Catching Monsters

Chapter 380 I've always had high hopes for you
Xiao Jingfu wore a bitter expression. His father, the emperor, had it much easier. He had made arrangements with military generals, killed his elder brother, and easily seized the throne.

Xiao Jingfu originally intended to replicate this successful path.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have worked so hard to contact various military commanders; he was preparing for future action.

But the difficulty now is much greater...

Just as Xiao Jingfu was about to ask about how to recruit soldiers in the north and some experience, there was a knock on the door.

Then came the steward's voice: "Fourth Prince, Miss Tao has returned."

Upon hearing the name "Miss Tao," Xiao Jingfu frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "She still has the nerve to come back and see me?"

She was asked to find two powerful demon warriors for her, but she ended up finding two idiots.

Xiao Jingfu waved his hand, signaling the military officers inside to leave. Soon after, Tao Kui walked in from outside.

Tao Kui was covered in wounds. She walked in quickly and, upon seeing Xiao Jingfu, rushed to the bedside. Despite her own injuries not being minor, she still asked Xiao Jingfu with concern, "Your Highness, how badly are you injured?"

"Don't worry, they won't die anytime soon." Xiao Jingfu said coldly, glancing at Tao Kui. "Where are those two idiots?"

"Hu Yi and Hu Meier have already returned to the Demon Kingdom," Tao Kui said in a low voice.

Thinking of the scene in the imperial court where Hu Yi had given him a good scolding, Xiao Jingfu was furious and said in a deep voice, "Since they have all gone back, what are you still doing here?"

Upon hearing this, Tao Kui hurriedly explained, "I can stay and support His Highness the Prince..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingfu frowned deeply, took a deep breath, and said, "You'll stay and support me? What support do you have? Your fox clan can make such a mess of killing someone..."

Hearing Xiao Jingfu's words, Tao Kui looked at him with some surprise, gritting her teeth slightly. Although she had initially approached Xiao Jingfu with a purpose.

But after getting to know him, I found that Xiao Jingfu was actually better than I had imagined.

Xiao Jingfu was not actually like this before.

On the contrary, when Tao Kui first met him, she transformed into an injured fox and appeared on his travel route. As a result, the kind-hearted Xiao Jingfu quickly had his men treat her wounds and take her back to his mansion to recover.

Furthermore, Xiao Jingfu was well-read, polite, and kind to others.

However, as he grew older, the allure and desire for imperial power gradually turned his personality into one of violence and ruthlessness.

Only then could Tao Kui understand a human saying: "People change."

After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Jingfu suppressed his anger and forced a smile back onto his face: "Fine, come with me out of the capital to gather troops and head to the southwest to suppress the bandits."

……

General's Mansion of Wuling Prefecture.

There have been quite a few changes in Wuling Prefecture recently. Since a large number of Imperial Guards rushed here to assassinate the Sixth Prince Xiao Jingqi, the searches at the city gates have become much stricter.

At this moment, in front of the city gate of Wuling Prefecture, Wang Longzhi came here in person, his face showing a hint of eagerness as he looked at the distant official road.

Finally, not long after, a carriage slowly approached from the front.

Once the carriage came to a stop beside Wang Longzhi, the curtain was gently pulled back, and Xiao Min'er stepped out with a faint smile on her face.

Seeing this, Wang Longzhi's eyes welled up with tears, and she looked at Xiao Min'er walking down from above in disbelief.

He rushed forward and hugged Xiao Min'er: "Your leg is really, really healed."

Although Wang Longzhi had already received the news, she was still somewhat surprised when she saw the scene with her own eyes.

This was a promise made by a boy to a girl many years ago, in that cold, dark cellar.

Now that it has been successfully achieved, Wang Longzhi's eyes flickered as she thought about it.

Xiao Min'er wasn't so sentimental. Instead, she frowned and said in a deep voice, "You secretly contacted experts from the Western Regions?"

Wang Longzhi nodded: "That's right..."

"What conditions did you agree to?" Xiao Min'er sighed, wondering to herself if she would need anyone else to rescue her if she wanted to get out of the imperial prison.

With a little trick, I managed to get out of there.

Her original intention in going to the capital was to die, but when she learned that Xiao Yuzheng would not kill her easily, but instead that she would be used by the Zhou court to threaten Wang Longzhi, she was shocked.

The only thing they could do was try to escape as quickly as possible.

She also realized that she had underestimated Xiao Yuzheng; despite his provocative words, he hadn't killed her.

"Min'er, don't worry about the conditions. You just got back, so you should rest well first."

"No, thank you." Xiao Min'er held a letter in her hand and said in a deep voice, "News has come from the capital; you should already know, right?"

“I’ve seen what happened.” Wang Longzhi nodded and lowered his voice, saying, “It’s said that a big misunderstanding occurred in the capital. Apparently, the Fourth Prince, Xiao Jingfu, planned to hire a demon to assassinate Jiang Yun, but ended up seriously injuring him instead.”

"In the end, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Xiao Yuzheng actually sent him to the north to build up an army in preparation for continuing to suppress the rebels in the southwest."

Xiao Min'er remained calm and said indifferently, "A misunderstanding? Do you believe that?"

"According to the intelligence, these were two powerful cultivators at the third-grade demon king level. Did they kill the wrong people?"

"I'm afraid Xiao Yuzheng orchestrated this whole thing to give Xiao Jingfu an excuse to lead troops and build a large army."

Wang Longzhi said doubtfully, "Is it really necessary to stage this ourselves? Just find any general..."

"With your precedent, would Xiao Yuzheng dare to send other generals out to build large armies?"

For a clever person like Xiao Min'er, how could she believe that there really was a third-grade demon king assassin, or that she had chosen the wrong person...

She thought, even if someone is stupid, they shouldn't be this stupid, right?

"By the way, what about those Imperial Guards?" Xiao Min'er asked.

"They're still locked up, and we haven't figured out what to do with them yet," Wang Longzhi said in a low voice. "But quite a few people have suggested killing them..."

"But killing prisoners of war has always been a major taboo in military affairs." "But keeping them would consume a lot of food."

Xiao Min'er's eyes darted around slightly as she asked, "By the way, does Jiang Yun, that Imperial Guard from the capital, have an apprentice who's also in there?"

"Yes." Wang Longzhi nodded. "After all, Jiang Yun cured you. How about we send his apprentice back as a token of our gratitude?"

Xiao Min'er shook her head, but instead glared at Wang Longzhi. This was Wang Longzhi's biggest weakness; he was easily swayed by his emotions.

Xiao Min'er slowly said, "Jiang Yun has a promising future in the capital. He is well-fed and clothed, and his apprentice is treated like royalty. He will be of great use in the future."

"Prepare to organize a large army to enter the three southwestern provinces."

"What about the two provinces outside? Don't you want them anymore?" Wang Longzhi asked.

“These two provinces are indefensible, and more importantly,” Xiao Min’er paused, “can you guarantee how many of these 400,000 troops will actually join us in rebellion?”

"Once we enter the three southwestern provinces, we must control the few remaining entrances and exits so that deserters cannot escape."

"They have no choice but to rebel against us."

"If you were in this open area, your troops could be greatly reduced if you declared an uprising."

These three provinces form a large funnel, and Xiao Min'er's initial strategy was very clear: to take over the three southwestern provinces first.

Of course, now is not the best time for an uprising.

……

"Time to eat, bro."

In the evening at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Jiang Yun was sitting in the courtyard, leisurely reading the Beijing Gazette, which contained all sorts of strange and unusual reports about the capital.

Jiang Yun found that although he was suspended from his job, this leisurely life was really nice. He put down the newspaper, put his hands behind his back, and headed towards the dining room.

Inside the living room, only Xu Suwen and Jiang Qiaoqiao were present.

"Where is your aunt?" Jiang Yun asked curiously after glancing around.

"My mother went to the Temple of Loyalty and Righteousness."

The Zhongyi Temple built for Xu Dingwu has been completed, and since it opened to the public, many people from Beijing have naturally gone there to pay their respects.

Tao Yuelan would often cook some meals herself and go to pay respects to Xu Dingwu.

“No need to wait for my mother.” Before Xu Suwen could finish speaking, footsteps sounded outside the door. A servant who was guarding the door walked in quickly, and said with a smile, “Young master, Lord Li Wangxin has arrived. He says he has come to see you.”

"Please come in quickly." Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun hurriedly got up and came out of the living room to greet him.

Soon, Li Wangxin, dressed in a white robe, walked in from outside the door.

"Oh, you're eating?" Li Wangxin reached the door, glanced inside, and said with a smile, "Aren't you going to invite me in for a bite?"

"Lord Li is too kind. Please come in."

If this were Jiang Yun's house, Li Wangxin probably wouldn't even bother asking; he would just go in, sit down, and eat.

There was nothing he could do; this was the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and Jiang Yun could only be considered a guest.

After entering and sitting down, before Jiang Yun could even sit down, Li Wangxin looked him up and down and asked, "What's this? Planning to eat at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion from now on? Not going back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Jiang Yun chuckled, sat down, and said, "Isn't it good as it is now? Or, Lord Li, could you transfer me to the Tianqi Army, make me a general under your command, and let me fight for you?"

"Everyone has their own expertise. You're good at catching ghosts and demons as a Taoist priest, but what do you know about fighting?"

Li Wangxin paused for a moment, then said, "Of course, I don't know how either, so His Majesty sent me back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Uh." Jiang Yun was slightly taken aback.

"There's nothing we can do. Zhang Yuhu is a master at fighting, but he's too rough around the edges. He offended a lot of people under him as soon as he joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"His Majesty allowed him to take his trusted confidants and pack up to return to the Tianqi Army, officially putting me back in command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

As he said this, a faint smile appeared on Li Wangxin's face.

Li Wangxin's smile carried a lot of meaning, which was enough to prove his importance in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It's not something that can be replaced by just any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

"You've been reinstated to your original position," Li Wangxin said to Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun smiled awkwardly, then said, "Lord Li, is it just a matter of being reinstated to one's original position?"

Li Wangxin chuckled: "What's wrong, kid? You want to get promoted? You've only been in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for half a year and you've already become a commander of a thousand. This is unprecedented in our Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Jiang Yun coughed and slowly said, "With my cultivation at the third-rank Celestial Master level, becoming a commander of a thousand men is probably a first for me in the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Isn't it said that you cultivators are indifferent to fame and fortune? But looking at you, you don't seem that indifferent to fame and fortune at all," Li Wangxin complained.

However, after thinking for a while, he said with a smile, "Okay, I promise you, if you do something for me, I will promote you."

"What are you doing?"

"We still have over 270 members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard imprisoned in the Martial Spirit Mansion. Aren't we going to rescue them?"

This was also the most urgent thing for Li Wangxin to do after returning to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which consisted of more than 270 experienced Embroidered Uniform Guards from the Eastern Garrison.

It was extremely difficult to train this group of people, and it would be even more difficult for them to die in the Martial Spirit Mansion.

"Save people?" Jiang Yun frowned, still feeling lingering fear as he recalled the sword god's might.

“You have an apprentice over there too.” Li Wangxin patted Jiang Yun: “You should think of a way to rescue him. After thinking about it, you are the most suitable person for this mission.”

"You know, I've always had high hopes for you."

(End of this chapter)