FVN 124. Disintegration
124. Disintegration
Lin Mo walked along the streets in the early morning, the Pure Yang Jade Pendant at his waist slightly warm, a reminder that the Heavenly Demon Guard was still lurking nearby. His confrontation with the Demon General just now had further convinced him that Pure Yang treasures could indeed subdue these extraterrestrial demons.
He turned the corner and strode into a teahouse. This was the backup contact point he had arranged with Zhang Yuan.
"A pot of Biluochun tea, from last spring," Lin Mo said to the shopkeeper, using a secret code.
The shopkeeper understood and led him to a secluded private room in the backyard. Zhang Yuan was already waiting there, his face grave.
"That was too dangerous," Zhang Yuan said in a low voice. "How dare you face that demon general alone?"
Lin Mo sat down and poured himself a cup of tea: "Testing the waters was necessary. Now we know that the Pure Yang Jade Pendant has a deterrent effect on them, which is good news."
"But this has alerted them," Zhang Yuan said worriedly. "The Heavenly Demon Guard's search today was exceptionally thorough; they've probably become suspicious."
Lin Mo took a sip of tea, his gaze deep: "That's precisely why we need to accelerate our pace. The plan to divide and conquer must begin immediately."
"Do you have a concrete plan?"
Lin Mo took out a list from his pocket: "This is a list of officials who may be controlled by the Heavenly Demon, compiled based on the intelligence we collected earlier. We need to start with these people."
Zhang Yuan took the list and examined it closely, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper: "Minister of Rites, Vice Minister of Works, Prefect of the Capital... these are all important positions. If they have all been controlled, then most of the court has already fallen into the hands of the Heavenly Demon."
"Not all of them are being controlled." Lin Mo pointed to several names. "From my observation, some people may simply be being misled or forced to cooperate. We need to treat them differently."
He took out a secret letter: "This is the plan I devised last night. We will take advantage of the existing factional conflicts in the court, so that these officials will distrust each other, especially the Heavenly Demon Guard."
Zhang Yuan carefully read the plan, his eyes gradually revealing approval: "Brilliant! Use the canal transport corruption case as a pretext to make the Minister of Rites suspect that the Prefect of the Capital is colluding with the Heavenly Demon Guard and embezzling his share of the ill-gotten gains..."
"Not only that," Lin Mo added, "I will also have Zhao Mingcheng spread rumors in the army that the Heavenly Demon Guard is preparing to purge the military and replace them with their own people. This will make those generals who cooperate with the Heavenly Demon wary."
"But wouldn't this backfire and make them more united?" Zhang Yuan still had concerns.
Lin Mo shook his head: "Human nature is greedy, especially these corrupt officials. When they discover that their partners are untrustworthy, their first reaction is self-preservation, not unity."
The two discussed each step in detail until noon before parting ways.
In the following days, undercurrents were swirling in the capital.
First, the Minister of Rites suddenly launched an attack at the court assembly, accusing the Prefect of the Capital of embezzling funds in the grain transport case. The Prefect of the Capital immediately refuted this, implying that the Minister of Rites had too close ties with the Heavenly Demon Guard and might be suspected of forming cliques for personal gain.
Two high-ranking officials were arguing fiercely in the court, but the "emperor" on the dragon throne just watched indifferently. In the end, a demon general from the Heavenly Demon Guard stepped in to mediate.
This scene was witnessed by many officials, each with their own thoughts.
Meanwhile, various rumors began circulating within the military. It was said that the Heavenly Demon Guard was preparing to purge the military after the sacrificial ceremony, replacing all generals who refused to cooperate with the Heavenly Demon.
Zhao Mingcheng's old friend in the border army sent him a secret letter overnight, inquiring about the truth. As planned, he neither completely denied nor explicitly admitted it, but only hinted that "there's no smoke without fire."
This ambiguous attitude only deepened the generals' suspicions.
On the third night, Lin Mo personally took action, disguising himself as a merchant from the Western Regions and arriving at the residence of the Vice Minister of Works.
Wang, the Vice Minister of Works, is a notorious opportunist in the court. He previously maintained close ties with the Imperial Guard, but now that the Heavenly Demon controls the government, he has quickly sided with him. However, Lin Mo learned through intelligence that this Wang is actually quite uneasy inside.
"My lord, this is a luminous pearl from the Western Regions." Lin Mo presented a pearl in broken Chinese.
Vice Minister Wang toyed with the pearl, his eyes gleaming: "Excellent, excellent. How much silver do you want?"
Lin Mo lowered his voice: "I will not take a single penny, I only ask for your word, sir."
Vice Minister Wang immediately became alert: "What are you saying?"
"I heard that after the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, the imperial court will purge the Ministry of Works. Is that true or not?" Lin Mo asked, feigning trepidation.
Vice Minister Wang's hand trembled, and Mingzhu nearly fell: "You...who told you that?"
"The Western Regions caravans are well-informed," Lin Mo said mysteriously. "They all say that Lord Tianmo is going to arrange for his own people to take over the Ministry of Works, and the existing officials... hehe."
Vice Minister Wang's face paled, but he forced himself to remain calm: "Nonsense! I am deeply favored by the Emperor, how could His Majesty..."
"Your Majesty?" Lin Mo sneered. "Is the current Your Majesty the same Your Majesty as before?"
These words struck him like a thunderbolt, and Minister Wang abruptly stood up: "What...what do you mean?"
Lin Mo dropped his pretense and revealed his true voice: "Lord Wang, haven't you really noticed the changes in His Majesty over the years?"
Minister Wang stared in disbelief: "You...you are Lin Mo!"
"It is indeed I." Lin Mo removed his disguise. "Lord Wang, I have risked coming here today to show you the way."
Wang, the Vice Minister, broke out in a cold sweat and subconsciously looked towards the door.
"No need to worry," Lin Mo said calmly. "Your wife and son went to a temple outside the city to offer incense tonight. They are perfectly safe."
The threatening tone in those words caused Vice Minister Wang to slump into his chair: "You...what do you want?"
"It's very simple." Lin Mo looked directly into his eyes. "Tell me, what did the Heavenly Demons promise you? And what leverage do they have over you?"
Wang Shilang's lips trembled, and he remained silent for a long time.
Lin Mo didn't urge him, but just played with the luminous pearl: "Lord Wang, do you know how the former Vice Minister of Rites fell from power? It was because he chose the wrong side."
"I...I was forced!" Vice Minister Wang finally broke down. "They kidnapped my son and threatened me! They even said that if I cooperated, the position of Minister of Works would be mine in the future..."
Lin Mo nodded: "Just as I thought. So, Lord Wang, would you like to save your son and your entire family?"
Wang, grasping at a straw, said, "If Lord Lin can help me, I will repay him with my life!"
"There's no need for that." Lin Mo took out a pill. "This is an antidote pill that can cure the mind-controlling poison of the Heavenly Demon. Find a way to get those controlled officials to take it, and their minds will temporarily clear."
The Vice Minister Wang took the pills with trembling hands: "This...this is too dangerous..."
"Compared to the lives of your entire family, what is this danger?" Lin Mo's tone turned cold. "Lord Wang, whether you choose to continue being the puppet of the Heavenly Demon and end up disgraced, or take a gamble and earn a future for yourself, is up to you."
After pondering for a long time, Vice Minister Wang finally gritted his teeth and nodded: "Alright! I'll do it!"
After leaving the Vice Minister's residence, Lin Mo visited several other officials that night. Some were bribed, some were threatened, and some were offered genuine advice. He adopted different strategies based on the different personalities of each person.
By dawn, he had successfully planted six chess pieces in the court.
Back at his residence, Master Qingyun was waiting for him.
"How is it?" the Taoist priest asked with concern.
"The plan is progressing smoothly." Lin Mo dropped his pretense. "Six officials have already agreed to cooperate, including two ministers."
Master Qingyun stroked his beard and smiled: "Excellent. The strategy of differentiation has begun to show results. However, according to my observation of the heavens, although the demonic energy is slightly disordered, its core remains stable."
Lin Mo nodded: "This is just the beginning. Next, we need to create direct conflict between these officials and the Heavenly Demon Guard."
He took out a secret letter: "This is the next plan. Let the Minister of Rites 'accidentally' discover that the Heavenly Demon Guard has planted spies in his residence, and at the same time let the Prefect of the Capital 'accidentally' learn that the Heavenly Demon is planning to use him as a scapegoat after the sacrificial ceremony."
Master Qingyun exclaimed, "This plan is brilliant! It turns them from mutual suspicion into direct confrontation."
"Not only that," Lin Mo's eyes flashed with a sharp light, "I also want to create friction between the military and the Heavenly Demon Guard."
He explained his plan in detail: Zhao Mingcheng would arrange for several border generals to "coincidentally" meet the Heavenly Demon Guard in a brothel, creating a conflict. The military has always been protective of its own, and once friction occurs, it will inevitably side with its own people.
"But we must be careful to maintain a proper balance," Master Qingyun cautioned. "We must not provoke a full-blown conflict prematurely."
"Don't worry." Lin Mo said confidently, "This is just a minor friction, enough to make the military feel hostile towards the Heavenly Demon, but not enough to cause a complete breakdown in relations."
Over the next few days, Lin Mo's plan was implemented step by step.
The Minister of Rites indeed found the eavesdropping talisman in his study and flew into a rage. The Prefect of the Capital also learned from "reliable sources" that he would be made a scapegoat and was terrified.
The most exciting part was the conflict between the military and the Heavenly Demon Guard. Two border generals and a squad of Heavenly Demon guards got into a fight over a courtesan at the Yihong Courtyard, causing a huge uproar. Although it was eventually suppressed, the relationship between the military and the Heavenly Demon Guard clearly deteriorated.
Through these methods, Lin Mo successfully created a rift in the imperial court. The once unwavering support for the Heavenly Demon began to falter.
On the seventh night, Lin Mo secretly summoned the core members again.
"The plan to sow discord has begun to show results," Lin Mo concluded. "Now, there is a widespread distrust of the Heavenly Demon Guard among officials in the court."
Zhang Yuan added, "Moreover, we successfully turned six important officials against us; they are willing to betray us at a crucial moment."
Zhao Mingcheng laughed and said, "Things are going even better on the military side. Now the generals are extremely disgusted with the Heavenly Demon Guard. They all say that these guys don't know the rules and are domineering."
Master Qingyun still had concerns: "But these are just appearances. The core power of the Heavenly Demons has not been damaged. Once they realize our plan, they may launch an attack ahead of time."
Lin Mo nodded: "The Taoist priest is right. So we need to speed things up and try to divide as many forces as possible before the sacrificial ceremony."
He produced a new list: "The next target is the Commander of the Imperial Guards. From what I've observed, he's not entirely devoted to the Heavenly Demon either."
"The commander of the Imperial Guards?" Zhang Yuan exclaimed in surprise. "That's a dangerous man. What if we fail..."
"It is precisely because of the danger that we must try." Lin Mo's gaze was firm. "If we can gain the support of the Imperial Guards, our chances of winning the sacrificial ceremony will greatly increase."
Outside the window, a crescent moon hung in the sky, its cool light illuminating Lin Mo's resolute face. The plan to divide and conquer had begun, like a pebble thrown into water, the ripples spreading ever wider.
But he knew the most dangerous moment was yet to come. The Heavenly Demon wasn't stupid; he would eventually notice these movements. Then, the real battle would begin.