Zhou Huaili wrote down everything that was said.
Gu Mochen continued, "For the second route, you will personally go to the Anyang Commandery."
"The Commandant of Anyang may not obey orders."
"Take the military command token."
"What if he Prince An if he was sober?"
Gu Mochen glanced at the iron chains binding him.
Tell him that I am perfectly sober.
Zhou Huaili's Adam's apple bobbed.
"What if he still doesn't send troops?"
Gu Mochen's voice was hoarse.
"Put a knife to his neck."
"Could this be...?"
"If anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility."
As soon as he finished speaking, the three veterans bowed their heads in unison.
The Prince An's Residence now has no military power, no imperial decree, and even Prince An himself has been tortured beyond recognition by the evil medicine.
However Gu Mochen still took all the responsibility upon himself.
It's not because he's not afraid of death.
Rather, he knew that if Anyang fell, he wouldn't be the only one to die.
"Third route."
Gu Mochen took a breath.
"Send fast cavalry to the Qi and Lu Navy and tell them to be on high alert at sea. Wa and Silla are not here to trade; they want ports, weapons, and places to station troops."
Zhou Huaili asked, "Under what pretext?"
"Pirate."
"But they haven't made a move yet; isn't it too early?"
Gu Mochen raised his eyes.
"By the time they make a move, it will be too late."
A moment of silence.
Gu Mochen suddenly chuckled.
"Tell the navy that if any overseas fleet docks, search the ships first, then check the crew. Anyone who resists will be treated as a pirate."
Zhou Huaili his hands in a fist salute.
"Your subject understands."
The physician knelt beside him and took his pulse.
"His pulse is erratic."
After Gu Mochen finished giving his last instructions, the effects of the medicine fully kicked in.
His shoulders began to twitch violently, and his eyes became bloodshot.
The physician quickly pressed his head down.
Your Highness!
Gu Mochen raised his head and roared in a hoarse voice.
"Open."
"Don't let go!" The physician pressed down hard, his veins bulging.
"I'm telling you to let me go!"
The physician was so startled by the roar that he loosened his grip.
"Or just kill me!"
"Your Highness, don't you care about the people of Anyang anymore?"
Zhou Huaili took the opportunity to tighten the leather rope, pressing down on his surging body.
"You want to protect Great Yan, don't you? Save your own life first!"
Gu Mochen stared intently at the ground, his heavy breathing echoing around him.
After a long while, he squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth.
"I don't know how much longer I can hold on. If I truly lose control, kill me."
Zhou Huaili did not answer.
Did you hear me?
"I heard that."
Don't hesitate.
"I will not let you die."
"That's an order."
Zhou Huaili gritted his teeth, stuffed a thick cloth into Gu Mochen's mouth, then turned around abruptly and gave orders to the old soldiers outside.
"Prepare the horses. Leave the city immediately."
The message was quickly delivered to the Anyang Commandant's Office.
The captain's face darkened as he looked at the military governor's command arrow that Zhou Huaili had slammed on the table.
" Prince An has ordered the city to be sealed off and the thieves to be searched."
The captain stared at the command token and sneered.
" Prince An is in dire straits himself; how can he possibly issue an order?"
Zhou Huaili drew his long sword from his waist.
The knife tip struck the tabletop with a sharp "whoosh," penetrating deep into the wood.
"If you don't go, I will write a memorial for you right now."
What to write?
"The Commandant of Anyang accepted gold and silver from overseas medicine merchants, and knowing that wicked medicines had entered the city, he still refused to close the border."
The captain's expression changed drastically.
Zhou Huaili leaned down, his voice extremely low, like a ghost.
"You can bet that His Majesty won't wake up, or you can bet that the new Crown Prince won't thoroughly investigate Anyang."
The two stared at each other for a moment.
The captain finally grabbed the military tally and slammed it heavily on the table.
"Order to seal all water gates."
Zhou Huaili slowly sheathed his sword.
"Add one more."
"What?"
"All merchants from Wa and Silla are hereby detained. Their goods are sealed, and their persons are to be interrogated separately."
The captain frowned.
"There are no official documents from the imperial court..."
Zhou Huaili pushed the command arrow, representing the power of Prince An's military command, in front of him.
"The prince said he'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."
This time, the captain did not ask any more questions.
The first water gate in Anyang City slowly closed in the night.
The ripples reflected the torches atop the city wall, only to be completely blocked by the sluice gate.
Three days later.
Yi Prefecture, the warm pavilion of the Prince's Mansion.
The night was deep, but the candlelight shone as brightly as day.
Just as Liu Ruyan handed over a file, a thunderous sound of hooves came from outside the door, growing louder as it approached, finally stopping in the courtyard with a neigh.
Before anyone could announce it, the messenger rushed in, stumbling and crawling.
He was covered in dust, his lips were chapped, and he looked as if he had been dug out of the sand, but he was clutching a jade pendant tightly in his hand.
"Your Highness!"
He knelt on one knee, his voice hoarse.
"A blood-written petition stretching eight hundred miles from Anyang!"
Gu Moran took the nine-dragon jade pendant.
The jade pendant was stained with dark blood.
He recognized it; it was something Gu Mochen always carried with him.
Beneath the jade pendant lay a letter, also soaked in blood.
The eight words on the envelope were piercingly painful.
"Do not allow foreign remedies to enter the sea."
Gu Moran opened the blood-soaked letter.
My fingertips touched the dried blood, and a smell of rust mixed with the musty smell of paper filled my nostrils.
The handwriting on the letter was messy and forceful, revealing the writer's anxiety.
When Gu Moran read the words " Wa evil medicine", his pupils suddenly contracted.
Wa?
A simple life?
"The greatest calamity facing our Great Yan century lies not in the Northern Territory, nor in the western frontier, but on the shores of the East Sea..."
The people of those islands are as venomous as snakes and as hungry as wolves; one must be wary of them!
Upon seeing this, Gu Moran felt as if an invisible hand was clenching her heart.
A surge of hatred and murderous intent, originating from the depths of one's blood, exploded forth!
He gripped the letter so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Su Yao noticed the change in his aura and asked softly.
" Prince An is requesting aid?"
"More than."
Gu Moran raised his head, his eyes devoid of any of their usual languor, only filled with bone-chilling coldness.
"He wants me to guard the Haimen of Great Yan for him."
Liu Ruyan took the thin paper, her gaze falling on the end of the letter.
The last sentence.
"I beg you, my worthy brother, to set aside your brotherly disputes and first kill the foreign barbarians."
Gu Moran carefully folded the letter and tucked it into his pocket.
Su Yao looked up.
Are you going to Anyang?
Gu Moran put away the Nine Dragons Jade Pendant, his voice icy cold.
"First, check all foreign merchant caravans within Yi Prefecture."
"That medicine might have already started to spread."
Gu Moran strode into the study and unfolded the oilcloth.
Inside was a nautical chart.
The map marks three ports with cinnabar.
One of them was none other than the location of the Qi and Lu Navy!
Beside the port, there was a bright red wave marker, with two small characters next to it: "Japanese".
Gu Moran looked up at Uncle Fu who had rushed over.
"Pass on the order!"
Uncle Fu bowed.
" Yi Prefecture City, Level One Alert"
"Hurry and call Pu Yunshan back!"
He crumpled the nautical chart into a ball in his palm, radiating a chilling killing intent.
"Tell him that the battle against Tubo can be fought more slowly, and that Commandant Zhen of Dali should go and quell the rebellion."
"I'm taking him to do something big!"
[Thanks to: Emperor's certification, Wuwukai's explosive update and flower-sprinkling, Football, Flower Wound, Story, Mayang's Milk Tea, Life's Flowers x2, Favorite Flowers, Baiqiu's Flowers x10, Shaohuang, Xiangxin's urging tokens, Ruyue, Yunyuan's love letters and flowers, and everyone's loving support!]
The day for fighting the Japanese has been brought forward. War-related topics aren't my strong suit, so I need to brush up on my knowledge in this area to avoid making mistakes and embarrassing myself. I'll post three chapters for now. Thanks for your support, hehe.
The author mentioned there's a poll; let's see what everyone thinks.