Start from the thief

Yelu Rang, the King of the Southern Courtyard, was a pitiful man.

Of course, this is not to say that his life was pitiful. He was a member of the royal family of the Liao Dynasty, the King of Nanyuan who guarded a region, with a large army under his command and a respected status. The word "pitiful" could not be associated with him at all.

But he is indeed pitiful because he is so stupid that he doesn't even realize it.

Li Huan and Li Jian's unlucky father went against the will of his ancestors and borrowed troops from the Liao Kingdom. The Liao Emperor was hesitant, but King Nanyuan did not hesitate. It was a great opportunity. If he won the bet, he might be able to take over half of the Tang Kingdom. By then, the population under his rule would be ten times that of the Liao Emperor. Then he would have the final say on who would be the Liao Emperor.

That's what gamblers are like. They only think about what will happen if they win, and never consider the possibility of losing.

King Nanyuan lost, and lost miserably. The family fortune he had built up for who knows how many years was wiped out in one battle, and he was even captured by a group of farmers. It is obvious that such a shameful thing must have spread widely in Liao, and it can be seen from the undisguised disdain of the envoys who came to receive him.

It would be better for me to die in battle.

But I don't dare to die.

Cowardly, conceited, and in high positions, the collapse of an empire begins with such people.

So the Liao emperor cried in front of all his ministers, saying that his brothers were deceived by the Tang people and that he would never reconcile with the Tang people. So the ministers cried with him and pretended not to notice the Liao emperor's uncontrollable smile.

Although there were casualties, those who died were the private army of King Nanyuan. What does it have to do with him? The Liao Kingdom is not the Tang Kingdom. Those who died in the Tang Kingdom were all soldiers of the imperial court, while those who died in the Liao Kingdom were all its own soldiers. The fewer private army of King Nanyuan there are, the more stable the position of the Liao Emperor will be.

Moreover, from now on, the Emperor of Liao has the name and power to openly take over the tribe under the rule of the King of Nanyuan. The King of Nanyuan will still exist, but at least now he will be replaced by the Emperor of Liao.

The Liao Dynasty's imperial teacher used Li Li as a bargaining chip to force Li Tong to release him. According to the agreement, Li Tong would release Yelu Rang first, and then the two sides would exchange the fourth prince and Li Li.

If Li Tong released the Fourth Prince first, there was a high probability that the Liao Emperor would not be replaced. He would rather Li Tong kill Yelu Rang.

So the King of Nanyuan, who was despised by both sides, set out on his journey home. He was slowly carried north on a not-so-luxurious large ship. Together with the fleet behind him, there were only about a thousand people in total. These guards were his personal soldiers and the last of his troops.

But if this person returns to Linhuang Prefecture, it will make many people uncomfortable.

Zhao Yushu wasn't the only one who wanted to kill him.

He did not die immediately after leaving Youzhou because that would have been too obvious. But when he arrived in Dading Prefecture, it was a bit surprising that no one came to assassinate him.

Yelu Rang was not a complete fool. On the contrary, he had some political acumen. He knew that someone would definitely come to kill him, whether it was the Emperor of Liao or someone who wanted to frame the Emperor of Liao. In short, someone would come.

So after passing Dading Prefecture, he became even more panicked. The longer he endured, the more determined the other party was, and he was very confident that he could kill him with one blow.

The preparations I made in advance failed and I was forced to move to the next location.

According to the itinerary, we will arrive at Longhuazhou next, and then we will get off the boat and go to Linhuang Prefecture by land to apologize. If someone wants to take action, it will most likely be in Longhuazhou.

Longhuazhou seemed calm on the surface, but undercurrents were surging in the dark.

Zhao Yushu noticed this keenly.

Longhuazhou is not big, but it has a lot of people. Because trade is prevalent, it is very suitable for outsiders to mix in.

For example, these people at the dock.

If there were just a few more people it wouldn't be a big problem, but if these people didn't work and just drank, then it would be a big problem.

There are monks and mortals, at least three groups of people, one of which has been discovered by the remaining two groups.

Every day, Zhao Yushu would sit at the dock with his hands behind his back and chat with several managers from various businesses. They were the same people as Zhao Yushu's disguised identities, as their own ships were forced to delay and they were waiting here foolishly.

No one paid any attention to the unfortunate steward.

Zhao Yushu couldn't let this group of assassins succeed easily. He didn't care about the life or death of King Nanyuan. What he wanted was to mobilize enough forces through this incident, just like what he did in Liaoyang Prefecture.

If it wasn't the wolf girl who came, he would have at least tied up one interior and one exterior scene in Liaoyang Prefecture. How many interior scenes can you have in your entire Linhuang Prefecture that can withstand my arrangement?

He touched a few talismans in his arms. If the inner scene really came, Zhao Yushu would just call for help and let the senior brother kill him.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow the king's ship will come over, and our ship will arrive too."

The managers got this not-so-secret gossip from somewhere and it immediately spread throughout the entire dock, with everyone's faces filled with joy.

Zhao Yushu feels the same way, he is truly happy. Waiting here is really making him anxious. Tomorrow, how can I give you little cuties a surprise?

Zhao Yushu looked at the assassins who had been waiting for days like him. They had obviously received the news earlier than him so they acted calmly and a group of them had even left to prepare.

Zhao Yushu chatted with a few Tang managers for a few more words and then left. Everyone should go back home early to rest tonight. After such a long backlog, there will definitely be a lot of ships arriving tomorrow, and the docks may not be enough. Everyone will be very busy by then.

The busier you are, the more chaotic it will be.

Yelu Rang stood at the bow. It was late in the evening and the ship had already dropped anchor. The dark Tu River was calm and peaceful, and it was so deep that it was a little scary.

"My lord, it's cold outside, let's go back."

A big man with a longbow on his back and at least three pots of arrows on his waist stood behind Yelu Rang. There was no spiritual power fluctuation around him, but his arms were frighteningly thick and his waist and back muscles were exaggerated. At first glance, he was obviously a top archer.

What was even more peculiar was that there were three great monks standing behind him, as if his status was higher than that of the great monks.

No matter how down and out Yelu Rang was, he was still the King of the Southern Court who controlled 30% of the elite troops of the Liao Kingdom. It would be unreasonable to say that he did not have a few experts under his command.

"It's almost summer, why are you cold? Today I saw a few scouts coming and going from afar. Are they so blatant?"

The Archer was obviously a little dissatisfied after hearing this: "I want to shoot these filthy people in broad daylight, why won't the King agree?"

"Hmph, what's the point of killing just a few spies? Now we can be sure that they are all in Longhuazhou. He wants me dead, haha, how can it be so easy? I ask you, these assassins are probably mixed in the crowd, can you tell them apart?"

The Archer said without hesitation: "I can even see the eagle in the sky clearly, how can I not tell who the assassin is? Please rest assured, my king."

Unexpectedly, Yelu Rang suddenly became furious: "No! You can't tell the difference! How do you know which one is the assassin? If someone disguised as a commoner assassinated me, would you be able to bear the consequences?"

She Diao'er was stunned. His self-confidence was ruthlessly refuted by the king. He didn't know what to say.

"Remember, anyone could be an assassin. For my safety, you must remember that no one on the shore should be left alive."