Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 1122 The Prime Minister Returns to the Capital

Ye Haishan opened his eyes and looked around.

"We should go. We can't stay here any longer. With so many eyes watching us, even if Feng Ting wanted to see us, he wouldn't dare."

"That's right, let's leave now."

Rong Rong turned her head and looked around: "Master, where are we going?"

"Hmm, let's go to Los Angeles. It's full of people from our clan there, so it'll be easier to talk to them."

Rong Rong asked no more questions and got up to untie the boat's moorings.

As soon as their ship moved, someone immediately went into the city to report to Tsuruta Gen.

Tsuruta Gen opened his eyes from his cultivation, a glint of light flashing within them.

"Hehe, finally gone. I wanted to see how long you could last, hmph."

Tsuruta Gen was actually very distressed. In recent days, not only had he lost news of his daughter, Tsuruta Cho, but the sect's most valuable treasure had also disappeared.

Next, his apprentice Kuroda Shige and his inner disciple Kaiji Keizo also disappeared without a trace.

Then, Elder Oni-maru Shingo also disappeared, without a trace.

The core members of the Wunianliu Sect have been reduced by half, and his position as sect leader is now in grave danger.

The questioning voices coming from inside the door made him uneasy.

Today, Ye Haishan and his apprentice finally began to take action, which gave Tsuruta Gen a glimmer of hope.

"Keep a close eye on them; don't let your guard down for a moment."

Tsuruta Gen gave the order fiercely.

He intended to remain in Fu'an Prefecture, awaiting the reinforcements of the Dahe Army to attack Luocheng.

Once their forces capture Luocheng, this vast land will belong to the Dahe clan, and that Muchuan brat will have nowhere to hide.

Of course, Tsuruta Gen also considered that Kikawa might flee to the interior of the Taisho Dynasty. At that time, Kikawa would be like a fish out of the ocean, and searching for him would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. He, as the sect leader, would have to step down at that time.

This trip backfired spectacularly; they were caught off guard by Mu Chuan and suffered a huge loss.

Tsuruta Gen was filled with worry. These mundane matters had greatly affected his mind and spirit, making his future spiritual practice full of obstacles. Perhaps he would have to stop here in this life.

Crown Prince Zhao Jian of the Great Zheng Dynasty finally led 30,000 imperial guards to Luoyang.

They set up camp ten miles from Los Angeles.

Crown Prince Zhao Jian entered Luoyang with only five hundred guards.

Prime Minister Miao Changfeng, Prefect Zhao Yichen, and City Guard Wei Xianzhen greeted His Highness the Crown Prince three miles away and respectfully invited him into the city.

His Highness the Crown Prince's residence had already been arranged. It was a mansion requisitioned from the Duan family. After a period of intensive preparation, it was completed and put into use the day before the Crown Prince's arrival.

Crown Prince Zhao Jian looked at the palace-like residence with great satisfaction.

Zhao Jian, who was thirty-five years old, had a weathered face and was covered in dust from his travels.

He devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Taisho era, fighting in the north and south and making great contributions.

In the center of the mansion, in a tall and spacious hall, Crown Prince Zhao Jian sat at the head of the table, with Prime Minister Miao Changfeng on his left and the Prefect and the City Guard standing with bows on his right.

Next in line were the officials and generals of Los Angeles.

The generals that the Crown Prince brought back all stood below Miao Changfeng, waiting for the Crown Prince to speak.

Behind Miao Changfeng were the captain of the guard, Miao Yong, and the prime minister's inspector, Feng Li.

Chen Dongping was still on vacation, so Lin Feng temporarily entered the main hall from the outside and was fortunate enough to stand in a corner at the entrance of the main hall.

"Prime Minister Miao, have you explained the battlefield situation to them?"

Crown Prince Zhao Jian turned to look at Miao Changfeng and asked.

"Your Highness, everything has been explained."

"Alright, I won't say any more about the current war situation. The pirate forces outside the city have grown significantly. This time, you must all do your best to follow me on this expedition and drive them out of the Great Zheng territory in one fell swoop."

The generals who accompanied the crown prince showed no emotional fluctuations, as they all knew that they had come to fight the sea pirates.

However, the generals of the Imperial Guard stationed in Luoyang began to tremble with fear.

Judging from His Highness the Crown Prince's words, they will also be going to the battlefield this time.

The pirates were fierce, and few of them would survive once they entered the battlefield. They had never actually been on the battlefield before, and their training was mostly just to get by.

Now that a major war has arrived, everyone is in danger.

The Crown Prince was also a pragmatic person, not one for many words. After saying these few words, he immediately waved his hand.

"Except for the generals and commanders, all other officials may retire."

After saying that, he turned to look at Miao Changfeng.

"Prime Minister..."

Before he could finish speaking, Miao Changfeng stood up and bowed.

"Your Highness, the Emperor has decreed that Changfeng must return to the capital immediately. I dare not delay for even a moment. Please forgive me."

"Very well, Prime Minister, please take care. I won't see you off."

"I wouldn't dare, Your Highness, please wait."

Miao Changfeng was unwilling to stay; the battlefield was dangerous, and he didn't want to get involved.

After bowing, he led his entourage out of the main hall.

Looking at the overall battle situation in Luocheng, the pirates in Fuchang Prefecture to the east and Fuan Prefecture to the south have both increased their numbers by more than 15,000, forming a pincer attack on Luocheng from both sides.

The situation was not optimistic. Miao Changfeng felt that the pirates were coming with great force and their strength should not be underestimated. A wise man avoids dangerous situations and it would be best to leave as soon as possible.

It wasn't that he didn't want to do his best for Taisho, but he needed to extricate himself first before he could calmly devise a countermeasure.

Without further hesitation, having already packed his belongings, Miao Changfeng bid farewell to His Highness the Crown Prince and immediately led his men out of Luoyang, embarking on their journey back to the capital.

In the Prime Minister's procession, Duan Jingqiu also led a convoy of carriages and horses, following behind, and went straight out of the gates of Luoyang.

She was going to Losi City, her original base. Even if war were to break out in Losi City, she felt unsafe staying there even when it was peaceful.

She also took out the wounded, including Wood Face and Song Chen, from her convoy so they could continue to recuperate in Luoxi Prefecture.

It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and in less than ten days, they still cannot walk on their own.

A procession of several thousand people, along with carriages, stretched for more than ten miles along the official road, heading towards Luoxi Prefecture.

Miao Changfeng was afraid of water and did not want to take a boat back to Beijing.

Moreover, the shortest distance by waterway is to board a boat on the Yongding River. Fu'an Prefecture is full of pirates, and now they have turned against the Taisho government. It would be very unsafe to take a boat from Meijin County outside Luocheng.

Therefore, Miao Changfeng preferred to travel for more days rather than risk taking a boat.

His decision was correct. Right now, the Yongding River is full of pirate ships, the kind of aggressive warships that can catch up with all the merchant ships and fishing boats on the river in a short time.

Along this route, the Prime Minister's entourage will turn southwest from Luoxi Prefecture, cross the Ling River, enter Jingdong Prefecture, and then pass through Licheng to reach the capital city.

The entire journey is nearly two thousand miles long and takes almost a month.

Of course, if the cavalry moves quickly, they might be able to return to Kyoto within ten days.

However, the Prime Minister's entourage included not only guards but also numerous servants and laborers, and various supplies and equipment required seventy or eighty carriages, so the journey was naturally slow.

Lin Feng followed in the caravan. With such a large group, safety was not a major concern; most caravans wouldn't risk getting into trouble like this.

So Lin Feng was quite free and secretly went to the wooden-faced man's carriage.

Song Chen, Xu Qi, and Wood Face were all in the same car.

The four of them prepared food and wine, and ate and drank as the carriage swayed along.

Song Chen took a swig of wine, looking sullen.

"Sir, Manager Duan has already questioned them, and it turns out that it wasn't Second Master Duan who did it to our Thirteen Horse Gang. So, I'm wondering, who could be so ruthless?"