Chapter 429: On the Eve of the Great War

Wangbei Academy.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp..."

White cranes in the sky weave through the clouds.

Jie Yu sits quietly atop Zhaixing Pavilion.

She watches silently as the patterns within the Greedy Wolf Star Plate become increasingly chaotic.

In her contemplation, she finds herself less and less able to understand the Greedy Wolf Star Plate.

This intruder...

What kind of person is he, exactly?

"Jie Yu, how is it?"

Just at this moment, the Dean appears behind her.

Jie Yu hurriedly stands up and says with a bitter smile, "Dean, I always feel that the intruder is getting closer and closer to us..."

"Oh?"

The Dean glances at the Star Plate and chuckles, "The situation remains a mystery; how can you reach such a conclusion?"

Jie Yu says, "Dean, forgive my bluntness. It is precisely because our Academy has managed Liangshan for so long, yet we still let him walk as if on flat ground, stirring this Greedy Wolf Star Plate into such treacherous winds and clouds."

She pauses: "The more this happens, the more I feel that he is getting closer and closer to us."

Hearing this, the Dean falls silent.

"This intruder certainly has a unique eye."

The Dean finally sighs.

Starting from religion is indeed the best Method to unify Liangshan—not only that, it can even be said to be the best Method to unify the entire Southwest region. Once this so-called Black Dragon Sect gains momentum, it can be like a single spark starting a prairie fire, becoming unstoppable.

What others see is merely the shallow, crude tactics of this Prefect Liu.

What he sees, however, are far more profound matters.

Momentum.

This is the Great Trend.

This young man is truly extraordinary.

If there is a change in Liangshan, how could their Wangbei Academy remain unscathed?

The Dean says in a deep voice, "Now it depends on whether Chen Ran, this bad piece, can block this Prefect Liu back to Longyan."

Jie Yu smiles bitterly.

Chen Ran?

Can a person as impetuous as him have any hope?

She suddenly shudders.

How did this thought of hers arise?

A discerning eye can see that the Liangzhou Army only has fifty thousand men.

But here in Liangshan, including the troops of the Nanzhao Kingdom, there are a full three hundred thousand!

Adding the one hundred thousand, one hundred and fifty thousand of the small-legged ones, how can they fight three hundred thousand?

But strangely, she just feels that this intruder can win.

This is a very subtle feeling.

It is as if this is where the Great Trend lies.

"Uncle..."

In the evening, Liu Zheng arrives at Aluba's tent.

Recently, Aluba has had two Yi maidservants attending to him. Liu Zheng rarely comes over, but when he sees Liu Zheng, the little fellow who wears a face of "compassion for the world" during the day reveals a long-lost joy and pounces over.

Liu Zheng sighs inwardly, holds him in his arms, and signals for the two maidservants to leave.

An eight-year-old boy... he is indeed strong enough; he has endured more than anyone his age. These days, he has been "training" in the areas a great Bimo needs to pay attention to. But he has never complained; he seems to have been forced to grow up to a very mature stage.

Only when he sees Liu Zheng does he act like a child.

Liu Zheng smiles: "You performed well today, how do you feel?"

Aluba nods excitedly: "Uncle, Aluba likes them submitting! This Liangshan originally belonged to our Alu Clan!"

Liu Zheng smiles: "No, Liangshan belongs to the Liangshan People."

"Ah?"

Aluba is stunned, a bit confused.

Liu Zheng also does not know how to instill these ideas into him; the key is that no matter how he instills them, they do not quite fit this era or the situation in Liangshan.

But.

Such things should indeed be taught from a young age.

Liu Zheng strokes Aluba's cute little head and chuckles: "Remember, you are a god, and they are people. Then they are your subjects. In treating subjects, you cannot just take whatever you want; you must love, be tolerant, and offer salvation. Do you understand? Status influences the situation, and the situation also influences status. A god should do what a god ought to do. If you still consider yourself an ordinary person, unable to control your own desires and cravings, and still base your happiness on the level of an ordinary person, Liangshan will continue to be in chaos."

Aluba listens with a blank, ignorant expression.

Liu Zheng continues: "Ordinary people can have cheap happiness. But you, you cannot."

"You are the Son of the Black Dragon of Liangshan, you are the Liangshan God Messenger."

"But, you must always remember that all the auras upon you are not bestowed by Heaven, but by your subjects!"

"If you lead them toward a better life, you are a greater god."

"If you bring them Hell, then you are a demon, an evil ghost."

"These things cannot be compensated for by these tricks of pretending to be a god or ghost, do you understand?"

Aluba's eyes flashed with brilliance as he listened, and he nodded heavily: "Uncle, Aluba understands!"

Liu Zheng smiled with gratification.

He hoped that he truly understood.

Listening to the still noisy and bustling Qionghai outside, Liu Zheng sighed deeply.

Tomorrow is the Duge Grand Gathering.

Will the great war begin tomorrow?

The structure of this Liangshan is destined to change greatly.

……

The fifty thousand Liangzhou Army soldiers who came with Liu Zheng this time truly had no presence at all. They spent the whole journey sightseeing and enjoying themselves, in high spirits.

"Hahahaha, Lao Zhang, did you go and hit on any chicks?"

In the camp tent, the soldiers teased each other.

"Screw you, who would dare? The Young Master already said, no touching the local women; do you not want your life anymore?"

That Lao Zhang rolled his eyes.

Everyone burst into laughter.

"Sigh, watching that bunch of chicks dance every day, but not being able to touch them, it's really going to drive me crazy!"

Someone muttered.

"Yeah, it would be nice if we could fight a battle sometime!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other.

Good grief.

How long have they been idle, and they are already itching to fight a war?

The soldiers of the Liangzhou Army are just that fierce!

"Exactly, the Young Master says not to fight, but I think we should just have a go, wipe out these barbarians, and then we can garrison here with peace of mind; maybe we could even get transferred back to Liangzhou!"

"I heard that Lao Wang, who enlisted with us, was demobilized. Guess what? Good grief, he was directly arranged into Yintan City as a transport captain, with a monthly salary of five taels of silver! That same day, Master Chen came to his door to propose marriage for his daughter!"

"Really?"

"That much?"

The entire tent was filled with sounds of envy.

Just at this moment.

Suddenly, in the night sky, a sound of a night owl rang out.

All the Liangzhou soldiers bounced up from the ground instantly, their bodies standing straight.

The group of people who were just chatting, bullshitting, gossiping, picking their feet, and drinking, instantly became spirited. In a dozen seconds, they had put on their Plate Armor, picked up their weapons, and wore faces full of murderous intent.

It was not an isolated case.

It was not just this one tent; the other Liangzhou Army tents were all the same.

Emergency military situation!

This is the signal for an emergency military situation!

Everyone, upon receiving this signal, must prepare for battle.

"Is it time to fight?"

"Good, let's get them!"

These Liangzhou soldiers were incredibly excited.

"Sleep, sleep!"

After waiting for a moment, the military order came again.

Another drill?

The group of people hung their heads, holding a breath in their hearts that they could never vent.

"Aha, not fighting after all!"

"Sleep, sleep!"

This.

Was just a routine drill for emergency combat readiness.

Always ready for battle.

This is the basic survival rule of the Liangzhou Army.

……

In the farmhouse.

Chen Ran, Shama Zhuoyi, and Naibao Rize were gathered together.

Regarding today's failure at Welcoming the Fire, Chen Ran severely reprimanded Shama Zhuoyi.

But there was no Method.

It was already like this.

Moreover, Welcoming the Fire was never the most important part of the Torch Festival.

What was important was the Duge Grand Gathering tomorrow!

"Tomorrow, if we win, we will make that Prefect Liu fulfill his promise and withdraw his troops from Meigu!"

Chen Ran looked at the sand table map and said coldly.

Shama Zhuoyi laughed: "That is only natural!"

Chen Ran pointed at the map and said: "Naibao's Zhongkujiao tribesmen can set an ambush along the road. Remember, this Prefect Liu must die!"

"Yes!"

"If we are defeated..."

Chen Ran looked coldly at Shama Zhuoyi once again.

Shama Zhuoyi hurriedly said, "His Highness, rest assured, we will absolutely not be defeated!"

Chen Ran said angrily, "You gave me the same guarantee yesterday; was it of any use? Everything requires complete preparation! If we are defeated..."

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes: "Naibao's one hundred thousand tribesmen shall attack the Liangzhou Army first!"

"The Shama tribe shall control Qionghai!"

"Yes!"

Both men acknowledged the order at the same time.