Chapter 928: Jingji Circuit

Three thousand men of the Dark Night Legion began to vanish into the mist.

The Jiang Xuan of today was no longer the thin, frivolous child he once was.

He was now twenty years old, stubble had sprouted on his face, and his gaze was no longer as drifting and uncertain as before; instead, as he looked toward the east, there was an unspeakable firmness in his eyes.

This time.

His Dark Night Legion had lost eight men.

Eight people.

To others, this was absolutely a battle worthy of being recorded in the history books; the Dark Night Legion, with the loss of only eight men, had overturned the entirety of Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire.

But for Jiang Xuan, his heart ached.

Because these eight men were all brought up by his own hand, having crawled through the mud and trained together every single day—they were not biological brothers, yet they were closer than brothers!

Their ashes drifted with the wind, disappearing into the desert.

Three thousand men, their gazes burning, their expressions resolute.

Remember the website.

"Set off!"

The bodies, naturally, could not be taken along.

It was too far.

Thus, when he arrived upon this vast desert, he gathered everyone together to bid farewell to these eight brothers.

"Reviewing troops on the battlefield."

"Reviewing troops on the battlefield."

Three thousand men, a mighty force, yet moving with the speed of the wind.

"Going home!"

"Sharpening swords on the Gobi, bracing against the west wind!"

"Sharpening swords on the Gobi, bracing against the west wind!"

"Boss, is it really going to be like this?"

A subordinate, watching Jiang Xuan look back once more, sighed.

Jiang Xuan said coldly, "What else could it be?"

With Hamid's pass, all the towns, castles, and various garrisons along the way did not make things difficult for them.

One month later.

Jiang Xuan finally left the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

The people beside him could not understand.

Jiang Xuan pulled on his reins, stopping their rapid advance—even the strongest War Horse needed rest—and as he let his "Wind-Lightning" walk slowly, he continued, "The reason is simple: Liangzhou is too powerful right now. If Liangzhou were to marry into the Ottoman Empire, how would the imperial court view it? How would the officials view it? How would the whole country view it?"

The expressions of several men changed drastically, and then they looked at each other in horror, no longer daring to speak.

That brother laughed, "Since you are in love, why not just bring her back to Longyan? If this got out, wouldn't it be a beautiful story? After all, that girl is an Ottoman Princess!"

Jiang Xuan looked at him speechlessly for a while, until the latter felt bewildered, and then Jiang Xuan said faintly, "It is precisely because she is a Princess that I cannot do that."

"What?"

This matter could be reported to the imperial court first, allowing the Emperor to come forward and arrange the marriage.

A marriage between two superpowers would be quite polite and proper.

However.

Did this even need to be said?

The Emperor's health was failing day by day, and everyone was eyeing the strong and well-equipped Liangzhou. Although the Ottoman Empire had just experienced internal strife, a camel that dies is still bigger than a horse; even with its shrunken territory, the Ottoman Empire remained a superpower spanning Asia, Europe, and Africa.

If Jiang Xuan were as famous throughout the world as Qin Zhangfeng, or even Zou Sheng, that would be one thing.

Especially after the establishment of the Dark Night Legion, he had slowly begun to fade from people's sight.

In Liangzhou, he still held a revered position.

But in Longyan, he had already begun to disappear from view.

He was not Qin Zhangfeng, nor was he Zou Sheng.

He was just Jiang Xuan.

A person who, from the very beginning, was destined to live in the darkness.

What Liu Zheng wanted was a fragmented Central Asia, not a unified one.

Once Liangzhou and the Ottoman Empire married, heaven knows if those various other countries would unite to protect themselves. In that case, the losses would outweigh the gains.

"General!"

He had become stronger.

But he needed to remain anonymous.

If he insisted on marrying Alisha, it would not only arouse the vigilance of the Longyan imperial court, who would think Liangzhou had great ambitions, but it would also affect the current situation in Central Asia.

"Forced march!"

"Born for the Dark Night! Die for the Dark Night!"

"Boss."

The group looked at Jiang Xuan again, their expressions now different.

Jiang Xuan laughed heartily and said boldly, "Born for the Dark Night, die for the Dark Night! We are all the sharp blades of the Viscount, what is wrong with that? Besides, when the day comes that my Liangzhou army arrives at the gates of Istanbul, how shall I deal with it then? Hahahaha! This is fine, it is fine! Speed up, the Viscount needs us now!"

Encountering true love is too difficult.

Facing matters of the heart, he would tell Jiang Xuan to seize the day.

As for the future?

Liu Zheng did not know at this time that Jiang Xuan, far away in Istanbul, had voluntarily given up a marriage because he was the commander of the Dark Night Legion. If he knew about this, he would certainly punish Jiang Xuan severely. He would angrily scold him: "Since when does a dignified Vice Minister Liu like me need you to consider a retreat for me?"

In his view.

Meeting someone of mutual affection is too difficult.

Of course.

He does not know.

But he knows that if he wants to return to Hancheng, he indeed needs to break through a dangerous situation.

Let's love this time first.

What Ottoman, what Central Asia situation, could be more important than a brother's happiness?

Liu Zheng could give it all up.

In other words, the journey that previously required a month now only required half a month.

If it were a month-long journey, Liu Zheng's feelings would not have been so obvious. But on this return journey, in just seven days, he felt the obvious changes in the attitude and emotions of the Li Dynasty commoners toward him.

When Queen Inhyeon's procession first set off, the commoners along the way were undoubtedly welcoming and cheering; the Xie Clan's "Southern Expedition" became a tool for them to welcome Queen Inhyeon and Li Xuanya.

Because of the journey over these past few days, he had already felt that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly wrong. This time, his journey south with Queen Inhyeon and Li Xuanya was actually first east then south, that is, from Gyeonggi Province where Hancheng is located, through Yeongseo, to Gangwon Province, to Wonju, and then to Chungju, entering Chungcheong Province. By the time they received the order, they had already reached Cheongju in Chungcheong Province.

But now that they had received the imperial edict from Li Tun, they did not need to go around Gangwon Province to return to Hancheng.

Instead, they went directly from Chungcheong Province to Gyeonggi Province.

This made Liu Zheng a bit confused at first.

But soon, he knew what was going on.

First, someone had already started to build momentum.

Likewise, they also maintained kindness and welcome toward Liu Zheng, the mastermind.

But just seven days later, when they entered Gyeonggi Province from Chungcheong Province, the situation changed.

The commoners' eyes when looking at Liu Zheng were full of vigilance, hatred, and murderous intent.

Second, coupled with the differences between Gyeonggi Province and Chungcheong Province.

This was equivalent to the differences in environment between the north and south in Liu Zheng's previous life; this was not just in terms of climate, but more reflected in the differences in politics and economy.

It is very simple.

This Vice Minister Liu from Longyan is the mastermind behind the internal strife in the Li Dynasty. He not only wants the Li Dynasty to be in chaos, but he also wants to marry their eldest Princess!

Even, what he is plotting is the political power of the Li Dynasty!

Once this news was released, it immediately caused an uproar.

Where is Gyeonggi Province? After all, it is the location of the capital; the people here naturally have a deeper understanding of the deceit and treachery of the imperial court, state affairs, and officialdom. By comparison, Chungcheong Province belongs to the peripheral cities; the commoners there are simple and kind—whoever is a good person is a good person, and whoever is a bad person is a bad person. But Gyeonggi Province is different; the commoners and people of Gyeonggi Province are closer to the political center of the Li Dynasty, and they have heard it all by listening every day. Under the influence of that officialdom culture, their concepts have changed to: in this world, there are no absolute good people, and likewise, there are no absolute bad people.

There are only conflicts of interest.

Then.

This Vice Minister Liu.

Coming to our Li Dynasty, what exactly is he plotting?