When the two ran into each other, Li Heng froze.
Princess Nihuang possessed a much higher cultivation level than his, and she also had an unfathomable old nanny of profound cultivation at her side. The old nanny noticed what had happened to Li Heng to moment she grabbed his wrist.
Li Heng had gone ghastly pale, and it took ages for him to come to his senses.
He had always been able to lead a peaceful and inconspicuous life because he couldn't cultivate and was no threat to the other princes.
Thus, he had kept a good distance from the cruel and callous War of the Princes and suffered few attacks.
But if he could suddenly cultivate again, everything would change. He would become the target of excruciating observation while being barraged with attacks both open and hidden that he could not defend against.
There was no brotherly love in the imperial household, and the conflicts between the princes were as cruel as could be. They would not end in something as simple as injury or denouncement.
All would be fine if Li Heng could secretly cultivate until he gathered enough strength, but right now, he was still incredibly weak.
This would make him a target of even fiercer attacks, perhaps even from multiple sides at the same time.
If a threat could be removed while it was still weak and young, one wouldn't just sit back and watch as it grew up! This was a tacit rule amongst the imperial household.
Anyone who understood this point would understand Li Heng's anxiety.
"…But if it was Princess Nihuang who exposed your ability to cultivate, why was it the Third Prince who broached the matter?" Wang Chong asked.
"This is exactly why I don't like staying in the palace."
Li Heng sighed.
"Because the princes aren't always in conflict," Li Jingzhong said. "They occasionally work together. It's not convenient for the First Prince to show his face here, so it's best to work through the Third Prince. Moreover… those assassins who were sent to kill His Highness in the past were basically all dispatched by the Third Prince."
Li Jingzhong had lived his entire life in the palace, so he had developed a keen eye for the political struggles, fights for power, and constant backstabbing, and knew the tricks of the trade.
"But that's not the crucial point. The crucial point is that when the Third Prince brought up His Highness with His Majesty, he showered His Highness with praise, saying that His Highness was endowed with intelligence, having made great leaps in progress and already reached Origin Energy Tier 8! He requested that His Majesty bestow a great reward."
Li Jingzhong sighed.
"But the Third Prince clearly knows that though His Majesty inquires little about the War of the Princes and is completely relying on the strategy of raising Gu1, what His Majesty hates the most is if one of the princes is deceiving him. Though the Third Prince is full of commendations, he really wants to push His Highness into a pit of fire."
"In the current situation, Imperial Father has already summoned me into the palace. If I enter the palace and display the full extent of my talents, I will commit the crime of deceiving the sovereign and also attract the envy and hatred of my brothers. If I don't show off my talents, I will still be committing the crime of deceiving the sovereign, and my other brothers still won't let me go. All my choices are wrong."
Li Heng's brow was tightly knit, his words and face fraught with worry and anxiety.
To have no influence or backing, no protection from the maternal clan, and no strength to protect oneself while deep in the palace was a harbinger for disaster.
Having no strength to resist the princes while also attracting their hatred, Li Heng's fate was obvious.
In truth, that he was able to keep enough composure to find Wang Chong to discuss countermeasures was already quite decent.
Another person might have completely lost their nerve.
Wang Chong silently frowned. The situation before him had completely surpassed his expectations. He had wanted to keep as far from the War of the Princes as possible.
This was not his domain of expertise.
"Wang Chong, only you have met Imperial Father, and you were even released after being jailed in the imperial prison. You're the only one that can help me with this."
With these words, Li Heng finally revealed the reason he had come to find Wang Chong.
'A sovereign does not go back on their words'. Once the words emerged from the Son of Heaven's mouth, he would never alter them. Other sovereigns might be liable to give an order in the day and change their mind at night, but it was an extremely rare occurrence with the Sage Emperor, Son of Heaven.
In the previous decades, the Sage Emperor's words essentially decided whether one lived or died. Even after living in the palace for so many years, Li Heng had only heard of a scant few times where someone like Wang Chong—who had been vilified by all the Hu generals, stirred a great storm, and been imprisoned—was able to come out alive.
In the aftermath, everyone could see that the Sage Emperor cherished Wang Chong. This was beyond doubt.
"Young Master Chong! The heart of a sovereign is difficult to fathom. That you were able to so confidently present that memorial, not even caring that you would anger the world or anger His Majesty, must be because you were able to fathom the thoughts of His Majesty. Please, Young Master, you must show mercy and save His Highness."
As Li Jingzhong spoke, tears welled up in his eyes.
Although this fellow was no good person and those tears were not guaranteed to be real, Wang Chong had to admit that this wretch, Li Jingzhong, was undoubtedly sincere in his pleas for him to save Li Heng.
This is a problem… Wang Chong inwardly said, deep furrows appearing on his brow. He knew the affairs of his clan because that was his clan, but his grasp over such matters had caused Li Heng and Li Jingzhong to completely overestimate him.
And the result of the Regional Commander incident hadn't been because he had grasped His Majesty's thoughts and knew that he would be fine. He just hadn't cared whether he would live or die.
But nobody would possibly believe that.
Moreover, in his memories, nothing like Li Heng being suddenly summoned from the training camp to enter the palace had ever happened in his last life. It was unquestionably his involvement that had led to this peril.
This abrupt and unexpected incident simply had no precedent. In other words, Wang Chong's memories were utterly useless here
______________
1. 'Raising Gu' refers to a practice of placing numerous poisonous insects in a jar and letting them kill each other until only one remains. The poison from the survivor, the concentrated poison of all the insects killed, is then extracted to be used in assassination.
Chapter 410: Countermeasures!
Chapter 410: Countermeasures!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The forest and hill were quiet, Li Heng and Li Jingzhong not saying a word as they looked with anticipation at Wang Chong. Even the distant Huang Qian-er seemed to sense something and she too looked from afar at Wang Chong.
"What's the latest that you need to enter the palace?"
"I have to go tonight. I have only two hours at most," Li Heng replied.
Time was very short. If not, he would not have so urgently sought Wang Chong.
"It seems that I won't be able to rely on Big Uncle this time!"
Li Heng's words instantly caused Wang Chong's heart to sink. When he got the news of Li Heng's matter, he had instinctively thought about seeking out his big uncle.
In this aspect, his big uncle had accumulated a vast amount of experience. Though this might not guarantee that he could fathom the heart of the Sage Emperor, the foundation of decades could at least offer Wang Chong some clear advice.
But Old Eagle had sent news that some incident had taken place in the Imperial Court that had delayed his big uncle. He wouldn't be available for four to six hours.
Right now, Wang Chong was truly fighting alone.
It seems like I can only rely on myself, Wang Chong mentally said to himself, his brow furrowed tight.
There was a massive risk associated with this matter. If he did it well and helped the Fifth Prince avoid this disaster, Li Heng would have enormous trust in him. This, coupled with the matter of Li Heng's blood reformation, would truly make him a member of Li Heng's inner circle.
Though this seemed like a minor matter now, in the future, even if he spent the entire fortune of his clan, he might not be able to get into the good graces of this future Son of Heaven of the Great Tang and become a member of his circle.
This chance would only come once. If he succeeded, he would gain Li Heng's absolute trust and become a future valued minister of an Emperor, just like his grandfather.
But similarly, if he failed, Wang Chong would pay an absolutely massive price. All the effort he had put in beforehand, including Li Heng's blood reformation, would be written off in one go, and Li Heng would even begin to doubt his abilities and keep his distance.
And the most disastrous result would be that his meddling would lead to a large shift in the Great Tang's fate.
Like how the Wang Clan had not gone extinct, King Song had not been demoted, the Regional Commander system had not been completely eliminated, and he had become sworn brothers with Yang Zhao…
All these things were completely different from his memories. If all these things could be altered so greatly, who could guarantee that Li Heng, this future true dragon and Son of Heaven, would not be buried?
These were all things that Wang Chong had to consider.
How can one catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger cave? Perhaps I should start changing things…
Wang Chong looked at the expectant face of Li Heng before him, a thought flashing through his mind. The current Li Heng was still far from that skilled and intelligent Emperor with great ambitions.
It was the experiences from the earlier part of his life and Li Jingzhong's influence that caused his personality to have so many flaws.
It was only because of this weak personality that when faced by this difficulty, he couldn't make up his mind and went to find Wang Chong.
But if this were the future Emperor famed for his talent and intelligence, he would have never acted this way.
Ice three feet thick would not form from a single day of cold. If Wang Chong wanted to change his personality and remove those weak and indecisive elements, making his personality more valiant, resolute, and persistent, this might be his best chance.
"Your Highness, do you believe in me?" Wang Chong suddenly asked.
Li Heng froze for a second before blurting out, "Of course!" Wang Chong had basically given him a new lease on life. If he didn't trust in him, he wouldn't have come running to this place.
"Then it's fine! Your Highness, if His Majesty questions you, you should give it your all. Don't hide anything, and don't show a single sliver of fear!" Wang Chong firmly stated, his eyes gleaming with incredible resolve.
Wang Chong's determination stunned and surprised Li Heng and Li Jingzhong.
"But won't that make me a target? Won't all my brothers regard me as an eyesore, a thorn in their side?" Li Heng said in shock. "Moreover, His Majesty might think that I was intentionally hiding things from him."
"A blessing won't be a disaster, and a disaster can't be avoided. The fact that Your Highness can cultivate has already spread throughout the court. Your Highness cannot change this. This being the case, what use is there in Your Highness's continuing to hide it?" Wang Chong said calmly.
"But what about Imperial Father? How will Imperial Father see me? He will only think that I'm a deep schemer who was intentionally hiding things from him. When the time comes, he will definitely be furious. What happened to Eighth Brother was enough of a lesson!"
Li Heng spoke with fear and unease.
The Eighth Prince, Li Long, was once dearly beloved by the Sage Emperor. Though his rank was very low, he was treated as well as the First Prince and Third Prince. But Li Long colluded with a minister in court, and when that minister was exposed, so was the Eighth Prince's involvement. The Eighth Prince strenuously denied any relationship with this minister, repeatedly declaring before the Sage Emperor that he had never associated with him.
Later on, the Sage Emperor became infuriated and exiled the Eighth Prince to the cold palace, stripping from him his status of prince. The Eighth Prince Li Long was both fearful and stunned, both sorrowful and regretful. In the end, he died of depression in the cold palace.
This happened ten years ago.
There was no one who did not know of this incident within the palace. All the princes now knew that though His Majesty could disregard the struggles between the princes, did not mind the princes colluding with ministers, he would not accept deception from anyone!
There was no crime with more onerous penalties than the crime of deceiving the Emperor, because that carried the death penalty. Once one became branded with the crime of deceiving the Emperor, one could essentially bid farewell to a life in politics!
Wang Chong sternly said, "Your Highness, you are wrong. If His Majesty were sure that you had deceived him, you wouldn't even be summoned into the palace and he would have already dealt with your crime. His Majesty's summons is proof that His Majesty does not completely believe the Third Prince and still has a little hope in you. Moreover, Your Highness still does not understand that every step in the palace is frightening, and the War of the Princes is incredibly dangerous. At the moment, the only person that can save you isn't me, nor is it anyone else, only His Majesty! Only His Majesty can be your greatest backer!"
"Imperial Father is my greatest backer?"
Wang Chong's words struck Li Heng and Li Jingzhong dumb. It was evident that this was the first time anyone had said such things to them.
"Your Highness, do you still not understand? Only by obtaining His Majesty's favor can you truly be at ease. Anything else, whether it's hiding in Kunwu Training Camp or doing your best to be inconspicuous, aren't even solutions. Only His Majesty can truly ensure your safety."
Wang Chong sighed.
"In truth, if you use this opportunity well, it won't bring you any harm. On the contrary, your performance in front of His Majesty is an excellent chance to get good treatment."
Although Wang Chong did not have much concrete experience in politics, he had read many history books.
He still had a clear understanding about the essence of the War of the Princes that other people could not even hope to achieve.
At the root, the War of the Princes was just a group of people fighting around one man, and this man was the Sage Emperor, the Son of Heaven, who looked down from on high.
The lives and deaths of all the princes, their happiness, their anger, their sorrows and complaints, were all in the grasp of this man.
If one did not clearly understand this and was lost in the moment or in the struggles, then one might end up winning the battle while losing the war and truly lose out.
Li Heng and Li Jingzhong had become speechless long ago. It was obvious that the pair had never even considered the idea Wang Chong was discussing.
"But if I do this, His Majesty will believe that I've deceived him in the past, or that I'm a deep schemer, or that I'm too shrewd…" Li Heng said anxiously.
"You are wrong," Wang Chong said sternly. "His Majesty has grand plans. To the north, they extend to the Yin Mountains. To the south, they reach to Jiaozhi. To the east, they stop at Goguryeo, and in the west, they reach the Cong Mountains, and then to the Western Regions, the Abbasid Caliphate, and Charax Spasinu. The current power and prosperity of the Great Tang Empire was created through His Majesty's rule. His Majesty esteems a person's courage and power. If Your Highness continues to cower in fear in the hopes of not offending His Majesty, that will be like driving
a carriage north to reach the south, climbing a tree to catch a fish, walking backward on the path. If Your Highness can show your true strength and also proactively express your desires… I believe that not only will His Majesty not rebuke you, he will even view you in a new light!"
His thoughts grew clearer and clearer. The current Son of Heaven was a martial sovereign who appreciated strength. The presence of so many Hu Great Generals on the border was the manifestation of this appreciation.
As long as one knew the heart of the sovereign and acted according to what he liked and appreciated, one would be fine. The heart of a sovereign was difficult to fathom, but anyone could see his will.
Though something might go undergo myriad transformations, none of them would stray far from the original. It was just like how even if there was a thick fog before one's eyes, as long as one could determine which direction was north, one would never get lost.
This was Wang Chong's first foray into the most dangerous War of Princes in all of the Central Plains. Wang Chong was deeply aware that with this step, he could never turn back.
"…Your Highness, just think about the path His Majesty took to gain the throne and you will understand. His Majesty had to walk through blood and fire with each step. If he did not possess a mighty strength and a firm will, he would not have reached his current place. If Your Highness continues to cower and yield, do you really think His Majesty will view you as useful?"
Wang Chong had been watching Li Heng's reaction all this time. He knew that his words from before weren't enough, so he tossed in one last piece of kindling onto the fire.
As expected, Li Heng's body trembled as he heard Wang Chong's last words, his expression immediately transforming. None of the princes did not know of that period of history when the Sage Emperor was still a minor player.
The palace coup before his ascension was spoken of like a legend.
Li Heng had heard this story frequently ever since he was a child, so he was naturally familiar with the details. In Li Heng's heart, his imperial father was a god.
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