Chapter 254: Underground King
In the Yan Country, Emperor Yan was smiling in his palace!
“Good! Well done! This time, Gao Zhangsun defeated the Chu Country’s 100,000 strong army. This way, our northern border will have no worries.”
Emperor Yan was very happy. This battle could be said to have brought glory to the Yan Country.
“Go, issue a decree. Tell Lu Zhen that there’s nothing going on in the Northern Border. Tell him to let go and attack Zhou Country. I’ll transfer 180,000 troops from the Northern Border to him! We must break through Zhou Country as soon as possible!”
Emperor Yan put the report aside and said to Prime Minister Qin Wenchang.
“Your Majesty, you can’t!” Qin Wenchang hurriedly advised, “Although we’ve won this battle, it doesn’t mean that the Chu Country won’t continue to send troops to attack. 100,000 troops is nothing to the Chu Country. It’s not to the point where it hurts the bones and tendons.
Right now, the intelligence network in the Chu Country’s capital has already been removed. In the event that the other party suddenly sends troops to attack, it’s not a good thing that there are too few troops on the northern border!”
Emperor Yan laughed loudly and said, “Gao Zhangsun’s 30,000 troops broke through the Chu Country’s 100,000 strong army! These Chu people are nothing but rats. They can only hide in the city and be slaves to guard the land. Even if they try to use their battle formations to decide the victor, how can they be a match for our Great Yan General?”
Speaking up to this point, he was even happier. “Back then, Zhou Country’s Yan Ze and Wu Kunhu, could still be considered to have some ability. However, now that Yan Ze has been sent to attack Ji Luo, I’ve already planned to let Tong Liang go to Ji Luo. The two of them have fought at the border for many years, so he can definitely help Ji Luo reverse their decline! In this way, if we delay Yan Ze, then what other people in Chu are worth mentioning?”
Qin Wenchang cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, you can’t be careless. That Yan Ze’s daughter, Yan Luoying, is quite talented in commanding. Back then, she was the one who led the army to break through my Fort Boulder. She could be said to be invincible in her generation.
Now, she’s even more outstanding in the battle with Ji Luo Country. If the Chu Emperor decides to separate these two people and use one of them to attack our northern border, wouldn’t it be detrimental if Your Majesty also moves the army away?”
Emperor Yan calmed down a little. He had to admit that Qin Wenchang’s words made sense.
He frowned and said, “But it’s not a long-term solution to keep dragging out the battle with the Zhou Country. After all, our Yan Country is fighting one against two. The more we drag it out, the more problems will arise.”
Qin Wenchang pondered for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, you can reduce the number of troops. You can mobilize 50,000 strong troops south and recruit young men from various places to replenish them. Although the strength of the troops in the northern borders will decrease a little, even if they really fight, with the backing of the city, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem to defend! Lu Zhen can also be replenished in the Southern side!”
“I still have one more plan!” Qin Wenchang said in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, there’s no need to send General Tong to Ji Luo. You only need to send a single Heaven Rank expert! Let them go to Ji Luo’s front line and a.s.sa.s.sinate Yan Luoying!”
“Eh?”
Emperor Yan narrowed his eyes.
Qin Wenchang continued, “Yan Luoying and her father are both generals in the army, especially Yan Luoying. Her military talent can be said to be outstanding. Even if General Tong goes and directs the troops of Ji Luo Country, there’s no tacit understanding between the generals and they don’t know the troops well enough. They might not be able to win. In my opinion, it’s better to lose.”
“I’ve checked the battles that Yan Luoying has partic.i.p.ated in in her entire life. I discovered that she has never lost before. Only then can she be outstanding. Sooner or later, she will become a disaster for the Great Yan. Taking this opportunity to kill her is the easiest and simplest way.
As long as the Heaven Rank experts we send out are not captured by the Chu Country and escape, the Chu Country will definitely take the opportunity to start the Heaven Rank battle with Ji Luo. They will also be powerless to invade the Yan Country.”
“Hahaha!” He laughed wildly in his eyes. “Minister Qin is wise in all ways. With your help, why would I need to worry about not being able to unify the world?”
It had to be said that this idea was indeed very good.
He thought about it and said, “Then can’t I transfer the soldiers to the Southern Border instead!”
“You can’t…”
Qin Wenchang smiled wryly. “Your Majesty, it’s not as easy as you think. There are pros and cons to everything. Once both sides start the Heaven Rank battle, Ji Luo will definitely be at a disadvantage. At that time, there’s a possibility that Ji Luo will surrender! Furthermore, we have to consider the possibility of failure.”
“The best outcome is that the a.s.sa.s.sination succeeds. The Chu Kingdom will fight against Ji Luo Country and lose a few Heaven Rank experts!”
“Generally speaking, if the a.s.sa.s.sination succeeds, the Chu Country will launch the Heaven Rank war. The Heaven Rank experts of Ji Luo Country will be defeated and surrender.”
“The worst case scenario is that the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt fails and the Ji Luo Country surrenders. At that time, not only will the Chu Country not suffer any casualties, they might even threaten our northern border!”
Qin Wenchang said, “This is a double-edged sword plan, but the greatest benefit is that we can kill Yan Luoying when the Chu Country is unprepared and reduce the number of generals that can be used in the Chu Country. As long as Yan Luoying dies, although Yan Ze can be considered a famous general, there are many people in our Yan Country who can contend with him.”
“Moreover, based on the current situation, Ji Luo will be destroyed sooner or later! It’s impossible for us to take the initiative to start an all-out war with the Chu Kingdom. Instead of that, why don’t we take this opportunity to kill Yan Luoying!”
The Emperor pondered for a moment and said, “Risk and benefits coexist. In that case, we’ll follow the Prime Minister’s plan and kill Yan Luoying!”
Both he and Qin Wenchang could tell that Yan Luoying was talented in military affairs.
Under the current rules, such commanders were even more precious than Heaven Rank experts.
Qin Wenchang continued, “Your Majesty must not look down on the Zhou and Chu Countries. After all, they are both descendants of the Great Emperors, and their land area is huge. Furthermore, they have a lot of people and have a deep foundation. If these two really work together, our Yan Country will definitely not be their match! Therefore, we have to focus our attention on the Zhou Country now, yet prevent an all-out war with the Chu Country. We have to think of a way to restrain their strength.”
Emperor Yan’s happiness had already disappeared. After hearing Qin Wenchang’s words, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have celebrated too early.
Seeing his expression turn solemn, Qin Wenchang smiled again and said, “However, Your Majesty doesn’t have to worry too much. Although these two countries have formed an alliance, they must have their own ulterior motives.
They both want the other party to become the main opponent of our Yan Country! Therefore, you saw that Emperor Chu only sent 100,000 people to restrain us and give the Zhou Country a chance to breathe! However, they are unwilling to bear the main attack of our country!”
Qin Wenchang said, “Currently, this situation is actually the most advantageous for the Chu Country. Because be it us or the Zhou Country, we are both being attacked from both sides. Only the north of the Chu Country is filled with endless wilderness.”
“However, the biggest problem for the Chu Country is that the number of talents in the country has been declining over the past few years. It is still pa.s.sable for them to defend, but their lacking if they wish to compete against our Yan Country. Therefore, we cannot let go of the outstanding talents in the Chu Country, especially the military talents!”
After Qin Wenchang finished speaking, Emperor Yan nodded and said, “I understand.”
Su Wen did not know that Emperor Yan had already set his sights on Yan Luoying.
At this moment, there were three fellows standing in front of him.
They were the original three gang leaders.
Su Wen placed a few secret manuals on the table.
These were all Earth Rank cultivation and martial techniques that he had drawn out from the system s.p.a.ce.
To put it bluntly, Su Wen really did not fancy this things anymore.
“The three of you, from now on, I won’t just be paying you through money alone. Take these techniques and practice them well. Work hard for me. If anyone has any ulterior motives, I’ll kill them!”
Su Wen said calmly.
The aura of a Heaven Rank cultivator spread out, causing the three of them to freeze.
“Also… go and find two people for me now… They are both tall, male and female, and that woman looks like a man. Find them and tell them that I asked them to come. Otherwise, I will capture them and give them to the Zhou Emperor.” Su Wen planned to use the two Barbarians as well!
Sha Qinghe, Du Ping, and w.a.n.g Dalong quickly mobilized their men to look for them.
At the same time, they also sent their underlings to the palace to retrieve the spirit artifact given by Emperor Zhou.
Emperor Zhou still did not send anyone to follow him.
After Su Wen received the items, he did not leave.
Instead, he continued to wait.
Soon, the underlings really found Tamu Chuan and Sula.
Upon seeing the two of them, Su Wen went forward and grabbed the two of them. He smiled and said, “Come, come, sit down quickly.”
As he spoke, he pressed the two of them onto their seats.
Soon after, the best wine and meat were served.
Tumu Chuan and Sula had been short on money recently. When they saw that Su Wen had brought so much delicious food, they immediately ate heartily.
After dinner, Su Wen was in no hurry to talk about anything.
He only led the two of them to buy clothes and things they liked. They went to watch a show, listen to music, and had some fun.
These two were pure country b.u.mpkins.
After coming to the capital of Great Zhou, although they were blinded by the prosperity, they mostly only focused on eating and drinking.
They were already very satisfied with such material comforts.
How would they be like Su Wen?
After some fun, the two of them were extremely happy.
“Brother Su, you’re such a good person!” Tamu Chuan praised sincerely.
Isn’t that right? Giving him food and drinks, and even leading him around to sightsee. Wasn’t he a great person?
Su Wen looked at Tamu Chuan and said with a smile, “You two are too miserable to be spies. Didn’t the Fire Barbarians give you some funds?”
Looking at their blank faces, Su Wen laughed, “Money!”
Tamu Chuan shook his head and said, “They only gave some. It was all spent a long time ago.”
Su Wen smiled. “How about this, let’s work together?”
Tamu Chuan’s eyes widened in curiosity. “How?”
Su Wen didn’t answer. Instead, he took out two stacks of banknotes!
Ten thousand taels each was given to Tamu Chuan and Sula.
Their eyes lit up. They now knew the benefits of money.
Furthermore, 10,000 taels of silver was definitely a huge sum!
Looking at their reactions, Su Wen was very satisfied. He then smiled and said, “You guys are barbarians, and I’m the Nanli King of Chu. Our two sides are worlds apart, so there’s definitely no conflict between us. As spies, I believe you guys also want to gather information, right?”
Tamu Chuan could only nod. At this point, a lie could only be covered up with countless other lies…
Su Wen said, “Since that’s the case, I have some people in the city. They can collect information, but right now, they are only based in the Eastern District of the city. This sphere of influence is too small, so I hope that Brother Tamu Chuan can help me and follow them. I want these people’s influence to spread throughout the capital.
If anyone is unconvinced, help me clean them up. These places of the lower citizens gather are sometimes well-informed. After the matter is completed, our two parties will share the information. Everyone will benefit.”
Tamu Chuan now understood.
After all, he was a commander of the Barbarians, so he knew the importance of intelligence.
He did not expect Su Wen to have such thoughts.
However, after careful thought, he realized that there was nothing wrong with this.
Although his main goal was to kidnap Su Wen, it seemed impossible now.
Tamu Chuan had his own thoughts on how to go ahead.
Firstly, he still hoped to remain in the Great Zhou’s colorful world.
Secondly, he had come out with Xu Qiao this time. But now that the mission could not be completed and Xu Qiao was gone, if he returned to the Fire Barbarians, he might even be punished.
Instead of that, it was better to build a good relations.h.i.+p with Su Wen first. Perhaps he could obtain the secret to the Golden Crow Sacred Flame from Su Wen.
No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like it was better to agree to Su Wen’s request.
As for obtaining information and sending it back to the Fire Barbarians, it might be a good thing.
He agreed immediately. “Alright!”
Seeing that he had agreed, Su Wen brought him to find Sun Wei and the gang leaders.
After a brief introduction, Su Wen said in a deep voice, “From today onwards, the three of you will have to listen to Sun Wei’s orders. The business of the three of you gangs will also merge. Your next target will be the businesses and gangs of the entire lower castes of the Capital! With the help of Tamu Chuan and Sula, you will become the Kings of the Great Zhou underground world!”
Su Wen’s ability to bewitch people was really good. Sha Qinghe, Du Ping, w.a.n.g Dalong, and Sun Wei all felt their blood boiling.
Su Wen looked at the four of them and said in a deep voice, “I’m not afraid to tell you directly. If you cultivate an Earth Rank cultivation technique, you won’t be able to reach the Heaven Rank in your lifetime. However, as long as you work hard for me, I can give your son a chance to practice a Heaven Rank cultivation technique!”
Sssssss…
The four of them grew even more excited!
This was an opportunity to transcend the hierarchy!
To them, the Earth Rank technique that Su Wen took out was already precious enough.
Not to mention a Heaven Rank technique!
Su Wen was naturally only dangling the bait in front of them now.
Of course, if they really performed well, he didn’t mind giving them some rewards.
To be honest, even though these people were from the Lower Castes, they had their own life experience.
If Su Wen really let Tamu Chuan do this, he might be able to kill all these people, but he would definitely not be able to control so many people in the dark.
Actually, from the looks of it, Su Wen’s actions were probably useless.
However, Su Wen still believed in that sentence: “Those who did not plan for eternity would not be able to plan on the spot, while those who did not plan for the entire situation would not be able to plan for their city region.” One had to always take into account the short term versus long term, as well as the minute details against the big picture.
The Zhou Country, the grudge between him and the Zhou Emperor, would the Zhou Emperor let it go even if he wanted to?
Even if Emperor Zhou said that he had let go, would Su Wen be at ease?
In the future, if the Yan Country was really exterminated and Great Chu really wanted to unite the world, would the Zhou Country be Chu’s enemy?
For some things, it might be too late to make a last-minute effort.
Even after arranging for so many people in the capital, Su Wen did not leave.
Before leaving, he planned to earn a wave of Emotional Value.
It was already late at night.
In the dead of the night, the citizens of Great Chu were already asleep.
But… suddenly… a song sounded!
“A Laugh amidst the Vast Ocean… The torrential waves of the two sh.o.r.es…”
Everyone was jolted awake!
The sound spread throughout the capital. Bolstered by the power of the Heaven Rank True Qi, its penetrative powers were extremely strong.
With Su Wen’s Heaven Rank strength, he could easily do such a thing!
“Dear Zhou brothers, I’m back! Su Wen, your most beloved Su Wen, offers you a late night song!”
The same b.i.t.c.hy voice…
Then, Su Wen’s concert… began.
At the beginning, many people still found it refres.h.i.+ng.
Soon, the song ended.
“Does everyone think it’s nice? It must be nice, right? So I’ve decided to sing it again…”
“A Laugh amidst the Vast Ocean!”
The torture began.
No matter how good Su Wen’s singing was, his actions were extremely annoying.
Instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, he forcefully started singing…
It was not enough to sing it once… but to sing it a second time… and a third time…
Su Wen did not mind being tired. He repeated the song over and over again.
This was annoying to the citizens of the Great Zhou.
“Is this Su Wen an idiot?”
“Ah! Are you going to let me sleep?”
“I can’t take it anymore. This is already the eighth time!”
“Help! Can he change to another song?”
Su Wen was already prepared to escape!
In the beginning, Emperor Zhou was still unwilling to bother with him!
But after Su Wen sang for a full two hours without any intention of leaving, Emperor Zhou could not stand it anymore!
“Get Thirteenth Uncle to chase this b.a.s.t.a.r.d away!”
Emperor Zhou gave the order.
Soon, Thirteenth Uncle went straight for Su Wen.
If it were anyone else, Su Wen would have run away immediately.
However, when Su Wen realized that it was this old fellow, he smiled.
In his impression, this Thirteenth Master did not choose to come along with the Zhou Emperor on that day.
Obviously, he did not want to attack Su Wen.
“Rascal, stop singing!”
The Thirteenth Master hollered out.
Su Wen smiled and shut his mouth. He still had to give some face to the old fellow.
“How is it? Does it sound good?”
“So noisy. Didn’t we already form an alliance? Why are you still doing such disgusting things?” Thirteenth Master could not understand Su Wen’s thoughts.
Su Wen smiled and said, “I can’t cut ties with the citizens of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I’m just afraid that they will miss me, Young Master Su. Come back with them to reminisce about the past! I believe the citizens will definitely love and respect me!”
Hmm… Emotional Value that has grown by nearly a million… really said quite a lot about the love and respect the citizens had for him.
Basically, they could not wait to show some ‘love’ to the Su family’s eighteen generations of ancestors…
“Alright, alright, hurry up and leave. Even if you don’t sleep, others want to!”
Su Wen smiled. “Why are you still sleeping? What time is it? Can Ying Hua even let you sleep?”
“Hehe, no matter how good Ying Hua is, she’s still an ordinary person. How can she compare to this old man? Cut the c.r.a.p and leave quickly!”
“Alright!”
Su Wen readily agreed.
Seeing Su Wen leave, the Thirteenth Master sighed.
“He’s a worldly talent, but unfortunately, he’s not a subject of Great Zhou… Also, he’s a little perverted…”
In the palace.
Emperor Zhou also received another report.
“Another spatial fluctuation has appeared, but it’s near the Ever Pleasing Pavilion.”
Emperor Zhou nodded calmly.
He pondered in his heart… When Su Wen left, he seemed to be able to leave at any time and anywhere…
But when he came… was he only restricted to arriving at his residence?
“Pa.s.s down my order, Su Wen’s residence is not to be moved! No one is allowed to occupy it.”
Emperor Zhou’s eyes flashed coldly.
In Chu Country, in the Nanli King’s residence.
Zhao Jin was desperately circulating his True Qi!
It was not that he wanted to work hard, but he had to.
At this moment, Brother Jin’s room had already fallen into a frozen world.
This was the True Qi produced by a Heaven Rank expert.
It kept a.s.saulting Brother Jin!
He could only cultivate, cultivate, cultivate…
Zhao Jin did not even dare to leave the room.
He knew that once he left the room…
What awaited him was definitely Ning Shuang’s double punishment…
“I regret it so much! I really regret it! Why did I agree to achieve that d.a.m.ned Heaven Rank…”
Brother Jin’s face was covered in tears.
However, despite complaining, Zhao Jin’s recent improvement was still very great.
His entire body’s True Qi had already been converted into the True Qi of the Five Tyrant Arts.
Furthermore, his cultivation base had already broken through to 7th Grade Earth Rank.
Although he was still a distance away from reaching the 9th Grade of Earth Rank, under Ning Shuang’s demonic training, he should be able to successfully break through. It was just a matter of time.
Not to mention anything else, Zhao Jin already had an extremely strong belief of wanting to escape from Ning Shuang!
Meanwhile, Su Wen led the five Heaven Rank experts on their way.
There was also an expert from the Xiang family here. The rest were all ancestors of the influential families in the Great Chu capital.
In reality, this was precisely the case.. If it wasn’t for the sake of their descendants, who would be willing to work for the royal family?