Chapter 1026: Human Hearts Are Not What They Used to Be

Tokugawa Ienari stood up abruptly, his face gloomy.

Listening to his subordinate's report, he was absolutely furious.

The killing has begun!

This is not to say killing in war! Rather, starting from yesterday, this Nanyang Army has been killing everyone they see, regardless of whether they are old, women, or children! All of a sudden, this menacing Nanyang Army, whose progress had just stalled a bit, has become much faster again, with the force of a crushing landslide.

"Damn it!"

"Damn Longyan people!"

"Damn it!"

Tokugawa Ienari began to panic.

These past few days, the weather in Jinghua has been quite hot.

Longyan has already entered summer, and the sun is very bright.

The funeral honor guard is still moving at a snail's pace.

"Son, before I left the house, your mother said I need to lose weight. Look at me, have I lost a lot?"

Liu Dahao wiped the sweat from his head while chuckling, looking with envy at the horse his son was riding. For a man like him, this day's journey was simply torture.

Liu Zheng could neither laugh nor cry: "Dad, since Mom gave the order, don't even think about my horse; just walk honestly. Besides, I wouldn't dare give it to you. The people from the Ministry of Rites are watching; if I dared to let you ride a horse in secret, wouldn't they punish me?"

Hearing this, Liu Dahao gave a dry laugh.

Following that, he looked worried again: "I don't know how your sister is doing. She must wait for your old man, don't go popping out early!"

Liu Zheng rolled his eyes.

However, he was also quite looking forward to whether his mother would give birth to a younger brother or sister for him. Having come to this world, this should be considered the closest family affection Liu Zheng has; how could he not look forward to it?

However, most of the time in life, one is not the master of one's own fate.

At this time, he and his father should have been by his mother's side, waiting for her to go into labor. Unfortunately, things are just so helpless; this grand funeral is directly related to the overall situation of Longyan.

"Young Master, we are almost at the Wild Boar Forest..."

Just at this moment, Jiang Xuan's voice suddenly sounded in Liu Zheng's ear.

"Oh?"

Liu Zheng chuckled.

Wild Boar Forest is a mountain forest a few dozen miles from Jinghua. In reality, it has nothing to do with wild boars; it is just because the terrain is complex, and it is also a landmark area where Jinghua officially leads into the mountainous region. At that time, wild beasts often appeared here, so children nearby were often lost, and passersby and merchants also often disappeared for no reason. People naturally thought this had a lot to do with wild boars, so as time went on, they called this place Wild Boar Forest.

Wild Boar Forest is not small.

The dense, towering trees also made the environment here complex. Because of the obstruction of various trees, people's lines of sight were blocked. Therefore, Wild Boar Forest was initially planned as the first place for the Track Carriage to pass through, a move that received support from many people.

Nowadays, the Track Carriage in this Wild Boar Forest has been built, and people can pass through this mountain forest safely and steadily.

However...

After all, this is the honor guard for the Crown Prince's grand funeral. Since ancient times, one has never heard of letting a coffin ride in a carriage, let alone with so many people and such a large formation; naturally, one has to walk through the Wild Boar Forest.

"Rest!"

The Ministry of Rites issued an order. It was now noon, and everyone rested on the spot. Soon, those in charge of the food began to distribute meals.

Liu Zheng naturally gathered with the Prince of Yong, the Prince of Wei, his father, and others again.

"Vice Minister Liu, you must be careful in a moment. I heard that this time, the Prince of Zhao has prepared the best of the best from their Youzhou!"

The Prince of Wei said indifferently, unable to hide his worried expression.

"Is this Prince of Zhao really going to make a move?"

Liu Dahao found it somewhat unbelievable.

This is the royal honor guard, the

Crown Prince's funeral honor guard!

The Prince of Yong smiled faintly: "Lord Liu, after all, it has been peaceful for a day. It would certainly be abnormal if these Feudatory Kings didn't stir up some trouble. Besides, who knows who is making the move? In my opinion, in a moment, the Prince of Zhao might even take the opportunity to talk to Vice Minister Liu to prove that these things were not done by him."

Several people nodded repeatedly.

Liu Zheng also gave a wry smile.

He felt this kind of thing was very strange at this moment; he clearly knew it was about to happen, but he couldn't change it. Because for him, it was actually better that it happened than not. During this day, the atmosphere of the team was truly too oppressive and too eerie. Everyone was thinking about power struggles, and every faction was plotting something. Therefore, people still needed an outlet at this time.

During the rest and mealtime.

It was obvious that the volume of conversation among these people had also become much lower.

An eerie atmosphere began to spread among the crowd.

Liu Zheng was responsible for the security work on the road. After casually dealing with some food, he began to continue directing the soldiers of the Duqi Duwei.

Sure enough.

Just as the Prince of Yong had expected.

At this time, the Prince of Zhao, Xie Sheng, stood up, laughed loudly, and walked toward Liu Zheng.

Swish, swish, swish.

Everyone's meaningful gazes also looked over.

"Vice Minister Liu, thank you for your hard work!"

Xie Sheng walked over and cupped his hands at Liu Zheng with a laugh.

Liu Zheng hurriedly returned the salute: "Liu Zheng has met the Prince of Zhao."

Xie Sheng sighed and enthusiastically took Liu Zheng's arm: "Vice Minister Liu, don't be so polite with Mandarin. After all, we are both part of the Northern Alliance Pact. Nowadays, Youzhou enjoys favorable weather, the country is prosperous and the people are at peace, and the hearts of the people are won; this is all thanks to Vice Minister Liu's help!"

Liu Zheng thought to himself, isn't this just like biting the hand that feeds you while still nursing?

However, he also knew that by now, those advanced policies of his had already been brought out one by one. As long as Longyan followed this path, becoming the world's number one power would naturally be no problem.

Killing the donkey the moment it leaves the millstone.

Burning bridges after crossing the river.

By comparison, whether he himself could continue to live was actually no longer important.

Most people held this same thought.

He watched the Duqi Duwei busying themselves and, feeling the hypocrisy coming from the Prince of Zhao, gave a chuckle: "The road to prosperity and strength for Longyan has only just begun; there is still a real distance to go before it is truly powerful."

He walked as he spoke.

The Prince of Zhao also accompanied him at his side, laughing heartily: "Vice Minister Liu is being a bit too modest. When the people have enough to eat and no one pockets what they find on the road, that is already the state of a strong nation. It is enough, it is enough."

Liu Zheng smiled: "Has the Prince of Zhao not understood the growing pains brought about by high-speed economic development?"

"Oh?"

Xie Sheng gave a faint smile: "What growing pains?"

Liu Zheng laughed dashingly and vaulted onto his horse: "The hearts of men are not what they used to be!"

Upon hearing these words, the Prince of Zhao's expression changed abruptly. Pop-ups are frequent recently, you can click to download to avoid pop-ups.