Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

"What?" In the town hall, Jiang Wang's face showed a look of surprise.

After settling down, he learned from Qian, the steward, about the situation of the Qi army trapping the Yang Kingdom.

He understood why Qian, the steward, was so accommodating and allowed himself to be exploited.

He was still a bit naive. If he had known about this earlier, not to mention five hundred pieces of Dao Yuan Stone, even a thousand pieces might have been possible to obtain.

But in the grand scheme of things, what did a few pieces of Dao Yuan Stone matter?

Every move of the Qi Kingdom was enough to cause unrest in the Eastern Region.

Not to mention the fact that the Yang Kingdom was surrounded by the army!

"You need to be clear. Is the Qi army surrounding the border to trap the Yang Kingdom, intercept the plague, or to swallow up the Yang Kingdom?" Jiang Wang asked.

"I'm just a small businessman. How could I see through such big matters? But perhaps... it's a bit of both!" Qian, the steward, replied.

At this moment, Jiang Wang almost confirmed that this was the major move of the Qi Kingdom that Zhong Xuan Sheng had vaguely hinted at before!

He didn't blame Zhong Xuan Sheng for not informing him in advance about this matter. It involved military affairs, and even if Zhong Xuan Sheng wasn't afraid of death, he still had to stop it.

It's just that this matter was indeed a bit sudden.

If the Qi Kingdom directly swallowed up the Yang Kingdom and turned it into a subordinate county, all the benefits in the Yang Kingdom would have to be redistributed. This also meant that all the efforts he had made in the Yang Kingdom before might have been in vain.

Because after the war, the redistribution would obviously be led by the Qi Kingdom's military, and it would no longer involve others.

Wait... did Zhong Xuan Sheng not think of these things?

At this thought, Jiang Wang asked, "Steward Qian, have you found out which important figure is leading the army to the Yang Kingdom this time?"

Steward Qian shook his head, "The intelligence system of the Four Seas Merchant Alliance has been cut off, and I'm also in the dark in the Yang Kingdom. I only know that it's one of the Nine Corps, the Autumn Kill Army, but I can't get any more detailed information. Perhaps I'll only know who it is when the real battle begins."

The fact that it was one of the Nine Corps had already made their determination clear.

As the saying goes, with a sharp blade in hand, the intention to kill arises. With such a powerful army coming to the Yang Kingdom and being able to easily conquer it, it would be difficult for the high-level officials of the Qi Kingdom not to be moved.

Jiang Wang only thought... Zhong Xuan Sheng must be in the army at this moment, otherwise he wouldn't be unable to send a message. But what role is Zhong Xuan Sheng playing in this?

How can he help him? What kind of cooperation does he need?

At this moment, the two of them, one inside the Yang Kingdom and one outside, one guarding a town alone and the other in the army.

How can they cooperate without communication?

Jiang Wang always felt that he had missed something, but for a while, he couldn't figure it out.

He casually asked, "Xiao Xiao, what do you think?"

Dugu Xiao didn't hesitate at all, "Xiao Xiao doesn't understand anything. How can I have an opinion? Master, you're so smart. Whatever you say, we'll do."

This was just Xiao Xiao's usual expression of loyalty. He had always been working hard to reinforce Jiang Wang's leadership position in front of people like Zhu Biqiong, and there was nothing special about it.

But when he heard this, Jiang Wang suddenly had a flash of insight.

"That fat guy is much smarter than me. If I can think of cooperating with him, wouldn't he think that I'm in the Yang Kingdom! In a situation where we can't communicate, how would he act if he needs me to do something, or wants to tell me something? Or... has he already done something?"

Jiang Wang looked at Steward Qian again, and he finally realized what he had overlooked.

"Steward Qian, I just remembered something." He asked, "I heard from the guard at your warehouse in the Four Seas Merchant Alliance that you had already escaped from the Yang Kingdom? Why did you suddenly turn back? Even if the Qi army sealed the border, they shouldn't have intercepted a Qi person, right?"

"I'm just unlucky. I can't even drink cold water without choking on it!"

Steward Qian always thought that he was expelled by the authorities of Pingxi County for concealing his gains and bribing the army, thus missing the opportunity to escape back to the Qi Kingdom.

It was not convenient for him to say everything in front of Jiang Wang, so he smiled bitterly and said, "I'm used to pleasing the military, but I didn't expect to encounter someone who is so strict and impartial, and was directly sent back. After that, the route was cut off... "

"No rush. Tell me about the situation in all the places in detail."

Steward Qian then began to speak selectively.

"In that case, Chen Yong and the others are still in the military camp outside Baichuan City?"

"Yes." Steward Qian cursed, "I was just one day late, and those stinky military heads wouldn't let me through, even if I just stayed in the military camp!"

After hearing this, Jiang Wang was already eighty percent sure. Zhong Xuan Sheng was very likely to be in Baichuan City now, and he had a certain amount of military power.

This Steward Qian was the "notification" that he "sent" back!

He knew very well how Jiang Wang had managed Qingyang Town, and he was very clear that Steward Qian, who had fled with the money, had no way out in the Yang Kingdom.

He was venting his anger on Steward Qian, and also letting Jiang Wang use the resources that Steward Qian had with him, and more importantly, telling Jiang Wang that he had arrived!

And peeling away everything, the most crucial part was that Zhong Xuan Sheng also needed him to protect the Qingyang Town domain!

"Steward Qian, I'm sure you also know the current situation. At this time, we must all work together. If we are divided, we will be weak. Your people, including you, are now under my unified command. What do you think?" Jiang Wang stood up and said.

"I think it's great! Master Jiang is a young hero, and what you said is absolutely right!" Steward Qian showed a righteous demeanor.Whether there were any objections in their hearts, that remained unknown. Fortunately, Jiang Wang did not need to consider their inner thoughts; he only required them to transfer as much of the Four Seas Alliance's resources as possible to the Jia City region.

It is worth mentioning that on this day, it was the twenty-sixth of July.

In the Qingyang Town region, the last two plague patients...

One died of the disease, the other recovered.

It was as if the past and the future existed simultaneously.

...

...

In the royal palace of Zhaoheng City, the courtiers had all withdrawn.

The ruler of the Yang Kingdom, Yang Jiande, was half-kneeling, personally picking up something on the ground—those were fragments of clothing and ornaments, their luxurious materials faintly discernible.

Naturally, no flesh and blood remained, and these fragments were damaged by their owner's own struggles.

The eunuch Liu Huai stood by, waiting.

As Yang Jiande picked them up, he casually asked, "Where is Xuan Ce?"

Liu Huai bowed and said, "He is neither in Zhaoheng City nor in Cangfeng City; his whereabouts are unknown. The situation is too chaotic now, and this servant needs some more time..."

"Forget it," Yang Jiande stood up straight, holding the chaotic fragments in his palm, and said indifferently, "The Yang family has come to this situation today, it is all my fault. If we can preserve a lineage, that would be good."

"How can we blame Your Majesty at this point?" Tears streamed down Liu Huai's face: "Three generations ago, the Yang Kingdom had already become a vassal state. During the reign of the previous king, the last strong army of the Yang Kingdom was also lost, and the capital had to be renamed Zhaoheng. After defeating the Xia Kingdom, the Qi Kingdom had no rivals in the eastern region, and our Yang Kingdom was beside the bed of a giant... Upon Your Majesty's ascension, you were faced with such a situation. Even though Your Majesty's military strategies are unmatched, who has the power to turn the tide?"

"Zhaoheng means bright light, representing our Yang family. Heng means stability, a plea for the current situation. It sounds good, but it's nothing more than a struggle to survive."

Yang Jiande sighed and waved his hand: "I am incompetent, and so is my son. Let's not push the responsibility onto my father anymore."

He walked a few steps and placed the fragments in his left hand into Liu Huai's embrace: "Keep them safe."

After Liu Huai respectfully held them, Yang Jiande turned and walked towards the exit of the hall.

The grand hall was luxurious yet somewhat dim, perhaps because the palace was too deep, but the lights were not bright enough.

However, outside the hall was a bright light, the sun was splendid.

"Draft a national letter, to surrender to Zhongxuan Chuliang, add my jade seal, and invite him to the palace for a meeting."

Yang Jiande spoke as he walked.

His steps were not fast, but each one took him very far.

Liu Huai had just lifted his eyes when he saw his sovereign already standing at the entrance of the hall.

That not-so-tall figure seemed to stand at the boundary between light and darkness.

Ahead was light, but he was unwilling to step into it. Behind was darkness, and he could not fall into it.

Only his voice seemed to come from another world.

Very clear, yet also very distant.

"I want to see, after thirty years in the blink of an eye, the fierce slaughterer... can he still dine?"

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