Chapter 1639: Worsening and Intensifying

"Stopped at the entrance of Hidden Lake Retreat?"

"Yes, the carriage drove all the way in, crossed the bridge onto Floral Isle, and only then stopped."

He Lingchuan's eyes flickered slightly: "Visiting Qingyang openly and honestly, what kind of person would this be? The King of Yao is currently cracking down on officials, and with so many precedents, which official would dare to act against the tide and brazenly visit Qingyang now?"

"Huh? That new head of the Azure Guards next to Qingyang, what was his name again, Yuan...?"

"Yuan Xuan."

"Mhm, Yuan Xuan came out and welcomed this person into Hidden Lake Retreat," Aunt Zhu recounted. "He was quite respectful, saying, 'Special Envoy Wu has traveled a long way, and the Palace Lord has been awaiting your arrival for many days.'"

Traveled a long way, and the head of the Azure Guards came out specifically to greet him? Hmm, but Qingyang didn't come out personally, which indicates the guest's status isn't that distinguished yet.

A special envoy?

The current situation is delicate; where would this special envoy be from?

Never mind, He Lingchuan turned his thoughts back to Bai Ziqi, and suddenly said, "Perhaps, we could be a bit more proactive."

As soon as Aunt Zhu heard the word "proactive," she became excited: "How proactive? Is there a fight to be had?"

"I need to wait for some news before making a decision." He Lingchuan smiled, "Don't worry, you'll get your fight eventually."

Sooner or later.

The missing grain, a small portion of it was actually recovered by the Yao court, but it was scattered and amounted to a drop in the bucket, barely enough to quench Tianhui City's thirst. Several officials of the Yao court jointly submitted a memorial, gravely stating the critical situation and proposing solutions. First, open all public granaries and a portion of military granaries to release grain into the market to stabilize prices; second, purchase grain from neighboring countries to alleviate the domestic food shortage. The grain in the stabilization granaries was simply insufficient; they had to draw from the official salary granaries and the royal granary. Of these two, the former was for distributing stipends to officials, and the latter was the royal family's personal grain supply. Both were emergency measures, but the Yao Kingdom had used them before, so the King of Yao had no objection and said: "Purchase grain from neighboring areas as soon as possible. The money in the national treasury is, after all, taken from the people and used for the people."

However, there was one more point in the joint memorial from the seven officials: Suspend material and grain aid to Bixia. Each batch of military grain sent to Bixia was no less than fifty thousand shi. Now, with the people of Yao Kingdom unable to feed themselves, how could there be grain for foreign aid? On this point, the King of Yao hesitated for a moment, then agreed. Ceasing aid to Bixia! This was bound to have a huge impact on Bixia's war with the allied forces. To his surprise, Qingyang, who was sitting nearby overseeing national policies, kept her gaze lowered and remained silent. Recently, in court discussions, this regent rarely offered opinions, unlike her severe demeanor when she first arrived in Yao. Was this a sign of softening, or did she have other secret schemes? The King of Yao truly hoped it was the former. Alas, he knew the truth could only be the latter.

Meanwhile, before the new grain arrived, the situation in Tianhui City continued to deteriorate. News of the vagrant riots spread throughout the city. Householders and workshop owners who had originally employed vagrants grew fearful upon hearing it and successively dismissed their vagrant workers. If only one or two households did this, it would be fine, but hundreds and thousands of them did so simultaneously. The number of vagrants who lost their source of income surged, their resentment grew stronger, and they joined the ranks of looters without hesitation. A prosperous capital city of two hundred years, now filled with panic, commoners dared not go out at night. Some officials tried to destroy squatter settlements and expel vagrants from the city, but the vagrants knew very well that leaving Tianhui City meant certain death. Even if they were chased like rats, they wouldn't take half a step outside the city. These vagrant groups quickly produced their own leaders. They organized robberies, directed the vagrants in skirmishes with government soldiers, and within a few days, they had grown considerably in size and influence. Furthermore, the various squatter settlements offered mutual protection, harboring and hiding vagrants pursued by the authorities. Of course, many squatter settlements had informants who regularly reported to the Yao Royal Court in exchange for food. The problem was, under these circumstances, even deploying the army was largely ineffective. The number of vagrants was astonishing, and they were crammed into every corner of the city—attacking their own city was not what the army specialized in. After the Yao army successively cleared out more than a dozen squatter settlements, it provoked strong resistance; and the vagrants arrested by the government and army became a thorny problem: What should be done with them?

In just a few days, the authorities arrested seven thousand vagrants involved in the riots, which was certainly not inefficient. But then what? Kill them all? After killing these seven thousand, there would be another, and another two groups of seven thousand, because the fundamental problem hadn't been resolved. Imprison them? People need to eat and drink. Even the bailiffs aren't getting enough food now; should the government feed these seven thousand for free? Were these seven thousand prisoners, or seven thousand ancestors? Then release them? If they were released, where would the government's dignity be? Once the vagrants triumphed, they would know even better how to resist the authorities in the future. In short, the path of forceful suppression seemed to be a dead end.

While there was an uproar inside and outside the city, He Lingchuan remained calmly at Spring Villa, either eating and sleeping or teasing monkeys and practicing martial arts. Since the Tianhui East Expansion and Hidden Lake Retreat projects had both halted, he was enjoying a rare period of leisure. He knew very well that he was about to exit the eye of the storm in the Yao Kingdom. Fan Shuang sought him out several times, envying his relaxed state. The King of Yao had been in a terrible temper recently, constantly scolding officials mercilessly. He, too, had entered the palace several times to accompany his superiors and endure scolding, deeply experiencing what royal wrath truly meant.

When no one else was around, the Soul-Capturing Mirror asked He Lingchuan, "If it were you, how would you handle the problem of the rioters?"

"If they're unorganized, they're just a loose rabble," He Lingchuan replied without hesitation. "You just need to divide, win over, and suppress." Vagrants also pursue self-interest; what loyalty would they have to a temporarily formed group? As long as the strategy he implemented in Longchuan was used, the vagrants would disperse faster than water bandits. "If they are organized—and it certainly looks like someone is organizing them—then the matter becomes very complex," he continued. "Look at the way the vagrants resist officials, the method of breaking into scattered groups; someone has clearly guided them. They even have very smooth escape routes. Who planned those for them?"

The mirror understood: "Qingyang's partners?"

"Fan Shuang just mentioned that the various temples in Tianhui City have opened their doors wide for relief efforts, distributing large quantities of food to the starving. This act was praised by the nobles, and the poor, after eating the grain, wept tears of gratitude and prostrated themselves before the temples in thanks," He Lingchuan analyzed. "Do you hear it? Vagrants are gathering in large numbers around the temples, and the temple attendants can easily contact the vagrant leaders. The authorities haven't realized this at all." On one hand, purchasing grain to drive up inflation, and on the other, inciting vagrant riots and disrupting the order of Tianhui City—this is an organized, planned operation. Furthermore, this should only be the prelude to Qingyang's plan.

The mirror asked him, "Do you know how they plan to start their uprising?"

"Six or seven out of ten," He Lingchuan said gravely. "Qingyang's side should make the first move. The moment that signal appears, it's our time to withdraw!"

"The speed of the unrest in Yao Kingdom matches my estimation. Qingyang's plan is indeed good. Within today, all non-combat personnel in the villa, anyone affiliated with Yangshan, must evacuate!"

The King of Yao was uneasy. He glanced cursorily at the document in his hand and then tossed it aside. Why would the Beijia envoy choose precisely this critical moment to arrive? Every year or eighteen months, Beijia would send envoys to Yao Kingdom to exchange greetings and information. The King of Yao would enthusiastically welcome envoys from the superior nation each year, hoping they would speak favorably of Yao upon their return. But this year was different. Qingyang was already stationed in Yao, causing trouble, and the King of Yao was in no mood to receive the esteemed Beijia envoy. However, since the envoy was about to arrive in Tianhui City, the superficial diplomatic gestures still had to be made. The King of Yao casually approved, tasking You Rongzhi with the reception. What particularly vexed him now was not just the frequent grain shortages and vagrant riots in Tianhui City, but also another matter:

Wang Sili. This was the person he had sent to the northern border of Yao Kingdom to replace Chongwu and command the army. To minimize resistance and avoid unexpected complications, this matter was conducted in secret. If it were announced in court discussions, the officials would have much to say. Those scoundrels were useless for anything else, but experts at causing trouble for the monarch. If Qingyang found out, she would surely interfere, so it was best to proceed quietly. Timewise, Wang Sili should be nearing or have already reached the northern front, as he was traveling at full speed, racing all the way. Then Wang Sili would first meet up with Yuwen Yong, and accompanied by the latter and the army, enter the Northern Garrison Camp to publicly announce the monarch's decree and display the ceremonial banner and seal. This way, Wang Sili's replacement of General Chongwu would be legitimate. Even if General Chongwu was unwilling, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he couldn't refuse to hand over military command. After all, the soldiers in the entire camp would have seen and heard with their own eyes and ears—The King had replaced his general! Chongwu had only managed the northern front for a little over two months, so it was impossible for him to have completely won over all the frontline soldiers. Thus, as long as this ceremony was performed in public, Wang Sili was bound to succeed. The King of Yao was now on pins and needles, waiting for his reply. Had the replacement been successful? Had he gained military command?

The King of Yao had already determined that Qingyang was secretly plotting an uprising, and Chongwu must be her accomplice! These two had been in close contact in Lingxu City. To help him ascend, Qingyang had even exchanged conditions with the King of Yao, agreeing to stop exposing corruption—which had been her most potent weapon. The King of Yao finally understood why Qingyang had insisted on securing this position for General Chongwu: This was her most crucial move. Now he deeply regretted why he had agreed to Qingyang's conditions in the first place, allowing an outsider to guard the northern front.

At this moment, Qiu Long strode in: "Your Majesty, news from the north!"

The King of Yao spun around abruptly: "Speak quickly!"

"A landslide at Yanmu Cliff has blocked the road to the Northern Garrison Camp."

The King of Yao was stunned: "What?" He had thought it was Wang Sili's urgent message arriving.

"A few days ago, Yanmu Cliff experienced heavy snowfall. The rocks there are weathered and might not have withstood the heavy snow, leading to a collapse," Qiu Long said, knowing full well what the King of Yao was concerned about. "Perhaps... perhaps General Wang is taking a detour and hasn't arrived yet?"

The King of Yao pressed his temples, feeling a throbbing pain: "Such a coincidence?"