The atmosphere in the government hall instantly turned icy cold!
The air seemed to freeze at that moment. Everyone in the hall who was not Transcendent, including the governor, turned ashen-faced and found it extremely difficult to even breathe!
Clearly, the sheer force of a top-tier sorcerer facing off against one of the strongest warriors in the Great Jin was something no ordinary person could withstand, even though neither of them Ruth of their power.
Seeing that several civil officials in the hall were struggling to breathe, Zhou Hanyang had no choice but to bite the bullet and stand between the two.
"Professor Xue Zheng, please calm down."
Zhou Hanyang had a very good impression of Mu Hongqing, especially after a year of getting to know him, which made him realize that Mu Hongqing was a very capable person. He was not only a top-notch sorcerer, but also a rare talent in terms of knowledge, politics, and strategic planning.
From the start of the retreat, he was in charge of almost all the planning for the army. He chose Xishui County in the far west, allowing them to catch their breath and stabilize their position. It was also he who made the decisive decision to retreat his own group, preserving the flame and preventing them from becoming living corpses under the Princess's command like the Golden Dragon Guard.
During that year in Xishui County, it was he who organized and advised the soldiers to go to the countryside for rescue and to clear out the living corpses, barely restoring the surrounding agriculture and giving the soldiers at least a glimmer of hope for survival.
If Duke of Qin hadn't come, it could be said that Mu Hongqing's prestige within the group was even higher than his, making him the absolute backbone of the team.
Zhou Hanyang was the deputy general of the Duke of Qin, so he was naturally well aware of the grudges between Lu Ming and Mu Hongqing. The two did not have a good relationship to begin with, and the Duke of Qin's words were like a fuse that could easily ignite a conflict between them.
Mu Hongqing looked at Zhou Hanyang, who was advising him, expressionless, and glanced at him before turning his gaze back to the Duke of Qin's seat. "Say that again?"
Duke of Qin looked calmly at Mu Hongqing and said indifferently, "I didn't mean to anger you; I'm just stating a fact."
These words made Zhou Hanyang frown. What was the Duke doing? Even if it were true, was it appropriate for him to say it like that?
Throughout the year, he rarely saw Mu Hongqing reveal his personal feelings. The only times he did so were when he talked about his beloved disciple Chen Ying. It was clear that this man, who was over forty and still single, genuinely regarded his disciple as a daughter.
Duke of Qin, this is stepping on someone's sore spot!
"Yeah?"
As expected, although Mu Hongqing's expression remained unchanged, his aura grew even colder. He looked calmly at his father, who no longer bore his surname, and asked expressionlessly, "It seems that the Duke has been under Chen Qing's influence for quite some time, even managing to find out this kind of information."
Lu Ming smiled gently, "I was injured, so I stayed a little longer than usual."
"Then the Duke seems quite leisurely." Mu Hongqing looked at the other party with a cold smile, "I just wonder if those Black Dragon Guard who were being chased by the Eldest Princess were this leisurely when you were away?"
"Your Excellency, Academic Affairs Officer!" Zhou Hanyang roared, "Please watch your words!"
"What's there to be careful about?" Mu Hongqing looked coldly at the two of them. "The fact that the Eldest Princess was able to take over Nanming Prefecture directly from the outskirts of Jiangnan means that the 300,000 Black Dragon Guard led by the Duke of Duke of Qin are gone. Even if the Eldest Princess betrayed you, it shouldn't be enough to force you, who has such a large army, to this point. If I'm not mistaken, our Duke of Qin must have been lured away beforehand, right?"
Duke of Qin: "."
"The commander-in-chief is incompetent, dragging down the entire army. He's barely clinging to life, yet he still thinks he can turn things around with the imperial army's punitive expedition?" Mu Hongqing laughed. "I'm very curious where the Duke has been recuperating this past year? He's doing quite well. I heard from my disciple that Chen Qing will be distributing rice and grain to the refugees you rescued in Liuzhou. The Duke has survived this long because he's been receiving relief grain, hasn't he?"
"Professor Xue Zheng." Zhou Hanyang was sweating profusely; this was about to turn hostile!
However, he was extremely surprised. The Duke had only told him about his crushing defeat in private, and he had not revealed a word to Mu Hongqing. Presumably, the Duke would not have the nerve to tell this illegitimate son about it. That meant that Mu Hongqing had roughly deduced how the defeat had occurred just by looking at Lu Ming's current situation!
It must be said, the Duke's illegitimate son is truly remarkable!
"Yes," the Duke of Qin said calmly, "During the year I was injured, I could do nothing but live among the refugees under Minister Chen Qing's influence."
"Hmm, still as shameless as ever!"
" Mu Hongqing!" Zhou Hanyang roared. No matter what, he could not tolerate Mu Hongqing insulting the Duke of Qin to his face.
"Just call it shamelessness," Lu Ming stood up. "When I needed you to use your disciple to gather intelligence for me, I didn't think about saving face at all. So the question is: will you do it or not?"
Mu Hongqing sneered, "Why would I do it?"
"You are an official appointed by the imperial court!" Lu Ming's tone turned icy. "If you refuse, it means you have betrayed the court!"
"Ha!" Mu Hongqing laughed angrily, "Then, Duke of Qin, are you shamelessly forcing me like this for the sake of the court?"
"Nature!"
"Bullshit!" Mu Hongqing's eyes instantly turned icy cold. "You're definitely not doing this for the court, Lu Ming. Others may not know you, but I do. You're an incredibly selfish person. You've been lying low for so long, and while your eldest son's fate in the West Sea is unknown, you haven't even bothered to care. Instead, you're rushing here to seize control of Jiangnan. You definitely have other motives!!"
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Zhou Hanyang quickly replied, "Of course, the Duke wants to recover Jiangnan from the rebels for the sake of the court. What do you mean by other purposes? The reason he didn't go to the West Sea to help Lu Hong is simply because the Duke was caught in a fog and couldn't get out."
"But it's possible now," Mu Hongqing said calmly. "The fact that the Princess was able to withdraw from Jiangnan and go to the West Sea means that the fog outside can no longer hold people back. He didn't go because he dared not. And rightly so, given the current situation, Lu Hong's side in the West Sea is probably almost dead, so going there would be useless. On the contrary, if the imperial army comes to the rescue here, and we take over Nanming Prefecture from within and without, and Yuchi Peng is a junior, you have a great chance to seize temporary military power, at least allowing you to gain an foothold in Jiangnan."
"So I'm very curious, Your Excellency, you've even come up with such a shameless plan as to seize military power from your juniors. What exactly are you plotting?"
Zhou Hanyang was stunned. Although he didn't turn around, a hint of horror appeared in his eyes.
Based on his year of interaction with Mu Hongqing, he believed that Mu Hongqing was not a person who spoke without reason, and although the other party's words were a bit harsh, his analysis was quite reasonable.
After regaining his mobility, Duke of Qin Lu Ming, did not immediately go to the West Sea to try to save his Lu Household members. Instead, he relied on his bloodline connection with Mu Hongqing to find them and wanted to take the opportunity to seize Nanming Prefecture!
As Mu Hongqing said, if he really managed to take over Nanming Prefecture in collusion with the imperial court, would he hand over military power to Yuchi Peng?
Given the Duke of Qin's status and reputation, Yuchi Peng would likely have to give in without special permission from the imperial court.
So, do adults really have their own plans?
What scheme could possibly make him disregard even the core troops of the West Sea?
"You can all leave now," Lu Ming said wearily with a sigh.
Everyone was stunned. Several civil officials were immediately relieved, rose to their feet, bowed, and fled as if their lives depended on it. Several deputy generals also hurriedly took their leave. Only Zhou Hanyang glanced at Mu Hongqing with concern, gave him a look that warned him to be careful, and finally left the government office.
Mu Hongqing glanced indifferently at the doorway, then at Lu Ming's location, and immediately let out a series of cold laughs.
He hadn't noticed at first why Lu Ming sat in that spot as soon as he entered the mansion hall; it turned out he wanted to block the entrance.
However, he overestimated himself. At such close range, unless Liu Yu were to be resurrected, who could escape from a warrior of his caliber?
After everyone had left, Lu Ming coughed lightly, stood up and closed the door, then turned to look at Mu Hongqing eyes were cold. "I admit, the Lu Household losing you is a huge mistake. If you could stay by my side, I think I wouldn't have been schemed against by Xiao Mingyue!"
"You really think highly of me, Duke." Mu Hongqing said coldly.
"You were expelled from the Lu Household to protect you; otherwise, you wouldn't have survived."
"Is that so? The Duke is truly merciful," Mu Hongqing sneered. "If you can't even protect your own woman and child, how can you have the audacity to philander?"
Your mother is not dead!
Mu Hongqing: "!!!"
" The Dragon Palace possesses the elixir of immortality; I've known this for many years," Lu Ming said in a low voice. "Therefore, to make up for some past regrets, I am determined to obtain this ancient realm!"
--
"Lord Chen Ying, the runes you requested have been fully prepared. Is there anything else you need?" A tall, imposing warrior lieutenant asked respectfully, bowing deeply.
"Thank you for your hard work." Chen Ying nodded. "I brought students from the Heaven and Earth Character Institute here this time to experiment with the array formations taught by the adults. This is also the first time that the Heaven and Earth Academies of the Liuzhou Yin-Yang Academy have achieved results. These talisman stones are very important, so please take good care of them."
"You're too kind, sir. Since it's Lord Chen's mission, we will naturally do our utmost. Rest assured, even a mosquito can't get close to those talisman stones!"
Chen Ying nodded upon hearing this, and was about to give some instructions on how to store the talismans when her expression suddenly changed.
"Grown ups?"
"Uh, it's okay, let's continue."
It took her about half an hour to give the instructions before she left the military tent, went to the open space outside, and looked into the distance to the west!
"Master."
Chen Ying touched the jade pendant at her waist, her expression becoming extremely complicated!