Chapter 2111: Forced Signature

Lu Zhenxian immediately shouted, "I'm here, and everything's fine!"

Seeing the situation inside the mansion, Lu Qingbang finally let out the breath he had been holding. He laughed heartily and said, "Uncle, you have many armored soldiers hidden in this residence."

Lu Zhenxian's eyelids twitched twice. His good elder brother had hidden so many armored soldiers in the mansion for one purpose:

Mo Shubai was right; Lu Zhensheng truly intended to capture him and force his son to comply!

Now it was Lu Zhensheng's turn for his heart to pound. He glared at Lu Zhenxian and angrily demanded, "What is the meaning of this?"

Lu Feiyan spat on the ground. "If you want to fight, you should have started earlier. Don't wait until words fail you to throw a punch; it's too late!"

"Elder Brother, you are the patriarch of the Bailie clan after all," Lu Zhenxian said. He pulled a letter from his sleeve and spread it flat on the table. "This request for aid to the Cangyan Kingdom still needs your signature and seal."

These younger brothers had, on their own initiative, asked the Cangyan Kingdom for help, and now they wanted to implicate him? Lu Zhensheng's heart skipped a beat in anger. "This is outrageous! You claim everything is for Bailie, so why can't you three bear the consequences for what you three have done?"

"Once this is done, the entire Bailie will be saved. Won't you, Elder Brother, be the greatest beneficiary?" Lu Zhenxian smiled broadly, though his eyes held no warmth. "Our Lu family prospers and suffers together. Elder Brother, just sign it quickly and save everyone's time."

As he finished his last words, the guards behind him placed their hands on their sword hilts, their threat unmistakable.

They were not there today to plead, nor even to negotiate.

Lu Zhensheng would sign this letter of appeal, whether he wanted to or not!

Lu Zhensheng and his son exchanged glances, both knowing that nothing good would come of this day.

"How long until the Cangyan Kingdom's army reaches the Bailie front?"

Lu Qingbang replied calmly, "The Emperor has sent word; they will arrive very soon."

The original message was "within seven days."

It was clear the Dragon God Army had long been preparing, waiting only for the Emperor's command.

Lu Zhensheng snorted, then took the letter and scrutinized it word by word. The content was quite concise, essentially in two parts: first, a request for aid from Emperor Jiuyou, and second, the conditions—that if the Cangyan Kingdom successfully helped Bailie repel the enemy, Bailie would thereafter offer tribute with the highest respect.

Beyond that, there were truly no hidden clauses or traps.

Lu Qing'an whispered, "Father, just sign it for now."

When one is under another's power, one must yield.

A servant brought ink and brush. Lu Zhensheng picked up the brush, quickly signed and stamped the letter, then said with a cold face, "Is that satisfactory?"

Lu Zhenxian took the letter, carefully blew on the ink to dry it, then folded it into his robe with a broad smile. "Perfect! It's getting late, and we wouldn't want to disturb Elder Brother's meal. Farewell!"

With this letter, it would appear that Bailie had first sought aid from the Cangyan Kingdom, making the Cangyan Kingdom's intervention an act of righteousness rather than an intrusion.

Now that the brothers were at odds, Lu Zhenxian had achieved his objective for this visit and did not wish to stay a moment longer.

As he walked out of the patriarch's mansion, he glanced back and cursed under his breath:

"Unfit to lead!"

As the three brothers exited the Lu mansion, the blade held at Lu Zhensheng's neck was finally withdrawn. The men lowered their heads again and blended into the Lu family's three brothers' retinue.

After they left, Lu Zhensheng returned to his room, growing more indignant the more he thought about it. He seized the paperweight from the table and furiously smashed it to the ground.

"Damn it, they're dragging me down with them even when they're facing their own demise!"

Lu Qing'an consoled him, "Before the Cangyan Kingdom's army arrives, you should send a memorial to the Mou Imperial Court, informing them of the situation. Emperor Mou is clear-headed and will certainly not blame us. If the Dragon God Army can repel the Ya Kingdom's forces, it will be a great benefit to us! They will eventually return to Cangyan territory, and then it won't be too late to punish Sixth Uncle and the others!"

"It can only be this way," Lu Zhensheng sighed, picking up his paper and brush again.

Meanwhile, the three Lu brothers, having exited the patriarch's mansion, also let out long breaths, realizing their backs were drenched in cold sweat.

They had actually subdued the elder Lu, using both threats and persuasion!

Lu Zhenyuan couldn't help but smile bitterly. "This means we're committed to this path, with no turning back."

There was no turning back now.

Lu Zhenxian, however, had long come to terms with it, feeling rather relieved after this event. "Come on, everyone, let's go stay at my place! My house is big!"

To prevent being attacked and retaliated against individually, the three Lu brothers would stay together today, and the families of Lu Second and Lu Third would all move to Lu Sixth's house.

With Lu Qingbang's men guarding them day and night, there would likely be no more trouble before the Dragon God Army arrived.

After returning to his residence, Lu Zhenxian looked at the men behind him.

"Do you intend to stay, or return to the Emperor?"

The one who had just held the blade to Lu Zhensheng's neck was Luo Xie.

Today's crucial plan could not afford to fail. Fearing that the Lu clan might lack capable men to carry out his plan, Emperor Jiuyou had simply dispatched experts like Luo Xie.

Luo Xie smiled and said, "The Emperor wants us to stay here until the task is complete."

Had the eastern part of Mou Kingdom truly suffered a disaster?

Yes, it had.

However, for the local area, the landslide was not large-scale; it only buried two villages, and since there had been a prior warning, more than half of the villagers had evacuated in advance.

Additionally, three towns were damaged.

Therefore, General Lu's rescue efforts were relatively easy. He moved his troops there mainly to maintain law and order, preventing looting and conflicts.

After major disasters, security incidents frequently arise. A venerable noble family lived in that town, and they couldn't allow them to be robbed.

Nevertheless, General Lu also left a team of scouts to monitor Bailie's movements.

He knew deep down that if the situation changed, Mou Kingdom might send him back for a surprise attack at any moment.

Previous scout reports indicated that after the Mou army withdrew, the Ya Kingdom's forces were ecstatic and launched a full-scale offensive. The Lu clan siblings of Bailie and several generals led troops in a counterattack, but unfortunately, they were outnumbered. They only managed to hold the central and southern regions of Bailie, while other areas were affected by the war.

Bailie also knew it would be difficult to defend, so it simply consolidated its forces, only guarding the core areas.

"It seems they're preparing for a prolonged war," General Lu thought. In his view, Bailie certainly couldn't defeat the Ya Kingdom, and this was a helpless measure. By protecting its core heartland, Bailie would wait for Mou Kingdom to free up its forces to help repel the enemy and resolve the crisis.

However, the Ya Kingdom's current offensive was unprecedented in scale and intensity, and General Lu greatly doubted how long Bailie could hold out.

On the other hand, if even Bailie's capital were plundered by the Ya Kingdom, Mou Kingdom would lose face.

Bailie had always paid homage and tribute to Mou Kingdom, and their subordinate relationship was very clear; everyone knew it was under Mou Kingdom's protection.

The Ya Kingdom's full-scale assault on Bailie was a direct slap in Mou Kingdom's face. If Mou Kingdom tolerated this, it would inevitably be looked down upon by neighboring states.

Therefore, General Lu concluded that his return to the Bailie battlefield would not be far off.

"That young general of the Lu family is a bit regrettable," he mused. That arrow was too precise; killing anyone else wouldn't have provoked the Ya King's wrath to such an extent.

However, the next morning, before dawn, a red-headed urgent report arrived from the Bailie front, delivered by a bird-demon scout.

A "red head" indicated a major change:

The Cangyan Kingdom's Dragon God Army had entered Bailie to confront the Ya forces!