With the help of Aragas, the Great Yue Kingdom unified Terentu and Abire, and of the four great kingdoms of the Western Regions, only the Great Yue Kingdom remained.
The Great Yue Kingdom became the largest country in the Western Regions.
Ximen Fusu changed the kingdom into an empire and ascended the throne as emperor.
He even proclaimed himself the Supreme Emperor of the Western Regions!
"The Supreme Emperor of the Western Regions... he's really impressive!" Zhao Cheng laughed.
Zhao Zhan said, "Those people in the Western Regions just love to come up with fancy names. Their country is only the size of one of our prefectures. Even if the three countries were unified, it would only be three of our prefectures. They act like they've unified the world."
Zhao Cheng said, "Ximen Fusu should not be underestimated, and the Great Yue Empire will not always remain as you see it now. There are hundreds of small countries in the Western Regions. Now that the Great Yue Empire is rising, more small countries will inevitably attach themselves to it, expanding the empire's territory. Thinking about it this way, I understand why Aragas helped Ximen Fusu."
"Why?" Zhao Zhan asked.
Zhao Cheng smiled and said, "Aragas's ambition should be to unify the Western Regions, just like our desire to unify the Eastern lands. However, he saw no hope in the Abilheid royal family, but this supreme emperor of the Western Regions of the Great Yue Kingdom gave Aragas hope, and he did not hesitate to bear the infamy and join the Great Yue Kingdom."
Zhao Zhan said, "Xi Jing is going to have a headache."
Zhao Cheng nodded and said, "Being caught in the middle is naturally uncomfortable."
Zhao Zhan seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Brother, Zhou Chuan hasn't come back all these years. Was that your arrangement?"
Zhao Cheng thought for a moment and said, "It's a bit like that, but not really. If we couldn't find someone like Ximen Fusu, Zhou Chuan would have returned long ago. But looking at it now, it's not a bad thing for Zhou Chuan. He's been transformed after the trip to the snow mountain."
Zhao Zhan exclaimed excitedly, "Including him, we now have three Grandmasters!"
Just then, Qiu Shu brought in the food, and Zhao Cheng immediately started smacking his lips, clearly very hungry.
Two puppies ran over playfully, and Zhao Cheng fed them some meat. He also threw some rice into the lake, attracting the fish to swim around.
"How is Gong Xue doing now?" Zhao Cheng suddenly asked Yuan Fei.
Yuan Fei said, "The Yiwen Society has been arranging for experts to protect her during her seclusion, but... she has been in seclusion for more than a year and there is still no sign of her coming out."
Zhou Nuo also walked towards the lake and overheard their conversation. He said, "Gong Xue has great talent. The fact that she has been in seclusion for a long time is probably related to her temperament."
Yuan Fei nodded and said, "If you don't get over what happened with Yuan Li, it might become a mental obsession."
"Let her be, don't bother her."
After Dongjing was established, Zhao Cheng had been honing his skills in a high position for more than four years. Now he had a better grasp of the overall situation and was more meticulous in handling affairs. After finishing a bowl of rice, he said, "Fourth brother, arrange for a suitable envoy to go to the Western Regions to congratulate Ximen Fusu on his great achievements."
Zhou Nuo immediately said, "No need to make arrangements, I'm the most suitable!"
Zhao Cheng looked at Zhou Nuo and said, "Little Nuo, I know you miss Zhou Chuan, but the journey to the Western Regions is long..."
Zhou Nuo interrupted Zhao Cheng and said, "I may miss you, but I am indeed the most suitable. I had a friendship with Ximen Fusu during the state banquet of the tenth year of the reign of Emperor Dajing. Now I am going to the Western Regions as the wife of the Grand General. Both in public and private, this shows the friendly attitude of Dongjing towards the Western Regions. Tell me, who is more suitable than me?"
Zhao Zhan nodded and said, "Big brother, Sister Zhou Nuo is right."
"Let me think about it..."
Zhao Cheng put down his chopsticks and gazed at the fish vying for food in the lake. After a long while, he said, "Compared to us, Xijing is more eager to befriend the Dayue Kingdom right now. They will also send envoys there. In fact... once they know that it was Xiao Nuo who went to the Western Regions, they are very likely to send people to intercept and kill her."
“Xiao Nuo, this time you should travel light, take a hundred Dragon Spear Guards from Gongjiao County to Hou Cang, and then from Hou Cang to Dayue. Although the route is a bit roundabout, it is safer than going through Xijing.”
Zhou Nuoxi said, "Don't worry! I have keen senses and can anticipate danger in advance."
Zhao Zhan frowned slightly and said, "Brother, won't this arrangement cause problems? Sister Zhou Nuo is making a big fuss about going to Xijing. As long as Wen Tai doesn't want to break the alliance with us, he probably won't dare to lay a hand on Sister Zhou Nuo. But if she enters Houcang, Wen Tai can arrange for people to disguise themselves as Houcang people. If something really happens, he can just shift the blame to Houcang."
Zhao Cheng said, "You are meticulous, and your consideration is not wrong, but I have thought of this before. My concern for Xiao Nuo is not Wen Tai, but Wen Hu. He is a madman, and who knows what reckless things he might do?"
Zhao Zhan frowned even more deeply and said, "That's true... Wen Hu killed two emperors, destroyed Jinran, and then slaughtered the Jinran royal family. I heard that even Wen Tai couldn't stop him. We really can't gamble our lives on his mood."
"Let Sister Taozhi accompany you," Zhao Cheng suggested.
Zhao Cheng shook his head and said, "No. The third brother went to Jingbei County to reorganize military affairs, and Changsui must have a Grandmaster stay behind to oversee things."
Zhou Nuo said, "Can you guys stop dawdling? Back when I was wandering the martial world, Ah Cheng, you were still hanging around brothels and gambling dens all day long. Fourth Brother, you were just a little kid back then! You've already given me a hundred Dragon Spear Guards. They're all second-rate experts. Having them with me is enough."
Zhao Cheng glanced at Yuan Yun subconsciously and laughed, "We're talking about serious business, why are you bringing this up?!"
Zhao Zhan said, "That's right, that's right. My sister Zhou Nuo is the only female instructor in Da Jing! Big brother, I will carefully select as many top-notch experts as possible from the Dragon Spear Guard to follow Sister Zhou Nuo."
Zhao Cheng nodded and said, "Let's do it this way."
As he spoke, Zhao Cheng looked at Yuan Fei and said, "You've been investigating for almost two years, and there's still no news about Feng Jing?"
Yuan Fei shook his head and said somewhat dejectedly, "Whenever there's even the slightest hint of trouble, he disappears without a trace, and we still don't know his whereabouts."
Where on earth has he gone?
Zhao Cheng, with a serious expression, clenched his fist and said, "What exactly does he want to do?"
...
Southern Zhou Dynasty.
night.
In the mountains and forests west of Kangye.
Su Sheng, dressed in a gray robe, stood in the dim moonlight, the dappled moon shadows around her flickering like ghosts.
“It’s just ahead.” Cui Wuming emerged from the woods, drew his sword, and cut down several trees blocking his path, clearing a way for Su Sheng.
"He really knows how to pick a place. This place looks like it only has wild animals and can't accommodate people," Su Sheng said coldly.
After taking a couple of steps, Su Sheng asked again, "It doesn't have a tail, does it?"
Cui Wuming said, "Zhou Jinghuan hasn't had anyone watching us for a while now."
Su Sheng said, "He must trust us now. Besides, he knows he could find out if he arranged for someone to keep an eye on you, so he might as well show us some sincerity."
As the two were talking, they heard light footsteps ahead.
Su Sheng stopped.
A person came forward.
The moonlight illuminated his face.
It was precisely what Zhao Cheng had Yuan Fei searching for.
Feng Jing!
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