Peaceful days were numbered

Smoke signals rose on every side, and beacon fires blazed across the sky.

"Your Majesty is wise indeed! This move will surely force the traitors out and capture them in one fell swoop!"

"What makes you say that, my beloved consort?"

Daji said, "Did Your Majesty not discover traitors within the city and intend to use the beacon fires to summon the Feudal Lords and force them out?"

Of course not!

Zi Shou's mind reeled. But how am I supposed to explain it? Tell her I deliberately lit the beacons just to toy with the Feudal Lords and win a smile from her?

Actually, that might work. I'm a tyrant!

That's exactly what a tyrant should do. I have to get my role straight!

Zi Shou laughed heartily. "Not at all, not at all. I merely wished to win a beauty's smile. Look, my beloved consort. With nothing more than a trail of smoke, the vast armies of the Eight Hundred Vassals come when I summon them and leave when I wave them away, as though it were all a children's game. How amusing."

Daji smiled, like a white magnolia bursting into bloom.

The fire in Zi Shou's lower belly, which he had only just managed to suppress, suddenly flared back to life.

Daji laughed for a while, then stopped. Since His Majesty would say no more, why should she keep asking?

She gazed out over the wilderness and looked around. Was it not exactly as King Zhou had said?

The realm belonged to Shang now. The vast armies of the Eight Hundred Vassals came at his summons and left at a wave of his hand. How dared those petty villains oppose their king?

"Back to the palace, back to the palace." Zi Shou was thoroughly satisfied. He had lit the fires, raised the smoke, and made Daji smile.

Those rank-and-file soldiers must have heard him declare that he had lit the beacons merely to win a smile from Daji.

Once they spread the news and the Feudal Lords came to defend their king, his reputation as a tyrant would spread throughout the realm.

Jizhou.

"Report! My lord, smoke signals have been sighted ten li ahead!"

A scout galloped in with the report. Su Hu was organizing his troops in camp, and he could not help shouting, "Excellent!"

"All officers, hear my command! March with me! We head south at once to Chaoge to defend the king!" He then raised his arm and called out, "We are all loyal subjects and worthy soldiers of Great Shang! We must keep our sovereign safe!"

The soldiers were dumbfounded. Loyal subjects?

Smoke signals are rising, and Chaoge is in turmoil. Aren't we taking advantage of the chaos to attack Chaoge?

My lord, didn't you write a Rebel Poem just a little while ago?

Rumors about King Zhou are everywhere lately. This is the perfect time to rebel!

Yet none dared ask. Every one of them stared wide-eyed, just like Su Quanzhong.

In any case, they were soldiers born and raised in Jizhou. Whatever their lord ordered, they would do.

"Where is Su Quanzhong?" Su Hu held his head high, cutting an imposing figure as he called upon his officers.

"Your son is here!" answered the sturdy, tiger-headed Su Quanzhong.

"You will lead the vanguard, with Zhao Bing as your deputy!"

"As you command!" Su Quanzhong cupped his hands. "Your son will take Chaoge and cut off that tyrant's damned-"

"Silence!" Su Hu snapped. How did I father such a thickheaded fool?

He had already explained everything to him back at the residence, yet he still did not understand.

"Keep your mouth shut."

He could only tell Su Quanzhong to speak less. The more the boy spoke, the worse things became.

"Where is Zheng Lun?"

"Your Humble Servant is here!"

"You will serve as chief general of the central army and hold the main force steady!"

"Your Humble Servant obeys!"

"Where is Chen Jizhen?"

After quite some time, the appointments were complete. Clad in battle dress, Su Hu drew his sword and pointed it toward Chaoge, his spirit soaring like a rainbow piercing the sky. "All troops, join me in answering our king's call!"

I, Su Hu, have waited far too long for this day!

In an imposing residence somewhere in Chaoge.

Zi Qi, Zi Yan, Bi Gan, Mai Yun, Mai Zhi, Lei Kai, and the others sat in a circle.

No, this time there was one more person: Chong Heihu.

Chong Heihu was Chong Houhu's younger brother and held the title of Marquis of Caozhou. He had once cultivated under an immortal and learned magical arts, with the Iron-Beaked Divine Eagle as his companion and the Red Gourd to protect him.

Half a month earlier, he had heard that Yun Zhongzi was a true cultivator who had attained the Dao and come to Chaoge to pay him a visit. Instead, he had heard King Zhou's Mandate of Heaven Theory, which filled him with disgust.

After observing him on several occasions, Zi Qi had brought him into their little band of rebels.

Chong Heihu alone could match a thousand soldiers. He might even gain control of his elder brother's troops stationed outside Chaoge City. After all, North Marquis Chong Houhu had little talent for military affairs and only a weak grip on his forces.

With another army in their hands, they would have an even better chance of deposing the tyrant.

They had gathered this time to discuss the beacon fires.

Why had King Zhou lit the beacons without any apparent cause?

The soldiers guarding the beacon tower claimed that King Zhou had used the smoke signals and beacon fires to summon the Feudal Lords, showing Daji his power to win a beauty's smile.

Who would believe that?

Zi Qi certainly did not.

He felt that King Zhou had probably discovered their plot.

His earlier indulgence in drink and women, and his refusal to attend morning court, had merely been a ruse intended to lull them into complacency.

Zi Qi had felt that way ever since the Mandate of Heaven Theory was discussed that day. A king capable of making such a shocking argument would never utter something so foolish.

As a royal who wished to ascend the throne, Zi Qi understood better than anyone how the mandate of heaven affected royal authority.

If everyone believed in heaven, who would believe in the reigning king?

If everything depended on heaven's mandate, why pay land taxes? Why obey royal commands?

The doctrine of heaven's mandate had always stood in opposition to royal authority.

Zi Qi had spread the rumors in the streets comparing King Zhou to Wu Yi.

Wu Yi's name was indeed steeped in infamy among the common people, but most members of the royal clan believed he had been right.

Even Zi Qi himself secretly admired Wu Yi. Everything Wu Yi had done had been in defense of royal authority.

Yet he knew even better that openly denying heaven's mandate at a time like this and placing oneself against it would only lead to the same fate as Wu Yi.

Could they oppose it?

No. The praise Yun Zhongzi received in Chaoge made that clear enough. He was merely an immortal. How much greater was heaven's mandate?

That was something they could even less afford to offend with careless words.

As he listened to King Zhou's discourse on heaven's mandate, Zi Qi had briefly entertained the thought that King Zhou truly was an enlightened ruler, but he immediately dismissed it.

King Zhou was just like those Royal Guards who could not even walk properly: he had stretched his stride too far.

Zi Qi said, "The tyrant must have lit the beacons to force us out. He has likely already found some clues. If the Feudal Lords enter Chaoge, we may have no chance of survival."

Lei Kai shouted in his rough voice, "Then let's finish what we started! We'll storm the Royal Palace and kill that tyrant!"

Bi Gan hurriedly said, "No, no, we must not-"

Zi Qi looked straight at Bi Gan. "Why do you say that, Royal Uncle?"

Bi Gan stammered, unable to speak. How could he not know that once the Mandate of Heaven Theory had been made public, the entire realm would be thrown into upheaval?

If they replaced the king immediately, they might still be able to stabilize the situation.

Mai Yun said, "Time will not wait for us. Our most pressing task is to muster our troops and seize King Zhou before the Feudal Lords enter Chaoge."

Mai Zhi expressed his agreement.

The arrow was already on the string; they had no choice but to loose it. They no longer had any path of retreat.

"The reinforcements outside the city have been waiting for over a month. At my command, they can storm Chaoge. Only..." Zi Qi looked toward Chong Heihu.

Seeing Zi Qi looking at him, Chong Heihu said, "Your Highness, whatever your orders may be, please speak freely."

Zi Qi said gravely, "Three days. We have only three days. After that, the nearby Feudal Lords will surely arrive. With only three days, can you seize command of the Marquis of the North's troops?"

Chong Heihu nodded. "Three days will be enough."

He knew exactly what sort of man his elder brother was.

Besides, he had more reasons to stir up chaos in Chaoge and undermine the King of Shang's reputation. The west, for instance.

Please send recommendation votes and tips. There will be plenty of extra updates this afternoon; the book is getting a recommendation slot then.