Chapter 383: One Mountain Cannot Accommodate Two Tigers

Upon hearing this.

The expressions of Xie Ling and Zhu Zhen changed instantly.

But neither of them dared to speak again.

The Emperor had already set the tone, so what more could be said? Moreover... the reason they gave—that breaking a promise was wrong—was inherently quite weak and rather laughable.

The Southern Barbarians had a total army of three hundred thousand...

All of whom were completely annihilated by Prefect Liu.

And you come along saying it was wrong?

What was wrong about it?

When dealing with an enemy, what is there that is wrong?

If you win, it is right! Not letting Longyan suffer humiliation is what is right!

"Reward, hahahaha, reward! My heart is greatly comforted!"

Xie Tianyao laughed heartily and waved his hand: "Lao Zhou!"

Grand Eunuch Zhou bowed to the side: "This old servant is here."

"It seems I must have your old bones make another trip to Shuzhou."

Grand Eunuch Zhou let out an 'aigoo' and knelt on the ground: "I shall humbly obey the imperial decree!"

Xie Tianyao smiled coldly and looked around the room: "Prefect Liu expelled the Southern Barbarians, a merit to the state! Effective immediately, he is promoted to Hanlin Academy Shidu Xueshi! But because of the broken promise, his offense shall not be questioned, and he shall continue to receive the salary of a Prefect!"

Everyone knelt and shouted "Long live" in unison.

The burning of Jiangzhou.

Another great fire.

Two consecutive great fires wiped out thirty thousand Southern Barbarian soldiers, yet looking at the side of Shuzhou and the Liangzhou Army, the losses were less than twenty thousand men!

In an instant.

All the scholars of Longyan shut their mouths.

Those who had previously been attacking with pen and paper were all embarrassed.

How could they still criticize?

Was this a traitor?

Or a great hero?

Except for a few who still would not give up, learning from the reasoning of Xie Ling and Zhu Zhen, they wrote some inconsequential articles about the breaking of the promise.

There were also those who were naturally indignant that this fire had burned down an ancient city of a thousand years, leaving the three hundred thousand people of Jiangzhou homeless.

However...

These things were not worth mentioning at all before the annihilation of the thirty thousand Southern Barbarian troops.

The entire Longyan was, in fact, once again shocked by this latest move of Prefect Liu.

The Hanlin Academy had already begun to study the Art of War used in this battle in Shu!

Supernatural!

Ghostly and unpredictable!

This was the evaluation everyone gave to this Prefect Liu's Art of War.

Too strong!

Since ancient times, who had ever seen warfare like this? If the fires at Huoshan and Mang Mountain were enough to amaze the world, then this burning of Jiangzhou was simply a stroke of divine inspiration.

Using Jia Shu to bear the infamy, and then setting fire to Jiangzhou.

Is this something an ordinary person could achieve?

Unmatched!

Unmatched!

Shu Wang Mansion.

Finally, there was no one left causing trouble.

And soon, people came in high spirits, one after another, to apologize to Prefect Liu. When Liu Zheng heard this news, he was even more torn between laughter and tears.

The straightforward nature of the people of Chuan Shu was truly something that made one both love and hate them.

"Prefect Liu, great hero!"

"Prefect Liu, we truly shouldn't have done that a few days ago..."

"Prefect Liu, this is my family's old hen, won't you take it and stew it for soup?"

Such enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming for Liu Zheng, and it was only after chatting for a while that he got the people to go home.

"Young Master, this, this, this... this great fire?"

Qin Zhangfeng still could not believe it even now.

On the very last day, it had actually ushered in such a huge turning point.

Liu Zheng took a deep breath: "Jia Shu is a true scholar! Of course, there is also the senior fellow apprentice of your sister-in-law, Murong Che."

Pei Yanran's eyes were red, and she nodded. It seemed her relationship with Murong Che must have been quite good.

At this, Qin Zhangfeng was no longer jealous and comforted Pei Yanran on the side.

Liu Zheng sighed and said: "So, having this merit fall on my head makes me feel truly ashamed. What is more regrettable is that until the two of them leaped into the sea of fire, I, Liu Zheng, never had the chance to meet them, to share a drink with them; it is truly the greatest regret of my life!"

He really did feel it was a great pity.

These two people...

He was exactly the kind of talent he needed. Yet, like an epiphyllum, he had only dazzled for a moment before vanishing from the world.

Throughout history, how many such people have there been?

How many brilliant figures and talented individuals have either languished in obscurity or died with regrets for lack of a discerning judge? Talent! Liu Zheng believed that the cultivation and employment of talent must be governed by a set of rules and regulations.

The Imperial Examination is merely a means.

What he wanted most in his mind right now was a database that better suited this era!

A database without a Computer!

This was what he truly wanted!

As long as this database was in his hands, it would surely allow his influence to grow with half the effort and twice the result.

Therefore, he had to go to Wangbei Academy in person this time.

Shu had won a great victory, and the atmosphere was one of celebration.

However, Jiangzhou, a thousand-year-old city, had been burned to the ground, which was still a significant blow to the vitality of Shuzhou. How were the three hundred thousand civilians to be settled?

Xie Zhen could only temporarily divide them into six waves of fifty thousand people each, to be settled respectively in Yong'an, Shuzhou, Zitong, Deyang, Mianyang, and Yibin. Only then could other matters be considered.

Three days later.

The King of Shu, Xie Zhen, finally returned amidst the welcoming crowds of commoners. After a series of cumbersome and complex rituals and procedures, he bathed, offered sacrifices to his ancestors, and officially ascended the throne.

"Congratulations to the King of Shu!"

On this day, the whole city was celebrating again, and Liu Zheng was also very happy.

Xie Zhen's eyes flickered: "Second Brother, if it weren't for you, Shuzhou would surely, Shuzhou would surely..."

As he spoke, his eyes grew moist again.

Liu Zheng held his arm and laughed, "Brother, you must not say such things. You are now the King of Shu, the master of the land of Chuan Shu. Millions of commoners are looking at you; you must carry yourself like a King of Shu!"

Hearing this, Xie Zhen nodded heavily.

Then, holding a wine vessel, he stood on the high tower to celebrate with the people.

Liu Zheng watched his back with a smile.

In this great war, Xie Zhen had grown and matured quite a bit. Liu Zheng thought highly of his character. He was not one for expansion, but he was more than capable of holding his ground.

For the land of Chuan Shu, a monarch with this kind of character was the most suitable.

The commoners could live in prosperity without the threat of war, as he had no great ambitions.

On this day, the King of Shu, Xie Zhen, got dead drunk. But he kept holding onto Liu Zheng's arm, never letting go. He introduced him to everyone he met, saying, "This is my Second Brother, this is my Second Brother!"

What made Liu Zheng feel that something was wrong, however, was...

The great chaos in Shu had just ended.

But within Shuzhou City, the attitudes of these civil and military officials and the Prefect had suddenly become ambiguous.

Every time Xie Zhen pulled Liu Zheng over to toast them, although they appeared very respectful on the surface, their eyes were all quite meaningful.

Liu Zheng could not help but smile bitterly.

He naturally knew what this was about.

It was that he had just helped them drive away the Southern Barbarians, and now they wanted to drive him away...

This was also logical.

As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers.

In this Shu, it was impossible to have both a King of Shu and a Governor Liu.

In the future, whose orders should they follow?

Would this Xie Zhen become a puppet of Governor Liu in the future?

Especially now, with these one hundred and fifty thousand Liangzhou Army troops still lingering in Shuzhou, they felt like a ticking time bomb that made people unable to rest easy.

Liu Zheng felt very helpless.

Was his ambition really that obvious?