Chapter 357 Solving the problem

Chapter 357 Solving the problem

Chapter 357 Solving the problem
In Chaoge, inside the royal palace, the tallow lamp on the bronze candlestick was like an ancient storyteller. The jumping flames "crackled" and enveloped Xu Qing's body in a mixture of light and dark, as if a layer of mysterious gauze was put on him.

The hall was filled with the thick scent of sandalwood, which was lingering, but it could not cover up the tense and oppressive atmosphere. Xu Qing sat upright on the throne with dragons and phoenixes carved on it, his posture straight, his eyes as sharp as a hawk, looking down at the courtiers bowing down below.

He swept his eyes over the crowd one by one. In the crowd, disciples from Tianhe and Chunyang sects were mixed in. These disciples were dressed in court robes like others, and their expressions were respectful, but Xu Qing knew in his heart that they were completely different from himself. They knew nothing about the battle of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and in this Yinxu time and space, they ignorantly played their respective roles. Xu Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, and his thoughts were like a tide. He knew that the information he had about this battle of the gods might not be completely accurate. After all, this Yinxu time and space was like a mysterious chess game, with many variables.

Judging from the destiny trajectory of Yinxu time and space, the light of Yin Dynasty's destiny has dimmed and gradually shifted to the direction of Western Zhou. But Xu Qing's mouth corners slightly raised, outlining a confident arc. He was entrusted with the mission of Ziwei, and he came in the identity of the Supreme Free Heavenly Demon Lord. This special thing was enough to change the established situation. He thought to himself that if he hadn't come here in person, after Tianhe and Chunyang chose Yin Dynasty, they would probably be doomed to be defeated and reduced to dust in front of this powerful and mysterious Yinxu time and space destiny.

"My dear ministers," Xu Qing finally spoke, his voice echoing in the empty palace. His voice cleverly imitated the unique hoarseness of King Yin, but at the end of the tone, it contained the unique demonic vibration of the Heavenly Demon. This slight change was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples in the surrounding air.

"The traitor Xiqi has repeatedly invaded our borders and wantonly challenged the majesty of our Great Yin. I have decided to raise an army of 100,000 and march westward to destroy the Zhou Dynasty and restore the majesty of heaven!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the state teacher Bigan flashed and stepped out of the line. He wore a nine-tassel crown and gorgeous court robes, and the ivory tablet in his hand shone with a warm luster under the candlelight. He raised the tablet high with both hands, bowed deeply to Xu Qing, and said in a voice like a bell: "Your Majesty is wise! Xiqi has been rebelling for a long time, and the King of Zhou is even more daring. He dared to sneak into Chaoge and steal the "Gui Zang Yi", the most precious treasure of our Great Yin. It is a great shame for our dynasty, humiliating our Great Yin and bullying our ancestors! Only by pacifying the Western Zhou can we avenge this great shame and restore the glory of our Great Yin!"

Seeing this, the ministers all echoed. For a moment, the palace was filled with indignation, and shouts shook the heavens. "Destroy the Western Zhou!" "Give me back my dignity!" Slogans like these were heard one after another. Everyone waved their tablets, their faces flushed, as if they were already in the smoke-filled battlefield, fighting a desperate battle with the Xiqi traitor.

Xu Qing looked at this scene, nodded slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his face. His thoughts could not help but drift back to his past life memories. In the story of the Conferred God, Bigan was the uncle of the King of Yin.

This person is upright and tough, with a dignified and upright character. He always puts the interests of Great Yin first and shoulders the rise and fall of Great Yin. Now that the King of Yin is under his control, he is not stupid and unjust. Facing the King of Zhou's provocation to the majesty of Great Yin, he is naturally full of anger and has no good feelings.

That's why Bigan supported his decision without hesitation.

Xu Qing secretly sighed in his heart, it seems that the upright and loyal personalities of Bi Gan in the two time and space are similar.

This discovery brought a rare comfort to Xu Qing. He knew that even if the information he knew was not complete and accurate, being able to confirm some key information would undoubtedly be of great benefit to his planning in this complex situation.

Xu Qing's eyes slowly swept over the ministers again. In the crowd, he accurately caught sight of Xu Qingzhu, who had a spiritual connection with him. At this moment, Xu Qingzhu was dressed like an overseas immortal. His moon-white robes fluttered gently in the wind, and his sleeves fluttered, as if he was a fairy descending to earth.

She had a pretty face and a calm expression, but the occasional flash of strange light in her lowered eyes did not escape Xu Qing's sharp eyes. Xu Qing knew that she had obviously realized that King Yin was her "father". For Xu Qingzhu, this matter was like a huge rock thrown into the lake of her heart, causing a storm in her heart.

But Xu Qingzhu was mentally strong after all, and there was no sign of emotion on his face, still maintaining his calm appearance.

Xu Qing was relieved to see his daughter's calm performance. But at this moment, he was not in a hurry to recognize his daughter in private. He tapped the imperial desk with his fingertips, and the fragments of the black bird jade disk that had long been broken on the desk suddenly floated up as if being pulled by a mysterious force. These fragments rotated rapidly in the void, collided with each other, and made a crisp sound. Then, they slowly pieced together, and actually pieced together a three-dimensional star map of Yinxu time and space in front of everyone. In the star map, the mountains, rivers, cities and passes were all lifelike and exuded a mysterious light.

Xu Qing's eyes fell on the position of Qinglong Pass in the star map. He paused for a moment, then looked up at Wen Zhong and said, "In three days, we will march to Qinglong Pass. Grand Master, are you willing to lead the elite troops of Great Yin to charge into battle and open the door to victory for our army?"

When Wen Zhong heard this, his expression was stern. He was a burly man, like a towering mountain, wearing black armor, with a pair of whips hanging from his waist, looking majestic. At this moment, he clasped his hands together, took a step forward, and said loudly: "I am willing to lead the way for the king, and I will go through fire and water without hesitation! I will take Ji Chang's head and present it to the king's horse!"

When Wen Zhong said this, his voice was like thunder, shaking the candlelight in the hall slightly. However, Xu Qing keenly noticed that at the moment when Wen Zhong clasped his fists in response, the eye on his forehead was avoiding his sight obscurely.

Xu Qing knew that the Thunder God, who was destined to be his master, had finally sensed the demonic energy surging in his body. The demonic energy was like a beast hiding in the dark, emitting a dangerous and strange aura. Even though Xu Qing tried his best to conceal it, it still could not escape Wen Zhong's all-seeing eyes.

In fact, Xu Qing didn't know that Wen Zhong, as the God of Thunder of Heaven's Mandate, would not disobey Xu Qing's orders even if he noticed Xu Qing's abnormality, because the Ziwei aura on Xu Qing's body could not be faked.

The God of Thunder was born to serve Ziwei.

Therefore, Xu Qing could still use his divine magic to sense Wen Zhong's loyalty to him.

Don't use people with suspicion, don't use people who are suspicious.

Wen Zhong will definitely use it.

...

...

Outside the city of Chaoge, the Muye field is vast and boundless.

One hundred thousand black armored soldiers were ready for battle, like a well-trained black tide, lined up in an orderly manner. On the black armor, cold light flashed, reflecting the cold faces of the soldiers.

Bronze chariots were scattered in front of the army. The black bird flags on the chariots fluttered, and the flags were soaked with the blood of successive Yin kings. After years of precipitation, in this oppressive pre-war atmosphere, the flags strangely emitted a bewitching red light, as if ignited by blood, wantonly showing off the former glory of the Yin Dynasty and the current solemnity.

The sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, dragons and pythons embroidered on Xu Qingmian's robe sparkled in the sunlight, highlighting his majesty. Twelve jade strings hung from the crown, reflecting a dreamlike colorful halo under the gentle caress of the morning light. But this gorgeous halo could not cover the purple starlight flowing in his eyes. The starlight seemed to come from the mysterious power deep in the universe, deep and vast, revealing the majestic momentum of controlling the universe.

"Long live the king!" Instantly, the soldiers of the three armies shouted in unison. The sound was like thunder exploding in the flat ground, shaking the heaven and earth. The shouts resounded through the sky, startling the birds roosting nearby and making them fly away in a flutter.

Amid the thunderous shouts, Li Qing, the incarnation of Xu Qing, hid in the ranks of priests.

He clearly saw that the Xuanniao Guards transformed by the Tianhe Sect disciples all had a faint water pattern on their foreheads. The water pattern was like a lively stream, looming in the sunlight, revealing a mysterious atmosphere. The Chunyang Sect monks disguised as the priests had the fire cloud secret mark embroidered on their cuffs, just like a burning flame, hot and dangerous, as if it would burst out with powerful power at any time.

When Xu Qing's eyes swept over them slowly like a searchlight, these carefully disguised people seemed to be pinched by the throat by an invisible big hand. Their bodies instantly tensed up, their backs straightened, and they felt an inexplicable awe for Xu Qing, the strange King Yin.

"Grandmaster." Xu Qing leaned slightly to the side, his posture elegant and majestic. His fingertips gently tapped the shaft of the carriage, making a crisp sound. His voice was like a gentle breeze, but it was wrapped with the secret power of the devil, and it was transmitted to Wen Zhong's ears as accurately as a silk thread, "Do you see anything different about that Xuanniao Guard?"

Wen Zhong, an old minister who had served three dynasties, was instantly shocked when he heard this. The third eye on his forehead suddenly glowed with golden light, like a star that suddenly lit up, dazzling. Under the power of this powerful eye, nothing in the world could escape his gaze.

There are so many outsiders in the court?
However, just when he was about to explode, Xu Qing's hand, which seemed gentle but contained great power, pressed his shoulder firmly and said, "When facing two armies, we should use unexpected forces." Xu Qing's voice was low and firm, as if it had a magic that was irresistible.

Wen Zhong was slightly startled, then he understood.

Are these people the king's men? A flash of understanding flashed in his eyes, and he slowly loosened his grip on the double whips.

The chariot slowly drove past the general's platform. The wheels rolled over the ground, making a dull and rhythmic sound, like the prelude to a war drum.

Xu Qing suddenly raised his hand, his movements like a general commanding a huge army, with an innate majesty of a king. As he raised his hand, twelve bronze altars slowly rose behind the king's carriage.

These altars were tall and heavy, with mysterious runes carved all over their surfaces. The traces of time made the runes look even more ancient, exuding an awe-inspiring aura. On each altar, there were several Xiqi captives tied up.

The captives were ragged and pale as paper. Their deep eye sockets were filled with endless despair. They knew very well that according to the ancient rules of the Great Yin and the Great Zhou that had been passed down for hundreds of years, offering captives to heaven before going to war was a necessary ritual to pray for the protection of heaven and obtain victory.

In their eyes, they were completely shrouded by the shadow of fate, and the scythe of death could fall at any time. They huddled together, shivering in the cold wind, and every breath was accompanied by a tremor of fear of the unknown.

"I declare that from now on, there will be no more human sacrifices in the Great Yin." Xu Qing's voice was steady and powerful, like the sound of a huge bell, spreading throughout the entire Muye battlefield.

As soon as these words came out, it was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, stirring up thousands of waves in the originally solemn and dignified army. For a moment, the entire Muye battlefield fell into a brief silence. Everyone was stunned by this sudden announcement.

Then, whispers surged like a tide and quickly spread. The nobles in the court, those who usually lived a life of luxury and controlled a large amount of resources and power, all showed astonishment and dissatisfaction on their faces.

Human sacrifice is not only a tradition for them, but also a means to maintain the ruling order and demonstrate authority, with many interest chains involved behind it. Now, at the critical moment when the army is going to war, Xu Qing suddenly announced such a decree, which is undoubtedly a huge blow to their inherent rights and interests.

"This... How can this be possible?" An elderly noble, his beard trembling, could not help but mutter in a low voice, his face full of disbelief and anger.

"Your Majesty, this action may break the ancestral rules!" Another nobleman dressed in gorgeous brocade robes frowned and complained in a low voice to the person next to him.

The soldiers also looked at each other with doubt and confusion in their eyes. For a long time, they had been accustomed to this bloody ceremony before going to war. Now that they heard that it was abolished, they felt uneasy about the unknown, but also had a faint expectation of mercy.

Wen Zhong looked even more confused.

He clearly felt that the king was full of evil spirit, but this was something only a big devil could do.

The national teacher Bigan was very excited.

He was one of the few nobles who opposed live sacrifice.

All along, he thought that the king would not support this matter, and that there would be great resistance to it, so he never said it out loud. Unexpectedly, the king actually agreed with him.

Living people can create countless values, even if they are used as cattle and horses, they are still very useful. Once they die, they have no value at all.

Considering this alone, living sacrifices should not be promoted any further.

The decree spoken by Xu Qing seemed to be the law of nature and caused countless waves among the army in Chaoge.

Of course, there were also many nobles who directly opposed it.

This has shaken their fundamental interests.

The fundamental meaning of living sacrifice is that they have absolute control over the slaves.

Undoubtedly, King Yin is shaking this up.

"Since you object to not having to sacrifice people, then fine, I will use you as a living sacrifice during this expedition."

The Supreme Demon Lord's style of doing things is simple and crude.

If you can't solve the problem, then solve the people who created the problem.

In his view, these nobles in the Yinxu time and space were nothing more than ants.

He did this not only to follow his heart, but also to test the laws of time and space in Yinxu.

"Grandmaster Wen Zhong."

"The minister is here."

"Lead these Xuanniao Guards and capture them all." Xu Qing's gaze fell on the disciples of Tianhe and Chunyang sects.

He looked stern, yet seemed to know everything.

Of course, the disciples of the two sects have no vested interests in this matter, so it is a good thing for them to help King Yin deal with internal troubles and go on an expedition quickly.

A major purge before the expedition soon began.

"Qingzhu, don't be afraid. This world is too filthy, your father just wants to cleanse it." Xu Qing's voice rang in the heart of Xu Qingzhu, who had to work while witnessing the cruelty and bloodshed.

(End of this chapter)