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

The battlefield of Shangdang.

Xuan Luo truly deserves to be called the number one general in the world.

In their first encounter, the Liang army achieved a great victory over the Tang army and broke into the Danping Plain.

Unfortunately, Lian Jing of the Tang Dynasty was also a veteran general on the battlefield.

He had previously established three lines of defense around the Dan River.

After confirming that the Tang army could not defeat the Liang army, they immediately adopted a strategy of holding the defensive line.

Not seeking victory, but seeking not to be defeated.

It is quite similar to Bai Jian's battle tactics.

Unfortunately, Bai Jian was backed by the powerful Liang Kingdom, whose strict laws and punishments had driven its people to the brink of exhaustion.

Behind Lianjing was the Tang Kingdom, which was weaker than the Liang Kingdom in every aspect.

If you hold a position for too long, you will inevitably lose it.

Lian Jing was well aware of this as well.

His adoption of a defensive posture, a move made out of desperation by a fiercely loyal veteran, was a last resort.

But who told me I couldn't beat them?

We can only stall for time.

They pinned their hopes on the support of the other vassal states.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long.

In the spring of 791 AD, Lord Anling traveled to various states to persuade them to submit.

Ultimately, with the support of Lord Xinling of Wei and Lord Chunjiang of Chu, the five states of Yan, Tang, Wei, Zheng, and Chu formed an alliance.

Lord Xinling was appointed as the commander of the expedition to attack the State of Liang.

Lord Anling continued eastward.

Try to persuade the four states of Qi, Song, Chen, and Wu to join the alliance.

At that time, the defensive line built by the Tang army in Shangdang was in grave danger under the fierce attack of the Liang army.

In order to relieve the pressure on the Tang army.

Lord Xinling led the allied forces of Wei and Zheng to attack the Henan region of Liang.

However, their first offensive suffered a major setback and failed to achieve any results.

Because the Liang Kingdom had taken precautions, it sent a general to defend Hanoi.

Lord Xinling was not discouraged by this.

He gazed at the Liang Kingdom's camp and exclaimed in admiration.

"What a well-organized and imposing camp! It's almost impregnable. I wonder who the general of this army is?"

Soon, one of his retainers, relying on his extraordinary agility, found out the news.

"I would like to inform you, sir, that the general of the Liang army is famous outside of Guanzhong, but he is a close confidant of King Zheng of Liang."

"According to my inquiries, his name is—"

"Bai Jian".

……

Meanwhile, inside Liang's army camp, Bai Jian was meeting a distinguished guest in his command tent.

"Your subject, Bai Jian, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"Alright, enough with the formalities. I'm not seeing you as the Prince of Liang right now."

Luo Zheng waved his hand, indicating that Bai Jian should not stand on ceremony.

At this moment, he was dressed in black robes and had a sword at his waist. He looked less like the King of Liang and more like a young nobleman.

Bai Jian still observed all the proper etiquette before respectfully inquiring.

"I have heard that Your Majesty is requisitioning provisions in Hanoi to support Shangdang. I have come here incognito; may I ask what your orders are?"

"Feng Lu can handle the matter of requisitioning grain and fodder; I don't need to worry about it."

Luo Zheng stared at Bai Jian and slowly spoke.

"Next, I will secretly travel to the Song Kingdom. Only Feng Lu and you will know about this. During this period, Feng Lu will be in charge of the political affairs of Hanoi, while you will be in charge of the military affairs of Hanoi."

Bai Jian was greatly surprised upon hearing this.

Luo Zheng is truly unique in being able to make even the usually composed Bai Jian change his expression.

"Your Majesty, I dare to remonstrate with you even at the cost of your life. How can Your Majesty, with your supreme status, risk your life to travel between Wei and Zheng? I beg Your Majesty to consider this carefully."

Bai Jian quickly advised Luo Zheng against this.

For a feudal lord to secretly travel to another country is simply unheard of.

If anything were to happen, the entire Liang Kingdom would likely collapse instantly.

Not to mention that Luo Zheng hasn't even left behind any offspring.

"My mind is made up, so you don't need to say anything more."

Luo Zheng shook his head.

He had his own reasons for doing this.

The current battle for Shangdang has evolved into a five-nation coalition attacking Liang.

Although Liang was powerful, it was struggling to cope with the alliance of five states.

All he could use were a few treacherous and incompetent officials.

Li Tonggu was in charge of the Guanzhong government affairs, and Feng Lu came to Hanoi to requisition grain and fodder. Together, they could barely be used as Xiao He.

The remaining four mediocre generals can also be considered as five equal parts of Han Xin.

The strongest, Xuan Luo, is in charge of the main battlefield in Shangdang.

The most stubborn of all, Bai Jian, resisted his predetermined fate by leading the allied forces to a great victory over Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji, of the Liang Kingdom.

The most reckless Yang Zheng is gathering the Longxi cavalry, preparing for a surprise attack on Jinyang.

The most naive of them all, Teng Mian, was stationed in Guanzhong, ready to support the front lines at any time.

There's also the best fifth man, Xiahou Dui, who went out of Bashu, approached the north of Han, and stopped the Chu army from advancing north.

To deal with the alliance of five states alone, Luo Zheng risked almost all of his wealth.

All strategic arrangements have been made.

The biggest problem now is actually the four kingdoms of Qi, Song, Chen, and Wu.

Luo Zheng must implement a policy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones, stabilizing the states of Qi and Song as a buffer against the states of Chen and Wu.

This task would have been perfectly suited to be handled by Fan Ze.

But didn't this lead to a falling out?

Moreover, Fan Ze might not be able to do it well either.

After much deliberation, Luo Zheng decided that he might as well play the role of Zhang Liang himself.

If the King of Liang himself were to coerce her, Song Wan would certainly not dare to disobey easily.

With the assistance of the State of Song, the State of Qi will most likely choose to submit, while the States of Chen and Wu will find it difficult to bypass the State of Song and join the coalition.

This battle is of paramount importance.

We won, now it's time for a comfortable, easy win.

The system's punishment for losing speaks volumes; unification won't be achieved in less than a few decades.

……

After speaking with Bai Jian, Luo Zheng quietly left the camp.

He didn't bring any guards with him on this trip.

With his cultivation at the second level of the Heavenly Gang Realm, the only ones who could threaten him were Xuanwu practitioners at the Heavenly Origin Realm.

However, those who can enter the Heavenly Origin Realm are extremely rare, and it is very difficult to encounter them.

In addition, the chivalrous spirit was extremely prevalent in the Wei and Zheng regions.

Luo Zheng was dressed as a chivalrous knight.

He's just pretending; all you can see is his pretty-boy looks and his gigolo vibe.

No one would associate him with the tyrannical and cruel King Zheng of Liang as portrayed in the rumors.

"I never thought that my shameless acting skills from back then could still be effective at this time."

Luo Zheng walked through the bustling streets of the capital of Zheng.

It feels completely natural.

We arrived at the restaurant.

The place was not deserted because of the war; in fact, it was much more lively.

Listening to the conversations of the diners, many people came to seek refuge with Lord Xinling, who was known for his respect for scholars and talent, to help the allied forces defeat Liang.

In addition, many people from Zheng condemned King Zheng of Liang for his debauchery.

On one hand, they forced the State of Zheng to offer up the talented and beautiful Xu Daoyun.

Meanwhile, he plotted to murder King Zheng at the Mianchi meeting.

Although they ultimately failed, Zheng Guoxiang Xu Ping was assassinated.

The people of Zheng deeply resented it.

"Miss Xu is renowned throughout the land for her exceptional talent and beauty, and we all admire her greatly. Yet King Zheng of Liang has dared to attempt to seize her by force, which is utterly shameless! Don't you think so too?"

"Yes! I also think he's shameless, a murderer of parents, abducting other people's children—he's inhuman!"

Luo Zheng echoed him passionately.

Without blushing or skipping a beat.

On second thought, the hatred for killing one's father is irreconcilable.

If I were to actually bring Xu Daoyun into my harem in the future, she would kill me in no time.

This time, I'm not worried about not dying.

Luo Zheng did not linger at the restaurant.

He entered Xinzheng in the afternoon, and it was already late, approaching curfew.

So Luo Zheng decided to find an inn to rest temporarily.

However, not long after he left the restaurant...

Luo Zheng stopped in his tracks.

The “interaction between Heaven and Man” is issuing a warning.

Someone was watching him from the shadows, with a hint of hostility in their eyes.

Moreover, his cultivation level is extremely high.

How high is it?

If nothing unexpected happens, it will probably be around the Heavenly Origin Realm.

"..."

Luo Zheng subtly glanced in the direction of the spy with his peripheral vision.

I caught a glimpse of a figure dressed in white.

Luo Zheng suffocated.

It's not about whether it's beautiful or not.

The main reason was that Luo Zheng was certain that the other party knew his true identity.

Although more than ten years have passed.

Luo Zheng still remembers it.

This figure in white was none other than the masked woman who had been Tang Ning's apprentice years ago.

Furthermore, Luo Zheng only realized something now.

Women in white are not uncommon in a predetermined fate.

However, there is only one person at the Heavenly Origin Realm.

That means she was ranked first on the list of beauties of ten countries, and also left her name on the list of the number one beauties in the world.

She resembles a white-clad fairy in the mortal world.

Wang Shu.

Yes, that's right.

She will be his wife in the future.