Free Web NovelChapter 56: The Emperor Has Passed Away!
Yangzhou, Jiujiang Commandery.
Under the careful management of Long Chen and Xi Zhicai, Jiujiang Commandery rapidly developed like bamboo shoots after a spring rain...
During the rapid development of Jiujiang Commandery, Long Chen never forgot the previous incident.
The Assassins’ Alliance!
This matter was so bizarre that it puzzled people, leaving no trace or clue.
After searching on the gaming forums, nothing was found, as if the organization didn’t exist at all...
Based on this, Long Chen could only assume that the Assassins’ Alliance was extremely clean, leaving no trace behind...
But since they couldn’t be found, there was no point in continuing the search. Instead, he decided to focus on enhancing his own strength and influence.
As long as his own strength was powerful enough, even if they came looking for trouble, Long Chen was confident he could completely defeat them!
Moreover, there were more important things he needed to attend to right now.
Of course, he kept a strong sense of vigilance towards this organization in his heart.
...
Meanwhile, within the palace of Luoyang City, a storm brewed.
Since the main force of the Yellow Turban Rebellion was suppressed, various internal conflicts within the Han Dynasty erupted. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Local powers took advantage of the situation to rapidly develop, and Long Chen was among them, progressing faster than most.
Apart from this, the power struggle between the palace’s relatives and eunuchs became increasingly intense.
As Emperor Han Lingdi, Liu Hong, indulged in wine and women, his weakening condition led to a critical state of illness. The urgency to crown a prince as the heir escalated.
...
Luoyang Palace.
A massive golden curtain stood erect in the hall, behind which lay a luxurious and extravagant large dragon bed.
On the bed lay a thin and emaciated man. His face was weary, with heavy dark circles around his eyes, almost devoid of any spirit.
Despite his extremely weakened state, there were more than ten exquisite and voluptuous beauties lying on his dragon bed.
They all wore transparent gauze skirts, sensually captivating any man who laid eyes on them.
They reveled carelessly, drinking and having fun with Emperor Han Lingdi.
If modern time management masters saw this, they would probably feel inadequate and bow down, addressing them respectfully as "Grandmasters!"
At this moment, a tall and thin eunuch dressed in a dark grey eunuch robe knelt and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, the Grand General has arrived today."
Hearing this, Liu Hong furrowed his delicate brows and withdrew his finger, distinctively shaped, from the soft jade of one of the beauties.
Displeased, he said, "Why has the State Uncle come again? Didn’t I say not to disturb me!"
Zhang Rang hastily exaggerated in a high-pitched voice, "Exactly, Your Majesty! The Grand General increasingly disregards Your Majesty’s authority and dares to disturb Your Majesty!"
Regarding the issue of selecting an heir, there was a significant conflict between the ten regular attendants led by Zhang Rang and the Grand General He Jin. Zhang Rang wanted to appoint Liu Xie as the crown prince, while He Jin wanted Liu Bian to become the heir.
Liu Bian’s birth mother was Empress He, who was He Jin’s younger sister. Hence, He Jin strongly supported Liu Bian, creating a huge conflict with the Ten Regular Attendants.
At this moment, Zhang Rang seized the opportunity to further worsen He Jin’s impression in Liu Hong’s mind.
"Enough, let State Uncle come in!" Liu Hong weakly waved his hand.
After He Jin entered the hall, he praised Liu Bian’s qualities while disparaging Liu Xie...
...
April 189 AD.
Accompanied by the painful cry of "The Emperor has passed away!" echoing from deep within the palace, this news spread like a tornado to every corner of the Han Dynasty.
Dark currents surged within the Great Han, and numerous alliances sought to expand their influence during this opportune moment.
The Hua Xia game forums were flooded with posts from these extraordinary players!
"Damn! The emperor finally kicked the bucket! I’ve endured the days as a county magistrate for this!"
"Old man upstairs, take me with you, take me with you! I’m just a level one village chief..."
"Get lost, punk! I don’t recruit trash!"
"Have you heard? The alliance ’Tomorrow’s Dynasty’ in Ji Province has already cooperated with the Yuan family, the Three Excellencies! They are preparing to send troops into Luoyang!"
"What the heck! Ji Province is also mobilizing? I heard that the alliance ’Radiant Rule’ in Yizhou also has plans to march into Luoyang City!"
"Oh my god! Are these big alliance leaders all preparing to make a move? What should we little chickens without alliances do!"
"Yeah, it’s said that Ji Province and Yizhou, the two top alliances, have been secretly developing and prospering in recent years! With their abundant resources, they have already become quite powerful!"
"Exactly! ’Tomorrow’s Dynasty’ and ’Radiant Rule’ are on the verge of contending for the top position among the two major provincial alliances! You should know that Ji Province and Yizhou have the most players, and the competition there is the most fierce!"
"My alliance ’Heavenly Dazzle’ in You Province doesn’t accept it!!!"
"Your ’Heavenly Dazzle’ is nothing in front of them, not even a fart. You should know that the leaders of these two major alliances are rumored to have legendary-level talents!"
"The leader of ’Heavenly Dazzle,’ ’Great Sage Equal to Heaven,’ may be powerful in front of ordinary players, but he can’t last three rounds against them!"
"That’s right, and I heard there’s a four-star famous general in ’Radiant Rule’! Rumor has it that ’Tomorrow’s Dynasty’ has one too!"
"Darn it, it’s a battle of immortals. We little alliances surviving in these two provinces are living in fear! Afraid they’ll wipe out our nests!"
Just to clarify, if the stronghold of a leader of one alliance is captured by another alliance, the former alliance becomes a subsidiary of the latter!
...
In Jiujiang Commandery in Yangzhou, Long Chen also received this news.
However, compared to these people on the forums, Long Chen appeared more calm and composed. He did not hastily march towards Luoyang City.
At this moment, Long Chen sat at the head of the conference hall, with Military Advisor Xizhicai and General Zhou Tai seated beneath him.
Since Long Chen took office as the Prefect of Jiujiang Commandery, the first thing he did was to reward those under his command.
Xizhicai was appointed as the Chief Military Advisor by Long Chen, the top military strategist, second only to Long Chen in position and authority.
This made Xizhicai feel the sense of willing to die for a confidant and increased his favorability towards Long Chen to 75 points.
Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin had been with him the longest, so they also received decent appointments, both being promoted to Fifth-Rank Deputy Generals.
These positions were obtained with the help of Long Chen’s father-in-law Wang Yun and by distributing wealth to Grand General He Jin.
There was no other way; although these positions were nominal, they still required the emperor’s appointment.
"Zhicai, how do you view this matter?" Long Chen asked.
On the way here, Xizhicai had already prepared a draft, and now that he was asked, he stood up without hesitation.
With a bow, he said, "My Lord, I believe that with the Emperor’s passing, it is both an opportunity and a challenge for us!"
"Now that the Son of Heaven has passed away, great chaos will arise! I have been observing the celestial phenomena day and night recently, and I have noticed dozens of bright stars in the night sky!"
"All of them are heroes and warriors in troubled times. In the future, they will undoubtedly be formidable opponents we have to face!"
As Xizhicai was a five-star top strategist, he was born with the ability of "observing the stars."
Other five-star strategists also possessed this skill, such as NanYang’s Zhuge Kongming, LuJiang’s Zhou Gongjin, and so on.
Long Chen believed that during these days, these top strategists had all sensed the impending chaos and the emergence of various heroes and forces through their observations of celestial phenomena.
These strategists were likely considering which warlords would be more suitable as their lords.
Long Chen nodded and said, "Zhicai, I am aware of this matter as well."
Then, he seemed to ponder for a moment, slowly stood up, and gazed through the window at the bright future.
With determination and passion, he declared, "Although the road ahead is long and full of thorns, I am willing to use the three-foot green sword in my hand to cut down the obstacles blocking my way and create a bright and vast universe!"
Hearing this, everyone in the hall was stunned, and their hearts remained unsettled for a long time.
In Xizhicai’s heart, it was like a stormy sea!
The reason he said those words just now was to confirm once again whether his lord truly had such great determination and fearlessness to overcome all obstacles on the way.
As a five-star strategist, his pride was as high as a green peak, and naturally, he didn’t want his lord to lack firm determination.
However, after Long Chen’s passionate words, Xizhicai’s eyes became warm and radiant.
In Long Chen’s mind, there was also a timely notification sound.
"Ding! The goodwill of the five-star strategist Xizhicai towards you has increased to 89!"
Because the minds of strategists were often complicated, their goodwill towards the lord would increase very slowly. They would gradually assess your abilities and determination.
It was like a slow-burning process, unlike straightforward men like Xuchu and Zhou Tai, who would willingly go through fire and water for you without hesitation if you treated them well!
Therefore, when Long Chen learned that Xizhicai’s goodwill towards him had reached such a high level, he was also pleasantly surprised.
Thinking of official matters, he asked again, "With the rise of heroes in the world, it is a great trend. I wonder how we should act at this critical moment?"
Xizhicai smiled slightly, holding a feather fan. He smiled and said, "My lord already knows, so why ask me."
Xuchu and Zhou Tai scratched their heads vigorously on the side, and white dandruff flew around, still not understanding what kind of medicine their lord and military advisor were selling in the gourd.
They looked at each other, realizing that neither of them knew what their lord and military advisor were up to.
Ah, finally, I’ve met someone as normal as me.
Zhou Tai couldn’t hold back anymore and asked repeatedly, "My lord, so can we expand our territory next? I’ve been eyeing the elite soldiers in Danyang Commandery for a long time!" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Long Chen shook his head and laughed, "No rush, no rush. What we need to do now is train our soldiers, develop our territory, and wait for the right moment!"
Zhou Tai didn’t understand and asked, "My lord, hasn’t the foolish emperor already died? Isn’t this the right time?"
Long Chen knocked on the table and said, "Youna, you can’t say that the emperor was a foolish ruler outside! Now that the world is still under the Han, saying such things is treason!"
"As for the timing, wait a bit. I predict that in no more than four months, the time will be ripe, and that will be our time to act!"
"Now, focus on training elite soldiers. Youna, you must train them well!"
