I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 542 - 297: Capturing the King, A Strike Across the Sky

Chapter 542: Chapter 297: Capturing the King, A Strike Across the Sky

Long and Yan Countries had been at standoff for three days now.

Jiang Lu had personally led his troops to the front line as an absolute deterrent.

Zhou Ding had not shown up, but he had deployed a large number of forces and also brought with him a kind of powerful military equipment named after the sun to resist Jiang Lu’s multimillion Daoist Soldier army.

As for Gu Shanhai, he had already personally infiltrated Yan Country’s capital to carry out his mission.

No one knew of this action.

"Big trouble, does the other side have a backup plan?" Though Gu Shanhai was a bit alarmed in his heart, he also felt relieved.

He had been worried about getting a highly auspicious or an unremarkably common sign, which would have been undeniably problematic.

While a sign of great misfortune suggested nine in ten chances of death, it also indirectly proved the authenticity of the matter.

"Have to say, this development is almost catching up with modern times. But where did the surplus productivity go?" Gu Shanhai was now inside the capital of Yan Country, which was markedly different from the other three nations, with skyscrapers everywhere, and cars and trams already running in the streets.

If Gu Shanhai hadn’t seen it before, he would definitely have been startled.

He even suspected that the age of information was budding; the mere age of information meant nothing, but combined with the power of military tactics, it would certainly far surpass its original might.

"So, is it a transmigrator?" Gu Shanhai pondered the matter, and it must be a transmigrator with something like a ’Golden Finger,’ a system, perhaps.

However, well, Gu Shanhai wasn’t too worried about transmigrators with a system; if an opponent could develop Yan Country to this extent without a system, then they would undoubtedly be a formidable presence.

Facing such a type of transmigrator, Gu Shanhai dared not confront them head-on; their abilities were definitely not inferior to his own.

After wandering around for a while, he bought a newspaper to read. Have to say, in terms of public opinion, Zhou Ding completely controlled the narrative of the entire Yan Country, and through the newspaper’s inspiration of the populace, he could greatly enhance solidarity.

"Sir, please show me some identification," a man dressed as a patrolling officer came over with a hint of caution in his tone.

"Of course, here is my ID," Gu Shanhai took an identity certificate from his breast pocket and handed it to the man. After checking, the officer returned it to Gu Shanhai.

"Sorry, I thought you were a migrant from outside because although your clothes are expensive, only those old sticks in the mud and outsiders wear them in Yan Country," the officer pointed at Gu Shanhai’s robe, somewhat embarrassed.

Hearing this, Gu Shanhai replied with a touch of awkwardness: "A little issue at home... only had this to wear, so..."

"I understand, your wife must be quite lively," the officer winked at Gu Shanhai and then left.

Seeing this, Gu Shanhai couldn’t help but smile wryly but also understood the status of the nobility in Yan Country.

’Old stick in the mud’ was a nickname for the clans, originally a pejorative but over time it had become commonplace.

From this, one could see that there was no fertile ground for the clans here; only in Xi Country could they flourish.

In Long Country, the state merchants monopolized the industry, and most clansmen were reduced to working 996 in companies.

It was even worse in Zhou Country, where a group of mud-legged people rose to power, Xu Bu mainly trained in the "Dragon Tooth Military Technique," with a foundation among those poorest who couldn’t survive; the clansmen either died or fled.

After all, they truly didn’t want to be forced to become Dragon Tooth Daoist Soldiers. Not to mention the loss of personal freedom, the greater issue was the risk of death, which these privileged sons of noble families were hardly willing to accept.

So, most of the noble clans actually turned to Xi Country, and then together they perfected the Nine-Grades Law.

If everyone didn’t cheat the system, Xi Country’s approach could truly bring about the rise in national power. Who could have expected that all three opposing forces were not playing by the rules?

The strongest, however, was Yan Country, where the entire clan structure was dissolving, eventually turning into scholarly families and ordinary households. As long as the nobility could not monopolize power, there would be no threat; at most, they would just be wealthier.

The national merchants of Long Country were so wealthy, yet Jiang Lu and people like Gu Shanhai had never worried about them, precisely because both money and authority within the national merchants were controlled and monopolized by Jiang Lu, with no military force to back them.

"Progressing fast..." Gu Shanhai thought that if he didn’t understand Zhou Ding, he should have invested in him from the beginning. But truly investing in Zhou Ding, he felt he might become the next Lv Buwei. Whether successful or not, he was likely to die once the matter succeeded.

After all, what Gu Shanhai wanted was indeed too much. He didn’t desire the world, but he did want all kinds of resources produced by the world.

"That palace, it’s built with quite some creativity," Gu Shanhai looked at the Imperial Palace not far away. Its design and construction far surpassed Jiang Lu’s traveling palace, giving an immediate impression of brightness.

Jiang Lu had not built an official Imperial Palace, preferring to return to the old capital, Si Li Province, Yong’an City; after all, that was the nation’s true capital and could demonstrate his legitimacy.

However, clearly Zhou Ding didn’t think this way, preferring Yan State.

In an instant, the Five Elements Great Escape was activated, and he simply vanished into an unseen corner, then in the very next moment, appeared inside the Imperial Palace.

He saw a middle-aged man sprawled out in a casual pose. The man’s unkempt appearance made Gu Shanhai think he had come to the wrong place.

"So, uh... who might you be?" Zhou Ding swallowed a gulp of his drink and asked somewhat bewilderly.