The Golden Horde was a nomadic state to the north of the Great Zhou Dynasty and a formidable enemy of the Great Zhou. It had been an enemy of the Great Zhou since its founding and had always won more often than it lost.
At first, the Great Zhou Dynasty was able to fight against the Golden Horde, but later it was almost entirely on the defensive and was even losing the most important northern barrier, the Nine Provinces.
If it weren't for the fact that the Golden Horde was mostly composed of cavalry and not skilled in siege warfare, and had been suffering setbacks at the strongholds of the Great Zhou for over a century, the Great Zhou might have already perished.
Yang Cheng's main mission was to infiltrate the Golden Horde and destroy its Buddhist kingdom on land in order to complete the mission.
Unfortunately, he still doesn't know what this fallen Buddhist kingdom on the ground is.
All he knew was that the "Second Temple" in the "One Temple and Two Temples" list on the martial arts world's popularity chart referred to the Vajra Bright Wheel Temple, the state religion of the Golden Horde.
But he had never heard of the term "Buddha Kingdom on Earth" before.
"You know quite a bit about the Golden Horde?"
Yang Cheng turned to Jiang Xuerou and asked.
Jiang Xuerou nodded and said, "There are quite a few. Lord Zhang always says that the Golden Horde is a major threat to our Great Zhou."
If the Golden Horde is not eliminated and the nine provinces of the north are not recovered, our Great Zhou will never have peace.
Moreover, more than ten years ago, a foreign monk from the Golden Horde came to the Central Plains to challenge the masters of various sects. He won more than ten consecutive matches, causing the martial arts world of the Central Plains to lose face.
In the end, it was only through the combined efforts of the former abbot of Shaolin Temple, Master Xuanbei, that he was defeated. However, Master Xuanbei also succumbed to his injuries a month later.
Yang Cheng squinted and said, "They're very arrogant. Of course, it's also because the Great Zhou Kingdom is weak, and even the martial arts world in the Central Plains lacks confidence."
"By the way, did your Heavenly Sword Sect make a move back then? Did you also lose to that Tibetan monk?"
"Arriving in the capital half a month in advance to celebrate His Majesty's birthday would have been sufficient, but the Golden Horde arrived more than two months ahead of schedule. It's clear they have ill intentions. I need to inform Lord Zhang first."
Jiang Xuerou did not answer Yang Cheng. It was unclear whether she was truly anxious or simply did not want to answer. In any case, she leaped off the city wall and disappeared within a few steps.
Yang Cheng also jumped down from the city wall, where Ye Meiniang was waiting for him below.
"Boss, Eunuch Han has urgently summoned all the captains and chief clerks back for a meeting."
After saying that, Ye Meiniang glanced in the direction Jiang Xuerou had left and pouted, saying, "Boss, that girl is from the Heavenly Sword Sect, she's not one of us."
Furthermore, you severely injured her senior brother and her uncle. She's always getting close to you; she definitely doesn't have good intentions!
Yang Cheng suddenly laughed and said, "Then do you think that my approach to her might also be due to ulterior motives?"
Ye Meiniang was taken aback.
Could it be that the boss has actually developed feelings for that girl?
Yang Cheng waved his hand and said, "Just kidding."
However, Jiang Xuerou comes from the Heavenly Sword Sect and has Zhang Xiren's trust, so this identity is still very useful.
I have no ulterior motives towards her; I'm just taking a precaution, in case it comes in handy later.
Ye Meiniang was still slightly puzzled.
Later? When is that?
Upon returning to the Imperial Guard Division, within half an hour all the major captains and chief officers of the division had gathered in the main hall.
Eunuch Han said in a shrill voice, "The delegation from the Golden Horde has arrived in the capital and will be paying homage to His Majesty tomorrow."
The barbarians of the Golden Horde have always harbored wolves' ambitions. In order to prevent them from causing any trouble tomorrow, my Guard Division will enter the Imperial City starting today and participate in the defense of the Imperial City together with the Imperial Guard.
Many of you are former members of the Imperial Guard and are already very familiar with this system, so I don't need to give you any further instructions.
Those who are not from the Imperial Guard should not give orders. Hand over your men for now and follow me into the main hall to protect His Majesty!
"Yes, sir!"
Yang Cheng stood up and bowed to the crowd in response, while a thought suddenly occurred to him.
He wasn't a captain from the Imperial Guard, so he would accompany Eunuch Han to the main hall to protect the emperor.
This also means that he will finally be able to see the Emperor of the Great Zhou in person.
Although seeing someone doesn't mean you can actually talk to them, it's at least a step forward, and you don't have to worry about failing the mission for no reason.
The Imperial Guard Captains responsible for protecting the Imperial City entered the city at night and began to deploy defense positions.
Yang Cheng and the others only entered the main hall of the palace with Eunuch Han the next morning, and dispersed around the hall to carefully guard the center.
Yang Cheng's position was quite good; he stood diagonally behind the center of the main hall, with Eunuch Han not far beside him, allowing him to see most of the scene inside the hall at a glance.
An hour later, Emperor Zhou Heng of the Great Zhou Dynasty and his many ministers finally entered the main hall.
This was the first time Yang Cheng had seen this target who was so closely related to his mission and whom he needed to protect from dying.
Zhou Heng looks older than his actual age. He should only be close to forty, but he actually looks like he is in his forties.
He was fair-skinned and beardless, with a handsome appearance, but his body was somewhat frail and thin, showing signs of kidney deficiency.
Even though he was wearing a dragon robe, he didn't actually exude much of the aura of a human emperor. Instead, he yawned from time to time, looking somewhat tired and overworked.
Having been here for so long, Yang Cheng had learned what kind of person Zhou Heng was from what others had heard and from the information he had gathered himself.
yawenku.
Despite the current state of the Great Zhou Dynasty, beset by war, internal and external troubles, and constant natural and man-made disasters, in reality, very few of these problems are Zhou Heng's fault.
These things already existed in his grandfather's and father's generation, but they gradually worsened in his generation.
Zhou Henglun could by no means be considered a foolish ruler.
There was no large-scale construction or extravagant lifestyle, and he treated his ministers with leniency, even to the point of being somewhat weak.
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