Chapter 1742: Concealed Soldiers!
Chapter 1742: Concealed Soldiers!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
To the north of the King of Foreign Lands Residence, past the lofty palace walls, the Eastern Palace was brightly lit and also brimming with tension.
"Venerable Ghost King, following your orders, we have begun to suppress all of the spies and scouts serving the King of Foreign Lands. In addition, the more than ten thousand birds we have trained have all been released to suppress the King of Foreign Lands Residence. Starting from now, not a single bird will be able to fly out of that estate. Their eyes and ears are completely under our control!"
In the light of the lanterns, Goguryeon Eagle King Kim U-Seok bowed and respectfully reported to the Ghost King, Hou Junji.
As the Goguryeon Eagle King, Kim U-Seok had a proud personality, and it was only for the unfathomable Ghost King that he felt such sincere admiration and reverence.
"Very good!"
The Ghost King gave a dignified nod.
"By knowing oneself and knowing one's enemies, one can never be defeated. This old man presumes that there is no need to explain to all of you the importance of scouts and information. Starting from now, this old man does not wish to see any mistakes!"
"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.
The Beiting Protectorate army was already on its way to the capital, and the Anxi Protectorate army and Big Dipper Army were ready to move out at any moment. The Imperial Army was also standing at the ready, and they were now in the final phase. By now, the First Prince had already given authority over all the troops at his command to Hou Junji.
He had given up his throne and stood to the side while the Ghost King took his seat. This served as evidence of the First Prince's resolve and attitude.
"You all heard it! Starting from now, anyone who does not obey the Ghost King's orders and leads to an error in our plans will undergo this prince's questioning, and this prince will show no mercy!" the First Prince warned. His face and eyes were even colder than before, and his body exuded a thick killing intent.
He had endured countless days and nights for this moment. Now that he was here, he would not allow anyone to hinder his grand ambitions.
Meng Tu, Zhu Tong'en, Asura, Kim U-Seok, Bai Hanzhou, and Huang Tianzhao lowered their heads and respectfully intoned, "We will comply with His Highness's decree!"
The First Prince nodded in satisfaction and turned to the Ghost King.
"Ghost King, I leave everything up to you!"
Hou Junji simply nodded, no emotion on his face.
"Kim U-Seok, other than the King of Foreign Lands Residence, increase the number of men watching Jinyang Palace. This old man needs you to cut off any aerial correspondence between the King of Foreign Lands and the Fifth Prince."
"Yes!" Kim U-Seok respectfully called out.
"Has there been any movement from the soldiers of the King of Foreign Lands Residence?" the Ghost King said.
These words had everyone's eyes on Kim U-Seok, even the First Prince's.
The capital was almost completely under the First Prince's control, the sole remaining problem being the King of Foreign Lands Residence to the southwest of the Imperial Palace. Wang Chong was not merely the temporary Minister of War. He was also this generation's War God, and wielded immense influence over the empire and its armies. Even a small number of soldiers under his command would be able to display immense fighting strength, and one could not be careless, even if they had ten times his number in soldiers.
In the war of the southwest and the Battle of Talas, Wang Chong had exhibited to the entire world his frightening talent.
If the problem of Wang Chong were not taken care of, the First Prince would find it very hard to fulfill his wish.
"We've been investigating with all our power, but from what we can see, the soldiers at the triangular gap have yet to move for some reason. Zhang Zheng and his Beiting Protectorate army have not suffered any attack."
Kim U-Seok's report resounded in everyone's ears.
Hou Junji frowned and asked, "What about the numbers of the soldiers on the plateau? Have they decreased?"
"At present, they've blocked all the roads leading to the triangular gap with significant garrisons, so our men can't get up there. But we've sent men up in the middle of night and used gyrfalcons to observe the situation. The information we've gathered indicates that the number of soldiers at the triangular gap has not significantly decreased. They should not have begun to move out yet," Kim U-Seok reported.
"Hmph, it seems he understands what will happen if the soldiers at the triangular gap enter the Great Tang... and to think I thought him so powerful! It seems that was an overestimate."
The First Prince snorted in derision.
The soldiers Wang Chong had gathered in the triangular pass truly were very powerful, perhaps stronger than any individual protectorate army, but these soldiers could not be touched. And if an army could not be freely used, then no matter how powerful it was, it was useless.
Meng Tu stepped forward and agreed, "Your Highness is wise. The King of Foreign Lands has already been pushed into a dead end and simply does not have any extra soldiers he can mobilize. Even if he knows our plans, there is nothing he can do."
No one else said anything, but from their relaxed expressions, it was clear that they shared the same opinion as Meng Tu. That they had been able to hold down Wang Chong's primary force at the triangular gap was truly excellent news.
But before they could sigh in relief, the Ghost King set their hearts sinking back into the water.
"It's not that simple!
"Have you all forgotten about the border incident and the Public Order Squad incident? Anyone else might have withdrawn after learning that there were spies at the triangular gap watching his every movement, but not him!"
Hou Junji slightly raised his head, his eyes seeming to pierce through the fabric of spacetime.
Hou Junji's words caused the mood in the hall to turn oppressive.
It was true! A normal person might have withdrawn in the face of these difficulties, knowing that his forces entering the Great Tang would bring down the charges of treason and rebellion on his head. But Wang Chong was not that kind of person.
In both the border incident and the Public Order Squad incident, Wang Chong had shown no fear of the First Prince's and Imperial Court's decrees. With a force of several hundred, he had attacked an army of nearly ten thousand, and he had even threatened the Western Turkic Khagan—both clear signs of his personality. And without the Imperial Court's decree, he had set up the Public Order Squads to uphold the law in the capital. This matter was simply unheard of, unprecedented!
The foe they faced was a fearless man who dared to do anything.
"Tell the men at the triangular gap that they need to find out what's going on up there, no matter how many people must be sacrificed!" the Ghost King sternly said.
"Yes!"
Kim U-Seok's heart tightened as he hastily replied.
"In addition, what of the movements of the other soldiers?" Hou Junji asked, his eyes half-closed. The cunning rabbit had three burrows, and Wang Chong could not possibly have only the triangular gap. He definitely had other hidden cards.
"We have control over all the outer gates, and we've been inspecting all the people going in and out of the capital, particularly carriages, wagons, and other large-scale methods of transportation. The moment we find any armor or weapons, we immediately have the people transporting them arrested. But from the current situation, besides the Golden Guards in the King of Foreign Lands Residence, the entire capital seems to be peaceful. There are some strange movements in the commanderies and provinces, seemingly signs of soldiers gathering, but there is too little time. It has only been recently that we issued the news about the garrison rotation, and those soldiers gathering in the provinces will need four or five days to reach the capital!"
Kim U-Seok lowered his head, not daring to show the slightest negligence. He and everyone under his command were completely focused and committing all their strength to this operation.
The Great Tang was much stronger than Goguryeo, and the kind of authority he had was greater than any he could obtain in Goguryeo. If this operation succeeded, he would become the first Goguryeon Minister of the Dragon, and limitless authority would come with it.
The Ghost King said nothing, and his eyes closed in thought.
A few moments later, Hou Junji's eyes flew open, and his words left everyone else shaken.
"You're wrong! His soldiers have already entered the city!"
"Milord, how could that be..." blurted Kim U-Seok, flabbergasted. Given how far the commanderies and provinces were from the capital, how could his forces have possibly arrived already?
"You're all underestimating him. Although I don't know when he noticed our preparatory movements, his soldiers must already be in the capital. Pass on my order! Starting from now, we are implementing a curfew. Dispatch the Imperial Army to sweep the city in search of spies. They are to seize anyone they find suspicious. No matter what, we must find the soldiers he has hidden in the city!"
There was a sharp light in the Ghost King's eyes. At the same time, he flicked his index and middle fingers, and a black chess piece flew through the air and landed on a golden chessboard several dozen feet away.
The board was covered in intersecting black and white pieces. The black pieces had linked together into a massive dragon, faintly exuding an aura of danger and lethality!
And the white pieces were caught up right in the middle of this danger!
Whoosh!
Countless messenger birds took to the skies, and the rumbling of hooves began to reverberate through the capital as the Imperial Army rode forth.
......
The stars wheeled, and soon, another day had passed. In the southeastern part of the capital, crowds were thronging. The recent upheavals had had little effect on the lower classes. They went to work when the sun was out and went to rest when the sun set.
The things happening in the court were not something they could meddle with.
At this moment, in a remote alley in a residential district...
"Is your investigation finished?" A soft and cautious whisper came from behind a moss-covered wall.
"Yes! We've followed him for some time now. He's acting very furtive and careful, not at all like an ordinary civilian. In addition, he's alone, but he bought enough for fifteen or sixteen people. Not even an entire family would be able to eat that much!" another voice whispered back.
"Very good. Don't alarm them for now. Get ready. Once I gather everyone, we'll seize them in one fell swoop!"
The first speaker quickly departed.
A few moments later, a slightly chubby figure walked over from the distance. Crossing the entire alley, he entered a house of mottled stone. He seemed completely unaware of what had transpired here just a few moments ago.