In the Crown Kingdom in the Peace Province in the Jasmine City, Zixin Quon, the emperor of the Chinese Empire, began to lose his grip on his followers after his magic was nullified and the legislation of new austerity measures. Many eminent ministers, generals and workers in Zixin's government already defected and rendered their allegiance to Yueliang Jian, the Crown Prince of the deposed government. Yueliang realized that the right time has come to start restoring what Zixin has usurped by his perfidious coup. The first step that Yueliang want to take now is forming his strong invincible army that will restore the five kingdoms from Zixin's dominance and control. Currently, Yueliang has two major armies that he can utilize at his disposal: 1) the dissident army which consists of soldiers who belong to the deposed government and refused to surrender to Zixin after the coup. And 2) the defected army which consists of soldiers who defected from the army of Zixin after the magic nullification event and the austerity measures. With the assistance of the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government, Yueliang communicated with the leaders of the dissident armies across the Chinese Empire. In addition, Yueliang communicated with the leaders who defected from the army of Zixin recently such as General Guozhi Hop and General Zimo Bambang. From now on, these armies will work under the direct supervision and command of Yueliang against Zixin.
One night, Yueliang had a conversation with Taiyang Jian, Junjie Song, Liling Heng, Mei Shun, Mohammad Azzumurrud, Cong Fai, Ju Jianyu, Guotin Chuanli, Baozhai Aiguo and Ji Biming regarding how to proceed to freeing the Chinese Empire from Zixin's hands.
Yueliang: Although our enemies outnumber us, I am not afraid of this difference in numbers because Islam teaches us that by the Islamic faith we can be victorious even if we are a small group and our enemies are a large group. Allah said in the Holy Koran: “How often a small group overcame a mighty host by Allah's Leave?" And Allah is with the patient. (249)” [THK: S 2: V 249].
Junjie: I agree with you, Yueliang. We should start the war to restore what Zixin has taken.
Taiyang: So do you have any plans about how the war should proceed?
Yueliang: If you remember, Zixin had his coup executed concurrently in one night across the five kingdoms and he succeeded in his attempt. I do not plan to restore the five kingdoms simultaneously in one night as Zixin already did. I plan to overthrow all the five kings in sequence and leave Zixin to the end where the final battle will occur. I want Zixin to experience the great pain, anguish and frustration seeing his kings and armies defeated one after another. This will intensify his regret and grief.
Mohammad: Nice plan. May Allah make your efforts successful.
Liling: So with which kingdom will you start?
Yueliang: I plan to restore the Star Kingdom first.
Mei: This means you need to overthrow King Shirong Jinhai first.
Yueliang: That is true.
Ji: Do you have the plan ready?
Yueliang: Yes. I hope Allah will make it successful and fruitful. Based on the reports of the Ministry of Intelligence, Shirong has one hobby he loves a lot which is hunting. He goes on a hunting journey outside his palace frequently every four to six months. I plan to hunt Shirong while he is hunting.
Baozhai: That is a very wise move. But it needs thorough planning so that he cannot anticipate our intentions.
Taiyang: True. We need to hide our moves as much as possible to make them successful.
Restoring the Star Kingdom
King Shirong Jinhai lives in the Flower City in the Mountain Province in the Star Kingdom. He frequently goes on hunting trips where he camps in the forests, plains, mountains and explores the beauty of nature and its attractions. Despite the recent political and economical changes of the Chinese Empire after the magic of Zixin was nullified and the enactment of the new austerity measures, Shirong could not skip his hunting journey and he plans to enjoy the spring time with his family and entourage. After taking all the necessary arrangements and precautions, Shirong set out for his hunting journey. He reached the campsite and started to enjoy the lovely weather. Shirong spent his time hunting birds and deer and his chefs would cook the delicious meals for him from his games.
When Shirong set out for camping, the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government knew about his journey and informed Junjie Song about this significant event. When Junjie informed Yueliang about this, Yueliang felt happy and said: “This is the golden opportunity for us that we must not waste. We must capture Shirong in this hunting journey.” Junjie said: “True. Our intelligence reports state that Shirong and his entourage and soldiers are around one thousand. How many soldiers should we have to attack them?” Yueliang said: “I think if we take well-trained 600 soldiers, we will be able to defeat them.” Yueliang selected 600 soldiers from his army and they travelled stealthily near the campsite of Shirong. Yueliang divided his troop into eight units each consisting of 75 soldiers. He placed one unit in each direction of the eight directions (north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest) so that the chance of Shirong fleeing from any one of these directions is minimized. Yueliang agreed with his soldiers that they will embark on the attack at dawn in the next day.
In the next day, Yueliang's soldiers started shooting the arrows at Shirong's soldiers benefiting from the element of surprise. They killed tens of Shirong's soldiers. Then, they started to attack with swords and spears. The battle was fierce and Yueliang and his friends were all attending the battle and fighting courageously. When Shirong realized the ambush that was waiting for him, he wanted to escape the battle and return safely to his palace in the Flower City. Shirong started escaping but the soldiers of Yueliang noticed him and informed Yueliang about his escape. Yueliang interrupted his battle and followed Shirong with his elite soldiers. Yueliang reached Shirong and surrounded him. A ferocious battle occurred between Yueliang's soldiers and Shirong's soldiers. The battle ended with the victory of Yueliang and the defeat of Shirong. Shirong was captured alive with his family and his soldiers. When Yueliang met Shirong, Yueliang said: “Finally, King Shirong Jinhai is a captive of Yueliang Jian.” Shirong said: “Yueliang, you are as cunning as a fox.” Yueliang said: “In war we have to use deceit at times to achieve victory. So you carried out the coup under the command of Zixin and killed so many innocents. Have you thought about this moment when you are captured by your enemy's hands?” Shirong said: “Little did I expect that you will meet one day. I have underestimated you.” Yueliang said: “Do not underestimate your enemy and do not overestimate your power. These are articles 86 and 87 of the Imperial Constitution of the Chinese Empire.”
After Shirong was captured, Yueliang ordered his soldiers to cease fighting and withdraw safely from the battlefield. Yueliang's soldiers withdrew to the mountains with a great spoil which is a king, his royal family and some of his soldiers. The result of this battle was the death of 300 of Shirong's soldiers and 100 of Yueliang's soldiers. There were many wounded soldiers from both sides as well. After Yueliang reached the safe place, he interrogated Shirong about the secrets of his kingdom and his relationship with Zixin and the other four kings. After Shirong gave all he had, Yueliang ordered Shirong to say his last words to his family because he is going to be executed. Shirong asked Yueliang to save and spare his family. Yueliang said: “I will save and spare your family because I am a Muslim and Islam forbids killing women and children.” Shirong said his last words to his family and then he was executed by an arrow shot in his chest. After the execution, Yueliang said: “Now I have avenged the thousands of innocents you killed by your bloody coup.”
Yueliang then freed the family of Shirong and ordered them to go back to the Flower City and spread the news about the assassination of Shirong. He told them to surrender the Star Kingdom to Yueliang and he will be waiting for their response in three days. When the royal family of Shirong returned to the palace of the Flower City and informed the ministers about what happened and Yueliang's request, they ministers refused to surrender to Yueliang and they informed him about their intention to let the war judge between both parties. Yueliang accepted the challenge of the ministers and he marched with his soldiers to the Flower City. A strong battle occurred at the gates of the city and Yueliang managed to penetrate the city with his soldiers. When Yueliang entered the Royal Palace, he ordered his soldiers to capture the ministers who challenged him and refused to surrender peacefully. After these ministers were captured, Yueliang interrogated them and then he executed them all for choosing war over peaceful surrender. Yueliang then proclaimed to the public that he has restored the Flower City from Zixin's hands and all the cities of the Star Kingdom must surrender to Yueliang. He threatened those who refuse to surrender with a ferocious war and a sorrowful end. Due to the drastic changes in the rules of the game, the majority of the cities in the Star Kingdom chose to surrender to Yueliang as the new Emperor of the Chinese Empire while a few cities refused to surrender and kept their allegiance to Zixin. Yueliang decided to deal with these refusing cities later because he has matters of higher priority to handle at the moment. Yueliang appointed a new temporary king and queen of the Star Kingdom (King Yuhang Yichen and Queen Lihua Suyin) who will manage the affairs of the kingdom until Yueliang restores all the cities of the Chinese Empire.
The news of the assassination of Shirong and the capture of the majority of the Star Kingdom and the winning battles of Yueliang have reached Zixin and the four other kings. They realized that Yueliang now has tangible power on the ground and his followers are ever increasing. He took the initiative to restore the Star Kingdom and he could do so by his bravery, intelligence and loyal soldiers. This added extra rage and pain to the heart of Zixin for losing his cousin Shirong and the Star Kingdom. Zixin realized that this is only the beginning of a series of fateful battles that are about to occur between the two parties.
Restoring the Cloud Kingdom
King Bingwen Jinhai lives in the Twilight City in the Sword Province in the Cloud Kingdom. He realized that they will not find rest and tranquility as long as Yueliang is alive and seeking revenge for his murdered Imperial Family. King Bingwen along with the other three kings have taken extra precautions to protect themselves since the assassination of King Shirong Jinhai. Zixin decided to gift his cousin, King Bingwen, some precious items that are exquisitely selected. He sent these gifts with a group of messengers that will travel to the Twilight City. Lijuan Shanyuan, the spy planted in the Imperial Palace who works for the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government, knew about these gifts so she wrote a message to her leaders in the Ministry of Intelligence. The Ministry of Intelligence informed Junjie and Junjie informed Yueliang about this news. Yueliang saw a unique opportunity in this news. He decided to intercept the messengers carrying the gifts to King Bingwen. Yueliang stationed an ambush for the messengers and the ambush succeeded. The five messengers were captured alive. Yueliang started to examine the gifts and he saw one fine garment sent to Bingwen. Yueliang decided to soak this garment in poison for three days and then dry it. After the garment was soaked in poison and dried, Yueliang packed the garment with the other gifts as it was initially placed. Yueliang then ordered five people from the Ministry of Intelligence to masquerade as the five messengers who were captured. Yueliang sent the gifts with these five messengers to Bingwen. He ordered them to hand Bingwen the gifts and flee when it is safe after they hear about the news of the poisoning of Bingwen. When the messengers arrived to Bingwen's palace, they greeted him and gave him the gifts from Zixin. Bingwen was happy to receive the gifts and he opened the gifts and started to look at them. He liked the poisoned garment and decided to wear it as soon as possible. In the next day, Bingwen wore the new poisoned garment for the entire day. By the end of the day, the symptoms of poison started to appear on Bingwen. He thought that some maids put poison in his food or drink so all the maids were brought to investigation. Nothing could be revealed about the source of the poison and Bingwen's health started to deteriorate significantly. After three days, Bingwen died from poison without revealing who was behind this poison. When the five messengers heard about the news of the death of Bingwen, they fled to Yueliang to inform him about this happy news. When Yueliang knew about this news, he thanked Allah for making his plan successful and for the safe return of the messengers.
Yueliang then sent a message to the royal family of Bingwen informing them that he assassinated Bingwen with poison and ordering them to surrender the Twilight City to Yueliang peacefully and if they refuse to do so, Yueliang will take the city by war as he did in the Flower City before. The royal family of Bingwen consulted with the ministers regarding what to do next. Because of the grief of the royal family of Bingwen after the death of their king, they agreed with the ministers to refuse to surrender to Yueliang and choose war instead. Yueliang accepted the challenge of the rulers of the Cloud Kingdom and he gathered his army and marched to the Twilight City. The two armies had a memorable battle that ended with the victory of Yueliang and his army despite being less in number than their enemy. After Yueliang captured the royal family of Bingwen and the ministers of the Cloud Kingdom, he ordered to execute those adult males who proposed war over peaceful surrender. After that, Yueliang sent messengers to all cities in the Cloud Kingdom asking them to surrender and bear true allegiance to him as the new emperor of the Chinese Empire. Similar to the Star Kingdom, the majority of cities in the Cloud Kingdom agreed to bear allegiance to Yueliang as the new emperor of the Chinese Empire while a few cities refused to do so. Yueliang decided to deal with these refusing cities later. Yueliang appointed King Dong Hai and Queen Lan He as the new king and queen of the Cloud Kingdom. Dong and Lan have fled during the coup from Bingwen and they hid in a safe place under the watchful eye of the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government. They now have restored their position that was usurped because of Zixin's coup.
The news about the assassination of Bingwen and the capture of the Twilight City and the majority of the cities in the Cloud Kingdom reached Zixin and he felt deep sorrow for this loss and for the remarkable progress of Yueliang. Zixin realized that circumstances now work in favor of Yueliang and no longer work in his favor. Zixin has to be extremely cautious in his steps and moves to avoid further loss against Yueliang.
Restoring the Ruby Kingdom
King Guang Quon lives in the Lightning City in the Breeze Province in the Ruby Kingdom. After the loss of the two kings of the Star and Cloud Kingdoms, Guang realized that the matter of Yueliang is truly serious and he represents a grave danger to their existence. The Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government informed Yueliang that the Lantern Festival is scheduled after three months in the Lightning City. Taiyang conjectured that King Guang might appear in the festival with his family to enjoy this special and awesome occasion. Therefore, Taiyang proposed to assassinate King Guang in the Lantern Festival in case he attends it in person. Yueliang and his friends liked the idea and had this conversation:
Yueliang: Your idea is nice, Taiyang. But it only works if we have clever assassins and if King Guang shows up in the festival.
Junjie: Let us plan assuming that King Guang will attend the festival in person. We should seize this opportunity because it might not be repeated in the future if we miss it.
Liling: I like your idea, Taiyang. But who will be the assassins?
Mohammad: They must be very skilled in archery. They should be able to shoot arrows with great precision from afar.
Cong: Yueliang, I volunteer to be the assassin in this grave task.
Yueliang: Thank you so much for your generosity, Cong. I appreciate your sacrifice and willingness to help. You are truly a competent knight. I think we need more than one person for this mission so that in case one person misses the target, the others hit.
Ju: Yueliang, I volunteer to accompany my husband, Cong, and be a second assassin.
Taiyang: Thank you so much, Ju. You are a truly brave warrior. You are very skilled in archery and we appreciate all that you will do to help us in our journey to restore the Chinese Empire from Zixin's hands.
Guotin: Yueliang, I also will go with Cong and Ju in this mission. Three are better than two.
Junjie: Thank you so much, Guotin. History will remember your courage and sacrifice for the sake of supporting our just cause.
Yueliang: My dear friends, my words cannot thank you enough for your noble stand in support of my quest to restore the usurped throne.
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The assassination mission of King Guang has been confirmed and approved and the three assassins set out for the Lightning City in preparation for the assassination. The Lantern Festival has started and all the beautiful lanterns adorn the Lightning City at night. Tonight is the first night in the Lantern Festival and King Guang decided to attend the festival with his royal family to enjoy the beauty and splendor of this astounding occasion. Guang moved to the festival with his formal procession and then he started to walk with his family from one shop to another to explore the charming lanterns in person. Cong, Ju and Guotin were hiding on the ceilings of certain buildings that are adjacent to the Lantern Festival's streets, awaiting the right time to shoot their arrows at Guang. Guang is about to pass near the building on which Ju is hiding so Ju prepared her arrow and bow and waited for Guang to become clearly visible and an easy target to her arrow. When Ju was confident that her arrow will reach the chest of Guang, she shot her arrow. Ju's arrow hit Guang's chest and he fell to the ground and started to bleed heavily. Ju, Cong and Guotin mingled with the agitated crowd and then fled when it was safe to do so. The best doctors were summoned to save Guang from his injury but his injury was fatal. Guang died and could not survive Ju's arrow. Ju, Cong and Guotin arrived to Yueliang and informed him about the shooting of Guang. Yueliang was happy and he sent spies to the Lightning City to bring the current news about the state of Guang. The Lightning City announced the death of King Guang and the mourning for ten days. The spies delivered this news to Yueliang and he became confident about the success of the assassination mission. Yueliang thanked Ju deeply for her exact shot that killed Guang. Ju expressed her happiness for her success and said to Yueliang that her success is the success of the entire team and that she is willing to serve Yueliang until her last breath.
After the death of Guang, Yueliang gathered his army and moved to the Lightning City. He sent a message to the royal family of Guang and the ministers of his government claiming that he assassinated Guang and they must surrender the Lightning City of him in three days. If they refuse to surrender, Yueliang will take the city by war as he already took the Flower and the Twilight cities before. After the message reached the royal family of Guang and they consulted with the ministers, they chose war against Yueliang. Yueliang was prepared for the war option and he invaded the Lightning City with an intelligent plan that minimized his loss and maximized the loss of his enemy. Yueliang defeated his enemy in the Lightning City and he also captured the members of the royal family of Guang and many ministers. After investigation, Yueliang determined that those adult males from the royal family and the ministers who chose war over surrender must be executed. This is because their decision caused many lives to be sacrificed.
After Yueliang conquered the Lightning City, he sent messengers to all the cities of the Ruby Kingdom asking them to surrender and bear true allegiance to him as the legitimate emperor of the Chinese Empire. The majority of cities refused to surrender to Yueliang and only a few chose to bear their allegiance to him. Yueliang deferred the treatment of refusing cities to a later time when his influence becomes greater and broader across the Chinese Empire. Yueliang appointed a temporary king and queen for the Ruby Kindgom from the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government (King Tuxuan Haoran and Queen Liqiu Mingxia) who will run the government until the nation is stable and united under Yueliang's reign.
Restoring the Pearl Kingdom
King Jinjing Quon lives in the Jade City in the Rain Province in the Pearl Kingdom. After the assassination of the three kings who are his relatives, he became extra cautious and heedful in anticipation for any bad scenario that Yueliang might prepare for him. One night, Taiyang had a conversation with Yueliang and the rest of her friends:
Taiyang: Yueliang, do you remember the technique you used to kill King Bingwen?
Yueliang: Of course, it was a poisonous garment that he wore. Why?
Taiyang: I am thinking about assassinating King Jinjing in a similar way. Why do not we intercept a message sent to Jinjing from Zixin and poison it? If Jinjing touches the message and read it for a short while, we guarantee that he will be poisoned.
Yueliang: It is a nice idea.
Mohammad: But the poison has to be strong enough to kill a person from a short touch.
Mei: True. The probability of the success of such a technique is large but we have to consider failure as well.
Junjie: We need Lijuan Shanyuan, our spy in the Imperial Palace, to inform us about any messages that Zixin will send to Jinjing so that we plot an ambush to intercept the messenger and send our own fake messenger with the poisonous message.
Taiyang: Yes, let us wait for this opportunity.
One day, Lijuan heard Zixin ordering one of his messengers to send a message for his cousin Jinjing so she reported this to the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government. Junjie was informed about this news so he stationed an ambush for the messenger before reaching the Pearl Kingdom. The ambush was successful and the messenger was captured with the message. Yueliang read the message and he ordered his soldiers to soak in in strong poison for three days and then dry it under the sun. After this procedure was completed successfully, Yueliang gave the message to one member from the Ministry of Intelligence to deliver it to King Jinjing. Yueliang's messenger carried out the task successfully and he handed the message to Jinjing. When Jinjing opened and touched the message with his fingers, the poison was transferred to his body effectively. The symptoms of the poison started to appear on Jinjing after a short while. Doctors were summoned to check the state of Jinjing and they anticipated that poison was transferred to his body. Again, they thought that poison was put in his food so they began thorough investigations with the chefs and the maids responsible for Jinjing's food. During this time, Yueliang's messenger fled from the royal palace and he went to meet Yueliang and tell him about the likely success of his plan. When Yueliang knew about the state of Jinjing, he thought that now is the perfect time to attack the Jade City. He sent a message to the family of King Jinjing telling them that Yueliang is behind the poisoning of Jinjing and they must surrender the Jade City to Yueliang in three days or Yueliang will take it by war. Jinjing died from poison before this message was delivered to his family. When the royal family of Jinjing received the message from Yueliang, they studied their options carefully. They recalled how the three royals families before them from the Star, the Cloud and the Ruby Kingdoms challenged Yueliang by war and then they were defeated and Yueliang executed the adult males from these families who chose war over peaceful surrender. Therefore, they wanted to shun a similar fate in case Yueliang is the victor again. After consulting the ministers of the Pearl Kingdom, the royal family of the Pearl Kingdom decided to surrender the Jade City to Yueliang peacefully without shedding any drop of blood.
Yueliang appreciated what the royal family and the ministers of the Pearl Kingdom did and captured the Jade City peacefully with his army. Yueliang promised to secure the lives of the royal family of Jinjing and the ministers as a reward for their peaceful surrender. After Yueliang captured the Jade City, he sent messages to all cities of the Pearl Kingdom ordering them to surrender peacefully to him. The majority of cities surrendered to Yueliang and bore true allegiance to him as the new emperor of the Chinese Empire while a few cities refused to do so. Yueliang deferred dealing with the refusing cities until a later time after he captures strongly all the five kingdoms. Yueliang appointed Qiang Sheng and Ya Peng as the new king and queen of the Pearl Kingdom. Qiang Sheng and Ya Peng were the king and queen of this kingdom before the coup in the reign of Emperor Wei Jian so Yueliang wanted them to restore their original positions before the coup.
Zixin was informed about he assassination of his cousin Jinjing and he felt deep sorrow for the loss of his last cousin. He realized that Yueliang and the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government were like embers hiding beneath ash that will glow suddenly and cause a big fire to occur. Now the options of Zixin are greatly narrowed and he has less control and influence over the five kingdoms.
Restoring the Crown Kingdom
Xiaosheng Deming lives in the Jasmine City in the Peace Province in the Crown Kingdom. His heart is filled with fear after Yueliang restored the four kingdoms. He realized the new equation that Yueliang is getting stronger and Zixin is getting weaker. Xiaosheng shares with Zixin the same fate and they must confront Yueliang together. One night, Yueliang had a conversation with his friends regarding how to get rid of Xiaosheng:
Yueliang: All the praises and thanks be to Allah, we could get rid of four kings out of five and now the remaining king is Xiaosheng. What plan do you think we should choose to assassinate him?
Junjie: I guess we should wait for him until he gets out of his palace and assassinate him. When he is inside his palace, he is under heavy guard and it is difficult to approach him as a result.
Ji: Yueliang, I guess if we can sneak into his palace and assassinate him, it would be a heroic achievement. After Xiaosheng witnessed the murder of the four kings before him, he must be extremely heedful and cautious. He knows that any slip or mistake can cost him his life.
Taiyang: I like your idea, Ji. What do you think, Yueliang?
Yueliang: I also like Ji's idea. But I know it is very challenging to sneak into the royal palace of Xiaosheng under the heavy guarding measures in place.
Ji: Yueliang, I volunteer to be your soldier who will attempt to assassinate Xiaosheng. If you authorize me for this mission, I will do my best to not let you down.
Yueliang: Thank you, Ji. You are a true hero. I am lucky to have you by my side.
Baozhai: Yueliang, let me accompany Ji in this mission. In the mission of assassinating King Guang, Ju, Cong and Guotin were chosen. This time, I and Ji must make our contribution.
Guotin: Yueliang, let me accompany Ji and Baozhai in this mission. I want to be with my wife, Baozhai wherever she goes.
Yueliang: Thank you all for your nobility and willingness to help me until the end. I know it is very risky for you to try to sneak into the royal palace of Xiaosheng but life has taught us that at times we must take remarkable risks to make noteworthy achievements. Ji, Baozhai and Guotin, you are chosen for the mission of assassinating King Xiaosheng in his royal palace. Our hearts are with you and we wish you a safe and successful endeavor. Remember that you safety and security are our top priority and in case you feel that your lives are endangered, withdraw safely as soon as possible.
Ji: Thank you, Yueliang, for your valuable trust and honorable choice of us. We will do our best to fulfill this mission as expected.
Baozhai: I cannot forget how Xiaosheng ordered his soldiers to kill our friend Jiang when he nullified the magic of Zixin in front of his eyes. We must avenge Jiang.
Guotin: We must coordinate well for this mission and leave no traces while we sneak into the Royal Palace.
Ji, Baozhai and Guotin set out for their new mission of assassinating Xiaosheng in his Royal Palace. The Royal Palace is huge in area and it is surrounded by high walls. The team monitored the walls of the palace from afar and when they saw a chance to climb one of the walls, they climbed it with ropes at night. On that night, Xiaosheng was staying up late on the balcony of his palace. Ji, Baozhai and Guotin split and started to approach Xiaosheng from different directions. Ji was the first one to see Xiaosheng on the balcony so he approched him quietly and furtively. When Ji was able to hunt Xiaosheng from a close distance, he threw a shuriken (star knife) on his neck. The shuriken was precise and it hit Xiaosheng in his neck and he started to bleed. Ji, Baozhai and Guotin fled directly and they climbed the wall of the palace again and exited while the soldiers were chasing them. Since they have superb running skills, they could escape safely and distract the soldiers following them. Xiaosheng kept bleeding until he died from his fatal injury. The mission ended with great success for Yueliang and now the five kings of the five kingdoms are all assassinated.
The news about the assassination of Xiaosheng reached Zixin and he was greatly depressed after this new shocking news. Zixin now has lost his hold on the five kingdoms and he is now in his weakest position since his inauguration as an emperor of the Chinese Empire. Yueliang has astonished and dazzled Zixin with his clever plans and how he was able to execute them with precision and intelligence. Zixin also realized that the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government has been truly a thorn in the flesh. They know a myriad of secrets about the nation and they are able to sting Zixin and his government painfully from time to time.
Ji, Baozhai and Guotin reached Yueliang and informed him about the successful completion of the mission and Yueliang hailed them for their superior courage, sacrifice and cleverness. Here is a snapshot of the conversation between Yueliang and his friends:
Yueliang: Thank Allah that you returned safe and victorious. I am extremely happy for your safe return.
Ji: Thank you, dear Yueliang. Allah made our mission easy and protected us from our enemies.
Guotin: It was such a nice coincidence that Xiaosheng was standing on the balcony of his palace at the right time. Ji seized the opportunity and shot him with his shuriken (star knife) on time.
Baozhai: Truly, Ji is a valorous warrior of our army. He deserves the full credit for the success of this mission.
Ji: Thank you dear team. We helped each other and my success is the success of our team as a whole.
Yueliang: I am truly proud of all of you and especially of you, Ji. Your training at the Merlin School did not go to waste and you fulfilled your potential to the fullest by carrying out intelligent, clever and swift military operations that tipped the scale of the battle in the favor of our army.
Taiyang: History will never forget all your grand achievements that has helped us greatly in our way towards restoring the throne from Zixin. A nation is as great and powerful as its leaders and heroes.
Mohammad: Zixin must be drowning in anger, anguish and frustration after what happened to the last king he has appointed.
Junjie: After we nullified the magic of Zixin and beat him at his own game, the rules of the game have changed in our favor drastically. Perhaps Zixin has never thought about such a moment when he became the emperor. To achieve victory is something but to maintain victory and avoid defeat is something else.
Liling: We are now one step far from overthrowing Zixin and restoring the five kingdoms completely. I guess our next step is capturing the Jasmine City.
Yueliang: True. We need to capture the Jasmine City and defeat Zixin is the last battle.
Taiyang: We cannot afford to lose the last battle. It is the paramount and most fateful battle we will ever face.
Mei: So Yueliang, what is your next plan?
Yueliang: We need to confront the army of Zixin around the Jasmine City before we can enter the Jasmine City. The clash with Zixin's army is inescapable.
Cong: The morale of our army is high while the morale of Zixin's army must be low. This is one point in our favor.
Ju: But Zixin's army outnumber our army. This is one point in their favor.
Guotin: The courage of the few can beat the effort of the many. We just need to be patient and put our trust in Allah. Allah will make us victorious even if we are less in number than our enemy.
Baozhai: I am very optimistic about the outcome of the battle and have a great hope that Allah will make us the victor. We just need to patient and work hard to achieve our goal.
Ji: Defeating Zixin in the Jasmine City represents the pinnacle of our victory. We will do our best to help Yueliang and Taiyang restore the throne from Zixin's hands.
Taiyang: Thank you dear all for your beautiful and encouraging words. All what we have achieved so far and will achieve in the future must be attributed to you because without your help and sacrifices, I and Yueliang would not be able to reach where we are today.
Junjie: Taiyang, Yueliang, we are your faithful soldiers and we will fight with you until the last breath. You are the legitimate leaders of our nation and we are willing to sacrifice our souls to protect you and help you reach your goals.
Yueliang: Thank you so much for your beautiful and kind words. As the Arabic wisdom says: “Man is few by himself and plenty by his brothers” (المرء قليل بنفسه كثير بإخوانه). My intention to restore the throne from Zixin's hands is not to be the emperor of the Chinese Empire but to rescue the Chinese people from the lies and injustice of Zixin and to judge with truth and justice.
Taiyang: I guess what is remaining is easier than what elapsed.
Mohammad: At all events, we must not underestimate Zixin and his power. He will put his ultimate power in this fateful battle and the more we are prepared, the higher the chances of our victory.
Liling: I see victory looming on the horizon. May Allah make our effort fruitful and successful.
Mei: I am very enthusiastic to take part in the last battle and free China from Zixin.
Junjie: Islam teaches us that we should prepare to the best of our ability and put our trust in Allah. I hope that Yueliang and Taiyang will make a wise plan for this paramount battle. I am always bewitched and dazzled by the wisdom and intelligence of Yueliang and Taiyang. I am sure that China will be in their safe hands once they restore the throne.
Taiyang: Thank you all for your compliments. I shall pray to Allah to protect you all during this battle. We do not know how long the battle will last or how hard it will be.
Yueliang: Our army is tired after the three battles we had to restore the three capitals of the three kingdoms. We must do our best to shorten the last battle and achieve victory as soon as possible because the longer the battle, the more exhausted our army will be and this will make the morale of our army lower.
Baozhai: We will fight until the last breath and we will never surrender. Zixin must pay the price of all the heinous crimes he committed against the Chinese nation.
Liling: Our victory cannot be complete unless we win this fateful battle. Let us put our maximum energy in this battle in high hopes of restoring the throne from Zixin.
Ji: I am glad to see your high morale and hear your encouraging words. I will put all my effort in this battle and I am sure everyone will do the same.
Mohammad: We cannot anticipate every move that Zixin will take but we can force him to certain moves based on the progress of this battle.
Taiyang: Our morale is high while Zixin's morale is low. This will shape the big picture of the last battle.
Yueliang: Let us hope for the best. May Allah guide us to the best tactics to win this battle.