#968 - Drive away the wolf and swallow the tiger

Three days later, inside the Imperial Palace of the Great Qian capital.

Ever since Wei Changtian arrived in Linchuan, this place had been under a constant, oppressive atmosphere, like a dark cloud overhead.

And when Su Qi announced his "rebellion", leading an army of 300,000 men to menacingly march towards the capital, this oppression became even more intense, almost suffocating.

Every eunuch, palace maid, court official, and grandee walking in the palace wore a worried expression.

Those who happened to meet acquaintances on the road would only nod to each other and brush past, with hardly anyone stopping to chat.

It was as if an invisible hand had gripped everyone's throat, plunging everything into an incredibly tense silence.

In fact, for the court officials of the Great Qian, it seemed a little too early to feel "despair", even somewhat alarmist.

After all, the great battle had not yet begun, and the capital had already made thorough preparations inside and out.

Under normal circumstances, there was no need to fear a mere 300,000-man invasion.

Moreover, among these 300,000 men, 200,000 were surrendered soldiers from the previous Battle of Xin Feng, and there were also 50,000 Linchuan garrison troops, totaling 250,000 Great Qian people.

Even if these 250,000 people still obeyed Wei Changtian's commands, how many of them would actually raise their blades against their compatriots when the fighting truly began?

Even in the most pessimistic scenario, that number would definitely not be small.

From establishing the Great Shu Dynasty, to forcibly helping Ning Wenjun usurp the throne, to repelling the enemy in Liang Province, and defeating the million-strong Qian-Hui allied forces beneath Fengyuan City.

And the destruction of the Great Hui just a month ago.

In just over two short years, Wei Changtian had already accomplished too many incredible "feats".

And before these things happened, who would have believed he could do it?

Therefore, none of these important figures of the Great Qian dared to scoff at Wei Changtian's statement that "Great Qian is destined to perish."

Some even had a copper clepsydra in their hearts, symbolizing the "countdown to the fall of the nation".

As the 300,000 rebel troops drew closer and closer, there was not much time left.

When the last grain of sand fell, no one could guess whether the Great Qian would truly change dynasties, or whether Wei Changtian would retreat in disgrace.

So, all they could do now was to continue strengthening the already impregnable city defenses, try every means to mobilize more experts, and mobilize all the forces they could, just to tilt the scales of victory towards the Great Qian, even if only a little.

Faced with a war concerning the survival of the nation, and with enough time to prepare, the energy that a dynasty like the Great Qian could unleash was immense.

After all, Jing Guoqing could not be considered a foolish ruler.

Apart from making a mistake in launching the Eastern Expedition, his "reign" could be said to have no major flaws, and he was also deeply loved by the people.

Therefore, the people were naturally willing to fight to the end against the "vile" Wei Changtian for such a ruler and such a dynasty, and the nation's cohesion reached an unprecedented level.

Then, it seemed that even Heaven was infected by the Great Qian people's "spirit of resistance".

Mercifully, four days ago, information about the Child of Heavenly Dao suddenly spread throughout the world.

At first glance, this matter had nothing to do with this "war to protect the nation".

But if one thought about it carefully, it was actually a great benefit to the Great Qian.

When two tigers fight, the loser will surely die, and the winner will surely be injured.

Although the injured tiger wins, it fears the third tiger the most.

Before, no one dared to be this third tiger.

After all, Wei Changtian's vengeful nature meant that most people would never take risks for a little immediate gain.

But now it was different.

As long as this battle started, no matter the outcome, it was foreseeable that countless forces would want to take the opportunity to kill Wei Changtian and seize his destiny.

In other words, the information about the Child of Heavenly Dao might not directly threaten the already powerful Wei Changtian, but it had attracted countless covetous tigers.

These vicious tigers were hidden in the forest, watching him at all times.

Normally, they would not act rashly.

But if one day Wei Changtian relaxed his vigilance, or was "injured" by a fight, they would swarm upon him and kick him when he was down...

Faced with this situation, Wei Changtian seemed to have no good solution.

Unless he could always avoid being "injured" and not reveal any flaws.

But not being "injured" meant not "fighting", and not "fighting" meant that he would start to stagnate from then on.

Since I can't kill you, then I'll stop your "development" and make you afraid to do anything... Obviously, this was the true purpose of that mysterious person.

It both increased the difficulty for Wei Changtian to continue plundering luck and forced Wei Changtian to be cautious in his actions.

As Guan Kong said, such a scheme of pitting wolves against tigers was indeed a brilliant move.

Fortunately, Wei Changtian had figured out the key three days ago.

As for how he would respond next...

"Da."

At midnight, with a soft sound echoing in a certain alley, Wei Changtian arrived in the deathly silent Great Qian capital.

"Good heavens, it's like a doomsday fortress."

Looking back at the walls with their continuous flames and the soldiers walking non-stop on the city head, he muttered softly, clearly not expecting the city defenses to be so tight, almost to the point of being exaggerated.

With this defensive strength, let alone a disunited rabble of 300,000 men, even twice the number of regular troops would probably return empty-handed.

But fortunately, Wei Changtian never intended to actually attack the city.

That's right.

Wei Changtian had never thought of destroying the Great Qian through war from the beginning, but had another, more direct plan.

First, force Su Qi to rebel, bring troops and swagger over, and draw the attention of the Great Qian court to this rebel army.

Then, he would sneak into the capital, kill Jing Guoqing, and wipe out the Jing family.

Finally, amidst the chaos, he would use the 300,000 people outside the city to help Su Qi ascend the dragon throne.

Three steps in total, done! Simple and efficient!

Although the leak of information about the Child of Heavenly Dao was a sudden occurrence, it did not affect the overall plan.

And now it seemed that Jing Guoqing had indeed been misled, and had already focused all his efforts on defending the city.

Then, all that remained was to kill him...

Narrowing his eyes, Wei Changtian felt the current location of a certain "Vast Expanse of Mist" mark in his heart.

Wei Changtian immediately strode forward and soon disappeared into the end of the alley.

At the same time, the "Four Villains", Duan Fangping and his three companions, who had been sent here by him long ago, were waiting in a secluded courtyard, their faces filled with undisguised excitement.

"Brother Duan, the Young Master should be arriving soon, right?"

"After enduring for so long, we can finally start killing!"

"Yeah! I'm so suffocated!"

"Hahahaha, don't be impatient, my three brothers! Actually, this old brother's hands are also itching terribly, but we must not ruin the Young Master's important affairs."

"Brother Duan, of course we understand the principle, but just thinking about being able to follow the Young Master to kill until corpses litter the field, we can't wait!"

"Hahahahaha! Brother Lu, be patient, and we will definitely let you kill to your heart's content!"

"Jie jie jie!"

"Jie jie jie jie!"