Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

"Your servant obeys!"

Wei Zhong kowtowed repeatedly, but did not rush to get up.

He hesitated for a moment, looked up at Xia Jie, and then stopped himself from speaking.

"Spit it out!"

Xia Jie glared at him irritably.

Wei Zhong shuddered in fright and quickly lowered his voice.

"An urgent report just sent back by the secret guards."

"In the southwest, Miao King Xia Xiong is leading 200,000 Miao rattan armor soldiers, traveling day and night towards Zhenbei City. They are currently less than 300 li away from Heishui Pass."

"Natsuo?"

Xia Jie's brows furrowed into a tight knot.

"What's that old geezer doing here?"

"This servant does not know."

Wei Zhong broke out in a cold sweat.

"The Miao King has always preferred to stay in a remote corner of the country. This time, he has suddenly mobilized all his forces. His intentions are unclear, and the Shadow Guards dare not get too close."

Xia Jie narrowed his eyes, a hint of resentment flashing in them.

Back then, I wrote letters to various vassal kings, requesting them to send troops to besiege Lin Mo.

Xia Xiong, however, did not send out a single soldier.

Now, holding his father's tiger tally, he has assembled a million-strong army.

They surrounded Zhenbei City completely, and it looked like they were about to crush Lin Mo to death.

But the old guy came running over all of a sudden.

Trying to steal the credit?

Or are they here to rebel and help that bastard Lin Mo fight against them?

"Relay my order!"

Xia Jie walked to the weapon rack, drew a long sword from it, and pointed the tip at Wei Zhong.

"Send the Left Army Commander to lead 5,000 light cavalry to investigate Xia Xiong's strength and weaknesses."

"If he comes to our aid, have his 200,000 rattan armor soldiers stand by 300 li away. Without my order, if they dare to take a single step forward, they will be killed without mercy!"

"If he makes any unusual moves, or if he's here to help Lin Mo..."

Xia Jie's lips curled into a cruel, cold smile.

"Let the General of the Cavalry lead the 350,000-strong right flank army to meet me!"

"Stop them all in Luoyan Valley! Slaughter them on the spot, leave no one alive!"

Wei Zhong was startled.

350,000 against 200,000, still the elite troops of Zhongzhou against the detachment of Miao territory.

If a war breaks out, the Miao King's 200,000 men will definitely be crushed into mincemeat.

"Your Highness, he is, after all, the King of Miao... a member of the royal family. If we execute him on the spot, it might give others grounds for criticism..."

Wei Zhong mustered his courage and offered a reminder.

"Royal relatives?"

Xia Jie snorted coldly, flicked his wrist, and his longsword twirled in mid-air.

"I hold the Tiger Tally in my hand; I am the supreme ruler! To disobey my decree is tantamount to treason!"

"Whether they're here to help or to cause trouble, it doesn't matter."

"Anyone who stands in my way shall die!"

Xia Jie threw his longsword hard to the ground.

The blade pierced through the Persian carpet and embedded itself deep in the soil, causing the hilt to shake violently.

"Go and relay the order!"

"Yes, yes!"

Wei Zhong dared not say another word and scrambled out of the tent.

Outside the tent, mud and water were splashing everywhere.

Wei Zhong stepped into a puddle, his boots filled with muddy water.

A cold wind blew.

The cold sweat on my back instantly froze.

"Godfather! Slow down!"

Shunzi, the young eunuch guarding outside the tent, quickly came over and took Wei Zhong's trembling arm.

Wei Zhong slapped him across the face.

Snapped!

"Stop being so slow! Go and relay the order!"

"Send the Left Army Commander-in-Chief with 5,000 light cavalry to probe the Miao King's strength, and send the General of the Flying Cavalry with 350,000 men to intercept them at Luoyan Valley!"

Shunzi covered her face and nodded repeatedly.

"Son, I'll go right now!"

"return!"

Wei Zhong grabbed Shunzi by the collar.

"Tell the General of the Cavalry to hurry! Leave no survivors!"

Shunzi swallowed hard.

"Godfather, before the Left Army Commander left, he muttered that if the Miao King really came to rebel, then his five thousand light cavalry would probably not be enough to fill his teeth."

"If it's not enough to fill a tooth gap, then fill it with your life!" Wei Zhong roared in a low voice.

"This is His Highness's order! Anyone who dares to retreat even half a step will be executed!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Shunzi slipped away and disappeared.

Wei Zhong stood in the muddy camp, looking at the bright yellow tent.

He cursed Xia Jie's ancestors for eighteen generations a hundred times in his heart.

Oh, wait, that's not right.

That's the royal family of the Great Xia Dynasty. Insulting their ancestors is the same as insulting the old emperor.

Wei Zhong spat.

He regretted it!

The intestines are all regretful!

What kind of life has he been living for the past two weeks?

Every day, I risk my life to serve a psychopathic, dead eunuch!

That's right.

The dignified third prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, the regent and crown prince.

Now, like Wei Zhong, he's a rootless nobody.

Let's rewind to half a month ago.

Clouds shroud the mountain, the Changsheng Temple.

Wei Zhong stood outside the two black lacquered wooden doors.

They waited from midday until sunset.

My legs are numb.

My back aches.

There wasn't a sound from inside the door.

The commander of the Imperial Guards stepped forward and lowered his voice.

"Steward Wei, it's already dark, and His Highness has been inside for four hours. Shall I knock on the door and ask?"

Wei Zhongyi flicked his whisk at the commander's helmet.

"What are you asking! His Highness went to ask the Emperor for the Tiger Tally! Do you dare to interfere?"

The commander touched his helmet.

"But this is taking too long. Could it be that the situation has changed?"

"Shut up! How dare you discuss the master's affairs?" Wei Zhong cursed.

In fact, Wei Zhong also had his doubts.

and.

The Taoist nun who opened the door earlier seemed really strange to me.

Wearing a purple gauze skirt and golden bells, she looked like she wasn't wearing anything at all; she was clearly not a proper Taoist nun.

But as a eunuch, he dared not say a word.

It was completely dark.

The Changsheng Temple was deathly silent.

There wasn't even a bird chirping.

Wei Zhong panicked.

"Smash the door!"

A dozen or so black-clad guards rushed forward.

boom!

The wooden door was forcibly kicked open.

Wei Zhong, carrying a lantern, led his men inside.

I just pushed open the door to the first side room.

Wei Zhong held up a lantern.

The lights illuminated the interior.

Wei Zhong's legs went weak, and he knelt down on the ground.

"vomit--!"

The commander of the imperial guards behind him vomited.

A dried corpse.

The ground was littered with dried-up corpses.

More than a dozen corpses dressed in Taoist robes lay sprawled on the ground.

skinny.

Sunken eye sockets.

"Search! Search him!" Wei Zhong's voice cracked.

The guards rushed into the second room.

"Steward! We've found something!"

Wei Zhong scrambled over there.

On the table, three things were neatly arranged.

The Imperial Seal of the State.

The old emperor's personal jade pendant with dragon patterns.

And that tiger tally that can mobilize a million imperial guards!

Wei Zhong grabbed the tiger tally, his hands trembling like a leaf.

As long as the tiger tally exists, the world will remain.

But what about the Emperor and the Third Prince?

"To the alchemy room!"

Wei Zhong and his men kicked open the door to the third room.

There were no dried-up corpses in the room, only two people.

They lay side by side on the blue brick ground.

The old emperor and Xia Jie.

Wei Zhong rushed forward.

The old emperor is completely finished.

He had shrunk considerably, and his skin looked like dried orange peel, clinging tightly to his bones.

We couldn't work any harder.

Wei Zhong checked his breathing.

It's flat.

Then look at Xia Jie next to him.

The situation is a little better.

It's basically a slightly fresher dried corpse.

Sunken cheeks and bluish discoloration under the eyes.

Wei Zhong's hand trembled as he touched Xia Jie's neck.

thump.

thump.

An extremely faint pulse.

"He's still breathing! His Highness is still breathing!"