Chapter 579: Chapter Five Hundred and Seventy-Five: Repel Foreign Threats and Secure Domestic Peace

It was supposed to be a briefing about the upcoming battle, but unexpectedly it turned into a sand table military drill. Tang Luo was scratching his head awkwardly standing by the sand table.

In terms of his position, he was now a minister in a branch of the Martial Hall. Even if he needed to participate in wartime discussions, he should’ve headed to the Martial Hall’s council chambers, not take part here.

However, seeing the way the elders were casually discussing matters without regard for his presence, Tang Luo understood that this was their way of expressing their utmost care for him. He felt moved, but also a bit pressured.

After all, the family had high hopes for him. If he couldn’t achieve something, how could he face these elders who had faith in him?

During this thought process, he heard the Clan Master Tang Zu speaking to the Tribal Chief, “So in your opinion, how should we react to the conspiracy of the Mi Clan?”

The other elders also paused their idle thoughts. This was the advantage of having a tribe chief with outstanding strategic acumen sitting in the hall. Everyone there was a core member of the Tang Clan. After Tang Zhi had laid out his plan to defeat the Mi Clan, they were all utterly convinced of the Tribe Chief’s calculations. Since Tang Zhi was present, their efforts would be best spent looking for any holes in the plan, rather than wildly conjecturing on their own.

The question was thrown back to the Tribe Chief Tang Zhi. He pulled out dozens of flags of different colours from the North Mountain headquarters and randomly stuck them into several Mi Clan locations in the southwest and due west, saying, “These should be the heavily fortified locations of the Mi Clan, and the true battlegrounds of this war. Second elder, I ask you to organize dozens of martial experts to conduct surprise attacks on these Mi locations. How long Xiling can hold on depends on your efforts.”

Among the dozens of locations, some were real, some were decoys. Tang Zhi’s calculations were made to determine the truth and the false. Now that the calculations were complete, it was time to catch the Mi Clan off guard.

Usually, such military matters would be led by the Great Elder, but Tang Siyuan was currently unconscious, so the Second Elder Tang Hongtao had to take his place. As the future chosen Great Elder, his qualifications were beyond doubt.

The Second Elder Tang Hongtao took the order and left the council chambers directly. With this, the discussion about the response to the invading Mi Clan army concluded. The attention of the Tribe Chief Tang Zhi and the others once again focused on Tang Luo.

Er… Clan Master Tang Zu seemed to have more to say, so I’m not in a hurry.” Tang Luo knew that the Tribe Chief and the elders wanted him to continue the report, but seeing that Tang Zu appeared to have something to say, he quickly shifted the topic.

The eyes of everyone present turned to towards the Clan Master. Tang Zu hadn’t expected Tang Luo to pivot the topic back to him, but since he had something to say, he stated seriously, “In my opinion, we must stabilize things at home before dealing with external threats. Since we’re dealing with the Mi Clan, we should eliminate the spies they’ve planted in North Mountain first.”

So that’s what it was all about. The crowd nodded in understanding. The fact that the Mi Clan’s special Wind Media Headquarters was located in Cloud Sound Mansion was no secret among the elders. And everyone knew that the woman who had married Tang Cunfu was an assassin from the Mi Clan.

Now hearing the Clan Master’s proposition, it became clear. He planned to strike when the decisive battle was about to start, sweeping up the Mi Clan’s special Wind Media force all at once.

“I intend to notify the Cloud Mansion to plan a banquet to pray for the Martial Ancestors who are about to go to war. At that time, the Cloud Mansion will definitely be fully staffed, which is a perfect opportunity to wipe them out.”

The so-called assassination must be carried out unknowingly for maximum effect. An exposed assassin, to a behemoth like the Tang Clan, is nothing but a trivial threat.

Even if Yun Piaopiao possesses the cultivation of Martial Ancestor, she can’t cause much trouble on North Mountain’s territory. Right now, all they needed was a reason to gather everyone from the Cloud Sound Mansion.

Ever since Tang Cunfu married Yun Piaopiao, the musicians of the Cloud Sound Mansion have become the celebrities of North Mountain. Even though the Clan Master had repeatedly ordered that all Tang Clan members, no matter their status, must diligently practise martial arts, there were still young people who found ways to enjoy their leisure time.

They practically termed it: ‘Enduring hardship in cultivation in order to taste the world’s prosperity. Only by balancing work and rest can one reach the peak of martial arts.’

Different mansions, under the guise of moving, continuously invited the girls from Cloud Sound Mansion for performances, and the musicians became like butterflies, fluttering about the various peaks of North Mountain, adding elegance to the scenery and officially integrating into North Mountain.

According to the Wind Media Department’s reports, many members of the Tang Clan have proposed to the musicians of the Cloud Sound Mansion. A few of significant family background have been successful, while the legitimate sons have been concentrating on capturing the heart of Miss Zhao.

However, Zhao Yanran showed no interest in these pursuers, even rejecting countless performances. Because of Tang Cunfu, no one dared to use force, but many Tang Clan members have said that they will definitely win her over.

Although everyone thought Tang Luo is leading the pack, obtaining a musician and dancer as a concubine wouldn’t be a degradation of status, and becoming Tang Luo’s ally was something to boast about. Even though Zhao Yanran’s maidservant had repeatedly denied that Tang Luo was just polite to Zhao Yanran at the time, no one believed it.

Clan Master Tang Zu couldn’t help but think of Tang Luo’s connection with the Cloud Sound Mansion and teased him, “As the Cloud Sound Mansion is on the verge of destruction, Minister Luo, if you can’t part with your beauty, this master can have someone bind her and take her to the Marshal Star Pavilion’s station. I believe that under Minister Luo, she wouldn’t be able to make any waves.”

As if seeing a stone bloom, the elders, after hearing Tang Zu’s teasing, focused their eyes on Tang Luo’s face, full of amusement.

Tang Luo’s indifference to such matters was well-known throughout the Tang Clan. Since two years ago, dozens of main mothers have been arranging his marriage. He had essentially printed a book of all the daughters in Xiling that could be paired with the Tang family, yet he never took interest in anyone. To their surprise, he broke his rule for Yang – a musician – and now they looked at Tang Luo in a way that only men could understand, as if asking: how does a woman taste?

If it was one or two people, it would have been fine, but even Tribe Chief Tang Zhi was somewhat curious. Tang Luo was feeling overwhelmed. Having completed the coming of age ceremony, he was still not used to these sudden vulgarities that these old men would break out into. He could only hold his forehead and explain, “There’s nothing between me and Miss Zhao. We just need to follow the usual procedure.”

‘Usual procedure’ meant rather killing a thousand innocents than letting one guilty person go. He believed that Zhao Yanran was innocent, but this belief wasn’t worth much as he himself wasn’t sure about it.

Given enough time, Wind Media Head Tang Feng could certainly discern the innocent, but with the war imminent, they had to act quickly. There would undoubtedly be no room for careful identification, so the fate of these people was predictable.

Therefore, even though some of the servants of the Cloud Sound Mansion were innocent, they were on the kill list. It wasn’t hard to guess that all the musicians who had married from the Cloud Sound Mansion, even if they were mistresses today, would be purged by the Tang Clan in this movement.