Withdrawal

"Duke Wei has assigned me two tasks."

The head guard suddenly stopped talking and glanced at the two armored soldiers behind him.

Nangong Qianrou looked at her two subordinates and said:

"You all step back!"

"Yes!"

The two armored soldiers withdrew and closed the door behind them.

The head guard sat down at the table and first took out a brocade pouch:

"Duke Wei's first task was that if His Highness Huaiqing wanted to seize the throne for the Fourth Prince after the late Emperor's death, he sent me here to find him. To be honest, I didn't remember Nangong Jinluo before I came; the brocade pouch only contained an address."

Nangong Qianrou nodded:

"This is Warlock's technique to conceal the secrets of heaven; I'm afraid no one in the capital remembers me anymore."

He knew his own situation best; apart from his adoptive father, he was not close to anyone, and the shallower the connection between cause and effect, the less he could remember it.

Just as a person who has lost their parents will remember them forever, but the disappearance of a stranger will not bother them.

"You just said that if the Fourth Prince seizes the throne, you will come to me. But why did you refer to Prince Huaiqing as Your Majesty?" Nangong Qianrou couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her.

"His Highness Huaiqing has ascended the throne; it was Xu Yinluo who put him on the throne," the head guard said with a smile.

It took Nangong Qianrou a while to process this shocking news. She exclaimed in astonishment:

"Xu Qi'an helped him rise to power? Wait, how did Yuan Jing die?"

"The late emperor was personally killed by Xu Yinluo. Not long after Duke Wei's death, Xu Yinluo advanced to the extraordinary level, and now he is a second-rank martial artist." The head guard said with admiration.

"Wait, wait a minute!"

Nangong Qianrou raised her hand, interrupting him, and after sitting there blankly for a while, asked with an uncertain expression:

"When did Duke Wei launch his campaign against Jingshan City? That was during the Yuanjing era?"

"Today is the Spring Festival, Duke Wei attacked Jingshan City last autumn, about five months ago," the head guard replied with absolute certainty.

So I really only stayed here for five months, not five years, not fifty years. Nangong Qianrou pinched the bridge of her nose:

"If you're not in a hurry, tell me what's happening outside first."

The head guard immediately gave a brief summary of Xu Qi'an's exploits after Wei Yuan's death, including how he single-handedly held off 300,000 soldiers of the Witch God Cult outside Yuyang Pass, how he stormed the Golden Palace and killed the tyrannical Emperor Yuan Jing after returning to the capital, and his various deeds in the martial arts world, up to his recent tribulation battle.

Even though it was explained very briefly, Nangong Qianrou was still stunned, her face blank.

"I see."

He pinched the bridge of his nose again, a sense of vicissitude emanating from him, as if time had stood still in the mountains while a thousand years had passed in the world.

If Sun Xuanji remembered correctly, when he blocked him, that grinning kid who only competed with him for favor was a fifth-grade cultivator, and only at the beginning of the fifth grade.

"Tell me, what is the second task your godfather has given you?"

The chief guard spoke frankly:

"In the brocade pouch that Duke Wei gave me, he said that Xu Qi'an and the Bureau of Astronomy would do everything in their power to revive him. If they observed any movement at the Star-Gazing Tower, they would immediately leave the capital to find you and ask you to open the third brocade pouch. Duke Wei gave me this address."

As the chief of the guards, he followed His Majesty wherever he went.

He had a clear view of the situation at the Star-Gazing Tower.

"Has my godfather come back to life?"

Nangong Qianrou's cheeks suddenly flushed red, a delicate blush rising on them.

He trembled slightly, his eyes fixed on the head guard with a mixture of excitement and ferocity.

In the orange glow, his eyes glistened with tears.

"This is a brocade pouch given to me by Duke Wei." The head guard took out the brocade pouch and handed it over.

He believed that no words were as effective as this advice.

Nangong Qianrou snatched the brocade pouch and eagerly unfolded it.

After watching it repeatedly, his nose tingled, and he took a deep breath to hold back his tears.

Then, Nangong Qianrou got up and pulled a wooden box from under the bed, taking out two brocade pouches.

The captain of the guard did not hesitate to open the kit with the word "" written on it.

"Qianrou, I left Xu Qi'an a Blood Pill. After I died in Jingshan City, he was already in dire straits. He either had to advance to the fourth rank and take the Blood Pill to break through to the extraordinary realm, or he would die in Joan of Arc's purge."

"He is blessed with good fortune and will most likely be able to get through this ordeal safely."

"Given his temperament, the first thing he would do after ascending to the extraordinary realm would definitely be to kill Joan of Arc."

"The Crown Prince is timid and pleasure-seeking, and is incapable of shouldering great responsibilities. Huaiqing, on the other hand, is ambitious and has great courage. She is very likely to take the opportunity to join forces with Xu Qi'an to stage a coup and seize the throne."

"However, the Great Feng Dynasty has not yet reached its end. The officials in the court only recognize the Crown Prince as the legitimate heir. Seizing the throne is difficult, and internal strife is not advisable. Therefore, you must help Huaiqing suppress the Imperial Guards and establish a firm foothold as quickly as possible."

"With the strength of ten thousand heavy cavalry, they are more than capable of handling the task."

"It is indeed to help Huaiqing seize the throne." Nangong Qianrou put down the note and opened the third brocade pouch.

"Qianrou, when you open this brocade pouch, it means that Huaiqing has not seized the throne. So your next task is to launch a surprise attack on Yunzhou."

"Among the thirteen states of Great Feng, Yunzhou has a population that is only slightly larger than that of Chuzhou. If that faction wants to use Yunzhou as its base to march north and attack Feng, no matter how well it is prepared in advance, the biggest drawback is the lack of troops."

"There won't be many troops left to defend Yunzhou. Of course, it's still not something an ordinary army can take down. Therefore, this heavy cavalry force that I've poured my heart and soul into building has finally come into play. From the breed of horses to the armored soldiers, and the armor you wear and the weapons you use, everything is Law Artifact, enough to sweep away thousands of troops."

"I will use mental suggestion to make myself remember that the trump card I left to defeat the enemy after my resurrection was the surprise attack on Yunzhou, but I will not remember you. Therefore, you should ask the spies I sent to find out the specific battle situation between Great Feng and Yunzhou, and make a decision based on the situation."

"If the Great Feng is easily defeated and suppressed by the Yunzhou army and the Western Region monks, or if the two armies are still fighting on Qingzhou, or if there are extraordinary individuals left to guard Yunzhou, then you should abandon the surprise attack on Yunzhou and have your informant return to the capital to report to me as soon as possible."

"I will change my strategy, abandon the plan for a quick victory, and try to take command of troops to confront the Yunzhou army on the main battlefield."

Didn't her adoptive father consider the possibility that when he woke up, the Great Feng would already be defeated? Hmm, if that were the case, Xu Qi'an and Huai Qing would most likely not revive him. Nangong Qianrou slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He looked at the head guard and said:

"With all the extraordinary experts currently engaged in battle, the Yunzhou army has suffered heavy losses and is now approaching Yongzhou. This presents an excellent opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Yunzhou."

The head guard laughed:

I think it's a good idea!

"His Majesty said that Xu Pingfeng's plans were flawless and he wouldn't give the Great Feng a chance to launch a surprise attack on Yunzhou. But he wouldn't know about the heavy cavalry under Nangong Jinluo's command. After all, even Duke Wei doesn't remember you."

Nangong Qianrou exhaled a breath of stale air:

"Very well! We've been raising an army for a thousand days, but we'll use it for one. I'll lead my troops south now."

The head guard clasped his hands and said:

"Wishing Nangong Jinluo a triumphant return!"

Star-Gazing Tower.

Under the cover of night, Wei Yuan stood on the edge of the Eight Trigrams Platform, overlooking the sleeping capital city.

He first gazed southward, lost in thought and remaining silent.

Then he looked northeast, his brows furrowed.

Now that he has been resurrected, the seal of the Confucian sage has been broken, and the sorcerer god has returned to his original state. It is only a matter of time before the seal is broken again.

Looking back now, if we hadn't stormed the headquarters of the Witch God Cult, the Witch God would have already broken the seal completely.

"The Gu God is not far from breaking the seal. The one in the Western Regions is still in an unknown state, but he is probably in much better condition than the Gu God and the Witch God. A great calamity is imminent."

Wei Yuan then turned around and looked towards the northern border.

"You brat, even Luo Yuheng has become your dual dao companion."

In fact, he already had a vague idea of what Xu Qi'an was planning, but he didn't tell Huaiqing.

After jokingly cursing, Wei Yuan said softly:

You did a great job.

Of course, this doesn't refer to the fact that after sleeping with the most beautiful woman in the Great Feng Dynasty, he also slept with the Grand Preceptor of the Great Feng Dynasty.

It's good that Xu Qi'an can take over the Great Feng after him.

Yongzhou City.

Yongzhou City has been under lockdown for several days. No one, whether civilian or soldier, is allowed to enter or leave the city.

The city's garrison patrolled day and night, while the dark Gu warriors of the Gu clan acted as scouts, monitoring the Yunzhou army's every move from the shadows.

As long as they don't get close to the Yunzhou army, the Dark Gu Clan warriors are the most secretive scouts.

In recent days, the entire city of Yongzhou has been shrouded in an atmosphere of fear and unease, especially the people in the city, who think about leaving the city to escape for their lives every day. The secret agents of Tianji Palace are stirring up trouble in the city, creating panic, inciting the people to riot, and storming the city gates.

The Provincial Governor of Yongzhou, Yao Hong, was difficult to control because among those commoners and nobles who wanted to leave Yongzhou City, there was himself.

Everyone knew that Yongzhou could not be defended. After the fall of Xunzhou, the last elite troops of the Great Feng numbered less than five thousand and retreated to Yongzhou.

With such a small force, how could they possibly withstand the Yunzhou army, which was eyeing the city covetously?

Xu Erlang was the one who finally resolved the matter. He killed Yao Hong and then had the leader of the Corpse Gu Clan turn Yao Hong into a puppet, thus stabilizing the officialdom in Yongzhou.

Then, under the guise of being rich but heartless, they confiscated and exterminated the homes of several of the most troublesome wealthy families, arrested and beheaded the troublemakers, and used the confiscated wealth and grain to provide relief to the people, promising them a life of ease with their silver tongues in front of the soup kitchens.

Xu Erlang was extremely eloquent and adept at manipulating people's hearts, but he usually used it to criticize others. In other words, the fact that he could criticize others so skillfully was proof of his eloquence.

With a combination of kindness and severity, the people in the city indeed became much more obedient.

After finishing his patrol, Xu Erlang returned to the barracks and saw Chu Caiwei leading her soldiers, carrying buckets of fish into the kitchen.

These fish were caught in the river of Yongzhou City. Besides being eaten, they are also a kind of "medicine." To be precise, the fish skin is a kind of medicine, specifically used to treat skin burns.

Due to the use of artillery and oil, the Great Feng Army suffered numerous burns.

If wounds are not treated promptly, they will quickly fester and become infected, ultimately leading to death. However, the shortage of medicine makes it impossible for all wounded soldiers to receive treatment.

Therefore, Chu Caiwei invented a method to treat burns using fish skin. Simply covering the burn with fish skin could prevent infection.

This is indeed a method that only Chu Caiwei could have come up with.

Xu Erlang entered the barracks and was walking towards his room when he met his teacher, Zhang Shen.

You've come at the perfect time!

Zhang Shen said in a deep voice:

"The teleportation array in the barracks just received a message from the Grand Eunuch of the Palace, sent by His Majesty. I'm going to summon all fourth-rank officials for a meeting."

As the core city of Yongzhou, Yongzhou City was the site where Sun Xuanji built a teleportation platform. However, the teleportation array could only teleport people to the entire state at most.

What is it?

Xu Erlang asked.

Zhang Shen's face immediately turned grim. "His Majesty has decreed that we must evacuate Yongzhou tonight."

Xu Erlang's face also darkened.

P. S.: This chapter is a bit shorter, but it's an extra chapter anyway. Happy Labor Day!