The Demon Lords

Chapter 451 55 Return to Night_3

The Qian Emperor could even confidently assert that within the Silver Armored Guard, some individuals, seeing that the Yan people had already reached the imperial capital, were beginning to harbor other intentions, possibly even starting to collude secretly with Chu State.

As for the nobles who had established connections with the Yan Spy Bureau, their numbers would only be greater.

The Qian Emperor disliked this feeling intensely. As a sovereign, what he detested most were signs that some people and affairs under his very throne were beginning to slip from his control.

"Wet nurse's son."

"Your Majesty!"

Hearing this form of address for the first time in many years, Lo Mingda was overcome with terror.

"Wet nurse's son, there are truly few people I can trust now."

"Your Majesty!"

"The Yan people will not break into the imperial capital. However, the Silver Armored Guard has grown less effective over the years. It's time for a purge."

"Your servant understands!"

"You may leave. Attend to your duties."

"Your servant takes his leave."

Lo Mingda exited the warm chamber. Outside, he saw Baili Xianglan.

"Miss Xianglan," Lo Mingda greeted her with a bow.

Baili Xianglan simply nodded and stepped aside.

After Lo Mingda departed, Baili Xianglan pushed open the door and entered.

"Your Majesty, the Yan ambassador has left the city."

"Heh, that Yan man surnamed Zheng... quite an interesting fellow."

"Zu Dongling..."

"Pay Zu Dongling no mind. That young whelp from the Zu family may appear boorish, but he's actually quite meticulous. His actions, in this instance, were rather decisive. That lad Zu Dongcheng must have been captured by the Yan people. Only by acting this way could Zu Dongling demonstrate the Zu family's stance to Us.

It's a pity, though, those assassins from Chu State failed to kill the Yan ambassador. We had hoped to use this opportunity to reassure Chu State, letting them focus on their own internal power struggles."

"Your Majesty, you should have allowed me to act."

"There's no need. One can capitalize on certain situations by going with the flow, but if it's too deliberate, it's bound to be seen through. If the Yan ambassador dies, their commander—a known madman—would undoubtedly unleash a slaughter. Such a debt must absolutely not be laid at Our door. After all, We love Our people as if they were Our own children, do We not?"

After saying this, the Qian Emperor continued, "Tomorrow, you need not leave the city. Remain by Our side as protection. If the Yan people attack the city tomorrow, We will have to make an appearance on the city walls."

"That is too dangerous, Your Majesty."

"That is why you must guard Us. We have no wish to die an obscure death."

The Qian Emperor reached out and picked up three Memorandums from the desk before him.

These were confession Memorandums from three high officials: Minister Han, Master Fu, and Mr. Sima.

"Set aside Minister Han's for now. We shall approve the confession Memorandums from Master Fu and Mr. Sima. We'll use this opportunity to remove a few of those stubborn old rocks; it will make Our affairs proceed much more smoothly in the future."

"Your Majesty, you should not be saying such things to me."

"It's no harm to speak of it. An emperor is, by nature, a solitary figure. Sometimes, We cannot even find a single person to converse with."

Baili Xianglan merely nodded. She didn't ask, 'And I, am I not a person?'

She knew she was a sword.

「...」

Upon returning to the military encampment, Zheng Fan went directly to see Li Fusheng. Although his appointment as Yan ambassador lacked proper authority and the mission itself had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, the first order of business upon his return was to report to the main general.

Li Fusheng was seated in his tent, his shoulder wound already treated and bandaged. When Zheng Fan entered, Li Fusheng was gnawing on a pig's trotter with one hand. A pot nearby simmered with more pig's trotters, its rich, meaty aroma filling the air.

Currently, mutton was generally pricier than pork. However, in Beifeng Prefecture, due to its proximity to the desert, mutton was actually cheaper than pork, making a pork meal a rare treat.

Seeing Zheng Fan return, Li Fusheng smiled, gestured towards the large iron pot before him, and said, "Have some. We can talk while you eat."

Zheng Fan didn't reach for a pig's trotter. He had already eaten his fill at the Qian Emperor's palace. Besides, the news he was about to deliver was hardly conducive to an appetite.

And indeed, after Zheng Fan recounted his conversation with the Qian Emperor and described all he had seen and heard along the way, Li Fusheng had long since stopped gnawing on the pig's trotter in his hand.

"Sir, what should we do now?"

If Qian State holds its three borders and refuses to engage, then Yan State's strategic objectives for this campaign cannot be achieved. No matter how dominant our forces are in Qian's northern prefectures, it will ultimately remain an exclave. An exclave, for one, cannot be effectively defended, and secondly, it cannot provide supplies or reinforcements to the Yan State homeland.

Most importantly, the Royal Court and Jin State have likely already made their moves by now.

If our main army retreats now, then this entire campaign, this war, will truly have been fought for nothing. In the Qian Emperor's words, it would be as if we came all this way just to help Qian State 'scrape the poison from its bones.'

Li Fusheng clenched his teeth. He subconsciously wanted to toss aside the half-eaten, now thoroughly cold pig's trotter in his hand, but his wrist merely twitched; his fingers remained clamped firmly around it.

He brought it back to his mouth and resumed gnawing.

He ate in silence, methodically. After finishing one, he picked up another. He ate with intense focus, not letting a single scrap of meat go to waste, even gnawing on the bones for a few moments.

Li Fusheng single-handedly finished the entire pot of pig's trotters. Then he picked up a bowl and began to drink the broth, one bowl after another.

Zheng Fan sat silently nearby, saying nothing.

Finally, Li Fusheng finished eating. He let out a long sigh, and it seemed the contentment of a full stomach had dispelled some of the gloom from his expression.

"Some things are just inevitable, like the sky raining or a mother remarrying. The Lord often admonishes us to take a long-term view of things, but I've never really paid it much mind."