The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Chapter 61 Bold Speculations and Deductions Reveal the Truth Behind the Siege

"We'll reach the South Changhe River soon. After crossing the South Changhe River, we'll be in the territory of the Wu Kingdom. We'll take a boat north along the Shahe River, cross the North Changhe River, turn onto the Luohe River, and then we'll arrive directly at Shijiazhuang," Song Han said to the group.

Luo Yifei unfolded the map, gesturing with his fingers as he thought, "The Changhe River is roughly equivalent to the Yellow River on Earth, but it has two major tributaries, one to the north and one to the south. This northern Changhe River effectively divides the Wu Kingdom into the northwest and southeast. The southeast is the legitimate territory, while the northwest is the rebel territory. The Shi family army defeated the Northern Liang army and occupied the former territory of the Yan Kingdom, thus gaining access to the sea. However, they fought their way to the west and occupied the Free City."

Thinking of this, Luo Yifei asked, "Why did the Shi family army want to occupy Freedom City?"

"I don't know. Mr. Ding has his own plans. Before I went undercover in Qi, I had never heard of any plans in the army to occupy Free City," Shi Hao replied.

"Then why did the Qi Kingdom attack Free City?" Luo Yifei pressed.

"Because of the elixir of immortality," Shi Hao replied.

"Is the elixir of immortality real?" Bili asked from the side.

"I don't know, it might be true, but the ruler of Qi has not been found."

"Then why did the State of Chu besiege Free City without attacking it?"

"Let me answer that," Qi Yuan replied. "The King of Chu wanted to recruit Dugu Xin, explore the secret passages of Freedom City, and prepare for an attack on Qi."

“Hmm…” Luo Yifei nodded thoughtfully, “I have a bold guess, you might want to hear it.”

"Speak quickly," Bili said impatiently.

"Twenty-seven years ago, the Northern Liang rose to power, defeated the Northern Liao army, and then declared itself a kingdom, ceasing to pay tribute to the Yan Kingdom. The Great Yan had unified the nine provinces for more than five hundred years, but its national strength was gradually weakening. The sovereign of the world existed in name only, and the various vassal states were restless. The Northern Liang became the first to wield the butcher's knife, and three years after ceasing to pay tribute, it marched south to annex the Yan Kingdom."

After winter, they continued south, splitting into two routes: one to attack the State of Chu, and the other to attack the State of Wu. The route attacking Chu was driven back to the former territory of Yan as soon as it reached the border of Chu, while the route attacking Wu advanced triumphantly, and the Wu royal family lost their capital and retreated south to the southeast of the South Changhe River.

The entire Northwest fell, but Mr. Ding organized a righteous army and recovered the lost territory city by city, forcefully driving back the Liang army. He then occupied the former territory of Yan, but instead of establishing an official government, he allowed the Yan people to govern themselves.

Meanwhile, the State of Qi also aspired to unify the world, so it divided its forces into two routes: one to attack the State of Chu, and the other to attack the State of Tang. Chu's forces were mostly concentrated in the north, and it could only watch helplessly as Qi conquered most of the cities in the south.

At this time, Li, the leader of the Tang Clan of the Tang Kingdom, made his move. At that time, he was not yet the leader of the Tang Clan, but only the commander of the Investigation Division. The emperor of the Tang Kingdom appointed him as the Great General Protector of the Nation.

Master Li first persuaded the Southern Han to abandon its northern expedition, then allied with the Nanzhao Kingdom and led the Tang army westward to confront the Qi army, while the Nanzhao Kingdom seized the opportunity to march north and attack Qi. Unable to sustain a three-front war, Qi had no choice but to withdraw its troops attacking the Chu Kingdom.

The Tang state recovered its lost territory, but instead of continuing its westward advance to attack Qi, it signed a twenty-year truce with Qi. It may also have reached secret agreements with other states.

After that, all the states recuperated and enjoyed a brief period of peace for twenty years. Until four years ago, the State of Qi once again invaded the State of Tang, but was once again repelled by the Tang army.

Four years ago, the Northern Liao Dynasty continued to invade the Wei and Liang states. Three months ago, the Northern Liao Dynasty conquered the Wei state. Now, the Liang and Liao states are constantly fighting within the territory of the Wei state, and it is difficult to determine the winner.

Three months ago, the State of Chu suddenly besieged Free City. Regardless of their true purpose, there are rumors in the martial arts world that they were searching for the elixir of immortality.

Therefore, two months ago, the Qi army marched north and occupied Ziyou City without losing a single soldier, and the Chu army withdrew before the Qi army marched north.

A month ago, Shi Jiajun defeated the Qi army, occupied Ziyou City, and simultaneously moved south to occupy the northwestern territory of Qi. Chu and Tang also advanced westward at the same time, forcing Qi to relocate its capital to the west of Mount Emei.

I can understand the Tang and Chu states seeking revenge, but I don't understand Mr. Ding's motives.

After speaking, Luo Yifei looked at Shi Hao.

"Don't look at me, I don't know either," Shi Hao replied.

Luo Yifei then looked at Song Han.

"It seems you're not stupid. The sect leader did indeed reach an agreement with the royal families of various countries, in exchange for this hard-won twenty years of peace," Song Han replied.

Luo Yifei nodded, then looked at Qi Yuan and asked, "Does Freedom City have some secret, a secret that the Chu, Qi, Wu, and even Tang kingdoms want to obtain, or something worth fighting over?"

Qi Yuan shook his head. "As far as I know, there's nothing in Free City that countries would fight over."

"Hmm, you just said that the Chu state besieged the city for Dugu Xin, for the secret passage, and for attacking the Qi state. If the siege wasn't carried out, could these three objectives be achieved through other means?" Luo Yifei continued.

Qi Yuan paused for a moment, then replied, "Okay."

“So, none of these three are the purpose of the Chu army’s siege. According to what Qiao Zhi said before, no one can leave the city during the siege. You came out through a secret passage, so it’s possible that the Chu army trapped someone in the city by besieging it, allowing them to do something outside the city.” Luo Yifei deduced, feeling that he was getting closer and closer to the truth.

"There's a mine in the northwest area of ​​Free City. The Shi family army discovered multicolored stones there and is currently mining them," Shi Hao said.

"Five-colored stones, so the rumors are true, the Shi family is mining five-colored stones." Qi Yuan looked at Shi Hao.

“That’s right, the Chu army besieged the city for the Five-Colored Stone.” Song Han said, “Three months ago, the sect leader asked me to bring a map to Chu Ji, the king of Chu, showing the location of the mine in the northwest area of ​​Freedom City, along with a message.”

Just as Song Han finished speaking, the carriage arrived at the port of Nan Changhe and stopped.