Chapter 503: Dismantling the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom
In the blink of an eye, Ming Dong had become an Imperial Advisor for both the Qinhuang and Gesun Kingdom. Although he wasn’t officially one yet, it was just a matter of time before he was. In three years, he should be able to make the breakthrough to become a Heaven Saint Master and become one of the strongest individuals on the Tian Yuan Continent. At the same time, his change in identity would overturn the sky and earth around thanks to the huge change. That was because an Imperial Advisor for the Qinhuang Kingdom was a far greater luxury than being a Heaven Saint Master.
Ever since Ming Dong had followed Jian Chen to Mercenary City, he had made the figurative leap over the dragon’s gate to become a magnificent dragon. If not for that one trip to Mercenary City, Ming Dong would never have been able to become a Sixth Cycle Earth Saint Master by the age of thirty or receive such treatment.
“Imperial Protector, all of the items have been placed within our Space Rings now.” One of the soldiers in charge of managing the items made his way to Jian Chen before respectfully handing over several Space Rings in his hand over to him.
Jian Chen took the Space Rings and then spoke to Qin Wuming and the king of the Gesun Kingdom, “We will have a share to this. Let us wait for it all to be converted into purple coins before splitting it.”
“There’s no need!’ Qin Wuming laughed, “Imperial Protector, the items in here aren’t worth any consideration over. Although they add up to a decent sum of money, it isn’t something we would even glance at. The Gesun Kingdom and your family have more need for it than we do.”
“Then that’s that. These items will be taken by our Gesun Kingdom.” Jian Chen wasn’t one to argue. He knew that Qin Wuming truly felt the money was not worth his notice, but the Gesun Kingdom and Changyang clan were a different matter altogether. Neither of the two were as wealthy as the Qinhuang Kingdom. Several hundred thousand purple coins was not a small sum of wealth to them. Furthermore, if the Gesun Kingdom and Changyang clan wished to expand, the support of the Qinhuang Kingdom wouldn’t be enough and they would need money to expand.
Afterward, everyone left the treasury. They stood by the giant gates where Jian Chen looked at the many times reinforced steel building. With a slight mumble, he said, “This treasury is quite considerable in price, why don’t we take this as well.”
Hearing this, the eyes of the king lit up. He had long since thought of the same idea, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to do it himself. Hearing Jian Chen bring up the topic of wanting to take the treasury building, he struck while the iron was hot, “My dear nephew has an excellent proposal. This treasury is something this king has been looking at. It is made from steel that was reinforced a hundred times over and has a thickness of five meters. Even a Heaven Saint Master would need to spend a considerable amount of time to break past it. With such a building, this king estimates it weighs about half a million kilograms, making it priceless. Even compared to that tungsten alloy door, the cost wouldn’t be that major.”
“Yes, with the steel being reinforced so many times, the price becomes rather considerable. Something like this shouldn’t remain here, we should take it with us. We should have some soldiers come and cut the treasury apart into smaller pieces before putting it into our Space Rings for easy transport.” Ming Dong suggested.
Jian Chen hesitated for a moment before finally nodding his head, “Fine then, we’ll have the best artisans in the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom come over and have them cut down the treasury. Remember, offer high prices.”
Hearing this, one of the quick-witted soldiers spoke up, “Honored Imperial Protector, this soldier will go make the arrangements.”
Jian Chen looked up at the sky, “It’s already getting late, we’ve worked hard today. Why not take a rest and talk about the next step tomorrow?”
Afterward, everyone took up residency in the palace of the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom while the soldiers made camp outside. All of the two hundred Earth Saint Masters from the Eastern Deity Swords kept a tight watch around the entire palace while even farther away, a patrol could be seen every three steps and a whistle every five. The residential palaces were under strict guard with the defenses under heavy lock and key.
That evening, the bright circular moon rose high into the night sky. Sprinkling down on the ground with moonlight, the darkness on the earth was scattered while the stars filled the night sky. There were so many stars that it was useless to count as they blinked like children.
The night was extremely calm and the moon extremely beautiful. Within the palace of the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom, it was even more quiet. If one were to stand at the very top, they would be able to see the entire palace and all of the men standing quietly here and there as if they were stone statues. From the moonlight sprinkling down on them, one would be able to barely see the twinkling silver armor they wore.
Within the palace, princess You Yue sat by herself at a stone table in a flower garden. Both hands were propped under her chin as her little head was tilted up toward the night sky in a daze. Her face had a stupefied look, making it hard to understand what she was thinking about.
“Princess You Yue, you’re still admiring the moon this late at night? Why haven’t you slept yet?” A voice called out from behind as Jian Chen somehow arrived right behind the princess with a smile.
Tonight, Jian Chen swapped out his robes for a black-colored one. Hidden by the shadows of the night, his entire person seemed to blend in with the darkness. If one wasn’t careful, they would ignore Jian Chen entirely.
Jian Chen’s voice came out of nowhere, causing the dazed princess to let out a cry in surprise and her body shook violently in fright.
Rising up from her stone seat, the princess turned around with some anger and pouted, “You can’t move about so silently behind someone’s back and scare them like that.”
Jian Chen laughed before cupping his hands together, “I apologize, I’ve let the princess become frightened.”
Hearing Jian Chen call her by her title, princess You Yue’s eyebrows furrowed together before complaining slightly, “Changyang Xiangtian, do you plan to continue on calling me princess?”
Jian Chen was taken back for a moment before quickly responding, “Then, I will call you You Yue from now on.”
Princess You Yue seemed pleased at Jian Chen’s answer, and with a faint smile, her beautiful eyes looked unflinchingly at Jian Chen’s handsome and stalwart face, “With it being so late, were you not able to sleep either?”
Jian Chen shook his head slightly before walking to the stone table in front of the princess and spoke, “I’m not accustomed to sleeping much anymore. I have a problem that’s causing me some difficulty even after trying to find a solution for half the day. That is why I’m here, to clear my mind.”
The princess sat back down and stared at Jian Chen with some indulgence, “What is causing you so much trouble? If it’s convenient, why not speak to me about it? Let me help you think.”
“It pertains to the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom.” Jian Chen summarized his thoughts before speaking, “Now that the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom is pretty much dealt with, all that remains are the terrible shambles of the kingdom. Right now I am thinking about just what needs to be done to these terrible shambles. If the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom loses its ruler and government, the entire kingdom will fall into anarchy. Several of the sects or families with power will most definitely take advantage of this to seize control of the territory, and at that moment, the entire Heavenly Eagle Kingdom would be sent ablaze with the flames of war. Even the innocent would be affected by this.”
The princess thought for a moment before responding, “Changyang Xiangtian, you speak correctly. Now that the Qinhuang Kingdom’s army has suppressed the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom, the other powers of the kingdom won’t dare to make any movements. But the very moment the Qinhuang Kingdom leaves, they will act without fear. There is an extremely huge chance that things will unfurl as you say, but resolving this issue isn’t too hard either.”
“What solution are you proposing?” Jian Chen asked.
“Did you never think about controlling the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom yourself?” The princess suggested.
Jian Chen shook his head, “I’ve thought of that before, but I found it an inappropriate action. Behind the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom is the Sect of Dragon and Tiger who are still watching. They themselves are strong and they don’t fear the Qinhuang Kingdom either. If we were to bring some men to control the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom, we don’t even need to talk about the innocent civilians of the kingdom, but instead the headache that the Sect of Dragon and Tiger would cause with their interference. Another reason is that the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom is too far away from our Gesun Kingdom. It wouldn’t be convenient for a connection to be made. So controlling the kingdom wouldn’t be that easy. After all, we are not as strong as the Qinhuang Kingdom.”
“If that’s the case, then we may as well disband the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom. Split up the territory of the kingdom before bestowing it to the more powerful clans and sects on the condition of them swearing an oath of loyalty to the Qinhuang Kingdom and become a vassal. This will simultaneously avoid any internal struggle and ward off any attempt of the Sect of Dragon and Tiger seizing control of the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom.” The princess You Yue was far more used to these matters than Jian Chen, so she was easily able to find a decent enough plan.
Jian Chen hummed as he thought about princess You Yue’s plan. Finally, an excited smile gradually appeared on his face, “This plan isn’t bad. Not only would the Heavenly Eagle Kingdom fade away, but it would also be given to the sects and families to control without fear of the Sect of Dragon and Tiger seizing the central control. This is killing three birds with one stone. Not bad, not bad at all. It appears our choice to take a stroll tonight was an incredibly wise choice.”
Hearing Jian Chen’s praise, the princess revealed a sweet smile on her face. Having been able to help Jian Chen, this was an incredibly happy affair to her.
“You Yue, it’s getting late. You should sleep first. Tomorrow morning I will begin to implement your plan. I believe that it will be a success.” Jian Chen smiled to You Yue.
“En!” The princess replied obediently as she rose from her stone stool and walked toward her own room. Having Jian Chen call her by You Yue instead of princess had already changed her. Her heart was overjoyed, and the previous sadness in it was cleared away instantly.
