Chapter 1373

"Pisha, unlikely; among the Allied Forces, maybe one could choose. But do they have the energy to do such a thing now?" Yuwen Xu really counted on his fingers, mentioning seven or eight forces in one breath, and then said, "And the Luodian people, easily." He Lingchuan just sipped his wine on the side.

"That's all?" Jing Yuanxun said casually, "Did you miss one?"

"Which one?"

Jing Yuanxun pointed at everyone, then pointed at himself, smiling without a word.

The Yao people were puzzled at first, but then they reacted: there was also the Yao Nation!

How could they miss this regional hegemon? The military power of the Yao Nation was second to none in the central part of the Glittering Gold Plain; wouldn't it be easy to find a few dozen elite soldiers to wear armor and masks? Besides, how many secrets were there within the Yao Nation that they didn't know about? Suddenly producing a Black-Armored Army, was it strange?

Once they were eating the melon and it landed on their own heads, everyone felt a bit subtle.

He Lingchuan gave a light cough, coming out at the right time to resolve the situation: "Not just these few, there are more."

He gave them a step, and everyone was sensible, hurriedly asking: "Who else?"

"The Mou Nation and the Ya Nation are not far from the Glittering Gold Plain, and they are also full of martial virtue; sending such a team to come and go freely doesn't seem to be a strain either."

Everyone looked at each other, and Fan Shuang clapped his hands: "Brother He's words have awakened the dreamer! We only kept our eyes on the Glittering Gold Plain; we were narrow-minded, narrow-minded!"

Exactly, why must this black-armored cavalry be a surrounding force? Why couldn't it be a force from outside the Glittering Gold Plain? He Lingchuan added: "Outsiders look at the Glittering Gold Plain and think it is poor and chaotic; but everyone here knows that the Glittering Gold Plain is actually full of vitality and opportunities."

These words touched the hearts of the Yao people; after all, they were also people of the Glittering Gold Plain.

Gu Xuan nodded repeatedly: "Indeed. As far as I know, the Mou Nation has been making constant moves on the Glittering Gold Plain recently, such as supporting a new small country in the west. The new monarch is completely obedient to it."

Everyone also said: "Yes, the Ya Nation borders the Glittering Gold Plain, and we can often see Ya Nation people."

"If we talk about powerful nations outside, there is even—" He Lingchuan stopped halfway and swallowed his words back, "Nothing, nothing."

Fan Shuang represented everyone's dissatisfaction: "Brother He, this is not authentic; you are whetting our appetites!"

"I thought wrong." He Lingchuan waved his hands repeatedly, "I was just thinking blindly, talking blindly; don't take it seriously! Drink, come, drink."

He raised his cup to toast, and everyone had no choice but to drink a cup.

Jing Yuanxun put down his cup and said: "Brother He originally wanted to say Beijia?"

"I did not." He Lingchuan denied three times, "I didn't say anything; everyone, bear witness for me."

Everyone chuckled, but the smiles were not very sincere.

Yes, there was also Beijia.

Perhaps that Black-Armored Army was Beijia's troops! Yuwen Xu picked up a piece of dried abalone and chewed it slowly: "This black-armored cavalry has appeared for less than two months; the timing is indeed a bit coincidental."

Jing Yuanxun nodded: "Yes, it didn't appear early, it didn't appear late."

Fan Shuang asked curiously: "What kind of riddle are you playing?"

He Lingchuan knew they were associating it with Qingyang.

He didn't mention Qingyang anywhere, but his words and tone pointed directly at Qingyang.

In the eyes of these Yao people, Qingyang had been the Regent for less than a year; if the black-armored cavalry was really sent out by Beijia, their actions on the Glittering Gold Plain were most likely directed by Qingyang.

Gu Xuan also nodded: "No wonder this Black-Armored Army acts so willfully, without any discernible purpose. Great nations act with a comprehensive layout; perhaps this is just a small part of it. We don't know the whole picture, so we can't see the reason."

Everyone felt a slight tremor in their hearts upon hearing this.

Beijia already had the Yao Nation as a close ally on the Glittering Gold Plain, yet they still sent out the Black-Armored Army to act in secret; what kind of plan did they have? He Lingchuan gave a light cough: "Everyone, this is an unfounded accusation. We don't have any evidence, so it's not good to speculate recklessly."

"Yes, yes." Everyone echoed, "We are just guessing blindly. Aren't the wild words at a drinking party all just chasing shadows?"

Fan Shuang was bewildered: "What on earth are you talking about?"

Gu Xuan changed the subject: "As it stands now, what do these Black-Armored troops intend to do? The people they killed have almost nothing to do with each other."

Yuwen Xu spat out a chicken bone: "Those commoners don't care what this army wants to do; they only know how to cheer and jump for joy."

"To judge their purpose, I'm afraid we have to see who benefits from it." Jing Yuanxun pondered, "The time is still short; let's wait and see. Sooner or later, they will show their fox tail."

"By hitting one head here and killing one person there, could it be just a means to confuse others?" He Lingchuan also sipped his wine, enthusiastically participating in the discussion, "Using so many lives to cover up the target the Black-Armored Army really wants to kill? I have seen this method before when I was handling cases."

The Black-Armored Army operated under the name of punishing the wicked and settling the good; they must have a motive. Everyone present knew this.

But He Lingchuan also knew that they could not understand the motivation behind the Black-Armored Army's actions at all.

Judging from the motivation was already a mistake; later, they would only be wrong again and again, missing the mark by a thousand miles.

Upon hearing this, everyone thought carefully: "Hmm—that makes sense!"

It wasn't until the moon was in the middle of the sky that this drinking party finally broke up.

He Lingchuan settled everyone in the guest rooms of the Bamboo Hidden Tavern and returned to the Yangshan Society clubhouse with a group of guards.

He first took mint salt water to rinse away the smell of alcohol from his mouth, and the Soul-Seizing Mirror asked him: "Hey, have you decided to go to the Yao Nation for the birthday celebration?"

"Yes." He Lingchuan was also calculating, "The gift must be prepared more delicately."

"Are you really going? What if Qingyang is thinking about you?" The mirror pursued, "Don't follow in the footsteps of Situ Yu and get assassinated too."

"Wanting my life is not that easy." He Lingchuan smiled, "Why do you think the Yao King insisted that I go?"

"He likes you?"

"He has never met me; why must he invite me? As a small foreign merchant who just arrived like me, how could the dignified Yao King take me seriously?" He Lingchuan shrugged, "It's nothing more than because I have ties with Qingyang; and it's nothing more than because he thinks the Frost Leaf National Master is still my backing."

This assumption was natural. The Yao King could not possibly write a letter to Frost Leaf to verify it.

"He not only sent Fan Shuang to invite me, but also specifically sent so many Yao Nation nobles to speak ill of Qingyang in front of me; he just wants me to know that the Yao Nation has suffered under Qingyang for a long time, and that the Yao Nation, like Frost Leaf National Master, does not like Qingyang!" Otherwise, even if these Yao Nation nobles left their homeland, would they dare to criticize the Great Regent so recklessly? This was a major taboo in officialdom, and they were eating the public's rice.

Unless, this was the intention from above. "Even if the small countries around Beijia are extremely unhappy with Beijia, they would never dare to express it in such words. The Yao Nation's way of doing things is indeed more reckless."

"What does he want you to do?"

"I'll only know that after I go."

(End of chapter)