World's First Traitor System (426)

Chapter 426 - Undercurrents

The Great Chu court. Xiang Chong sat upon the Dragon Throne.

After many years in power, his cultivation had reached the peak of the ninth rank of the Nascent Soul realm.

Xiang Chong had grown a long beard, giving him a dignified air. Especially today, he felt an indescribable sense of elation, a feeling of finally having his day.

Empress Bai Rong had returned to the Great Ci Dynasty. Before leaving, Bai Rong had informed Xiang Chong.

"Elder Sister is gathering all the Great Vehicle realm experts to besiege Emperor Jiajing. After Jiajing's death, Fan Li will be next. With the Fan Clan destroyed, Great Chu will truly belong to Your Majesty."

"I am now also at the ninth rank of the Unity realm, only a step away from the Great Vehicle realm. Elder Sister has ordered me to return to Great Ci, to oversee the Chao Ge imperial palace for her. When I return, I will assist Your Majesty in killing Fan Li."

Fantastic!

To be able to latch onto Empress Yao Guang was truly fantastic!

At this moment, Xiang Chong felt like Han Xin crawling between someone's legs, Fan Ju in the latrine, or Goujian tasting gall.

"After all these years, I've finally made it!"

Xiang Chong looked excitedly at the ministers kneeling below the imperial steps.

After the ministers had performed their kowtows, they were about to rise.

"Did I say you could rise?" Xiang Chong suddenly spoke coldly.

The ministers, who were already lifting their backsides, froze awkwardly, maintaining their comical posture.

Xiang Chong smiled smugly.

"You may all rise."

"Uh... thank you, Your Majesty."

After a ragged chorus of thanks, the Chu ministers finally straightened up.

They exchanged glances, hoping to glean some useful information from their colleagues' eyes.

Unfortunately, they all saw the same bewildered expressions.

Had His Majesty not yet sobered up, or had he taken the wrong medicine?

Since when did the Emperor have any authority in the Great Chu court?

"Has Fan Li not come to court?"

Xiang Chong looked around, and indeed, that familiar and detestable figure was absent.

He slammed his hand on the table and began to curse loudly!

"Absurd!"

"To not even attend court, to be so negligent of his duties! How can Fan Li be worthy of the position of Prime Minister? Beloved ministers, tell me, how should I deal with him?"

The Chu ministers thought they were experiencing tinnitus.

What? Deal with whom? Fan Li?

"Cough." An elderly minister coughed lightly, stepped forward from the ranks, and bowed again to Xiang Chong. "Does Your Majesty require a sobering-up soup?"

Xiang Chong's face flushed red!

"What do you mean? Do I look like I haven't sobered up?"

The old minister stared at him for a long time, shook his head, then nodded.

"It was my mistake."

"Your Majesty does not need sobering-up soup. Shall I summon the imperial physician? There is a Doctor Hua in the Imperial Hospital who specializes in treating head ailments..."

Xiang Chong's face turned even redder.

He wanted to curse, but he discovered that this old minister was a member of the Xiang clan, of an even higher generation than his own father.

Unable to vent his anger, he could only change the subject.

"Where is Fan Li?"

It was originally a casual question, something Xiang Chong asked in passing. But the answer he received was far beyond his expectations.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Duke Jin led the army on an expedition yesterday."

"Oh, so he went on an ex... wait, what did you say?"

Xiang Chong sprang to his feet, his face a mask of astonishment and disbelief.

"An expedition?"

"Who is he campaigning against?"

"Why don't I know?"

"How many troops did Fan Li take with him?"

…

Great Chu's western border.

In the temporary camp of the expeditionary army, Fan Li reclined on a grand tutor's chair, basking in the sun.

"Second Brother, ten more miles to the west and we'll be in the territory of the Great Ci Dynasty."

Fan Chun, clad in silver armor, holding a sky-piercing halberd, was the very picture of martial prowess!

Nine years of cultivation had furthered his progress. Though he hadn't yet reached the Great Vehicle realm, he was a powerful martial cultivator at the fifth rank of the Unity realm.

"No hurry, wait a little longer."

Fan Li smiled at his brother.

"Second Brother, you cultivate the martial path, yet there have been no battles all these years. It's truly unfair to you. False Empress Bai Rong's cultivation is above yours. You must be careful this time."

Fan Chun's expression was disdainful.

"Wu Gang has been pregnant and unconscious all this time. Is Second Brother worried that our army lacks sufficient high-level combat strength?"

"With Great Ci's clandestine support, using unconscionable methods to enhance her cultivation, Bai Rong's realm is indeed above mine. But combat strength isn't solely determined by realm! I am confident I can fight Bai Rong!"

As Fan Chun's voice fell, three attendants approached him.

Only upon closer inspection did they reveal that the attendants were all delicate and pretty, with graceful figures and amorous eyes.

They were, in fact, Fan Chun's three wives, disguised as attendants to accompany him on the expedition.

Fan Li looked at the three women with approval.

As the saying went, a wife follows her husband. Su Qingfang, Chen Shishi, and Qin Hongyu, after marrying Fan Chun, had, over the years, surprisingly adapted to military life.

The three women not only accompanied Fan Chun, but were also his capable assistants in military affairs.

"Reporting to Duke Jin, General Fan."

Su Qingfang spoke in a surprisingly androgynous voice. To those unaware, hearing only her voice, they would truly believe she was a young soldier going through puberty.

Fan Li was momentarily taken aback, the phrase 'there are skilled voice actors in the capital' even flashing through his mind.

"The intelligence from Wei, Han, and Wu has been delivered."

"The Emperor of Wei has dispatched one hundred thousand troops, stationed in Shouchun."

"The Emperor of Han has dispatched one hundred thousand troops, stationed in Hanzhong."

"The Emperor of Wu has dispatched one hundred thousand troops, stationed in Chaisang."

"All three kingdoms have the potential to advance eastward, but none of their armies have crossed their borders."

Stationing troops? Waiting for an opportunity to strike?

Fan Li thought it over, and that seemed the only possibility.

If Emperor Jiajing were indeed defeated and killed, the armies of the three kingdoms would immediately invade Great Ming.

Without the world's strongest man to hold the fort, even if Great Ming had vast lands and hundreds of millions of people, it would be nothing more than a lamb waiting to be slaughtered and divided.

War hadn't even begun, and they were already thinking of dividing the spoils of victory.

"Second Brother, what do we do now?" Fan Chun asked.

He was the general leading the troops, commanding and charging on the battlefield, both brave and resourceful.

But on a strategic level, whether a battle should be fought, and when and where to fight it, these were not questions for Fan Chun to consider.

Fan Li was the sole decision-maker.

He slowly spoke. "Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan, their armies must wait until Yao Guang and Jiajing have determined a victor before they can act."

"But we are different. As soon as we receive news that Yao Guang and Jiajing have begun to fight, the garrison army will immediately enter Great Ci territory."

Fan Chun was somewhat concerned.

"Second Brother, how will we know that the two sides have begun to fight? Even the most elite spies of the trading company can't track Emperor Jiajing's sea vessel and land on that illusory, so-called immortal island."

That was true.

Confirming the intelligence that Emperor Jiajing was searching for the immortal island was the limit of what Fan Li's spy network could achieve.

Throughout the world, other spy agencies, such as those of Wei, Han, and Wu, couldn't possibly do better than Fan Li.

From this point on, all intelligence related to Emperor Jiajing was cut off.

Except for those involved in the scheme and those laying the trap, no one else would know a single detail.

"Don't worry."

Fan Li reclined on the grand tutor's chair, looking up at the sky.

This languid posture was utterly incongruous with the atmosphere of the military camp, but it wasn't without deeper meaning.

Fan Li raised his right index finger, pointing at the clear, cloudless blue sky.

"Such a brilliant scheme, how could Yao Guang allow it to have no audience? All the people of the world will admire her heroism, witness her slaying the strongest man in the mortal realm... Emperor Jiajing!"