The crowd looked at Zhuo Zifang with confusion, Jian Qinwan and Yue Lian’s hearts in their throats.
They already knew Liang Xiao’s identity as the Heavenly General and understood his concerns, so Jian Qinwan hadn’t rushed to tell their senior brother, Chen Shaoling.
If Zhuo Zifang saw through it and let everyone present know, there was no guarantee that absolutely no one would leak it…
Li Xiuyun was also present. He was an upright official, but in relation to Liang Xiao, their acquaintance was merely that of gentlemen, with little personal contact.
Liang Xiao, however, remained unfazed, smiling, “Lord Zhuo, please speak your mind directly.”
Zhuo Zifang was also surprised by Liang Xiao’s indifference, his suspicion growing. He asked, “Did the Heavenly General, did he manifest through your body?”
The crowd’s gazes all turned to Liang Xiao.
“Likely so,” Liang Xiao pouted.
What did “likely so” mean?
Zhuo Zifang and the others narrowed their eyes, appraising Liang Xiao.
Li Xiuyun and the others remained silent.
Their intelligence was limited; they didn’t even know Liang Xiao had been gravely injured. Therefore, they still firmly believed the story of the Heavenly General’s manifestation, only curious about the “method” of manifestation – whether it was through Liang Xiao’s possession.
But Li Xiuyun had seen that white horse, and it was this very horse that Liang Xiao had asked him to personally supervise, keep secret, and allow through!
Even more bizarre was that according to the soldiers’ descriptions, the Heavenly General’s horse on the battlefield also had eyes that gleamed red under the moonlight, a feature that would leave an indelible impression on anyone who saw it.
Famous horses that earned a place in history were few and far between, and this horse actually matched the description of the King of the East Sea’s “White Dragon Shadow”!
Could it be a divine steed that had lived for hundreds of years?
Zhuo Zifang was the one most plagued by doubts at this moment.
He had originally expected Liang Xiao to deny it outright, but instead, Liang Xiao had given such an ambiguous reply, which left him even more bewildered.
Seeing Liang Xiao’s calm demeanor, Zhuo Zifang stopped pressing. He sighed, “The military achievements that the Heavenly General made in Luzhou must have your share in them. Furthermore, I also hope that the common people will know that the Heavenly General manifested in you. This would be beneficial to both you and His Majesty…”
“Agreed!” Liang Xiao said without hesitation.
The people of this world still believed in the existence of gods and spirits. Letting the populace firmly believe that the Heavenly General could manifest at any moment to protect the nation was more advantageous than disadvantageous. It could also deter the aristocratic families from sending assassins after him at will, lest they be entangled by the “divine spirit of the Heavenly General,” leading to unforeseen troubles.
It was true that he and a portion of those aristocratic families were mortal enemies, but the two sides were only engaging in superficial struggles within the bounds of Daqian law; they had not yet reached the point of openly rebelling.
As long as the families like the Dugu family could still serve as officials throughout the country, and even occupy half of the official positions in the imperial court, many matters would be in their favor. Such immense benefits were enough to make them grit their teeth and tolerate the suppression from Liang Xiao and Xiao Qing.
For instance, when the government acquired goods, the merchants they supported could supply them preferentially, or even use various pretexts to inflate prices and skim some profits.
An egg that originally cost a few coins could be sold to the imperial palace for several taels or even dozens of taels!
The most prosperous of the Six Ministries was the Ministry of Revenue. Its Minister, Ouyang Ji, and its Vice Minister, Ouyang Ping, had consequently made a fortune!
Before Xiao Qing could recruit enough scholars to replace these aristocratic officials, Liang Xiao would never be foolish enough to reveal his identity to the entire realm, thus disrupting this delicate balance and causing the aristocratic families, fearing the Heavenly General Liang Xiao, to rally together and choose to gamble everything, leading to national turmoil!
Zhuo Zifang gazed at Liang Xiao for a moment, then sighed again, “Liang Xiao, I thought all night last night, and I couldn’t help but want to give you a word.”
The crowd again turned their gazes to Zhuo Zifang. Liang Xiao immediately stood up and began to grind ink for him.
With a sweep of his brush, Zhuo Zifang wrote a line of characters with flowing grace, completed in one go!
“Able to govern the realm with a brush in hand, and pacify the land with a sword on horseback!”
The crowd applauded enthusiastically.
Zhuo Mingfeng, the founding Prime Minister, was a master of both calligraphy and painting. As his descendant, Zhuo Zifang, the widely known Lord Zhuo, even if his skills did not match Zhuo Mingfeng’s, they were sufficient to impress the world.
It was precisely because of his calligraphy and painting that Zhuo Zifang encountered the female immortal painter Li Jinyu, leading to this fated entanglement.
Jian Qinwan and Yue Lian saw that Zhuo Zifang’s words had a hidden meaning. They dared not even breathe, fearing they would cause trouble for Liang Xiao.
“Indeed worthy of Lord Zhuo,” Liang Xiao praised.
Zhuo Zifang couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “Compared to you, I am merely a firefly competing with the bright moon! I can at most leave a few brief lines in the historical records, but you will surely be written in bold strokes!”
“You flatter me too much!” Liang Xiao’s old face flushed, filled with emotion.
Zhuo Zifang pouted, “You made me unable to sleep last night. Later, you will have to handle Commander Ding yourself!”
Seeing Liang Xiao nod, Zhuo Zifang said no more.
Zhuo Zifang had originally intended to speak with Liang Xiao privately to clarify whether he was the Heavenly General himself.
But since Liang Xiao had asked him to speak publicly, he hesitated.
However, this old rogue had keenly observed Jian Qinwan’s change.
Although the琴仙 (Qin Immortal) had looked at Liang Xiao with admiration and affection before, today, her eyes held an exceptionally intense worship and love, as if sparks could fly…
Now, Zhuo Zifang could only hope that Zhuo Xun would not be neglected or ostracized by Liang Xiao’s side.
Li Xiuyun had remained silent, carefully pondering the conversation between the old and young man.
The more he pondered, the more he felt something was amiss. Li Xiuyun couldn’t help but shake his head, cast aside his distracting thoughts, and stood up, saying, “Regardless, we have achieved a great victory. Commander Ding has already sent the battle report to the capital. What should be our first step next?”
Liang Xiao responded solemnly, “First, we shall hold a memorial service for the fallen soldiers. Their families will be compensated according to the standards of the fallen White Robe soldiers. The names of all the deceased will be compiled into a list and announced throughout the city.”
Everyone sighed in admiration. Zhuo Zifang patted Zhuo Xiong’s shoulder and said sternly, “See that? Learn from him!”
This battle had yielded astonishing results, and there should have been widespread celebration. Liang Xiao’s first thought was of the fallen soldiers!
Zhuo Xun gazed intently at Liang Xiao, her pretty face flushed. Thinking of her own absurd dreams and foolish words and deeds, she felt utterly ashamed.
How could such a person be a demon transformed?
After everyone left, Zhuo Zifang returned to his room, reflecting on the Heavenly General’s figure from yesterday, and sighed for a while.
He was not so easily fooled, he simply did not expose it.
The Battle of Luzhou’s defense, in which Daqian, with less than twenty-five thousand troops, cumulatively defeated an enemy force of one hundred thousand, spread throughout the city. The citizens were all exhilarated!
Many were even moved to tears, bringing fruits and vegetables to the Prefectural Office and the city gates to express their gratitude.
In a civilian residence, the faces of the three, Zuo Wushang, were pale. On the table, there were still two jars of “One Drunk Century.”
But the hands of the three holding their wine bowls were trembling.
A shadow of despair enveloped the three, and an unprecedented sense of powerlessness rose within them!
“Two with five thousand men each, even if they could gradually defeat eighty thousand, and capture twenty thousand logistics, it shouldn’t be this fast…” Hong Jie sighed.
According to their estimations, the Shadow Guards, with their superior equipment and military strength, could easily fight one against ten, and the Jiangnan Iron Cavalry could completely handle one against two. The defending troops within the city, losing the city walls, could barely manage one against two.
However, the speed at which the rebel alliance collapsed was beyond their expectations!
“Heavenly General…” Hong Qu’s voice trembled.
The hearts of the three pounded.
If the rebel alliance had been able to calm down, set up their formations, and attack steadily, even if they couldn’t capture Luzhou, they wouldn’t have been completely annihilated and could have preserved some of their forces.
It was all because of the Heavenly General’s sudden appearance!
Tens of thousands of people attacking a single person, yet they couldn’t capture him. Not only that, but their banner was cut down, and it was said that the Young Lord in Brocade Robes had an arm severed by the Heavenly General. The morale of the army was scattered, and their formations were in disarray. How could they not be defeated!
The King of the East Sea, who was once revered as a god by the former Daheng Kingdom, had never achieved such astonishing feats!
Zuo Wushang sighed, “Although our trip yielded nothing, we at least followed Hong Jie’s advice and did not put our compatriots in danger, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable!”
Hong Qu deeply agreed.
Hong Jie smiled bitterly for a moment and asked, “Marshal, do you still wish to hear my opinion?”
Zuo Wushang saw the bitter expression on Hong Jie’s face and nodded, “Your wisdom surpasses mine. Speak.”
“Should we abandon our obsession with restoring the country, go into hiding, keep the princess safe by Liang Xiao’s side, and let everyone return to live a stable and prosperous life…”