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

"The Heavenly Mandate sent the Black Bird to descend and give birth to the Shang Dynasty, which settled in the vast land of Yin. The ancient Emperor commanded Wu Tang to govern the four directions."

Ancient hymns resounded through the clouds, deep and resonant like a great bell, echoing between heaven and earth.

The city of Shangqiu was deserted as people crowded the main streets on the outskirts of the city.

Welcoming the triumphant return of the Celestial Bird.

When the sun was high in the sky...

A large army, arranged in a square formation, slowly marched in from the horizon.

The banners and flags filled the sky, creating a magnificent and imposing sight.

First to arrive were five hundred strong and well-dressed elite cavalrymen.

They walked at the very front, clearing the way for Song Jun in the middle.

After the elite cavalry had split into two, Lanling Jun, wearing a mask, calmly rode his precious horse and led Song Jun's carriage out.

Another 20,000 Song soldiers formed a square formation, singing triumphant songs in perfect unison.

A mob that was once formed solely based on its belief in ghosts and gods.

After more than a month of war.

They had become a formidable and battle-hardened army.

Many elderly people who had endured years of war were moved to tears.

"This is a kingly army! How many years has it been since we Song people have witnessed such a sight!"

The State of Song, caught between several states, has endured more than a century of subservience and even been bullied by the State of Zheng.

They have now actually defeated the powerful Chen-Wu allied forces.

It's simply a miracle.

"Is the Chen-Wu allied forces outwardly strong but inwardly weak? Or is Lord Lanling truly a divinely ordained celestial bird?"

In the dark corner, Dai was so angry that she bit her teeth until they bled.

When news of the Song army's great victory over the Chen-Wu allied forces reached him, he was completely stunned.

The Song emperor could only muster 30,000 new soldiers, while the combined forces of Chen and Wu, numbering 100,000, were an elite army.

With such a huge gap, how did they manage to win?

This victory sent the Dai family into a frenzy.

The noble families that had previously dragged the Dai family down are now all rushing to welcome the royal army.

They were afraid that Song Jun would settle scores with them later.

"Is this fate?"

Dai muttered to himself.

His gaze was fixed on Lanling Jun, who was adored by the people.

……

Luo Zheng rode on his black horse, accepting the cheers and adoration of the crowd with a clear conscience.

It's not entirely wrong to call it the Celestial Bird.

After all, he is the son of the Black Bird.

However, it was not the black bird of the Yin-Shang dynasty, but the black bird of the Liang state.

Suddenly, Song Wan's soft sigh came from behind.

"Looking at this scene, even I find it hard to believe that we have really defeated the Chen-Wu allied forces."

"How difficult is it to understand? Haven't you heard the saying, 'When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins'?"

Luo Zheng slowed down his mount and moved closer to Song Jun's carriage.

"Of course I've heard the story of Lord Ma Fu..."

Song Wan glanced at Luo Zheng in surprise.

"But that's a historical event where Lord Ma Fu defeated the Liang army. Doesn't Lord Lanling mind?"

"Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, so what's there to worry about?"

Luo Zheng remained calm and spoke in a serious tone.

"The Chen-Wu allied forces underestimated the Song army, making them an arrogant army, and an arrogant army is bound to be defeated; our Song army has never won a single victory, making us a desperate army, and a desperate army is bound to be victorious."

That's what they say.

In reality, it's far from as easy as it sounds.

After Luo Zheng's night raid on the enemy camp, the Song army's prestige soared, while the morale of the Chen-Wu allied forces plummeted.

However, the Chen-Wu allied forces still managed to launch an offensive that lasted for nearly a month.

During that period, Song Wan struggled to organize the defense of the city.

Meanwhile, Luo Zheng led small groups of cavalry to continuously attack and harass the Chen-Wu allied forces.

This was intended to demoralize the Allied forces and gradually build up the chances of victory.

Until the Allied forces launched their final offensive.

Luo Zheng and the Song army in the city launched a full-scale attack, defeating the allied forces in one fell swoop.

To get to the bottom of things.

It is impossible for the states of Chen and Wu to fight to the death with the state of Song in order to form an alliance.

When the damage exceeds expectations, retreat will inevitably be the choice.

……

News spread that Song Guoming supported Liang Guo and repelled the Chen-Wu allied forces.

It has had a significant impact both domestically and internationally.

Domestically, Song Wan, taking advantage of the situation, purged the opposition forces and consolidated her power.

When the states of Chen and Wu withdrew their troops abroad, they reached an agreement with the state of Song to exchange prisoners and agree to never invade each other again.

Furthermore, the State of Qi was very wary of the rise of the State of Song.

Lord Anling's lobbying efforts in the State of Qi came to a standstill.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Luo Zheng, in his capacity as King of Liang, wrote a letter to the State of Qi, expressing his desire to establish an alliance between Liang and Qi.

All that's needed is for the State of Qi to stand by and watch.

King Qi already harbored deep resentment towards the Three Jin states and the State of Yan. Now, he directly used Luo Zheng's letter to reject Lord Anling's request for a united front.

At this point, Qi, Song, Chen, and Wu were all excluded from the alliance.

The crisis of the alliance of nine states was suddenly resolved.

However, Lord Anling clearly did not give up.

On the day of the victory celebration banquet held in the State of Song, Lord Anling also came from the State of Qi to attend the banquet.

Luo Zheng was also surprised to see Lord Anling appear.

Fortunately, he played it safe and habitually put on a mask.

Otherwise, it would be embarrassing if I were recognized.

"This must be Lord Lanling. I heard about his heroic feat of bravely repelling the allied forces of Chen and Wu when I was in Qi. How similar he is to Lord Ma Fu..."

Lord Anling praised Luo Zheng's bravery and tried to get close to him.

"..."

Luo Zheng remained silent, but raised his glass in respect.

There's no way around it; I'm just afraid that if I open my mouth, I'll reveal my secrets.

Fortunately, Song Wan came to Luo Zheng's rescue at the right time.

"May I ask what brings Lord Anling here?"

"The foreign minister has come here not only to congratulate the ruler of Song, but also to escort the Qi woman here."

Lord Anling bowed in reply.

It turned out that after receiving Luo Zheng's letter, King Qi, persuaded by Xue Jun, decided to present Qi Jiang, the most beautiful woman in Qi, to King Liang.

Lord Anling offered to accompany them, helping the group cross the Three Jin states to reach the Liang state.

At the same time, it would also be an opportunity to meet with King Liang and ask him to withdraw his troops.

However, Luo Zheng saw through Anling Jun's sinister intentions.

This guy mentioned this to Song Wan.

He simply wanted to tell Song Wan that Qi and Song were enemies who had been destroyed by each other, while Liang was secretly colluding with Qi.

This would damage the relationship between the Liang and Song dynasties.

Unfortunately, he didn't know.

Luo Zheng is none other than the Lanling Jun who appeared out of nowhere.

In any case, as long as Luo Zheng is still in the Song Kingdom, the relationship between Liang and Song will remain unbreakable.

After that, Lord Anling began to try to persuade Song Wan to reject Liang.

One of his retainers was a Xuanwu practitioner.

It is said that when he was trying to persuade the King of Chu, the other party put in a lot of effort.

Unfortunately, Song Wan had a swordsman with the Heavenly Gang Three Transformations by her side.

They were completely unafraid of the other party's threats.

Finding the banquet uninteresting, Luo Zheng then made a hasty exit to relieve himself and left the banquet.

I ran out into the courtyard and leisurely enjoyed the breeze.

The evening breeze carried a delicate fragrance, teasing Luo Zheng's nose.

After walking a few dozen steps, you will see a beautiful woman in her early twenties admiring flowers in the courtyard.

The woman also noticed Luo Zheng. Although she was somewhat surprised, she was not shy.

Instead, he boldly scrutinized Luo Zheng and chuckled softly.

"Why does a gentleman wear a mask? Is it because he has no face to see anyone? Or... does he want to steal a beautiful woman's heart?"

Her eyes darted around, captivatingly alluring.

"Hehe, I've heard that there's a beautiful woman named Jiang in the state of Qi, whose appearance is exquisite and whose beauty is unparalleled. You must be the one they're talking about?"

Luo Zheng squinted as he sized up the other person.

He was certain that the woman before him was Qi Jiang, one of the Ten Beauties of the Kingdoms.

The faint fragrance I smelled just now wasn't the scent of flowers.

It was Qi Jiang's body fragrance.

"I've also heard that Lord Lanling of Song was as handsome as a woman, and to appear dignified, he wore a mask. Isn't that what they mean by a gentleman?"

Qi Jiang retorted with a forced smile, then sighed softly.

"Alas, we women are caught in a chaotic world and have no choice in our fate. We are about to enter Guanzhong to serve the tyrannical King Liang. Otherwise, I would really like to see your face and see if you are as handsome as the rumors say."

"Don't take the rumors circulating in the marketplace seriously, my daughter. You'll see what I look like sooner or later. As for women being powerless to control their own destiny, don't you think the King of Song, being a woman, also wielded power over the entire country?"

Luo Zheng answered calmly.

He secretly complained to himself.

Qi Jiang is really good at lying through his teeth.

In her predetermined fate, Qi Jiang was destined to be a vain and promiscuous woman.

Her natural fragrance, though innate, was also cultivated through experience.

It's all for the purpose of seducing men.

This was all because King Zheng of Liang swept across nine kingdoms and seized control of the world.

She then submitted herself to Liang Wangzheng and went to great lengths to please him.

Possible cause of death for Liang Wang Zheng.

Perhaps it was because Qi Jiang saw that King Liang was about to fall from power.

So they conspired with his former lover from Qi to secretly murder King Zheng of Liang.

"Song Wan was able to gain a foothold thanks to Junzi. If Junzi had not defeated the Chen and Wu armies, she would have been forced to navigate between various forces and become a puppet who was good at playing the field."

Qi Jiang shook her head and scoffed.

His words showed considerable disdain for Song Wan.

There was a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"..."

Luo Zheng was speechless.

It's clear that Qi Jiang and Song Wan had some disagreements.

"Be very careful, sir. Song Wan is a very cunning person. Don't be fooled by her appearance."

Qi Jiang casually warned Luo Zheng.

They seemed to sense someone approaching.

She then gracefully left the courtyard.

"You are a true gentleman, you are very good at hiding things. I searched for you for quite a while."

Song Wan's voice came through.

Luo Zheng looked in the direction of the sound and saw Song Wan walking slowly towards him.

For some reason, she even changed into men's clothing.

"Weren't you meeting with Lord Anling? What are you doing here?"

"I have already rejected Lord Anling's proposal, and since I am not the King of Song, the rest of the banquet is naturally none of my business."

Song Wan argued vehemently, shifting all the blame onto Prince Song Jue.

Then he looked at Luo Zheng with a half-smile.

"As for Lord Lanling, he left the banquet halfway through, and now he's asking me about it. Is he upset that I suddenly appeared and interrupted your tryst with Qi Jiang?"

"..."

That's such a harsh way to put it.

Luo Zheng thought to himself, "This is a bad omen."

However, they quickly realized what was happening.

Since Qi and Song were enemies, Song Wan was naturally worried about siding with Qi.

"By the way, how did you know Qi Jiang was here just now?"

Luo Zheng asked curiously.

"How could I forget the fragrance on Qi Jiang's body? Back in the Jixia Academy, she frequently left and right to participate in the so-called list of beauties of the ten kingdoms, and she even secretly slandered me and opposed me."

A subtle smile curved Song Wan's lips.

"Unfortunately, when the final list came out, she couldn't beat me in the end."

"Your life at the academy is truly fascinating..."

Luo Zheng's expression was sly.

Song Wan didn't take it to heart, and instead said in a sarcastic tone.

"But he can't compare to a gentleman. He was just exchanging glances with Chen Guogong's daughter tide, and then he was having a secret rendezvous with Qi Jiang here. I wonder how many more women he will seduce in the future."

"Why are you being so sarcastic...?"

Luo Zheng was both amused and exasperated.

The woman named tide, daughter of the Duke of Chen, as mentioned by Song Wan.

This refers to the truce with Chen and Wu, and the exchange of prisoners.

Chen Guogong's daughter, tide, led a group of healers to the battlefield to treat the wounded soldiers on both sides.

Luo Zheng knew that Chen tide was one of his future concubines, and also a descendant of a medical family.

So I went up to them and struck up a conversation.

Let's discuss some medical matters.

Luo Zheng gave Chen tide some pointers on modern medicine.

Chen tide was overjoyed and gained a lot of inspiration from it, so she was very grateful to Luo Zheng.

In the following days, whenever he had free time, he would come to Luo Zheng for advice.

That's it.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Song Wan countered with a question.

"..."

Qi Jiang was right; Song Wan was indeed very cunning.

If he hadn't discovered that the other person was female and had a lesbian relationship with women, he would have truly believed her nonsense.

Besides, as the King of Liang, what's wrong with me having a harem?

So Luo Zheng straightened his chest with a sense of righteous indignation.

"You're right, as the saying goes, food and sex are human nature. This gentleman is indeed greedy and lustful, with a heart broad enough to encompass the entire world, and naturally, capable of holding the beauties of ten kingdoms."

"But you are now Lord Lanling of the State of Song."

Song Wan stared intently at Luo Zheng.

"It is widely rumored among the people that you, sir, are my male favorite. If you were to develop feelings for a woman from another country, not only would my reputation be ruined, but I would also fear that if the people found out, they would think that the Heavenly Mandate had abandoned the Song territory."

"..."

That seems to make sense.

……

Lord Anling and Qi Jiang stayed in the State of Song for several days.

He was never able to persuade Song Wan.

Seeing that things were hopeless, they had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

Luo Zheng led five hundred elite cavalry, closely following behind them along the way.

Lord Anling could not stand it and sent his retainers to negotiate with Luo Zheng.

"Lord Lanling, there's no need for such polite farewell."

"Lord Anling has misunderstood. I was just going the same way as you."

Luo Zheng replied with a smile.

Upon receiving the reply, Lord Anling immediately sensed something was amiss.

as predicted.

They reached the border of the Song state.

At this time, they had already set up camp there, gathering 20,000 troops from the Song Dynasty.

Luo Zheng entered the camp and completed the handover of the tiger tally.

Then he led his army to advance on the State of Wei.

The alliance between Liang and the five states remains deadlocked.

With 20,000 Song troops in the rear, he naturally had to launch a surprise attack from behind to completely break the stalemate.

Lord Anling wanted to stop it, but it was too late.

They could only watch helplessly as Luo Zheng led the Song army into Wei territory.

However, to the surprise of both sides...

On the border of the State of Wei.

Surprisingly, a large army was blocking their way.

"As expected of Lord Xinling, he kept this a secret beforehand."

Luo Zheng immediately ordered scouts to investigate.

The result was somewhat unexpected.

The enemy was not the Wei army.

It turned out to be the Yan army, which had never shown its face before.

The general who commanded the Yan army surprised Luo Zheng even more.

"Yan Yu?"

Although this person is unknown and not on any list.

Luo Zheng could not say he was very familiar with her.

I can only say that I would recognize him even if he were naked.

because.

She is Luo Zheng's wife.

"Holy crap, I just went out for a walk and ran into six future harem members."

Luo Zheng slapped his forehead.

No wonder I had a premonition that I had to come here in person.

What the hell is that probability?