"Be quiet!"
Sitting on the throne, Beiming Yuan listened to the discussions of the officials, and could not help but feel upset. Zhang Cheng and Beiming Huan were his right-hand men, but now both of them had died in battle. The Tianji Empire was no longer the strongest empire on the Heaven-pole Continent, and it was declining day by day. It had become the weakest one.
"Let's talk about it. What should the empire do now?" Beiming Yuan looked at the crowd coldly and said, "The Celestial Empire is coming aggressively. The Yanji Corps on the eastern border has already been defeated. General Zhang Cheng has been loyal all his life and sacrificed his life for the empire. Who would be willing to lead the troops to fight against the Celestial Empire?"
The officials were silent and the generals looked at the ground. Who would dare to fight against the Celestial Empire now? The Celestial Empire was said to have 1.5 million soldiers. Plus, they had 400 Dragon Knights. Who would be able to fight against them? Most importantly, the Tianji Empire's expedition to the Shattered Cauldron World had consumed a lot of national power. Not to mention the 400,000 soldiers that died in battle, most of the money and food in the national treasury had been used up. Adding the defeat of the Yanji Corps, the Tianji Empire didn't even have 400,000 soldiers now. How could they fight against the 1.5 million Celestial Empire?
After a while, an old general cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Ziye has led nearly 50,000 soldiers to Lingyuan County City. He should be fighting against the Celestial Empire now. With the ability of Lord Ziye's Radiant Angel, I'm afraid it won't be easy for the Celestial Empire to take Lingyuan County City. Besides … Chen Yu must be afraid of the Radiant Angel's identity. After all, it's not easy to fight against the Heaven Realm."
"Ziye …"
Beiming Yuan sneered, "King Lanji, don't forget that Ziye is the Radiant Angel, the god of the Western Heaven Realm. The whole Celestial Pole Continent is in the Western Heaven Realm's pocket. Do you think Lord Ziye will fight against the stronger Celestial Empire to help us?"
King Lanji was stunned, "Your Majesty, you mean … Lord Ziye will help no one?"
"That's right."
"Lord Ziye's mission in the Mortal Realm is to help the Celestial Pole Continent destroy the Shattered Cauldron Realm. Do you think he will participate in the internal war of the Celestial Pole Continent? I think … Lord Ziye's position is definitely for us to make peace and attack the Shattered Cauldron Realm together. However, this is absolutely impossible. Chen Yu has the ambition of a wolf, and his desire to destroy me is already very obvious. "
King Lanji said, "Your Majesty, if this is the case, this humble subject suggests sending someone to the Blackstone Empire. Now, only by joining hands with the Blackstone Empire can we resist the formidable Celestial Empire."
"That's exactly what I was thinking!"
Beiming Yuan placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and said, "It's just that … We don't know who should we send to the Blackstone Empire?"
"I'm willing to go," King Lan Ji said in a low voice.
"Alright, permission granted. We'll depart on the same day!"
As he spoke, Beiming Yuan paused for a moment, "There's still one more important matter. Currently, the empire still has the Lanji Corps, the Yanji Corps, and the local provincial garrison troops. In total, there are close to 700,000 troops. Who will lead them? If we don't resist, I'm afraid that Chen Yu will be able to sweep through the entire territory of our empire within a month. "
King Lanji cupped his fists and said, "This humble subject recommends a person who will definitely be able to take on this great responsibility."
"Speak."
"Gong Shangming!"
"Gong Shangming?" Beiming Yuan squinted his eyes, "But in the battle of the Shattered Cauldron Realm, Gong Shangming's strategy was not above that of Lin Muyu, Feng Jixing, and the others. It was his improper command that led to the defeat of the army. In the end, all our efforts were in vain. Do you still want us to continue to put this person in an important position?"
King Lan Ji smiled faintly, "Your Majesty, although Gong Shangming is good at strategy, he was restrained by Ziye, Marshal Beiming Huan, and the others in the battle of the Shattered Cauldron Realm. He didn't have complete decision-making power, so he was defeated. Moreover, the Shattered Cauldron Realm has been at war for many years. Lin Muyu, Feng Jixing, Xu Jiantao, and the others are all famous generals. Each of them is smart and cunning. Gong Shangming might not be able to defeat these people, but he might not necessarily be able to defeat those generals of the Celestial Empire. Your Majesty, don't forget that the Celestial Empire is the same as us. They haven't had any wars for many years, so they are impatient. Gong Shangming's defeat in the Shattered Cauldron Realm is his capital. If Your Majesty appoints a scholarly general like Gong Shangming as the marshal, the Celestial Empire will inevitably look down on us.
If Your Majesty appoints a scholarly general like Gong Shangming as the marshal, the Celestial Empire will inevitably look down on us. In this way, the Tianji Empire will naturally have a chance to win. "
…
On the 10th of November, it was snowing heavily. Gong Shangming formally became the new marshal of the Tianji Empire in Tianji City.
On the 11th of November, the army of the Celestial Empire encountered Ziye's troops in the Lingyuan County. Just as Beiming Huan had expected, Ziye remained neutral and didn't make an enemy of any side. Instead, he advised Chen Yu to stop the war and make peace, but Chen Yu refused.
On the 15th of November, King Lan Ji personally led her troops to the capital of the Blackstone Empire, Thousand Mountain City, and was personally received by Emperor Shi Yuan.
…
In the main hall, the sound of drums and music could be heard. Although the Blackstone Empire had gone through a war, the imperial capital, Thousand Mountain City, was still filled with the scene of singing and dancing to celebrate peace. This was probably Shi Yuan's strategy to rule the country.
One should enjoy life to the fullest, don't let the golden cup face the moon emptily!
Moreover, King Lan Ji couldn't feel that the Blackstone Empire had gone through a war. He couldn't help but frown as he felt that this ally of his was very unreliable.
As the envoy, King Lan Ji was arranged to sit very close to Shi Yuan. There were two beautiful women accompanying him, and they were both wearing light and elegant dresses. Their figures were very soft and charming. However, King Lan Ji's mind was completely focused on the treaty of alliance, so he didn't care about these beautiful women. Moreover, as a marquis, he had never lacked women.
"Your Majesty Beiming Huan, have you been well recently?" Shi Yuan squinted his eyes and asked with a smile.
King Lan Ji hurriedly raised his cup and said, "Everything is well. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
"That's good."
Shi Yuan drained his cup in one gulp and said, "The Celestial Empire is coming aggressively. I have already heard the grievous news of Great General Zhang Cheng's death in battle. He would rather die than surrender. He is truly a famous general!"
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."
Shi Yuan continued, "Chen Yu has the ambition of a wolf. He divided his troops into two groups. One group attacked the Tianji Empire from the Forest of No Return, with a total of one million soldiers. The other group confronted the Blackstone Empire's army at the Jinyun Pass, with a total of five hundred thousand soldiers. With five hundred thousand strong enemies outside the pass, how could our Blackstone Empire not defend against them? Therefore, our country's two hundred thousand Gale Legion and the newly trained two hundred thousand State Guard Army are almost all stationed at the Jinyun Pass. They simply don't have time to care about the war in the Tianji Empire's territory. "
King Lan Ji's brows knit together tightly as he said, "Your Majesty, you ought to know as well that once the Tianji Empire is annihilated, the next would surely be the Darkstone Empire. Chen Yu's objective is to unify the entire continent and not just a mere Tianji Empire."
"I naturally know." Shi Yuan pondered for a while and said, "But there are no troops in the country. King Lan Ji should have seen it on your way here, right? Thousand Mountain City is the capital of the country, but it has less than ten thousand soldiers. At this time, I am more worried that Chen Yu will send a cavalry to the south and directly attack Thousand Mountain City. If that happens, I am afraid that my lair will be in danger … "
Shi Yuan burst into laughter.
King Lan Ji had the intention to die. He really didn't know if the people of the Darkstone Empire were madmen or if they were daring because of their skills, so he could only laugh dryly and say, "Your Majesty is wise and mighty, so you'll surely not be attacked by that kid, Chen Yu, from the south. I'm extremely at ease about this. However … Since your esteemed Empire has decided to form an alliance with my Empire, could it be that you really can't send out a single military force?"
"I really can't."
Shi Yuan shook his head. "I really have the heart but I am powerless … However, I do have a way to solve the crisis of the Tianji Empire."
"Oh? Your Majesty, please tell me directly! "
"Does Your Highness King Lan Ji know about the Bai Ze Mercenary Group?"
"This … I have heard a little about it. In the past six months, there have been rumors about the mysterious appearance and disappearance of the Bai Ze Mercenary Group. It is said that the leader of this mercenary group is a bastard son called Liu Buyi. His cultivation is average, but he has nearly one hundred thousand mercenaries. Moreover, they are well-equipped. They can be compared to any regular army of the empire on the continent."
Shi Yuan smiled faintly. "Actually, it is not one hundred thousand people. It is one hundred and eighty thousand people!"
"What?"
King Lan Ji was shocked. "A mere mercenary group has one hundred and eighty thousand people? This … they don't have any income like taxes. How do they feed these one hundred and eighty thousand people? "
"Your Highness, you may not know this, but the Bai Ze Mercenary Group has already occupied seven of my cities!" Shi Yuan pounded the table and said, "If I am not distracted, I will personally lead the army to destroy them!"
King Lan Ji blushed with shame. "Then … Your Majesty, why did you mention the Bai Ze Mercenary Group to me?"
Shi Yuan smiled. "Your Highness, you may not know this, but the real mastermind behind the Bai Ze Mercenary Group is not Liu Buyi. Liu Buyi's scheming, shrewdness, and strength are far from being able to create such a powerful mercenary group."
"Then who is it?"
"Si Kongyao!"
"What?" King Lan Ji was so shocked that she sat up straight. "This … how is this possible? Isn't Si Kongyao the granddaughter of Lord Sikong Ming? She … how could she be the real master of the Bai Ze Mercenary Group? "
"However, this is the truth." Shi Yuan said, "I have already pointed out the path for Your Highness. If Your Highness can invite the Bai Ze Mercenary Group to participate in the war, these 180,000 elites can directly go north and attack the enemy together with your country's main force. Even if Chen Yu has millions of troops, he will still fail on the verge of success. Moreover, Si Kongyao is a person of your country. She has a good friend named Shang Qian. This Shang Qian's grandfather is the old general Zhang Cheng who died in the war. If King Lan Ji sends a letter to invite Miss Shang Qian to the Bai Ze Mercenary Group's camp to personally invite Si Kongyao to help in the war, the great event can be expected!"
King Lan Ji's thoughts were a bit chaotic.
"Your Highness, do you still want to wait?" Shi Yuan laughed. "Come, give King Lan Ji a pass token so that he can freely come and go in the territory of the Blackstone Empire."
King Lan Ji finally couldn't sit still anymore. She stood up and said, "There is no time to lose. Sending reinforcements is like putting out a fire. This humble King will leave first. Thank you for Your Majesty's suggestion!"
"Then … We won't send Your Highness off."
"Leave!"
…
King Lanji left the banquet table with his attendants.
After watching King Lan Ji leave, an old civil official immediately laughed and said, "Your Majesty is wise and powerful. Not only can you send off King Lan Ji, if he can really invite Si Kongyao, we can also kill two birds with one stone and drive away the god of plague, Bai Ze Mercenary Group. That would be great!"
Shi Yuan's mouth raised. "We will wait to reap the benefits."
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