Xuanxia

Chapter 1014: Clipping Wings
"Next, we have to do two things."

In the courtyard, Master Baihe said solemnly: "First, we must deal with the Yuan and Lan families. Second, we must march into the Western Regions and work with the Northern Frontier Army to quell the rebellion of the Xishuo Army."

Fu Qingzhou coughed lightly: "I understand the truth, but..."

He turned his head helplessly and looked around: "Why do we have to hold a meeting in my house?!"

In the small courtyard of his house, a group of masters and strong men who were among the best in the world suddenly appeared!
Xuanmeng is represented by Zhenren Baihe and Zhenren Jingming. Qiluo Palace Master Changsun Jiansu is also temporarily with Xuanmeng and is here.

In Mingjian Pavilion, there is Li Jingzhe, and Dong Qianran, who is from the same lineage as him and comes from the Palm Sword Academy.

The royalist civil servants were naturally represented by Yue Heng.

The rebel army has no books but peace.

They were all sitting in a row at the table, staring at Fu Qingzhou.

Baihe Zhenren said calmly: "I came to find Wu Yan. I need to give him some tasks... but since you are all here, just settle the big task."

Wu Yan had no qualifications and no brains to participate in such decision-making. He just stood at the foot of the courtyard wall with his arms folded, watching from a distance.

"I came to see you." Master Jingming looked at Fu Qingzhou and smiled, "I wanted to talk to you about the True Immortal Palace, but given the current situation, we should focus on business first."

"Of course I have to come."

Ning Wushu blinked and smiled, "But we have to discuss this in private later."

Li Jingzhe said in a deep voice, "I got some information from the young people of the noble families and the guards you brought back... and that Chu Xianghong, she confessed a lot of things. In addition, Lan Xiyu also surrendered and sent a lot of information. Fu Qingzhou, now besides me, you are the head of Mingjian Pavilion, so of course you have to take responsibility. I came to discuss the information with you."

Dong Qianran covered her mouth and chuckled: "I'm fine, I just wanted to ask about your emperor's situation. After all, you are the one who saved him."

"It seems that I am the only one with the most free time..."

Chang Sun Jiansu smiled bitterly and said helplessly: "I have nothing to do, so I followed the leader of Baihe Alliance."

"I...I don't know."

Yue Heng spread his hands innocently: "I drank too much last night and slept here."

Fu Qingzhou covered his face.

"Forget it, now that I'm here..."

He was just about to speak when Tang Jiao came over steadily carrying a large tea tray, with a gentle smile on her face, and served tea to everyone.

"cough."

Fu Qingzhou continued: "Then let's talk business. Anyway, it seems that the people who can take charge are here?"

"That's about right." Master Baihe glanced at him and said indifferently, "I just said that we have two things to do, the aristocratic families and King Xishuo. What do you think?"

"Let's confirm the intelligence first."

Li Jingzhe said in a deep voice: "Let me summarize the information we have obtained from Mingjian Pavilion."

All the people that Fu Qingzhou had captured along the way had been sent to Hell. Li Jingzhe also interrogated them all night and gained a lot. After all, in this line of work, he was the undisputed expert interrogation master.

"First."

Li Jingzhe continued, "The Yuan family and the Lan family's living forces are not hidden in one place. The Yuan family has now all moved to Fuhe Province under the rule of Yuan Zizhen. There are still a large number of Xishuo troops there. I dare not say that it is impregnable, but it is easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"As for the Lan family, they have lived in Lanting Lake in Xishan for generations and are good at making machines. This time, their people also mainly fled to Lanting Lake. According to the information provided by Lan Xiyu, they have set up countless mechanisms around Lanting Cave in the past few years. It is not easy for ordinary masters to break in..."

Hearing this, Fu Qingzhou raised his hand and asked a question.

Li Jingzhe looked at him and said helplessly: "What's wrong?"

"Let's not talk about Lan Xiyu's surrender, although I think she has bad intentions..." Fu Qingzhou asked seriously, "Isn't there a Shenji Sect in our Xuanmeng? Is the Lan family's mechanical manufacturing technique better than theirs?"

"It's not the same thing."

Dong Qianran replied, "The mechanisms built by the Shen Ji Sect are mostly used to assist individual practitioners in attacking and defending, and are used in combat; and the Lan family... they have been in charge of the Ministry of Industry for many years, and their specialty has always been the construction of large-scale mechanisms, such as the elevators in the Ming Jian Pavilion and the isolation cells in the Nether Prison, which are all their work."

"That's right." Li Jingzhe also nodded and said, "Ling Jiao once brought back information about Qianfang Baixiao Tower. The building was actually built underwater, but it was able to isolate the water at the bottom of the lake. In addition to the power of the formation, the Lan family's mechanical skills naturally played a role."

Fu Qingzhou suddenly realized.

But at the same time, his expression darkened. In this case, in order to protect themselves, the mechanisms built by the Lan family around Lanting Lake would only be more powerful and more magical, and ordinary armies might not be able to conquer them.

"After that, we will test Lan Xiyu's attitude again. It would be best if she can lead the way."

At this time, Yue Heng spoke up: "But we must also be careful that she might interfere."

"Junior Sister Dong."

Li Jingzhe looked at Dong Qianran: "She is trying to persuade you to obey. You have to pay more attention to this matter."

Dong Qianran smiled and nodded: "Don't worry."

"It's hard to deal with the Lan family, so let's deal with the Yuan family first." Baihe Zhenren brought the topic back: "It's not realistic for us to attack the Western Regions all at once, but we may be able to take over Fuhe Province."

As she spoke, she looked at Ning Wushu.

Ning Wushu understood and said, "Brother Hong Zhihong is still in a stalemate with the Xishuo Army at the border of Fuhe Province. The Yuan family's people will have to pass through our rebel army's territory when they return to Fuhe Province. My opinion is that we should turn a blind eye and let them pass, and then find a way to insert some of our own people into their team."

"Heroes see the same thing."

Baihe Zhenren smiled slightly: "I came to find Wu Yan today to do this - he is very good at disguise and lurking. We can release some of the captured young people from the noble families and let them think that they were rescued by someone, so as to infiltrate the deep of Yuan family."

Fu Qingzhou raised his hand again to ask a question.

Shirakawa gave him a sidelong glance of disdain and said, "If you have to fart, just fart."

"Why are you so hostile to me..."

Fu Qingzhou muttered to himself and asked, "No matter how strong the Yuan family is, they are definitely no match for us. Now that our Xuanmeng and the righteous army are coming together, even if they have the Xuanxing master Ning Wuwang, it won't be of any use to them, right? Do we need to be so careful?"

"It's not that simple."

Ning Wushu shook his head and said, "The power of the aristocratic families does not lie in their military strength, but in their infiltration of all aspects of the entire Yan State. Now they have indeed withdrawn from the capital, but what about other places? Although the Xishuo Army currently only occupies Fuhe Province and Shu, in fact, the power of the aristocratic families is deeply rooted all over the country."

"If we just attack them, we can indeed kill Yuan Ye, Yuan Keng, and Yuan Zizhen... but so what? Their roots are still deeply buried under the soil, and they can find another old man to be the head of the family at any time. They may also affect the country's business houses, banks, carriages, grain transport, and rice..."

Fu Qingzhou broke out in a sweat after hearing this.

"Three years ago, the Xingyun Chamber of Commerce entered Beiyi and penetrated Beiyi, but it also gave up a lot of business in Yan State."

Li Jingzhe took over Ning Wushu's words and said, "In the past three years, the two great families, Yuan and Lan, have used their power in the civil service lineage to vigorously develop civilian commerce. Killing people is definitely not enough. We must also obtain their rosters, account books and a series of other things, and then instigate some important talents from within to join us. Only then can we hope to truly eradicate them and take over everything they have."

"I understand."

Fu Qingzhou said solemnly: "This matter is much more complicated than I thought... Is there anything here that I can help with?"

"Lurking is actually what you are good at." Ning Wushu smiled at him, "But you are too big a target now, and sending you to lurk is a bit of an overkill. My idea is that you might as well help your foster father fight more battles, which can also attract some of their attention."

"Go to the Northern Frontier Army and help fight..."

Fu Qingzhou stroked his chin: "It's not impossible..."

"Do not."

Baihe Zhenren interrupted and said, "I think you should go to the Yuan family."

"Oh?" Everyone turned their eyes to her.

Baihe Zhenren looked at Fu Qingzhou and said, "The noble families are the wings of King Xishuo. Before eliminating the Yuan and Lan families, I do not recommend launching a large-scale attack on King Xishuo. Although speed is of the essence in war, what we are doing now is related to our long-term foundation. We cannot ignore the beginning and end, and we must lay a solid foundation."

"It is enough to have Marshal Hong to contain the Western Region. Marshal Hong must also know the limits. He has communicated with me through letters. He knows very well that he is only responsible for containment. He also knows that it is not wise to rush into Xishuo now... In this case, we must take advantage of Marshal Hong to contain the main force of the Xishuo army and deal with the Yuan and Lan families."

"Fu Qingzhou is a big target, and Ning Wushuai's idea is also very good. He can use him to attract attention... Then my plan is very simple. The Yuan family is not our main battlefield, but if Fu Qingzhou goes there, the enemy will think that the Yuan family is our main target. In fact, we have to take this opportunity to get rid of the Lan family first."

She said in a deep voice: "When you sneak into the Yuan family, don't kill anyone, look for allies, and expose yourself appropriately. Just collect intelligence and don't do anything else. When we get rid of the Lan family, the people of the Yuan family will naturally panic and reveal their flaws. At that time, it will be our chance to maneuver and coordinate internal and external forces!"

(End of this chapter)