Chapter 1312: A Moment of Darkness II (1/2)
Chapter 1312: A Moment of Darkness (II)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Milord…”
Xu Keyi hesitated to speak.
”Speak the truth!”
Wang Chong's face was twisted in wrath.
”Milord, the situation truly is bad. Master Zhu has had far more effect on us than we imagined. There are many people marching around criticizing us, and there are people intentionally riling up these tensions. Circumstances are incredibly unoptimistic,” Su Shixuan sternly said.
”Continue!” Wang Chong gloomily ordered.
The decree of the Imperial Court forbade him from leaving the residence for two months, so he could only rely on Su Shixuan, Xu Keyi, and his other subordinates for information. He had never imagined that they would dare to conceal something as big as this from him.
Everyone silently quailed in the face of Wang Chong's rage. Even after following Wang Chong for so long, they had never seen Wang Chong unleash his rage on his subordinates. It was clear that this matter had truly infuriated him.
”Milord, the book merchants of the capital have already completely banned us, as no one dares to offend the Confucian school. Although we set up our own printing press, not a single book that we've printed has been sold.”
”Continue!” Wang Chong said, his face ashen.
”The voices in the capital are extremely against Milord. In this period of time, ten-some groups have marched near the residence, but all of them were discovered and dispersed beforehand. This time, perhaps because the City Guard was careless and left a gap, these people were able to reach the residence and disturb Milord!”
Su Shixuan raised his head to glance at Wang Chong before continuing.
”In addition, we just received word that the Ü-Tsang Empire and Western Turkic Khaganate, cooperating with the Confucian Sect, have announced that they are continuing to reduce their armies by an additional fifty thousand to express their sincerity in their desire for peace with the Great Tang. This news has caused a stir within the capital, and the Imperial Court has even received a private letter from the Tsenpo of Ü-Tsang and Dalon Trinling that Ü-Tsang has no intention of being an enemy of the Great Tang, that everything was because Milord was meddling with relationships and deliberately sowing chaos between the two countries!” Su Shixuan said.
”Besides this, someone has been spreading a rumor that Milord has always been set on stirring wars and that Milord is currently colluding with the Bureau of Military Personnel in order to use the incident with Arabia to set off another campaign. In addition, it is said that Milord is also planning to launch an offensive on Ü-Tsang, the Eastern and Western Turks, Goguryeo, and Mengshe Zhao!” Xu Keyi added.
”What?”
Wang Chong's eyes flew open. While he had been under house arrest to think over his errors, he had not made any attempt to communicate with Zhangchou Jianqiong. He had never imagined that such gossip would get out.
”Milord, you had already done your utmost on this matter, so we only thought to…”
”Enough!”
Before Su Shixuan could finish speaking, Wang Chong sternly cut him off.
Wang Chong closed his eyes, standing silently for a long time. Wang Chong had never believed that the situation in the capital would deteriorate to such a level.
Wang Chong opened his eyes and ordered, ”Open the gate!”
”Milord!”
”Milord, no!”
Everyone frantically tried to stop him.
They had already fended off ten-some groups of protestors from reaching the Wang Family Residence, so they were well aware of just how riled up the crowd was. Wang Chong could not be allowed to go out at this time.
”Open the gate!”
Wang Chong repeated himself, his expression as cold as ice. He left no room for negotiation.
Outside, one could hear the sounds of guards being pushed aside, as these guards alone were far from enough to stop the infuriated crowd. Moreover, Wang Chong wanted to see for himself how bad the situation had gotten. He had been 'evasive' for ten-some days now and could not continue to be evasive any longer.
Bang!
With a boom, the gate to the Wang Family Residence opened from the inside. Dressed in civilian clothes, Wang Chong stepped over the threshold.
Although he had heard the roars from within his study, only after walking out of the gates did he finally understand what the situation was outside the Wang Family Residence. It was like he had walked into an entirely different world, waves of sound assailing him from all sides. He could see a vast crowd outside the gate, extending as far as he could see.