Chapter 18: Scheming (Part 1)

  The Chu royal court was the largest country on the mainland of Qianlong. The heads of the Qin and Shangguan families, two of the four major families, were in a quiet courtyard.

  Qin De sat beside the stone table, his face calm, while Xu Yuan stood quietly beside him, waiting.

  "Haha…… Qin De brother, long time no see." A silver-haired old man walked over with big strides, and surprisingly, there were golden earrings on his ears. His eyes, which were usually cold, were now full of enthusiasm.

  Qin De stood up and pointed to a nearby seat with a smile: "Officer Shang, please take a seat."

  Shangguan Hong, the King of Chu's Northern Territory, controlled two counties in the northern region. At this moment, there were only four people in the courtyard: Qin De, Xu Yuan, Shangguan Hong and his subordinate Zhuang Jun. However, outside the courtyard, many powerful experts were secretly on high alert.

  "Qin De, brother, what brings you to this old man this time?" Shangguan Hong slightly adjusted his silver hair before sitting down, clearly very particular about his hair. His subordinate, Zhuang Jun, stood behind him.

  Qin De smiled and said: "I won't beat around the bush either. You help me, and together we'll overthrow the Chu royal court."

  Shangguan Hong was taken aback, and he hadn't expected Qin De to be so decisive. Although he had already guessed the meaning behind Qin De's secret meeting with him, Shangguan Hong couldn't help but laugh dryly: "This, Brother Qin De, you'd better not be joking. This is a matter of life and death. I can pretend that I've never heard of this."

  Qin De slowly shook his head and said: "I'm asking you, are you going to do it or not?"

  Shangguan Hong did not answer, remaining silent for a long time before finally lifting her head to ask: "Even if we join forces, how confident are you?"

  "Eighty percent!" Qin De said calmly.

  Shangguan Hong smiled and said, "Qin De brother, don't try to fool me. The Mu family has 600,000 troops, and the four western regions have 800,000 troops, adding up to a total of 1,400,000. My two northern regions only have 400,000 troops, so how can you say that's 80%?"

  "I will destroy the Xiang family, and it's not just the 600,000-strong army on the surface." Qin De said with a smile.

  Shangguan Hong's eyes narrowed: "Oh? It seems that Qin De also has a considerable number of troops in secret. But the Xiang and Mu families combined have 140 million, how many soldiers do you have secretly, dare to say that you have an 80% chance of winning? Moreover, if your secret forces are numerous, can they avoid the Xiang family's intelligence detection?" Shangguan Hong was clearly very skeptical.

  "There are still 200,000 in secret." Qin De smiled and said, "Adding up to a total of 800,000, my Liehuo Army has only 50,000, but its actual combat power is equivalent to that of an army of 200,000 or 300,000."

  Shangguan Hong's eyes lit up.

  He certainly knew the ferocity of the Liehu Troops, and after some deliberation in his mind, he smiled and said: "Indeed, if we only talk about the quality of the troops, the troops of your three counties in the Eastern Domain are the strongest. If there really are 200,000 troops secretly, then there is still a glimmer of hope. But as far as I know, the mountain bandits of the Heishui Mountains still need to be intimidated by your 200,000 troops, right? Otherwise, if the mountain bandits of the Heishui Mountains were to wreak havoc on the three counties of the Eastern Domain, wouldn't that be a disaster for your own backyard?"

  Qin De, however, was nonchalant and said: "There's no need to worry about this. They're just some mountain bandits. Although the Black Water Mountain Range is vast and it would be extremely difficult to eradicate them completely. But there's one thing... The mountain bandits of the Black Water Mountain Range are just that - mountain bandits. As long as we negotiate with them and give them some benefits, they will settle down quietly."

  Qin De's eyes suddenly lit up: "In that case, my army can attack completely. You should know that the three counties in the Eastern Domain are adjacent to Hongyuan, and the army often practices martial arts in Hongyuan and attacks against the monsters of Hongyuan. It is absolutely not comparable to the soldiers of the Western Domain who have not fought for decades or even hundreds of years."

  Qin De was very confident.

  Shangguan Hong nodded in affirmation.

  Indeed, the four major families each have their own armies. However, in terms of military strength, the armies of the three counties of Dongyu are absolutely the strongest. This is because the main base of the Dongyu army is located on the border of Hongyuan, and they often fight against the fierce beasts of Hongyuan, which are all bloody battles.

  The armies of Xiang's family, Mu's family and Shangguan's family have had no wars for decades or even hundreds of years.

  Shangguan Hong thought for a moment and then looked up: "What's in it for me? How can you guarantee that after destroying the Xiang family, you won't destroy me?"

  Qin De smiled slightly and said, "It's very simple. The two western districts adjacent to the Northern Ocean will be yours, plus your original two districts, making a total of four districts. These four districts are all connected and backed by the ocean. With these four districts backing onto the ocean, you won't have to worry about me going back on my word in the future, will you?"

  "Four counties bordering the ocean?" Magistrate Hong's eyes lit up instantly, clearly he was moved.

  These four counties are adjacent to each other, and once they all belong to Shangguan Yun, even if Qin De wants to destroy him later, it will be difficult. After all, with the natural barrier of the sea behind him and four counties in hand, at least self-preservation is absolutely no problem, and after a major war, the Qin family probably won't have much strength to deal with him either.

  "What if the Han dynasty takes advantage of the situation and attacks?" Shangguan Hong continued to ask.

  Qin De stood up, waving his hand: "You can rest assured that the Han Dynasty will not have any chance at all. As for the Ming Dynasty, I believe that such a weak dynasty that only knows how to be attacked and does not dare to attack others is not worth mentioning."

  Shangguan Hong fell silent.

  After a long while, Shangguan Hong nodded: "I agree to your terms, but the troops from my two northern provinces will absolutely not be the vanguard."

  "Alright, it's settled then."

  Qin De and Shangguan Hong made a pact by clasping hands and swearing an oath.

  "Haha……" Qin De and Shangguan Hong looked at each other and burst out laughing, but neither of them knew what the other was thinking. Did they really have to keep their promise? On the continent of Penglai, not many people believed in keeping promises sealed with a handshake.

  ……

  On the second day, in a study, Shangguan Hong was sitting at his desk, writing quickly with his brush, while Zhuang Jun stood respectfully beside him.

  In a moment, Shangguan Hong finished writing and looked at it carefully again, and couldn't help but feel very satisfied.

  "Hmph, that idiot Qin De actually wants to rebel and drag me down with him. I'm doing just fine as the stable Duke of Town North, aren't I? Although... four counties are quite enticing too. What a pity." Xiang Gu looked at the paper on his desk and couldn't help but laugh.

  Zhuang Jun said beside him: "Prince Wang, Qin's family conditions are also good, and they are sincere. Don't give them hope?"

  Shangguan Hong turned her head to look at Zhuang Jun, and smiled: "Zhuang Jun, we can't afford to lose. You know? So both of us have to make a bet. Whether the Qin family wins or the Xiang family wins, we must benefit."

  Zhuang Jun was confused.

  Shangguan Hong smiled, and Zhuang Jun was his most loyal subordinate, also the second-in-command of the two counties in the North Territory. After all, Zhuang Jun had saved Shangguan Hong's life twice. Shangguan Hong naturally valued Zhuang Jun extremely highly.

  "Zhuang Jun, I've got this under control, you don't need to worry, you can go now." Shangguan Hong said with a calm smile.

  "Dismissed." Zhuang Jun immediately left the room.

  Shangguan Hong's face suddenly turned cold: "Deliver this letter to the Emperor." Suddenly, a black shadow flashed by, and the letter on Shangguan Hong's desk had already disappeared.

  Shangguan Hong narrowed her eyes and gazed out the window, thinking to herself: "Qin De, you have no idea about the relationship between my Shangguan family and the Xiang family. It's not your fault, it's just that you're unlucky. Even if I don't help you, how can your family resist the Xiang and Mu families? When the time comes and the three counties of the Eastern Domain are destroyed, who knows, maybe I'll even gain some benefits from it."

  Shangguan Hong's thoughts were so beautiful, but would the Qin family crush his hopes?