Chapter 543

Xuanmo Kingdom, Chimo Kingdom.

These two great desert nations had been bowing to the Great Lan Dynasty for many years.

Because they were located in the desert, the geography was harsh, and there was very little arable land, nor were there many places to raise cattle and sheep, which led to the two great desert nations often suffering from famine.

The combined population of the two countries was only fifty million, and their combat-ready troops were fewer than three hundred thousand.

In terms of threat, the two great desert nations were considered the countries that posed the least threat to the Great Lan Dynasty.

This was also why the Great Lan Dynasty had transferred the Red Red Qilin Army, which had previously guarded the Southern Border, to the Western Border.

But this did not mean they could be completely ignored.

Although they lacked peak combat power, the two great desert nations combined had fifteen top-tier experts at the Grandmaster and top-tier True Person level!

Judging from past battle records, although there had been no instances of a group of top-tier experts joining forces to surround and kill a peak expert, there were quite a few battle records of top-tier experts joining forces to resist a peak expert.

The most recent one occurred on the Bai Feng Plain.

According to these battle records, and the power displayed by peak experts in the past, there was a rough estimation in the cultivation world:

If the number of top-tier experts exceeded twelve or thirteen, and among them were both martial artists and sorcerers, and they were led by several experts who had reached the peak of the Establishing Dao Realm or the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends, and they formed a formation and dared to fight to the death, they could indeed clash with a peak expert.

So if more than half of these fifteen top-tier experts appeared on the battlefield, it was absolutely a force that could not be ignored!

Besides this, the "Asura Army" of the Xuanmo Kingdom and the "Dragon Army" of the Chimo Kingdom, these two strong armies each had over ten thousand men, all of whom were martial artists, and all had exotic beast mounts!

More than half of the martial arts masters and True Persons of the two great desert nations were also in these two strong armies, and they were skilled in joint-attack techniques.

Two strong armies plus a group of top-tier experts—this was the confidence the two great desert nations had to launch a war!

Twenty-two years ago, the two great desert nations took advantage of the Western allied forces' invasion to launch a war once.

Later, they were beaten by the Great Lan Dynasty, which had freed up its hands, until they were severely damaged, and they hadn't fully recovered to this day.

Now that the Western Continent hadn't sent troops yet, the two great desert nations had become the ones to "light the fire" first.

Previously, the First Imperial Prince and Prince Li rebelled, killing all the soldiers in the Southern Border who dared to resist and were the most loyal and brave.

Afterward, the Southern Border frontier troops were forced to move north, experiencing defeat, fleeing, being scattered and reorganized...

Nowadays, the combat power of the entire Southern Border frontier army could be said to be at its lowest point in history.

So after the war broke out, the military might of the two great desert nations was like two sharp blades, quickly tearing through the Southern Border defense line!

Lanling City.

Imperial City.

Duke Miller was drinking tea in a pavilion in a courtyard.

The faint fragrance of tea permeated the pavilion, making one feel relaxed and happy.

Even with Duke Miller's powerful mental strength, he was infected by this tea fragrance, and his state of mind became peaceful.

The tea he was drinking was called "Spring God Full Moon," a top-tier tea product specifically for practitioners.

In the entire Great Lan Dynasty, the annual production of "Spring God Full Moon" did not exceed thirty jin.

And Duke Miller already had five jin in his hands; this was something Great Lan Dynasty officials had privately gifted him over the past few days.

Besides "Spring God Full Moon," Miller had received many precious items of great value that were difficult to buy with money.

And these precious items were all gifted to suit his preferences, and could be collected into his private collection room.

Miller had to admit that the Great Lan Dynasty's intelligence work was very meticulous, and their understanding of him was also very deep.

"Haha, the Duke is in high spirits."

A hearty laugh suddenly came.

Miller turned his head to look; unsurprisingly, it was Zhao Fei of the Internal Affairs Cabinet again.

During this period, it had always been this 16th-level cabinet official responsible for negotiating with him.

Grand Secretary Ye Ye Zean's attitude was tough, but the attitude of Zhao Fei and the others was very gentle.

"Official Zhao."

Miller did not stand up, turning to raise the teacup in his hand toward the other party, "This tea is indeed a rare top-tier product; come and taste it."

Zhao Fei walked into the pavilion and sat beside Miller: "I knew the Duke was a person who understands tea; my Great Lan Dynasty has a total of twelve types of tea listed as divine products, and this 'Spring God Full Moon' is just one of them. I have another type of tea at home called 'Summer Flying Flower'; I will bring it for the Duke another day."

"Then many thanks to Official Zhao."

"Haha, this tea must be sent to someone who understands tea so that it isn't considered a pearl cast into darkness."

The two chatted about tea for a while before Zhao Fei changed the subject:

"I wonder how the Duke has considered the suggestion I made last time?"

Miller calmly put down the teacup in his hand.

Zhao Fei had previously proposed that they could launch multiple collaborations with the family the Duke belonged to, which even included providing corresponding martial arts for his family's bloodline.

Although transcendents of the Western Continent relied on bloodline power, it did not mean they could not practice.

If they could practice martial arts that complemented their own bloodline power, not only would the practice of martial arts be easier, but it could also promote the growth of the bloodline and further develop bloodline power.

Over the past few years, the Great Lan Dynasty had been buying weapons from the Western Continent, and the Western Continent had also been collecting cultivation methods from the Eastern Continent.

Duke Miller's bloodline power had awakened to the Vice-Duke level a long time ago.

His bloodline power was too strong and could no longer incorporate implants, as it would cause conflict.

However, he could still practice various martial arts, because martial arts were originally techniques for utilizing transcendent power.

Compared to the vast sea of martial arts and technique systems of the Eastern Continent, the Western Continent's utilization of transcendent power appeared very "crude."

Because those who mastered power were a very small minority, and those whose bloodlines could not awaken could not embark on the path of cultivation at all, there was no "transcendent base" as large as that of the Eastern Continent, and no various sects to study and innovate.

Miller had initially disdained the martial arts of the Eastern Continent, until his family secretly traded for a martial art that could practice Dao Strength, and his thinking changed completely.

His current bloodline power had reached the Duke level, almost reaching the limit.

Normally speaking, it was impossible for him to become stronger.

But if he could practice a few more Dao Strengths and refine them to the Creation Realm, he felt his combat power could still be improved!

It was just that, just as it was difficult for the Great Lan Dynasty to obtain the most advanced scientific technology from the Western Continent, the seven Western countries had also failed to obtain the top-tier martial arts heritage from the Eastern Continent over the past few years.

A Dao Strength that could be practiced to the Creation Realm was a priceless treasure wherever it was placed, and only top-tier forces had it; the seven Western countries had no way to get their hands on it for the time being.

So the trade proposed by Zhao Fei made Miller very tempted.

It was just a pity... he couldn't agree.

"Official Zhao."

"Please speak, Duke."

"For the sake of this 'Spring God Full Moon,' this Duke will tell you the truth."

"Please speak."

"For this mission, the seven monarchs of our Western Continent have already reached a consensus: if you want to negotiate terms, you must make concessions on that proposal."

"..."

Inside the pavilion, the two looked at each other.

The fake smile faded from Miller's face, and Zhao Fei became expressionless.

For these days, this Official Zhao had shown his gentleness, humility, humor, and elegance in front of Miller, truly making one feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.

Only at this moment did he seem to have finally shed all his disguises:

"Does Duke Miller feel that my Great Lan Dynasty dares not fight another war with the Western Continent?"

Miller toyed with the teacup in his hand: "This Duke just received news that the two great desert nations have jointly raised their armies to invade your country's Southern Border; with your country now facing internal and external troubles, can you truly raise your military might again?"

"Furthermore, we sincerely want to trade weapons with your country; if your country is unwilling, we can also sell those new-style weapons to others."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fei's left hand under the table subconsciously clenched into a fist.

Sell new-style weapons to others?

Besides the Great Lan Dynasty, who else could they sell them to in the Eastern Continent?

Sell them to the two great desert nations! Sell them to the Prairie Royal Court!

If this were truly the case, the seven Western countries wouldn't even need to send troops to pose a huge threat to the Great Lan Dynasty.

"Hahahaha."

Zhao Fei suddenly laughed, his tone becoming gentle again:

"Duke, actually, the contents of that proposal are not entirely non-negotiable."

Miller: "Oh?"

Zhao Fei looked at him: "It's just that opening up freedom of trade to all seven countries at the same time is too difficult. If it were only opened to one or two of the countries, it wouldn't be impossible."

Miller narrowed his eyes, and a smile appeared on his face again.

Finally, the negotiation had advanced to this step.

"There is a Central Plains saying I just learned recently, and I don't quite understand its meaning."

"I wonder which sentence it is?"

"This sentence is called—Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors."

"..."

"I wonder if Official Zhao can enlighten this Duke?"

"Hahahaha, good, then I will explain this sentence well for the Duke."

Late at night.

Yangxin Hall.

The new Emperor, Qin Qin Ziheng, simultaneously summoned the three regents: Grand Secretary Ye Ye Zean, Military Grand Marshal Wen Ren Zheng, and Marquis of Jing'an Li Fei.

"So, even if I am willing to open up partial trade rights to one or two of the countries, they still refuse to agree?"

Qin Qin Ziheng first inquired about the negotiation matters with the Western delegation.

Ye Ye Zean reported the situation, which was not optimistic.

"Your Majesty, I fear it is the invasion by the two great desert nations that has given them greater confidence, causing their appetites to grow even larger."

Ye Ye Zean said.

Qin Qin Ziheng's complexion was ugly.

He had just ascended the throne and had already suffered a great loss in personal prestige because he had not avenged the late Emperor.

Now, the seven Western countries had run over to make exorbitant demands, and the two great desert nations were invading the borders.

All of this truly made him, this Emperor, feel stifled in his heart!

"Grand Marshal."

Qin Qin Ziheng turned his head to look at Wen Ren Zheng, "How is the recovery of the Frost Army?"

Once a peak expert is injured, the difficulty of recovery is very great. Once a ten-thousand-man Imperial Camp Army suffers damage, the difficulty of recovery is also very great.

Personnel and equipment all need to be replenished, and the newly joined Imperial Camp Army needs a large amount of training to adapt to the operation of the ten-thousand-man military formation.

Previously, the Frost Army utilized a great formation to transmit power over long distances, which caused extreme damage to their own evil weapons, and a portion of the Imperial Camp Army even died of exhaustion during the process of transmitting power!

So after arriving in Lanling City, the Frost Army had been repairing and replacing their evil weapons while replenishing personnel and retraining.

"They have already recovered to full strength and can normally drive the military formation."

Wen Ren Zheng replied.

Qin Qin Ziheng looked at him: "If the Frost Army is sent to the Southern Border, can the capital be defended?"

Currently, both the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry and the Frost Army, these two Imperial Camp armies, are stationed outside Lanling City, and with Wen Ren Zheng, this Martial Saint, here, it can ensure that even if the Buddhist sect sends all its peak experts, it will be difficult to threaten the safety of Lanling City.

But if the Frost Army is sent out, Lanling City might not necessarily be as solid as a rock.

But if the Frost Army is not sent, and only the Forbidden Army is sent, and experts from various places are drawn to the Southern Border, there is no guarantee of winning.

To quell the war in the Southern Border as quickly as possible, sending the Frost Army is the best choice.

"Your Majesty, Buddha Jingheng of Mount Pudu Temple and the traitor Qin Qin Mingli are both injured; currently, the only ones the Buddhist sect can send are two Martial Saints. I will lead the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry here, and I will surely be able to ensure the stability of the capital!"

Wen Ren Zheng gave his guarantee.

"Good, I intend to send the Frost Army on an expedition; what do you all think?"

Qin Qin Ziheng made his decision.

"I second the motion."

Wen Ren Zheng was the first to agree.

Ye Ye Zean also seconded the motion.

Li Fei stood up and bowed:

"Your Majesty, I am willing to accompany the Frost Army on the expedition!"

A hint of a smile finally appeared on Qin Qin Ziheng's face.

He looked at Li Fei: "The Marquis of Jing'an has such a heart; I am very comforted, but the negotiations with the Western delegation have not yet ended, so you need not be anxious."

"Yes."

Li Fei felt a bit regretful.

The three sat down again, and Qin Qin Ziheng continued to ask:

"Grand Secretary, what is the result of the imitation of those new-style firearms sent by the Western delegation?"

After receiving the new-style firearms, Ye Ye Zean immediately sent them to the Zhige Pavilion, letting the casting masters who possessed divine abilities like 【Refining Objects】 dismantle and imitate the firearms.

"The Zhige Pavilion has already successfully imitated one."

Ye Ye Zean said, "But the conclusion given by the New Martial Arts Division is not optimistic, believing that within three years, it will be very difficult for us to mass-produce these new-style weapons."

The New Martial Arts Division was an institution established after the Mingxin Reform, affiliated with the Military Affairs Office, responsible for purchasing various gunpowder weapons from the Western Continent and dismantling and imitating them.

The several firearms and cannons that the Great Lan Dynasty currently produces independently, along with their design blueprints and process plans, all came from the New Martial Arts Division.

Upon hearing this, Qin Qin Ziheng's complexion sank: "Three years! Haven't you already successfully imitated one? Why will it take so long?"

Ye Ye Zean answered calmly:

"Your Majesty, relying only on a few masters to imitate those new-style weapons is not very significant. They can imitate a few firearms, but they cannot forge tens of thousands of firearms."

"These masters imitate weapons by relying on divine abilities and techniques. But to mass-produce those weapons, technical personnel below need to truly master knowledge in fields related to process design, metallurgy, mechanical manufacturing, chemistry, and so on."

"We also need to cultivate a batch of workers who are proficient in related processes, and we need to establish factory production lines."

"Every single item here is not something that can be done in three or five days."

Ye Ye Zean's methodical explanation left Qin Qin Ziheng speechless.

Li Fei couldn't help but look at this Grand Secretary.

As a transmigrator, he could better understand the difficulty involved.

If it weren't for the Mingxin Reform laying the foundation for the Great Lan Dynasty, wanting to mass-produce those new-style weapons from the Western Continent would be even more remote!

And even this Grand Secretary, who single-handedly led the Mingxin Reform, could not change the trend of the times.

Besides relying on bloodlines, the only path for the Western Continent's upward mobility was scientific technology, which was also a path the nobles intentionally opened up.

Whether wanting to rise to power or wanting to resist tyranny, developing technology was the only choice!

While the Eastern Continent focused primarily on individual greatness, the situation was completely different from the Western Continent, and scientific technology was ultimately just a minor path in the eyes of the vast majority.

After hearing this, Qin Qin Ziheng also completely lost interest in these new-style weapons.

Three years?

With this time, he would rather look forward to Li Fei's growth.

"Your Majesty, even if it takes more time, I believe we should increase investment. The new-style weapons brought by the Western Continent this time are already enough to threaten experts of the Dao Foundation stage; they cannot be taken lightly."

Ye Ye Zean said while presenting a memorial, "This is the twelve-point proposal I wrote for the New Martial Arts Division; please take a look, Your Majesty."

Qin Qin Ziheng took the memorial, and after reading a few lines, he felt a headache.

Simply put, it was asking for money, people, and status!

Asking for money and people was fine.

But asking to raise the status of related personnel involved interests in every aspect, and the implications were too great.

The cake was only so big; if those scientific researchers, technical personnel, and related practitioners wanted to take more, then others would have to take less.

Who would be willing?

"This matter... let the Central Internal Affairs Cabinet discuss it first."

Qin Qin Ziheng closed the memorial in his hand and said to Ye Ye Zean.

"Your Majesty..."

"Alright, I am tired; let's stop here for today."

"... I take my leave, Your Majesty."

The three regents exited Yangxin Hall.

"Li Fei."

After walking out of Yangxin Hall, Wen Ren Zheng suddenly took the initiative to call out to Li Fei.

"Grand Marshal."

Li Fei looked at the other party.

Wen Ren Zheng: "You previously said you hoped to spar with me; you can come to my residence tomorrow."

Li Fei was overjoyed upon hearing this.

If the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl wanted to upgrade quickly now, the fastest way was to exchange blows with peak experts and obtain high-quality power.

He had previously mentioned hoping that Wen Ren Zheng could guide his martial arts.

But as the Military Grand Marshal, the other party had to handle military affairs, be responsible for training the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry, command military formations to improve his military cultivation, and finally, attend to his own cultivation.

How could he have so much time to guide others?

Now, he had finally found the time.

"Many thanks, Grand Marshal!"

Li Fei bowed and saluted.

Wen Ren Zheng nodded and turned to leave.

Li Fei accelerated his speed, chasing after Ye Ye Zean, who was heading in another direction:

"Could you give me a copy of the twelve-point proposal the Grand Secretary just gave to His Majesty?"

"Certainly."

"If there is anything I can help with regarding the manufacturing of new-style weapons, please feel free to speak, Grand Secretary."

Ye Ye Zean looked at Li Fei with some surprise: "I thought that a heaven-favored talent like the Marquis of Jing'an would look down on these strange skills."

Li Fei smiled: "In my view, this is actually also a broad and smooth road."

"Oh?"

Ye Ye Zean did not expect Li Fei to value this path so highly.

The transcendents he knew, the stronger their strength, the more they looked down on these external objects.

Although the New Martial Arts Division was affiliated with the Military Affairs Office, over the past few years, Wen Ren Zheng, this Grand Marshal, had visited the New Martial Arts Division only a handful of times.

For many of the proposals Ye Ye Zean put forward, Wen Ren Zheng had not given his support either.

This God of War preferred to invest resources into the Imperial Camp Army and into martial artists with potential.

Among the four schools of military strategy, this God of War walked the path of "Military Form and Momentum," rather than "Military Technique."

Li Fei had basically "blundered" his way through this entire journey relying on personal martial strength.

In Ye Ye Zean's view, if he were on the battlefield, Li Fei would definitely be the kind of fierce general who would lead troops into the enemy formation to behead generals and seize flags.

Yet he did not expect Li Fei to support him so much.

With the support of this Marquis of Jing'an, he had a few more parts of certainty in pushing this matter forward.

Under the night sky, this Grand Secretary did not say much, only earnestly bowing and saluting Li Fei.

49th year of Emperor Hongguang, December 2nd.

The Frost Army officially set out on an expedition, leaving Lanling City and traveling far to the Southern Border.

On this day, Li Fei's Ten Thousand Blood Pearl upgraded to level 60, condensing a second blood crystal!

(End of chapter)