Chapter 152 This is Irrefutable Proof

The forecourt was entirely littered with the corpses of the Prince of Chengdu's imperial guards, for Qiao Zong's massive army had already thoroughly purged all resistance within the Prince's mansion.

Soldiers used their spears to clear a path through the bodies on the ground, while the Inspector of Liangzhou, surrounded by a throng of troops, slowly ascended the grand hall.

Qiao Zong stood beside him, backed by a dense and gleaming forest of blades and spears. A massive detachment of soldiers followed closely behind the Inspector of Liangzhou and Qiao Zong, pressing forward like a towering wall directly toward the civil and military officials assembled in the hall.

After ascending the platform, the Inspector of Liangzhou cast a sweeping glance over the gathering, let out a disdainful and sinister laugh, and said, "I have arrived late, keeping you all waiting."

The officials were already trembling with fear and maintaining a terrified silence, until the Prince of Chengdu finally asked, "Inspector of Liangzhou, what is the meaning of this?"

"The meaning? Is it not obvious enough yet?" the Inspector of Liangzhou laughed. "You truly live up to your reputation as a foolish monarch, unable to even recognize a military coup?"

Scolded as a foolish monarch by the Inspector of Liangzhou, the Prince of Chengdu felt a flare of anger, but with the enemy troops surrounding him tightly, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and ask, "I have always treated you generously. Why would you do this?"

"You cannot blame me; if you must blame someone, blame him." The Inspector of Liangzhou pointed at Zhang Chi and said, "This man is merely of humble birth, and according to the nine-rank system of officialdom, at best he is of the lower-middle rank. Yet a foolish monarch like you chose to heavily employ a low-ranking person while slighting the illustrious families. As if favoring him weren't enough, you were now going to take my life! How could I simply sit here and await my doom?"

The Prince of Chengdu pointed an angry finger at the Inspector of Liangzhou, stammering "You..." for a long time, so enraged that he could not utter another word.

"How were we ever going to take your life? It was simply that your collusion with the northern nomads violated the laws of heaven. If you truly had not committed treason and colluded with the enemy, what was there to fear?" Zhang Chi sneered.

"It is true that I colluded with the nomads, but so what? The laws of heaven? What are the laws of heaven? 'Every man for himself, and the gods will destroy him'—that is the true law of heaven! I showed immense mercy simply by not leading the nomads into Chengdu to slaughter everyone," the Inspector of Liangzhou said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Then what do you intend to do now?" Zhang Chi asked calmly, unhurriedly.

"Since you show no benevolence, do not blame me for lacking righteousness!" Seeing that Zhang Chi showed not a shred of fear, the Inspector of Liangzhou felt a sliver of admiration. Yet admiration was one thing; since Zhang Chi was an enemy, he would show no mercy. "Since today you are determined to drive me to my death, do not blame me for striking first. As long as I capture the officials of Shu and kill you and the Prince of Chengdu, I can easily declare myself the King of Shu. Who could possibly do anything to me?"

With that, the Inspector of Liangzhou burst into loud laughter, waved his hand grandly, and ordered the soldiers behind him, "Capture all the officials in the hall, including the foolish monarch. Anyone who resists is to be executed on the spot!"

Before the final words had even faded from the Inspector of Liangzhou's lips, Zhang Chi suddenly burst into laughter. Finding this strange, the Inspector wondered if Zhang Chi had lost his mind now that the overarching situation was sealed. He let out a cold snort and asked, "Things have reached this pass, what on earth do you find funny?"

"I am merely laughing at how utterly naive you are." Zhang Chi had been laughing heartily, but his laughter cut off instantly. He turned to face the Prince of Chengdu and the officials in the hall, announcing, "Did you not all wish to see the undeniable proof of the Inspector of Liangzhou's treason? Here is the absolute evidence!"

Now it was the Inspector of Liangzhou's turn to throw his head back and laugh. "Indeed! But what good does it do you to have absolute evidence? How laughable that you even dispatched fast horses to retrieve my crimes from a thousand miles away. In this, you should learn from me: never make a move unless you must, but the moment you strike, ensure your opponent never has a chance to rise again."

Smug and triumphant, the Inspector of Liangzhou continued, "Take today, for instance. Even with your absolute evidence, my massive army has surrounded you completely. Killing you is as easy as turning over a hand. I wonder which of us is truly the naive one!"

"Then why don't you come and capture me?" Zhang Chi smiled and challenged.

Unable to resist the provocation, the Inspector of Liangzhou immediately ordered, "Capture all the officials in the hall alive. As for Zhang Chi and the foolish monarch, their lives or deaths do not matter."

To his astonishment, after a long moment passed, the soldiers and generals behind him remained utterly motionless.

"Are you all deaf?" the Inspector of Liangzhou demanded angrily.

***

Yet the soldiers and generals behind him still did not budge an inch.

The Inspector of Liangzhou could not help but shift his gaze toward Qiao Zong. Before the Inspector could speak, Qiao Zong stepped forward and said, "Inspector, do not be impatient."

Having addressed the Inspector of Liangzhou, Qiao Zong marched with measured steps into the center of the hall, bowed deeply to the Prince of Chengdu, and declared, "The Inspector of Liangzhou sought to raise a rebellion and plunge the realm into chaos. I, Qiao Zong, have specifically led my troops into the city to defend the sovereign and quell the rebellion."

This dramatic turn of events thoroughly shocked the Inspector of Liangzhou. How had his most trusted confidant suddenly switched sides? Pointing a trembling finger at Qiao Zong, he demanded, "What is the meaning of this?"

Qiao Zong straightened up, turned back to face the Inspector of Liangzhou, and replied, "I am afraid the Inspector has forgotten that I was originally a general of the Xie clan."

The Inspector of Liangzhou froze, clearly failing to grasp the implication of Qiao Zong's words.

With stern countenance and resounding voice, Qiao Zong continued, "The Inspector ought to know that the Xie clan was fiercely loyal to the state and never formed cliques for private gain. Since I was once a general of the Xie clan, how could I ever wallow in the mire with you and commit treason?"

"Yet it was precisely because of the Sima imperial clan that the once-glorious Xie clan was destroyed! As long as you stand by my side, kill the Prince of Chengdu and that man Zhang Chi, we can monopolize Shu, declare ourselves independent kings, and then raise an army to march against Sima Daozi. By then, I am willing to divide the realm equally with you!" the Inspector of Liangzhou argued desperately.

"Nonsense! Though the Xie clan fell, Miss Xie once gave us, the surviving generals of the Xie clan, her dying command to obey the instructions of Young Master Zhang. Moreover, Young Master Zhang rescued the legitimate young heir of the Xie family from Kuaiji, and he is currently inside the city of Chengdu. I surrendered to Young Master Zhang long ago! Today was merely a trap to lure you into rebelling, so that executing you would be entirely justified!"

The legitimate young heir of the Xie family was, of course, Xie Lingyun.

Standing quietly behind Zhang Chi, Anren suddenly realized the truth, finally understanding why Zhang Chi had instructed Daoxuan so early on to bring Xie Lingyun from Badu to Chengdu. It turned out there had been a profound purpose behind it all.

The Inspector of Liangzhou now hated Qiao Zong to his very bones, wishing nothing more than to strip his flesh and tear his tendons. Yet the moment he lunged forward, he was pounced upon by a swarm of soldiers and pinned directly to the ground. He could only roar in fury, "Qiao Zong, you treacherous wretch! So you and Zhang Chi were in cahoots all along! You have utterly ruined me!"

Zhang Chi smiled. "Otherwise, why did the Inspector imagine your Liangzhou army was able to breach the southern gate in such a remarkably short time?"

As it turned out, the entire sequence of events had been orchestrated by Zhang Chi from the very beginning. Indeed, logically speaking, it was somewhat counterintuitive for Qiao Zong to have breached the southern gate and entered the city with his army so swiftly. Yet the Inspector of Liangzhou had been so blinded by greed that he failed to notice a single flaw.

Zhang Chi's tone suddenly softened, and he said with serene composure, "I am afraid you still do not know that I never possessed any proof of your collusion with the nomads, nor did I ever dispatch fast couriers to Hanzhong."

"Then you..." The more the Inspector of Liangzhou heard, the more profound his terror grew.

"The only reason I spoke thus was to force you to reveal your true form and expose your own flaws. If you truly had not colluded with the enemy, you would have had nothing to fear. But if you genuinely harbored crimes of treason, you would inevitably dread my producing absolute proof to condemn you, making a military rebellion the only logical course of action."

When Zhang Chi finished these words, he had expected the Inspector of Liangzhou to fly into an uncontrollable rage. To his surprise, the outcome was the exact opposite of what he had anticipated. The Inspector of Liangzhou suddenly scrambled up from the floor, dropped to his knees, and began kowtowing frantically while weeping aloud. "Spare my life, Prince of Chengdu! I was merely blinded by greed for a moment. In truth, I never harbored any malicious intent against Your Highness. I beg the Prince to show extra-legal mercy and spare my life!"

"Knowing this would be the outcome, why act as you did?" The Prince of Chengdu slowly shook his head.

The Inspector of Liangzhou's sudden display left even his own soldiers and generals utterly dumbfounded. The man kneeling before them bore no resemblance whatsoever to the arrogant commander of moments ago.

"My wealth, my power—I relinquish them all! I ask only that the Prince show mercy and banish me to the wild and desolate borderlands of Dian and Qian in the south, leaving me with a breath of life. I swear to be eternally grateful to Your Highness for your boundless grace."

The Inspector of Liangzhou pleaded so pitifully that under ordinary circumstances the Prince of Chengdu might not have pursued the matter further. But the situation was entirely different now; the Inspector stood guilty of high treason. With a cold expression, the Prince declared, "Your offenses are monstrous and unforglorious; sparing your life is utterly impossible. Rather than facing execution, let me grant you a preserved corpse—end your own life."

***

Since the Prince of Chengdu had spoken thus, Qiao Zong drew his waist saber and tossed it directly before the Inspector of Liangzhou.

The Inspector grasped the weapon in his hands, yet hesitated for a long time, unable to bring himself to strike the fatal blow. He turned his head once more to plead with Zhang Chi, whimpering, "Lord Commissioner, I beg you to put in a good word for me and spare me from death!"

As he spoke, the Inspector crawled on his knees toward Zhang Chi, begging tearfully.

Looking at the Inspector's current pathetic state, Zhang Chi felt a flicker of pity. But before he could utter a word, the Inspector suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with a fierce, murderous light.

At that instant, Zhang Chi realized the truth: having failed to beg his way out of death, the Inspector of Liangzhou intended to drag him down to hell together!

Whom did the Inspector of Liangzhou hate most in the world at this moment? The answer was glaringly obvious: Zhang Chi himself.

"Since there is no path left for me to live, I shall drag you down with me!" the Inspector roared, springing forward with the blade raised, lunging directly at Zhang Chi.

Yet, just an inch away from Zhang Chi's chest, the gleaming blade abruptly stopped. Zhang Chi did not even need to think; Anren had made his move.

Anren's art was the art of killing. With a single flash of his sword, he pierced straight through the Inspector of Liangzhou's throat.

The Inspector of Liangzhou fell stiffly to the ground, his eyes wide with undying resentment. Even in death, he could never understand why he, a man of illustrious lineage who had dominated the official circles for so long, had ultimately been defeated by someone as humbly born as Zhang Chi.

With the traitor eliminated, the civil and military officials in the hall finally regained their composure. They began loudly denouncing the Inspector's monstrous treason, even unearthing trivial misdeeds from his childhood to the point where it sounded as though they had known he was a villain since the age of three.

Having finished their condemnation of the late Inspector, the officials immediately turned their praises toward Zhang Chi, elevating him to heights where no one in heaven or earth could possibly compare.

Zhang Chi had long understood the nature of such officials: when you hold power, they can elevate you to the heavens; when you fall from grace, they can cast you down to the deepest springs of the underworld with equal ease. Thus, he merely responded with a light smile and let the matter rest.

The Inspector of Yizhou walked over with a smile, speaking softly to Zhang Chi, "Now that the Inspector of Liangzhou has been eliminated, regarding the matter we agreed upon previously, you must not go back on your word."

Knowing that the Inspector of Yizhou was concerned with the division of Liangzhou's territory, Zhang Chi nodded. He turned to the Prince of Chengdu and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, now that the traitor of Liangzhou has been eradicated, it would be best to reallocate the territory of Liangzhou. The former Liangzhou spanned across the northern and southern ridges of Mount Ba, which severely hindered defenses against the northern nomads. It would be far wiser to divide the region anew: incorporate all Liangzhou territory south of Mount Ba into Yizhou, while I shall lead troops to garrison Hanzhong and await the opportune moment for a northern expedition."

The Prince of Chengdu nodded slowly and replied, "Let it be as the Young Master advises."