The next morning, bright sunshine shone on Xianyang City.
Ying Zheng, dressed in a black royal robe, walked lightly toward Zhangtai Palace, followed by Zhao Gao, who was jogging briskly behind him.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Zhao Gao's forehead. He was panting heavily, a bitter smile on his lips, and said, "Your Majesty, it's true that people are in high spirits when they have good news. I can hardly keep up with your pace!" Ying Zheng was never this energetic in the past.
Ying Zheng smiled slightly but did not answer. He was extremely excited at this moment, because after the banquet last night, Yang Duanhe brought him even more exciting news—there was news of Afang!
It was truly an unexpected stroke of luck. He had repeatedly urged Yang Duanhe to find news of Afang as soon as possible, but to no avail. Now, in order to eliminate the Mo Xia assassins lurking in the country, he unexpectedly found news.
For Ying Zheng, this was undoubtedly a double blessing. The news kept him awake all night, his heart filled with anticipation and joy.
He didn't even bother to wipe out the Mo Xia, and ordered Yang Duanhe to bring the woman, who was suspected to be A Fang, back to Xianyang from Yan State as quickly as possible.
Inside the main hall, the ministers had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing Ying Zheng arrive, they immediately straightened their postures and bowed in unison, "Your subjects pay their respects to Your Majesty!"
Ying Zheng strode to the high platform and sat down, a faint smile on his lips. He waved his hand and said, "Gentlemen, no need for formalities!"
Seeing that Ying Zheng was in a very good mood, presumably because he had taken a new queen, the officials also smiled. They had not seen Ying Zheng so relaxed in a long time.
"Um?!"
Ying Zheng glanced around at the assembled officials, but noticed that the wicked husband was missing. He was somewhat surprised and asked, "Where is the Grand Commandant? Why didn't the Grand Commandant come to the morning court? Could it be that he hasn't gotten up yet?"
You should know that even when he was very tired, the wicked husband would never miss the morning court session. In case of special circumstances, he would send someone to ask for leave in advance. He is completely different from today, who is nowhere to be found and has no news.
Ying Zheng frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. He asked in a deep voice, "Does anyone know anything about the Grand Commandant's situation?"
The ministers looked at each other, but no one answered.
At this moment, a member of the Imperial Guard rushed into the main hall, knelt down and reported: "Your Majesty, someone from the Grand Commandant's office has come to see you, saying that they have important matters to report to Your Majesty!"
Ying Zheng's expression changed, and he immediately ordered, "Bring him to the palace at once!"
"Yes!" The Imperial Guard turned and quickly left.
The atmosphere inside the hall became solemn, and Ying Zheng and his officials waited in silence.
A moment later, footsteps sounded outside the hall, and the imperial guards led the guards from the Grand Commandant's mansion to come quickly.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" The guard entered the hall and bowed directly.
"Dismissed!" Ying Zheng waved his hand, his tone somewhat urgent as he asked, "Why didn't the Grand Commandant come to the morning court? Did he not get up?"
The guard said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the Grand Commandant sent me to apologize. He left Xianyang before dawn today and is heading to Ye City..."
At this point, the guard glanced furtively at Ying Zheng and whispered, "The Grand Commandant left a message for Your Majesty: 'Your Majesty...if I leave, just pretend I never came back!'"
Holy crap!
Upon hearing this, not only was Ying Zheng so angry that he laughed out loud, but the court officials also showed bitter smiles. Such behavior was unique to this wicked man in the entire world.
"Your Majesty... the Grand Commandant's instructions are not yet finished..." The guard spoke cautiously, like a frightened little rabbit.
"Speak, he's already run away without orders. I want to see what else he has to say!" Ying Zheng's expression was neither happy nor sad, but his tone carried a hint of helplessness and...doting?
The guards, unsure of Ying Zheng's true stance, braced themselves and said, "The Grand Commandant requests Your Majesty to order the Black Dragon Armored Army to march. He will await their arrival in Gaocheng."
"At the same time, we request the king's decree, citing the Yan Kingdom's numerous illegal acts, its indulgence of the Mo Xia's rampant misconduct, and its harboring of assassins and death warriors to cause harm, and issue an edict to attack Yan, which will be delivered to the Black Dragon Armor Army."
"Within two months, we will surely destroy the Yan Kingdom, and use this as a gift to celebrate the King's marriage."
"Heh... Excellent! You truly are my most considerate Grand Commandant, so thoughtful in every way!!!"
"They've already left, why bother asking for a royal decree? The Black Dragon Armored Army are all the same, he could have just mobilized them directly... It's really unnecessary." Ying Zheng forced a smile and squeezed out these words through gritted teeth.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I suppose the Grand Commandant is worried that we might obstruct him... and wants to do something like acting first and reporting later," Meng Can said reassuringly.
The wicked man has been in power for two years now, and everyone is well aware of his character and conduct. When he does something, he does it swiftly and decisively.
They could all be shrewd enough to know that the wicked husband was too lazy to argue with them and only wanted to vent his anger and destroy Yan as soon as possible.
That's understandable. The assassins kept harassing them along the way. To protect the princess, they had to endure wind and rain, eat and sleep poorly. Anyone would be resentful, let alone a wicked husband who couldn't tolerate even the slightest imperfection.
At this moment, the guard said weakly again, "The Grand Commandant said that His Majesty disliked his lack of manners, so this time he performed the proper etiquette, which will save His Majesty from being jealous."
"Okay, okay!"
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng was so angry that his eyebrows shot up, and for a moment he couldn't think of any words to rebuke his wicked husband.
Meng Ao laughed and said, "Your Majesty, since the die is cast, why not let him do it? Destroy the Yan state, station a large army here, and then destroy Zhao and attack Qi in the future. We can do both at the same time."
Ying Zheng took a deep breath to calm himself, then slowly said, "Since the Grand Commandant is so confident, I will grant his wish. Order the Black Dragon Armored Army to prepare for an immediate expedition, with Ye City as the target. At the same time, draft an edict to punish the Yan Kingdom, to set the record straight."
The atmosphere inside the hall immediately became tense and solemn.
"Your Majesty is wise!" the ministers echoed in unison, naturally full of confidence in the wicked ruler's abilities. Since he had spoken of destroying the country, Yan would naturally be unable to withstand it, and their chances of being promoted and entrusted with important responsibilities would increase, which was a good thing.
Ying Zheng stood up, his gaze resolute. He knew that this would be another important step on his path to unifying the six kingdoms. Although the evil man's move was unexpected, if he could take down the Yan kingdom in one fell swoop, it would be a great joy.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report!" Han Fei suddenly stepped forward.
"Speak freely!" Ying Zheng's gaze fell on Han Fei.
Han Fei pondered for a moment and said, "Grand Commandant, this time you are marching out of Ye City. You will need to pass through either Zhao or Qi. Otherwise, how can you attack Yan?"
"The State of Zhao is now at odds with the State of Qin. Asking for passage is like a pipe dream, and we also need to guard against their ambush of the Grand Commandant. Therefore, we can only ask for passage through the State of Qi. So... Your Majesty should send an envoy to Qi!"
Of the seven states, if we were to say which state Qin had the best relationship with, it would be Qi, a state with whom it had no direct connection. The two states also had several marriage alliances, and given their distance from each other, Qin's attitude towards Qi was always one of goodwill.
Wei Wuji led a coalition of five states to attack Qin, but Qi was the only state that did not participate, which shows that the relationship between the two states was relatively peaceful.
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