The T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship · the hangar.
The shuttle-craft finished docking slowly; and as Chu Changhe was escorted down by Chu Yilong, there was already a squad of soldiers waiting in the hangar, the one at their head being none other than Chu Xiong.
"Marshal!" Chu Xiong could hardly hide the agitation upon his face; his hand at his chest, the very corners of his mouth trembled.
Looking at this imperial three-star lieutenant general before him, the first thing Chu Changhe did on walking up was to go and land a kick on him.
"As supreme commander, instead of staying on the bridge, what are you doing running down here?"
Facing this kick of Chu Changhe's, Chu Xiong made no move to dodge.
And after taking the kick, he still looked at Chu Changhe with a foolish grin.
Chu Xiong's adjutant beside him said hastily, "Marshal, the bridge is in the charge of Major General Chu Hongwen there."
Chu Changhe looked at that agitated manner of Chu Xiong's, and gave Chu Xiong's shoulder a clap.
"Don't carry on as though you've caught sight of your own little bride. What — do you want me to fold you in my arms and have a good cry too? Over 20 years unseen, and you brat are still like a great silly bear."
Chu Xiong grinned a foolish grin; back in the day, the Marshal had called him just that — silly bear.
"Marshal, please change your clothes, and move to the bridge." Chu Xiong pointed at a set of Chu-family officer's uniform, long since made ready off to the side.
It was, of course, no match for Chu Changhe's original marshal's uniform.
But it was, at the least, a good deal more fitting than the plain clothes upon Chu Changhe now.
"What — if I don't change into this outfit, I'm no longer your Marshal? Don't waste time; let's go. And settle the Empress well besides — arrange female soldiers to care for the Empress; no one else is permitted to disturb her." Having given his instructions, Chu Changhe headed off toward the bridge.
The officer holding the clothes off to the side looked at Chu Xiong, at a loss what to do.
Chu Xiong took up the military greatcoat among them, and, catching up at a brisk pace to the Chu Changhe ahead, draped this greatcoat over Chu Changhe himself.
To this, Chu Changhe did not, as it happened, refuse.
…
The Imperial Capital Star.
"What? The T4 Boreas ship G03 has turned traitor? It's fleeing with Chu Changhe aboard?" Qin Ming's expression was aghast.
Huang Zhixiong, off to the side, likewise wore a whole face of the incredible.
The things that had happened in the space of a short hour just now left them simply hard put to believe.
Who could have thought that in the Imperial Capital Star, this very heartland of the Starlight Empire, the Chu family had infiltrated so gravely?
So much so that, of all things, even an adjutant among Qin Ming's own trusted confidants had turned out to be a Chu family man.
At the thought of this, Qin Ming felt a shudder within his heart.
Had the task these people carried out been not the rescue of Chu Changhe, but the assassination of himself… the mere thought of it filled him with retrospective dread.
And, moreover, that they'd even had the ability to seize a T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship stationed in the region outside the Imperial Capital Star.
"These… these are the Chu family's people planted in our Imperial Capital Star who stand exposed so far. They've made off with one of our T4 Boreas and 18 T3-grade interstellar warships. The rest are still, at the various key installations of the Imperial Capital Star, on the ground and in space, wreaking sabotage and sowing chaos." An official reported up a set of data, tense.
Upon it was a name-list.
The light in Qin Ming's eyes as he looked at this list carried fury, and a trace of terror.
"One lieutenant general, two major generals, five brigadier generals. And 16 more planted among my own personal guards. Song Xiaochuan… he followed me a full seven years, and I'd even been planning, after my succession, to have him take a key post in the Imperial Capital Star's guard fleet! Why! Why is it that they — each holding a key post in the Imperial Capital Star system, able to enjoy wealth and glory — should, of all things, choose to expose themselves and, at the risk of their very lives, help Chu Changhe!" Qin Ming demanded, fist clenched.
Huang Zhixiong could not help but call to mind the Chu family legion he'd seen in years past.
The Chu family legion was rather unlike the other imperial armies — in their eyes, one and all, there was a kind of light.
"Perhaps… this is Chu Changhe's personal magnetism, and the spirit of the Chu family," Huang Zhixiong murmured.
Qin Ming cried out in fury, "Fine! Fine! Chu family death-warriors, are they? Loyal to the very marrow, are they? Then I'll grant them their wish. Relay the order to every fleet of the Imperial Capital Star system: pursue Chu Changhe's defector fleet, and destroy it at any cost whatever. Whoever can destroy that T4 Boreas — I'll raise him three ranks on the spot! I'll bestow on him a marquisate outright! And relay, besides, to the imperial-army fleets stationed in the Starlight Central Star Region, that they're to take part in this encirclement-and-extermination; come what may, Chu Changhe must not be let to escape!"
"Yes!" Huang Zhixiong went at once to carry out this order.
Since they meant to take Chu Changhe as the sacrifice to hallow their war-banner, then come what may, Chu Changhe must not be let to flee!
Chu Changhe was himself a banner — the spiritual leader of the Chu family.
This one old man alone had the power to overawe an army of 2,000.
He must, on no account, be let to return to the Chu River Star Region!
In a short span, the Imperial Capital Star and the Starlight Central Star Region rose up in turmoil on every side: on the one hand, the pursuit, interception, and blockade aimed at Chu Changhe's "defector" fleet; and on the other, Qin Ming set people to investigating every last one of his own subordinates.
With the Chu Family Shadow-Guard affair having only just occurred, he now suspected every single person under his hand — so much so that, when he slept, he dared not so much as close his eyes.
This state of things went on for a long stretch of time in the days to come, implicating no small number of people, and giving rise to a small-scale movement of great purging.
…
Chu Changhe had carried on an illicit affair with the Empress; taking the chance of his audience with the Emperor, he'd murdered the Emperor, and thereafter fled together with the Empress.
And there was, besides, as evidence, the widely known antique-dagger murder weapon that Chu Changhe was fond of collecting.
The Starlight Empire's royal house issued an arrest warrant, designating Chu Changhe a criminal of the empire's highest grade, one who might, where necessary, be killed outright on the spot.
The moment this news was put out, the whole Starlight Empire came to a boil.
Who could have thought that the Prince Faction, after the loss of that campaign at the Owl Dragon Star System, would, of all things, go straight on to produce so world-shaking a bombshell as this?
And with that, the situation of the Starlight Empire turned delicate.
The Second Prince Qin Ming was the legitimate and rightful heir.
And now, by the evidence Qin Ming furnished, Chu Changhe was the criminal who'd murdered the Emperor.
What came next, then, was Qin Ming having everyone else declare a stance.
See it, don't you?
Chu Changhe is now a criminal of the empire; if you help Chu Changhe now, that's setting yourself against the Starlight Empire!
And if you look coldly on from the sidelines now — then weigh well what your end will be after Qin Ming succeeds to the throne in future.
This was a most simple open stratagem.[1] But everyone knew full well that it was precisely an open stratagem of this sort that was the most effective of all.
The one and only link that had failed was that Qin Ming had let Chu Changhe escape, so that he'd become an unstable factor — but the impact of that upon the whole plan was not very great.
"This is what's happening in the Imperial Capital Star at present." Secretary Lilith reported up the intelligence she'd gathered to Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen rubbed at his chin, and said in admiration, "This old man's got real ability. No wonder he dared go to the Feast at Hong Gate[2] before — it turns out he'd been lying in wait for them right here. Even a three-star lieutenant general is his man. Worthy indeed of the Chu family, the first of the great families. This depth of resource, this array of means — it's terrifying."
"But by our present reckoning, the possibility of Chu Changhe escaping is, in truth, only 51% certainty," Lilith said.
50%… not very high, but it was, at least, a workable plan.
System task triggered: Rush to the Chu River Governor's aid.
A voice sounded in Zhao Chen's mind; the mission's content was very simple — to ensure that Chu Changhe returned safe and sound to the Chu River Star Region.
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth curled faintly upward; he at once handed down the order.
"Relay to Charlotte: assemble the Owl Dragon Legion fleet within 30 minutes, and ready the T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ships. We're off to fetch this father-in-law of mine… no, that's not it — what's the term for it… grandfather-in-law."