Chapter 165: Who Wins, Who Loses

Clang, clang.

However, it was not just the Crown Prince who had come.

The Third Prince, Xie Ling, had also arrived!

In an instant, over a hundred thousand troops had rushed into Baiya City from different directions. At this moment, the commoners who were still reveling in the festivities finally realized what had happened in Baiya City tonight.

But this...

Did not affect their continued merrymaking in the slightest.

In any case, as long as there were horse farms, they would not lack for food and drink—Baiya had been like this for a long time, and they had long since become numb. It did not matter who was in charge; after all, they had been ruled by a bunch of official-bandits before, and hadn't they still lived quite comfortably?

Some people were watching the spectacle.

But most people remained expressionless.

Squad after squad of men charged into the Baiya Palace. At this time, one could see just how large this Baiya Palace truly was... with over a hundred thousand troops entering, it did not appear crowded at all.

Among them, the Crown Prince naturally brought the most troops; the forces from Chen Ping's Liangzhou Prefecture numbered a full one hundred thousand or so! In an instant, they surrounded Liu Zheng's thirty thousand men and the Prince of Wei's group.

The Crown Prince walked over with his head held high, a smug smile on his face: "Uncle Wei, to have such a wonderful show and not invite this Prince, this is truly..."

The Prince of Wei's expression was somber.

Upon seeing the Crown Prince, Zhang Chengjiang and Zhang Xiao hurriedly dismounted and saluted. They also felt a sense of relief in their hearts; even if the matter had been exposed, so what? Even if Liu Zheng had turned the tide single-handedly, so what?

This Wei Shao was the Prince of Wei's man, which was enough to pull the Prince of Wei down from his horse!

A Feudatory King, racking his brains and controlling this horse farm for years—what was his intent? If one said he had rebellious intentions, who could refute it?

Thus, the Crown Prince, Xie Fang, smiled as he looked at the Prince of Wei: "Uncle Wei, look at this matter... I was wondering why you ran all the way here from Qingzhou; so it turns out it's a family affair."

The Prince of Wei remained silent, offering only a cold laugh.

In the current Longyan, who did not plan for themselves?

It was just that the Baiya Army had suddenly encountered this disaster, and he had been forced to come; he had not expected to still be dragged into this endless struggle.

The Crown Prince, Xie Fang, then looked at Liu Zheng: "Tsk tsk, the Prefectural Governor Liu is indeed the Prefectural Governor Liu; with your own strength, you turned the tide. How should this Prince praise you?"

Liu Zheng gave a bitter smile and cupped his hands.

He knew that his appearance had truly become the variable that affected the Crown Prince's situation in fighting for the horse farm. Now that Yang Ke was dead, it would not be so easy for the Crown Prince to control the horse farm.

When all of this was peeled back like a cocoon and exposed before everyone, it would be very difficult to control the horse farm. That was why the Crown Prince could not help but jump out himself now.

Since he could no longer manipulate the horse farm from behind the scenes as the Prince of Wei had done before.

In the current situation, the horse farm had to return to the Baiya Prefectural Office!

It was no longer realistic for Wei Shao to continue managing it, and Yang Ke was also dead.

Thinking of it this way, since Zhang Chengjiang was his own man, hadn't he, the Crown Prince, won?

The Crown Prince's expression suddenly turned cold, and he barked: "The criminal Wei Shao, occupying the mountains as king, a leader of bandits, committing every evil, guilty of the most heinous crimes! You have forcibly occupied the horse farm of the Baiai Inspectorate for years; your heart is punishable! Seize him for me!"

"Yes!"

Chen Ping also laughed.

The Prince of Wei was furious: "Let's see who dares!"

Liu Zheng also furrowed his brows and straightened his back.

Today, Wei Shao could not be punished by the Crown Prince under any circumstances; this concerned not only the face of the Prince of Wei but also the future landscape of Baiya Prefecture.

And most crucially...

If Wei Shao were to be punished, wouldn't the One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Baiya Army all end up beheaded?

This was something Liu Zheng absolutely did not want to see!

In an instant.

The various factions stood in a standoff.

The Crown Prince, Xie Fang, raged: "Are you trying to defy orders? This Prince..."

At this time, his hundred thousand troops held the upper hand; who was there to fear?

Who would have thought that at this very moment.

"Oh my, oh my, Zheng, where are you! Your old man has missed you to death!"

Crack, crack!

No one had expected that yet another wave of troops would come pouring in like a dark tide. At this moment, it truly felt as if the vast Baiya Palace had been completely filled.

The Yinzhou Army!

Fifty thousand Yinzhou troops rushed in with the force of a collapsing mountain and an overturning sea. Liu Dahao rode in, his face full of anxiety, but when he saw Chen Ping, a look of triumph was clearly visible on his face. This chubby man, once the wealthiest merchant in Liangzhou, was wearing military attire today; he looked incongruous, yet he was extremely smug at this moment.

"Liu Dahao?"

Chen Ping had been following the Crown Prince and had the upper hand, but upon seeing the newcomer, his expression changed drastically.

"State Marquis Liu?"

"This..."

"The Yinzhou Army?"

The entire scene was in an uproar.

Liu Zheng and the others also exchanged surprised glances.

Liu Dahao had actually come?

This must have been arranged by Qingyang Shuo! Aside from him, there was no one else!

The thirty thousand Yinzhou troops Liu Zheng had brought were already incredibly formidable in combat; with another fifty thousand coming now? Eight thousand troops, enough to instantly crush all the forces present? —Including the hundred thousand troops brought by the Crown Prince and Chen Ping; how could those good-for-nothings be a match for the elite Yinzhou soldiers? If a battle broke out, with the Prince of Wei's three thousand armored soldiers assisting on the side, how could they possibly be a match?

The arrival of Liu Dahao's army instantly broke the balance.

"Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince, greetings to the Third Prince, greetings to the Prince of Wei..."

Liu Dahao greeted them with a grin before rushing toward Liu Zheng, wiping away tears: "Is my son alright? Who bullied you? Tell your old man! The sow at home is about to give birth, why haven't you returned yet, lingering in this Baiya for so long?"

Liu Zheng's face turned dark.

The Crown Prince's expression turned black in an instant.

Piglets again!

Are this father and son from Yinzhou making a fool out of him?

"Preposterous, simply preposterous..."

Yet he dared to be angry but dared not speak; while these people certainly dared not do anything to him, he truly could not do anything either when faced with these eighty thousand troops of Yinzhou.

"Son, who bullied you? Tell your father quickly!"

Liu Dahao was extremely anxious.

Liu Zheng smiled bitterly: "Who could bully me? It's just that when I first arrived at Baiya, I was assassinated; it was likely the work of the Baiya Inspector, Zhang Chengjiang."

Liu Dahao's eyes widened, his face full of indignation: "What? Zhang Chengjiang, you little rascal, you dare to plot against my Zheng?"

As he spoke, he jumped off his horse, horsewhip in hand, and was about to lash it across Zhang Chengjiang's face.

"Ah!"

"You absolutely must not!"

"Liu Prefecture Marquis!"

Everyone was terrified and rushed to hold Liu Dahao back.

Prince Wei's eyes, however, lit up; this act of Liu Dahao's seemed reckless but was actually full of great wisdom, and he chuckled: "His Highness the Crown Prince, this Zhang Chengjiang is suspected of plotting to murder the Prefect Liu, harming an official; his crimes are compounded. How shall this matter be resolved?"

Everyone who heard this was stunned.

The Crown Prince's expression changed slightly, and Chen Ping was also furious.

Yet regarding this matter, Zhang Chengjiang and Zhang Xiao had already admitted it in front of so many people just now; how could they possibly turn the tables?

In an instant.

Had Baiya really just become ownerless like this?

Wei Shao certainly could not continue to govern Baiya.

Yang Ke was already dead.

It seemed Zhang Chengjiang would also be dismissed from his post and investigated because of this.

In the future, who would manage Baiya?

Who would rule it?

Who would clean up this mess?

So all these deceptions, all these power struggles, and all these open and secret battles.

In the end, did Baiya actually end up without an owner?

Who won?

Who lost?

It seemed that no one won, and everyone lost.

Just at this moment.

"The Imperial Edict has arrived!"

Grand Eunuch Zhou arrived fashionably late.