What a lucky world!

Chapter 268: Sword Saint Picking Lotus, Zhang Mu Hunting Monsters

Ninety miles west of Zhongjing City, there is a city gate called Zhenmo Pass.

The famous Demon Suppression Division is located here.

In the past, Emperor Taizu of Dayun traveled across the rivers and lakes and returned victoriously. He set up the Demon Suppression Division here to intimidate the noble families and suppress illegal armed forces.

But the strange thing was that the Demon Suppression Division was actually independent of the imperial court, operating on its own. Even the appointment and dismissal of personnel were internal affairs, not subject to court consultation. When facing the imperial court, they simply followed orders rather than orders. Yet, emperors throughout history, whether wise and benevolent or greedy and cruel, never punished or reprimanded the Demon Suppression Division. Instead, they supported it with all their might, seemingly confiding in it the utmost trust.

This has always been a puzzle that no one in the world can figure out.

The current commander of the Demon Suppression Division is Xiao Wuji, a first-rank Demon Suppression General, a Supreme Pillar of the State, and the Duke of Zhenguo. This man is elusive, so the affairs of the Demon Suppression Division are presided over by three second-rank generals.

The three great commanders are known as the Sword Saint, the Spear Immortal, and the Knife Bodhisattva.

Now that the Spear Immortal is away and has not returned, the Sword Bodhisattva is going to Zhongjing on behalf of the Demon Suppression Division to pay tribute to the late Emperor, leaving the Sword Saint in charge.

Sword Saint Pei Zhaoming is Xiao Wuji's last disciple. Ten years ago, the Liu family of Jinyuan secretly communicated with the Northern Wilderness Demon Clan. Pei Zhaoming, who had just been promoted to Grandmaster at that time, went to Jinyuan City to search for evidence, but was besieged by the Liu family.

The Liu family is a prominent family second only to the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Clans. There are nine masters in the family, two grand masters, and an ancestor who suppresses the family's fortune and is an unparalleled grand master.

Faced with such a lineup, Pei Zhaoming sacrificed his blood to swords, broke thirteen swords, and killed the Liu family, killing all those above the Grandmaster level.

Since then, the Sword Saint's reputation spread throughout the nine provinces, and he was also known as Sword Thirteen.

At this time, Pei Zhaoming was sitting idly in the corridor, looking at the blood-stained note in his hand. His sword-like eyebrows were slightly raised, as if a sharp sword was unsheathed.

"The White Lotus Sect is going to rebel?"

Pei Zhaoming picked up the wine bottle beside him and took a sip. He yawned and muttered, "This is so annoying."

"No clue at all."

"I'm using you as knives to deal with those teachers in the south, not to chop us down."

"Isn't it good to live well?"

Pei Zhaoming stood up and staggered outside. The sword servant following behind him asked, "Grand Commander, where are you going?"

Pei Zhaoming's figure had disappeared, leaving only his words echoing -

"Lotus can be picked in the south of the Yangtze River, and the lotus leaves are so lush..."

……

Zhang Mu rode at full speed and returned to Qianyuan Mountain within three days.

As soon as he entered Wuzhai, Zhang Mu immediately summoned Wei Wuyou to discuss the impact of the emperor's death on Qianyuan Mountain.

"According to the information we have received so far, Empress Dowager Chen has already agreed and Prince Duan will soon ascend the throne and become emperor." Wei Wuyou just sat down and told the intelligence he had collected in the past few days.

"Prince Duan..." Zhang Mu frowned.

This is extremely unfavorable news for Qianyuanshan.

It’s not that Prince Duan has any ill will towards Qianyuan Mountain. To be honest, with the current scale of Qianyuan Mountain, let alone Prince Duan, I’m afraid it wouldn’t even be in the eyes of a third-rank official.

but!

In Taiping County where Qianyuan Mountain is located, the general in charge of the county’s defense is named Yang!

The Yang family is Princess Duan’s maiden family!

There is no doubt that once Prince Duan ascends the throne and the Dayun Guochao version is updated, the Yang family will receive an epic boost.

The son of the guerrilla general surnamed Yang, Yang Sun, known as the Prince of Dumu, was the man behind the battle of Qianyuan who had been deliberately trying to unify the Taiping Green Forest and supported Sha Tonghai!

After Sha Tonghai's failure, Yang Sun did not cause trouble for Qianyuanshan again, but that did not mean that Yang Sun gave up.

Zhang Mu had never understood why Yang Xuan wanted to unify the green forest forces in Taiping County.

After all, at that time, the person with the highest cultivation level among the Thirteen Martial Villages of Taiping County was Sha Tonghai, who was in the early stage of the Ju Dan Realm. And Sha Tonghai's advancement to the Ju Dan Realm was also related to the Yang family.

In this case, what use is there for him to have such a force that can be said to be a "rabble".

But later, Zhang Mu figured it out.

It's nothing more than four words -

To support the enemy is to protect oneself! What Yang Xuan cares about is not the power of the Thirteen Martial Villages, but the foundation of his Yang family in Taiping County, or more accurately, the foundation of his father, the guerrilla general Yang Lingchuan, in Taiping County.

Only when there are enemies can one have greater military power and an excuse to demand resources and policies.

Perhaps Yang Xuan has other plans, but this point is definitely crucial.

Zhang Mu's sudden rise disrupted Yang Xuan's plan, causing Sha Tonghai's plan to unify the Green Forest to fail. However, at the same time, Zhang Mu unified the Thirteen Martial Villages in disguise and became a bandit in Yang Xuan's eyes.

It’s just that he doesn’t have as much freedom of operation as Sha Tonghai.

Yang Xuan is currently raising him, raising him until he poses enough of a threat, and raising him until his father's military power even surpasses that of the county governor!

After figuring this out, Zhang Mu and Yang Xuan reached a tacit understanding.

Yang Xuan did not come to attack Qianyuan Mountain, and Zhang Mu obediently became a bandit.

But now things have changed.

With Prince Duan ascending the throne, the Yang family rose rapidly, and the resources of the Yang family fell into the hands of Yang Lingchuan. Yang Lingchuan's power was bound to increase, and there was no need to raise bandits to suppress the county governor!
Even, you need to do something to bring joy to the new emperor!
And Qianyuan Wuzhai may very likely become part of the tribute!

Wei Wuyou was naturally well aware of the interests involved, so he hurriedly called Zhang Mu back to discuss countermeasures.

"If Prince Duan ascends the throne, when exactly will it be?" Zhang Mu asked.

Wei Wuyou replied, "According to the ordinance, when an emperor passes away, the coffin is kept for seven days. After seven days, the new emperor ascends the throne, presides over the funeral, and respectfully escorts the late emperor to the mausoleum."

"Decide on the posthumous title and offer sacrifices to the Taimiao."

“Only after that can we formally take charge of government.”

"One month at the fastest, three months at the slowest."

Zhang Mu thought for a moment and said, "The deceased is the Queen Mother's own son. The posthumous honors will definitely be very meticulous."

"Prince Duan's ascension to the throne requires the Empress Dowager's help, so he will definitely lean towards Empress Dowager Chen on this point."

"Emperor Chiyang had only been in power for a few months, and he died due to a backlash of luck. The senior officials in the Ministry of Rites certainly wouldn't give him a beautiful posthumous title right away. It will probably take some time to argue over it."

"A conservative estimate would be two months!"

"During this period, the garrison will not be deployed..."

After a brief thought, Zhang Mu said, "Send someone to find Wang Wenlu and find out the details of the county garrison!"

Wei Wuyou nodded: "I have already arranged this."

Zhang Mu saw Wei Wuyou's frown and suddenly smiled: "Master Wei, don't be nervous."

"Prince Duan wasn't the heir apparent, but rather a younger brother succeeding his elder brother. Tracing back to the imperial lineage, it would take three generations. He can't hold onto the throne simply by sitting there."

"Many things may not be chaotic."

"It's still unclear how much resources the Yang family can spare to help Yang Lingchuan!"

After hearing this, Wei Wuyou sighed softly, "The world is changing too fast."

"I am a little anxious."

"After the last battle, Wuzhai's vitality has not yet recovered."

"If we were given two or three more years, even if Yang Lingchuan led the county garrison to fight, I wouldn't be afraid."

Zhang Mu also understood Wei Wuyou's concerns, but things in the world are often like this, and people will not wait until they are fully prepared before coming.

When the enemy comes, we will fight them with our generals; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. Nothing is better than this.

But then, Zhang Mu thought of the armory mentioned in the Tianji Scroll.

At this time, an arsenal comes at the perfect time.

If you want to find the armory, you must first find the captive monster mentioned in the Tianji Scroll, which is still alive after the destruction of the Tianji Sect.

I have to ask Xuan Ji for help with this matter.

Xuan Ji naturally cannot search the entire Qianyuan Mountains, but Xuan Ji has a large army of rats under her command!

(End of this chapter)