bestfiction Chapter 251 Pingzhou's Ambition
Chapter 251 Pingzhou's Ambition
Pingzhou has long coveted Yunzhou.
The Chen dynasty was so powerful that people forgot that dynasties in this world were not defined by provinces.
The constant infighting among the various dynasties in Pingzhou did not mean they dared not provoke the powerful Chen dynasty.
They formed alliances, either by uniting with the strong to plunder the weak, allowing others to feast while they themselves grew stronger at any cost; or by uniting with the weak to resist the strong, like wolves devouring tigers, sharing in the glory.
You, Yunzhou, are exhausted from fighting the south, but I insist on opening a second front in the east, tearing your military forces apart, so that you cannot attend to both ends.
But the dynasties in Pingzhou weren't fools either. They had all witnessed the methods of the Chen dynasty. Who could guarantee that the other side wouldn't fight to the death?
Therefore, the probes by the merfolk become especially important.
Foreign invasion was not my intention. If the Chen dynasty were to use this as a pretext to launch a large-scale attack on my Pingzhou, that would be rather unreasonable. If we were to assemble an expeditionary force to go to the coast of the East China Sea to subdue the merfolk, that would be excellent. Along the way, we could secretly create a lot of trouble and weaken the military strength of Yunzhou.
If the Chen dynasty tolerates this and their support arrives late, then I'll have to don the clothes of a foreign race and invade!
Suddenly, he remembered something and casually said, "Send some information to the Chen Dynasty, saying that the alien races have suddenly revolted and we need some support."
"Ah, sir, should we ask Yunzhou for help? What if we invite trouble upon ourselves..."
Do you think they'll send a few Nascent Soul stage cultivators?
"Um, that shouldn't be possible, right?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Do you think they can turn the world upside down on my own turf?" The man on the throne waved his hand dismissively, sending the "servant" who had spoken flying out of the room. The merman chieftain beside him trembled with fear.
He didn't even see the other person's movements.
There are also differences between Nascent Soul cultivators...
Yes, the one that was just knocked away was a Nascent Soul cultivator.
An overwhelming sense of oppression washed over him. He lowered his head, his flesh beneath the scales clenched, and all he could hear was the sound of blood rushing through his ears.
"By the way, merfolk, has there been any news about the informant you were asked to contact?"
"Not yet. The previous incident involving the Twin Dragons causing water damage has drastically changed the landscape of the Yelan River area. Our inside man has disappeared, and all previous contact methods are no longer valid."
"Oh, you can decide for yourself. I only need the information. Who brought it to me is not important. Go do your job."
The merfolk chieftain left the place trembling.
but......
Although he was genuinely terrified and trembling, only the first few tremors were real. His trembling body caused his scales to collide and produce a series of soft, clashing sounds. But he had, after all, cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, so how could his mental state be so easily defeated?
The trembling that followed was entirely feigned, an act for the powerful figure to see.
The lives of the Merfolk rest on my shoulders. The hope of becoming a powerful clan is already faintly visible. Our clan's path is like walking a tightrope over a cliff; we cannot afford to make a mistake.
......
Zhong Ming now has a hole in his chest.
Believe it or not, it's big enough to fit a whole bunch of pills inside.
He remained optimistic and even considered whether he could place the storage stone there.
He discovered that he could place a storage stone in his vital spot, allowing him to retrieve something hard to block attacks if he didn't have time to react and parry.
My chest still hurts, but it's much better than the despair I felt before.
The surviving team members were lying in the makeshift medical room; there were too many wounded to fit in the inner city outpost.
One after another, cultivator soldiers arrived here. There weren't many powerful ones; most were at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stage. They began to follow the clues to find the merfolk who had rushed into Yunzhou.
The craftsmen urgently reinforced the city walls, and the cultivators released a large number of spirit pets to assist in the defense; everything was developing in a positive direction.
Just a few days later, Zhong Ming's troops were moved from the inner city to the outer city.
Zhong Ming lay in the small house, listening to the people and cars coming and going outside, sighing softly.
Sigh, I really didn't earn many military merit points this time.
Yue Kaishan recovered quickly. His physique was incredibly resilient, honed by his great-grandfather since childhood. However, his right arm was completely ruined and was now dangling around him.
"Stop shaking, Brother Yue, you don't need to stay by my side."
"No, what if the merfolk launch another counterattack? What if those guys forget about you while they're all running for their lives? I don't trust you."
Yue Kaishan's constant protection inadvertently caused An Yun considerable distress.
The Yan family's assassination team is currently in a dilemma. Logically speaking, it would be a good deed for the merfolk to let Zhong Ming die from "serious injuries," but they absolutely cannot make a fuss about it.
This guy has probably stored up a lot of food; they haven't come out to get it for days. Poisoning is definitely out of the question. If it were some kind of poison like smoke...
It's not that it's impossible, it's just that the merfolk simply don't have this method. In the sea, poison is basically injected directly into the enemy's body, without spreading outwards.
A direct assault would be even more absurd; if that one-armed strongman made even the slightest sound, anyone would know it was a human attack.
An Yun pondered for a while, and after careful consideration, he actually figured it out. The merfolk were too weak for the Yan family. If they were to take action against them, they certainly wouldn't need to frame someone like this.
That means this guy has a very powerful background. Either the Yan family wants to use someone else to do their dirty work, or they are testing the people behind him.
Thinking of this, he broke out in a cold sweat. If he made a mistake and left any loopholes, the other party's backers would hunt him down relentlessly.
The more he thought about it, the more cautious he became, and the less he dared to take action, so he remained frozen in place.
A dozen days later, Zhong Ming's injuries began to heal.
His chest still hurt. This time, without the old Taoist's help or any opportunities like the miraculous rain, the ordinary medicine was slow to heal, which he found somewhat difficult to adjust to.
So, the first thing I did after getting out was...
Go to the merit point redemption area.
The military merit points were settled very slowly this time, and it was difficult to say who killed whom. We could only prioritize the settlement of military merits based on very conclusive evidence.
For example, bringing back the bodies of comrades.
Bringing back the bodies of fallen comrades was a significant achievement in Yunzhou's military exploits. In the early days, Yunzhou even had a system of inheritance.
Bringing back the body of a fallen comrade would allow one to inherit a portion of his estate.
Later, because too many people stabbed their comrades in the back, this rule was abolished.
With increased testing, cases of murdering comrades have decreased significantly. Furthermore, if someone deliberately pushes a comrade towards the enemy or intentionally leaves them to escape, only to return and retrieve the body after they've died, it's extremely difficult to verify. Therefore, only those with the strongest suspicions are investigated.
Zhong Ming quickly exchanged for 300 military merit points, then used them to buy two mid-grade magic artifact-level heart-protecting mirrors and some commonly used pills, thus spending all his military merit points.
After sighing that everything is valuable now except money, he tied two breastplates to his wounds, one in front and one behind, put on his tattered tortoise shell armor, and left the hall in a shabby manner.
Even a mosquito's leg is still meat, no matter how small.
This tortoise shell armor only costs 99 military merit points, but it's extremely rare and hard to come by. The cheap life-saving items at this stronghold were sold out several days ago.
These two breast protectors have even gone up in price.