Chapter 1 The Approaching Storm

The next morning, the sky was overcast, dark clouds piling up like ink, and dim light filtered through the gaps. The air was humid.

A winter rain was brewing, creating an inexplicable sense of oppression!

It was early January, and the southern cold was like a ghostly knife, always finding a way in through the neck and ankles to give you a sharp cut!

The people on the street, wearing thick cotton clothes with their hands tucked into their sleeves and their backs hunched, headed towards the Tianji Tower with solemn expressions.

Today was the day of the imperial court's sacrificial ceremony to heaven. The three hundred young boys and girls, who had been rounded up from the capital, would be burned to ashes in the sacred fire and offered to the Haotian Shangdi (Heavenly Emperor)!

Perhaps even the heavens couldn't bear to watch, so the sky was filled with dark clouds. Wang Beiwang, dressed in thin, close-fitting clothes, carried a cloth-wrapped weapon on his back.

He followed the crowd to the Tianji Tower to observe the sacrificial ceremony!

This was the imperial court's intention. The court hoped that everyone, from the officials to the common people, would come to observe the ceremony, believing it to be a sign of respect and worship for the Haotian Shangdi!

"I heard that Yang Er secretly slipped out of the city yesterday to join the Northern Dynasty army!" Wang Beiwang's ears twitched as he overheard two men whispering ahead.

The speaker was a tall, thin young man!

The other, a shorter man, was silent for a moment before muttering, "If my son was chosen for the sacrifice and dragged to the square to be burned, I would join the Northern Dynasty army even if it meant death!"

The tall, thin young man gnashed his teeth and cursed, "Using children for sacrifice is against human ethics! The fatuous emperor will be punished sooner or later."

The shorter young man sneered, "Punished? The Southern Dynasty is doomed sooner or later. When Linxia City falls, it will be the capital's turn. We poor people can only wait for the Northern barbarians' butcher knife!"

The tall, thin young man gnashed his teeth again and said, "I'm not willing to die for such a fatuous emperor and court. I plan to go to the front lines and join the Northern Dynasty army too!"

"Hmm... I'll wait a few more days... wait until I've seen this sacrificial ceremony."

He seemed to need this sacrificial ceremony of burning young boys and girls to steel his resolve!

Alas, the building is about to collapse!

Walking behind the two men, Wang Beiwang sighed inwardly!

He remembered that when he was a child, the people of the Southern Dynasty, especially those in the capital, were proud and had a strong sense of belonging and national responsibility.

The biggest dream of the court and the people was to launch a northern expedition to retake the lost territories. A northern gaze towards the royal army!!!

In just over a decade, the people's hearts had withered. This generation of young people no longer had that kind of integrity and ambition. All they did every day besides working was curse the court and the fatuous emperor!

Once Linxia City fell, the Northern Dynasty wouldn't even need to replenish its troops. Ethnic soldiers would flock to them as soon as they recruited in the Southern Dynasty!

The Southern Dynasty had reached a critical point. He wondered if the fatuous emperor could turn the tide.

He walked in silence and saw more and more people ahead. There were peddlers and hawkers wearing thick cotton clothes, and women wearing simple cotton skirts. They came from all directions like streams, eventually converging into a surging crowd in the Tianji Tower square!

Finally, Wang Beiwang saw the towering Tianji Tower and hundreds of armored soldiers forming a barrier, keeping the people outside the square.

He saw a high platform erected with dry firewood piled underneath. Three hundred young children sat cross-legged on the platform, their expressions blank, devoid of joy or sorrow, as still as statues.

Below the platform, two rows of civil and military officials, wearing official robes and holding ivory tablets, stood upright and waited quietly.

One-third of the officials from the court had come. The remaining officials were those who strongly opposed the sacrificial ceremony and refused to participate as a sign of protest.

Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet, Zheng Wenhan, and Yang Zheng stood at the head of the second row of officials, one on the left and one on the right.

Yang Zheng glanced around and said blandly, "His Majesty made such a big show of holding the sacrificial ceremony, but why is he claiming illness and not coming? Is he not afraid of offending the Haotian Shangdi!"

He didn't look at Zheng Wenhan, who was two meters away, but the latter seemed to know that he was speaking to him and responded in a similar tone.

"The Guoshi (Imperial Advisor) is well-versed in astronomy and geography, and has a complete grasp of the general trend of the world. He can communicate with heaven and earth, and his presence is sufficient. His Majesty is concerned about the front lines and is plagued by worries, and the poison has not completely subsided, so it is natural for him to recuperate in the palace."

Yang Zheng snorted, his sarcasm obvious, but he didn't say anything more!

Zheng Wenhan also stopped talking and turned his head, searching through the dense crowd, both looking for the possible presence of the fatuous emperor, Zhao Shun, and searching for remnants of the Shenrui Army (Divine Sharp Army).

For this sacrificial ceremony, Zheng Wenhan and his trusted aides had made deductions and preparations, formulating a comprehensive plan.

As long as the fatuous emperor dared to show up, the Shenrui Army remnants hidden in the crowd would launch an assassination attempt. The city defense army on the scene would use protecting the emperor as an excuse to block the streets and prevent the Yang family's forces from entering, while secretly creating chaos to ensure the fatuous emperor died in the assassination!

To ensure complete success, Zheng Wenhan had also arranged for many military experts to disguise themselves as assassins and hide in the crowd!

If the fatuous emperor didn't show up, that would be for the best. After the sacrificial ceremony, the Zheng family would carry out the plan to eliminate the treacherous elements around the emperor. Zheng Wenhan had also considered the worst-case scenario: if the Zheng family's rebellion and assassination of the emperor were exposed, he would kill Zhao Shun on the spot and take the opportunity to stop the sacrificial ceremony. Then, he would make a passionate speech in front of the people and gain the support of the Guoshi (Imperial Advisor) to directly start a rebellion!

Only as a last resort would Zheng Wenhan take this path. After all, even though Zhao Shun was fatuous, the court only hated him as a person and still recognized the Zhao family. From beginning to end, rebels were all traitors and villains.

Those who were loyal to the Zhao family and those with wild ambitions would take the opportunity to rise. Once the Zheng family was exhausted too much, Tuoba Rentu (surname Tuoba, personal name Rentu) might take the opportunity to tear up the agreement!

In a private room on the third floor of a restaurant a hundred meters away from the Tianji Tower, Duan, the gang leader, and Elder Xu stood by the window, looking out at the crowded square!

Elder Xu smiled and said, "Gang Leader, you reserved a private room early in the morning. It seems you have high expectations for the fatuous emperor!"

Gang Leader Duan said blandly, "I'm just here to take a look."

To see if the Southern Dynasty was still worth saving, he hoped in his heart. Outside the crowd in the square, a carriage stopped by the side of the street. Guan Ya stood by the carriage, her eyes fixed on the crowd.

"Empress, you are a noble person, don't stand in such a conspicuous place. It's easy to attract assassins!" Xie Lingxi crawled out of the carriage, looking worried, and tugged at Guan Ya!

"There are guards around the carriage, what is there to worry about!" Guan Ya replied indifferently, "If assassins come, I'm not afraid."

Xie Lingxi muttered softly, "But I'm afraid! I'm just a Level 1 extraordinary!"

Guan Ya simply ignored her!

The lazy voice of the Palace Master of the Zhisha Palace (Palace of Stopping Slaughter) came from inside the carriage.

"How is it? Has our great swordsman seen any enemies?"

Guan Ya also ignored her and continued to search the crowd for possible assassins.