Chapter 3: Seizing power
That day, my mother came to find me.
“My dear, today I’m going to take you to a fun place,” she said to me.
“Great, let’s go,” I said excitedly, but inside I felt listless.
My mother took me to the imperial treasure vault and said to me, “There are lots of good things in here, enough for you to play with for a while.”
I nodded.
I am now in the treasure vault on the fourth floor, and I am alone. Only the emperor can enter the imperial treasure vault. I kept laughing in the room, and there were books thrown around everywhere. This is the countless rare and precious secrets collected by the empire over the past 2,000 years. There are dozens of sacred weapons on the weapon rack, and there is another bookshelf with the 17 supreme skills of my Qiu family, seven of which are secret skills that only direct imperial family members can practice.
I was excited not because of these treasures, which are of no use to me at all, but because the fourth treasure level is 50 meters below the ground, and the third level is also below 40 meters.
After the long-standing problem was solved, I felt much more relaxed. Wandering leisurely around the room, I couldn’t help but wonder why these treasures weren’t kept in a magic bag. In the end, I could only explain it as a sickness, a serious one at that. I didn’t know at the time that these things were meant to be looked at. Just looking at them and touching them gives a sense of satisfaction. It’s not just about hiding them away. It’s not that I have a collecting fetish. How could someone collect so many things? Of course someone with a collecting fetish would put their collection away so that it looks impressive.
The entire treasure trove is defended by spells and mechanisms, except for the first floor, which is guarded by 300 people. All 300 are descendants of loyal ministers and martyrs from past dynasties, and their loyalty to the royal family is unquestionable.
After leaving the treasure vault, I sighed to the heavens. Now everything is ready, we just need a little help from the east wind. As soon as Long Li Duoqi relaxes a little, we can strike.
Another year has passed, and Long Li Duo Qi’s power has become more and more influential. However, Long Li Duo Qi has become more and more respectful of me and my mother on the surface, and has instead won the title of wise minister. Using the economic power in his hands, Long Li Duo Qi controls more than half of the empire’s army. One hundred thousand imperial troops and thirty thousand city defense troops control seventy thousand (including ten thousand city guard troops); another thirty thousand are in the hands of General Lin Yi Quan (including ten thousand imperial troops), and the last thirty thousand are in the hands of my mother and the right minister. Six months ago, they gradually let me take over. I have gradually become involved in state affairs and expressed my independent views on many things. Some of the ministers in the court have begun to secretly help me fight against Long Lidoqi. In response, Long Lidoqi even specially transferred 15,000 members of the Imperial Knights into the capital.
Although General Lin Yiquan is close to Long Liduochi, his army still protects the imperial family. If Long Liduochi really does something wrong, Lin Yiquan’s army will still protect us.
During this year, Lan Mieqing led the Canglong Army to recover the Varna Plains. However, there were surging undercurrents within the empire, and slave rebellions continued.
Long Lidongqi is becoming more and more rampant, but also more and more careful. He is always surrounded by more than 300 guards, so it is impossible to assassinate him in the city. It is also impossible to trick him into going to the palace alone. I have no choice but to take a risk and make a gamble. I am afraid that if I wait another year, the entire capital will be under his control.
Since my entourage is now almost entirely made up of Long Li Duoqi’s men, there is no way I can kill him after summoning him to the palace. If there are too few of us, we won’t be able to kill him, but if there are too many of us, they will immediately notice. By then, when the 60,000 imperial guards under his control arrive, no one will be able to escape. Therefore, we can only act when he enters the palace. Halfway through the journey, ambush troops will suddenly pounce from the house and immediately kill Lung Lik To Chi, but there is still a problem. If he enters from the East or Xuanwu City Gate, the guards at the gate will arrive in no time when we attack. The guards at these two gates are all Lung Lik To Chi’s men. The North Gate is also not an option. Only 10,000 are under my control, and the other 10,000 are still Lung Lik To Chi’s men. He definitely won’t go this way. But if he enters from the West or South City Gate, it’s different. For one thing, the route is longer, and for another, reinforcements can be sent to block the way. He definitely won’t go through the south gate, which is controlled by my mother and me. Then I only have one choice: let him go through the west gate. The west gate is controlled by General Lin Yiquan, and I must first win him over to have any chance of success.
“General Lin, my mother says you are getting too close to Zuo Zai.”
There is only Lin Yiquan and me in the palace.
“Your Majesty, I serve in the same court as Lord Long, and it is only natural that we get close.”
“General Lin, do you really not know what I’m talking about?”
After a moment of silence, General Lin Yiquan said, ”Your Majesty, 46 years ago, the empire was already tottering through the storms and trials it had experienced. It was the talented and capable Emperor Rijin, assisted by Lord Long, that allowed the empire to once again stand tall in the storms and trials, and to break out of the Qin Zhong Plain and seize the Va Dong Plain and the Va Na Plain. Forty-six years ago, our population was twice that of Chu-Huai, our land was three times as large, but our grain output was only one-third of theirs. Now our population is still twice that of Chu-Huai, but our grain output is three times as much. Isn’t this all thanks to Lord Long? Forgive my stupidity, but isn’t this kind of talent the backbone of the country?“
”General Lin, can you tell me the name of the emperor of Biao Xin?”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I don’t know.“ He didn’t understand what I meant, but Lin Yiquan still answered me honestly.
”Then you know best in Biaoxin.
“Jiang Zhijun, the right of the Citadel.”
“Do you know who the emperor of Mengli is?”
“No.”
“Then who do you know?”
“Xu Xia, the right minister.”
“How many emperors’ names do you know in the countries of the mainland, and how many names of powerful ministers do you know? Are these countries ruled by the emperors or these powerful ministers?“ Every word sounded like a thunderbolt exploding in his ears.
Lin Yiquan’s head was covered in cold sweat, but he did not move.
”Lin, Yi, Quan,” I said word by word, ‘now I just want to ask you one last question, a question you must answer.’ The overbearing momentum of the Overbearing Ding was sent out with full force.
Lin Yiquan pursed his lips tightly, his back straight and his eyes staring directly at mine. He was not in the least intimidated by my domineering manner, and after a long while, a smile appeared on Lin Yiquan’s face: “Your Majesty need not ask any more questions. From now on, I am at your service.” After all, the Lin family were still imperial officials, and Long Lituoqi was not the emperor anymore. When it came to the final choice, Lin Yiquan still chose the imperial family.
The question now is how to trick Long Li Duoqi into the palace.
“It definitely won’t work during the morning court. He enters through Xuanwu Gate, which is in his hands. When do you think is the right time, Your Majesty?” I said to my mother.
My mother no longer called me “Your Majesty”: “Your Majesty, just tell me what you want your mother to do.” After raising me for so many years, my mother doesn’t need to guess what I’m thinking.
I smiled and said, “Why don’t you pretend to be ill and trick him into coming to the palace?”
“Will he come?”
“Yes, you are the person he fears most, and you still hold some power. He will definitely come to prevent that power from falling into someone else’s hands.”
“But the vast majority of the palace is his people, not to mention the four top experts who never leave his side, and the man himself is armed with terrifying martial arts. Even if we trick him into my Ningxin Palace, we won’t be able to deal with him easily, and if we’re not careful, he’ll outwit us.“
”I have to take the risk. I can’t wait any longer. He has too much power. In another year or six months, I won’t even have the strength to fight back.“
”So what are you going to do?”
“Mother, don’t worry. Just pretend to be ill, and I’ll take care of the rest,“ I said with a smile, my eyes glowing with murderous intent.
”Very well, Your Majesty, I’ll leave it all to you.”
My mother later discovered that over the past six months (nine months), she could no longer understand me.
I secretly ordered Shi Fengying to lead his men to constantly rob passing merchants and secretly incite a slave uprising. Because Shi Fengxian made too much noise, the entire empire was alerted, and Long Liduqi finally could not stand it anymore. Long Liduqi ordered the Imperial Knights to completely surround and suppress Shi Fengying’s men. The Imperial Knights, who were originally stationed near the capital, almost all went out, but they could not catch Shi Fengxian. With my intelligence support, Shi Fengxian fought many battles instead, and was forced to do so. Long Liduqi sent out 10,000 city guards. My time has finally come.
I have already collected the treasures in the treasure trove in the magic bag. Now the treasure trove is full of orcs and winged people, a total of 700. In addition, I have brought over 100 zombies from the base. Since zombies have the skill of burrowing underground (which is not easy for living people to practice), I have kept them by my side (underground) at all times. In addition, there are 30 undead and dark mages each, and 300 people from the 13 villages in the plains have been deployed to lie in wait in the capital outside the palace, waiting for my order.
“General Lin, when did the Empress Dowager fall ill?“ Long Liduqi, who was riding a horse, asked Lin Yiquan with a smile in his eyes.
”Nine days ago, I received a message from the palace asking me to come over once. At that time, the Empress Dowager was already sick, but it wasn’t that serious at the time. I never thought that after a few days of not seeing her, she would become like this,” Lin Yiquan sighed.
“Yes, how could the Empress Dowager not be exhausted from worrying about the affairs of the country? It’s all our fault as ministers for not doing our duty. If we had done more to share the Empress Dowager’s burden, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.“
”Lord Long, you are quite right.”
Looking at the soldiers on the palace walls, Long Liduochi chuckled, ”General Lin really knows how to lead troops. Every one of them is full of energy. It’s so late, and there are still so many of them on duty.”
Lin Yiquan’s heart tightened. “There’s nothing I can do about it. Two days ago, the commander of the nine gates said that there were a lot of unfamiliar faces in the city, so just in case, I’ve increased the number of guards.”
“I heard about that too. It’s not those slaves causing trouble again, is it?”
An hour ago, I dispatched 400 people guarding the treasure trove, 370 half-orcs wearing masks, 30 winged people, 20 necromancers, and all the dark mages to the section between Xuanwu Gate and the West City Gate, and told them to ambush there. If they hear shouting near the West City Gate, they must block it with all their strength if anyone from Xuanwu Gate comes over. Another 260 half-orcs and 40 winged people will ambush not far from the West City Gate.
The group passed through the West City Gate, but General Lin frowned: “Lord Long, the palace is not very big, and if too many people get in the way, it will be bad if something gets damaged.”
“That’s fine,” Long Richudi was in a good mood: “Just leave 200 people behind.”
The remaining 400-odd people continued walking forward, with Lin Yiquan and Long Lichu in the middle of the group.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh,” a violent rain of arrows poured down from above, and dozens of the 400-odd people suddenly collapsed. The screams of agony alerted the entire palace. The 200 people still at the West Gate were shocked and hurried to the rescue, but they were unprepared for the rain of arrows from behind that also caused a wave of people to collapse. Immediately afterwards, Lin Yiquan’s troops surrounded the 200 people.
The rain of arrows continued to fall on the people of Long Li Duo Qi. The remaining 200-odd people had long since scattered, each looking for a place to hide. Even if there was fire lighting up the arrows in the darkness, their power was still greatly reduced.
“Kill, kill, kill!” The orcs charged at the remaining enemies with their swords, spears, shields, axes, and maces. The guards, who had already been scared away by the rain of arrows, were suddenly petrified when they saw the hideous beast faces, which were made even more terrifying by the light of the fire. Long Lidoqi, however, was not afraid in the face of danger, shouting to organize the men to defend.
“Lin Yiquan, come out here! Why did you betray me!” Long Licochi yelled into the darkness.
But no one paid any attention to him. Lin Yiquan had long since taken advantage of the rain of arrows to leave, rushing to the western city gate to control the situation there and return as soon as possible to help.
The orcs with their great power, the winged people who can fly in the air, the undead who are not afraid of death, the necromancer and I who keep summoning the skeletons of the dead from both sides, and the archers sniping from behind. We quickly tore apart the other party’s defensive line, but the situation was still not one-sided. The other party was still putting up a stubborn resistance, waiting for reinforcements from the East Gate and Xuanwu Gate.
The soldiers from the Xuanwu Gate had long since charged towards the Western Gate, but they were hindered by magic and traps along the way. Then the arrows of the guards, orcs and winged people rained down from the sky, but the enemy charged forward fearlessly. The lions raised their huge shields, but in their right hands were crossbows, which they used to continuously shoot the advancing soldiers. Immediately afterwards, the minotaurs charged from behind, swinging their huge axes. Every three of them formed a Sanxuan formation, blocking the way of the Lion Clan. The terrifying great axes, propelled by the powerful force, made the armor worn by the soldiers seem like paper, unable to stop the axes at all. The lightning spells attached to the axes caused even greater damage to the soldiers in the rear. What was even more terrifying was that the orcs had all been bestialized and no longer knew the meaning of pain. This even further stimulated their murderous intent, and their strength had increased twentyfold, giving them a powerful blow against the enemy.
From time to time, winged people soared into the air and swooped down on the soldiers. The shrill sound of their spears and the violent wind magic rushed into the crowd, and seven or eight soldiers who were not on their guard immediately fell to the ground. However, the enemy’s bows and arrows also posed a great threat to the winged people who soared into the air.
The Tiger Clan and Leopard Clan closely guarded the necromancer and dark mage, their knives and spears working in unison to provide a formidable resistance to the soldiers who pounced on them. The dark mage’s terrifying blood-sucking orbs, black spirit explosions, and nether lightning flashes flashed endlessly in the enemy’s rear . The enemies without mages suffered heavy losses. The most terrifying was the necromancer, who kept casting spells to summon skeletons. The recently dead enemies and allies of both sides stood up again before they fell, brandishing their weapons and charging at the soldiers at the Xuanwu Gate.
“It’s the Dark Mage.“ The Royal Mage sensed the fluctuations of dark magic and immediately flew towards the place where the dark magic was fluctuating.
”Stop.” A petite figure blocked the only way to the battle site and raised something in her hands.
Seven or eight figures did not want to pay any attention to her and just walked away, but when they saw the object she was holding high in her hands, they immediately stopped. ”May I ask, young lady…”
“Don’t you even recognize me! I am the personal maid of His Majesty. His Majesty the Emperor has ordered that the royal mage immediately return to his residence and not wander around, or he will be executed!” Cathy said sternly, and suddenly two sword lights flew out of her body, those being the Thunder Dragon Sword and the Zeland Dragon Sword.
The mage turned around and was about to leave. Seeing the commotion, everyone knew that this was obviously a confrontation between the emperor and Zuo Zai. Now, whichever side one helped was in danger. It would be better to go back to sleep. Besides, this woman had two divine artifacts in her hands. If a real fight broke out, they would never see the sun rise again.
Of course, there were also people who were originally loyal to Long Ludiqi, so they would not retreat. But Cathy added, “His Majesty also ordered that if a mage goes out, the law of three-family joint responsibility will be implemented. Anyone who dares to interfere in today’s matter will have their entire family destroyed.”
Not many mages dared to move. If they moved, they might be stopped by other mages. The mages immediately returned to their residences.
But this still did not stop all the mages. Three Tianshi Dao mages secretly used the Wind Chasing technique to quickly fly to the battle. But they saw a long rainbow streak across the sky, and three thunderbolts fell from the sky and smashed towards the three mages.
“Fire Dragon, go.” The three fire dragons flew into the air, roared, and struck the Thunder Dragon Sword. The fire dragons vanished in an instant, and the three men were shocked. The Wind Chasing spell suddenly disappeared, and they fell to the ground. Three wooden shields blocked the Thunder Dragon Sword. Just then, the Thunder Dragon Sword attacked from the air, sending up a rushing water current that instantly passed through the wooden shields. The three men, who had not reacted in time, were immediately penetrated by the water energy, and their bodies were instantly destroyed. They screamed and fell to the ground.
“Imitate nature and destroy.” A terrifying bolt of lightning came from nowhere. This was one of the most terrifying spells in the Celestial Master Dao, the Thunder of Destruction. Cathy’s figure disappeared like a ghost in place, and half of the house beneath her feet disappeared. Thunder Dragon and Ze Long Sword spun violently, intertwined and flew towards the yellow-robed mage who had cast the yellow-robed mage who had cast the Thunder of Obliteration. Just as it got close, a ball of lightning suddenly appeared at the tip of the Thunder Dragon Sword. As soon as it flew out, it turned into three balls that covered the yellow-robed mage’s entire body, while the Ze Long Sword made no move and just stabbed at the mage’s heart.
The yellow-robed mage was taken aback. The “Wooden Shield” suddenly appeared, and the three bolts of lightning exploded. The Wooden Shield disappeared in an instant, and a phantom suddenly appeared at the tip of the Zelong Sword. It was the sixth-order spell Endless Water Slash. Just as the Endless Water Slash was about to hit the body, a yellow light appeared on the yellow-robed mage. This was not a soil-type spell, but the Golden Heart Da Fa, the life-saving expertise of the Tianshi Dao. It seems that this yellow-robed mage has a very high status in the Tianshi Dao.
“Endless Wind in the Heart” is a wind magic spell triggered by the Golden Heart Da Fa, which has a power that spans one rank. It is originally a sixth-rank spell, but it has unleashed a terrifying seventh-rank power. Cathy’s face changed drastically. ‘Thunderstorm and Windstorm’ The thunder on the Thunder Dragon Sword shook, the ring sword splattered, and the towering waves on the Zelong sword rose up to the sky, only to collapse in an instant. For a moment, the water power was rampant, and the storm blowing the water vapor towards the yellow-robed mage came from Cathy’s heart. What was even more terrifying was the cyclone hidden in the rain.
The spells from both sides collided in midair, and the collision of their energies uprooted the large tree on the ground. Although “Endless Wind in the Heart” had unleashed its seventh-level power, Cathy’s “Thunderstorm and Windstorm” had exhausted her spiritual power and was now unleashing its power with the help of the powerful forces of the two artifacts, surpassing the seventh level. After the collision, “Endless Wind in the Heart” was instantly swallowed up by “Thunderstorm and Storm Rising”, and the remaining power struck out without pause. In a panic, the yellow-robed mage only had time to deploy “Shield of Connected Wood”, but the power of the three elements of thunder, water, and wind was so strong that even the aftereffects were more than “Shield of Connected Wood” could withstand.
A large green hand appeared out of thin air to hold the two swords, and the remaining storm crashed into the “Lianmu Shield”. The yellow-robed mage’s face turned blood red, and after gathering his thoughts, he first bowed to the Taoist who had appeared in front of him, “Disciple greets immortal elder.”
“Go back now,” the Taoist’s mouth carried a stern meaning.
Without resistance, the yellow-robed mage bowed again and turned to go.
The Taoist figure disappeared and reappeared, coming to Cathy, who was a hundred paces away. Cathy was shocked when she saw him. Although she didn’t know if he was using magic or martial arts, she knew at a glance that this person had clearly cultivated to the point of being a Daoist immortal.
“Taoist master…” At a glance, Cathy saw that the Taoist’s Daoist robe had eight red lines embroidered on it. Under the heavens, there may be many eighth-level mages, and there are also several in the empire, but there is only one Taoist master in the world with red lines embroidered on his Daoist robe: “Hello, Tao Lin Taoist master.”
“Miss Cathy, you go back, I will guard here.“
Cathy was overjoyed, with the help of this immortal, no mage would dare trespass. ‘Then thank you immortal.’
”Here is a pill, it will be good for your injury, take it!”
Cathy thanked him and took the pill and left.
At the north gate, my men were taking over the other 10,000 Yuan Longli Tuoqi men while everyone was asleep. However, after hearing the screams of battle inside the palace, the Longli Tuoqi men woke up from their dreams, discovered our plot, and immediately engaged me in battle.
The 300 men lying in wait outside the palace immediately attacked the east gate as soon as they heard the commotion inside. Although the enemy initially suffered heavy losses, they soon stabilized thanks to the defensive enchantment. Since they didn’t know how many people were at the east gate in the dark, they could only guard the east gate and dare not ask questions about the commotion inside the palace. However, after ten minutes , they were convinced that there were not many enemies, and so they sent most of their troops to support the palace. As soon as the shouting started, the troops at the south gate quickly rushed towards the east gate. The troops at the east gate had just rushed out of the city gate when they encountered the troops from the south gate. The two sides immediately engaged in battle, and it was not possible to tell who would win in a short time.
At the same time, the city guard in the city heard the commotion in the palace, but they could only wait outside the palace. Those who did not receive orders to enter the palace were considered traitors and were to be executed.
“Imperial decree.“ An elderly eunuch entered the command post of the Eastern Commander of the City Guard, holding the imperial decree high.
The two senior generals on duty in the post were shocked and hurriedly knelt to receive the decree.
”The emperor decrees that the Eastern Gate City Guard is urgently ordered to enter the palace immediately to assist the king. There must be no mistakes. Those who disobey will be executed, and those who divulge the secret will be executed.”
“Your servant accepts the edict.” The two men rose from the ground, accepted the edict, read it carefully, and immediately summoned someone to go and call all the senior generals in the army, while they themselves went to gather the soldiers.
Five minutes later, the soldiers had gathered. Without waiting any longer, the 20,000 city guards followed the eunuch directly into the palace, heading straight for Xuanwu Gate to support the orcs who were blocking the defenders of Xuanwu Gate.
The orcs and winged people not far from Xuanwu Gate had long been surrounded by the soldiers. Countless soldiers surged past them towards the west gate, but the 850 men still held out. The skeleton army exerted a powerful influence, and the black magic dealt heavy damage to the enemy. However, there were only 850 of them, and although beast transformation gave the orcs great power, it was not sustainable after all, and soon more than 200 were lost. Just as the last remaining 600 were about to be completely overwhelmed, the city guard finally arrived.