Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

The capital of the Northern Mang Kingdom.

Since Taiping Ling returned after traveling the world for twenty years, Empress Murong granted a general amnesty and appointed him as her imperial tutor, listening to him expound his grand plans for three days and three nights in the palace. Taiping Ling, who came from the Chess, Sword and Music Academy, suddenly became the most powerful person under the Empress of Northern Mang. Even Tuoba Pusa, the military god of Northern Mang, had to bow respectfully when he met Taiping Ling.

Taiping Ling did not disappoint Empress Murong's trust. After taking office, he formed alliances and attacked from both sides, and quickly sorted out the relationships in Northern Mang. Whether it was the Northern Court, which came from the grassland tribes, or the Southern Dynasty, which Hong Jia fled north to seek refuge, military and political power were all returned to the Empress's hands. Even the twelve imperial edict holders all submitted memorials to express their loyalty, and no one dared to have any disloyal thoughts.

Even with such great power in his hands, Taiping Ling still maintained the simplicity of traveling the world, living in a simple and clean courtyard, wearing the old scholar's robe that had been with him for a long time. In his heart, he was no longer moved by external things, but only wanted to play another game of chess with Huang Sanjia.

In Taiping Ling's view, the only person in the world who could truly be his rival was Huang Sanjia. As for others like Yuan Benxi, Li Yishan, and Nalan Youci, although they were also very talented, they were always inferior to him and Huang Sanjia in terms of overall strategic vision. Therefore, only the two of them were worthy of being his opponents; the others were still a bit lacking. For this reason, he did not hesitate to live in anonymity for more than twenty years, traveling all over the countries of Northern Mang, Liyang, Nanzhao, and the South China Sea, experiencing the customs and cultures of the world, and witnessing all kinds of political systems.

In the end, Taiping returned with a full load, having grasped the general situation of the world. He also had the confidence to use Beimang Liyang as a chessboard to play a new game against Huang Sanjia and win.

At this moment, Taiping Ling had just finished a day's court assembly and returned to his villa. In the court, he had already arranged for the various tribes of Northern Mang to begin their pre-war preparations. They were just waiting for the summer to pass and for the autumn horses to be fat and strong before the southward war could begin.

The reason for choosing autumn to begin the war was that pasture was scarce every winter, and horses often suffered severe limpness after the winter, requiring a spring of recuperation to recover. Summer was too hot, and the scorching heat not only easily bred diseases but was also unbearable for both humans and livestock. Most importantly, autumn was usually the harvest season, and only by heading south at this time could they plunder abundant supplies. If they arrived too early, the crops would not have grown and would be no different from wild grass.

If the Northern Barbarians and the Liyang Kingdom were to engage in a major war, it would inevitably become a protracted conflict lasting several months. If the war were to begin in the autumn, it would be easier to plunder resources on the spot and sustain the war effort through warfare.

Inside the courtyard, Taiping Ling had just sat down when footsteps sounded outside the hall. The next second, a robust man with an honest and ordinary face walked in from outside, carrying a tightly wrapped sword on his back. He walked with each step meticulously, and although his face was ordinary, there was a sharpness in his eyes that was not revealed.

"Taiping Ling, they are already waiting outside the door." The strong man bowed respectfully to Taiping Ling.

“The sword energy is near, please invite them in.” Although Taiping Ling looked tired, he sat upright, maintaining his composure at all times.

"Sir, I have changed my name to Huang Qing." The man named Huang Qing said this upon hearing this, and then turned and left.

It turned out that the man in front of them was one of the three heads of the Chess and Sword Music Bureau, one of the five major sects of Northern Mang. He was the head of the Sword Bureau, whose ci poem style was close to sword qi. His original name was Sun Shaopu. The sword on his back was his personal sword Dingfengbo. He was the most outstanding expert in the Celestial Phenomenon Realm in Northern Mang at that time.

Before the New Year, when he was ordered to welcome Taiping back, Taiping joked that the swordsmanship of Northern Mang was like wheat in a barren field, with neither green nor yellow crops. So he vowed to change his name to Huangqing and make the swordsmanship of Northern Mang Chess and Sword Music Academy shine brightly and get out of the predicament of the lack of green crops.

Not long after, Huang Qing led a short, stocky man with a burly air and a middle-aged man with a determined look and a weathered face back in.

"Greetings, Lord Taiping." The two bowed deeply to the old scholar in unison, their expressions extremely respectful. This was not only because Lord Taiping was the Imperial Tutor of Northern Mang, but also because he possessed a magnanimous spirit of serving the public good, which earned him the admiration of the entire Northern Mang court and people.

"Deng Mao, Yelü Dongchuang, I would like to ask you two to make a trip to Liyang. Are you willing to go?" Taiping Ling said to the two men with a kind smile.

Deng Mao was a calm and composed man, taking his time in everything he did. He was one of the martial arts masters of Northern Mang, unlike others who were exceptionally talented. Instead, he became a renowned expert through diligent, step-by-step training, and was regarded as a spiritual idol by countless Northern Mang martial artists. After all, geniuses were few and far between; most were mediocre talents with average abilities. Besides being a martial arts master, he also became a guest of the Yelü family due to an early favor, and was treated as an honored guest.

Yelü Dongchuang was the grandson of Yelü Hongcai, a powerful figure in Northern Mang. He came from an extraordinary background and received guidance from Deng Mao. Moreover, he possessed exceptional talent and broke through to the Vajra Realm before the age of thirty, becoming a first-rank master. He and Murong Longshui became rising stars in the martial arts world of Northern Mang.

However, although Yelü Dongchuang came from the Yelü family, he was a confidant of Empress Murong and was deeply trusted by the Empress. He secretly monitored the actions of the Yelü family to maintain the stability of the entire Northern Mang court.

"Deng Mao is willing to go."

"Yelü Dongchuang is willing to go." Upon hearing this, the two agreed without hesitation.

"Well done, truly a fine young man of Northern Mang." Taiping Ling praised with a smile, which greatly excited the two of them.

"Where does Lord Taiping want us to go?" After the initial excitement, Deng Mao asked the crucial question.

"Zhu Lu Mountain," Taiping Ling said calmly, stating the purpose of his trip.

"Could it be because of the demon Luoyang?" Yelü Dongchuang, as a confidant of the Empress, was well-informed in the court. In the news that had been sent back from Liyang, it was mentioned that the demon Luoyang had become the leader of the Zhulu Sect.

Taiping Ling nodded in satisfaction at Yelü Dongchuang's intelligence. It seemed that those who could catch the Empress's eye were no ordinary people.

“That’s good. I want you to go to Zhulu Mountain to assist Luoyang and make the Zhulu Sect’s strength grow rapidly,” Taiping Ling said.

"This, my lord, I..." Yelü Dongchuang stammered upon hearing this. It wasn't that he regretted it, but rather that he had once been ordered to lead troops to besiege Luoyang.

However, before Yelü Dongchuang could speak, Taiping Ling interrupted him, "You mean to say that you were once ordered to intercept and kill her, right?" Seeing Yelü Dongchuang nod, Taiping Ling chuckled and said confidently, "You just go ahead, I'm sure she won't kill you, and will even give you an important position."

"Why?" Yelü Dongchuang blurted out, his face full of disbelief.

Taiping Ling looked past the two men and up at the sky, as if traversing thousands of mountains and rivers. He said leisurely, "The restoration of Western Chu is imminent, and chaos will break out in the south of Liyang. At that time, Zhuolu Mountain will inevitably be affected. Since Qi Xuanzhen killed six first-grade experts in one fell swoop, the strength of the Demonic Sect has plummeted. Facing the impending chaos, Luoyang alone cannot hold up the battle."

Taiping Ling paused for a moment, then continued, “Deng Mao is highly skilled, and you excel at leading troops and training soldiers. Therefore, as long as Luoyang still aspires to be the leader of the Zhulu Sect, they will not only spare your lives but also treat you as honored guests. Your goal is to wholeheartedly help the Zhulu Sect expand its power, help restrain the forces in the Southern Frontier and Shu, and prevent them from interfering in the war in Guangling, thus escalating the rebellion of Western Chu in Guangling. Only when the south is in chaos can we attract the attention of the Liyang Dynasty and support the upcoming war between our two nations.”

Having received the explanation from the Taiping Decree, the two bowed respectfully in reverence and then left together.