The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

75

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

Tie Hu went to deliver the message but the gates remained closed. Not even one person came out in response.

Inside Qing Zhou, several leaders gathered to discuss their next course of action. With their troops stationed outside, they couldn't possibly not know what was going on.

With the current hierarchy, even though these landlords were extremely wealthy, without the proper title, they were still beneath a lot of people. Just one sentence from them and they had to deliver, with a humble smile, the gold that they had worked hard to obtain. No one wanted to be someone else's lapdog forever. Under the current situation, it was the perfect time to stage their own rebellion.

These landlords had funded the Qing Zhou militia all these years and naturally, they had used this connection to raise an army of their own. This was also how they had been able to recruit fighters quickly right after the conflict had started. They had been confident in their calculation but did not account for the arrival of the Yanzhou troops led by the Northern Warlord.

And who is the Northern Warlord? The invincible god slayer. If he did not fear the Beidi people, how could he possibly fear them?

One or two scaredy-cats of the group spoke up, "Why don't we open the city gates and let them in first?"

These words made the room grow quieter.

Sitting at the top was the head of the Shi family, Shi Kairen. The Shi family possessed immense wealth, comparable to that of an entire country. In these Southern parts, they had given him the name of the Stone Emperor. Half of the fighters in this regime belonged to the Shi family and Shi Kairen, thus, became the leader of this group.

Everyone subconsciously looked towards Shi Kairen and heard him sneering, "Raising a bow without an arrow in hand. If you're so afraid, then go and beg for mercy by yourself. What kind of people are in the ruling class of Yejing? The court will not show you mercy and the streets are in chaos. If so, why can't we change this world? Do you want to be the dog at their feet for the rest of your lives?"

The previous speaker was ashamed and dared not say anymore.

However, someone else cautiously hinted, "But outside the gates is the Northern Warlord. He has a ferocious reputation and has never been defeated. If we have to face him..."

Shi Kairen smiled with contempt, "So what if he has never lost? He has rode here from a long distance, his troops and horses are exhausted, and there's an insufficient supply of food on the outside of the city. We can drag this out for another month and a half and they won't be able to keep up. And, while we can afford to be idle, Ruan Zhou's situation is turning critical. He'd have to give up Qing Zhou and turn to rescue Ruan Zhou. With that, we'll have enough time to conquer the whole of Qing Zhou. And, even if he was dead set on staking out Qing Zhou, when Ruan Zhou falls and Yejing is breached, the court will have his head. What's there for us to fear?!"

The firmness in his words and the persuasive strategy boosted the confidence of the group. Those who had been scared of the Northern Warlord let go of their worries and praised him for his ingenious tactics.

Suddenly, before they could speak another word, a loud boom resonated from a distance. The ground began to shake and dust was falling from the ceiling. Startled, the landlords who were so full of themselves moments ago, scurried out of the hall in a disheveled fashion.

"What just happened? Did a dragon overturn the earth?"

After evacuating from the building, the dust-covered landlords had lost their golden glow. Shi Kairen was still looking neat but there was a hint of fear on his face. The loud explosions had come from the direction of the city gate. It blasted continuously with barely a pause in between.