The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1137 - 618: The Empress Leaves the Capital, the Imperial Consort Sets Sail (Part 2)
Zhao Douan was momentarily distracted, suddenly realizing that the ’Empress’ in the room was likely a puppet substitute.
He thought carefully and shook his head, saying, "Not suitable."
The Empress raised her eyebrows and looked at herself despondently, "Did something give me away?"
Zhao Douan said solemnly, "Your Majesty is blessed with extraordinary beauty; just this face alone is enough to captivate the Martial World."
Slick words... Xu Zhenguan pretended to be annoyed and said blandly, "When I go out, I will disguise myself."
She pointed to the motionless puppet substitute in the hall, saying, "Last night, Gongshu Tianyuan delivered the puppet. Heavenly Master Zhang has also permitted him to contribute to the court. Therefore, later he will calculate the days and bring the Heavenly Element Cannon from the capital to Coastal, to join us."
If Wu Xiankui intervenes, the Empress can only stop him.
King Jing’s followers and the experts of Qingshan still need Zhao Douan to eliminate, in this way, the Heavenly Element Cannon could potentially turn the tide at a critical moment.
The Empress continued, "At today’s morning court, I have informed the ministers of your retrieval of Hu Ting. How is your preparation?"
Zhao Douan smiled freely, "I will lead the Divine Mechanism Camp to attack Coastal."
The ruler and the minister exchanged a smile. The Empress said, "Wait for me at Coastal."
Zhao Douan nodded, turned, and left the palace, heading to the Martial Arts Hall—time waits for no one, and after a day, Hu Ting should also be stabilized.
She watched Zhao Douan leave.
The figure of Xu Zhenguan flickered, and the next moment, she appeared in the Grand Temple of the Imperial Palace.
She raised her head, gazing at the 600 years of ancestral tablets on the high platform, and stepped forward, gently brushing her right hand over the Sword Box on the table.
"Click."
The Sword Box opened on its own, revealing the Taia Sword inside.
Xu Zhenguan pursed her lips, grabbed the Taia Sword, and inserted it into the plain black scabbard in her hand.
She then turned to walk out.
With just one step, she vanished.
Took a few more steps.
The Empress appeared outside the capital. She turned back to look at the capital, her lips moving slightly: "Thank you, Heavenly Master."
In the Heavenly Master Mansion, under the great banyan tree, Zhang Yan Yi murmured, rolling up the Heavenly Book in his hand, a faint light shot straight to the sky.
Conceal destiny!
...
...
Hu Ting.
Temporary Governor Mansion.
Zhao Douan opened his eyes, got out of bed, stretched his body, and pushed the door open to leave his room.
The door of the adjacent room opened, and Yu Xiu, Jin Jian, and Ji Yue, three ’protectors,’ heard the noise and came out together, looking at him: "You’re back?"
"Yes." Zhao Douan smiled, "How is the situation in the city?"
Before the three women could speak, a voice came from outside the courtyard: "Everything has been stabilized."
Mo Chou walked over, her face full of fatigue, as if she hadn’t slept all night, but her eyes were bright: "Now, Hu Ting is completely under our control. Some of the enemy forces have fled, some were captured, and Governor Ning and the others are handling the aftermath. Do you want to take a look?"
"No need." Zhao Douan was not surprised. Without leaders and experts, recapturing Hu Ting was naturally straightforward, he said, "Summon the commanders of the Three Armies for a meeting."
A moment later.
In the conference hall.
Zhao Douan sat at the head, listening to the excited reports from one general after another. Having just won a great victory, everyone’s face was glowing with pride.
"Governor, your prestige in the army is now truly at its peak. Currently, in the three major camps, any small concerns about your replacing Minister Xue are completely gone, and morale is high. Just wait a few more days for the ice to melt, and we can move south in force to decisively battle the Jiancheng rebel army!"
Shi Meng’s grin nearly reached his ears, speaking with fervor. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
The generals also echoed, expressing similar views.
Zhao Douan smiled faintly, not surprised, as there is no faster way to stabilize the military’s heart than through victory. Only victory.
However, he shook his head at the generals’ proposal, and startlingly said: "Next, the Three Thousand Camp and the Huai River Military Mansion’s two armies will take a defensive stance with Hu Ting as the line. I do not require you to achieve any merits, or reclaim any territory, as long as you hold the line, preventing the Jiancheng rebel army from breaking through into the west and north, that is the greatest merit."
After a pause, amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, he turned to Shi Meng, and said indifferently: "The entire Divine Mechanism Camp will mobilize, follow me immediately aboard the warship, heading east. To Coastal Road, directly targeting Prince Chen!"
To attack Coastal? Directly target Prince Chen?!
Everyone was stunned, not understanding the logic of this decision.
Zhao Douan however, gave them no chance to question, only spoke firmly: "King Jing has entered Coastal to ally with Prince Chen. If the alliance succeeds, the court will be attacked from both sides, falling into a disadvantage. Rather than this happening, it’s better to strike first, while Prince Chen hasn’t acted, I will lead the troops to kill over, severing King Jing’s intentions. This is the decision, and no dissent will be tolerated. You only need to execute, understood?"
In the face of his sharp gaze, everyone shut their mouths.
They rose and saluted, "By your command!"
"Clatter—"
Subsequently, one general after another quickly left their seats, starting to busy themselves with Zhao Douan’s orders.
Especially the Divine Mechanism Camp, which needed to mobilize quickly.
Mo Chou remained, staring at him steadily, "What are you trying to accomplish? Though you have valid reasons, your goal is not just to preemptively resolve Prince Chen, is it? You told me Prince Chen is indecisive and only excels at naval battles. Hardly a major threat. Are you going to intercept and kill Xu Wen?"
Zhao Douan smiled, looking at her without explanation.
Mo Chou understood, her expression fluctuating, she stepped closer, staring at him from up close, taking a deep breath: "You’re truly a madman."
Zhao Douan calmly replied, "I have issued a military order; if I fail to kill him by the deadline, it will be my turn to die and apologize to the world, so I must take a risky move."
Mo Chou’s cheeks trembled slightly, "Then shouldn’t you go quietly? Why such a grand scale? You should know, in intercepting King Jing, the large force of the Divine Mechanism Camp is not of much use. In a battle of experts, even with the support of firearms, ordinary soldiers can’t contribute much."
Zhao Douan smiled, "Do not underestimate King Jing. Do you believe if I quietly took people to Coastal, he wouldn’t notice? Instead of sneaking over and being detected, and thus causing him to be wary, why not go openly, grandly? If we can lure Prince Chen out, resolve these two Vassal Kings in one go, it would be a permanent solution. Moreover, did you forget, Mo Zhaorong, you once told me that an imperial envoy travels openly and honorably?"
Zhao Douan stood with his hands behind his back, turned to look at the grey clouds gradually splitting outside the hall, revealing the indigo-colored sky, and said calmly, "This time, I want the whole world, the entire Martial World, to know the consequences of provoking me."
...
On that day, Zhao Douan’s orders spread through the army.
The Grand Governor’s decision to abandon the attack and instead strike Coastal Road caused fierce discussions. Some officers agreed, thinking it wise to deal with Prince Chen before the decisive battle with the Jiancheng rebel army. Others believed such a rash move could backfire and collapse the situation.
However, all these doubts were suppressed under Zhao Douan’s overwhelming prestige, the victory at Hu Ting was enough to silence these people.
The Divine Mechanism Camp needed some preparation time before setting off. Meanwhile, Zhao Douan left Mo Chou, Ning Zechen, and others in charge of the overall situation, while he, accompanied by Ji Yue, Yu Xiu, Jin Jian, and a group led by Song Jinxi, embarked on a ship, headed east amidst the gradually warming spring breeze.
...
...
"Clatter."
The ship sailed through the Grand Canal, and upon entering Coastal Road’s domain, the temperature quickly warmed up.
The river started to thaw in the spring wind, leaving only thin floating ice.
Due to its geographical position, Coastal Road itself was relatively warm. Zhao Douan spent some time in the cabin, visibly witnessing the peaks on both sides of the river turning an inky color, as if transitioning from winter to spring in an instant.
One day, on deck.
Zhao Douan stood with his hands behind his back, the river wind blowing his robe and hair. Zhao Douan looked down at the rolling river below the ship’s railing, his eyes unmoving, his mind turning as his finger lightly pointed, a surge of Qi Mechanism shot out, striking a swimming fish in the river, half of it died instantly, blood spreading.
He murmured softly, "Approaching the peak of the Perfect Realm in the world, am I?"
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Typographical errors to be corrected in the next update.
