A Step into the Past

Book 15 Chapter 04 – Lifetime’s First Victory

While all the Qin officials and Royal Family members are in a state of panic, Xiao Pan, under the escort of Xu Xian, Lu Gong and Wang He, gracefully returned back to his seat. He loudly commanded: “Lord Gaoling has rebelled. I will now personally lead the fight against his rebel army. All of you can remain in your seats for the time being. After I have taken care of him, I will come back and drink with all of you again.”

Although everyone is alarmed by the loud shouting and fire burning, they are situated safely within the defending gates and noticed that the palace guards around them are all armed and well-prepared. Calming down, they cheered loudly for Xiao Pan.

Zhu Ji stood up and had a quick look at the pale-faced Lu Buwei and Guan Zhongxie who is supporting a dying Mo Ao. She questioned: “Crown Prince! What is going on?”

Xiao Pan coldly replied: “Empress can rest assured as I am in control. Men! Escort Empress back to the tent for a rest.”

Zhu Ji understood that given the present circumstances, it is not suitable to ask any further questions from her elusive son. Still at a loss, she left under the escort of the palace guards cum palace maids and returned back to her tent.

Xiao Pan faced Lu Buwei, assuring: “Premier Mentor and Third Mistress must have suffered a shock. Please have a rest in my tent. When the rebellion has been quashed, I will invite both of you out for a celebratory drink.”

Lu Buwei glanced at the wheezing Mo Ao helplessly. A dozen palace guards came up to him and invited him to rest in the main Royal Tent.

Loud crashing sounds can be heard from the direction of River Jing as the giant logs collided into the bridges. Sounds of water rushing down the river can also be heard, pushing the fear in everyone’s heart to the maximum.

But after looking at Xiao Pan’s confident composure and swift issue of military orders, everyone was slightly comforted.

Lu Buwei knew that if he disobeyed his instructions, he will lose his head on the execution ground. Sighing, he took a last look at Guan Zhongxie and Mo Ao before he left with Lu Niang Rong.

By now, the palace guards have prepared the warhorses. Xiao Pan pacified the banquet guests one more time and mounted his warhorse. Under the protection of the three generals and the palace guards, he courageously galloped out of the defending gates.

Mo Ao finally breathed his last.

Guan Zhongxie’s body went numb. For the first time, he can feel the real fear of having Xiang Shaolong as his enemy.

Tonight, they have suffered multiple defeats. Lu Buwei and Lu Niang Rong are as good as under house arrest. Mo Ao is poisoned to death and he has lost his bearings. If he tried to leave the banquet area, he will die an unexplainable death under the hands of the palace guards.

At the same time, he knew that Lu Chan and Zhou Zihen were as good as dead. Xiang Shaolong will never let them off.

When the fire attack has just begun, the Lord Changping brothers led five thousand of their palace guards into Lord Gaoling’s rebel army camp and began a killing spree.

The fire fighters have prepared wet sand in advance and hid them among the grass and the trees. They managed to prevent the fire from spreading.

When Lord Gaoling tried to attack the campsite with three thousand soldiers, they discovered that they have been surrounded by Xiao Pan’s army. Like a trapped beast, they fought a losing battle.

Leading two thousand cavalry soldiers, Jing Jun intercepted a group of Lu Buwei’s family warriors led by Lu Chan. He fired a string of arrows and killed many of their men and horses before he attacked them using a pincer formation. It was an onslaught.

At this point in time, all the four bridges haven been smashed to smithereens. As another army of rebel soldiers ventured down river on wooden rafts, they were crushed by large rocks that were catapulted down by Huan Qi and his army of five thousand cavalry soldiers who were ambushing them from higher ground. Tragic cries filled the air.

Their shields may have helped if it was an arrow attack but it was large rocks that were being hurled at them. Moreover, there was nowhere they could hide in the middle of the river. More than a hundred rafts were squarely hit and they sank immediately. The rest of the rebels hurriedly rowed to the shore but were mercilessly slaughtered by another group of cavalry soldiers hiding among the trees.

With an air of authority, Xiao Pan travelled between the two battle sites and used torch signals to issue commands to his men.

Xiang Shaolong himself led another two thousand cavalry soldiers and conducted a search along the Jing River. He could not find any traces of Zhou Zihen and the divers. He guessed that they must have sensed that something is amiss and swam to the other side of the river and slipped away.

He could not help but sighed. Lu Buwei will survive this episode. If Zhou Zihen and the divers are apprehended, there will be sufficient evidence to nail Lu Buwei. Despite all his work, he cannot change the course of history. But what role does he play in this thing called fate?

Zhu Ji and Lu Buwei are invited to join the banquet again. Lu Gong and the other two generals are already seated at their tables.

Ji Yanran and the other ladies were overjoyed to see their beloved husband return safely. Even the aloof Qin Qing smiled sweetly at him.

All the officials kneeled down and paid their respects to Xiao Pan, pledging their loyalty to him. Xiao Pan is so overwhelmed that his face is totally red and he toasted them in return.

Xiang Shaolong is comforted. After tonight’s event, Xiao Pan has secured an infallible position in the hearts of the people of Qin.

Jing Shan came up and reported: “Lu Chan managed to slip away. The people receiving him are from outside the capital and are definitely not Lu Buwei’s family warriors.”

Xiang Shaolong was forced to accept this fact. With Mo Ao’s intelligence, they will not leave behind any traces of evidence.

Thinking about this, he could not help but looked towards Lu Buwei.

Mo Ao has been carted away and Guan Zhongxie is expressionless. However, Lu Buwei is acting as per normal and drinking happily with Xiao Pan and Zhu Ji. Xiang Shaolong gives him two thumbs up for his acting skills.

Shouting at the top of their voices, Lord Gaoling and his military leaders were dragged into the centre of the banquet ground. They were tightly bounded by strong ropes and were forced to kneel down by Lord Changping and the palace guards.

Everyone became silent.

Firstly, Xiao Pan asked Zhu Ji for instructions. Zhu Ji sighed: “You do as you deem fit.” Lord Gaoling’s hair is untied and in a mess. With traces of blood on his clothes, his eyes were burning with hatred as he stared viciously at Xiao Pan.

A palace guard was about to press his head down in a kowtow when Xiao Pan stopped him. He plainly state: “You tried to rebel and scheme against the rightful King. Lord Gaoling, do you realise your mistake?”

Lord Gaoling loudly scolded: “Pei! Since when is a like you fit to call yourself...”

Before he finished his sentence, Lord Changping who is standing beside him stuffed a piece of cloth into his mouth. A palace guard on the other side hit him heavily on his back. Lord Gaoling moaned in pain and fell down to the ground. It was a pathetic sight.

Acting as if nothing has happened, Xiao Pan faced Lu Buwei and asked: “Premier Mentor, what is the punishment for staging a rebellion?”

Lu Buwei generously state: “It is punishable by death. The Crown Prince should lock him up behind bars and announce his crimes to the people. Then, you can proceed to execute him.”

With everyone solemnly watching him, Xiao Pan nodded: “Premier Mentor speaks with reason. But there is no need to wait any longer before we execute them. Men! Bring all of them to the shore of River Jing and cut off their heads at once. Do not bury their bodies but let them lay exposed in the wilderness and be ravaged by wild beasts.”

Nobody expected this teenage Crown Prince to be so ruthless. After all, Lord Gaoling is a member of the royal family. If not for King Zhuangxiang, he would have been the King of Qin. Now, he has to die in the wild without a proper burial place. Everyone is shocked and subdued by the dominating character of this future Qin Shi Huang.

Lord Gaoling raised his head in surprise. As his hands were bound and his mouth was stuffed, he is unable to protest.

Some of his conspirators were shaking with fear while some others have fainted on the spot.

Under Lord Changping’s command, the palace guards dragged Lord Gaoling and his men out of the defending gates to be executed.

Maintaining his strict expression, Xiao Pan coldly added: “Arrest every family member of the rebels. The males shall be sent to work in the western territories and the females shall be palace maids. Every descendant of Lord Gaoling is to be arrested and executed without pardon. Let this serve as a warning to those people who harbour ill intentions.”

Every Qin official was as quiet as a dormouse and it was so quiet you can even hear a pin drop.

Xiang Shaolong felt that Xiao Pan is too high-handed but when he noticed that everyone behaved normally, he realised that it is a common practice for the family members to be punished together with the criminal.

If it was Lord Gaoling who captured Xiao Pan, Xiao Pan and himself will suffer a similar fate.

There is nothing more that he can say.

This punishment method is one of the ways to maintain law and order. With such a harsh punishment, everyone will be a law-abiding citizen.

Xiao Pan continued: “The person who scored the most merit this time is Huan Qi who has just joined the Cavalry Army. He was the one who discovered the enemies’ scheming which allowed me to prepare an effective counterattack. Now that we have successfully triumphed over our enemies, we must not forget his contribution. I will bypass the standard protocol and promote him to the rank of General. General Wang Jian did a good job of grooming him and also accomplished several feats in the northern war against the Xiong Nu. He shall be promoted to Great General with immediate effect.”

Xiao Pan has proven himself by quelling the rebellion. Now that he is promoting the men who have fought well, there is no way Zhu Ji can intervene. Lu Buwei can only wallow in self misery.

Lu Gong, Xu Xian and Wang He have been consulted regarding these promotions. Obviously, they will not voice any opposition.

Huan Qi is now busy chasing after the remnants of the rebel army with Jing Jun. For the time being, this wonderful news has yet to reach him.

Xiao Pan words are partly true. His real motive is to adopt Xiang Shaolong’s suggestion and use Huan Qi to set up a special elite force that will report directly to himself. In the future, this will assist him greatly in countering Lao Ai and Lu Buwei.

Originally, Xiao Pan wanted to promote Xiang Shaolong to be a Great General too but was rejected by Xiang Shaolong because he lacked military contributions.

He is not interested in power and authority.

Xiao Pan continued: “General Huan Qi shall stay in the vicinity of the capital and construct training camps. He shall be tasked with training new soldiers that are drafted from all over Qin. This will aid us greatly when we set out to unite the world in the future. Wang Ben is a valiant fighter who killed the first twenty enemy soldiers. I will promote him to be General Huan Qi’s Assistant General and they will work hand in hand to serve the nation. Empress, Premier Mentor, Lieutenant General, Great Generals and Officials, does anyone have anything to add?”

Zhu Ji can see that her precious son has finally grown up but the gap between them is widening day by day.

Xiang Shaolong is the main mastermind behind tonight’s event and Lu Buwei has a part to play too with his scheming. However, both men did not tell her anything about their plans. Feeling dejected and lost, she cannot help but looked over to Lao Ai. Is he the only man that she can really depend on?

Xiao Pan repeated himself: “Empress! I am waiting for your instructions.”

Suddenly, Zhu Ji felt that she is very tired of everything. She shook her head: “Crown Prince can make your own decisions.”

Lu Buwei took this chance to cut in: “The Palace Guards, Imperial Cavalry and Imperial Infantry are more than enough to defend the capital. Why do we need another army? Will the Crown Prince please reconsider.”

In his heart, Lu Gong is cursing: you b!tch! He chortled: “Premier Mentor’s words have highlighted the problem. The Palace Guards, Imperial Cavalry and Imperial Infantry are limited to the capital defences. If there is any trouble in the vicinity of the capital, we will be at a loss. Take the uprising of the three eastern provinces as an example. All the Qin soldiers near the capital have been deployed away, providing Lord Gaoling with this opportunity to ambush us. It is absolutely necessary to create this new army.”

Xu Xian added: “Now, the three allied states are hostile towards us. We have to face the harsh reality that we may have to fight them along the official roads. With this new army, we will not be afraid of any uprisings in the new eastern provinces.”

Lu Buwei was flabbergasted.

This is his biggest flaw. He is an academic official. Without Meng Ao by his side, he is not fit to debate military matters with these Generals who have years of military experience.

The support of the Generals is extremely crucial for Xiao Pan.

Xiao Pan concluded: “It shall be decided then. Commander Xiang, receive your order.”

Everyone was startled. What does Crown Prince want Xiang Shaolong to do?

Only Lu Gong, Li Si and the rest of the Great Generals know what is going on.

Xiang Shaolong left his table and went forward to Zhu Ji’s and Xiao Pan’s table, kneeling down.

Xiao Pan retrieved a token of authority which a palace guard helped to pass to Xiang Shaolong. He instructed: “Lord Gaoling managed to assemble an army with over ten thousand men and even brought them so close to Xianyang City. I am sure there is someone helping him in the background. I want Commander Xiang to leave the capital and investigate this matter. If you discover any men who are supporting the rebels, kill them without mercy. In your absence, Assistant Commander Jing will temporary assume your main duties.”

In a loud voice, Xiang Shaolong accepted his command.

Xiao Pan barked: “The banquet shall end now. My dear Subjects, please have a good rest in the meantime. When the bridges have been repaired, we will go to the River Jing shore and await the night hunters to come back with their catch.”

When Xiao Pan is sending Zhu Ji off, all the officials kneeled down respectfully and submissively.

In this moment, Xiang Shaolong is moved to tears.

All his years of hard work has finally paid off.

From tonight onwards, Xiao Pan will build his legacy as Qin Shi Huang.

The authority of the Qin Court is no longer in the hands of the officials. Even Lu Buwei has to submit to him.

When he comes back after killing Tian Dan, he will sow discord between Lao Ai and Lu Buwei, making them fight among themselves.

After all that he has gone through, he should finally enjoy some peace of mind.