Chapter 1253

Shuo Fang Tai is of vital importance to North Ting; it is their last remaining point of contact with the Golden Sea, and moreover a key border fortress. Although the winter is bitterly cold and production is impossible for half a year, as long as there is a chance to retake it, they will never easily abandon it! Jiao Meng You, Feng Huai An!

The two civil officials stepped forward.

"Your subordinates are here!"

He Ning Yuan struck the table: "You two, continue to write, fabricate and disseminate apocryphal prophecies" and "children's rhymes".

The specific context is as follows — North Ting secretly stole the southern border's supreme treasure, intending to stir up conflict in Great Shun's southern territories, but Batu Meng Ke, while attending to major affairs, cherished his life, saw small gains and forgot righteousness, went back on his word, tore up the agreement, and allowed Lord Cang Hou to see through the scheme.

North Ting failed to stir up trouble, instead suffering condemnation from Great Shun, who massed troops beyond the passes; Shuo Fang Tai then rose first in arms, taking advantage to launch a sneak attack, but ultimately could not withstand Great Shun; the Eight Beasts and Twelve Wolves were severely wounded and reduced in number, the King of the Wannon River's life or death is unknown, countless North Ting people were displaced and froze to death in the wind and snow.

In between, you two will insert some key points, mainly concerning the news of the sick tiger Su He Ba Lu's defection and the Great Khan's temporary change of commanders, think more, pool ideas — "

"General." Jiao Meng You on the left bowed, "North Ting has long proclaimed that, in the eyes of North Ting people, the sick tiger is an outright hero; merely saying he defected would be hard to deal a heavy blow to military morale, so it would not hurt to slightly revise the story."

"Revise?" Feng Huai An on the right crossed his arms and glanced askance, "Jiao my lord, I can remind you, revising is not random fabrication, dramatizing is not nonsense. The Eight Beasts' sick tiger, Su He Ba Lu's defection, is already the best blow to North Ting morale."

He Ning Yuan raised his hand to stop Feng Huai An's accusation, lifted his hand, and gestured for Jiao Meng You to continue.

Jiao Meng You pondered briefly, prepared his draft: "Defection is indeed a thorough blow to morale, no doubt, but spreading it is hard to expand; given the sick tiger's record, in the end it would be only a few who believe, most who disbelieve, and few who waver. In my view, it would be better not to say he defected, but to say he retreated into seclusion!"

"Retreat into seclusion."

Feng Huai An was about to speak, but Jiao Meng You gave him no chance, firing off in rapid succession: "Not bad, stating plainly that the sick tiger, after battling the Dragon Elephant King and undergoing purification, then after battling the Huai King and gaining awakening, suffered two defeats, hero pitying hero, gradually awakening, seeing through the Great Khan's true face, not being a hero of the grasslands, disdaining to associate with him. Hence he closed himself off for three years, silently resisting.

This time stirring up conflict in Great Shun's southern territories is even more becoming the fuse of the rupture, abandoning North Ting and leaving; one cannot directly say he defected to our Great Shun, otherwise the Bear Beast would surely burn his boats and reveal the sick tiger's death news, then one should say it is the Great Khan's lack of benevolence forcing him into seclusion, wandering the world.

North Ting has no Purple Lightning Ship, and the Bear Beast, as a general, is not someone who can make snap decisions; his aides weigh things, report to the Great Khan, and before receiving a reply, they will inevitably cause greater influence before clarification!"

Feng Huai An remained silent.

The others' eyes lit up.

"Good!" He Ning Yuan happily slammed the table, "Just do as you say! Issue it together with the southern border's proclamation, spread it together; if this plan succeeds, delaying the sick tiger's death news by half a month counts as three great merits for you! Thereafter, every additional three days adds one more great merit!"

"Thank you, General." Jiao Meng You bowed.

"Wait, southern border proclamation?" Everyone exclaimed, looking at each other, "When did it arrive?"

"Naturally it was issued jointly by the Holy Emperor and the Nine Strongholds of the southern border."

"This — will the southern border tribal leaders agree?"

"Formerly, with the old tribal leader present, the southern border would certainly not agree, but now the southern border is a scattered sand, each fighting for themselves, only caring about immediate profit, heedless of heaven-flooding waters.

The Holy Emperor has already dispatched an envoy to go among the nine strongholds to negotiate, offering appropriate benefits, and already three strongholds have agreed to jointly issue the proclamation, condemning North Ting!"

"The Holy Emperor is wise and divine in martial prowess!"

"Our Great Shun waxes stronger day by day!"

The officers and soldiers were heartily convinced.

Three men make a tiger, many mouths melt gold, those who half-believe and half-doubt are many.

The Holy Emperor united with the southern border, a maneuver worthy of being called great!

The Commander-in-Chief of the Western Expedition, He Ning Yuan, together with the other generals, gathered around the sand table, discussing public opinion offensives, city construction, legion patrols — outside the tent, the lance-bearer cried, "Huai Wang!"

The king's carriage arrived, He Ning Yuan raised his hand: "The matter has been roughly discussed; today we stop here, proceed as agreed, the war is not yet finished, gentlemen, do not let your guard down.

57

"General, rest assured!"

The lance-bearer lifted the curtain.

The officers and soldiers filed out of the tent, one by one, to salute and greet the Huai King; Liang Qu nodded in response, entered the great tent: "The supreme military strategy is to attack plans, next to attack alliances, next to attack soldiers, and lowest to attack cities; General He, this is planning in the tent, winning victories thousands of miles away."

"I dare not accept such praise; the Huai King is indeed overpraised; all credit belongs to the Holy Emperor's achievements, the martial sages' achievements, having set the grand situation, only then do I have the opportunity to contribute my humble efforts; please, quickly take your seat."

In the course of speaking, He Ning Yuan rose, yielding the northern seat of the chief general, "Yuan Chu, quickly brew tea for the Huai King, use that can of Lion Peak Dragon Well I have treasured in my cabinet."

"The General is indeed courteous."

"Wherever it is, the Huai King serves the state and the people, it is only right; please sit quickly."

The martial sages yield to none.

Liang Qu took the seat of honor, looked down upon the miniature model of Shuo Fang Tai city before him, and drew a deep breath.

Earlier, I had chased the North Ting martial sages with Zhang Longxiang and a few others, from south to north of Shuo Fang Tai, sweeping through without a good look, without proper appreciation; now looking again at the fortress, I feel a hint of swallowing ten thousand miles.

Magnificent indeed.

Not daring to say outright that I came to ask for merits, Liang Qu gazed at the sand table, continuing on the previous topic: "General He, earlier when I was outside, I heard that even the southern border issued a proclamation, attacking from multiple angles; could we not let North Ting, like the southern border, also cause this Great Khan to step down?"

There is no place lacking ambitious men; having some frame others with excuses may indeed trip them up, but if it comes from Great Shun, people will surely take it as material for articles.

He Ning Yuan shook his head: "It would cause considerable trouble for the Great Khan, removing him — hope is slim."

"Slim?"

"I understand the Huai King's meaning, but North Ting is not the southern border; the southern border's nine strongholds were originally a loose sand, their unification time limited, foundation weak, base floating.

North Ting is different; the several major tribes divide and unite, always with one tribe taking the lead, dominating the Golden Court, and it has already been over a thousand years, held by the Golden family.

Two hundred to one hundred fifty years ago, North Ting once had a major rebellion, which was the most dangerous time for the Golden family, their vital energy greatly wounded."

"Oh?" Liang Qu pricked up his ears, "I had heard something before, but knew it only in detail."

"Not knowing in detail is quite normal; at that time, the Central Plains were likewise in great turmoil, Great Qian was dim and decadent, Great Shun followed the Mandate of Heaven, attending only to itself, naturally unable to record much about North Ting's situation; speaking of it, if not for North Ting's internal rebellion, after our Great Shun founded the state, it would not have gone so smoothly.

At that time, the southern border tribal leaders were in their prime, able to unite the nine strongholds, also seeing the opportunity in the Central Plains, relying on an uncorrupted three-inch tongue, persuading the southern border nine strongholds to jointly undertake great matters. Only when the southern border had unified well, its momentum like a rainbow marching north, had Tian Shun already taken the realm, and with the remnants of Great Qian in the Jianghuai marshes they fought a decisive battle, finally leaving only remnants of the defeated, who fled and became the Guimu Sect, relying on some unknown method to evade the martial sages and the sweeps.

The Huai King once contended with the Guimu Sect in Huaiyin Prefecture; in truth, these are merely the remnants left over from the past two or three hundred years, after various forces clashed and collided, after the turmoil.

"A mere remnant?" Liang Qu sighed, "This little remnant wandering in the Jianghuai marshes once nearly cost this king his life."

The gentry Zhao Hongyuan and the Guimu Sect conspired to obtain hides, breeding mountain ghosts, nurturing fetal pearl elixirs; his steward, in order to give the apparent handsome old master the essence of strong men, made the leprous-headed Zhang seize his boat and grain; if not for neighbor Chen Shu's one mouthful of baked cake — past events are truly vivid before the eyes.

"Hahaha, times and fate, who could have foreseen that the destroyer of the Guimu Sect would likewise be the Huai King you? Autumn wind sweeps fallen leaves, relying on the star plate, other martial sages on campaign, the Guimu Sect dissolved into nothing, the Huai King struck the serpent at seven inches, only to blame the Guimu Sect for doing too much injustice and thus self-destructing.

The old man often sighs, circumstances create heroes, I, Great Shun, have the Mandate of Heaven upon us."

Liang Qu's eyes showed thought.

He felt, this thing perhaps should be turned around, viewed dialectically.

It wasn't that Dayun rose up while Beiting was helpless; rather, after Beiting's internal turmoil, Dayun, which had lain dormant for a long time, saw an opportunity and only then decided to rise up.

Opportunities are fleeting; those who seize them will have all they need.

Of course, if one fails to seize it, lacks strength, and takes the initiative to attack, they will only end up with a broken head and bleeding.

He Ningyuan continued: "After experiencing Beiting's rebellion, the former great khan felt powerless, abdicated, and the new great khan, living in peace but mindful of danger, also strives for governance.

Therefore, it is not easily shaken; naturally, once shaken, it will not be like Nanjiang, where everyone sits down to choose another tusi, but will be a great war.

Liang Qu understood.

He took the tea brought by He Ningyuan's guards and asked about another matter.

"Does Beiting have any plans to gather changqi and produce weiguo?"

He Ningyuan was startled, shook his head: "In the past few decades, there has been no news of such a thing; if one must speak of it—Beiting, like us, has a type of core changqi called Jiuyou Bai Dao Qi, and there should be quite a lot of it.

"What changqi?" Liang Qu didn't catch it.

"Jiuyou Bai Dao Qi, the 'you' of banners, the 'dao' of great banners."

He Ningyuan dipped his finger in the tea and wrote the characters on the table.

"Jiuyou Bai Dao, qi penetrating the northern wind. When gathered, like a mountain; when scattered, like stars. Where the blade points, gold and stone are split open.

Jiuyou Bai was originally a major part of the ceremony to elect the great khan. Symbolizing the war banner and the khan's authority, later Beiting people attached this name to the changqi, with similar function; those who consume this changqi become like Beiting's cold wind, and without arduous drill, will naturally gather together.

Beiting's several blessed caverns, such as the flow of Golden Lake, all have dedicated fixed yields; altogether, at least ten or more strands per year. Huai Wang asks about this—"

"No matter, no matter, just asking casually, just asking casually."

Golden Lake—

Liang Qu quietly noted it down.

Changqi is truly a good thing; the more, the better.

In Nanjiang, one time yields over a hundred strands, directly promoting ten levels of favor.

Having experienced it once, one cannot forget that rocket-like rush.

Now it's only December, negotiations between the two sides are dragging on, waiting for public sentiment to settle; at the earliest, we can't return to our fief until spring opens. The Eastern Sea Grand Hunt is imminent, only four years left—we cannot waste time; to seize is to gain.

Having concerned himself with the bigger picture, having taken some news, feeling the atmosphere was about right, Liang Qu tapped the table with his index finger, speaking indirectly: "Where is the Dragon Elephant King? And the other feudal princes—are they all resting? Or are they injured? Have they reported to the imperial court?"

, He Ningyuan understood the implication from the tone: "The Dragon Elephant King is in closed-door cultivation, saying he has gained much.

This battle was hard on the feudal princes; upon return, most are healing and recuperating, and will likely wake up one after another in the coming ten days.

Huai Wang is a major contributor in this battle and should be the last to awaken. Huai Wang, rest assured—during your recuperation, I have already reported everything in full, requesting merit for Huai Wang."

"Oh?" The tea cup hid his expression; Liang Qu asked unintentionally: "Did I mention creating an opportunity for the Dragon Elephant King?"

"Said, in detail; the Dragon Elephant King said, without Huai Wang you sacrificing yourself, there would be no chance for him to cleave the Nanjiang River King."

"I gave the Dragon Elephant King and them a boost, sweeping the battlefield?"

"Huai Wang, rest assured—said, all said; the several feudal princes, great and small, will certainly not miss any merit."

", He Lao Jianguan, saying this, lacking awareness—where is there any merit? Everyone, regardless of rank, is merely serving Your Majesty." Liang Qu put down his tea cup, turned south, and bowed with clasped hands.

He Ningyuan's expression turned solemn: "The wise lord bestows grace, golden marten robe, dark blue tassel. Huai Wang, rest assured—this matter occurred a month ago; once all affairs are settled, the envoy's negotiations conclude—"

Constant thought brings echo.

A shout came from outside the tent.

"Huai Wang, great general, the envoy has arrived!"

Liang Qu and He Ningyuan exchanged a glance and spoke at the same time.

"Please come in quickly!"

"Ya ya, congratulations Huai Wang, congratulations Huai Wang, may you achieve even greater merit!"

Li Eunuch, dressed in cotton-white brocade, dusty and weary, with unmelted wind and snow still on his shoulders, presented the imperial edict while receiving a thick ten-thousand-tael banknote, smiling, completing the sacred handover.

—

"Li Physician, this is truly—"

Liang Qu received it with both hands.

The gold-threaded silk dazzled the eyes, the ivory roller warm and moist in the hand.

The bright jade seal was stamped over the purple-gold pattern.

Not an ordinary great merit.

Any peerless merit must be personally stamped and approved by the Holy Emperor, then issued!

Just woke up and already have good news!

Taking a deep breath, Liang Qu read through it fully, his eyes gleaming.

No need to say more, no need to chatter.

Marching south to fight, marching north to war.

Twenty-eight peerless merits!

Three hundred and sixty great merits!

Five Xuanhuang plaques!

Kicking to death two wolves, the E Ying who severely wounded the Wolf King also received a reward.

Ninety great merits, one Xuanhuang plaque, one Fenglei garment!

Truly deserved great reward!

The attending He Ningyuan silently gasped at the reward numbers.

The Nanjiang Gubone Great Reveal was slain by Liang Qu and Chong Wang together; Chong Wang created the opportunity, Liang Qu struck.

The Beiting Wolnan River King was slain by Liang Qu and Zhang Xiang together; Liang Qu created the opportunity, Zhang Xiang struck.

The situation was completely identical—only Liang Qu's role in it was swapped.

The total is twenty unparalleled merits, which certainly must be divided between the two sides.

Liang Qu's personal tally alone amounts to twelve or thirteen at most, yet he was directly granted twenty-eight to the Prince of Huai—more than double. Additionally, there are three hundred and sixty great merits, clearly the overflow reward from two consecutive slayings of the Yao Dragons that caused major shifts in the situation!

"His Majesty's bestowal upon the Prince of Huai cannot be called anything but generous," Eunuch Li praised.

"I only pray that the Holy Sovereign's grace is boundless!"

Liang Qu's heroic spirit soared to the clouds.

He obtained over a hundred strands of long qi seized from the southern borders, all now in his possession—this in itself is a reward.

Twenty-eight unparalleled merits are even more exaggerated.

Just how valuable are these twenty-eight?

Fifty-six portions of lower-grade elixirs beneficial against the Yao Dragons!

According to the division of Dao, Qi, and Technique, one portion of lower-grade Qi-attributed elixir can at least increase the root sea by fourfold, averaging fivefold; with good fortune and affinity, it can even reach six or sevenfold.

Perhaps ordinary people still have no concept of it.

For comparison, in the past, the Three Kings jointly threatened the Flood Dragon and obtained a total of how many? Twelve portions of elixirs, among which five were medium-grade and seven lower-grade.

Comparing again with the first time, in the absence of a Wu Sheng's battle, He Ningyuan led the legion, breached the Shuofang Terrace City, and the compensation obtained by the Great Shun was twenty-one portions of elixirs, among which three were upper-grade, five medium-grade, and thirteen lower-grade.

Of course, there is a significant qualitative difference between the upper, middle, and lower grades.

Roughly speaking, two to three lower-grade portions can be exchanged for one medium-grade, and five to six lower-grade portions for one upper-grade.

Conservatively calculated, the redemption of Shuofang Terrace and the compensation from the Flood Dragon together amount to fifty-five lower-grade elixir portions in total, still fewer than Liang Qu's reward this time—just a glimpse!

His emotions surged.

Eunuch Li timely handed over a thin booklet with gilded characters flying like dragons and dancing like phoenixes.

Unparalleled Merit Redemption Ledger!

Liang Qu hesitated not, his spiritual link pulsed, and Long Pingjiang, busy in the Yixing territory, arranged his subordinates, leapt into the pond, entered the 【Vortex Evasion Path】, and headed straight for the Western Waters, where the plump fish wandering and seeking opportunities for merit rushed to meet the White Dragon King.

"Splash splash splash."

Pages turned.

Unlike the Great Merit Redemption Booklet, nearly every kind of supreme elixir listed afterward clearly marks its quantity.

Supreme Elixirs, the pinnacle of elixirs in this world, with no higher grade, each extremely rare—exchanging two or three already yields none, hence the Unparalleled Merit Redemption Ledger is often updated; holding it in hand is utterly useless.

Fingers slid.

A quick glance, and several water-attribute qi types came into view.

"Trouble Eunuch Li, I want one of this, two of this and this—wait, this one I don't want, cross it out, give me one of this instead."

"This is priced by the tael."

"Then three taels, one tael per person, let the Lingting people see and think I can't afford it, huh—well, just take this much for now; too many points, and I can't eat it all at once, which would be wasteful."

Liang Qu closed the ledger and raised a clear breeze.

He Ningyuan's mouth twitched.

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