Empress Dowager Su"s expression grew even more ferocious. ""I always thought so. It"s safe and sound. It"s too peaceful. If you don"t offend me, I won"t offend you.""
If the Yan Country is completely in my hands, then it wouldn"t be of much use if it were to be torn into pieces.
""But I also know that not a single one of those guys would want to see me sitting on the throne. They are just a bunch of b.a.s.t.a.r.ds who have to force me to use force.""
She paced back and forth. ""The prairie people made an agreement with me long ago, and if I gave them any of the three iron mines of the Great Swallow, they sent out troops to help me exterminate all those who opposed it.""
""I was just thinking, after all, this is a matter for my family, why should I involve the people from the prairie?""
Zhuge Liuyun"s expression changed, ""This won"t do!""
He quickly walked in front of Empress Dowager Su. ""Once the prairie people have iron ore, then the Central Plains will no longer have a peaceful day!""
Empress Dowager Su waved a hand. ""It"s not as dangerous as you think. There"s a herd of steppe horses. Besides being strong, what else can they take out?""
As long as the Yan Men Pa.s.s is closed, they will not be able to enter or leave. ""
Zhuge Liuyun"s face turned pale. ""You"re crazy.""
Empress Dowager Su was furious. ""I was driven mad by you all!""
""If it wasn"t for you trash, why would you want me to make a deal with a group of Gra.s.sland Horses?""
Zhuge Liuyun said worriedly, ""No matter what, we can"t let the people of the gra.s.sland enter, much less hand over any of the three iron ores.""
Empress Dowager Su said, ""We only talked about giving them five years. After five years, I"ll take it back.""
Zhuge Liuyun said worriedly, ""There are many sharp weapons in the gra.s.sland. Children who can mount horses at the age of four, archery at the age of eight, and killing others at the age of ten.""
Whether it was the Yan Country or other countries, none of them dared to easily open the iron weapons trade.
Once this hole was opened, it would be the same as raising a wolf!
Even if there were only three hundred thousand people in a tribe, as long as they were armed, at least one hundred thousand people could mount a horse and kill them!
""In wartime, except for the elderly and children who can"t mount their horses, even women are soldiers!""
Empress Dowager Su spun around abruptly. ""I don"t care!""
""If you don"t want the people of the prairie to enter, that"s fine too. Now, you can go and talk to your families. You can either be my subordinates or you can kill the people of the prairie.""
Zhuge Liuyun said, ""If you do this, the big clans will unite together to fight you. Before the people of the Great Prairie enter, they will kill you with all their might.""
Empress Dowager Su: ""They dare?""
You overestimate them.
Which one of them didn"t think highly of their own interests?
Who would dare to step out first?
They were just a bunch of despicable villains who were instigating others to send themselves to their deaths. Did they really think that they would risk their lives for some family country?!
I"ll say the same thing again, you can talk now, you can talk now, no matter what you do, it"ll be easy to get those people to come over to me.
""If you can"t even exterminate a small sect before noon tomorrow, then you won"t have much value. I might as well use the people of the prairie.""
Zhuge Liuyun opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Empress Dowager Su waved her hand. ""I"m tired, my body"s a bit tired. All of you go do your work.""
I don"t care what happens, just the result.
""If the Heavenly Enlightenment Sect is not destroyed by noon tomorrow, and An Zaidao and that brat Mu Qiidao are still alive, you can"t blame me.""
Before the sky was even dark, the orders from the brocade palace had already spread throughout the entire city.
According to what the brocade palace said, it was the people from the Heavenly Enlightenment Sect who kidnapped the Yan Emperor in an attempt to pa.s.s the throne to a fake descendant of the Mu Clan.
The former crown prince did not even have a son.
The brocade palace called upon all the people and the imperial court to encircle and suppress the rebels. As long as they joined the army, they would immediately be paid three times the military pay.
Actually, from the beginning of this affair until now, the commoners were already confused, and no one knew what was going on.
The Duke of Yan said that he had been persecuted by the Palace of Embroidery. The Palace of Embroidery said that the Duke of Yan had been kidnapped.
However, the words" joining the army, three times the salary, "and rising rapidly were still very attractive.
Especially those rascals, those people who had nothing to do, who didn"t want to get into a military uniform?
Under such great benefits, let alone using the banner of exterminating traitors, there would be people following even if they were using the banner of rebellion.
After the death of Old Yan, the Mu Clan"s influence and deterrence towards the commoners had been reduced to an extremely low level.
Anjou was worried.
Chen, Gu, Fang, w.a.n.g Kai-tai, Tantai, and the others gathered in An Zhe"s room, discussing how to deal with it.
""If there are really countless civilians swarming in, we will not be able to do it.""
Gu Zhaogong sighed, ""This time, the brocade palace is truly vicious. Not only did they not reveal their true strength, they even forced us into a desperate situation.""
He looked towards An Zhe, ""Owner, this matter is the time to make a choice. My suggestion is … to leave Fang Shoucheng.""
""Where to?""
Gu Zhaogong glanced at Fang Dao. ""The eastern border, where Fang Zhizhong and Great General are … the imperial army"s army is in the eastern border now, hundreds of thousands of troops, experts in the military, as well as experts from various sects a.s.sisting the military are all there.""
As long as the King of Yan was the first to reach the eastern border, he would be able to obtain support.
So what if he temporarily let Fang Bancheng leave?
""What use does Empress Dowager Su have for this city?""
Fang Dao stayed silent for a while before saying, ""Although my father is unwilling to partic.i.p.ate in the imperial court"s conflict and wholeheartedly wants to lead the army against the enemy, he will not sit idly by in this life and death situation.""
With his father"s prestige, a single word from him would be enough to affect the decisions of those clans.
w.a.n.g KaiTai nodded his head. ""I also believe that this is more appropriate. Duke Yan is currently in a delirious state, so you can"t really show yourself.""
It"s fine if we stand on the high wall for others to see. Once we talk to others, as long as we are still under Zhuge"s control, it will be detrimental to us.
Right now, I can still affect some of the people in the city.
""Tonight, we will pack up and leave the city. Then, we will head towards the eastern border. If we are fast, we will be able to reunite with General Fang"s bosom friend in less than a month.""
Gu Chao said in unison, ""But doing so isn"t without drawbacks. Our combined forces aren"t that strong.""
If he left the place where he had so many defensive weapons, he would be attacked from all sides.
Especially after we get out of town, we"ll have more difficulties.
""Right now, we don"t know what methods we have on the empress dowager"s side … but if there are really many experts hidden, many armies, shouldn"t we take them out by now?""
""It"s really puzzling.""
Chen Zaiyan, who had been silent all this time, said, ""If we don"t take it out, we won"t be afraid. It"s those people who are here to watch the show.""
So far, no court official had stood up to say whether he was on the empress dowager"s side or ours.
Any one of these people would be no match for the empress dowager, or even our opponent.
""But if these people are gathered together, the empress dowager will feel fear in her heart.""
An Xuan said, ""Give me four hours.""
He stood up and looked at the crowd. ""I still need to enter the Embroidery Palace. If I don"t bring back some good news within four hours, then everyone will leave Fang Shoucheng after the time is up.
""General w.a.n.g has arranged for the people guarding the city to come to our aid. Both the Gathering House and my carriage shop have the power to transport everyone away.""
""No.""
w.a.n.g KaiTai said, ""You can"t take the risk alone. I"ll go with you.""
An Zhan shook his head. ""I can"t contact the garrison without you.""
Fang said stiffly, ""Then I"ll go with you.""
An Zaiyue said, ""General Fang can"t go either. The team of Flowing Metallic Fire that was left behind in the capital is our last barrier.""
Especially after leaving the city, Iron Flowerfire was the strongest guard there was.
""If you leave and no one commands Metallic Fire, the power will be greatly reduced.""
He slowly said, ""After all, it"s easier for me to go on this matter alone.""
I come and go as I will, and if there are more people, it will be a hindrance.
If I don"t return in four hours, you can leave immediately. You don"t have to wait for me.
""Don"t worry, nothing will happen to me.""
Zhuang Feifei said, ""I still can"t do it, it"s too dangerous.""
""You should believe me,"" said An Zaiyue. ""My trump card, the Empress Dowager, doesn"t know.""
Zhuang Feifei said, ""You can"t underestimate the empress dowager either. She"s been roping in on the forces of the martial arts world for so many years.""
On the surface, he looked calm and collected. Perhaps, he was already making his move.
No one knows how powerful she is. Do you know her if she doesn"t know you?
""If she had been so easy to get rid of, the situation wouldn"t be like this.""
An Zhan stayed silent for a while before saying, ""How about this, you guys first discuss what to do after leaving the city and invite Lord Huo. Without him, we wouldn"t be able to take a single step.""
""I"ll go make some preparations. After you"ve discussed the results, I"ll see who will enter the brocade palace with me.""
Everyone nodded as they saw him relax.
An He fought his way out of the room to avoid the crowd. It was already dark outside. He moved along the corner of the wall, preparing to leave quietly.
When Ye Zichen walked to the wall, he saw that Skinny Du was smoking Lord Huo"s pipe in his mouth.
""I knew it. I know you better than the Ascaris in your stomach.""
An Zhan sighed, ""Fatty, it"s too dangerous.""
Lean tapped his pipe against the wall. ""Dangerous?""
What do you think is the greatest danger?
Dead?
When we were living in the Illusory Realm, I was afraid of death, but I was still willing to die with you.
I know you don"t want to involve us, but the truth is, if a man doesn"t have a friend who"s been around when he"s taking a chance, isn"t he sorry? ""
""If I"m not here, you can take care of them.""
""Stop bulls.h.i.tting!""
He put his arm around An Zaiyue"s shoulders and said, ""Do you think I need to take care of Xiao Liu"er, or Xiao Yezi?""
An Zhan smiled. ""Alright, we can"t beat you. Let"s go.""
""Don"t think of anything from behind and go alone. I will tell you the correct outlook on life … If you don"t want to implicate your brothers and friends in the face of danger, then you will lose your brothers and friends.""
You"re the Savior?
Savior doesn"t need help. ""
An Zou gave a thumbs up: ""Accept.""
Dean said in a thin tone: ""I"m going to sell it.""
""From whom?""
""We …""
Qu Liuxi and Gu Qianye walked over from the corner of the wall, looking at An Zaiyue with a smile, ""Do you know what a family is?""
""If you know it, then shut up. If you want to do something serious, then hurry up.""
An Zou"s nose was a little sore. ""Alright, alright, alright. You guys have the final say.""
The four of them leaped over the top of the wall and made their way towards the brocade palace in the darkness.
At this moment, in the brocade palace, the empress dowager Su Qing"s room, Zhuge Liuyun looked at her with an ashen face.
Su Qing"s warm voice became a lot gentler, ""It"s not that I"m anxious, the soldiers that you spent nearly five years creating haven"t completely succeeded yet.""
And because these people are so destructive, all the gangsters I recruited are in charge of guarding them.
If something goes wrong, even you and I will be unable to protect ourselves.
Originally, I calculated that in another half a year, I would be able to succeed.
But now the sudden arrival of the feud had thrown my plan completely into disarray.
Now, if he were to transfer all the experts in his hands out, destroying the entire Heaven"s Enlightenment Sect would only be a small matter.
Even if those clans were wiped out, it wouldn"t be a difficult task.
""However, once they leave the underground palace, those poison warriors will lose their surveillance and will be difficult to deal with at that time.""
She gently said, ""After half a year, when the Poison Warrior comes out of the underground palace, what will those steppe horses count for?""
You think I"m willing to give up the iron mine?
Of course I know about the Tartarus"s ambitions. ""
Her hand brushed across Zhuge Liuyun"s face. ""Half a year is fine.""
Zhuge Liuyun sighed, ""I think I"ll go. I can exterminate the Heavenly Enlightenment Sect by myself.""
Su Qing replied warmly, ""But if you leave my side, what should I do?""
Zhuge Liuyun stayed silent for a while, ""Go to the underground palace, I will be back in one night.""
Su Qing said warmly, ""I"m not going, none of those people in the underground palace can be trusted. Let"s just send a few people over, aren"t the first few people to test it already near perfect?""
""Letting them go can also be considered testing the results.""
Zhuge Liuyun remained silent for a long time, ""I am worried that I will lose control, and once I lose control, these people will be able to cause a disaster.""
Su Qing replied warmly, ""Disaster?""
We"ll clean up after the disaster. ""
Zhuge Liuyun said, ""Forget it, it"s up to you.""
He walked to the entrance and waved his hand. From the shadows, two people quickly approached him. ""Grandpa, do you have any orders?""
""Release the people with the land names and head to the Heavenly Awakening Sect."""