Chapter 397 Not Seeing XuanyuantaiFrom afternoon to evening, there was a rare peace in Tongming Temple.
Li Tianlan also had more time to think about everything he had done.
Eastern Europe was extremely chaotic.
The Snowdance Corps, established in response to the chaos in Eastern Europe, now became a direct agency for receiving Eastern European intelligence.
In the extremely chaotic situation, countless pieces of news were transmitted from Eastern Europe to Youzhou every day. They were first delivered to the Snowdance Corps and placed in front of Li Tianlan.
Countless pieces of information continued to pour in.
In the early morning yesterday, the president of Eyme had met with Jiang Qiannian, the board of directors of the South American East Korea International Group, and had ardently hoped that the East Korea Group would invest in Eyme.
Jiang Qiannian had actively expressed his att.i.tude of cooperating with Eyme. The two sides had talked for more than two hours and successfully finalized the first phase of investment of about eight billion US dollars.
Yesterday afternoon, the Morton family of the Eastern European giant had held friendly talks with Ka.s.s Rotter, the chairman of the Black Man in Star State.
This morning…
The Deputy Prime Minister of Snow Country met with the Grand Duke of Europe’s Shadow Queen, Irene·Kingtone·w.a.n.g·Rothschild. It was said that the Rothschild family was likely to invest in the six major banks of Snow Country in the near future.
At noon today, Patriarch Igor, one of the four patriarchs of Eastern Europe’s Eastern Church, was attacked by unknown forces while holding an adult ceremony for the young master of the wealthy family Vasily. In less than two hours, the Vatican Cardinal Brian was invited to Snow Country. The young master of the Vasily family announced publicly that Brian was his G.o.dfather and he would receive blessings from the Holy Land of Europe.
Pieces after pieces of intelligence indicated that the situation in Eastern Europe had been changing. Before the final result, no one knew whether the change was good or bad. But it was certain that in Eastern Europe, all kinds of wealthy families and all states had become the objects that the super forces in Eastern Europe were fighting for. On the other hand, the major super forces were also the targets that local Eastern European forces were fighting for.
So Zhongzhou State was anxious.
Because in a sense, before Li Tianlan entered Eastern Europe, Zhongzhou State had been out of this game from the beginning.
It took a few days for Zhongzhou State to form the Snowdance Corps. It looked like child’s play, but in fact, no one was willing to give up the interests of Eastern Europe.
Li Tianlan’s moves were quick. He spent only two days to finalize the final list of the Snowdance Corps.
Now, that list had been brought to the Army Headquarters and Kunlun City by Fang Wenxi, the chief minister of General Administration of Zhongzhou State. During the period of silently waiting for the results, Li Tianlan could think about if there were any omissions on the list.
The list had been taken away by Fang Wenxi.
But Li Tianlan still had a copy in his hands.
For an entire afternoon, Li Tianlan was studying the list in his hands.
He could feel the haste that Zhongzhou State did not want to give up the interests of Eastern Europe. So when deciding on this list, he inevitably had some inadequate considerations. Now after looking at it in detail, he carefully adjusted the positions behind several names. Li Tianlan immediately felt that the list was more pleasing to the eye.
A knock sounded on the door.
Li Zonghu, who was in a military uniform but did not wear a military rank, stood at the door, scratched his head, and said, “Your Highness, it’s time to eat.”
More than half of the 40,000 soldiers of the Border Control Corps had returned to their respective stations. But the more than 10,000 strongest of them were currently stationed at the Sky Academy. Some outstanding officers at the middle and senior levels and even the gra.s.sroots level were transferred to Tongming Temple for a short training.
The officers of the Army Headquarters and the officers of the Special Warfare System had the same position. It seemed that they were not very different, but in many cases, they had two very different operating concepts. Now the training teachers for officers in Tongming Temple were two princ.i.p.als of Sky Academy and Deep-sea Academy.
Li Zonghu was also on the training list, but he was too lazy to receive any training. Under the circ.u.mstances that Li Tianlan did not confirm his own soldiers and secretaries, the Major General of Border Control Corps consciously served as Li Tianlan’s guard.
“You can eat slowly.”
Li Tianlan shook his head, handed the list to Li Zonghu, and said quietly, “Read it now.”
Li Zonghu froze and walked in to take over the list from his hand.
One after another familiar name appeared in his sight.
He grinned.
“Very good.”
Li Zonghu said with a smile, “Your Highness, if Zhongzhou State plans the Snowdance Corps according to this lineup, then we can say that we are No.1 in the Snowdance Corps.”
Li Tianlan smiled and calmly said, “It shouldn’t be a big problem.”
The formation meeting of the Snowdance Corps would fully respect his will.
This was a good thing, but it was also a bad thing.
w.a.n.g Tianzong was a real hero who really understood the rules. He forced Dongcheng Wudi to sit at the gambling table, but at the same time, gave Dongcheng Wudi the hope that they could continue to gamble.
This so-called hope was the voice of the Snowdance Corps.
Li Tianlan controlled the right to speak of the Snowdance Corps. Even if w.a.n.g Tianzong wanted to repeat the treason case from more than 20 years ago, it would not be easy and he could not do it in secret.
At least, Li Tianlan still had the time to react.
Similarly, if Li Tianlan completely controlled the Snowdance Corps, a treason case from more than 20 years ago would be staged again. Once Li Tianlan was defined as one who committed treason, then the Giant Group, Sigh City, the Li Family, Mount Shu, and Jade Pool as the strongest team of the Snowdance Corps would also be annihilated. Besides, all the forces related to Li Tianlan would come to a terrible end.
Therefore, the Southeast Group would definitely not oppose this list of the Snowdance Corps. This was the chip that w.a.n.g Tianzong had to give to Li Tianlan.
Absolutely centralized power also implied the primary responsibility of absolute concentration.
In the chaotic situation in Eastern Europe, Li Tianlan either would take the Snowdance Corps to develop quickly and laugh to the end…
Or he would just fall into h.e.l.l along with all the forces related to him.
What Li Tianlan thought about now was what w.a.n.g Tianzong would do.
In other words, how would he replicate the treason case of more than 20 years ago inside the Snowdance Corps?
If he wanted to speculate on w.a.n.g Tianzong’s method, he would need to have some understanding of the treason case from more than 20 years ago.
Li Tianlan was now the Marshal of Zhongzhou State and had the authority to know the treason case.
In the past two days, he also read through some of the original materials in a hurry, but found nothing.
Normal personnel movements, exactly coincidental border conflicts, and the orders issued by the senior officials at the right time…
Everything looked normal, with no problem at all.
But in this tranquility without any abnormalities, Li Kuangtu’s treason, the Li family’s collapse, and everything had become instantly out of control.
Li Tianlan knew that he could not find anything exact with these materials, but he also did not expect that he could not find any clues in these materials.
The true inside story might only be known to Kunlun City, the Prince Group, and even the most important person in the w.a.n.g family of Beihai.
And these characters were destined to not tell Li Tianlan the inside story.
Li Zonghu put the list on his desk.
Li Tianlan frowned and walked to the desk, staring at the list on the desk thoughtfully.
If the treason case of more than 20 years ago was a perfect trap without any traces remaining, then, more than 20 years later, in the chaos of Eastern Europe, Li Tianlan could grasp at least two important contexts.
No matter how chaotic the chaotic situation in Eastern Europe was, if w.a.n.g Tianzong wanted to charge him with treason, two members of the Snowdance Corps would play a vital role.
One was the vice marshal of the Snowdance Corps.
The other was the monitor of the Snowdance Corps.
The two came from the w.a.n.g family of Beihai and Kunlun City respectively, and were the only two important chess pieces that Li Tianlan could not control in the Snowdance Corps.
Li Tianlan reached out and tapped on the list on the table.
Li Zonghu went to the water dispenser, poured a gla.s.s of water for Li Tianlan, and put it in front of him.
Li Tianlan glanced at him and said with a smile, “The Major General of Border Control Corps brings tea to me. Will this water make me have a shortened life?”
“That can’t be.”
Li Zonghu laughed and said, “I used to be a personal soldier for Marshal Dongcheng. Now it is the same for me to be the one for Your Highness. Your Highness, would you like to mention to those at the high level that I am not willing to be a s.h.i.t general? How about I come to be your company commander? I am not ugly and have enough strength. It is not shameful for you to keep me at your side.”
“Not shameful indeed.”
Li Tianlan smiled, “But I am not qualified to bring a real general to be a personal soldier.”
“You are the most qualified.”
Li Zonghu didn’t take it for granted and said, “At the peak of the Li family, every generation had a sacred guard next to His Highness. Which guard is not a real general? Not a strong person well-known in the Dark World? If you stand at the peak of Zhongzhou State, a major general might even get a two-level promotion.”
Li Tianlan suddenly became silent.
He seemed to think of something, and his eyes suddenly flashed with an amazing light.
“I don’t eat.”
Li Tianlan said, “Prepare the car to go to the Hidden Dragon Sea!”
Li Zonghu froze, stood up, and saluted, then turned and went out.
Li Tianlan picked up the red confidential telephone on the desk and dialed a number.
The call was quickly connected.
“Director Han? This is Li Tianlan,” Li Tianlan calmly said while holding the phone.
“h.e.l.lo, Your Highness.”
A low, soft laugh sounded on the phone, very kind and polite.
On the other side of the phone was Han Yi, the deputy director of the General Office of Zhongzhou State. Of course, his position in the office was only nominal. The real place of work was in the office of President Li Huacheng. He could be said to be the big Secretary of Li Huacheng and the first Secretary of Zhongzhou State.
Li Tianlan smiled and gently tapped the list in front with his finger and said, “I have something to report to the president. I don’t know if it’s inconvenient.”
The one on the other side of the phone told him to hold on.
It seemed that Han Yi was asking Li Huacheng for advice. Soon, he picked up the phone again and said with a smile, “Your Highness, Mr. President asks you to come over.”
He paused and calmly reminded him, “At nine o’clock, the president also has an appointment with Secretary w.a.n.g of Wuyue.”
Li Tianlan looked at his watch.
It was 7:10 in the evening now. In terms of the current traffic conditions in Youzhou, when he arrived at the Hidden Dragon Sea, he would have more than an hour to report before Li Huacheng met with Wuyue’s w.a.n.g Qinglei.
Li Tianlan said thanks, hung up the phone, turned, and left the office.
Li Zonghu had prepared the car and acted as the driver himself. He drove the car to the Hidden Dragon Sea at a steady speed.
Li Tianlan sat in the back seats and opened the window.
Some sweltering wind poured in on the summer night and mixed with the air-conditioning in the car. It became a little cool.
Li Tianlan lit a cigarette, but he was clearer than ever in his mind.
“I’ve mistaken something,” Li Tianlan said.
Li Zonghu responded, waved his hand, and refused the cigarette that Li Tianlan had handed over.
With his hands on the steering wheel, he was meticulous and drove the car smoothly.
“I’ve been thinking about how the w.a.n.g family of Beihai and Kunlun City will deal with me.”
Li Tianlan smiled and laughed at himself. “In fact, I was frightened, but I was not willing to admit it.”
He always felt that he would not fear anything.
But since entering Tongming Temple and putting on the marshal’s military uniform today, he had been frightened and fearful.
His sudden discomfort in a high position was a kind of fear.
The confusion of not knowing how the w.a.n.g family of Beihai and Kunlun City would take action was the source of his fear.
The formation of the Snowdance Corps without knowing the road ahead was also his fear.
Under great pressure, he did not want to think about anything, but could not help thinking about it.
This was also his fear.
He was afraid of death, failure, and fear of losing with a good card and making everyone come to a miserable end.
Only when he sat in the car and left Tongming Temple did he realize that all his worries and fears were meaningless.
Because he could not know the plans of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai and Kunlun City, nor could he affect their decision.
The only thing he could do was control his own power and do his own thing.
The turmoil in Eastern Europe was an unprecedented opportunity and danger for him. Rather than worriedly guarding against the sharp knife of the enemy who might stab him at any time, it was better to integrate the resources in his hands to try to create a favorable situation for himself.
The car was dark.
Li Tianlan’s eyes were clear.
“Does Your Highness has a way to reverse the situation?” Li Zonghu drove his car and asked with a smile.
“There is no way. It’s just that we can’t be pressed by them all the time. We still can’t see the plan of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, so why do we proactively stretch our noses to let the other side take the initiative? We don’t see the other side’s plan. But we’ll see it anyway. They prepare theirs, and I prepare my own. It is too early to say who will win or lose.”
Li Tianlan shook his head. His eyes were calm and peaceful. Since he returned to Huating from the polar region, his mood seemed to be so stable for the first time.
…
The vehicle went on Chang’an Street under the night lights, and finally entered the Hidden Dragon Sea.
The Hidden Dragon Sea in the night was shimmering with dim light. The hazy light was reflected in this lake that was called a sea, whose sparkle made the entire Hidden Dragon Sea look mysterious and solemn.
“Have you been here?” Li Tianlan asked curiously.
This was the first time he had come to this power center in Zhongzhou State. Through the night and the lights, the ancient pavilions and buildings were hazy in the waves. This kind of scene was beautiful, but it was not rampant. It was a scene of indescribable solemnity and seriousness.
“I was fortunate to have been here once with the Marshal. We went to Jinqiu Pavilion,” Li Zonghu laughed and said.
Jinqiu Pavilion was a place where President Li Huacheng worked, as well as the rumored Office of the President.
Li Tianlan gave a hum, and silently looked at the scenery outside the window.
“Where is Xuanyuantai?” Li Tianlan asked suddenly.
Li Zonghu froze, and he remained silent for a few seconds before whispering, “Slightly behind the center of Jinqiu Pavilion and West Flower Hall, but…”
He was going to say something but stopped on second thought.
“The Hidden Dragon Sea no longer has Xuanyuantai.”
Li Tianlan calmly told a fact that was absolutely not friendly to him.
The current Hidden Dragon Sea had only Kunlun Pavilion, but no Xuanyuantai.
20 years ago, the Li family had not collapsed. When Li Honghe was the defender G.o.d of War in Zhongzhou State, the Xuanyuantai in Hidden Dragon Sea was the power center of the Zhongzhou State Special Warfare System.
With the collapse of the Li family and the rise of Kunlun City, the Gu family built the city on Kunlun Mountain. Xuanyuantai in the Hidden Dragon Sea also became Kunlun Pavilion.
In fact, the building had not changed, nor had its location.
Just that plaque of Xuanyuantai was taken off and was replaced by Kunlun Pavilion.
A very simple move represented the fall of the Li family and rise of the Gu family, the life and death, and the ups and downs of the countless people behind the scene.
The Hidden Dragon Sea had no Xuanyuantai.
But Xuanyuantai was always in Li Tianlan’s heart, where he could always see it.
“There will be.”
Li Tianlan stared at the night out of the window and spoke quietly.
Jinqiu Pavilion was far in the distance.
Li Zonghu slowed down, looked at Li Tianlan, and whispered, “Your Highness, after you return from Eastern Europe, we can quickly rebuild Xuanyuantai.”
“So I can’t lose.”
Li Tianlan laughed. “No matter who I am facing, I cannot lose.”
…
When the car stopped in front of Jinqiu Pavilion, Li Tianlan saw the two figures standing in front of Jinqiu Pavilion for the first time.
One was Han Yi, the head of the president’s office.
The other person turned out to be President Li Huacheng.
The president greeted him in person.
Even though Li Tianlan’s mental state was stable, he could not help being flattered when seeing this scene.
He quickly got out of the car and took a few steps forward, saluting and saying calmly, “Mr. President.”
“Comrade Tianlan.”
Li Huacheng smiled and stretched out his hand and shook hands with Li Tianlan, with a gentle expression on his face. “Let’s go inside to talk.”
The two entered the office of Jinqiu Pavilion in order.
Han Yi brought some freshly brewed tea.
When he was out of the office, the 40-year-old big Secretary in Zhongzhou State, who had already become a senior governor-level official, subconsciously turned around and looked at Li Tianlan.
Li Tianlan sat there quietly in a uniform with the marshal’s rank on his shoulders shining brightly under the lights.
The military rank, military uniform, and a calm but excessively young face.
Even though he had already been mentally prepared, Han Yi could not help feeling a little confused when looking at this scene.
He felt a little self-deprecating, lamenting a little. He closed the door gently, and smilingly greeted Li Zonghu, who had gotten out of the car.
…
Perhaps because the Academics did not fully support the Giant Group at the high-level meeting, Li Huacheng was very polite to Li Tianlan. Instead of sitting behind the desk, he sat in the reception area of the office with Li Tianlan, in a posture of chatting with an old friend.
Li Tianlan drank the tea silently. And aside from the first glimpse of surprise when he first saw Li Huacheng going out to greet him, he became more calm after entering the door.
“Tianlan, how is the list of the Snowdance Corps coming along?” Li Huacheng smiled and first asked.
“It’s ok.”
Li Tianlan nodded. “For the formation of the Snowdance Corps, the Army Headquarters and Kunlun City are very supportive. At noon we had a meeting. I have given the list of the Snowdance Corps to the General Administration. We should soon get some news.”
Li Huacheng gave a hum, holding the tea cup, and hesitated a little.
He was silent for a while, then he slowly said, “Honestly, from a purely state perspective, if you lead a corp, I’ll be relieved. Eastern Europe is very chaotic. If we want to open the situation in chaos, blind robustness indeed makes it difficult to achieve. We need a young and ambitious leader to fight for what Zhongzhou State wants to fight for. Between you and Dijiang, I am more optimistic about you. But from a personal perspective, your position is very sensitive. I and Wudi have some concerns. Some things are difficult for us to stop. Since it has happened, we can only try to find a result that is beneficial to everyone. Tianlan, if you need my help, I will try my best.”
In private talks, President Li Huacheng’s words were direct and candid. There was no false pretense between them.
After all, Li Tianlan was still an ally of the Academics.
Without his relationship with the Giant Group, he was almost equivalent to being the first master of the Academics when Li Tianlan officially entered the Academics and had the combat capability of the Invincible Realm. Such a character deserved attention from everyone in Zhongzhou State.
And although President Li Huacheng now planned to abandon the Special Warfare System, it was only because of the trade-off between the military and political aspects and the Special Warfare System. If possible, he would naturally fight for it. If the w.a.n.g family of Beihai and Kunlun City could be blocked by Li Tianlan in the chaos of Eastern Europe, the Academics would have a much larger s.p.a.ce to operate in.
Taking a step back, even if Li Tianlan’s relationship with the Academics gradually drifted away, in the current situation, as long as he existed, the Academics would have a much larger future activity s.p.a.ce. If Li Tianlan really died in Eastern Europe and even was executed for treason, the Giant Group would fall apart. Under the turbulent social turmoil, the pressure on the Academics who cooperated with the Giant Group was unimaginable. In any case, Li Huacheng would give Li Tianlan some necessary help.
“I’m here today to get someone from Mr. President,” Li Tianlan drank tea and said softly.
“Who?”
Li Huacheng raised his eyebrows.
The status of the Snowdance Corps was extremely important today.
For most people in Zhongzhou State, as long as Li Tianlan wanted to, he could basically transfer them now. Li Tianlan now deliberately asked for a person, which only showed that this candidate was very special.
Li Tianlan smiled and whispered, “In the past two days, I checked out some information about the treason case of more than 20 years ago, but found nothing.”
Li Huacheng smiled bitterly and did not speak.
The treason case had been the most influential and worst case in Zhongzhou State for more than two decades. Today’s surviving files clearly pointed to Li Kuangtu’s treason. Everyone knew that this was a strange thing, but could not find any evidence. What was the use of Li Tianlan’s studying those rotten materials?
“Those sources don’t make sense,” Li Huacheng whispered.
“They really don’t make sense.”
Li Tianlan said, “So I put all the information back. But I think that even if the information is not meaningful, people are always meaningful. If we can find a person who has experienced the treason case, even if we don’t know what happened that year, at least we can reduce the probability of a recurrence in the case of treason in Eastern Europe.”
“A person who has experienced the treason case?”
Li Huacheng narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Tianlan. “Who?”
“Desert Prison, Fire Man.”
Li Tianlan calmly said, “The sacred guard next to my grandpa. More than 20 years ago, he was the vice marshal of the Border Control Corps. In addition to my father, he was the most responsible person in the treason case of Zhongzhou State.”