Chapter 177

At Hanyang Pass, Xu Zhongxing and Su Donghe stood on the city tower, watching a massive flying ship slowly fly over their heads and enter the shattered domain.

Su Donghe suddenly felt a surge of emotion and said: "It's been three years, and this is the first flying ship to go outside the pass."

Xu Zhongxing narrowed his eyes and said: "It seems the imperial court is about to make a big move."

"They aren't really going to fight a battle over there, are they?" Su Donghe asked.

Xu Zhongxing shook his head: "Don't you know His Majesty's temperament by now? The bigger the commotion now, the more they actually don't want to fight. If they really wanted to fight, they would definitely send high-level cultivators over in secret to assassinate."

Su Donghe suddenly said: "Three years ago, we were beaten by the Shaman tribe all the way back inside the pass. Now the imperial court has finally re-established the prefecture. It's just a pity that the first one to develop it wasn't us."

Having said this, Su Donghe suddenly remembered Xu Zhongnian's family and immediately stopped speaking.

Xu Zhongxing smiled helplessly and said: "We have worked together for three years; don't you know my character? You are not from a noble family, which is both a bad thing and a good thing. Unlike me, there are many things I don't want to do but must do, and many things I want to do but cannot."

Su Donghe asked in a deep voice: "I have never quite understood, in your hearts, who is more important, the imperial court or the family."

Xu Zhongxing said: "The thoughts of each of us may differ, but in reality, they are all the same. The imperial court and the noble clans are inseparable; the imperial court manifests externally, like a person's body, while the noble clans support internally, like the skeleton."

Su Donghe listened silently and said nothing more.

After the flying ship in the air crossed Hanyang Pass, its speed slowed down. The ship's pilot was clearly starting to get nervous, constantly checking every key part of the ship.

In the lower cabin, rows of armored soldiers sat cross-legged, numbering at least a thousand. At this time, a cultivator walked over and said loudly: "We are about to enter the shattered domain. Everyone, grab the floor tightly to avoid injury!"

Beside every armored soldier on the floor was an iron ring. Each person immediately used the rope they carried with them to thread through the iron ring, securing themselves to the floor.

As the flying ship gradually penetrated deeper into the shattered domain, the shaking of the ship's hull became more and more severe. The sky was filled with dark clouds, and lightning flickered within the clouds.

The pilot's forehead was sweating. He ordered the crew to open the ship's protective formation to the maximum, then went to the upper cabin and knocked respectfully on the door.

The cabin door opened silently. The pilot did not dare to enter without permission and said at the doorway: "The shattered domain is treacherous. Our flying ship has already attracted lightning from beyond the heavens. At the critical moment, I fear I will have to ask you, Elder, to take action and protect the ship. In addition, there is insufficient manpower on the ship; if we want to activate the highest-level formation, we need twenty Dao Foundation cultivators."

The cabin was very dim and filled with mist. A cold voice came from deep within the mist: "Have General Zhang assign some officers to you. If you cannot hold on later, this official will take action himself."

The cabin door closed again. The pilot did not dare to linger and hurried to the lower level to find the officers.

In the sky, the leaden clouds became denser and lower. Lightning flickered incessantly within the clouds, becoming more and more frequent. Suddenly, a heaven-shaking thunderbolt, a pale green lightning, crossed the long sky and struck directly at the flying ship!

A bright light shield lit up around the flying ship, blocking the lightning outside. But the lightning's power was immense, splashing countless sparks like a falling star shower, and the light shield dimmed significantly.

With one strike failing, the thunder in the sky seemed to be enraged. Pale green lightning bolts fell one after another, striking the flying ship's shield and causing sparks to rain down.

At this moment, someone snorted heavily. Immediately, eight light discs appeared around the flying ship, each shooting out a golden light that blasted into the clouds in the sky, instantly scattering the leaden clouds and revealing a large hole a thousand zhang in diameter.

But the leaden clouds in the sky surged crazily, filling the hole in the blink of an eye. Then, amidst the continuous rumbling of thunder, a thick green lightning pillar several zhang wide fell, striking the flying ship!

The flying ship's light shield only resisted for one breath before it completely extinguished. Immediately, the cabin ignited with raging fire, and pieces of the outer armor fell off.

An angry shout rang out from the ship, and the eight light discs reappeared. This time, all the golden light pillars landed on the ink-green lightning. The two sides consumed each other, confronting each other for more than ten breaths, before the ink-green lightning pillar was exhausted, gradually thinning, and eventually disappearing.

The person on the ship said angrily: "This damn heaven and earth, sooner or later I will replace you..." He was halfway through his sentence when his voice suddenly went mute.

Ningxi Province, Anzhao County, Dingbian City.

Dingbian City is located in Anzhao County of the four counties of Ningxi; it is both the county seat and the provincial capital. But at this very moment, this provincial capital is still a blank slate, with only countless camps on the ruins.

Inside a temporarily erected wooden hall, Chen Dao and Yue Jinshan were looking at the sand table in front of them, where one cyan-green light spot was particularly obvious. To the west of the sand table, everything represented the Shaman tribe in ink-green.

Yue Jinshan pointed to three locations on the edge of the ink-green on the west side and said: "We must place border garrisons in these three places, with at least ten thousand border troops in each, to block the Shaman tribe's path of eastward expansion. Behind these three garrisons, we must also place a large camp with at least fifty thousand troops, preferably one hundred thousand, to provide support as the situation requires. Only then can we ensure the border is not lost. This large camp should be placed at..."

Yue Jinshan's hand hung in mid-air, hesitating to point down.

Chen Dao smiled slightly, reached out and pointed at the sand table, saying: "The best place is none other than here. What, Great General Yue, has your military strategy become rusty lately, to the point where you are not even as good as a scholar like me?"

The place Chen Dao pointed to was seven hundred li away from each of the three border garrisons, and the army could arrive in one day in an emergency. But the problem was that this place was only four hundred li away from the cyan light spot.

Yue Jinshan frowned and said nothing.

Chen Dao said: "General Yue, you and I will be partners for some time. This place is something His Majesty is determined to obtain; we cannot keep avoiding the topic."

Yue Jinshan snorted and said: "To be honest, although I hate the old thief Xuanyue, I still admire this little guy a bit. Even at the age when I was fearless of heaven and earth, I might not have dared to establish a boundary stone in this place. I cannot do this, and you, Chen Dao, cannot do it either. Now that someone else has done it, we come here to establish a prefecture and county; what is this? And how will history books write it?"

Chen Dao said: "History books will write nothing."

Yue Jinshan was stunned, not understanding what he meant.

Chen Dao said: "History books are also written by people; to be precise, they are written by us. As long as the Great Tang does not perish and Western Jin still exists, history books will only record that you and I established the prefecture and county and recovered the lost territory. As for who established the boundary stone first, there will not be a single word."

Yue Jinshan was even more surprised: "Can you be so reckless?" Chen Dao smiled and said: "How is this reckless? Sages have always edited the Spring and Autumn Annals; we are just imitating the ancient sages. Besides, it's just not being written into the history books. Do you know how many powerful ministers and sycophants in history were actually loyal and righteous people, but were written as treacherous ministers for one reason or another, leaving a bad name for ten thousand years? Compared to those people, our little matter is insignificant."

Yue Jinshan frowned and said: "What reason could turn loyalty into treachery? Could it be that they offended you history writers?"

"They didn't offend a few history writers; they offended a group of people. And among those people, history writers were included."

Chen Dao paused before saying: "Throughout history, even the Human Kings have feared the official historians. It is not surprising that a few powerful ministers who acted recklessly ended up with such an outcome."

Yue Jinshan's eyes widened upon hearing this, and a moment later he said: "If I were the Human King, I would behead all of you history writers!"

Chen Dao smiled and said: "There are millions of scholars in the world; can you kill them all?"

Yue Jinshan was speechless for a moment.

Seeing Yue Jinshan's face becoming increasingly ugly, Chen Dao laughed and said: "Although you and I are considered high-ranking officials, it sounds very good. But being stationed in such a godforsaken place, the so-called provincial capital is currently just a wooden house. So, leaving a name in history is still far away from us. Let's finish the task at hand first before worrying about that."

Yue Jinshan thought this was reasonable, so he looked at the sand table again, but no matter how he looked, that green light spot was in his field of vision, becoming more and more glaring.

"Lord Yue, the appointment list above seems to have some hidden mysteries." Chen Dao intended to remind him.

"I haven't had time to look closely at the civil official list yet. What, is there a problem?"

!.

Chen Dao reached out and pointed at the map: "Yuan Qingyan, the Prefect of Ningxi County, is upright, fiery in temperament, and has a strong hand. He never forms cliques for personal gain. The county seat is set in Quliu Town."

Then he pointed at the map again, this time directly at the edge of the cyan light: "County Magistrate Niu Jinbao, assigned to Yong'an County."

"Yong'an? Is there such a county?" Although Yue Jinshan did not pay attention to civil official appointments, terrain and topography were the basis for military operations, so he was very clear about all the cities and counties in Ningxi. However, in all previous geographical data, there was never any mention of a Yong'an County.

Chen Dao said: "Originally there was no Yong'an. Later, the realm recruited refugees, and the refugees gathered to form Yong'an City. When the imperial court learned of this news, they newly established Yong'an County and appointed a County Magistrate. County Magistrate Niu Jinbao was previously the personal guard of the Right Prime Minister. It is said that he once saved the Right Prime Minister's life, so he should have used this as a stepping stone to be sent out as a County Magistrate."

"What is this Niu Jinbao's temperament?" Yue Jinshan asked.

Chen Dao said meaningfully: "What kind of good temperament can a guard have?"

Yue Jinshan was thoughtful: "The Right Prime Minister put his life-saving benefactor there..."

Chen Dao did not answer, just letting Yue Jinshan ponder it himself.

At this moment, on the land of the shattered domain, a team was slowly moving west. The carriage window opened, and a head poked out from inside, asking: "How much longer until we reach Yong'an?"

The officer riding a horse beside the carriage replied: "Reporting to Lord Niu, it should be another five hundred li. We need to find a place to set up camp and rest tonight."

"Didn't you see any villages or anything on the road?"

"We did see two villages, but they were already abandoned, and there wasn't a single person inside."

"This place is truly haunted; there isn't a single person for hundreds of li! I heard there are many people in Yong'an. Once I arrive at my post, I must relax properly!"

The officer said: "Lord Niu, this doesn't seem to be in accordance with the law."

The man's eyes widened: "Bullshit law! I saved the life of the Right Prime Minister, and the King saw it all. What law can govern me?"

The officer did not dare to say more. The team continued to move forward, slowly moving across the lush green land.

Quliu Town.

The town was unusually quiet today, and the several large mansions of the Xu family all had their four gates tightly closed. The courtyard walls appeared empty, but in reality, there were many figures hidden between the battlements.

The once-bustling commercial street was now very deserted, and all the shops belonging to the Xu family were closed. The shops of other factions had originally opened, but sensing that the atmosphere was wrong, they closed one after another. However, the shopkeepers and assistants of several shops were peeking from behind the door panels, wanting to see what had happened.

At this time, the ground began to vibrate slightly. In the blink of an eye, the vibration was very obvious, and the bowls, plates, and teacups on the tables were clattering.

The road into the town was shrouded in mist, and something seemed to be approaching in the thick fog. Finally, a giant black horse trampled through the mist and appeared before the townspeople.

The knight on the horse wore a silver ghost mask, stood horizontally with his spear, and shouted: "The Heaven-Battling Gang is here! Everyone stay where you are; those who dare to move will die!"

However, many of the Quliu townspeople were bloodthirsty. Someone immediately spat and cursed: "What kind of thing is this! Playing god and ghost!"

The knight did not say much, just pointed his long spear at the man. The man suddenly screamed, as if held by an invisible giant hand, and in front of everyone, he constantly deformed and shrank, being pressed into a pool of cylindrical meat paste!

That man was also a Dao Foundation cultivator and was considered a person with some face in the town. He actually died so silently, and died so strangely, that the onlookers didn't even know how he died!

Behind the ghost-masked knight, one rider after another walked out of the fog, surrounding Quliu Town tightly.

(End of this chapter)