Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 336 Chaos (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Lu Xingzhou could guess that the battle might unfold this way, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly. He had just guessed the situation and was about to remind Gua Mei to come back when Gua Mei was already trapped.

The arrangements in the capital are almost complete, so there's no point in just sitting around waiting. It's better to try to get help.

Of course, to put it nicely to Lao Sheng, he was going to the Northern Frontier to put Lao Sheng at ease. In reality, what use would it be for Lu Xingzhou to go to the battlefield himself? What he really wanted to do was go to the border between the Northern Frontier and the Tian Shuang Kingdom to meet Si Han.

The northern frontier is a war, and a massive war led by a top-tier leader; it's difficult for an individual to accomplish much.

However, the army under the Huo family's command is not something he can control, and he will end up in a situation where he needs the Huo family's help.

But he wasn't without other troops... At least the Tian Shuang Kingdom was still part of the human alliance in dealing with the demon race, and at this time, Si Han was under the support of the Tian Yao Holy Land and was obedient to him, especially willing to obey the orders of his Holy Lord's male favorite...

Lu Xingzhou had already sent a message through Su Yuan's jade talisman, instructing Si Han to mobilize elite troops and head straight for the northern frontier battlefield. To avoid being mistaken by Da Qian as a pincer attack, he only needed to bring one person to meet them.

The person who brought him was Huo Zhang.

Huo Zhang has been dismissed and hasn't been reinstated yet. He was originally hoping that Gu Zhanting would use him, a veteran general from the northern frontier, in this battle and that he could lead the expedition. But the battle turned out like this, and he didn't even have time to wait for any imperial decree to reinstate him. Huo Xingyuan couldn't even take him with him when he went to the rescue.

However, Huo Zhang had lived in the northern frontier for a long time and had a wide network of acquaintances; he knew everyone. With Huo Zhang handling the negotiations with Si Han's army, there wouldn't be any problems along the way, and they would also have someone to guide them.

On the surface, it was giving Huo Zhang a chance to make meritorious contributions and be reinstated, which greatly shocked Huo Zhang.

Flying towards the northwest border, Huo Zhang was still asking Lu Xingzhou, "Did you really help me gain merit?"

Lu Xingzhou hummed in response, not in the mood for much pleasantries.

His gesture of supporting Huo Zhang was not only because Huo Zhang was genuinely useful in this matter, but also contained a hidden malice. However, the parties involved would not perceive it as malice—supporting Huo Zhang would naturally lead to a conflict with Huo Qi, making it the most overtly scheming form of provocation. Even if the parties involved knew your intentions, they would only thank you.

His attitude was indifferent, but Huo Zhang didn't mind and laughed, "Okay, Lu Xingzhou is indeed much more reliable than Huo Qi and the others. He still remembers his brother."

Lu Xingzhou smiled but did not answer.

Huo Zhang, trying to make conversation, asked, "What's your opinion on this? Will His Majesty be in trouble?"

Lu Xingzhou shook his head: "No."

It's not so easy for Chaopin to get into trouble, especially since he's in his own city and not caught in someone else's trap, so it's even less likely that something will happen to him.

If Gu Zhanting simply wanted to leave and hadn't been pre-arranged into a defensive formation, Long Qinghuang wouldn't have been able to stop him; even a massive army from the demon race wouldn't have been able to stop him. The reason he's still lingering there must be because he has other plans.

But what he was thinking was unknown to those in the capital at that moment.

Long Qinghuang, as the Demon Emperor, is not just someone who can fight... Even if the demonization of those officials has little to do with her, it is impossible for her not to have demon spies infiltrating the capital. Some of them may have climbed to positions or bribed traitors. These are all inevitable things.

Otherwise, how could Chen Yu have been caught so easily? They used Chen Yu's name one minute, and then Chen Yu was arrested the next. It's heartbreaking to hear and see.

These lurking demons or traitors will surely take advantage of this time to stir up trouble in the capital, spreading rumors about Gu Zhanting's imprisonment and inciting panic.

They might even try to instigate someone like the Prince of Jin to become regent.

Judging from their previous interactions, Prince Jin is not very smart and is extremely self-important. He always thinks that with Shen Tang exiled and Prince Qi deposed and confined to his home, he is the crown prince. He acts extremely high-profile and overreaching, completely forgetting that Gu Zhanting has not yet made him the crown prince.

In Lu Xingzhou's mind, it was hard to say what this fool would do if he sat at the same table with those from the Huo family.

Before leaving the capital, Lu Xingzhou met with a group of officials, including the censor Xiao Ting. This group was Shen Tang's people, and it was a list that Shen Tang had specifically given him when he said he was going to the capital.

They are not Shen Tang's people on the surface, but they have completely pledged allegiance to Prince Jin.

Lu Xingzhou asked them to help him stir things up and see what the Prince of Jin would do.

If this guy is really stupid enough to have ambitions to rise to power, that would be interesting. He could easily avenge the assassination attempt on Tangtang in the Demon-Slaying Domain and also help her eliminate a rival.

Moreover, although Huo Xingyuan has gone on an expedition, Huo Qi and the others are still in the capital. They are so close to Prince Jin that their whole family will be implicated. This revenge is more efficient than anything else.

It's hard to expect the Prince of Jin to be that stupid, but let's give it a try; it won't cost us anything anyway.

The journey was long, and it had been more than a day since they arrived at the northwestern border between the Great Qian and the Tian Shuang Kingdom. Si Han and his men had just arrived as well, and when they saw Lu Xingzhou and his men flying over, they stepped forward to greet him: "Young Master Lu, most of the elite forces of the righteous and demonic paths of the Tian Shuang Kingdom are here, including three or four first-rank officials and more than a hundred second and third-rank officials. We will follow your arrangements."

The elders of the Shadow Moon Sect and those from the Cold Mist Sect who had received favors from Lu Xingzhou and Ye Tinglan all bowed and greeted him: "Greetings, Young Master Lu. It is our duty to fight against the demon race, and we will follow your orders."

Lu Xingzhou glanced around and saw that even Ling Qixuan and others from the Ice Prison Sect were there, and they all treated him with great respect: "Greetings, Young Master Lu."

Lu Xingzhou nodded, and without further ado, pointed to Huo Zhang: "This time, Young Master Huo Zhang will lead the way. Everyone, come with us."

Huo Zhang felt as if he were in a dream.

You are the true ruler of the Heavenly Frost Kingdom, aren't you?
A single call to arms could gather so much power from both the righteous and demonic factions of the entire Tian Shuang Kingdom—that's one thing, we can assume it's due to Si Han's high prestige as the ruler. But why are they all being so polite and respectful to you?
Look at that attitude, it's like they're pointing at something and doing it exactly as they want.

If this force could be used to take revenge on the Huo family, the Huo family would be plowed several times over... It's laughable that Huo Qi and his people still treat him as a lowly bastard they've bullied since childhood. Judging from this power, who the hell is the lowly bastard?

The group marched eastward to the battlefield in a grand procession. Huo Zhang, familiar with the route, bypassed the vast wilderness of the outer demon realm and entered directly from the inner border of their own Great Qian Dynasty. "Going outwards is certainly smooth sailing, but it's hard to say whether we'll encounter demon tribes and cause trouble," Huo Zhang explained knowledgeably. "By going around here, we'll reach Guiyuan City in the rear near the battlefield. It's the supply base for magical artifacts, talismans, and pills, which is responsible for the supply of these items to the rear. It's said that the demons have the power to bypass the front lines and harass the cities in the rear. If they know what they're doing, they'll probably choose to focus more of their forces on attacking Guiyuan City and destroying the supply lines."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Since it's a rear supply base, there should be a lot of troops stationed there, right?"

“There’s more than one supply base. This one is relatively low-end, so the garrison isn’t that large… but it’s still quite elite. If a good general leads it and they activate the city’s defensive formation, they should be able to hold out for a few days. But the city lord… heh.” Huo Zhang smiled and didn’t say much, only saying, “I hope they can hold out, at least until we come to their aid. My father’s primary target for the rescue won’t be this city.”

The city lord of Guiyuan City was someone he had personally promoted, and he had given him a lot of tribute. But Huo Zhang knew very well that this man was incompetent, greedy, and afraid of death.

In the past, it was no big deal for a city lord who was greedy to be a little greedy, but Huo Zhang found it very troublesome to face this tough battle.

If the city were to fall, they might even hold him accountable for promoting such a person.

Although he himself was one of those greedy and cowardly people, at least he could fight.

There are still a day or two of travel to go, I hope we can hold on for that short time.

…………

At this time, the capital was also in complete chaos.

Gu Zhanting had personally led many campaigns in the past. Even before the battle ten years ago, he had personally led many campaigns and had experienced incidents such as being besieged and losing contact.

But in the past, nothing would go wrong because the imperial advisor would keep people calm.

As long as Ye Tinglan is around, the people's hearts in Daqian are no different from when Gu Zhanting was around; no one dares to lay a finger on him.

But this time Ye Tinglan wasn't there; it could be said that Gu Zhanting brought it upon himself.

The person in charge of the work was Prime Minister Pei Qingyan. Although Pei Qingyan was highly respected, he was obviously far inferior to Gu Zhanting or Ye Tinglan.

Ye Tinglan is someone who can even keep the old guard of the royal family in check. What could Pei Qingyan say in front of them? He couldn't even be too forceful with Prince Jin.

Gu Zhanting has been out of contact for two days, and Huo Xingyuan hurriedly led his men north.

Rumors were rampant in the capital. Some said the emperor was besieged, others said he had been seriously injured by the demon emperor, and still others, from who-knows-where, claimed he was dead.

The Demon Suppression Division launched raids in all directions, but only arrested a few insignificant idlers; the source of the rumors could not be traced.

After all, everyone is spreading rumors.

In fact, Sheng Qingfeng knew where the most outrageous rumors came from: it was Lu Xingzhou who did it.

Other people's rumors are just a few words. But this kind of fabricated story, vividly describing how Gu Zhanting and Long Qinghuang fought fiercely for a hundred rounds, and how he was ultimately defeated by a single move, "Dragon Battle to the Ends of the Earth," falling into an abyss, is told as if it were firsthand, with eloquent prose. If Sheng Qingfeng said that Lu Xingzhou wasn't behind this kind of nonsense, he'd swallow his cup.

Who knows, the writer might even be a talented woman from the capital.

It's easy to imagine how widely these little stories spread; within half a day, everyone in the capital could recite a few lines of the battle description.

Furthermore, Sheng Qingfeng also knew that the widespread dissemination of the rumors was not solely due to the short essay; there were other people behind it.

The pusher came from the Prince of Jin's residence.

Is the Prince of Jin using this momentum to test the waters?

Are you crazy?

How can Sheng Qingfeng arrest people? Besides arresting a few idlers to make it seem like the Demon Suppression Division is doing its job?
Even more overwhelmed than Sheng Qingfeng was Pei Qingyan. The court was in complete chaos, with countless people surrounding him demanding an explanation: "Prime Minister Pei, since His Majesty has appointed you to govern, he must have given you a complete account. At this moment, you should no longer conceal anything. If His Majesty has any plans, Prime Minister Pei should speak out to reassure the people!"

Pei Qingyan retorted that Gu Zhanting had no plans whatsoever.

Although Gu Zhanting must have made arrangements in private, these arrangements are mostly the kind that cannot be told to others, at least not to Pei Qingyan.

The only remaining decree was: no matter what happens, Pei Qing should stabilize the situation.

If you don't say anything, how can you expect stability? Do you think you can rely on my words alone?
Pei Qingyan was so angry that he almost threw down his post, and could only say, "His Majesty is well. Marquis Zhenyuan has just arrived to provide assistance. What's the rush? Everyone should just do their job and wait for good news."

"But Prime Minister Pei, as long as His Majesty is not back, the people will remain uneasy. At the very least, someone should act as regent to govern the country and put the people at ease, right?"

Who said that? Are they just trying to stir up trouble?

Pei Qingyan turned around angrily and saw Censor Xiao Ting smilingly saying, "Could it be that Prime Minister Pei is planning to oversee the country for a long time..."

Even the well-mannered Pei Qingyan almost swore.

He recognized this as a scribe under the command of the Prince of Jin.

What is the Prince of Jin planning to do?!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Please vote for me with your monthly tickets, sob sob~
(End of this chapter)