A Step into the Past

Book 10 Chapter 2 - Complicated Situation

Inside the carriage, Zhao Ya curled up inside Xiang Shaolong’s embrace, extremely sorrowful over her loss.

Xiang Shaolong rubbed her shoulder and softly whispered, “Keep up your spirit! A dead person can’t return back to life. We can only use our grief as strength to embrace all the upcoming dangers.”

Zhao Ya twitched, “They all died tragically. We couldn’t even recognize their faces. Who would actually dare to collaborate with these murderers? How did they even know the secret path to the palace?”

Xiang Shaolong’s heart trembled in fear. If this problem was investigated properly, even Empress Jing would be implicated in it, but if he didn’t explain everything to Zhao Ya clearly, with her wisdom, who knows one day she might realize that he had been lying to her all along. So, he explained Han Chuang’s role in this incident.

Zhao Ya was filled with hatred, dissatisfied, “How could you let go of Han Chuang?”

Looking at her filled with hatred and fury, Xiang Shaolong started to have a headache, sighed, “I also have no alternative. This incident must surely involve Empress Jing. In our current circumstances, there can only be danger and no advantage towards Zhao. If the relation between Han and Zhao worsen, it would only provide advantages to Tian Dan and Li Yuan. Ya’er, can you understand my difficulties? Don’t forget that I promised you to help your brother to tide over this crisis!”

After this reasoning, it’s hard for Zhao Ya to pursue it further, lying back down onto his embrace, she whispered, “Shaolong, I hate my Brother. Besides himself and his personal interest, he doesn’t care about anybody else.”

Xiang Shaolong secretly sighed. At the end of it, everyone who becomes the Emperor will become like this.

Absolute power will corrupt anyone.

When he thought about this, he couldn’t help but consider Xiao Pan, the future Qin Shi Huang. Just thinking about it brought about intense feeling of dread.

Handan had just passed a quiet but not so quiet morning.

Lord Xinling’s underlings had all been executed. Everyone in the city was shaken. This has brought Xiang Shaolong’s prestige as the new City Commander to a whole new level of height.

The following few days, Xiang Shaolong and the rest were busy. They have put in place several new preventive measures, but in actual fact, they were secretly preparing a way to capture Zhao Mu back to Xianyang in order to complete this mission.

With Guo Kai persuasion, Cheng Xu was released and allowed to resume his original post. Both were now even more envious of him. At the same time, they were confused why Zhao Mu hadn’t done anything even after knowing of Xiang Shaolong’s plot.

Because of Lord Xinling’s incident, both Tian Dan and Li Yuan tried to keep a low profile, not allowing anyone to guess what they are doing.

Han Chuang tried even harder to avoid suspicions, rarely went out for anything. Even more, he wouldn’t dare to request Shaolong to allow Tian Zhen and Tian Feng to accompany him, relieving Xiang Shaolong of this headache.

Lord Longyang decided to return to Daliang. Xiao Cheng decided on a day inside the palace to organize a banquet in order to send off Lord Longyang.

On the morning of three days before the farewell banquet, Zhao Mu sent someone looking for Xiang Shaolong.

Xiang Shaolong knew what it is all about, left whatever he’s doing and went to Marquis resident to see Zhao Mu.

This traitor invited him in to the secret room, excitedly said, “Your idea of loyalty letter is amazing. I can immediately test who is loyal towards me and who is sitting in neutral ground undecided.”

Xiang Shaolong replied, “Quickly give me the names of these undecided people so that I may present them to Xiao Cheng to get rid off.”

Zhao Mu pulled out a letter from his chest, spread it out on the table, gleefully smiled, “We both are thinking along the same line. Look! I have prepared it already.”

Xiang Shaolong looked at it closely and only saw more than ten names written on it. Cheng Xu surprisingly was written amongst them. The rest are all prominent ministers and generals inside the city.

Xiang Shaolong was astonished, “Isn’t Cheng Xu Guo Kai’s underling? How could he appear on this list? Could it be…?”

Zhao Mu’s eyes glinted with wildness briefly, “If it wasn’t for me, this ungrateful bastard wouldn’t even have the right to be Palace Commander? You better used this time when Xiao Cheng is unhappy with him to get rid off him.”

With these words, Xiang Shaolong instantly understood that Cheng Xu is definitely not his underling. He only wants to borrow someone else’s hand to kill him so that he can get his underling onto Cheng Xu’s current position.

From this conclusion, who would have the biggest opportunity to be the next Palace Commander would probably be Zhao Mu’s man.

Zhao Mu smiled, “Even if we couldn’t harm him, we have nothing to lose!”

Then he went silent, “Xiao Cheng truly summoned Li Mu to return to the city. The 20,000 thousands elite soldiers under his command are on the way here. They will arrive in Handan in 7 days. Hmph! But his return will only bring about his death because Xiao Cheng doesn’t have that many days to live.”

Xiang Shaolong secretly rejoiced. He knew that Zhao Mu had decided on a plan to usurp the throne. Pretending to be excited, “I have also prepared everything. Marquis, when have you decided to act?”

Zhao Mu was shivering in excitement. The poisonous snake-like ugly scar on his face and both his eyes were flashing in excitement. He frostily replied, “Three days later during Lord Longyang’s farewell banquet. Every ministers and generals will all be inside the palace. That would be the perfect time to act.”

This time, even Xiang Shaolong was confused, “But that would be when the security inside the palace would be most tight and the alertness would be most high, where is the opportunity in there?”

Zhao Mu smiled sinisterly, “As long as you can get organise those Generals whom are loyal towards Xiao Cheng to move into the palace and replaced them with our people, then the city will fall under my hands. Under those circumstances, would Handan then be like a meat on top of the anvil allowing me free reign to oppress and exploit.”

Xiang Shaolong replied in a heavy voice, “Could Marquis explain it better for me?”

Zhao Mu nodded, “Our helping hand is that thief, Xiang Shaolong. I will organize someone to leave a mark that he has arrived inside the city. By that time, even if you don’t bring it up, the badly frightened Xiao Cheng will force you to track him down. You can use that as an excuse to move about and blockade the palace. On the other side, you can open wide the gate to allow Tian Dan’s army to enter the city. By then, who would be afraid of the trivial 10,000 palace guards, even more so when I have my own people inside too?”

Xiang Shaolong frowned, “Isn’t this too forceful? It seems like there is slight discrepancy between this and what Marquis had originally planned for?” Continuing in a soft voice, “Can you really trust the Qi?”

Zhao Mu was slightly displeased, “Regarding this, I have my own consideration. As long as you can attain Handan’s military power and follow my instructions, three days later would be Xiao Cheng’s time to return to heaven. The rest you don’t need to worry about. Afterwards, I guarantee that not only you’ll become the three army commander in chief, wealth and rank will be yours to enjoy.”

Xiang Shaolong knew that the situation won’t be as simple as he described but he knew that if he continues to pursue this line of questioning, it will raise his suspicions. After agreeing to his request, he took his leave and immediately headed to request an audience with King Zhao.

Inside the palace, Xiang Shaolong on seeing Xiao Cheng, was afraid that there might be spies amongst the palace guards, sent him an eye signal. Xiao Cheng agreed and led him to walk through the palace garden with the guards guarding from a distance. After listening to Xiang Shaolong’s report, he sighed, “Until today, I just realized the loyalty and importance of both Li Mu and Lian Po towards this Zhao. After eliminating Zhao Mu and his gangs, with Guo Kai and General Dong’s help, and also Li Mu and Lian Po, I am confident that we can rebuild our country again. In addition, we also have Lu Gong Secret Manual. Unifying the whole country is just a matter of time. General Dong need to work hard this time. I definitely wouldn’t forget your hardwork.”

With a person like Xiao Cheng spouting these words is an equivalent of actually confiding in him. If Xiao Cheng can truly be what he promised to do then there is a hope to rebuild the country again. But listening to this heartfelt confession, Xiang Shaolong for whatever reason felt an inauspicious feeling. His heart felt really uncomfortable. Maybe, it’s because it doesn’t follow Xiao Cheng’s normal behavior, that’s why it gave him an abrupt feeling.

Looking at Xiao Cheng’s pale face, Xiang Shaolong replied in a heavy voice, “If the city’s commander post is vacant, who would you choose as a replacement?”

Xiao Cheng couldn’t answer right away, frowning, “General Dong, why are you in a rush to know?”

Xiang Shaolong replied, “All along, Zhao Mu doesn’t fully trust me. He hides many things from me. I saw how confidence he is so he must have someone who is loyal towards him inside the army. If the city commander’s position is empty, this Zhao Mu’s underling would have a big probability of being chosen for this role.”

Xiao Cheng shook his head smiling, “This is only one of Zhao Mu’s wishes. In reality, even I myself am not sure who I would have chosen. There are several candidates, I don’t believe that all of them are on his side.”

Xiang Shaolong was shaken, “If something suddenly happened to the Commander General, under these circumstances, you must have someone in mind to temporarily lead the guards to avoid any chaos. In your heart, who would be the best candidate?”

Under the Zhao’s Palace Commander, there are 10 Imperial Colonel leading the 10 armies. Each army contains roughly between 1,000-1,500 soldiers. These armies specialize in guarding King Zhao’s safety. All of them have been rigorous training and selection process. They are the elite. Their skills are far above the city guards and the outer city soldiers.

Under normal circumstances, if the Palace Commander could not carry out his duties, one of amongst the 10 Colonel will carry it out instead, selecting the best of them to temporarily take over, mainly because they are familiar the Palace security and activities so as not to cause any problem.

Xiao Cheng deliberated over his choices for a while, sighed, “This problem is hard for me to decide in such a short amount of time.”

Xiang Shaolong understood his indecisive personality and continued to ask, “It seems like if we can’t obtain those Loyalty Letters, then we can’t feel out what Zhao Mu plan is. Let me handle this! Your Majesty, please relax.”

Xiao Cheng fully trusts him, “Tommorow, I will give you the other half of the army seal. It will give you the authority to move the armies around.” He paused for awhile then continued, “If Tian Dan also joins in with that traitor that wants to usurp my throne, I want to take advantage of this time to kill him. General Dong, do you have the confidence to do this?”

Xiang Shaolong replied in a heavy tone, “Your Majesty, have you thought of the consequences?”

Xiao Cheng sighed, “I have thought over this issue for several days now. The Qi without Tian Dan would be like a tiger without claws and teeth. The problem is this person is not easy to kill. That’s why I am asking General Dong’s opinion.”

Looking at this worried face, Xiang Shaolong gritted his teeth, “Leave this to me! Hey! I have a request if Your Majesty would be so kind to grant it.”

Xiao Cheng said, “Please continue, General Dong!”

Xiang Shaolong continued, “Regarding handling Zhao Mu, if Your Majesty could keep this a secret between the two of us and not let anyone else knows, including Minister Guo.”

Xiao Cheng was stunned, displeased, “Does General Dong suspect Minister Guo?”

Xiao Shaolong replied, “As long as we haven’t obtained that Loyalty Letters, I couldn’t be sure who is in that traitor’s pocket. Zhao Mu’s men could even be one of Minister Guo’s underlings. In this important moment, one mistake would cause everything to fall apart. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Xiao Cheng contemplated his words for a while then nodded in agreement. After discussing the details of the operation, Xiang Shaolong left the palace and return to his command center. He sent for Teng Yi and told him of the current situations.

Teng Yi was absorbed momentarily then replied resolutely, “Zhao Mu has started to be more wary of you. Hng! Your performance was just too amazing, especially after snatching back the Lu Gong Secret Manual. If I was Zhao Mu, I would also be a little bit cautious towards you.”

Xiang Shaolong anxiously said, “Not only Zhao Mu became more wary over this, but my biggest problem is that I had serendipitiously become the biggest benefactor of Le Cheng’s death. Even more troublesome is that Guo Kai is plotting something in the background. Now I am at a critical time. Truly bad timing!”

Teng Yi blanked, “What do you mean serendipitiously?”

Xiang Shaolong smiled bitterly while explaining it to him then said, “Now, we have to find a way to grab those Loyalty Letters before we can understand Zhao Mu’s movements. I reckon this sly as fox old thief would want me to get my hand dirty while he just sits by watching. Ai! I’m gonna talk to Tian Dan.”

Teng Yi said, “You better not do that. It seems like Tian Dan is also suspicious of you. If you go, it would be an equivalent of sending yourself to death. You might even accidentally reveal a weak point. If he asked you about the Lu Gong Secret Manual, how will you answer to him? He is not Xiao Cheng. He wouldn’t trust you easily. Furthermore, he must have known the relationship between them and Han Chuang. There’s also Li Yuan. Recently, we might have overlooked him too.”

Xiang Shaolong was disconcerted upon hearing this. While troubling himself over this, his underling came in to report that Lord Longyang is here to see him.

Xiang Shaolong smiled bitterly, “Now, the only one I can trust is this not man and not woman fellow.” After saying this, he went to the main hall to greet Lord Longyang.

After waving away his people, the two of them sits in the corner and starts chatting softly.

Lord Longyang’s spirit had improved a lot, returning almost to his previous condition and gaining back his confidence, watching him closely momentarily, gently said, “This morning, Li Yuan came looking for me. He wants me to join forces with him to force Xiao Cheng to withdraw his troops from the Yan, otherwise Qi and Chu will resort to military forces. Hmph! He is full of himself. After only becoming the country’s uncle for a few days, he felt like he is the representative of Chu’s Xiao Lie.”

Xiang Shaolong replied, “If Qi and Chu combined forces to deal with us, would Wei also come out to help?”

Lord Longyang smiled, “Brother Dong, even though your wisdom is as deep as the sea, but your disposition afterall is forthright and honest. You wouldn’t understand someone as treacherous as Li Yuan. What he said and what he does is totally different. He only said that to cover up another bigger treacherous plot. You better warn Xiao Cheng to be more wary of him. Ai! I am really worried about you, Brother Dong!”

Xiang Shaolong was stunned, “Why would you say that, My Lord?”

Lord Longyang sighed, “I knew that you attained this City Commander role primarily due to Empress Jing’s backing. After the fire, I want to warn Brother Dong that this woman is very ambitious. Without making any noise, she can play around with people as easily as if they are on the palm of her hand. It wouldn’t even waste a small breath it takes to blow a speck of dust for her to put you beyond redemption. In the past, when Lord Xinling lives away from home in Handan, they were both involved with each other. You are now useful to her, so of course, she would try her best to win you over. Once you have expired your usefulness, let’s see how she will treat you then?”

Xiang Shaolong started to cold sweat, he truly didn’t consider Empress Jing as a threat. Now looking back, she really isn’t that simple. At the present struggle, regardless of which side wins, she will reap benefit regardless.

The problem lies with Li Mu and Lian Po. As long as they’re alive, no one would dare to touch her.

Xiang Shaolong considered himself to be in Empress Jing’s shoes. She wished someone could help her to eliminate her King husband in name only but not in reality so that her son could ascend the throne while she controlled everything behind the scenes. At that time, with Li Mu and Lian Po, these two loyal and famous generals, backing, her standing will be as stable as Mount Taishan.

Suddenly, he understood the significance of his role as the City Commander. Only he could give her power to control Zhao Mu and contend with Qi and Chu, these two foreign forces.

When he thought of this, one soft jade hand covered the back of his hand.

Xiang Shaolong was surprised and looked at Lord Longyang. He only saw him tenderly gazing at him, sincerely said, “Please leave Handan! Otherwise you will die without burial ground. It doesn’t matter who ascend the Zhao’s throne, at the end of it, they both will want to eliminate you.”

Xiang Shaolong endured his almost acceptable hand on his hand, resolutely shook his head, “I never cared about life and death before, especially when we are at the juncture of my country’s demise, even more, I wouldn’t avoid and not care about this, otherwise I will regret it for the rest of my life and I would be ashamed to face my father in the afterlife.”

Lord Longyang saw that he is determined, retracted his jade hand, took a long sigh in a depressed state, gently said, “Brother Dong truly is a real hero. I won’t force you anymore but if one day Brother Dong can’t endure this anymore, please remember that I will be waiting for you in Daliang.” Paused for awhile before continuing, “Although Empress Jing and Guo Kai have different opinion on the City Commander post, but both of them, because of gains and losses issues, will collaborate with each other. You have to be careful of them!”

Xiang Shaolong was astounded. An idea flashed quickly through his mind. At the same time, he berated himself for his oversight for not realizing earlier Empress Jing’s machinations everywhere.

Lord Longyang had nothing left to say and took his leave.

Xiang Shaolong was touched. Full of gratitude, he saw him to the stable outside the command center and sent him off.

He knew in that instant that he needs to start his strategy afresh. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to leave Handan alive. Furthermore, he wouldn’t be able to capture Zhao Mu alive.