knife

Chapter 363 Betrayal
Sometimes courage comes from ignorance and folly.
Sometimes courage comes from pride and self-confidence.

Wu Zheng was no fool. When the Beiting Protectorate extended an invitation to him, he carefully assessed the balance of power between the two sides.

It was impossible for the Beiting Protectorate to mobilize all its forces to launch a full-scale attack against him.

Because Yancheng is located on the border between Qin and Yuan, a large-scale military mobilization would certainly provoke a strong reaction from the Yuan state.

Who knew you were planning to attack Yancheng and invade the Yuan Dynasty?
At present, the Beiting Protectorate clearly does not have the ability to swallow up Tongbei Yuan in one fell swoop.

Even though the Northern Yuan is now divided into three.

Therefore, the number of troops they can mobilize is limited.

They couldn't withstand the full force of the Beiting Protectorate's attack, but some of their troops were still unafraid.

Yancheng already had several thousand elite troops. After the Yan clan of Baoping Prefecture was destroyed, Yancheng began to expand its army and prepare for war. In the past few years, its military strength has doubled.

The Wu family is not short of money.

They were even richer than the Yan family.

Don't underestimate salt. Although each household doesn't consume much of it, you need to eat it every day, at every meal!
Salt was naturally available elsewhere outside the pass, and salt had been brought in from inside the pass in the past, but without exception, all of them were defeated by Wu and eventually surrendered.

Because the Wu family's salt was directly harvested from the salt lake, the cost was almost negligible.

The Yuan army stationed here was envious of the more than 10,000 well-equipped troops.

Now, Wu Zheng even gritted his teeth and equipped the Yuan army stationed here with brand-new gear.

Now it all seems worthwhile; the Northern Protectorate is indeed going to take action against me.

Win this battle, and then drag the conflict into a stalemate.

I don't care about myself, but the people under the jurisdiction of the Beiting Protectorate need to eat salt.

The moment they cut off the supply, the price of salt in their territory increased tenfold. What would it be like if they didn't have salt for six months or a year?

I know very well that the Beiting Protectorate does not stockpile large quantities of salt.

Are they taking advantage of the fact that I won't dare to resist them?

joke!

Of course, besides the comparison of military strength between the two sides, Wu Zheng himself was at the peak of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan. Over the years, he had also won over many martial arts masters with money. Whether it was soldier against soldier or general against general, he was not afraid of Xiao Changche.

So when Xiao Changche launched her usual attack in her usual style, Wu Zheng fearlessly charged forward, using himself as the spearhead to crash into Xiao Changche.

As the spears and swords clashed, their internal energy scattered and overflowed.

The guards who followed closely behind Wu Zheng were in for a terrible surprise.

Unlike innate masters who conceal their true energy when they attack, avoiding wasting it on irrelevant things, Xuan Yuan Ninth Rank masters do not have such ability. When two masters of similar cultivation clash, no one of weaker strength is allowed to exist within a radius of ten feet.

The little black horse was fast and got particularly excited in battle, so Xiao Changche left his men far behind. When the two collided, Wu Zheng's men were the ones who suffered. Four or five men were injured by the overflowing true energy and fell off their horses with screams. In an instant, they were trampled into mincemeat by the warhorse!

Wu Zheng, however, couldn't care less about any of that.

Xiao Changche was a ninth-rank Xuan Yuan, which he had known for a long time. He thought that Xiao Changche was young and that it was already a genius to reach the ninth rank at this age. But in terms of the strength of his true power, he was definitely not as good as him. However, after this fight, he found that the young opponent's true power was in no way inferior to his own.

More importantly, the killing aura of Fatian, which is unparalleled in the world, is like raindrops falling from the sky, extremely fine yet extremely sharp, surging in from all directions. As long as one of them touches the body, it will immediately rush along the meridians towards the heart, forcing one to be distracted to digest and fight it.

Wu Zheng finally understood why Fa Tian had such a great reputation in the past.

Those who were actually fighting against it had to devote a lot of energy to dealing with this extremely bizarre attack.

After several encounters, Wu Zheng was certain that if the fight dragged on, he would definitely lose.

He can only hope that his trump card will come in handy at a crucial moment.

They need to get moving.

In the midst of his busy schedule, he glanced at the battlefield. The two sides were already entangled, each holding their own territory. Xiao Changche's reserve troops were still several miles away from the battlefield, while his own trump card was right at hand.

It's time to make a move!
The Yuan army was led by the veteran general Wutu, who would surely have seen this rare opportunity.

The next moment, he heard the horrified screams of countless people in the distance.

He turned around, but it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, freezing him inside and out like a statue.

The Yuan cavalry force he had placed so much hope in did indeed move.

However, they were moving in the wrong direction.

Their banners were flying north. They did not join the battle; they distanced themselves from the battlefield.

On the flank positions previously occupied by the Yuan army, another cavalry force from the Beiting Protectorate had appeared, like an extremely sharp butcher's knife, stabbing fiercely in from the flank.

"No!" Wu Zheng cried out miserably.

The saying "a fox borrows the tiger's power" is based on the premise that the fox is threatening other small animals, which are far less powerful than the tiger. However, if the fox tries to use the power of one tiger to threaten another, then its fate is uncertain.

Because he is very likely to be betrayed by the powerful figure he considers his protector.

Because two tigers who are helpless against each other may, for some reason, be used as a trading partner and sold for a good price.

Yuan State has now sold Wu Zheng for a good price.

Wu Tu reined in his horse and looked back. On the battlefield, because of his departure, the Beiting Protectorate Army attacked from the flank. Caught off guard, the Wu clan's army was slaughtered in an instant, and their collapse was only a matter of time.

He sighed and shook his head.

In truth, Wu Zheng treated him very well, always granting his requests. The six months he spent stationed in Yancheng were the most comfortable days he had ever had. Wu Zheng's attentiveness and flattery also eased the faint resentment in his heart.

After Akdun ascended the throne, he distanced himself from Uthu.

With Renduozhong and Xifeng Keqin in place, Wutu was no longer as important as before.

In fact, Wutu's greatest role was to deliver a heavy blow to the Tiele when they were caught off guard.

They could have killed Tiele, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and Tiele escaped.

Even though Wutu, who had betrayed Akdun, eventually returned, he still left a thorn in Akdun's heart.

So Wutu was sent far away to a place like Yancheng, ostensibly to let him enjoy a life of luxury.

For someone like Wutu, what it means to be far from the center of power is crystal clear.

Leaving is easy, but going back is difficult.

After leaving Yancheng, I will be stationed in Bafang City. I have more than 10,000 soldiers and my combat strength is not bad. However, it is located in the border area with the Beiting Protectorate, in Yezhuling, where the Chang family is stationed.

The three thousand imperial guards under his command were less his elite troops and more a force to restrain him, as Ali Dun feared that he would sell out Bafang City again!

Wutu lowered his head, feeling utterly dejected.

The reason Akodun still allowed him to lead the army to be stationed at the front line was probably because he valued Akodun's martial arts cultivation of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan!

"General!" Several generals rode over, their faces showing some resentment.

"Everything for the Great Yuan!" Wu Tu forced a smile and said, "The Northern Protectorate has given us more benefits elsewhere. In exchange, we can only give them this place. Gentlemen, we are the ones sitting at the table, while those people are the delicacies on the table. Let's go to Bafang City. That is where we will compete with the Northern Protectorate."

On the shore of the salt lake, Xia Zhi angrily swung his sword down heavily. Before the sword even arrived, the energy from the sword had already caused the salt lake water to explode with a roar. When the sword fell, the lake water parted to both sides, revealing the snow-white lake bottom several feet below.

In the distance on the lake, dozens of small boats were rapidly moving away, while on the surface of the lake, countless people were desperately swimming towards the distance.

“No one would normally drown in the salt lake, since anyone could float in it. But in this weather, trying to swim in it would most likely result in freezing to death!” Gu Xiaoman walked to Xia Zhi’s side and said, “There’s nothing to be upset about. We won a great victory in this battle. We captured thousands of prisoners, and the entire Salt City is now ours. Salt City is a golden goose that lays golden eggs. The young master said that salt will be the anchor of our Beiting Protectorate’s economy in the future. Such a strategic resource must be in our hands!”

"Wu Zheng escaped!" Xia Zhi said angrily. "He was seriously injured, and I still couldn't catch him. Now she'll make fun of me when I get back!"

“Wu Zheng is at the peak of the ninth rank of the Profound Origin Realm!” Gu Xiaoman laughed. “Do you think Protector Xiao didn’t pay the price for seriously injuring him? Otherwise, given the Protector’s personality, wouldn’t he have personally led the pursuit and killing him?”

"Xiao Changche is also injured?" Xia Zhi's eyes widened.

"What is your name, Protector-General?" Gu Xiaoman curled her fingers.

Xia Zhi took a step back and covered her head with her hands: "I was wrong, it was Protector Xiao!"

Gu Xiaoman nodded.

"However, compared to Wu Zheng, the Protector-General's injury is minor! He'll be fine in two or three days."

"With Wu Zheng gone, Yancheng won't be peaceful for long. That guy is definitely going to cause trouble!"

"Don't worry, he can't escape!" Gu Xiaoman laughed. "He fled to Beiyuan. We'll send a letter, and Beiyuan will have to send us back the heads of this whole family. Since we've already betrayed them, we should betray them thoroughly. Akdun won't be unaware of this. How can we start something and then leave it at that?"

As the two were talking, a cavalryman galloped up and dismounted beside Gu Xiaoman and Xia Zhi. His face showed panic: "General Gu, General Xia, Deputy General Xiao wants you two to return to the central camp immediately!"

"What happened?"

The messenger stepped forward and whispered, "The Protector-General has suddenly fainted!"

Gu Xiaoman and Xia Zhi exchanged a glance, mounted their horses, and galloped back.

(End of this chapter)