Conspiracy (1)

Besides, this place was only thirty five li away from Licheng. Two hundred thousand of cavalry attacked; how come no one noticed?

With just one look, Yi Fen could tell there was something odd about this.

Sure enough. The officials from the Great Yuan showed an unusual reaction; their panic was too exaggerated. Maybe they thought that their performance was good enough to deceive the negotiators from Gasdar.

Great Yuan scholars, because of their intellectual heritage, often looked down on foreigners. To the point that they didn't even bother to manage their expressions.

Their current play was one particularly clear example.

Showing the most dramatic performance was her father, General Yi Xun. He drew his sword and split the negotiating table in half.

Yi Fen was left speechless.

He bellowed, "These people of the Gasdar Kingdom are so cunning. In the name of negotiation, but in fact they want to lead the tiger out of its den. Come! Arrest these barbarians! Whoever resists, kill!" 

It was also at this time that Yi Fen had an enlightenment.

Great Yuan had no intention of negotiating at all. Taking a roundabout route, but in the end only for one goal: to capture the eldest prince of the Gasdar Kingdom alive. However, if it was very difficult, then killing him was another option.

Meanwhile, the Gasdarian warriors were all brave individuals who would rather die than submit. Realizing that Great Yuan wanted to capture one of their royal family members, how could they do nothing? 

They also drew their swords, guarding Prince Uta in the center of their protective circle.

After all, everything had been carefully planned by these officials of Great Yuan. Out of nowhere, tens of elite soldiers appeared.

Yi Fen couldn't be more familiar with these soldiers. Each of them wore black armor with a red insignia "安" (*An) engraved on their left chest. 

The black tortoise secret guards belonged to Yuan NingAn.

At the same time, she felt something cold touch her neck. A woman's slender hand held a long knife, pressing the sharp edge to her throat.

"Yi Mei, you–"

The forceful grip on her shoulder caused Yi Fen to wince in pain. She wanted to break free. But, to her surprise, no matter how strong she struggled, the hand didn't move at all.

"Yi Mei, you are a martial artist?" Yi Fen looked at this dowry maid of hers, who had been by her side for more than three years, incredulously.

She couldn't help pondering that, as the lady of the household, maybe she wasn't capable enough. Not knowing that one of her inner room maidservants was a master, this was her negligence indeed.

Yi Mei didn't bother to answer. She let out a long whistle. Immediately, two of the black tortoise secret guards came to Yi Mei's side.

"What about the preparations over there?" she inquired coldly.

"We have received the report from our correspondence. Deputy Commander Asima has been eliminated," returned one of the secret guards.

Yi Fen widened her eyes in shock.

The figure of a Gasdarian warrior flashed in her mind. Someone like him no longer remained in this world, she found it difficult to believe.

Yi Mei nodded in satisfaction. She tightened her grip, resulting in Yi Fen screaming in pain.

Meanwhile, she didn't lower her voice during the conversation just now. This made Prince Uta and all the negotiators from Gasdar petrified.

Unable to restrain himself, he roared furiously, "What did you do to Asima?"

General Yi Xun and the other Great Yuan officials exchanged meaningful glances.

Yi Mei laughed mockingly. She answered in Gasdar language, "That's obvious, isn't it? After all, shortly you will see him in the underworld. Why don't you just ask him personally, His Highness Prince Uta?"

His face turned ugly. Up to this point, how could he still not understand?

However, everything was too late. He didn't even know if they would be able to leave this place alive.

General Yi Xun was starting to look impatient.

"Don't delay any longer. Take the woman to the meeting place immediately," he ordered.

Yi Mei and the two secret guards rushed out of the tent, bringing the helpless Yi Fen along.

They forced Yi Fen to get into the horse carriage again.

"Where are you taking me?" asked Yi Fen warily.

Yi Mei closed the carriage door, indifferently replied, "You will find out later."

The horse carriage started moving. Yi Fen peeked out from the small window next to her. Shouts and curses could be heard from the direction of the negotiation tent.

"No need to look anymore. They will all die. Without exception."

Yi Mei leaned back in her seat and slowly closed her eyes.

With her mind going blank, Yi Fen lost the ability to speak. Solely the words said by Yi Mei just now were resonating in her ears.

All would die. Without exception.

The horse-drawn carriage rushed further and further away. Just five li away, Yi Fen noticed a group of horsemen galloping towards the military tent.

Judging from their physical traits, those horsemen were subjects of the Great Yuan. They were all dressed in ordinary plain robes. But with the swords strapped to their waists, one could discern that they weren't just ordinary individuals.

Eventually, her gaze fell on the two leading horsemen. Her pupils constricted.

The one who wore a black robe and had a slightly feminine appearance was Situ Yonghang. He was the young master of the Demon Sword Sect. His father was the Sect Master Situ Wenchen.

The other one looked like a 12-year-old child. But he was actually a middle-aged man. Due to the martial arts that he cultivated, his body had stopped growing. He was the sixth of the Eighteen Asuras of the Slaughter Sword Sect, Han Wuxin.

With a pale face, Yi Fen muttered, "Why are they in the Northern Border?"

"My master called them here," answered Yi Mei in a relaxed tone, still with her eyes closed.

Yi Fen turned her head, both eyes darting sharply towards the opposite side, "Your master has such a powerful influence, to the extent that even the forbidden martial art sects are willing to support him."

Yi Mei didn't reciprocate and Yi Fen didn't expect it either.

Feeling resigned, she closed the window.

It was such a pity. That young man, who was like the morning sun, would no longer exist in this world.

...

The carriage finally came to a stop. Yi Fen estimated that it was less than half an hour.

She was just about to peek out the window when Yi Mei closed several of her acupuncture points, making her incapable to move or speak.

"No need to look. We are in Licheng," Yi Mei said coldly.

Yi Fen had more or less expected that they would bring her back to Licheng and she had been mentally prepared. All the insults thrown at her in the negotiation tent were nothing. The real humiliation was in this city of Licheng.

Yi Mei, with ease, helped her get off the carriage; helped in the sense of half supporting and half carrying. From start to finish, Yi Fen's feet didn't even touch the ground. She couldn't help but become curious about Yi Mei's current level of martial art.

Only after she was outside, could she view her surroundings clearly. She was greatly surprised by the Gasdarian Army that had been lined up in battle formations in front of the city walls.

"Are you surprised? You must be wondering how they could mobilize their troops in such large numbers without being noticed," said Yi Mei in hushed tone.

"They had started moving even before we left Media. It's just that cooperation is needed to cover up this matter. We have made all the preparations over the past few years."

Yi Fen's pupils narrowed. She previously read in one of the military strategy books in Yuan NingAn's study room.

Actually, this strategy was used to mobilize military supplies between cities that were under siege. She didn't expect that this strategy could also be used to mobilize troops.

At that time, she also read the small note made by Yuan NingAn.

This strategy didn't have a name. In principle, it was necessary to build an underground transportation system that connects two or more adjacent cities. Without adequate funding, manpower, and time, this would be impossible to implement.

Yi Fen was completely convinced now. The one referred to as "Master" by Yi Mei was Yuan NingAn, the second prince.

However, building underground transportation lines on this scale was a massive project. Yi Fen didn't know how Yuan NingAn was able to obtain the funds.

Apart from that, it was about labor. This project would require experienced experts and not small amount of rough workers. It would be very difficult for Yuan NingAn to mobilize workers, especially when he was still under the eyes of Imperial Noble Consort Zhen and the Third Prince, Yuan Jun.

Another thing to concider was that this strategy could only be implemented in regions with particular geographical conditions.