Chapter 304: Future

Zhao Guo, Royal Capital.

After a secret report arrived at the Royal Capital, it was divided into seven and sent to different places respectively.

One of the secret reports was sent directly into a magnificent mansion, passed through heavy checkpoints, and finally placed on a desk, to be picked up by a hand that was extremely well-maintained.

Sitting behind the desk was a man who looked somewhat aged, with a dignified appearance and an elegant and noble air. He read the secret report word by word, appearing extremely focused.

After reading the secret report, he pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Using thirty thousand infantry against ten thousand iron cavalry, it actually turned out to be the total annihilation of the Northern Territory iron cavalry. If it were me... no, I would only lead cavalry."

He put down the secret report, raised his voice, and said, "Someone, prepare the horses, I want to enter the palace to see the Father King!"

A moment later, he stood in the Royal Study of the Royal Palace.

The Zhao Wang, who was still in his prime, spread out a sand table, with some models representing infantry or cavalry placed around it. Standing on one side of the study were three princes and one princess, and on the other side were several generals.

At this time, a general frowned and said, "We have deduced it countless times, and we cannot produce such a battle record. Even if the soldiers hold repeating crossbows and are well-trained, once the cavalry approaches, there will definitely be panic and confusion. As long as there is a slight disorder and they are rushed into the formation by the cavalry, defeat is inevitable."

A prince with a short beard said, "If my Xiaoyun Guards were added to the infantry, it might be a battle. But I only trained five thousand Xiaoyun Guards."

Another youngest prince said, "Big brother, your Xiaoyun Guards have been training for three full years, and people have only established the realm for more than three months."

The Zhao Wang, who had been silent, said at this time, "It seems that Azure Void is not using ordinary methods. We can't guess anything by guessing here. It's best to go over and take a look. Perhaps it's those old bastards of the Tai Chu Palace playing tricks, secretly piling up some big killers over there. Chonghu, this matter is handed over to you."

A general in the room immediately said, "As you command."

The Zhao Wang looked at the somewhat messy sand table and said slowly, "Using evil arts is fine, and moving immortal artifacts is also fine, but under Lu Ming's nose, it is impossible to use too excessive means. So now Azure Void already has the combat power to annihilate ten thousand elite iron cavalry in a head-on confrontation; this is a fact. It just so happens that Anguo wrote a letter, she said a plan, and I think it's worth a try."

"King, what is the wonderful plan?" The generals and princes were all very curious.

Before she married far away to Western Jin, Li Ru Yi's title was Princess Anguo. Although her popularity had been growing in recent years, squeezing the Empress to the point of having no voice, to the point where Western Jin only knew Consort Yuan and didn't know there was an Empress, but in Zhao Guo, people who knew her back then were still accustomed to calling her Princess Anguo.

The Zhao Wang said, "Appoint Wei Yuan as the Ningxi Military Governor, allow him to open his own mansion, and appoint officials."

Everyone was shocked, but the more they thought about it, the more they felt the lingering charm was endless.

The First Prince said, "Lu Ming will definitely not be able to tolerate this happening, but what if he is really muddled and doesn't care?"

The Zhao Wang reached out and pressed virtually, the sand table changed, turning into a map of the Western Regions, then stretched out his finger and drew a line on it, connecting Zhao Guo and Azure Void, and then said, "Since he is the Military Governor of my Zhao Guo, of course, I have to connect this piece of land back. We will first go west, then north, and open a road from the Shaman tribe's territory. In this way, the Western Jin's exit to the west will all be in the hands of my Great Zhao!"

The Third Prince, who had been silent and had a dignified demeanor, said, "Big brother, Lu Ming is not muddled to that extent. But with our reward first, the one he gives cannot be too much lower. However, the Ningxi Prefecture has already been established, and if the reward is given too high, the officials below will be dissatisfied. We only need to send the reward decree to Wei Yuan before him, and then we can sit back and watch the internal chaos in Western Jin."

A general full of scholarly spirit said, "According to my speculation, perhaps the Crown Prince's faction has been suppressing Azure Void, also wanting to suppress the Tai Chu Palace, which led to the attack. It's just that they didn't expect it to be such a crushing defeat, and now they are riding a tiger and finding it hard to get off. Now, if they want to pull out Azure Void, I'm afraid they will have to raise an army of thirty thousand, and also completely fall out with the Tai Chu Palace, so I think it is no longer possible. Borrowing the Prince of Jin's reward, Princess Anguo might also be able to take advantage of the situation to prune the Crown Prince's wings, achieving multiple goals at once."

"Pass my decree, send an envoy to the Western Regions, and set off today!" The Zhao Wang made a decision.

Anzhao Commandery, Ningxi Prefecture City.

Chen Dao and Yue Jinshan sat opposite each other, handed a secret letter to him, and said, "The King is preparing to issue a decree to reduce your salary for three years, demote you by two ranks, and keep your original position for observation."

Yue Jinshan did not show any fluctuation in his expression and said, "I was arbitrary, confused for a moment, and moved troops without authorization; such a disposal is already an extra grace."

Chen Dao drank a cup of tea and said slowly, "Old Yue, I want to hear the truth, can Azure Void be broken?"

Yue Jinshan's eyes flashed with brilliance, and he said, "Their spear formation has major flaws and is difficult to turn. As long as the iron cavalry flanks from both sides, winning is not difficult. It's just that I was too arrogant that day, attacking head-on, which led to a crushing defeat. As long as you give me an army of two hundred thousand and raise all the Northern Territory elites under my command, Azure Void can be broken in a month."

Chen Dao nodded slowly and said, "It's no different from what I expected."

He stood up and paced back and forth, weighing his words, and said, "Originally, I thought Azure Void was just a minor ailment, but after this battle, I discovered that they have already become a heart-and-belly trouble for my Great Jin! If they are not removed now, there will be trouble in the future! But..."

Chen Dao raised his hand to stop Yue Jinshan and said, "I know you want to say that everyone is resisting the Shaman tribe together, and there is no need for mutual slaughter. But resisting the Shaman tribe is important, and whose name is used to resist is also important. Now that we are raising a tiger to cause trouble, twenty or thirty years later, the one resisting the Shaman tribe here might be the Wei Kingdom, or the Tai Chu Palace. Old Yue, we are after all officials of Western Jin!"

Yue Jinshan was speechless for a moment.

Chen Dao waved his hand forcefully and said, "You and I will work together one more time! I will go to lobby the high-ranking officials in the court and the gentlemen in the Hall of Political Affairs to get you enough money, food, and soldiers. Don't worry about the Tai Chu Palace side; the Four Sacred Academies and the Sword Palace can all take action to contain them. What you need to do is to pacify Azure Void, and it would be best to behead Wei Yuan. If this son is not removed, he will definitely be a heart-and-belly trouble for Great Jin!"

"This... is it a bit too much? Wei Yuan is now just a small Dao Foundation cultivator. Even if he can achieve the True Lord in the future, the sects and our countries have their own arrangements. Why go to this extent?"

Chen Dao sighed and said, "I have studied arithmetic and fortune all my life, and I have been restless these days, so I have been constantly calculating. Some time ago, the fortune of heaven and earth suddenly changed, as if some incredible treasure appeared in the world. I had a sudden impulse, so I calculated in many ways, although I didn't measure the traces of that supreme treasure, I inadvertently caught a glimpse of a little heavenly secret."

He paused and said word by word: "That Wei Yuan's fortune is black and bloody, conflicting with my Great Jin's national fortune; he is either a disaster star or a rebel! It's just that his fortune was heavily covered before, and it couldn't be calculated at all. Now that I think about it, when the Tai Chu Palace sent him west, it shouldn't have been an ordinary experience; it was truly malicious."

Yue Jinshan could only sigh. If Wei Yuan's fortune was truly like this, then he could not be kept, regardless of whether he did anything detrimental to Western Jin.

This Chen Dao had never spoken lightly. Since he said it so definitely, he must have ten percent certainty. Even if the Tai Chu Palace took action to cover up Wei Yuan's heavenly secret, Chen Dao still had a great chance to persuade the gentlemen and the Prince of Jin.

Just at this moment, an attendant came outside the study and said, "Master, a secret decree from the Royal Capital!"

!.

Chen Dao took the secret decree, opened it, and his face suddenly changed greatly! A moment later, he sighed long, his face showing bitterness, and handed the secret decree to Yue Jinshan.

This was a secret decree dictated by the Prince of Jin and drafted by the Hall of Political Affairs, which had the same effect as an official decree. The secret decree required Chen Dao to mobilize elite soldiers and fierce generals, disguised as horse bandits, to intercept the secret mission of Zhao Guo that was about to arrive in the Western Regions, and must not let that decree appointing Wei Yuan as the Ningxi Military Governor be delivered to Wei Yuan!

Yue Jinshan read the secret decree, instantly deduced various subsequent changes, and could only sigh.

At this time, Wei Yuan had already inspected the surroundings of Quliu Town and took the opportunity to turn around the edge of Anzhao Commandery. The garrison of Anzhao Commandery did not flee upon hearing the wind like Ningxi Commandery, but facing the hundreds of masked knights with the style of horse bandits, they also swallowed their anger and retreated three houses away.

Wei Yuan did not go to challenge the bottom line of Chen Dao and Yue Jinshan, tested the response of the Anzhao Commandery garrison, returned along the original road, passed through the empty Quliu Town again, and knocked on the Commandery Governor's government office door again.

This time the Commandery Governor was truly not there.

According to the gatekeeper, the Commandery Governor had gone out of the city to inspect the local customs and feelings a few days ago, without bringing any attendants, and had not returned yet.

Yuan Qingyan was a Dharma Form cultivator after all, and Wei Yuan could not catch him in the vast mountains and wilderness, so he passed the Commandery Governor's government office gate twice without entering. After going back and forth twice like this, Yuan Qingyan's reputation should be ruined.

After deterring a circle outside, Wei Yuan returned to the realm, exchanged for a batch of historical records, and then, comparing the map and sand table, began to check how human beings determined the ownership of territory after expanding their territory.

At this time, Tang still had great righteousness, being the co-lord of the world and the only Son of Heaven.

The land of the world, regardless of whether it was occupied by the human race, theoretically belonged to the Great Tang Son of Heaven, not only for the nine countries but also for the four great immortal sects.

Secondly, it was the nine countries expanding their territory. Whoever the realm stone belonged to, this territory belonged to whom. After the realm master served as a Commandery Governor for a hundred years, the realm would be transferred to various vassal states, and there were also very few examples of transferring to the Tang room, becoming a territory directly under the Great Tang.

It's just that at this time, the vassal states of the world were strong and the Son of Heaven was weak, and the territory directly under the Tang Son of Heaven ranked in the bottom three among the nine countries, barely not at the bottom.

Most of the newly added territories of the human race finally belonged to various vassal states. From here, one could see the separation and checks and balances between vassal states and sects. Controlling the secular and controlling the border was mainly the responsibility of each country, while the sects were responsible for cultivating high-level cultivators, and their own disciples relied on each country.

The last way out was the mountain gates of various sects, which were territories directly under the sects, truly extraterritorial lands, not under the nine countries, only nominally serving the Tang Son of Heaven as the master.

For example, the Tai Chu Palace had three mountain gates, and the Northern Shanmen located in the north of Yunzhou and Ganzhou was the smallest, but it also had a radius of more than six thousand li. Among the immortal sects, although the Great Bao Hua Pure Land only had one mountain gate, the Bao Hua Pure Land had a radius of more than ten thousand li, almost called an earthly Buddhist kingdom, and no royal decree could pass through the Pure Land.

At this time, Wei Yuan also had to start thinking about the future of Azure Void, and which path he would take in the future.

(End of this chapter) ===== CHAPTER 305 =====