Chapter 238 - Zhao Ji's Gloat, The Twin Dragons' Ambition, Guo Jing's Persistence, and the Ranking Update

Northern Song Imperial Palace.

Emperor Zhao Ji held in his hand a secret report detailing the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty at the hands of the Yuan Dynasty. His expression was nothing short of colorful.

One moment happy, the next filled with anger.

He mumbled under his breath.

In the end, he burst into wild laughter.

"Southern Song Dynasty, in the end, you were destroyed after all!"

"What a pity it wasn't by my hand!"

Though both Northern Song Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty originated from the once unified Song Dynasty, neither ever acknowledged the other.

Each wished nothing more than to see the other annihilated.

Unfortunately, both dynasties were nothing but useless, only good at empty rhetoric.

When it came time to truly act, they would immediately back down.

Now that he saw the Southern Song Dynasty fall, Zhao Ji did not feel even the slightest bit of shared sorrow.

Instead, he was downright thrilled and excited.

"Your Majesty, now that the Southern Song Dynasty has been wiped out, the Yuan Dynasty directly borders our dynasty."

"Given their aggressive nature, they absolutely won't let this opportunity pass."

"What's more, we're still facing invasions from Liao Kingdom, Jin Kingdom, and Western Xia Kingdom. The situation is extremely dire."

"We must remain vigilant."

Huang Shang advised earnestly.

"No matter." Zhao Ji replied.

"Although I know little of military affairs, even I understand that after destroying the Southern Song Dynasty, the Vast Sea Dynasty surely won't sit by idly. They'll definitely launch an attack."

"Whether the Yuan Dynasty can withstand the Vast Sea Dynasty is still uncertain."

"If an opportunity presents itself, perhaps my Song Dynasty can even launch an attack on the Yuan Dynasty and claim a piece of the Southern Song Dynasty's former territory."

Huang Shang was speechless.

You really overestimate yourself.

You dare to provoke the Yuan Dynasty?

The Yuan Dynasty's military strength isn't something Liao Kingdom, Jin Kingdom, or even Western Xia Kingdom could compare to.

If you end up not gaining anything and instead anger the Yuan Dynasty, dragging us into disaster, that would truly be terrible.

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Tang Imperial Palace, Taiji Hall.

"One less dynasty."

"The struggle for the Nine Provinces has already begun, hasn't it?"

When the Qing Dynasty was destroyed, Li Shimin had thought it was merely due to the Ming Dynasty being too powerful.

But now the Southern Song Dynasty has also fallen.

A growing sense of urgency surged in his heart.

At this rate, more dynasties would surely be destroyed.

The weak perish.

Only the strong have the right to compete for the position of Emperor over the Nine Provinces.

If given enough time, he was confident he could rise.

But now, he was out of time.

Others had already risen, yet the Tang Dynasty was still laying its foundation and establishing roots.

From the starting point, they were already behind the other dynasties.

Even internally, the Tang Dynasty hadn't completely settled things yet.

Time moved too fast.

The march of conquest would not wait for him.

If the Tang Dynasty didn't become strong soon, they would have to face attacks from other nations.

That would be a disaster.

No, he must speed things up.

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Sui Imperial Palace.

Yang Guang glanced at the secret report handed to him by Yuwen Tuo. After a brief look, he lost interest.

Compared to the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty wasn't even worth mentioning.

He had already been mentally prepared for this outcome a year ago.

In fact, that it had taken this long for the Southern Song Dynasty to fall made him think Temujin was rather incompetent.

If he had been in Temujin's place, the Southern Song Dynasty would've been taken completely at least six months earlier.

As expected, compared to him, the so-called Temujin was nothing but a joke.

He even allowed the Vast Sea Dynasty's forces to invade his territory, what a disgrace!

"Your Majesty, should our military also take action?"

"The Tang Dynasty has already quelled its internal unrest. Before long, the northern Turkic Kingdom will also be subdued by Li Ji."

"By then, the Tang Dynasty will surely attack our Sui Dynasty."

"We must strike while the Tang Dynasty is still weak, attack them first, weaken them, and strengthen ourselves!"

"Supreme Master Yuwen, who do you think would be the best candidate for the task?"

"King Kaoshan, Yang Lin. He is loyal to the Sui Dynasty and has many battle achievements. Only he is fit to lead an attack on the Tang Dynasty!"

"My Uncle? No. He's already quite old. If something happens to him, I would deeply regret it."

"Let's do this instead. Let Yuwen Chengdu lead the army and attack the Tang Dynasty."

"With the ability of My Grand General Tianbao, he definitely won't disappoint me."

Yuwen Tuo's eyes widened in disbelief.

Yuwen Chengdu?

While indeed a remarkable cultivator, in terms of commanding an army, he was completely inexperienced.

How could he compare to Yang Lin?

Abandoning a truly capable man and instead appointing Yuwen Chengdu to lead the army, how absurd could one be?

After a brief moment of thought, Yuwen Tuo understood.

Yang Guang feared Yang Lin's military accomplishments.

The king's merits overshadowed the Emperor, which made Yang Guang feel threatened.

Faced with the foolish actions of such a dim-witted Emperor, Yuwen Tuo could do nothing to stop it.

A wave of disappointment rose in his heart.

No matter how much he did in the shadows to maintain the rule of the Sui Dynasty...

The endless blunders of this prodigal Emperor, Yang Guang, were too much even for him to bear.

If Yuwen Chengdu's army were destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty's foundations would be crippled.

From then on, they would lose all ability to wage war against other nations.

And based on what Yuwen Tuo knew of Yuwen Chengdu, in terms of military command, he was no match for the Tang Dynasty generals.

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Sui Dynasty, Imperial Harem.

Empress Xiao Meiniang looked at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling before her and asked softly.

"Kou Zhong, Ziling, how is your Young Marshal Army's training progressing?"

"If you were sent into battle, do you think you could win?"

"Master, rest assured. We won't disappoint you!"

"Yes, our Young Marshal Army is just as good as those top-tier armies of the Nine Provinces."

"If given the opportunity, we will one day rival the elite troops under any renowned marshal."

"In that case, this palace will give you a chance."

"Soon, His Majesty will launch a campaign against the Tang Dynasty. This palace will have you lead the Young Marshal Army as the vanguard."

"Do you have confidence?"

"Attack the Tang Dynasty? Who's the Supreme Commander?"

"His Majesty's trusted aide, Yuwen Chengdu. You should be familiar with him."

"Him? Master, you're not joking, are you? Letting him command an army against the Tang Dynasty? That's a disaster waiting to happen."

"Forget the Tang Dynasty, he might not even beat our Young Marshal Army!"

The Twin Dragons were full of disdain toward Yuwen Chengdu.

At the same time, they were somewhat concerned.

They might not fear going alone.

But if they had a pig teammate dragging them down, things could get bad.

"Your true purpose in going is to gain experience for yourselves and your troops."

"Whether you earn merit or not is not what matters most to this palace."

"In the future, you and your Young Marshal Army will be of great use to me."

"Yes, Master. We understand your intentions."

The two were quick-witted and instantly understood.

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Qin Imperial Palace.

"The Southern Song Dynasty has fallen? Well, it was within my expectations."

"I just didn't expect them to perish in such a humiliating way."

"What a laughable Emperor Zhao Gou!"

"And what a treacherous Southern Song Dynasty Prime Minister Qin Hui!"

"Each of them deserved their fate!"

Ying Zheng held nothing but contempt for the traitor Qin Hui.

As for Southern Song Emperor Zhao Gou, he was utterly beneath his notice.

He had failed to employ the right people and instead made a foreign traitor his most trusted aide.

The tragic outcome he met could hardly be called pitiful.

In fact, there was a strange sense of satisfaction.

Even so, the lesson from the Southern Song Dynasty's downfall filled Ying Zheng's heart with a sense of urgency.

He became even more vigilant.

He absolutely could not follow in Zhao Gou's footsteps.

From now on, anyone who dared to betray him would never be spared.

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Ming Dynasty, Imperial Harem.

Empress Chambers.

Empress Wu Zhao had also received the intelligence report on the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty. Her expression was unreadable.

However, in this war, her own Emperor must have played some kind of role.

Given his understanding of both the Yuan Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, there was no way the Southern Song Dynasty should've fallen so quickly.

At the very least, they should've held out for one to three months.

But in just three days, the Southern Song Capital had fallen, utterly unbelievable.

Perhaps others still believed that His Majesty was secluded in cultivation.

But as someone who had been his wife for many years and knew Zhu Houzhao better than anyone, she was certain he was no longer in the palace.

He had once again gone wandering through other nations.

Wherever great events unfolded, Zhu Houzhao would never be absent.

And now, the only major event was the war between the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty.

The outcome was somewhat unexpected.

It wasn't hard to guess, Zhu Houzhao must have done something to bring about such a result.

"What is His Majesty truly trying to do?"

"What are his goals?"

"Based on the interests of the Ming Dynasty, the longer the Southern Song Dynasty resisted, the better it would be for us."

"If the Southern Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty fought each other to exhaustion, we could reap the benefits as the fisherman."

"But now, the Yuan Dynasty won so easily, it doesn't make sense."

Empress Wu Zhao was full of confusion.

She frowned slightly, trying to uncover her Emperor's true intentions.

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Former Southern Song Dynasty Territory.

Now completely conquered by the Yuan Dynasty.

But resistance had not completely vanished.

Plenty of Southern Song Dynasty loyalists remained, secretly organizing and preparing to strike back.

Among them was a particularly notable force led by the former general who defended Xiangyang, Guo Jing.

When Xiangyang fell, if not for the timely rescue by the Chuan Ying, he might have perished with the city.

Even though he had escaped, he never gave up.

He was always preparing to drive out the barbarians and rebuild the Song Dynasty.

Unfortunately, the gap between the two sides was too large. The more they fought, the greater their losses.

Especially now that the Yuan Dynasty military and the National Master Mansion led by Phagpa were targeting him.

Guo Jing had been forced into hiding, becoming an underground force.

He could no longer afford to expose himself.

"General, I've returned!"

A rather disheveled man saluted Guo Jing.

"How did it go? Did you manage to reach Marshal Yue of the Vast Sea Dynasty this time?"

"No, the Vast Sea Dynasty refused."

"They have no intention of forming an alliance with us."

"Why? With our secret support, wouldn't it be easier for them to defeat the Yuan Dynasty?"

"General, you might be underestimating the Vast Sea Dynasty."

"Their strength is far beyond what we imagined."

"They also believe that our assistance is not as valuable as we think."

"At the very least, they don't lack Land Immortal Realm cultivators."

"They even have plenty of Mythical Realm and God Demon Realm cultivators."

"To them, our forces simply aren't that important."

"What's more, the conditions you offered are something they would never accept."

"You want to rebuild the Song Dynasty? Not only will the Yuan Dynasty never agree, the Vast Sea Dynasty won't either."

"The Yuan Dynasty wants to annex the Southern Song Dynasty Territory, but the Vast Sea Dynasty has the same goal."

"In the eyes of the Vast Sea Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty is their enemy, but we're not their friend either."

"Once they've driven out the Yuan Dynasty, we might be their next target."

Guo Jing furrowed his brows. How could he not understand what his subordinate was saying?

But even knowing it, what could he do?

At the root of it all, he was still too weak.

He had to gather more powerful allies. Only then would there be hope of success.

His subordinate's words did not discourage him.

On the contrary, they made his ambitions burn even brighter.

Buzz!

At that moment, the ranking in the sky began to tremble once again.

Golden light radiated in all directions, the heavens stirred with energy.

Line after line of characters began to refresh on the ranking.