knife

Chapter 771 Betrayal
Judging from his build, Yan Yi definitely doesn't look like a naval commander. His nine-foot height is extremely rare among southerners. With his physique, he would be more than qualified to be a heavy infantry commander.

Seeing that he didn't jump from the gangplank but instead jumped directly from another ship onto this ship, Zhong Mian subconsciously grabbed the rope beside him. With a loud crash, even the three-story ship swayed slightly.

This guy definitely did it on purpose.

Zhong Mian thought to himself.

"With a major battle imminent, your uncle actually invited us over for drinks. Aren't you afraid that old bastard Chen Yan will cause trouble?" Yan Yi slapped Zhong Mian's shoulder hard, the force of which kept Zhong Mian from tilting his body.

This guy loves to act tough, but he's actually more shrewd than anyone else.

We're all from the same village, everyone knows each other's background, so what's the point of pretending?

Before Zhong Mian could answer, a lean old man following Yan Yi snorted, "Who cares about that guy? If it weren't for the sake of the bigger picture, I wouldn't even glance at him. He wants to tell me what to do about drinking? I'll drink when I want to. We're all in this together, who can live without alcohol!"

Zhong Mian chuckled: "Uncle Zhang is right. Please come in, uncles. Your uncles are waiting!"

"Old Zhong is getting more and more arrogant these days!" Yan Yi sneered. "He wouldn't even bother to show his face when we came here!"

“Uncle is warming wine in the cabin!” Zhong Mian pointed to the sky: “I originally wanted to drink while enjoying the sunset, but now I can’t, it’s about to rain, so I can only drink through the window and listen to the rain!”

Yan Yi glared at Zhong Mian and shook his head, saying, "You're not to my taste. If you're going to drink, then drink. But what's with all this talk about drinking under the setting sun and listening to the rain? It's so cheesy!"

Zhang Shun laughed heartily: "Old Yan, we're all seafarers, but the Zhong family is a genuine scholarly family, a century-old clan, it's completely different."

“What’s the difference? I think Old Zhong is no different from us after he went out to sea! But as soon as he came ashore, he turned into that refined scholar. If you ask me, he’s a hypocrite, a two-faced person!”

Zhong Mian's expression changed drastically. Zhang Shun kicked Yan Yi in the butt: "You can say whatever you want in front of Lao Zhong, but be more considerate in front of Xiao Zhong. You are the elder!"

Zhong Mian could only smile awkwardly. The families were very close, and these people were so disrespectful to him that he could only swallow his anger and not retaliate.

"Please!" he said, bowing slightly.

"The lower deck?" After taking a few steps, Zhang Shun looked at Zhong Mian in surprise.

Zhong Mian nodded.

The expressions on everyone's faces immediately turned serious. "What happened?" Zhang Shun asked in a low voice.

Zhong Mian took a breath and said, "Uncles and elders, you'll find out when you go down!"

Yan Yi, Zhang Shun, and the others fell silent and went straight down the stairs to the lower cabin. Yan Yi, who was leading the way, bent down and lifted the cabin curtain. He had just stepped in with one foot when he froze. Zhang Shun, who was following closely behind, had his view blocked and almost bumped into Yan Yi's back.

"Mr. Xu, what brings you here?" It took Yan Yi a while to come to his senses and walk into the cabin. Zhang Shun and the others behind him also saw the white-bearded old man sitting opposite Zhong Mian. Like Yan Yi, they were quite surprised.

Xu Bo was no ordinary person; he was the closest confidant of the former regent Xiong Yi, serving as both strategist and bodyguard, as well as Xiong Yi's friend. Xiong Yi might not speak certain things to his son, but he would certainly confide in Xu Bo.

Xiang Zhuang raised an army in Yuezhou and other places to rebel. Five families formed a navy to support Xiang Zhuang. Xiang Zhuang thought it was to save face for the Xiang family, but in reality it was Xiong Yi's instruction. The one who secretly facilitated this was Xu Bo.

"Please sit down!" Xu Bo pointed to the area around the small table and said, "Something big has happened in Danyang!" Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they quickly walked over and sat down cross-legged.

"What could possibly happen to Danyang now? Surely the shaman hasn't kicked the bucket?" Yan Yi asked, his eyes wide.

Xu Bo remained silent.

Everyone's faces lit up with excitement, and Yan Yi, looking constipated, stammered, "Could it really be that the sorcerer is dead?"

"It's not just the sorcerer?" Xu Bo shook his head and said, "The sorcerer, Gan Ba, and the five thousand Southwest Wolf Soldiers who stayed behind in Danyang County, as well as those who supported Na Wei, have all gone to report to the King of Hell!"

Even though everyone in the cabin was a seasoned veteran, they were all astonished by Xu Bo's words. Yan Yi even stood up abruptly, but forgot that they were in the lower deck. With a thud, his head hit the deckboard, and he immediately shrank even further.

"Who did it?" they asked in unison.

“Jiang Chong’s private army, all the disciples of the Five Gates Broken Blade in Danyang, Zhou Zheng’s personal guards, and some of the Tianluo’s operatives, plus another two thousand people from the Beiting Protectorate!” Xu Bo said slowly.

The crowd was already somewhat numb. Upon hearing that the Northern Protectorate had actually sent two thousand people to participate, they could only swallow hard in unison.

Xu Bo's gaze swept across the faces of the group, finally settling on Yan Yi's face. He said softly, "Yan Yi, they told the Regent that you had already been in contact with the Zhi Qiu Yuan of the Beiting Protectorate!"

The group all turned to look at Yan Yi. Yan Yi's expression changed several times, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly. Suddenly, he laughed and turned to Zhang Shun, saying, "Old Zhang, don't tell me you haven't had any contact with them?"

Zhang Shun lowered his head and remained silent.

"Mr. Xu, just say it straight. What does 'Assistant Minister' mean?" Yan Yi exhaled a breath of turbid air: "If the Assistant Minister is here to settle scores with me, then I am no match for you here. I admit defeat."

Xu Bo shook his head: "The regent has decided to cooperate with the Northern Protectorate in exchange for Li Dachui's promise not to hold the Great Chu royal family accountable after he unifies the world!"

"Really?" Yan Yi's face immediately lit up with joy. "How did the Regent suddenly come to his senses?"

"There's nothing we can do even if we don't understand!" Xu Bo sighed. "The situation is beyond our control. Danyang is already in their hands. Na Wei's collapse is imminent. Once Na Wei is defeated, Jiang Qian will surely take over Chu with unstoppable momentum. Without Li Dachui's protection, if Jiang Qian returns to Danyang, will the Xiong family still have a foothold?"

"What about Xiangzhuang?" Zhang Shun asked.

"Xiang Zhuang will soon lead his troops to Danyang to prepare to retake control of the city!"

Everyone looked at Xu Bo with confusion.

“Danyang County changed overnight, and then all news was tightly blocked. Even Xiang Zhuang only knew that the whole thing was orchestrated by the regent, with the aim of overthrowing Na Wei,” Xu Bo explained.

The people in the room immediately realized that the old regent had betrayed Xiang Zhuang, and the day Xiang Zhuang entered Danyang City would be the day he met his end.

"Mr. Xu came to see us to deal with Chen Yan?" Yan Yi asked.

“Exactly!” Xu Bo nodded. “Now that we’ve decided to cooperate with Li Dachui and Jiang Qian, we naturally hope to have more leverage and credit!”

(End of this chapter)