Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 264 A Blend of Coaxing and Deception (Part Two)

"Of course, we should pledge allegiance to the God!"

Having gone to such lengths of coaxing and deception, when Gu Jingnian deliberately backed down and expressed his unwillingness to accept the remnants of the Yue Kingdom, Zhao Boheng immediately became anxious.

Yong Kingdom is just one of the kingdoms in Zhongzhou. Emperor Yong is still an emperor who has not fully grasped power. Even if he appoints Wei Li as empress, it is unknown how much power he can give her. On the other hand, the Divine Lord is likely to occupy the entire Zhongzhou and already possesses a vast territory of realms that is even more expansive than Zhongzhou. So, is there any need to say which one to choose?

Zhao Boheng couldn't wait to pledge his loyalty.

"The princess's alliance with Emperor Yong is merely a temporary expedient, a mutual exploitation. Emperor Yong is just an ordinary person from Zhongzhou, while the Yue people have always admired extraordinary beings, which is why they have devoted the entire nation's resources to supporting them. I, too, have long admired the Divine Lord, which is why I went to great lengths to investigate the realm, unintentionally offending him. I never expected that the Divine Lord would forgive me and bestow medicine to save me. I am deeply impressed and only wish to serve the Divine Lord, even unto death!"

From this sentence, Gu Jingnian also gleaned something else.

It turns out that in Zhao Boheng's mind, the God Venerable was the old man he glimpsed from the memories of the Dragon Beard Water, who was also the Old Realm Lord.

Indeed, the old realm master is stronger and his abilities are somewhat similar to Zi Cang's, which explains why Zhao Boheng is so respectful.

Gu Jingnian did not expose this matter, but planned to use the image of the old world lord when creating a god in the future.

He pondered these things and didn't immediately pay attention to Zhao Boheng, instead pacing around with his hands behind his back.

From this moment on, the "Godly Venerable" began to detach himself from Zi Cang's appearance and piece together a part of himself.

"King Yi." Zhao Boheng became even more anxious and knelt down, saying, "I humbly beg King Yi to allow us, the people of Yue, to serve the divine deity."

"Get up, the God has long anticipated your intentions."

Gu Jingnian did not make things difficult for him. He said something indifferently, which made the God even more brilliant and mysterious.

In comparison, Zi Cang is not so mysterious and says what she thinks.

"Yes."

"I ask you," Gu Jingnian said, "if Yin Yuhe knew the God's teachings, would he obey?"

“No,” Zhao Boheng said. “As emperor, how could I possibly relinquish power?”

At this point, he regained some of his composure and realized that something was amiss.

If the God is so powerful, why didn't he conquer the Central Plains before? And why is he so cautious now?
This was a question that Gu Jingnian had to explain to Zhao Boheng, and he didn't shy away from it.

"Did you know that the Yihai people once invaded Zhongzhou but were defeated by Dacheng?"

"I know a little," Zhao Boheng said. "The great battle was extremely fierce, with very few survivors. More than a thousand years have passed, and the details of what happened back then are now unknown."

"The secret to Dacheng's ability to defeat the Yihai people is still hidden in Ruijing, which is what I am tasked with this time."

Zhao Boheng suddenly realized what was happening and felt a surge of excitement at sharing a common enemy, saying, "I will do my utmost to cooperate with the Wing King!"

After saying that, he clenched his fists and said hatefully, "Emperor Rui must have had that kind of power and destroyed the Yue Kingdom because of that secret."

The more excited he became, the calmer Gu Jingnian remained, simply humming in response.

"Wing King, we..."

Gu Jingnian interrupted, "Back then, the Divine Lord helped Dacheng defeat the Yi people and guarded Fujie Mountain. Later, he also made an agreement with the various countries that he would not invade Zhongzhou. Now that Zhongzhou has been divided for a long time, the Divine Lord could not bear to see it and decided to come out of the mountain to unify Zhongzhou. But this would violate the agreement with the various countries and would also go against the will of Heaven. What do you think?"

"So that's why," Zhao Boheng said. "The emperors of various countries and their lackeys are unwilling to lose their power. Upon learning that the God has descended from the mountain, they will inevitably bewitch people and incite the foolish masses to defy Heaven."

"Yes, although the God has supernatural powers, it is easy to kill people but difficult to teach them. He cannot bear to see the people rebel and force him to harm the innocent."

Zhao Boheng said solemnly, "We should first educate the people on behalf of the God and follow the will of Heaven."

"In short, we must not be too hasty. The God is immortal and can wait," Gu Jingnian said. "We must not be too radical in our actions. Just listen to my arrangements."

"Yes," Zhao Boheng said, "I will follow the instructions of the Wing King."

"You're in a hurry. Take care of your health first."

After saying that, Gu Jingnian patted Zhao Boheng on the shoulder, told him to lie down and rest, and then turned and left.

This is the kind of action that comes from a superior or elder, but he did it quite naturally.

Today's long talk has temporarily won over the hearts of the Vietnamese people.

Whether Wei Li becomes the Empress of Yong is now a matter of some decision-making power for Gu Jingnian, but whether he can prevent Wei Li from becoming the Empress depends on Yin Jinggen's sincerity in cooperating with him.

It's about cooperation, not blind obedience from Gu Jingnian. He has already done a lot for Yin Jinggen and doesn't owe him anything.

From now on, he will not serve anyone sincerely, not even Zi Cang.

What he needs to do next is to become stronger, increase his strength and influence, until he can control his own destiny.

If his fate is determined by this mortal world, then he will rule this world.

It's that simple.

———————— After leaving the house, Miao Chunniang seemed a little uneasy.

As the power dynamic between Gu Jingnian and Zhao Boheng shifted dramatically, Miao Chunniang began to reassess her relationship with Gu Jingnian.

Because she felt a certain awe towards him.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law?"

Lost in thought, Miao Chunniang was reminded twice by Gu Jingnian's respectful address of "sister-in-law." Miao Chunniang realized what was happening, but found it hard to keep up the act.

"Yi...you...Shiyilang." Miao Chunniang straightened her mourning clothes and composed herself before asking, "What's wrong?"

"Do you recognize which ones are our people?" Gu Jingnian asked.

"What?" Miao Chunniang didn't understand for a moment.

Gu Jingnian said, "My sister-in-law used to be a very intelligent woman."

Miao Chunniang was taken aback.

Fengniang smiled slightly, poked her with her finger, and said, "Do you know which of the captured people are remnants of the Yue Kingdom?"

Zhao Boheng and Qu Jizhi had discussed the matter together before exploring the territory. Therefore, some of the people who were captured along with Qu Jizhi were Zhao Boheng's men.

Now that he is considered one of Gu Jingnian's men, he should naturally be released.

Miao Chunniang then realized what was happening and replied, "Although I don't know them personally, I can recognize them."

"Let's go."

Gu Jingnian left the courtyard, took Yin Jingheng's token, and said to a general, "I would like to see the people who were captured along with Qu Jizhi."

"This way, Marquis Chengye."

After wandering around for a while and almost getting lost, Gu Jingnian was led into a dungeon.

This dungeon is made of black neodymium and is used to imprison extraordinary people.

Miao Chunniang looked around, then walked to an empty cell and stood there for a while before whispering something to Gu Jing.

"There's one here."

"is it?"

Gu Jingnian looked towards the cell but saw no one. However, he quickly realized who Miao Chunniang was referring to and was quite surprised.

At that moment, the shackles hidden in the straw clanged, and a prison uniform suddenly floated up and was put on by someone.

Then, Yu Moxian revealed herself.

"Gu Jingnian? We used to be master and disciple, and today you've come to visit me, a prisoner?"

Despite wearing prison clothes, Yu Moxian still possessed her unique charm, lacking the languid allure of Feng Niang but exuding a more refined and scholarly air.

Gu Jingnian had no idea that she was actually a spy planted by the Yue Kingdom next to Qu Jizhi, and he clapped his hands in admiration.

The applause seemed to mock the former teacher.

"His Majesty has issued an edict to bring Qu Jizhi back to the capital, and Mr. Yu can also be released now."

Gu Jingnian didn't mention the remnants of the Yue people, leaving only this sentence before continuing on his way.

Yu Moxian looked at Miao Chunniang's figure with a look of doubt in her eyes. She wondered why Miao Chunniang would tell Gu Jingnian her identity. Could it be that Miao Chunniang had betrayed her?
After passing through many prison cells, Miao Chunniang whispered to Gu Jingnian, "That fat guy is one of ours too."

"Pan Chengqiu?"

"I don't recognize him."

"How do you know?"

Miao Chunniang whispered, "These people are able to join us because of Master's pills. After they pledge their loyalty, Master will add another ingredient to the pills, which only a few of us true Yue people can smell."

Gu Jingnian then pointed to the prison cell and said, "General Pan, you helped me before, come out."

"Marquis Chengye?!"

Inside the cell, Pan Chengqiu was overjoyed and quickly approached the bars to try and get closer to them.

Gu Jingnian, however, continued walking forward.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked at the thin figure lying like a dead man in a cell, as if he saw himself as a child.

(End of this chapter)