Chapter 463: Striving to Achieve the KPI (Forty-Three) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"etc--"

The king seemed to have thought of something.

He asked, "Which ones got involved?"

"It should be the First Prince and the Second Prince. The Twelfth Prince's body was secretly moved to the Ayeqiqi tribe..."

The king said with a playful tone, "It looks like a frame-up."

The servants dared not utter a sound in response.

The king seemed to be asking him a question, or perhaps he was talking to himself.

"Who do you think framed you?"

He knew exactly what kind of people his eldest and second eldest brothers were.

Ever since their mother died, these two harbored resentment, but outwardly they always kept a low profile, avoiding their younger brother in every way. To the uninitiated, they seemed to be the younger brothers. The king saw clearly that they were lying low.

Haha, he does have the style of his youth.

Putting himself in their shoes, he didn't believe that these two young men, who had been playing the subservient role for two or three decades, enduring humiliation and hardship, would rashly make a move before seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. Even if he turned a blind eye and allowed them to develop their power, they were not qualified to challenge the faction led by Su Shiyilu. They would not, and could not, kill the twelfth prince at this sensitive moment.

What's the point?

To draw Su Shiyilu's hatred and eliminate obstacles for his younger brothers? Hah, they're not that kind.

"Have the boss and the others reacted?"

The servant shook his head: "Everything is as usual."

The king sighed, "This won't do. They were framed and didn't even realize it. They were too careless."

Outsiders might have thought he was worried about his son, but his confidants knew it was a sign that he was preparing to give up.

Unless the two princes can prove their worth is greater than Sushilu's, or strike first...

The king waved his hand: "Go down."

The servant withdrew as instructed.

A short while later, the sounds of men and women laughing and joking came from behind.

Not long after, the Queen also received the devastating news.

That moment was like the sky collapsing and the earth sinking. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Queen cried out "My son!" and fainted.

Everyone frantically tried to save him.

The Queen woke up in a daze, as if her soul had been stolen by something, leaving only a broken body.

It wasn't until Su Shiyi burst into the tent and woke her up that she snapped out of her daze. She grabbed her brother's arm tightly and cried out, "Brother, I don't ask you for anything else, I only ask you for one thing: you must, you must avenge my son!"

"Of course! Brother won't break his promise twice! He'll definitely take the murderer's head to appease us, Twelve!"

Upon hearing the reply, the Queen broke down in tears and wailed incessantly.

The news of the twelfth prince's death was kept tightly under wraps by the brother and sister, and apart from a few people, no one knew about it.

Even those who heard rumors tacitly kept quiet about it.

At this critical moment of setting out for Yonggu Pass, it is not advisable to cause trouble.

Banners fluttered in the wind, and the cold wind howled.

Su Shiyilu sacrificed eighteen pairs of Geng Kingdom male and female prisoners on the command platform as a flag offering, then mustered all his troops, each a seasoned veteran, their silence exuding a chilling aura of impending doom. This wasn't the Ten Crows' last trump card, but it was certainly an elite force!

After completing the preparations, he clasped his hands in a fist salute and reported to the king, who was preparing for the personal campaign. The king personally helped him up and repeatedly said, "Good."

He said, "With you and me united, what great undertaking cannot be accomplished!"

Su Shiyilu forced a smile and replied.

The king seemed oblivious to his unusual expression: "May you, my lord, and all of you, enjoy great military success and resounding victories!"

The army set off for Yonggu Pass.

Shen Tang received the news shortly afterward.

She frowned: "Hopefully General Chu has made preparations..."

Upon learning of Shi Wu's intentions, she sent someone back to deliver the message.

By now, we should have arrived.

only--

It's really not optimistic whether those 20,000-odd remaining soldiers, suffering from bitter cold and disease, can hold Yonggu Pass...

"Shiwu has raised the banner of 200,000 elite troops this time, but after deducting the cooks and those who inflated the numbers, at most 80,000 can actually form a fighting force... Alas, if the border barrier is still strong, Yonggu Pass will certainly be difficult to defend, but it will not be impossible to hold."

A country's borders are its most solid protection.

Breaking it is ten times more difficult than clearing a level.

In the past, when the Ten Kingdoms harassed the border, at most, troops would be concentrated to break through some gaps. The border barrier itself had a self-healing function, so the pressure on Yonggu Pass was not significant. However, as the border barrier weakened and the nation's fortunes declined, the pressure on Yonggu Pass increased dramatically.

Hold on...

It's too difficult.

All we can do now is pray that the border barriers can hold up for a little longer.

Thinking of this, Gu Chi smiled bitterly.

"This matter should be handled by Kang Jishou..."

This guy is the real gambler.

Shen Tang said, "Wang Chao, my imperial seal..."

Before she could finish speaking, Gu Chi decisively rejected her.

"No! The border barrier is currently being supported by Zheng Qiao. If you want to maintain it, either you kill Zheng Qiao and seize his imperial seal or his territory, or the border barrier will completely collapse and you can build another one... To put it another way, rebuilding the border barrier won't be something that can be done in a short time! Even if you send the imperial seal to the border, it won't change anything!"

If Yonggu Pass cannot be defended, what difference would it make if we sent the Imperial Seal there at this time, or if we simply gave it to Shiwu for nothing?

The Ten Crows, these alien races, have been suppressed for years and unable to raise their heads, isn't it all because they don't have a national seal? With a national seal, in the northwest of the continent, there really isn't anyone who can stop the Ten Crows' southward expansion for the time being! This move is unacceptable!

Upon hearing this, Shen Tang had no choice but to abandon the idea.

"Perhaps things aren't so bad after all..."

Jiang Sheng listened for a long time before speaking.

Shen Tang looked at him anxiously: "Does Xian Deng have a brilliant plan?"

Jiang Sheng said, "I don't have a brilliant plan, but I'm just thinking that when my lord was transferred from Heyin County to Longwu County, he obtained a unique Shiwubu Defense Map from the former princess. Do you really think... all of this is just a coincidence?"

The defense map is a top-secret document; obtaining this intelligence from outsiders would be no easy task...

In other words, this was a scheme that had been planned from the very beginning.

In a game that has spanned many years, did they really not consider the fact that the border defenses were weak and insufficient to resist the Ten Wu Iron Cavalry?

perhaps--

Shen Tang frowned: "You mean Yan Xingning has a backup plan?"

Jiang Sheng shook his head and said, "I don't know."

What contingency plan can be used to fill the gap in the border barrier?

Jiang Sheng couldn't imagine it.

Shen Tang tried to clear her mind and calmly said, "It's no use saying anything more now that things have come to this. Pass down the order to prepare; we're going to give Shi Wu a big gift!"

If you're going to play, play big!

Once the Ten Crows army has gone far away, burn down their lair!

Then turn around and attack other tribes with weak forces!

Not one of them will escape!

Just then, Xu Quanle's cheerful voice came from outside the tent.

"My lord, Lingde has returned."

Shen Tang's eyes lit up, and her depressed mood finally saw a ray of sunshine - after so many days, she finally heard some good news.

Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.

Geng State, Gan Prefecture.

A dusty gray carriage sped along the path.

The coachman was a boy in disguise.

The boy's features bear a resemblance to those of King Zheng Qiao in his youth.

The faint sounds of a woman sobbing and a child asking questions could be heard from the carriage behind.

"Mother, why isn't Father coming with us?"

"Your father still has some things to take care of."

The child asked again, "Where are we going now?"

The woman said, "I'm going to seek refuge with your father's old friend."

The child stopped asking questions after hearing this.

The woman hugged the child tightly and lowered her eyes.

Perhaps, in just a few days she will receive news of her good junior brother, Zheng Qiao, being assassinated and killed...

Or perhaps, her husband was brutally murdered by slow slicing...

(End of this chapter)