I started as an exile, and I relied on space to support my family of loyal heroes.

Xiao Yunhao closed the brocade box and looked towards Cong Chongqiu.

"Notify them to set out at 5:00 tomorrow morning to attack Huanlian City."

He wanted to capture Lingxiao City when the envoy arrived at the imperial city.

We cannot give the Empress time to mobilize troops.

Fortunately, it is winter now, and it is not easy for the empress to mobilize troops. It will take a month or two for those border soldiers to reach the imperial city.

By the time the reinforcements arrived at the imperial city, Xiliang Kingdom had already been conquered by him.

Cong Chongqiu stood up and responded loudly, "Yes, I will obey your command!"

When the Heavenly God Army was marching towards Huanlian City, Shi Jian and Wang Dadao sneaked into the imperial palace.

Shi Jian and Wang Dadao followed the female official into the majestic Xiliang Imperial Palace, passed through several vermilion palace gates, and headed straight for the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The female official entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony first, "Your Majesty, General Shi Jian has arrived outside the hall!"

"Xuan!"

A cold and noble voice sounded.

The dumbfounded Wang Dadao was pulled into the Hall of Supreme Harmony by Shi Jian.

At this moment, the empress was sitting at the desk in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, reading memorials. When Shi Jian stepped into the palace, she frowned and looked over.

Wang Dadao looked at the magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony and was so excited that he couldn't help shaking all over.

After Shi Jian pulled Wang Dadao to salute, Wang Dadao finally looked forward.

Beside the desk, the empress was wearing a golden dragon robe and had a beautiful complexion. She didn't look at all like she was in her thirties, her beautiful face was so tender that you could pinch water out of it.

Facing the empress's majestic phoenix eyes, Wang Dadao drooped his eyelids in fear.

The empress exuded a noble aura that made him dare not look directly at her.

In this life, he can meet His Majesty, which makes his life worth living.

The empress's eyes fell on Shi Jian.

The enemy was right in front of him, but Shi Jian actually sent 200,000 troops to the imperial city. It was simply ridiculous.

Since when did a general dare to enter the imperial city without permission?

The empress looked at the frostbite on Shi Jian and Wang Dadao's faces and was silent.

Even though he was so cold, he still came to see her. I guess he had something important to report.

I hope Shi Jian really has something important to report, otherwise...

The empress suppressed her anger and spoke calmly,

"My dear minister, you have come to the Imperial City suddenly, but what happened in Huanlian City?"

"Why didn't you accompany the envoy to Chiyan City for the negotiations?"

The envoy should have arrived in Chiyan City by now. Didn’t Shi Jian meet the envoy?

If only one envoy went to Chiyan City for negotiations, the momentum would definitely be insufficient.

So she gave a secret decree to the envoy, asking him to go to negotiate with Shi Jian.

As a result, Shi Jian, who was supposed to be in Chiyan City, actually came to the Imperial City.

Could it be that something happened to the envoy in Huanlian City?

"Emissary!?" Shi Jian was stunned, rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I did not meet the envoy."

"But if the envoy went to Chiyan City, he would probably be in danger now."

"What do you mean?" The empress looked at Shi Jian in shock.

No matter how rampant the King of Zhenbei is, there is no reason for him to kill the envoy.

It is an unwritten rule that when two countries are at war, envoys will not be killed.

Shi Jian took a deep breath, his eyes fell on the two female officials beside the empress, and hesitated for a moment.

The empress noticed Shi Jian's hesitation and waved her hand gently, "All of you get out."

After the female official left, the empress looked at Shi Jian and said, "Go ahead."

Shi Jian pondered for three breaths, then looked at the empress and said,

"Your Majesty, have you always been curious about where Yongchang came from?"

"There are only a few countries neighboring Xiliang, but I've never heard of Yongchang."

The empress nodded, "Yes, do you know where Yongchang Kingdom came from?"

"Yes." Shi Jian's eyes flashed with anger, "Then the Yongchang Kingdom was caused by the Wu Ma family."

As soon as these words came out.

The empress looked disappointed and wanted to roll her eyes.

The Shi family and the Wu Ma family have always been at odds, so there is no need to slander the Wu Ma family at this time.

The Wu Ma family almost monopolized most of the industries in Xiliang Kingdom, and even she had to be polite to the Wu Ma family.

If the Wu Ma family really wanted to rebel, there would be no need to go through so much trouble. There would be plenty of opportunities to attack her.

Just as the empress was about to wave her hand, she heard Shi Jian's voice again.

"Your Majesty, please don't disbelieve me. Wang Dadao saw all of this with his own eyes."

"Cong Chongqiu and the Wu Ma family joined forces to rebel, and they moved into the Wu Ma family's house."

"The Wu Ma family wanted to rebel, but they had no legitimate reason to do so, so they played a big game..."

Shi Jian spoke out everything Wang Dadao had said to him without stopping, along with his own guesses.

"I went to the Wu Ma family to ask for food for half a month, but the Wu Ma family has always refused to see me. It is clear that they have been plotting rebellion for a long time."

"Otherwise, how can we explain the Wu Ma family's refusal to provide food and fodder to the army in the face of national crisis..."

After listening to Shi Jian's words, the empress stood up in shock, and her eyes went dark again and again.

In her heart, she didn't believe that the Wu Ma family would rebel, but Shi Jian's words were so logical and well-founded that it was hard for her not to believe it.

The empress's whole body went limp and she fell heavily into the chair, staring at Shi Jian whose mouth opened and closed.

If all this was planned by the Wu Ma family, then...the death of the old patriarch must have been fake.

What news did Shi Qiang send back...?

The empress frowned and looked at Shi Jian suspiciously, "Where is Shi Qiang?"

After Shi Qiang took over Cong Chongqiu's soldiers, there was no news of him, and Cong Chongqiu also did not come to the imperial city for a long time.

She only got the news when King Zhenbei led his troops all the way to Chiyan City.

There are people from the Wu Ma family in every city. Why didn’t the Wu Ma family bring back the news about King Zhenbei?

The enemy captured so many cities, but she didn't get any news at all. If it weren't for the Wu Ma family helping to keep it secret, how could the news not have reached the imperial city?

The empress's mind is in a mess.

Looking at Shi Jian in front of her, she also had some doubts.

Is Shi Qiang also involved?

Shi Jian was stunned for a moment, then pain welled up in his eyes, and he choked with sobs as his eyes turned red.

"My younger brother Shi Qiang...I'm afraid he is in danger."

Shi Jian suddenly turned his head to look at Wang Dadao, and asked with a hint of expectation, "Have you seen Shi Qiang in Chiyan City?"

As long as his younger brother is alive, he will protect him even if he has committed treason. At worst, he can just support his younger brother in the future.

However, he absolutely did not believe that his brother would join forces with the Wu Ma family.

Shi Qiang has always disliked the arrogance of the Wu Ma family, so how could he be willing to be a running dog for the Wu Ma family?

Wang Dadao, who had been staring at the kneeling man on the bright ground, trembled all over and hurriedly looked up at Shi Jian.

"I didn't see Shi... General of the Cavalry."

Hearing Wang Dadao's words, Shi Jian closed his eyes in pain.

He knew that his brother would definitely not join forces with the Wu Ma family.

If my brother was in Chiyan City, why wouldn’t I contact him?