One Complaint After Another
Mayi is located in the Western Border.
Mayi Commandery governed many important military locations, including Yanmen Pass. Mayi itself was named after the Qin Dynasty, which built a city and raised horses during its northern Xiong State against the Qin Dynasty. It was a small border town within Mayi Commandery.
Knowing that Mayi was not a city built outside an imperial tomb, but rather roughly bordered Yanmen Pass, Zhang Xuezhou felt a growing sense of unease.
"Han Anguo has been appointed Protector-General, Li Guang, Gongsun He, Wang Hui, Li Xi, and others have been appointed generals. They have already led 300,000 elite troops to set up an ambush!"
It was daytime when Zhang Xuezhou went to the palace, but the Imperial Shuttle still soared into the sky from the Imperial Garden, heading rapidly towards Yanmen Pass.
On the Imperial Shuttle, the new emperor felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
"They were dispatched to the border by the Empress Dowager half a month ago. I have repeatedly wanted to go with her, but she has not revealed the location of the contest, nor does she want me to participate," the new emperor said. "She had Cheng Bushi stop me, and then rode the Imperial Shuttle with my uncle, speeding towards the northwest!"
"You don't know the battle location or the battle plan, and I don't even know where Mayi is. We're just rushing around aimlessly, which could easily cause problems," Zhang Xuezhou warned.
"Flying cultivators are ultimately a minority. If you fly higher in the Sky-Piercing Shuttle, there will be no hidden dangers," the new emperor said. "I took twenty-four medium-to-high quality Law Power Creation Pills this time, which should be enough. We can search slowly once we get there!"
"The sheer number of people involved in this ambush must have some clues. You should figure some of those out so we can infiltrate directly!"
"I've been too busy arresting people in Chang'an City lately!"
The new emperor murmured something.
The most fundamental national policy is to maintain internal stability and resist external aggression; only with internal stability can we launch attacks against foreign powers without hesitation.
The Qin Dynasty perished due to internal strife, something the Great Han Dynasty had governed for nearly a century.
The situation is indeed not yet at the point of confronting external threats, but the Empress Dowager cannot wait any longer.
The new emperor gained all the advantages in domestic affairs, while the empress dowager was well-versed in military command, and through the new emperor's cooperation and delegation of power, smooth mobilization was achieved.
"Your strength already ranks among the top-tier cultivators, so why would the Empress Dowager exclude you from participating?"
"Maybe they don't want me to be involved in any risks!"
The new emperor gripped the sword tightly in his hand.
It is common for great cultivators to die in war. Without cultivating a physical body, even the highest level of cultivation cannot withstand the combined attacks of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of archers. Moreover, cultivators in war have their own opponents, and it is very difficult to maintain a good state. A single oversight can lead to a fatal risk.
Ultimately, cultivators possess various powerful Technique Method, thus displaying a variety of might. However, cultivators are not capable of directly confronting ten thousand enemies; they can only rely on their own advantages to continuously launch attacks and defeat various opponents.
If a cultivator surpasses the elite of a nation, the dynasty will not continue to exist.
"So, this ambush will force high-level cultivators to fight a direct war?"
The information the new emperor received was too brief. Zhang Xuezhou listened for quite a while on the Imperial Shuttle before he could roughly figure out what was going on.
"What could our Great Han Dynasty possibly offer that would entice a powerful cultivator from the Xiong State to take direct action?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.
"That's hard to say," the new emperor said, looking troubled.
"There's no need to confront small items head-on; just steal them," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Only difficult-to-move and valuable items are likely to trigger a direct confrontation!"
"You mean... the Nine Dragon Cauldron?"
If the Great Han Dynasty possessed any heavy and valuable treasures, the Nine Dragon Cauldron would be the most prominent.
This is not only a precious cauldron for refining elixirs, but it has also been attacked by cultivators from the Xiong State who came to the palace before.
"The Nine Dragon Cauldron is just a pill-refining Pill Furnace. Could there be some secret about it that we don't know about?" the new emperor asked doubtfully. "Even though the Nine Dragon Cauldron was kept in the palace, we weren't allowed to figure it out. How did they know it had other uses?"
"Is this cauldron still in the palace?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.
"After the Empress Dowager took over Anle Palace, this cauldron was moved out of Anle Palace. I don't know if it was transported to Mayi!"
The new emperor's expression was solemn.
He had many unanswered questions in the palace, but after hearing about them, Zhang Xuezhou kept deducing and some things were gradually revealed and guessed.
A plan cannot be devised today and implemented tomorrow; it requires a significant amount of time to build up before it can convince the opponent of its validity.
The Empress Dowager's frankness after her clash with the new emperor did not last long, but she began planning after taking control of Anle Palace.
Whether the new emperor cooperates or not, the Empress Dowager will ultimately achieve her goal.
This requires not only winning over the new emperor, but also convincing the opponents that it is true.
"I always thought Li Shaojun was using the Nine Dragon Cauldron to refine the Eight-Step Ascension Pill," Zhang Xuezhou said, frowning.
"Master Li has been saying that his body is injured and he has difficulty controlling the firepower of the Nine Dragon Cauldron," the new emperor said. "His success in refining the Eight Steps to Immortality Pill may be related to the Empress Dowager!"
"What a mess this guy has made!"
Zhang Xuezhou rarely complained.
If the Nine Dragon Cauldron possessed some irreplaceable function, that would be one thing.
The key issue is that the Nine Dragon Cauldron and the Nine Cauldrons are not actually related. Zhang Xuezhou has handled the Qingzhou Cauldron and the Yuzhou Cauldron, and he has also come into contact with the Nine Dragon Cauldron, but he did not find anything special about them.
He heard the rumors from Divine Lord Zhenyuan, who mentioned that Daojun and others believed the Nine Dragon Cauldrons were related to the Nine Cauldrons, and that the Immortal Court had also learned of this information.
Previously, Daojun, Nine Spirits Primal Sage, and other cultivators had stormed the palace because of this matter.
"Could it be that Zhu Jiuyin released this information?"
Only Daojun and Nine Spirits Primal Sage stormed Anle Palace; Zhu Jiuyin was not seen.
Given Zhu Jiuyin's persistent need to excavate the Emperor Qin, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Zhu Jiuyin should be the most proactive in this matter.
However, Zhu Jiuyin was not present at the time, and neither Kong Ning nor Tiger Strength Demon King were sent.
If Zhu Jiuyin is constantly pursuing something but then ignores it, it means either Zhu Jiuyin knows the inside story, or the information was released by Zhu Jiuyin himself.
Zhang Xuezhou didn't think there was much chance of success in using the information released by Zhu Jiuyin to scheme against Zhu Jiuyin.
He had a guess in his mind, but he couldn't be sure.
Such matters are difficult to explain, and Zhang Xuezhou cannot risk getting himself involved by trying to explain them.
He could only complain about Li Shaojun at that moment, and suggested that he should contact Li Shaojun before setting off, as he might be able to find out some details.
"I visited Master Li at the Yunyi Daoist Temple. The guards there said that Master Li needed to travel for a while and left Chang'an City a month ago," the new emperor said.
"Did he leave Chang'an City to travel?"
Zhang Xuezhou made a comment.
Li Shaojun was currently distressed that his life was bound by "Bai" and he had no freedom, so he had absolutely no intention of traveling.
Considering Li Shaojun's demonstrated abilities, Zhang Xuezhou also considered the probability of Li Shaojun being invited by the Empress Dowager to lend her assistance.
He couldn't help but complain, feeling that the Empress Dowager's scheme was highly likely to have been seen through, and that the expert she invited to help was a complete idiot.
This is a major, irreparable flaw in a game of chess, and it will inevitably have adverse effects.