Chapter 611: Great Plan

As a proper second-tier manor, Anxing Manor naturally possesses its own patch of shadow on Wangliang Mountain, and the entire manor is built within an independent space inside that shadow.

Ranked by sun, moon, and star, the size of Anxing Manor's territory ranks third among the second tier. While it cannot compare to Sunset Manor, it is still quite spacious.

Every shadow on Wangliang Mountain is practically a semi-independent world, isolated from the outside world. If one adds sufficient defensive measures, it can be said to be extremely safe; one can do whatever one wishes inside, which is far safer and more concealed than finding a mountain gully or cave outside to build a secret base.

Therefore, even the most cautious factions, after experiencing several years of calm and worry-free time, tend to let their guard down when conducting affairs on their own turf.

At this moment, Anxing Manor looks at first glance like a large military camp.

Previously, when Xinglu saw the Sunrise Camp, he had exclaimed: "Such a standard construction for a large camp must have been built by an expert." But if he were to see the camp at Anxing Manor, he would find that the Sunrise Camp was still a bit crude by comparison.

This is what one calls a true permanent garrison camp.

The barracks in the camp are not temporary tents, but orderly tiled houses, arranged in rows like a honeycomb. The camp has complete facilities, accessible roads, and the sand in the training ground is as fine as a river beach. The Central Army tent in the very center is of even more impressive scale.

It resembles a magnificent palace, with palace gates, a Hall, back quarters, and garden corridors, with green glazed tiles on the roof; it is at least of Wangfu level. Once an outsider arrives, they can tell at a glance that a great personage must live inside.

If the person who sees it is slightly well-read, they might even recognize this as the architectural style of the former Wei dynasty. It is no longer common outside nowadays.

As for whether one can go a step further and recognize that this scale is a "slightly presumptuous" Great Wei Wangfu, that depends on one's personal knowledge reserve.

At present, a young man with a heroic appearance sits in the Hall, wearing a black Wang robe, asking questions with a sullen face. On the other side of him, in a nearly parallel position, sits a gorgeously dressed beautiful woman, about forty years of age, with a dignified temperament, eyebrows like painted ink, and layers of magnificent dresses wrapping her up like the heart of a flower.

On both sides of him stand Sword Guests, including Xinglao and Xingzi, who participated in the Sunset Manor sword fighting; most of them have heads full of white hair.

"Yes, it was sent out yesterday morning. The side of the East Pillar of State has not yet replied. You only sent the letter a day ago, so I fear the reply has not yet had time to be conveyed," a Sword Guest replied. He also has a head of white hair, but upon closer inspection, black hair can be seen beneath his white hair. The layer of white hair on top is clearly a wig.

In fact, most of the Sword Guests present have visible traces of white and black hair spliced together upon close inspection, though most are hidden well and cannot be seen without careful observation. The attire of this speaking Sword Guest is very perfunctory; he clearly did not intend to pass himself off as something else.

"Hmph, I am not asking about the East. I am asking about the Western Pillar State, Hong Mengting. Why does that woman Hong Mengting not reply? She is so close; even if she cannot return in person, can she not even return a letter? It must be that she intentionally ignored my request, this narrow-minded woman..."

The woman beside him coughed lightly and said, "Your Highness, you must be more respectful toward a Pillar State."

The young man restrained his expression and said, "Yes, Mother."

The beautiful woman said, "I am the Northwest Pillar State."

The young man gave a dry laugh and said, "Yes, Pillar State."

If it were in the past, the position of Pillar State was far less noble than that of the Grand Princess Consort, especially since although the Pillar State was powerful, they were ultimately following the path of the Sword Guest, an unorthodox path outside the orthodoxy of Great Wei; how could they compare to the royal nobility?

But nowadays, conquering the world is naturally about strength first. The Sword Guest lineage represented by the Pillar State clearly outweighs the Spirit Official lineage represented by the ministers. Although the strong still respect the royal family, apart from the Emperor and the Crown Prince, other so-called kings have no prestige in front of them.

Although the young man found it inconvenient to speak ill, following the orders of the Grand Princess and Pillar State, his anger had not yet dissipated, and he said, "The Hong Pillar State must have received the letter; she just doesn't want to reply."

"Why won't she reply? Is it that I didn't explain the stakes clearly to her? Or does she not want to understand?"

"Does she not know that Wangliang Mountain is the most critical link in our Great Wei's strategy? It is far more important than those petty disturbances in the south! It is even more urgent than those schemes in Jingshi!"

"Meeting the Wangliang, collecting the destruction, bestowing grace upon this Sword Deity, and then signing a contract with the Wangliang, one would obtain the assistance of a Sword Immortal-level helper. Then returning the destruction to the Golden Crow and restraining it with an Array, one could obtain another Sword Immortal. With two great Sword Immortals assisting me, how could the bullshit National Teacher of the fake dynasty resist? Apart from that National Teacher, once the biggest obstacles are cleared, isn't the great cause within reach?"

This was a plan long since decided within the Turtle Bandits; he was merely repeating it. Although he spoke generously and heroically, the Sword Guests, even if they had the heart to flatter, could not say things like "Your Highness's brilliant plan will pacify the world."

"But the closer we get to the big event, the more inexplicable obstacles pop up. For instance, that faction inciting the sword slaves to rebel at the foot of the mountain is clearly harboring ulterior motives; they might even be our rivals. Moreover, their strength is extremely high; just from what our people have seen, there are three Sword Heroes, and they are all new faces."

"This is simply impossible. The Sword Heroes of the world are numbered, and the major factions are also numbered. Isn't a faction that pops up halfway like this a big problem? We studied the way their camp was set up; it is not the style of the Imperial Court or the various feudal lords, nor is it even the style of the current Suiyu Qianxian. It is a completely unfamiliar style. It is almost as if they popped out from under the ground."

"For such a mysterious faction to emerge, is it only to rebel with these lowly people? They must harbor a great scheme! Even if they are not entirely the same as us, it is inevitable that we will have conflicts. How can we not be on guard?"

"And that so-called Hair Manor. I originally thought it was just some small place that didn't know its own limits, but now it seems the water is very deep. They actually invited a Sword Hero who can go head-to-head with that Gui Rong and win. Gui Rong's strength is not bad even among our Pillar States. This manor is also coming with ill intent; they might be in league with the faction at the foot of the mountain, or they might not, but both are potential enemies."

"I can count so many issues just by casually listing them, not to mention those that are lurking and have not yet appeared; I don't know how many obstacles there will be in the end. How can the originally prepared manpower be enough? As the saying goes, prepare for the enemy with a wide margin. I asked for reinforcements, but people didn't come. If the cause fails because of this, will you take the responsibility? Hong Pillar State?"

He was originally narrating calmly, but suddenly roared, his gaze fixed on a wide-mouthed bottle placed in the middle of the Hall.

There were no flowers in the wide-mouthed bottle; instead, it was filled with half a bottle of water. At this moment, ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the water, and a cloud of mist floated up, in which the outline of a woman was vaguely visible.

Seeing her appear, the young man sneered; he was clearly prepared for this.

He heard her speak: "Your Highness guessed that I would come; it seems Your Highness understands me."

The young man snorted. He actually hadn't realized at first that the Northwest Pillar State had already transmitted a floating shadow into his bottle; it was his mother, the Northwest Pillar State, who had reminded him.

He heard Hong Mengting say slowly: "However, Your Highness understands me, but I do not understand Your Highness. Your Highness describes the situation as so critical, as if you wish I wouldn't send troops to rescue, and that these four years of layout would be ruined. Then I don't understand—what has Your Highness been doing these four years?"

Her first few sentences were still polite, but the last sentence was downright rude. The young man was furious and said, "What does the Hong Pillar State mean? Are you saying this King is a parasite?"

The blurred outline of the woman swayed and said, "I dare not. I am not accusing Your Highness, I just want to ask, could it be that the central government gave Your Highness so much time for construction, yet you still cannot have absolute certainty? It is not four days, not four months, but four years. In four years, you were given men when you asked for men, and money when you asked for money, and even a lot of the manpower and financial resources of my Western territory were drawn out. Is it just to let you piece together a barely usable lineup, so that you have to beg for help everywhere at the slightest sign of trouble? Shouldn't you have built a team with a large margin, sufficient to handle most emergencies? That is why I asked what you have been doing these four years—"

"Could it be that you went to study evil ways with some Long Life Society?"

The young man was originally getting angrier the more he listened and was about to erupt, but when he heard the last sentence, he suddenly choked.

A thought flashed through his mind: Does she already know?

Has she told anyone else?

His participation in the Long Life Society was indeed something he did privately, and he was the one who gave the nod for Xingzi and Xinglao to go and support them. This kind of thing is not big if you say it's not big, and not small if you say it's small. If the big event goes smoothly and the four years of accumulation succeed in one stroke, no one would even mention this, and people might even actively curry favor with him to share in the benefits because he obtained extra longevity. But if the cause fails, then all these miscellaneous things are ironclad evidence of his dereliction of duty.

The young man knew clearly in his heart: This woman is definitely not sending reinforcements because of personal grudges. It is because he has absorbed many of her resources while doing big things on Wangliang Mountain these past few years, causing her, a regional official, to be reduced to a supporting role, and thus she harbors resentment. This time, she is definitely making a mountain out of a molehill, using this excuse to find fault and turn the tables on him.

However, once it is brought to the table, he finds it hard to explain; he has been caught by her.

At this time, the Northwest Pillar State spoke: "Alright, Hong, my virtuous sister, let's not mention the past. Now that the big event is imminent, we both know the importance of this matter. If we truly ruin the big picture, we are certainly to blame, but the achievements of the Imperial Court have to do with everyone; do you not take it to heart? You are a magnanimous person and a person who considers the big picture. If you put aside your past grievances and send troops, this Pillar State will owe you a favor. My son will also owe you a favor."

Hong Mengting chuckled: "People who consider the big picture always end up suffering. You must have also asked Lord Qiu for help. He will definitely consider the big picture; after all, he is not a narrow-minded woman like me..."

Before the words had faded, suddenly, several sounds reached everyone's ears...

It was the sound of a pipa!

That pipa sound that could awe all things suddenly rang out.

Everyone was stunned, and for a moment, they lost their focus.

This moment of stunned silence was not long, but it was enough for some things to happen!

Suddenly, four shadows appeared in the room, varying in size, but all descended in an instant; they appeared before their eyes without any movement of entering the room. Two of them precisely faced the Princess Consort and her son. The other two swept across toward the Sword Guests on the side.

Outside the wall, a shadow extended, appearing to be the tongue of a toad, but it blurred and passed through the wall, pushing against the bottom of the wide-mouthed bottle—

"Snap!"

The wide-mouthed bottle carrying the image of a dignified Pillar State fell to the ground and shattered into pieces!