Chapter Thirty-Eight The Final Step 1

  The capital was in great chaos, and the imperial court was filled with turmoil. The core figures of the Left Party, led by the Left Prime Minister, were killed by Zhao Song, and the party fell into disarray. The party members fled in all directions, and the Right Prime Minister took advantage of the situation to seize control of the Council of State.

  At the same time, Tuyan and Pingyuan received documents and sent troops to assist. Nan Gongyu defeated 300,000 enemy soldiers in the first battle.

  It seems like chaos is erupting everywhere, but in reality, a crisis is quietly being resolved.

  Outside the Imperial City, suburbs.

  Silver moonlight spilled onto the forest path, and the urgent sound of horseshoes came from afar. Not far outside the forest, on the plain above, lanterns shone brightly, a camp was pitched there.

  Soldiers fully armed, strict discipline, morale boosted.

  "Halt!" The sound of horseshoes came to an abrupt stop.

  Nalan Xixi was lightly dressed, with a black long sword hanging from her waist. She jumped off the horse and gazed at the distant lights, narrowing her eyes slightly. In front of her was the army led by several generals left over from the Left Party.

  It is said that there are 400,000 of them, but I'm afraid it's also an exaggeration. How can such a small place accommodate an army of 400,000? Moreover, the daily military expenses for this army of 400,000 would be considerable, and how could they stay here for long?

  Nalan Xixi turned around and looked at Nangong Yan. "Please, Princess, hand the Phoenix Seal over to me."

  Nangong Yan hesitated for a moment, handed the imperial seal to Nalan Xianyu, and then jumped off his horse to follow closely behind Nalan Xianyu.

  Nalan Xixi looked at Quan Long beside her and said, "Give me the thing."

  Quan Long nodded, took out a scroll from his bosom. Nalan Xianyu took the scroll, nodded and said: "You all go back, if after half an hour I still haven't come out, do what I told you to do."

  At this time, He Xian jumped off his horse and said urgently: "Young master! The military camp is full of crises. Let's follow you instead!"

  Nalan Xixi gave He Xian a cold glance, He Xian was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his head. He knew he had said something unnecessary. Not to mention whether those people could harm her or not, at this moment, she would definitely not listen to anyone's words.

  "Protect the princess."

  "Yes." Quan Long and He Xian bowed their fists and accepted the order.

  "What a pity!"

  Nalan Xianuo turned to leave, but Nangong Yan rushed up and grabbed her hand. Nalan Xianuo was slightly startled, pulled out her own hand, and coldly asked: "What are your orders, Princess?"

  Nangong Yan looked at Nalan Xinnuo's expressionless face and knew that she wouldn't listen to anything now. She paused for a moment, then said softly: "Be careful."

  Nalan Xixi nodded and immediately flew towards the military camp.

  In the military camp, strict vigilance was maintained. Soldiers on patrol duty carried torches and moved back and forth.

  At the gate, the soldier on guard saw a dark shadow flying in from afar and shouted: "Who comes?"

  In an instant, the shadow had flown to the front, and all that could be seen was a slender young boy in black clothes with no expression on his face. He walked over and said calmly: "Nalan Xianyu."

  "Na Lan Xianuo?" The gatekeeper thought for a moment, but couldn't recall hearing the name before. However, he was familiar with the surname, which was the royal surname of the Fengyun Kingdom.

  "But what about the people of Lingyun country?"

  "I want to see your general."

  "Our general has given orders, all idle and miscellaneous people are not allowed to meet!"

  Nalan Xixi let out a cold hum, reached into her bag, and the guard saw her movement, frightened, raised his weapon. She took out a jade token from her bag, Nalan Xixi held up the jade token and said loudly: "Call your general to see me!"

  The guard saw the jade card and was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, while another one had already gone to report.

  Before long, a sturdy man with a robust build walked out of the tent. He was clad in armor and cast a disdainful glance at Nalan Xinnuo before reluctantly making a fist and bowing in greeting.

  "In the general's tent next week, Adjutant Lu Zheng dares to ask, who are you?"

  "Imperial Guard Captain, Nalan Xionuo." Nalan Xionuo replied coldly, but didn't say anything more about his intentions.

  Lu Zheng thought for half a second before saying: "Are you from the country of Lingyun?"

  Nalan Xixi's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she gazed coldly at Lu Zheng. "Is General Zhou in good health?"

  "How dare you!" Lu Zheng bellowed, then glanced at the imperial seal in Nalan Xianyu's hand and struggled to suppress his anger, still saying discontentedly: "Follow me!"

  As Lu Zheng entered the tent, an old man was sitting above, wearing a military uniform, his hair and beard were all white, looking like he was nearly sixty years old. He raised his eyes to see Nalan Xianyu, but did not intend to stand up.

  Nalan Xiong walked into the tent, clasped his fists and bowed. "Nalan Xiong has seen General Zhou."

  Upon hearing Nalan Xixi's surname, Zhou Ge hesitated for a moment before raising his hand and saying, "No need to be polite, please take a seat."

  Nalan Xixi nodded her head in gratitude and sat down beside him. Zhou Gai sized up this unexpected visitor who had arrived at midnight, dressed lightly, slender and weak, polite but not servile, holding a phoenix seal yet with the surname Nalan?

  "I didn't know you were visiting so late at night, what brings you here?"

  "Return to Beijing with the troops." Nalan Xianyu replied calmly.

  Listening to Nalan Xixi's calm and unobjectionable response, Zhou Ge was secretly shocked in his heart, what a big tone.

  However, being able to obtain the Feng Xi seal must mean that they are someone trustworthy in the eyes of the Nan Gong family. Moreover, those who possess a double surname in this world are all royalty and nobility, and having such an attitude would certainly indicate that they have some ability.

  Zhou General chuckled and said: "Oh? I don't know how you plan to take away the 400,000 troops of Guandong with you?"

  These 400,000 troops were originally stationed on the eastern border as combat units and are commonly known as the Kwantung Army. Therefore, Nalan Xiren was certain that there were absolutely no 400,000 stationed outside the imperial capital.

  Not to mention whether the 400,000 can stay here, if Kanto loses this army of 400,000, it's likely that it would have been destroyed long ago. Zhou Hai has spent his whole life fighting on the battlefield, defending Kanto; no matter how stupid he is, he won't cut off his own retreat route.

  "So, General Zhou doesn't plan on going back with me?" Nalan Xianuo looked at Zhou Gai.

  Zhou Gai heard this and let out a cold snort. "It's not that Zhou Gai doesn't want to go back, but rather Luo Tian won't let Zhou Gai go back. Now that my fellow party members have been captured or killed, even the current Left Prime Minister couldn't escape, if I go back, wouldn't that be jumping into the net myself?!"

  "What does General Zhang mean?"

  "Hmph, it depends on the imperial court's intention." Zhou Gai let out a cold snort and looked towards Nalan Xianyu.

  "The imperial court's intention is simple: the Left Party rebels are planning a coup, and General Zhou is also one of them. Under his leadership, the Kwantung Army has become a rebel army as well. If General Zhou is willing to follow me back, then we will wipe out his past misdeeds, reorganize the Kwantung Army, and I will ensure that he has no worries."

  Zhou's heart sank, reorganizing the Kwantung Army, which means taking away his military power. Ah, he had long seen through the court's tricks, once he lost his military power, what else would he have to worry about? He would surely die!

  "It seems that the young master is still unaware of the current situation. Even if I, Zhou Ge, were willing to go back, the 400,000-strong army in Guandong would probably not be willing! Among these left-wing party members, many are relatives of my Guandong army. Now that the imperial court has issued an order to kill them without exception, how can they be willing to cut off their own path to life?!"

  Nalan Xixi slightly curled up the corners of her mouth, silently scolding Zhou Gai for being an old fox. Every time he opened his mouth, it was about the 400,000-strong army, trying to intimidate her? He even came up with such a ridiculous excuse, but in the end, it was just that he was afraid of death.

  She had expected him to say that. "What does General Zhou want?"

  Zhou Gai saw that she did not refute, and there was some smile on her face. "Let the imperial court pardon the left party members for no crime, restore my left party regime! Otherwise, I will risk this old life, bring the Guandong army into the imperial capital, and avenge the left party members!"

  Nalan Xixi slightly raised an eyebrow. Zhou Ge was indeed a broken jar, saying they were rebels and truly treating them as such.

  "Capture the Imperial Capital and avenge." Narlan Xizuo smiled lightly. "Good, very good, then what?"

  Then what? Even if he had ten times more courage this week, he wouldn't dare to speak treasonous words. Zhou Gai was speechless, and angrily turned his face away.

  "General Zhou, forgive me for speaking bluntly." Nalan Xianyu stood up and slowly walked into the hall.

  "Don't think that just because you bring your troops into the city and defeat them, you'll win. Once you start fighting, no matter who wins or loses, if both sides suffer heavy losses, the Sacred Gold Empire and the United Ideas Nation will take advantage of the situation and rise up under the banner of justice to conquer the world. At that time, it won't just be Luotian, the entire world will be plunged into chaos and war, and the people will suffer greatly."

  Nalan Xixi paused for a moment, then looked at Zhou Gai with a solemn expression. "General Zhou, I think you can understand what war represents better than anyone else. The most difficult thing to seek in this world is peace, and the huge price paid behind this peace, I'm sure you are more aware of it than me. This price also includes your life as a general, doesn't it?"

  Saying that, Nalan Xiono softened his tone, as if persuading. "Regardless of whether it's the Kwantung Army or you, you toil your whole life to maintain this peace, not to destroy it."

  Zhou Ge listened, unknowingly reddening the corners of his eyes. Yes, he was most aware of the enormous price to be paid behind An Ning's back. The war fires and smoke of the past, the rivers of blood, the passionate young men of yesterday now gray-haired...

  This tranquil wall of Luo Tian was built with countless bodies and blood flows. He cannot, nor does he have the qualification to destroy it.

  He let out a sigh, his tone full of exhaustion. "This, I naturally know, I just wanted to find a way for these children to survive, didn't expect them to be so unclear and unjustly given the name of traitors, with no home to return to."

  Nalan Xixi let out a deep breath, and Zhou Gai was able to say this sentence, which meant that the matter had already been settled. She smiled slightly, with a rare softness in her tone towards the elderly man.

  "Now you are just being implicated by the Left Party, and the Kwantung Army is only being misunderstood as a rebel army. As long as General brings the Kwantung Army back to Luotian and shows loyalty, this misunderstanding can be cleared up. It's absolutely impossible to be so reckless and start a war, causing chaos in the world and becoming a sinner for eternity. Moreover, at present, there is a war in the northern border, and Luotian needs General now, what else does General have to worry about?"

  As he spoke, Nalan Xianyu took out the document from his bosom and handed it over. "This is a decree personally issued by His Majesty, please take a look, General."