"Playing chess?"
In Qintian Prison, Supervisor Yuan Tiangang was stunned for a moment when he looked at the letter sent by Long Qingquan, a disciple of the Mountain Chief, using the teleportation technique.
"What kind of medicine is sold in this mountain gourd? It's really hard to figure out."
"Teacher, do you want to go to the academy for an appointment?"
Li Chunfeng asked with some confusion.
Yuan Tiangang and Shan Chang represent the attitude of the Taoist sect and the academy.
Therefore, the two have not met for a long time because they are worried that this meeting will have a huge impact.
The entire spiritual world will pay great attention to this meeting, so both of them deliberately suppressed it and tried to keep a low profile.
It would be a good idea to wait until the whole world has slacked off and their attention has dropped before they choose to meet. .
"Perhaps... I have no choice as a teacher. If I don't meet with the mountain leader now, I'm afraid I won't have a chance."
Yuan Tiangang let out a long sigh: "That's it, just go. As a teacher, I went to the academy to play a game of chess with the mountain chief."
…
…
No one could have imagined that two top cultivators, leaders in their respective fields of cultivation, would meet in an ordinary two-story bamboo building.
This meeting is of great significance not only to the spiritual world, but also to the secular world.
Long Qingquan and Li Chunfeng stood behind their respective masters with very serious expressions.
"Captain Shan, please make your move first."
Yuan Tiangang smiled slightly.
"Master Yuan is a guest. Master Yuan will leave first."
The mountain chief was also very polite and smiled lightly.
"Well…"
When Yuan Tiangang saw this, he stopped giving in and picked up a sunspot, which landed on the middle plate.
The mountain leader nodded, picked up a white piece, and landed it not far from the black piece.
A good show was staged.
At first, both parties were unfamiliar with each other and were wary of each other.
But as they played for a long time, the two of them became familiar with each other, and the way they played chess became wilder.
The disciples behind the two were dumbfounded.
This move by the mountain commander was really wonderful. It not only neutralized Yuan Tianshi's offensive, but also opened up a new world for himself.
Long Qingquan clicked his tongue and exclaimed.
However, Yuan Tiangang is not an easy person, and the next few moves can be said to be the optimal solution. The mountain leader did not dare to take it lightly, and the two sides fell into a fight.
The more evenly matched the matchup is, the better the process is.
Because both sides spent a long time thinking, every move was a carefully considered layout, at least ten moves were considered.
As they ponder each other's thoughts, the chess they play will become more and more magical, because conventional chess moves cannot defeat the opponent.
In this way, the chess game will not appear boring and full of murderous intent.
The most important thing in playing chess is calculation.
You must think about the gains and losses before every bet.
Yuan Tiangang and Shan Chang played like this for a full hour and still couldn't decide the winner. They couldn't help but laughed and said: "Chief Shan, let's play chess."
"Well, a draw is a good choice."
It may not be possible to determine the outcome in another hour.
At this time, both sides can accept the draw.
After playing chess, the mountain leader said leisurely: "Come on, let's serve tea."
It is said that a drunkard does not care about wine, and the mountain leader is a drunkard who does not care about tea.
Drinking tea is just a way to talk things over.
Long Qingquan naturally knew this very well.
He made hot tea for Yuan Tiangang and Shan Chang respectively and served them in front of them.
Yuan Tiangang took the tea cup and took a sip, and exclaimed: "Good tea, really good tea. But the director asked me to come to Zhongnan Mountain Academy not just to drink tea and play chess, right?"
"Master Yuan Tianshi is a smart man, so we should understand others and not tell secrets."
The mountain leader suddenly changed the subject and said: "The high priest of the Demon Sect has arrived in Chang'an, and the Western Region Buddhist and Southern Barbarian witchcraft masters are also on the way. The one from the East Yue Jiange is also watching with eager eyes. Chang'an is now in danger. I invite Master Yuan this time I came here just to ask what Yuan Tianshi’s attitude is.”
The mountain leader thought that since sooner or later this layer of window paper would be pierced, it would be better to pierce it sooner.
Seeing that the chief's attitude was so direct, Yuan Tiangang was no longer so nervous.
"Well, Daomen is on the side of the imperial court."
Yuan Tiangang said crisply.
"happy."
The mountain leader stroked his beard with satisfaction and praised.
"So what is the attitude of the mountain chief?"
Now it was Yuan Tiangang's turn to ask questions.
"I stand on Chang'an's side."
The mountain chief said word by word.
One of the two stood on the side of the imperial court and the other on the side of Chang'an. They looked the same but were actually completely different.
Yuan Tiangang has completely tied Daomen to the Zhou court.
The future of Taoism is also completely tied to the national destiny of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Therefore, Yuan Tiangang must exert all his strength in this battle.
As for the academy and the mountain chief, they just stood on Chang'an's side.
If these guys attack Chang'an, the mountain chief will take action, but not for the imperial court and the Li Zhou royal family.
"I understood."
"In this case, we can be considered on one side."
Yuan Tiangang nodded slightly and said: "As long as the mountain chief is willing to take action, Chang'an will be safe. On behalf of the people of Chang'an, I thank you."
"It's time to put an end to some things. Whether it's the Demon Sect, Buddhism in the Western Regions, Southern Barbarian Witch Gu, or Dongyue Sword Pavilion, I won't refuse anyone who comes."
"If we join forces, we will be invincible."
Yuan Tiangang echoed.
…
…
After Yuan Tiangang returned to Chang'an City, he ordered Li Chunfeng to tell Emperor Xianlong the good news.
He would have to give an explanation to Emperor Xianlong sooner or later.
During this time, he was under too much pressure and often couldn't sleep at night.
Emperor Xianlong often ordered eunuchs to urge him, which annoyed Yuan Tiangang.
He can't lie down yet because he is the Great Zhou Celestial Master and the Supervisor.
Now he could finally straighten his back with confidence and say, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Youchen and the mountain chief will be safe in Chang'an."
Soon Emperor Xianlong knew the good news.
At this moment, Emperor Xianlong was in a burst of ecstasy, as excited as a child playing in mud.
"Congratulations to your majesty, congratulations to your majesty."
Zheng Jie flattered him and said, "Since the mountain chief and Yuan Jianzheng are willing to take action, then Chang'an is safe."
With three super-level players in charge, how could they lose?
"Hahaha, okay, okay. These guys who don't know what they can do actually want to shake a big tree like a cricket. It's like moths rushing to the fire and destroying themselves."
Emperor Xianlong put his hands behind his back and looked out the window at the palace with brackets and cornices, and said leisurely: "I, the Great Zhou Dynasty, will surely be able to secure the country for tens of thousands of years."
…
…
In the police office, Zhao Xun had a happy trouble.
Based on the clues in Nora's sea of consciousness, they successively captured many practitioners of the Demon Sect hidden in Chang'an City.
It is really a big project to interrogate so many practitioners one by one.
But Zhao Xun did not relax at all.
After all, every clue may directly determine whether Chang'an City will be safe in the end.
Zhao Xun now bears all the responsibility on himself, so he must be cautious.
What's more, there is still a big fish that has not been caught.
This person is called Jie Ligu.
This is the only useful information Zhao Xun got from Nora's sea of consciousness.
…
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Western Region, Anxi Protectorate.
"Great Protector, now all the thirty-six countries in the Western Region are at odds with me, Great Zhou. The Buddhist sect must be causing trouble behind this."
"yes…"
Liu Lin, the protector of the capital, sighed and said: "At first I thought it was an exception, but now it seems that it must be a long-planned conspiracy."
"Looking at it this way, Buddhism is planning to completely break with us."
"Hmph, these bald donkeys really don't know what's good and what's good. They are just a bunch of ignorant white-eyed wolves. We treat them well, but all they can think about is how to overthrow the Anxi Protectorate."
"Daduhu, what should we do now?"
Seeing that the generals were talking nonsense, Liu Lin frowned: "That's enough, don't talk anymore. Can you cause any trouble here?"
The lobby of the Protectorate Palace instantly became quiet, and everyone could even hear their own breathing.
After a long time, Liu Linfang spoke up again: "How many soldiers are there in the Anxi Protectorate now?"
"Reporting to the Protector-General, excluding those who have vacancies and those who have fled, there should be a total of 80,000 people."
"But not all of these 80,000 people are concentrated in the Protectorate. Many of them are scattered and stationed in the four towns."
The size of the Western Region is far beyond people’s imagination.
The garrison in the Western Regions is far from enough.
Eighty thousand people may seem like a lot, but they are not worth mentioning if they are scattered in the Western Region.
The governor's residence is a little better, with 40,000 people. There are only 10,000 people in other towns.
The area of a town is equivalent to the size of more than a dozen state capitals in the Central Plains. This garrison is really not enough.
"Concentrate all the forces. Rather than being defeated individually, it is better to gather forces to fight against these rebels."
Theoretically, all the countries in the Western Regions were vassal states of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
So Liu Lin had no problem calling them rebels.
"Dadu protector, you must not do it. In this way, the land of the other four towns will be surrendered. The thirty-six countries in the Western Region are all ruthless people. As long as we take one step back, they will take ten steps forward. How much has it cost us? How could someone who had the strength to establish a firm foothold in the Western Region and establish four towns give it away so easily?"
"Yes, Protector General, our brothers will not be willing to do this. Brothers are not afraid of bloodshed or sacrifice, but if you ask us to do this, we will give up and the brothers will not agree!"
"Dadu protector, a person can live for a long time without making steamed buns to fight for his breath."
"enough!"
Liu Lin burst out when he heard the generals making such noise.
"Do you think I want to abandon the four towns of Anxi? Do you think I want to give up the land that my brothers bought with their blood?"
"I am abandoning the car to protect the commander and cutting off the tail to survive."
Liu Lin emphasized sternly: "It is impossible to hold on with our scattered forces now, but if we join forces, we can at least retain these firepowers."
After a pause, Liu Lin continued: "You are angry, and I know it. But why am I not angry? But now is the life and death of the Anxi Army, so we can't act on impulse."
"We are now grasshoppers on a rope. We must work together and we must not be distracted anymore."
"What the Protector said is absolutely true. We failed to consider it before. You must not take it to heart."
"Yes, it's our fault most of the time, don't worry about it."
"We all listen to you, and we will do whatever you say."
“We will defend when you say we will defend, and we will attack when you say we will attack.”
"The imperial court will definitely send troops to assist, and our predicament will definitely be lifted."
"You are right to think so."
Liu Lin smiled happily.
He was under too much pressure these days, and he had to make all decisions by himself.
Sometimes even a great protector needs an outlet to vent his emotions.
It feels much better to let it out.
"By the way, send someone to invite the bad commander Feng Haofeng. I have important matters to discuss with him."
"As you command!"
…
…
Feng Hao came to the lobby of the Protector's Mansion in a hurry.
Seeing the serious faces of all the generals, he knew it would not be good news.
"Master Feng, sit down quickly."
Protector Liu Lin motioned for Feng Hao to sit down first.
Feng Hao nodded, lifted up the hem of his robe and sat down with a golden sword.
"The current situation in the Western Region is not optimistic, and Lord Feng must be very aware of it. After discussion, we decided to withdraw troops from the four towns and concentrate all the troops in the Protectorate. This way we can at least preserve the fire."
Liu Lin first briefly introduced the situation they had just discussed to Feng Hao, and then asked tentatively: "Does Master Feng think there will be any big moves in Buddhism in the Western Regions?"
In fact, compared to the armies of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions, Liu Lin was more worried about the attitude of the practitioners, that is, the Buddhist sects of the Western Regions.
If Buddhism in the Western Regions really intervenes forcefully, secular soldiers like them can only stare blankly.
The only way to defeat the practitioners is through the practitioners.
That's why Liu Lin cares so much about Feng Hao's attitude.
After all, Feng Hao is a genuine second-grade practitioner.
"Buddhism in the Western Regions must be the mastermind behind this."
Feng Hao sighed and said: "I sent bad guys to the thirty-six countries in the Western Region to find out information, and learned that the heads of countries secretly reached an agreement with Buddhism. Behind them is Buddhism's support."
Although I had similar conjectures for a long time, I still felt a little uncomfortable when I actually heard Liu Lin.
"Hey, I guess we can only defend the Protectorate if reinforcements come from Chang'an."
Liu Lin was so pessimistic that the mood in the lobby was very depressed for a while.
Feng Hao cleared his throat and said: "Hey, we are not at the end of our rope now. Besides, Buddhism also wants to have face. They will not openly enter the scene, at least before they break their skin."
"So we must control the situation as much as possible, try not to conflict with them, and prevent them from finding reasons to start a war."
After a pause, Feng Hao continued: "Next, we will contact the court immediately. I will use teleportation to contact Chang'an, and there will be news soon."
"That's good, that's good, I hope so."
…
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Chang'an City, bad people's yamen.
Zhao Xun looked at a letter intently.
This letter was sent from the distant Anxi Protectorate using teleportation.
The person who wrote the letter was his immediate boss, bad handsome Feng Hao.
"The Anxi Protectorate is indeed in danger."
Zhao Xun sighed and shook his head helplessly.
"Now we have to tell the court the news quickly."
Although Emperor Xianlong did not want to be the son of a man, he still had to make the decision at this time.
After all, he is the nominal supreme ruler of the Zhou Dynasty. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility.
"Hey, it's been such an eventful time. Now that Chang'an City is under siege, the imperial court may not be able to mobilize extra troops to reinforce Anxi at this time. I'm afraid the Anxi Protectorate's troops are about to start withdrawing."
This is the worst-case scenario, but it has to be done.
Where there is life, there is hope.
As long as people are still there, there is hope.
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