Chapter 168 Lying to You is a Dog
"This is too strange. I've never heard that General Zhennan's wife is a cultivator?""She's hiding her true colors and won't even reveal who's behind her. Should we really trust her?"
General Shao did not answer. He lowered his eyes and turned the cup, watching the clear water ripple. Suddenly he mentioned another thing: "Haven't you figured it out yet? The Xiao family army has been abandoned by the emperor."
After a moment of silence, someone hesitated and said, "No, it can't be possible. Qu is facing internal and external troubles. We have 30,000 troops anyway..."
As he spoke, his voice gradually faded away.
Ever since the outbreak of the Three Kingdoms' counterattack, the Xiao family army has been treated as "consumables" by Emperor Qu. In just a few months, most of them were lost.
There was a severe drought in the northwest. After the coalition forces of Dachen and Luchang retreated, the imperial court also withdrew the reinforcements, leaving them alone to guard Pingcheng Pass. They had no medicine, no water, and even their food and grass were almost exhausted. Their memorials fell on deaf ears...
The generals can only hope for the best of the situation now.
The State of Qu is now facing internal and external troubles and needs a capable and combat-ready army. Emperor Qu will most likely not kill them all.
"The boss has long been wary of us. Now that Qu State is in this situation, he must be even more worried that we will take the opportunity to rebel!"
The general who was speaking punched the table, and several cracks appeared on the surface. He cried out in pain: "Oh my, what a good table."
It has to be said that if Xiao's family had not been in Qudu, it is possible that the Xiao family army would have taken advantage of the chaos to rebel.
Most people are not born to love fighting. If they could retire and return to the countryside and receive the rewards they deserve, how many people would be unwilling to do so?
At first, the Xiao family also understood that it was dangerous to become too powerful and threaten the ruler, so they chose to take a step back and voluntarily gave up the military power.
Emperor Qu was so stingy that he gave such an old minister with great military achievements the empty title of marquis without any fiefdom, but rewarded him with a lot of gold, silver, jewelry, mansions and gardens.
Although this result is a bit unfair, it is not difficult to accept.
However, the old general, who had always been in good health, died of a "recurrence of old injuries" in the second year after handing over his military power. Then the young male members of the Xiao family who had not yet grown up died one after another.
Emperor Qu was too impatient, and even a fool could see that there was something hidden.
Emperor Qu's imperial mentality was far inferior to that of the previous emperor, or perhaps the continuous expansion of territory gave him the illusion that he could control everything. In his attitude towards the Xiao family army, he did not consider winning them over or dividing them, but simply suppressed them.
This made all the court officials realize a problem: Emperor Qu was not a tolerant emperor. Their retreat would not be rewarded with kindness, but would only put themselves and their loved ones on the edge of a cliff.
Afterwards, the former members of the Xiao family army were afraid that they would follow in the footsteps of the Xiao family, so they had to unite and resist.
Nowadays, even the emperor's party in the court is not absolutely loyal to Emperor Qu.
In addition, Emperor Qu was obsessed with expanding territory, and almost all the court officials who caught his eye were "hawks". Those local officials who could really develop people's livelihood and benefit the people had almost no sense of existence. It was not that the court deliberately suppressed them, after all, who would complain about too much tax? It was that a good cook could not cook without rice. People were almost dead, so how could they let ghosts develop? !
Furthermore, the money generated by developing local people's livelihood is too slow and cannot meet the military needs for years of war.
In contrast, Emperor Qu valued those capable officials who could "earn money". What is the fastest way to make money in this world? Of course, it is plundering and exploitation.
The internal affairs of the Qu State had long been distorted. Even the military generals who did not know how to govern a country had noticed this. Emperor Qu must have noticed it as well, but having enjoyed the benefits brought by war plunder, it was difficult for him to settle down and develop.
What's more, Emperor Qu and his group of "hawks" are all ambitious people who are good at attacking, destroying, and plundering. Few of them are good at construction. They are also very clear about their strengths. If they want to stay at the center of power forever, they must keep launching wars.
In recent years, Emperor Qu's decision-making has actually been influenced by the wishes of the "loyal ministers" he chose.
"Let's wait and see. Whoever is behind her will show up sooner or later." General Shao drank the remaining water in the cup bit by bit with great care. "Compared to this, I want to know more: if the emperor really wants us to die, what should we do?"
They are guarding Pingcheng Pass, claiming that they are defending their country, but do the people behind them, whose homes and countries they destroyed but have not been properly resettled, really need their protection?
General Shao licked the last bit of water on his lips and squinted at the moonlight coming in from outside the tent: "What did we fight for in the first place? Do you still remember?" Their answers were different, but there were only two reasons: either to unify the world and to live in the country of their dreams with peace and prosperity, or to achieve great things and achieve wealth and glory.
But now, it seems there is no hope.
Once a person's faith begins to collapse, it becomes extremely painful to persist.
In the government office.
Yan Cui sat by the window, his slender fingers flying, he broke off a leaf, flicked his fingers slightly, and the leaf turned into a stream of light and merged into the night.
"Are you delivering a message to that person?" Guan Xiang squatted on the bed with his knees hugged and looked at him.
"Ah."
"What on earth are you going to do?"
Yan Cui didn't want to answer, but when he thought that this little guy was one of the Seven Stars, he had to say, "Save the world."
"If you want to save the world, why do you want to take over my mother's body?"
He learned the term "possessing another's body" from Dongfang Zhentian.
Yan Cui raised his head to the sky and sighed: "I'll say it again, I became like this passively, I didn't take the initiative to take over your mother's body."
"I know." Guan Xiang's eyes were filled with tears. "There must be a reason, right? You are here. Where is my mother? Is she still alive?"
He had asked these questions over and over again, and Yan Cui had already answered all the questions he could, so now he could only remain silent.
"Say something!" Guan Xiang said angrily.
The tone of these words reminded Yan Cui of his junior fellow apprentice Tan Yao.
Ever since he developed an inner demon, he often sneaked down the mountain, and the sect leader and elders always sent Tan Yao to persuade him.
Tan Yao was the most eloquent person in the entire Sword Sect, but even though he was eloquent and talked until his mouth was dry, Yan Cui did not react at all. The most he did was to pour him a glass of water in silence.
At this time, he would say in the same sad and angry tone: "Say something! Sometimes I really hate you for being a piece of wood! Can you at least tell them a few lies to appease them?"
"I will leave when the world is at peace. Then your mother will come back." Yan Cui said.
Guan Xiang was stunned, two lines of tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Really?" He looked hopeful.
Yan Cui turned around, looked at him seriously and said, "Really."
……
"Really! I swear! I'd be a dog if I lied to you!" Shi Xuanying said in shock.
Lu Xi nodded: "Okay then! If I don't get a rest, then what's the point of earning more spiritual energy, don't you think?"
Shi Xuanying comforted him: "I gave you a rest because I was afraid you would get tired. You've been idle for many years, so why bother fighting for time now? Earn some spirit stones for a few years, and when I'm done with you, you can go into seclusion and practice directly with the spirit stones. Wouldn't that be great?"
