piratefiction Chapter 134 Northern Barbarian Imperial City
Chapter 134 Northern Barbarian Imperial City
Upon seeing the information above, the Seventh Prince's expression instantly changed. He was shocked to learn that Tianwang Village had such a connection with Lu Yuan.
For his sake, he did not hesitate to follow the imperial guards along the way.
This is playing with fire. If they really take action, the entire Tianwang Village could be overthrown in an instant.
But they did it anyway.
What abilities does Lu Yuan possess that allow him to act in this way?
If he had accepted Lu Yuan back then, wouldn't Tianwang Village already be in his hands?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
A trace of regret finally arose in my heart.
But then, thinking of the Prince of Polu's mansion, his expression softened a little.
Moreover, Zhao Yu's elder brother now has a good relationship with him.
The other party is known as the peerless marquis, another person with extraordinary talent.
Their future prospects are equally limitless.
Thinking of this, the slight regret in my heart was suppressed.
On the wasteland, Lu Yuan boarded the carriage, and a unique fragrance of a young girl wafted over. Xiao Hua sat in the carriage, her skin glowing, even with a rosy tint.
Wearing a black robe with a dragon design, her eyes sparkled with surprise.
She was overjoyed to see Lu Yuan again.
Lu Yuan glanced at Xiao Hua and chuckled softly, "The little girl from back then has grown into a young woman now."
"Brother Yuan, you're joking. How old are you?" Xiao Hua pursed her lips, her eyes full of laughter.
After Lu Yuan lifted the carriage curtain, he saw that the Dayong troops had already begun to retreat to the rear.
Wu Han obeyed orders and made way for them.
A moment later, after Marquis Mu and the others had left, Lu Yuan lowered the carriage curtain and looked at Xiao Hua, saying, "I'll go out and say hello."
"Are the people from Tianwang Village your friends?" Xiao Hua asked, somewhat curious.
It was Lu Yuan who led the people of Tianwang Village to save him and his mother back then.
"I guess so." After saying that, Lu Yuan jumped off the carriage.
After leaving the Northern Barbarian army, Wu Han dismounted and ran over.
"Are we going to the Northern Barbarians?" he asked softly.
"Go ahead, we'll owe you a huge favor this time, and there's nowhere else to go besides the Northern Barbarians. If Tianwang Village wants to develop, it needs someone from the imperial court to rely on. Whether it's the Northern Barbarians or Dayong, it's better to have one, otherwise it won't be easy to develop in the future."
"Don't expand outwards for the time being. Just focus on managing the village well," Lu Yuan instructed.
Wu Han nodded: "And your aunt?"
"I'll come back to pick you up after I've settled things over there. We don't know what the situation is like in the Northern Barbarians right now," Lu Yuan said in a deep voice.
Tianwangzhai has now become the dominant force in the buffer zone.
It would be safer for my mother to stay here, comparatively speaking.
Another issue is that he has no idea how he will be treated in the Northern Barbarian lands.
I took my mother with me; if something happens, it won't be easy to resolve.
He now knows that Xiao Hua has a high status in the Northern Barbarians, but he doesn't know exactly how high it is.
"Okay, you can rest assured with your aunt here. Nothing will happen." Wu Han was now confident.
Today, Tianwang Village has a full 200,000 soldiers capable of fighting.
Even if a powerful figure were to descend, they would still be able to fight back; even if they were allowed to kill, they would be able to kill until their hands were sore.
"Wei Yong, Lao Huang, Zhang He, the three of you come with me. Leave things here to Wu Han." Lu Yuan has come this far, so he always needs a few trustworthy people to accompany him.
Even if we don't talk about fighting, we can at least gather information.
"Yes, sir." These three have been following Lu Yuan from the beginning. Wei Yong and Zhang He have both reached the Bone Forging stage and will soon be able to refine their tendons. Old Huang has already entered the realm of cultivation.
However, he's getting a bit old, so he can only make a breakthrough after finding suitable resources.
He may not be the strongest, but his loyalty is invaluable.
When Lu Yuan asked them to pick up his mother, the three of them did not hesitate at all.
Wei Yong even brought his entire family over.
Now he lives in Tianwang Village, determined to follow Lu Yuan down this path to the bitter end.
After giving these instructions, Lu Yuan smiled at Wu Han and said, "I'm leaving. You should go back too."
After saying that, the former walked straight toward the Northern Barbarian carriage.
As for Wu Han, he led his army to begin a retreat.
By the time Lu Yuan boarded the carriage, the Tianwang Village entourage had already moved some distance away.
Inside the carriage, although Lu Yuan and Xiao Hua had not seen each other for some time, they were not at all estranged. Lu Yuan opened the curtain and looked outside, saying, "I have long heard of the Northern Barbarian Beast Riders, and now I finally meet them."
As expected of the strongest cavalry in the world.
Only then did Lu Yuan begin to observe carefully.
These warriors were all wearing fine bronze armor and had Shura masks on their faces, revealing only their eyes.
He had a scimitar at his waist, a spear in his hand, and a flail and bow and arrows hanging from his warhorse.
In addition to scales, key parts of the massive horse's body were covered in iron armor.
The aura was very strong; even those with the lowest cultivation levels were in the tendon refining stage, and many parts were even in the filth refining stage.
According to Lu Yuan's observation, the leading general was at least a master of the Divine Origin Realm.
"Do you like it? If you do, I'll give you one to carry with you later," Xiao Hua said with a grin.
Although the Northern Barbarian Beast Cavalry was not as numerous as the Imperial Guards of the Great Yong Dynasty, which numbered 800,000.
After all, a considerable amount of money has been lost, and the imperial court is currently short of silver, but it can still come up with four or five hundred thousand.
Xiao Hua and her son controlled most of the situation.
Giving Lu Yuan a team shouldn't be a problem.
"Heh, what a boastful tone. It seems you hold a very high position in the Northern Barbarians." Lu Yuan said with a chuckle.
"Of course, I said I would protect you from now on." Xiao Hua's eyes were serious as she spoke.
Lu Yuan nodded, a look of satisfaction on his face, and said, "Alright, I'll have you protect me from now on."
"Now that we've come to the Northern Barbarians, you must stay in the capital and accompany me," Xiao Hua said softly, as if she were being coquettish.
For a moment, Lu Yuan was at a loss for words.
However, at that moment, a voice rang out from outside the carriage: "Your Highness, the Shengman have amassed a large army at Guhe Pass and are preparing to advance. His Majesty has ordered you to return as soon as possible to discuss a strategy to defend against them."
"Understood." Xiao Hua's cool voice fell.
The carriage then sped up a bit.
Lu Yuan looked at Xiao Hua and asked, "Are you the Crown Princess of the Northern Barbarians?"
The latter nodded, revealing a hint of helplessness. He had originally planned to surprise Lu Yuan after arriving in the capital, but he hadn't expected to be exposed so soon.
"Who is that auntie?"
"Of course it's the Northern Barbarian Empress. My mother misses you terribly. She talks about you every time she has a spare moment these past year or two," Xiao Hua said softly.
Although Lu Yuan was surprised, he did not show any expression on his face and simply nodded.
However, he knew in his heart that this time he was truly bound to the Northern Barbarians.
Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "How are the Northern Barbarians doing now? Are you all doing well here?"
"How should I put it? It's really good, with fine clothes and delicious food, and nothing is lacking. But it's also really bad. When my maternal grandfather ascended the throne, in order to temporarily stabilize the situation, he offered generous conditions to the various tribes of the Northern Barbarians."
Now that my mother has taken over the throne, these people have started to become too powerful to control.
The imperial orders were also being paid lip service to but secretly disobeyed.
Many of them were high-ranking nobles who controlled about one-third of the Imperial Guard.
Then there's the external threat. The Shengman and Guman have always been a major concern for us. Together, they are slightly stronger than the Beiman, and they fight us almost every year over the issue of grasslands.
Moreover, the alliance with Dayu has now been dissolved, and relations between the two sides are deteriorating.
"War could break out at any time, and my mother is under a lot of pressure."
Xiao Hua lowered her voice at the end, and then continued, "The dynasties on this continent have always been like this: whoever is weak will have their land plundered, and they will take it back when they become strong."
The Northern Barbarians are currently at their weakest point, and the situation is extremely complex. My mother and I don't know how much longer we can hold out.
"Don't worry, I'm here now, I'll help you and your aunt," Lu Yuan said softly.
"Mm." Xiao Hua nodded.
As the carriage continued its journey, Lu Yuan felt no bumps or jolting, but when he looked outside, he noticed that the grassland was receding into the distance.
Here, he saw an endless grassland, and beyond the grassland were cities rising from the ground. These cities were no less magnificent and sturdy than those of Dayong.
The floating patterns flickered.
The population is also quite large.
Xiao Hua would always give an explanation whenever she saw Lu Yuan's curiosity.
Two-thirds of this northern barbarian territory is wasteland, connected to Dayong, and contains numerous tribes. The remaining third of the territory is arable plains, which are very suitable for human habitation.
A city was built here, and almost all the nobles of the Northern Barbarians lived in this one-third of the area.
The next day, Lu Yuan and his group finally returned to the capital. The carriage was quite extraordinary, moving at an incredible speed, as if it could shrink the distance between people.
It must be said that each of these dynasties today has a very deep foundation.
Some things were simply inaccessible in the past.
Only after arriving in the Northern Barbarian Lands did I get a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of the upper echelons.
The capital of the Northern Barbarians was vast, exuding a rugged charm.
It is by no means smaller than the Imperial City of Dayong.
On the towering city walls stood the Northern Barbarian Tiger Warriors, fully armored. They were responsible for infantry combat and, although not as famous as the Beast Cavalry, were still top-notch elites.
They are said to be most skilled at defending cities.
The imperial city is garrisoned by a full two hundred thousand soldiers; no expert in the world could break through such a defense.
After Lu Yuan followed the carriage into the imperial city, it traveled deeper into the city, and finally the carriage pulled him into the imperial palace.
This is a very large building, almost comparable to a prefecture city.
Experts are everywhere.
When the carriage entered the inner palace, Lu Yuan said somewhat embarrassedly, "Isn't it inappropriate for me to go directly into the inner palace?"
Xiao Hua covered her mouth and laughed, "Back then, you were my neighbor. Now you know it's not good. From now on, the Northern Barbarians will be your home. No one here will be more noble than you."
You can go anywhere.
You have saved my mother several times; such merit is enough to warrant the title of king.
Nothing is more meritorious than saving the emperor; without you, my daughter and I would never have been able to return to the Northern Barbarian Lands.
"We are a family. Mother has long regarded you as her most beloved junior and said she would include your name in the imperial clan." Xiao Hua finished speaking.
Lu Yuan was somewhat stunned.
He had thought that with Xiao Hua's connection to the Northern Barbarians, his treatment might be better than it was in the Dayong Dynasty, but he never expected it to reach this point.
Seeing his expression, Xiao Hua's smile deepened, and she continued, "Once you are officially conferred the title of Prince, Mother will arrange things for you. Do your best then. However, I have only one request: you must stay in the capital and not go outside."
"Alright, I'll listen to you, but you can't stop me from leading troops into battle," Lu Yuan said slowly, a serious look on his face.
Hearing him say this, Xiao Hua was somewhat unwilling, but she could only nod.
Then he said, "Come on, hurry and come with me to the inner palace to see Mother. He just sent you a message urging you to go quickly."
After saying that, she disregarded etiquette and pulled Lu Yuan towards the inner palace.
The palace servants around were secretly alarmed.
After all, everyone knows that the Crown Princess is extremely talented and has a cold and arrogant personality. She never gives others a kind look, and these days, countless nobles and their children in the capital have been mistreated by her.
I shudder just hearing the name.
Now, she's actually walking around the palace with a man by her side—how could anyone not be shocked?
At this moment, Lu Yuan was also looking forward to seeing the Xiao family.