Chapter 241: Commander Captured, Cooperation Reached...
Outside the city, yellow sand swirled, and the scorching sun baked the ground until it steamed with heat.
Cobalt Lotus squinted, pinching the sun in her hand. "Soon, it will be the turn of the alien king and his ministers." She turned around, behind her were endless camps, and the sound of clashing swords echoed incessantly.
"Prepare for the siege tomorrow." The women of Mo Nan were already eager to try and couldn't wait any longer.
We will slaughter them for three days and three nights, using the blood of the so-called 'noble race' to wash away the humiliation of the past few decades in the southern desert.
Late at night, Gu Lian sat cross-legged on the couch, closed her eyes to rest, and mumbled a string of scriptures.
In the southern desert region, religion has been the foundation of the state, and the rulers have been religious leaders for generations. For the crown prince, this is the very basis of his position.
Suddenly, from outside the tent, a voice cried out, "Report!"
Gu Lian suddenly opened her eyes, sharp as an eagle and ruthless as a wolf. She put a string of Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist, strode out with a broadsword, and asked, "What has disturbed you?"
The visitor placed one hand on his chest and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency. Two people from Dayong have arrived. One of them claims to be deeply enamored with our religion and wishes to offer you a gift."
Gu Lian frowned. Did the Great Yong Dynasty actually have descendants of a Buddhist kingdom?
"Announce."
Before long, several cultists wielding curved knives shoved the two men in. One was dressed in disheveled yet neat clothes, exuding the air of a refined scholar, while the other was bound hand and foot and carelessly thrown on the ground, his face obscured.
Gu Lian twirled her prayer beads, ignoring the ants on the ground, her attention focused on the Dayong scholar. "So you're the one who wants to offer a gift to the deity? Where is the gift? And why?"
She spoke in the Mandarin of Dayong, but the other party replied in the Mandarin of Mongolia, “The believer has long yearned for the Buddhist Kingdom. Hearing of Your Majesty’s presence, we have come to offer our gifts. We hope that you will accept the believer into the Buddhist capital.” She then pointed to the person on the ground, “This is the believer’s sincerity. We hope that her sinful blood will be used to appease the thousands of lives in the Buddhist Kingdom.”
The people on the ground remained motionless, as if they were dead.
A playful smile curved the corners of Cobalt Lotus's lips. "The Buddhist lineage is pure and unbroken, unbroken for eternity. How dare heretics and evildoers set foot in the Holy City?"
How dare a lowly, filthy slave try to pry her up?
The Buddhist kingdom bestows blessings upon all things, but not just any worthless things are worthy of its attention.
Unwilling to give up, the other party lifted the hair from the 'slave's' face. "This..." The 'slave' did not cooperate and turned her head away.
The other party was extremely impatient, roughly grabbed her cheeks, turned his head and continued, "This is General Zhang Ting, who was ordered to lead the expedition. Last time, she killed many Buddhist followers, and the believers felt deeply resentful and offered her to the Buddhist Kingdom!"
Cobalt Lotus, who was already yawning, perked up at the question, "Hmm? Who are you talking about?"
The believer, Ang Lee, repeated it again.
Cobalt Lotus's eyes turned dangerous, and the curved sword at her waist was drawn and pressed against Li An's neck. "Do you know the consequences of mocking me?"
Who would believe that a dignified army commander would be bound hand and foot and sent to the enemy camp?
Li An's face was deathly pale, but he stubbornly stepped forward, saying, "As a believer in the Buddhist kingdom, how can I speak such filth? If Your Excellency does not believe, I am willing to die to prove my innocence." The bloodstains spread out crimson, and the deeper they went, the more blood splattered.
Cobalt Lotus stared at her for a long time before sheathing her sword. "As expected of a believer from my Buddhist kingdom, you possess extraordinary courage!"
He used the hilt of his knife to lift Zhang Ting's chin. "As a commander, she was heavily guarded. How did you manage to capture her?"
Ang Lee placed one hand on his chest, recounting the hardships he had endured, including the eighty-one tribulations he had faced.
"Traitor, shameless!" Zhang Ting spat on the ground to express her disgust for the traitor, but she was more civilized and didn't spit it out.
However, Zhang Ting felt no embarrassment whatsoever. He turned to look at Gu Lian, his eyes blazing with fury, "You think you can conquer Dayong without me? Wrong! Utterly wrong! Even without Zhang Ting, Dayong will have countless other Li Tings, Liu Tings, and Wang Tings. This tiny little country can only wait to die!"
After making those harsh remarks, she stood there with her neck stiff, looking like she was about to be slaughtered.
Cobalt Lotus looked strange. The inside man had sent back a description of 'Zhang Ting', saying that she was a peerless genius and a rare sage, capable of bringing peace to the world with her pen and conquering the world on horseback. Why did the description seem to be inconsistent with the reality?
Cobalt Lotus circled Zhang Ting twice, seemingly undecided. She then ordered her followers to be taken down to wash themselves clean and secretly sent people to investigate the two of them.
Zhang Ting was locked in an iron cage. The enemy soldiers kept a close eye on her and even put her in two layers of iron cages. The iron bars surrounding the cages were as thick as an adult's wrist.
Zhang Ting hadn't intended to run away; she just huddled in a corner.
Before the battle even began, the enemy commander was captured by our side. The soldiers of Monan were very surprised and rushed to see the 'monkey'.
Did they really think she was a coward? Zhang Ting slapped the cage, "What are you looking at! You have no manners, get out of here!"
The soldiers from the southern desert were not afraid; instead, they laughed and joked.
Zhang Ting simply turned her head away, ignoring it. There's a great philosophy in the world: if you don't take it seriously, it's nothing.
Unlike the laughter outside the tent, the atmosphere inside was somber.
"The inside man says the commander has been lost in the city, and morale is in chaos?"
"Yes, Your Excellency. Furthermore, I once entered the city and saw Zhang Ting's true appearance; this person is exactly the same as her."
Cobalt Lotus turned her back, the prayer beads on her wrist jingling. "But I still find this matter suspicious." Capturing the enemy commander was far too easy.
There's an old saying in the Dayong Dynasty: "When things go wrong, there must be something fishy going on."
The waiter, however, saw nothing wrong with it, saying, “It is unavoidable that our religion’s glorious tradition attracts people from sinful nations to linger here.”
Cobalt Lotus: "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the Protestant. She's fluent in the language of the Southern Desert and has a sincere heart for Buddhism. It's just that Zhang Ting... doesn't seem quite right. I suspect she's a fake."
Zhang Ting's reputation is legendary. How could a great general, a man of great talent who serves the country and its people, have such an air about him? As for what kind of air he has, Gu Lian looked constipated and couldn't describe it.
The waiter hesitated: "Could there be someone in the world who looks exactly like her?"
After much deliberation, Gu Lian decided, "Let's hold back for now and see what Dayong does."
The great battle is tomorrow, and as the commander-in-chief of Dayong, he will be of great use to the southern desert. Zhang Ting had been waiting for the other side to drag her away, but she waited from late at night until dawn, and then from dawn until late at night again.
she:? ? ?
Sitting idly by and waiting for death was not her style. She slammed her hand on the cage and shouted, "Someone, call your commander here!"
Upon receiving the secret report from her inside accomplice and confirming Zhang Ting's identity, Gu Lian was overjoyed. Hearing the chattering outside, she ordered her to be carried in.
Then the iron cage was too heavy, and ten soldiers almost had their legs broken.
Cobalt Lotus had no choice but to condescend to come over in person, looking at Zhang Ting through two thick cages.
Zhang Ting slumped against the cage, feeling frustrated. "I don't have three heads and six arms, so why should I be so frightening to you?"
Cobalt Lotus also felt this way, but the message from the insider said that this person was cunning and scheming, and they had to be wary of him.
"Since you are a prisoner, you should stay put and beg for mercy. Perhaps I will spare your life out of the Buddha's compassion."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ting couldn't help but chuckle, a string of laughs escaping her lips.
Cobalt Lotus frowned: "What are you laughing at?"
Zhang Ting leaned casually against the cage, saying, "Because of worries in your heart, fear arises. Your constant wariness of me only proves that you fear me like a wolf or tiger. How laughable! You should be the one wagging your tail and begging for my mercy."
Cobalt Lotus's pupils narrowed, followed by an overwhelming rage. "Give this guy a good beating!" she shouted, meeting Zhang Ting's half-smiling eyes, which seemed to reflect her own angry expression.
A thought suddenly popped into my head: she was deliberately trying to provoke me.
Cobalt Lotus calmed down and immediately stopped them, "Unlock her and send her to the main body's tent."
She returned to her tent and said to the servant, "This woman is extremely skilled at manipulating people's hearts. I underestimated her a few days ago."
The waiter said, "I've spent a great deal of gold and silver, but I haven't been able to sow discord between her and the monarch or the people. This shows how deep her cunning and how adept she is at maneuvering."
Cobalt Lotus wholeheartedly agreed.
Soon, the soldiers escorted Zhang Ting into the tent.
She showed no awareness of being a prisoner, found a seat, and, in front of the enemy, picked up a bowl and began to drink.
Cobalt Lotus and the waiter were dumbfounded.
Even more unbelievable, she started ordering food, "I've heard that the beef and mutton from the southern desert are delicious, how about a grilled lamb chop?"
How could there be such shameless people in the world!
Cobalt Lotus slammed her fist on the table and stood up, drawing her curved sword and threatening viciously: "You are now a prisoner, an enemy of Mo Nan. Believe me, I can kill you at any time!"
The knife tip was pointed directly at Zhang Ting's nose. She glanced at it and casually brushed it away with her hand.
She smiled and said, "Who says we have to be enemies? We can be friends too."
"friend?"
"Would the Venerable One be willing to prepare wine and meat for a detailed discussion with Ting?"
"You!" Gu Lian glared angrily. In the Buddhist kingdom, people do not kill or eat living beings. This girl was deliberately provoking her again.
The waiter tugged at her clothes, and Gu Lian pursed her lips, then ordered someone to fetch wine and meat.
However, if Zhang Ting knew what she was thinking, she would definitely cry foul and complain that she hadn't eaten a single grain of rice in a day and a night, so she couldn't be allowed to be truly hungry?
The aroma of meat and wine wafted from inside the tent, making the worshippers' mouths water and almost causing them to lose their resolve.
The waiter licked his lips and silently recited scriptures in his mind.
Seeing her eating with great relish, Gu Lian swallowed hard, pinched herself hard, and snapped out of her daze, cursing this deeply sinful person.
"What do you mean by 'be friends'?"
Zhang Ting wiped her mouth elegantly and smiled mysteriously: "Naturally, it is what you, Your Excellency, think."
Gu Lian felt she had been tricked and drew her knife to approach, but just as she was about to reach her, she saw the other person raise his eyes, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
"Is there really an army of 500,000 in the southern desert?"
Cobalt Lotus paused, her eyes flashing with danger.
"It should be at most 300,000." She propped her face up with one hand, her clothes were tattered and she was covered in dirt, but her posture seemed to be above everyone else.
Zhang Ting said leisurely, "How much territory of Dayong can an army of 300,000 swallow? Three cities, four cities, or five cities?"
Neither Cobalt Lotus nor the waiter spoke; they looked at her as if she were a terrifying beast.
She suddenly laughed, "But friend, I can give you ten seats."
Cobalt Lotus and the waiter exchanged a glance, pondered for a long time, and then sat down again.
The disdain in her eyes had vanished; she sat upright with dignity, her attitude earnest: "Mo Nan will treat our friends well."
"Just friends, what do you want?"
Zhang Ting's smile deepened, her eyes conveying a profound meaning.
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