inferior to His Majesty's arrangements!"
Lei Suyu sighed, "When I was young, I would have tried for a struggle. Now that I am old, even if I were to gain tremendous honor, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it."
Zhou Yi cursed inwardly at the sly old fox; as long as Lei Suyu kept control of Tianlao, he could emerge unscathed no matter who won.
Just as he was about to continue the conversation.
Suddenly.
A rumbling of horse hooves came from afar.
The ground of the Capital trembled as countless black-armored cavalry emerged from the various marketplaces, neatly converging and charging toward the rebels assaulting the palace.
"Kill!"
A long cry like a thunderclap from a clear sky drowned out even the sound of hooves.
Lei Suyu exclaimed in surprise, "When did a Martial Arts Grandmaster appear in the army? His Majesty has hidden well, Long Tu is doomed to fail!"
"Martial Arts Grandmaster!"
Zhou Yi's eyes lit up, looking in the direction of the sound.
Alas, the palace was too far away, only dim outlines were visible, as if a silver-armored general was leading the charge through the enemy lines.
The attack on the palace halted, caught between arrows from the Imperial Guards in front and the Martial Arts Grandmaster leading troops charging from the rear. They were in dire straits.
After several cavalry charges, the rebel forces—a patchwork alliance of three factions—were segmented into isolated groups each fighting for themselves.
With another long cry, the silver-armored general announced, "Long Tu has been executed, those who surrender will not be killed!"
With their head cut off, the rebel forces immediately disintegrated.
Atop the watchtower.
Hearing this, Zhou Yi's face broke into a broad smile.
"Tomorrow there will be guests at Tianlao, the wronged can have their revenge, and the vengeful can seek retribution!"
Hadiah
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