Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the Yan Country, Emperor Yan listened to his subordinate’s report.
“What did you say? The Zhou Country’s delegation entered Chu?”
The Emperor stood up, showcasing his huge and tall figure.
He was almost two meters tall.
Compared to Emperor Zhou, he was more dignified and imposing.
There was no need to mention Xiang Feiyan. There was no way to compare the both of them.
He paced back and forth and frowned. “No! We can’t let these two countries form an alliance. Once they form an alliance, it will greatly affect the unification of Great Yan!”
“Summon all officials for a meeting.”
Soon, Emperor Yan gathered all the officials in the palace.
He said in a deep voice, “We have already received news that the Zhou Country’s diplomatic envoys has entered Great Chu. My dear ministers, what do you think we should do?”
His gaze swept across the officials in the hall.
Everyone fell into deep thought.
After a while, Prime Minister Qin Wenchang of the Yan Country stood out and said, “Your Majesty, now that the Zhou Country has been defeated consecutively, the diplomatic mission must be heading to the Chu Country to seek strong reinforcements! Your Majesty, you can now split into four steps. The first is to immediately send a delegation to the Chu Country to think of a way to stop this alliance!”
“The second is to rope in the Qiang Tribe, Barbarians, and other foreign races and small countries to attack Zhou Country!”
“Thirdly, the Chu Country is currently fighting with Ji Luo. A few days ago, Ji Luo asked our country for help. If we are unable to stop the alliance, His Majesty can send people to Ji Luo’s front line to aid them and restrain the Chu Country!”
“Fourth, we can spread rumors in the Chu Country and falsely accuse the Nanli King, Su Wen, of harboring ulterior motives and wanting to be independent. We can say that he plans to rebel after Ji Luo Country has fallen.”
After Emperor Yan heard this, he looked at the others and asked, “Do the rest of you have anything else to say?”
Everyone remained silent. Clearly, they agreed with Qin Wenchang’s strategy.
Emperor Yan coldly said, “Then Cao Jin will go to the Chu Country and make sure that the alliance between the two countries fails!”
Cao Jin stood up and bowed.
Emperor Yan looked at him and said in a gratified tone, “Among the younger generation of the Yan Country, your scheming methods are considered outstanding. Last time, you managed to trick the Zhou Country into laying the foundation for the Yan Army to go south. This time, you will definitely not let me down.”
“Yes!” Cao Jin replied respectfully.
After the court dispersed, Emperor Yan pulled Cao Jin back and said, “During this trip to the Chu Country, remember that no matter what conditions they propose, you can agree to them. However, remember this, there is only one thing. You must try your best to stall for time and cause the upper echelons of the Chu Country to hesitate. The longer you wait, the more advantageous it will be for our Yan Country!”
How could he know that by the time the news had reached him, the alliance between the Zhou and Chu countries had already been completed?
Their communication systems were severely lacking.
When Cao Jin arrived in Chu…
In the Chu Country’s palace, Su Wen was currently giving an impassioned speech!
“Everyone, Lu Zhen has already gone south. The northern part of Yan Country is empty, and this is the opportunity for the soldiers of our Great Chu to make contributions. It is the time for the men of our Great Chu to expand our territory. All generals, who is willing to lead troops south, break through the Yan dogs, and seize the city?”
As soon as Su Wen finished speaking, the eyes of all the military officials lit up.
To put it bluntly, martial artists were still a little more upright than scholars. Most of them still hoped to make contributions. Furthermore, they were upright, not stupid. Lu Zhen’s reputation was quite high. Now that Lu Zhen had gone to the Zhou Country’s front line, it was naturally a godsend opportunity for them to obtain merits!
As long as one had some ambition, they wanted to give it a try!
Someone immediately stood up and cupped his hands at Su Wen. Then, he bowed to Xiang Feiyan and said, “I, Guan Long, am willing to lead troops to attack the Yan Country!”
The moment he raised his head, the others were instantly unwilling to fall behind.
They all stood up and requested for permission, afraid that they would not be given a chance.
In an instant, all the officials in the court were boiling with enthusiasm.
Su Wen smiled and said, “Since everyone wants to send troops, we’ll let Her Majesty decide.”
Xiang Feiyan hurriedly said, “Generals, don’t fight. It’s naturally a good thing that some of you are willing to go. However, there’s only one general. I believe that since General Guan Long is the first to step forward, General Guan Long will lead 100,000 troops to attack the Yan Country.”
Guan Long was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed. “Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Guan Long was one of the more valiant generals in Chu. He was a 9th Grade Earth Rank cultivator, and most importantly, he had a Heaven Rank ancestor working for the palace.
Just as they had decided on a candidate for the expedition…
At this moment, a soldier entered and reported.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the Yan Country’s delegation is only 30 miles away from the capital.”
Xiang Feiyan looked at Su Wen, and the latter’s lips curled up slightly. They had already received the news about the diplomatic mission.
When he saw the envoy’s name…
A cold smile appeared on Su Wen’s face once more.
This Cao Jin was an old acquaintance.
Su Wen had a deep impression of this fellow.
To be able to defeat so many of the proud youths of Great Zhou by himself, it could be seen that his ability was extraordinary.
In reality, Cao Jin already knew that Su Wen was the Nanli King. After all, the Chu Country and Yan Country were neighbors, and Yan Country was always paying attention to the Chu Country’s movements.
Back then, Su Wen had also left a deep impression on him.
However, Cao Jin didn’t care. In his opinion, he was the one who had taken advantage last time.
Although he paid money and elixirs, he still achieved his goal in the end.
It allowed Zhou Country to negotiate a collaboration with Yan Country. In the end, they seized the opportunity to trick Zhou Country.
Hence, he did not take Su Wen seriously in his heart.
This time, the person in charge of escorting was still Xiao Kuang.
However, this fellow had also broken through to 9th Grade Earth Rank.
Furthermore, his womanly behavior had also disappeared.
“Lord Cao, you set up the Su father and son up last time. Will they try to pull something this time?”
Xiao Kuang was a little worried.
Cao Jin smiled and said, “That won’t happen. Even when two countries are fighting, they can’t kill the envoys. As long as we don’t go overboard in our actions, they won’t do anything to us. If they don’t even have this bit of magnanimity, how can they rule a country?”
He was still very assured about this. After all, there were almost no people who broke this rule.
Soon, the delegation arrived at the entrance of the capital.
At this moment, Cao Jin saw a young man in an official uniform standing in front of the group.
He was all smiles.
“Great Chu, Assistant Minister Su Changqing of the Ministry of Appointments has come to welcome the envoy of Yan Country!”
Su Changqing shouted.
Cao Jin was stunned. Was this just a coincidence, sharing the same name?
Although he knew that Su Wen had become the Nanli King, he did not know that Su Changqing had become the assistant minister of the Ministry of Appointments.
Although he had seen Su Changqing before, the current Su Changqing had become younger. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that this could not be Su Wen’s father.
However, he had to say that this young man looked too similar to Su Changqing.
Furthermore, the information he had obtained from the Zhou Country was that Su Changqing was already dead.
Could he be Su Changqing’s illegitimate son?
However, an illegitimate son had the same name as his father? That was not right, wasn’t it?
“Haha, I didn’t expect this. Your name is exactly the same as the Nanli King’s father, the former prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Your appearance is also somewhat similar.” Cao Jin was cautious, but he still probed with a smile.
Su Changqing laughed and said, “That’s right, that’s me! My son is the Nanli King!”
Back then, Su Wen was the one who used his name as a verbal shield. Now, it was the other way around.
Cao Jin: “???”
Su Changqing had no intention of hiding anything, and he smiled at Cao Jin. “Come, come, come, quickly come in!”
Cao Jin looked at Su Changqing blankly.
Why? Why did he become so young? He didn’t die?
This fellow was now the assistant minister of Chu’s Ministry of Appointments??
Su Changqing pulled Cao Jin along as the two of them walked side by side into the city.
Su Changqing smiled and said, “Previously, when Lord Cao left for the Zhou Country, this old man actually didn’t see through Lord Cao’s deep schemes, causing the Zhou Country to suffer greatly. This old man is deeply ashamed and thus specially came to welcome Lord Cao.”
The last time the Zhou Country was plotted against, it was equivalent to Su Changqing being plotted against.
In all these years, he had never suffered such a huge loss.
Thus this time, Old Su personally welcomed Cao Jin.
Cao Jin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he said with a smile, “Not at all, not at all. Lord Su, you must be joking. What right does this junior have to lie to you? Can I even set up a scheme to deceive you? The scheme was all plotted by my country’s Prime Minister Qin. Furthermore, didn’t Senior also ruthlessly attack my Yan Country? These days, the citizens of my Yan Country are too bitter.”
His words were also half-truths, pushing the blame to Qin Wenchang to make himself look weaker. At the same time, he flattered Su Changqing and lowered his guard.
Although Qin Wenchang was involved in the scheme against Zhou Country, Cao Qin naturally would also have a great part to play in it.
The two of them walked into the city with their own thoughts.
Cao Jin’s palms were already sweating at this point.
From his point of view last time, even though Su Wen was talented, he was extremely greedy and was not difficult to deal with.
But… he never expected that not only did Su Changqing not die, he was now holding another ministerial position in Great Chu!
One had to know that before the Yan Country attacked Zhou Country…
The two most important figures in the Zhou Country were Wu Kunhu and Su Changqing.
After so many years, it was unknown how many death soldiers had been dispatched to assassinate Su Changqing.
In the end, they never returned.
Although he had taken advantage of Su Changqing last time, Su Changqing had pulled off a huge ponzi scheme and caused chaos in Yan Country.
Hence, when the news of Su Changqing’s death reached the Yan Country, many people were overjoyed.
If he knew that Su Changqing was in Chu, then he might not have accepted this mission!
However, even though his thoughts were racing, he was not held back from chatting casually.
“Let’s take a look at this Great Chu. What do you think?”
“It’s a little less extravagant than Great Zhou, but more imposing.”
“I think so too, but the atmosphere is much better than Zhou!”
The two of them discussed Chu like outsiders.
Finally, they arrived at the lodging area.
Su Changqing smiled and said, “Lord Cao and General Xiao should stay here well. The next door is where the Zhou Country’s envoys are residing. When you have nothing to do, you can get closer to them. As for when the Emperor will see you, that will depend on Her Majesty’s wishes. However, I reckon that she won’t receive you for the time being. If Lord Cao lacks anything, just tell the official in charge of the lodgings.”
Cao Jin smiled, “Alright.”
The moment Su Changqing left, Cao Jin’s expression turned solemn.
He looked at Xiao Kuang and said in a deep voice, “It won’t be easy this time!”
“Ah? Why?” Xiao Kuang was at a loss.” This fellow, Zhou Country, has already fallen out with him, right? His son is the Great Chu Nanli King, and is currently in power. In that case, wouldn’t it be even more impossible for him to form an alliance with Zhou Country?”
Cao Jin said disdainfully, “What does that little enmity count as? Before the benefits of a country, many things can be thrown away! This old fellow is very cunning. Didn’t you hear the meaning in his words just now?
Emperor Chu doesn’t have the intention to see us, so it can be seen that the Zhou Chu Alliance has almost been decided. Moreover, he wants us to live here for a long time. Obviously, he has the intention of putting us under house arrest.”
“Then what should we do?” Xiao Kuang asked anxiously.
Cao Jin closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, “Once the alliance is formed, then sending troops will be inevitable! Moreover, it definitely won’t take too long.”
“In a while, get someone to go out and see if anyone is following. If there’s no one, think of a way to send the news back to Yan Country so that His Majesty can be on guard! As for you and me, I’m afraid it will be difficult for us to leave in the short term.”
On the other side, Su Changqing had already left.
Not long after, he saw Su Wen waiting by the roadside in casual clothes.
When he saw Old Su’s carriage approaching, he immediately stopped it, before getting onto it.
Father and son sat opposite each other.
Su Wen smiled and said, “The manpower has already been arranged. Don’t worry, no one will be able to escape surveillance, including Xiao Kuang. However, I don’t understand why you did this.”
Su Changqing said indifferently, “I’m a person who believes that I’m smart and will seek revenge for the smallest grievance. Even if our family doesn’t suffer any losses, we’ve lost face after all. I definitely can’t take this lying down.”
“Cao Jin was sent out because he wanted to stop my Chu Country and Zhou Country from joining hands. However, I deliberately appeared in front of him to pressure him. Moreover, my words revealed that I wanted to imprison him in the capital. Cao Jin will definitely be anxious. He will be afraid that we will suddenly attack Yan Country, so he will think of a way to spread this matter.”
Su Changqing smiled and said, “If they use this method to pull out the intelligence network of Great Zhou in Yan Country, I can use this method to pull out the intelligence network of Yan Country in Chu Country.”
Su Wen was puzzled. “What if he calms down and doesn’t think of a way to send the news?”
Su Changqing said indifferently, “If he really has such composure, then it doesn’t matter. As the saying goes, the plan depends on the person, and success depends on the heavens. There are no schemes that will definitely succeed, so I just gave it a try.”
Suddenly, Su Changqing’s carriage stopped.
“What happened?” Su Changqing asked.
“Master, there’s a fight ahead.”
Su Wen got off the car and saw two well-dressed youths fighting on the streets.
It had to say that their skills were pretty good.
Meanwhile, a girl was standing by the side.
She was shouting anxiously, “Stop fighting, stop fighting! Young Masters, stop fighting!”
This person looked familiar to Su Wen. Upon closer look, wasn’t this f*cking Zhao Xuanxuan?
That’s right, Zhao Xuanxuan had not been idling in the Great Chu recently.
She had quickly integrated into the circle of influential officials!
After all, she was not only talented but also had good looks.
It was inevitable that she would attract some disciples of the influential families.
Actually, her target should be a member of the royal family.
However, when she arrived in Chu, she realized that there were no royal descendants there.
They had all been killed!
Thus, she could only change her train of thought.
She wanted to make friends with some of the influential officials of Great Chu.
However, she had no intention of getting married. After all, the Zhou Chu Alliance had already been decided. She only wanted to get to know some of the influential officials of the Chu Country. Perhaps they could be of some use in the future.
Having more friends meant more options.
However, because of her combination of beauty and brains, it was inevitable that some youths would fall in love with her.
In reality, the three of them were on the way together to attend a poetry meet…
In the end, on the way, the two aristocratic descendants started fighting.
Su Wen looked at the two of them. Their cultivation was not bad, one being at the 2nd Stage of Star Rank, while the other at the 3rd Stage.
They were only in their early twenties, about the same age as himself.
Generally speaking, having this cultivation at this age was considered pretty good.
The two of them exchanged punches and kicks, their exchange extremely intense.
On the other side, Su Changqing saw Su Wen getting off the car and could not be bothered with him. He was unwilling to watch such a scene.
He immediately instructed, “Let’s go! Go around it!”
Su Changqing’s carriage turned around and left.
Su Wen went to a pear stall and bought a pear, savoring it as he watched the commotion.
“That Mountain Cannon in yellow, what’s wrong with you? Be more ruthless and directly pin him down!”
“As for you, that sassy guy in purple clothes, dig his eyeballs out. What are you afraid of?”
As Su Wen ate, he started pointing and commanding at the side.
Hearing his voice, Zhao Xuanxuan turned around, her face pale.
The two youths remained unmoved. They did not know Su Wen after all…
To put it bluntly, Su Wen was no longer part of the profligate circle.
Those who knew him were basically all the higher-ups of Great Chu.
However, Su Wen’s mouth was really annoying.
“F*ck, do you know how to fight? You clearly seized the opportunity and didn’t dare to kill him?”
“Are you two playing around? You don’t even dare to kill someone. How can you say that you love her?”
Su Wen was like an airsoft gun, constantly spewing out pointers nonstop.
How annoying!
Suddenly, the two of them took a step back and turned to look at Su Wen. “Are you courting death?”
“Do you believe that this daddy here will kill you?”
Su Wen laughed maniacally. “Zhao Xuanxuan, tell them who I am!”
The two youths looked at Zhao Xuanxuan at the same time.
‘They knew each other?’
One had to know that they were all in the circle of influential officials. Generally speaking, everyone had met the young masters of this age before.
They all thought that Su Wen was an ordinary person, but if he was an ordinary person, how would he know Zhao Xuanxuan?
Zhao Xuanxuan looked at Su Wen and did not dare to disobey. She whispered, “He is Su Wen! Nanli King!”
Sssssss…
As soon as these words were spoken, the two young men instantly drew a cold breath.
Who didn’t know that about the Nanli King in the capital now? Who wouldn’t know?
The surrounding onlookers also quickly distanced themselves from Su Wen!
The Nanli King was rumored to have burned hundreds of thousands of people to death in one night…
How terrifying was that!?
In fact, according to the rumors of the commoners, Su Wen was 50 feet tall, and his entire body would burn with flames…
For a moment, the atmosphere was extremely awkward.
Su Wen waved his hand and smiled. “Come, the three of you.”
The three of them obediently walked towards Su Wen.
Su Wen looked at the two youths and didn’t ask for their names. He simply pointed at Zhao Xuanxuan and smiled. “Do you like her?”
The two of them looked at each other and nodded at the same time.
Su Wen sighed and said, “Do you know that she is the princess of Zhou Country?”
“We do,”
“Aren’t you afraid that she has ulterior motives?”
“Isn’t my Great Chu allied with the Zhou Country?” the yellow-clothed youth asked.
Su Wen said bitterly, “You’re too naive! My Great Chu alliance with the Zhou Country is only because we have a common enemy, the Yan Country! Have you forgotten about Minister Zhang’s death? He died because of Great Zhou, they are constantly trying to annihilate us as well!”
“Tell me, because of a beautiful princess from an enemy country, the two of you started fighting on the streets. If either of you dies, will it be the loss of our Great Chu? If you are so brave and fierce, why don’t you go to the front line to fight?”
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, “Well said!”
The surrounding citizens also cheered.
Su Wen waved his hand and the surroundings quietened down. He pointed at Zhao Xuanxuan and said, “Look at her. This woman doesn’t stay here properly all day and is fooling around with all of you. Tell me, why is she doing this?”
“I can guarantee that the two of you aren’t the only ones who like her now.”
“Listen to this King’s advice. The waters here are too deep, you guys won’t be able to control it!”
After Su Wen finished speaking, the two youths suddenly came to a realization as tears streamed down their faces!
