How come I, who has the physique of a succubus, was pushed back by the ship girl?

"As for the current situation, whether it is war or peace, let's wait and see."

"If possible, I don't want to go to war with you, but military orders are as strong as mountains. In this regard... I hope you can understand."

After leaving this reply which seemed like a delaying tactic, Izumo and Ibuki left.

The galloping horses' hooves raised a cloud of dust, which filled the air. After a long time, the backs of the two people gradually appeared, until they disappeared from sight.

Tiancheng turned around first and went the other way. She quickly led the warhorse over and gently pulled Zhou Xuan's finger to remind him.

"Okay, husband, it's time for us to go. We have done our best and it's time for us to go back and make the next deployment."

Let her do whatever she wanted without any resistance. Zhou Xuan came to the warhorse under the guidance of Tiancheng.

Seeing her standing in front of him, holding the reins in one hand and pulling his fingers with the other, kneading them from time to time, she kept everything in silence.

Zhou Xuan smiled gently, hugged her in his arms without saying anything, climbed onto the horse, and went home leisurely with her.

Chapter 305: On the Self-cultivation of Actors

The imperial court has taken action, but it is rarely good news. This is true for Izumo, and also for Long Feng and others who are still imprisoned by Zhou Xuan.

After all, to them, the so-called divine soldiers descending from the sky were once theirs.

But what would be the result? He was still defeated by Zhou Xuan without any chance to fight back.

Not to mention that such news came from Zhou Xuan's own mouth. If you think about it carefully, it becomes even more ironic.

"Why are you telling us this? What does it mean to you?"

Apart from Suruga, Ryuho was the first one to recover from this sudden news. Her voice was trembling and her emotions were unstable.

As for why, Zhou Xuan naturally has his own conclusion, and he enjoys watching the fun.

"I originally agreed with Izumo that if you are really sincere, you can try to resolve your affiliation issue through peaceful negotiations."

"We are not the kind of butchers who seek to kill. We also have our own ambitions, to clear the court of evildoers and to set the ears of heaven right."

"Izumo is a reasonable person who cares about your safety. She quickly reached an agreement with us and retreated her army several dozen miles. Now she has retreated to Miyagi Prefecture."

"I am truly sorry, my Lord...I have caused you trouble and disappointed you."

Canglong held hands with Feilong and showed great emotional fluctuations for the first time.

The two hugged each other and cried bitterly in front of Zhou Xuan. All they said and thought about was Izumo's kindness, and every word was heart-wrenching.

Zhou Xuan is most happy to see such scenes, and the reason why he created a high-end personality for Izumo is entirely for this purpose.

However, this alone was not enough, he had to make the fire burn even more vigorously.

"These are things that everyone knows. Even if you are captured and imprisoned, I have arranged for someone to keep you informed of recent events in real time."

"I'm sure you've heard the news of Izumo's repeated retreats many times. What do you feel now?"

"I thought...the Master was..." Feilong choked and couldn't speak, so she turned to her sister Canglong for help.

Canglong has a pretty good temperament and strong ability to adjust himself. He quickly sorted out his thoughts and was ready to speak them out.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Xuan was one step faster than her, disrupting her already calm heart again.

"You originally thought that Izumo was retreating again and again because of a series of defeats, right?"

"No, Izumo has been mediating for your safety from the beginning to the end."

"Even yesterday, before we learned that Kyoto had sent reinforcements, we were still conducting friendly negotiations. We were only one step away from the final result."

Zhou Xuan lowered his tone when expressing his emotions, and with a sigh at the end, a feeling of sorrow arose spontaneously.

It spread out in an instant, completely enveloping the hearts of several people, and even Suruga almost fell into it.

She had figured out that in addition to his deployment capabilities, Zhou Xuan was also very good at public speaking.

The alternation of relaxation and slowness, fast and slow, is thrilling. His ability to regulate emotions is simply superb.

However, heroes think alike. Tiancheng, who was waiting quietly on the side, could no longer hold back her excitement. Looking at Zhou Xuan who was sighing with his head down, she was already overjoyed in her heart.

You are so irrelevant, Zhou Xuan. It was obvious that Izumo evacuated on her own initiative, and the so-called negotiation was just a declaration of her using courtesy before force, but you managed to make it sound so ridiculous.

The key point is that Izumo cannot deny it and can only swallow this loss in silence. Otherwise, if it gets out, how can she still survive?

The first thing her subordinates did when they were captured was to retreat. If people knew about this, how many people would believe in her name?

The most amazing move was that Zhou Xuan went around and around and brought the fire back to Kyoto Prefecture, which was very conspicuous.

"So you say, just when we were about to reach an agreement and had a tacit understanding with each other, why did the court send troops?"

"And that mere 8,000 troops, led by Gui Nu alone, would take at least five days to arrive from Central Plains to the north."

"Kinu? Sent by Lady Mikasa?" Long Feng asked hurriedly.

In terms of her background, hers is the most complicated among the four. She has been in both the Mikasa faction and the Musashi faction. Kinu can be considered her old colleague, so it is not surprising that she would have such a reaction.

Zhou Xuan nodded without comment.

"Yes, it is Kinu, a brave general under Mikasa. Her ability is unquestionable."

"It's just that you are all people who lead troops to fight. I think you all know what 8,000 troops mean, so I won't explain it here any further."

Yes, what can a mere 8,000 troops do? Their 30,000 troops were defeated, and this amount of troops is not enough to fill Zhou Xuan's teeth.

Thinking of this, the light in Long Feng's eyes dimmed, and he folded his arms and sat back in the corner.

It was Suruga, who had remained silent all the time, who reacted. She seemed to have seen through the intention in Zhou Xuan's words, and suddenly said something.

"I think this is not the point that Lord Zhou Xuan wants us to know, right?"

"Are you trying to say that the imperial court did this on purpose, and that's why they only sent this amount of troops?"

"Their real purpose is to force your negotiations to break down, and then completely wipe us out and continue the war?"

"Is that right?"

Finally, Zhou Xuan's intention was completely exposed by sober people and made public.

The strange thing is that when Suruga said it, there wasn't any tone of aggression. Instead, it sounded as if he did it on purpose, as if he was actively conveying the message to him.

He always felt that something was wrong, but Zhou Xuan didn't think too deeply about it. He gathered his thoughts, put on a determined look, and said.

"Don't you think so, everyone?"

"Ask yourselves, if you didn't do it on purpose, why would you send troops to fight at this critical moment? Why would you only send 8,000 troops at this critical moment?"

"If this doesn't count as adding fuel to the fire, then I can't think of any other words. Or if I really have to describe it, killing someone with a borrowed knife would be more appropriate. What do you think?"

Although he said he was being frank, Zhou Xuan actually took advantage of the information gap and made arrangements in advance, striving for logical perfection and preventing them from finding any flaws.

As for thinking outside of logic? That is even more unrealistic. They can't even get out of this cage, so how can they see through everything?

Therefore, Zhou Xuan was not in a hurry to reach a conclusion. Now he was like a devil who was persuading them step by step. He only needed to plant a seed in their hearts to let their suspicions continue to ferment.

Eventually it becomes a factor that influences his companions and even Izumo's decision.

Chapter 306: Da Feng: A future without Zhou Xuan is not the future I want

In order to deal with subsequent battles, the officers and soldiers of Iwate Prefecture took action again.

Internally, as Zhou Xuan said, it was because of the intervention of the imperial court that they had to start another war between daimyo and daimyo.

To the outside world, as Zhou Xuan promised Izumo in person, it will be a battle of first courtesy and then force, a battle of who is stronger. It is inevitable, at least it cannot be done so far.

There were not so many documents for Zhou Xuan to deal with. Seeing that everyone was busy together, he couldn't sit still and decided to join in and do something with everyone.

He couldn't get involved in the training, but as the old saying goes, food must be prepared before troops move. He could still go to the kitchen and help deal with some issues regarding dry food.

The only pity was that just as he brought Tiancheng into the kitchen, he was pushed out by other girls.

The reason was simple: the kitchen was filled with too much fumes and was not suitable for him, so they sent him somewhere else.

There were more than one place that had such thoughts and actions. After Zhou Xuan ran around, he was kicked around like a ball.

In the end, he had to rely on his own authority to convince Haruna and Kongo. He snatched the millstone from them and started working with Amagi.

Because of the times they lived in, rice balls and sesame cakes were the preferred dry food choices.

The rice balls were easy to deal with. The subsequent transportation plus the spoils would be enough for them to use for a while.

The key lies in the flour. If you use too much, the flour will not be enough, and you can only rely on the grinding wheel to grind it and make it on the spot.

The general procedure is to place the fresh wheat neatly on the millstone, and then two people, one at a time, push the graphite back and forth until it is broken into powder.

Perhaps due to the geographical location and the principles of historical and cultural exchange, like Eastern Huang, most women in Sakura Empire are accustomed to following their husbands.

Even Tiancheng was no exception. She had just put the wheat in place and followed Zhou Xuan's rhythm, pushing the graphite and turning around the millstone.

While doing small things with his hands, he did not forget to talk about big things, especially his performance in front of Long Feng and others in the morning, which could be said to have greatly amazed her.

"If Izumo knew you had dug such a big hole for her, she would definitely scold you to death."

"You keep speaking well of her in front of the enemy's subordinates and creating a new personality for her. From ancient times to the present, you are the only one who is different from others in history books."

"It's still an open conspiracy. If I accept it, I'll feel uneasy. If I don't accept it, I won't be able to gain a foothold. It's really a loss. He is worthy of being the man I like."

Rarely, she was no longer dignified, and Tiancheng's mouth was open like a flower, white with a hint of red, making her look even more charming.

She also inadvertently became the source of motivation for Zhou Xuan's persecution. After she said this, a light flashed in his heart.

"So I think that Ryuho and Suruga should stay and send Canglong and Feilong back first."

"The seeds of doubt have been planted. The next step is to provide them with a suitable environment and let them grow freely."

"After witnessing a few battles, I accompanied Izumo and his fantasy was shattered."

"They will naturally transfer their anger and resentment to Izumo in the court, and spontaneously become a bridge of communication between us and Izumo."

"What do you think, madam?"

What else could Tiancheng say? If her hands had been attached to the handlebars, she would have freed her hands and given continuous applause.

But before that, they still need to do some preparation.

"Then let's make it like this. Tell the girls later and ask them to keep their mouths shut. Don't let the news get out."

"As for the reason for the war again, it was unified as the court's intervention, which led to the breakdown of negotiations and forced the war to begin."

"Also, find a few girls with better acting skills, and go and hang out in front of the Canglong sisters or even Longfeng Suruga whenever you have time."

"We need to make them deeply aware of the risks, even fatalities, that a breakdown in negotiations could bring them, and do our best to guide their emotions."

"The release of the Canglong sisters will be in the next few days. After we win a partial victory over Izumo, we will return this favor to her."

"This way, maybe she will be more willing and cooperate."

For a good warrior, conquering the city is inferior to conquering the heart. Zhou Xuan's existence made her realize the power of Donghuang's military tactics.

Compared with her, they formed two completely different and obvious contrasts, Tiancheng couldn't help but sigh.

By dodging and pushing the millstone back and forth, Tiancheng memorized all of Zhou Xuan's instructions.

When she stopped, she changed from that legendary strategist to the country woman she is today.

Holding a bag and picking up a broom, he put the ground flour into the bag little by little, very skillfully.

Soon, Zhou Xuan had piled up bag after bag of flour. When it was not enough for the kitchen, he sent people over to get more.

The one who came this time was Dafeng, the silly girl who loved to argue.

Ever since their wedding night, she always kept a distance from him, which really made him laugh and cry.

It was the same today. When I saw him, my eyes lit up and I wanted to rush towards him, but I don't know what I remembered. I glared at him and suppressed the emotion.

Then vent it out in other ways, like this.

"Hmph, stinky Zhou Xuan, bad Zhou Xuan, you clearly made an agreement with Da Feng first, but you married another woman in the blink of an eye. I don't want to see you again."

"But if I leave, Dafeng, are you really willing to let me go?"

Hearing this, Dafeng glared at Zhou Xuan coquettishly. It is said that eyes can convey feelings, so what she said must be a lie.

"Why not? It would be best if you didn't appear in front of Dafeng, so that you wouldn't always stir my heart and make me feel uncomfortable all day long."

"Okay, it's my fault. If you really think so, Dafeng, I'm sorry, I'm leaving now."

After saying that, Zhou Xuan bowed to Dafeng in a very proper manner, and then he was about to pass her position and walk towards Tiancheng, while still speaking.

"Let's go, ma'am. I think we have almost finished all the work here. Why don't we go find something else to do?"