"Liang Xiao stole my daughter, is it too much for me to take one of his children?"
Hearing Zuo Wuji's sharp self-muttering, Zuo Jing covered her mouth, speechless.
She had managed to hold back tears when facing her biological father directly, but now, tears finally streamed down her face.
I'm carrying his child?
She had already contemplated the possibility of atoning with her life, but now...
With the child, I must live on!
At this moment, Zuo Wuji was filled with joy. He grabbed Zuo Jing's hand and laughed, "Since you're back, you're not thinking of returning to Da Qian. The child will be a member of the Zuo family from birth. Do you know what your father means?!"
Zuo Jing just nodded obediently, daring not to object, for fear that Zuo Wuji might change his mind and harm her child.
In the Honglu Temple, Qin Feng sat drinking with Zhang Yang, Gu Shaoyan, and Mu Hong, who had been brought by Liang Xiao, and praised them repeatedly.
"The three of you are all truly capable of assisting a king in the future."
Zhang Yang and the other two thanked him humbly, not overly excited.
After all, Liang Xiao had already said that they were all destined to be prime ministers, and Liang Xiao's words were naturally more reliable than Qin Feng's...
Looking at the spirited trio, Qin Feng suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
The officialdom of Da Liang was remarkably similar to Da Qian before Liang Xiao's rise. Only the Right Prime Minister and others truly served the country and its people.
Now, let alone such talented individuals, he couldn't even find reliable seedlings for ministers in the six ministries among the younger generation!
In the past few days, Qin Feng had met all Da Qian officials ranked fifth grade and above in the capital. Even the three great aristocratic families were quite humble and cautious, always referring to him as "Marquis An Guo," which greatly surprised and envied Qin Feng.
Had these aristocratic families been so thoroughly disciplined by Liang Xiao and the Son of Heaven of Da Qian?
He should report back, but he couldn't imagine how Mu Cheng would react upon hearing about his observations in the capital.
The next day, Qin Feng, with his original entourage, calmly left the capital and returned to Da Liang.
After seeing Qin Feng off, Liang Xiao handed all the ancient books he had read to the bookshop for urgent printing and backup.
Having read these six hundred ancient books, Liang Xiao finally had a clear concept of this land.
The pre-Qin period was similar to his hometown, but not entirely, and after that, it became completely different.
And the greatest threat to Da Qian was the Tian Ri tribe, who had not given up their ambition to invade this land for two thousand years.
According to the historical records of Da Zhou and Da Heng, the Hui Chun Cult was indeed a heretical sect developed by the Tian Ri tribe in the Peacock Dynasty, specifically for infiltration into this land, especially into areas like Chuan Shu, the southwest, and Jiao Zhou, where communication with the Central Plains was difficult.
"The Southern King and the Gongyang clan have been quiet for a long time. Why are they all so well-behaved?" Liang Xiao asked with a hint of boredom.
Xiao Qing smiled and said, "After we pacify Xichuan, it will be time to deal with the Jiao Zhou warlords and the Southern King! As the saying goes in 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' 'Sima Zhao's intentions are known to all.' The Southern King's lineage should pay the price!"
In the past, when the aristocratic families held immense power in the capital, the Da Qian imperial family would never have dared to let the Southern King enter the capital.
But times had changed.
They could completely bring the Southern King's family to the capital and place them under house arrest!
The Da Qian imperial family was sparse in descendants, and the Southern King's lineage made no secret of their ambition for the throne, almost openly declaring it.
With the aristocratic families colluding with them, the Da Qian imperial family, for the sake of national stability, dared not rashly act against them.
In the Jiao Zhou region at this time, all cities were under lockdown, with strict control over the populace and no unauthorized entry or exit.
The Southern King, Xiao Chang, and Gongyang He gazed north towards the Central Plains, gnashing their teeth.
"Soon! As long as Xichuan falls, with its geographical advantage, Da Qian will be helpless against us! Once we take Xichuan, I will ascend the throne!" Xiao Chang sneered.
He had been preparing for the throne for decades, and he could have succeeded during the barbarian invasion!
However, the Heavenly General in front and Liang Xiao behind had turned the tide for the precarious Da Qian, forcing the Southern King's mansion and the Gongyang clan to flee to Jiao Zhou!
Gongyang He calculated with his fingers and said with a cold smile, "Even if the imperial court sends troops from the western border, it will take a month to enter Xichuan. If troops are dispatched from the northern border, it will take at least two months. Even if Liang Xiao has the ability to reach the heavens, he cannot deal with Xichuan!"
In the southwestern region of Xichuan, the warlord, General Pingxi, Helian Heng, used Jin Cheng as his base and, with the help of this popular uprising, drove out the prefect of Jin Cheng.
In the military camp, Helian Heng was watching a song and dance performance with his generals.
At that moment, a messenger reported, "Marshal! The Ye family has indeed escaped from Xichuan!"
Helian Heng's eyes sharpened. He dismissed the dancers and said coldly, "Who helped them escape?"
"It is not yet known, but it must be related to the people of Ba Commandery!" the messenger replied.
"Oh, I see."
Helian Heng smiled faintly, then took out his command token and declared loudly, "The Pope is in need of 'blood sacrifices' this year. Capture a thousand people from Ba Commandery who do not believe in the Hui Chun Cult and send them over!"
The military order was spread, and the guards in the Ba Commandery area arrested a thousand civilians overnight.
"What crime have we committed?!" the arrested civilians cried out in injustice.
"None," the soldier responsible for the arrest said coldly.
"Then why arrest us? Please let us go..."
Hearing the clamor of pleas for mercy from the civilians, the captain leading the troops smiled and said, "We are short of military merits recently. Your lives will serve as such!"
Instantly, cries of sorrow echoed everywhere!
A thousand honest and law-abiding civilians from Ba Commandery were sent to a forbidden area in the mountains.
Yan Jun, the Pope of the Hui Chun Cult, wearing a ghost mask, chanted incantations and performed a dark ghost dance with over a hundred followers, whipping the civilians with blood-stained whips.
A wooden bucket was placed beside each civilian.
No matter how the civilians begged for mercy, the Hui Chun Cult members remained unmoved. Finally, Yan Jun ordered, "Sacrifice to our heavenly god!"
As soon as the words fell, the Hui Chun Cult followers guarding the civilians, their faces filled with fervor, beheaded the civilians on the spot. Then, they collected the blood in wooden buckets and brought it to a pit filled with dry grass.
Deep within the pit, a group of green-eyed masked figures, who had been hiding in a tunnel, ignited the dry grass from below, then quietly closed the stone door of the tunnel and departed.
Yan Jun chanted incantations. The dry grass, saturated with oil below, ignited into a raging inferno as the thousand buckets of blood were poured into the pit. In an instant, black smoke billowed, and crackling sounds filled the air.
All the followers, their faces filled with fanaticism, came to the pit, raised their arms, and cheered.
"The heavenly god has appeared, bestowing miracles, destroying Da Qian, destroying the Heavenly General, destroying the Marquis An Guo!!"
On the mountain, two figures in brocade robes, wearing ghost masks, with over a hundred personal guards standing behind them, watched the ceremony with cold eyes.
One of the figures in brocade robes was the young master in brocade robes with a severed arm!
After the ceremony concluded, this group descended the mountain and congratulated Yan Jun.
Yan Jun, holding a tortoise shell that had cracked in the fire, handed it to the person in brocade robes standing before the young master in brocade robes. "King Jinpao, under the protection of the heavenly god, a divine miracle has occurred, and the divination is auspicious. You can proceed into Xichuan with peace of mind!"
King Jinpao was overjoyed, but quickly regained his composure and praised, "The Hui Chun Cult is indeed powerful. However, is there a way to counter Liang Xiao's 'heavenly lightning'?"