Villain: After I died, all the heroines cried themselves to sleep.

Teng Mian returned to China in triumph, not until the following spring.

Luo Zheng met with Teng Mian.

They heard news brought back from beyond the Great Wall.

The first point is to restore the Song state.

When Teng Mian led the Liang army to Song, Song had been almost entirely occupied by Qi, and the royal family had been massacred.

Only Song Wan, the daughter of the King of Song, and her youngest son, Song Jue, survived.

Following Luo Zheng's orders, Teng Mian supported the two men to rise to power.

He also suppressed the opposing faction of nobles.

With the tyranny of the former king and the rampage of the Qi army as precedents, the Liang army, which did not commit any offenses, easily won the welcome of the people of Song.

The princess, Song Wan, claimed to be favored by the Heavenly Emperor and would serve him as a sorceress, asking for his protection of the Song Kingdom.

The people of the Song Dynasty were descendants of the Shang Dynasty and had always believed in the spirits and deities of their ancestors.

As a result, the people's hearts were at peace.

"The State of Song was located in a prosperous land, but due to the tyrannical and cruel ruler, the country was eventually ruined, with starving people everywhere. Even when I led the army away from Song, there were still tens of thousands of people who fled."

At this point, Teng Mian couldn't help but sigh that the Liang Kingdom was fortunate to have met such a wise ruler as Luo Zheng.

"..."

Luo Zheng almost laughed when he heard this.

Teng Mian, however, was unaware of this.

In his predetermined fate, King Zheng of Liang was also a ruler who levied exorbitant taxes and levies.

But now he has higher aspirations.

So he secretly changed the script, gradually shifting from playing the role of Qin Shi Huang to playing the role of Emperor Taizu of Han.

He was prepared to become Zheng Ge'er, and then surpass Zheng Ge'er.

After all, it was a ragtag family that only lasted two generations.

Luo Zheng would absolutely not eat it.

This is also why he used Tengmian instead of Xuanluo.

"Let's leave the matter of Song aside. How's the matter I asked you to handle?"

Luo Zheng then inquired about something more important.

Teng Mian knew what Luo Zheng was asking and answered truthfully.

"I learned of the whereabouts of Jiang, the sister of the King of Qi, from the scholars at the Jixia Academy."

"According to the other party, Qi Jiang was exceptionally beautiful and was the most beautiful woman in the State of Qi."

"At the Jixia Academy, some enthusiasts once compiled a list ranking the beauties of ten states, placing Qi Jiang at number seven."

"A list of beauties from ten countries?"

Luo Zheng raised an eyebrow, immediately showing interest.

Teng Mian seemed to have anticipated this, and immediately presented the prepared list to Luo Zheng.

Luo Zheng opened it and burst into laughter.

Good heavens, are you sure this isn't Liang Wang Zheng's harem list?

Of the ten beauties, seven are his wives.

Liang King Zheng, whose fate was predetermined.

Could it be that they're arresting people based on this list?

Let Teng Mian continue his explanation.

"King Qi doted on Qi Jiang. When the capital of Qi was captured, King Qi fled with Qi Jiang, all the way to Ju City."

"Later, for reasons unknown, Qi Jiang left Ju City and, escorted by scholars from the Jixia Academy, went to Jimo."

"When I returned to my country, the Yan general Yue Yi was fiercely attacking Jimo, but he could not capture it after a long siege."

Upon learning that Qi Jiang was temporarily unharmed, Luo Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, if Yue Yi were to capture Jimo...

It's probably going to end badly.

So after listening to Teng Mian's report.

At the court meeting, Luo Zheng, without consulting anyone, unilaterally announced that he would help the State of Qi to restore its kingdom.

The court officials were dumbfounded, completely unable to comprehend the king's intentions.

By this time, Fan Ze had already figured out the operating logic of the Luo Zheng court.

He directly exclaimed that Luo Zheng was wise.

"Your Majesty is wise! The states beyond the pass are attacking Qi, and Qi deeply resents this. If Your Majesty helps Qi now, Qi can threaten the states from the east, while our country can continue to attack Wei and Zheng."

Feng Lu and Li Tonggu also came out and, along with the other officials, bowed to Luo Zheng in submission.

Luo Zheng looked down at the sycophantic officials below.

Suddenly, I had a sudden realization.

Perhaps it wasn't that tyrants and sycophants were attracted to each other.

Rather, it was because the monarch was tyrannical that all his subjects had no choice but to fawn over him.

……

Liang Guo's support for Qi Guo did not cause any stir.

All the states were busy consolidating the territories they had seized from Qi, let alone helping Qi deal with Yan.

As a result, the State of Qi itself rose to prominence.

With the cooperation of the military and civilians in Jimo City, and the assistance of the Mohist disciples from the Jixia Academy, under the command of the garrison commander Qi Dan, the city was successfully defended.

They managed to block all the offensives of Yue Yi's Yan army.

At this critical juncture of stalemate.

The Prince of Yan was assassinated.

The situation began to tilt in Qi's favor...

However, neither the northern states nor even the southern state of Chu cared about this matter.

Because they are facing a greater threat.

The Liang Kingdom, which held sway over Guanzhong and was eyeing the region covetously.

We've cleared customs.

……

The world is in turmoil, and war continues.

Looking back, two years have passed in a flash.

On the ancient Xiaohan Road, a caravan of three thousand people is slowly moving along.

This is the most elite force composed of the bravest warriors of Liang.

Under the leadership of General Teng Mian, they diligently escorted the Liang King's carriage to a meeting in Mianchi outside the pass.

At this moment, in the most luxurious carriage at the very center.

Luo Zheng sat there.

Despite his relaxed and comfortable sitting posture.

Even after two years of monopolizing power, his influence continued to grow.

"You really don't plan to go back? You insist on coming with me to join in this fun."

Luo Zheng glanced sideways at the person sitting opposite him.

He was a slender, fair-skinned scholar with delicate and charming features.

"The alliance of the four states of Liang, Tang, Wei, and Zheng may determine the future situation in the north, and I naturally want to go and witness it."

The pale-faced scholar smiled gracefully.

Her bright eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"Moreover, the State of Qi is about to be restored, and if the State of Song wants to avoid the calamity of war, it can only seek the protection of the State of Liang, my brother."

"Brother Wang said he wanted to have my sister back then, but now he doesn't welcome her?"

"It's definitely not very welcome."

Luo Zheng nodded seriously.

At the same time, he looked Song Wan, who was dressed as a man, up and down.

In the past two years, Song Wan would disguise herself and visit Luo Zheng every now and then.

Report the situation to Luo Zheng and maintain the secret alliance between Liang and Song.

Of course, it was impossible to keep her comings and goings from the palace a secret.

Thus, news broke that King Zheng of Liang was keeping male favorites.

Unsurprisingly, it got leaked.

Even Zhao Ji and Xia Ji rushed over to inquire.

"Your Majesty has only had one wife, Consort Bao, all these years. Is it because you prefer men? Now that Your Majesty is about to come of age, I hope Your Majesty will take more concubines and visit them often, so as to leave behind an heir."

"Zheng'er, although your mother doesn't want you to be obsessed with women, she doesn't want you to be obsessed with men even more! Your mother is a woman too, Zheng'er, why don't you look at me more?"

Luo Zheng was completely numb at that moment.

He was granted a title when he went out to work.

We went to Hanzhong, not Shuzhong.

His title was Lord Hanyang, not Lord Longyang of the neighboring state of Wei.

He had no choice but to quickly explain that Song Wan was a woman, to prove to the two that he was heterosexual.

Therefore, it would be strange if Luo Zhengneng welcomed Song Wan.

Unfortunately, Song Wan was unaware of the inside story.

"I suppose Brother Wang prefers Qi Jiang."

She was thinking of something else.

"I have heard that when the five states attacked Qi, my brother was searching for Qi Jiang to support Qi."

"Now that the State of Qi has recovered its lost territory, in order to please the King, we are preparing to marry Qi Jiang to him."

"..."

Luo Zheng gave Song Wan a deep look.

No wonder they stubbornly stay by my side.

It turns out that upon receiving news of Qi Jiang's entry into Liang, he feared that he would side with Qi, which is why he rushed here to vie for favor.

"Ha, it's not just Qi Jiang."

Luo Zheng looked down at Song Wan, making no attempt to hide his greed and ambition.

"The princess Ji Mi of Chu, the talented Xu Daoyun of Zheng, the princess Chen Xi of Chen... even the fairy Wangshu, all the beauties of the world belong to me!"

That's the absolute truth.

Because of the incident involving Qi Jiang.

In the past two years, he has been actively seeking concubines from various countries.

Using this as a pretext, they launched wars against various countries.

First, they annexed the area north of the Han River, forcing the State of Chu to relocate its capital.

They then attacked Wei and Zheng, cutting Zheng's territory in half.

This meeting at Mianchi was actually a dirty trick by the State of Zheng, which was to give the divided Shangdang to the State of Tang.

Tang had originally considered intervening to stop Liang, seeing that the situation was not good.

Now the State of Zheng has thrown out such a big watermelon.

The Tang Kingdom immediately took the bait.

Under the persuasion of the greedy and blinded Anling Jun, the Tang king proposed this four-nation alliance to Luo Zheng.

In the predetermined destiny, there was no such alliance.

However, the struggle for Shangdang was a real event.

And the ending was extremely tragic.

……

The convoy drove out of the Xiaohan Ancient Road and arrived outside the pass.

Luo Zheng looked out at the wilderness outside the car.

This was actually his first time leaving Hangu Pass in the east since he came into this world.

The area has been restored for dozens of miles.

Teng Mian came to the front of the carriage and reported to Luo Zheng.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived at Mianchi."