Good morning, Old Meng?
As soon as Meng Sheng stepped down from the Stargazing Tower, he saw two familiar faces at the breakfast shop near the entrance. The weather in Jiangnan in March wasn't actually that cold, but Meng Sheng felt icy cold all over.
Meng Sheng didn't say anything, but silently sat down and ordered a bowl of his usual sweet tofu pudding and fried dough sticks.
It was just dawn, and there weren't many people on the streets. Liuzhou City was lively at night, especially the people at the Stargazing Tower, most of whom were military households. They had plenty of free time on weekdays and gradually developed the habit of being Maozi. Many of them didn't get up until noon. The only ones who could get up at this hour were the Door God Guard on their shift.
Meng Sheng knew what his old buddies were observing. Rebelling against the gatekeepers was a hurdle, but seizing the opportunity during the shift change would make things much easier.
"You seem to be getting more and more used to the food here." The middle-aged man next to Meng Sheng casually picked up the tofu pudding Meng Sheng had eaten, took a sip, and shook his head in disdain. "You can actually eat this sweet stuff?"
"You'll get used to it after a while," Meng Sheng said with a smile, but he didn't mind that the other person had used a bowl, and took it to continue drinking.
"Now that you're used to it here, I wonder if you're still used to what you used to be like?" another burly man asked directly.
Meng Sheng's hand holding the bowl stiffened slightly, knowing that he would finally have to face it.
The two men who came to find him were named Tian Yunhu and Zhou Tengbin. They were both veterans who had followed the Tian Household for many years and were known for their ruthless methods. They were the ones who killed the brothers who were close to the King of Qin Army back then.
The two of them came to find me; their purpose was quite clear.
"Sigh, does it really have to be this way?" Meng Sheng put down his bowl helplessly. "I think life is pretty good right now."
" Old Meng!" Tian Yunhu remained silent with a gloomy face, so Zhou Tengbin quickly spoke up, "There's no such thing as permanent stability in this world. Do you think you can live like this forever by clinging to your little possessions? Times are constantly changing."
Zhou Tengbin glanced at the Door God Guard coming and going around him and transmitted his voice, "If things had remained unchanged, our Tian Household would have died countless times over. Take the time with the King of Qin, for example. If we hadn't sought refuge with the Xiao Household back then, what do you think our fate would have been?"
"For example, if we had remained loyal to Lu Ming all along, what would have become of Lu Ming? Your good life these past few years is only possible because the Laoda has such a sharp eye, allowing the brothers to catch this wave."
"Yes, Jiangnan is a good place, but it won't stay that way forever. The world is changing, and once the opportunity is missed, there's no going back. Do you understand?"
"Has the Laoda found a new opportunity?" Meng Sheng frowned. "What is it? I don't think there's any place more worthwhile to seek refuge with than Jiangnan right now."
He didn't believe that his Laoda wanted to declare himself king. Without outside help, his Laoda would be courting death if he rebelled!
"Don't worry about that, you're not cut out for it anyway." Zhou Tengbin sighed and said, "We brothers all know each other well. You've always been someone who just coasts along, and we don't expect you to be of any great help. Just stand on our side, okay, Old Meng?"
"Okay," Meng Sheng replied without hesitation.
Zhou Tengbin grinned immediately. "I knew you wouldn't side with outsiders, Old Meng."
Didn't you kill all the kidnappers?
Meng Sheng smiled, but his heart was ice-cold. Judging from the situation, his Laoda was almost fully prepared. If he dared to say no, he would probably die a violent death today. It didn't matter if his boss died, but what about his wife who had followed him without complaint, and his two children? Would they escape his clutches?
"I need you to do something." Tian Yunhu, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up.
Meng Sheng looked at the other person. Tian Yunhu was Tian Heng's cousin and most loyal deputy. It was said that he used to do dirty work for the Tian Household. Later, he was valued and promoted by Tian Heng and became one of the deputy generals. However, some hidden dirty work was still often assigned to him.
If Zhou Tengbin might hesitate a bit before killing his entire family, this guy would do it without batting an eye.
"You said."
" South Door God was the first gatekeeper, and his Door God Guard are of high quality. We need all the intelligence on the Door God Guard, and we also need your cooperation."
Meng Sheng sighed. He knew it. How could they not let him do anything? If he really couldn't be of much help, they wouldn't have invited him to yesterday's banquet in the first place. He had long since figured out the methods of these old brothers. They deliberately made him notice and express his opinion, just because he was actually useful.
"The intelligence is readily available. The South Door God was originally a demon of the Heavenly Wolf Clan, and has now been promoted to a seventh-rank gate god, First Rank lower than Lord Xu Hu. Its strength should not be underestimated. As a gate god, it possesses special talents when guarding the city. To be honest, even if the Laoda personally takes action, it's not certain that they can defeat it. As for the Door God Guard, although Lord Gate God's faith is far less than that of Battle God, it has fewer soldiers. Currently, First Rank gate generals have reached the Transcendent level, with three of them taking turns each day. Each of them has a team of twenty Above First Rank gate guards under their command."
"These people are definitely no match for the West Sea Army, which has experience in battle, in terms of raw strength. Their Transcendent goalkeepers are certainly no match for the brothers. However, within the gatekeeper's range, it's a different story. I've seen their drills. Back then, even with the restrictions of three goalkeepers and sixty Above First Rank gatekeepers, Murong Yunji couldn't even get halfway into the South Gate. You must know, that's Murong Yunji."
Upon hearing this, the other two fell silent for a moment.
Has Southern Capital become this strong without us even realizing it?
Even a minor gatekeeper is so difficult to deal with.
So we need your help.
"How can I help?" Meng Sheng frowned.
"We know that you and the Liuzhou Door God are very close, and you often drink together."
Meng Sheng: "."
"The power of the gate god can only be fully unleashed at the city gate. Once it leaves its divine domain, it's just an ordinary wolf demon. Even if it possesses Transcendent power, the few of us have plenty of ways to deal with it. You invite it to drink at Great Azure Mountain, and then..."
Upon hearing this, Meng Sheng stared blankly at the other person, his mind replaying a scene from decades ago that he least wanted to recall.
It seems that it was these two people who, at some inconspicuous little stall, made him promise to invite his friend from the King of Qin Army out.
It feels like a lifetime ago. I never imagined I'd encounter something so awful a second time.
Thinking of that Old Wolf who loved to boast about how mighty it was in the Ice Wolf Plain when it was drunk, Meng Sheng's hands trembled uncontrollably.
--
"Second Brother, will Tian Heng really rebel?"
Shen Shiyi looked curiously at her second and third brothers, whose faces were grave.
"Highly likely," Shen Lao'er said. "Although I don't know what Tian is relying on, the intelligence at this stage can't be wrong. The Cloud Capital Celestial Master Mansion... I really didn't expect them to have such a grand scheme."
"How did this Cloud Capital?" Shen Shiyi was stunned.
"Do you think this Heavenly Master selection is just a coincidence?" Shen Lao'er patiently instructed his young brother. As the youngest Underworld Lord in the Shen Family, he has a lot of room for growth in the future, and it is not too much to give him a lot of patient guidance.
"But Cloud Capital so far away, how can it support Tian Heng's rebellion? It can't just rely on the West Sea Army, can it?"
"That's what I want to know too." Shen Lao'er frowned. " Tian Heng's West Sea Army is very strong, but it won't be so easy to take Liuzhou. The defensive formations of Liuzhou are the result of years of research by the disciples of the Heaven Academy. Plus, there's that Old Wolf at the gate. Even if Tian Heng mobilized all 400,000 elite troops, they wouldn't be able to break in in a short time."
"If he can't break through within three days, and the Fighter Army return to reinforce, he'll be completely annihilated, not to mention that his West Sea Army might not necessarily listen to him."
Shen Laosan nodded in agreement. The core of the West Sea Army was indeed Tian Heng's Tian Household descendants. The West Sea Army's notorious xenophobia was one of the reasons why people from Jiangnan preferred to join the Fighter Army. However, the West Sea Army was large in number and could not be supported by the Tian Household Army alone. A large portion of the soldiers were still ordinary people who longed for Jiangnan.
Once Tian Heng rebels, these West Sea Army will not hesitate to turn against Tian Heng, so the only troops Tian Heng can use to attack the city are his elite 10,000 soldiers!
"And there are also the West Sea Aquatic Clan," Shen Laosan whispered. " Ao Zhen's men only listen to Ao Zhen. If Wei Gongcheng can be won over, they won't be inferior to Tian Heng in the slightest on the front lines. How will Tian Heng conquer Jiangnan? He must have a backup plan!"