After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 409 News
After leaving Tai Xuan City, Li Musheng and his group headed west towards Bai Di City.

Along the way, Cao Gaoshan would regularly collect information about Dali, since Dali was his homeland and he naturally did not want to see it fall.

During the time Li Musheng was in Tai Xuan City, the situation in Da Li was indeed not optimistic.

Before Da Xuan withdrew its troops, Da Li was surrounded by four kingdoms, especially Da Zhou, while the other three kingdoms only stationed heavy troops to intimidate and test the waters.

However, the Great Zhou and the Great Li are true mortal enemies. During this period, the two countries have officially clashed on their border, and have fought no fewer than dozens of battles.

Because Dali needs to guard against the other three kingdoms and lacks sufficient troops to deal with Da Zhou, it has almost always lost more than it won. Now, it has lost eleven cities on its border with Da Zhou, and the situation is extremely pessimistic.

Of course, ever since Da Xuan changed its attitude drastically, not only did it withdraw its troops from the border between the two countries, but it even had plans to form an alliance with Da Li.

The situation in Dali has eased considerably. After all, the previous four against one has become three against two, and Dali's disadvantage of being isolated and helpless has been greatly reversed.

However, Da Xuan's betrayal undoubtedly shocked and angered the three kingdoms of Da Zhou, Da Wu, and others.

Although the Three Kingdoms had already learned through spies that the old emperor of the Great Xuan Dynasty was dead and a new emperor had taken his place.

But with a new emperor, Da Xuan also changed its attitude. What was originally a great opportunity to gradually annex Da Li was now in danger of being ruined by Da Xuan, which was undoubtedly unacceptable to the Three Kingdoms.

Letters from the three kingdoms questioning Zhao Muning arrived one after another, but they seemed to disappear without a trace. Zhao Muning's solution was to pretend he hadn't seen them.

Because any explanation from Da Xuan would be meaningless; she could not possibly help the Three Kingdoms fight against Da Li, and the Three Kingdoms could not help but resent Da Xuan for it.

Instead of wasting time getting entangled with the Three Kingdoms, she would rather do something more beneficial to the people of Da Xuan, such as reorganizing the Da Xuan army, strengthening the border defenses, and taking precautions against invasions from other countries.

"Your Highness, there seems to be another major change in the news about Dali."

On this day, Cao Gaoshan returned from gathering information in a large city he had passed through, and hurriedly went to find Li Musheng.

Li Musheng didn't usually pay much attention to these things, but noticing that Cao Gaoshan seemed a bit different this time, quite unlike before, he asked out of curiosity:

"What happened this time?"

As he spoke, Li Musheng shook his head and said:

"I told you before, don't pay much attention to these kinds of news. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. These are not things you can worry about."

Cao Gaoshan is a bit like those old men in parks who used to watch the news and read newspapers every day, worrying about national affairs every day.

Upon hearing this, Cao Gaoshan glanced at Li Musheng, his eyes shifting uncertainly, and said in a deep voice:

"Your Highness, this is a very important matter. The Great Chu actually wants to form an alliance with the Great Li."

"Ok?"

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by the news.

Upon hearing this news about Cao Gaoshan, both Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran showed unusual expressions.

"Uncle Cao, is this news true? Why would Great Chu want to form an alliance with Great Li?" Cang Yinyue asked with a puzzled look. The reason why Great Xuan formed an alliance with Great Li was because Li Musheng supported Zhao Muning to take the throne.

Although the Great Chu and the Great Li were not as irreconcilable enemies as the Great Li and the Great Zhou, there had been many frictions between the two countries before, and they were in a hostile relationship.

Moreover, the Great Chu was determined to defeat the Great Li this time, and it was almost impossible for them to change their attitude.

At this moment, facing the gazes of Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran, Cao Gaoshan hesitated for a moment, then finally looked at Li Musheng and said:

"Your Highness, it is said that this matter is related to Princess Huarong. A prince of the Great Chu wants to marry Princess Huarong, which will lead to the alliance between the two countries."

Upon hearing this, Li Musheng frowned slightly. The Princess Huarong that Cao Gaoshan mentioned was naturally his sworn sister.

"No way, my adopted sister can really have that much charm?"

Li Musheng stroked his chin, expressing some doubt, after all, his adopted sister was also beautiful.

But the other party doesn't have his otherworldly good looks. If a princess from some country took a fancy to him and shamelessly insisted on marrying him, the prince of Dali, that would be understandable.

Li Yuanling is still too inexperienced; she's a whole level below.

At this moment, Cao Gaoshan's eyelids twitched violently, and he hesitated before saying:

"Your Highness, isn't your focus a little off?"

Then, Cao Gaoshan explained with a solemn expression:
"I heard from the news coming from the capital of Dali that Da Chu sent a letter to His Majesty, indicating that it could consider forming an alliance with Dali, but only if the princes and princesses of the two countries were to marry."

"Although the purpose of the Great Chu is still unknown, this move is clearly a coercion against the Great Li by arranging a marriage alliance. I imagine His Majesty will find it difficult to refuse."

Cao Gaoshan was well aware that Li Yuanling and Li Musheng had a good relationship, but marriage was always a sacrifice of political alliances. Given the current trend, Li Yuanling's marriage was almost inevitable.

Upon hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at Cao Gaoshan and said:
"I know what you mean; you've always had a kind heart."

As he spoke, he waved his hand and said:

"However, my adopted sister is not someone who can be easily manipulated. If she didn't want to get married, she probably would have run away long ago."

Cao Gaoshan frowned. He also had a daughter, and he believed that he could never do something like trading his daughter's marriage for personal gain.

However, Li Yuanling's status was different; she was a princess of Dali, and many things were beyond her control.

Thinking of this, Cao Gaoshan hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke:

"Although what I'm about to say is a bit taboo, I still want to say, what if Princess Huarong has no way to escape, or what if she is unwilling to escape for the sake of the greater good and for the sake of Dali?"

Cao Gaoshan is somewhat different from the other members of the Tianjin Guard. He is more like a chivalrous江湖人 (jianghu person), loyal and righteous, and always repays kindness.

At this moment, he was clearly not considering things from the perspective of the Dali court, but rather from the perspective of Li Musheng and Li Yuanling.

(End of this chapter)