thefictionvixens Page 155
Page 155
"Damn it!" Zhao Li smashed the porcelain in his hand onto the ground.
"What is Xu Xiao? Is Bei Han his property? It's my land! It's my territory!"
"I am furious! I am furious! I will kill Xu Xiao's entire family! I will exterminate his nine generations!"
Not far from Zhao Li, Zhang Julu, who had been kneeling, watched Zhao Li roar indifferently.
After Zhao Li vented for a while, and the entire room was filled with porcelain shards, Zhang Julu finally spoke up to advise, "Your Majesty, Li Yang must not attack Bei Han at this moment."
Zhao Li glared fiercely at Zhang Julu: "Why? Xu Xiao has committed treason! He has led the surrounding lands and hundreds of thousands of soldiers to betray my Liyang Dynasty!"
"If I remain silent and endure this indifferently, how will the world view me? And how will the world view Li Yang?"
Despite Zhao Li's desperate pleas, Zhang Julu calmly continued to persuade him, "Your Majesty's actions against Bei Han at this time will only push the Li Yang Dynasty to its doom."
Hearing Zhang Julu's words, Zhao Li's anger subsided somewhat. After all, Zhao Li had been on the throne for many years and was not a fool. He had already thought of some of the reasons, but he still asked Zhang Julu, "Why?"
Zhang Julu raised his head and looked directly at Zhao Li. Zhao Li saw that Zhang Julu's expression was extremely serious at this moment: "Your Majesty, at this time, there is only one person who can save Liyang, and that person is Xu Xiao, the King of Beihan!"
Zhao Li's eyes were sinister, but he didn't continue speaking, because what Zhang Julu said was almost exactly what he had guessed.
Turning around indifferently, Zhao Li's eyes flickered with uncertainty. After a long while, he finally calmed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Tell me the details!"
Chapter 109 Xu Xiao, die!
"Your Majesty, now that Bei Han has become Ye Fan's domain, in my opinion, it is actually a good thing!"
Zhang Julu respectfully addressed Zhao Li.
Zhao Li's expression was quite interesting, as if he was about to burst into a tirade against Zhang Julu for unifying the country, but he ultimately did not speak, and simply kept staring at Zhang Julu.
Zhang Julu understood, after all, although what he said was true, it was not exactly pleasant to hear.
For the sake of Li Yang's future, Zhang Julu continued, "The feud between Bei Han and the Li Yang royal family has been going on for a long time."
"The main reason is that His Majesty knows the cause and effect of that major case back then, and this hatred will never be forgotten. Things will not fade with time."
"It is already so. Sooner or later, Bei Han will break free from the control of Li Yang. In my opinion, whether this happened sooner or later, it is a major blow to Li Yang."
"But ironically, this very moment is of immense help to my Li Yang Dynasty!"
Hearing Zhang Julu say this, Zhao Li's expression softened considerably: "Go on!"
Zhang Julu nodded and continued to explain to Zhao Li, "Your Majesty, think about it, what is the main reason you don't want Bei Han to join Ye Fan's forces?"
"Because the plan that person left behind can no longer be implemented," Zhao Li replied subconsciously.
"Your Majesty's thinking is wrong. You see, our main goal is to push Bei Han to the front and use him as a shield for Li Yang, isn't it?"
Zhang Julu revealed a cryptic smile: "Aren't Xu Xiao's actions now pushing the entire Northern Cold, and himself, to the forefront, making them willingly become our Li Yang's shield?"
Zhao Li frowned as he looked at Zhang Julu. At that moment, Zhao Li also thought of what Zhang Julu had said: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Julu nodded: "Just as Your Majesty is thinking right now, the Northern Cold itself is the crucial vortex center of the world's situation."
"It can be said that even without Ye Fan and Wangjian Mountain, Beihan is still the focus of attention for various forces."
"The reason why these forces would let Bei Han go before Ye Fan agreed to protect Bei Han is because Bei Han was restrained by my Li Yang Dynasty and could still be kept in check."
"But with Ye Fan's intervention, Bei Han's strength has reached a level that is enough to threaten the strength of the surrounding forces."
"These people will not let Bei Han continue to develop like this."
"On the surface, with Ye Fan's protection, they dare not make a move against Bei Han."
"But Your Majesty should know that it is easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. Xu Xiao is ultimately just a second-rank martial artist."
"Without the Northern Cold Army, Ruoshui's strength is but a drop in the ocean in this vast world. Once the waves subside, this little ripple may never be seen again."
Listening to Zhang Julu's analysis, Zhao Li also understood. He revealed a sinister smile: "In this light, Xu Xiao's actions this time were not only unwise, but he also personally went to the underworld to request an invitation?"
Zhang Julu nodded with a faint smile: "That's exactly right!"
"And that's not all. Xu Xiao has done all the work for the benefit of my Li Yang Dynasty this time!"
Zhao Li looked puzzled, unable to keep up with Zhang Julu's overly abrupt train of thought: "From what point do you come to make this statement, my dear minister?"
"Your Majesty!" Zhang Julu's eyes turned cold: "Just as I said before, Xu Xiao's actions have undoubtedly provoked the dissatisfaction of various forces."
"Among them, there will probably be many people who will take action against him."
"Indeed, Ye Fan is incredibly powerful, but he is located at Wangjian Mountain, which is quite far from Bei Han."
“These people will definitely make their move not far from Bei Han. At that time, even Ye Fan may not be able to come to the rescue in time.”
"And as I said before, Xu Xiao is ultimately just a second-rank martial artist no matter what."
"In this world, many masters could kill someone like Xu Xiao in the blink of an eye!"
"With Xu Xiao dead, the entire Northern Cold is leaderless."
"Ye Fan... is just a recluse from the countryside, how could he understand the complexities involved?"
"At that time, even if Ye Fan comes out in person, he will definitely not be able to turn the tide."
"No matter how long Xu Xiao rules the Northern Cold, the four states of the Northern Cold are still my Li Yang land, and the people of the Northern Cold are still my Li Yang people!"
"When the time comes, His Majesty will raise his arm and call for action, won't that be enough?"
Listening to Zhang Julu's analysis, Zhao Li's eyes lit up, and all the unpleasantness and frustration of the day were swept away.
"If it is just as you say, I will surely reward you handsomely!"
"And if we can truly take back Bei Han completely, hmph! The national fortune of my Li Yang will naturally surge again! At that time, everything will be easily resolved!"
Zhang Julu, however, was not as indifferent as he appeared.
In fact, Zhang Julu still had some concerns.
The key to all of this lies in Ye Fan's strength—whether he can cross thousands of miles to protect Xu Xiao.
Qi Tianchen and Yuan Tiangang also had similar speculations.
Their guesses were similar to Zhang Julu's, and they reported the matter to Li Shimin at almost the same time.
Li Shimin, however, showed little interest in this.
"I understand. You two may leave now." Qi Tianchen and Yuan Tiangang hesitated, as if they wanted to say something but then stopped themselves.
This is a golden opportunity! With Xu Xiao dead, Bei Han will surely be leaderless and in chaos.
Qi Tianchen and Yuan Tiangang were certain that Emperor Zhao Li of Liyang would not sit idly by and wait for his death. Being in such a favorable position, the Liyang royal family would definitely take the initiative to make a move.
However, Bei Han is no small family.
As the saying goes, even a centipede with a hundred legs does not fall down when it dies; even if Xu Xiao dies, the Northern Cold will surely be in chaos.
It will not be easy for Emperor Liyang to completely take over Beihan.
That will be the most vulnerable time for the Liyang Dynasty.
If the Tang Dynasty had sent troops then, it could have easily conquered a large area of Liyang!
This was an excellent idea, but Li Shimin wouldn't listen to it at all at the moment.
The golden opportunity to easily control the world slipped away right before his eyes.
This setback left him somewhat dejected.
Seeing Li Shimin's state, Qi Tianchen and the other man could only sigh helplessly.
Neither of them persisted in offering their advice.
After all, it was all just speculation on the part of the two of them.
Whether anyone would dare to risk having their entire clan wiped out by Ye Fan and attack Xu Xiao remains to be seen.
Moreover, the two believed that Xu Xiao, with his cunning, must have already seen through the risks involved.
Perhaps he has other methods, such as broadening the world's attention and quietly returning to Beihan.
Just as Qi Tianchen and Yuan Tiangang had predicted.
Xu Xiao, being such a shrewd person, could hardly fail to see the risks involved.
This is also one of the main reasons why Xu Xiao was in such a hurry to return to Beihan.
The faster the action, the less time those with ulterior motives will have to prepare.
Xu Xiao believed that his sudden return to Beihan would catch other places off guard.
He had no idea that the assassination attempt on him had been planned long before he set off.
Less than ten kilometers outside the northern border.
As Xu Xiao galloped away on his horse, he suddenly sensed danger approaching.
Although he was only a second-rank general, Xu Xiao was a veteran who had fought countless battles and killed many enemies.
His premonition of crisis was far more acute than that of some top-tier martial artists who cultivated for many years and rarely engaged in combat.
It was already so; almost as soon as he sensed it, Xu Xiao jumped off his horse.
The next second, Xu Xiao's mount exploded into a cloud of blood mist on the spot!
Countless flying sand and stones scattered in all directions. Xu Xiao, who had landed on the ground, ignored his disheveled state and squinted at the scene where his mount had been destroyed.
Looking at the uneven pit, Xu Xiao frowned: "...A fire mine? Even with my swift movements, I still couldn't escape?"