#863 - Su Qi
Three days later, the Eastern Region of Great Qian, Linchuan Prefecture.
The city gates were tightly shut, the city walls bristling with spears and densely packed soldiers, the atmosphere extremely tense.
This atmosphere of facing a great enemy had been maintained for several days.
Ever since Wei Changtian and his two hundred thousand surrendered troops drew closer, Linchuan Prefecture had entered a state of high alert, prepared to face any eventuality.
Everyone knew that Wei Changtian's visit to Great Qian was definitely not as simple as “returning surrendered troops”; he must have some other conspiracy.
But no one knew exactly what he wanted to do, so they could only make plans based on the worst-case scenario.
As for what this worst-case scenario actually was...
Fifteen miles east of Linchuan City, there was a river that was neither large nor small. Beyond the river was a plain, so this river was the last natural barrier outside the city.
But now Wei Changtian had not ordered the army to cross the river, but instead came to Linchuan City alone in a carriage…
Narrowing his eyes, the man said in a deep voice:
“Prepare the carriage! This official will personally meet this living Yama!”
“Lord, this...”
The soldier who delivered the message looked worried, hesitating as if he wanted to advise the man not to take the risk.
However, before he could speak, the latter waved his hand dismissively.
“Go, this official knows what he's doing.”
“...Yes, this humble one will go and do it.”
Gritting his teeth, the soldier ultimately did not say anything more and turned to prepare the carriage.
The man, whose identity was obviously not low and was most likely the Prefect of Linchuan, slowly stood up and reached out to straighten his clothes.
As if he was going to meet Jing Guoqing, his expression was extremely serious, even dignified.
“Wei Changtian, hmph!”
“...”
On the other side, outside Linchuan City.
A lone carriage sped along the empty official road, now only a few miles away from the tall city walls in the distance.
Zhang San was still driving the carriage, but there was one more person sitting inside.
In addition to Wei Changtian, Yang Liushi, and Li Zimu, there was now Xu Quan.
The latter had arrived with the Tiangou Army this morning.
Because Xu Quan was a Great Qian person and had once worked in the Demon Slaying Division, Wei Changtian specifically asked him to come and help, and also brought the Tiangou Army with him.
With the Tiangou Army, the power that Wei Changtian planned to use to destroy Great Qian was now all in place.
“Young Master.”
“The Prefect of Linchuan is named Su Qi. He is a well-known upright official in Great Qian. Whether as an official or as a person, he is upright and unyielding, hating evil like an enemy.”
“Because of this, Linchuan Prefecture under his rule is one of the most virtuous of the forty prefectures in Great Qian. Even if it can't be said that doors are not closed at night, there are few cases of theft and robbery.”
“...”
In the swaying carriage, Xu Quan was introducing the situation of Linchuan Prefecture to Wei Changtian.
Simply put, this Su Qi is a good official, so Linchuan Prefecture has been well governed by him, and the people are very law-abiding.
After listening, Wei Changtian didn't take it to heart, but just nodded and asked:
“What is the relationship between Su Qi and Jing Guoqing?”
“Jing Guoqing values this person very much.”
Xu Quan immediately replied: “Two women in the Su family are concubines in the palace, and Su Qi is also quite talented, so Jing Guoqing values him quite a bit.”
“If not, Young Master, Jing Guoqing would not have ordered him to be stationed in Linchuan to deal with this matter. He would have sent someone else from the capital long ago.”
“Hmm.”
With an unchanged expression, Wei Changtian no longer spoke, and silence fell in the carriage.
Everyone was thinking about Su Qi's matter, but although Wei Changtian's expression was also serious, what he was thinking in his heart was completely different from others.
Two women in the Su family are concubines in the palace?
Sisters?
This Jing Guoqing knows how to play!
Tsk tsk, such a lecherous ruler, I can be considered acting on behalf of Heaven!
“By the way.”
After thinking wildly for a while, Wei Changtian suddenly thought of something, turned his head and asked Xu Quan: “What has Xu Suisui been doing recently?”
“Ah?”
Xu Quan didn't expect Wei Changtian's thoughts to jump so much, and couldn't help but be stunned at first.
However, he quickly recovered and replied truthfully:
“Reporting to Young Master, since the end of the war, my younger sister has been managing the affairs within the new Feng Kingdom.”
“Is that so? Have those Buddhist people left?”
“No, they are still in Fengyuan.”
“What about my grandfather?”
“This...”
Xu Quan's tone faltered, and he replied hesitantly: “Young Master, I usually stay in the Tiangou Army most of the time and don't spend much time in the palace.”
“However, I have entered the palace several times in the past half month and have indeed not seen Senior Qin Qian again.”
“Okay, I understand...”
Frowning almost imperceptibly, Wei Changtian pondered for a moment, then raised his head and instructed Zhang San, who was driving the carriage:
“Remember to send a message to Xu Suisui later and ask her what my grandfather has been doing recently.”
“Yes! Young Master!”
Soon, Zhang San's voice came from outside the carriage curtain, and at the same time, the carriage began to slow down slowly.
However, after a few breaths, the carriage stopped completely, and Zhang San's voice also became a bit serious.
“Young Master, we're here.”
The city gates were tightly closed, a scene of deathly silence.
When Wei Changtian's carriage stopped under Linchuan City, there was no movement around it.
Not only did no one come out to question them, but even the guards on the city walls did not say a word, each of them holding weapons and staring at the carriage below the city without saying a word.
Obviously, they were not prepared to open the city gate to “welcome” Wei Changtian.
And Wei Changtian couldn't just waste time with them like this, so he immediately gave Zhang San a look.
The latter understood and immediately jumped out of the carriage, took a few steps forward, and shouted loudly at the city walls:
“Listen up, all of you!”
“The person in the carriage is Wei Changtian, Young Master Wei! He has come to Great Qian specifically to return the surrendered troops!”
“But you are keeping the city gates tightly closed. Are you going to abandon these two hundred thousand compatriots?”
“If that's the case, then we will leave with our people immediately!”
“...”
Without saying anything like “If you don't open the city gate, we will attack,” Zhang San's tone was firm, but he was still “reasoning with them.”
We are here to return the surrendered troops. What do you mean by not opening the city gate?
Don't you want these two hundred thousand people?
Okay, since you don't want them, then we'll just leave.
Without a doubt, this set of arguments must be Wei Changtian's idea.
The reason why Wei Changtian changed his style from the time of Great Hui and did not turn hostile immediately was also because he fully considered the difference between the situations of Great Qian and Great Hui.
It's too difficult to confront head-on, so there must be another way out.
After all, there are many ways to subvert a regime, not necessarily through war, or through mass killings.
In fact, there is also a more “civilized” method.
According to the professional terminology of the previous life, this method is divided into two types: “vertical incitement” and “horizontal incitement.”
I won’t explain what these two terms specifically mean, but in short, they all belong to the same big “category”——
Coup d'état.
