Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1161 – When the General Is Abroad

The Prince of Xiang had not betrayed the humans and entered Xuelao City.

Even if he did want to do this, none of his subordinates would follow them.

So to be more precise, he had not betrayed the humans, but rebelled.

He had taken twenty thousand prepared soldiers from Snowhold Pass and had led them back to the capital to request the emperor to abdicate.

This news sent the camp into chaos. Horses galloped across the plains, and many gazes were aimed at a certain tent in the Western Army.

Wasn’t the Prince of Xiang recovering from his heavy injuries? How had he suddenly appeared tens of thousands of li away in the capital?

On the evening of the same day, all the commanders of the human armies, excluding the commander in charge of monitoring Xuelao City, the important figures of the Orthodoxy, and the representatives from the cultivation sects gathered in the main tent of the Central Army Camp.

Divine General He Ming stood in front of the sand table, the expression on his face mercurial in the light of the lanterns.

Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong silently sat behind him.

The tent was abnormally quiet, the mood growing more oppressive by the minute. Finally, a noise from outside broke the silence.

A hastily-dressed middle-aged man was escorted into the tent: the Prince of Xiang.

The assembled officers were stunned. Only after careful examination did they realize that though this person had a very similar face, figure and bearing to the Prince of Xiang, he was just a substitute.

The Prince of Xiang was an expert of the Divine Domain. Beneath his rather comical plumpness was the concealed bearing of an expert, but this substitute was lacking this.

“Deceiver!”

Someone in the crowd shouted a resentful curse.

The moment they realized that this was the Prince of Xiang’s substitute, everyone knew that the news of the rebellion in the south was true.

At this moment, many people recalled that in a battle a few days ago to the north of Starstrewn Gorge, the Prince of Zhongshan bravely fought and unfortunately sustained wounds so heavy that he needed to be sent back to the south.

The people in the tent looked at each other, wanting to confirm just who else had left besides the Prince of Xiang and the Prince of Zhongshan, and who had remained.

There were three princes of the Chen clan in the tent. They had rather pale complexions, not because they were worried about being suspected, but because they were now sure that the Prince of Xiang had abandoned them.

Peng Shihai and his fellows had particularly nasty expressions. They had extremely close relationships with the Prince of Xiang, or even intimate ones. No one had expected the Prince of Xiang to deceive them as well.

While they were leading the troops in bloody battle, the Prince of Xiang had taken those other people with the intent of leading a rebellious army on the capital. How could anyone not be infuriated by this contrast?

“What do they want to do? Do they really think that changing regimes is so easy?”

Daoist Siyuan had a very dark and profound look in his eyes as he gave Peng Shihai a ghostly stare.

Peng Shihai coldly snorted, wanting to say something, but ultimately deciding to keep his mouth shut.

“Why wasn’t there any message from Xunyang City?”

Another person suddenly thought of this problem.

Xunyang City was essentially the base camp for the northern expedition. All the supply convoys and reinforcements were sent out from there. It played an extremely important role, and negotiations between all the factions before the war ultimately led Cao Yunping, the Divine Domain expert most trusted by all sides, to supervise the city.

For the Prince of Xiang to fake his injuries and return to Snowhold Pass in secret so that he could organize a rebel army was not too difficult for him. However, if the rebel army wanted to reach the capital, it had to pass through Xunyang City. Given Cao Yunping’s strength and the army defending Xunyang City, if they could not destroy the rebel army, they could at least delay them for a very long time. It was simply impossible for there to have been no warning.

Since the rebellion had already been taking place for some time, Xunyang City’s silence could only stand for one extremely awful possibility.

“Someone personally saw Cao Yunping and the Prince of Xiang together.”

Divine General He Ming’s head remained fixed on the sand table as he casually said, “It was right outside the capital.”

The words caused the tent to descend into silence once more.

All the troops of the Great Zhou Dynasty were in front of Xuelao City, as were all its experts, and even Cao Yunping had cast his lot with the Prince of Xiang. There was no one left to stop the rebel army.

The capital had no walls.

If the goal was to end the rebellion and save the emperor, retreat was the only option. But Xuelao City was right in front of them, its city gate shattered, the demons on the verge of extinction. If the human armies were to retreat, the demons would get a chance to catch their breath, and who knew how the course of history would change?

Who would dare bear this responsibility?

It had to be said that the Prince of Xiang had chosen the ideal time to rebel, or perhaps the worst.

“Does he want to be condemned for the rest of time?”

The rolling of carriage wheels came from outside the tent, accompanied by an elderly voice.

The Tang Old Master entered the tent, aiming an indifferent gaze at the Prince of Xiang’s substitute akin to the look he would give to a corpse.

Everyone knew that no matter how this matter ended, this person would not survive.

The Prince of Xiang’s substitute got up from the ground, tidied his clothes, and smiled at the Tang Old Master. “Sir’s words are incorrect.”

He had naturally prepared himself for death, but one had to admit that his ability to remain so calm made him seem rather elegant.

“His Highness naturally does not wish to affect the foundation of the Human race.”

The substitute looked around him and continued, “He entrusted me with the mission of telling everyone that before this esteemed audience enters Xuelao City and burns down the Demon Palace, the army will not take one step into the capital.”

Peng Shihai harshly questioned, “Then what if we immediately return south? Will he commit his treasonous deed? Does he want to threaten us with this?”

The substitute sternly reproved, “Wrong again! His Highness said that if this esteemed audience unexpectedly chooses to return south, then he will tie his hands and wait to be jailed, though he will view you all with contempt.”

Some of the people in the tent drily laughed, though this quickly stopped. This was not the time for laughter, and these words, upon careful thought, seemed to be edged with ice.

“Does His Highness really think he can succeed?”

Divine General He Ming raised his head and stared into the substitute’s eyes. “Do you really think that he can succeed?”

The substitute smiled and said, “At the start, I also thought that it was the ravings of a madman, but His Highness ended up convincing me.”

The entire strength of the Great Zhou Dynasty was currently gathered outside Xuelao City. If the Prince of Xiang’s goal was to fight his way into the capital, occupy the Imperial Palace, and force the emperor to abdicate, it truly would be very easy. The problem was, how many people would support him in the aftermath?

Chen Changsheng would assuredly lead the Orthodoxy in a counterattack, and he had the cultivation sects represented by Holy Maiden Peak and the Mount Li Sword Sect, and also the noble clans represented by the Tang clan. Even if the Prince of Xiang temporarily had no need to worry about Chen Changsheng’s relationship with the future female Emperor of the Demi-humans, just these forces alone were hard to resist.

So why was the Prince of Xiang still bold enough to rebel? It could only be that he was sure that Chen Changsheng and the Li Palace, and the factions that supported them, would have no effect on him.

Where did his confidence spring from?

No matter how one saw it, the first prerequisite was Shang Xingzhou’s stance, which side he had chosen to stand on.

Many gazes turned to the small carriage outside the tent.

The Prince of Xiang’s substitute smiled and said, “His Highness requests the venerable Daoist to be at ease. He will assuredly prioritize the world and will not act rashly.”

It appeared that the Prince of Xiang had truly entrusted his hopes to Shang Xingzhou.

And it truly was only Shang Xingzhou that could intimidate Chen Changsheng in the aftermath, either through his status as teacher or his seniority in the Orthodoxy.

And the entire continent knew that Shang Xingzhou did not like Chen Changsheng.

As long as the Human race could unite the world, as long as Taizong’s descendants remained on the throne, just who was actually the emperor did not seem important.

If Yuren died, the Prince of Xiang would unquestionably be the best candidate for the throne.

But the entire continent knew that Shang Xingzhou liked Yuren.

Why was the Prince of Xiang willing to wager that Shang Xingzhou would support him?

The tent became extremely quiet, everyone staring at the small carriage and waiting for Shang Xingzhou’s decision.

The Tang Old Master suddenly left the tent, because he knew what Shang Xingzhou would do. If it were him, he would make the same choice.

The young Daoist boy lifted up the carriage curtain and jumped out of the carriage. He looked at the generals and experts in the tent and said in his young and uncertain voice, “Ancestor says that we’re just about to break into the city, so these trifling matters can be discussed later.”

Several cold gasps could be heard in the quiet tent.

Everyone was flabbergasted.

His most beloved student was about to die in a shameless rebellion, yet he was treating it with such indifference…

In the venerable Daoist’s eyes, the extermination of the demons really was more important than anything else.

Respect was one thing, but obedience was another. Not everyone would heed Shang Xingzhou’s will, and many of the generals looked to Divine General He Ming.

Divine General He Ming had been the commanding general personally chosen by the emperor, and many people had their theories on why he had been chosen.

“His Majesty said to me that when the general is abroad, there are some orders from the sovereign that he cannot obey, that a general is not blind.”

He Ming added, “And there has not even been a decree from the capital.”

The tent fell into an uproar. No one had expected him to take this stance.

Xue He’s cheeks were bulging. He was clearly furious.

Linghai Zhiwang’s complexion was even gloomier, his hands trembling within his sleeves. He had already prepared himself to strike.

One person looked to a certain corner, where Wang Po had been standing the entire time. The Wu clan head and the elders of Mount Li’s Sword Hall were standing by him.

They had maintained silence all this time, not even glancing at Chen Changsheng, but everyone knew that they would stand on Chen Changsheng’s side, perhaps standing together with Xu Yourong.

Chen Changsheng was not looking at Xu Yourong, but calmly staring at the young Daoist boy standing next to the carriage. He seemed to be in a daze.

Somebody coughed.

He came to his senses and said, “So be it.”