Chapter 725: Sad News |
A beautiful woman who can overthrow cities and states
Several wounded, desperate, but still living Song Kingdom cultivators were brought before Meng Shan Ming.
"Marshal, the Myriad Beast Sect truly had a hand in this. I know these men." Yue Yuan, who was in charge of the negotiations, declared. Pressing on one of the Myriad Beast Sect cultivators, he added, "This is proof. Let's see how the Myriad Beast Sect will deny it now?"
Gong Ling Ze chuckled, "Notify the Myriad Beast Sect. Have them bring their people!"
Meng Shan Ming, seated on his horse, asked, "Marshal, you know the Myriad Beast Sect. Do you think they can still hinder us?"
Upon hearing him, Gong Ling Ze immediately understood and asked, "Does General Meng wish to use these hostages as a bargaining chip?"
Meng Shan Ming replied, "I heard that the Myriad Beast Sect is very diverse. They have many birds. If they intervene with all their might, it would be beneficial for us. We only need to achieve our strategic objective. There's no need to force the Myriad Beast Sect to go to extremes. Perhaps we can offer the Myriad Beast Sect to maintain its neutrality?"
Gong Ling Ze understood and nodded, saying, "As long as the Myriad Beast Sect agrees, we won't use this evidence."
Meng Shan Ming stated, "Indeed. We can defeat them, but we must prevent the Myriad Beast Sect from suddenly assisting the Song Kingdom in attacking us."
"Cheng Shao Tong has been surrounded and routed by General Meng. The army was completely annihilated!"
Shang Chao Zong sneered, looking at the Song Kingdom army. He then sent the news to the head of Dachang Mountain.
Huang Li read the report, nodding his head, and exclaimed, "Good! Excellent! The chaos in the Song Kingdom will continue. The capital will feel terror. It seems Niu You Dao provided General Meng with the necessary means! He managed to suppress the Myriad Beast Sect's actions. Ah..." He read to the end and couldn't help but say, "Prince, Niu You
Dao is crediting the three sects? What does this mean?"
They were constantly in contact, Meng Shan Ming and Shang Chao Zong. And of course, they knew that Niu You Dao had helped Meng Shan Ming. But why hand over all the credit to the three sects? Huang Li didn't understand this.
Shang Chao Zong replied, "They say it was Lord Dao's wish."
Huang Li doubted, "Perhaps the three sects coerced him?"
Shang Chao Zong shook his head, "Unlikely. Lord Dao is that kind of person. His main goal is to achieve his objective; he doesn't chase after fame. Lord Dao doesn't like to boast!"
"Really?" Huang Li secretly doubted. Such a merit, if it were Dachang Mountain in his place, he would certainly have claimed all the credit. He would have expanded his influence. He skeptically asked, "If the three sects didn't coerce him, it seems Niu You Dao calculated everything beforehand. True, if he claimed the merit for himself, the three sects wouldn't be pleased. And that's not good."
He implied that Niu You Dao did it out of necessity.
Shang Chao Zong glanced at him, and of course understood that Huang Li was merely seizing the opportunity to blacken Niu You Dao's name in his eyes. Or rather, he was trying to. Shang Chao Zong merely thought to himself: *You think Lord Dao is like you?*
The Song Kingdom army temporarily halted for a rest. Luo Zhao had just entered a post station. Su Yuan Bai entered with news: "There's still no word on your wife. However, we've increased the number of people searching for her. We've sent them out on all roads. They should come across her."
Cheng Shao Tong's victory over Meng Shan Ming had been joyful news. But right after, unsettling news arrived. His wife was missing!
He paced back and forth, then sighed, "If she's not visible on the road, where did she go?"
He had a passionate love for Feng Guang Er. He was constantly worried about Feng Guang Er's safety. Between state and family affairs, he was puzzled.
He had already urgently sent word to the capital, asking the disciples of the Ascension Palace to check if she was there. They replied that she hadn't appeared. So they continued the search. The three sects also began to search for her intensely.
It was fine when the three sects weren't searching. But once they started, Feng Guang Er was nowhere to be seen. This made his heart heavy.
Dong Ying Lai tried to calm him: "Dudu, calm down. Your wife must be on her way. She simply doesn't know the road and got lost. Your wife is not a cultivator, but she has many protective mechanisms. Ordinary bandits won't be able to overcome her. She should be fine." This was pure consolation.
Luo Zhao shook his head, saying, "Guang Er, my foolish girl. Why leave alone during such turbulent times?"
It would be one thing if she were a man, but she was a woman. And a beautiful one at that. If she fell into someone's hands, he dared not even contemplate the consequences.
Su Yuan Bai continued to console him: "Madam learned that military matters were not critical, and she grew worried about Dudu. That's why she secretly ran away. She wanted to come here and use her status to help Dudu, to influence us. Madam wanted to help."
Luo Zhao sighed, "I understand that her intentions were the best. But now is not the best time. If she falls into the hands of our enemies, how can that be good?"
Su Yuan Bai waved his hand, "If she falls into the hands of the enemy army, it might even be safer. As soon as they learn her identity, they definitely won't harm her. Although Meng Shan Ming has committed mass killings, he won't act shamelessly. As for other malicious individuals, ordinary cultivators wouldn't dare approach places close to battles. They have long since hidden far away. And the common folk have already scattered. Few remain in battle zones. As Brother Dong said, with the Madam's preparations, she will be fine.
Luo Zhao: "If she falls into the enemy's hands, and they use her to blackmail me, what should I choose: the state or my family?"
Chang Fei replied, "Dudu, you don't have to worry about that. Meng Shan Ming knows that in a war between kingdoms, he won't gain anything from one woman. In this situation, Dudu would not be his own master. There's no need to worry about that. Moreover, Madam is not only Dudu's wife, but also the granddaughter of the former head of the Ascension Palace. The three sects will send people to the three sects of the Yan Kingdom. The three sects of the Yan Kingdom will not turn a struggle for power into a personal vendetta over this matter. They will most likely release her."
Luo Zhao sighed, "Gentlemen speak truly. But knowing her, she is unlikely to understand such an arrangement. I worry that she will fear her captivity will affect me. Therefore, she will conceal her identity. Then she will cut off her own path!"
At these words, several people exchanged glances, troubled.
If Feng Guang Er fell into the hands of opponents and did not reveal her status, she might not be able to protect herself. And what would warriors, like a pack of hungry wolves and tigers, do to a woman whose beauty could conquer kingdoms? One could guess. Then, indeed, they might not be able to release her later.
Faced with the choice between kingdom and family, Luo Zhao could do nothing. He couldn't abandon everything and ignore it. He turned his head: "Gentlemen, I hope she is merely lost. This matter should not be spread. We must secretly continue the search."
Su Yuan Bai said, "Dudu, calm down, this matter was not initially spread. From the very beginning, the search has been conducted secretly. We only feared that someone would use it against us."
At this moment, Weng Yu rushed in: "Dudu!"
Several people turned their heads to look at him. He wanted to say something but remained silent. And he looked troubled.
Everyone understood that something was wrong. Immediately, dark thoughts began to fill their minds. Had something happened to Feng Guang Er?
Luo Zhao clenched his shoulders and said in a hoarse voice, "What is it?"
Weng Yu handed over a report, and with closed eyes, he uttered, "Cheng Shao Tong lost! The entire army lost. 400,000 soldiers and over 100,000 commoners perished. They were completely wiped out! Cheng Shao Tong refused to flee and took his own life!"
"What?" Luo Zhao cried out. This message struck him like lightning.
"How could this happen? Didn't the Myriad Beast Sect help us? Why did we lose so badly to Meng Shan Ming? How is this possible..." Su Yuan Bai couldn't help himself; he stepped forward and looked at the report. Chang Fei and Dong Ying Lai rushed up behind him to see the dispatch.
Luo Zhao staggered to the table and slowly sat down. His armor seemed too heavy. It weighed him down to the table.
Chaos in his family, he was worried about his wife. Now, state affairs had also gone awry. This was a blow to him.
He was now forced to put aside the matter of his wife and consider how to deal with the army and the situation in the kingdom. How could he lead his vast army back?
Everyone knew Meng Shan Ming's strategy. There was no need to guess now.
If Meng Shan Ming blocked the crossing of the Dong Yu River, then Meng Shan Ming's initial difficulty would become his own difficulty.
Dong Ying Lai took the dispatch and said with a trembling hand, "How could this be? How did this happen? Why weren't the Yan Kingdom's forces afraid of the Myriad Beast Sect's secret method? Dudu, look!" He approached him and handed over the dispatch.
Luo Zhao waved him off and said, "What's the point of investigating all this now?"
In the Song Kingdom Chancellor's residence. Zi Ping Xu sat at the table with a sorrowful expression. Beside him stood Gu Wu Chun. His stubble had grown out.
Before them stood three cultivators. These were the three cultivators who had managed to escape the battle. One of them had an arm severed. He was reporting to Zi Ping Xu.
The imperial court had already been notified of the defeat. But Zi Ping Xu wanted to know more details about what had happened. And the cultivators had come to pay their respects. After all, the Chancellor's son-in-law had died.
They recounted what Cheng Shao Tong had said before his death. And the one-armed cultivator added, "Chancellor, we tried our best, risking our lives to rescue the general from battle. But the general made his own decision!"
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