What was more, perhaps the people Beitang Sheng had bought off were among the Zhou, Fu, and Zhang families. Perhaps even Zhou Jiankang himself was one of them.
He had never been stingy when it came to judging others by the worst possible intentions. He would show the proper attitude where needed, but when it came to core secrets, unless he had confirmed that the other party was trustworthy and that the information could never leak, he would not speak of them.
Seeing Meng Zhao smile without saying a word, Lord Bei grew somewhat anxious. He truly wanted some concrete assurance from Meng Zhao—at the very least, some backing and connections that could take them in, right?
Cooperation went both ways. So did benefits, and naturally, so did contributions.
"Dragon King Meng, if the Beitang Imperial Clan truly falls, then who will rule the Northern Lands?
The hundreds of thousands of people in Sifang City wish to find someone capable of reigning supreme over the Northern Lands, make him our friend, and aid one another.
If possible, I ask Dragon King Meng to build a bridge and pave a road for us, to put us in contact with such a person!"
Lord Bei's words could not exactly be called a test, but they at least revealed his stance. He hoped to cooperate with the uncrowned king of the Northern Lands; perhaps in the future, they might even pledge themselves to that person.
Meng Zhao thought for a moment, then said,
"The Northern Lands encompass three vast provinces. To this day, no hegemon has emerged capable of carving out a kingdom and ruling as king. Nominally, the region is still led by the Beitang Imperial Clan and influenced by the Great Yong Dynasty; it remains part of the dynasty.
"However, these