The Demon Lords

"Grant rewards to the Jin camp leaders, win over the hearts and minds of the Jin land soldiers, and if we cooperate with our forces, it’s not impossible to get things done, is it?"

The blind man laughed and said:

"Then in a few days, Lord Jingnan will come over and personally twist off my lord’s head?"

"Tsk..."

Gou Moli rubbed his head, feeling a bit of a headache.

"There’s no need for the court to organize a grand army to campaign. With just one military order from Lord Jingnan, in Ying Capital City, aside from our forces, all other troops would scatter like birds and beasts.

You really don’t understand the prestige of Lord Jingnan in the Jin land."

"How could I not understand? I’ve even contributed to his prestige."

Gou Moli sat back in his seat.

The two,

had matching tempers,

and shared similar interests.

The blind man was the one most enthusiastic about rebellion among the demons,

and the wild leader was not a docile man either.

Soon,

someone from the Spy Bureau delivered a booklet, detailing positions, family ties, and mentor-student relationships among other connections.

If the entire Ying Capital City’s elites were compared to a libretto,

this booklet would be a map of character relationships.

The blind man continued to jot down notes incessantly,

while the wild leader read the booklet and compared it to copies of notes that had already been sent out; he read rapidly.

Those who accomplish great deeds must have talents beyond ordinary.

The wild leader had studied the Town North Army’s tactics in Beifeng Prefecture and later led a makeshift wild army to defeat the Eldest Prince’s Eastern Conquest Army, showcasing his terrifying learning and application skills.

The blind man just finished writing a note,

rubbed his wrist,

and said:

"Why bother looking at these when you could grab more people and chop more heads."

Their intention was to escalate the situation and increase the number of heads chopped.

"Heh, you can handle it yourself one way or another. I’m just idly flipping through."

In reality,

the wild leader, once almost single-handedly crushed Dacheng, was already well aware of Ying Capital City’s personnel arrangements and intricate networks.

Often, the one who understands you best is your rival.

Over a year had passed, and with the Yan people’s arrival, some of the original Ying Capital City forces inevitably changed; fortunately, this booklet can mostly fill in memory blanks.

Currently,

the rhythm within the city involves the Jingnan army continually capturing people, who then one by one reveal their accomplices. Those who can’t or certain officials are already being escorted out of the Governor’s Mansion to start the beheadings.

Thunderous noise but little rain.

Few of Ying Capital City’s major families and powers were involved in this matter; they could send notes, without any need to tamper with the civil service exams. Those implicated were mainly mid-level families and officials.

With Jingnan’s army as deterrent, and all the camps outside the city adhering to military orders, most importantly, no threat to their family honor, Ying Capital City’s major powers and families choose to remain silent.

They let Lord Pingye’s forces stir trouble within Ying Capital City,

stir as they may,

Lord Pingye can’t possibly stay in Ying Capital City forever.

"Our Governor Mao really keeps his cool."

The wild leader commented while perusing the booklet.

Governor Mao’s official residence was occupied, yet he vanished, showing no intent to reclaim his lair.

The blind man responded without looking up:

"The situation has escalated; even the East Gate camp has moved. It’s not mere hooliganism. If I were Governor Mao, I’d be sulking in some other place pondering how to draft the memorial."

"How do you think he’ll write it?"

"Depends on our attitude. Later, I’ll draft a memorandum under my lord’s name telling him that Governor Mao has discovered an exam fraud case and requesting Lord Zheng’s aid to purge the parasites, preserving Yan’s foundation."

"Do you think he’ll agree?"

"Face isn’t most crucial for these people; they’re adaptable. Whether they agree is uncertain, but they’ll certainly consider it. Otherwise, with such chaos and his ineffectiveness as Ying Capital City’s Governor, it’d only prove his incapability, lacking the authority to safeguard one region under the mandate of Heaven.

Furthermore, as my lord previously told Liu Chuanyi, our lord, after all, is to enter the capital to meet the Emperor; how this case is categorized depends on His Majesty’s decision."

"Heh, sounds rather interesting."

The wild leader continued to flip through the booklet,

and noticed something peculiar.

Amidst the blind man sending notes, and with many captured and beheaded,

the wild leader observed a group whose relationships circled around the Sun Family’s main branch.

Sun Youdao, the Sun Family’s patriarch, once was the Prime Minister during Cheng State, was among Situ Lei’s earliest followers. He and Situ Lei had decisively defeated the Chu army at Town South Pass, later joining Situ Lei at court.

After Situ Lei’s death, Sun Youdao steadied the situation, awaiting Yan’s Eldest Prince’s Eastern Conquest army and single-handedly managed the army’s logistics.

After the Situ Family became the Prince Cheng Mansion, Sun Youdao seemingly grew disheartened, voluntarily retreating behind the scenes post-battle.

The Yan court conferred upon him the title of Grand Tutor of Cheng State,

much like his lord’s title of Grand General of Cheng State; though Cheng State was no more, these are mere honorary titles with decent salary and benefits.