The Breeze of Dusk with the Scent of Musk

Chapter 28: The Outbreak of War

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.