Chapter 535 - Discussion on Situation
Chapter 535 of "Red Heart Patrols the Sky" opens introducing characters: The Grand Marshalâs Mansion of the State.Wen Lianmu no longer toyed with the chess pieces.He... Find out more!
The Grand Marshalâs Mansion of the State.Wen Lianmu no longer toyed with the chess pieces.
He sat crossed-legged at the chess table, his eyes gazing out the window.
He didnât want to admit that the outcome of his game had been determined, but he had to face it.
Turning his gaze back, Wang Yiwu, who was seated opposite him, was still meditating with his eyes closed.
Beneath the calm surface, the surging Soldier Slayer Qi and the vigor of life left Wen more than once in awe.
Just considering his martial arts talent, Wang Yiwu was indeed the most formidable person he had ever encountered.
Moreover, the man possessed an almost perverse self-discipline and determination, never satisfied with his strength.
Sometimes Wen Lianmu couldnât help but admire him.
He knew all too well how much Wang Yiwu valued the task entrusted to him by Zhongxuan Zun.
It had cost countless favors just to have him âextractedâ from the military.
Yet, faced with a situation that was suddenly deteriorating, even he was frustrated and anxious, but Wang Yiwu was still methodically completing his daily training.
Looking down at the large dragon comprised of white pieces about to be slaughtered on the chessboard, he suddenly felt an urge to sweep the pieces into disarray.
However, with his wisdom, he, of course, understood this was meaningless.
How had this game reached such a state?
At that time, he had used a âfake newsâ to lure Jiang Wang away, âamputatingâ an arm of Zhongxuan Sheng, and immediately launched a full-scale fierce attack.
Jiang Wang was not only the person Zhongxuan Sheng trusted the most, his formidable strength and certain reputation were enough to help Zhongxuan Sheng handle many matters he couldnât attend to himself.
Now that he was gone, Zhongxuan Sheng truly had no one reliable enough to stand on their own.
The fourteenth identity by nature dictated they couldnât preside over the overall situation, and they were also not adept at these things.
Zhongxuan Chuliang, as the common uncle of Zhongxuan Sheng and Zhongxuan Zun, was also not convenient to intervene directly.
In the period immediately following Jiang Wangâs departure, Zhongxuan Sheng indeed seemed to struggle in coping, defending with difficulty.
Just when the situation was looking very good for him, the Jubao Business Association unexpectedly collapsed.
Overnight, hundreds of shops closed, countless assets were divided and sold off.
The collapse of the Jubao Business Association was something he had anticipated and even secretly helped along.
As an âally,â he could naturally seize the juiciest cuts of meat as the association went under.
Invited to oversee the business left by Zhongxuan Zun, he was not content with just defeating Zhongxuan Sheng; he intended to grow this power to demonstrate his capabilities as Wen Lianmu.
It was also for his benefit in this venture beneath Linyi City.
But the collapse of the Jubao Business Association was too abrupt, happening much sooner than everyone had expected.
When mountains fall, the ensuing chain reaction is inevitable.
The collapse of the Jubao Business Association was too swift, affecting even its titular alliesâthe forces related to Zhongxuan Zun that Wang Yiwu was now proxying.
This, too, threw his own footing into chaos.
Wen Lianmu, with his extremely skillful tact, stabilized the situation at the first opportunity, but he didnât anticipate the âfoolishâ decisions Su She would makeâ
At such a difficult time for the business alliance, he chose to abandon external resistance and instead turned around to backstab both him and Wang Yiwu.
Severing many cooperations with Zhongxuan Zun, engaging in various mutually destructive breaches of contractâŚ
Such impulsive actions!
As an unquestionably smart person, one should have an overall view of the situation.
He should have tried everything to unite allies, to struggle for survival.
How could he turn against them just because they had shared in the spoils, and so quickly at that?
Even if going mad, one should distinguish primary from secondaryâfirst they should concentrate on taking down Zhongxuan Sheng!
Wen Lianmu excelled at manipulating people and had intentionally pushed Su She in that direction.
But perhaps being pushed to the edge made Su She snap, her âfoolishâ choices repeatedly shocking him.
After backstabbing their ally, sending him and Wang Yiwu into disarray for a while, she actually gave up all struggles for the Jubao Business Association and alone lay in ambush outside Linyi City to attempt the assassination of Jiang Wangâan act of utter recklessness!
Despite all this, Wen Lianmu still tried his best to âcooperate.â He immediately had Wang Yiwu activate the contingencies left by Zhongxuan Zun, leveraging Zhongxuan Zunâs influence in the Zhong Xuan Family to prevent Zhongxuan Sheng from calling upon God Arrives-level combatants.
This forced Zhongxuan Sheng to bleed in Su Sheâs crazed onslaught.
Whether it would be just Jiang Wang dying or more deaths to come.
It was unexpected to him that Jiang Wang could survive under such circumstances and counterkill Su She.
Perhaps Su Sheâs strength was not as formidable as imagined.
Well then, it was just a matter of starting the cycle of offense and defense all over again.
Wen Lianmu was never afraid of the game.
But the assassination suddenly launched by Hell Has No Door in the city of Linyi, the involvement of Zhongxuan Zunâs men in the vengeance of the Sun Court remnants, completely caught him by surprise.
Whatâs the saying?
When it rains, it pours!
And this incident was precisely under the jurisdiction of Beiyaduwei.
With the prior incident involving Zheng Shangming as a precedent, the Capital Commandant Zheng Shi wouldnât give any face to the Grand Marshalâs Mansion.
It was already fortunate if he didnât âframeâ them, let alone clear their names.
With an imperial mission on his hand, he appeared quite intent on relentless pursuit.
And whatâs more difficult is that this whole matter was fundamentally an affair under Zhongxuan Zun, even though he had left Wang Yiwu to be responsible for it.
But Wang Yiwu had no means to mobilize the forces of the State Grand Marshalâs Mansion for support, similarly, Wen Lianmu had no reason to call on the militaryâs power.
Officially, the forces of Zhongxuan Zun could still only rely on the relationships left by Zhongxuan Zun himself.
In the end, with Zhongxuan Zun trapped in Under Jixuegong, it was akin to them tying one arm behind their back, fighting against Zhongxuan Sheng single-handedly.
Otherwise, how could it be said that Zhongxuan Shengâs move was a stroke of genius!
Because of such inherent disadvantages, after Wen Lianmu was invited over by Wang Yiwu, he chose to pursue relentlessly from the very first moment.
He meant to unleash a barrage of fierce attacks, overwhelming Zhongxuan Sheng so that he could not afford to think of anything else.
He used offense as his defense to protect his own critical points.
But Zhongxuan Sheng hung on and managed, several times, to see through his traps.
He was pressed into using an overt plan to reassign Jiang Wang and then to confront him with brute strengthâthis was the choice with the greatest chance of victory after careful consideration.
Yet, he still failed to succeed.
Even today, it was already time to declare defeat.
Because of the involvement with the Sun Court remnants, the Zhong Xuan Family gave up their support for Zhongxuan Zunâs forces, taking back a large portion of the family business.
Only a few businesses that belonged personally to Zhongxuan Zun were struggling to survive.
In face of the fierce offensive that Zhongxuan Sheng was likely to launch, Wen Lianmu found it very hard to remain confident that he could hold out.
There is always victory and defeat in a game of chess.
Wen Lianmu consoled himself with this thought.
âWhat are you thinking about?â Wang Yiwu had finished his cultivation practice without Wen Lianmu realizing it.
âWhat else could I be thinking about?â Wen Lianmu forced a smile.
âIâm wondering how Zhongxuan Zunâs men got involved with the Sun Court remnants.
Could it be that he aimed to drag Zhongxuan Chuliangâs rebellion?
And how could he act so unwisely at this time?
Iâm thinking that Zhongxuan Zun was supposed to outshine his peers, so how could the Zhong Xuan Family just give up on him like this?
Thereâs too much on my mind, and now Iâm starting to get confused.â
Wang Yiwu was silent for a moment.
âA Zun has no ties with the Sun Court remnants.
Before the battle of Qi Yang, he didnât even think that fat man could pose a threat to him.
As for âgiving up,â with his talent, unless the Zhong Xuan Family were fools, they would never give up on him.
Itâs nothing but those old fools taking the opportunity to give what they think is a lesson.â
âIf you can confirm that Zhongxuan Zun is not involved, then judging from the outcome, this must be a trap set by Zhongxuan Sheng.
But he has done it flawlessly.
I canât find any clues in a short time, and Beiyaduwei will certainly not cooperate with usâŚ
at this point, the only option is for Zhongxuan Zun to come out and find a way to prove his innocence.â
At this point, Wen Lianmu shook his head in resignation, âListen to the nonsense Iâm saying.
I must be really losing my wits from this defeat.â
In order to shove Zhongxuan Zun into Under Jixuegong, Zhongxuan Sheng had practically gambled all of the rewards from the Qi Yang battle.
If Zhongxuan Zun could easily come out, why would he need to be here trying to figure out a solution?
There was no hint of failure on Wang Yiwuâs face as he asked, âIs there really not a single piece of good news?â
âOnly worseâŚâ Wen Lianmu said wearily, âNot only is Zhongxuan Sheng striking at those businesses, but the Tian family of Da Ze has gone mad too, sticking their foot in the matter as well.â
âDidnât they reap the benefits promised to Tian Huanzhang?
Or is his greed unsatisfied?â
âNeither.â Wen Lianmu shook his head with a bitter expression, âDo you think I want to reap all the benefits for myself, or that Iâm determined to burn all bridges?
Provoking Zheng Shi and offending Bao Zhongqing were choices made after careful consideration, and though they failed, they were within tolerable limits.
As for targeting Jubao Business Association, I intended to secure more capital and resource advantages to suppress Zhongxuan Sheng.
Su Sheâs sudden madnessâŚ
indeed caught me off guard.
In this situation, how could I âuseâ Tian Huanzhang for nothing?â
He sighed, âItâs because of Tian Anping.
Nobody knows why heâs gone mad, perhaps simply because we contacted Tian Huanzhang?â
Regarding the infamous âmadmanâ Tian Anping, Wang Yiwu was at a loss for words as well.
âIn any case, this is the situation now,â said Wen Lianmu.
âWhat else can I say?â Wang Yiwu spread his hands, âA Zun trusts me, yet Iâve botched things up like this.â
He tapped his chest, âIt doesnât feel good here.â
âIâm sorry,â Wen Lianmu said, âIâve made many wrong moves.â
In truth, these mistakes were all due to the urgency of the attack, and the resolve of the offense naturally resulted in blunders.
But Wen Lianmu would never console himself with such thoughts.
Wang Yiwu waved his hand, stopping him from berating himself further, âI asked you for help, so Iâm prepared to bear this burden.â
âThen.â He asked again, âIs there truly no solution left?â
âPerhapsâŚâ Wen Lianmu said, âyou could seek counsel from Master Chen.
Or maybe, seek the old God of War himself.â
He referred to Master Chen as Chen Zeqing, the eldest disciple of Jiang Mengxiong.
Jiang Mengxiong, as the military genius of Daqi, was known with Chen Zeqing inheriting his strategic mind and Wang Yiwu inheriting his martial prowess.
Wang Yiwu shook his head, âThe matter concerns A Zun, my master wonât help me.
As for Brother ChenâŚ
he is a talent for strategizing for the state, his wisdom is not meant for such affairs.â
Even in deep despondency, Wen Lianmu couldnât help but roll his eyes listlesslyâyou really donât know how to phrase things.
So my wisdom is only fit for such matters, is that it?
However, he wasnât in the mood to keep score, merely picking up a chess piece and tossing it onto the board.
Wang Yiwu then understood that this game was nearing its end.