War, The Emperor Must Believe Even If He Doubts

The Shandong Lu Clan is colluding with foreign enemies and betraying the nation?

Seeing Ninth Royal Uncle's memorial, the Emperor didn't even think before hurling it to the floor.

The Emperor didn't believe for a second that the Shandong Lu Clan would betray the nation—if anyone was colluding with foreign powers, he'd sooner believe it was Ninth Royal Uncle.

After all, Ninth Royal Uncle isn't just unusually close with Xiling Tianyu—he's also helped Nanling Jin Xing more than once. A prince befriending foreign royals? No one would believe he has no ulterior motive.

But what does it matter if he doesn't believe it? Ninth Royal Uncle is cautious and meticulous; the Emperor can't get any solid evidence, so he can only watch as Ninth Royal Uncle interacts with foreign princes and his power keeps growing.

The Emperor glared at the memorial lying on the floor, his eyes blazing. He knew perfectly well that Ninth Royal Uncle submitted this just to force his hand against the Shandong Lu Clan, but he couldn't ignore it.

"Pick up the memorial for me," the Emperor said through gritted teeth.

The eunuch hurried forward, respectfully presenting the memorial at the Emperor's desk, then quickly retreated, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

The Emperor forced down his anger and began reading, word by word.

Ninth Royal Uncle's handwriting was elegant and his wording concise—easy to understand, but the more the Emperor read, the angrier he became.

Judging by Ninth Royal Uncle's memorial, the evidence against the Lu Clan for treason is ironclad—witnesses, physical proof, it's an open-and-shut case.

"Even the Bloodcloak Guard couldn't put together a case this flawless," the Emperor sneered. Mentioning the Bloodcloak Guard reminded him of Lu Shaolin, who he'd been keeping on ice.

To this day, the Emperor hasn't figured out whose side Lu Shaolin is really on. Still, Lu Shaolin is good at keeping his cool—he's been idle at home for half a year without causing any trouble.

Lu Shaolin's case is easy to handle. If the Emperor weren't using him as bait to catch the real mastermind, he could charge him with anything and have him executed. The Lu Clan's case, though, is a real headache.

If it were any other crime, the Emperor could just sit on it. But treason? He can't—and doesn't dare—ignore it, or the whole court would spit him to death.

But to order the extermination of the Lu Clan and plunge Shandong into chaos? He can't accept that. This was supposed to be a trap for Ninth Royal Uncle, but instead, Ninth Royal Uncle sidestepped it and forced him to take the blame.

"Damn it, a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths!" Bang—the memorial was hurled again. The eunuch flinched, silently mourning for Ninth Royal Uncle's poor memorial.

Every time Ninth Royal Uncle submits a memorial, it has to endure this inhuman torment.

"Report—urgent express dispatch! Urgent express dispatch!" The Emperor had barely thrown out Ninth Royal Uncle's memorial when another arrived, marked for rapid delivery.

Normally, an urgent express dispatch means a major war or sudden battlefield incident. The Emperor had no time to argue with Ninth Royal Uncle and ordered the eunuch to bring the urgent memorial immediately.

"Which general sent this urgent express dispatch?" the Emperor asked.

The eunuch presented the memorial respectfully, "Your Majesty, it's from Ninth Royal Uncle—an urgent express dispatch."

"Ninth Royal Uncle?" The Emperor was startled, then snatched up the memorial. "He'd better have something important—using an urgent express dispatch like this, does he think his life is too comfortable?"

At first, the Emperor didn't think much of it, but when he read what Ninth Royal Uncle had written, he was stunned—he shot up from his chair.

"Third Prince? He's actually alive?" The Emperor's face flushed red, then turned pale, then white.

"So that's it... I never understood where the Lu Clan got the nerve to scheme against me. Turns out the Third Prince was behind it all—thank heavens it didn't end in disaster." The Emperor shivered at the memory; if Feng Zhan hadn't met with misfortune, he might really have fallen into the Third Prince's trap.

The Emperor resolved to bestow more honors on Feng Zhan later—after all, Feng Zhan had died in his stead.

Once he'd calmed down, the Emperor kept reading, sneering as he went: "Third Prince, your reach is impressive—you even planted people inside the imperial city. No wonder when Fu Lin tried to investigate further, he hit a dead end. So it was you all along."

The Emperor didn't doubt anything in the memorial—the evidence Ninth Royal Uncle presented was more than enough to convince him the Third Prince was alive.

"Shandong Lu Clan, Third Prince, you two are bold indeed—daring to join forces with Southlyn and plot to become kings in Shandong." Thud—the Emperor slammed his fist on the desk, making the memorials jump.

In his memorial, Ninth Royal Uncle reported that the Third Prince and Southlyn each sent fifty thousand troops—one hundred thousand soldiers now surround Tyre City, aiming to attack. Ninth Royal Uncle had already captured the Lu Clan's key figures, forcing Lu's forces to hold back from attacking Shandong, keeping the province temporarily safe.

There's a city—Tyre City—between Southlyn and Shandong. If Tyre City falls, Southlyn will border Shandong directly. Then the Third Prince could control both Tyre City and Shandong, giving him a real chance to declare himself king.

The witnesses and physical evidence are all there—the Emperor has no choice but to believe it.

Ninth Royal Uncle's urgent express dispatch arrived first, but the deputy commander of the nearest garrison also sent an urgent memorial—the contents matched Ninth Royal Uncle's report exactly.

One hundred thousand troops attacking Tyre City, fierce fighting for three days and nights—Tyre City is starting to lose. The Shandong Governor-General has betrayed the throne, sealed the city gates, and cut off outside communication. Shandong is in grave danger; the frontline urgently petitions the Emperor to let the garrison enter the city and send reinforcements.

This news was like a thunderclap, blowing up the Eastlyn court just as it had finally calmed down. Whether to fight, and who to send, are matters for debate—but...

Time is too tight—there's no chance for discussion. Besides, the Third Prince's survival is a secret; Ninth Royal Uncle reported it through a confidential annex, and the Emperor hasn't told the ministers. After all, the Third Prince never committed any crime; he "died" in an accident...

Since he can't reveal that the Third Prince is alive, he can only push the Shandong Lu Clan forward. With the Emperor's personal decree, Lu's betrayal becomes an unchallengeable iron case. Everything happened just as Ninth Royal Uncle predicted—the Emperor didn't hesitate at all and decisively convicted the Lu Clan.

If it were just the Lu Clan, maybe the Emperor wouldn't be so furious. But since the Third Prince is involved, the Emperor has no choice but to fight.

That very day, the Emperor decreed that the garrison enter the city and follow Ninth Royal Uncle's orders. He also sent Fu Lin with fifty thousand troops to Tyre City to help drive back the Southlyn–Lu allied forces.

Fu Lin wants to rise through the ranks, and military merit is the most valuable achievement. The Emperor thinks highly of Fu Lin, so after careful consideration, he decided to give Fu Lin this chance to earn military glory.

He hopes Fu Lin can become his sharp sword, conquering the realm on his behalf.

In addition, the Emperor issued a secret order to Ninth Royal Uncle: he must escort the Third Prince to the Capital—alive or dead, the Emperor must see him.

The Emperor is convinced the Third Prince is still alive, so he won't be at ease until he sees him with his own eyes.

With the military crisis urgent, Fu Lin set out with fifty thousand troops for Tyre City the very next day, while the grain and supplies followed shortly after...

The Emperor's orders quickly reached the front; thirty thousand garrison troops entered the city at once, and their commander met with Ninth Royal Uncle to relay the imperial decree.

They thought Ninth Royal Uncle would seize control of the garrison, but he had no intention of taking over. He simply ordered them to secure Shandong, enforce martial law, and leave no openings for traitors.

After the garrison entered the city, Ninth Royal Uncle handed all the imprisoned Lu Clan members over to the deputy commander—except for Third Young Master Lewis, who was busy attacking Tyre City and planning to attack Shandong next. They were told to release the Lu Clan prisoners.

Ninth Royal Uncle repeatedly instructed the deputy commander to keep a close watch on the Lu Clan prisoners—these are dangerous felons, and if necessary, they can be used to threaten Third Young Master Lewis and force him to withdraw his troops.

Once these matters were settled, Ninth Royal Uncle sent a secret order to the army at Tyre City: stop playing around—take Tyre City within three days, force the City Lord to cede territory and pay indemnities...