Yinshan Record

Chapter 343 Another Wave of Collusion and Dealing

Prophecies are an ancient phenomenon. Simply put, they are inflammatory rumors with a very clear purpose: to stir up trouble.

For example, the famous sayings "The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise" and "The one who will replace the Han Dynasty is Dangtu Gao".

Su Che himself had fabricated a prophecy. The Third Young Master Su claimed to have seen the four characters "Heaven Destroys the Broken Beam" in the Kulin Temple, attracting the attention of the imperial court. Feng Xingbu led the Wuyun Iron Cavalry to slaughter the monsters in Xuanshan.

Because of the special nature of prophecies, the imperial guards, the Jingye Division, and the imperial censors in various regions were extremely sensitive to such rumors.

The imperial court in Jiankang would also collect and record prophecies from various regions.

Although Su Che has been recuperating at home these past few days, he has maintained a certain level of attention to the Imperial Guards. Not to mention recently, even when looking through previous records, he has never heard of anything like "Nine Suns in the Sky, Eighteen Sons Mastering Divine Artifacts".

"No."

Su Che replied decisively.

"This prophecy came from the north and can be heard everywhere in the streets and alleys of Jiankang."

Xiong Shou added to Li Yizhen: "Some people in the court suspect that this is a rumor deliberately spread by the Grand Tutor in the north. Our trip south this time is for two reasons: first, to investigate the disappearance of the Prince of Wuling, and second, to conduct a search in Cizhou to prevent any evildoers from taking the opportunity to cause trouble."

When Su Che thought of the name of Yuwen Rui, the Grand Tutor of Northern Wei, he couldn't help but nod to Xiong Shou.

Although this pillar minister of the Northern Dynasty looked every bit the cunning and ruthless man preparing to usurp the throne, Su Che, to be fair, admired his methods.

With Wei Huaiwen's Northern Expedition already victorious, he used the opportunity presented by the shattering of the Yin-Yang boundary to intervene in the Central Plains, while simultaneously colluding with the Dragon Clan to release the remnant spirit of that ancient evil dragon, causing a great calamity that swept across the entire Cizhou.

With a single effort, the Northern Wei dynasty did not mobilize a single soldier or spend a single penny or grain of food. By simply taking advantage of the situation, they caused the Liang dynasty to sound its horns and retreat, and Wei Huaiwen led his troops south in dejection.

Although they belonged to different camps, Su Che truly admired Grand Tutor Yuwen's ability to manipulate events.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

A habit had formed throughout the Liang Dynasty: whenever something might involve the Grand Tutor of Northern Wei, one had to be extremely vigilant and careful.

Any oversight, however slight, will inevitably come at a heavy price.

The prophecy "Nine suns in the sky, eighteen sons to rule the divine artifacts" quietly spread from the north. The first reaction of the Liang court was, "Yuwen Rui, you traitor, you finally couldn't hold back and started to rebel."

The sooner the better. Once your abdication ceremony is over, just suppressing the internal opposition will give the south a few years to recover.

However, upon calm analysis, it becomes clear that no matter how the prophecy is interpreted, it has nothing to do with Yuwen Rui.

Prophecies are generally simple and clear, because making them complicated would hinder their dissemination and make them incomprehensible to ordinary people.

The phrase "nine suns in the sky" either refers to an unusual celestial phenomenon or specifically refers to the character "旭" (xù, meaning rising).

The phrase "Eighteen sons as the main divine weapon" is easier to explain: "Eighteen sons" simply means "Li," and "main divine weapon" means becoming the emperor.

The prophecy, when put together, means that Li Xu will become emperor.

Who is Li Xu?
Regardless, the Li family is a powerful clan in the north, and this prophecy may have been fabricated by Yuwen Rui to purge his political enemies once again.

But not long after, a new prophecy came from Jiankang.

"When Laozi rules the world, Li Hong should emerge."

This one is even more obvious than the one above; it directly tells you that the rebel who is about to cause chaos is named Li Hong.

Su Che listened to Xiong Shou's words and roughly understood the purpose of the two men's visit to Cizhou.

These two imperial censors, who were traveling to Youzhou, also had a less important task: to represent the imperial court in visiting Cizhou.

After all, with the Yin-Yang boundary shattered and the evil dragon returning to the sea, Cizhou has suffered two natural disasters at once.

First, there are many hungry ghosts who escaped from the realm of hungry ghosts, whose poison is far-reaching.

Secondly, the cold wave unleashed when the evil dragon returned to the sea froze thousands of miles, causing almost no harvest in many counties.

In the present world of the Great Liang, Cizhou is undoubtedly the weakest link.

Whether Yuwen Rui has some ulterior motive or there is a real rebellion, they should all be addressed here.

This became the shortest plank on the barrel.

Su Che listened to Xiong Shou's meaning.

“Li Xing, do you think it’s possible that those who intend to harm the Prince of Wuling are the same group of people who fabricated the prophecy?”

As Xiong Shou spoke, he glanced at Su Che, his eyes conveying a meaning that was self-evident.

Su Che pondered the meaning behind the words of the Imperial Censor Xiong and roughly understood what it meant. He then looked at Li Yizhen on the other side.

This person, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned, clearly indicating that the two had communicated beforehand and had a tacit understanding.

It turned out to be the case.

Su Che looked at the two Imperial Censors in front of him. They were indeed outstanding individuals who had joined the court after mastering the Elixir of Immortality. Even their official duties were quite competent.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out."

Su Che nodded. "The Prince of Wuling holds the important position of Acting Censor-in-Chief. He is kind and gentle, brave and resolute. If anyone plots against him, they will surely target the wise prince of our Great Liang."

Imperial Censor Xiong then added a sentence that made Su Che glance at him.

If I didn't roughly know the whole story, I would have been convinced by Imperial Censor Xiong.

"Such a depraved and insane person can only be Yuwen Xiaochou, the eternal traitor of the Northern Kingdom."

Li Yizhen made a timely remark, and Su Che suddenly remembered that this person seemed to have some personal grudge against Yuwen Rui.

"Our dynasty's northern expedition has been a great success. In order to save face, Yuwen Rui has sent people to stir up trouble in Cizhou and secretly target the Prince of Wuling." Imperial Censor Xiong paused for a moment: "I heard there is a peasant uprising in the south?"

Su Che nodded. "I understand. Yuwen Rui may not be that cunning, but with a group of experts like you, he'll become cunning even if he's not."

After all that back and forth, Imperial Censor Xiong was simply presenting an alternative plan to shift the blame to the north.

The disappearance of the Prince of Wuling was orchestrated by Yuwen Rui.

The peasant uprising in Cizhou was instigated by Yuwen Rui himself, who went to the countryside to stir up trouble.

If there's any unavoidable mess, no problem, just pin it on the Grand Tutor of Northern Wei.

Anyway, this guy is already used to having too many lice and not being bothered by too much debt.

Wow, impressive! Su Che looked at the two people in front of him. They were either imperial censors or he was just a lowly prison guard.

This is the difference.

I just don't know how much of Grand Tutor Yuwen's reputation was built up little by little like this.

"In this way, neither Madam Xie nor the Wang family of Langya will be implicated."

As Su Che spoke, he glanced at Li Yizhen on the other side.

"The Wang family of Langya and the Xie family of Chenjun are both pillars of the court; we should show them some respect."

Xiong Shou nodded.

"The Imperial Guard and I..."

"The Imperial Guards and the Censorate are His Majesty's trusted henchmen. Xiao Su's family is full of loyal and righteous men, so how could he possibly harm the prince?"

Imperial Censor Xiong chuckled, as if they weren't the ones who had just brought out the strange beast to prove Su Che's crimes.

"It's all because..."

"Yuwen Rui is a treacherous and despicable villain. Unable to defeat our imperial army on the battlefield, he resorts to such underhanded tricks."

Xiong Shou looked at Su Che and said, "This is perfect."

Su Che pondered for a moment.

This approach would allow the Langya Wang clan to preserve their dignity, and the matter of the Chenjun Xie clan privately raising demonic beasts could be dropped without further escalation. However, it would only add another layer of blame to Yuwen Rui's reputation as the Grand Tutor of Northern Wei, solidifying his reputation for unparalleled wisdom and resourcefulness.

But what about the face of the royal family?
This is a prince, after all, the emperor's son.

Li Yizhen's face remained calm and composed.

Xiong Shou looked at Su Che and said, "This is how we report it, to save face for everyone. But we still need Su Lixing to work closely with us to handle the rest. The court is willing to consider everyone's dignity, but we must also serve His Majesty well."

"After finding the Prince of Wuling and quelling the peasant uprising, several sorcerers were discovered..."

Imperial Censor Xiong looked at Su Che and said, "How can His Majesty explain this? The court has saved face, and I, along with the officials in charge of justice, have all contributed. Everyone is happy."

"Even that Grand Tutor Yuwen in the north has earned a reputation for being a master strategist."

Su Che nodded.

"It is the heartless and treacherous traitor Yuwen Rui."

Li Yizhen looked at Su Che.

Dealing with Su Che is one thing, quelling this matter is another. Li Yizhen can tell the difference, and so can those behind him.

A moment of silence fell between the three of them.

Suddenly a voice came from outside, accompanied by hurried footsteps and rapid breathing.

"This is bad, something terrible has happened! A civil uprising has broken out in Wenning County. The rebels have surrounded the county town, and their leader claims to be Li Hong."

Wang Jian hurriedly held a document, his expression full of panic, his eyes sweeping helplessly over the three people in front of him.

It was as if these people were his lifeline.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, another wave is rising, what should we do?"

(End of this chapter)