knife

Chapter 554 Each fights on its own
Five Tigers Sever the Gate of Knife Mountain.

Hu Tianying got up very early today and went alone to the bamboo forest outside the door, where he practiced a set of health-preserving boxing exercises.

Speaking of the pills that Li Dachui sent, they were truly effective. Hu Tianying, who had been bedridden for many years due to a serious illness, has improved significantly after taking the medicine. At least he no longer looks like he could collapse and die at any moment.

Deputy Sect Leader Wang Li arrived in a hurry.

"Sect Master, what should we do?" Wang Li rubbed his hands and stamped his feet, looking somewhat uneasy.

Hu Tianying chuckled, putting away his airs, and Wang Li quickly came over to help him sit down to the side: "They've started fighting."

It's no wonder Wang Li was anxious. Most of the disciples of the Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade were officers in the military, and even those who didn't join the army mostly made a living in wealthy and powerful families. Once this matter came to light, they couldn't avoid it or escape it; they would be dragged into it no matter what.

"What can we do? We'll continue as usual!" Hu Tianying said with a smile, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.

"Proceed as usual?"

"Of course!" Hu Tian replied, "They should do what they are supposed to do. Soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders. If you are someone else's breadwinner, you should naturally be subject to their management."

"I'm afraid there are many people in different camps. If there aren't any rules in place, won't we end up killing each other?"

"Then let's fight!" Hu Tianying said calmly. "No matter how we fight, as long as the Five Tigers Breaking the Gate Sword Sect is still around, we won't be without a place to live. It's the same principle as when we kicked Stephen Chow out back then."

"Understood!" Wang Li nodded: "Then I will properly restrain the disciples within the mountain gate and not allow them to go down the mountain to participate."

"Ok!"

"Sect Master, I'm afraid the Great Chu is about to descend into chaos again!" Wang Li sighed. "We've only had a few years of peace! This time, no matter who wins, the Great Chu will suffer. Xiang Ying and his group may have won, but the Empress Dowager's confidants, Han Tan and He Jiong, each govern their own territories, commanding strong armies and controlling the navy. If the Empress Dowager's side wins, then we're likely to face another round of purges. The powerful families involved won't sit idly by; their influence extends far beyond Danyang, reaching deep into the local villages!"

Hu Tianying chuckled: "It's not just the Great Chu that's in chaos, isn't the Great Qin also in chaos? The era of great strife has arrived. The Five Tigers Severing the Gate Blade must also make careful plans. In this great chaos, we should also accumulate strength for ourselves, so that we will have the power to protect ourselves when the time comes."

“Yes, then let the disciples display their abilities!” Wang Li said. “What about Li Dachui?”

"He's still far away in Beiting right now!" Hu Tianying shook his head and said, "We've given them a lot of intelligence and assistance in the past, and we also have some kinship ties, so it's only right that we keep in touch. If he really wants us to help him with all our might, we'll have to wait until he conquers the entire Qin territory first. Right now, we're just handling things as usual. If you have high hopes for the disciples in Beiting, you can go to Shu to join the army or go beyond the Great Wall to serve in the military. We never stop our disciples from pursuing their future!"

The government office of Danyang Prefecture.

Lu Qingshan rushed in from outside like a gust of wind, his armor plates clanging as he looked up and saw Prefect Zhou Zheng still sitting upright, looking at documents. He was both anxious and angry: "Prefect, something bad has happened! Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi have rebelled and are leading their family troops straight to the capital. Many forces are involved along the way."

Zhou Zheng put down his pen, looked at the Prefectural Magistrate with a smile, and said, "Magistrate Lü, what do you think?"

"What do you think? Of course, we should mobilize all the troops in the prefecture to protect the emperor!" Lu Qingshan stared at Zhou Zheng with wide eyes: "This humble official requests the prefect to give me the military tally for mobilizing the prefecture's troops."

Zhou Zheng laughed and said, "Minister Lü, go home and rest. The county troops have already been mobilized."

"I am the Sima, how can the prefect overstep me to mobilize the prefectural troops?" "It's an emergency!" Zhou Zheng looked at Lü Qingshan with a smile: "General Xiang and his men went to attack the imperial city, rescue His Majesty, and kill the Empress's confidants. They are short of troops, so our Danyang prefectural troops will go and lend a hand!"

Hearing these words, Lü Qingshan was dumbfounded and stared blankly at Zhou Zheng.

Lü Qingshan was promoted two years ago; he was a veteran from the Battle of Xiangcheng.

Zhou Zheng was promoted after He Jiong was transferred to Yong'an County this year. Lü Qingshan always thought that Zhou Zheng, like himself, was a member of the Empress Dowager's faction.

With a clang, he drew the sword from his waist.

"You want to rebel?"

Zhou Zheng stood up and said, "The Demon Queen is a holy woman of the Demonic Sect. She usurped the position of Empress, poisoned the late Emperor, and committed heinous crimes. Everyone has the right to kill her!"

"Bullshit!" Lü Qingshan roared in fury, "I'll kill you, you traitor!"

As Lü Qingshan charged forward with his sword, several guards armed with swords appeared before him. Behind the guards, Zhou Zheng calmly said, "Slay this wicked queen's henchmen!"

Xianrenling Tiger Legion Camp.

This is a vital transportation route controlling the land route into Danyang. Originally, this camp could only house a maximum of three thousand people, but now, the number of soldiers coming out of it is probably more than five thousand. Leading the way is none other than Lin Yunqi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War of the Great Chu.

The road had been dug up, and countless sharp spears and barbs were planted upside down in the trenches more than ten feet wide. Behind them were deer antlers and chevaux-de-frise. Rows of crossbowmen stood behind large shields, and where there were no large shields, the gleaming crossbows brought a real shadow of death.

The formidable force stretched from the main road up the mountains on both sides; to reach Danyang, one must first defeat this force.

"The southwestern barbarians are wolves in sheep's clothing, always defying the emperor's rule and discipline. Especially this Nawei, who has always been two-faced towards the Empress Dowager, preventing the court's grand plan of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials from being implemented. A large amount of wealth cannot be used by the court, but instead all goes into the pockets of these local tyrants. It's truly outrageous!" Lin Yunqi said to his generals, "This time, let's annihilate them all here openly and honestly. With Nawei dead and these wolf soldiers gone, I want to see what the southwestern region will have to resist the court!"

"My lord, I've heard their elephant troops are very powerful. Our soldiers have never seen elephant troops before, so I'm afraid they might be a little flustered!"

"Just a bunch of beasts!" Lin Yunqi laughed. "I have my own way of dealing with them, you don't need to worry."

"With your words, Vice Minister, I'm relieved!" The general chuckled. "These wolf soldiers are wolves in their own land, but once they're on our territory, they turn into dogs. I love eating dog meat!"

Lin Yunqi laughed loudly: "No matter how much these people scheme, in the end it's all for naught. Compared to the Empress Dowager, they're nothing. Five years ago, we made them eat dust; this time, we'll make sure they don't even have dust to eat. Those bastards could have stayed home and enjoyed their wealth, but they insisted on going against the Empress Dowager. Haha, they're like those who refuse the path to heaven and stumble into the gates of hell. We were just looking for a reason to deal with them, but they all came to us willingly. Once we've dealt with these guys, Great Chu will be peaceful. Then, all your soldiers will be able to make a fortune and go home to buy land and get married!"

"That's wonderful! Thank you, Vice Minister Lin!"

"It's all thanks to the Empress Dowager's grace!"

The sound of rapid hoofbeats rang in my ears; on the main road, scouts galloped back.

The enemy is coming!
(End of this chapter)