Protect Our Clan Leader

Chapter 905: Chapter 34 Shocking! Long Wuji Falls, Great Emperor Furious (Vote for Monthly Pass)_4 Chapter 905: Chapter 34 Shocking! Long Wuji Falls, Great Emperor Furious (Vote for Monthly Pass)_4 “Very well, I’ll give Long Big Brother some face.” Wang Shouzhe eased off, then turned back to question Long Wuji, “Ask yourself, by forcing me, Wang Shouzhe, to pledge allegiance to such a lord, don’t you feel like you’re pushing me into a pit of fire?”

“Uh… I didn’t think so before, but now that you’ve put it like that, it does seem a bit like that.” Long Wuji also felt somewhat embarrassed, “Never mind, since the matter has failed anyway, do whatever you please, Shouzhe. It’s just that thinking about being on opposing sides in the future makes me quite depressed.”

“Long Big Brother, are you still poised to strongly support the Kang Commandery Prince? What are you after?” Wang Shouzhe looked at him with curious eyes.

“What can I be after? That’s my nephew after all…” Long Wuji said with some discomfort, “Given our relationship, I can’t just go and support Wu Mingyuan, can I?”

If he dared do such a thing, let alone his father, the old Ancestor De Xin would beat him to death.

“Does Long Big Brother have any dreams of his own?” Seeing that Long Wuji was obviously wavering, Wang Shouzhe delivered a key strike.

“Dreams?”

Long Wuji was stunned and then fell into deep thought.

After a while, he drank several sips of his drink in silence and then spoke slowly, “Probably, to make some achievements to prove myself~ I’d also like to hide far away, not wanting to see that old…”

“In that case, I do have an immature idea.” Wang Shouzhe advised, “Actually, Long Big Brother, you also know that the world is vast, with a broad expanse of lands abroad. Why not join forces with me to explore overseas?”

“Explore overseas?” Long Wuji’s eyes lit up, “That point you made, Shouzhe, coincides with my own thoughts. It’s just that the seas are treacherous with big risks.”

“Exploring the overseas continents, whether it be for trade or pioneering, contributes to our Great Qian Land, better than always engaging in petty internal strife.” Wang Shouzhe gently persuaded, “Long Big Brother, you changed your surname to ‘Long’ (dragon), but you and the Jiaolong Gang stay trapped inland by the Peace River. Continuing like this, at best you would remain a river-crossing Jiaolong. Only by reaching the sea can you transform into a true dragon and truly show your brilliance.”

“Well said.” Long Wuji was slightly excited, “I’ve long been fed up with this little Peace River~ Dragons belong in the vast sea, that’s where my true stage and destiny lie. Younger brother Shouzhe, what you say truly speaks to my heart.”

“As I expected from my big brother, truly harboring grand aspirations. Come on, let’s drink to that. I’ll take you to see the ironclad ship I spent decades researching and building in a short while.”

“Cheers!… Wait, ironclad ship? Sails probably won’t be enough to move it, right? Could it be driven by a Formation? But that would consume spirit stones outrageously.”

“Of course, it’s not purely driven by Talisman Arrays. Allow Shouzhe to keep you in suspense for just a bit longer… after we finish this drink…”

“What drink? Come on, take me to see it. If it’s really possible, I’ll call you big brother.”

“But Long Big Brother, we’re still on opposing sides…”

“Opposing what? Formation what? That youngster Wu Chengsi won’t miss one less supporter, nor will he notice one more. Shouzhe, let’s collaborate as brothers to explore the great overseas world, it has nothing to do with picking sides.”

“Indeed, it has nothing to do with taking sides, our collaboration is for the rise of the Great Qian Land. Cheers to that.”

“Cheers!”

The affection and romance that men have for metal ships seem to be ingrained in their very bones. From the moment he heard the term “ironclad ship,” Long Wuji was excited.

They drank until halfway, and with high spirits, he urged Wang Shouzhe to take him to see the ironclad ship.

Then, an even more excited Long Wuji continued to drink with Wang Shouzhe.

This drinking session lasted for days.

Even though Long Wuji was an elder of Purple Abode with strong vitality, after several days without using Mysterious Energy to expel the alcohol from his system, he became quite drunk, and in his tipsiness, he even pledged brotherhood with Wang Shouzhe.

From that point on, the terms “Long Big Brother” and “Virtuous Younger Brother Shouzhe” were officially established.

After this feast, Long Wuji truly boarded Wang Shouzhe’s “thief ship” and began flexing his muscles, ready to conquer the boundless ocean and claim kingship over the seas.

However.

The news of Long Wuji and Wang Shouzhe becoming sworn brothers, ready to fully engage in commercial cooperation, and the exploration of overseas, spread like wildfire.

Soon, even within Return to Dragon City, this news started to circulate.

The “fifty-year promise” between Long Wuji and Wang Shouzhe, as well as their brotherly affinity for each other, also became a topic of much enjoyment to some.

To the lower-ranked Prominent Families, this was merely a topic of idle chatter, but for the upper echelons, it unquestionably stirred up a thousand waves with a single stone.

Head of the Jiaolong Gang, Long Wuji, was the son of Prince Yong’an, a significant figure of the legitimate Prince De Xin lineage. This matter was a semi-public secret among the upper echelons, and everyone tacitly understood it.

And such a person ended up mingling with the “hostile camp” of the Changning Wang Clan, wouldn’t that signify internal strife within Prince De Xin’s lineage?

Let’s not dwell on the series of disturbances this caused among the upper echelons of the Prominent Families.

In the Imperial Palace, within Zhuozheng Pavilion.

Emperor Longchang lounged in a wide, comfortable chair, eyes half-closed, seemingly quite content. Old Yao stood by his side, animatedly narrating backstory sentence by sentence.

If one were to listen carefully, it would be startling.

Each line he spoke was a replica of the conversation between Wang Shouzhe and Long Wuji at Broken Dragon Gorge, recounted through Old Yao’s mouth with emotional and tonal precision.

It was unknown who leaked that meeting’s discussion to His Majesty.

“Should one scrutinize the annals of history, they would understand that our Emperor Longchang…” When Old Yao reached this part, his smile was particularly obsequious. After finishing, he added, “Your Majesty, though Master Shouzhe may be the head of a minor Prominent Family from the countryside, he does possess some exceptional insights. He acknowledges the difficulties You face as the Great Emperor and Your remarkable achievements.”

That old face of Emperor Longchang’s also wore a smile of satisfaction, “Old Yao, could it be that Wang Shouzhe knows of the man by Wuji’s side working for Us and deliberately spoke for Us to hear?”

“Your Majesty is overthinking it. Wang Shouzhe even belittled Your shrewd tactics in Your Youth~” Old Yao said with a smile, “Jiang Yusong is an elite nurtured personally by this servant, gentle and reserved, very capable of keeping secrets, with a perfectly crafted cover identity. Even after years by Prince Yingji’s side, he never revealed any flaws. Even if Wang Shouzhe were extremely astute, he couldn’t have guessed he was Your Majesty’s man.”

“Shrewd tactics.” Emperor Longchang’s smile faded somewhat and he said indignantly, “What I have is called resourcefulness! Humph~ To say that I made empty boasts in my youth. If he had said that to My face, I’d make sure he knew what ‘Imperial Might’ feels like.”

“Let it be, considering his other comments were somewhat ‘reasonable,’ I shall begrudgingly forgive him this once. Old Yao, continue~” “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Old Yao, well aware of Emperor Longchang’s temperament, kept his face unchanged and continued with a smile.

“Was our Great Qian ever shrouded in darkness under Emperor Longchang’s rule?”

“Dawn, Dawn, whose dawn are we breaking? Who are we cursing?”

“The Emperor’s power, the desire to control everything, that is what they care most about.”

“Never once did he glance at the droughts, the floods, the earthquakes, the plagues… ” “How can such a hollow Quasi Emperor’s Son make for a good Great Emperor?”

By the end of it, Old Yao’s forehead was beaded with sweat, yet he didn’t dare fabricate anything and had no choice but to continue verbatim.

The face of Emperor Longchang grew darker and more ominous by the moment.

“Bang!”

The desk made of millennium Spirit Wood shattered into dust.

Old Yao, scared witless, immediately shut his mouth.

“In the eyes of De Xin’s lineage, I, Longchang, am but darkness looming over their heads?”

“Prince De Xin, are you so unscrupulous in cultivating the Kang Commandery Prince because you resent that I age too slowly, causing you to miss your chance?”

A series of low, thunderous shouts emanated from Emperor Longchang.

His face had turned extremely unsightly: “Summon that scourge Wu Chengsi to see Me!”

“Your Majesty, Kang Commandery Prince went to the foreign battlefields to slay enemies along with Great Heavenly Proud Ce,” Old Yao said, sweating profusely.

“Slaying enemies? Haha~ Shouzhe is right; it’s all for self-promotion, to embellish one’s own image. He’s managed the court officials, the top families of many provinces, the Zhao Clan, and even the Princes. Now, he’s preparing to win over the Military System. Tsk tsk, such ambition and talent, Kang Commandery Prince.”

“If I don’t abdicate, who knows, he might even raise an army in rebellion one day.”

“Dawn, break his damn dawn!”

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com