473 Stopping the Rebellion (2/2)

When the Dragon King went to the Stone Kingdom to seek a marriage alliance, he had met the gang of bandits in the desert. Maid Lotus had made several of their leaders swallow special pills and forced them to serve the Dragon King.

After that, the bandits had performed excellently. When the capital was under siege, they had made great contributions. That was why they had gained the appreciation and trust of Prime Minister- Zhong Heng.

However, they felt that they had been ignored since the Dragon King returned to Xiaoyao Lake. Whether it was selecting senior generals or land distribution, they were treated only slightly better than the common soldiers.

As a result, their dissatisfaction towards the Dragon King had increased.

That was when Shangguan Yun's messenger had turned up. He had not only promised them a large sum of money, he also claimed that the Golden Roc Fort could help free them from the control of New Moon Hall's occult sciences.

The bandits had no say in the Dragon Army, so they had agreed to Shangguan Yun's plan. Shangguan Yun had selected five important figures from each of the five kingdom's royal families. The bandits incited the soldiers from the five kingdoms to rebel against the Dragon King in the name of the five figures. These five figures included the King of the An nation who had fled Jade City; the King of the Stone nation who had formed an alliance with the Golden Roc Fort; the captive Prince of the Kang Kingdom; a nephew of the King of the Sha nation; and the young Prince of the Hui Kingdom.

The young Prince of the Hui Kingdom was only ten years old. He had been taken to the barracks of the Dragon army by the Dragon King as a hostage.

Gu Shenwei had written his name down on paper.

When the Prince of the Kang Kingdom opened the paper, he froze with his eyes wide open.

The Dragon King had won. He commanded the generals to return to their campsites and further stabilize the soldiers' morale, while the Prince of the Kang Kingdom and the 26 captives were left to await their doom.

”How could it be? He is just a boy,” asked the Prince in amazement. He even forgot about what lay ahead of him.

”Shangguan Yun chose him because he is a child,” Gu Shenwei explained patiently.

The Prince finally understood. In fact, he had already assumed it but refused to admit it.

Shangguan Yun had not chosen five ”heroes” at random. The King of the An nation was not in Xiaoyao Lake. The King of the Stone nation was sick. The Prince of the Kang Kingdom and the nephew of the King of the Sha nation would not live long once they got caught. The young Prince of the Hui Kingdom was the only exception.

The Prince of Kang Kingdom realized that his plan had failed. ”The rebellion failed, and I was used. Only a few soldiers from the five kingdoms joined in the uprising. In just over a year the influence of the royal family has been weakened to this,” he mused in despair.

”You won,” the Prince said. But he was reluctant to kneel. His determination to die had been weakened. He continued in a less resolute tone, ”Xiaoyao Lake is doomed to fall into outsider's hands. The short-sighted royal families of the five kingdoms are to blame. They should not have accepted the soldiers and money from the Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family. Dragon King, you merely have good luck. If the Golden Roc Fort had not weakened the influence of the royal families, you would not have succeeded so easily.”

Gu Shenwei waved his hand. The guards walked toward the captives who still held some hope. They dragged the captives out of the tent in preparation for the guillotine. ”This is the punishment they deserve. They must die,” he thought to himself.

They began to beg for mercy and cry out names. They claimed that they could give more of their associates names.

Their voices soon disappeared outside the tent. He felt there was no need to pursue the rebellion further. The military officers and the soldiers from the five kingdoms who had not decided yet were unlikely to make trouble in the future.

With a hint from the Dragon King, the guards left the Prince of the Kang Kingdom there without taking his scimitar.

The Prince regained his courage. ”I will not live alone. I can not let those cowards be sacrificed for the five kingdoms. It's a bigger disgrace than our failure.”

”You will meet them soon,” Gu Shenwei said. Unwilling as he was, he had to kill the Prince. Improper mercy would only give the hidden insurgents hope. ”But I need you to do me a favor,” he added.

The Prince was stunned. ”Please, tell me. I will help you as long as it does not hurt Xiaoyao Lake.”

”Pick a qualified successor from among the royal family of the Kang Kingdom.”

”What, what do you mean? Are you going to lay hands on my father? The rebellion was my own personal decision. He had nothing to do with it.”

”You misunderstood me. Your father will still be the king. But after his death, I need a new king from your family. This person must be competent, and I do not care whether he is in your immediate family or not. I have no intention of stealing the throne from any king. The Dragon King's target is Jade City and the Golden Roc Fort.”

The Prince's first response was to scold his decision. The throne of the Kang Kingdom was traditionally passed from father to son. Even upon his and his father's deaths, the throne should be passed to his brother. But then his attitude changed. He and his father were the ones responsible for the royal family's downfall and following old rules would only leave the throne open to an outsider.

”I have a distant cousin, Shang Liao. Among all my relatives, he is...”

The Prince suddenly realized that he had fallen into a trap. Shang Liao was not only the successor for the throne but also the one he trusted most. He wished that Shang Liao could help his father fight against the Golden Roc Fort.

The Dragon King had finally coaxed him to leak his most important secret.

”Do not kill him. Shang Liao was not a part of the rebellion. He is innocent...”

Before he could finish his words, several guards walked up to him, took his weapon, and then took him out of the tent.

”Promise me that you will not kill him, Dragon King.” When he reached the exit, the Prince turned around to plead with the Dragon King.

Gu Shenwei did not answer. He could not promise to keep him alive. He could only make that decision when he met Shang Liao in person.

The Prince of the Kang Kingdom was taken outside to be executed. Two guards brought another person inside.

The young Prince of the Hui Kingdom glared at the Dragon King, putting his broken palm behind him. He seemed to be more difficult to handle than the Prince of the Kang Kingdom.