The South is warm, and everyone in China knows it.
Even though other places have gradually entered the bleak autumn or even the snowy winter, in the south it is only the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, and the weather has not even cooled down yet.
It is precisely because of this warm climate that the south has abundant grass and water, making it easy to raise war horses, which is also the origin of the barbarian threat... However, in addition to the barbarians enjoying this land and water, there is also an empire, also located in the south, eyeing the Central Plains countries...
…
Early morning.
The morning light slightly penetrates the clouds, releasing some dawn light.
There were still a few raindrops from yesterday on a green lotus by the river. As the lotus leaf tilted, they fell with a dripping sound, making a crisp sound.
This could have been an excellent picture of the early morning in the south.
If it weren't for the sudden sound of horse hooves in the distance...
Tap tap tap!
Thousands of cavalrymen in silver armor came stepping on the ground. After a while, they arrived at the river bank and lined up in a long line. They dismounted from their horses, ate, and their horses drank water, and began to replenish their supplies and rest.
They have been running around for several days, and each of them has a bit of weather-beaten face, but the bright and strong light in their eyes means that they can mount their horses and charge at any time to crush all enemies that block their way!
In fact, before they came here, they had already killed several barbarian armies, with a few hundred people and a few thousand people, fighting all the way here... They are a loser army, but they are no longer the loser army they used to be!
At this moment, the defeated army was intimidating even when they were resting.
"Young Master."
Chu Tianxiao and others were seen gathered on a slightly withered lawn, pointing at a map. At this moment, Xueyan, who was not far away, walked forward with something like a jade slip in his hand.
"The latest intelligence."
"Um."
Chu Tianxiao reached out to take the jade slip, knowing that this was the benefit of having an "organization". Of course... there were also the privileges of his own identity and his military exploits to help him, otherwise he would probably not be able to get this kind of intelligence during wartime.
"Hmm..." Chu Tianxiao's mind moved slightly. He unfolded the jade slip, immersed it in his spiritual consciousness, and browsed it carefully, while clicking his tongue, "Very interesting... There have been a lot of things happening recently. The general has gathered a large number of strong troops. Is he going to launch a general attack on the barbarians? Is it revenge? Or is Lu Xianhui scared by our record and wants to make a move quickly? Tsk tsk... It seems that the barbarians are really grasshoppers after autumn. They won't be able to jump for a few more days."
"Fortunately we ran away after the fight, otherwise it would be hard to grab the credit in such a muddy situation, and there wouldn't be much of a big share..."
Chu Tianxiao muttered to himself as his consciousness gradually drifted to another place...
"Well, your majesty has really started to take action. The Shenzhou Demon-killing Alliance is preparing closely. The Qin State and the Yan State... are all arguing, um... um?!"
"Zhao State, dare you put forward such conditions?"
After these words fell, Xue Yan and other defeated army generals were stunned, and then they saw Chu Tianxiao put down the jade slip: "You can also take a look."
Hearing the sound, they all quickly immersed their spiritual consciousness in it, and then, their faces changed drastically.
"… Because we need to exterminate demons, we need to temporarily borrow the nineteen second-class cities of Great Zhou to settle the people in the rear? This excuse is lame!"
"It's called a loan, but it's actually a gift, right? And nineteen second-class cities? How dare he ask that! He just asked Zhao to lend him a springboard to attack the demons, but he actually asked for such a high price. Who is he taking for a fool?"
"The State of Zhao is taking this opportunity to blackmail us! They are asking for too much!"
"… What on earth is Emperor Zhao thinking? Great Zhou will never agree to this condition…"
When the last word fell, especially when the three words "Zhao Shaodi" came out, everyone in the room showed strange expressions...
As we all know, although there are many empires in China, more than ten years ago, the competition was dominated by the Great Zhou and the Great Qin. The rest of the countries were mostly dependent on the two countries and did not have the core competitiveness to unify China.
This situation... until Emperor Zhao appeared out of nowhere!
Looking back to the past, Emperor Zhao was just a disgraced prince who was banished from the capital of Zhao State because of his mistakes. However, in just a few years, he had raised an elite army in the northern border and recruited a group of talented generals, each of whom was a hero of the time! The most mysterious thing, and what the empires of Shenzhou fear the most, is that the amazing talents under this man seem to have fallen from the sky, always appearing at the most critical moment, but unknown beforehand. If you investigate their life experiences, you will find that they are all "ordinary", and some of them even... can't find any connection with Emperor Zhao, but they were dug out by him!
There are countless examples of this kind.
As time went by, Emperor Zhao Shao was recognized as the "Wisdom of China", and more and more talents gathered under his command, including counselors, generals, commanders, and even personal guards, all of whom were powerful men of the time.
Relying on this group of loyal ministers, the Young Emperor Zhao rose miraculously. He first fought a series of battles with the Tang invaders in the northern border, won a great victory and crushed their fighting spirit. Then he quickly created public opinion to enhance his prestige. Finally, he was valued by the previous emperor of the Great Zhao and transferred back to the capital.
After that, the Young Emperor Zhao became even more successful. First, with the help of his aides, he ruthlessly and decisively dealt with several princes competing for the throne and successfully won the throne. Then... Not even a year had passed before the usually healthy Emperor Xian of Great Zhao "fell seriously ill" and "died."
Emperor Shao of Zhao ascended to the supreme throne of Zhao. He changed the conservative strategies of Zhao State and trained a strong army, summoned brave generals, fought wars on all sides to plunder resources, fought to support the country, and became stronger with each battle!
At the same time, Emperor Zhao Shao discovered many civil officials who were good at governing internal affairs, and made drastic reforms to Zhao's internal affairs... In just over ten years, Emperor Zhao Shao, from the original marginal empire, ranked among the three major empires of Shenzhou!
At this point, the vast land of China has entered the next era, that is, the three-legged tripod!
Emperor Zhao, who started this three-way balance of power with one move, has not even reached the age of forty this year!
When he ascended the throne, he was just a young man!
Therefore, he was called "Zhao Shaodi" in the world, and countless people regarded him as "the true emperor sent by God to end the chaotic world and unify China"! The reason can be known by looking at his past series of almost "legendary" deeds.
Of course, this view was mainly popular among the Great Zhao and many weak countries. The attitude of the Zhou and Qin people towards this... was a bit "strange".
To the Qin people, although the rumors were ridiculous, the Great Zhao was indeed an opponent worthy of vigilance. But to the Zhou people... the mainstream voice among them was to simply "look down on" the State of Zhao!
The reason is very simple and crude, it is just because Emperor Wu of Zhou, Lu Xuan, once commented on Emperor Shao of Zhao...
"The young emperor Zhao is a scoundrel who has stolen the throne. He is not to be feared. He relies only on his counselors and generals, but I have seen that none of them will live long, and their successors will be weak. Once they are gone, he will be vulnerable."
According to popular legend, this sentence was said by Emperor Wu of Zhou while flipping through the memorials...