93. Situation assessment

  The situation on the battlefield

  Near the official road leading to Shuixue Pass, several dark guards quietly hid their tracks and protected their respective masters. Dark Three lazily hung himself on a dense-leaved tree by the roadside, pointing to a nearby small hillside and said to Dark Two standing under the tree with his eyes closed: "Look at them, they're so stupid, hiding there will definitely be discovered by the prince and princess." Dark Two looked up at him and said, "They are dark guards, not followers or monitors. As long as no one else discovers them, it's fine. Even if the prince doesn't discover them, he knows they're following behind." That's what dark guards do - protect their master's safety for all 12 hours of the day. Dark Three rolled his eyes and said, "We are also dark guards..." although not very much like it.

  An's face didn't look good, "We're not qualified as Dark Guards, this time when we go back, the Prince will probably give a few more Dark Guards to the Princess."

  An San's face was also somewhat gloomy. If the princess hadn't stopped him earlier, he wouldn't have gotten hurt on the battlefield. As for being used as a human shield by the princess, An San didn't think there was anything wrong with it. The Dingguo Royal Palace trained them to be willing to take risks and block all dangers for their master when necessary. Earlier, the princess had gone to stop him from blocking the arrow and got slashed in the process. If not for the king's arrow, the princess might still be unknown whether she was alive or dead right now. As dark guards, they were really unqualified. An Si and An Yi were nowhere to be seen, although it was the princess's order. He and An Er had also failed to fulfill their duties as dark guards. "I will apologize to the king, I won't drag you down." An Er glanced at him, "What nonsense are you talking about? We're a team, can we stay behind if we replace you? Besides, it's not just your fault. I just... I like following the princess more."

  "I am too." Glanced at the dark guards on the other side. Not following the princess's previous life as a dark guard was really too boring. Although before that they had not followed any other masters, just training and listening to their seniors' teachings were very boring. If they hadn't followed the princess, they would have become as boring as those dark guards. "If we go now to apologize, do you think the prince will be lenient?"

  "Now you're in even more trouble." An Er said faintly. As a professional assassin, he would absolutely not let anyone know that he saw the prince and princess doing that on the side of the road... including the prince himself.

  "But the prince and princess have been here for a long time. If they don't come out, General Murong should be looking for people." An San said with a frown.

  "Let them go invite the king and queen then." An Er raised an eyebrow, looking towards the dark guards following Mo Xiu Yao not far away, believing they were also struggling. Tsk... As the king's personal dark guard, their ability to hide and conceal themselves was a bit too poor. He and An San had found their hiding spot with just a few glances.

  "Your Highness, Your Highness." An Er stood up straight from behind the tree and bowed to the two people walking hand in hand. An San also quietly descended from the tree and followed suit with a bow.

  Mo Xiuyao narrowed his eyes and glanced at them, saying lightly: "Not bad."

  The two of them involuntarily shuddered in their hearts, was the prince praising them?

  Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Get up, what are you doing here?" The two of them looked bitter and didn't dare to speak. Although the princess didn't need them to follow her around every minute, if they really went about their own business now, the prince would definitely be furious. The princess could command them, but... the prince could replace them. Mo Xiu Yao furrowed his brow and asked, "And where did the other two people go? I remember there should be four people by your side?"

  Yelü smiled and said: "I've sent them on an errand."

  "If there aren't enough people, we can get more from elsewhere. The Dark Guards are here to protect your safety." Mo Xiuyao disagreed, "If these four people can't fully protect you, why not send a few more back or give me some of the people by my side?" Ye Li glanced at An San, who quietly gave her a pleading look, and said helplessly, "I don't like having someone following me in secret."

  "They are for your protection, I will let people choose those with the best hiding ability, and won't make you feel troubled."

  "No one is better than us." An San said in a low voice, stealing a glance at Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiuyao's gaze immediately fell on him, and An San couldn't help but stiffen his body. All he heard was Mo Xiuyao saying calmly: "There has never been a Dark Guard who needed their master to rescue them, in this regard, indeed no one is stronger than you."

  "Yue Li stretched out her hand and grasped Mo Xiuyao's, saying in a soft voice: "They've all helped me a lot. You can see that I don't need a dark guard, I need assistants I can trust. Besides, dark guards aren't useful everywhere, are they? For example, there are some places where dark guards can't follow, and where dark guards can follow, ordinary guards can usually appear too. And the danger level won't be that high either. Fortunately, only a small part of the dark guards in the Dingguo King's palace are specially trained to protect their masters, the others all have other duties, or else it would be a waste of talent. Mo Xiuyao swept a glance at the two dark guards with their heads lowered, his eyes narrowing slightly. He looked down at Yue Li, who was staring at him with a serious face, and said in a deep voice: "They can continue to stay by your side, I'll assign four more dark guards to you."

  "No." Ye Li smiled shallowly: "I'm not used to having a shadow guard, even if you send someone else to follow me, it won't be long before they become like the others. What's the point of that?"

  Mo Xiuyao hummed softly and turned to walk away on the official path. Ye Li pursed her lips and smiled, following behind him. Leaving a bewildered An Er and An San, "An Er, what does the king mean?"

  "That means we can continue following the princess. Probably..."

  Snowy Mountain Great Camp

  When Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao entered, everyone in the main tent quickly stood up. Murong Shen personally walked down from his position as commander-in-chief to welcome them, "I have seen Your Highnesses, King and Queen. This time, the crisis of Yonglin was averted thanks to the timely assistance of Your Highnesses. Please accept my bow." As he spoke, he lifted his military cloak and prepared to bow down, but Mo Xiuyao stretched out his hand to hold back his shoulder, saying calmly, "This is what this king should do, General Murong need not be too polite." Mo Xiuyao did not allow him to bow, so naturally Murong Shen could not continue. Seeing Mo Xiuyao's healthy appearance and abundant internal energy, he couldn't help but flash a hint of joy in his eyes. He no longer forced the issue, stepped aside and invited them inside, "Your Highnesses, please come in."

  Everyone in the account saw that Mo Xiuyao's face was not very colorful when he entered. Some were delighted, some were shocked, and some were deep in thought. Mo Xiuyao pulled Ye Li down to sit under the main commander's hand position and asked: "General, how is the Nan Zhao army?" Murong Shen hesitated for a moment, walked back to his seat, and replied: "Nan Zhao has been attacking the city urgently these past few days, probably wanting to coordinate with the rebel troops inside the pass. Now that the king and reinforcements have arrived, we don't need to worry about these southern barbarians anymore. Tomorrow, we'll go out of the city to battle and definitely drive these southern barbarians back into the deep mountains of the south!" These days of defending the city were suffocating not only for the soldiers of Su Xueguan but also for Murong Shen, the main general. However, no matter how suffocated he was, he could only endure it and not show it. Now that reinforcements had arrived, it was time to proudly lift his head.

  "Not just Prince Wang this time, how many troops did he bring?" Others were also eager to try.

  Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow and said calmly: "Twenty thousand Black Cloud Riders, and another fifty thousand troops will arrive in three days."

  The entire tent fell silent, as if everyone had been drenched in a bucket of ice water from head to toe. One of the straightforward and skeptical individuals stood up and said, "Your Highness... how could the imperial court have dispatched an army of 50,000?" Where are the 50,000 Black Cloud Riders? Where are the 800,000 Mo Family Troops? A faint, indifferent smile appeared on Mo Xiu Yao's lips. "I am merely here to provide initial support. As for what follows... His Majesty has his own arrangements." The crowd remained silent, and Murong Shen let out a sigh in his heart. What else was there not to understand? His Majesty needed someone to provide the fastest support to the southern border, and the only ones who could achieve such speed were the Black Cloud Riders of the Ding Wang. However, His Majesty also did not trust the Ding Wang completely, so he refused to let him bring too many troops. The main forces were all in the back. And the one leading them must be someone His Majesty trusted. In the future, after the rebellion was quelled, the merits would naturally go to those who came later. His Majesty... wouldn't treating the Ding Guo Wang Fu so harshly lead to trouble?

  "Originally... I thought that the King's health had recovered, and this time he would be able to conquer the southern territories in one fell swoop, continuing the unfinished legacy of last year. Now it seems that we can only let these southern barbarians off for now." After a moment, Murong Shen spoke with a hint of regret. As a general, no one didn't want to make a name for themselves on the battlefield, but now that the King's health had suddenly recovered, it would only arouse the Emperor's suspicions. The Emperor would never agree to let the King take credit for the great achievement of conquering the southern territories. Mo Xiu Yao smiled indifferently: "It seems that this isn't a good opportunity after all. You'll still have to work hard for these next few days, General. I'll be staying in Yonglin for the time being, and once the main force of reinforcements arrives, I'll set off back to the capital."

  Murong Shen was taken aback, "The king is not staying at Suixue Pass?"

  Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "General Mo is stationed at Suixue Pass and doesn't need me to give orders. Moreover, there are tens of thousands of troops from Yonglin led by Mo Jingli. I... have some personal matters to attend to."

  Murong Shen nodded and said, "Since that's the case, Your Highness can do as you please." Although he was somewhat disappointed that this time they might not be able to give Nanzhao a severe lesson, such matters were not something that one general could decide on his own. Moreover... The fact that King Ding was healthy and present at Suixue Pass was enough to make those southerners' souls flee in terror. After all... It had only been over a decade since the last war in the southern border, which had almost been completely destroyed. Returning to Yonglin City, it was already nighttime, but fortunately, everything in Yonglin City did not require much thought from Murong Shen. Feng Zhiyao, who had been left behind, had taken care of everything and put things in order. Ye Li looked at Feng Zhiyao with some curiosity, who had changed out of his elegant red clothes and into a white robe with a blue armor, looking vigorous and majestic, as if he were a different person from the one in the capital city. At the same time, Feng Zhiyao also curiously sized up Ye Li, who was still gentle and composed. It was really impossible to associate the elegant and refined woman in front of him with the black-clad woman on the battlefield who killed people without mercy.

  Mo Xiuyao pulled Ye Li into the study and sat down, pointing to the chair beside Feng Zhiyao and asking, "Has Leng Haoyu not arrived yet?"

  "Feng Zhiyao smiled and said, 'He just arrived, go change your clothes and come over. He encountered some trouble on the way and was chased by someone all the way here, so he's a bit disheveled.'"

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow curiously at Feng Zhiyao, who smiled and said: "He relied on his wealth and arrogance to rob grain from the Lei King, isn't this just asking to be killed? However, the effect is not bad either. He has purchased at least 30% of the grain in Jiangnan this year. Now even if the Lei King turns around to attack various places in Jiangnan, he will probably run out of food soon. That's why the Lei King sent assassins everywhere to hunt him down."

  "How is he going to deal with so much grain?" Jiangnan can be said to be the granary of Da Chu, and one-third of the grain in Jiangnan is not a small number. Feng Zhiyao smiled casually: "Once Jiangnan is chaotic, the price of grain will only skyrocket, it won't be unsalable. Even if it's really unsalable, we still have several million people to feed."

  As expected, Leng Huan Yu appeared at the door after a while. The handsome face still had a wound that had just fallen, fortunately it didn't look too serious and shouldn't leave a scar, "Your Highness, Your Highness."

  Mo Xiuyao nodded and said in a low voice, "You've been gone for more than half a year. What's going on with Fengzhou this time? How did Mo Jingli suddenly decide to start a rebellion?" Leng Huan Yu looked at Mo Xiuyao in surprise and said, "Isn't the king aware of the news about King Li's rebellion and that's why he brought people south?" Mo Xiuyao replied calmly, "I came here for some matters in the southern border. As soon as I set out, I received news that Mo Jingli had started a rebellion. Even if Mo Jingli was foolish, he should know that he wasn't fully prepared."

  Feng Zhi Yao shook his head and said, "I think Mo Jing Lei's timing is excellent. It just so happens that we were caught off guard. Even if we had arrived a few days later, or even half a day later, I'm afraid Snowy Pass would have been impossible to defend." Mo Xiu Yao furrowed his brow and said, "If he was really prepared, he shouldn't be in such a hurry to congratulate Snowy Pass. He could have divided his troops into two routes, one route holding off Murong General at Snowy Pass, while the other route advances directly eastward. The southeastern region has always been calm, with few stationed troops. As long as he completely occupies the area south of Yunlan River, even if we had 20 or 30 million troops, it would be difficult to smoothly cross Yunlan River and quell the rebellion. General Murong will eventually... Mo Jing Lei won't need to share any benefits with Nanzhao."

  "He didn't prepare well and rushed to start a war... Does that mean the Emperor wants to take action against him?" Ling Hao Yu guessed.

  Feng Zhi shook his head and said, "That's not right. If the Emperor wanted to take action against him, he wouldn't have let him leave the capital in the first place."

  Leng Haoyu nodded, thought for a moment and said: "The sudden rebellion of the Li Wang cavalry was indeed unexpected. He had just returned to Linyuan and there was no movement, but three days later he suddenly rose up in arms. At that time, I was also startled."

  Ye Li asked: "King Wang, why did you suddenly rush over?"

  Mo Xiuyao glanced at her and took out a letter from his bosom, handing it over. Ye Li took a look, but it was the letter she had returned earlier, along with another one that was clearly written by her grandfather. She lowered her head to read through it, and exclaimed in surprise: "The Holy Maiden of Nanjiang, Shu Manlin, is actually a descendant of the previous dynasty's emperor?!" This was indeed something Ye Li hadn't expected, and it was too melodramatic. She had suspected that Shu Manlin might have some other identity, but she never thought that the Holy Maiden of Nanjiang would be a descendant of the previous dynasty's emperor, while Mo Jingli was the younger brother of the current emperor. And then the two of them conspired to rebel?

  "Nanzhao wasn't established by betraying the previous dynasty, was it? How could they let the descendant of the previous emperor's family be called the Holy Maiden of the South?" Looking at how the King of Nanzhao treated Shu Manlin, he shouldn't be unaware of her identity.

  Mo Xiuyao said: "The ornament you brought back is the relic of Crown Princess Chaoyang who married into a certain tribe in Southern Border during the previous dynasty."

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow, what's it to you? The Princess of Chaoyang has been away from Nanzhao for several hundred years now.

  "This Princess Chao Yang is a strange woman, it's said that before she was married, she had already participated in the imperial court. However, at that time, Emperor Gaozong disliked women participating in politics and repeatedly issued edicts to reprimand her. Later, he even sent her to the southern border for a marriage alliance. Although after that, Princess Chao Yang disappeared from view, but the tribe she married into became the largest tribe in the southern border at that time due to the support of the previous emperor, and it was also the predecessor of the Nanzhao royal family. The Nanzhao royal family admired Central Plains culture, although their relationship with the previous dynasty was not good, they were very fond of some... rebellious officials of the previous dynasty. From the establishment of Nanzhao to the downfall of the previous dynasty, at least three princes and two princesses, one king, had been given refuge, some because they failed in their rebellion, others because they were framed and escaped to Nanzhao. Without exception, these people eventually married into the direct line of the Nanzhao royal family. And the last person they gave refuge to, although the records are somewhat vague, we speculate that it should be the crown prince of the previous dynasty."

  "So, what you're saying is that the Holy Maiden of Southern Xinjiang might be the last surviving member of the previous dynasty's crown prince?" Ye Li asked, her mind reeling with dizziness. Indeed, if one thought the story was melodramatic, reality would only be more so.

  Feng Zhiyao smiled and said, "In the third year after the fall of the previous dynasty, the queen of Nanzhao at that time married a man from Central Plains with an unknown identity. Five years later, Nanzhao continuously invaded the borders of Great Chu. It wasn't until the queen and her husband passed away that it gradually subsided. However, for so many years, the two countries have been fighting on and off and never truly stopped. As long as there is an opportunity, Nanzhao will try every means to invade Central Plains."

  Ye Li rubbed her brow, "I understand, so Nanzhao has a very strong royal bloodline from the previous dynasty. Are they planning to help the previous dynasty reclaim the throne and dominate the Central Plains?"

  "Retaking the Jiangshan for the previous dynasty might be false, but wanting to dominate the Central Plains is certain." Feng Zhiyao nodded.

  Ye Li looked at Mo Xiuyao with a hint of curiosity: "Even if that's the case, you didn't have to rush over so anxiously. Since they've been preparing for over a hundred years, I'm sure they won't mind waiting another few decades." Mo Xiuyao gazed at her and asked, "If there wasn't this rebellion led by Mo Jingli, what were you planning to do?" Ye Li was taken aback, remembering that she had planned to visit the sacred land in Nanjiang. "Is it dangerous?" Mo Xiuyao's expression turned unpleasant as he said, "Don't you think that so-called sacred land in Nanjiang is suspicious?"

  Ye Li blinked her eyes, waiting for his answer.

  "The Nanzhao Sacred Maidens, over the age of 25, must enter the sacred land. However, in reality, most Sacred Maidens have already relinquished their duties and entered the sacred land by the age of 21 or even as young as 19. No one knows what these so-called Sacred Maidens look like, no one knows their family background, and no one knows what they do after entering the sacred land. Yet, these women must receive various educations from a young age and become influential in Nanzhao's government affairs after becoming Sacred Maidens. How much time, money, and effort is spent on cultivating such a person? Is it just to put them there as a Sacred Maiden for a few years and then discard them into some sacred land to grow old and die?" Mo Xiuyao said calmly.

  Leng Huan Yu pondered, "The prince's words make sense. The rules of Nanzhao's Sacred Maidens are indeed strange. I recall that the shortest-serving Sacred Maiden was only in office for two years, becoming a Sacred Maiden at 15 and retiring at 17."

  "I thought we were talking about what dangers there are in the holy land of Nanzhong?" Ye Li reminded.

  Mo Xiuyao said: "There is no such thing as the sacred place of Nanzhong. It's possible that there really is a place like that, but it's absolutely not a place where the treasures and holy girls of Nanzhong are enshrined. That should be the biggest secret of the royal family of Nanzhong. So once someone touches that place, they will be killed by the royal family of Nanzhong at all costs. That's why there is a rumor that no one who has trespassed into the sacred place of Nanzhong has ever returned alive."

  Ye Li felt somewhat disappointed, so he said that in the so-called sacred place of Nanjiang, there was actually no You Luo Ming Hua at all.

  Leng Haoyu said: "This should have nothing to do with Li Wang's sudden uprising, right?"

  Phoenix lazily leaned back in her chair, laughing: "No relationship? The relationship is huge. We used to think it was Mo Jingli who wanted to use the Holy Girl of Nanzhang and Nanzhao. Now it seems that fool was being used by someone else. That's why he rushed to start a war. I thought he had become clever, but fools are just fools!" Ye Li was somewhat puzzled: "What kind of chips does Nanzhao have to move Mo Jingli?"

  Feng Zhiyao smiled and said, "For example, sharing the world with the Holy Girl of Nanzhao. With Nanzhao's help, Mo Jingli will naturally find it easier to get the world. At that time, both the country and beauty will not be missed, and men will all fall for it." Ye Lian couldn't understand why Nanzhao would work so hard to lay out a plan for over a hundred years just to dominate Central Plains. Is the world really the most intoxicating thing? "Hmph, their calculations are indeed correct. They can't break through Shuixue Pass from the outside, so they'll attack from within. If it weren't for the queen this time, I'm afraid we wouldn't even have a foothold in Fengzhou and Yongzhou today."

  Leng Hao Yu furrowed his brow and asked: "What does Your Highness plan to do?"

  Mo Xiuyao said faintly, "No plan. You are not safe in Jiangnan now, set off to return to the capital as soon as possible." Leng Haoyu moved his lips wanting to say something, Mo Xiuyao looked at him and said: "I will tell Murong General about it, let you and Murong Ting get married early. Haoyu..." Leng Haoyu suddenly became spirited, and hurriedly said: "Your subordinate understands, thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness."

  Feng Zhiyao said with some discontent, "It's not easy to leave the capital for a trip, but it seems like we're going to end it hastily. Does the Emperor want to be so cautious about us? It's really a waste of my time." Mo Xiuyao replied calmly, "The Nanzhao kingdom is not worth worrying about for now. Don't worry, this trip won't be in vain for you." Feng Zhiyao raised an eyebrow, "Only you would dare say that the Nanzhao kingdom is not a threat. I think the people of Nanzhao have deep intentions and can endure for so long..." Mo Xiuyao smiled coldly, "Over a hundred years, generation after generation, still unable to achieve anything. What kind of threat can they be? Perhaps the only thing worth praising is their persistence." Feng Zhiyao laughed, "I guess what the people of Nanzhao hate the most is probably the Dingguo King's mansion." After more than a hundred years without achieving anything, the Dingguo King's mansion has made an indelible contribution. For example, that one time ten or so years ago, if it weren't for the sudden withdrawal of troops at the last minute, the people of Nanzhao would never have to worry about how to conquer Central Plains again. "So what does 'you won't be making a wasted trip' mean? Are we going to fight against Nanzhao?"

  Mo Xiuyao raised his eyes and smiled, "We don't fight wars, we eliminate bandits."

  "Suppress bandits?" The three people in the study asked in unison.

  Feng Zhiyao's eyes rolled over, and she asked: "I don't recall any notorious bandits or robbers in Yongzhou."

  Mo Xiuyao said calmly: "What didn't exist in the past doesn't mean it doesn't exist now. Otherwise, what's with the reinforcements from Yongzhou?"

  "Isn't it done by Mo Jingli's people?" Feng Zhiyao asked.

  Mo Xiuyao sneered, "Not to mention whether he has the brains for it or not. Even if he did, with the entire army being wiped out and two million troops lost, how many troops would be needed to support the rebellion in Yongzhou? At that time, Mo Jingli's rebel army was still near Yongzhou City, so how could he possibly lead an army of at least 30,000 people to rush to the aid of the distant Yongzhou?"

  "At least on the same day he started his rebellion, he had to send out this group of people in order to arrive at Yunlan River in time to ambush the Yongzhou reinforcement troops. Moreover, he must have known beforehand that Yongzhou would definitely send reinforcements to rescue Shuixue Pass. Very few people know that Wu Chengliang is our person, and Mo Jingli absolutely cannot know. If he didn't know, it's even more impossible for him to dispatch ambush troops specifically to ambush the Yongzhou reinforcement troops. Because Yongzhou might be like other places, holding back their troops, or it's also possible that other places would send troops together to rescue Shuixue Pass."

  "Wasn't it Mo Jingli's people who ambushed Wu Daren?" Ye Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

  "It's not just Nanzhong who has his eyes on this fat piece of Chu." Mu Xiuyao said calmly.

  "Xiling." Leng Haoyu said affirmatively. Beirong is too far from Nanjiang, and the appearance of Beirong people is too different from that of Da Chu, making it impossible to infiltrate Da Chu on a large scale. But Xiling is different, although there are some subtle differences, but that refers to the Xiling royal family who married with foreign countries. Ordinary Xiling civilians are not much different from Da Chu people. Just thinking about it, Leng Haoyu couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine at the thought of a force capable of annihilating 20,000 troops infiltrating Da Chu.

  Mo Xuyao's eyes were deep and profound, "The great Chu's generals who guard the border towns should have been beaten up long ago."

  Feng Zhiyou shrugged his shoulders. In recent years, the border generals have all been replaced by the emperor, and they can't do anything about it. Suppressing bandits... seems to be okay too...

  "Your Highness, when are we departing?" Feng Zhiyao asked excitedly, not bothering to distinguish between the southern or western borders. Mo Xiuyao looked down at his long fingers and said in a low voice, "Wait until the Emperor's people arrive to take over Yonglin. You go ahead and prepare first. Remember... if you let one person escape from Da Chu alive, don't ever mention again that you want to go to the battlefield."

  "Yes, Your Highness!" Feng Zhiyao stood up and responded loudly, hesitating for a moment before asking: "About the Shuixue Pass this side..."

  "For now, let's just ignore them. In a few months, they won't be able to tell who's winning or losing anyway. We don't have time to deal with them either." Mo Xiuyao said in a low voice.

  "I understand."

  Ye Li quietly watched the two men conversing, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. A inexplicable anger and a feeling of unease arose in her heart...