Chapter 802: Marching Towards Luoyang
Chapter 802: Marching Towards Luoyang
September 25, 2017
"In the name of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:
Lu Hai Kong, Governor of Bingzhou and Commander of the Northern Army, has shown utter disregard for the law and the Emperor. He has bewitched Princess San to commit murder, tarnishing his virtue. Henceforth, this decree revokes his marriage agreement with Princess San. He is ordered to depart for Luoyang immediately, without a single soldier or weapon, and upon entering the city, he shall proceed directly to the Imperial Palace, bowing every three steps along the way."
This was a concise decree, penned by Emperor Ling of Han after a brief moment of rest, fueled by his anger. Once finished, he immediately dispatched it to Lu Hai Kong, who was a hundred miles away.
Almost as soon as the decree left the capital, its contents became common knowledge throughout the realm.
On one hand, the palace was teeming with informants, ensuring that any news would spread quickly. More importantly, Emperor Ling had never intended to conceal the decree's contents. Thus, as the decree was issued, nearly all the civil and military officials in Luoyang were already aware of it.
When they saw the decree, the court officials knew that Lu Hai Kong's fate was sealed.
Wang Yun, however, was relatively uninformed about this matter. By the time he received a copy of the decree, most others already knew its contents.
Upon reading the decree, Wang Yun, recognizing the Emperor's handwriting, paid no heed to its format and focused solely on its content. After reading it, he frowned slightly at the humiliation inflicted upon Lu Hai Kong but had no objections to its contents, especially regarding the revocation of Lu Hai Kong's marriage to Princess San.
In Wang Yun's eyes, this was the right decision. Ever since the exposure of the Crimson Heaven Sword, Princess San's identity had completely changed.
Before this incident, Princess San was just an ordinary princess, even inconspicuous among her sisters. If not for her marriage to Lu Hai Kong, she might have gone unnoticed by most.
But after Princess San's swordplay in the General's Mansion and her near-fatal strike against the He Family Trio in the palace, coupled with the revelation of her being the current owner of the Crimson Heaven Sword, her status had transformed.
As the owner of the Crimson Heaven Sword, Princess San's actions might not even warrant punishment from Emperor Ling. Her identity had become so special that as the wielder of the legendary sword, how could Lu Hai Kong, a lowly bandit from the mountains, possibly be worthy of her hand in marriage?
Furthermore, for the sake of the Crimson Heaven Sword's secret, they couldn't allow Princess San to marry Lu Hai Kong.
Upon learning of the marriage's cancellation, Wang Yun breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that Emperor Ling had finally made a wise decision.
Cai Yong, standing nearby, remained silent on the matter. In this world, the Imperial Sword of the Han was not just a legend; it held unimaginable power and was steeped in myth among the royal family, scholars, and commoners alike.
This sword held extraordinary significance for the Great Han. Once Princess San was linked to this sword, it was evident that she and Lu Hai Kong were destined to part ways. If Lu Hai Kong still insisted on marrying Princess San, it would be akin to treason.
However, Cai Yong had much to say about the humiliation of Lu Hai Kong. From the beginning, Lu Hai Kong had been a victim. He had merely followed the Emperor's decree and come to the capital, only to be targeted for assassination. He had gradually fallen into this dire situation, which Cai Yong deemed highly inappropriate.
Although the Emperor's wrath and mercy were both blessings, was it not unfair to treat Lu Hai Kong so harshly? After all, Lu Hai Kong was the Governor of Bingzhou, commanding tens of thousands of troops. In the short time Cai Yong had spent with Lu Hai Kong, he knew him to be neither meek nor easily intimidated, and certainly not one to meekly obey the Emperor's command to crawl into the capital. Such treatment could lead to serious consequences.
Unfortunately, Cai Yong's opinion went unheeded.
On one hand, Cai Yong held no official position and had little influence. On the other, a powerful force was at play, pushing for Lu Hai Kong's humiliation, and many wished to witness his disgrace. Under such circumstances, no one paid heed to Cai Yong's words.
After the decree was issued, everyone waited quietly for Lu Hai Kong's response. Those who believed they understood Lu Hai Kong best predicted that he would most likely return to Bingzhou, and the least likely scenario was that he would obey the Emperor's decree and crawl into the capital.
They were half-right. Lu Hai Kong would indeed not enter the city unarmed and bow his way to the palace to meet his end.
Upon learning of Yue Er's situation, Lu Hai Kong wrote two lengthy letters and immediately led his Bloodied Legion towards Luoyang.
As Lu Hai Kong was on his way, he sent Cai Wenji to Bingzhou, foreseeing that he would be busy and facing danger, making it inconvenient to have her by his side. Additionally, sending her to Bingzhou would facilitate his future plans to win over Cai Yong.
After seeing Cai Wenji off, Lu Hai Kong's legion set off, carrying the food they had plundered from nearby forts in recent days. Lu Hai Kong rode in a chariot, heading straight for Luoyang.
He had no intention of retreating, nor did he feel the need to do so.
During the journey, Lu Hai Kong, seated in his chariot, was engrossed in writing with a brush.
Initially, after his sudden time-travel, Lu Hai Kong's calligraphy was mediocre, but after some exposure and a significant increase in his inner power, particularly after surpassing the 80 strength threshold, his control over his limbs improved, and his calligraphy became increasingly refined.
Lu Hai Kong's writing exuded an air of dominance, perfectly suited to the content he was currently working on.
Coincidentally, just as Lu Hai Kong was finishing his writing, his army encountered the imperial messenger sent by Emperor Ling to deliver a decree.
At first, the young eunuch was quite arrogant, demanding that Lu Hai Kong kneel to receive the imperial edict.
However, upon hearing this, the soldiers who had stopped the eunuch learned of his mission and promptly dragged him off his horse. They beat the eunuch and his escorts mercilessly, leaving the arrogant young eunuch with a swollen nose and black eyes before roughly snatching the edict from his hands.
The red-haired general at the forefront read the edict, and the young eunuch felt the temperature around him rise by several degrees. Trembling from the recent beating, he was fortunate that the red-haired general took the edict and entered one of the chariots in the legion.
Lu Hai Kong received the edict from Zhao Er, and although he had anticipated its contents, his face turned cold when he read about the annulment of his marriage to Yue Er. Despite his indifference to Emperor Ling's approval, he couldn't tolerate the arbitrary cancellation of their betrothal.
The edict was written in a clear and error-free style.
Lu Hai Kong didn't say anything; he glanced at it and tossed it aside, handing his own letter to Zhao Er.
"Have that eunuch deliver this letter to that foolish ruler!"
Zhao Er took the letter from Lu Hai Kong and threw it at the eunuch, then ignored him and ordered his men to send the eunuch away.
The pitifully beaten eunuch had no choice but to return to the palace with the letter and present it to Emperor Ling.
When Emperor Ling saw the eunuch returning so quickly, looking bruised and swollen, he had a foreboding feeling.
This feeling was confirmed as soon as he opened Lu Hai Kong's letter. After reading just a few lines, Emperor Ling was so enraged that he wanted to tear the letter apart.
Although Lu Hai Kong had studied Confucianism for a while, his proficiency in classical Chinese was essentially non-existent. Thus, he didn't attempt to show off, and the letter was written in plain language.
The letter's meaning was straightforward: 'I received your edict and hurried over immediately. You owe me an explanation for He Jin's assassination attempt on me. Instead, you ignore it as if nothing happened. You even dare to bully my wife and annul our marriage. Is this how you repay my loyalty? I'm done with you. Don't say I didn't give you a chance. I'll give you some time to deal with He Jin and his men. If you can't provide me with an explanation, I'll lead my troops to flatten Luoyang!'
While the meaning was clear, Lu Hai Kong used plain language, and although he didn't express it as bluntly, he carefully chose his words to convey the same sentiment.
After reading the letter, Emperor Ling was furious, his anger shaking the three corpses within him. He never imagined that Lu Hai Kong would be so audacious.
In his eyes, Lu Hai Kong's success was entirely due to his patronage. Without his support, Lu Hai Kong would never have achieved such heights.
Now, the very dog he had raised and nurtured had turned around to bite him. How could he possibly swallow this insult?
"Good, good, Lu Hai Kong! Send out the order to mobilize the eight schools of Silizhou to capture this rebel!"
(End of Chapter)
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