Star Trace Gate

Chapter 839: Planning for the Future, Alliance

After Ren finished speaking what was in his mind, he left behind the Wuliangzhu and walked down the mountain alone, facing the night wind.

The witch looked at his back, then stared blankly at the Infinite Pearl floating above the desolate grave. Her eyes were empty and she felt confused.

Long Yuqing died, and eight years of careful planning came to nothing. For her, the pillar of her heart was gone, and her vision also dissipated. She really didn't know where her future lay.

Revenge?

Secretly accumulating strength and killing the ancient emperor's descendant one day?

But is such revenge justified? After all, it wasn't him who killed Long Yuqing. Not only was it not him, but he was also the one being secretly used.

Revenge on Yang Ling'er?

But what happens after revenge? Long Yuqing can no longer sit on the throne, and the Long family she swore allegiance to will no longer be in the five cities of King's Landing. A comeback would be nothing more than a common burning that would make the pitiful people look even more pitiful.

Then will she follow the descendant of the ancient emperor?

Oh, how is this possible?

She is the daughter of the Long family and a witch from the Ghost Sect who is willing to help her brother regain power at any cost for the sake of the Long family's ancestral property!

He is the man with the knife, and I am the executioner; if you don't recognize him, you don't recognize me.

I want to see how the Tao you speak of can restore peace and tranquility to the world in Jiuli, a place where war is rampant, heroes are chasing profit, and human nature is extremely despicable, without violating one's heart or the Tao.

I'm waiting for that day!

In the mass grave, the witch raised her arm and slowly took off the ghost mask. This was the first time she revealed her true face since she "died" in an ominous place eight years ago.

His eyebrows were heroic, his eyes were fierce, and his handsome face, which had never seen the sun, looked a little pale...

She left, taking a thousand cultivators from the Li Gui Sect with her and disappeared in Chaolong City.

……

The next day, Chaolong City, General’s Mansion.

The mansion was quiet, the former hustle and bustle had long since disappeared, and in the entire courtyard with three entrances and exits, only one person named Yang remained.

Yang Ling'er sat in her father's study, her brows calm and her face calm, as she carefully read the various official documents that her father had handled.

Ever since she left the inner hall of the government office that day, she never returned to her former home. Instead, she moved back to Yang's house and restored everything in the courtyard to its original appearance.

The official documents she was reading involved decrees from many years ago and had long lost any practical value, but she read them with gusto and tirelessly, especially the familiar handwriting of her father and the annotations that had been carefully considered.

The air was filled with sandalwood and the sound of light footsteps could be heard.

The maid Cui'er walked into the study and called softly, "Miss, a child came to the Human Inn and said he wanted to see you."

"Child?!" Yang Ling'er looked up.

"He is Chunniang's youngest son, the disciple of the ancient emperor."

"...!"

Yang Linger paused for a moment and agreed, "Please ask him to come in."

"Yes."

Soon, a little guy with dark skin, slender figure and dressed in cloth walked in carelessly.

Chunniang had previously worked as a gardener in the Long Mansion. She was usually diligent and well-behaved, so Yang Linger had taken good care of her and had also met several of her children.

Although the little guy was a bit of a jerk and didn't know the rules of etiquette, when he saw his former "mistress", he still saluted politely and said, "I am the disciple of the Ancient Emperor - Xing Tian, ​​greeting the City Lord!"

"No need to be so polite. I'm not even the city lord yet." Yang Ling'er didn't treat the little guy like a child. She simply raised her hand and invited him to take a seat. She asked softly, "Did your master send you here?"

"Yes."

After the little one sat down, he nodded readily and said, "Master asked me to come here so that I can follow the City Lord and attend the appointment with the four city lords."

Yang Ling'er was slightly stunned. "You're going to a date with me? What does that mean?"

"Master said, since you're determined to take over the position of Lord of the Five Cities, then handling the Five Cities' turmoil will be entirely yours." Little Bit, still unaware of court politics, could only memorize and recite his master's words emotionlessly. "He said he wouldn't inquire into the details of the negotiations with the Four Cities. How to withdraw the troops, how to negotiate, and what the future holds—all decisions are yours alone."

"The only thing he can do is lend his power to you."

"I am the power he lent you, so I will go with the City Lord's Wife to meet the four City Lords and declare myself a disciple of the Ancient Emperor." The little guy said this, his eyes rolling as he forcibly added two more identities to himself: "I will also declare... that I am Senior Shenban, the disciple of the Gatekeeper of the Year-Watching Man."

"Oh, yes, Madam City Lord. Master also said that in fifteen days, the old marquis of Dongdeng Prefecture will call on all heroes in the world to gather in the five cities of Chaolong to discuss the future of Jiuli. Therefore, you must resolve the crisis in the five cities before then."

"...!"

When Yang Ling'er heard this, she was stunned on the main seat.

This...what does this ancient emperor's descendant mean? !

Doesn’t he know that the lords of these four cities are the culprits who massacred 20,000 Yang family soldiers and killed my father at Luoshen Mountain?

As the old saying goes, enemies become jealous of each other when they meet!

Although the lords of these four cities are just a knife being used by others, and are also foreign enemies who have been secretly scheming and fighting for interests for many years, they have done these things after all!

How can you let me... discuss things with them calmly?

Yang Ling'er is definitely not a shrewd politician, nor does she have any experience in balancing diplomacy, but she is definitely not a stupid person. Especially after experiencing huge changes in her family and her state of mind, the way she thinks about problems has long since changed.

As far as the current situation of the four city lords is concerned, they have undoubtedly reached a situation where their survival depends on the wishes of others.

Not to mention the power of the sect behind the descendant of the ancient emperor, just say that in fifteen days, the Dongdeng Mansion is willing to rush to Chaolong City for an alliance. With the power of his family alone, it is enough to sweep across any state. In the face of such a world trend, the four city lords under one state are no longer enough.

The reason why Dongdeng Prefecture agreed to the corresponding alliance was to take advantage of the power of Jiang Yu's sword and the opportunity of the destruction of the fifteen sects to completely change the Jiuli Rebellion.

Therefore, the 400,000 troops gathered outside Chaolong City were nothing more than a last ditch effort to save face and show their stubbornness.

retreat?

As long as it is discussed and opened, it will only take a word from the descendant of the ancient emperor.

Therefore, this negotiation was never intended to stop the war or the dispute, but to discuss the unification of the five cities and their future.

But if they are unified, what should be done with the city lord's family that has controlled the four cities for nearly a thousand years?

Should they be stripped of their power? Should they be appeased? Or should they leverage their deep-rooted influence in the region, nurturing them first while slowly implementing new policies. Once the Five Cities are completely stable, they can then be stripped of their power one by one, ultimately either preserving their wealth or forcing them to gradually withdraw from the core of power...

If these methods and strategies were used on others, there would be no problem and they could be used, but when applied to Yang Ling'er... she was in a dilemma.

She has a grudge against the four city lord families!

But the descendant of the ancient emperor was willing to lend his power to him, allowing her to make decisions and discuss matters freely.

In other words, she now holds the life and death of the four city families in her hands. With this power, she can negotiate however she wants and lay the groundwork for revenge however she wants.

As long as she doesn't push the four cities into a desperate situation and force them to rebel, causing unrest in the five cities, she can use the passage of time to kill them little by little in the future.

This momentum is very important!

Yang Ling'er is not the only one who has had this experience. Many people will have this experience in the past and in the future, but everyone's choices are different.

Yang Linger knew very well that this was a choice given to her by Ren Ye, and also a test.

How she answers is entirely up to her.

"hehe……!"

Yang Linger gradually figured it out, and a calm smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

……

Human Inn.

"brush!"

The door of the private room was pushed open by a strong breath, and the young marquis appeared beside a square table like a ghost.

Ren Ye lay on the table, looking up various materials, such as some ancient laws and political books from the time of Emperor Jiuli, when the migration area had not yet collapsed, and so on. He also wrote furiously, drawing nourishment from the ancient books, and slowly wrote out the heavy alliance program.

The young marquis looked at him with his hands behind his back and asked in a loud voice, "Are you tired?!"

"It's tiring, and I don't want to do it, but so many people have forced this job on me! Including the Emperor himself. Not only did they treat me like a slave, they also treated my brother like a monk..."

Ren also looked up with a smile.

"If we join forces, we can conquer any secret realm of the same rank and do whatever we please. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" The young marquis muttered as he sat down. "These idiotic things... if you do them right, you'll be exhausted; if you don't, you'll be condemned and cursed by the world! Oh, ten thousand years from now, when your bones have rotted away, who will even remember your kindness?"

Ren Ye looked at him and seriously corrected him, "Not all secret realms are tests of the ancient dynasty's divine laws; nor are all secret realms a competition of realm quality and divine power. Brother, you are too arrogant. How about this, I recommend you go to a secret realm...!"

"That secret place?" the young marquis asked with a little dissatisfaction.

"A modern secret place called Binhai City, the lair of the Great and Mighty Heavenly Dragon!" Ren Ye answered.

"Oh, I'll find an opportunity and I'll completely destroy this damned Great Dragon Land." The young marquis was extremely arrogant.

"I wish you success."

Ren also looked at him with admiration, then changed the subject and asked, "What does your old marquis think of this alliance?"

"We've already discussed this within our clan. Your original intention and general direction for the alliance are indeed in line with the style and policies of our Dongdeng Prefecture over the years." Seeing that he was talking about serious matters, the young marquis replied in a serious tone, "Our clan has no objection to the alliance. For us, Dongdeng Prefecture's resources are not exploited from the common people, and we don't have heavy taxes or harsh policies... We draw talent from below, strive for excellence upwards, and strive for success externally. The clan members also believe that in this secret realm of cultivation, one must first strengthen oneself."

"Therefore, our clan has already sent invitations to the ancient dynasties of the various states of Jiuli. We will gather in Chaolong in fifteen days to discuss the future of Jiuli."

"And by the time I returned, this matter had already received responses from many sects and ancient dynasties, who were also willing to participate in this alliance. A rough estimate shows that the Nine Li consisted of at least nineteen states of ruling ancient dynasties, ancient sects with deep roots, and high-ranking individuals above the fourth rank, probably numbering at least two thousand."

"Even the fifteen sects at their peak couldn't achieve such a grand occasion."

The young marquis paused for a moment before adding, "But this grand spectacle was forced into being under two specific conditions."

"You say." Ren also listened quietly.

"The first specific condition is the sword that you used to protect the Taoist priest. The Heaven and Earth Sword Furnace made Jiuli speechless and frightened. Therefore, Dongdeng Mansion will only give you face and respond if you say you want to form an alliance together." The young marquis' eyes were filled with very wise eyes.

"That's right." Ren also agreed.

"The second specific condition is that my old Marquis of Dongdeng Mansion has always been consistent in his words and deeds and has never done anything unpleasant. Therefore, this unanimous alliance was facilitated by him using the personal prestige he has accumulated over the years."