Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

a few days later.

In a mountainous region within the territory of the Kingdom of Puwa, in the southern part of Qianzhou.

"Commanders."

"This is Director Wu Mingxuan of our Secret Intelligence Bureau's outpost intelligence office in southern Qianzhou."

"Director Wu is here on behalf of the imperial court to specifically address your issues."

Wang Zewen, the head of the secret intelligence station in Puwa, introduced Wu Mingxuan's identity to Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan.

"Director Wu's arrival is an honor; we were completely unprepared. Our apologies!"

Fang Borong was overjoyed to see Wu Mingxuan, who represented the Great Qian Dynasty. He dared not be negligent in the slightest and hurriedly extended his hands to shake hands: "I am Fang Borong. We have been waiting for this moment for so long!"

"We've finally been waiting for Director Wu!"

"My name is Li Siyuan!"

"My name is Zhao Jin!"

"My name is Wu Zhengshan! Director Wu, who knows, we might have been from the same family five hundred years ago..."

Under the personal greeting of Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan, Wu Mingxuan and Wang Zewen were ushered into a hidden cave behind them.

"Please forgive us, Director Wu and Station Chief Wang."

While dismissing all irrelevant people, Fang Borong explained to Wu Mingxuan and Wang Zewen apologetically, "Our headquarters has been taken over by the Lanxi people."

"If we hadn't been lucky enough to evacuate in time, we probably would have been roasted by the Lanxi people's planes..."

"We've been forced into this situation and have no other choice."

"For safety reasons, we have no choice but to receive the two officers in these simple conditions..."

Fang Borong's words were ostensibly a request for Wu Mingxuan and Wang Zewen to forgive them for arranging the meeting in such a simple place.

In reality, it was an opening statement to highlight the predicament they were currently facing in the conversation that would follow.

To be honest, Fang Borong and the others had no idea whether the Daqian court would offer them any assistance.

After all, their status speaks for itself.

They had said a lot of bad things about Shen Moshen before.

Before leaving Daqian, Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan, who were full of resentment towards Shen Moshen, jointly erected a stone tablet at the border between Yuanzhou Province and Puwa Kingdom.

The stone tablet is inscribed with a long, swear-filled "greeting" to Shen Moshen and his family and ancestors.

Furthermore, Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan also jointly signed the inscription.

When Shen Moshen first arrived in Puwa, Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan did their part to tarnish his reputation, gathering together after a few drinks to "greet" him.

Therefore, the concerns of Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan are not without merit.

What worries them most is whether Shen Moshen will let the four of them go, even if the Great Qian Dynasty intervenes to save them.

They had heard plenty about the methods used by the Daqian Zhenguo Army and the Secret Intelligence Bureau.

If Shen Moshen never intended to let the four of them go and didn't want anyone to know...

The Great Qian Zhenguo Army doesn't even need to lift a finger; the Secret Intelligence Bureau has hundreds of ways to kill them!

Therefore, what worries Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan the most is—what will happen to them after this crisis is resolved.....................

It was precisely because of these concerns that, after being stunned by the Lanxi people, Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, Wu Zhengshan and others never even considered asking the Daqian court for help.

Just when Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, Wu Zhengshan and others were at a loss and did not know what to do.

Wang Zewen, the head of the Puwa intelligence station of the secret intelligence agency, took the initiative to approach him.

At Wang Zewen's suggestion, a joint letter of appeal for help was signed by Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan....................

“In these special times, it’s already quite good to have found such a relatively safe place to stay.” Wu Mingxuan smiled. “Safety first. And you know what, the camouflage of this cave is really well done.”

"I didn't even realize there was a hidden cave here when we came in, even though it was right next to us."

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Director Wu. This was all forced upon me by the people of Lanxi..."

"These foreigners are really ruthless!"

"They drop those bombs like they're free."

"Our previous base camp was burned down to the ground by the petrol bombs dropped by the Lanxi people!"

"Our original plan was to establish our base in a fairly dense jungle, which would allow us to both attack and defend."

"But these bastards are too ruthless, they're resorting to fire..."

Li Siyuan poured out his grievances to Wu Mingxuan, still feeling lingering fear when he brought up the matter.

The Lanxi people's surprise attack almost wiped out Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan...

"Director Wu, Station Chief Wang, although we have become outlaws, we are absolutely unambiguous in our commitment to the greater good of the nation and the maintenance of the dignity of the Great Qian Dynasty."

"The Lanxi people approached us, wanting us to be their lackeys and fight against the Great Qian Dynasty together. They even offered us many very generous benefits."

"But we firmly rejected them all."

Wu Zhengshan said solemnly, "Although the four of us brothers have left Daqian, the blood of Daqian still flows in our veins!"

"No matter where we go, we are all people of the Qian Kingdom!"

"This is also the bottom line for the four of us brothers."

“Although the four of us are not good people, we have done a lot of immoral things over the years in order to make money.”

"We don't deny that, but we absolutely refuse to let the Lanxi people make us traitors."

"On this issue, the four of us brothers have already made up our minds—even if it means abandoning the foundation we've built over the years, we will never do anything dishonest!"

"Station Chief Wang has already told me about these situations."

Wu Mingxuan nodded slightly and said solemnly, "Your refusal to cooperate with the Lanxi people has upheld the bottom line that a citizen of Qian should uphold."

"The court is very pleased with this, and highly approves of your performance and attitude in this matter."

"The Chief of Staff has personally spoken – heroes come from all walks of life."

"No matter what you have done in the past, to not be confused in the face of national righteousness and to prioritize national interests and dignity in the face of huge interests—that is the act of a hero!"

"On this issue, you are a thousand times, ten thousand times better than those national traitors who disregard the greater good for their own selfish interests!"

"So, in addition to bringing the good news that the court is ready to intervene in the Puwa matter to the four commanders, I also brought the amnesty decree personally signed by the Chief of Staff."

"A pardon?"

"For us?" Zhao Jin, who hadn't said much until now, became so excited when he heard the words "amnesty decree" that his voice changed!

"Commander Zhao, what a question..." Looking at the extremely excited Zhao Jin, Wang Zewen couldn't help but tease, "Is this amnesty decree for the people of Lanxi or not?"

"Director Wu, Station Chief Wang..." Fang Borong said, still somewhat uneasy, "And those swear words and those disrespectful things we said to General Shen before..."

"I know you four are worried." Wu Mingxuan smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, haven't you all already realized you were wrong?"

As the old saying goes, "To err is human, to forgive divine."

"Besides—you don't really think the Chief of Staff would trip you up or kill you over something like this, do you?"

"Then you are seriously underestimating General Shen's vision."

As he spoke, Wu Mingxuan deliberately asked in a blaming tone, "A prime minister's belly can hold a boat, do you think Chief of Staff Shen is less magnanimous than a prime minister?"

"No! No! No!"

"How could that be! We absolutely did not mean that..."

"General Shen is a man of great capacity and tolerance; his vision and magnanimity are far beyond what a mere prime minister can compare to!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! We were judging others by our own petty standards."

"General Shen is a man of great capacity and tolerance; our petty thoughts are utterly laughable. We shouldn't have such worries at all..."

Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan hurriedly offered their explanations one after another.

“Commanders, there’s no need for this…” Wu Mingxuan looked at Fang Borong and the others who were explaining repeatedly and said with a smile, “The Chief of Staff said so.”

“At this critical moment, those who put the greater good of the nation and its people first can be pardoned from their past crimes.”

"You can all rest assured."

"You are now meritorious officials of the Great Qian Dynasty, and your perseverance is of great use to the overall situation of the court!"

"The Chief Minister and the court are very concerned about your safety in Phuwa."

"I think these foreigners have eaten the gall of a bear and the gall of a leopard!"

As he spoke, Wu Mingxuan frowned, his tone turning cold: "How dare you harm the people of my Great Qian Dynasty!"

"Four commanders, please rest assured—the imperial court is determined to handle this matter, and the Great Qian Zhenguo Army will see it through to the end!"

"The troops of the Daqian Zhenguo Army have begun to assemble in Yuanzhou Province and will soon be able to send troops to Puwa to carry out the rescue operation."

"No matter where or who it is, anyone who dares to harm the people of the Great Qian Empire is a provocation against the Great Qian Empire."

"The General has said—Those who offend our mighty Qian, though far away, shall be punished!"

Wu Mingxuan looked at Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan, and continued, "The main reason I came here to meet with the four commanders is to arrange the follow-up matters in person."

As he spoke, Wu Mingxuan raised his wrist to check the time: "It's 3:15 PM now."

"If all goes well, seventeen hours..."

"Oh! No, it should be said—sixteen hours and forty-five minutes later."

“The Daqian Zhenguo Army will cross the border under the pretext of ‘rescue’ to carry out a rescue operation.”

"Actually, what you need to do now is very simple, just one word—hide!"

"You don't need to have any worries, you don't need to think about anything."

"Just break the troops into smaller units and hide them."

"At most three days, the main force of the Daqian Zhenguo Army should be able to control the situation."

Wu Mingxuan said confidently, "When the time comes, the Daqian army that has entered Puwa will send troops to pick you up and bring you back to the country."

"By the way, you don't have any objections to us taking you back, right?"

"Or do you want to stay in Puva?"

"There is one thing I need to explain to the four commanders beforehand."

Wu Mingxuan then explained to Fang Borong and the others, "Whether you choose to return to China or choose to stay in Puwa or southern Qianzhou."

"All your men must be disarmed."

"Of course, you don't need to worry about the issue of identity."

"At that time, the imperial court will naturally arrange new identities for you to start a new life."

"Past events will not be held against us."

"As for the four commanders, as I just said—the four of them are now great heroes of our Great Qian Dynasty."

"The imperial court will certainly not mistreat meritorious officials."

"The four commanders can choose any place to retire, whether in the Great Qian Dynasty or anywhere in the world."

"The four commanders are doing quite well in southern Qianzhou; they must be quite wealthy."

"Therefore, the imperial court will grant the four of you an honorary title, which will ensure that the four commanders can live a peaceful life no matter where they are!"

If this had happened in the past, someone would have immediately stood up and slapped Wu Mingxuan across the face several times, spitting on his face and yelling: "How much did you drink? What nonsense are you spouting?!"

But now, these words have reached the ears of Fang Borong, Li Siyuan, Zhao Jin, and Wu Zhengshan.

That would be like obtaining the most reliable talisman in the world!