Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

In the city of Baichuan, a young commander who should have been stationed at the checkpoint appeared on the city tower at this time, speaking to a fat man sitting in a large chair.

The fat man was obese, with a mild expression that did not exude any authority.

But on this city tower, the soldiers guarding the city stood with a cold and stern demeanor. Only he, sitting alone, naturally displayed a sense of disdain.

"That's right. Anyone who dares to take advantage of me, Chong Xuan Sheng, will have their skin peeled clean!" the fat man said fiercely.

"What about the other members of the Four Seas Merchant Alliance?" the young commander asked. "Is it the same as before?"

"All the Qi people are being detained, and they will only be released back to their country after confirming that there is no epidemic. Foreigners are not allowed to leave the country, and those who try to bypass the restrictions will be killed on sight! As for the members of the Four Seas Merchant Alliance... regardless of their country of origin, all their goods and money will be confiscated, and their personnel will be detained."

Chong Xuan Sheng narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is there anything unclear about my uncle's military orders?"

His uncle was naturally Chong Xuan Chu Liang, known for his brutal killings.

He was also the highest-ranking commander who had come with the Autumn Kill Army.

In other words, not only were people from weak countries like Yang and Rong not allowed to enter the country, but even people from powerful countries like Jing, Chu, Qin, and Mu within Yang were not exempt.

This was the dominance of Qi as the hegemon of the Eastern Region, and it was also the unreserved killing intent of Chong Xuan Chu Liang.

He was a completely different person in his normal state and when leading the army.

"Very clear!" the young commander immediately responded.

"Then go."

Behind Chong Xuan Sheng stood fourteen fully armored soldiers.

Compared to Chong Xuan Sheng, who wore his wide robe as a close-fitting armor, the demeanor of the fourteen soldiers was more in line with the strictness of the border city.

Regardless of what Chong Xuan Sheng said to others, the fourteen soldiers maintained their usual silence, and Chong Xuan Sheng did not mind.

"I came so suddenly. Do you think Jiang Wang will mind?" Without waiting for the fourteen to answer, he answered himself, "It's human nature to hold grudges. I hope Qian will make him angry enough."

If Qian knew that he had been repeatedly rebuffed and could not escape even after receiving the news, all because of Chong Xuan Sheng's secret instructions, he did not know if he would regret extorting money in Qingyang Town.

Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't, but it didn't matter.

Because there was no regret medicine to take!

Looking out into the distance from the city tower, Chong Xuan Sheng couldn't help but say, "I'm also unhappy about using my uncle's name to suppress the army."

He had too many worries and used too much of his brain, so he didn't feel like moving.

With such a huge body, once he moved, he had to live up to the effort he put in.

"I'm too fat, that's why."

Chong Xuan Sheng propped himself up on the armrest and stood up on the city tower.

"This chair... is too small!"

...

...

In Qingyang Town, Jiang Wang had gathered all the people in the town into the town, and for a while, it was crowded.

He also confiscated all the supplies and implemented a distribution system, limiting the number of people and the amount of food to ensure that everyone had enough to eat.

No one could understand his decision. In the eyes of others, the only way to fight the plague was to isolate the inside from the outside and stop the spread. Although the plague had mutated and become more dangerous, the core principle of dealing with the plague should not have changed.

That's how Qingyang Town had always done it.

Suddenly changing course and gathering people together was undoubtedly a very risky decision. Even though Qingyang Town had almost completely controlled the plague in its territory.

But in Jiang Wang's view, the plague's invasion of Transcendent cultivators meant that the only force that could directly confront the plague had been lost. Until there was a new alternative, the collapse of the situation was almost inevitable.

In some extreme cases, people were more terrifying than the plague!

Jiang Wang didn't want to imagine those situations, but he couldn't deny their existence.

In the end, his actions were not to fight the plague after the mutation, but... to resist the possible riots after the collapse of the situation.

Chong Xuan Sheng in the Taixu Illusory Realm had not responded all this time. Jiang Wang speculated that it should be related to the military secrets he had mentioned before. But now that he was in Yang Country, he had no idea who the Qi army was targeting, let alone what role Chong Xuan Sheng was playing in it.

But there was no doubt that the pressure brought by the unseen Chong Xuan Zun had made Chong Xuan Sheng so tense that he never dared to relax, even though he now had the qualifications to gamble on the table.

Jiang Wang could only do his best to strengthen his own power and influence. He couldn't control anything else for the time being, and he had no way to control it.

At this time, he was still unaware of the news that the Qi army had surrounded Yang Country. With Qi's strength, it could easily isolate the inside and outside of Yang Country, making the people in Yang Country blind, deaf, and dumb.

Not to mention that Yang Country had been an affiliated country of Qi for many years, and Yang Country had never been on guard against Qi. To be on guard was to have ulterior motives, and how could Yang Country dare?

So Qi's sudden siege of Yang Country was so abrupt, but it was executed so tightly.Certainly, in Jiang Wang's view at this time, Yang State would inevitably receive assistance from Qi State. After all, Yang State was a vassal of Qi State, and to some extent represented Qi State's dignity; Qi State could not possibly ignore their plight.

All the preparations he was making were in anticipation of support from Qi State.

From his interactions with the many bureaucrats of Yang State, he observed that the entire officialdom of Yang State was somewhat complacent and blindly arrogant.

With a hegemonic state beside them, they had no room for ambition. The complacency was epitomized by the Lord of Yuecheng, who could even be described as warming a seat without contributing.

As for the arrogance, it was embodied by the bureaucrats of Yang State, led by the Prefect of Rizhao, who took pride in the name of being a vassal to Qi State, basking in the glory of Qi State as their own, and considering Qi State's strength as the strength of their own country. They were all spiritually Qi people.

At least from what Jiang Wang had seen and heard, he truly did not believe that Yang State could perform well in the face of the abnormal rat plague. Rizhao Prefecture was very likely to collapse.

Despite such predictions, Jiang Wang could not possibly save the situation in the entire Rizhao Prefecture; Qingyang Town was already his current limit.

Even for Qingyang Town, he did not have full confidence that he could keep it safe.

But once secured, he might be able to leverage Qingyang Town as a base to seize the greatest benefits for himself and Chongxuan Sheng.

Just imagine a collapsed Yang State, a nation where everything needed to be rebuilt from the ruins. How many opportunities would there be?

And no matter how powerful the external forces were, or how many people coveted this place, none could match the innate advantage of Qingyang Town.

The premise of everything was whether Qingyang Town could become that unfallen banner amidst the ruins.

These matters were entirely Jiang Wang's independent contemplation.

From Zhuang State, to Yun State, to the Blessed State, then to Qi State and now Yang State, everything he had seen had once confused and bewildered him. He had been pondering the meaning of a nation, contemplating the power of the system.

Now he was beginning to have some ideas, although not necessarily mature, they were already very clear.

End of the chapter.