The Rise of Phoenixes

Chapter 166

A mountain of oppression seemed to loom in the deepness of his calm voice.

Ning Cheng and the Longnan Army Commander had measured the time since Feng Zhiwei’s entrance into the mansion, and at just the right moment, they attacked with their three thousand troops. Although Shen Xuru’s mansion was heavily guarded, his men could not compare to the drilled soldiers of Longnan, and soon the entire mansion fell under Ning Cheng’s control.

Ning Yi silently crossed the fragrant tea room, the smell from the untouched pot of tea mingling with the bite of scattered and pooling blood.

Soon, an excited, blood splattered Ning Cheng flashed through the door.

“An hour and a quarter!”

In this short span of time, he had conquered the mansion, wiping out all resistance and seizing control.

“Very good.” Ning Yi replied before lifting his chin and smelling the blood on the air. As the officials trembled around him, he smiled quietly, saying: “The blood of others is always more pleasing than your own.”

In the Autumn of the Thirteenth Year of Chang Xi, the astounding Attempted Assassination of Imperial Envoys was foiled. Longxi Commissioner Shen Xuru colluded with the Chang Family to orchestrate the assassination of Imperial Envoys Wei Zhi and Prince Chu as they crossed the border of Longxi. The audacity shocked the entire empire.

All the necessary evidence had been gathered and delivered by urgent missive to the desk of the Tian Sheng Emperor — the secret letter from the Long secretary to the Jiang Hu Mount Chang Sword Sect Leader; the portraits of Ning Yi and Wei Zhi that Shen Xuru had sent to Shen Junxi; and the assorted evidence that Ning Yi had collected detailing the relationship between Shen Xuru and the Chang Family. It turned out that Commissioner Shen Xuru’s predecessor had been framed by Shen Xuru and the Chang Family, and many public and private exchanges with each other accompanied his rise to power. Just recently, Shen Xuru had requested grain from the Imperial Court for his own deficit, but had then taken the extra food and sent it to Minnan.

The Son of Heaven was furious, and immediately called for Shen Xuru’s appearance in Dijing so that the capital could adjudicate and sentence the conspirators, but a few days later, Prince Chu sent a letter in reply. Shen Xuru and all conspirators had already been executed — all three hundred and thirty six of them.

In the blink of an eye, over three hundred heads rolled.

The world trembled!

It was said that the Tian Sheng Emperor fell into a long silence after reading Prince Chu’s Memorandum to the Throne. The Imperial Court gasped at Prince Chu’s determined ruthlessness; he had ignored the need for an Imperial Edict and ordered summary executions of even a powerful Second Rank Provincial Commissioner!

The most shocking matter was how short a time it had taken for Ning Yi to compile the evidence of all the crimes Shen Xuru and the others had committed; not even time could stand in the way of his will, and all the dark dealings came to light, and executions were immediately called for. This display of power and skill terrified more and more as people considered the implications.

Prince Chu’s aides wrote this in the Memorandum to the Throne: “Shen Xuru was arrogant and unyielding. After receiving the Imperial Edict, he still rested and injured His Highness, therefore the Prince had no choice but to carry out the execution on the spot...” But everyone understood that the truth of Shen Xuru’s death would only ever be known by heaven — none of them could be certain whether the blood had stained the earth before the Imperial Edict had even been delivered!

Only Feng Zhou City knew how the blood flowed, and the chopping block was soaked through for days in a row until even the greenstone grout was filled to the brim. By the end of the matter, Ning Yi was impatient to leave and weary of executions only taking place at a certain time, so he ordered that bound criminals be placed every hundred meters along Feng Zhou City’s lively, ten-mile-long main street. Then, he stood in the tallest building in the city, and when he struck his gong, blood flowed like a river through the street and a hundred heads fell together!

Feng Zhou City would long remember that day, and for the weeks that followed, the busy and flourishing main street stood lonely and empty.

Prince Chu’s boldness was not punished, and though His Majesty did not make an official statements, he gave his tacit approval, ordering fast messengers to deliver the Imperial Court’s best medicine for Ning Yi’s wound.

The Tian Sheng Emperor’s reactions relieved all of anxious Prince Chu’s side ministers, but Feng Zhiwei had known that everything would be fine — since the Fifth Prince had escaped to Minnan, the Chang Family was sure to raise the flag of rebellion. Ning Yi’s task in Minnan was now one of war, and the aura of death he had established in Feng Zhou was exactly what he needed to check the restless folk of Minnan and the South Sea, and his reputation would precede him as he took control of his troops — right now, the Tian Sheng Dynasty did not need the gentle hand of reconciliation, but a blade dripping with blood.

And so Ning Yi was impatient to leave — the more time he left for the Chang Family to prepare, the fewer opportunities he left for himself; so as soon as the Imperial Court began to take control of the Longxi situation, Ning Yi and Feng Zhiwei took a ship to the South Sea Province.

The South Sea neighbored the Minnan Province; and while the Chang Family Patriarch was General of Minnan, his family estate was in the South Sea, so the Chang Family had power and holdings in both provinces. After some discussion, Ning Yi and Feng Zhiwei decided to combine their power and head to South Sea first.

The ship cut swiftly through the water. On the seventh day, a perpetually sea sick Helian Zheng clung to the ship’s railing bemoaning his inevitable death when a loud crash shook the vessel.

Feng Zhiwei rushed to deck and beheld the large crowd gathered on shore — over ten thousand people lined the earth, their shouts and yells like a tidal wave flooding the ship!

“The hull is punctured!” Yan Huaishi yelled to Feng Zhiwei as he rushed over, pale faced.

Young Master Yan had not been living well recently — though the journey had began with such exuberance and pride, the assassination had cut down his happiness. His guards had been wounded or killed, but that loss was nothing compared to the disappearance of Feng Zhiwei and Ning Yi. In the days that followed, he had been so anxious he could barely think, but fortune smiled on them and they were all reunited. After the many days of insomnia and decreased appetite, he could finally set down his worries. Ning Yi and Feng Zhiwei were too important — if anything happened to them, the South Sea’s tenuous balance would fold like a house of cards, and the Chang Family would quickly annex all the families in the area, including his.

After they had been reunited, Yan Huaishi acted with the greatest caution, wishing that he could sleep at the foot of Feng Zhiwei’s door. With the South Sea province in view, he had just let out a sigh of relief when disaster struck again!

“Looks like the South Sea has a special welcome for the Imperial Envoy.” Ning Yi commented lightly as Ning Cheng helped him to the deck. He perked an ear, listening to the shouting and yelling coming from shore, and a small, cold smile climbed over his lips.

Yan Huaishi turned to the crowd darkening the shore and gasped; his fingers whitened against the ship’s railing — he had known the South Sea was in turmoil, but he had not known that it was this bad.

Helian Zheng vomited into the water below, moaning weakly against the rail as he gaped: “Whether thousands or ten thousands, I will advance... 1”

Just as everyone was surprised by Helian Zheng’s sudden literary quote, he vomited again and continued: “But we might as well call the army and kill them all.”

“...”

Footnotes:

<h5>Ch 166 Footnote 1</h5>

Mencius, Gong Sun Chou