The bad news came one after another, and Gong Qianqiu could no longer smile. With a wave of his hand, a group of people stopped in space, their expressions grave.
On the other side of the cosmos, Yuwen Chuan was in the same predicament.
The bad news did not stop there. It continued to come. The scattered troops that had suddenly disappeared and gone into hiding suddenly appeared again. The chief general took advantage of the opportunity to control the star bell to lead his men into the encirclement of Niu Youde's army, and then announced their surrender, the reason being that they were obeying Heavenly King Hao Tian's decree.
The surrendered troops didn't make up a large proportion of the two marshals' forces, only ten percent at most. Each of them had lost at most a few dozen million men, but the impact was terrible. The two sides hadn't even officially started fighting, but their own men were already defecting to the enemy. What was going on? News of defecting to the enemy kept coming in small batches, making people feel upset, especially affecting the morale of the troops below.
"Marshal, things might not be good."
A general frowned at Yuwen Chuan while holding the Star Bell in his hand.
The gloomy Yuwen Chuan looked at him and said in a low voice, "Speak!"
The general sighed. "My sect master has sent word, advising me to follow King Hao's last will and lead my men to Niu Youde's side, lest we bring disaster upon our sect!"
Yuwen Chuan's face twitched. If even his own general was being instigated by the sect, who knew how many more were in the process? He clenched his fists and said hatefully, "House Xiahou is interfering! They're not supporting Pang Guan, they're supporting Niu Youde! "
The general smiled bitterly and said, "This is all secondary. If we can really defeat Niu Youde, our sect naturally won't have to worry about bringing calamity upon ourselves. The crux of the problem is the stance of those princes. The eastern, western, and northern armies will all send a large number of troops to support Niu Youde. This is the real problem!"
Yuwen Chuan's lips tightened. How could he not know that this was the real problem? The eastern, western, northern, and even House Xiahou were all supporting Niu Youde. What did this mean? It meant that he was going against the entire world, aside from the Green Lord. How could he stop this? Even if he and Gong Qianqiu joined hands, they still wouldn't be able to stop them. Even if Master Qing directly sent his personal guards to intervene, it would still be difficult. Would Master Qing dare to force the Xiahou Clan to ally with those major powers?
The Eastern Army, Western Army, and Northern Army had all told them that they were going to seal off the Southern Army's path to the other three armies. This was equivalent to sealing off all the Southern Army's paths of retreat. Once they made their move, they wouldn't be given any chance to escape from the Southern Army's territory. They wouldn't even be given the last chance to join Lord Qing!
Even if the Imperial Guards wanted to intervene, they would have to pass through the blockade of the three armies to enter the southern army's territory. If the three armies didn't let them pass, would Qing Zhu dare to attack the blockade of the three armies at the same time? Would he dare to fight head-on against those Heavenly Kings at the same time?
Could the hundreds of millions of soldiers in the southern army stop the joint attack of several armies?
These were the consequences of him daring to make a move against Niu Youde. Once he made a move, he would be going against the entire world!
The major powers were clearly telling him that they supported Niu Youde's ascension to the throne. The position of the Southern Army's commander didn't belong to him and Gong Qianqiu.
If we miss this opportunity to eliminate Niu Youde, once Niu Youde and those old fogeys form an alliance, it will be difficult to touch him again! Yuwen Chuan let out a long sigh. He had nowhere to vent the frustration in his heart. He really wanted to ask: What right does Niu Youde have? What right does he have to gain the support of so many powers? How are the powers on our side inferior to Niu Youde? Supporting Niu Youde over me? Are you blind?
The generals fell silent. They naturally understood the logic in his words. Why didn't Master Qing dare to easily touch any of the Four Heavenly Kings? It was because of the competitive relationship between the Heavenly Kings. The Heavenly Kings usually fought each other, but once they faced Master Qing, they would immediately join forces to deal with him. No one was careless about this. At the same time, they were also working together to deal with any possible rebellions. If one faction rebelled, the other factions would join forces to suppress it!
One general sighed. "Marshal, the Heavenly Kings expressing their support like this means that they have already acknowledged the competitive relationship between Niu Youde and them." The meaning behind his words was that there was no 'if' in Niu Youde's words. It was already a fact.
Yuwen Chuan shook his head with a bitter smile. "I can't accept this. This marshal can't accept this! Why? What right does Niu Youde have? "
Another general suddenly said in a low voice, "Marshal, it's not that there's no turning back. Perhaps we can try another method!"
Yuwen Chuan's eyes lit up. "What do you mean? I'd like to hear the details! "
Everyone looked at the general. The general suggested, "Marshal, how can we not do anything about this? Why don't we contact the Heavenly Kings immediately and persuade them to support Marshal? We can also find out the truth about Niu Youde. We can see what Niu Youde is offering in exchange for their support. I don't believe that we can't give what Niu Youde is offering. Whatever Niu Youde is offering, we can give it to them too. We can even increase the price. "
Everyone nodded. Yuwen Chuan pointed at him with a look of approval. "I'm being silly. Alright, let's do that!" He immediately took out his Star Bell and contacted the Duke of Guang.
The Duke of Guang answered his message. "Marshal Yuwen, what's the matter?"
Yuwen Chuan asked. "I heard that the Heavenly King has deployed 500 million soldiers to the Southern Army to quell the rebellion?"
The Duke of Guang: That's true. Why? Do you have a problem with that?
Yuwen Chuan: I wouldn't dare! I just want to ask, who are the rebels?
The Duke of Guang: I'm old friends with Hao Defang. Whoever disobeys Hao Defang's will is a rebel!
Yuwen Chuan: Can't I even avenge Prince Hao?
The Duke of Guang: Yuwen Chuan, you're not young anymore. Do you think there's any point in beating around the bush like this? You should know what to do! On account of our many years of friendship, I'll give you a word of advice. Behave yourself!
Yuwen Chuan: Your Highness is right. It's just that I'm not satisfied. Prince Hao was forced to his death by Niu Youde, but I still have to betray my old master and side with him. How can I endure this? Is Yuwen so unbearable in Your Highness' eyes? In terms of experience and influence, which part of Yuwen's power in the Southern Army is inferior to Niu Youde? Niu Youde is just a kid from the younger generation, and he's not even a member of the Four Armies. What right does he have to climb onto our table? Why do the princes treat him so differently? Why don't they give Yu Wen a chance?
The Duke of Guang: What's the point of saying all this?
Yuwen Chuan immediately stated his conditions: Please reconsider, Your Highness. Whatever Niu Youde can give to Your Highness, it doesn't mean that I can't!
The Duke of Guang was taken aback and subconsciously stroked his beard. Yuwen Chuan's words reminded him that Hao Defang's death had made him very uncomfortable with Miao Yi. One reason was that the fox grieves for the rabbit's death, and the other was that any circle would inevitably have a sense of superiority over the newcomer. Moreover, Miao Yi's performance this time had made him very wary. Therefore, no matter how he looked at it, Yuwen Chuan was more suitable to lead the Southern Army than Niu Youde.
In terms of ability, the Duke of Guang really didn't think Yuwen Chuan could compare to Niu Youde. Ability had nothing to do with age or experience. Letting Yuwen Chuan, who was slightly less capable, take the position would actually make him feel more secure.
The Duke of Guang: Alright! I'll help you. You don't have to worry about the others. As long as you can convince the Xiahou family to support you, and as long as they don't cause trouble, I'll help you put in a good word with the other elders. I guarantee that they'll support you in taking the position!
He was also puzzled as to why the Xiahou family was so supportive of Niu Youde. Both Niu Youde and the Xiahou family were reluctant to speak of it.
Yuwen Chuan was overjoyed. After thanking the Duke, he ended the call and explained the situation to the other generals. The generals were overjoyed when they heard the news, and all of them requested him to contact the Xiahou family immediately. They said that if worst came to worst, they would just sell everything they had to fulfill the Xiahou family's request this time. It wouldn't be too late to settle the score after they gained power.
Yuwen Chuan quickly took out the Star Bell and contacted Xiahou Ling.
However, contacting Xiahou Ling was a difficult task. He almost broke the Star Bell.
"This Xiahou Ling is really arrogant!" Yuwen Chuan couldn't help but grumble in the end. He said to the generals, "Xiahou Ling isn't answering!"
One of the generals reminded, "It's the same if you contact Wei Shu."
Yuwen Chuan nodded and switched to the Star Bell to contact Wei Shu.
Inside the Hall of Faith in the Phantom City, Wei Shu was immersed in the dark room. He took out the Star Bell and reported to Cao Man, who was sitting cross-legged on the couch, "Master, Yuwen Chuan has sent a message!"
Cao Man didn't even open her eyes. She had already guessed Yuwen Chuan's purpose. She sneered, "His life or death is nothing compared to the fate of my Xiahou Clan!"
Wei Shu smiled faintly when he heard this. The longer he interacted with Cao Man, the more he realized that Xiahou Ling couldn't compare to Cao Man's hidden aura.
Understanding Cao Man's attitude, Wei Shu shook the Star Bell and replied, "What orders does Marshal Yuwen have?"
Yuwen Chuan: "Is Master Xiahou Tianweng here?"
Wei Shu: "You can talk to me if you have anything to say."
Yuwen Chuan directly said, "I can also give you what Niu Youde can give you!"
Wei Shu was curious. Could it be that this person knew something and could also take out something that the demonic monk desired? He couldn't help but ask, "What does the Marshal have in his hands?"
Yuwen Chuan: "Then you have to first ask Niu Youde what he promised to give you. If he can name a price, can't I?"
Wei Shu immediately understood that this person didn't know anything at all. Inwardly, he was both angry and amused. He directly said, "What Niu Youde can give, the Marshal can't!"
Yuwen Chuan: "How do you know that I can't give it? Why don't you name a price so we can discuss it?"
Wei Shu: "No need, you can't give it!"
With that, he directly cut off the connection.
Yuwen Chuan was given the cold shoulder. He wanted to contact this person again, but he couldn't. The other person completely ignored him. He couldn't help but feel gloomy. The feeling of asking for help was really not a good one.
In the end, he had no choice but to contact Kou Lingxu, Teng Fei, and Cheng Taize, hoping that they would give him a chance. After begging and begging, he finally realized that the crux of the matter was still with House Xiahou. Their intentions were similar to Lord Guangling's. As long as he could deal with House Xiahou, they would definitely support him!
He could only repeatedly contact Xiahou Ling and Wei Shu, but his hopes were dashed!
Even though the opportunity was gone, he still didn't give up. In the end, he directly contacted Shangguan Qing and asked for help!
In the Heavenly Court's Li Palace, after Shangguan Qing relayed the situation, the empty great hall was silent.
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