The Ministry of Rites official left.
On the surface, the matter seemed to have been settled. The Emperor had expressed his opinion. Even though some of the generals did not agree with him, they could not remonstrate in front of the officials.
Of course, the main reason was that it was not the time for a remonstrance. The Stable Mountain Pass was not enough to pose a threat to the Great Xia Dynasty.
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, who usually gave the final conclusion, did not say a word today. This caused the officials to be a little confused, but that was all.
After all, the Emperor had already given the order.
The officials slowly retreated. Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping calmly walked out of the throne room. However, before he could take five steps, he was stopped by an old man dressed in palace attire.
"Prime Minister Yu, the Emperor has summoned you to the Imperial Study."
"Mm, thank you Eunuch Pan!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yi stopped in his tracks and nodded. Then, he threw out an ingot of silver without anyone noticing.
The old man in palace attire immediately took it and stuffed it into his sleeve. He led the way with a smile on his face.
...
In the Imperial Study, Emperor Lin Mubai frowned as he sat on the throne. He flipped through the memorials in his hands, but his eyes were not focused.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Yu Yiping requests an audience." At this moment, Eunuch Pan's voice came from the door.
"Enter."
The door opened. Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, who was dressed in a red court attire, walked in respectfully. Then, he quickly walked to the center of the study and was about to kneel.
"There's no need to be so courteous. Yiping, the Crown Prince has gone to the Southern Mountain Range. I'm sure he won't hide anything from you. Do you think my gift is a little too much?" Emperor Lin Mubai waved his hand at the kneeling Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and asked.
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping's expression changed. The Crown Prince was too close to the officials. This had always been a taboo for the royal family.
However, the Emperor had pointed it out so clearly.
If he admitted it now, it would be equivalent to admitting his relationship with the Crown Prince. However, if he did not, the Emperor would definitely be able to tell.
It was not to the extent of deceiving the Emperor, but it was true that he had lost his credibility.
"I believe that Your Majesty's decision was naturally made after careful consideration. There is no difference in etiquette. Your Majesty is looking at the big picture. I cannot compare to Your Majesty." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping replied seriously.
"Haha … I am still a little depressed when I heard that the Stable Mountain Gate has fallen." When Emperor Lin Mubai heard Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping's words, his furrowed brows seemed to relax a little.
"Your Majesty, are you worried about the 50,000 Great Xia soldiers who were captured at Dingshan Pass?" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping looked at Emperor Lin Mubai's frown and relaxed as he carefully guessed.
"Mm, I am indeed worried about this." Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and nodded.
"I think Your Majesty does not need to worry too much."
"Oh? What do you mean? "
"Just as Your Majesty said, this gift is for the Southern Region. Since it is for the Southern Region, what is there to worry about?"
"Hahaha... yes, you are right. The people of the Southern Mountain Range are simple and honest. They would never do anything that would increase the number of killings. Therefore, I do not have to worry. However..." Emperor Lin Mubai seemed to be in a better mood when he heard this. However, when he reached the end of his sentence, his eyes were filled with worry.
"Your Majesty, are you still worried about the Crown Prince?"
"Yes, the Crown Prince is still young and lacks military experience, unlike King Duan who has been in charge of the military for many years. Furthermore, this is his first time out of the Yan Capital. I don't know if he will make any mistakes in handling matters. I am still feeling a little uneasy." Emperor Lin Mubai sighed softly towards the end.
In reality, sending the Crown Prince to the Southern Region to host the combat examination was partly to train him. However, the real reason was to use his identity as the Crown Prince to dispel the suspicions of the Southern Region.
To put it bluntly, he was using the Crown Prince as bait.
If he used King Duan, he would not be as effective as the Crown Prince. Firstly, King Duan had been in charge of the military for many years. The Southern Region had to be careful. Secondly, even though King Duan was of high status, he could not compare to the Crown Prince.
"Your Majesty, although the Crown Prince is young, he has grown up by your side and has been influenced by you. Furthermore, he is extremely intelligent. Even if he did not handle the details well, I believe that he would not make a mistake in the big picture." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping said confidently.
"I hope so." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and did not speak further. He looked out the window. In reality, he still had another worry in his heart.
A few days ago, a piece of news had arrived in front of him.
Fang Zhengzhi had appeared in the Southern Region.
Furthermore, he had taken down Chen Feiyu, who had occupied the Thunderous Lion Settlement. Then, he had used Chen Feiyu's Thunderous Lion Settlement as bait to "kill" Wu Feng.
This result was impressive.
However, it was precisely because of this that Emperor Lin Mubai was extremely worried.
"Will that guy really take down the Icy Monkey Settlement? Impossible! He will never be able to take down the Icy Monkey Settlement! "
…
Within the Sagely Mountain City, within the White Jade Palace where the Kings of the Southern Region resided.
A young man in his thirties was sitting on a huge chair made of animal skin. The young man was dressed in luxurious silver animal skin, and his boots were wrapped with golden threads. There were two colorful feathers on his head, and in between the feathers, there was a bright blue gem.
Shan Ling!
The third son of the King of the Southern Region. He was also the current Crown Prince.
Shan Ling's gaze swept across the crowd. Beside him sat six middle-aged or elderly men dressed in all sorts of animal hide and rattan armor. Each of them had a different drawing on their bodies.
Some of the drawings looked like a huge lion, while others looked like a crow bathing in flames.
These six people were the true settlement chiefs of the six main settlements.
Their names were also inherited from the tradition of the six major tribes, which was to be named after the name of the tribe.
"Yan Ya, how many soldiers did you use to take down the Stable Mountain Gate?" Shan Ling's gaze finally landed on a slightly skinny middle-aged man.
"Replying to the Crown Prince, according to the Crown Prince's instructions, a total of 80,000 soldiers were hidden in the Yan Ya tribe. It took a total of 3000 to take down the Stable Mountain Pass, and the time was eight hours." Yan Ya immediately stood up and replied respectfully to Shan Ling.
"3,000? Hmm... the defenses of the Stable Mountain Gate are indeed stronger than I thought. You sacrificed 3,000 of our soldiers even though you had spies? However, sacrificing 3,000 soldiers in exchange for capturing 50,000 Great Xia soldiers was worth it! Have you settled these 50,000 soldiers? "Shan Ling nodded and gestured for Yan Ya to sit down.
"According to your orders, the 50,000 soldiers were split into two groups. One group was held in the Yan Ya Settlement, the other in the Shi Zun Settlement, just in case!" Yan Ya sat down and continued to answer.
"Alright, Shi Zun, what do you think about the Crown Prince's situation?" Shan Ling nodded again. His gaze shifted from Yan Ya to a tall and sturdy man at the side.
That was a man with slightly green skin. His body was covered in patterns that looked like cracks. It was hard to tell what it was, but his shiny bald head was still very eye-catching.
"Don't worry, Crown Prince. The crown prince of the Great Xia Dynasty will not be able to escape from my hands. He is now trapped in the valley. The 60,000 soldiers in his hands will not be of any use at all," Shi Zun replied casually.
"Very good. Now, only Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi are left in the Icy Monkey Settlement!" Shan Ling's mouth curved into a smile when he heard Shi Zun's words.
"Your Highness, one Nangong Hao and one Fang Zhengzhi are simply not enough to be feared. The 80,000 soldiers hidden in the Thunderous Lion Settlement have already begun to move towards the Icy Monkey Settlement. When that time comes, we will work together with the 80,000 soldiers of the Icy Monkey Settlement. We will definitely be able to defeat these two brats!" A man with a head full of thick hair stood up at this moment. The purple lion tattoo on his body was exceptionally eye-catching.
"Old Lei, you better be careful with what you say!" Another voice rang out at this moment. That was an old man with slightly white hair and extremely long arms. From his age, he seemed to be around 50 years old.
"What? Did I say something wrong? "When the Thunderous Lion heard this voice, his expression changed slightly.
"Nangong Hao has stayed in the Icy Monkey Settlement for close to two months. I have some understanding of Nangong Hao as a person. I'm afraid that he won't be easy to deal with. Furthermore, that Fang Zhengzhi can't be underestimated either. After all, he and Nangong Hao are the existences who ranked first in the Court Theory Examinations. Furthermore, most importantly … damn it, I don't know what kind of demonic technique that little brat used to actually destroy my Icy Monkey Settlement's wind valley. This is really infuriating!" When the old man in his fifties reached the end of his sentence, he scolded with all his might. From his expression, it was clearly somewhat inconsistent with his age.
"Regardless of whether he is Nangong Hao or Fang Zhengzhi, I don't believe that with one hundred and sixty thousand Southern Mountain Range warriors working together, we won't be able to take down a mere fifty thousand people in their hands!" When Shan Ling heard this, he casually waved his hands, his expression nonchalant.
"Crown Prince is right. Now that the Stable Mountain Pass is in our hands, it is equivalent to grabbing the throat of the Great Xia. They are unable to send any reinforcements. It is only a matter of time before this hundred thousand strong army falls. Furthermore, even if there really is a problem with the Icy Monkey Settlement, with Princess Shan Yu guarding the perimeter, the two of them won't be able to escape our encirclement!" At this moment, Yan Ya also stood out and affirmed.
"When the hundred thousand strong army is completely captured, I really want to see the expression on the face of the Great Xia Emperor, ha ha ha …" When Shan Ling thought of this, he finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.
…
Southern Mountain Range, Icy Monkey Settlement, outside the wind valley.
When the military commanders charged into the collapsing formation as if they had been injected with chicken blood, Fang Zhengzhi once again pulled the jade-green Sun Shooting Bow in his hands into a full crescent.
Teng Shisheng had once heard that in front of Princess Shan Yu, Fang Zhengzhi had used a type of archery technique to block the fatal blow of the great General of Tiger's Might, General Tai of the Supernatural Advanced State.
However, at that time, regardless of whether it was Teng Shisheng or the other generals in Princess Shan Yu's army camp, they all thought that this type of archery technique was merely due to Princess Shan Yu's Fiery Rattan Bow.
However, the scene in front of him, as well as the arrow that shot into the sky not too long ago, caused Teng Shisheng to wake up with a start. In front of him, the number one in the court theory examination, Fang Zhengzhi.
Other than that extremely terrifying sword, he actually still had a jade-green bow that wasn't any weaker than Princess Shan Yu's Fiery Rattan Bow …
He really has so many treasures?!
Is he really Fang Zhengzhi? Why did I hear that Fang Zhengzhi was born as a commoner in a poor mountain village? Why doesn't it seem like it now?
Teng Shisheng was somewhat puzzled.
However, what he was even more puzzled about was why Fang Zhengzhi would continuously draw arrow after arrow at this moment. Was he trying to stop these scholars from continuing their massacre?
Or was he trying to take advantage of the fact that these scholars were exhausted to hit them when they were down?
Teng Shisheng couldn't quite guess. Or, it could be said that even if he could guess, he didn't dare to be certain. Because, the longer he stayed by Fang Zhengzhi's side, the more he felt that he was unable to see through Fang Zhengzhi.
The way he did things was too different from ordinary people.
Although Teng Shisheng couldn't figure it out, Fang Zhengzhi's arrow still shot out very quickly. Like a green shooting star, it shot out from the Sun Shooting Bow and flew into the sky.
Then …
Drawing out an extremely beautiful arc, it shot towards a youth who wore an exquisite jade-green armour and held a jade flute in his hand.
It was none other than Wu Feng!
Wu Feng, who was standing in the crowd and waiting for the surrounding soldiers to surrender, evidently didn't expect that Fang Zhengzhi would attack him. Furthermore, he had attacked without any prior warning.
This caused Wu Feng to be somewhat enraged.
Because, if Fang Zhengzhi had shot Chen Feiyu previously, it could be said that Fang Zhengzhi wanted to display his authority as a chief commander, and was doing some sort of warning action towards Chen Feiyu's massacre.
Hence, now that Fang Zhengzhi had already stopped attacking him, he simply couldn't find any reason to do so.
"Fang Zhengzhi! What are you trying to do?! " Wu Feng roared angrily. Naturally, he couldn't be like Chen Feiyu and directly block Fang Zhengzhi's Million Sword Illustration.
Because …
In his heart, it was nothing more than a waste of energy and useless effort.
For someone like Wu Feng who had decent intelligence, he instinctively dodged. Using his speed to his advantage, he rapidly dodged Fang Zhengzhi's arrow.
"Boom!"
A huge explosion erupted at the place where Wu Feng was originally standing. Dust flew everywhere. At the same time, a tragic cry rang out amidst the explosion.
"Ah!"
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