Daily Intelligence System: Don't Kill Me, Honey!

Dang dang dang~

”Sound the copper gong to retreat!”

For a moment, everyone on the battlefield was stunned. No one expected the court would sound the retreat at such a critical juncture, it was simply unbelievable!

Although the three great experts on the Heavenly List had been entangled by the expert from the Zoroastrian Sect, in terms of military tactics,

the lineup of twenty thousand White Deer Army, thirty thousand Grey Wolf Army, plus five thousand Treasure Elephant Army was still dominant. Even facing the elite of the elite from the Zoroastrian Sect, the Five Elements Flag had held strong.

The opposition was indeed tenacious, but as long as the court was determined, regardless of the cost, they could absolutely seize Bright Peak.

Therefore, no one thought the court would voluntarily retreat, but at this moment, the court chose to withdraw.

In the rear of the military formation, atop the high platform, the supreme commander of this campaign, Prime Minister Tuotuo, waved his hand for his subordinates to sound the retreat on the copper gong.

The nearby follower looked at Tuotuo in confusion and said, ”Lord Prime Minister, we have incurred such losses on this expedition, we are on the verge of capturing all the rebels for the court, seizing Bright Peak, why suddenly retreat?”

”Isn’t this leaving the mission unfinished?”

Hearing this, Tuotuo gazed at the battlefield stained with fresh blood and said, ”What is our purpose for this expedition?”

The follower paused, then immediately responded, ”Firstly, to capture the direct lineage of the rebel Han Shantong, eliminate the root, and destroy the belief in the hearts of the Han people.”

”Secondly, to seize Bright Peak, eradicate this band of rebels, to demonstrate the Heavenly Might of the court.”

Tuotuo said, ”Exactly, both tasks have results now, Little Ming King wasn’t captured, failure. Since that’s a failure, whether Bright Peak is seized or not makes little difference. And you must have heard the bell from Bright Peak ringing just now!”

The follower immediately replied, ”I heard it, it should be the Unity Bell of the Zoroastrian Sect!”

The follower had obviously researched the Zoroastrian Sect, and quickly understood the significance of this bell.

Tuotuo said, ”It’s no major concern, the Zoroastrian Sect cannot ring this bell, and furthermore, I’ve received intelligence from Natu that Chen Jiusi found a secret passage that he cannot open, though he doesn’t know how extensive it is, he attempted but found it sealed.”

”Could it be the legendary Life-saving Road of Zoroastrian Sect?”

The follower exclaimed in surprise, and Tuotuo gently nodded upon hearing this: ”Exactly, that should be the Life-saving Road, according to the information stored in the Secrets of the World of the Qintian Bureau, this passage can accommodate at least tens of thousands of people, with long-prepared food, dried meat, and beverages, essentially allowing the Zoroastrian Sect to hide inside for a year or more without coming out. But we cannot afford to stay here.”

Upon hearing this, the follower understood Tuotuo’s intention immediately. After all, Tuotuo is the Left Minister of the court, holding high power, this expedition is to build merits, he cannot stay away from the central power for too long.

Otherwise, those ministers with hidden motives would not let go of this opportunity to seize power, especially Tuotuo’s first political enemy, the Right Minister Hama, is eyeing the opportunity, just waiting for him to make mistakes.

If he does not return to the central power for a long time, allowing Hama to whisper slanders in the Emperor’s ear daily, it would not be favorable.

Thus, Tuotuo dares not linger outside for long, initially thinking this battle would result in an overwhelming victory, yet unexpectedly encountering so many resistors.

Peng Yingyu and Fang Guozhen join the commotion, and most annoyingly, someone named Chen Jiusi seemed to emerge from nowhere, which is quite exasperating.

He frustrated the plans of the Six Great Sects, even injured the Demon Slayer Monk Natu, rescued Little Ming King, and now unexpectedly discovered the legendary refuge passage [Life-saving Road]; this has utterly disrupted Tuotuo’s plans.

This also gave rise to Tuotuo’s intention to retreat.

At this moment, the follower said, ”Lord Prime Minister, even if maintaining our line at Bright Peak proves challenging, what about the two Princes?”

”Didn’t you say this is a good chance to seize the military power from these two Princes?”

The follower whispered, ”Isn’t now the best time to let the Zoroastrian Sect eradicate a lot of their direct lineage, making it easier for us to take over in the future?”

Indeed, Tuotuo’s purpose this time was to kill two birds with one stone.

First, to eradicate the Zoroastrian Sect, the major threat to the court. Secondly, to mobilize the two most powerful Vassal Kings in the realm to eradicate the Zoroastrian Sect.

It should be known that the court is now weakened, facing internal and external troubles severely, with various Vassal Kings outside, each having substantial military influence, seemingly defiant of the court’s orders, especially Northwest Qi King Li Siqi, and Prince of Jiangnan Ruyang King Chaghan Timur.

These two each command one of the court’s strongest armies: the White Deer Army and the Grey Wolf Army.

Within the court, there’s only a two-thousand-strong Treasure Elephant Army, though elite, it struggles against the strong armies outside.

And Tuotuo’s political aim has always been to diminish the power of the fiefs, to confiscate the military authority held by the Vassal Kings throughout the realm, returning it to court for unified coordination, as opposed to the current scenario where each Vassal King has strong autonomous capabilities, causing a situation difficult to rectify.

Hence, Tuotuo seeks to leverage this campaign against the Zoroastrian Sect, to reclaim the military power held by these two grand Vassal Kings, and this plan has even garnered the State Preceptor’s approval, and the Treasure Elephant Army Commander Boluo Timur has also agreed with Tuotuo’s proposal, thus the battle goal this time is not straightforward.

Eradicating the Zoroastrian Sect is one aspect; indeed, Ruyang King and Li Siqi are also two fishes on this chopping block.

However, now, Tuotuo looked over, only to find the Grey Wolf Army’s commander, Sword God Li Siqi, was idling away time with Fang Guozhen, uncertain if he harbors other intentions or has already discerned Tuotuo’s plan to diminish the fiefs.