Volume 1, Chapter 43: A Sinister Plot!

The hellish drill began.

While the sky at the hour of Mao was still graced by a waning moon, the gates of the Left Camp of the Golden Guard swung wide open with absolute precision.

Leading the charge, Li Xuan carried the heaviest pack, running right at the very front of the formation.

His breathing was steady, powerful, and rhythmically distinct, as though an inexhaustible wellspring of energy was stored deep within his body.

Three thousand soldiers trailed behind him, groaning bitterly.

These pampered young masters of the capital's garrison forces had never suffered such torment in their lives. Before they had even run five miles, the formation stretched out like a long dragon, and countless men fell behind.

"I can't run anymore! Let me catch my breath, damn it!" A soldier dropped heavily onto his buttocks on the ground, gasping for air.

Before his voice had even faded, a leather whip snapped through the air with a sharp crack, striking the ground right beside him.

Du Wei's face was dark as pitch. Sitting tall on his horse, he looked down at the soldier from on high. "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is still up ahead! Do you want to be the first discarded piece of trash to be eliminated? Get up on your feet!"

Ever since pledging his allegiance that day, Du Wei had thoroughly cut off any path of retreat.

He knew very well that his life and future were now bound entirely to the Crown Prince. Since the Crown Prince wanted to forge an army, he, as the commander, had to be the most ruthless lash.

The soldier flushed bright red under the scolding. Glancing at the distant figure far in the lead, then at the disdainful gazes of those around him, he finally gritted his teeth, struggled to his feet, and resumed running.

By the end of the ten-mile cross-country run, nearly everyone was as exhausted as a dead dog, collapsing directly onto the martial arts drill ground.

Yet this was merely the beginning.

Standing in military posture, weapon sparring, team combat... every single training regimen formulated by Li Xuan was harsher and pushed human limits further than the last.

He blended the training concepts of modern special forces with the cold-weapon warfare model of this era, forging an entirely new, highly efficient, and brutal method of troop building.

In a mere half-month, the soldiers of the Left Camp had lost a layer of fat, and their skin had darkened by several shades. However, their ruffian airs and indolence had been completely swept away, replaced by an unprecedented sharpness and quiet solidity.

Their gazes had also gradually transformed—shifting from initial resentment and incomprehension to numbness, and finally, from numbness into a trace of profound awe.

For no matter how brutal the training was, the Crown Prince, Li Xuan, was always right there with them.

He ran faster than anyone, stood straighter than anyone, and struck harder than anyone during combat practice. Through his own actions, he earned the most primitive and hard-won respect of these proud and ferocious men.

However, while Li Xuan's iron-fisted methods won him the loyalty of the army, they also became sharp blades for his political rivals to attack him with.

For a time, rumors ran rampant throughout the capital.

"Have you heard? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is running some kind of devilish training in the Left Camp of the Golden Guard, and people are being worked to death every single day!"

"That's not the half of it! My cousin's neighbor's second-brother-in-law serves in the Left Camp, and he says the Crown Prince is a living King of Hell. If he doesn't like the look of someone, he beats them half to death—he has already crippled over a dozen men!"

"Tsk tsk, you really can't judge a heart by its cover. He looks so refined and scholarly, yet his methods are so tyrannical. If he becomes emperor in the future, will any of us have a good day left to live?"

These idle rumors, as if grown wings, spread from upscale taverns and teahouses to street corners and alleys, and finally drifted from the marketplace straight into the ears of the lords at court.

The Grand Prince's Estate.

Listening to his strategist's report, Li Yuan slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly, "Good! Wonderful! Number Six is digging his own grave! Imperial Father values benevolence and virtue above all; his actions are so cruel and oppressive that he is practically pushing the position of heir right out of his own hands!"

"Your Highness speaks wisely," the strategist flattered. "However, rumors alone are not enough. We must add fuel to the fire and make it burn even more fiercely!"

The Third Prince's Estate.

Li Yi was leisurely sipping tea, acting as though the heavy losses of the previous days had never occurred.

"Oh? Number Six has whipped the Left Camp into an iron barrel?" He set down his teacup, a cold smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "An iron barrel may be hard, but if it rusts from within, it rots all the faster."

He instructed Wei Yong, "Go. Tell Zhang Tao and the rest of them, as well as the other plants we've embedded in the Left Camp, to be sharp. Since the Crown Prince loves training troops so much, let's lend him a helping hand. For instance... add a little something special to their meals."

Wei Yong understood instantly. "Does Your Highness mean..."

"This prince didn't say a thing." Li Yi picked up his teacup and gently blew across the surface. "I merely feel that as the weather turns warmer, the officers and men are working hard during drills, and it would be most unfortunate if they were to upset their stomachs. Wouldn't you agree?"

Wei Yong lowered his head, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes. "Your Highness is benevolent; this subordinate understands."

...

The Eastern Palace.

Xiao Ningshuang had changed out of her military attire and donned a graceful, unadorned long dress. She placed a freshly simmered bowl of lotus seed soup onto Li Xuan's desk.

Li Xuan was buried deep in a stack of Golden Guard case files and only raised his head upon catching the aroma.

"Bringing me something good to eat again?" He smiled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It seems my standing in my wife's heart has risen recently."

Xiao Ningshuang shot him a sideways glance, speaking with feigned annoyance, "Spare me the glib tongue. I just saw that you've been working too hard lately and wanted to nourish you."

Her gaze lingered on Li Xuan's slightly fatigued face, and her heart inexplicably softened. Over these past few days, he left at the hour of Mao and returned at the hour of Xu, practically living inside the military camp, and he had grown visibly leaner.

"Have you heard the rumors outside?" Xiao Ningshuang asked with a hint of worry.

"I've heard them." Li Xuan's tone was entirely indifferent, as though he were discussing something that had nothing to do with him. "Living King of Hell, tyrant, madman. They tell it with such vivid detail."

"Aren't you worried at all?"

"What is there to worry about?" Li Xuan picked up the porcelain spoon, scooped a spoonful of lotus seed soup into his mouth, and nodded. "Mmm, sweet without being cloying. Wife, your culinary skills are getting better and better."

He looked at Xiao Ningshuang and said earnestly, "Ningshuang, you must remember. The best way to deal with rumors is not to argue and defend yourself, but to use an even more resounding fact to shut everyone's mouth. They call me tyrannical? Then I will train an invincible army and show it to them. When that day comes, every single piece of slander will become a joke."

Xiao Ningshuang fell silent. Coming from a military family, she naturally understood this principle.

Her father had also once said that an army's combat effectiveness is piled up using sweat, blood, and even lives.

Mercy cannot forge a strong army.

"Yet... I am still somewhat uneasy." She hesitated before speaking. "I've heard that both the Eldest Brother and the Third Prince still have many men planted within the Left Camp. I'm afraid they might resort to covert sabotage."

A trace of approval flashed in Li Xuan's eyes. "It is good that you can foresee this possibility."

He set down his soup bowl, leaned back into his chair, and interlocked his fingers, his expression turning unfathomable.

"Of course they will sabotage us. And I can already guess how they will do it." He looked at Xiao Ningshuang with a mysterious smile. "In a few days, didn't you say you wanted to visit the camp and see how I drill the troops? When the time comes, I will treat you to a truly magnificent show."

Her curiosity thoroughly piqued, Xiao Ningshuang opened her mouth to press him further, but Li Xuan stood up and stretched lazily.

"It's getting late. Time to 'compare sword techniques.' Today, your husband shall teach you a move called the 'Deeply Affectionate Sword,' guaranteed to benefit you immensely."

Without another word, he grabbed Xiao Ningshuang's hand and pulled her toward the martial arts arena, ignoring her protests.

Alternate between exasperated and amused, unable to shake him off, Xiao Ningshuang was half-dragged along behind him. Under the moonlight, their figures stretched out long, and amidst their lighthearted banter and playful scuffling, the chill originally belonging to a political alliance had long since vanished without a trace.

Three days later.

The Left Camp of the Golden Guard was currently conducting a five-kilometer armed swimming drill.

The soldiers carried heavy packs and bore weapons as they trudged with great difficulty through the freezing river water.

The drastic consumption of physical strength left everyone ravenously hungry.

Having finally completed the drill and returned to the camp, the mess hall had already prepared steaming-hot meals.

A pack of starved soldiers swarmed upon the food like famished wolves, devouring everything in sight in the blink of an eye.

Yet, half an hour later.

"Agh! My stomach!"

A soldier suddenly clutched his abdomen, let out a miserable shriek, and collapsed onto the ground, cold sweat instantly beading across his forehead.

This seemed to serve as a signal.

Following right behind, echoing across the drill ground and inside the barracks, one agonizing scream after another rose in succession.

One, ten, a hundred...

An increasing number of soldiers clutched their stomachs, rolling about in agony, with some even beginning to foam at the mouth.

The entire military camp descended into instant chaos!

"It's the food! There's poison in the food!"

"The Crown Prince wants to kill us! He's going to torture us all to death!"

Several soldiers shrieked at the top of their lungs within the crowd, their eyes flashing with terror and incitement.

Panic spread rapidly among the soldiers like a plague.

The remaining soldiers who had not yet fallen ill turned pale, eyeing one another with suspicion and dread.

Deputy Commander Zhang Tao, a man of the Eldest Prince, leaped forward with a face full of righteous indignation and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Brothers! We are soldiers shedding blood for the court, not livestock to be slaughtered at whim! Since the Crown Prince lacks benevolence, we cannot simply sit here and wait to die! Let's go demand an explanation from him!"

"Right! Let's demand an explanation!"

"Charge! We won't die in vain!"

Incited by several trusted confederates, hundreds of soldiers flew into an emotional frenzy, grabbed their weapons, and converged into a chaotic torrent of people, surging murderously toward the commander's tent where Li Xuan resided.

A long-brewing mutiny had finally broken out!

Standing at the entrance of the commander's tent, Du Wei looked at the dark, overwhelming crowd surging forward, his face drained of color and his limbs growing icy cold.

It was over. Everything was over.

Subconsciously, he glanced toward Li Xuan beside him, only to discover that the Crown Prince not only showed no trace of panic, but the corners of his mouth were actually curled into a chilling smile—the look of a hunter watching his prey fall into the net.