Reborn In The Three Kingdoms - Chapter 775

Chapter 775: 741. King Sansang Headache
 

The day it happened would become known, in hushed tones and fearful glances, as “The Snake of Lie Swallows Gungnae.” It was a calculated, brutal strike, and utterly deniable purge inside Gungnae. Officials who had pledged their cooperation with the bureau but whose loyalty had since faltered vanished.

Some were found dead, their demise attributed to bandits or old grudges. Others simply disappeared, leaving behind bewildered families and unanswered questions.

Kidnappings were carried out with surgical precision, leaving no trace of the perpetrators. Even the families of these unfortunate officials were not spared, often meeting similar fates, a chilling message sent through the very fabric of Goguryeo society.

The whispers in the streets of Gungnae by the common people suggested many things, but never did any of them speak of the Lie Clan Supervision Bureau’s role. It was a masterstroke of deception, one that the eyes of the common people eyes could not pierce.

And as these individuals vanished, their accumulated wealth, their estates, their very livelihoods, quietly flowed into the coffers of the Lie Clan Supervision Bureau, bolstering its resources and solidifying its power even further.

King Sansang and his court were left reeling. Outrage was too mild a word to describe their reaction. Horror, disbelief, and a creeping sense of helplessness washed over the royal court and chambers.

Yet, there was nothing they could definitively point to. No witnesses, no incriminating documents, not a single thread of evidence that directly linked the Lie Clan Supervision Bureau to these events.

It was a masterpiece of political maneuvering, a shadow play where the strings were pulled with invisible hands.

The disappearances and deaths were conveniently attributed to criminal elements within Goguryeo, long standing political rivalries, or vengeful individuals with personal vendettas. Li Wei had masterfully muddied the waters, creating a miasma of plausible deniability.

For King Sansang, the day of the “Snake Swallowing Gungnae” was more than just a series of unfortunate incidents, it was a sharp, agonizing headache that refused to dissipate.

In the aftermath of the purge, Li Wei, with an almost imperceptible shift in the balance of power, began to subtly undermine the King’s authority within his own court.

The Lie Clan Supervision Bureau, under Li Wei’s increasingly assertive leadership, which had once been a mere instrument of surveillance in the eyes of Goguryeo, began to encroach on the royal prerogative.

It was no longer just a tool for overseeing the kingdom, it was a power unto itself, one that operated with autonomy, free from the constraints of traditional governance.

The two chief advisors of King Sansang, Mo Du and Dal Gae, were powerless, as they couldn’t outmaneuver and outclash Li Wei and the Lie Clan Supervision Bureau, to stop their expanding influence.

Royal decrees seemed to take longer to implement, requiring the “oversight” of the bureau. Appointments to key positions suddenly needed the bureau’s “recommendation.” The flow of information to the King seemed to be… curated.

Li Wei’s cunning was matched only by his patience. He understood that power, once gained, could not be held by force alone. To maintain his position, he needed to make the right moves at the right time.

And so, he began to work his magic in the shadows, whispering in the ears of influential nobles and scholars who were advising King Sansang’s court on matters of state. At first, the king did not understand the gravity of these small concessions.

But as Li Wei subtly eroded the king’s authority, Sansang began to realize the depths of his predicament. The Bureau’s influence now extended far beyond the confines of Gungnae, it had seeped into every corner of Goguryeo, and its tentacles reached even to the furthest outposts of the kingdom.

So with that, King Sansang found himself increasingly isolated, a monarch in name but with his power subtly leashed. He could issue commands, but their execution often depended on the tacit approval of Li Wei and his ever present network of informants and enforcers.

The one proud court of Goguryeo had become a den of intrigue. Loyalists to the king, led by Mo Du and Dal Gae, still wary of the Bureau’s influence, began to plot in secret, meeting in darkened rooms and speaking in hushed tones.

But every plot, every attempt to reclaim power from Li Wei’s grasp for their King, was met with swift retribution.

There were no secrets in Gungnae anymore. Not even the king’s inner advisors, except Mo Du and Dal Gae, could be trusted. Every day, the Bureau’s grip tightened, and every day, King Sansang’s authority slipped further away, as Li Wei’s spies were everywhere, watching every move, listening to every conversation.

It was a game of chess, with Li Wei as the grandmaster and King Sansang as the pawn, struggling to move but unable to escape the ever encroaching pressure of his opponent. The once proud king, who had ruled with the belief that his authority was invincible, now found himself a puppet in his own court, his strings pulled by Lie Fan’s ever watchful eye.

The king’s downfall, however, was not immediate. There was still time. The people of Goguryeo, though aware of the political unrest brewing in their capital, did not yet see the full extent of the changes taking place.

To them, life continued as usual, trade continued to flourish, the festivals went on, and the land remained peaceful. But in the shadows of the court, a new power was rising. One that, in the years to come, would shape the fate of Goguryeo and its future.

Li Wei’s work in Goguryeo was far from finished. He knew that the key to consolidating his power lay not just in removing his enemies, but in ensuring that no one could challenge the Lie Clan’s control.

He would need to secure the loyalty of the people, of the military, and of the noble families that still clung to their old allegiances. But that, he knew, was a matter for another day. For now, his focus remained on the king, on the court, and on the slow, deliberate erosion of King Sansang’s power.

So with that, fear became a subtle but pervasive currency, and Li Wei, the quiet envoy who had arrived in alongside Sima Yi at Gungnae in the past, had transformed into a formidable, almost spectral power broker.

At the current time, King Sansang’s study was dimly lit, the flickering candles casting long shadows across the scrolls and maps strewn across his desk. The weight of his crown felt heavier than ever, pressing down on his temples like a vice.

He rubbed his forehead with calloused fingers, the dull ache behind his eyes refusing to relent, as he was thinking about what he should do to take back the authority and power he had lost to Li Wei and the Lie Clan Supervision Bureau.

“How did it come to this?” King Sansang thought.

He knew that it would have big consequences when he was pressured to agree on its establishment and also to have Li Wei become the head of the bureau, but did he think it would be to such an extent? No.

As he was nursing his headache by massaging his temple and the back of his head with his own hand, the door to his study creaked open.

In came Queen Woo, her face a mask of quiet concern, followed closely by his two chief advisors, the elder statesman Mo Du, bent slightly with age but sharp as a blade still, and the iron and fiery willed, middle aged Dal Gae, whose fiery gaze spoke volumes of his loyalty and frustration.

Seeing her husband in such visible distress, Queen Woo moved with grace behind his chair and laid her hands gently on his shoulders. Her fingers kneaded the tension in his neck with practiced tenderness.

King Sansang let out a long sigh of relief, eyes fluttering shut for a moment, his pride too weary to resist comfort. “Thank you, my dear,” he murmured, voice frayed by fatigue and mounting despair.

Opening his eyes, he turned his gaze toward Mo Du and Dal Gae. “Why do the two of you come to me this late?” he asked, his voice thin but firm, the tone of a king seeking answers in the growing dark.

The two advisors exchanged a look, part caution, part urgency, before Mo Du stepped forward. “Your Majesty,” he began, bowing deeply, “we bring news both troubling and urgent. Li Wei and his Lie Clan Supervision Bureau have begun to make overtures to the military. Several high ranking generals were approached, some with gifts, others with promises of advancement, but, praise the ancestors, they remained loyal and came directly to us.”

The King sat up straighter, the fatigue in his bones briefly chased away by the jolt of alarm and the flicker of hope. “So it has begun,” he muttered. “It was only a matter of time before he set his sights on the army. The court is his, and now he moves to make the sword his own.

“Indeed, Your Majesty,” Dal Gae added, stepping beside Mo Du. “Li Wei is slow and deliberate in his methods, but relentless. If he controls the military, Your Majesty, then what remains of your authority will be ceremonial at best.”

King Sansang leaned back in his chair, one hand still absently rubbing at his temple. He stared into the flickering shadows cast by the oil lamps, as though the answers might rise from the flames. “What would you have me do?” he asked. “How do we ensure that my command over the military remains intact, unlike my authority in the court?”

Queen Woo’s hands paused for a brief moment, then resumed. Her silence was not indifference but restraint. She had watched her husband fade into the background of his own reign, and it pained her more than he knew.

Mo Du stepped forward once more, lowering his voice though no ears but theirs were present. “We must move before Li Wei sinks his fangs any deeper, Your Majesty. There is still a window, narrow though it may be.”

“We propose that Your Majesty immediately summon the generals who remain loyal to a private meeting, outside of Gungnae, where the Bureau’s ears and eyes cannot reach. Perhaps at Ansi Fortress, where your authority as supreme commander can be invoked.”

“Yes,” Dal Gae continued, his tone like tempered steel. “At that meeting, Your Majesty must reaffirm your position as the rightful sovereign and supreme commander of Goguryeo military, also ensure a direct oath of loyalty from each of them. Make it clear that any orders not coming directly from your seal are to be treated as treason.”

______________________________

Name: Lie Fan

Title: Overlord Of The Central Plains

Age: 34 (201 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 1325

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 951 (+20)

VIT: 613 (+20)

AGI: 598 (+10)

INT: 617

CHR: 96

WIS: 519

WILL: 407

ATR Points: 0