Chapter 33: Undercurrents

  Living in a rich and fertile land, it is now the time when the country is prosperous and the people are strong. Alchemists have emerged one after another, and the large-scale construction of the War Department has greatly enhanced national strength.

  And all of this was exchanged for twenty-three years ago when Liang Guo withdrew all the elite soldiers around the national capital to rescue.

  Although Liang Guo's Empty City Strategy was sung to perfection, nearly a million of Liang Guo's soldiers were buried in Gu Su, and the King of Gu still hasn't forgotten.

  And Yi Zui and Gu Mingyue's engagement was also made because of this national salvation, at that time Yi Zui and Gu Mingyue were not pregnant yet.

  The monarch paced back and forth in the grand palace, his ministers having been dismissed, the imperial edict clutched in his hand now damp with sweat, a difficult decision lay before him.

  Is it choosing faithfulness or choosing benefits?

  The state of Qi sent a national letter requesting an alliance with the state of Guo, despite knowing that Guo's princess was already engaged to the crown prince of Liang.

  The object is Qi Wang's eldest son, Qi Xuan. The name of the genius has been spread throughout the Great Ming border for many years. If there is no major change, the next Qi Wang will be Qi Xuan.

  The marriage between Gu and Qi has immeasurable benefits at present.

  On the one hand, Guo can continue to maintain its national strength and prosperity over the years without getting involved in the war of annihilation with Liang.

  On the other hand, Guo State alleviated the huge pressure from Qi State through marriage alliance with Qi, and was able to withdraw troops to expand its territory.

  But this way, the credibility is completely destroyed.

  Even if Guo Guo gained great benefits, he could not stop the mouths of the world from speaking out. The stigma of being unfaithful and abandoning righteousness would be deeply branded on Guo Guo's body, to the point where even King Guo would have to bear immense pressure.

  Not to mention Liang Guo's possible crazy counterattack under this great humiliation.

  Thinking of those fierce and powerful people from Liangdi, Gu Wang felt a little guilty and didn't dare to face them.

  At that time, when the country was destroyed, the soldiers of Liang State left an indelible impression on him like a heavenly army.

  They are also afraid of pain and death, but their fervor has chilled the heart of Gu Wang.

  It's ultimately a very difficult choice question.

  Fortunately, the Qi state did not force him to make a decision immediately, and he had time to consider his options. It was unclear what that child of Mingyue would think in her heart.

  The emperor has no family affairs, and some decisions are also beyond his control.

  Deep in thought, Gu Wang couldn't help but sigh and sat down, putting aside the majesty of a king on his face, leaving only the entanglement and difficulty of an ordinary person when encountering such problems. Is it for loyalty to shed blood or for benefit to ignore the world's curses?

  Having been a monarch for too long, he still has hot blood, anger, and is not lacking in ambition.

  However, he eventually contracted the common disease of indecision and had to throw this difficult problem into someone else's hands in order to alleviate his mental burden.

  Jin An was standing in the private room eating, and there were only three people in the entire private room, him, Gu Mingyue and Taohua.

  Suddenly, Jin An's heart skipped a beat and he stood up abruptly, knocking over the bowls and chopsticks on the table, causing a crisp shattering sound that was even more jarring in this private room.

  "What's wrong, Uncle Jin?"

  Gu Mingyue was shocked, Jin An had never been so flustered in front of her before. If Jin An was already on the verge of losing his composure, then this matter must be serious.

  Jin An didn't bother to answer Gu Mingyue's question, instead he pulled out a thin piece of paper from his chest pocket.

  Gu Mingyue recognized that this piece of paper was a very powerful communication tool, and its rank had reached fifth-grade, which ordinary cultivators couldn't afford to use.

  Moreover, this letter paper can only be connected in a specific direction. For example, the one in Jin An's hand can only contact Gu Wang.

  Apart from that great calamity twenty-three years ago, Gu Wang had never used this letterhead before. If it weren't for something big happening, Gu Wang wouldn't be contacting him so anxiously either.

  So Jin An thought of that devastating war twenty-three years ago when he first reacted to the letter, which is why he lost his composure.

  "The Qi State has sent a letter, wishing to form an alliance with the Gu State through marriage, and requests that you handle this matter appropriately."

  A brief line of words, yet it made Jin An break out in a cold sweat; he wasn't a fool, so naturally he understood the gravity of the situation.

  Refusing Qi State might also provoke Qi State's wrath and lead to a counterattack.

  Agreeing with Qi Guo, and without mentioning how Gu Mingyue's situation was after marrying into Qi Guo, the reputation of Gu Guo was completely ruined.

  Apart from Qi, there is another great calamity. I fear that no one will come to rescue us again, and from now on, Gu's fate will be inextricably linked with that of Qi.

  Just thinking about it casually made Jin An's head ache, and he also understood Gu Wang's anxiety at this time. On the matter of Gu Mingyue's marriage, what was decided might be a matter of life and death for the state of Gu.

  Gu Mingyue took the letter, read it, and remained silent for a long time. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, her expression was quite solemn, but only the peach blossoms still blinked with two peach blossom eyes, looking bewildered.

  "If I lose my integrity, how can I hold my head up as a citizen of Guo State in the future? I'd rather not, even if it means I won't marry into the Liang State, I won't stoop to such despicable behavior!"

  When Jin An turned his gaze to Gu Mingyue, Gu Mingyue had already made up her mind and said in a resolute tone, causing Jin An's breath to catch for a moment.

  Jin An's eyes flickered slightly, in fact he was more inclined towards forming an alliance with Qi through marriage.

  After all, the national strength of Qi is ranked first in the Great Ming border, and marrying Qi is quite beneficial for the development of Gu and getting out of the vortex of Liang.

  The future of Liang's country still looks bleak, and a country's fate cannot be changed by just one person.

  Even if one has the strength of a Yuandan, it is still far from enough. The gap between the Yuanying realm and the Yuandan realm is really huge, let alone the fact that Liangguo's military strength is severely insufficient at this time.

  The subtlety between Qi and Gu will naturally be unknown to outsiders.

  Perhaps it was Liang Wang's intention to be so drunk, and he wasn't very clear about the various relationships between countries either, otherwise he wouldn't have forgotten that he still had a fiancée, Guo Gongzhu.

  He is now recalling the wonderful performances of those contestants this morning.

  It was just like that shameless master of illusions in his eyes, those two games were won so neatly and efficiently, the opponent was confused by his illusions until they fell off the stage before realizing what had happened.

  This master of illusions is still very popular, and as soon as he appears on stage, there are waves of applause. Those who bet on him to win are countless, and it's easy to imagine how his performance on the street has accumulated such a strong reputation.

  Many people heard about the various means of this illusion master, and their hearts were even more itchy. After the martial arts conference ended, this illusion master's income would probably surge again.

  One intoxication thought, don't let this guy create a new industry, thinking of the prosperous scene when "Yuanshen Qinglou" opens all over the Great Ming boundary, one intoxication can't help but sweat a few cold sweats on his forehead.

  Compared with the popular illusion master, Xuan Zhen, who is also "invincible in battle", has raised some doubts.

  Mostly, many people bought his opponent's win, but the result was that Xuan Zhen just held a small wooden fish drum and beat it a few times, and his opponent walked out of the arena by himself, leaving everyone to loudly question whether there was any foul play involved.

  Others may not notice, but at that time, I intentionally observed for a while. The wooden fish in Xuánzhēn's hand looks ordinary, but it is actually quite formidable.

  If he's right, Xuan Zhen's opponents were all affected by the sound of his wooden fish and stirred up their heart demons. Not dying on stage is probably already a great act of mercy from Xuan Zhen. This person needs to be more careful.

  Finally, a few prestigious monks came out to explain and praised the wooden fish Dharma treasure in Xuānzhēn's hand that reached as high as fifth-grade, which calmed down the audience seats.

  But if I had to say who looks the most impressive, it would have to be the Beastmaster and the Crimson Lotus Ironfist. The intense visual impact makes one's blood boil with excitement.

  The Golden Gorilla of the Beastmaster unleashed a powerful throw in the first round, almost throwing his opponent into the audience seats, and was caught by the careful defense of the Da Xiong Temple elder to save a life, otherwise it would have crushed several spectators if it had hit the audience seats.

  But it's this kind of powerful force that makes the audience even more excited.

  By the time of the second match, the opponent was a sword cultivator with relatively strong strength. King Kong was always one beat slower and couldn't catch up to that sword cultivator. The beastmaster unexpectedly played another trump card.

  A brown, fluffy Earth King Spider emerged and sprayed a large web that enveloped Jian Xiu. In the brief moment of stagnation, he was caught by the Golden Great Ape and slammed onto the arena with great force, and Jian Xiu was actually shaken to death on the spot.

  For the sword cultivator who died in battle, although some people were reluctant, more of them cheered for the mighty King Kong.

  This time the competition may have more people, and the quality is relatively high. Compared to before, it's already quite restrained. In just one morning, with hundreds of matches, only over thirty contestants died.

  And Chiyan Gold just brutally tore apart two opponents, fiercely showing the audience a demonstration of his terrible power.

  As for King Kong beating a few people to death, the audience won't feel anything, after all it's just a monster.

  But for Chiyan's cruelty, there are still many people who, while cheering, can't help but wish that he would run into King Kong and get slapped to death by him, which would be even more satisfying.

  Of course, there are still a few people in the game who are as drunk as one is, playing very easily. That game is simply at the level of "fist fighting South Mountain Nursing Home, foot kicking North Sea Kindergarten".

  The gap in cultivation was too great, just like Yang Tianyu of the Heaven's Edge Sword, who had forced back two opponents with just his sword intent.

  Xiao Junsheng, with his carefree sword, cut off the hands of both opponents in two swift moves, sparing their lives but likely earning their eternal hatred.

  It was the bearded man who had unexpectedly met in Nandu Fang City, his nephew's happy and powerful beard, with a strong force, a heavy sword cut down like Mount Tai pressing the top, winning two games very neatly.

  There is also a quick knife that makes one drunk in front of one's eyes, two games are played under the opponent's unawareness, with a shallow blood line drawn on the neck, letting the opponent know to concede voluntarily, and the character looks pretty good.

  After some thought, I'm looking forward to this afternoon's match even more.

  This match has absolutely enough weirdos, after all, only two games have been played, and some people's strength has not been shown yet, let alone himself, the Ghost Celebration Knife hasn't even been pulled out yet. When so many people show off their skills again, it will obviously be a battle of wonders.