I really became a king.

Chapter 436: The Black Water Eight Banners and the Wolf Mountain Alliance
Jiang Yi was in the Eight Banners camp, and there was a burst of cheers that resounded through the sky. In contrast, the servants' camp by the Cocoa Lake was completely silent.

The silence was somewhat depressing. Dozens of generals gathered in the central meeting hall.

Although these people have the facial features of people from Middle-earth, their skin is somewhat dark, their bodies are relatively tall and strong, and they have a kind of ruggedness of people from the grasslands outside the Great Wall.

"That Prince Yi is a bit too arrogant. He's accepting the cheers over there, but leaving us waiting here!" said a dissatisfied blue-eyed general.

"Haha, he is trying to intimidate us again and leave us out on purpose." Another general spoke up with a sarcastic tone.

"If you ask me, why should we care about his face? Now that there are so many people gathered by Coco Lake, there are enough soldiers. We can form our own faction."

"I heard that the Xiban Dynasty is now too busy to take care of this vast grassland. This may be our chance. As long as we raise the banner, the remaining people of the Middle-earth outside the Great Wall will surely rally to support us. Isn't that better than relying on others?"

"..."

Many generals on both sides of the conference hall spoke one after another, all of them advocating to take advantage of the fact that the Xiban Dynasty was preoccupied with itself, occupy a piece of land, and raise the flag to establish independence.

But most of the generals remained silent, and the one sitting in the main seat was an old general with a white beard, who just listened quietly at first without any expression.

But after seeing those generals become more and more explicit in their words, he finally couldn't resist and coughed lightly, and the entire conference room immediately fell silent.

"Didn't we discuss this before? Are you planning to go back on your word again?"

Hearing the words of the white-bearded old general, the blue-eyed general who was in the lead said, "General, it's not that we are going back on our word. It's just that Prince Yi is too stingy. He hasn't made any promises to us yet. It's obvious that he wants to swallow up our cavalry directly."

The old general with white beard looked at the blue-eyed general and asked, "So what do you want?"

The blue-eyed general continued, "I think the Xifan Dynasty has also approached the Marshal. Why didn't the Marshal accept Xifan's offer? Wouldn't it be a thousand times better to establish yourself as a king than to be a subordinate to others?"

"Declare yourself king? I am the king, what about you?" asked the old general with a white beard, smiling.

The generals, led by the blue-eyed general, looked a little embarrassed and said with a smile, "We will naturally continue to serve under the command of the Marshal King."

The white-bearded old general shook his head, looking somewhat gloomy, knowing that a purge was inevitable.

If he guessed correctly, the generals who spoke before him must have accepted the recruitment of the Western Tibet Dynasty and had also received the promise of establishing their own royal tents from the Western Tibet Dynasty.

Originally, the instructions they received should have been to remain in hiding and wait for the right opportunity to stab Prince Yi's palace in the back.

However, Prince Yi suddenly unilaterally postponed the meeting, which made them feel indignant, but also gave them a glimmer of hope. As long as they could persuade them to continue to stand on the side of the Xifan Dynasty, they would have completed the task assigned by the Xifan Dynasty in advance and could be rewarded in advance.

But they don’t think about the fact that since ancient times, whether it is the border dynasty or the Middle-earth dynasty, there have been only a handful of people with different surnames who have been crowned kings, and basically they did not have a good ending.

Of course, the Mu family in the northern border of Dali is an exception, but looking at the entire wild continent, the Mu family in the northern border is truly unique.

How could the Xiban Dynasty possibly enfeoff so many royal tents at once, and to these remnants of the Middle-earth? They simply wanted them to kill each other with Prince Yi's Mansion, and to contain Prince Yi's troops advancing westward.

But they ignored the hearts of the people, or more precisely, the hearts of the people left in Middle-earth.

Just like now, when the war comes, only a small number of people run to the shores of Cocoa Lake for refuge, while the vast majority of the remaining people in Middle-earth choose to flee to Blackwater Pass?
Why is this so? Logically speaking, this army composed of the remnants of Middle-earth should be the first choice, but why did most people choose Blackwater Pass?

This is the will of the people, this is the trend of the times!
"Marshal, it's still not too late to make a decision." Seeing that the white-bearded veteran did not immediately express his attitude, but seemed to be hesitating, the blue-eyed general could not help but speak again.

"Yes, Marshal, with the combat power of our 100,000-man army, even the Korhan cavalry will not be able to catch up with us in a short time. As long as we cross the Wolf Mountain, the Xifan army will naturally come to support us..."

The white-bearded veteran sighed and slowly stood up. The words of his personal adviser echoed in his mind:
Marshal, not everyone can get on the ship of Prince Yi's Mansion. You must not be soft-hearted at this moment, because Prince Yi is always watching you.

"Alas, it is said that a merciful army cannot be commanded, but why have I always led the army with tolerance and kindness? It is because we, the remnants who have left our homes, can no longer withstand any internal friction..."

After sighing to himself, the old general with white beard looked at the dozens of generals in the hall and said with a smile: "Do you know why the Xiban Dynasty let me take charge of the vassal camp for so many years?"

"Nothing special, it's just because I don't love power and have no ambitions. Of course, I can also unite the remaining people of the Middle Earth to the greatest extent possible and become obedient citizens of Xifan."

"But the saying is true, a merciful army cannot be commanded. Perhaps it's time to see some blood..."

The blue-eyed generals and others frowned slightly, not understanding what he said. Then the old general with white beard spoke again: "I don't think I am a murderer, but I must do what I promised Prince Yi, because I once promised Prince Yi that I would hand over a clean servant camp to Prince Yi's palace!"

When he said this, he already had a hint of murderous intent in his eyes, staring at the blue-eyed generals.

This was the first time that the white-bearded veteran showed such ferocious murderous intent in front of everyone. The blue-eyed generals immediately realized that something was wrong and were about to take some action, but it was too late.

All I heard was the old white-bearded general suddenly shouting, "Catch them for me!"

After hearing this, a dozen generals who had been silent on the side joined forces to kill the blue-eyed generals and their men. At the same time, a fierce fighting broke out in the entire military camp.

As soon as the blue-eyed generals realized that something was wrong, they rushed out of the conference hall, and a dozen other generals followed them.

The old general with white beard seemed not to have seen this scene and continued to stand there. The remaining generals in the hall were waiting in silence.

"This person... the most frightening thing is that he has no self-awareness. According to the accurate information I have received, the Champion Marquis of the Xifan Dynasty has already arrived at the foot of Langju Mountain!"

As soon as the three words "Champion Marquis" came out, the entire conference room immediately gasped.

Because this Marquis Guanjun can be said to be a banner of the Xifan Dynasty. He is the bravest of the three armies at a young age, and is deeply trusted by the Xifan Emperor and is in charge of the entire prairie.

Originally, this horse herding conference was supposed to be hosted by the Marquis Guanjun, but something seemed to have happened in the Xifan Dynasty, and with a transfer order, the Marquis Guanjun rushed back to the Blackwater Lake.

If the Marquis of Guanjun was here, Prince Yi's chances of taking over Heishui Pass would be very slim.

Now that the champion marquis has been ordered to return to the prairie in times of crisis, Prince Yi's palace is afraid that there will be a fierce battle. Just as everyone was secretly muttering about this champion marquis who was the bravest among the three armies, the old man with white beard continued to speak and asked, "Do you know what this champion marquis is here for?"

No one answered him, but the generals in the hall all understood that they must have come to compete with Prince Yi for Heishui Pass and even the entire prairie.

Unexpectedly, the old general with white beard shook his head and said, "You are all wrong. The Marquis of Guanjun is not here to lead troops to fight against Prince Yi's Mansion, but to negotiate peace!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals in the hall froze in place, even subconsciously ignoring the sounds of fierce fighting outside the meeting room.

"It's not just you. I didn't believe it at first, but later I found out it was true. That champion marquis who was the bravest among the three armies really came to negotiate peace. Obviously, they have already accepted the fact that Prince Yi's Mansion occupied Black Water Pass!"

"As for why this happened... I don't know."

"So I advise you to give up the wrong thoughts in your mind and serve well under Prince Yi's Mansion..."

The entire conference hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, with the only sound being the fighting outside. However, judging from the sounds, the battle was nearing its end.

When Jiang Yi walked out of the Eight Banners Camp, he received news of an internal fight in the Keke Lake Servant Camp. He couldn't help but grin and said to the people behind him:
"Everyone says that Bai Ling is a good man. He has led the army for so many years and has never killed any of his generals. He is also honest and has never had any evil intentions. But in my opinion, that is not entirely true. Bai Ling is very cunning..."

The generals behind him all smiled and said nothing, because they didn't know how to respond to their prince's words.

Jiang Yi obviously didn't expect anyone to take over the conversation, and continued, "Bai Ling is worried that my king will be too harsh in the purge and implicate too many people, so he rushed to help my king clean up the mess."

"But it's better this way. It saves me a lot of trouble..."

Originally according to his plan, after taking over the servant camp, he would definitely have to carry out a purge to completely eliminate the pro-Western elements within. If he couldn't grasp the right measure, he would definitely expand the scope of the purge.

There might be a major replacement, after all, the location of the servant camp is too sensitive, if any improper thoughts are brought up, the Korhan Cavalry's retreat route might be cut off, and it might even be possible to cut off the Korhan Cavalry's connection with the Black Water Pass.

Jiang Yi would never allow this to happen, so a major purge had to be carried out. But now, Bai Ling did it for him.

"Let's go. If we don't go now, Bailing might expand the scope of the purge. After all, we are of the same clan, so the less bloodshed, the better..."

By the time Jiang Yi led tens of thousands of his personal troops into the shore of Cocoa Lake, Bai Ling had already led dozens of generals out of the camp gate and prostrated on both sides.

But at this time Bai Ling had taken off his armor and was kneeling in the front in casual clothes.

"The sinner Bai Ling, kowtows to the prince!"

Under the leadership of Bai Ling, dozens of generals kowtowed to Jiang Yi.

"What do you mean, General Bai?" Looking at Bai Ling, who was in casual clothes, and especially the seal of command in his hand, Jiang Yi dismounted from his horse and helped him up.

"I have served the enemy for many years and I know that I am guilty of a great crime. I am willing to hand over the seal of the commander and move to the Demon Realm to end my remaining life." Bai Ling insisted on kneeling on the ground and refused to get up.

Jiang Yi smiled. The reason why he specifically emphasized moving to Demon Realm Pass was because Demon Realm Pass was his base camp, and this was to reassure him.

But Jiang Yi did not take the seal, but said: "What crime has the old general committed? Not only is he innocent, but he has made great contributions. If it were not for the old general's secret protection for so many years, who knows how many people in the Middle-earth would have been killed."

"Moreover, the army under the old general's command has continued the blood of the Middle-earth survivors and preserved the most precious things of the Middle-earth survivors. They are brave and good at fighting but have not lost their original intentions. This is a great achievement."

Jiang Yi's words came from his true thoughts. If this army of servants had really lost their original intention, he would never try to appease them, but would directly kill them all like he did with the Chi clan.

Seeing that Bai Ling had no intention of getting up, Jiang Yi knew that if he didn't do something, it would be difficult to make generals like Bai Ling let down their guard.

After thinking for a while, he made up his mind and said, "Soon, I will launch a major battle against Hanshan City of the Inushi Dynasty. General, please lead 50,000 troops north to Hanshan City."

Bai Ling's eyes lit up when he heard this. After all, he had been in the army for so many years, and if possible, he really didn't want to leave the army. And leading the army north to Hanshan City to participate in the upcoming battle was a good opportunity.

If they handle it well, they can completely integrate this army of vassal soldiers of the Western Tibet Dynasty into the Prince Yi's Palace.

Bai Ling was about to say something when Jiang Yi spoke again, "After you go north, I will draw 50,000 new soldiers from the Demon Realm Pass and station them in the Keke Lake Camp. When you return after your success, I will form the Black Water Eight Banners on the spot!"

The Black Water Eight Banners? Another new army designation!
Prince Guo Jiang Huan pretended not to hear anything, but he was secretly smiling bitterly in his heart. With such a strong trend, it would be difficult to stop the rise of Prince Yi.

According to the military law of the Dali Dynasty, the formation of any new army must be authorized by the current emperor, and even the new army's number must be bestowed by the Dali emperor himself.

But the Prince Yi in front of him didn't care about all this and directly formed a new army.

Jiang Huan wouldn't be stupid enough to come out and stop it. After all, this wasn't the first time.

The establishment of the Eight Tribes of Western Xinjiang and the military office within the Shen Ce Palace did not violate military law. After all, their predecessor was the Eight Tribes of the Sun and the Moon, which were authorized by the current emperor himself.

The same goes for the military yamen, because Prince Yi has been allowed to establish a government office, so it is reasonable to have a military yamen.

But later there were Li Yan's [Servant Vanguard Camp], Chi Lie's [Fierce Soldiers Camp], Lu Fan's [Five Elements Flags], [Eight Banners of Khorhan], and the [Eight Banners of Black Water] that were about to be formed.

There are five new army numbers, all of which were formed by Prince Yi himself. He did not get the approval of the current emperor at all, and he did not even ask for instructions.

Jiang Huan didn't think there was anything wrong at first, but after counting them carefully in his mind, he couldn't help but be shocked.

Unknowingly, this Prince Yi already had so many troop numbers under his command, and they were all powerful cavalry.

However, Jiang Yi's next words shocked Jiang Huan again, and also made him feel a little numb.

"I have just formed a mountain infantry battalion at Niangzi Pass, and now I have formed the Black Water Eight Banners. After we capture Hanshan City, we can form a heavy cavalry."

(End of this chapter)