Ye Lu Buha"s death was merely the beginning of the chaos in Dragon City.
It was nothing compared to what happened afterwards.
In a short span of a day, Fang Yuan had "visited" the First Prince Ba Tu, Second Prince A Guda, Eighth Prince Geritu in succession. He also used the name of alliance leader to pressure them into joining the alliance.
Of course, if it was before all of this had happened, the people of the Yuan Country would not care about this, but in order to cooperate with the powerful Fang Yuan, even the fiercest lion would become an obedient cat.
Even the most delinquent Eighth Prince had to follow after the strongest warrior of Yuan Country, Zhuo Li Getu had lost to Fang Yuan after three moves. Without much say, they had to partake in the conference held by the king of Xia Country.
Outside the Dragon City.
Troops of soldiers from Yuan Country were moving, and Ba Tu was in the middle. There were a few warriors and shamans around him.
"Why not organise the conference within the city?"
He scoffed in dissatisfaction, but there was a hint of fear in his eyes.
Ba Tu was not afraid of Fang Yuan. If Fang Yuan wanted to kill him, there was nowhere he could hide!
He was fearful of his few brothers.
"Don"t worry prince. The conference is held within the camp of the people from the South. I"ll use my reputation as the strongest warrior in the world to ensure our safety!"
By his side was a shaman with a nose piercing. "With that master around, A Guda and Ge Ritu would not take the risk to try to kill you! Furthermore... If the conference was held in the Dragon City, your brothers might not be agreeable to it!"
Ba Tu smiled helplessly. He knew that if that happened, he might just set a trap to capture both A Guda and Ge Ritu, for it would be a rare opportunity to capture them.
"These people from the South cannot fight wars, but I"ll have to admit that their architecture skills are not too bad! If there"s a chance for us to go to the South in the future, remember to capture a few carpenters and architects to be our slaves!"
As the arrived at the campsite, there were a few tall platforms built on towers, and Ba Tu though silently to himself.
"Lu lu!"
At a short distance away, there were two trails of sand dust approaching.
"It"s the bugle of A Guda and Ge Ritu!"
With one look, Ba Tu appeared solemn.
As they came closer and closer, the atmosphere became increasingly tense.
The people from the South had already expected this to happen. With the opening of the campsite"s gates, a few thousand troops flowed out. Under the command of Zhang Xia, Li Hanghu and Liu Shanchuang, they managed the situation to restore order.
"Hmph!"
Ge Retu leapt down from his horse, and Zhu Li Getu followed. This "strongest" warrior of Yuan Country seemed to be a little pale as he coughed a few times. It was obvious that he was not in his best condition, and could only follow weakly behind Ge Ritu.
"Ba Tu! What a demon you are! You have been cursed by the heavens and you are now guilty of murdering your own father. How dare you come here?"
Ge Ritu squinted his eyes and gave a cold look, as he softly called out, "Zhuo Li Getu..."
"Eighth Prince, I understand your intent..."
Zhuo Li Getu coughed before continuing. "From this distance, ignoring the fact that I might die, I can indeed kill Ba Tu. However, the people from the South would surely not let us off. This would only benefit your brother, A Guda!"
"I know, and that"s why we have to exercise restraint!"
Ge Ritu gave a serious look as he walked up the platform. His expression changed once more.
He had expected to see the various kings sitting according to their allocated positions, but there were two unexpected people here!
"It"s Third and Fourth Prince!"
Zhu Li Getu replied. "It seems that the news is true. With the 20,000-men strong army, both of them surrendered to the people from the South!"
"What humiliation! I will never forget this day!"
Ge Ritu clenched his fist.
As the three princes arrived, they made eye contact with the two princes who were already there and exchanged fierce looks with one another.
"Yuan Country and Wu Country have always been the pillar of strength in the conferences!"
As soon as everyone arrived, the king of Xia Country gave his speech which he had prepared. "... The death of the king of Yuan Country is a regret, but Yuan Country cannot be without a leader..."
"Hmph! Does the alliance leader have the intention to get involved in our internal affairs?"
Although he was the youngest, Ge Ritu was the first one unable to control himself and reb.u.t.ted.
"All of you are heroes. How can I casually make the decision? However, the chaos in Yuan Country is ultimately not a good thing! Do I have the authority to make such a decision?"
Xie Lingyun stood up and smiled. "Although we only have 30,000 soldiers here, we have already sent out the signal. Soon enough, we would have a 100,000 more joining us from the boundaries of the gra.s.s plains!"
Hering this, Ba Tu and A Guda looked at each other, feeling troubled.
If they manage to gather their troops, it would not be an easy fight.
However, Fang Yuan was clear that this was Xie Lingyun"s over exaggeration. Even though he had the ability to manipulate every country governer and king, he would be fortunate enough if he had managed to gather 100,000 troops.
The sheer number was enough to strike fear in them.
Immediately, a few people from Yuan Country were at lost. "What do you all want to do?"
"We have said it before. To have peace in the gra.s.s plains, we need to come up with a plan that everyone is agreeable to!"
Fang Yuan remarked.
Although he was only wearing the robes of a country governor, his position was the highest without a doubt. Therefore, had the most right to talk.
Ba Tu and A Guda were lost for words. Finally, it was still Ge Ritu who stood out. "What do you all intend to do? Say it now!"
"Very well!"
The king of Xia Country clapped his hands. "All of you princes are heroes, and I dare not make the decision. What if everyone gets to be king to lead their own country? How does that sound?"
"What?"
This suggestion shocked everyone.
Ge Ritu was enraged and shocked at the same time. His words were stuck in this throat, and he could not say anything.
This was because he could see interest in the eyes of Ba Tu, A Guda and even the Third and Fourth Prince, and therefore was in desolation.
Since he used to be the crown prince of Yuan Country, he had looked at the problem from the king"s perspective. Of course, he would find this arrangement unacceptable.
However, it was good news for the other princes.
Indeed, instead of trying to fight for a slim chance at being king, it was easier and more tempting to take the rewards now.
The reward was the most tempting to the princes with little hope of being king.
"That"s right!"
Fang Yuan"s voice spread. "This gra.s.s plains is huge! It is even possible to split this land up into 80 pieces if you like! By splitting it into 8 pieces, every prince can be their own king and start their own country!"
At this stage, his plans started to unfold.
Regardless of which prince would become the ultimate king of Yuan Country, they would still target the South!
Even if he destroyed Yuan Country, he would only get a few years of peace before a new country would rise again.
Therefore, the only solution would be to let the people of Yuan Country have internal conflicts and waste their time on each other.
"There are too many divisions in the gra.s.s plains, and it would be impractical to wipe them all out. We need your expertise, and therefore we will support this plan!"
He thought to himself silently.
Splitting up the huge Yuan Country and allowing the princes to fight among each other; helping the weak and taking down the strong; all of these are just there to let them waste time. Splitting them up would not give them the chance to gather their strength together.
This was a delicate operation and required the cooperation of the countries neighbouring the gra.s.s plains to support the plan, but Fang Yuan was willing to try it out.
Even if it were to fail, it would cost him nothing. What was there to fear about?
"How do we split the land, people, soldiers and horses?"
Ge Ritu asked.
"This is simple. Every matured prince would get 10,000 citizens, allocated based on the divisions in the land. As for the gra.s.s plains, I have split it up into 8 parts, come and decide for yourself who to get which!"
Fang Yuan ordered for a map to be brought up.
On the map was the area of Yuan Country. Although the gra.s.s plains were closer to the South, it was vast and fertile.
But now, it was casually split into 8 portions, and on all of the portions, there was a label.
Ba Tu, A Guda and Ge Ritu looked at one another.
It seemed that the people from the South had already prepared for them to split up their country.
However, no one dared to make a decision and be the one guilty of splitting the country up, plus... How would they be convinced to settle for this without even trying to fight for the throne?
"Thank you for your kind intentions. Both of us will sign the alliance agreements!"
Third and Fourth prince, both who were already taken over, leapt out.
They had a slim chance to fight for the throne, to begin with. Now that their armies were defeated by Fang Yuan, they had huge losses. It would be a blessing in disguise for them to take this consolation prize.
"Disgusting... Both of you are the thieves among us!"
Witnessing this scene, Ge Ritu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger.
"We will... accept this plan!"
Even so, it was only logical to agree to the agreement.
Tears rolled down his cheeks as soon as he had agreed to the plan.
"Congratulations, master! You have made history!"
Seeing the princes take their leave, Xie Lingyun could no longer hold in her excitement as she exclaimed.
Wu Qiankun bit his lip but remained silent.
Even he had to acknowledge that the plan of splitting them up, if realised, would neutralise the Yuan Country"s threat.
He felt regretful for not being able to accomplish this n.o.ble plan under his leaders.h.i.+p.
"If everything in the gra.s.s plains is settled, and if this person directs his attention to Wu Country, what should I do?"
Thinking about this, Wu Qiankun was in fear.
While he was in fear, Fang Yuan coincidently turned his head around and looked at him, which made him lost for words.
"It"s still early to talk about this!"
Fang Yuan looked at Dragon City and was lost in his own thoughts. "Pa.s.s the order down for all soldiers to be on alert, to prepare for any sneak attacks from the Yuan Country!"
"What?"
Xie Lingyun was shocked.
"Although they are disappointed, they have not lost all hope yet. Without a defeat, how would they listen to us?"
Fang Yuan snickered, as though he had seen through all of them.
At midnight, the Second Prince A Guda and Eighth Prince Ge Ritu came together to prepare to attack the camp. However, they met with an ambush and were squarely defeated. Zhuo Li Getu was killed. On the second day, First Prince Ba Tu presented Dragon City and surrendered. He was made the king, and the other princes were made their own kings as well. The conflicts which would go on to last a hundred years between the princes on the gra.s.s plains have finally begun…...