“General, the time has come!”

Nanyue County, Dragon-soaring Army Camp.

Li Wenyou walked briskly, speaking to Xu Xuanwu on the main seat.

“Oh? What does Wenhe mean by this?”

“Rebellion! They’ve all rebelled!”

Li Wenyou said excitedly, “In more than half of the Great Yu’s thirteen states, the states and counties have already rebelled!”

“All the vassal kings, noble families, and sects have rebelled!”

“That Emperor of Great Yu actually disregarded the interests of the noble families and sects, and recklessly pushed for Wang Anshi’s reforms, to clear national farmlands, redistribute them, or even nationalize them.”

“Most importantly, he even wants to tax officials, merchants, and vassal kings! This is an unprecedented policy, and with these actions, Emperor Zhengyong has put all officials and noble families in opposition!”

Li Wenyou, gasping heavily, said, “We don’t have many spies in the capital city, and with all the rebel armies along the way, it was with great difficulty we got the news back.”

“These are reports from a month ago, so the situation in the capital and Great Yu is likely even more chaotic now.”

“I suspect that at least half of Emperor Zhengyong’s officials have fled, and even the cabinet ministers must have run away.”

“Those cabinet ministers are all representatives of noble families, hahaha…”

“Truly, heaven is helping me!”

Xu Xuanwu frowned and said, “Is Emperor Zhengyong really this reckless? Daring to tax the noble families and officials, it’s unheard of!”

“I think he’s lost his mind!”

Li Wenyou gritted his teeth and said, “Officials, being scholars, are his aides in governing the world. How could he levy taxes on them?”

“Now, more than half of Great Yu’s thirteen states have rebelled, local officials are powerless to stop it, some dukes have already occupied a whole state.”

“General! We must speed up, or if other dukes seize advantageous terrain and cities first, it will be very unfavorable for us!”

Xu Xuanwu took a long breath and said, “Indeed, it is time. I have been in the Innate realm for half a year, and my cultivation has now stabilized. It is time to make a move.”

“What plan does Wenhe have?”

Li Wenyou immediately walked to the map and said, “General, please look, our army is currently stationed in Nanyue County, located on the southwest border of Great Yu, adjacent to Nanzhao Country.”

“Nanzhao Country has already been subdued by the General, and they are even willing to have their princess marry you, inviting you as the esteemed son-in-law. Why not accept, General?”

Xu Xuanwu frowned and said, “I only love Yue Chan. Besides, I’ve never even seen the Nanzhao princess, and she’s reportedly been sickly from a young age. Why would I marry her?”

“General, you are being foolish!”

Li Wenyou said, “Though Nanzhao is a small country, it has an army of 300,000 and a population of several million. If you become its esteemed son-in-law, upon the king’s death, you might have a chance to become the king of Nanzhao!”

“Nanzhao Country is a natural fortress, surrounded by sea on three sides, with tall trees and dense forests.”

“In the worst case, we have 200,000 troops; combined with Nanzhao’s 300,000, we would have 500,000!”

“With this army of 500,000, you would be the most powerful duke in all of Great Yu!”

“As for the Nanzhao princess? She would not be able to control you, General. What we need is just a name!”

Xu Xuanwu took a long breath, but finally shook his head and said, “This matter again…”

“General!”

Li Wenyou once more advised, “Those who accomplish great things do not bother with trivialities.”

“Once the General achieves greatness, claiming the Central Plains, and ascends to the throne, Miss Yue Chan can be made Empress.”

“Moreover, what great man lacks for wives? With Nanzhao’s 300,000 troops, the world is at your fingertips!”

“Very well…leave it to Wenn He.”

Xu Xuanwu finally shook his head and said, “If Nanzhao hands over command of their border army to me, then I will marry the Nanzhao princess.”

“General, you are wise!”

“And Wenn He, at this stage, how should we act?”

Li Wenyou replied immediately, “It’s very simple, our Nanyue County is in the southwest, bordered by Yuezhou and Yunzhou. We urgently need to mobilize the army, splitting into two routes to invade Yuezhou and Yunzhou!”

“General Heilang of Yuezhou is fighting outside, leaving it vulnerable. The local dukes are led by Shi Tianlang, known as ‘Celestial Wolf General’, who has led his tribe to rebel against Yu, even calling back Shi Heilang.”

“But due to the disputes between Shi Tianlang and Shi Heilang, their troops have split; with you leading the Dragon-soaring Army into Yuezhou, the course will be set in no time.”

“As for Yunzhou, General Heishi of the Heiyue Race can handle it.”

Li Wenyou said, “General Miaoo Xiu of Yunzhou is currently stationed in Yongzhou. The largest rebel force there is the local sect ‘Infinite Cave’.”

“We only need to recognize their sect status and acknowledge their occupied lands to win them over, even recruiting them under your command to contest for the world.”

“All over, the sect’s martial artists are numerous, but not organized. With our 200,000 troops pressing on the border, to avoid their annihilation, they can only submit to us!”

“Splitting the army into two routes…”

Xu Xuanwu murmured, “What about the Baiyue Race?”

“Imprison their High Priest.”

Li Wenyou said coolly, “The Heiyue and Baiyue were originally one race, their struggle is merely amongst the elite. Imprison the Baiyue’s High Priest and followers, and the Baiyue can smoothly integrate into the Heiyue.”

“Thus, under the General’s command, with the armies of Nanzhao Country and the Heiyue Race, great things can be accomplished.”

“At worst, we will occupy the southwest of Great Yu and establish our own kingdom, becoming a king ourselves!”

“Hahahaha, excellent!”

Xu Xuanwu laughed heartily, “With Wenyou, I am like a tiger with wings!”

“All plans are for you to set, Wenyou, and you are in charge of all our troops.”

“Once the great plan succeeds, the position of Prime Minister shall be yours!”

“Thank you, General!”

Li Wenyou said excitedly, though his eyes were somewhat cold.

“By the way, General, there are two things to do before we act.”

“Oh? What things?”

“First, crush the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Yu spies in Nanyue County, kill them all!”

“Simple, take my token, and lead my personal soldiers to besiege them!”

“The second thing is to repair the three main passes connecting Nanyue County with Yunzhou and Yuezhou.”

“These three important passes were destroyed forty years ago when Emperor Tianqi conquered Nanyue and have never been rebuilt. Now that we plan to take action, we must first repair these passes, and make them more formidable than before.”

Li Wenyou pointed to the junctions between Nanyue County and Yunzhou, Yuezhou: “Thus, we can attack, or retreat and defend, ensuring our great success.”

“Good, everything is up to you, Wenyou!”

That night.

A scream suddenly awakened the County City of Nanyue.

Nanyue County City was a new city built forty years ago when Great Yu captured Nanyue County.

Because of the short time, Nanyue’s County City has no tall walls, just a simple earthen wall, and the resident houses are merely basic bluestone structures.

Squads of Dragon-soaring Army and personal soldiers roamed the streets, purposefully heading towards several bases in the city, decisively cutting them down.

“Ah!”

“Murder! Murder!”

“The Dragon-soaring Army is purging the rebellious spies, ordinary citizens must not leave their homes!”

“The Dragon-soaring Army is purging the rebellious spies, ordinary citizens must not leave their homes!”

The shouts kept coming, and most ordinary people in the city huddled fearfully indoors, not daring to step out.

But those spies from Great Yu or other forces were out of luck.

Adhering to the philosophy of rather kill the innocent than let the guilty escape, anyone suspected by Li Wenyou’s spies was executed.

For a moment, cries of agony echoed throughout Nanyue County City, with people being killed constantly.

“Boom!”

In a secret dwelling, Monkey quickly pushed the door open and shouted, “Lord Shen! Lord Yang, leave quickly! Xu Xuanwu has rebelled!”

“What exactly happened?”

Dressed as a hotel shopkeeper, Shen Xing frowned and asked. They had opened a restaurant in Nanyue County with funds from the Imperial Court, and business was good, allowing them to gather some intelligence and live quite comfortably.

But today…

“Li Wenyou is killing, leading Xu Xuanwu’s personal soldiers. I just saw many people heading our way.”

“Retreat!”

Shen Xing immediately decided, removed his apron, and led the group toward the back door.

“Wait a moment.”

Shen Xing suddenly stopped, looked at the wide restaurant, and gritted his teeth decisively, “Set it on fire!”

“My lord?”

Next to him, Yang Shaoyong’s eyes lit up. “Stop talking nonsense and set it on fire quickly!”

“We must block the enemy here to survive.”

“Yes!”

Seven or eight people quickly found flint and set the entire restaurant ablaze.

Especially some of the strong alcohol stored there, which burned even more fiercely in the flames.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen Xing, Yang Shaoyong, and the others quickly left.

“Fire!”

“It’s on fire!”

“Somebody, help!”

“Clang, clang, clang, clang…”

People outside soon noticed the fire, and many came running with water buckets to put it out.

At this time, Li Wenyou was leading Xu Xuanwu’s personal soldiers toward them, his eyes turning fierce at the sight of the raging fire.

“What a ruthless heart, to think of using this method to hinder us?”

“But… it’s already too late!”

One of his subordinates asked, “My lord, should we put out the fire?”

“Don’t bother!”

Li Wenyou said coldly, “Catch up to them, they left in a hurry, surely we’ll catch up.”

“Yes!”

A group of soldiers, fierce like wolves and tigers, searched and quickly discovered Shen Xing and the others’ trail.

“Here they are!”

“We’ve found them!”

“Kill!”

The two groups immediately clashed, one party fleeing for their lives, the other killing as they defended, quickly breaking out of the county city.

Shen Xing and the others had already hidden horses outside the city, galloping out of the encirclement drenched in blood.

Three days later!

Only Shen Xing and Yang Shaoyong were left in the entire group, the rest all killed by the pursuing Dragon-soaring Army.

Both were covered in wounds, and their expressions were extremely fatigued.

Fleeing for three days, they hadn’t even had time to eat or sleep, truly miserable.

“Giddy up!”

“Faster~!”

Behind them, another group of soldiers and horses pursued, further plunging the two into despair.

Yang Shaoyong suddenly yanked the reins and said, “Old Shen, you go first, I’ll hold them off!”

“No way! We either both go or neither, I’ll stay and hold them off!”

“Stop with the nonsense!”

Yang Shaoyong cursed angrily, “These past years while you’ve been doing business, your Martial Arts Cultivation has fallen behind, but I’m already a Grandmaster Realm Martial Artist!”

“This group of Dragon-soaring Army soldiers couldn’t take my life anytime soon, now go!”

With that, he fiercely stepped on the stirrup, his figure soaring into the sky like a giant eagle, swooping down on the pursuing soldiers, immediately engaging in battle.

“Old Yang!”

Shen Xing roared furiously, but also knew this was not the time for second thoughts and quickly pulled the reins, dashing forward.

Soon, a pass appeared ahead of him, with a high mountain on one side and a cliff on the other.

“Ahead is Shilong Pass, once we break through Shilong Pass, we can enter Yunzhou, then deploy the Imperial Court’s army…”

“Thud!”

An arrow suddenly shot from the distant sky, instantly piercing through Shen Xing’s chest.

“Whoa…!”

Instinctively, Shen Xing pulled the reins, the steed reared its front hooves, while despair filled Shen Xing’s eyes.

From the distance at Shilong Pass, a repair checkpoint had unexpectedly emerged.

Over a hundred soldiers were guarding, and after shooting Shen Xing, a team of riders charged towards him.

“A checkpoint? Xu Xuanwu intends to seal off Nanyue County?!”

“Xu Xuanwu!”

Shen Xing cursed, “Your Xu family’s loyalty through three generations… even as a ghost, I won’t spare you!”

He fiercely pulled the reins, and the horse immediately dashed toward the other side.

On that side… a cliff!

“Whoa…!”

Within meters of the cliff, the horse reared its front hooves, unwilling to advance.

But Shen Xing, enduring the searing pain in his chest, fiercely stepped on the stirrup, leaping straight off the cliff!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep