Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 733 - 733 0462 Salary Dispute_2

Chapter 733: Chapter 0462: Salary Dispute_2 Chapter 733: Chapter 0462: Salary Dispute_2 Qi Tian, without exposing Wan Xiaolan’s little scheme, simply, quietly drove the flying ship back.

The journey was unusually peaceful; there were no flying ships tailing them, nor did any Gold Core Realm powerhouse suddenly board the ship, trying to forcefully buy or sell. As the flying ship was about to fly back to Wanjie City, after consuming the pills, Wan Xiaolan’s injuries had mostly healed, he regained his Gold Core Realm strength, and was no longer worried about someone harming him, he took over the task of piloting the flying ship from Qi Tian.

Under Wan Xiaolan’s control, the flying ship landed on a street belonging to the Wanjie Commerce, he made the flying ship descend to the ground, and then told them all to go home. Wan Xiaolan wasn’t suspicious of Qi Tian, nor did he care to explain the situation to the killed Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, he needed to make the most of his time to recover from his injuries.

After Qi Tian got off the flying ship, he left on his own. The Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, who once sailed with him also left one after another, amongst them there were those who thought about following Qi Tian to find out his secret, but thinking of Qi Tian’s terrifying combat power, they finally gave up on such thoughts. Offending Qi Tian rashly without being prepared, was certainly not an easy task.

Qi Tian didn’t return to his residence in Wanjie City, instead, he rushed to the Teleportation Plaza in Wanjie City, and with a flash of light, he returned to the County Master Mansion in Baoding Prefecture.

Qi Tian looked at the situation of the County Master Mansion, just as empty as when he first arrived. In the current tumultuous state of the Great Zhao Nation, it might be a long time before the court will send people over here.

Qi Tian gathered his things, then left the County Master Mansion, he took out a bronze figurine of a crane, embedded a top-grade spirit stone in it, then controlled the bronze figurine of crane to fly toward Wangdu County.

The bronze crane figurine moved fast, in just a few hours, Qi Tian covered a distance of thousands of miles and returned to Wangdu County.

Qi Tian had initially planned to return directly to his residence in Wangdu County, but as he controlled his crane figurine to fly back, he was shocked to discover two armies facing each other on the ground. Both sides have their swords drawn and bows bent, the tension was extreme. If a single archer carelessly released an arrow, it could trigger a major battle.

Qi Tian concentrated his gaze and found that the two armies on the ground were facing each other from the North and South. The Southern army had the greater numbers, densely packed, and at a glance there seemed to be no end to them. Qi Tian estimated the number of the Southern army to be at least three hundred thousand. In contrast, the Northern army was much smaller with only twenty to thirty thousand men. The disparity in forces was exceptionally huge.

This was not the most shocking thing to Qi Tian. What he did not expect is that in the Northern army, standing at the very front line were the Ninth Prince, Marquis Ma and others.

The Ninth Prince was stationed at the front of the line, shouting hoarsely about something. Gao Jinmei, Jin Jin and others were guarding by his side, while Marquis Ma was bound in ropes, kneeling on the ground, his face ashen.

What on earth was happening?

Qi Tian’s mind was stirred. As he guided the bronze crane figurine to descend just above the open ground between the two opposing armies, and as he lowered his altitude, he finally heard the cause of the standoff between the two armies clearly.

To put it simply, it was about soldiers’ pay. Specifically, this army, led by the Ninth Prince, from top to bottom, hadn’t been paid in a while. As a result, majority of the army started protesting, hoping this would force their due payments to be made.

Qi Tian couldn’t help but furrow his brow. He had expended significant effort to gather five million silver coins for Marquis Ma, which were meant to be forwarded to Prince Zhao as military pay. It hadn’t been long since then, and the soldiers were demanding their pay again?

“Prince Zhao, you don’t have to say any more. Even if you try to explain the situation to us, you still owe us our pay. If you refuse to give it, we’ll leave. I’ll lead everyone to the court; the court doesn’t withhold pay in this way. You’ve withheld months’ worth of pay. Even the money for risking our lives has been pocketed. How can we trust you to be a good Crown Prince or a competent Emperor in the future? Step aside, don’t hold us back from seeking a new life. If you don’t move, don’t blame us for being impolite.” A voice rang out.

The source of this voice was elusive. It would veer to the East at one moment, and then it would dart to the West the next, making it difficult to pin down its origin.

“Give us our pay. Give us our pay,” someone from the Southern Army initiated, and soon, a deafening chant echoed from the ranks.

Prince Zhao was losing control. Despite Qi Tian’s unwavering support, Prince Zhao was relatively unknown among the common populace and the low ranking soldiers, not to mention lacking prestige. The Northern Expedition Army’s tolerance of withholding their pay for two to three months had reached its limit, and this patience was not due to Prince Zhao, but rather Marquis Ma and the other princes and high-ranking officials. However, even Marquis Ma’s influence had waned, otherwise he wouldn’t have been tied up and made to kneel before the army.

Qi Tian frowned. The situation was escalating to a point where it had to be quickly quelled. Otherwise, once the protest about the pay erupts, the Northern Expedition Army would disperse, reconvening them wouldn’t be a simple task.

“You all listen to me, return to the barracks immediately. The pay you’re owed will be given soon. If anyone dares to make trouble again, don’t blame me for being ruthless,” Qi Tian, standing atop a bronze replica of a crane, hovered above the Northern Expedition Army, his voice cold and ruthless. He was prepared to kill those who stirred up trouble. He wouldn’t allow these ruffians to ruin his great Northern expedition plan.

The appearance of Qi Tian revitalized the Northern Army, and Prince Zhao initially slumped, but then quickly perked up. In his view, Qi Tian would help him solve any difficult situation.

Seeing Qi Tian, Marquis Ma’s eyes gleamed. However, his enthusiasm quickly faded. He had no idea how Qi Tian would deal with him after learning the truth.

At first, Gao Jinmei and the rest were indifferent about the Northern Expedition Army’s complaint about their pay, seeing it as a petty squabble among ants fighting over food. It seemed amusing to them, and if the situation didn’t involve Prince Zhao, they wouldn’t have cared at all. However, seeing Qi Tian suddenly appear, Gao Jinmei and the rest instinctively backed off, rising above the Southern Army. They radiated their imposing presence, stifling everyone’s emotions to prevent any action that might displease Qi Tian. If Qi Tian became unhappy, who knew if they would become the target of his anger?

Everyone in the Northern Expedition Army knew Qi Tian. The deeds of Qi Tian were well known among the soldiers. Moreover, the existence of the Northern Expedition Army was entirely due to Qi Tian’s personal will. Until now, it was because of Qi Tian that the Northern Expedition Army hadn’t disbanded. Even if there were many dissatisfactions, they would put up with it for now, waiting to see how Qi Tian would explain the situation.

Qi Tian waved his hand, and piles of golden, silver, and bronze coins fell from the sky onto the disputed battleground. In no time, mountains of riches accumulated, reflecting a dazzling glow under the sun’s rays, whether it was gold or silver.

“This is the military pay I’ve prepared for you. Now, return to your respective barracks, and the pay will be distributed to you soon,” Qi Tian’s voice instantly resonated in every soldier’s ear.

“Long live our Master! Long live Master Qi!” A chorus of cheers immediately drowned out all else in the Northern Expedition Army.