Am I the only one who didn't ascend?

Chapter 531
"Your Excellency, Prince Ling has already assembled his troops outside Liuyan City, and the progress is faster than expected... This is the briefing he sent, please take a look."

In the high hall of the Temple of Heaven, next to the golden candles, a letter sealed with star-colored wax was respectfully handed to Wang Luo.

Wang Luo did not open the letter, but just pushed it back.

"You are a general, you should handle military affairs on your own. There is no need to ask me. I don't know more about military affairs than you do."

General Yang Jiuzhong groaned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Thank you for your trust, ambassador. I will live up to your trust and do my best to support the war on the front line."

Wang Luo nodded, without exchanging words with Yang Jiuzhong, and asked directly: "So, do you think Prince Ling can stop it?"

Yang Jiuzhong was a little worried and his eyes couldn't help but turn to the side.

Not far away, right next to Wang Luo's desk, the huge hall was filled with dozens of large office desks. Important officials in court robes were busy with their work... and then they all pricked up their ears at the same time, paying attention to the conversation between Wang Luo and Yang Jiuzhong.

The war that is about to break out on the border is undoubtedly the top priority for Xinheng. Its priority is even higher than the abdication ceremony of Emperor Gan Ai and the road to enlightenment for the Immortal Alliance.

Because if this border war is not fought well, there will be no abdication ceremony or the road to enlightenment. Hundreds and tens of millions of panicked wild beasts will pour in from the northeast of Xinheng and devour everything along the way. Xinheng's 600-year national destiny may very likely become history overnight.

What determines Xin Heng's life and death does not lie with Prince Ling Gan Fengxian under Liuyan City in Sang County, but with the two people beside the golden candle.

"So, what do you think? No need to hide anything, just tell it like it is."

Yang Jiuzhong did not dare to refuse Wang Luo's urging, so he could only sigh and say frankly: "If we only rely on the current star army, we will probably not be able to stop it."

As soon as these words came out, those ministers who pretended to be busy suddenly became restless. Although they did not dare to directly join the conversation between the two, they all stopped the work in their hands, and glanced at the golden candle... and then waited for Wang Luo's reply.

Wang Luo didn't seem surprised and hummed, "According to the report submitted by the Imperial Court yesterday, the decline of the Glazed Net is accelerating as the Tongming Road slowly advances. When the border war begins, Prince Ling may be left with nothing above his head. It is indeed beyond the power of the flesh and blood of the Star Army soldiers to completely resist the beast tide outside the long border. So, what suggestions do you have?"

Yang Jiuzhong said in a deep voice: "Gather the strength of the whole country..."

"No."

Wang Luo rejected the plan without even waiting for the other party to finish speaking.

"The garrisons in various places must not move rashly, especially the Qingqi Army in the north and the Xiang Army in the west. As for the four counties in the south, you already know it without me telling you."

Yang Jiuzhong argued, “I know that the envoy is worried that if the defenses in various places are relaxed, those lurking wild beasts may take advantage of the chaos to break through. But no matter what, the main threat we face now is in the northeast. If we cannot draw elite troops from the garrisons in various places to consolidate the defense line... then we are putting the cart before the horse!”

Wang Luo remained silent, staring at Yang Jiuzhong seriously, until the general opposite him, whose cultivation was two realms higher than his, seemed unable to resist his sharp gaze and turned his head subconsciously...

"General, purely in terms of military affairs, you should be the best in Xinheng, so if you repeat the same point twice, I will take it as serious and will not be polite to you or say some high-sounding fallacies to fool others. I agree with the plan of gathering the power of the whole country, you just need to mobilize the troops, whether it is the Qingqi Army or the Fancheng Imperial Army, or even the garrison of the four southern counties, I can also coordinate with the Duke of Feng to command them. But you must ensure that these soldiers can assist Prince Ling wholeheartedly and win this battle to defend the country."

Yang Jiuzhong had beads of sweat on his forehead at this time, but he nodded without any hesitation and said, "I will definitely live up to your trust!"

"Okay, if this battle is won successfully under your leadership, I will invite you to be my guest on behalf of Youcheng Military Academy."

Yang Jiuzhong was slightly stunned, and then he replied with a smile: "I... thank you for your appreciation, Your Excellency."

...Just as the two of them began to briefly discuss the troop deployment plan, a young man in green court robes quietly left the palace accompanied by a young court official. The two left quietly and did not attract the attention of Wang Luo and Yang Jiuzhong, but the officials in the palace obviously had their own thoughts, and they exchanged glances and intrigues for a while.

When the two men walked not far away, the young man in green heaved a sigh of relief: "We finally passed this level."

The next moment, the young man beside him couldn't wait to ask: "Passed? How do you say that? Fourth brother, as the prime minister of the current dynasty, don't be a riddler!"

The young man in blue, Yang Qijian, who was currently serving as the left and right ministers with Xiahou Ying, turned his head when he heard this. Seeing his companion's confused and anxious expression, he shook his head and said, "Shiwulang, although you are young, you are still an official courtier of Xinheng. How can you not see such a simple truth?"

The young man laughed at himself and said, "Fourth brother, you are here again. Everyone knows that I, Yang Fusi, am a young playboy who got into the central government purely by relying on the protection of my family. It's okay if you let me do some sneaky business, but I really don't understand the intrigues of these decent people! Just now, I just felt that the envoy likes to make things difficult for people..." "Shh!" Yang Qijian stopped him quickly, "Be careful with your words!"

Yang Fusi wanted to argue that he had a magic weapon with him, so he didn't have to worry about being spied on... but he didn't dare to argue with his brother.

"So, why do you say we have passed the test? To be honest, the wild beasts are almost rushing to our front. If we don't mobilize the whole country's strength, do we have to wait for the immortal alliance's divine soldiers to descend from the sky?"

Yang Qijian smiled upon hearing this: "Although you are uneducated, you have a sharp intuition... That's right, this time the Northeast front will most likely stage a good show of the Immortal Alliance's divine soldiers descending from the sky. Otherwise, do you expect that we have regarded the five states as a flood and beast for the past six hundred years, and now the people's hearts will change overnight and welcome the Immortal Alliance's heavenly soldiers? The merger with the Immortal Alliance will definitely be a painful adjustment process, and nothing can be more suitable for lubricating it than the grace of saving lives in times of crisis."

Yang Fusi suddenly realized: "Oh, I understand this, it's the so-called suspension bridge effect, right?!"

"That's fine. Anyway, with the life-saving grace, no matter how much makeup you put on later, it will be twice as effective with half the effort... But that's not the point. The envoy was initially unwilling to agree to mobilize the country's troops, partly because he was worried about whether Prince Ling could command the strong troops from all over the country, and partly because he was worried that the green leaves from all over the country would steal the limelight from Prince Ling, the flower. I told you before that this border defense war is not only a war to defend the country, but also a war to establish the country. We want to establish a new monarch, Prince Ling, and let him establish absolute prestige through this war, so that he can naturally take over the throne of the current emperor. Therefore, whether it is the local tyrants or our Yang family, we must understand our own positions and not have any thoughts of usurping the throne."

Yang Fusi was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then shook his head: "Although I had a vague guess before, but after hearing what you said, this matter really has no meaning."

"Yes, it is tasteless, so the envoy solemnly asked my second brother to show his attitude and ensure victory in this battle... Otherwise, if it is a win-win situation, do we need the envoy to tell us anything? It is precisely because there is no profit that we have to say it solemnly. As for our Yang family, we actually have no choice. After all, even if the Yang family cannot show their attitude, the envoy can bring out the heavenly soldiers of the Immortal Alliance. At that time, perhaps it would be a bit unreasonable for Prince Ling to accept the throne, but the Immortal Alliance may not need any justification."

Yang Fusi nodded: "So it means that if you don't accept my toast, you will be punished? Sigh, the Immortal Alliance is really strong."

"Oh, yes, Shiwulang, you'd better remember this. The Immortal Alliance is very powerful. Even the immortals in the heavens can't stop the Immortal Alliance from expanding into new lands. Compared to them, Xinheng is nothing more than a tiny country, with a territory that doesn't even account for one-third of Mingzhou... Don't ever dream of having an equal dialogue with the Immortal Alliance that completely controls the Five States."

Yang Fusi chuckled: "I understand, I understand. It's just that a commoner girl is chosen by a wealthy family as a concubine, so she must flatter and please them. Don't dream of becoming a wife, right?"

Yang Qijian was also happy: "Yes, put your attitude in the right place, and take advantage of the fact that the master is still a little fresh, and get more practical benefits. The national strength of the Immortal Alliance is a hundred times that of Xinheng, especially the theory of immortal technology, which is ahead of us for many years. Now that we have lost the protection of the immortal officials in the heavenly court, we must double our reliance on the immortal ways of the mortal world, so it is best to take advantage of the opportunity of just joining the Immortal Alliance to gain more favor and support. After a few years, we may not have no chance to turn the tables by relying on the special geographical advantages of Mingzhou. After all... Although the national strength of the Immortal Alliance is strong, it is said that there is no one above the level of God Transformation in the five states and hundreds of countries, and here, at least for now, there are no bottlenecks in the various realms below the True Immortal. This is a unique advantage, and we must make good use of it."

Yang Fusi asked again: "Well, Fourth Brother, I have another question. We are so enthusiastic about sticking to the Immortal Alliance, but the higher-ups... really don't care?"

Yang Qijian sighed, "Why not? If Xinheng was completely ignored by the Heavenly Court, how could it face an unprecedented beast tide crisis in just a few months? Those wild beasts are the way they are governed. Indeed, even when the Liuli Network was intact and the immortal officials were on duty, the border of Xinheng would be invaded by wild beasts from time to time, but such a large-scale, organized beast tide is simply unheard of, and it is hard to imagine that it is purely natural. Our research on wild beasts in the past few hundred years is not shallow. Have you ever heard of wild beasts of different races and habits merging together in close proximity? Even in critical moments, they will kill each other... As for the beast king who has the ability to command and can forcibly suppress the instincts of the beast group, it almost only appears in legends. But in recent months, the number of examples we have discovered is almost in the double digits."

Yang Fusi was stunned: "So, the Heavenly Court really wants us to die? But my elder sister is not..."

"Don't speculate about my elder sister's affairs. The late emperor may indeed be a person from heaven, but there is more than one person in heaven. Judging from the current situation, the late emperor's influence on the decision-making of the heavenly court is also very limited. He just didn't let the immortal officials directly bring down the heavenly punishment - but that may also be because he is worried that the Immortal Alliance is just around the corner."

Afterwards, Yang Qijian warned again in a serious tone: "Also, don't tell these things to outsiders - as for what outsiders are, you know it in your heart - on the one hand, it's useless even if you tell them, because other people won't remember what you said, and may even turn a blind eye to the evidence you put in front of them. On the other hand, after you tell them, you will gradually forget the relevant things and become an outsider from then on."

Yang Fusi said in horror: "So before, Shi Erlang..."

"Yes, it's best not to care about this matter, or even guess about it. Big sister has done enough, so don't think about relying on her anymore. In fact, it might be a good thing for her to cut ties with her more quickly... Never mind, this is just my random guess, just pretend you didn't hear it."

Yang Fusi took some time to digest the information his brother had told him, and finally asked, "Then, one last question. The envoy just said that the Youcheng Military Academy invited my second brother to be their guest. What does that mean?"

Yang Qijian smiled and said, "It means that the Yang family has passed the test. The Youcheng Military Academy is located in the capital of Zhuwang, the strongest country in the Immortal Alliance. Inviting a Xinheng person to be a guest has a strong political significance. To put it simply, the Immortal Alliance is unlikely to receive the Yang family as guests and then say that we intend to rebel and exterminate the nine clans. To be honest, this is what my family was most worried about before... Let alone the previous mutiny against the national teacher, which has made the Yang family somewhat hostile to the world. Now that the ancestor has been lost and the eldest sister has been lost, the position of the Yang family is already precarious. If the envoy is really ruthless, he can just find a reason to do it. It will destroy the Yang family overnight, and even if we sit back and watch the Yang family's political enemies take the opportunity to attack, our lives will be very difficult. But now it seems that we are not so pessimistic. As long as we can help Prince Ling to ascend the throne smoothly and stop the beast tide, at least we can retreat bravely. Of course, we should not be too optimistic. My second brother was invited to visit the Immortal Alliance... It is very likely that he will not come back. The position of general is still too luxurious for the Yang family. Of course, the position of prime minister is the same. I am afraid that it will not be long before I will give Xiahou Ying a position and go to the Immortal Alliance as a visiting professor with your second brother."

Yang Fusi suddenly felt uneasy: "Isn't that the same as house arrest?"

"If you regard it as house arrest, then it is house arrest. But you also have to remember that Duke Feng couldn't wait to ask for house arrest, so your perspective determines your gains..."

However, before Yang Qijian could finish his words of instruction, he saw a red sword light coming from the northeastern sky, rushing towards him like a flaming meteor, and in a blink of an eye the tail flame seemed to have ignited the sky.

The two brothers' expressions changed instantly, and then they turned around and returned to the palace without hesitation.

The ominous flying sword was a "forbidden item" that would only be used when the border was in danger. Since it would alert the entire territory during flight, no one could suppress the news... and they had to do their best to deal with it. In today's Xinheng, this flying sword would only be used in an absolutely urgent situation.

Could the border trouble come so quickly?

(End of this chapter)