Chapter 72: The Twenty-Third Round of Moves!
Chapter 72
On the seventh day of the third month, earlier than the previous cycle, the Imperial Guards, the Southern Capital Prefecture, and the Court of Judicial Review all mobilized simultaneously to raid the major grain merchants.
The door was kicked open, and someone grabbed the person.
Outside an inconspicuous bookstore, Yan Shuang and Ying Changping led their men to silently surround the bookstore, while Yan Danqing stepped on the roof tiles and quietly approached.
"Sir, something's wrong!" someone inside the room said urgently in a low voice, "His Highness has been taken back to the embassy, and Yan Danqing is nowhere to be found. He hasn't come near the moat, so the transaction has been suspended."
Upon hearing this, Ucho frowned.
Yan Danqing could certainly understand the Northern Yan language. His ears twitched, and he became even quieter, his breathing disappearing completely, as he tried to find out more information.
Someone frowned: "Could it be that the Liang people have discovered something? That shouldn't be the case. Our plan was sudden; they shouldn't have had time to react..."
The sound stopped abruptly, and several birds flew up from the bookstore courtyard. Ujou suddenly looked out the window:
"who?!"
They actually used birds to deliver messages!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
Arrows rained down, shooting down all the birds that flew out of the courtyard, leaving none alive.
The people inside immediately spilled the lamp oil and were about to set themselves on fire when Yan Shuang and the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard rushed at them, drew their swords, and captured them all.
On the other side, seeing that things were not going well, Ucho's eyes sharpened, and he took out poison from his pocket and was about to pour it into his mouth.
With Ye Xiren's life at stake, how could he possibly let Wu Qiao succeed in committing suicide? Yan Danqing's eyes were fixed on him. He had already pounced on him and pinned him to the ground. With a swift stroke, he cut off both of his hands and dislocated his jaw to prevent him from biting his tongue and committing suicide.
The movement was so fast that Ye Xiren, who followed behind, was stunned and didn't come to her senses.
Wu Qiao's face turned deathly pale as he stared intently at the person pressing him down, incredulous: "Yan Danqing!"
How were they exposed?!
Yan Danqing naturally offered no explanation. He picked up the crippled Wu Qiao and tossed him to Yan Shuang, his eyes darkening: "Take him back to the imperial prison. Don't let him die. I'll interrogate him."
Yan Shuang agreed and dragged the person away.
Yan Danqing took a deep breath, letting the coldness in her eyes fade a little, before turning back to look at Ye Xiren with gentle eyes: "Don't be afraid, we can break the cycle."
I don't know if I'm trying to comfort myself or Ye Xiren.
Ye Xiren shook her head and stepped forward:
"I'm not scared anymore."
She was terrified at first, but then she realized that Yan Danqing seemed even more afraid of her impending disappearance... This calmed her down and she wasn't so scared anymore.
Yan Danqing forced a smile: "I'm going to the Imperial Prison, you..."
“Let’s go together.” Ye Xiren’s eyes were firm.
Yan Danqing held her hand. At this moment, he didn't want to keep Ye Xiren out of his sight. The more others ignored her, the more afraid he became. He just wanted to keep watching her, afraid that she would disappear completely if he looked away for even a moment.
Northern Yan Embassy
A chessboard was placed in front of Chi Zhanlan Ce. The black and white pieces were locked in a fierce battle, like two dragons intertwining and tearing each other apart, unable to determine a winner. Mo Le and A You had already been taken away. Ying Changping stood beside him, staring intently at him.
He tried to strike up a conversation, but Ying Changping remained silent, neither allowing him to do anything nor letting him know anything.
Chi Zhanlan Ce had been holding a white piece in his hand for a long time, not daring to make a move. Victory or defeat was just a matter of a single thought. If he made a mistake, he would lose the whole game.
He looked up towards the West Market, but not a single bird flew by. It was eerily quiet. Daliang was just as quiet today. Since he returned to the embassy, he hadn't seen any of Daliang's important figures, including Liang Yue, Jiang You, and Yan Danqing.
What are they busy with?
Chi Zhanlan slowly clenched the white pieces in his hand and lowered his eyes.
Imperial Prison
The interrogation lasted from morning till night, but there was still no result. Ucho was almost turned into a puddle of mud but still refused to speak. He repeatedly tried to commit suicide because he could not withstand the torture.
The other Northern Yan people were able to be persuaded, but they knew nothing about the situation. They only listened to the arrangements made by Chizhanlanze and Wuqiao. Even Mole and Ayou were completely unaware of the details.
Currently, only Wu Qiao and Chi Zhan Lan Ce know the secrets of Northern Yan. We can't get any clues from Wu Qiao, and it's even less likely that we can get them from Chi Zhan Lan Ce.
Yan Danqing poured a bucket of salt water on him, forcing him to wake up. His eyes were cold and his voice indifferent: "National Preceptor of Northern Yan, Mr. Wu Qiao, if you don't want to speak, then fine."
He walked to the side, washing his hands as he spoke:
"I don't necessarily need to know your Northern Yan secrets to win. Without Chi Zhan Lan Ce, the Northern Yan army is like a tiger with its teeth pulled. I will eventually drive them out and completely subdue them!"
Ujo opened his eyes with difficulty, glanced up at him, weakly and painfully tugged at the corners of his mouth, and remained silent, lowering his head to quietly await death.
Clearly, he did not agree with Yan Danqing's words, his eyes filled with endless mockery.
“Kill him.” Yan Danqing turned around.
Yan Shuang nodded and was about to step forward to make a move.
Ye Xiren suddenly rushed in, panting: "Chunzhou, Chizhan Lance is dead!"
Yan Danqing's expression changed drastically.
Behind him, Wu Qiao suddenly raised his head, something flashing in his eyes.
Yan Danqing stepped forward anxiously and asked, "Has the news been blocked?"
Ye Xiren's breathing became more rapid, and she nodded solemnly: "Prime Minister Jiang immediately blocked the news so that Bei Yan would not know. Chun Zhou, you must go to Huai'an Canal as soon as possible and catch Bei Yan off guard."
"Hahaha, the Great Liang, the Great Liang can't possibly defeat our Northern Yan!"
"After hundreds of years, our Northern Yan has finally seen the birth of a Holy Son, a blessing from heaven. You have killed the Holy Son, and Northern Yan will surely avenge him, conquer the Central Plains, and take over the Great Liang!"
Yan Danqing turned around angrily:
"dream!"
Ucho stopped speaking and lowered his eyes.
The three were in a hurry to leave the imperial prison.
Yan Shuang looked anxious and turned to ask, "Second Miss Ye, how did Chi Zhan Lan Ce die?" Although she didn't want him to live, she should at least know the truth before killing him.
Ye Xiren shook her head, and Yan Shuang was taken aback.
Yan Danqing's gaze softened, and she said softly, "Chizhan Lance is not dead. Xixi lied to him."
Yan Shuang: "??"
The interrogator fears most that the victim won't speak. As long as the victim speaks, no matter what they say, they can always get some information. Ye Xiren stood outside the dungeon, but because she didn't speak, no one could "see" her.
As Yan Danqing washed his hands, he glanced at Ye Xiren in the corner. Their eyes met, and their tacit understanding, honed over countless cycles, was so strong that they knew exactly what to do with just a look.
After interrogating him for a day without getting any results, he finally "gave up." At that moment, Ye Xiren pretended to run in and tell him that Chi Zhanlan Ce was dead, which attracted Wu Qiao's attention... It all makes perfect sense.
"Yan Shuang, you continue to keep watch here. Don't let Wu Qiao die." After saying this, Yan Danqing hurriedly entered the palace with Ye Xiren. Time was of the essence, and they couldn't afford to waste any more time.
Palace
Jiang You, wiping the sweat from his brow, was reporting: "Lord Ye is working with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to prepare for war. The grain is ready and can be transported to the Huai'an Canal at any time, but the grain merchants' warehouses are not full. A lot of it was previously transported to Northern Yan..."
Their alliance with Northern Yan wasn't just about cooperating with Chizhan Lance; they even sent them grain!
No wonder the people of Northern Yan could wait around the Huai'an Canal during the lean season in March, when food was scarce; someone had already sent them grain, enough to last them for a while.
Liang Yue threw down the memorial in his hand, his eyes blazing with fury: "These traitors actually sent grain to Northern Yan?!"
The Northern Yan trampled on their land, killed their people, and yet they still ate their food? Have these people completely lost their country and their compatriots?
Liang Yue felt breathless just thinking about it; his eyes were bloodshot, and his chest heaved violently.
Yan Danqing then brought Ye Xiren in.
If it were just Ye Xiren, no one would see her. But when Yan Danqing is holding her hand, everyone will notice Ye Xiren the moment they see Yan Danqing, and then they will recall their forgotten memories of her.
Of course, if you can't keep an eye on her, you can turn around and naturally overlook her without arousing any suspicion.
Jiang You hurriedly asked, "How's the interrogation going?"
Suppressing his anger, Liang Yue took two steps forward and looked at them as well.
They initially thought that Ucho was there to protect Chizhan Lance, but judging from Ucho's reaction, protecting the Holy Son was not his primary task.
In the last cycle, he made a deal with Chizhan Lance. Chizhan Lance probably knew that he would not survive and that it would be a double death. Wu Qiao... knew the same thing. Otherwise, why wouldn't Wu Qiao come to pick up their Crown Prince?
The only thing Yan Danqing couldn't understand was, if Wu Qiao didn't care about Chi Zhan Lan Ce's life or death, then what was he doing in Nandu? The dignified National Preceptor of Northern Yan, risking his life alone, just to cooperate with Chi Zhan Lan Ce?
Liang Yue and Jiang You looked completely bewildered.
Ye Xiren recalled the several times that Chi Zhanlan Ce and Yan Danqing had died together in the notes, and added: "He is a madman. As long as he can win, he doesn't care about life or death. However, he has an outstanding position in Northern Yan. Because of his status as a divinely ordained holy son, he has the faith of everyone in Northern Yan."
"If he dies in Daliang, although it will rip out the fangs of Northern Yan, it will also ignite the hatred in the hearts of the people of Northern Yan, making them willing to pay any price to avenge the Holy Son..."
Even though she didn't understand warfare, she knew how terrifying it would be if the enemy soldiers were not afraid of death and would rather die than let the people of Daliang die.
This wasn't just one or two cases, but the entire Northern Yan army. The weight of Chi Zhanlan Ce's status as a "holy son" was far greater than they had imagined.
Ye Xiren guessed that Yan Wan's fifteenth failure was probably because she failed to seize Chi Zhanlan Ce to blackmail Bei Yan, and instead let the other party die in the capital of Daliang.
So much so that later, the Northern Yan army that entered Daliang all shouted for revenge for the Holy Son.
As for what happened to Yan Danqing in that round, Ye Xiren couldn't guess.
“We can’t kill him easily, and we can’t get any information out of him. What should we do?” Liang Yue frowned and murmured, “If only we could break Northern Yan’s faith in Chi Zhan Lan Ce…”
How to solve this?
In the eyes of the Northern Yan people, the Holy Son was chosen by God. Unless it could be proven that he was not blessed by God, how could their faith be broken?
Jiang You then asked, "So what should we do now?"
He looked at Yan Danqing:
"Although the grain supplies are not quite enough, there is enough to fight a battle if we transport it to the Huai'an Canal. Also, the grain from Yunlai will be delivered the day after tomorrow... General Yan, why don't you go to the Huai'an Canal immediately?"
Since Chi Zhanlan Ce has no intention of negotiating peace, and doesn't even plan to return alive, the previous withdrawal order is likely to be ineffective. Chaos may break out at Huai'an Canal at any time, and Jiang You is somewhat worried if Yan Danqing doesn't stay there.
Yan Danqing rubbed his fingers together.
After a long pause, he shook his head: "Let's wait a little longer. I have a feeling that the secret of Northern Yan will fall into the hands of Chi Zhanlan Ce. If we can uncover the truth, we can be absolutely certain of success..."
He couldn't afford to fail when his life was at stake!
It's almost there.
What is Northern Yan hiding? What other secrets do Chi Zhanlan Ce and Wu Qiao hold?
Ye Xiren looked outside the palace. The bright moon slowly rose. Time passed unnoticed, and it was already the seventh day of the third month. On the eighth day of the third month, she had lived another day.
Just as Liang Yue was about to speak, a series of hurried footsteps sounded, and two people arrived from two directions almost simultaneously.
Liu Duoxi was in front, and Ying Changping was behind.
Liu Duoxi, looking anxious, rushed over with a sealed letter in his hand, holding it up with both hands: "Your Majesty, urgent dispatch from Huai'an Canal, the second prince of Northern Yan, Chizhan Chengye, seems to be in the army of Daliang!"
"Your Majesty, Chi Zhanlan said that he can tell us the truth we need to find out, but he requests to see Miss Ye. He will only tell Miss Ye!"
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Author's note: See you tomorrow!
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