Chapter 330: What Is That

Liu Zheng was caught in a serious dilemma.

As of now.

With Liangzhou in his grasp, development was in full swing. According to Liu Zheng's estimates, the thorough reforms would be completed within two years. That is to say, two years from now, the entire Liangzhou would usher in rapid development and possess formidable military strength.

But likewise...

Just as it had been said before, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

Nowadays, Liangzhou had already begun to gradually replace the status of the Prince of Wei in the Longyan Dynasty; it was just that they had not yet declared themselves a kingdom. The Prince of Wei was no longer the number one Feudatory King of this Longyan Dynasty, and the Qingzhou Army was no longer the most powerful army in Longyan.

Under such circumstances.

Once Xie Tianyao died, Liangzhou would certainly become the target of public criticism.

Liu Zheng had to think of this point to deal with all kinds of sudden situations.

At this moment.

Liangzhou was gradually stabilizing; not only the Imperial Examination but also the recruitment of soldiers was still ongoing.

According to the laws of the Longyan Dynasty, a large province could have 300,000 troops. It was expected that recruitment would reach 300,000 within half a year. Then would come military training to truly form combat effectiveness.

What Liu Zheng worried about most was...

Before combat effectiveness could be formed, Xie Tianyao might kick the bucket. By that time, the Feudatory Kings and Prefectural Governors of the world would rise up to attack him together, and he would certainly find it difficult to resist.

In order to deal with this situation.

On one hand, Liu Zheng continued to develop Liangzhou's manufacturing and commerce, especially the monopoly on arms manufacturing, Refined Salt, and some hard currencies.

On the other hand, he vigorously promoted the circulation of Yinzhou Coin... Liu Zheng, who came from a later age, understood even better what kind of deterrent a financial war would cause to others. When Yinzhou Coin began to sweep across the entire Longyan, no one would be willing to let Liangzhou collapse, nor would they allow him, Liu Zheng, to collapse!

Of course.

For the time being.

It was still better to have Shu, the granary of the world, in his hands to make him feel more at ease.

Store grain widely, build high walls, and delay claiming the title of king.

Liu Zheng had refused to let his old man claim the title of king, and now the defenses of Liangzhou had even begun to be gradually replaced with reinforced Concrete. Next was the issue of this granary.

Seeing Liu Zheng so conflicted, Qingyang Shuo laughed and said, "Young Master need not worry too much; this is just a discussion on the general direction. Shuo actually believes that it is indeed necessary for Young Master to take a trip to Shu."

A flash of brilliance shone in his eyes: "The King of Shu is critically ill, which will surely lead to a struggle for the succession. Under such circumstances, there may well be an opportunity..."

Who would have thought that just as the words were spoken.

A person came scrambling in, in a great hurry.

Everyone was startled and looked over, their hearts skipping a beat—could something else have happened?

"Young Master..."

"Young Master... General Qin encountered an ambush on the Waterway of the Golden Ox Road, and the journey, the journey is obstructed!"

"What?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed.

Liu Zheng frowned; the journey was obstructed, but at least there was no mention of heavy losses.

It was just that...

He and Qingyang Shuo exchanged a glance.

Qingyang Shuo suddenly laughed: "Young Master, it seems there is someone in Shu pointing the way for us!"

Liu Zheng was also exceptionally excited to hear this.

"Sir, how many veteran soldiers are still available in Yinzhou?"

Qingyang Shuo smiled: "There are still 30,000, and 10,000 Gliders!"

"Good!"

Liu Zheng happily slapped his thigh.

Qingyang Shuo chuckled: "Young Master, stay calm. It would not be too late to decide after we clarify the intelligence from Shu."

Returning to Qin Zhangfeng's side.

The Golden Ox Road was the passage to Jian Ge. The Grand Canal opened up to this point, and logically speaking, the Liangzhou Army was an auxiliary force helping Shuzhou expel the Southern Barbarians; in terms of reason and sentiment, there should have been high-ranking officials from Shuzhou coming to welcome them.

Unexpectedly.

Not only had no ships come to welcome them after such a long time, but they had actually opened the sluice gates to release water on purpose?

Opening the sluice gates to release water would affect the draft of the Yinzhou ships, which would naturally affect their combat effectiveness.

Hearing this, a cold light flashed in Qin Zhangfeng's eyes, and he immediately gave the order: "Tell the captains of each ship to slow down the journey! Summon Cheng Kai here!"

"Yes!"

The ten Yinzhou ships began to slow down.

While waiting for Cheng Kai, Qin Zhangfeng looked into the distance; as far as his eyes could see, there were only towering mountains and ridges, lush and green, and it was impossible to see whether there was an ambush ahead.

At this time, advancing rashly would certainly be dangerous.

But if they did not advance, what else could they do?

Fortunately.

Qin Zhangfeng gave a cold smile; the Young Master seemed to have known long ago that the situation in Shu was complex, hence why he prepared these Gliders? Soon, Qin Zhangfeng's deputy, Cheng Kai, arrived.

As soon as these Gliders were developed, Qin Zhangfeng had Cheng Kai lead 10,000 veteran soldiers to practice using them day and night.

Through the training along this journey, they had almost completely mastered them.

Although the terrain of Shu was complex and the Ridge airflow was difficult to grasp, at this moment, they could only rely on the Gliders to scout whether there were ambushes ahead.

"Cheng Kai!"

"This subordinate is here!"

"Send five brothers to scout fifty miles ahead for any abnormalities! And while you're at it, take some Quelehuoduo along..."

"Yes!"

At Qin Zhangfeng's command, five veteran soldiers immediately strapped on their Gliders. The deck of the Yinzhou warship was wide and smooth, providing enough space for them to take off.

At this moment.

By the waterside, overgrown with thorns and lush greenery.

A group of burly men, their bodies smeared with mud, lay in ambush. These men had dark skin; though not tall, they were lean and powerful, with well-developed muscles and intense gazes.

They held various weapons: blades, spears, and Crossbows.

Everyone was staring fixedly at the movement on the water.

"My lord, why hasn't the Liangzhou Army arrived yet?"

They waited and waited.

Finally, someone could not help but ask.

"Shut your mouth!"

The leader, a man of great physical strength and murderous intent, with totems of different colors painted on his protruding temples—clearly a Barbarian who lived by drinking blood and eating raw meat—gave a cold laugh: "Even if they don't come, we wait! Haha, as long as this path is blocked, the rear will be safe and secure! Everyone, pull yourselves together!"

"Yes, my lord!"

If anyone else were here, they would surely be greatly shocked.

This Golden Ox Road was the most vital part of the Ancient Shu Road, yet Barbarians had actually appeared here. Behind such an incredible event, there must be many internal Bitter Remonstrances within Chuan Shu.

"As soon as the Liangzhou Army shows their heads, attack!"

"Remember, the priority is to sink the ships, killing is secondary!"

The group's spirits lifted.

"Yes!"

This time, they had opened the floodgates on the Waterway to specifically target the warships; these Barbarians had even prepared ropes and lamp oil, items capable of inflicting massive damage on the ship hulls.

Catching them off guard would surely yield miraculous results!

The burly man with the painted totems gave a cold laugh.

The Liangzhou Army, invincible under heaven?

No matter how invincible, can you contend against the sinister nature of the human heart?

"They're here!"

"My lord, the Yinzhou warship is thirty miles away!"

Just then, a subordinate reported.

"Good!"

"Get ready, everyone!"

Thirty miles, for a warship speeding on the water, would likely be reached in half an hour.

Who would have known that at this very moment.

Suddenly.

Five giant "birds" appeared in the sky above the ambushers... This gave the Barbarians quite a fright. They all looked up one after another.

What is that?

Because today the sky was clear and the sun was bright.

These five black dots, gradually growing larger, were particularly eye-catching.

"This..."

"My lord!"

"Is that, is that, is that a dragon?"

Many people exclaimed in shock.