"I never expected that the Buddhist sects not only supported Li Mi but also managed to win over Dou Jiande and even Zhu Jie. Are they planning a three-pronged attack?"
Listening to the intelligence brought by Daniel Davis, Daniel Davis couldn't help but smile as he looked at the map in front of him. Currently, only the Li Clan in Chang'an to the west remained inactive. If they were to join the fray, Luoyang would be surrounded on all sides.
While Daniel Davis was scheming against the Buddhist sects like the Ci Hang Jing Zhai and the Pure Mind Monastery, the Ci Hang Jing Zhai was also busy forming alliances behind the scenes. Neither Fan Qinghui nor the Buddhist sects were fools. They wouldn't just sit back and watch Daniel Davis's moves without responding.
"Your Highness, please be cautious. It's said that many experts have already infiltrated Luoyang." As someone who had once been in charge of intelligence in the Wagang Army, even though Li Mi later grew suspicious of her and stripped her of much of her authority, Daniel Davis still managed to learn certain things through other channels.
In the conflict between two armies, intelligence is crucial. Previously, Wang Shichong had been weak in this area, but fortunately, the Demon Sect had helped fill the gap.
However, this wasn't entirely Wang Shichong's fault. After all, he was originally just the governor of Luoyang under the Sui Dynasty, without the support of a powerful aristocratic family. Moreover, since the Sui Dynasty hadn't yet fallen, Wang Shichong naturally couldn't develop an intelligence network.
Wang Shichong's advantages over other rebel leaders were Luoyang, a strategically important fortified city, and tens of thousands of troops originally belonging to the Sui army.
After Emperor Yang's death, many generals with military power emerged, such as Fang Zetao of the Duba Mountain Villa and those at the Xingluo Granary. However, most of these figures were short-lived. If Wang Shichong hadn't been the governor of Luoyang but had been stationed elsewhere, he wouldn't have been part of the subsequent struggle for supremacy.
"Don't worry about that. Now that you've officially joined me, let me show you the true strength of my forces." Daniel Davis wasn't the least bit concerned about the experts infiltrating Luoyang. In fact, he hoped more would come, as it would allow him to settle the conflict in one decisive battle.
"What are these?"
"The Four Spirit Mechanical Beasts of the Mo Family."
Seeing Daniel Davis's astonishment as she unconsciously covered her slightly parted lips with her fair hand, Daniel Davis immediately began explaining the capabilities of the Four Spirit Mechanical Beasts.
The Mechanical Black Tortoise, which had been ineffective in the Qin Dynasty era, was a different story in this world. In the Qin Dynasty, only the Qi State had a navy, and even then, it wasn't highly valued. But in the world of the Twin Dragons, there were already organized naval forces, and Lu Miaozi had even invented specialized warships like the Flying Wheel Combat Vessel and underwater mines.
In addition to the mechanical beasts, the Qin Dynasty's crossbows and the Hundred Battle Divine Crossbow were also being manufactured. Of course, this Hundred Battle Divine Crossbow wasn't the "Dongfeng Express" created by the Gongshu Family in the Qin Dynasty era but a purely mechanical crossbow designed to counter military experts. If Emperor Yang had possessed such equipment, Fu Cailin wouldn't have been so brazen.
After witnessing the power of the mechanical beasts, Daniel Davis immediately understood why Daniel Davis dared to take paths others wouldn't. With such formidable weapons of war, even the famous wolf cavalry of the Turks would be no match for the mechanical beasts.
"Have you heard of the Wei Wuzu? They are the most authentic Wei Wuzu."
After leaving the mechanical beast training grounds, Daniel Davis took Daniel Davis to where he trained his personal guard. After using a significant number of Real Person Pills, a unit of about two hundred Wei Wuzu had been formed, along with the White Armor Soldiers.
Under normal circumstances, even with enough Real Person Pills, it would have been impossible to form the Wei Wuzu in such a short time. However, thanks to the Body Refining Furnace, these individuals were essentially transformed beings.
Although there were only about five hundred of them, they could easily handle ten times their number—five thousand soldiers—on the battlefield. The Wei Wuzu would serve as shields at the front, while the White Armor Soldiers would provide support from behind.
"These troops will be under your command now."
After showing Daniel Davis some of his trump cards, Daniel Davis immediately summoned Xu Zhixing and Daniel Davis to introduce them to each other. They then discussed Luoyang and the broader issues of the Central Plains. Daniel Davis also revealed some of his ambitions, such as annexing the surrounding nations—Goguryeo, Silla, the Eastern and Western Turks, and Tibet—and incorporating them into the Great Tang.
As for Daniel Davis's position, since she was new, she retained her role as a military strategist, but her authority was now on par with Xu Zhixing. Xu Zhixing was responsible for internal affairs, while Daniel Davis handled military matters.
Daniel Davis also tasked Daniel Davis with establishing an intelligence agency. Previously, the Great Tang had no independent intelligence organization. Although the Demon Sect's intelligence network was now at his disposal, it wasn't truly his own. He needed something akin to the all-pervasive Net of Heaven and Earth under Ying Zheng.
Initially, Daniel Davis considered changing the name to something like the "Bad Persons" or the "Embroidered Uniform Guard," but he eventually decided to stick with the name "Net of Heaven and Earth."
Daniel Davis also had the authority to form her own army, as promised by Daniel Davis. Originally, Daniel Davis planned to give her half of Luoyang's current troops to command, but Daniel Davis declined, citing her newness to the role and her own ideas for forming an army.
That army would be the Wagang Army. With Daniel Davis's current strength, Li Mi stood no chance. Once Li Mi was defeated, Daniel Davis, as the former strategist of the Wagang Army, could recruit its members.
"People like Wei Zheng are simply too ahead of their time to be understood."
Among the intelligence Daniel Davis brought was her attempt to recruit several individuals from the Wagang Army for Daniel Davis, such as Wei Zheng, who was currently serving under Li Mi, as well as capable civil and military officials like Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin. However, all of them refused.
Daniel Davis wasn't particularly disappointed by this. After all, his actions seemed like madness to most people, and success seemed impossible. Under such circumstances, even if they were just looking for a temporary refuge, they wouldn't choose Daniel Davis.
For people like Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin, siding with the strongest was the only truth.
"Many from the Five Clans and Seven Surnames have arrived. The Cui Clan of Boling and the Wang Clan of Taiyuan have sent important figures. Fan Qinghui's mastery of the Guiguzi's art of vertical and horizontal alliances is truly remarkable."
While Daniel Davis was busy taking over her new responsibilities, Daniel Davis was monitoring the people who had infiltrated Luoyang through video surveillance. These individuals might have thought they were well-hidden, using various channels to enter Luoyang unnoticed.
Little did they know that the entire city of Luoyang was under Daniel Davis's surveillance, especially the temples and the aristocratic families that opposed him.
The so-called Five Clans and Seven Surnames were the top aristocratic families below the Four Great Clans. Among them, the Cui Clan of Boling was the foremost, strongly advocating the Nine-Rank System and believing that only the aristocracy should rule, while commoners and those of humble birth were fit only to be ruled. They were the most opposed to commoners and those of humble birth gaining knowledge.
Unfortunately, the tide of history couldn't be reversed by the Cui Clan of Boling alone. In fact, the Cui Clan of Boling not only looked down on commoners but also on the collateral branches of their own family. This led to a split, resulting in the formation of the Cui Clan of Qinghe, which infuriated the then-head of the Cui Clan of Boling to the point of death.
After that, no matter how much the Cui Clan of Boling disliked it, they had to acknowledge the status of the Cui Clan of Qinghe, as the latter had gained equal power.
Daniel Davis's actions in Luoyang didn't just provoke the Buddhist sects; they also deeply affected the aristocratic families, especially the widespread availability of cheap and well-made books, which made many aristocratic families extremely uneasy.
In Luoyang, Daniel Davis didn't just establish the Great Tang Daily; he also printed a large number of books, picture books, and comics, selling them at low prices. This directly challenged the aristocratic families' core interests.
Previously, books were expensive, and for ordinary people, even if they had free time, few would consider buying books, as it was a waste of money. But now, things were different, especially with the availability of simple picture books and comics for learning to read.
Even the "wordless books," which couldn't be openly circulated, were handled by Daniel Davis's people. What were wordless books? Without words, they were naturally pictures, but these pictures were different from ordinary ones. In modern terms, wordless books were photo albums.
Under normal circumstances, even if many aristocratic families were unhappy with Daniel Davis, they couldn't do much about it. After all, this wasn't a time of peace but of chaos. Moreover, Daniel Davis was one of the major warlords, and many aristocratic families had deep-seated grudges against each other, such as the Cui Clan of Boling and the Cui Clan of Qinghe. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't unite.
But under Fan Qinghui's coordination, these families temporarily set aside their differences and sent many experts. For these families, even if they failed, they would only lose a few experts. It had to be said that Fan Qinghui was truly a master of public relations.
"Brother Xu, what do you think of the current situation in the world?" On a boat heading to Luoyang on the Luo River, Xu Ziling, who had just returned from the secluded valley where Fu Junchuo was buried, was quietly admiring the scenery on both banks when a young man dressed in a light green robe, with an air of elegance and a ancient sword on his back, appeared beside him.
"Brother Qin, I see it with my own eyes," Xu Ziling replied softly, glancing at the young man.
"Uh." The young man was momentarily stunned by this answer, which he hadn't expected.
"I never thought Brother Xu's words would carry such Zen-like wisdom."
"I never thought a former street urchin like me would speak with such Zen-like wisdom. It's a pity no one told me this back when I was a street urchin in Yangzhou." Xu Ziling looked at the young man beside him and smiled meaningfully.
"Brother Xu, it seems you have some grievances against me," the young man said after a moment of silence.
"Not at all. The name 'Eight Hundred Li of Qinchuan' is so grand. A street urchin like me has no right to hold any grievances."
"It seems Brother Xu already knows my identity."
"The current representative of Ci Hang Jing Zhai, the executor of the Buddhist sect's plan to select the emperor on behalf of Heaven. Even a street urchin like me has heard of it." Xu Ziling then turned his gaze away from the young man, who was actually Shi Feixuan in male disguise.
Due to Daniel Davis's series of actions, Shi Feixuan, who should have entered the world much earlier, only now made her official appearance.
"Brother Xu seems to have many misunderstandings about the Buddhist sect," Shi Feixuan said, her expression unchanged, as if she had anticipated this.
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, you should know better than I do." Xu Ziling suddenly turned his gaze back to Shi Feixuan and said, "You've gone to great lengths to get close to me. Are you planning to use me against Brother Daniel?"
"It seems no matter what I say, Brother Xu won't believe me. But even so, I must clarify that meeting you this time was truly a coincidence."
"Coincidence or not, Brother Daniel once told me something: to truly understand a person, don't just listen to what they say or think, but look at what they actually do. Miss Shi, can you tell me what you've done?"
"The Buddhist sect often speaks of the 'Four Great Emptinesses.' Does this so-called emptiness mean forcing people into slavery, seizing their land, and amassing wealth?"
"These are just the actions of a few bad apples in the Buddhist sect."
Faced with Xu Ziling's relentless questioning, Shi Feixuan was struggling to keep up. Due to Daniel Davis's interference, Xu Ziling, who in the original story would have been completely captivated by Shi Feixuan, was now able to confront her directly.
"A few? Then let me ask you, Miss Shi, is the Pure Mind Monastery one of the few or one of the many?"
This question left Shi Feixuan speechless. If this were the original Shi Feixuan, she could have answered without hesitation. But now, she couldn't answer, nor could she lie.
For others, lies might come easily, but for someone who practiced the Ci Hang Sword Codex, this was impossible. If she dared to lie, Ning Daoqi's fate would be a cautionary tale. A flaw in her spirit would not only prevent her from advancing to the level of a grandmaster but might even cause her to lose her current strength.
The Ci Hang Sword Codex was a martial art that involved the spirit, and any flaw in the spirit would be disastrous.
"The Buddhist sect says that there is no one in the world who cannot be saved. But if everyone in the world were saved, who would farm and weave? What would the Buddhist sect eat and wear? Would the Buddhist sect start farming and weaving, or would they all starve to death naked?"
A series of questions left Shi Feixuan utterly speechless.
Xu Ziling was naturally intelligent and quick to learn. After interacting with Daniel Davis and Lu Miaozi, he had learned more than even Kou Zhong. Moreover, having grown up as a street urchin, even though the Everlasting Life Skill had changed his temperament, it couldn't change his essence.
Of course, this was only when his intelligence was fully online. If it wasn't, then that was another story.
Just like a certain dead-fish-eyed teacher, when he was in his reclusive phase, he could spin words effortlessly. But once he stopped being reclusive, all he could say was, "So cute, how can you be so cute, you're just too cute."
"By the way, did you come to see me because you wanted to use the 'sacrificing oneself to subdue the demon' tactic on Brother Daniel? The tradition of Ci Hang Jing Zhai is truly interesting."
Without waiting for Shi Feixuan to respond, Xu Ziling activated the Wind God's Leg Technique, leaped from the bow of the boat, and glided across the water's surface, quickly disappearing from Shi Feixuan's sight.
(End of Chapter)
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