Chapter 73: Heaven weeps blood, and the king perishes
Shockingly.
All the scenes before my eyes were shattered.
In a daze, it seemed like I was back here again.
Zhuang Ming's heart palpitations still existed and he was trembling slightly.
He seemed to have spanned endless years and faced a powerful ancient dragon.
"The sky weeps with blood, the king dies, the demons cause chaos, the soul-gathering bell rings, and the holy palace collapses."
His breathing was stagnant and he murmured, a turbulent wave surged in his heart.
He didn't know what these eighteen characters symbolized.
But he could feel that even as powerful as the ancient dragon, he also showed despair and sadness.
In an instant, Zhuang Ming's mind was completely absorbed in these eighteen words, thinking about the meaning of these eighteen words.
With just eighteen words, he instantly sketched a grand and tragic picture in his mind.
"Master..."
Liu He's soft call made him wake up.
Zhuang Ming slowly exhaled.
He clenched his fists and looked as usual.
Whatever that means, it's not what's in front of you.
There are many things ahead of us.
"Although King Chen has fallen into my hands, the matter is not over yet."
Zhuang Ming waved his hand and said: "We..."
His voice suddenly paused and he looked forward.
In the open space ahead, corpses were strewn across the field, and rain and blood were mixed together.
And the girl who was soaked all over, with messy hair on her temples, cried and ran all the way in the muddy blood, took off her shoes, and ran in front of her.
"Master..."
"Yeah." Zhuang Ming nodded lightly.
"I thought I would never see you again." She whispered.
"No." Zhuang Ming felt the power from the dragon and said slowly: "From now on, we will never encounter such a dangerous situation again."
"Yeah." She nodded heavily.
"walk into."
Zhuang Ming stretched out his hand and took her hand, only to feel it was as cold as frost, just like when they first met.
——
Fengcheng.
Master Zhao did not follow King Chen to Zhongwang Mountain.
He did not dislike that young man, but rather admired him.
It's just a pity that Zhuang's Trading Company, which had built up great momentum in just six years, suddenly collapsed because it offended the wrong people.
Tens of thousands of troops besieged Zhongwang Mountain, and Zhuang Ming had no chance of being spared.
It is even difficult to say how many people under the name of Zhuang's Trading Company could survive the serious crime of rebellion.
"I can't go to Zhongwang Mountain, so I can't give you a ride."
Mr. Zhao poured a glass of wine, poured it on the ground, and sighed: "Zhuang Ming, have a good trip."
At this point in the situation, there is no room for change.
No matter how clever and clever he is, he will definitely die.
"Sir...Sir...something big happened..."
Just then, I saw a servant running in in a panic, shouting.
Mr. Zhao frowned and said, "What's wrong? The army has massacred Zhongwang Mountain?"
This was expected and not surprising.
The servant had an unspeakable look on his face, shook his head quickly, and gasped: "No..."
"no?"
"The Zhennan Army that besieged Zhongwang Mountain collapsed."
"What?"
"Some soldiers fled into Fengcheng, as if they were crazy and confused."
"Are you sure it's the Zhennan Army?" Mr. Zhao's expression changed.
"It's the Zhennan Army." The servant gasped: "Our men stopped them and were almost killed by the Zhennan Army's escape... We just suppressed them. After questioning, they said that Qianlong Villa
Inside, there is a dragon hidden inside. It is invulnerable to weapons and even the divine crossbow. It can call the wind and rain, sweep across thousands of armies, and has the power to move mountains and fill seas."
"Nonsense." Mr. Zhao frowned. He was a scholar, and he always dismissed legends about gods, ghosts, and strange things as mythical and false stories that deceived the people.
"Really... those deserters from the Zhennan Army said so..."
"deserter……"
Master Zhao frowned.
He has never seen any gods, ghosts, or monsters, nor does he believe there are any gods or dragons in this world.
But if the Zhennan Army is really defeated, what does that mean?
Doesn't it mean that the more than 20,000 elite Zhennan troops who besieged Zhongwang Mountain were defeated by Zhuang Ming?
Mr. Zhao's eyes gradually became incredulous.
No matter how smart Zhuang Ming is, he is just a businessman who has amassed a lot of wealth. How did he defeat the Zhennan Army?
Could it be that he secretly raised private soldiers?
But how many thousands of soldiers and horses can the mere Qianlong Villa hide?
What's more, more than 20,000 elite Zhennan Army troops were all routed and fled. Could it be that Qianlong Villa has an army of 100,000 people?
Or are there other reasons?
What was the reason that led to the defeat of more than 20,000 Zhennan troops?
"Where is King Chen?"
"I heard that he was crushed to death by a dragon."
"..."
Mr. Zhao felt that this matter was not credible, but he did not scold him anymore. He just whispered: "Hurry up and send someone to investigate! Be sure to find out whether the news is true or not!"
The servant quickly responded: "After seeing that the Zhennan Army was defeated, someone already went to investigate."
Mr. Zhao nodded slightly, then paused again and said: "Those who are imprisoned in Zhuang's Trading Company are treated with courtesy, are not allowed to be beaten or scolded, and are given preferential treatment... In addition, I have issued a strict order to seal up the Zhuang Company."
When a merchant's business is operating, they are not allowed to take advantage of the situation to rob, and no property is allowed to be taken. Moreover, all the things that have been taken previously will be put back. If not, once it is verified, severe punishment will not be given!"
He probably knows the virtues of the men under his command.
Normally it wouldn't matter, but now things were starting to go wrong. Out of caution, he didn't want to offend Zhuang Ming again on a small matter.
"Master... these people..."
"Zhuang Ming is a man whose abyss is as deep as the sea, yet he destroyed sacred objects in public and was convicted of rebellion by King Chen. Even I can't defend him."
Mr. Zhao pondered: "From the moment I heard the news, I felt that this matter was strange. It was not like Zhuang Ming's behavior. But I never thought before that Zhuang Ming could resist the Zhennan Army. Although I didn't know what he was relying on.
What kind of power can he use to defeat the Zhennan Army? But at least he has solved the immediate dilemma. Let’s see what happens later..."
Zhuang Ming first made an act of rebellion and was convicted of irrefutable rebellion.
Although he now has the strength, he defeated the Zhennan army and injured King Chen.
But in the end, it doesn't change the fact that we are openly resisting the law.
If nothing unexpected happens, Zhuang's Trading Company will definitely face the encirclement and suppression by the entire Dongsheng Dynasty.
Can Zhuang Ming really hold on?
Master Zhao doesn't know the truth.
But he knew that this young man was very smart and had at least resolved the immediate crisis.
"Listen again, we are only temporarily detaining these people. Before the capital city has convicted them, they are not rebels."
Mr. Zhao paused and said: "If someone from Zhuang's Trading Company comes to contact you, please let me know first..."
The servant looked shocked and said: "Master..."
Mr. Zhao said in a deep voice: "He even defeated the Zhennan Army. Can we stop him? As long as the court does not convict him, what will happen to him? If the court convicts him again later, he will have to be surrounded and suppressed first and wait for him.
They have been surrounded and suppressed, it will not be difficult for us to capture them when the time comes."
Having said this, Mr. Zhao looked in the direction of Zhongwang Mountain with extremely complicated eyes.
With Zhuang Ming's scheming, he will definitely make a plan after solving the current dilemma.
He even suspected that Zhuang Ming had already made a chess piece in the capital before he started such a huge momentum.
Perhaps, there will be no more condemnation orders from the capital.
——
The news spreads.
Not limited to Fengcheng.
There are rumors in all the sixteen prefectures of Huai'an.
On that day, Mr. Thirteen of Zhuang's Trading Company openly rebelled and fled back to Zhongwang Mountain.
Everyone in Zhuang's trading company was captured and imprisoned by the government.
Qianlong Villa in Zhongwang Mountain was surrounded by more than 20,000 elite Zhennan Army troops.
On that day, there was a dragon in Qianlong Villa, calling the wind and rain, soaring for nine days, sweeping through thousands of troops, and defeated the Zhennan Army.
All the more than 20,000 Zhennan troops broke up and fled.
Such rumors are no longer even limited to the Sixteenth House of Huai'an, but are gradually spreading outside.
"Nonsense... How can there be any dragons in this world?"
"Is it possible that some kind of giant python has been raised?"
"What kind of giant python can defeat an army of tens of thousands? If there really is such a giant python in the world, what is the difference between it and a dragon?"
"In my opinion, it is probably Mr. Thirteen who has strong financial resources and is secretly raising troops. Otherwise, how could he dare to rebel openly?"
"That makes sense."
"That's true. If Mr. Thirteen can really control the dragon, wouldn't he be a god?"
"What a god, why does he need to make money in the mortal world? What a god, why does his business have been banned by King Chen for so long?"
"It's probably because the Zhennan Army was defeated. In addition to the name of the Qianlong Villa, someone was far-fetched and added some theory about the hidden dragon, just to make it more interesting."
Regarding this matter, some people believe it to be true, while others sneer at it.
Due to the Dongsheng Dynasty, for hundreds of years, no practitioners have shown the Dharma to others.
The legends of gods and ghosts have long been illusory and exist only in unofficial histories recorded in ancient books and stories passed down orally.
In the eyes of many people, this matter is mostly spread by rumors. It has been fabricated by thoughtful people, adding a lot of magical color and making it more interesting to talk about.
However, although it is difficult to say whether it is true or not, it is true that Qianlong Villa was besieged by more than 20,000 Zhennan troops.
Now the Zhennan Army has been defeated!
That Qianlong Villa really has the strength to fight against an army?
The Dongsheng Dynasty suddenly became turbulent.
The court was shaken and people were uneasy.
——
And at this moment.
Zhongwang Mountain, Qianlong Villa.
"Sir...this is the list of damages."
"Well, let it go."
Zhuang Ming looked coldly and put down the list.
Commercial banks in various places were assigned by him and no one resisted the law. No lives were lost, but the losses in terms of banks were really huge.
However, the officials of the Sixteenth House of Huai'an did give him face. Perhaps they heard later that he defeated the Zhennan Army before the imperial army arrived, so they were wary and feared to offend him.
Therefore, the losses on the list were not as much as he originally estimated.
On the contrary, after the news spread that he defeated the Zhennan Army, the officials of the Sixteenth House of Huai'an respected him like a god and secretly made up for some of the losses.
Although they also felt that there was no movement in the capital and the situation was not yet clear, Zhuang Ming might still be a traitor, and the future outcome was still difficult to determine.
But at least, at this moment, no one among the sixteen mansions in Huai'an dared to embarrass him.
Most of the people from Zhuang's Trading Company who were originally imprisoned were also released.
But Zhuang Ming knew that the matter was not over yet.
"Brothers who died, remember their merits, bury them with lavish burials, paint their portraits, and seal them in high cabinets. Anyone who has relatives should provide them with compensation. Brothers who are injured must do their best to treat them without any mistakes...those who are disabled will from now on.
Zhuang's Trading Company will be responsible for the support."
Zhuang Ming said: "In some time, I will reward you heavily..."
Liu He looked grave and whispered: "Yes."
Zhuang Ming slowly exhaled and closed his eyes slightly.
Liu He said softly: "Master Lu's shoulders were pierced, his bones were torn, his meridians were severed, his organs were injured, and his arms were almost weak. Fortunately, there may be hope for a cure with Longjun's holy medicine."
"Yue Ye and Bai Ye were seriously injured and are still unconscious. However, Long Jun's holy medicine saved their lives. The doctor said that there is a vitality in it that is supporting their blood and stimulating their pulses, and they will gradually recover."
"It's just that Mr. Bai has broken his arm and can't reconnect it."
As he spoke, Liu He's voice was slightly hoarse.
Zhuang Ming opened his eyes, stretched out his hand to support the young dragon in his sleeve, and said in a low voice: "I understand."
Liu He gave a salute and then left.
Zhuang Ming paused and said: "Tell the people who are still alive that no matter how serious the injury is, sooner or later, I will let them recover."
Liu He was startled for a moment, thinking that the young master was trying to comfort him, but then he remembered the dragon, and immediately straightened his face and saluted, "Yes."
Zhuang Ming waved his hand to ask him to retreat.
But after Liu He left, another person came outside the door.
Step lightly and carefully.
"Master..."
"Um?"
Zhuang Ming looked up and saw Shuang Ling holding hot soup.
The girl's face was still very pale, her eyes were bloodshot, and there were faint traces of tears. She took the hot soup and put it on the table.
"Go and rest, I have nothing to do here."
Zhuang Ming paused for a moment and said softly: "I understand the matter. I did a good job. The confusion energy you refined dispersed with the wind, confusing a large number of Zhennan Army soldiers and delaying their progress. Otherwise,
They attacked Qianlong Villa first."
Shuang Ling hummed and said, "It all depends on the young master's teachings."
She hesitated for a moment and then asked: "Is the matter... over?"
Zhuang Ming shook his head slightly and said: "Things are still to come. After all, the Dongsheng Dynasty is not dominated by King Chen, nor does it only have 20,000 Zhennan troops, but..."
He looked indifferent and continued: "It used to be considered a big deal, but now it can only be considered a small matter."
The supreme imperial power in this world must also surrender to him.
Because the dragon's divine power is higher than anything else in the world!
——
at the same time.
An urgent report from Huai'an has been sent to the capital.