Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 345 The Ruthlessness and Contingency Plans of the Eastern Depot, A Return

After figuring out what had happened, the group handed the Black Lama over to King Tianxiang for handling.

Then I started to think about it.

"The Black Lama's fortress was captured by the army of the Kucha Kingdom, and then they sent the Black Lama to deal with us? But that's strange, we have no grudges against the Kucha Kingdom, why would the Kucha Kingdom target us?"

Lu Xiaofeng frowned, unable to understand the reason behind this.

He had always only ever wandered around the Central Plains, and this was his first time in the Western Regions. He had only seen the Kingdom of Guizi in historical records, so naturally he had no grudges against it.

Although Li Xunhuan had been wandering in the borderlands for ten years, he had never been to such a far place as the Kingdom of Guizi.

Of all the people, the only one who might have a grudge against the Kingdom of Guizi is Black Pearl.

After all, she is the daughter of the Desert King, and there might be some unsavory dealings between the two factions.

However, according to the Black Lama, the target of the Kingdom of Kucha was actually them, not the Black Pearl.

"Could it be that the Black Pearl was the original target of the Kingdom of Kucha, and that the Black Lama targeted us to conceal this purpose?"

Black Pearl immediately retorted, "We have no grudges with the Kingdom of Guizi. Besides, the Kingdom of Guizi is currently ruled by traitors, so there is even less of a relationship between us."

With these questions in mind, the group returned to their residence.

Then they discovered... the horse was dead.

The group of eight, and all of their horses, were dead!
Lu Xiaofeng was shocked to see this and immediately returned to his room to look around. He quickly realized that something was wrong.

"Evidence! All the evidence we found here has disappeared!"

After they left, no one was left at the residence.

During this time, the other party naturally killed all the horses and took away all the evidence.

"In that case, the enemy's identity should be quite obvious... the Eastern Depot!"

"They must have gone to the Kingdom of Guizi, then cooperated with the rebels there, only to find no trace of the Iron-Blooded Marquis there, so they came here?"

The reason for adding a question mark at the end is because there are many inconsistencies in the text.

For example, how did the people from the Eastern Depot know that they had come to the Kingdom of Heavenly Fragrance?
Their destination, however, was never told to anyone.

unless……

"Star Luo Sect?"

After much thought, Lu Xiaofeng realized that this was the only possibility.

Li Xunhuan nodded and said, "So, the Black Lama must have been sent by those people from the Eastern Depot to test us?"

"They took all the evidence and are about to kill our horses. They're probably trying to trap us all here to prevent the evidence from being sent back to Ming!"

“That’s right! After all, that evidence is too favorable to Marquis Iron-Blooded. Once it’s sent back to the Ming Dynasty, Marquis Iron-Blooded might gain the support of other princes and nobles, and it would also reduce the emperor’s fear of him!”

For the emperor, the most serious crime a subject could commit was treason.

If 180 million taels of silver were used entirely for investments in treason, it would naturally be a heinous crime.

But what if it were used to revive a long-extinct miracle drug?

What crime is that?

This situation was naturally not good news for the Eastern Depot, the mortal enemy of the Iron-Blooded Marquis.

Such evidence is worse than no evidence at all!

The evidence has already been taken away by the Eastern Depot. So, as long as they are eliminated, the Ming Dynasty will never know the truth!

Su Rongrong and the others were all dumbfounded when they heard this.

To be fair, although Chu Liuxiang was also a troublemaker, compared to Lu Xiaofeng, the trouble he caused was really nothing.

The people Chu Liuxiang dragged into were, at most, just people who mingled in the martial arts world.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiaofeng directly intervened in the competition within the imperial court.

He could be said to have been implicated in the previous duel between the Sword God and the Sword Immortal at the Forbidden City.

But this time, he actively entered the power struggle between the Eastern Depot and the Iron-Blooded Marquis.

This matter has escalated to such a great extent that it has even reached the Western Regions, involving several countries and tens of thousands of troops in a chaotic battle. One can imagine how terrifying it was.

Su Rongrong asked timidly, "Then, what should we do now?"

"Leave now!"

Lu Xiaofeng said, "The Eastern Depot's actions were so swift that it's clear someone infiltrated the Black Lama's group. Now that the Black Lama has been captured, the Eastern Depot's people are probably busy seizing power and taking control of the entire Black Lama area."

This is the best time for us to leave. Otherwise, if they succeed in seizing power, we will face the Black Lama's siege once again.

Moreover, unlike last time, this time, the Eastern Depot will definitely make a move.

Black Pearl said, "In that case, we should stay in Tianxiang Kingdom and use its power to resist the Black Lama. Moreover, the entire Tianxiang Kingdom is actually living evidence, enough to prove what Iron-Blooded Marquis has been up to in the Western Regions. If the Eastern Depot wants to destroy the evidence, shouldn't they first destroy Tianxiang Kingdom?"

"This……"

Yes, if we're talking about evidence, the Kingdom of Tianxiang is the biggest piece of evidence!

However, although Tianxiang Kingdom is a small country, it still has tens of thousands of people.

To completely annihilate them, we would have to massacre the entire city.

Lu Xiaofeng really wanted to say that the other party probably wouldn't do that.

But then he remembered that the other party was from the Eastern Depot, so he couldn't bring himself to say it.

At this point, they were in a dilemma.

If the Eastern Depot did not think of doing this, then their continued presence in the Tianxiang Kingdom would be tantamount to bringing war to the entire kingdom.

I feel uneasy.

But if the Eastern Depot really wants to do this, then once they leave, Tianxiang Kingdom will be no match for the Black Lama, who has the help of the Eastern Depot's experts.

Moreover, it seems that the troops of the Kingdom of Guizi are already on their way.

This is different from when he saw injustice on the road before.

You encounter two groups fighting each other on the road, and you don't know which side is good and which is evil.

But if you encounter an army besieging a city, and it is very likely that they will massacre the city after they have conquered it, then that army must be evil.

After all, there are still so many people in the city.

If Lu Xiaofeng and the others were to leave now, knowing that a tragedy of massacre was about to happen and doing nothing about it, it would obviously be against their conscience.

Lu Xiaofeng thought for a moment and said, "Let's leave first. If the Black Lama chases after us with all his might, it means they don't want to do it. But if most of the Black Lama's troops are still outside the city, it proves that they still want to attack the city!"

If that's the case, then we'll stay and help the Kingdom of Heavenly Fragrance resist the Black Lama!

Li Xunhuan nodded, then added a loophole: "We need to bring the Black Lama along, otherwise, with his troops still outside the city, we don't know if they're going to stay and attack the city or rescue their leader."

"Not bad!"

The group then went to King Tianxiang to retrieve the Black Lama. They bought a dozen camels and took the Black Lama with them, heading out of the city.

They did not conceal their actions, especially the presence of the Black Lama.

Ten miles outside the city, the Black Lama's forces had already set up camp.

The group deliberately passed in front of their camp, and were immediately spotted by the soldiers, who then reported it to their superiors.

However, not a single horse emerged from the camp even after everyone had completely left. "They really are still planning to attack Tianxiang Kingdom!"

"None of the people from the Eastern Depot have shown up. They're probably still busy seizing power."

"Heh, Black Lama, you've really failed as a leader. How long has it been? Your men don't even care about you anymore!"

The black lama's face turned pale and then red.

Unable to contain himself, he burst into a tirade of curses, a mixture of Chinese and a local dialect from the Western Regions that the others could barely understand, but which must have sounded extremely filthy.

Everyone laughed.

But after laughing, his expression turned serious.

"Even if the goal is to destroy the Tianxiang Kingdom, surely they wouldn't completely ignore us?"

"In that case, they must have other tricks up their sleeves. The troops of the Guizi Kingdom should be close by now."

"Even so, can they be sure we'll encounter the troops of the Guizi Kingdom?"

"Perhaps the Eastern Depot's backup plan is not the troops of the Kucha Kingdom, but the border of the Ming Dynasty."

Everyone fell silent.

Thinking about it this way, this journey home can truly be described as fraught with obstacles.

However, things still need to be done one at a time.

The most urgent task at hand is naturally to resolve the matter of Tianxiang Kingdom.

Inside the camp.

The high-ranking members of the Black Lama faction gathered here, clasped their hands in unison, and said, "We are willing to serve the General Manager!"

Before everyone stood a man dressed in crimson and purple robes, with a fair complexion and no beard—none other than the Grand Eunuch, Liu Xi!
He was accompanied by several subordinates, including the chief henchman Iron Claw Flying Eagle.

"In that case, once we take over Tianxiang Kingdom, the Eastern Depot will grant you everything you previously promised!"

"Yes!"

Many high-ranking officials showed delight and then went to organize their troops.

As night approached, the entire army once again arrived at the city walls of Tianxiang Kingdom and launched another attack without hesitation.

Fortunately, King Tianxiang also possessed some wisdom.

He had already discovered that the Black Lama had set up camp and had not withdrawn, so the city remained in a state of war preparedness.

Faced with the attack, the Tianxiang Kingdom's army remained calm and composed.

With their city gates tightly closed, relying on the city's defenses, they easily resisted the Black Lama forces, whose numbers were roughly equal to their own.

But at that moment, Liu Xi, along with Iron Claw Flying Eagle and others, swiftly used their lightness skills to reach the city gate.

With overwhelming strength, they swept everything in their path.

The Kingdom of Tianxiang also had many experts who came to stop them.

However, how could a group of innate masters be a match for Liu Xi, a grandmaster-level expert? Even when they joined forces, they were still suppressed by him.

As the fighting intensified, the sound of camel bells rang out from behind the army.

It was Lu Xiaofeng and the others who turned back.

Tie Chuanjia once again displayed his indestructible body, charging straight in from the rear of the army.

The Black Lama's soldiers immediately noticed, and upon seeing the group, they all showed expressions of fear.

"It's them!"

"The devil! The devil is back!"

The sound of fear quickly spread throughout the army.

The high-ranking officers at the front shouted, "Calm down! Calm down! There are only eight of them. Kill them all!"

Despite this, they themselves rode their horses to the left and right, afraid of blocking Lu Xiaofeng and the others' path.

Even those high-ranking officers who knew some martial arts were terrified of these eight martial arts masters, let alone the lower-ranking soldiers.

Everyone avoided them like the plague, and surprisingly, the entire army made way for them.

The group refrained from indiscriminate killing and made their way smoothly to the city wall.

On the city wall, Liu Xi was furious upon seeing this: "Li Xunhuan! Don't think that just because you've disguised yourself, I won't recognize you! How dare you collude with the Eastern Depot?"

"Eastern Depot? Which Eastern Depot?"

Li Xunhuan laughed and said, "Could it be the Ming Dynasty's Eastern Depot? This is the Western Regions' Tianxiang Kingdom. Do you think you can intimidate us with the Eastern Depot's reputation? Chief Steward Liu, you have quite the airs of an official!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a throwing knife inexplicably appeared in his hand.

Before Liu Xi could even get angry, he felt a chill run down his spine and a sense of impending death washed over him. Without a word, he jumped off the city wall and disappeared into the crowd.

Seeing this, Iron Claw Flying Eagle and the others dared not linger any longer and jumped off the city wall one after another.

The crowd gathered around Liu Xi and asked, "Steward Liu, what should we do now?"

Liu Xi, recovering from his earlier fear, gritted his teeth and said, "Little Li's Flying Dagger truly lives up to its name. Now that they've turned back, attacking Tianxiang Kingdom is impossible. Order a retreat and wait for the Guizi Kingdom's troops to arrive before launching another attack!"

At a single command, the army retreated like a receding tide.

Only a few corpses remained.

Inside the city, King Tianxiang led his ministers to the scene.

"Thank you all for your help once again, otherwise, my Tianxiang Kingdom would be in danger tonight!"

"Your Majesty, please rise."

Lu Xiaofeng sighed and said, "I originally thought that the black lama's real target was us, but I didn't expect that there was another force within him who had already secretly seized power, and their goal was to directly occupy the entire Tianxiang Kingdom!"

He did not directly reveal the truth to King Tianxiang.

Because their investigation had been conducted covertly, once it was exposed, things would be difficult to explain.

Moreover, no one can be sure how King Tianxiang will react after learning the truth.

If he sticks to the truth, then so be it.

But what if he is unwilling to stand firm, or even goes so far as to join the Eastern Depot and give false testimony for them?
Through his investigation over this period, Lu Xiaofeng has come to a conclusion that although the king is somewhat wise, he is not a king who loves his people like his own children.

It is entirely possible for someone to do such a thing in order to protect their own life and safety, or to preserve their wealth and status.

The reason why Lu Xiaofeng and the others were willing to return to help them resist the Black Lama, and even the Kingdom of Guizi that they would later arrive at, was not to protect the king, but to protect the people in the city!

To achieve this goal, deceiving the king a little wouldn't hurt.

Upon hearing this, the king was greatly alarmed: "Oh no! What should we do now!"

This kind of performance seems a bit theatrical.

Seeing that everyone had left, and that the Black Lama's forces were still going to attack the city, he naturally realized that their target was the Kingdom of Tianxiang.

This act is just a pretense to keep Lu Xiaofeng and the others around.

Lu Xiaofeng saw through his thoughts and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, although we are outsiders, we have a chivalrous heart. Now that we have returned, it is to help Tianxiang Kingdom resist these enemies!"

(End of this chapter)