"Seize Qingshan County?" Half of Niu Youdao's eyebrows twitched. Although he wasn't sure and hadn't seen how the Shang Dynasty attacked cities and seized territory, the Shang Dynasty's methods were getting more and more aggressive. They had forcefully occupied Canglu County the moment they arrived, and now they were even threatening to swallow Qingshan County. It was a good thing that they had the appetite, but they also had the capacity. Otherwise, they would be stuffed to death. The corners of his mouth curled up as he said with a faint smile, "Even Feng Lingbo wouldn't dare to say such words so easily. Prince only borrowed a few thousand men from Feng Lingbo, isn't this calculation a little too big?"
Lan Ruoting gave a mysterious smile and took a few steps back, pointing to Zhao next door. "Zhao! Empress Dowager Shang Youlan is King Ning's aunt. "
"Oh! There's such a thing? " Niu Youdao clicked his tongue and said, "The relatives of the royal family are really relatives of the royal family wherever they go. Could it be that the princess of Yan Kingdom became the Empress Dowager of Zhao Kingdom because of her marriage?"
Shang Chaozong sighed and said, "It's just a humiliation. When great-grandfather just ascended the throne, the situation was a little unstable, so he married off his daughter. No one would have thought that the girl would eventually become the Empress of the Kingdom of Zhao, the current Empress Dowager! In fact, a long time ago, before the Wu Dynasty collapsed, the Shang Family married off many princesses to appease the vassals. Now that I think about it, the royal family of each country is more or less related to the Shang Family. Shang Youlan is not an exception. It's just that the others have not reached her position. "
Niu Youdao nodded. In his previous life, he had been in that line of work. He could be considered as someone who was familiar with history books, so he could understand such a situation. It was precisely because he was familiar with such situations that he expressed his doubts. "If you say that Shang Youlan would miss her homeland when she got married in the early years, I agree. But now, Shang Youlan was the Empress Dowager of a country. The current Emperor of Zhao was her son. She was probably thinking more about her son's country and protecting the country of her descendants. Compared to the Yan Kingdom, the Zhao Kingdom was her real home. Otherwise, she would not have become the Empress Dowager of the Zhao Kingdom. She would not let the Zhao Kingdom send troops to help the Prince, right? Taking a step back, Yan's court is her family. There is no need for her to go against Yan's court for the sake of the Prince. "
Lan Ruoting waved his hand. "Daoye is right. Shang Youlan's position in Zhao is very high and she would not do anything that would harm Zhao's interests. However, there were times when a country's national power declined. Later on, when the Kingdom of Zhao was weak, the Emperor of the Kingdom of Zhao, who was also Shang Youlan's husband, sent a son and a daughter to the Kingdom of Yan as hostages. This pair of children were born to Shang Youlan. The son was the current Emperor of the Kingdom of Zhao, Hai Wuji, and the daughter was called Hai Ruyue. At that time, Hai Ruyue was young. When she was Yan's hostage, she had a good relationship with King Ning and was taken care of by King Ning in Yan's capital. After Hai Ruyue returned to Zhao, she kept in touch with King Ning. But there were situations where each country had their own army. Xiao Huang, the governor of Jinzhou in Zhao, was one of them. At that time, in order to appease Xiao Huang, the Emperor of Zhao married Hai Ruyue to Xiao Huang's sickly son, Xiao Bieshan. After Xiao Huang passed away, Xiao Bieshan naturally inherited his father's business. When Hai Wuji ascended to the throne and became the Emperor of Zhao, he wholeheartedly wanted to make a move against the feudal lords in Zhao. Xiao Bieshan was in a critical situation. At that time, King Ning's army was at its peak. Faced with her brother's coercion, Hai Ruyue contacted King Ning and hoped that King Ning would help her on account of their past relationship. At the same time, Yan did not wish to see Hai Wuji completely control Zhao. A unified Zhao was too much of a threat to Yan. So, King Ning complied with Hai Ruyue's request and pressured Zhao's army, forcing Hai Wuji to withdraw his forces to defend. Thus, Xiao Bieshan and Hai Ruyue were able to successfully overcome the crisis. "He turned and pointed to Jinzhou opposite Qingshan County.
Niu Youdao looked pensive and said, "Prince wants to borrow Jinzhou's men to take Qingshan County?"
Shang Chaozong nodded, "That year, Hai Ruyue swore to repay Royal Father. As long as it is within her power, she will not refuse. I have Hai Ruyue's blood letter here. If she breaks her promise, she will have to consider whether I will publicize the blood letter and it will affect her reputation. I only hope that she can assume an offensive stance and cooperate with me. I don't need her to exert too much strength. I'm sure she won't refuse, and the State of Zhao won't oppose it either. How could Zhao not want to see Yan's internal strife? As long as she exerts pressure on Nanzhou, Nanzhou will gather its forces to deal with her. That will be the best opportunity for me to seize Qingshan County. As long as I occupy Qingshan County and Hai Ruyue assumes a cooperative stance, Yan will understand that if the Imperial Court dares to attack me, Hai Ruyue will send troops to help. The Imperial Court will naturally refrain from taking action. Moreover, the School of Heavenly Jade has seen my influence on Hai Ruyue's side. As long as I can occupy Qingshan County, how can the School of Heavenly Jade not support me? "
Niu Youdao asked suspiciously, "Does Hai Ruyue have such a great influence in Jinzhou?"
Lan Ruoting smiled and said, "Daoye might not know this, but Xiao Bieshan has been frail and sickly since he was a child. He didn't live for long and passed away seven or eight years ago. Xiao Bieshan's son, Xiao Tianzhen, is still underage. Right now, the real power in Jinzhou is in Hai Ruyue's hands. The Prince has already sent someone to contact her in secret. I reckon we'll get an answer soon. "
Niu Youdao expressed his doubts, "Do you really think that a letter of blood will be able to make Hai Ruyue agree to help? I think it's better to ask for something more practical, like money and provisions. Perhaps she'll agree more easily. " At the very least, he was skeptical. In this chaotic warring states, where one side would die or the other would die, promises between countries could be broken at any time. Not to mention a letter of blood, even a blood oath might not be reliable.
Lan Ruoting said, "There's no harm in trying. If she really isn't willing to cooperate, then we can only give up on the plan to annex Qingshan County. Just like Daoye said, it's more practical to exchange the letter of blood for some money and provisions."
Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang looked at each other. Since the other party was willing to reveal such a secret to them, it could be said that he had opened his heart to them.
Since the other party already had a plan, it was a good thing. Niu Youdao was happy to see it happen.
Niu Youdao also felt a little rueful. Regardless of whether the other party's plan succeeded or not, no matter how poor Shang Chaozong was, his background was still there. Now that he had the card of Hai Ruyue, even if an ordinary person wasn't in dire straits, they wouldn't be able to match these resources.
"I'm afraid that Feng Lingbo and the Heavenly Jade Clan will urge us to search for that thing. We have to be prepared to delay them." Niu Youdao still reminded him.
Lan Ruoting said, "The reason why the Heavenly Jade Clan allowed us to forcibly occupy Canglu County is because we gave them an excuse. We need to completely control Canglu County so that it'll be easier to search for it. In this way, we need to at least reorganize Canglu County. If we do this, it shouldn't be a problem to drag on for about three months. No matter what, there should be a result in Jinzhou."
This tactician wasn't someone to be trifled with. He had already set up a series of traps. Niu Youdao realized that he had been overthinking. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Prince, Monkey and I might have to leave for a while."
When he said this, Shang Chaozong and the other two looked at each other in shock. They had just bared their hearts and told you this secret, and you're leaving?
Shang Chaozong hurriedly asked, "Did this prince neglect you in any way?"
Niu Youdao knew that the other party had misunderstood him and thought that he wanted to leave. He waved his hand and said, "Prince, you've misunderstood me. There's a situation with my cultivation, and I need to find an absolutely safe place to cultivate in seclusion. After all, there are other forces stationed here, so it's more or less risky for me to cultivate in seclusion. I told the Prince this because I hope that the Prince can find a suitable opportunity to cover for me to leave, so that I won't be targeted. "
He wasn't lying. He had long reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm. On the way here, he could feel that the collision of his inner breath was getting stronger and stronger. He was already on the verge of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. He no longer dared to refine the protective talisman in his body, afraid that he wouldn't be able to suppress it. He had to find a safe place to cultivate in seclusion, so he informed Yuan Gang.
Yuan Gang knew that this was a big matter, and it was very important to Daoye. Naturally, he had to follow as a protector.
Since he said so, what else could the others say? However, they were more or less worried that this person would never return. Yuan Gang was easy to deal with. Everyone could tell that Niu Youdao was an extremely rational person. This kind of person wasn't easy to sway, so he had been unwilling to open his heart to them.
After a few exchanges, they left the basement and went their separate ways. However, not long after, Shang Shuqing came to the small courtyard where Niu Youdao lived and personally brought a pot of tea.
There was a small table in the courtyard, and the three of them sat facing the moon. As Shang Shuqing poured the tea, he asked, "Daoye, we've selected some suitable people. As for the suture treatment method, can we ask Master Yuan …"
Niu Youdao casually pointed at Yuan Gang, who was beside him, and said, "Whether he teaches it or not is up to him. Don't ask me."
Shang Shuqing probed further. "My sister-in-law is also interested in this, and she would like to send some people over to learn it. In fact, she might even come over to learn it personally. I wonder if that's convenient?"
Niu Youdao gave Yuan Gang a thumbs up. "It's none of my business. Talk to him." After saying that, he picked up the teacup and drank by himself.
Shang Shuqing looked at Yuan Gang, and Yuan Gang nodded his head in agreement. Without even drinking the tea, he got up and left. In fact, Yuan Gang had a habit of being vigilant whenever food was delivered to his doorstep. Once Daoye ate it, he would not be in a hurry to touch it. It was the same for tea, and he would only drink it after a period of time.
It wasn't because he didn't want Niu Youdao to test the poison, and it wasn't because he didn't trust Shang Shuqing. It was because if something went wrong and both of them collapsed, there wouldn't be anyone to deal with it.
Under the moonlight, Shang Shuqing wanted to say something several times, but he stopped himself. In fact, he really wanted to ask where Niu Youdao was going to cultivate, but in the end, he didn't ask. Instead, he stared at Niu Youdao's casually tied ponytail and asked, "Why didn't Daoye tie up his hair?"
Niu Youdao chuckled. "I've never tied it up before, so I can't be bothered to tie it up."
Shang Shuqing acknowledged and didn't say anything else. After a while, he left.
That night, Yuan Gang came to Niu Youdao's room and reminded Niu Youdao, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, "Feng Ruonan went to Shang Chaozong's room to spend the night. She also moved some daily necessities over. It seems like they are officially staying together."
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