Rong Jiangyu let out a laugh, tinged with a hint of disdain and helplessness.
"Take a guess. How could I, the King of the Western Regions, not even hold half of the military power of the entire country?"
Tang Youyou was at a loss for words for a moment. However, it was not hard to tell from his words that his reign as the King of the Western Regions was not as smooth as she had imagined.
When she was in the Western Regions before, she had met some court officials of the Western Regions. Most of them were old men.
Although they were old, in terms of experience, they were richer than everyone present.
These people had already enjoyed their wealth and glory and held great power. They were all pillars of the state, so they naturally looked down on a newly enthroned king.
Moreover, this king was an outsider who had come to power halfway. He was bound to be rejected by the people of the Western Regions.
Fortunately, during Rong Jiangyu's reign, the Western Regions had developed quite well, and the people were quite satisfied with him.
However, those court elders thought otherwise. They were eager to see this newly appointed king ridiculed and defied by the world.
These people held not only the power in the court but also the military power.
The tiger tally was divided into three parts. One part was kept by the King of the Western Regions, and the other two parts were kept by the founding general and the prime minister.
Now he only had one - third of the military power.
However, he would never bow to these people. Even with only one - third of the military power, he could still be invincible. Moreover, he would surely take back the remaining two - thirds in the future. It was just that the time was not right yet.
One should not be hasty in everything.
Tang Youyou looked at his confident expression and wondered what he was up to.
Zhuifeng and Yueyue caught up. They were hidden among the people on the ground. Looking up, they could see Tang Youyou looking down at the crowd. They were also constantly observing the movements of the people around them.
Rong Jiangyu's plan was well within their expectations. It was Tie Shou who first noticed the strange behavior of the people from the Western Regions.
During an operation, it was discovered that these people were quietly invading the border of the Ming Dynasty. As soon as this was known, it was immediately reported to Rong Xun.
However, Rong Xun was not in a hurry to take action against him. On the contrary, this was a great opportunity for them to reap the benefits.
If Rong Jiangyu wanted to attack the Ming Dynasty, his current strength was simply a drop in the bucket.
But their Wuya Pavilion could take this opportunity to sell him troops, although the price was extremely high.
The spies of their Wuya Pavilion were all over the Nine Provinces, and the Western Regions were no exception.
Upon receiving Rong Xun's order, the spies in the Western Regions immediately took action.
He gradually got closer to Rong Jiangyu. Starting from bribing the people around him, he gradually revealed information about the Wuya Pavilion. However, the Wuya Pavilion did not reveal its real name to the outside world.
The spy spread the news of the Wuya Pavilion selling troops and weapons to Rong Jiangyu's ears. They had thought that he would accept this suggestion, but unexpectedly, he remained unmoved.
However, this was also within Rong Xun's expectations. After all, with his current wealth, it would be extremely difficult for him to come up with such a large sum of money.
But what Rong Xun did not expect was that he actually went to collude with the founding general of the Xia Kingdom and persuaded him to rebel!
General Lan Er was actually a brave but not very smart man. Under his sweet talk and coercion, he actually agreed to his proposal.
The spy he sent learned that General Lan Er's condition for sending troops was that after Rong Jiangyu captured the Ming Dynasty and became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he would then capture the Xia Kingdom. Then, General Lan Er could sit on the throne of the King of Xia.
But he never thought that one day, Rong Jiangyu would kill him mercilessly.
Now, Lan Er's body had sunk to the bottom of the lake in the Dashuiwan Mansion.
His dream of becoming the King of Xia could only be realized in the underworld.
Rong Xun followed behind Tang Youyou and saw that her hand would occasionally rest on her lower abdomen. This was an unconscious action of hers, which would always occur when she felt uneasy.
Maybe because she was about to become a mother, whenever Tang Youyou thought of the orphans who had lost their families and loved ones in the war, she would feel a pang of heartache.
However, the current situation was something she could not avoid. No matter how worried she was, it would be of no use.
"When do you plan to start the war?" Tang Youyou asked bluntly.
Rong Jiangyu looked at her with deep - set eyes and showed an appreciative expression. "It's soon. So I said that if you follow me, the position of the queen of the Ming Dynasty will still be yours. You can think about it again and tell me when you've made up your mind."
Tang Youyou didn't even need to think. Even if she continued to be the queen of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty could only be Rong Xun, not him.
After all, who would let a woman who was pregnant with someone else's child be their queen? If the world found out, it would surely be the subject of criticism.
Moreover, she, Tang Youyou, would never step into the royal family again in this lifetime. Naturally, she would not let her child get involved in such a whirlpool.
She just wanted a stable and peaceful life for the rest of her life. That was her goal in this world.
"You don't need to be so persistent about me. I know you don't have any feelings for me. It's just that I was once the woman of someone you hated. Does this make you feel a sense of accomplishment?"
Tang Youyou didn't think that this man liked her. Instead, she thought that he made this invitation because he hated her.
"Is that what you think?" Rong Jiangyu turned around and looked directly into her eyes. He seemed a little disappointed by her words.
Tang Youyou didn't answer his question. Her attention had already been attracted by the figure of a guard.
The guard was standing on the wall, slightly nodding his head as he looked at the crowd below. His expressionless face seemed to frown slightly. The long black hair on his temples fluttered in the wind, making his handsome features even more eye - catching.
She felt like she was going mad. This man clearly didn't look anything like Rong Xun.
Rong Xun had a deep, bright, and slightly evil - looking face. Once people saw him, they couldn't take their eyes off him. If they looked into his eyes, they would be trapped in an instant.
But this guard had a handsome and dignified face. If he smiled, he must be very sunny.
But for some reason, to her, these two men with such different looks seemed very similar.
"Miss, you'd better not walk too close to the edge. It's windy outside."
The guard had come to her side without her knowing. His broad body enveloped her and shielded her from the wind and sand.
"Thank you."
Tang Youyou didn't dare to look at him for too long. As soon as their eyes met, she immediately looked away. "When did you start working under him?"
She thought that a man like this shouldn't be working in Rong Jiangyu's camp. He should have more noble goals.
"A year ago."
Tang Youyou thought that if she could free this man from his side, it would be a good deed.
"Why did you follow him?"
"I joined the army."
Tang Youyou knew that most people who joined the army came from poor families. She didn't expect that a man with such good looks would also be troubled by money.