495 Entering the Mountain (2/2)
Long Fanyun was responsible for escorting Shangguan Fei to the north shore. Now he had completed his task, he said, ”You don't have to go with us. You either return to the Dragon Army or go to your uncle, which is safer.”
”The swordsman from the Great Snowmountain also knows how to abandon his benefactor after achieving his goal. We're still in hostile territory but you're already trying to abandon me?”
”You're the one who said you didn't want to go into Wushan.” Long Fanyun frowned, finding this task to be more trouble than it was worth. It seemed that he would have a hard time ditching Shangguan Yun in the future.
”I didn't say that.” Shangguan Fei stared at them. ”I'm just a little cautious. Think twice before you act. But now only I am thinking, but you...”
While Shangguan Fei was still complaining, they found a secluded place to hide and left the city after dawn.
Unexpectedly, there was truth to Shangguan Fei's words earlier. Shang Liao was not holding beauties, but he was not in danger either.
Meanwhile, Shang Liao's cousin was shouting at the leader of the imperial guard. ”You fools! You're dozens of men strong but you couldn't even catch a child? You haven't found him yet after more than half a day?”
The leader of the imperial guard blushed and replied in a low voice, ”This is the capital of the Hui Kingdom. We're not familiar with...”
Shang Liao's cousin, the prime minister of the Kang Kingdom, scolded the leader of the imperial guard out of the room before turning to Shang Liao who was watching silently. He smiled and said, ”I apologize for the embarrassing scene. I can't even do such a little thing well.”
”Please don't be a stranger. We're a family.”
”Haha, but now you're the King of the Kang Nation.”
The Prime Minister especially emphasized the word ”the King of the Kang Nation” and waited for his reaction.
Shang Liao became serious.”Prime Minister, please don't say that. It's just a title. Once the war on the southern bank ends, I will announce the cancellation of the title immediately. I hope you can tell His Majesty that I'll be forever loyal to him.”
The Prime Minister nodded with satisfaction. He did not acclaim the position of Shang Liao but praised his cautious attitude. ”If the war ends and Dragon King wins, it's difficult for you to give up the title, isn't it?”
Shang Liao shook his head and said with great certainty, ”Dragon King won't win. The Dragon Army is tenacious, but it's useless. They have given up their front, making their territories become smaller and smaller. As long as the Golden Roc Army keep moving forward, they'll still be the victors. That much is certain.”
”There are always accidents. Dragon King has met a lot of unexpected situations before, so we should be more cautious.”
Shang Liao shook his head. ”There are some things we can't imagine as officials of the Kang Kingdom.”
They were like martial artists of similar strength testing each other but not daring to be the first to show their unique skill.
”The Kang Kingdom needs to organize its own army, so does the entire Xiaoyao Lake. If the five countries are divided into several parts, they'll be occupied by the enemy one after another,” Shang Liao said. He did not intend to compete for the throne. He was sober and knew what the most important power was.
”We have to consider the unexpected situation again. If the Golden Roc Army fails, the Kang Kingdom would have a chance to recruit soldiers and buy horses.”
After the Prime Minister shared his original plan, he continued to induce Shang Liao to state his true position.
But Shang Liao avoided this topic and said instead, ”The Kang Kingdom has other opportunities. As long as he put in more effort, he won't have to rely on other countries' forces.”
”Oh?”
”We can depend on the bridge.”
”The bridge?”
”I have most ships of Xiaoyao Lake, and the only bridge is managed by Hui Kingdom. Therefore, no matter who wins or loses on the southern bank, we just need to...”
”As long as we destroy the bridge and remove ships, all troops can only be trapped on the southern bank and can't cross the Lake at once!” the Prime Minister continued with excitement. ”Then the Kang Kingdom can...”
”Right. But we need to prepare ahead of time. We should have troops in our hands and persuade the Hui Kingdom or abandon them to directly occupy the bridge.”
”Good idea.” The Prime Minister finally agreed with him. The former King of the Kang nation would not be able to carry out the bold plan because he would be frightened to death just by hearing about it. ”Your Majesty, the task of reviving Xiaoyao Lake rests on your shoulders.”
The Prime Minister knelt to his cousin, wanting to be the first minister to show loyalty to the new King.
Shangguan Fei had a good idea about Dragon King's plan but lacked the details of it.
When night fell, Gu Shenwei silently crossed the Gulping Wind Gorge. Instead of directly going to Tuo Nengya's military camp to rescue the soldiers that might have been caught by spies, he chose to take another route.
Dragon King's soldiers were from different countries and had their own interests, so Gu Shenwei did not think that they would be absolutely loyal to him. Before Dragon King possessed the real strength, those soldiers would inevitably be on the fence. Therefore, Gu Shenwei calmly accepted the truth and was not angry with them. He was only making preparations for the first possibility, as well as the second and the third.
That way, he knew that there was always a way he could choose when the crisis came.