Chapter Six Leaving the Capital

  The sky was still a little short of dawn, but in Meng Li's command center, it was packed with people. On the left side, Old Master Yin sat high above, while the younger members of the Yin family sat or stood below him according to their seniority. Xu Shu sat beside Chen Qing on the right-hand side. The rest of the seats were empty, but this was proper etiquette, as it was normal for the main general's subordinates to occupy one side regardless of the number of people. Old Master Yin did not express any opinions, after all, he had already decided to follow Meng Li and would definitely stick with him until the end. If Meng Li succeeded, the Yin family could become one of the top families in the country, second only to the imperial family (Old Master Yin was unaware that Meng Li's ultimate goal was to unify the Azure Continent; if he knew, it was uncertain whether he would go crazy). If they failed, their family would be destroyed.

  Investing has always been like this, winning is a great advantage, losing is a complete loss of family property. Those who bet on the world are even more so, but they are even more crazy, promising the lives and wealth of their entire family just for that little chance to become a big family, after all, today's big families will not accommodate another family that can sit with them and share resources.

  The old man's confidence grew even stronger when he saw Chen Qing in his armor, for although Chen Qing was young, the old man felt a deep sense of intimidation from him. In the old man's heart, this young man was absolutely worthy of being called a great general, surpassing most of the generals he had met in his life. Although he was far inferior to some famous imperial generals, this young man looked like he was only in his early 20s, while those famous old generals were all over 60 years old. Even though they had transcended their limits and lived longer, the old man was certain that these old generals could not have reached this young man's level when they were 20 years old. In the old man's opinion, with the help of these two men, slowly gathering brave generals and planning carefully would definitely lead to success. A kingdom couldn't escape for 20 years. Perhaps the empire would also be within reach in his lifetime.

  Meng Li also understood the madness of these people, and this struggle for the world was not as good as saying that it was a new family seeking revenge against an old family. This has been the case throughout history. Those emperors who shouted about exterminating the aristocracy and bringing peace to the world were just shouting on the surface. If they really wanted to exterminate them, where would their military rations come from? Where would the heroes and brave warriors in the army come from? All of these relied on the aristocracy for support. In history, only Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Mengde, dared to truly suppress the aristocracy. However, didn't you see that the emperors after him all died young, and in the end, it was still the Sima family who seized power? Who would believe that there was no conspiracy by the aristocracy involved? Moreover, his initial capital also relied on his family and the Wei family for support. Thinking of all this, Meng Li had a specific attitude towards these aristocratic families: if you want to sponsor me, then send more money, people, and grain during the conquest of the world. In the future, when we have conquered the world, fame and fortune will not be lacking for you. However, public opinion must still be controlled in the hands of the imperial family. Haven't you seen how a good emperor was given the posthumous title "Ling" by his ministers? What does "Ling" mean? It means that the country is in chaos and cannot be governed, even to the point of being devastated. This was still during the time when the Han dynasty was in power! The public opinion controlled by these scholars is truly terrifying!

  "See your lordship, sir." As Meng Li walked into the great hall, the people chatting on both sides stood up and bowed.

  "Flat body" seems like this sentence has already merged into life Meng Li said two words completely without the entanglement of "coming".

  "Yuanshi, tell us about your preparations." Meng Li poured a cup of tea and blew on it before speaking to Xu Shu.

  "Alright, Your Highness's pass can get us out of the East City Gate before dawn. After exiting, we won't take the official road to Yan Nan Road because between the capital and Yan Nan Road, there are several fortresses standing in the middle of the official road. If they give us a hard time, we won't be able to withstand it. So, we can only cross over Shang Qing Mountain first. However, no matter how secretive we are, it's impossible to keep it under wraps. Therefore, at the place where we just crossed Shang Qing Mountain, there is a plain nearby. The defending general of Yu Sang Cheng, who is one of the three princes' people, will surely dispatch soldiers disguised as bandits to launch the first wave of attack on us. Since this is in the kingdom's territory, the defending general won't dispatch more than 2,000 troops. Our goal is to defeat them in one go, capture their warhorses for General Zi Yun, and temporarily recruit them to divert the attention of the next city while we cross the river and head downstream with General Zi Yun leading his cavalry all the way to Yan Nan Fortress. That's roughly the plan; the specific details will depend on the situation.

  After taking a sip of water, Xu Shu added, "Oh, right! Please have the general hand over the troops to General Zi Yun, who will be responsible for drilling them along the way."

  The one who spoke had calculated almost all situations on the road, making the old man sitting opposite him very impressed. No wonder he was a strategist at the national border, his vision was indeed different. He seized the horse, gathered the defeated soldiers, what a spirited young man, as if these difficulties on the road were not in his eyes. It seemed that these people had come to deliver things to him, and after delivering the goods, they still had to leave some people to help them move away.

  Warhorse! It seems that this white-robed general is an extraordinary cavalry commander, and the strategist trusts him so much that he has entrusted his life to him. To know that the first wave of killing warhorses must be scarce, supporting three or four hundred horses, and letting this white robe lead such a small number of cavalry, his private soldiers are very few with cavalry. It's not easy to train soldiers into elite riders before crossing the river and take charge of the main force to kill on the way. It seems that another outstanding young man has appeared! How deep is the Ninth Prince hiding? How many heroes have been recruited over the years? The old master doesn't believe that Meng Li only has two subordinates, knowing that Meng Li suddenly had two god-level figures under him without any foreshadowing, which is impossible in the eyes of the old master. Not to mention whether there are still such characters that he hasn't seen yet. Anyway, after listening to Xu Shu's plan, the old master's confidence in Meng Li has exploded again, and now even if Meng Li tells him that he only has these two treasures and not a single small soldier, the old master will think that Meng Li is joking with him.

  The old man nodded slightly and gave a slight nod to Yin Xiong after responding with an "oh".

  "See Your Highness, I'm not as good as this general, but I still have some strength and am willing to serve as a vanguard for you." He glanced at Yin Xiong with his eagle eyes and found that he was actually a six-level warrior with 53 combat points in this world. His affinity was 60 points, neither high nor low, probably just following his father's will to follow me. It doesn't matter, I'm happy to have one more soldier now, let alone a general.

  "Good, since that's the case, Uncle, you can just listen to General Zi Yun's orders in his tent." Not even coming up with a deputy position for him, let alone Chen Qingzhi being a general in Meng Li's eyes. If he relied on Chen Qingzhi's abilities at that time, wouldn't it be a big joke to mix up as a deputy general?

  "Ah, I've met General Zi Yun. Please, General, come with me to hand over the troops and horses." When Meng Li told him to report to Chen Qing's command, a hint of sharp light flashed across Yin Xiong's face. It's worth noting that following a powerful martial general has countless benefits - not to mention that simply being around him is a great way to train oneself in his thick and heavy aura.

  "Good. I'll take my leave." Chen Qing, who was also very excited at this time, bowed to his lord and took his leave to receive the troops that would be under his command in the future. Although it wasn't a regular army, it was still the first troop he had commanded since "leaving the mountain".

  ……

  Tap, tap, tap. A sudden burst of hoofbeats echoed through the quiet streets.

  "Halt! If you want to leave the city, bring your permit, otherwise retreat immediately!" The soldiers at the city gate were all lined up and ready for battle, although this was under the emperor's feet. But who knows, maybe there would be one or two rebels who didn't know better and gave us a chance to make some merit.

  All that was seen was a figure dismounting in the darkness ahead and walking over. As he drew closer, it became apparent that he was a general clad in white armor, but Wang San, the gate's guardian, was certain that he had never seen this general before in the capital city. After all, generals were frequently transferred and returned to report for duty, but Wang San had not seen him even once since taking up his post guarding the gate!

  "This is the ninth prince, I have brought him here." He took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Wang San with a very calm demeanor.

  "Bring the torch!" He took a closer look and indeed it was the token of the Ninth Prince. Although rumors had been circulating in the capital that the Ninth Prince wouldn't live for many more days, he didn't have the authority to intervene. "Your subordinate is here to see the Ninth Prince."

  "Open the gate and let them pass." Wang San shouted at the soldiers who were pulling the gate shut on the city wall.

  The crowd fell silent as one man led the way, and a multitude of people walked swiftly and quietly out of the city.

  "It seems that this Ninth Prince is not simple either. However, who can be simple in the imperial court? Let's just honestly watch the gate." As he watched the crowd slowly disappear into the night, Wang San smiled self-deprecatingly.

  "It's finally out! The feeling of this bird flying out of its cage is really comfortable." Looking back at the gradually disappearing Beijing city in the night color.

  The road ahead is bumpy but full of hope and glory. Meng Li is confident that with the system's assistance, he will make steady progress and conquer the world.

  "Beijing, wait for me to return again, I will surely bring fragrance of flowers under the horse's hooves, and all the beauties on the street will be envious!" She said firmly to herself.

  "Set up the frame and pass on my order to the whole army to rest and wait for orders on Mount Shangqing before dawn!" He lightly swung his whip, stood upright, and shouted loudly at the entire army.

  "Uh-huh"