Looking at Gu Tongan's face that was swollen beyond recognition but was offering poison to him and scheming against others, Yan Li resisted the urge and disgust to smash his head. Instead, he took a deep breath pretending to be ignorant, smiling calmly, "Don't worry about the bone-crushing pill. I'd like to hear if you have any way to lure the governors of other states to Lanzhou..."
Gu Tongan seemed to be in high spirits all of a sudden. "Your Highness, I have been in contact with them before. Most of them are like me. They are very afraid of Your Highness becoming the King of Pingxi. They hit it off with me. I can give them news and hint them that I have arranged assassins to deal with Your Highness. I am 90% sure that I want them to come to Lanzhou to discuss and coordinate how to divide the territory and interests of the northwest after Your Highness gets into trouble. When they hear such news, they will definitely find an excuse to come. At that time, I will lead them to the secret room for a secret talk. Your Highness will quietly lead them to the secret room. When they arrive, give each of them a bone-crushing pill. I guarantee that they will do the same as me..."
"Most of them? Do you mean that some of the governors of the other five northwestern states also disagree with the way you dealt with me before?"
"This... Huanzhou Governor Lin Zitong didn't take my previous suggestion that everyone should unite to deal with His Highness very seriously. He was just dealing with it. When I wrote to him that day, he wrote back to me saying that His Highness's presence in the northwest might not be a bad thing. Now that the Han Empire is in turmoil, the six northwestern states should unite to tide over the difficulties. But he was a little worried that His Highness would really take action to seize power, so he was a little conflicted..." Gu Tong'an said cautiously as he looked at the expression on Yan Liqiang's face.
"Lin Zitong, the governor of Huanzhou..." Yan Liqiang muttered to himself and memorized the name. Hearing this news was a comfort to him. It at least showed that among the governors of the six northwestern states of the Han Empire, in addition to Lei Sitong, there were at least other people who could see the situation clearly and understand the general situation. These frontier officials were not all petty villains. "Well, I'll do as you say. I'll stay in the governor's mansion for the next few days and serve as your personal bodyguard..."
"Your Highness, if someone recognizes you, I'm afraid..."
"Don't worry about that!" Yan Liqiang said as he took out the Guoshanfeng mask that he hadn't used for a long time from his arms and put it on his face in front of Gu Tongan. After some adjustments, Yan Liqiang turned into Guoshanfeng, his face was gloomy and a bit ruthless, and no one could recognize him anymore.
"Ah, so Your Highness has already prepared..." Gu Tongan even started to flatter him.
"Of course!" Yan Liqiang smiled. "In order to prevent the governor from having other thoughts, I can tell you that this bone-crushing pill was made by me. From now on, this bone-crushing pill will be in the governor's body. If you want to take it out, there is only one way, that is to instantly cut the governor's body into several halves. Maybe I can take this bone-crushing pill out intact before it explodes. There is no other way. The sensing distance between me and this bone-crushing pill is fifty miles. As long as I am fifty miles away, I can make you live a life worse than death. Then this bone-crushing pill will take effect once a year. The first time will be like just now, the second time will take twice as long, and the third time will take twice as long again. With the governor's cultivation and body, it is estimated that the third time, the effect of this bone-crushing pill will make you demented and it will be difficult to recover..."
Hearing Yan Liqiang's words, Gu Tongan's face turned pale again, and his body trembled continuously. The feeling just now was like he was soaked in a boiling oil pan and cut into pieces. He never wanted to experience it again in his lifetime...
"But don't worry. As long as you work hard for me, you can come to see me once a year. I will naturally shorten the time when the Bone Crushing Pill takes effect. It will only take three to five breaths at the shortest. I won't let you live a life worse than death..."
"Thank you very much, Your Highness..."
"It's just that the secret symbol in the bone-crushing pill is intertwined with my heart and blood. If I die one day, the bone-crushing pill will explode in your body. I'm sorry, but I can only let you, the governor, be buried with me, so that I won't be alone on the road to the underworld..."
Gu Tongan was sweating profusely, but he still forced a smile, "No, no, Your Highness is handsome and heroic, and he is young and promising. He will advance to the Martial Emperor in the future and have a long life. Even if I die, I will definitely die before Your Highness. Your Highness is blessed by heaven, and nothing will happen to him..."
"I hope so!" Yan Liqiang nodded, glanced at Gu Tongan, and sniffed, "Okay, go clean up too. You look so messy now, it's really outrageous..."
“Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you, Your Highness…” It was not until this time that Gu Tongan got up from the ground. He staggered and almost fell again. Then he walked to the wall of the study in a somewhat embarrassed and weak manner and pulled the bell twice.
In the blink of an eye, someone came to the study, "Sir Governor, what do you want?"
"I want to take a bath in the study. Ask the servants to bring me the bathtub, hot water, brazier, and clothes to the study..."
Although Gu Tong'an's request was very strange, he was the governor of a state and had done many absurd things in the governor's mansion before. After receiving the order, the people outside hurried to make arrangements.
"Your Highness... You've been by my side these days... I don't know... I don't know how to address you as Your Highness?" Gu Tong'an stuttered.
"It doesn't matter, just call me Guard Yan these days..." Yan Liqiang smiled slightly.
…
Just one day later, news spread from Lanzhou City that the Lanzhou Governor Gu Tongan's "condition had worsened."
After receiving the news from Lanzhou City, a few days later, the governors of several northwestern states came straight to Lanzhou City with their guards on the pretext of visiting Gu Tongan. Such news spread throughout the northwest in an instant.
Generally speaking, these provincial governors of the Han Empire would not meet in person under normal circumstances. But this time, the governors of several northwestern states gathered in Lanzhou under the pretext of visiting Gu Tongan's illness. In the eyes of many outsiders, there would naturally be a different interpretation.
…
"Damn it, those guys are going to rebel, afraid that others don't know they are in the same group. They are clearly going to challenge the Pingxi Palace. They are so bold. They really don't take the court seriously. They all want to be local emperors..." In the Ganzhou Governor's Mansion, Lei Sitong, who heard the news, slapped the table in front of him with his eyes wide open, shaking the ivory cards on the table. "What did the Pingxi Palace say? They should know the news, right?"
"There is no news from the Pingxi Palace..." A confidant standing next to Lei Sitong answered. "I heard that His Royal Highness the Pingxi Prince went into seclusion a few days ago, so there is no response from the Pingxi Palace yet..."
"Ah, Li Qiang is in seclusion at this time!" Lei Sitong was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head, "This seclusion is really timely..."
"Sir, what should we do now?"
"How are the state armies in those states?"
"As soon as those governors set out, the troops from several states went to the border to conduct drills and exercises to eliminate the bandits. There was a lot of noise..."
Lei Si stood up all of a sudden, "Damn it, pass the order down, all the cavalry of the Ganzhou Army, set out tomorrow, bring enough weapons and dry food, and follow me to the Yinzhou border for exercises and to clear out the bandits. I want to see who has more cavalry than me..."
…
The governors of several states had not yet arrived in Lanzhou, and the state armies of various states had simultaneously carried out exercises and large-scale operations to eliminate bandits during this period of time, which instantly made the atmosphere in the six northwestern states tense. Everyone was watching the reaction of the Pingxi Palace...
(End of this chapter)