Chapter 523: 477 The Meeting

The gates of Zhaoyang Base opened three times a day, and every time, it was for someone of great importance.

On the morning of March 1st, Tang Zhao set out from the camp.

On the afternoon of March 1st, Tang Zhao returned to the camp to rest.

On the evening of March 1st, the Gaoyuan Marquis, the ruler of Yunzhou, quietly entered Zhaoyang Camp.

Seeing the Marquis had arrived, Tang Zhao hurriedly ushered her into a room that was inconspicuous yet extremely well-protected. Leaving her and Zhang Rong alone, he got straight to the point: "The reason I have again presumptuously invited the Marquis here is to ask Your Highness to meet with Jinwu Dianxia."

The words were startling; the Gaoyuan Marquis raised her eyebrows, forgetting the words she had originally intended to say.

Zhang Rong was also incredibly shocked, and only after a moment did he say: "Is it that Jinwu Dianxia from beneath the water?"

Tang Zhao said: "Yes. This trip down went quite smoothly."

He then reported everything in detail: how he went down, how he encountered the Golden Crow, saw the Fusang Tree, ran into the Turtle Bandit communication, and learned of the Golden Crow's past.

In truth, Tang Zhao had encountered almost no setbacks this time; the situation was largely in line with previous deductions, and he had not experienced any combat. It could not be called heart-pounding, but the amount of information was truly astonishing, enough that even the Gaoyuan Marquis needed a good while to digest it.

At the end, Tang Zhao said: "Dianxia has agreed to come to Yunzhou to meet you in person. Originally, Dianxia could have come up with me, but I feared that if seen by those with ulterior motives, it would leak secrets. It is better that as few people as possible know about this. It just so happens that the Array we separated can be reversed; it can teleport me over, and it can teleport it over, so I returned first to set the destination. You may simply meet with it alone, my Lord."

After calming her mind for a moment, the Gaoyuan Marquis nodded and said: "So that is how it is. The Turtle Bandits have already bullied their way to our very doorsteps, and we never even realized it? No wonder we could not catch their tails in Yunzhou; it turns out they were using Wangliang Mountain to exert force, applying pressure from both inside and out, intending to strike once and succeed, completely overturning Yunzhou."

Zhang Rong added: "Although they are exerting force at Wangliang Mountain, Turtle Bandits are still lurking in Yunzhou. Judging by their tone, they are clearly still constructing the Array, and they are determined to succeed, which shows they have not suffered any setbacks."

This situation was not much different from their previous assessment, but it had not improved either. They could not catch anyone before; now that they knew they were indeed taking action, could they catch them?

They could only continue to cast the net to catch fish, yet it seemed this casting of the net was about to become like scooping the moon from the bottom of the sea.

Tang Zhao said: "Jinwu Dianxia said it can help with the affairs of Yunzhou. The root system of the Fusang Tree is already connected to the land of Yunzhou and can sense everything on the ground. Previously, it did not know how the Turtle Bandits were acting, so it did not look closely. Now that it knows, if it intends to search, the Turtle Bandits will certainly have nowhere to hide."

This was also because the Turtle Bandits had not been able to get close to the Golden Crow, let alone know of the existence of the Fusang Tree. If they had known that the Golden Crow had always had the land of Yunzhou at its fingertips, they would never have been so brazen as to use words to provoke it. It goes to show that one should never be too complacent at any time, or else one will be caught by a flaw and lose all previous advantages in a counterattack.

The Gaoyuan Marquis praised: "As expected of Jinwu Dianxia, it has the demeanor of Dongjun Dianxia from back then."

The Golden Crow could help with the affairs of Yunzhou, while for the affairs of Wangliang Mountain, the Golden Crow needed Yunzhou's help, and Yunzhou was duty-bound. Moreover, before meeting with the Golden Crow, they needed to have a plan ready: how to go to Wangliang Mountain, how much effort they could contribute, and how many reinforcements to send—all had to be prepared properly to ensure that this Dianxia would be satisfied upon the first meeting.

The Gaoyuan Marquis mused: "Dianxia wants to go to Wangliang Mountain; will it go in the form of an avatar? Is it for a full operation, or just to observe?"

Tang Zhao said: "Primarily to observe, but if certain special conditions can be met, it can also take action on the spot. It did not specify exactly what conditions would allow for action."

The Gaoyuan Marquis mused: "To enter Wangliang Mountain, there are channels... but the channels in Yunzhou are all rather circuitous, and operating them takes time; it might not be in time..."

This was not a glorious matter; having channels to enter Wangliang Mountain meant that both sides had shady, unclear dealings. The Gaoyuan Marquis did not deliberately hide this, clearly feeling that Tang Zhao was also a trusted aide and would eventually come into contact with both the good and the bad, so there was no need to hide it.

Tang Zhao's heart sank slightly; he could only tell himself: never mind what happened in the past, there is an opportunity right now to kick Wangliang Mountain down, and when the time comes, let all the monsters and demons be reduced to ashes together.

Zhang Rong reminded: "Why not ask the Tongming Hall?"

Tang Zhao said in astonishment: "Tongming Hall... isn't that the government office set up specifically to deal with Wangliang? Aren't they the mortal enemies of Wangliang Mountain?"

Zhang Rong said meaningfully: "Yes, that is why they have the most contact with Wangliang Mountain, and thus have the most channels."

Tang Zhao was momentarily bewildered. Zhang Rong and the Gaoyuan Marquis exchanged a glance, both knowing that Tang Zhao was young and upright, with limited capacity to accept such things, and that it needed to be revealed bit by bit. Not going into further detail, Zhang Rong said: "I will handle it. It just so happens that the Tongming Hall has sent people to Yunzhou—four of them. One of them appeared voluntarily to attract attention, while the other three are hidden in the dark; in fact, they have long been monitored by our people. This time, it is perfect to take them all in for questioning. Let's see if we can squeeze out some opportunities. To act so rashly in Yunzhou, shouldn't they pay a price?"

The Gaoyuan Marquis said: "Good. Both the Jing'an Division and the Land Inspection Division have informants in Wangliang Mountain; they are also at your disposal, Sir."

Tang Zhao could not intervene in these matters; he had explained his side clearly, and everything else depended on the arrangements of the Gaoyuan Marquis and the staff in the residence.

The Gaoyuan Marquis and Zhang Rong discussed a few more things, and Tang Zhao took his leave. He had also experienced a busy day, so he went back, took a bath, and rested.

The next day, Zhang Rong went to busy himself with the Tongming Hall affair, while the Gaoyuan Marquis remained at Zhaoyang Camp and did not leave. Because to ensure nothing went wrong, only Zhaoyang Base was suitable for meeting the Golden Crow; this was also the reason Tang Zhao had invited the Gaoyuan Marquis to come to the base in person.

Xing Ji, who was originally going to set off for Lingzhou, was kept behind by the Gaoyuan Marquis to run errands. Now that manpower was short, he was the only one suitable to return to Yunzhou to pass orders and gather troops again. However, after finishing this task, he would still have to go to the Lingzhou border.

Hearing this, Tang Zhao guessed that he might be going to Lingzhou to establish a new government office. Once the matter of the Yunzhou Turtle Bandits was settled, the "great cause of suppressing bandits" could begin. He could not help but feel deep regret—he would not be able to follow Xing Ji to suppress the bandits.

Perhaps there would be no chance in the future either.

Just to mention one point, he seemed to have a higher rank than Xing Ji.

That is to say, if he wanted to cooperate with Xing Ji, it should be by establishing a new department where he would be the chief official and Xing Ji would be his deputy.

Although thinking about this was quite pleasant, it seemed there was no such opportunity.

The talent in Yunzhou could not be wasted like this either.

In fact, wiping out the large and small bandit infestations in Lingzhou was also Tang Zhao's wish. He felt very regretful that he could not go with Xing Ji to suppress the bandits and personally restore a peaceful world, but leveling Wangliang Mountain was also his long-cherished wish, and if he could participate personally, he would be even more high-spirited.

After a busy day, Zhang Rong returned to the camp and reported to the Gaoyuan Marquis. The Gaoyuan Marquis then summoned Tang Zhao to set the time for the meeting with the Golden Crow.

This meant it was settled. The passage to Wangliang Mountain should have been opened.

Tang Zhao then activated the Array he had set up in the dark room, and after receiving a response from the Golden Crow, he teleported the Golden Crow over.

When the Golden Crow appeared before the Gaoyuan Marquis in the guise of Ju Dongjun, even with the Gaoyuan Marquis's experience, she could not help but marvel: beneath the land of Yunzhou, there was actually such an unparalleled existence, and as the ruler of Yunzhou, she had not known it at all.

Tang Zhao introduced them to each other and then withdrew. For such high-level meetings, it was better to let the leaders meet alone; he did not participate, and not even Zhang Rong was included, so that both sides could directly exchange the most confidential intelligence.

He did not go far either. With no one else around, he stood guard at the door. After waiting for a while, the Gaoyuan Marquis called him in.

As soon as he entered, he saw Ju Jinwu and the Gaoyuan Marquis sitting opposite each other, both looking positive. The Gaoyuan Marquis said: "Tang Zhao, Dianxia wants you to go to Wangliang Mountain with it."

Tang Zhao was startled, then immediately said: "If Dianxia needs me, I am naturally duty-bound."

He had wanted to go to Wangliang Mountain all along, but such things were not better with more people; rather, one needed to blend in low-key. Although his cultivation was already impressive, he lacked experience in dealing with such matters and had not received training as an undercover agent. His ability to spy for intelligence might not compare to any trainee who graduated from a training camp with high marks, so if he was not needed, he would not have volunteered.

He did not expect the Golden Crow to take the initiative to ask him to go, which was even better.

The Golden Crow said: "Don't you have a Sword Intent? I carry one, and there is another Sword Intent in Wangliang Mountain. If we can gather all three Sword Intents, we can use the power of the Jinwu Sword to overturn Wangliang Mountain in one fell swoop."

Tang Zhao was very excited and said: "That is great. I will go! I hope everything goes smoothly."

The Gaoyuan Marquis also instructed: "I heard that Master Xue has separated an advanced Teleportation Array from the Teleportation Array, which can teleport large troops over long distances. Since you are a Talisman Sword Master, try to set up a Fu Array over there. When the time comes, we can guide the troops over in one go and blow up this hellish place from the inside."

Tang Zhao agreed again and asked: "Are just the two of us going?"

That would be a bit difficult to handle. To put it bluntly, with his experience and the Golden Crow's temper, the difficulty of sneaking into Wangliang Mountain without anyone knowing was very high; he feared that halfway through, it would directly turn into "breaking in."

The Golden Crow said: "I will not go first; I will let you and Zheng Yun go first."

Tang Zhao was stunned and said: "Zheng Yun?"

The Golden Crow said: "That kid is a bit strange. I tested him and found he actually has a special connection with me. I can descend upon him or swap positions with him at any time, which is very convenient. Let him go for me first, while I search for traces of the Array construction here in Yunzhou. When we reach Wangliang Mountain and need me, it will not be too late to swap."

Tang Zhao nodded; this was a good thing. Getting along with Zheng Yun was much easier than with the Golden Crow. Zheng Yun was much more flexible; although he was not a professional, he was indeed good material for undercover work—at least he could keep his cool.

The Gaoyuan Marquis added: "This time, we will still raise a team for you to lead. The team will be our own people; I will recommend some good ones, and you can also replace them if you have needs. We also have our own informants in Wangliang Mountain. I will have Gongsun Command provide their information to you. Once you are in the mountain, you will be the one to contact them, and how to mobilize them will also be up to you."

Tang Zhao said, "Yes, I must also ask the Marquis to provide me with a more experienced assistant."

Speaking of assistants, Tang Zhao thought of Wei Se. Wei Se was particularly suited for this kind of undercover reconnaissance work; his skill in disguise was useful everywhere, not to mention his loyalty and reliability. Should he bring him into this?

These matters all required careful consideration upon returning. Although time was tight, the preparations had to be thorough; it was certainly impossible to depart today or tomorrow, and Tang Zhao had plenty to do after returning.

Just as Tang Zhao was pondering whether to take his leave and make preparations, he heard the Gaoyuan Marquis say, "Your Highness, forgive my rudeness, but after this matter is concluded, do you intend to continue lurking underground?"