Chapter 277 Qiguo
There was heavy snow outside the attic, but the room just separated by a wall was warm as spring and filled with fragrance.

A group of maids walked under the corridor carrying plates of dishes. Several maids inside were responsible for receiving the dishes and presenting them to the attic. When walking in front of the corridor, one could see that the waterfall outside the attic had condensed into an ice sculpture flowing down. Only a few streams of water were flowing under the ice, making a cool and pleasant tinkling sound.

The maid brought the dishes upstairs. A smart woman in green clothes with a folding fan at the door raised her hand to take it and said, "King Qi has ordered that there is no need to serve more dishes."

The maid bowed and left. She carefully glanced inside and saw Li Maozhen coming out from behind the screen, holding his belt and saying, "Bring a few more jars of wine."

The maid did not dare to delay and hurried away.

The woman in green clearly noticed that Li Maozhen's face was a little cold, and guessed that the King of Qi might want to be alone, so she didn't say much. She walked past the screen with the dishes and said softly, "The marbled beef is here."

"Davidyānī, come and sit down and eat with us."

The empress was dressed in white clothes as white as snow. She pointed at Li Maozhen's original seat without raising her head. She just picked up the beef slices and put them into the pot. Steam rose up, and only her slender hands holding the chopsticks could be seen, like a man's, without any girlish manners at all.

In addition, the several jars of wine beside her had been drunk, and the strong smell of alcohol made Duo Wentian, who was dressed in green, dare not accept the offer, but he did not dare to refuse either. He was in a dilemma, standing at the table, not knowing whether to sit or stand.

Fanyintian, who was in charge of pouring wine, covered his mouth and chuckled, saying, "Today is a family dinner for your Highness and you. How can we, as servants, sit at the same table with our master? This is against the rules, right, Duowentian?"

Before Vaisravana could say anything, the empress had already glanced at Brahma Sound Heaven and said, "We were able to sit together in previous years, why not this year?"

"Why, no one takes my words seriously now?"

Duowentian was a little embarrassed. She looked lonely and wanted to explain, but Fanyintian smiled without any burden and said, "What are you talking about? In previous years, it was because we didn't know the rules. Now that King Qi is back, we must understand the order of respect and inferiority, not..."

"Back off." Li Maozhen walked in and stood beside the screen with his hands behind his back. His tall figure was extremely imposing in the attic. His expression was indifferent, without any coldness from before. He just gave the order casually.

Fanyintian responded and retreated respectfully with his waist twisted.

Although Duowentian wanted to stay, he knew that doing so would only make things difficult for the empress, so he just left in silence.

But as she walked out of the room, she saw Fanyintian with a smiling face. He did not leave, as if he was waiting for her.

Duowentian sneered, without even looking at her, with his chin raised high, he strode past Fanyintian with a look of contempt at all, as if he wanted to break the latter's shoulders.

"Little hoof, do you want to go to the dungeon to accompany Guangmutian?" Fanyintian was a little angry. He grabbed Duowentian's elbow and threatened.

Unexpectedly, Duowentian was not afraid of her. She suddenly pulled out the folding fan from her waist with her backhand, and then without any movement, the folding fan suddenly opened in her hand. The strong wind made Fanyintian feel pain, so she had to let go of Duowentian's elbow and retreat a few steps.

As a result, Fanyintian's momentum instantly declined, but she just looked unhappy and did not get angry immediately, and there was some fear in her expression.

Although she is the oldest among the Nine Heavens Saints, her level of cultivation in the Illusionary Sound Art is far inferior to that of the one in front of her.

In the martial arts world, the strength of Huanyinfang is naturally the bottom of the three major organizations, and its high-end combat power cannot be compared with the other two. For example, the Daliang Xuanming Sect, which monitors the Central Plains and has long been hidden in the martial arts world, not to mention the four corpse ancestors who have been hiding in the martial arts world, there are still top masters such as the Hades Emperor, the Ghost King, Meng Po, and the Water and Fire Judge who can inaugurate the martial arts world.

Although the Tongwenguan of Jin State has always been low-key and seems to be suppressed by the Xuanming Sect in every way, its strength is hard to predict. This can be seen from the fact that the Xuanming Sect has been unable to make any progress in the Three Jins. Among them, the Saint Leader Li Siyuan is an old-school master who has been famous for a long time. Under him, there are people like Li Cunxiao, the world's strongest man, Li Cunli, the leader of the Li Sect, and the Shang organization led by Li Cunren, who are all well-known.

In addition, Li Keyong, the Prince of Jin who had inserted himself into the Li Tang family tree, was an extremely top-notch master of the humanoid Gundam. According to speculation, the reason why the headquarters of the Xuanming Sect was set up in Bian Jing was that Zhu Wen was afraid that Li Keyong would risk his life and go to Bian Jing alone to chop off his head.

It is even said that there is a Shatuo warrior named Ba Ye, who is said to be invincible and famous in the Three Jins! Although he has never been seen, he has heard of him. He is a real rising star. Although few people have seen him fight, just based on this reputation, he is more powerful than the nine saints of Huanyinfang.

However, despite this, why is Jiu Tian Sheng Ji still as famous as the Thirteen Guardians of Tong Wen Guan?

The beauty of the nine ladies is one thing, and on the other hand, they are very good at forming formations. When the Nine Saint Fairies appear together, they are fully equipped for long-range attack, close combat and defense. The Fantasy Sound Technique that each of them has practiced can complement each other in the formation and is extremely powerful. Only nine people can resist the siege of hundreds of armored soldiers. If the Empress of Fantasy Sound Square is personally in charge, once the formation is formed, she will be invincible.

Among them, Fanyintian is the undisputed main force of long-range attacks. Cooperating with Miaochengtian who is good at defense, the two of them can form a formation and exert the strength of the heavenly level. This is also the capital that makes her proud of herself among others.

But the Duo Wentian in front of them is the main attacker among the Nine Heavens Holy Girls. He is good at long-range attacks and even stronger in close combat. He is powerful and together with Yang Yantian, who has strong internal strength, they are the main force in the formation. He is also the main reason why this formation can be free from threats. It's just that Yang Yantian is on missions all year round and there are not many opportunities for him to cooperate with them. Therefore, when forming a formation, they rely more on Duo Wentian.

Fanyintian understood the threat posed by Duowentian. If the distance between them could be shortened to five feet, she would not be afraid of this little hoof. But with the distance between them now, Duowentian might be able to slap Fanyintian a few times before King Qi came out.

"You'd better be careful, otherwise..." Duowentian obviously saw Fanyintian's fear, so he smiled coldly, raised his little finger at him, turned around and strode away.

After she turned around, the ugly expression on Fan Yintian's face suddenly disappeared. He turned back to glance in the direction of the attic imperceptibly. After making sure that Li Maozhen had heard their movements, he left carefully.

In the attic, Li Maozhen saw that the empress was still picking up dishes and boiling vegetables with an expressionless face. He was silent for a moment, sat back at the table, picked up the wine on the table, and drank it slowly.

Fan Yintian was the first holy girl to follow him. She was nearly ten years older than the empress. When he left Qi State, Fan Yintian was one of the few people who knew the inside story. She was also a great helper he left behind to assist the empress. There was no doubt about her loyalty. After he returned to Fengxiang, Fan Yintian was obviously the happiest.

Li Maozhen could imagine that Fan Yintian, who was eager for quick success, flattered the superiors and bullied the subordinates, would definitely not be liked by the empress. However, Fan Yintian was an old man in Huanyinfang after all, and most of the disciples in Huanyinfang were trained by her. Even if the empress didn't like her, she would only suppress her a little, and would not really do anything to her.

However, for someone like Fan Yintian, just being suppressed was enough to make him feel frustrated, so after he returned to Fengxiang, he was the first to express his loyalty. And after gaining his trust, he did not hide his smug look at all, and acted proudly as if King Qi was first, the Empress was second, and she was the third.

Li Maozhen will not make any statement on this. Fanyintian is an important helper for him to regain control of Huanyinfang and Qiguo. He will not be stupid enough to destroy his own Great Wall for such a small matter. He can suppress him at any time in the future, but not now.

After all, fourteen years was too long, so long that Li Maozhen had even forgotten how to be a good King of Qi. He needed to relearn how to command troops. Fortunately, he had a good foundation. He was able to rise from a mere soldier to the position of King of Qi. Some things had been engraved in his bones long ago, and it was just a matter of slowly regaining them.

His top priority is to deal with the person in front of him, the person who is truly a core figure of Qi Country, the person who can truly help him regain control of Huanyinfang and Qi Country.

His closest relative, the woman who once carried the entire Qi country on her shoulders as a weak woman, so much so that in such a huge Huanyinfang, no one knew her real name, only that she was called the empress.

Even Li Maozhen himself seemed to have forgotten the empress's real name. In a trance, he could no longer remember the younger sister who held the paintbrush more than ten years ago.

The hot pot on the table was bubbling with steam, and other than that, there was no other sound.

Li Maozhen drank slowly, while the empress opposite him didn't even look at him. After finishing her meal, she wiped her mouth and was about to get up and leave.

In fact, if today was not the Chinese New Year, this hot pot might not even be served on the table in the attic.

It was not until this moment that Li Maozhen finally spoke slowly: "I plan to take over Shuofang..."

The empress did not react much. She just spread out the unfinished scroll on the table and glanced at it, saying calmly: "King Qi can take any place he wants. Why tell me?"

Li Maozhen was not surprised, but continued: "I plan to lead the army myself, with Liu Zhijun as the deputy commander, and send troops in the spring. At the same time, ask Li Keyong to attack Jinzhou to contain the Liang army. In this way, we can first take Shuofang and then conquer Dingnan. With the land of Longyou in our hands, we can plan for Guanzhong. With time, we can send troops to the Central Plains..." The empress did not even raise her head and said: "Good strategy, good plan. I wish King Qi to unify the world and take all the nine provinces."

"..."

Li Maozhen's face was slightly cold, and veins popped out on the back of his hand that was holding the wine glass, but he still kept his eyes half-closed: "I still need you to help me see which generals can be used, and which officials have bad intentions... and if I promote Liu Zhijun as deputy commander and give him the command of Shuofang, which governors should I be on guard against being dissatisfied?"

The empress suddenly smiled, and before she even dipped the brush into ink, she gently put it down, then raised her head and asked, "Are you serious, King Qi?"

Li Maozhen drank the wine in his cup and said, "How can I not be serious?"

"If you are serious, you won't ask such an idiotic question." The empress sneered, "Let's not talk about the Liang army just taking Hebei and eyeing the Three Jins covetously. Is Li Keyong willing to join forces with you? It's just that Shuofang and Dingnan finally made friends with our Qi country and are willing to open trade routes and bring Hetao materials into our Qi country. Isn't it ridiculous to abandon such a great benefit instead of taking it step by step?"

"Let me ask you again. There are only 100,000 households in Qi. We have been exhausted from defending Shu for years. We finally have a chance to recuperate with Shuofang and Dingnan. Why should we send troops? What benefits can we gain from sending troops? What if we can't take the city? At that time, we are surrounded by enemies, how can we advance to Guanzhong and the Central Plains?"

Li Maozhen frowned, and suppressed his anger in his voice: "If we take the two towns, we will be able to control the horse-grazing land in Hetao. With the national strength greatly increased, Wang Jian in Shuzhong will be nothing! When I was conferred the title of Prince of Longxi, this guy was still hiding in Xichuan and couldn't move!"

"The horse policy is being implemented!" The empress responded, and was too lazy to pay attention to Li Maozhen's ridiculous words. She said bluntly: "At this time, what Qi needs is to recuperate, support agriculture and sericulture, promote commercial profits, introduce Hetao horses into the Central Plains, and collect goods from the Central Plains into Hetao. The commercial tax is already considerable. This is to increase national strength! Once the war starts, everything will flow eastward!
How dare you sit in the Guantian like this and look down on the heroes of the world? Who gave you the courage, the illusory Longquan treasure, or the messy martial arts you acquired after fourteen years of wandering?"

Li Maozhen's face was frosty. He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and stared at the empress with his phoenix eyes: "I want to know, is this what you really mean, or do you still want to be loyal to that remnant of Li Tang?"

"Remnants of the Li Tang Dynasty?" The empress sneered, with her hands on the table. Her phoenix eyes were not afraid of Li Maozhen's gaze. "No matter what his purpose is, he has made a lot of profits for Qi State in the past two years. He has made great contributions to the friendship between Shuofang and Dingnan. The business interests of the Central Plains in Qi State are closely related to him. Qi State's population increased by nearly 50,000 last year, and this person's contribution accounts for 50%! So what if he is a remnant of the Li Tang Dynasty? How can his actions not benefit Qi State and the people more than you, the King of Qi? Even if Qi State is offered to him, at least I am willing!"

"Ridiculous!" Li Maozhen sneered with his hands behind his back, and said bluntly: "The royal family of Li Tang is all trash, Zhaozong is like this, and Xizong is even more so! Do you really expect a so-called shitty prince to restore the country? The people of the world have long been against Tang. If you give Qi to that guy, Qi will be doomed! If you want to make Qi strong, the Longquan treasure is the only way out. Expanding the territory now is just for future plans. With the Longquan treasure, why worry about the country's weak national strength and the instability of the world?"

After saying this, he seemed too lazy to say anything more, or he had nothing to say, so he just turned his sleeves and walked away. Only when he was at the door did he suddenly turn back coldly.

"I have already eliminated all of Xiao Yan's spies in Qi State. I advise you to give up this idea. Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian are trapped in Bianzhou. I will rescue them..."

"Qiguo, I can't hand it over to others... No one can do it!"

The man strode away in a menacing manner, obviously unable to suppress his anger.

But the empress had no time to worry about him.

She chose Xiao Yan not because of his status as the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. If Xiao Yan was incapable, she could consider snatching him back and worshipping him as a mascot. But according to her observation, Xiao Yan really had the appearance of a wise leader. His abilities were obvious to all, and his character was even more rare. Handing Qi over to him was not also a way to prevent wars in Qi.
At least Xiao Yan has more or less some say in Daliang now. As long as Qi State cannot threaten Daliang openly, Xiao Yan can delay the war indefinitely until he completes his plan in Daliang.

In this way, if Xiao Yan can succeed in stealing the country, Hebei, Daliang, and Qi will be united, and the day of unification of the world and the end of the chaotic times will be just around the corner.

These were the empress's original ideas. She was not very interested in fighting for the throne, she just wanted to protect her own piece of land. If she could make progress, that would be the best, but if she couldn't, she had to protect the State of Qi.

But as soon as Li Maozhen came back, things turned completely upside down.

Just the things that Li Maozhen did were enough to put Huanyinfang and Anle Pavilion at loggerheads. Moreover, as far as the empress knew, Xiao Yan had been in the south for two months and could not come up with a response plan in time, which might cause hidden dangers.

Although she had secretly sent someone to Central Plains to inform Anle Pavilion, no one knew how the situation would develop without Xiao Yan in charge.

The most crucial thing is that Li Maozhen had given the empress some kind of poison that suppressed all her strength. Otherwise, she would not be waiting here like this.

But even so, she would not sit idly by and watch her brother drag Qi State into the abyss.

Just as she never believed in the Longquan treasure, she also did not believe that Qi State could unify the world.

------

Li Maozhen came out of the attic and regained his slightly cold expression. He went straight to the camp outside the city without stopping. Today was the Spring Festival. Although he had given his soldiers a holiday, there were still soldiers left behind in the barracks who needed his comfort.

He climbed up from the bottom of the army. Apart from his own strength, only the military power in his hands could make him feel safe.

Before reaching the city gate, the escort brought in a young man. The latter had a handsome appearance, but there was a sense of melancholy in his face, revealing a deep aura that was inconsistent with his age.

It's the fake Li.

"Li Maozhen, are you mistaken?" The fake Li rode his horse closer and spoke in a low voice, as if he was quite angry: "What do you mean by asking me to go to Bingzhou until the beginning of next spring? What you said about transporting military supplies is clearly a transfer. Why don't you let me work in Prince Qi's mansion? I tell you, don't try to get rid of me..."

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt a flash before his eyes, and then his neck seemed to be strangled by someone, and he was directly suspended from the horse's back.

The fake Li protected his throat tightly, his face turned red, and he kept making hoarse sounds.

Li Maozhen raised one arm and used his Qi to pinch the fake Li's neck. He had no expression on his face and said coldly, "Remember, without that person, you are nothing."

"In Qi Country, whatever the king asks you to do, you must do it seriously."

"If you understand, then get out of here."

The fake Li was thrown far away, and Li Maozhen did not even look back, but rode out of the city. All the followers around him did not dare to say anything, and also followed him around the fake Li in the snow.

The fake Li lay on the ground, rubbing his neck, his face still flushed, and he kept his head down for a long time.

In the past, even if Li Maozhen was impatient, he would not treat him like this. What happened today was a surprise.

I have to bear this humiliation for a little while longer, bear it for a little while longer...

Because the Marshal told him that the day when the Longquan treasure appeared in the world would be the day when Li Maozhen died.
By then, Qiguo will be his...

---

ps: "New History of the Five Dynasties": Maozhen lived in Qi, and was kind and loving to all things, and the people were quite at peace with him.

According to the worldview of The Bad Guys, it can be understood that the empress is the "King Qi" who is kind, treats his subordinates well, and tries to protect himself, while Li Maozhen is the "King Qi" who is deliberately aggressive and uses eunuchs to control the Li Tang court.

(End of this chapter)