The night in Anyang City was as black as ink splashed on the ground.
A fierce wind whipped up snowflakes as large as mats, pelting them hard against the bustling Grain Market Street in the west of the city.
At this hour on a normal day, red lanterns would already be hanging on both sides of the long street, and the taverns and teahouses would be bustling with people.
Tonight, however, the entire street was deathly silent, save for the ranks of soldiers carrying torches and clad in black iron armor, their footsteps echoing through the thick snow with the chilling scraping of their armor.
"Bang!!"
A loud bang shattered the tranquility of the night.
The heavy elm wood gate of " Jufenglong," the largest grain store in the west of the city, was smashed down by four burly armored soldiers using siege wooden stakes.
The creaking of a broken door hinge mingled with flying wood chips, and a terrified scream came from the gatehouse.
"The Prince's Palace is ordered to requisition grain! Anyone who obstructs this will be executed without mercy!"
The head of the guards, a man with a fierce face, drew his sword from his waist, strode over the collapsed door, and with a backhand slash, cut down the charging guard in the snow.
A piercing scream tore through the air, and chaos Jufenglong.
The steward and the master rushed out of the bedroom, disheveled, and when they saw the dark mass of armored soldiers with swords drawn in the courtyard, their legs went weak and they knelt down with a thud.
"Sir! Sir, please calm down! Our shop just pledged three thousand taels of silver to Her Highness the Princess a few days ago. The grain in this granary is the Shen Family's reserve in Jiangnan; it cannot be touched!"
" The Shen Family? In Anyang City, the Prince is their absolute ruler!"
The captain ignored all explanations, stepped forward, and stomped his boot heavily on the owner's chest, causing the man to spit out a mouthful of blood.
He brandished his bloodstained longsword and shouted sternly, "Seal the gates! Bring out all the grain carts and transport them to the North Camp warehouse tonight! Anyone who dares to utter a word will have their entire family imprisoned!"
The same scene was playing out simultaneously in dozens of large granaries in the Anyang City.
The torchlight illuminated the snowy night, and cries for mercy, the cracking of whips, and the rumbling of wheels grinding across the frozen earth mingled together, dragging the entire city into an abyss of fear.
The next day.
Inside Prince An's Residence.
The door to the warm pavilion in the backyard was wide open. Gu Mochen was shirtless, with bulging veins on his chest, and sweat mixed with heat was constantly rising in the cold air.
He wielded a heavy, eight-sided Han sword, wildly slashing and thrusting across the snow.
The wind howled, stirring up a flurry of snowflakes.
"Hahaha! That's great! That's really great!"
Gu Mochen laughed wildly and pierced through the artificial rock in the courtyard with his sword, sending stone chips flying.
He suddenly drew his longsword, his chest heaving violently. His originally pale and thin body was now filled with an unusual sense of expansion, and the muscles in his arms were as hard as cast iron.
Yesterday, he was curled up on his bed coughing up blood like a wild dog that was about to die, but now he feels like he could punch a bull to death.
This thrill of controlling power plunged him into a near-manic state of intoxication.
"Your Highness is incredibly powerful!"
Several trusted generals knelt under the eaves, loudly flattering him, their eyes filled with awe and fear.
Zhou Huaili stood at the very edge, his face so gloomy it could drip water.
In the morning light, he could clearly see that Gu Mochen's eyes were bloodshot and his skin had an extremely strange pinkish hue, an ominous sign of reversed blood flow and excessive congestion in the meridians.
The Bliss Pills given by the overseas sorcerer was not a miraculous medicine to cure diseases and save lives at all, but a deadly poison that would only quench thirst and lead to ruin!
But Zhou Huaili dared not say anything more.
Yesterday in the side hall, Gu Mochen's ferocious, murderous look made him realize that anyone who dared to interrupt Prince An's "dream of immortality" at this moment would be cut in two on the spot.
Master Zhou!
Gu Mochen abruptly sheathed his sword, turned around, and strode up the steps.
He casually tossed the longsword to a guard beside him, where it landed on the snow with a dull thud.
"How's the grain harvest going?" Gu Mochen stared down at Zhou Huaili, hot breath coming out of his nostrils.
Zhou Huaili swallowed hard, suppressing his panic, and bowed as he replied, "Your Highness, twenty-two of the twenty-seven large granaries in the city have been sealed. A total of 45,000 shi of new and old rice has been unearthed and loaded onto carts overnight for transport to the North Camp warehouse."
However... the managers of major businesses were crying out in despair, and several leaders of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce even threatened to strike and go to the capital to appeal to the emperor...
"To file a complaint with the emperor?"
Gu Mochen snorted coldly, a cruel smile curving his lips, "Let them sue!"
Once I sit on the throne in the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, I will wipe out their entire clan, and see who dares to utter a single extra word!
As he spoke, he paced anxiously back and forth in the corridor, his fingers constantly rubbing his chin.
"Where are those two overseas immortal masters?" Gu Mochen suddenly stopped and asked fiercely.
Zhou Huaili's heart sank, and he said in a low voice, "As Your Highness instructed, we have arranged for them to stay in the best rooms of the inn, and they are being served the finest wine and food."
"Go! Bring them here!"
Gu Mochen raised his hand and scratched his neck, his fingernails digging deep, bone-revealing cuts into the reddened flesh, but he seemed oblivious, instead panting and roaring.
"I feel the effects of the medicine fading... a chill runs through my bones! Have them hand over the rest of the Bliss Elixir! Now!!"
Looking at Gu Mochen's frantic scratching, Zhou Huaili felt a chill run down his spine.
The effects of the medicine had barely lasted a day!
The backlash from the Bliss Pills came faster and was more ferocious than expected!
"Your subordinate... will go and fetch them immediately."
Zhou Huaili dared not hesitate, and walked backward out of the courtyard with his head down.
Just as they stepped out of the inner courtyard gate, they bumped into a messenger from the Prince's mansion.
The messenger, drenched in sweat, stumbled and fell onto the snow, holding aloft an urgent military report adorned with a red pheasant feather, " Master Zhou! Something terrible has happened! Urgent report! Something's happened at Bronze Gorge... at Bronze Gorge!"
Zhou Huaili's eyelids twitched violently. He snatched the secret letter, tore open the sealing wax seal, and quickly scanned it by the light of the lantern.
The letter was very short and the handwriting was messy:
"Two thousand elite Tubo cavalry surrounded the Bronze Gorge mine. The Prince Yi's Residence did not send its main force, but instead dispatched Pu Yunshan, the young master of Mount Qingcheng, to lead three hundred swordsmen and carry the newly made ' Subduing Fire Thunder ' from Yi Prefecture to launch a night attack from the cliff."
The Tubo garrison was completely annihilated, and the commander of a thousand men Chile, was beheaded.
One thousand soldiers from Yi Prefecture were rescued.
The secret compartment of the centurion Chile was seized, containing confidential documents from Anyang...
Upon seeing the last line of text, Zhou Huaili's vision suddenly went black, and he nearly fell into the snow pit.
" Subduing Fire Thunder... Three hundred men defeat two thousand elite cavalry?!"
Zhou Huaili gripped the thin sheet of Xuan paper tightly, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
Gu Moran, that sickly fellow, actually possesses such an unpredictable and deadly weapon?!
Even more critically, the secret letter from Prince An, who was secretly exchanging information with Tubo Tubo and attempting to use them to cut off the Jiannan grain route, actually fell into the hands of Prince Yi's Residence!
That's irrefutable evidence of treason and collusion with the enemy!