"The Prince has not emerged since returning from the military camp."
At this moment, Xia Han stood up and respectfully said, "General, the Prince has taken tens of thousands of Qilin troops to an icy cave temple beyond the frontier. They say he wants to build a subterranean royal palace."
As soon as these words were spoken, the assembled officials began to whisper amongst themselves.
It was rumored that the Prince had a woman by his side. After returning from the frontier this time, something had happened, and she had fallen into the icy cave.
They had dispatched tens of thousands of men to excavate the ice, constantly searching.
The icy cave was bottomless. How could a living person survive a fall into it? Even if a million soldiers were gathered to flatten the cave, all that would be dug out would be a pile of corpses.
While they were at war, they were also wasting troops and resources to build some underwater palace. Was this not madness?
Yet, no one present dared to openly criticize the Prince of Dingbei. The Prince of Dingbei was ruthless and did not value human life at all. They could only express their anger in private, fearing they would be dragged away and killed.
Xia Han was at a loss. The subordinates had discussed it privately for a long time, thinking of asking the Great General to offer some advice.
Observing the hushed murmurs below, Tantai Ye spun his pen and raised an eyebrow, asking, "What subterranean royal palace? Who told you that?"
"Your subordinate heard it from people in the Prince's manor. The Prince seems to be building a subterranean royal palace beneath the icy cave, killing many creatures in the sea."
Tantai Ye responded with an "oh" and showed no other emotional change.
Xia Han cautiously added, "General, the Prince's actions are truly out of line. Why don't you go and persuade him?"
"He's building a mausoleum for himself, and you have so many opinions?"
A mausoleum?!
The crowd was astonished and looked at the man seated high above. Seeing the gloomy depths in his eyes and the unconcealed killing intent in his brows, they dared not say another word.
The Prince was so young, why was he building a mausoleum? Was the General deranged?
Tantai Ye paid no mind to their thoughts, let out a cold laugh, picked up the cloak from the rack and draped it over himself, then strode out.
He went directly to the main courtyard and pushed the door open.
The room was empty, devoid of any occupants.
He circled around and found that the secret door behind the study was wide open. Frowning, he walked in.
The secret room was dim and gloomy.
Xiao Chi Zhan, dressed in a thin black robe, sat on a carved wooden chair, cradling the fluffy white Snowball in his arms, his expression languid and casual.
However, his chilling crimson eyes were fixed intently on a blood-red jade sculpture in a wooden cage in front of him, utterly still and devoid of any expression.
There was hardly any light here, and it was very dark all around.
He seemed to be hidden in a dark mist, solitary and world-weary.
"What is it?"
Tantai Ye's slightly dazed gaze was pulled back by his hoarse voice. He said, "Liangzhou has fallen."
Xiao Chi Zhan lowered his eyebrows, his clean and handsome hands gently stroking the Snowball in his embrace, his expression indifferent and calm.
"Are you not going to do anything about it?" Seeing that he remained silent, he continued, "Once Liangzhou is breached, they will encircle us from behind, and the Great Liang's border will be in imminent danger."
Xiao Chi Zhan said nothing, stood up with the fluffy Snowball in his arms, and strode out.
Tantai Ye followed, not understanding his intention.
As he left, he glanced back at the jade sculpture chained to the wooden frame, his expression momentarily solemn.
Upon exiting, he saw Xiao Chi Zhan standing before the desk, slightly hunched over, painting on a piece of Xuan paper with a brush. Recalling the words of the generals today, he frowned and sat down.
"You plan to build an underwater royal palace?"
"Hmm, is that not good?"
He raised his eyes and smiled lightly, with a chilling malevolence that sent shivers down one's spine.
Tantai Ye said, "Build whatever you want, but are you still going to manage the affairs of the Great Liang? Liangzhou has now been breached by the Qi cavalry, who have advanced unimpeded into Xuanwu Pass. Once they establish a foothold, they will inevitably bypass Linhe and attack Hongzhou."
Xiao Chi Zhan grunted vaguely, "If it's breached, then let it be breached."
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't we break through Qiling Pass? Keep fighting. After breaking Qiling Pass, attack Xuanyang. Once Xuanyang is captured, then attack Chuzhou. The Qi is so vast, isn't it enough to fight?"
He tilted his head and looked over, revealing undisguised, malicious killing intent.
His expression was like that of a supreme god, playing with all the rules of the world. He cared not for any life, scorned the ants and common folk, and dragged the mortal realm into hell.
Tantai Ye looked at him with a complex expression, then a trace of frenzied killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"Fine, I have nothing to worry about anyway, I'll fight however I please."
"Have Xie Beihan's whereabouts been traced?"
Tantai Ye replied, "The people from Blood Corpse killed all the death warriors that day. When they pursued him, he fell off a cliff and disappeared. But he did not die. It is rumored he only recently returned to Qi, and upon his return, he ordered the attack on Hongzhou."
Hearing this, Xiao Chi Zhan's expression remained unchanged. He continued to sketch, saying, "Let him attack. Let the army enter the city."
"What are you planning to do?"
He smiled faintly, "Bury them alive."
Upon hearing this, Tantai Ye burst into laughter, "That's a good idea." He paused, then continued, "The Hongyi cannons you requested earlier have arrived from Southern Xinjiang. What do you intend to do with them at the icy cave?"
Hearing this, Xiao Chi Zhan put down his brush, picked up the Snowball from the table, and walked out.
"To blast the sea."
The icy cave behind the temple mountain stretched for tens of thousands of zhang. Over a dozen colossal ships spanned the entire sea surface, with countless cannons mounted on their bows.
With a deafening roar, the ice surface instantly cracked open, and the entire sea roared with the explosions.
Innumerable marine creatures perished, and countless corpses floated to the surface.
This bombardment lasted for a full five days.
The icy cave was completely shattered by the explosions. Deep blue seawater flowed down the mountainside. Tens of thousands of men spent a full half a month clearing the sea cave, but no human corpses were found, not even a trace.
The cleared sea cave was incredibly beautiful. The entire sea surface was as calm as a mirror, shimmering and reflecting, with a faint light illuminating the cave clearly.
To construct the underwater royal palace, tens of thousands of soldiers surrounded the area, and hundreds of thousands of craftsmen were employed to build the divine path. The palace was built with white jade, covering a vast area. The expenditure of manpower, material resources, and finances could have supported several armies.
The Prince of Dingbei's actions sparked considerable discussion, especially with the looming war. Such capriciousness caused widespread resentment among the common folk throughout the Nine Provinces.
However, his absurd and willful actions continued unabated. Liangzhou was breached, yet he did not order troop reinforcements; instead, he allowed the Qi cavalry to trample on the Great Liang's people with impunity.
Furthermore, under such tense circumstances, he dispatched troops to attack Xuanyang, completely disregarding conventional tactics, striking wherever he pleased, leading to widespread chaos.
The ministers far away at court were extremely dissatisfied with his tyrannical rule and repeatedly submitted memorials. However, they were all intercepted by Prime Minister Liu, who virtually held absolute power.
Strangely, despite this fighting style, the Great Liang had actually won several battles, consecutively capturing multiple territories from Qi. They not only took Chuzhou but also advanced westward towards Chaoge, breaking three Qi cities in succession.