The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha
Chapter 68: Zhang Guifang Surrenders to Tang

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Zhang Guifang Surrenders to Tang

Roughly speaking, the meaning is: I, Li Jing, have some status in Nantang. Back then, my rebellion was forced by Master Wen; it was to protect my family, and I had no intention of opposing Yin Shang. I’ve always been watching what you’ve done. Now that you’re in a desperate situation, why not join Nantang and make yourself useful? That way, you might still achieve something in the future.

Zhang Guifang was quite moved upon receiving the letter. What kind of status does Li Jing hold in Nantang?

His trusted aide chimed in, saying, "General, Heavenly King Li is so righteous and sincere. Why not submit to him?"

How could Zhang Guifang not know his subordinates’ sentiments?

Still, he replied with one condition: he would not act against Yin Shang.

Li Jing agreed without hesitation, thinking to himself, "If you’re not fighting Yin Shang, then go battle the barbarians. Either way, you’re working for Nantang."

Once this communication was finished, Li Jing sent a reply to Xiqi, the gist of which was: "Do me a favor. Zhang Guifang hasn’t attacked Xiqi. Now that he’s pledged allegiance to me, don’t pursue him further. Hand over his family members to me."

Does Li Jing carry such weight?

He actually does.

The resurrected Lei Zhenzi behaved a bit more subdued, but not by much. Originally, he cared little about Li Jing or Wang Jing, but a traveling Wei Hu stopped him.

Back then, he had asked them for help and they assisted him. Now, if their father requests a favor, it wouldn’t be right to go back on his word. However, Wei Hu couldn’t restrain Lei Zhenzi on his own.

He proposed, "How about I report this to our master-uncle and let him decide?"

Lei Zhenzi reluctantly agreed, saying, "Fine."

Wei Hu immediately sent word to Jiang Ziya. Old Jiang pondered for a bit and decided that since Zhang Guifang’s army would no longer return to Yin Shang, granting this favor wasn’t a bad idea.

He promptly instructed Wei Hu to bring Zhang Guifang’s family members back.

The next day, Zhang Guifang’s army voluntarily lowered their merchant flags, tying yellow cloth strips onto their helmets one by one. Under Zhang Guifang’s leadership, they boldly joined Li Jing’s troops.

When he met Li Jing, Zhang Guifang saw his family members reunited with him, erasing any remaining doubts in his heart. He sincerely knelt down and declared, "Subdued General Zhang Guifang pays respect to Heavenly King Li!"

Li Jing stepped forward to help Zhang Guifang up, repeatedly saying, "Good, good, good!"

Afterward, Li Jing led his troops back to hold the defensive position at Three Mountains Pass, indicating that they wouldn’t intervene but let others fight their own battles.

On the other side, Lei Zhenzi was fuming with anger. His temper now far exceeded Nezha’s in the original tale.

Upon returning to camp, he directly confronted Jiang Ziya, saying, "Master-uncle, that Zhang Guifang is a depraved general of Yin Shang. How can we spare him merely because he changed allegiances?"

Jiang Ziya didn’t particularly like Lei Zhenzi either and nonchalantly replied, "Our Great Zhou currently lacks the strength to wage war against both Yin Shang and Nantang simultaneously."

"Humph! Letting the tiger return to the mountains—you’ll regret it!"

With that, Lei Zhenzi stormed off.

Jiang Ziya let out a deep sigh.

The current situation looked promising, but in reality, West Zhou’s internal affairs were dire. What use were jewels? Could they fill stomachs?

Poisoned people might be resurrected, but poisoned crops could not. Where would the grain come from?

Where would daily necessities come from?

These were all pressing concerns.

Jiang Ziya pondered for a long time and came up with a solution: trade.

After discussing with Ji Fa, they sent San Yisheng as the principal envoy and Wei Hu as the deputy envoy to Nantang to negotiate terms for imports and exports.

Meanwhile, Shen Gongbao, after traveling extensively and relying on his eloquence, managed to persuade a group of Independent Immortals to join the cause.

While wandering, he happened to encounter Yin Hong and Yin Jiao, who were returning from their cultivation journeys, fully equipped with Divine Equipment. The two brothers originally cultivated to outlast Yin Shou and ascend as Great King, but their master’s orders were to aid Zhou in defeating Shang.

Shen Gongbao casually spoke a few words of persuasion, and the brothers found a convenient excuse to join him on the route toward Chuanyun Pass to wage war against West Zhou!

Yin Shang began mobilizing its troops once more to reclaim lost territory, while West Zhou focused on solving its grain shortages.

In Nantang, since recruiting Bo Yikao’s faction of officials, they finally shed their rough, makeshift governance image. Currently, the predominant powers were the Li, Su, and Deng families, with the Huang family and Bo Yikao’s faction slightly trailing behind.

After Zhang Guifang joined, Nantang’s military underwent another reorganization. Li Jing held Three Mountains Pass, King Ji presided over Nanchang’s central administration, Deng Chanyu moved southward to oversee the new cities in Xinye, while Huang Feihu and Zhang Guifang continued expeditionary campaigns from these points of origin.

The chaotic situation finally began to stabilize once more.

Meanwhile, San Yisheng and Wei Hu arrived at Three Mountains Pass, where the corpse of Tu Xingsun hanging on the city wall had long been taken away by Ju Liusun. The Twelve Golden Immortal simply shook his head and said nothing further.

Li Jing warmly received the envoy team, hosted them with hospitality, and promptly arranged for them to be sent to Nanchang.

San Yisheng rode his horse, observing as he traveled. The more he looked, the more his eyes welled up with tears. Although their gates were barricaded, the people here suffered no losses and lived in a remarkably peaceful state.

Thanks to Nezha’s "Zhua’s words," Nantang had previously only concerned itself with taxes and little else. In this era, as long as there was no exploitation, the people’s lives were remarkably good.

Seeing everyone wearing Yellow Turbans and smiling brightly, this atmosphere was something San Yisheng had not witnessed among the West Zhou people since King Wu ascended the throne.

"Lord Wen, do you see this? This is the world you envisioned!"

Wei Hu, on the other hand, couldn’t comprehend such emotions. He simply observed the old man beside him, alternately looking upward and wiping his tears.

Confused, he thought to himself, "This old man cries and laughs intermittently—has he gone mad?"

They were greeted by someone familiar, Bo Yikao, who now held the position of Minister, the leading figure among civil servants.

Strictly speaking, his rank did not require him to attend such matters, but San Yisheng had practically watched him grow up. The gentlemanly Bo Yikao personally took up this task.

In the past, when Bo Yikao served as the Princely Heir in West Zhou, he could only assist his father. Being a filial son, he adhered to his father’s instructions in all matters.

Now, holding a high-ranking position, he was the leader within reasonable procedure and only needed to report to the Great King and Regent King for his administration. His demeanor had entirely transformed.

The two embraced briefly before Bo Yikao escorted them to meet the Great King.

During this time, San Yisheng refrained from asking unnecessary questions, and Bo Yikao kept discreet, conducting everything formally.

After paying their respects, San Yisheng proposed their trade requests.

King Ji, well-versed in "Zhua’s words," may not have deeply understood the significance of commerce but recognized its benefits.

She delegated the matter to Bo Yikao, exploiting his earnest nature. However, the arrangement adhered to protocol, making it above reproach.

Daji had already discerned Bo Yikao’s character and knew that assigning this task to him wouldn’t lead to personal gain but would actually secure benefits in the negotiations with San Yisheng.

The bargaining process needn’t be elaborated upon—the result was that San Yisheng conceded, providing substantial convenience to Bo Yikao within his limits of discretion.

Emotions are innate to humans; such outcomes are inevitable.

Afterward, Wei Hu rushed back to retrieve gold, silver, copper, and iron.

San Yisheng nominally supervised Bo Yikao in collecting grain and supplies.

In reality, Bo Yikao took San Yisheng on a tour of the Yellow Turban ’Holy Land.’

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