Chapter 135: The Earth Dragon Turns Over (Part Two)

“What are you doing! All of you, return to your chambers and rest! If I see a single person remaining in the courtyard, I will have his head cut off!”

King Qin had only just returned to his residence from the Tongzhou military camp. He had spent the entire day calming the soldiers, whose morale was in disarray. As he was leaving the city, he had noticed that many commoners had gathered at the gates, weeping and clamoring to leave. In his haste to restore order in the army and suppress the unrest that had broken out, King Qin had no choice but to order the prefect of Shangjing to close the gates and take responsibility for calming the people within the city before hurrying toward the Tongzhou camp.

On his return, he learned that many commoners had been sleeping outside their homes. The laborers constructing the new royal residence had also rioted. Though the uprising had been forcibly suppressed, panic still gripped the people.

And now, upon arriving at his residence, he saw the princess and concubines directing servants and maids to erect tents in the courtyard, clearly intending to spend the night there. King Qin was already burning with rage. How could he possibly suppress the fury in his heart?

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At dawn the next morning, when Yang Yaozong awoke, the beauty in his arms had already vanished. Yet a faint, lingering fragrance remained beside him, convincing him that he truly had spent the night holding Yin Ruyun.

According to the plan they had discussed the previous evening, Yang Yaozong and Zhang Lie were to return to Shangjing first. They would then contact the Eagle Squad and organize a revolt among the laborers constructing the new royal residence. Zhang Qiang would lead one hundred thousand frontier troops in a surprise attack on the soldiers stationed at King Qin’s Tongzhou camp. The two forces would then cooperate from within and without, seize the capital, and capture King Qin and all his followers.

But when Yang Yaozong awoke early that morning, he discovered that the army’s horses were unusually difficult to control. Birds wheeled overhead without entering the forests, and scalding springs had begun bursting from the earth. He immediately formed a new plan and changed their course. Taking Zhang Lie and Zhang Qiang with him, he led one hundred thousand soldiers directly toward Shangjing.

It was Yang Yaozong’s first time commanding so many men—and not merely any men, but elite frontier troops, well trained and brimming with morale. His heart surged with excitement.

As they drew near Shangjing, Yang Yaozong issued an order. The thunderous shouts of one hundred thousand soldiers shook heaven and earth and spread throughout the entire city.

Many of Shangjing’s residents stood in their courtyards. Others gathered in open spaces. Even the nearly twenty thousand laborers building the new royal residence set down their tools and gazed toward the direction from which the sound had come.

King Qin had already brought a number of officials and advisers to the gate tower. They stood there, frowning as they watched the great army draw nearer. From the direction of its approach, everyone on the tower could tell that these were the frontier troops stationed at Juyong Pass.

King Qin was furious. He could not understand why Cui Jiye, whom he had already pacified, had suddenly changed his mind. He had, however, already sent men to summon the troops stationed in Tongzhou to reinforce him.

As he listened to the proclamation calling for his arrest and suppression, King Qin felt a sickly sweetness rise in his chest. He forcibly swallowed it down.

When the army reached the city gates, it arranged itself into formation. King Qin saw that the commander at its head was Zhang Lie. Beside him stood Zhang Qiang, the left general of the frontier army, and Yang Guo, whom he had seen at the banquet that day.

At the sight of Yang Guo once more, King Qin’s eyelids twitched violently. A name he had heard countless times suddenly surfaced in his mind.

He gave a few quiet instructions to a guard beside him, and the man hurried down from the gate tower.

The frontier soldiers ceased their recitation. They neither attacked nor advanced, merely facing off against the people atop the walls and the city garrison. The longer the standoff lasted, the more anxious and unsettled those on the gate tower became.

After a long silence, Zhang Lie called up to King Qin, “King Qin, your treasonous intentions have long been plain for all to see. His Majesty has known the truth all along. He merely remembers the bond between you as brothers and cannot bear to see you come to blows. Nor does he wish to risk giving the barbarians an opportunity to exploit our internal conflict at a time when the frontier is already under such pressure.

“But you, King Qin, have shown no intention of restraining yourself. Did you truly believe His Majesty could do nothing to you? If you are willing to open the gates today, bow your head, and confess your crimes, I, Zhang Lie, will report everything truthfully to His Majesty. In his mercy, he will surely reconsider the punishment imposed upon you and your followers, and your families will not be excessively implicated.”

King Qin threw back his head and laughed.

“Bow my head and confess my crimes? What crime have I committed? To whom should I confess? Jingxiang and I are both sons of the Dragon. Why is he the sovereign while I must be his subject? Today, I shall make you all see that so long as I wear the imperial robe, I too can become the emperor of Great Zhou!”

With that, King Qin removed the outer robe he was wearing, revealing a resplendent golden dragon robe beneath. He had apparently been wearing it all along.

Those gathered atop the gate tower were astonished to see King Qin dressed in an imperial robe. Though fear flashed across their faces, they all knelt and bowed, crying out, “Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!”

King Qin’s display enraged the soldiers below. Zhang Qiang glared at him with eyes almost bursting from their sockets and roared, “King Qin! How dare you commit such an outrageous act of treason!”

King Qin looked coldly at Zhang Qiang. “The Mongols are harassing the frontier. Does Cui Jiye know that you have brought so many soldiers here?”

Zhang Qiang was about to reply, but Yang Yaozong stopped him. Shaking his head, Yang Yaozong said to King Qin, “General Cui naturally knows. With General Cui holding the frontier, a few small bands of Mongols are hardly worth worrying about. It is your rebellion, King Qin, that poses the greatest threat to Great Zhou.

“And yet you dare commit such an act of treason before the eyes of the entire world. You are afraid, are you not? This desperate struggle of yours will not only drive you onto a dead end, King Qin—it will drag all those who follow you there as well. Why must you treat your followers so cruelly?”

King Qin stared coldly at Yang Yaozong. At that moment, the guard he had sent away returned. Seeing that King Qin was already dressed in the imperial robe, he hurriedly fell to his knees.

“Emperor… Your Majesty, Wang Youwei is not at the inn. I do not know where he is now.”

King Qin gave a cold laugh and said to Yang Yaozong, “Do not waste your efforts trying to sow discord. Those who dare follow me today will all be granted noble titles and high office tomorrow. Yang Guo! Yang Guo! Hahaha! I believe you ought to be called Yang Yaozong instead!”

The instant King Qin spoke those words, everyone atop the wall turned to look down at Yang Yaozong.

Yang Yaozong urged his horse one step forward and smiled brilliantly.

“I am indeed Yang Yaozong. King Qin, you are so wise—why would you commit such a foolish act?”

He then raised his voice and shouted, “A few days ago, lightning descended from the heavens and struck down the newly built royal residence. That was a warning from above! Yet instead of showing restraint, you attempted to suppress the news and continued construction, squandering the people’s labor and the nation’s wealth.

“You, King Qin, are selfish, reckless, and willful. Never mind that you are not the emperor—if you truly became emperor, one can only imagine how miserable the people of Great Zhou would become.

“Now, because of your crimes, the Earth Dragon is about to awaken and punish you. Because of your crimes, countless innocent commoners and soldiers will also be dragged into disaster and suffering. How can you remain so stubbornly blind?”

King Qin glared at Yang Yaozong and shouted, “So it was you! You are the one spreading these heresies and deceiving the people!”

At that moment, the army King Qin had stationed in Tongzhou arrived. It halted not far from the frontier forces, formed its ranks, and faced them across the field.

King Qin threw back his head in laughter and waved his hand. The archers atop the walls immediately prepared to fire downward.

Yang Yaozong felt the warhorse beneath him growing increasingly restless. He, too, raised a hand. At once, the frontier soldiers spread out from one another and retreated in unison. They stopped a hundred yards from the city wall, whereupon the soldiers firmly drove their spears into the ground.

Yang Yaozong, Zhang Lie, and Zhang Qiang all dismounted and began soothing their increasingly agitated horses.

Seeing that the Tongzhou army had arrived, and that merely ordering the archers to ready themselves had frightened Yang Yaozong into withdrawing the entire frontier force, King Qin burst into triumphant laughter.

“You insolent whelp! With such cowardice, you still dare challenge me? Hahahaha!”

The people atop the gate tower all laughed heartily as well.

Yang Yaozong took one step forward, pointed at King Qin, and called out in a clear, resonant voice:

“King Qin Jing Tai! You have forgotten the Emperor’s grace, neglected your duty to serve the nation, formed factions for personal gain, intercepted tax revenues, indulged in extravagant construction, suppressed speech, recruited troops without authorization, and colluded with the barbarians. Now you have even dared to place the imperial robe upon yourself without permission!”

He then pointed toward the heavens.

“Your crimes have provoked the wrath of Heaven, awakening the Earth Dragon! The earth shall overturn, and the heavens shall be turned upside down!”

To be continued.