Keyboard Immortal - Chapter 2835

Immortal Chapter 1348 The Envoy of Annihilation

“Brother Zu…” Isabella’s eyes were filled with both worry and gratitude, because she knew that he was doing this mostly for her sake.

The Grand Elder nodded with satisfaction: “Very good. Then the barbarians beyond the pass will be left to Zu’an. Also, Mostima, you will go to the Northwest to take over his work, lest those rebels rise again.”

Mostima’s face showed a hint of difficulty, clearly unwilling to leave the bustling capital for the harsh northwest, but he also knew that this matter was of great importance, and reluctantly agreed.

“Lilith, you don’t need to play around anymore. From now on, you will take over Mostima’s work, be in charge of the logistics in the Northeast, and at the same time sort out the court’s finances.” The Grand Elder glared at Lilith.

Lilith giggled: “Don’t worry, brother. This is a matter of life and death for the merchant guild, how could I not know?”

Augustus is dead, one of the two major factions under Order has been destroyed, and there might be a major change in Order itself.

Just thinking about it sends chills down her spine.

The Grand Elder felt a warmth in his heart, and his initial panic subsided. With the help of his brothers and sisters, what couldn’t they accomplish?

His mind became even more active: “Bella, go and make contact with the Zheng family. Ideally, you should recruit and unite them, letting their navy attack the Manchu’s rear stronghold. This will make it easier to quell those foreign tribes.”

“Yes!” Isabella’s eyes gleamed with excitement. With this appointment, she would have a better chance to help her elder brother investigate Sister Chu’s whereabouts.

Next, the Grand Elder began discussing their respective tasks with everyone. When Zu An left the Imperial Study, he took the opportunity to meet with Zheng Dan.

The two no longer shared the ease they had felt during their first reunion. Zheng Dan’s face was filled with worry: “Azu, I’ve heard that countless imperial soldiers have been buried there beyond the Great Wall. You must be careful.”

Zu An comforted her, saying, “I certainly won’t be careless, but I’ll have to go and see for myself what the situation is over there.”

He then reminded her, “You should also be prepared for both possibilities. Historically, the Ming Empire was ultimately defeated by the rebel Li Zicheng, and Empress Yi’an hanged herself for her country. Although the events of this world may not unfold as they did in history, you should still prepare a way to escape.”

Zheng Dan knew that he was always aware of strange things, so she had no doubt about his accuracy.

“Don’t worry, I’ve thoroughly familiarized myself with the entire palace during this time,” Zheng Dan’s expression suddenly darkened. “However, if it really comes to that, there’s no point in me leaving. I’m undergoing a trial of order. If even the palace is destroyed, it means the entire order of the Ming Dynasty has completely collapsed, and my trial mission has also failed completely. In that case, I still can’t escape death.”

Zu An held her hand: “Don’t give up until the very last step. I will definitely find a way to achieve both.”

He thought that this time the difficulty shouldn’t be as great as the last trial of the God of Death. That time, several people were on different sides, and someone was destined to die.

This time, with the help of the Universal Chamber of Commerce, the situation in the Ming Empire is much better than in history.

Moreover, whether it’s Tang Tian’er, Zheng Dan, or Isabella, they can all be considered to be on the same side.

He suddenly felt uneasy. He hadn’t seen Chu Yan yet. Could she be with the Manchus?

But he immediately shook his head to dispel the thought. Isabella had found out that she was likely with the Zheng family in Taiwan, so it was unlikely that she had gone to the Manchus.

“Yes, I will do my best. I will inform you immediately of any news from the palace.” Hearing her lover’s calm tone, Zheng Dan gradually calmed down.

Since it was inconvenient for them to stay long in the palace, they soon bid each other a reluctant farewell.

Zu An, carrying the imperial edict, quickly delivered it to the residence of the Jiliao Supervisor in Ningyuan City. He then summoned his men to learn what had happened.

It turned out that Augustus’s Knights Templar had severely damaged the Manchus (actually still called the Later Jin at this time, but for ease of understanding, we will uniformly call them the Manchus) in the Battle of Ningyuan, even killing their leader. The morale of the Ming army had soared to its peak.

Augustus was not satisfied with that victory; he wanted to reclaim the lost territories of the Ming Empire, completely annihilate the Manchus, and rebuild the Ming order as an offering to the great god of order.

Therefore, he abandoned the Ming army’s previous strategy of holding the line and instead adopted a strategy of “reclaiming territory,” pushing the front line outside the Guan-Ning defense line.

He led his men to rebuild Daling City, dozens of miles northeast of Jinzhou, intending to use it as a base and springboard for his attack.

Everything was proceeding smoothly. Large quantities of military supplies had been stored in Daling City, and no Manchu soldiers had appeared throughout. The Knights Templar assumed the Manchus were terrified, and their resolve to reclaim Northeast China only strengthened.

However, one dark night, the long-absent Manchu army suddenly appeared, completely surrounding Daling City. Their forces were even stronger than in the Battle of Ningyuan, and they possessed many magical cannons that hadn’t been used before.

Augustus, as expected of the Knights Templar, remained calm and organized his men to defend the city, preventing the Manchu soldiers from taking it.

However, this time the Manchus didn’t seem to intend to conquer Daling City in one fell swoop. Instead, they adopted a long-term siege tactic of “digging trenches and building walls,” heavily surrounding Daling City and cutting off its communication with the outside world.

Sure enough, the Sixth Elder and the Second Elder, stationed in the rear, learned that Augustus was also besieged and dispatched troops to his rescue.

However, they were ambushed by the Qing army. This time, the Qing soldiers were vastly different in strength, their annihilation power far surpassing that of the Battle of Ningyuan.

The two elders’ reinforcements were repeatedly defeated, and only then did everyone realize that the Qing army was employing a strategy of besieging a point and attacking reinforcements, aiming to deplete the Ming Empire’s manpower.

Unfortunately, this realization came too late. Although Daling City had abundant military supplies, it hadn’t had time to prepare sufficient provisions.

After months of siege, the city even witnessed the tragedy of cannibalism. The annihilation power began to spread, and Augustus knew that Daling City could not be held. He led the Knights Templar in a breakout attempt, confident that if they could return to Jinzhou to recuperate, he could launch a counterattack.

Unfortunately, the Qing were prepared. The Knights Templar were surrounded by a large force, and after a fierce battle, the entire army was wiped out, including the renowned Augustus himself.

This battle truly shook the hearts of the people outside the Great Wall. If it weren’t for the two elders remaining, the Guan-Ning defense line would likely have completely fallen.

However, the situation remains dire. The Sixth Elder is overseeing the overall situation at the Jinzhou front, and the Manchu army is already at the city gates.

At this moment, the handsome Second Elder, Hermes, arrived. Upon seeing Zu’an, he frowned, “Why are you here?”

“The First Elder and the others felt I was the most suitable, so they sent me,” Zu’an said solemnly. “The situation is dire now, and I hope the Second Elder will set aside past grievances and work with me to complete the mission.”

Hermes snorted, “How could I be the kind of person who can’t distinguish between what’s important and what’s not!”

Zu’an then inquired about the details of the previous battles. Hermes looked worried, “Those Manchu soldiers are extremely powerful. Judging from the pure annihilation power they possess, the Manchus likely have individuals at the level of annihilation gods, and perhaps more than one!”