Chapter 538: The Subordinate Has a Plan

Liu Zheng felt his hair stand on end.

Watching the fat, swaying body of the Yong Wang as he walked, Liu Zheng's entire body grew slightly stiff.

What did the Yong Wang mean by this?

It was very simple.

Following Xie Ling's crushing defeat in Liangzhou, he had handed over nearly half of the Longyan Dynasty's wealth to Liu Zheng. The entire situation in Longyan had undergone a complete transformation.

The subtlety of this change.

Even that monstrous talent Qingyang Shuo, who had long lived in seclusion, had failed to grasp it.

Xie Ling.

He was certainly going to take a desperate risk this time.

With an army of fifty thousand mobilized, even if they only set out in the middle of the night, it would be very easy for Scouts to detect them. Therefore, it was no longer a secret that Xie Ling wanted to go all-in once more. The garrison commander of Yang'an Pass belonged to Xie Ling's faction; he had been promoted by Xie Ling himself. And Yang'an Pass was the only way from Hanzhong to Jinghua.

The probability of him making his move here was the highest.

Fifty thousand troops.

Looking at Liu Zheng's side, there were three thousand soldiers.

Even if one added the three thousand the Yong Wang was bringing, it was only six thousand.

The entire Longyan Dynasty was watching at this moment.

How could the Crown Prince not know?

If he still regarded the Prefect Liu as his own right-hand man, once his fifty thousand Crown Prince Army set out, this battle at Yang'an Pass would never have happened.

But...

At this moment, what lay before the Crown Prince was three thousand against fifty thousand.

The disparity in strength was vast.

It was almost a crushing force.

Regardless of whether Xie Ling won or lost this battle, he was destined to lose his capital for seizing the throne.

In that case, would the Crown Prince not want to take the opportunity to eliminate him, who was now at the height of his power and becoming too big to control?

Borrowing a knife to kill!

Especially...

When Xie Tianyao also wanted to clean house?

Liu Zheng suddenly shuddered.

He felt that before even entering Jinghua, challenges and dangers were coming one after another.

He looked at the song and dance of the Yong Wang Mansion, yet in his heart, he thought that once they set off tomorrow, he would likely have no more mind for such pleasures. At the same time, he remained grateful to the Yong Wang, this friend across generations.

He was one of the few pure people in this vortex of power within the Longyan Dynasty.

Swish, swish, swish.

Night fell.

Xie Ling's fifty thousand troops, like ghosts, began a forced march.

No need to worry about startling birds, no need to worry about leaving tracks.

When hungry, they ate dry rations on the spot.

When thirsty, they drank some dew.

Silent and soundless.

That fifty thousand men could move without making a single sound showed just how well the instructors from the Liangzhou Army had trained them.

Death soldiers.

Fifty thousand death soldiers—such a scale should be rare even in the Longyan Dynasty.

It was all because Xie Ling had been diligently managing his relationship with Ningguta, the place of exile for the Longyan Dynasty.

Shi Ke had been rescued by him from there.

Were these people not the same?

They were already dead men to begin with. So, after receiving Xie Ling's order, even knowing this trip meant certain death, they still went forward without hesitation!

To strike at the world-famous, red-hot Prefect Liu, as well as the Emperor's daughter whom he had not yet met, the Longyang Princess—even if they won, it was a dead end.

Without hesitation.

Pressing forward with courage.

This was what a death soldier of this era was.

"Halt!"

After another night of forced marching, as dawn broke, a cold shout rang out.

Fifty thousand men stopped in unison, hiding within the mountain forest.

Jinghua.

Imperial Palace, Yangxin Hall.

Xie Tianyao sat quietly before the chessboard once again.

The game of chess before him had become increasingly chaotic; the situation was growing more obscure, more severe, with more and more overt and covert moves, intricate and complex.

Yet.

These mounting killing blows were heading toward the very center of the board.

Jinghua!

To have the people of the world move at the mere mention of one's birthday, each harboring their own ulterior motives—this is the charisma of an Emperor.

"Emperor, regarding the Princess..."

The Deputy Grand Eunuch asked softly from the side.

Xie Tianyao gave a cold laugh: "Children have their own fortunes. When we were young, during the struggle for the succession, did our Imperial Father not let us slaughter one another? Since she is the Emperor Star, let us see if she can survive this crisis."

He sighed deeply: "A daughter is important, but could it be that the prosperity of the state is not?"

He stared fixedly at a single piece on the chessboard, his eyes flashing with a dazzling light: "This can also be considered my final opportunity for the third son."

The Deputy Grand Eunuch lowered his head and said no more.

Fifty thousand men.

Hearing this number, Liu Zheng felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart.

Even adding the three thousand soldiers of the Prince of Yong, his side only had six thousand men.

Six thousand against fifty thousand?

How could one fight this? Unless he could manufacture submachine guns in the shortest possible time at this moment...

Difficult!

This is not just difficult!

It is simply incomparably arduous!

Just by numbers alone, they could completely crush his side. Furthermore, it is rumored that they hold the most advanced Weaponry and Equipment from Yintan City in their hands. They have even learned the various variations of the Mandarin Duck Formation of the Liangzhou Army...

Facing a formidable enemy.

Liu Zheng called Jiang Xuan into his room overnight, along with several accompanying generals.

On the table lay a map of Yang'an Pass.

Yang'an Pass.

Located west of Jinghua, north of Chuan Shu, and southeast of Hanzhong, its approximate position is within the territory of Ankang in later generations.

Yang'an Pass leans against Jigong Mountain to the south and borders the Jialing River to the north; its terrain is extremely perilous. To the south, one can enter Chuan Shu; to the north, it connects to Lueyang; to the west, it reaches Longnan; and to the east, it arrives at Hanzhong. As far back as the Three Kingdoms period, it was a vital military stronghold.

Moreover, after so many years, it has become almost an iron fortress.

Yang'an Pass, also known as White Horse City. It faces Hanzhong of the Prince of Yong from the west, stands majestically at the entrance of the Golden Ox Road leading west to Bashu and the Chen Cang Road leading north to Qinling, and forms a pincer formation with Dingjun Mountain and Tiantang Mountain to the south and north of the Han River. Its Geography is quite perilous; one can advance to attack and retreat to defend.

Throughout history.

Especially during the Three Kingdoms period, Yang'an Pass staged one after another battle of contention involving heroes, emperors, generals, and schemes of Bitter Remonstrance.

In the process of the dynastic changes of the Longyan Dynasty after the Three Kingdoms.

Yang'an Pass also staged many epic battles.

It also made this place a pass where a generation of famous generals could leap over the dragon gate.

However...

At this moment, Liu Zheng could only smile bitterly.

No matter how strong he is, it would likely be very difficult to forcibly break through Yang'an Pass with six thousand soldiers, right?

Xie Tianyao, oh Xie Tianyao...

Is this first problem you have set for me really this difficult?

"Everyone, share your opinions."

Liu Zheng asked indifferently.

The crowd looked at each other in dismay.

Opinions?

How could there be any damn opinion! This is clearly just going to throw one's life away!

Jiang Xuan could no longer hold back and said angrily: "Young Master, what is the meaning of this imperial court? Xie Ling is attacking with such great fanfare, and they don't care? They even only let us bring three thousand soldiers. Then we shouldn't go to the damn Capital. If you ask me, let's just turn back, declare ourselves kings, and screw them!"

"Jiang Xuan!"

Liu Zheng scolded him: "Cease your reckless talk!"

Jiang Xuan snorted coldly and stopped speaking.

Liu Zheng looked around the circle: "What about you all, do you have any suggestions?"

"Young Master, this general has a plan!"

Just when everyone was at their wit's end.

A crisp, delicate voice rang out from the doorway.

A group of people looked toward the sound.