Refining the Mountains and Rivers

In the Desolate King's study.

Lord Chengtian was at the front and several important officials from the Imperial Clan were behind him. Their eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and sweat was visible on their temples.

The military report had been read by the king, and the wooden box had also been opened. There was indeed a human head inside it.

No matter how beautiful a woman was, if only her head was left, people would not be interested at all.

The highly-respected Desolate King sat behind the bead curtain which made it difficult to make out his expressions, but his aura was calm and motionless.

However, everyone could clearly feel the rage in His Majesty's heart.

It had been many years since His Majesty had lost his composure. What exactly had been written in the military report?

Pa -

A soft sound came from behind the bead curtain as the Desolate King placed the military report's jade slip onto the table.

He raised his head, his eyes cold and indifferent as he looked at the important officials from the Imperial Clan.

"General Jinwu Ning Qin has died."

In the hall, the air instantly became condensed and everyone stopped breathing!

At this moment, they finally understood why His Majesty was so angry.

The West Border Army camp, Wu Tongtian…how dare he do something like this?!

Then, they also thought about how His Majesty had summoned them today to discuss the turmoil in the capital city.

These officials from the Imperial Clan suddenly felt a sense of precariousness, like something bad was going to happen.

His Majesty must be furious.

What was even more maddening was that even though he could see through all these things, he could only choose to endure it.

The Imperial Clan would not support the king, who was on the verge of abdicating his throne, in shaking the stability of the military.

Especially now…a situation where the imperial power and military power were competing with each other. It was a critical time and they would not allow the king to act out.

"Your Majesty!"

Lord Chengtian knelt on the ground and said, "I am willing to go forth to the West Border Army camp!"

His statement made the other officials of the Imperial Clan feel slight surprise, shame, and even a trace of admiration.

His Majesty was about to abdicate and transfer his power. They had no courage to fight against the military at this time.

Behind the bead curtain, the Desolate King's voice was calm. "No need. Marshal Wu has already investigated the matter and has executed the murderer. I trust Marshal Wu's judgment and way of handling the matter."

A trace of sadness appeared in Lord Chengtian's eyes…His Majesty was giving in to the military after all.

This was the first time the king was giving in after countless years, but now that he had done it once, it would not be the last time.

Perhaps this incident lit the fuse for everything that was going to happen in the future.

The Imperial Clan's elders had already made all the preparations…abdication was already an unavoidable outcome!

His Majesty's plan had failed to materialize in the end. Perhaps this had been decided by fate from the start.

Lord Chengtian and His Majesty were reluctant to accept that despite having fought for so many years, they still failed in the end.

At this moment, the eunuch who had been outside suddenly rushed in, his forehead covered in sweat. He was crying as he said, "Your Majesty, an urgent report from the West Border Army!"

There was a saying that went, 'a change of sovereign brings a change of ministers'. This was not lost on the eunuch. In fact, he felt it more than anyone else.

When the new king was crowned, they would expel his predecessors' servants.

The best outcome for them was to enter the Imperial Palace's secret area and guard it for the rest of their lives.

If they were unlucky, they might be exiled instead. And someday, they might be completely wiped out for some unknown reason.

The eunuch cursed in his heart. These military barbarians were going too far; they even dared to intimidate and force His Majesty into a corner!

When he was sweating and scolding inwardly, the two who were in charge of sending the letters into the study also stood there, speechless and choked up.

His Majesty might not do anything to Marshal Wu who was stationed at the West Border, but these two soldiers were like inconspicuous ants to him.

Any reason would be enough to make the both of them fall into a tragic fate!

As they waited silently, tormented by their unknown fate, these two military cultivators' robes were quickly soaked with cold sweat.

They looked battered!

After an unknown amount of time passed, both their ears began to buzz from the silence. Just as they started to feel dizzy and their vision began to blacken, they were suddenly awoken by a burst of laughter.

Their hearts shrank suddenly and they were at a loss for what to do. They looked at the study in front of them and listened to the cheerful laughter that came from there.

The laughter…it came from His Majesty!

This…what exactly was going on?

The door to the study opened. The eunuch, who looked like he had been mourning for a concubine just now, trotted out with a rosy and delighted face.

"His Majesty has already written a reply; take it back and let the military leaders know that His Majesty wants to rectify the issue of ignorance that has been festering in the border army over the years!"

……

The content of His Majesty's reply soon spread throughout the military divisions. The whole story and the truth finally came to light.

It could be roughly summarized as follows:

In the first military report, the West Border Army's Marshal Wu reported that General Jinwu Ning Qin went to the underground mines to suppress the sinners that went on strike, but had unfortunately died during battle. When the camp learned about this matter, they caught the murderer, killed her, and sent her head to the capital city.

But then, not long after the first military report was sent to the capital city, a second letter was delivered. It was not in the name of Marshal Wu, but its contents were quite interesting. It mentioned that the sinners in the underground mines had surrendered and stopped going on strike. They even handed over an amount of ore that could only be produced in the span of one year.

Everyone was not foolish, especially people in the capital city.

The sinners surrendered and even turned in a large amount of ore. The only explanation was of course that General Jinwu had successfully suppressed them.

Then, the first military report that had been sent from the West Border Army's marshal tent naturally just became a joke.

Or to be more precise, Wu Tongtian had become a joke.

In a short period of time, people in all the corners and alleyways of the capital city started discussing this matter before, after, and during their mealtimes. When they mentioned Marshal Wu, who was well known for his military achievements and reputation, their faces could not help but show a strange expression.

Vaguely, it seemed that everyone was saying that Marshal Wu had become old and foolish, to the point where he was confused about whether his generals were alive or dead.

But all of this was rather superficial conversation. Only those who were involved could see through and understand the essence of the matter. Marshal Wu had adhered to the will of a certain party and tried to test His Majesty, but was powerfully defeated and suppressed.

This made the gazes that focused on the throne a little more cautious and fearful.

The most direct consequence of this matter was that the turbulent situation in the capital city of recent times was suddenly eased.

The military headquarters publicly reprimanded all the border armies, but everyone knew that they were referring specifically to the West Border Army.

They also did not mention Wu Tongtian, but everyone also knew that this was a slap to Marshal Wu's face…an extremely loud slap!

……

The mine resumed normal operations.

No, to be more accurate, they were now in a super efficient state.

The half human barbarians stationed here had never seen the underground sinners with such a humble attitude.

Therefore, towards General Jinwu, who they had only met once and felt very unfamiliar with, they now only felt awe and respect from the bottom of their hearts.

Even though they were half human barbarians who had suffered from the Barbarian Curse and were treated like aliens by the border army, they were still once soldiers.

The honor of a soldier ran in their bones.

And soldiers had always respected and admired the strong.