Chapter 258 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

　　On the third of April, Zhao Che finally officially announced his plan to seize the traitor, Zhao Yang. On the evening of the same day, Zhuge Yue followed suit, and with his enormous army of over 200,000, he headed towards Zhen Huang City.

　　On the same day, Zhao Yang’s personal army, the South West army, under the leadership of some high ranking officers, rushed back to Zhen Huang City via the South West Waterway. He managed to usurp power from the 17th prince, Zhao Yi. Therefore, another 150,000 strong army fell under the control of Zhao Yang.

　　With that, the struggle of the two dragons that had been brewing for a long time had finally sounded the drums of war.

　　Even at the very start, the cruelty of war had been put on full display. To avoid facing the same method that Chu Qiao had used to destroy the castle walls before, Zhao Yang gave up on defending castles. Instead, he sent out large forces over 15 kilometers away from the castle. He initiated direct battles with Zhao Che and Zhuge Yue, who, at this moment, outnumbered him. In reality, Chu Qiao had merely created a small number of explosives these past few years by herself without telling anyone else. This was to prevent the knowledge of modern weaponry from spreading and causing massive casualties.

　　In war, people fell like leaves, as swarm after swarm fell on the crisp green grass plains. The miserable bugle of war echoed in the heavens above the skies, and the soil reeked of a distinct iron smell. Every day after the crossing blades, the medical teams of each party would carry around stretchers to save the injured, but ultimately what they did the most of was not to save lives, but to give those grievously wounded one final lethal strike to put them out of their misery.

　　Even for Chu Qiao who had seen so much war, it was still a heart-shattering scene. She had privately asked Zhuge Yue before if it was really necessary to carry out such a bloody power struggle. Was it really necessary for the Xia soldiers to start killing each other?

　　Zhuge Yue looked at her with his firm and steady eyes, exuding attraction. He replied saying that it was impossible to avoid a civil war. After all, Zhao Yang had been in power for too long. He had groomed his own power in the court and had even gained control over so much of the army. With that, it was impossible for him to be subservient to Zhao Che. Not only that, but as Zhao Che and Zhuge Yue had only recently returned to the scene, it would be hardly feasible to slowly usurp power from Zhao Yang. The civil war was impossible to avoid, and at this juncture, with the death of the Xia Emperor blamed on Zhao Yang and the various nobles starting to chip away at his army, this was prime time for civil war.

　　Chu Qiao had been curious if the Xia Emperor had truly died. If so, who did it? Was it Zhao Yang, Zhao Che, or even Zhuge Yue? In the end, she did not have to ask, and instead, she was told the answer herself.

　　It was truly destiny. One of the junior doctors in the imperial pharmacy was bribed and brought in a batch of spoiled ingredients. Coincidentally, the few days the Emperor’s condition worsened, he had secretly informed his trusted doctors to change the formula for his medicine. In addition, fearing that the court would know of his worsening condition, he instructed that no one was to know of his ailing health. What was even more coincidental was that one of the ingredients needed was in the batch of spoiled ingredients. This incident was first made known by Zhao Yang as he had long ago arranged some spies within the pharmacy. Yet, he had not known that there were some spies of Zhao Che’s around him, so his intel was in turn made known to Zhao Che as well.

　　With that, the Xia Emperor started to eat the new medication, and his trusted doctor was the only one in charge of making the medicine. In addition, the eunuch in charge of trying the medicine was unaffected as he was healthy to begin with. As for the Emperor who was already in a weakened state, he finally left the world on the day of Zhuge Yue’s marriage.

　　The Xia Emperor had been cautious all his life, but never would he have thought that he would die at the hands of a greedy junior doctor. Yet, even though two of his sons knew of this incident, none of them considered saving him.

　　As Chu Qiao listened to the entire story, she sunk into silence. At that moment she suddenly thought of Yan Xun and felt a sense of misery. All his life, Yan Xun’s greatest wish was to kill the Xia Emperor to take revenge for his parents. Yet, when he finally gained huge authority, and with massive armies under his command, his archenemy had died quietly from the corrosion of the river of time. What would he think when he received this news? Would he laugh happily or would he cry out of frustration? Perhaps neither, perhaps he would merely sit quietly and suppress all his emotions in his heart. On the second day, he would continue to do what he was supposed to do.

　　The sounds of the war bugle had sounded off again. Zhao Yang had ordered three cavalry regiments to charge up the flanks. Zhuge Yue reacted by arranging four auxiliary regiments to intercept his forces. This battle had already lasted for over two days without any break in between. All kinds of tactics had been shown. As Zhao Yang and Zhuge Yue were both top-tier strategists, in this direct confrontation, neither side had a particular advantage.

　　Xiuli army had also taken part in the battle three times in a coordinated attack on the right flank of Zhao Yang’s formation. He Xiao had twice torn apart the enemy formation, but both times the hole was quickly filled up by enemy reinforcements. All of the soldiers knew that this was a battle for ascension. The victor would rule over the world whereas the defeated would certainly die without a proper burial. As the followers of these leaders, they would face the same consequence. As such, no one would take any steps back. Even if they would bleed themselves dry, they would insist to fight to their last breath.

　　On the morning of the third day, Zhuge Yue sat on the platform facing the soldiers. He did not make any inspirational speech and merely pulled out his blade. With a loud voice, he shouted to his subordinates, “This will be the last day. After this day, our names will be recorded in history!”

　　“Fight! Fight!” Tens of thousands of voices resounded out across the entire grass plains. Standing behind the crowd, Chu Qiao smiled as she looked at this man who was surrounded by this massive crowd, revealing a neat row of pristine white teeth.

　　Following the thunderous rolls of the marching, a light shadow appeared on the ends of the grass plains. In the seemingly endless grass plains, Zhuge Yue’s forces had finally encountered the main bulk of Zhao Yang’s forces. After the two days of battle, both sides had suffered great casualties, yet both parties stood there without any sign of retreating.

　　The shadow grew larger, like a patch of looming thunderclouds growing in the vast expanses of the heavens stretching into the horizon. Under the illumination of the rays of sunlight, one could see the large clouds of dust that followed behind the neat rows of formations of soldiers, looking into Zhuge Yue’s armies.

　　600 meters, 400 meters, 200 meters… As the two armies inched closer to each other, the soldiers could almost feel the warm breath of the war horses. The scent of the reaper drew closer as vultures soared in the skies above in waiting for a feast.

　　As the rolling of the war drums sounded, so did the rumbling of the ground from the thousands upon thousands of horses charging into each other. The vibrations could be felt traveling up from one’s feet into their legs, into their spines, making them feel chills.

　　As the fearsome battle seemed imminent, everyone held their breath as they clenched their respective weapons, as though they were trying to wring their weapons dry of water.

　　“Attack.” Zhuge Yue looked up as he casually gave the order. Just as he gave that order, it was apparent that the same order was given from their foe’s leader. Cavalry from the front row drew their blades in unison, as the whooshing sounds of the blade coming out from the scabbard could be heard over the entire grass plain. It was as though some deity had just sneezed. The winds seemed to be embedded with murderous intent as it swept past the land before disappearing into the distance, as though anticipating a battle to the end.

　　And just when it was about to happen, the sound of a string of horses galloping could be heard from the main road.

　　“Urgent intel! General Zhu is seeking assistance from the Southwest! Urgent intel! General Zhu is seeking assistance!” The young messenger was covered in dust, evident from his continuous days of traveling. In the shocked gazes of everyone, he jumped off his horse. He threw himself down on his knees and shouted, “General! Your Highness! Stop fighting! There is urgent intel from the South West!”

　　The hundreds of thousands of soldiers turned silent. None dared to be the one to respond to this daring messenger.

　　“What are you talking about?” a low voice said. As the commander of the South Western region, Zhao Yang’s men were mostly from there too. He naturally had to inquire about this matter, and as such, he stepped up and questioned this messenger.

　　“Your Highness! Save us, Your Highness!” That soldier was overjoyed to have finally seen Zhao Yang, as he continued, “Yan Xun has led over 400,000 soldiers to invade, and they have already entered our territory. In merely two days, he has conquered 19 provinces. The entire region in the Southwest had already been razed to the ground!”

　　“B*llshit!” Yue Qi held his blade as he looked down at the messenger from atop his horse. Yue Qi smirked as he said, “There were over 300,000 soldiers garrisoned at Yanming Pass. How could Yan Xun quietly enter the Xia territory?”

　　Hearing that, the crowd all awoke from the shock in agreement. Chu Qiao suppressed the shock that was in her heart as well. Even if the Xia Empire was in the midst of a civil war, all the participants knew of the importance of the Yanming Pass and the threat from Yan Bei. Whether it was Zhao Yang or Zhao Che, they did not dare to move a single soldier from Yanming Pass. With the fortification as usual, how was it possible that Yan Xun broke through from Yanming Pass and entered the heartlands of the Xia Empire?

　　“General! What Yan Bei broke through was not the Yanming Pass, it was the Baizhi Pass!” the messenger cried out in sorrow. “The Tang Empire is a mess. The Lady of Jingan declared a coup as she contacted the old followers of King of Jingan. She then unilaterally opened the Tanghu Pass and let the Yan Bei forces into the Tang Empire. With that, the entire garrison of the Tang Empire in the Southeastern region has been decimated. In fact, the survival of the Tang Empire was already at stake as their capital was left exposed. Through the Tang Empire, Yan Bei, along with the Song forces, attacked the Baizhi Pass. The garrison of the Baizhi Pass has all been mobilized, with less than 10,000 soldiers left. In addition, the beacons have been destroyed by spies sent by Lord Feng. Because of that, in merely two days, the entire Southwestern region has been conquered!”

　　At that moment, all noise disappeared as the battlefield sunk into a dreadful silence. The wind continued to blow, sweeping past the quiet grass plains.

　　Baicang Calender, Year 882, 6th of April, a message that sounded more like a bad joke swept everyone off their feet:

　　“Third of April, Yan Xun led 400,000 Yan Bei soldiers into the Xia Empire through the Tang Empire. The entire Southwestern region was raided, and an estimated four million civilians turned into slaves.”

　　Wei Shuye lifted his head up, the crimson sun searing into his retina. The rising sun was red like fresh blood, as the grass in the desolate plains swayed quietly in unison as though hiding the creeping reaper that was about to descend. The rumbling of the war drums seemed to be roaring by his ear as thousands upon thousands of swarmed to him. Their cold unfeeling armor was like a blanket drawn over the lands, slowly covering the entire battlefield.

　　He was already covered in blood. His handsome and delicate face was covered in blood, his hair in knots, full of dried blood. His blade had already started to chip as his war horse started to tremble as though it was about to fall over any time from the injuries it had sustained.

　　With the powerful enemy invasion, the entire Southwestern region of the Empire had fallen into enemy hands. The arch nemesis of the Xia Empire had successfully opened the gates to their territory, yet out of all the noble families, only he alone summoned his forces to defend their territory.

　　Along the way to meet the enemy, he had seen all too many noble families leading their families and personal armies to escape to the north. The endless stream of refugees seemed like a long dragon fleeing to the north. Those nobles wore flamboyant clothes, and brought along large amounts of jewelry, along with their whole families escorted by their private armies. Some local magistrates even fled north with their local garrisons. Swinging their horse whips and their spears, they chased aside the civilians who were blocking the way, as their faces were filled with anxiety, completely devoid of their usual pride.

　　Wei Shuye had tried to organize these forces to fend off the enemies. In fact, he had even attempted to seal off the paths, forcing those fleeing officials to assist him in his endeavor. Yet, those people had managed to provide him with a somewhat sufficient explanation: To protect the royal capital, or a strategic retreat, or to head to the capital to prevent a civil war, or even to preserve the elites of the empire for a decisive battle with the enemy, and so on. All in all, they would rather fight with Wei Shuye than to turn back and fight the Yan Bei forces.

　　Some even rowdily shouted that the regular Southwestern Garrison had already been mobilized by the two princes to fight the civil war. Even the royal families seemed like they were going to abandon this country, why should they bother? Faced with this symphony of dissidence, Wei Shuye had no counter argument.