The auspicious stone is located on a mountain peak called Yuewang. After Sui Heng arrived at Mount Li, the commander of the Jiuda Battalions, Huo Cheng, who had already carried out defensive tasks here in advance, immediately led two deputy Generals to salute.
“The General greets your highness.”
Huo Cheng showed a respectful attitude and led all the soldiers of the Jiuda Battalions present to kneel and bow.
Almost all of the Jiuda Battalions are composed of descendants of noble families, and Huo Cheng is also a member of the Huo family with a deep foundation and great influence in the Sui capital. There was also a former chieftain in the family, and now both his father and brother hold important positions in the court.
When Sui Heng was young, he had been training in the Jiuda Battalions and had also stayed in the same battalion as Huo Cheng. Huo Cheng was able to become the commander at a young age. In addition to his prominent family background, he also had some real skills, especially his marksmanship. He was especially good at shooting, he is superb among the Hou family. During the military competition, he won the martial arts championship for many consecutive years.
But when he was in the Jiuda Battalions, he was still oppressed by Sui Heng and couldn’t lift his head.
Sui Heng was a Crown Prince with a noble status. He has military prowess, courage, and wisdom. In just three months of his time in the army, he subdued a group of noble descendants and submitted them to the imperial court. At that time, Huo Cheng saw His Highness drinking with a group of aristocratic families all day long and thought that Sui Heng’s ambition was just to hold the Jiuda Battalions in his hands, shake hands with the aristocratic families to make peace, and secure the throne in the smoothest way possible. He never expected that Sui Heng, a madman, would have the courage to break away from the Jiuda Battalions and lead his temporary recruitment of 300,000 soldiers to the northern border to confront the coalition forces of various northern countries. He fought bloody battles in the snowy mountains of the northern border for seven days and seven nights, ultimately defeating the Shanu cavalry, who were known as “□□”1It was like this in the raw.He became famous in one battle and gained fame in both the south and north of the Yangtze River. He took the opportunity to create the Qinglang Battalion, and with this desperate battle, he completely remained neutral and stablize his footing in the North.
The Qinglang Battalion selects talents based on merit, regardless of background, and Sui Heng rules the army with an iron fist, personally serving as the commander. Their power grew stronger and stronger, and their combat effectiveness became more and more fierce. They even earned the name of “Blood Slaughter” due to the heavy killings. On the other hand, in the Jiuda Battalions, the appointment and recruitment of all generals are still firmly controlled by aristocratic families, and the trend of cliques and private interests is prevalent in the camp. The reputation of the “First Army of the Great Sui” has almost been taken away by the Qinglang Battalion.
Due to Sui Heng’s cold-blooded and belligerent style of behavior, as well as some true and false rumors of tyrannical behavior, the descendants of high-ranking soldiers in the army were very afraid of Crown Prince, Sui Heng, including Huo Cheng.
At this moment, even as he kneeled respectfully on the ground, Huo Cheng could clearly feel the two extremely oppressive gazes thrown from above.
“Commander Huo has worked hard.”
After a while, a lazy voice rang in his ears.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please do not be too polite. The transportation of the stone is of great importance, and this time it depends on your cooperation with Gu.”
Huo Cheng led the crowd to rise and respectfully stepped aside to report back on the auspicious stone.
He was just in the middle of his sentence when he was interrupted by Sui Heng.
Sui Heng said, “Gu has heard that you have circled the whole Mount Li and expelled all the people at the foot of the mountain to the outside, not caring about their food or housing, leaving them to fend for themselves, is this true?”
Huo Cheng was taken aback and said, “This humble general dare not. This humble general only follows the rules to clear the scene and temporarily relocate those people to other places to live.”
“Where is the other place? Why is it that when Gu was traveling, all he saw were displaced people?”
The other party’s tone has turned cold.
A cold sweat broke out on Huo Cheng’s forehead, and he called out to a person behind him, “Deputy General Yan, what’s going on?”
The summoned person’s name is Yan Bingyi, who is in his early twenties and has the same beautiful appearance as Zhou Zhengqing. He is a descendant of the Yan family who recently won the competition for the position of deputy general.
The Yan family was the most prominent aristocratic family in the Sui capital.
Yan Bingyi, relying on the power of the Yan family, has always been arrogant and domineering. At this moment, even when he was called out to ask questions, he still didn’t take it seriously. He smiled and said, “Replying to the Commander, this deputy general has always strictly followed the rules. It is those troublemakers who despise the bad houses and insist on causing trouble and moving elsewhere. There is no way for this deputy general to…”
Huo Cheng frowned.
Yan Bingyi continued, “In this deputy general’s opinion, it would be better to capture all those troublemakers and throw them into prison, punish them well, and let them know that the court is powerful, so they dare not make noise anymore.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Bingyi was whipped in the face.
The whip was extremely heavy, almost breaking the bridge of his nose, and Yan Bingyi’s face was bleeding profusely.
He covered his face and let out a miserable cry, looking up in shock and anger.
At this glance, another whip struck, directly removing half of his ear.
Yan Bingyi let out a pitiful beak that was not like a human voice.
On the side, Xu Qiao coldly shouted, “What kind of thing are you? You dare to look directly at His Highness’s majestic face!”
Sui Heng held the other end of the whip, his face sinking like water, and asked Huo Cheng calmly, “Commander Huo, is this the newly promoted deputy general you have chosen from thousands of options?”
Huo Cheng quickly kneeled down and dared not speak.
The soldiers behind showed panic on their faces when they saw the situation, and then they all kneeled down together.
They only knew that Sui Heng was strict in governing the army and had ruthless tactics, but they had not witnessed it firsthand. Yan Bingyi is a descendant of the Yan family, accustomed to being arrogant and domineering. Even Huo Cheng has to give him some respect on weekdays, and other noble children are even more cautious and respectful, afraid of offending the Yan family. Watching Yan Bingyi, whose face was covered in blood and painful screams rolling, and Sui Heng, who was casually playing with the long whip with blood foam and flesh on the tip, all of the people had their hearts in their mouths, and they were shivering.
“Your Highness, it’s the general who lacks strict discipline…”
Huo Cheng pleaded guilty on the ground, and a cold sweat flowed silently from his forehead.
Huo Cheng was a bit anxious. Although Yan Bingyi was foolish and despicable, he was still a descendant of the Yan family. If anything goes wrong in his hands, the Yan family will probably blame him. He needs to find a way to save him.
Sui Heng glanced at him and said with a smile, “Since Commander Huo can’t manage him well, Gu will work hard to manage him for you.”
His expression was as cold as frost for an instant, and he ordered, “Pull him down and hang him at the gate of the battalion and beat him with two hundred whips. All the soldiers of the Jiuda Battalions, regardless of their rank, stand outside the gate to watch.”
Two hundred whips, for a young master like Yan Bingyi, who was pampered and only knows how to use fancy punches and embroider legs, even if he was not beaten to death, he will still lose half of his life.
Huo Cheng couldn’t help but speak up, “Your Highness…”
“For the sake of Commander Huo’s hard work these days, Gu won’t punish you.”
“If it were to be Gu’s battalion, Commander Huo would be punished for the same crime for not taking care of it.”
Huo Cheng’s face turned pale. He lowered his head and dared not speak again.
Sui Heng scanned the area and said, “Gu has always been one to enforce orders and make a clear distinction between rewards and punishments. Gu doesn’t care what you used to be, from today onwards, all matters must be strictly in accordance with the strict implementation of Gu’s military orders. Those who are lazy without a reason, procrastinate without a reason, violate the principles of yin and yang, deceive the upper and lower, and engage in opportunistic activities will be executed without mercy. Commander Huo, Gu will give you half a day to settle down all the displaced people. From now on, anyone who uses the pretext of sealing the mountain to invade the people will be punished strictly according to military law.”
Huo Cheng said yes while trembling. He respectfully sent him into the camp.
Sui Heng first took people to inspect the legendary “auspicious stone” before returning to the tent to rest.
Not long after, Xu Qiao came in and whispered, “Your Highness, the person has been brought here.”
Sui Heng said, “Bring him in.”
Two soldiers came in carrying a large sack and dropped it onto the empty floor of the tent, with things struggling and wriggling inside. Sui Heng raised his hand, and the soldiers immediately unsealed the sack. A man dressed as a Daoist priest with his hands and feet tied and a cloth stuffed in his mouth was chirping and whimpering as his head was revealed.
Opening his eyes, he first saw several soldiers of great height and size and could not help trembling fiercely with fear. Immediately after, he saw a young man sitting in the main seat, with high-tied black hair and black armor, looking very handsome and sharp, with deterrent power.
The Daoist immediately kneeled down and kowtowed to Sui Heng with a whimper.
Xu Qiao took the cloth strip from his mouth.
Sui Heng tapped his finger on the table and asked, “Are you ‘Immortal Yu Heng’?”
Immortal Yu Heng was the very same person who initially discovered the auspicious stone and reported the news to the court. Not long ago, he was also received by Emperor Sui. Because of this great achievement, he received a generous reward from the court. He had already prepared to leave the Sui capital overnight and go to Jiangnan, but was knocked unconscious halfway and kidnapped in a sack all the way to this place.
Immortal Yu Heng did not know Sui Heng’s identity or why the other party had bound him here. He nodded in panic and said, “Yes, yes this humble is.”
Xu Qiao kindly told him that the person sitting above was His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.
Immortal Yu Heng widened his eyes and became even more frightened. He immediately kneeled down on the ground.
“This humble doesn’t know… why Your Highness summoned this humble over?”
He naturally heard that His Majesty had sent the Crown Prince to Mount Li to personally transport the auspicious stone back to the court, so he vaguely speculated that Sui Heng’s kidnapping of him was mostly related to the auspicious stone.
Sui Heng did not mention the auspicious stone but asked, “Gu has heard that not only is Daozhang good at observing the signs of the sky, but also good at divination and palmistry, is that right?”
Immortal Yu Heng couldn’t understand what he meant and could only nod nervously.
“This humble knows a little.”
Sui Heng reached out his hand and said, “Then Daozhang, please read Gu’s palm.”
Immortal Yu Heng was greatly surprised and shook his head, saying, “This-this-this is unacceptable. Your Highness has a noble status and is the true dragon’s son and emperor, this humble dare not offend. Your Highness is flattering this humble.”
Sui Heng’s eyes darkened.
“Gu ordered Daozhang to read.”
Yu Heng is at a loss.
Xu Qiao said on the side, “What kind of temper does our Highness have? Daozhang should have heard of it before. Don’t procrastinate, Daozhang.”
Immortal Yu Heng dared not say anything more. He stood up, trembling, and kneeled down in front of Sui Heng.
Sui Heng asked, “Which hand is Daozhang good at reading?”
“All-all are fine.”
“Then this one ba.”
Sui Heng extended his right hand.
Immortal Yu Heng trembled incessantly, and he smiled and asked, “Daozhang seems very nervous.”
Immortal Yu Heng smiled bitterly and said, “Your Highness has a great reputation. This humble dare not not be afraid.”
Sui Heng patted his shoulder and smiled. “Don’t worry, as long as Daozhang reads it right, Gu won’t make things difficult for you.”
Immortal Yu Heng suddenly laughed more unsightly than cried.
His scalp went numb, and he asked, “What does Your Highness want to divine?”
After careful consideration, Sui Heng said, “Just divine: when will Gu’s beloved concubine give birth to a son for Gu?”
Xu Qiao: ……
Immortal Yu Heng froze.
He couldn’t help but recall the rumors circulating between the court and the public about the Crown Prince’s heavy killings, which resulted in few heirs.
He originally didn’t believe that Sui Heng had gone to great lengths to tie him up to see what kind of palmistry he was doing, but now he had some doubts. Perhaps this Highness was really troubled by the issue of his offspring and had to seek help from the gods?
Immortal Yu Heng instantly gained confidence.
Because he’s seen too much of this kind of thing. In the past, among the people who paid a lot of money to have their palm read by him, half out of ten had something to do with their heirs.
After years of exploration, Immortal Yu Heng has come up with a perfect set of rhetoric suitable for various situations.
Yu Heng, the immortal old god, looked at the ground for a while and showed a surprised expression. He said, “According to the palm reading, Your Highness’s heir should come from the south and must be assisted by a noble person. Your Highness, this noble concubine, must go to the highest and largest Daoist temple in the south on the day when the peach blossoms bloom. Must offer a bouquet of fresh peach blossom flowers and concentrate on praying, then the purple energy could enter the abdomen…”
As Immortal Yu Heng spoke, he secretly observed Sui Heng’s expression.
Sui Heng listened with a smile and seemed very satisfied.
After listening, he withdrew his hand and asked casually, “Daozhang’s brilliant mind can’t figure out another thing??”
Immortal Yu Heng was bewildered: “What is it?”
Xu Qiao replied on behalf of him, “Our Highness’s noble concubine is a young gentleman, not a young lady.”
Immortal Yu Heng’s face instantly darkened with anger.
Sui Heng’s expression finally cooled down, and he asked, “Say, who was behind the scenes instructing you about the auspicious stone?”
The author has something to say: Immortal Yu Heng: Unfair.
