Chapter 342 - The Brocade Letter Arrives
Chapter 342 of "Red Heart Patrols the Sky" kicks off with action-packed scenes: Atop the main Qi Armyâs commanding platform, only Zhongxuan Chuliang and his nephew Zhongxuan Sheng... Discover more!
Atop the main Qi Armyâs commanding platform, only Zhongxuan Chuliang and his nephew Zhongxuan Sheng remained, one sitting and one standing.The rest of the generals were out there chasing kills, with only a team of trusted aides guarding beneath the platform, casually forbidding outsiders from approaching.
It must be known that in the military, achievements are accounted for by the number of heads collected.
Although Zhongxuan Chuliangâs massacre order did have his own intentions, it wasnât without the idea of letting the generals, who had fought hard for a long time, earn some more merits.
âHow is Fourteen?â
Now that there were no outsiders, Zhongxuan Chuliang asked directly.
Earlier, he had seen Zhongxuan Shengâs murderous aura fill the sky and knew that Fourteen was a family-assassin who grew up with Zhongxuan Sheng.
Zhongxuan Shengâs trust in him was extraordinary and at that time, seeing Fourteen wounded with his life hanging in the balance, he thus mentioned it.
Fortunately, Zhongxuan Shengâs reply was appropriate, or else he wouldnât have this attitude right now.
âHis protective armor is shattered!
The man didnât die but wonât escape lying in bed for some days,â Zhongxuan Sheng answered.
Hearing that the protective armor was shattered, Zhongxuan Chuliang paused noticeably before asking, âWhat about the other members of your division?â
âThe rest of the soldiers went on to chase kills, only Jiang Wang returned to Green sheep town,â he said.
As he spoke, afraid that Zhongxuan Chuliang might have thoughts, Zhongxuan Sheng added an explanation, âHe neither likes slaughter nor cares about cutting off a few more heads for merit.â
Yang Jiande is already dead, and the Yang Countryâs large army met utter defeat in todayâs battle.
Thereâs no need to mention Chiwei Prefecture; declarations could settle the other places, so staying with the army didnât have much significance anymore.
Zhongxuan Chuliang suddenly heaved a sigh, âThe people from Yang are tenacious.
The soldiers who witnessed Yang Jiandeâs battle today wonât forget his bravery.
I need to break their courage, exterminate their valor, which is why Iâm carrying out this slaughter.â
For Zhongxuan Chuliang, this was already quite an explanation.
Zhongxuan Sheng boldly asked, âIt seems you had a profound relationship with Yang Jiande, more than just working together?â
Before this battle, he and most of the Autumn Kill Army generals didnât think much of Yang Jiande.
However, after this battle, no one could deny Yang Jiandeâs strength.
âMany years ago, he had a name, Gu Han.â
Zhongxuan Sheng found the name familiar, thought for a moment, and suddenly realized, âThat famous sword broken formation painting in your study, the signature is Gu Han!â
âThere are few heroes in the world I regard highly, and Yang Jiande is one of them,â Zhongxuan Chuliang said.
âI knew he wouldnât just wait for death; he must have had plans over these years.
Still, I didnât expect him to go so far for the Yang familyâs ancestral temple.â
âThe entirety of Yang Country.
Those who are not clear-headed see the country prosper under the protection of Qi Country and are also quite content.
While those who are clear-headed see no way to save the country, either giving up on themselves or offering their life generously.
Probably only Yang Jiande continued struggling, trying to break free from the shackles through personal martial prowess.
Even willing to cultivate the despised Demon Art, with the honor of a Monarch.
He failed, but he was not incompetent.
As early as thirty years ago at the Oblique Moon Valley, he was desperate to stop me, not because he wanted to retain the merit of defending the Oblique Moon Valley.
But because, like me, he saw that glimmer of hope for victory, unwilling for Qi Country to defeat the Summer Country so swiftly.â
âAnd IâŚâ Zhongxuan Chuliang said, âThe first thing I did after stepping down from the Summer Countryâs battlefield was to ask for the eradication of Yang Country!
If not eradicating Yang Country, at least I had to find a pretext to kill Yang Jiande.
Not because I bore any hatred for him, on the contrary, I respected him, feared him, which is why I wanted to kill him.
For the fate of Qi Country, and even more for the Zhongxuan clanâs fortunes.â
âTo eradicate Yang Country, there are war eradication and peace eradication.
The Emperor indeed approved of my judgment but adopted the former Prime Minister Yan Pingâs strategy, attempting peace eradication.
After so many years of subtle influencing, it should have been natural for Yang Country to become part of Qiâs territory.
The only reason it hadnât happened was all because of Yang Jiande himself.â
âThe peaceful means neither managed to kill Yang Jiande nor stopped him from succeeding the throne, proving it a failure.
Hence todayâs battle ensued.â
The renowned minister Yan Ping retired from his position more than ten years ago, and his political power had long declined.
This was one of the reasons Zhongxuan Chuliang managed to push for the military expedition against Yang Country this time.
Only then did Zhongxuan Sheng realize, beneath those many years of calm between Qi and Yang, lay such turbulent undercurrents!
Not something that could be described in a few words.
Seeing Yang Jiande upholding the Yang familyâs ancestral temple until today with his weak nation and few people, one canât help but commend his talents!
He even dared to assert that with Qi Countryâs disregard for Yang Country, if not for his uncle Zhongxuan Chuliang personally taking charge, Yang Jiande would have likely turned the tables successfully.
The servants all knew that the painting in the uncleâs study signed by Gu Han was of utmost importance, cleaned by someone carefully every day, not daring to let it be nibbled by insects.
This attested to the depth of their relationship.
However, in the entire Qi Country, the one who respected Yang Jiande the most was Zhongxuan Chuliang, and the one who targeted Yang Jiande the most was also Zhongxuan Chuliang!
Zhongxuan Sheng fell silent for a moment; intelligent as he was, he naturally understood the implied meaning in Zhongxuan Chuliangâs words.
But Zhongxuan Chuliang still pointed it out directly, âIâm telling you all this because I want you to understand that at our level, some things canât be influenced by personal preferences.
If one day, you and Jiang Wang have differing opinions, I hope you too can make the right choice!â
He knew that the two people Zhongxuan Sheng trusted the most now were Fourteen and Jiang Wang.
He didnât mention Fourteen because he knew Fourteen would always stand with Zhongxuan Sheng.
But Jiang Wang had shown his principles and persistence many times.
Zhongxuan Sheng fell silent for a long time, then said, âUncle, if a person can only make the so-called âcorrectâ choice, then you shouldnât be supporting me, you should be supporting Zhongxuan Zun instead!â
Having said that, he bowed deeply to him, then strode down from the commanding platform.
He might not care for the merit of a few heads, but he needed to hurry and fight for his soldiers.
On the commanding platform, Zhongxuan Chuliang was silent for a moment!
As Zhongxuan Sheng said, with Zhongxuan Zunâs innate talent and strength, from any perspective, the simple right choice for him would have been to support Zhongxuan Zun.
However, why did Zhongxuan Chuliang ultimately choose to side with Zhongxuan Sheng?
Was it due to the excellence of Zhongxuan Sheng himself, who showed more potential that he valued, or the dying wish of a departed brother he was unwilling to speak of?
On the outskirts of the battlefield, Jiang Wang walked away alone with his sword.
The slaughter continued behind him, and he never once looked back.
This battle was a complete victory for the Qi Army.
They achieved a decisive military success and effectively occupied Yang Country.
Moreover, even in terms of public opinion, other nations had no grounds for criticism!
Why did Qi Country deploy its troops?
To maintain the order of the Eastern Region and curb the worsening plague.
Why did the plague worsen?
Due to the corruption of Yang Court, chaotic governance, self-interested bureaucratsâsuch factors led to the plagueâs uncontrolled spread.
Of course, the role of the unscrupulous Business Alliance seeking profit in crisis could not be overlooked either.
So why did the plague emerge in the first place?
All because of the schemes of the Heretical Bone Path!
Yang Jiande, failing to see the situation clearly and aware of his guilt towards the people, rashly provoked a conflict.
Zhongxuan Chuliang had no choice but to crush the provocation!
Amidst the great battle, weapons do not distinguish friend from foe, and Yang Jiande died an undeserved death.
The Demon Art practiced by Yang Jiande undeniably served as the fullest explanation for the improper conduct of his rule!
Yet to Jiang Wang, all this seemed meaningless, aside from furthering Zhongxuan Shengâs cause.
Alone as a stranger in a foreign land, the concepts of victory or defeat, glory or disgrace, appeared to be of little concern to him.
Butcher face, snake face, monkey face, dragon face, pursuing the severely wounded Saint of Bone TaoâŚ
these were the true expressions of his own will to attack.
Flying through the sky, with the entire Chiwei Prefecture and even Yang Country plunged into chaos, the turmoil of the battlefield roared at his back.
Yet he still felt solitude.
As he passed a cliffside, his gaze casually swept over it, meeting the eyes of an ordinary-looking young man atop the cliff.
Jiang Wang recognized him as the World Building Assassin, Ah Ce, who was eager to âwelcome guests.â
The man showed none of his previous frivolity, his gaze icy cold.
It seems he had been standing there for quite some time, likely watching the battlefield ahead.
It was easy for him to be discovered by the Qi Army clearing the battlefield here.
After some thought, Jiang Wang nevertheless warned him, âIf youâre waiting for the outcomeâŚ
the Yang Army has already been defeated!â
Ah Ce watched him quietly for a moment before finally saying, âUnderstood, thank you!â
Jiang Wang didnât take it to heart and continued on his way.
He didnât fly fast, and shortly after, with a flapping sound, a Yun He descended from the high skies.
The great battle had ended, and only then was the lockdown formation broken.
Thatâs why the Yun He, having lingered in the sky for a long time, was able to fly here now.
Jiang Wang stretched out his hand to catch it, and the Yun He unfolded into a letter in his grasp.
The sky had darkened, and the sounds of fighting on the battlefield grew faint and distant.
The starlight gently streamed down, as if soothing the heart that had just struggled out of the slaughter.
He only saw the opening words âBig brotherâ.
Jiang Wang couldnât help but smile.
Under the starlight and moonlight, his smile was so youthful.