Since ancient times, struggles for power had been paved with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, their foundations built from piles of bones.
If the victor was benevolent, the dead bought a few years of peace;
If the victor was cruel, more bones were buried beneath those already there.
In the Spy Battalion's central hall, the "losers" lying on the floor were dragged out by the prince's loyalists and tossed haphazardly into the horse pen, like pigs and dogs that had died of sickness beside the road.
A few buckets of well water washed the blood from the floor, and the place once again looked every inch an important military office of the Imperial Court, dedicated to "defending home and country."
Li Yan stood in the hall, deeply anxious, yet discussed matters methodically with Tang Feng. "I meant to have Ding Hui summon two thousand-household commanders. Once we killed them, the ordinary soldiers could be commanded by squad leaders, the squad leaders by company commanders, and the company commanders coerced through their families... That would give us momentum, and we could indirectly control at least two guards' worth of troops. But that bastard... wasn't very popular. Only one thousand-household commander came, half as many as I'd expected."
"Zhang Gui and the others are veterans who served under Prince Huai. Could they negotiate with the Personal Guard Battalion?" Tang Feng asked, quick to react.
"Everyone who could come and dared to come must already be standing here." Li Yan considered it, then shook his head slightly. "Those who didn't come certainly won't negotiate with you now. But if we can charge into Qingliang Prefecture and keep our banner flying, never mind the Personal Guard Battalion-even the remaining four guards of Qingzhou troops will lead Prince Huai's horse and attend his