knife

Chapter 540 Exposed
After the warship rounded a near-right-angle bend, the view suddenly opened up before them.

After the bend in the river, the towering mountains on both sides open outward in a V-shape. The further you go, the wider the river becomes, and the originally turbulent water becomes calm in this area.

The warships were moving faster and faster.

Finally, Cloud Mist Mountain came into Li Dachui's view.

Surrounded by water, a single peak stands alone.

Li Dachui originally thought that even if there were still disciples of the Demonic Sect stationed in Yunwu Mountain, it should be a rather desolate place, but the actual situation that came into view surprised him.

There was a port and a water fortress built at the foot of the mountain, and the densely packed warships moored in the water fortress made Li Dachui frown.

"This is the headquarters of the Demonic Sect, Cloud Mist Mountain!" Jiang Qian turned to look at Li Dachui, a half-smile on her face. "And now, it has a new function: the Second Naval Base of the Great Chu. A large number of naval officers and soldiers undergo rigorous training here before being assigned to various units."

Looking at the numerous camps in the distance and the fully armed soldiers walking back and forth on the shore, Li Dachui had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

"The Flood Banner and the Giant Tree Banner have always been the main force guarding the headquarters of the Demonic Cult. Now that they have submitted to the Chu Kingdom's court, it is only natural that they would make use of this place. However, this is probably a secret, right? I estimate that not many people in Chu Kingdom know about it. Moreover, this naval force in front of us should not have appeared in everyone's sight yet!"

“You always get right to the point!” Jiang Qian said, “That’s right. After all, they have only been under the control of the court for five years, and it took two years to expand the Yunwu Mountain Water Village and build the barracks. Training a qualified navy is also very time-consuming. So, this batch of troops has not yet had the opportunity to show their skills.”

"Perhaps it's to give the world a surprise!"

Jiang Qian laughed.

Do you know how many soldiers are here in total?

Li Dachui shook his head.

Jiang Qian held up one finger: "Five thousand! There are five thousand elite soldiers here who have been training for two whole years."

Taking a deep breath, Li Dachui suppressed his shock and said, "This is truly a pleasant surprise."

"Wasn't it a fright?"

"That's not necessarily true!"

A melodious horn sounded from the warship. Li Dachui glanced back at the top deck of the warship, where, in addition to the soldier blowing the horn, there was another soldier holding a two-colored flag in both hands, waving it rhythmically.

The ship stopped at that moment, as if waiting for something.

Then, a response came from the distant water fortress. Drums and horns sounded, and the warships in the fortress began to move amidst fluttering banners.

At least thirty three-story warships sailed out of the water fortress in succession. The warships did not raise their sails, but they were all covered with colorful flags. It looked as if they were welcoming the warship that was about to arrive at the port with a grand ceremony.

"You spoiled and willful princess, does the Little Tyrant of Danyang actually have such a presence?" Li Dachui laughed. "You're not going to tell me this is all because of your cousin's influence, are you?"

Jiang Qian smiled without saying a word.

A warship emerged from the crowd, and amidst the splashing waves, it quickly approached the ship the two were traveling on. A general, fully armed, stood prominently at the bow.

Both ships displayed exceptional skill in navigation. As they drew near, all seventy oars of the warship from the water fortress turned back simultaneously, causing the high-speed vessel to rapidly slow down and come to a near stop by the time the two ships made contact. Seeing the white-bearded, white-haired old general stride across the gunwale and onto this ship with a beaming smile, the forced smile on Li Dachui's face finally vanished completely.

He knew this veteran.

Wang Pu, commander of the Chu navy.

A man who should have already gone to Jinghu, where he was directing the main force of the Chu navy to fight against the Shu navy, and at the same time doing his best to support Yong'an County, appeared in front of Li Dachui.

"Governor Li, I've heard so much about you!" Wang Pu chuckled and clasped his hands in greeting to Li Dachui. "I was overjoyed to hear that our old friend still has descendants! Back in Yunwu Mountain, He Qingqiu was only in his early twenties, while I was in my early thirties. To be honest, back then, your mother was the object of affection for us hot-blooded young men. Alas, hearing the tragic news of your mother's passing was truly heartbreaking. No one could have imagined that someone with your mother's martial arts skills would meet with such an accident."

Li Dachui's expression only stiffened slightly before returning to normal. He clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Li Dachui greets Senior!"

Wang Pu laughed heartily, turned to Jiang Qian, and bowed deeply to the ground: "Wang Pu greets the Empress Dowager!"

"No need for formalities!" Jiang Qian waved her hand, then turned to look at Li Dachui with her head tilted to the side: "Were you scared?"

"It's a bit startling!" Li Dachui laughed. "The spoiled little princess has suddenly transformed into a majestic empress dowager, which is really hard to process."

"You're really slippery, you never tell the truth!" Jiang Qian laughed. "Tell me the truth, when did you find out that I was Jiang Qian?"

Li Dachui exhaled a breath of turbid air, thought seriously for a moment, and said, "To be honest, it was when you and Han Zheng were being chased and I met you again that I began to doubt your identity. I only became sure that you were Empress Dowager Jiang Qian of the Great Chu in Yongxing County! When I was in Luoyang, I really thought you were that Jiang Ping."

"Sure enough, I guessed it was there too, but I was a bit slow to realize it!" Jiang Qian sighed. "It wasn't until we got to Danyang that I finally confirmed your identity. In your eyes, am I a little stupid?"

"If the Empress Dowager is stupid, then there are no smart people in the world!"

“If I had been able to ascertain your identity earlier, I wouldn’t have been so angry in Yongxing County, nor would I have handled Lin Hong’s matter so rashly. As a result, Fancheng would not have been lost, which led to the current situation where Feng Kuan’s troops are advancing into Yong’an County!” Jiang Qian shook her head and said, “Your planning is indeed meticulous, with each step linked to the next. You never do anything meaningless.”

"Your Majesty is too kind," Li Dachui said. "But now it seems that everything I did was within Your Majesty's expectations. I was so smug before, thinking that everything was under my control! Since Your Majesty knew what I was planning all along, why didn't you expose me sooner, instead of waiting until now?"

"Trying to trap a master of innate realm is no easy task!" Jiang Qian laughed. "If I exposed you earlier, you could just run away, and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. But here, you can't escape!"

“Indeed, with a master like the Empress Dowager here, and with the navy led by General Wang to help, plus this vast expanse of water, I truly have nowhere to go!” Li Dachui nodded. “The Empress Dowager is indeed meticulous in her actions.”

"So now we should be able to talk things out calmly, right?"

“The Empress Dowager’s territory is naturally under her control!” Li Dachui said.

Why are you so calm?

"Panicing won't help, so I might as well try to remain calm and make a good impression on the Empress Dowager!"

"Even at this point, you're still being glib and haven't changed your ways!"

"It's been like this since I was little!"

(End of this chapter)