The war between the Xiongnu and Da Qian was inevitable, and nothing would change simply because of Li Ming alone.
But under such circumstances, why would soone still try to assassinate him?
Just a warning?
But if not...
Given the strength of the assailants, they had sent so many powerful innate masters adept with magic this ti, and yet they failed to assassinate him. If the enemies truly harbored a murderous intent, would they send even stronger ones in the future?
Was it really the right choice for him to continue his journey ho? Would he encounter even more dangers on the road?
All sorts of questions suddenly lood like mountains in his heart due to a single thought, unavoidably weighing heavily on his mind.
However, no matter what, all of this was still occurring in the shadows; no one had openly torn their facades apart, leaving room for maneuver.
On the contrary, if he were to expose this incident, bringing it from the shadows into the light, then it would truly turn a living chess piece into a dead one.
Once they really stood on opposing sides, with the power possessed by the Third Prince’s position, they might et their deaths on the spot if they were not careful.
Therefore, even though there were many doubts and crises currently, he could not publicly declare this situation.
But to do nothing was also not an option.
"Tell everyone to relax on the outside but stay tight on the inside. In the following ti, we must maintain constant vigilance and prepare for all situations," Li Ming solemnly told his companions. After speaking, he narrowed his eyes, "How many pigeons capable of returning to the Capital City do we still have?"
"Five left."
Wang Guangyun followed up.
"Keep two, prepare the rest, and wait for my letters to be sent to the Capital City," Li Ming thought for a mont and then imdiately instructed.
He then asked for paper and ink and started writing on the carriage.
Seeing this, Wang Guangyun imdiately went to gather the pigeons capable of traveling to and from the Capital City, waiting for Li Ming to finish writing.
"To His Majesty personally, I, your servant Li Ming, encountered nine assassins on my way ho. Their martial skills were extrely high; all were at the middle or late stages of the innate realm, and they commanded mana. Their strength was remarkable, capable of flying and escaping, making them hard to guard against. My life is insignificant and hardly worth ntioning. However, my journey ho was to train troops and prepare for the expedition against the Xiongnu, and I fear my insignificant life may disrupt the grand undertaking of deploying our forces."
"I believe, though my troops may be few, the power to campaign against the Xiongnu is critical. To face certain death without escape would weigh heavily on my conscience. Therefore, for the smooth progress of our troops’ training, I implore His Majesty to take to heart the dispatch of masters for protection to deter the petty and the villainous," Li Yang quickly wrote a letter with small characters on a piece of paper. He wrote three letters in succession and, after waiting for the ink to dry, rolled them up and stuffed them into the ssage canisters on the pigeons’ legs.
"To prevent any mishaps, Master, Uncle, please both of you oversee this," Li Ming said with a smile to the Uncle Master and his own master after he had finished writing the letters.
Requesting the Emperor to send so masters was the solution that Li Ming had thought of.
Just how strong these masters would be, Li Ming did not know, but as long as they were personally sent by the Emperor, even if it was just one first-class martial artist, it would signify an attitude.
With masters dispatched by the Emperor providing protection, this would be a stance safeguarding him. If soone were to still launch an attack on him under the protection of the Emperor’s dispatched masters, it would no longer be a minor issue of an attack on Li Ming, but rather a major one of challenging imperial authority.
By then, Li Ming need not worry himself; the massive power of the royal family would be mobilized and instantly crush any adversaries into dust.
In this way, even if their strength had not yet developed, they should not have to worry about encountering any insurmountable enemies or crises anymore.
Besides, there was another subtlety in mind... Li Ming had purposely ntioned their ability to fly-escape to express a desire for the corresponding mana technique.
——"The assassins I encountered all know this technique; if I don’t have any counterasures, wouldn’t that be dangerously vulnerable?"
Li Ming wondered if the Emperor would grant such a request, and if so, there was a good chance it would arrive with the master dispatched to their side, for them to learn.
As for whether the Emperor would believe it... he had no reason to doubt.
The pigeons were specially trained to not fly to Li Ming’s residence upon reaching the Capital City, but directly to the royal pigeon station. Considering Li Ming’s current standing with the Emperor, His Majesty would naturally not suspect him of lying idly about such a matter.
As for the specifics, it all depended on what Emperor Jianming had in mind.
While Li Ming was pondering, the others who saw his letter also showed smiles on their faces; they clearly understood the contents of Li Ming’s letter. Hearing his words, Liu Qingshi and Xu Jin imdiately nodded in agreent.
Predators such as hawks and cats could threaten the pigeons during their flight, potentially causing them to panic, lose their way, or even lose their lives. To ensure the safe return of these three pigeons, it was necessary to escort them for a part of their journey.
Moreover, the threat was not just from predators; hunters hunting in the wild, or hidden enemies that see the pigeons flying away could attempt to kill them and other such issues.
Pigeons are most noticeable when they take off, so it is a wise choice to escort them for a distance during this ti.
Especially with a master of innate abilities as the escort, failure was virtually impossible.
"Right now, we are traveling much faster than the pigeons," Li Ming said.
Hearing Li Ming’s words, smiles crept onto the faces of Liu Qingshi and Xu Jin. They, along with Wang Hengliang, were the core strength of the team. Although escorting the pigeons was important, their safety was equally vital, so not everyone could go.
Leaving the most powerful, Wang Hengliang, behind, it was the best choice for the two of them to send off the pigeons.
"Travel slowly on the way, rest more at the stations, and after we have escorted the pigeons a considerable distance, then return," Liu Qingshi instructed, taking three cages with Xu Jin, and then they quickly moved toward the direction of the Capital City using their swift movent techniques.
They couldn’t bring the pigeons directly to the Capital City, but they were able to bring them within a close distance in half a day’s ti. This greatly increased the pigeons’ safety; with their current level of cultivation, mana, and mastery of light-body techniques, not to ntion their strength, this was not a problem.
Li Ming watched as his master and martial uncle disappeared from sight, then glanced at the Juyi Villa group following at the end of the convoy. He considered the horses brought from their ho base by his master, martial uncle, and martial sect uncle, more than thirty horse-drawn carriages, a pile of grain, fabric, and silver, before silently returning to his own carriage.
"Martial sect uncle, you and I will sit together from now on. Wang Guanyun, you and Zhao Xiu take a carriage ahead of us, while Liu Zhuang and Liu Wu prepare three identical carriages to go in the middle with several n inside. Our carriage will simply be nearby these carriages. Then, have them join us in the carriage behind us," Li Ming said after returning to his carriage, thinking for a mont and then adjusting their order. Hearing Li Ming’s words, everyone nodded and began to rearrange the carriages and personnel.
"A brilliant strategy of mixing the illusory with the real," Zhao Xiu exclaid, her eyes shining after hearing Li Ming’s arrangents. "In a convoy where three identical carriages travel together, there’s bound to be a trick, yet there’s actually no trick inside. With the most obvious guardians, Liu Zhuang and Liu Wu hidden within the carriage, nobody knows their location. Even if the enemy finds your carriage, they will be t with our strongest martial artists, and they’ll have a tough ti no matter what they find."
After praising his plan, Zhao Xiu quickly left with Wang Guanyun to make the necessary arrangents.
Wang Hengliang smiled, did not speak, and sat opposite Li Ming with his sword in his arms, his eyes slightly closed, sensing the movents around him.
Outside the carriage, Zhao Xiu and Wang Guanyun found Liu Zhuang and Liu Wu and quietly conveyed Li Ming’s instructions. The two n’s eyes lit up as they heard it and eagerly carried out their orders.
The carriages and horses inside the convoy shifted back and forth several tis, and without notice, so carriages ended up in different positions. The convoy then continued along the broad imperial road.
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