Chapter 181 Resonance: Pressing (2/2)

Scarlet's head was lowered as she arranged the flower petals, so she didn't notice the sorrow in the recesses of Feng Luodi's eyes.

Deserts of the North. The Northern Army's Camp.

The Eighth Prince's mood had been rather gloomy lately.

He'd rushed to the barren deserts of the North from the abundant and prosperous Chang'an in order to investigate the mistakes made by the few generals in the Northern Army. Once he was done, he could return to Chang'an to report his findings. At that time, he would be able to suppress Situ, the main power behind the First Prince, and those in his faction. At the same time, he could also gain the Emperor's trust. In other words, he would get the best of both worlds, so he should naturally strive to complete this task to the best of his ability.

However, when he thought about the treatment he'd suffered since arriving at the deserts of the North, the Eighth Prince's face immediately darkened.

He did want to ferret out the generals' mistakes, but he came to realise that they hadn't made any mistakes only after he got here.

The soldiers revered them and the commoners believed in them. They didn't occupy the lands, didn't accept bribes, didn't bully women nor abuse the martial law. Their reputation was stellar.

The Eighth Prince couldn't take it lying down. As long as he could find a minuscule problem, he would be able to make a big issue out of it and the Emperor would then remove their power. However, after so many days, he still couldn't find any issues at all.

It was too risky to fabricate groundless rumours. After all, he understood that the Emperor only wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h away Situ's military power and not let him lose his prestige. He didn't want to destroy the Northern Army. Destroying the Northern Army would be tantamount to destroying the Xuan Kingdom.

Even though he'd enquired the commoners and soldiers about the mistakes of these three generals, he couldn't find out anything. Thus, he could only question the three generals in person.

However, just thinking about this made him fume with anger and he absolutely loathed them. His interaction with the three generals was basically…

Yunzhong Pa.s.s. Inside General of the Left, Zhang Xin's tent.

“Haha, Zuo Lang, you have improved again. Come come, let me teach you a few more moves.”

Zuo Lang instantly replied, “There's no need. When is General returning to the deserts of the North?”

“But, I am the General,” answered Zhang Xin.

In the end, Zuo Lang turned his face away and ignored him.

The Eighth Prince was given the cold shoulder at one side by the two from beginning to end.

Yan Men Province. General of the Right, Cheng s.h.i.+fei's tent.

“General Cheng, I have something to report.”

“Speak.”

Half an hour later, that Deputy General walked out.

The Eighth Prince saw that Cheng s.h.i.+fei was free and hastily stepped forward to speak but another Deputy General walked in.

“General Cheng, there's a matter that requires your immediate attention.”

“Speak.”

Another half an hour pa.s.sed and that Deputy General finally left.

Yet, before the Eighth Prince could speak again, a few soldiers suddenly rushed in with a soldier, who was in a sorry state.

“General, this lad actually committed a crime. You must punish him according to military law.”

“What crime did he commit?”

Another half an hour went by again, and the few soldiers finally marched out as they shoved the person who had committed a crime.

Cheng s.h.i.+fei looked at the Eighth Prince with an apologetic smile and said, “Your Highness, sorry to keep you waiting, there are simply too many things to handle at the camp.”

“No problem. Continue with your work. We'll speak again when you're free some other time.”

Following this, issues appeared one after another in front of Cheng s.h.i.+fei. His world was a stark contrast to that of the idle Zhang Xin.

Yu Yang Province. Inside the tent of the former general, Gao Ming.

“General Gao?”

The Eighth Prince looked at the person who'd dozed off as soon as he sat down. He secretly rejoiced in his heart. At long last, he'd caught this person making a mistake. To think that in broad daylight, while the army was diligently training, the general was sound asleep instead.

Gao Ming only woke up after being called a few times. He rubbed his eyes and stared dazedly at the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince had no choice but to repeat his words once more, but before he could finish, Gao Ming fell asleep again.

This sequence continued for a while until the Eighth Prince couldn't take it anymore. He was flushed with anger and decided to file a complaint against Gao Ming then and there with this as the reason.

But then, a few deputy generals excitedly walked in while escorting a black-dressed man, who didn't look like someone from the central plains. The soldiers then told Gao Ming, “Hey, General, the moment you went into action, these people fell into the trap again. Haha, we caught a few spies again. General, the plan you've devised of not sleeping at night while pretending to be suffering from insomnia to hoodwink the enemy is truly too effective!”

The Eighth Prince was rendered speechless. It seemed that he couldn't use this as a reason to impeach Gao Ming anymore.

By the time the Eighth Prince was no longer able to endure the torment he was going through in the deserts of the North, he was notified by his spy in Chang'an that the Emperor was seriously ill and debilitating with age. He was also informed that the Emperor seemed to have the intention to confer the First Prince as the Heir. Upon hearing this, the Eighth Prince no longer hesitated and he immediately left the deserts of the North, rus.h.i.+ng back to Chang'an at lightning speed.

1. They were used for writing, especially when paper hadn't been invented yet. Multiple bamboo slips would make up a scroll.