The five thousand Ming soldiers exuded an aura of power and prestige beyond imagination. Zhuge Liang, Guo Jia, and Zhou Yu, all wore solemn expressions.
Zhuge Liang spoke slowly, "Five thousand at the late Golden Core stage? The Great Ming truly lives up to its reputation as the most powerful nation in the world."
Fan Li was also deeply moved. The five thousand Ming soldiers before him might not represent the entirety of the Ming's military strength; perhaps they were merely Wanli's personal guard.
Even so, five thousand late Golden Core cultivators, in terms of both quality and quantity, far surpassed the level of the Chu Imperial Guards. How many more of such formidable armies did the Ming possess?
"Ministers of Chu, Han, Wei, and Wu, kneel immediately!" the five thousand Ming soldiers roared again.
Fan Li, of course, wouldn't kneel. However, he suddenly realized that Wanli, who had yet to show himself, was a clever individual with a keen eye for detail. He had only demanded the ministers of the four kingdoms to kneel, intentionally or unintentionally omitting Sage Ruler Jin De. Why?
Was he giving face to Jin De? Was he even trying to demonstrate his own gentlemanly demeanor? No, Fan Li refused to believe it.
He had witnessed the domineering nature of the Jiajing Emperor and understood the pride of Zhang Juzheng. The arrogant and haughty rulers and officials of the Great Ming would never cultivate a humble and courteous heir.
Therefore, Fan Li came to a conclusion: Wanli feared Sage Ruler Jin De's Great Vehicle Realm cultivation and dared not offend her. That was all.
In other words, despite the impressive display of the Ming army, it was unlikely that they had a Great Vehicle Realm expert present.
Seeing through the opponent's true strength, Fan Li smiled. A brilliant idea suddenly struck him!
Since Sage Ruler Jin De could instill fear in the enemy, why not take advantage of the situation and borrow her authority?
"Listen well, Ming soldiers!" Fan Li suddenly shouted towards the opposing side. "We are enemies, not friends! The Great Chu, the Great Han, the Great Wei, the Great Wu, and the Brahma Sound Pure Land are closely united as steadfast allies. If you have the guts, charge at us! We would rather fight and die alongside Sage Ruler Jin De than kneel in submission!"
Sage Ruler Jin De was taken aback. "???"
Strange? What Fan Li said seemed reasonable, but why did she feel so uneasy?
She felt... like she had been tricked?
Jin De wanted to point out that the Ming only demanded the ministers of the four kingdoms to kneel, not her. However, before she could speak, Zhuge Liang interjected.
"Duke Jin speaks the truth! The four kingdoms and the Pure Land share a common destiny. We will live and die together with Sage Ruler Jin De!"
Zhou Yu added, "The soldiers of Eastern Wu are willing to defend against powerful enemies alongside the Sage Ruler. Even if we shed our last drop of blood, we will never retreat!"
"Soldiers of the Great Wei, listen to my command!" Guo Jia also ordered the small number of Wei soldiers present.
"Sage Ruler Jin De, despite being a woman, has personally ventured into the dangerous Mount Yunmeng. Having received the great kindness of His Majesty, the Wei Emperor, how can we not repay his kindness with our lives?"
The guards and soldiers of Chu, Wei, Han, and Wu, though numbering only a little over a hundred, were filled with fervent passion.
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They shouted in unison:
"We would rather die fighting!"
"We would rather die fighting!"
"We would rather die fighting!"
These hundred-plus individuals were all powerful cultivators at the Nascent Soul Realm. Although they couldn't stand alone against an army, the combined might of a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators was no less impressive than that of the five thousand Golden Core soldiers.
Especially with Lu Bu present! His voice boomed like thunder! The aura emanating from his Ninth Realm Unity Realm cultivation surged towards the Ming army like a massive wave.
Fan Li smiled. Today, everyone was a god-like teammate! Zhuge Liang, Guo Jia, and Zhou Yu were practically in perfect sync with him. The five forces that had just gathered were instantly united against a common enemy!
"You... I..." Sage Ruler Jin De hesitated for a long time before finally choosing to remain silent.
She suspected that Fan Li had used her! However, at this moment, the alliance and cooperation between the four kingdoms and the Pure Land were the most important matters, and she dared not dampen everyone's spirits.
"Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
Suddenly! The Ming army parted to create a path, and a dragon carriage emerged from the ranks.
Fan Li's eyelids twitched! A dragon carriage? The Jiajing Emperor was a powerful monarch rarely seen in a millennium. With him around, how could Wanli dare to use the Emperor's carriage?
He was clearly not a tyrant like Dong Zhuo. The only explanation was that Wanli was deeply favored by the Jiajing Emperor and had been bestowed with the Emperor's carriage and insignia.
"Wanli of the Great Ming? Truly extraordinary."
"The Azure Dragon gathers at his crown, a natural-born Emperor with the aura of a scholar!"
"Generation after generation of powerful rulers in the Great Ming. How unfair the heavens are!"
Guo Jia, Zhou Yu, and Zhuge Liang spoke one after another with complexity and admiration.
Fan Li also noticed a visible azure dragon circling above the carriage, formed by condensed Righteous Qi. The dragon symbolized the Emperor, while Righteous Qi represented Confucianism. The two combined into one – a born Emperor with the aura of a scholar?
A figure stepped out of the carriage. Dressed in bright yellow robes and a golden crown, with a handsome appearance and a noble air, he was instantly recognizable as a man destined for greatness.
Fan Li's lips twitched. He thought to himself, "This kid practically radiates imperial aura. Compared to him, what kind of Emperor's destiny do I have?"
"I am Wanli of the Great Ming." The newcomer was indeed Crown Prince Wanli.
His gaze swept over Fan Li and the others. Even when facing the Great Vehicle Realm Sage Ruler Jin De, the smile on his face did not diminish in the slightest.
"Are you willing to do me a favor?" Crown Prince Wanli asked with a smile.
Fan Li narrowed his eyes, not rushing to answer. Responding immediately would put him at a disadvantage.
Zhuge Liang and the others also remained silent, calmly observing Wanli.
Sage Ruler Jin De, however, lacked such tact. She immediately asked, "What kind of favor?"
Crown Prince Wanli laughed heartily. "Hahaha, that's easy to say. Please retreat immediately and make it convenient for me to recruit Guiguzi. In the future, if you wish to switch allegiances, my door will always be open to you."
Jin De was enraged. "You!?"
"Are you trying to humiliate us?"
Only now did she understand that she had been purely asking for trouble, inadvertently giving Crown Prince Wanli a chance to establish his authority.
Everyone's reactions were observed by Wanli. He suddenly turned to Lu Bu and called out, "General, you must be Marquis Wen, Lu Bu? Are you willing to join my Great Ming? With your talent, why stay in the remote land of Chu?"
"I... cough, Duke Jin treats me with great kindness. Your Highness need not waste your breath." In front of Fan Li, Lu Bu refused as expected. However, his tone was not as resolute.
Fan Li frowned. What a skillful tactic! He had long heard of the prowess of the Ming's Embroidered Uniform Guard, but only today did he truly understand their pervasive reach.
They not only knew that Lu Bu had pledged allegiance to him, but they had also thoroughly understood his character and morals.
Lu Bu was a man who sought only profit.
Thinking of this, Fan Li sneered, "The Great Ming has enemies on all sides, its situation as precarious as a pile of eggs. What qualifications do you have to mock the Great Chu as a remote land? Does Your Highness not know that the wealth of the world lies within the Great Chu, and the treasures of the four seas gather in Peng City?"
Claiming that the Great Ming was in a precarious situation was, of course, an exaggeration. However, boasting about the prosperity of the Great Chu was a fact.
Under the management of generations of the Fan family, the Great Chu was the richest nation in the world, and Peng City was the most flourishing metropolis on earth. Even with the might of the Great Ming, its wealth paled in comparison to the Great Chu's.
Lu Bu listened, pondering in his heart. "My goal in joining the imperial court was to seek wealth and status. The Great Chu is already a land of wealth and status, and Duke Jin is of the highest nobility. What is there to hesitate about in following him?"