The mutiny had broken out in the southeast corner of the barracks and soon spread throughout quickly .
The insurgent’s secret password was “Fearless Xiaoyao People”. Most of the agitators appeared in the area where the soldiers of the five kingdoms were concentrated. They broke into the tents and commanded the soldiers inside to join their uprising in the name of the five kings. Whenever they discovered soldiers who were not from the five kingdoms, they attacked them immediately.
Many of the soldiers picked up their weapons in a panic and left the tents. They had no idea who they ought to fight for, so in the end, it became a massive mutiny with lots of soldiers involved.
Gu Shenwei had to make a difficult decision. He already knew that the real organization behind this mutiny was neither the military from the five kingdoms nor the nobles from the Land of Fragrance. “The more than twenty agitators who have been caught are fools. The enemy’s purpose is to use them to mislead me,” he thought.
“But the mutiny, no matter who started it, could escalate into a massive rebellion throughout the entire barracks. After all, 20,000 soldiers from Xiaoyao Lake occupy two-thirds of the Dragon Army. Among those soldiers, most have only recently joined the army, so their loyalty to me is hard to gauge,” Gu Shenwei mused.
To prove that they were not involved, dozens of high-ranking military officers in the Dragon Army’s main tent proposed to take action to repress the mutiny.
Repressing the mutiny with force might lead them into the enemy’s trap. What was worse, it might even cause chaos and increase the soldiers’ anxiety. Still, it seemed to be their only choice at the time. As long as they managed to quell the mutiny quickly, some casualties in the process were not a big deal.
Gu Shenwei was inclined to resort to repression. He believed a few of the insurgents could be removed quickly once the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain took action. He was even prepared to sacrifice 1000 to 2000 soldiers during the repression. In this way, he could take the opportunity to dispose of any unloyal soldiers from his army.
Maid Lotus, New Moon Hall disciples, Chu Nanping, and killer apprentices were ready for the repression. In fact, it was Gu Shenwei’s plan.
But Dugu Xian changed his mind at the very last moment.
Dugu Xian did not believe that the troops trained by him could be incited so easily. He said to the Dragon King, “Please let me have a try.”
His voice was overwhelmed by the noisy shouts for repression, so he raised his voice and repeated, “Please let me have a try.”
The Dragon King was the first to hear his words. The others, including the Prince of the Kang Kingdom and the captives, fixed their eyes on Dugu Xian. They did not know what he was planning to do.
“There is no need for a slaughter. The soldiers are panicked, and I believe that I can convince them. Please give me some time,” he continued.
Several of the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain sneered at his words. They had participated in repressions many times before, so they knew the importance of force. “If the swordsmen had not been dispersed among the thousands of troops to supervise the new recruits, the Dragon Army would have fallen apart,” they thought.
Dugu Xian hoped that everything would go well, because then he would be safe. Ever since he had joined the Dragon Army, he had found that he had to take risks from time to time.
The Dragon Army’s number amounted to upwards of 30,000, but only a small fraction of the troops were swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain. Still, they were the ones who affected the rest of the soldiers the most. The soldiers of the Dragon Army had gradually become more aggressive. There were many reasons to explain their aggression, including admiration, jealousy, obedience and imitation. Despite the reasons, the increase in aggression meant that the combat power of the army had improved. But at the same time, the soldiers started to doubt the competence of their military officers.
The Dragon King was the best martial artist in the entire Dragon Army, so no one doubted his capabilities.
The swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were fearless and invincible. No one doubted the competence of the military officers selected from amongst them. Even the common swordsmen were usually treated with respect.
As for the others, things were different.
Dugu Xian only had one arm, and he was not skilled in martial arts. Despite that, he had been declared the Left General by the Dragon King himself. Besides, he had shown an outstanding talent in training soldiers. All of these things won him great prestige amongst the army. Even so, he still failed to earn enough respect and prestige amongst the military officers and soldiers. For example, many voices had opposed his proposal to go south across Xiaoyao Lake. It proved that his competence had not been fully recognized.
His past fights did not help him. He had led the Golden Roc Army to fight against the Dragon King many times, but he always had failed with serious casualties. In the end, he had yielded to the Dragon King.
That was why he took risks.
He could not defeat most anyone by resorting to martial arts, nor by outthinking them with brilliant ideas or strategies. He had to find another way to make himself stand out.
“I only need ten guards,” said Dugu Xian, with his eyes fixed upon the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei did not have much confidence in the Left General that he had appointed.
Fang Wenshi and Zhong Heng had their weaknesses, but at least they had proved their competence in some respect. As for Dugu Xian, who led the army, Gu Shenwei seldom communicated with him. So far, he had not discovered Dugu Xian’s talents.
Gu Shenwei only chose Dugu Xian to lead the army because he had no other choices. He wanted the Dragon Army to be a real army, but he had never been tutored in warfare. He also could not depend on his soldiers. As for the military officers from the five kingdoms, they could barely instruct an army of thousands. Besides, their stance to serve the Dragon King was still not firm.
“Perhaps this is a good chance to see what Dugu Xian can do. I’d like to see whether this yielded general, who was ignored by the Supreme King, has any skills,” Gu Shenwei thought to himself.
“Fine. You have one hour,” Gu Shenwei agreed. He was taking a risk. Now was the best time to repress the mutiny. Once he missed his chance, the situation would become much more difficult to control.
As soon as Dugu Xian left the tent, someone reminded the Dragon King, “Your Grace, Left General… used to be the Supreme King’s favorite general. Shouldn’t you send people to keep on eye on him?”
“There is no need. I know what I’m doing,” replied Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei knew that Dugu Xian could not stop the uprising with ten guards. Even if Dugu Xian was trustworthy, he could be killed by insurgents at any time. He had already asked Maid Lotus, along with several martial artists from New Moon Hall, to infiltrate the ten guards.
He stared at the Prince of the Kang Kingdom, who was still standing up.
“Let’s wait for his good news,” Gu Shenwei said to him.
Gu Shenwei acted as if he really trusted Dugu Xian.
The Prince of the Kang Kingdom hoped that the Dragon King would serve Xiaoyao Lake. However, the Dragon King was still his enemy and an invader. He said, “Now that the soldiers in the five kingdoms have united together, it’s useless to send the Left General to try to persuade them. He’s just an outsider who doesn’t know the traditions of Xiaoyao Lake. The soldiers won’t listen to him.”
Gu Shenwei usually ignored his enemy’s words, but the Prince of the Kang Kingdom was a different story. He used to be as foolish and arrogant as other members of the Royal Families of the five kingdoms. At critical moments, he had often acted like a coward, without any wits. But after joining the Dragon Army, he had changed a lot. He was willing to sacrifice himself for a cause. Few could do that, even among the whole Western Region.
Golden Roc killers and New Moon Hall disciples were willing to sacrifice themselves at any time, but they were forced to do that. Unlike them, the Prince of the Kang Kingdom volunteered to sacrifice himself.
“That mysterious guest you invited is probably the Third Young Master of Golden Roc Fort, Shangguan Yun,” Gu Shenwei said. “Shangguan Yun is supposed to be the one who took the rest of the Wayless Book. After he got it, he hatched a plot. It’s like what the Third Young Master will try to do,” he guessed.
“You’re right. So what?” replied the Prince bluntly.
The shouts outside the tent became louder, only increasing his confidence in his victory.
Compared to others, the captive insurgents were most surprised by the Prince of the Kang Kingdom. They thought that he was hostile to both the Dragon King and the Supreme King.
The Prince thought he needed to defend himself, so he continued, “If Xiaoyao Lake wants to survive among strong forces, we must ask the strong for help. This time, I won’t let bandits stay here to take our land like I did the last time.”
“Who will carry out your plan if you die?” Gu Shenwei asked. He acted as if he was just a curious outsider who had no interest in the mutiny or plots of the Royal Families of the five kingdoms.
After pausing for a while, the Prince replied, “Someone else will do it. I won’t tell you who, even if you throw me into a pot of boiling oil.”
Gu Shenwei thought with a snort, “The Prince is too naive to think of other cruel torture means, except a pot of boiling oil.” He said, “Let me guess. Those words were from Shangguan Yun, right?”
“No, you’re wrong,” the Prince denied immediately, thinking that the Dragon King’s assumption was an insult to him.
However, Gu Shenwei knew Shangguan Yun very well. The third Young Master was good at putting himself in the target’s shoes. He managed to get into the mind of the target with persuasive theories. When that target was useless to him, he would abandon him ruthlessly.
“Have you ever considered this possibility? Shangguan Yun would let you get caught and killed deliberately. Then you would all be dead heroes, even if the mutiny succeeded, and he could gather another batch of obedient people in your name to steal the troops. In the end, you would get nothing, but he could take the whole Xiaoyao Lake,” floated Gu Shenwei.
The Prince was stunned. Obviously, he had never thought about that. But when he turned around and looked at his 26 captive companions, he seemed to figure something out.
“It’s impossible,” the Prince said. After finally having the courage to take on a big cause, he could not accept that the cause might be a hoax. He said with a laugh, “You just want to coax me to tell you our plan. I’m not a fool. Besides, don’t you think it’s too late?”
“It’s not too late. I’ll make a bet with you,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Bet? Bet what?” the Prince asked in surprise.
“Shangguan Yun organized this mutiny in the name of freeing the five kingdoms in the Xiaoyao Lake. That’s why he needs dead heroes, aka you. Besides, he also needs a living hero to be his puppet after the mutiny succeeds. You must know some of their names. I’ll bet that you’ll not approve of the living hero that Shangguan Yun has arranged.”
“It’s a strange game,” the Prince thought, intending at first to refuse.“Shangguan Yun showed me a prospective future for Xiaoyao Lake, while the Dragon King revealed a cruel fate for Xiaoyao Lake,” he thought, starting to waver. He asked, “What are the stakes?”
“Twenty-seven people’s lives. If Shangguan Yun keeps his word, I will keep you all alive,” replied Gu Shenwei.
Only the Dragon King could do this.
Gu Shenwei took the writing brush off the table and quickly wrote down several words on a piece of paper. He folded the paper and gave it to a guard. The guard handed it to the Prince.
The Prince unfolded the paper and glanced at it. He said in relief, “Not this person. Your majesty, this time you are going to lose the bet. I hope that you will keep your word.”
When the 26 captives heard this, they were thrilled. All they wanted was to survive.
The other generals were confused. They thought the Dragon King’s stake was too big. “Why did he bet with an insurgent?” t hey wondered.
Everyone present was curious about the name the Dragon King had written down. “No one whispered to the Dragon King. Is it possible that he knows Shangguan Yun’s plot without any intelligence?” they wondered.