Otherworld Advance Team-Chapter 1728 - 1721: Entering Yin State

"Let’s get moving, don’t mind them, it’s their duty." A manor soldier rode up beside Cheng Ziang, lowering his voice to remind him.

Hearing this voice, Cheng Ziang instinctively paused for a moment, but quickly snapped out of it.

"Where did you get the horse?" Cheng Ziang stared at Hun Jiansi in military attire and couldn’t help but ask with curiosity.

"Is it that difficult? This is my skill." Hun Jiansi shrugged, with a nonchalant expression.

"Will they be alright?" Cheng Ziang looked back and asked.

"Don’t be so naive, okay." Hun Jiansi sighed and said.

She also turned her head to look over. After a moment of silence, she turned back to him and said, "Our people have already gone over to help, they should be able to barely hold them off."

Cheng Ziang looked at her, opened his mouth and hesitated for a moment before closing it without speaking further.

He knew very well that although the Anxiang family’s target is the Advance Team, as Luo’er said, the Advance Team should not get involved no matter what.

The Anxiang family is a prominent family in Qi State. The manor soldiers of the Anxiang family are nominally the local army of the Imperial Court. The Advance Team clashing with Anxiang family’s Nine Thousand Battalion would put the Civil Official-led central Imperial Court in a very awkward position, while the Wu Family might use this as an opportunity to pressure the Imperial Court.

Therefore, the best solution was to not interfere, letting the Wen Family and Wu Family fight secretly.

Moreover, along the way, Cheng Ziang had noticed that whenever the Wen Family wanted to do something, they would never appear personally, nor did they send the Imperial Court’s army to escort the Advance Team.

Though the people of the Advance Team knew the Emperor’s Sect was secretly protecting them, others didn’t know. Whether in Hua State or Qi State, the Emperor’s Sect acted covertly. It was only this time, with the Advance Team deeply stuck in Qi State, that the Emperor’s Sect had to come to the forefront.

But even so, to the Anxiang family, they were still an unknown intervening force.

The Wu Family wanting to obtain the Advance Team was something Cheng Ziang understood very well, especially since ever since Luo’er displayed his miracles, the Advance Team made no plans to act low profile.

A team with a powerhouse from the Nascent Soul Realm would naturally appeal to others, particularly the Wu Family, who were obsessed with cultivation and revered Nascent Soul experts to an indescribable degree.

But what made Cheng Ziang uneasy was the Wen Family’s attitude. Though he guessed that the Wen Family simply didn’t want to allow the balance of power to shift, thus had to cozy up to the Advance Team.

However, this was just speculation. Cheng Ziang always felt that the Wen Family’s gestures towards the Advance Team, even sending the Emperor’s Sect from Hua State all the way to Qi State, certainly had other reasons beyond mere balance.

During their journey in Kyushu, the Advance Team witnessed the conflict between the Wen Family and Wu Family. Cheng Ziang always felt that none of this was coincidental, but rather intentionally displayed by someone.

Whether it’s the tragedy of the Huayu Ting family or Anxiang Zheng’s pursuit of order, it all pointed to the current Kyushu society, where with severe imbalance in fairness, order was gradually facing collapse.

Cheng Ziang didn’t know what happened after Dongliang Hu left; he only knew that in the following two weeks, Dongliang Hu never returned, while the remaining manor soldiers dutifully escorting the Advance Team’s convoy, all the way to the border between Qi State and Yin State.

They made a temporary stop in a small town at the border and soon saw a troop of elite cavalry racing towards them. This troop of cavalry numbered over one hundred, charged into the town with thunderous hooves, causing the ground to tremble.

The leading rider saw the wagon and immediately galloped over, not even waiting for the horse to halt before dismounting sideways, using the momentum to kneel humbly before Cheng Ziang and his group, clasping hands respectfully and saying, "I am Ming He, greetings to the saints and the manor lords."

"Who are you?"

The newcomer’s movements surprised the members of the Advance Team. After a soft cough, Cheng Ziang asked in a deep voice.

"I am Bingzhu Ming He, stationed at Nansiu Fort, Yin State, ordered to escort the saints, don’t be alarmed, Manor Lord." The man bowed his head and replied.

"Bingzhu..." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

If Cheng Ziang remembered correctly, that Bingzhu should be the assistant chief of the pass, also known as Pass Garrison. He first heard of this position probably while at Jufeng Pass in Qi State.

It appears, that esteemed elder had arranged everything clearly, having the Dongliang family’s manor soldiers focus entirely on protecting the Advance Team within Qi State’s borders, while others block potential intercepts by the Anxiang family.

Upon reaching the Yin State territory, someone would take over the task from these manor soldiers. After all, beyond Qi State, it truly is the Wen Family’s domain.

The prominent family of Yin State, the members of Advance Team are very familiar with. They are none other than the orthodox Yichuan Clan of Jiangzhou, representing the Wen Family throughout the Dongsheng Empire, the Yin State Yichuan Clan.

After the establishment of the Dongsheng Empire, with the reform of Imperial Court’s political system, Yichuan Clan rose by capitalizing on the reform’s dividends, becoming a prominent family of Yin State.

Nowadays, the Yichuan Clan is sprawling like a spider web, with descendants spread across the country. Besides the orthodox line of Yin State, many branches also reside in other states and prefectures.

It’s said the Yichuan Clan is very meticulous about breeding, exerting all efforts to nurture every born descendant of Yichuan Clan.

To prevent potential enemies from secretly harming them, they would hide these offspring across various regions of Kyushu, fabricating new identities for them.

Due to this, there’s been a long-standing rumor in the Jianghu, claiming that nearly all civilian officials in Yin State are descendants of the Yichuan Clan, merely cloaked in civilian identities to hold official positions, to avoid the tradition of state clans not assuming state appointments.

Yin State lies in the eastern part of the Dongsheng Empire, shaped irregularly like a trapezoid, bordering Yun State to the north, Fangzhou to the west, Qi State to the south, and the sea to the east. The Empire’s capital, Shengyuan Prefecture, or Zhili, is enveloped by Yin State.

One crucial reason why Yichuan Clan ascended as Wen Family’s leader is that the capital city is surrounded by Yin State, forcing any literary scholars wanting to serve in the court to affiliate themselves with Yichuan Clan. Thus, Yichuan Clan naturally became the leader of Wen Family, long serving as the highest authority in the Empire’s Cabinet.

The current Cabinet Hundred Chief is the present Patriarch of Yichuan Clan, Yichuan Qing. Besides this role, he holds many other impressive titles. Including Lord of Yin State, Prince Consort.

These titles, simply mentioning one, are enough to save an ordinary person a hundred years of struggle and bring honor to their lineage.

Yichuan Qing married the sister of the current Emperor Wu, Bailong Bang, known as the Princess Bailong Fong, making him the brother-in-law of Emperor Wu.

Princess Bailong Fong bore Yichuan Qing two sons. The eldest son, Yichuan Fei, serves as a civil official, holding the title of Imperial Sect Registrar under Emperor’s Sect, considered a close attendant. The second son, Yichuan Xv, serves as a military officer, holding the high rank of Marshal, commanding the Forbidden Army in Shengjing to guard the capital, also considered a central government official.

Overall, the notion of state clans not assuming state appointments only applies to local officials. It isn’t as strict with central government officials. Moreover, currently, the highest rank that civilians can hold is limited to local officials. Central government officials in the Imperial Court are mostly descendants of prominent families.

This doesn’t imply the Wen Family hasn’t exercised its influence, it’s mainly due to the strong resistance from Wu Family. Civilian central officials find it tough to make an impact in the court, often ending up neglected and never receiving a significant role.

Therefore, more often than not, it’s not that Wen Family doesn’t want civilians holding central official positions, it’s that these civilians often prefer remaining at local levels rather than decaying in the Imperial Court.

After some greetings, Ming He completed the handover with Dongliang family’s manor soldiers, taking the initiative to escort the Advance Team, proceeding grandly toward the nearest city, Nanxiu Prefecture.

Regardless, as the core district of the Empire, the Yin State is relatively safe, and its development level is higher than Hua State or even Qi State. Therefore, upon entering Yin State’s borders, the members of the Advance Team primarily needn’t worry about safety issues anymore.

Following a wide, smooth official road, the wagon moved forward slowly under the escort of the cavalry. To ensure the safety of the Advance Team, these cavalry drove away all pedestrians and horse carts on the road, clearing the way for the wagon to pass quickly and safely.

Despite not being actual manor soldiers, both their weaponry and horses were far superior to those in Qi State and Hua State, truly deserving to be called the elite army of the empire.

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