The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 309 Letter

The Poison Master is dead.

Even in Xiao Yan's memory, seeing the corpse of Du Gong was actually the second interaction between the two. However, this Witch King, who had been planning for nearly ten years, coveted the Altar of War for more than ten years, and did not hesitate to kill his own brother to seize power in Raojiang, no longer had the opportunity to fight Xiao Yan again.

He even gave people a feeling that his death was too hasty and helpless.

Xiao Yan had already made plans for the worst case scenario on this trip, because the time for all preparations was too tight. For example, asking You Chuan to gather troops in 32 camps within ten days were all things that had to be done as the situation became more urgent.

In Xiao Yan's original conception, there was a high probability that the Raojiang coalition forces would clash with the tide of zombies of the God of War. Of course, this range was limited to the Ten Thousand Poison Cave. Even if the Poison Lord had become a God of War, it was already the last moment, and the number of Gods of War he could control was very limited. Xiao Yan would not give him extra preparation time.

But no matter what, Poison Lord was not without a chance of winning, because until the last moment, he had not yet been deserted by his friends and relatives. Even the people left behind in the entire Ten Thousand Poison Cave were considered Poison Lord's diehard fans. The hundreds of poison masters stationed in the big village blocked the coalition forces for a long time, which made Xiao Yan one step late.

However, Du Gong died. He did not die at the hands of Xiao Yan, and he did not even give Chi Meng a chance to vent his anger. He died at the hands of his own people.

The Gu King walked up to the high platform and looked silently at the body of the Poison Lord leaning against the broken stone pillar for a long time without saying a word.

The coalition forces obtained information about the garrison of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave in advance, and progressed smoothly at first. However, unexpectedly, the remaining troops in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave had actually divided into multiple lines of defense in advance, with the Dazhai as the last line of defense. They resisted step by step, and their morale was also good, as if they knew they could be resurrected from the dead, delaying the coalition forces for most of the day.

This made Xiao Yan a little curious about who the person behind this was. The possibility of it being Yuan Tiangang himself was very small. After all, the only possibility was that he was some bad guy whom he had never met before.

In fact, it was expected that Yuan Tiangang would get rid of Du Gong. From the short blade of the Tang sword stuck in Du Gong's chest, it can be judged that Du Gong must have fought a fatal battle with a group of bad guys before his death. However, no trace of the bad guys was found at the scene.

Yuan Tiangang would not tolerate Chi Li, the witch king who had occupied Raojiang for more than ten years and obtained the mysterious art of war. Xiao Yan had thought in advance that Yuan Tiangang might destroy the bridge after crossing it, but he was more likely to guess that Yuan Tiangang would transfer Du Gong away from Raojiang instead of killing him. He did not expect that Du Gong would die so easily.

But thinking back, this may also be related to Xiao Yan.

Ever since Xiao Yan allowed You Chuan to steal the mysterious art of war for Du Gong, Yuan Tiangang may have sensed something fishy. However, Du Gong was still complacent, unaware that the signs of his own defeat were beginning to show.

For whatever reason, when Yuan Tiangang realized that he did not defeat Xiao Yan in this round, and instead allowed Xiao Yan to connect several lines together and seize the situation in Raojiang, he directly abandoned Du Gong and brought forward the process of "crossing the river and destroying the bridge", without even giving Du Gong a chance to become a stray dog.

However, the backup plan left by this commander was extremely cruel. He took away the most important thing among them, which was the "Gu" of the God of War that had cost Du Gong countless efforts and hundreds of lives to refine.

It is one thing for a poison master who is proficient in witchcraft to control this "Gu" and for Yuan Tiangang to control this "Gu" himself.

No matter how invincible Yuan Tiangang is, he can't trust such a weapon to be in the hands of an ambitious man like Du Gong. Moreover, Du Gong has already been used up. Not only is his prestige useless for controlling Raojiang, but it will only backfire. Du Gong's crimes of refining forbidden techniques and provoking civil war have been confirmed, and his reputation has been ruined.

It's not that Yuan Tiangang doesn't have any use for him, but it's not much. Moreover, Yuan Tiangang deprived him of the God of War, so it's impossible for Du Gong not to have resentment. If he's not careful, he might become one of Li Xingyun's potential constraints.

As for giving Raojiang to Xiao Yan...

According to Xiao Yan's understanding of the commander-in-chief, the "Gu" of the God of War is in his hands. Raojiang has become a useless place, and it is a Raojiang that has lost 10% of its vitality. The name of the Eighty-one Villages is not worthy of its name. After the death of the Poison Lord, the coalition forces that shared a common hatred of the enemy will soon become a mess. The strength of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave has been greatly reduced, and it may not be more deterrent than when the Poison Lord controlled the Ten Thousand Poison Cave in the past.

In short, it is still a mess. For at least two or three years, the Gu King will not be able to leave the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.

Beside him, Gu King put away his complicated emotions towards Du Gong and sighed: "Among the nine village chiefs, the six who were close to Du Gong, as well as the chiefs of the Tong, Ren, and Bu tribes and their respective confidants, are all dead..."

Xiao Yan nodded without saying anything more.

This is not a good thing. It seems that it has solved the problem for the Gu King, but these people are the backbone of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave after all. When the coalition forces started the uprising, the slogan they used was "Only Kill Chi Li", which might be the intention of selecting half of these village chiefs to make up for their crimes and make meritorious contributions in the future.

This move greatly weakened the strength of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, forcing the Gu King to re-absorb several large villages from the three places of Northern Xinjiang, Raozhong and Southern Xinjiang into the Ten Thousand Poison Cave. No matter what, there will inevitably be various compromises and changes to the original order in the process.

What is particularly tricky is that Rao Village, which has always been close to King Gu over the years, is not actually very strong. Like some villages in the northern border, they can only be considered small villages. After they moved into the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, it was difficult for them to win the support of the people in a short period of time. However, King Gu cannot help but do so. Therefore, for a long time, King Gu will have to do more personally to rebuild the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.

Of course, there is another purpose. With the death of these people, Xiao Yan would have no idea who the mysterious man was who replaced Du Gong and personally set up layers of defense.

King Gu did not spend too much time here to commemorate Du Gong. In fact, it was not really a commemoration. King Gu came here only to express his gratitude for the many years of brotherhood between the two.

In fact, before Yuan Tiangang sent the two of them to Twelve Caves to steal the Altar of the God of War, the brotherhood between King Gu and Lord Du was real, and Lord Du had no intention of attacking his own brother at that time.

The reason for everything is just four words: things have changed and people have changed.

But soon, Xiao Yan received good news.

Ji Ruxue and Chi Meng arrived at the Gu Control Field together. The Ten Thousand Poison Cave was now in a mess. Many people died in the war, both on both sides. The person behind the scenes was extremely treacherous. Before snatching the "War God's Gu" and escaping, he instigated the remaining troops to set fire to the warehouses and buildings in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.

Fortunately, the coalition forces quickly put out the fire, so no major losses were caused.

Ji Ruxue frowned as she looked at the hundreds of dead bodies around her. She walked up to the platform, glanced at Du Gong's body, and questioned Xiao Yan with her eyes.

Xiao Yan was very calm. He just shook his head slightly, indicating that he was a step too late.

Chi Meng was very happy, but he just stood in front of Du Gong with his hands on his hips, and didn't say anything. After watching for a while, he wrinkled his nose, pulled the two of them and walked away, saying: "Xiao Guoguo, the person you are curious about, someone knows who it is!"

Xiao Yan was surprised and turned his head to look at Ji Ruxue.

Ji Ruxue nodded and said softly, "It was Tongyue. She knew something, but she only said she wanted to see you and didn't tell us."

Xiao Yan suddenly realized and stroked the short stubble on his chin, feeling a little surprised.

I was thinking about so many things just now that I forgot about this person.

After Tong Yue was captured by Migeshu last night, she has been hiding in Raoyue until today. She survived by accident. You know, including her father, few of the clan leaders of Tong, Ren, and Bu, as well as their children and confidants survived. The person appointed by Yuan Tiangang was particularly vigilant for some reason, as if he was afraid that Xiao Yan would know his identity. He acted very cleanly and was obviously prepared in advance.

Tong Yue looked much more sloppy and downcast than the last time Xiao Yan saw her. She looked listless and did not have any of the aura of a young lady at all. Perhaps she already knew about her father's death. Her eyes were a little red and swollen, and she had obviously cried beforehand.

Chi Meng felt uncomfortable watching this. Although the head of the Tong family was not a good guy and had colluded with the poisonous turtle to commit many murders and arson, he was, to put it bluntly, Tong Yue's father. Chi Meng felt the same way about losing a father, and he had already taught this little girl a lesson before, so he didn't have much ill will towards her.

Ji Ruxue did not express her opinion. She quietly glanced at Xiao Yan's expression and saw that he had no expression on his face and was even a little indifferent. She picked a place at random and asked directly: "What do you know? Just tell me. If it's useful, I can allow you to propose some appropriate conditions."

Tong Yue shrank her body, looking completely different from the arrogant person she was when she first met everyone. She might be a little afraid of Xiao Yan. After all, her brother died at Xiao Yan's hands, which must have been a big shock to her.

But for some reason, she still clenched her fists and whispered, "If you promise me to help me avenge my father's murder, I will tell you..."

Chi Meng was startled and turned to look at Xiao Yan. Ji Ruxue also seemed to be hesitant to speak, but her expression did not change much.

Xiao Yan still had no expression on his face and didn't even say a word.

Tong Yue waited for a while, and seemed to know that begging or threatening would have no effect on Xiao Yan, so she lowered her voice and seemed less angry.

"I only know that he is a Central Plains man. My father has a lot of resentment towards him. He always curses him every time he comes home. I eavesdropped twice and others seemed to say that the man was a 'big-eared thief' and a 'smiling tiger'. It is said that he is some kind of holy leader who is highly valued by the Witch King. The Witch King cannot trust his own people and has to appoint him to act on his behalf... My father does not have a good impression of him, so when I heard that my father and his companions were killed by their own people, the first person I thought of was him."

Ji Ruxue raised her eyebrows and whispered to Xiao Yan: "Could it be..."

"Nine out of ten." Xiao Yan smiled, somewhat surprised, but certain: "It should be the Holy Master of Tongwenguan, Li Siyuan."

Chi Meng and Tong Yue looked bewildered, but Ji Ruxue looked solemn.

Li Siyuan of Tongwenguan, the leader of the Thirteen Guardians of Jin State, seems to be far less famous than the Crown Prince Li Cunxu, but he is very famous in the martial arts world. He has the nickname "Little Mengchang of Hedong". It is said that he is a man who respects the wise and humbles himself. Many martial artists are willing to be under his command. He is a person who can be compared with his own empress, and even far surpass her in some aspects.

Such a person would actually show up in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave and become the person who helps the Bad Leader to deal with the Poison King!
Xiao Yan didn't think so much, but his thoughts became much clearer. He paced back and forth for a while and suddenly said, "Xue'er, do you still keep the letter?" Ji Ruxue thought for a moment and nodded.

The letter Xiao Yan was talking about was a letter that had been delivered from Panyu via Bian Jing a few days ago and then sent by Gongyang Zuo using a Saker Falcon. However, the content on the letter was very strange. It was actually the poem "Yi and Lu, Two Decayed Old Men" that Xiao Yan had written to the empress on the banks of Bian Jing. There was no other meaning.

Also attached was a letter from Bian Jing, written by Miao Chengtian.

Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian were initially imprisoned by Li Mang and Duan Chengtian because of Li Maozhen's sudden arrest of the Fengxiang bad guys. If Xiao Yan had not sent a letter, they might have had to wait until Xiao Yan returned to Beijing to be released.

Now that the situation in Qi State has changed dramatically, Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian have been completely abandoned by Li Maozhen, and the original trade between Anle Pavilion and Qi State has been completely interrupted. They had no choice but to shrink their original horse business, and the last batch of horses was delivered to Zhu Jin in Huainan.

This letter was sent because Miao Chengtian was unsure about the meaning of the letter with the names of "two old men, Yi and Lu" on it. What's even more strange is that there is no signature on the letter. We can only judge that it was sent from Qi State, and it should not even be sent from Fengxiang.

The sender of the letter was very cautious and only contained one poem. Even if Li Maozhen intercepted it, he would not be able to guess what it meant.

When Xiao Yan received this letter a few days ago, he was too busy and just put the matter aside temporarily. Now he suddenly remembered it because of Li Siyuan's matter, so it was not groundless.

Qi and Jin are likely to make big moves, and this letter would not be sent for no reason.

Xiao Yan took the letter from Ji Ruxue, and regardless of the presence of Chi Meng and Tong Yue, he squinted his eyes and looked at the letter paper carefully, but the letter paper was very ordinary and there was nothing special about it.

Xiao Yan frowned, checked it over and over again, and even wanted to carve a mark on the paper, but to no avail.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

"The character 'Lü' is missing a stroke." Ji Ruxue suddenly pointed at Xin and said, "The character 'Wu' is also missing a stroke."

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes.

"Weishui River, Diaoyutai..."

Ji Ruxue was stunned, and then immediately thought of which Diaoyutai it was.

It is said that Jiang Taigong once fished on the bank of Weihe River, and took the opportunity to meet Ji Chang, the Duke of Xibo, leaving behind an allusion that "Jiang Taigong fishes, and those who are willing will take the bait." Later generations selected the locations of several fishing platforms based on the allusion, but the one with the least controversy is located in the Fayu River Valley in Fengxiang. It is said that the traces of Jiang Taigong kneeling while fishing that year still exist, but whether it was forged by later generations is not important.

The key point is whether the sender meant it this way, using these two strokes to refer to the location of Diaoyutai.

"Prince Qi...the empress must have lost her freedom." Ji Ruxue whispered.

Xiao Yan asked back, "Can the Empress be trusted?"

Ji Ruxue was stunned for a moment, and then said without hesitation: "As a human being, I can guarantee it with my life!"

"So it seems..."

Xiao Yan laughed to himself: "I can't get off this hook."

Having said that, he no longer said anything to the stunned Ji Ruxue, but only promised Tongyue that as long as she stayed quietly in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave and worked for Chi Meng, she might be able to see the day of revenge.

He also told Tong Yue frankly that if she ever became capable, she could come to him to avenge her brother's death, but before that, she had to be a slave to Chi Meng for at least five years. During this period, he would personally let the Gu King use Gu magic to seal her internal energy. After five years, she would be free again in exchange for her achievement today.

Tong Yue did not dare to raise any objection, or rather, she did not dare to have any thought of resisting Xiao Yan at all. Moreover, the Tong family was almost wiped out, and the Tong family had offended many people in the past. Now, only following Chi Meng could protect her. As for whether Chi Meng was willing to take her with him, that was another matter. At least with this title, it would be difficult for others to inflict their resentment on the head of the Tong family on her.

After saying this, Xiao Yan no longer paid attention to the matter, and immediately rushed to see the Gu King with Ji Ruxue and Chi Meng to discuss important matters. However, during the trip, they happened to run into Qian Wu and other girls from the Luohua Cave. The group of beauties in red clothes were extremely pleasing to the eyes, which reduced the solemn and murderous atmosphere in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.

"Lord Cave God..."

Qian Wu changed into a red dress with narrow sleeves and looked a little tired. He ignored the attention of others and bowed to Xiao Yan as soon as he entered a bamboo building.

Xiao Yan smiled and said, "I have no objection to how Qianwu Cave Master calls me. It's up to you. But in front of others, the two words Cave God are really... If Qianwu Cave Master doesn't mind, you can just call me by my name in front of others."

Qian Wu considerately changed his address, but did not call him by his name, just called him Xiao Lang.

Ji Ruxue narrowed her almond-shaped eyes slightly, and Chi Meng was so angry that her teeth were itching.

Qian Wu actually greeted the two girls with a normal expression, and then apologized to Xiao Yan: "When I led everyone to leave Luohua Cave before, I was worried that the witch king Chi Li would follow, so I didn't leave a mark for Xiao Lang. After hearing about the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, I immediately set out to help Xiao Lang, but I didn't expect that I was still a step late for Xiao Lang..."

After she finished speaking, the few cave girls who followed her immediately started chattering, all praising Lord Cave God for being amazing, as he defeated the Witch King Chi Li in just a few days. It seemed as if the girls even felt it was a pity that they didn't have the chance to join the battle to help Lord Cave God.

Xiao Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He exchanged greetings with Qian Wu and the others for a while, then entrusted them to Ji Ruxue and Chi Meng, and went to look for the Gu King alone.

But at the last minute, he suddenly remembered.

With the sudden change in Qi State, Huanyinfang will inevitably split into the Empress's faction and the Qi King's faction. If the Empress is the "Jiang Taigong", it is even possible that even her base will be snatched away by Li Maozhen.

Then if these women who don't want to leave are willing to go to the Central Plains...

Have a chance to talk to Qian Wu.

------

Qi State, Fengxiang.

The empress put down her paintbrush, walked to the window, and quietly looked out at half of Fengxiang City from the attic.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Master, I have prepared what you want. I will choose a time to send the people from the south away in a few days. No one should notice your absence within a day..."

The person outside the door hesitated for a moment, then said, "Will that person really come? To be on the safe side, it would be more appropriate for me to go there for you first..."

"That's too late."

The empress said to herself, "My brother wants to conquer Guanzhong. Although we don't know what Jin is going to do, Zhu Wen will only attack Qi first. It's clear that someone wants to use this opportunity to drive the tiger to devour the wolf..."

If Qi State loses this battle, all the savings accumulated by the empress over the years will be lost. No matter who gave Li Maozhen the strategy, the empress believed that that person would never be so kind as to let Qi State take over the Guanzhong territory for nothing.

If my guess is correct, Qi State's taking of Guanzhong was false, and the real purpose was to attract Zhu Wen's attention.

But Li Maozhen seemed to have lost his mind, and was determined to swallow up Guanzhong, expand the territory of Qi State to where Zhu Wen was lying, and overlook the Central Plains, just like the story of the Qin Dynasty's annexation of the six kingdoms.

The person outside the door said nothing more.

Li Maozhen had a big quarrel with the empress some time ago and left in anger. He has not visited this place for many days.

The empress looked at the slightly prosperous Fengxiang with her eyes stunned.

In the end, just murmured.

"I think it will come..."

(End of this chapter)