" Lord Shen, you have special correspondence with the imperial court."
Beyond the fog, Shen Yinian, the Fifth Master of the Shen Family, was analyzing the entire map with the veteran generals brought by the Duke of Qin.
"According to intelligence, of the seven prefectures in Jiangnan, only three can barely hold their ground. The situation in Liuzhou is unclear, and the situation in Nanyang is also quite complicated. My suggestion is to send 100,000 troops into Nanming Prefecture first, to draw the firepower of the zombies to Nanming, thereby relieving the pressure on the other prefectures. What do you all think?" Duke of Qin said, pointing to the map.
"Is it still useful to alleviate the pressure on other prefectures?" Shen Yinian frowned. "We've analyzed the intelligence on these zombies over the past few days. The other areas in Jiangnan, lacking sufficient military preparedness, have probably already completely fallen!"
"That's precisely why we need to draw firepower here," Duke of Qin stated. "The living corpses are coming along the river. According to Wang Ye Ye's analysis, once these monsters occupy a city, they will enter an internal battle against the Gu worms, and very few living corpses will be diverted. The faster a city is conquered, the safer the surrounding counties will be, because very few living corpses will be diverted, giving the rural people enough time to react."
"We deliberately steered the battlefield to Nanming Prefecture, triggering the magic array's mechanism and causing it to continuously release living corpses into Nanming. This would reduce the number of new living corpses entering the other prefectures, and we could also test just how many living corpses were actually inside the magic array."
Shen Yinian frowned upon hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, said, "If that's the case, shouldn't we send troops to other states to provide protection and relief?"
"The time is not yet ripe." Duke of Qin shook his head and said, "We don't know the depths of the magic array, nor how many living corpses there are, or how many more monsters will follow. Therefore, we must prepare sufficient forces to reinforce Nanming at any time and cannot disperse our troops."
"Furthermore, we don't know when problems might arise in the West Sea, so we need to leave troops there to deal with any situation. Once Vice Minister Wang returns, we'll have him go and investigate the situation in the West Sea."
"Your Excellency the Duke is indeed very thoughtful," Shen Yinian nodded. "In that case, His Highness the Crown Prince can lead the army to the West Sea to garrison first."
The Duke of Qin's eyes flashed, but he smiled and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince is the heir apparent; we cannot take unnecessary risks."
"That's true." Shen Yinian nodded, and was about to say something when someone outside announced, "Reporting to the Duke, a message from the court has arrived, a secret letter for Lord Shen!"
Upon hearing this, all the military officers looked at Shen Yinian with strange expressions.
Given the urgency of the military situation, it's normal for the imperial court to issue orders at any time. But what does it mean to send a secret letter to the Ministry of War at this crucial moment?
Shen Yinian remained expressionless and ordered the messenger outside, "Have the messenger bring the letter in."
"Yes!"
A moment later, a soldier clad in silver armor strode in, immediately kneeling upon entering the tent. "Greetings, generals; greetings, Lord Shen."
Duke of Qin frowned slightly as he looked at the middle-aged general. Judging from the armor he was wearing, he was a Sixth Rank captain. Silver armor was the insignia of the Imperial Guard of the capital. However, he was a man with a photographic memory and he recognized Sixth Rank captains in the Imperial Guard of the capital. This man in front of him was somewhat unfamiliar.
"Give me the letter," Shen Yinian said directly to the young officer.
"Yes!" The man, seeing Shen Yinian's instructions, dared not disobey and handed over the letter with both hands.
The bright yellow color and the secret seal of the Yin-Yang Academy's techniques made it clear that it was indeed a letter specifically for Shen Yinian, which made the expressions of those around him even more puzzled.
Despite the unpleasant atmosphere, Shen Yinian did not hesitate at all and opened the letter in front of everyone.
" Lord Shen, there's no need for that," the Duke of Qin quickly said. "Since it's a confidential letter from the court, you can read it yourself."
"Given the current situation, why bother with these things?" Shen Yinian said dismissively, opening the envelope, glancing at it, and then casually tossing it onto the sand table. "It says the Crown Prince will lead the army, assisted by General Hong."
Upon hearing this, no one was surprised at all. It would be strange if the emperor really trusted the crown prince to command the Xiao Household's most elite troops.
Lao Hong was an unsurprising choice; he was stubborn, inflexible, only listened to the emperor, and dared to turn against anyone!
"The Crown Prince has asked me to hand over the defense map of this area. What does Your Excellency think?"
Upon hearing this, the generals all sneered. The Crown Prince probably didn't have the guts to ask for the defense map; the one who wanted it was most likely Lao Hong. And if they took over their defenses at this time, it would be like a wild beast exposing its belly, leaving itself vulnerable to slaughter.
"Since it is His Highness the Crown Prince's order, then Lord Shen, you may deliver it there. There's no need to make things difficult for him," the Duke of Qin said gently.
The others frowned, but Shen Yinian nodded and said, "The Duke is indeed a man of extraordinary magnanimity. However, I think the situation is changing rapidly at this time, and it would be meaningless for His Highness the Crown Prince to take our temporary defense map, since we may rearrange it at any time. I will write to His Highness the Crown Prince later to explain."
Upon hearing Lord Shen's words, all the military officers' eyes softened considerably, including the Duke of Qin, who nodded slightly. No one felt that Shen Yinian was just placating them. For twenty years, Shen Yinian had served Ministry of War, maintaining this impartial image and always prioritizing the overall situation. He treated both the royalists and the Duke of Duke of Qin's faction equally, a stance that earned him the trust of many.
"In that case, please allow me to take my leave for now."
"Please go ahead, Lord Shen." Duke of Qin quickly rose to see him off.
Shen Yinian didn't stand on ceremony and quickly led the young general to his small tent.
There were no barriers set up inside or outside the accounting books, giving people a very open and honest impression.
If someone followed us in, the experience might be different.
After the silver-armored young general entered the tent, his entire body became strange, and Su Zhan's movements resembled those of an alien monster.
"It hurts so much, my lord," the young general's voice was hoarse, completely different from before. If you looked closely, you would see that he spat out a bead after taking the bill.
Shen Yinian turned around and glared coldly at the other person, who trembled in fright and quickly swallowed the bead back. The next second, his voice returned to normal. "My lord."
"I know it's uncomfortable," Shen Yinian's eyes softened. "Just bear with it a little longer. The sun protection film that Laoliu made certainly can't completely counteract the damage from the scorching sun, but you'll get used to it."
As he spoke, he stretched out his arm and tore open the skin on his hand like tearing paper, revealing a pitch-black palm with black smoke rising from it and blood blisters, clearly indicating that he was not in good condition.
Looking at the blood blisters, Shen Yinian said quietly, "I've been used to it for twenty years!"
--
The worst-case scenario has still happened!
The one screaming was the Laoshi'er!!
The timing of the attack was ingenious; it was the instant that Laoqi's soul left his body. No matter how vigilant everyone was, their attention would inevitably be diverted to Laoqi at that moment, which was enough for those who wanted to make their move.
The puppet-like Laoliu grabbed Twelve and hundreds of poisonous thorns pierced Twelve's vital acupoints. Laoshi'er, who had little combat experience, barely reacted before his acupoints were sealed. The next second, he was directly rolled into the body of the Laoliu, whose body was like a meat grinder, and was turned into mincemeat!
" Laoliu, you!!" Laosi's eyes were bloodshot, his muscles bulging like a martial artist's, yet he dared not make a move, wary of his surroundings. Like Laosi, the others were also extremely angry but dared not make a move immediately.
After all, no one knows for sure if the person next to them might suddenly attack them like Laoliu!
Chen Qing stared grimly at the location of the incident. He had long known that the parasite would never sit idly by and wait for its death; it would definitely make its move before proving itself. Therefore, Chen Qing had already determined that Shen Laoqi, who dared to be the first to prove himself, was not the parasite.
But in Chen Qing's heart, the one he feared most was not Shen Laoqi, but the one standing in front of him now!
"It really is you, Sixth Master!"
"Hehehe," Sixth Master Shen's puppet laughter became shrill, and combined with the newly split knife wound and the flesh and blood belonging to Laoshi'er all over his body, he looked like an alien monster from those old-fashioned blood and gore horror movies!
"You've suspected me for a long time?"
"I have some doubts, but I'm not sure," Chen Qing replied honestly, his tone low and his expression not very good.
This is truly the worst possible outcome!
If Shen Laoliu has a problem, then Shen Laowu, who is very close to him, is also likely to have a problem!
This is troublesome!
There was an insect that had escaped to the outside world long ago and even managed to infiltrate the central government, gaining control over the vast military supplies of the Great Jin Dynasty!
What does this mean?
How much strength has he accumulated over the past twenty years?
Moreover, the fact that he was able to infiltrate the capital for so long must mean he had other connections. It's highly likely that the Thousand-Faced Fox incident a while back was orchestrated by Shen Laowu and the forces behind him.
More importantly, if the Laowu also has a problem, it means that the Laoliu has already created a device that allows zombies to walk in broad daylight!
This was not impossible for Sixth Master Shen, who had already mastered the secrets of Heavenly Secrets arts.
So how many living corpses did the Great Jin actually hide?
This time, Shen Laowu, who holds the title of Ministry of War, came to the front line with the Duke of Qin. The forces he has prepared are absolutely extraordinary, and are not even in the same league as those trapped in the rivers and seas or even in Nanyang!
Was the premature activation of the magic circle orchestrated by these two brothers?
What forces are behind this?
What exactly is their purpose?
Um, I'm very sorry, the author made a mistake due to carelessness.
Just to correct something: Shen Laowu is Shen Yinian, Shen Laoliu is Shen Yixin. The name errors in the first two chapters have been corrected. I sincerely apologize. The author kowtows in remorse.