Transcending Heavens: Starting with the Ancient Tomb Sect

Chapter 167 A Double Act!

Upon his return, Yin Kexi appeared listless and depressed.

But as a businessman, he managed to control his emotions well, at least not in front of the Fourth Prince Kublai Khan.

Unfortunately, apart from Ma Guangzuo, who did not notice Yin Kexi's condition, Nimo Xing and Xiao Xiangzi, as two members of the "Three Heroes of Mongolia" group, could naturally see that something was wrong with Yin Kexi.

As for the Fourth Prince Kublai Khan, needless to say.

Did Kublai Khan not want the Divine Condor?

That's something I naturally wanted to do.

It's fair to say that everyone desires a mythical creature like the Divine Eagle.

The reason why Kublai Khan did not refuse Yin Kexi's request was essentially because he was prepared to take the risk and try his luck.

What if it succeeds?

It wouldn't be surprising if it failed.

As for Dharma King Phagpa, he saw it all very clearly.

Unlike others, Phagpa, after only a brief encounter and a few words, discerned the true nature of Yin Kexi.

The bizarre situation.

it is good!

What a formidable tomb demoness!

In just one day, this happened to Yin Kexi. Phagpa almost thought he had met a senior fellow practitioner in Tantric Buddhism.

What about the Golden Boy who always followed the demoness?

That would probably have already been molded into the image the demonesses wanted.

At this moment, Phagpa also understood why the scene when he encountered Jin Tong Yue Que in the military camp that night seemed so strange.

He was completely bewitched by the enchantress.

When the two sides met, the methods the demoness used on Jin Tong clashed with his martial arts, which led to that strange encounter.

Having discovered the challenge letter that the Ancient Tomb Demoness had placed on Yin Kexi, Dharma King Phagpa no longer had the intention to thoroughly inquire about Yin Kexi's situation.

Phagpa is now preoccupied with how to rescue Yue Que, the golden boy, from the clutches of the demoness.

The Quanzhen School of Taoism is really putting in a lot of pressure.

After much deliberation, Phagpa concluded that there were only two possibilities to achieve his goal.

First, it was to make the demoness of the ancient tomb back down; second, it was to make Yue Que, the golden boy, truly realize the demoness's evil intentions.

Just as King Phagpa was pondering how to achieve this, a soldier came to deliver the new Great Khan Möngke's order to convene a meeting.

When the Fourth Prince Kublai Khan saw this scene, he knew that his elder brother's three major reforms after ascending the throne were about to begin.

So he took Ma Guangzuo and Nimo Xing with him to the meeting.

There are only three things to do at this conference hosted by Mongko.

The first event was the coronation ceremony of the new Khan; the second was the wedding of my aunt and Uncle Guo; and the third was how to wage war against the Song Dynasty.

The first one was the most normal ceremony.

In the past, he might not have cared too much, but now Möngke desperately needed this grand ceremony.

Möngke needed this ceremony to add legitimacy to his position as Great Khan, so he held it in a grand manner.

After all, the Golden Family has prospered now.

After the ceremony, he could also take advantage of the lingering atmosphere to hold a grand wedding for his aunt and Uncle Guo in his capacity as the Great Khan, which was a perfect example of using one ceremony for two purposes.

Furthermore, Möngke entrusted the task of overseeing the ceremony's etiquette to Wang Chuyi, the Yuyangzi of the Quanzhen School, as a sign of his favor.

Qiu Chuji, the Changchun Zhenren, the foremost sage of the Quanzhen School, remained unmoved.

Many people participate in these events during the day, but by the time they hold a small meeting together in the evening, the number of participants has dwindled.

Those were some of Möngke's brothers' closest relatives, and the rest were Hua Zheng and Guo Jing.

The war against the Song Dynasty was undoubtedly a foregone conclusion, and the most important thing, even more important than conquering Persia and India.

The question now is who will lead this war!

In Möngke's eyes, he very much hoped that the one who would lead this war was Guo Jing, the Golden Knife Prince Consort.

Hua Zheng simply lowered her eyes slightly and remained silent in the face of Mongke's expectant gaze.

She found it difficult to speak.

However, her lowered, gentle demeanor made it impossible for anyone to discern Hua Zheng's true thoughts from the outside.

But in Mongke's opinion, his aunt probably really wanted to.

I wanted to see Huang Rong in person.

Guo Jing, the Golden Knife Prince Consort, first glanced at Hua Zheng, noticing that she remained silent, seemingly caught in a dilemma and unable to speak.

Then, recalling his original goal of heading north, Guo Jing took a deep breath and prepared to take on this task, just like Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin and the prince's offering of his head.

Guo Jing also wanted to see just how many skills Yang Guo had mastered.

He also wanted to take this opportunity to see just how much resistance the Great Song Dynasty, which had been protecting him for so many years, actually had!

However, before Guo Jing could speak, Kublai Khan suddenly spoke up in front of him.

"Great Khan, how about I do it?"

As Tolui's second son, Kublai Khan directly volunteered himself.

Of course, Kublai Khan's words did not convey a sense of self-recommendation, but rather a consideration for his uncle Guo, saying, "If I fail, then Uncle Guo will take over."

"After all, Xiangyang is there—"

At this point, Kublai Khan paused, secretly glancing at his aunt Hua Zheng, and then subtly giving a signal to his elder brother Möngke.

Kublai Khan had already expressed everything that should and should not have been said.

He felt that his elder brother Mongke was being a bit too hasty.

Hua Zheng rolled her eyes and glanced at her nephew Kublai Khan. She remained silent and did not speak.

The look of joy on Guo Jing's face was fleeting.

Because no matter what, even if Guo Jing was mentally prepared, wouldn't it be too much to lead a large army to attack Xiangyang, which was defended by Rong'er, right after marrying Hua Zheng?

Regardless of whether they could capture Xiangyang, Guo Jing was certain that both sides would suffer countless casualties.

The appearance of the Golden Knife Prince Consort not only buffed the Mongol army, but also greatly increased the anger of the Song Dynasty.

On the other end, buffs are applied to everyone, regardless of whether they are friend or foe.

Kublai Khan's words, on the contrary, helped Guo Jing out of his predicament.

So Guo Jing couldn't help but cast a grateful glance at Kublai Khan.

Möngke Khan remained silent for a long time, seemingly only then realizing this, before saying, "Uncle, it was my oversight that I did not consider everything comprehensively."

"Then—the matter of attacking the Song Dynasty will be left to you, Fourth Brother."

Möngke then entrusted the task of attacking the Southern Song Dynasty to his younger brother, Kublai Khan. Moreover, Kublai Khan, the fourth son, did not expect to capture Xiangyang in one fell swoop, as Möngke had made sufficient mental preparations for the difficulty of conquering the Southern Song Dynasty.

Regarding the Southern Song Dynasty, Möngke felt that since his uncle Guo was not fully prepared, he could only slowly wear it down, and it would be best if he could wear it down on his own.

Before considering victory, consider defeat.

This is a fundamental principle of military strategy.

To be honest, even Möngke Khan didn't want his uncle Guo to immediately begin attacking the Southern Song Dynasty.

As the Great Khan, Möngke needed to maintain a balance.

If his uncle were to disregard sentimentality and actually capture Xiangyang in one battle, and subsequently defeat the Southern Song Dynasty, how would Möngke reward him?

My uncle and aunt had already rendered meritorious service in supporting the emperor, and if they were to defeat the Southern Song, there would be no reward left to give them. If they were to gain the support of others, then Möngke might have to hand over the title of Great Khan to them.

Because the Golden Sword Prince Consort has a legal inheritance in the Golden Family, Guo Jing may seem to be marrying into the family, but he is not actually a son-in-law.

So Möngke decided to put on a show with his fourth brother, Kublai Khan.

The reason for entrusting this task to the fourth son, rather than his other brothers, was that the fourth son, Kublai Khan, did not actually have as many supporters as he had imagined in the previous Tolui faction.

For example, Ariq Böke, the younger brother, had far more supporters than Kublai Khan, the fourth son.

Choosing the fourth son is better than choosing the seventh son, Ariq Böke.

In Mongke's view, no matter what the fourth brother did, the threat he posed was far less than that of the seventh brother and his uncle.

Surely it's not like something absurd like the fourth brother leading Han Chinese to attack our hometown would happen?

"Yes, Great Khan!"

Kublai Khan rose and performed a grand salute, directly accepting the task entrusted to him by his elder brother.

Thus, Möngke Khan handed over military control over the Southern Song Dynasty to Kublai Khan.

Of course, Möngke also had plans for his uncle and aunt. He felt that since his uncle was not interested in attacking the Southern Song Dynasty for the time being, he would let his uncle lead the army to attack Persia or India.

There was nothing else to it; as his uncle's beloved nephew, Möngke simply wanted to witness once again the Golden Knife Prince Consort leading a large army on a western expedition.

Its imposing presence.

After some discussion, Guo Jing accepted the task.

After the meeting, Hua Zheng returned to her yurt and poured a cup of hot tea for her beloved Guo Jing before sitting down beside him and softly asking, "Brother Jing, don't you think it's different from what you imagined?"

The Golden Knife Prince Consort was speechless, a deep sadness welling up inside him.

Guo Jing naturally saw through the charade between the brothers.

"Brother Jing, not everyone can be as persistent and unwavering as you." Hua Zheng gently placed her jade hand on the back of Guo Jing's hand, stroking it to comfort him, and said, "They are just your nephews, Brother Jing, not your paternal uncles."

When Guo Jing met Hua Zheng, he did not tell any lies, but sincerely expressed his great ideal of treating everyone in the world equally.

Sincerity is the ultimate weapon!

As before, Princess Huazheng once again knelt before the Golden Knife Prince Consort.

Guo Jing had Huang Rong, a female strategist, to protect him from harm and thwart many schemes during the Southern Song Dynasty, but Hua Zheng did not have such an opportunity.

As a younger sister, she witnessed firsthand the conflicts between her brothers.

The death of Torre was shrouded in mystery, and in Hua Zheng's view, it wasn't just Ögedei's faction involved; others were also highly suspected.

It was because of this chilling experience that Hua Zheng clung tightly to the power that belonged to her and her brother Jing, instead of being deceived by other brothers and juniors, and even served as regent for a period of time.

She was also afraid that she wouldn't even be able to protect herself.

Amidst the deceit and treachery, Hua Zheng once again saw her beloved Jing-gege, unchanged and as sincere as ever.

That was the return of Hua Zheng's long-cherished ideal.

However, Tuolei's sons are starting to make moves again, which is very disappointing for Hua Zheng.

Hua Zheng did not object to Möngke's approach because she felt that what Huang Rong could do, Hua Zheng could also do; and what Huang Rong could not do, Hua Zheng could do even better.

In short, she dares to do what Huang Rong dares to do; and she also dares to do what Huang Rong dares not do.

This is the Golden Family, and this is Hua Zheng after the review.