I really became a king.

Chapter 398 The troops are approaching the city
Just as the two brothers of the Ye family in Bailing and others gathered together to discuss tomorrow's ceremony of enthroning the sect and the army's entry into the pass, more than a hundred kilometers away at the West Demon Realm Pass, there was a panic.

Tomorrow is the day of the Prairie Horse Ranching Conference, and the venue is the Western Xinjiang Corridor below.

At this time, the entire Demon Realm Pass was already crowded with troops. Millions of troops from the two great dynasties of Xifan and Baiyue had already left Heishui Pass and Niangzi Pass and gathered at the Western Demon Realm Pass.

Swords of war were everywhere, and war horses were neighing. At a glance, the entire Demon Realm Pass was filled with an endless army. It was no exaggeration to say that the enemy was at the gates of the city.

Of the eight Western Frontier tribes under Prince Yi's Mansion, except for the two tribes stationed at the East Demon Realm Pass, the remaining six tribes have all gathered at the West Demon Realm Pass.

The six chiefs and hundreds of generals all gathered on the West Gate Tower, silently gazing in the direction outside the pass, their faces extremely solemn.

The news that the enemy outside the pass was at the gates of the city had already spread throughout the entire Demon Realm Pass, making everyone inside the pass extremely nervous. The sight of nearly two million troops gathered from both sides reminded them of the fierce offensive and defensive battles in the past.

Many people are worried that tomorrow's horse herding meeting might turn into a siege, and there is a lot of discussion about this everywhere.

"Oh, I hope everything will be safe." An old man said with a worried look on his face.

"It's just a horse herding meeting. They shouldn't attack the city, right?" a young man said.

"Who knows? The situation in the Nine Borders is changing rapidly. We may be drinking and chatting happily today, but we may be fighting tomorrow. In short, the Nine Borders are really a place of right and wrong..." the old man sighed.

"Prince Yi now has hundreds of thousands of troops at his command and has natural defenses at his disposal. I think he can hold on, right?" someone said.

“Theoretically, there should be no problem… but…” The old man stopped talking halfway and just looked in the direction of the East Demon Realm Pass.

The meaning is self-evident, because they know that the Ye family of Bailing, who came with 300,000 troops, also has ulterior motives and is probably planning to compete for the position of the lord of Western Xinjiang.

There cannot be two tigers in one mountain, and when two tigers fight, it will often allow powerful foreign enemies to take advantage of the situation and sneak in.

"Oh, why can't we work together?" someone murmured.

"Haha, this is the temptation of power. No one can resist it. Now our Western Xinjiang has become a big piece of fat meat. I don't know how many people will swallow it in one bite..." someone else said, with a rather sarcastic tone.

"I don't know what the Dali Imperial Capital is thinking. They actually issued a restriction order on our Western Border, not allowing the total permanent population to exceed three million. Otherwise, why would we be afraid of the foreigners outside the Great Wall?" The young man in the lead said indignantly.

"This is just the surface. I heard that the capital of Dali has also issued a 'troop limit order' to Prince Yi's Palace. The number of troops in the entire Demon Realm Pass is not allowed to exceed 400,000..."

"Where did you get this information? That's impossible." one person questioned.

"That's right. With the more than 300,000 troops outside the East Demon Realm Pass, the number of troops in our Demon Realm Pass has long exceeded this number."

"Hehe, you don't know this, right? The 300,000 troops at the Eastern Demon Territory were sent by the Dali Imperial Capital, so they naturally don't count... Now there are only 300,000, but who knows, in a while, there may be 500,000, or even a million..."

Many people who didn't pay much attention to current affairs couldn't help but take a deep breath. They all understood what it would mean when that day really came, but the topic was too sensitive and no one took the initiative to say it out loud.

The topic temporarily stopped here, and everyone fell silent. After a long time, someone whispered: "Now the Western Demon Realm is under siege, and the Eastern Demon Realm is also under siege. Isn't Prince Yi's mansion in danger?"

Everyone looked at this person as if he was a fool. This was already a well-known fact, and the person who said this was really slow to realize it.

"Alas, I don't know what Prince Yi is doing now. He doesn't seem to be in a hurry at all." The old man sighed again.

Now both the East and West Demon Realm passes are under siege, and the situation can change at any time. It may turn into a fierce battle, but Prince Yi is staying on Kongtong Mountain as steady as a rock.

It was already common knowledge that Jiang Yi was in Kongtong Mountain, because his personal army camp had been stationed at the foot of Kongtong Mountain and had not moved.

"Perhaps, the prince has already had an idea..."

After a long while, someone finally spoke, but the tone was full of uncertainty, as if he was comforting himself.

Many people present sighed inwardly. They, the military households and border residents, had a deep-seated affection for the new lord of Western Xinjiang, Prince Yi, who was in charge of the Dali King's flag, because it was Prince Yi who changed Western Xinjiang into a land of water and grass suitable for living.

This also provides them and their descendants with the guarantee of survival, so that they will no longer have to live without enough food and dignity like their ancestors.

"hateful!"

Suddenly, a sturdy man who had been silent all the time stood up suddenly, with an indignant look on his face, "If it weren't for this damn military restriction order, I would have joined the army long ago!"

Everyone was dejected. According to the ancestral teachings of the Dali Dynasty, these military-registered border residents were not allowed to join the army, do business, or even set foot outside the Western Border. Joining the army was their only way out and their only value.

He had been the one his ancestors had been looking forward to for generations for countless years, and now he finally saw a glimmer of hope and could join the army to regain his glory, but a military restriction order came.

Ever since the Western Frontier became a land of abundant grass and water, countless soldiers and border residents who had been wandering around the Dali Dynasty packed up their bags and tried to return to their homeland, but they were basically intercepted halfway.

This is because some people in the imperial capital of Dali do not allow too many people to gather in the Western Frontier, fearing that one day it will become too powerful to be eliminated.

But they simply did not understand that even at the beginning of the dynasty when the military was at its strongest, no matter how loud the gunfire from the Western Frontier troops were, they were always aimed at the prairie outside the Great Wall.

The most outstanding masters of the Dali King's flag never set their sights on the east of the Demon Realm Pass, but instead directed their military forces towards the prairie outside the pass.

Unfortunately, those high and mighty people in the imperial capital of Dali will never understand that conquering the prairie in the far west is the highest honor for them, the military households and border residents.

As for the sturdy man, after shouting angrily, he looked at the towering Kongtong Mountain in the distance, and walked towards the direction of the West Demon Pass with a determined look on his face.

After he left, several figures stood up and walked silently in the same direction.

Compared with the native military households and border residents, those who came to the Western Frontier for business, entertainment, or for some other purpose were all paying close attention to the changes in the situation with extreme nervousness.

Especially those rich and powerful young men, they have already packed their backpacks and are ready to escape at any time.

In a grand restaurant, many business owners who planned to make a fortune in tomorrow's horse herding conference gathered here. Although they were nervous, they could not hide the excitement and anticipation on their faces.

For them, the Horse Herding Conference was no less than a commercial feast, but of course there were many risks involved. Once war broke out, these merchants would most likely die in the chaos. However, wealth and honor are sought in danger, and the fact that they traveled thousands of miles to the Western Frontier itself showed that they pursued wealth more than their own lives.

"Where are they going?"

Sitting by the window on the second floor of the restaurant, the mustache-wearing shopkeeper Ding said in surprise.

It had only been a short time since he entered the teahouse and sat down, but he had seen hundreds of people heading west together.

He didn't pay attention at first, but when he found that these figures were all young and middle-aged men, he finally realized that something was wrong.

You have to know that the restaurant they were staying in was just a small street in the Demon Realm. Hundreds of people passed through such a small street in the time it takes to stick of incense.

What about the entire Demon Realm Pass? How many young and middle-aged men are heading west?

Sure enough, a shopkeeper who had just climbed up to the second floor said, "They are following the teachings of their ancestors..."

"What last words?" Shopkeeper Liu, who was also confused, couldn't help but ask.

The shopkeeper found a table and sat down, sighing, "These military border residents have an ancestral precept that when the foreign army from the border approaches the city of Xiguan, all young and strong men must enlist in the army to resist the foreign aggression!"

"That's impossible. There have been many fierce battles in Western Xinjiang over the years, but this kind of scene has never happened. I have also never heard of such an ancestral precept among the military border residents." A shopkeeper frowned.

The shopkeeper smiled and said disdainfully: "Do you think that any random person can be tamed by the military border residents? This ancestral precept also has prerequisites. Even if the wolves like the Chi family who rule the vassal states can intimidate these military border residents on the surface, it is impossible to make them submit from the bottom of their hearts..."

"That ancestral precept will naturally not take effect."

"What are the prerequisites?" someone else asked, and immediately everyone on the second floor of the teahouse pricked up their ears. In their previous understanding, this Western Frontier area was not only synonymous with "bitter cold", but also full of mystery.

The shopkeeper stood up, looked towards the Kongtong Mountain in the distance, and murmured, "The prerequisite is that the Dali King's flag will regain control of the Western Frontier!"

The teahouse suddenly fell into silence. If this was the case, everything made sense.

Now that the flag of the King of Dali has appeared again in the western border, it also means that the royal family of Dali has begun to practice the oath of "the royal family guarding the national border" again. These military border residents who have suffered humiliation for countless years have a backbone again.

In the final analysis, neither the recent Chi clan nor the former separatist vassal states in the western border will gain the recognition of the military border residents, because they will only submit to the Dali King's flag.

Therefore, after the Dali King's flag reappeared in the Western Frontier, the Chi family era collapsed so quickly, because in front of the Dali King's flag, the Chi family's separatist vassal states were just monkeys in disguise.

"Hey... haven't you seen that now there are more than 100,000 young and middle-aged men gathered at the foot of Kongtong Mountain? My goodness, it's a sea of ​​black at a glance..." At this time, another shop owner came up the stairs and said in amazement.

"And there are still a steady stream of people gathering there, even quite a few women..."

Someone asked in confusion: "Why are they gathering at the foot of Kongtong Mountain?"

"Because their ancestral teachings told them that when the war comes, the owner of the Dali King's flag will open the arsenal that has been buried for many years and will arm them into a real army." The shopkeeper who just came up explained.

Hearing this, a chuckle sounded on the second floor. It was a rich and powerful young man who came here for a visit. He said in a disdainful tone:
"Let's not talk about whether this so-called arsenal is real or fake. Even if it is real, what does it matter if they are fully armed? Facing the frontier foreign army, who are all martial artists, they are simply powerless."

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately attracted a lot of contemptuous looks.

An old man next to the powerful Zhiku reached out and tugged at his master, signaling him to stop talking, because what he had just said was really ridiculous.

"What? What I said was wrong?" Ming Zhiku said dissatisfiedly.

"Haha, it seems this young man has never paid attention to the Western Xinjiang before, and he doesn't understand these military households and border residents." A shopkeeper laughed.

Then, without waiting for the officer to refute, he continued, "Before, this Western Frontier was a truly bitter and cold place, but there were still many merchants traveling thousands of miles on this trade route, and I was one of them...

Sir, do you know that among these businessmen, there is an unspoken rule that they always abide by?"

"What unspoken rules?" the young master asked puzzledly.

"No matter which caravan it is, as long as they set foot in the Western Frontier, they will choose to hire these military border residents as escorts. This is an unspoken rule that all merchants must follow, or even an iron law. And you still say that these military border residents are powerless?"

Then, without waiting for the noble young man to speak, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "If I am not mistaken, you are from the Li family of Dongya Prefecture, right?"

"You can ask the old man next to you. Back then, a master of the Li family was almost wiped out by the soldiers and border people who were powerless in your eyes..."

The young master didn't believe it at all, but then he remembered an old story his father had mentioned, and his face changed.

That was when he was not yet born. A branch of the Li family was slaughtered overnight, and the murderer is still missing to this day. This has become a taboo topic for the entire Li family.

He was about to ask the old servant beside him for details, but the old servant gently pulled his clothes and whispered, "Master, let's talk about this later. Don't say too much. These military households and border people are not as weak as they seem. They have their own special inheritance, but they will not reveal it until the last moment."

"Yes, this old man seems to be well-informed. Otherwise, why would the capital of Dali be so wary of the Western Frontier and even willing to bear the infamy and abandon the oath of their ancestors? In the end, they are afraid of the ferocity in the bones of these military border residents!"

"But now they can't control it even if they want to, because the new owner of the Dali King Flag has appeared in Western Xinjiang, and the sleeping beast of the Western Xinjiang military border residents is about to awaken..."

Most of the shop owners present knew some of the rumors in this regard, and they all had solemn expressions on their faces.

After a long while, an old shopkeeper said slowly, "I just don't know what choice Prince Yi will make..."

"Yes, I heard that the man who is currently staying in the villa of the Prince Guan's Mansion in the Eastern Demon Territory has come with the order to gather troops from the Dali Imperial Capital. I'm afraid that he will soon recruit border residents to join the army..."

"Haha, an order to gather troops? It's a pity that these soldiers and border residents only recognize the flag of King Dali..."

(End of this chapter)