Chapter 1267 - Incident at the Penal Court!

Deflecting Blade Manor was born of Wang Chong’s sweat and blood, and he had poured so much time and energy into building it up. Many of his subordinate generals had arisen from that place. Moreover, during the Battle of Talas, these subordinates had swiftly revealed their incredible talent and capabilities.

One could say that the students of the Three Great Training Camps that Wang Chong had gathered at Deflecting Blade Manor were the foundation of Wang Chong’s efforts to alter the Great Tang army.

Old Eagle and Zhang Que had originally believed that Wang Chong would immediately head to Deflecting Blade Manor to fight the proposal. They hadn’t expected that Wang Chong would choose to give Deflecting Blade Manor to Kunwu Training Camp.

But the two of them had always firmly believed in Wang Chong and understood that he never made meaningless decisions.

“Ah!”

The first to gasp in realization was Old Eagle, while Zhang Que seemed to have some inkling but had not fully grasped the idea yet.

“Understand yet? The Confucian Sect is using the power of the First Prince, and the First Prince is using the power of the Sage Emperor. If we try and resist the attack of the Confucian Sect this time, we’ll be resisting the Sage Emperor! This cannot be allowed to happen! Moreover, the Three Great Training Camps were established according to the Sage Emperor’s decree. The Confucian Sect would have long ago prepared themselves for this before they started making trouble!” Wang Chong calmly said, the image of that handsome and elegant white-robed Confucian once more emerging in his mind.

The Confucian Sect leader calling himself Li Junxian appeared to be only twenty-six or twenty-seven, but his attacks were swift and fierce and came in endless waves that gave his opponents no time to breathe. More importantly, he calculated everything and made meticulous plans, predicting almost every counter his opponent would make, leaving his foes very little room to maneuver.

Although there was no direct confrontation and no sign of any swords or sabers, Wang Chong’s opponent was far more ferocious than he had imagined. He had faced many opponents before, but none of them could compare to this Li Junxian.

“…Rather than waiting for them to dismantle Deflecting Blade Manor, it would be better to just give it to Kunwu Training Camp. Although we can’t bring things back to the way they were before, at least the Confucians won’t be able to continue messing around with it. This also allows us to preserve as much of Deflecting Blade Manor as possible,” Wang Chong said heavily.

“Your subordinate understands!” Old Eagle solemnly said.

When he saw Wang Chong’s young and determined face, he felt sincere admiration. The Confucian Sect’s attack was furious, but Wang Chong had chosen to actively respond rather than passively react. Not even the Confucian Sect could do anything about this, and their attack was thus nullified.

“Zhang Que, help me get in touch with the Protector-Generals and Great Generals on the border. Propose to them that the Bureau of Military Personnel should set up a ‘commander base’ entirely for the border protectorates to train generals. All the examinees expelled from the Three Great Training Camps due to the Halls of Righteousness should be recruited by the ‘commander base’, and it should be guaranteed to all students who meet the standards that they will be transferred to the border protectorates upon completion of their study through the Bureau of Military Personnel.”

Wang Chong had a wise and profound look in his eyes as he gazed into the distance.

“In addition, write personal letters for me to Geshu Han, An Sishun, Xianyu Zhongtong, Gao Xianzhi, and Zhang Shougui. Tell them that I will teach my art of war in this commander base. As long as they vigorously support this proposal and jointly sign on, at least ten percent of the officers produced will be transferred to their armies. After seeing what I did in Talas and Khorasan, I trust that they won’t refuse!”

Once a decision had the approval of the five Protector-Generals, the Bureau of Military Personnel, and Minister of War Zhangchou Jianqiong, it could bypass the imperial household and still be formally approved. As long as Wang Chong was not establishing a personal army and all the soldiers were transferred to the border protectorates, not even the Confucian Sect could do anything.

As this string of orders left Wang Chong’s lips, Old Eagle’s and Zhang Que’s worried and uneasy faces immediately relaxed. No matter who this Li Junxian was or where this Confucian Sect came from, they had truly picked the wrong opponent this time.

“Yes, your subordinate will do so!” the two of them replied in unison.

“In addition, where is Zhao Qianqiu imprisoned?” Wang Chong suddenly asked.

There was an appropriate countermeasure for every measure. No matter what sort of plans Li Junxian had, none of them could pose a threat to him. The only thing Wang Chong was concerned about now was Zhao Qianqiu’s safety.

Zhao Qianqiu was Wang Chong’s first and only instructor. Wang Chong had always had nothing but respect and admiration for him.

Zhang Que bowed and said, “Milord, we’ve already found his location. After being arrested, Lord Zhao Qianqiu was transferred back to the capital and sent to the Penal Court.”

Wang Chong blinked at this news. According to the laws of the Imperial Court, officers who committed crimes were sent to the Bureau of Military Personnel, while commoners who committed crimes were sent to the Bureau of Punishments. When the Imperial Court or imperial household became involved, criminals were sent to the Court of Judicial Review. Criminals that fell outside of these three categories were sent to the Penal Court, a place used to deal with special criminals. And the one who presided over the Penal Court was none other than King Qi!

Upon mention of the Penal Court, some things immediately became obvious.

“Let’s go, to the Penal Court!” Wang Chong sternly said.

……

The Penal Court was located by the northwest corner of the Imperial Palace.

This place was remote, located in the least populated part of the capital. Moreover, the land also belonged to the imperial household, and ordinary people were forbidden from entering.

Boom!

There was a thunderous explosion, shockwaves of energy, and countless screams as fully-armored guards of the Penal Court were sent flying through the air like ragdolls. While still in the air, their armor and weapons were already blasted to pieces by Stellar Energy. Wang Chong led Old Eagle and Zhang Que straight through the place with an unstoppable momentum.

“This is the Penal Court! Halt!”

Furious and shocked shouts rang through the air as the experts of the Penal Court converged from all directions.

But despite the waves of experts, none of them were able to get within thirty feet of Wang Chong. Energy tore at them, sent them flying, or caused them to spin in the air and collide against each other.

“Where is Zhao Qianqiu being held?!”

Wang Chong reached out a hand, and an expert of the Penal Court suddenly flew through the air and landed in Wang Chong’s hand like a doll. His fingers tightly clenched around the expert’s neck, raising him to the air like a bird.

“I–I–I won’t tell you! His Highness King Qi has already been informed and will soon be here. You can’t escape!”

The Penal Court expert’s face was red and stricken with fear, but he refused to speak.

“Hmph, in front of me, it doesn’t matter how tight-lipped you are.”

With a thought, Wang Chong sent a massive burst of Psychic Energy into the expert’s mind. After encountering some weak resistance, Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy plunged deep into the expert’s mind.

“Penal Court, the twenty-second cell!” Wang Chong muttered, and then he threw the Penal Court expert into ten-some experts behind him, throwing them into disarray.

Boom! Another wave of Stellar Energy swept out as Wang Chong blasted through hundreds of Penal Court experts to force his way into the underground prison.

The underground prison of the Penal Court was dreadful and sinister. There were many disheveled prisoners kept here, and their bodies were covered in bruises, clearly indicating that they had been tortured. When Wang Chong saw this, he was even more infuriated. If King Qi’s men had secretly tortured Zhao Qianqiu, he would never forgive them.

“Lord Zhao…”

Zhang Que and Old Eagle followed Wang Chong as he strode forward toward the twenty-second cell. But when they found this cell, they were instantly struck dumb.

“This!”

The two of them stared speechlessly at the cell.

“Old Eagle, Zhang Que…”

Wang Chong also saw the state of the twenty-second cell, and he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, his voice coming to a sudden stop. The cell was completely empty, devoid of any inhabitants.

Impossible!

This was Wang Chong’s first reaction. Wang Chong had rushed over almost as soon as Zhao Qianqiu had been arrested, and he had obtained the location of the cell from the mind of a Penal Court expert. There was no way this information would be false.

“Check the other cells! See if he was moved elsewhere!” Wang Chong immediately said.

“Yes, Milord!”

Zhang Que and Old Eagle immediately moved toward the other cells. Meanwhile, Wang Chong looked around and quickly noticed a prison guard who had recently been tossed aside. He quickly sent out a stream of Psychic Energy into this prison guard’s mind. When he learned what the guard knew, his body trembled and his brow creased. However, the tension on his face relaxed.

Zhao Qianqiu had been rescued by someone else!

This was the information Wang Chong had obtained from the prison guard’s mind. Not long before he had arrived, a black-robed person with exceptionally high status had appeared at the Penal Court and forcefully taken Zhao Qianqiu from his cell. And based on the circumstances, it seemed like this person was not on friendly terms with King Qi, as the people of the Penal Court had attempted to stop them.

“What’s going on here?”

Wang Chong fell silent, his mind confused. He had not expected this kind of situation. King Qi’s way of doing things had always been unbridled and despotic, and his personality was brash and arrogant. Removing someone from his Penal Court was not something any ordinary person could do. More importantly, Wang Chong had known Zhao Qianqiu for a long time, but he had never heard anything about him knowing someone of such high status.

Could that legend be true?

Wang Chong’s mind was currently whirring with thoughts.

In truth, there was also a lot of gossip in the capital about Zhao Qianqiu. The most widespread rumor was that Zhao Qianqiu had some sort of backer, and the evidence for this was that Zhao Qianqiu didn’t appear to have any sort of background or patron, yet he was the chief instructor of Kunwu Training Camp, placed above all the other instructors.

Moreover, he was the only instructor in Kunwu Training Camp who taught the ‘art of command’.