Villain: After I died, all the heroines cried themselves to sleep.

The Great Zhou Dynasty, 790 AD.

The negotiations at the Mianchi Conference broke down, and the Tang Dynasty refused to hand over Shangdang, thus creating enmity between the Liang and Tang states.

The Liang Kingdom began to hastily recruit a large army, preparing to seize Shangdang by force.

The Tang state was not to be outdone, and dispatched Lord Xin'an, Lian Jing, to garrison troops at Yanping on the Dan River to resist the Liang army's offensive.

The world is in constant flux, and all forces are converging on the land of Shangdang.

Countries around the world are turning their attention to this place.

……

The Kingdom of Liang, Xianyang Palace.

These days, Luo Zheng has also been paying attention to the intelligence coming back from Guandong.

"King Wei was critically ill, and Lord Xinling seized power, rallying the three Jin states and even nine other states to form an alliance against Liang?"

Luo Zheng looked at the intelligence report and rubbed his temples.

The difficulty has increased significantly compared to before...

In the predetermined fate, the Battle of Shangdang was Zheng's strategy of using one enemy to devour another, with Tang fighting alone throughout the entire battle.

It wasn't until the Tang state was besieged in Jinyang that Lord Xinling stole the tally to save Tang and avert the crisis of national subjugation.

As a result, Lord Xinling ascended to the throne early this time because of the assassination of the King of Wei.

Moreover, due to the meeting at Mianchi, people from various countries were accusing King Liang of being despicable and shameless, and anti-Liang sentiment was running high.

Based on the current trend

This time, Liang Kingdom is likely to face a multi-national coalition.

"Tracing back to the source, it was the meeting at Mianchi that caused the previously favorable situation to take a sharp turn for the worse."

Luo Zheng is not stupid.

He realized after a moment's thought that the incident at the Mianchi meeting was clearly premeditated.

It seemed that they knew the Liang Kingdom inside and out, which is why they carried out the assassination.

This brought both sides back to a state of equilibrium, where they were evenly matched.

"Who... is secretly manipulating the world's situation...?"

From Fei Wei's descendants to the River God's sorcerer.

Luo Zheng was never able to find out the identity and purpose of the "master" they were talking about.

The other party was like an invisible ghost, lurking in the darkness.

Spying on everything.

The only thing that is certain is...

The other party did not want Luo Zheng to complete his ambition of conquering the world.

"Since that's the case, even if it's hellish difficulty, I'm determined to conquer this world."

Luo Zheng clenched his fists, secretly making up his mind.

And this was during his preparations for the competition.

In the following days, two special guests arrived at Xianyang Palace.

The first person I visited was a Confucian scholar introduced by Fan Ze.

The other party was composed and had the demeanor of a master, and his righteous aura was so strong that it was astonishing.

Although it was the first time Luo Zheng had met the other party, he immediately guessed the other party's identity.

A Confucian scholar who has reached the realm above Tiangang.

There is only one such person in the world today.

"Sir, could you perhaps be Xun Qing, the sage of Confucianism and Taoism?"

Luo Zheng asked in surprise.

The realm above Tiangang is called Tianyuan, which is equivalent to the eighth level.

Looking at the whole world, it's all countable.

Luo Zheng is currently at the second stage of the Heavenly Gang Transformation, barely approaching the seventh level.

However, he was not afraid.

As the King of Liang, he resided within the Liang Kingdom.

With the help of Liang Kingdom's fortune, he could briefly reach a cultivation level comparable to the Tianyuan realm.

Of course, not all feudal lords were able to control their fortunes.

Luo Zheng belongs to the category of those with extraordinary talents.

Back to the present.

Xun Qing explained his purpose directly to Luo Zheng.

"When I came to Liang, I saw its government and realized that Liang was strong because it followed the way of a hegemon. However, the way of a hegemon may lead to temporary dominance, but it is too rigid and easily breaks, and will eventually disintegrate."

"Purity leads to kingship, while impurity leads to hegemony. Your Majesty's ambition lies in the world; you should raise a mighty army to subdue all directions and gradually make your plans."

"Being too eager for quick success and instant benefits may lead to widespread suffering and chaos in the future."

However, he was advising Luo Zheng to slow down his conquest of the nine kingdoms.

According to him, under the current diplomatic situation, the Liang Kingdom does not have a guaranteed victory.

Regardless of the final outcome, it will only result in mutual destruction.

The people suffered.

Luo Zheng did not listen, but instead laughed wildly.

"Sir, this is truly the view of a Confucian scholar. If you wish to lead the world to a peaceful and prosperous era, there is only one best way."

"That means sacrificing a small number of people to achieve it as quickly as possible."

"The world will be unified."

You can't just tell the other person.

The system's tasks have been given in advance.

He's now on the verge of action, with no choice but to act.

"Alas... Your Majesty should take heed of this..."

Xun Qing shook his head.

Seeing that he could not persuade Luo Zheng, he had no choice but to turn around and leave.

A few days passed after Xun Qing left.

Luo Zheng met with an old acquaintance he hadn't seen for many years.

"Zhang Mo pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Taoist Zhang Mo respectfully bowed to Luo Zheng.

It was a rare opportunity to see an acquaintance, and Luo Zheng looked at the other person with great interest.

"Isn't Zhang Zi practicing cultivation in the mountains? How come he has time to come to Xianyang to visit me?"

"I have come here on my master's orders."

Zhang Mo took a book out of his pocket and presented it to Luo Zheng.

"This is the 'Primordial Mind Method,' and my master said that this book might be useful to Your Majesty."

"That's right, this will be of great use to me, I'll be indebted to your master for this favor."

Luo Zheng accepted the manual.

But Zhang Mo paused for a moment before continuing.

"My master also said that if Your Majesty accepts this book, Your Majesty should grant one request."

"...What is it?"

Luo Zheng glanced at Zhang Mo.

"My master lived in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain, building a thatched hut. He observed the stars and the qi, and discovered that there were unusual celestial phenomena. It seemed that the qi of heaven and earth was fluctuating with blood and evil. If this continued, the Tao would decline and the demons would grow, and there would be evil, disasters and chaos."

"Therefore, for the sake of the world, if Your Majesty intends to wage war and kill, I hope Your Majesty will refrain from committing acts of violence."

"Otherwise, if the tide turns against us in the future, the human race will surely suffer annihilation."

Zhang Mo made the request solemnly.

Luo Zheng asked Zhang Mo curiously.

"Who is your master?"

Zhang Mo thought for a moment and answered truthfully.

"My master is Guan Yinzi, a disciple of Laozi."

……

The emergence of Confucianism and Taoism surprised Luo Zheng.

However, the Battle of Shangdang did not end despite their advice.

In addition, there were Sui Qin, a representative of the Mohist school, and Li Tonggu, a representative of the Legalist school, who had long been fooled by Luo Zheng's "One World" and were completely lost, only able to say "Your Majesty is wise".

Fan Ze, who was somewhat of a strategist, felt that Luo Zheng's decision this time was too risky.

So Luo Zheng gave him a break.

Let him understand what adventure is.

As the 500,000-strong army gradually assembled.

Out of caution, Luo Zheng still summoned Xuan Luo.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"

Xuan Luo bowed to Luo Zheng in a very formal manner.

Luo Zheng sized up the man in front of him, the leader of the four mediocre generals.

To be honest, his relationship with Xuan Luo wasn't particularly deep, and it was hard to even call him one of his close associates.

At least in terms of friendship and understanding, he can't compare to Bai Jian.

But there are some things that still need to be said.

"Xuanluo, I wish to appoint you as general and lead an army of 500,000 to conquer Shangdang. Can you do it?"

"Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail in your mission."

Xuanluo immediately agreed.

"very good."

Luo Zheng nodded, then changed the subject.

"However, I have one more request: in this battle, we must avoid indiscriminately killing prisoners and reduce unnecessary casualties."

"..."

Xuan Luo looked up at Luo Zheng in surprise.

"This is not just for the sake of the world, but also for your own good."

Luo Zheng spoke earnestly.

Through his talent of [Heavenly Sensing], he was able to see that Xuan Luo was surrounded by dense baleful energy.

All these years of fighting in the north and south have led to his being burdened with sins.

Most of these stemmed from the attack on Chu the year before last.

Xuanlu first flooded Yan City, and then burned Yingdu, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Chu people.

Although Xuanlu later apologized to Luo Zheng and explained his helplessness.

It was absolutely not intentional.

Whether Luo Zhengxin believed it or not didn't matter; Xuanluo still bore the heavy burden of this killing.

In this world where destiny is mysterious and enigmatic, yet undeniably real.

It's hard to say there won't be retribution.

"...Your subject obeys!"

Xuanluo's voice trembled slightly.

He then took the tiger tally from Luo Zheng with utmost seriousness and care.

……

The autumn wind blows down the leaves of the paulownia tree.

Luo Zheng stood in Xianyang Palace, watching Xuan Luo leave the city from afar.

There were some things he didn't say aloud.

As fate would have it, Xuanluo was ordered to commit suicide after the Battle of Shangdang.

This general, empowered by the military formation, possesses strength that almost surpasses the Heavenly Origin Realm, making him the number one general in the world.

Without any complaints, he chose to commit suicide to atone for his sins.

Regardless.

The flames of war spread to Shangdang with Xuanluo.

The invincible Xuanluo took command of Liang's 500,000-strong army and confronted Tang's veteran general Lian Jing's 450,000-strong army in the Yanping area.

And this war.

Before long, it spread throughout the entire world.