A Man in the Snow: Starting with a Sword Challenge to the Northern Liang Prince's Palace

Emperor Liyang died of illness on his dragon bed.

He then passed the throne to his illegitimate son, Zhao Kai, who, with the support of Grand Secretary Zhang Julu and General Gu Jiantang, ascended the throne as emperor.

Afterwards, Zhang Julu, out of gratitude for the late emperor's favor, hanged himself at home.

All the civil and military officials of Liyang followed the example of this chief minister and followed the late emperor in death.

This news spread throughout the entire Liyang Dynasty in just a few days.

The world was in uproar.

That's absolutely insane.

Countless people died in this upheaval in Liyang.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense can see how much shady stuff is involved.

This is like rubbing the brains of everyone in the world into the ground.

Public opinion was in an uproar.

Countless scholars and intellectuals who considered themselves talented flocked to Tai'an City hoping to obtain an official position.

Tai'an City.

The Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Study.

At this moment, Zhao Kai, who was sitting high on the throne, was on equal footing with Gu Jiantang.

If outsiders were to witness this scene...

That would be absolutely astonishing.

Only Zhao Kai knew that this was his choice.

Only the 200,000 elite troops under Gu Jiantang's command could support him in maintaining his position as emperor.

Of course, there's also that god of death with unparalleled cultivation.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to pay attention to these opinions. The real problem is the regional princes in various places. The Northern Liang Prince Chen Zhibao, the Guangling Prince Zhao Yi, the Yan Chi Prince Zhao Bing, the Jing'an Prince Zhao Heng, the Huainan Prince Zhao Ying, the Jiaodong Prince Zhao Sui, and the Langya Prince Zhao Ao are probably very dissatisfied with your ascension to the throne."

Gu Jiantang took the initiative to speak.

Since Zhao Kai ascended the throne, he has realized that being an emperor is extremely difficult.

Not only does he have to deal with government affairs every day, but the key problem is that he is like a commander without troops. Li Yang is truly beset by internal and external troubles, and he has no army that he can actually use.

He killed his master and his father, yet this is the result he got in return.

"General, what do you think we should do?"

Zhao Kai knew that he could only rely on this general now.

"Your Majesty, you have just ascended the throne, and the throne is not yet secure. We must show goodwill to Chen Zhibao, the King of Beiliang. The barbarians of Beiman are eyeing us covetously. We must keep Chen Zhibao in check. It would be best to send him generous gifts so that he can guard the gateway to Beiliang and flank Beiman."

As for the other vassal kings, Zhao Yi, the Prince of Guangling, and Zhao Heng, the Prince of Jing'an, have the strongest military forces. We can secretly help the remnants of Western Chu, and they can then keep these two kings in check for us.”

Gu Jiantang took out a map and pointed to the red dot on it.

Upon closer inspection, Zhao Kai realized that the red dot was the former territory of Western Chu, which was now the domain of the King of Guangling and the King of Jing'an.

Having studied at Shangyin Academy for many years, Zhao Kai naturally had some knowledge of military strategy and could see its advantages and disadvantages.

"Would doing this weaken Liyang's military strength?"

Zhao Kai immediately saw the drawbacks.

Whether it was the Prince of Guangling or the Prince of Jing'an, they both had the surname Zhao. As long as the surname Zhao was present, the land of Liyang belonged to the Zhao family.

Upon hearing this, Gu Jiantang laughed loudly and said, "Your Majesty, you are being a bit too soft-hearted. Only in this way will they be too busy to care about Your Majesty's throne, and Your Majesty can then focus on recruiting soldiers and building up your strength for a future breakthrough."

Zhao Kai seemed not to have heard what was said before.

Only the last sentence made Zhao Kai listen.

He needs to be patient and secure his throne before he can have the opportunity to truly control the entire Liyang in the future.

"Alright, I'll leave this matter to you, Da Guozhu."

Zhao Kai agreed to Gu Jiantang's suggestion.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly accomplish all of this, and one day I will be able to unify the entire country."

Gu Jiantang immediately showered him with flattery.

It has to be said that Zhao Kai is quite easy to fool. He is ambitious, and this can be used to lead him to his doom.

After Gu Jiantang left, Zhao Kai kicked the table in front of him hard.

"Damn it, damn it!"

Zhao Kai knew perfectly well that this was Ye Yun's intention.

This is an attempt to secretly support the restoration of the Western Chu kingdom.

But he was powerless to do anything about it, because it was the best option at the moment.

Both the Prince of Guangling and the Prince of Jing'an coveted the throne, so he had to be on guard.

This is an open conspiracy.

Even if the Western Chu Kingdom were to be restored, it would still take some time.

The Northern Mang royal court.

A woman lay behind the curtain, covered with a fur robe that seemed out of place in this luxurious royal court.

This person was none other than the Empress of Northern Mang.

She was one of the most powerful people in the entire world, and it was because of her appearance that the Northern Wilderness grew stronger and stronger.

They now have the resources to conquer the Central Plains.

Such an extraordinary woman was infatuated with one man.

He was examining a painting in his hand.

If Ye Yun were here, he would surely recognize the person in the painting as none other than Xu Xiao, the King of Northern Liang.

Empress Murong touched her fur robe:

"I was young then and didn't know who I loved, but you loved someone else. Now that you've been killed by someone else, how can I let that person go?"

"If you had been willing to marry me back then, we could have ruled the world together, and the entire Northern Mang and Li Yang would have belonged to you, Xu Xiao. But why were you so foolish?"

Unbeknownst to her, two lines of clear tears streamed down the face of the Northern Mang Empress.

"Your Majesty! General Tuoba has arrived!"

From the other side of the screen came the voice of a female official.

"Let him in!"

Empress Murong put away the portrait, put on a tattered fur robe, and stepped out from behind the screen.

"Tuoba has met the Empress."

This man, who looks just like a farmer, is the number one expert in the Northern Wilderness, regarded as a "god of war" and the guardian of the grasslands.

But in front of this empress, they were extremely respectful.

"There's no one else here, so let's not stand on ceremony and skip the formalities between ruler and subject."

Empress Murong casually sat down in front of the Tuoba Bodhisattva.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of Liyang has been replaced. It is Zhao Kai, the illegitimate son of Zhao Chun. Ye Yun is behind this."

According to our sources, Gu Jiantang personally protected Zhao Kai, and Ye Yun had visited Gu Jiantang before this.

Tuoba Bodhisattva took out a document and placed it in the Empress's hand.

Empress Murong didn't even glance at it before throwing it directly into the furnace:

"Without even looking, I can guess. It seems that Western Chu is about to restore its kingdom. That's good, then we don't need to continue assassinating the officials of Liyang."

Next, we should target Northern Liang. When do you think we should send troops?

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Pusa revealed a glint of shrewdness: "Our Northern Mang army has long been assembled, and the experts from Northern Liang have been almost completely wiped out."

If we can press on with our momentum, we can sweep through the entire city of Jubei and flatten the whole of Liyang.

Empress Murong smiled slightly: "The sooner the better."

"Yes."

Tuoba Bodhisattva was absolutely obedient to the decisions made by the empress before him.

Without Empress Murong's appreciation, Tuoba Bodhisattva would not have achieved his current martial arts prowess and status.

Chen Zhibao, far away in Lingzhou City of Beiliang, heard that Liyang had a new emperor who had rewarded him and sent him many riches and beautiful women.

But he wasn't happy at all.

As someone who was able to establish himself in the Northern Liang army and eventually become the King of Northern Liang, he naturally understood the intricacies involved.

Chen Zhibao touched his broken right arm. Beiliang would not only have to face the southward advance of Beimang.

And then there's Ye Yun, who wanted to wipe out the entire Northern Liang.

Chen Zhibao said calmly:

"Xu Fengnian, I'm giving you enough time. It's up to you to avenge your adoptive father."

"With Chen Zhibao in Northern Liang, how can Northern Barbarians dare to invade the south?"