What do you think?
At night, in the Nanyang City where Tian Heng was temporarily stationed, a huge bonfire was lit, and tens of thousands of troops were warming themselves by the fire on the street. In the very center, Duke of Qi Tian Heng was questioning a dozen or so deputy generals, including Lan Xiang!
When resisting the Eldest Princess, the situation was too urgent. After much consideration, he had his men marked with his Battle God Seal. Before this, Chen Qing had cleverly arranged for Wang Ye to station his soldiers in Yangzhou, which meant that he had not been able to communicate with his men for days. Only after forcing the Eldest Princess to retreat did he have the opportunity to discuss the future with his deputy generals.
This discussion involved a crucial decision: whether or not to join Chen Qing's faction.
Tian Heng felt that Chen Qing was very scheming, with many schemes, and even suspected that the Princess's attack was part of his plan. He used this to force Tian Heng to agree to let the soldiers join the Battle God Army first. Once a certain line is crossed, the inner struggle will be much less.
Clearly, Tian Heng could sense that many of his soldiers were becoming increasingly hesitant to join Chen Qing.
In fact, not only ordinary soldiers, but even Lan Xiang and others hesitated for a moment.
They didn't spend much time in Yangzhou, but they all witnessed the operating model of the Battle God Army firsthand. Many soldiers also had private contact with them. The allure of their power was so strong that it captivated the lower-ranking soldiers within just a few days.
Even those born of blood, if they have any ambition, will want to change things.
Those born under noble bloodlines, especially those of lower ranks, may seem to enjoy a high starting point and many benefits to ordinary people, but who knows their pain?
They were born destined to never be the leader of an army, destined to be mere vassals of high-ranking families.
They were born to work for the bloodlines of high-ranking families, serving as battlefield bodyguards to protect those of superior bloodlines. Perhaps they could find a sense of purpose among ordinary people, but when faced with even more powerful families, weren't they just as powerless as mortals?
No matter how hard you try, the upper limit of your bloodline is there, and you can never break through it!
Since a breakthrough is impossible, why not just give up?
Many ordinary soldiers resented that those who slept all day could get good positions, but the truth was, their efforts were largely futile. Some things are predetermined for ordinary people, and the same was true for them.
During their time in Yangzhou, all the soldiers witnessed a different kind of vitality.
Especially after experiencing it once.
After the Battle God Seal was inscribed, all the soldiers, including the deputy general Lan Xiang, felt the reality of that power. The power of the Battle God could enhance the body, expand the meridians, and make them stronger in a real way, surpassing even the power of bloodline.
Especially for Lan Xiang and the others, who had been stuck at one realm for far too long, unable to make any progress due to the limitations of their bloodlines for many years, the sudden improvement they experienced was an incredibly vivid and wonderful feeling.
It feels like a dream!
Before entering, if he had faced the Duke's questions, Lan Xiang would never have hesitated, but now...
"My lord, what do you think?" Lan Xiang asked cautiously.
Tian Heng was taken aback and looked over. Lan Xiang asked very cautiously, while the surrounding deputy generals all lowered their heads and drank their meat porridge, clearly showing a guilty conscience.
Even more strikingly, not far away, many soldiers were quietly eating their porridge with their heads down, but a closer look revealed that they were all trying their best to hear the outcome of the discussion over there.
In an instant, Tian Heng understood the path his subordinates wanted to choose.
A sudden, inexplicable sense of dread washed over me!
His trusted followers, whom he had cultivated for decades, were turned against him in just over ten days?
Although he didn't completely turn against her, it's clear that his mind is all on her!
After a few moments of silence, the heads of the lieutenants bowed lower and lower, until finally Lan Xiang managed to say, "Wherever you go, sir, we will go."
These words were spoken sincerely, but after hesitating for so long before saying them, Tian Heng felt even more conflicted.
"Let me see your Battle God Seal," Tian Heng said after a moment of silence.
Lan Xiang quickly reached out her hand.
"Is this it?" Tian Heng frowned slightly as he looked at the tattoo-like object. "What kind of power is that?"
"I can't explain it clearly either," Lan Xiang said cautiously. "That power is very peculiar, as if it appeared out of thin air. I've tried it many times; it's very gentle and doesn't conflict with our own Bloodline Power. It's a power that we can utilize based on our own foundation."
"It can strengthen the body and improve the meridians. Just strengthening the meridians alone makes our blood circulation faster, which is a real and tangible improvement."
Tian Heng looked at the other party. Lan Xiang was the most cautious of all his deputy generals, which was why he had entrusted the rear area to him. But now, only a dozen days later, he was already so impressed with the power given to him by Chen Qing!
It seems the power of the Divine Path system is truly tempting.
With a wry smile, Tian Heng didn't make things difficult for his subordinate. Instead, he opened the map and said, " Chen Qing means for me to stay and serve as a god."
"Play the role of a god?" All the lieutenants were taken aback.
"Yes, he's like Xu Hu, the Battle God who gave you power," Tian Heng to the map. "He's the God of the Four Seas. He wants to carve up Jiangnan, control the West Sea waterway, and make me the West Sea God of the West Sea. On the surface, I'll replace the Duke of Qin as the court's ruler of the West Sea, but in reality, I'll be the Sea God for Chen Qing's so-called Divine Path power."
Lan Xiang remained silent for a moment, then finally said, "You've got quite the heart."
"Yes," Tian Heng nodded, "They've got some nerve. The fighting hasn't even started yet, and they're already allocating resources to the West Sea. They're really more arrogant than the King of Qin back then."
Everyone: "."
"But it sounds good," Tian Heng recalled Chen Qing's words.
If we can obtain the West Sea, then West Sea vast waters, including the entire Jiangnan waterway, will be under the jurisdiction Sea God the Sea God Faction need to have dragon blood to control it. General Tian, you have dragon-turtle blood, so after becoming the God of the West Sea, your bloodline has the best chance to evolve into a true dragon, possessing extremely high potential. Once you transform into a dragon, even if my Divine Path system eventually collapses, you, with your true dragon body, will not be completely dragged down. Even after leaving the Divine Path, you will still have the bloodline of a true dragon with a lifespan of ten thousand years.
Lifespan of ten thousand years?
Even though he is a fairly easygoing person, he couldn't resist this temptation.
After all, those who betrayed the King of Qin of Qin back then were all after immortality; it would be a lie to say that they didn't want it at all.
His family had just been established and was extremely fragile. It was most likely to fall apart after his death. If he could extend his lifespan, even if it wasn't as much as Chen Qing said, even if it was only a few hundred years, he felt that he could still fulfill his parents' wishes and build a Tian Household with a profound foundation.
"My lord, what do you think?" Lan Xiang asked, mustering his courage.
Tian Heng glanced at him and then said, "We are not without options. If we don't join Chen Qing's group, we can still turn to the imperial court. With the Duke of Duke of Qin missing and his forces collapsing, the court is short of troops. If we are willing to voluntarily join the Xiao Household and are recommended by the Hong Household, our treatment will not be bad. In fact, due to the loss of the Duke of Duke of Qin and many other dukes, many positions in the army will become available."
Lan Xiang and the others remained silent.
What's the difference?
For them, the imperial court would still reserve the most important positions for the direct descendants of powerful families. These deputy generals would always remain subordinates; they were, their descendants were, and generation after generation, it would always be the same.
Seeing this, Tian Heng sighed and said, "If we side with Chen Qing, our risks will increase many times over. To be honest, if other powerful families learn about Chen Qing's methods, they will definitely see him as the biggest threat. Do you understand? It's not just this time; if we side with Chen Qing, we will be making enemies of all the powerful families in the world!"
The crowd remained silent.
They understood this principle. Chen Qing's set of rules was very attractive to the middle and lower-level aristocratic families, but it was different for those aristocratic families who were already at the top of the ecosystem. They were already at the top, and as beneficiaries, what they least wanted to see was change, and what they least wanted was for those below to have a way to rise up.
Chen Qing's Divine Path lineage is digging up their roots!
"Sir/Madam"
"I'm actually fine," Tian Heng said with a smile. " Chen Qing obviously knows that, of all the countries, I'm probably the only one he'd really like to win over."
Lan Xiang smiled upon hearing this. Indeed, the Duke of Qi used to be a small family, but it has only risen to prominence in recent years. Unlike those ancient families, they are not conservative. The entire Tian Household is headed by the Duke of Qi.
"Fine." Seeing the conflicted looks on all the lieutenants' faces, Tian Heng sighed, "Since you brothers want to fight for yourselves, then I'll lead you in that fight!"
"My lord." All the lieutenants looked up, their eyes filled with excitement, but also a hint of shame.
"Stop putting on that act." Tian Heng rolled his eyes at them. "It's annoying to look at. Since none of you are afraid of death, then let's all take a gamble. I'm telling you, your families are still under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. Whether Chen Qing can get the court to compromise is unknown. Be prepared to be expelled from your families!"
He wasn't worried that the emperor would exterminate all the soldiers and their families who had defected to Chen Qing. Those were the foundation of the Great Jin; only a madman would do that!
"Once expelled from the family, your descendants will no longer be able to enjoy any of the family's resources!"
"It's not just you, it's your wives, your children, it's all the same. Have you thought it through? Once you lose the gamble, you'll have nothing left!!"
Family resources, the benefits that all scions of noble families can enjoy from birth, are a starting point built upon the end point of ordinary mortals, passed down from generation to generation.
Once abandoned by their family, the label of that aristocratic family will be gone from them.
The wife cannot enjoy the glory and benefits within the family, and the children cannot enjoy the family's upbringing. They may cause their children to become ordinary people after failure. Those who are not married will not be able to enjoy the good bloodline of the family.
They are not ordinary people who have nothing; if they want to move up to a higher level, they have to gamble with everything they have now!