Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 251 Strategizing with Sun Tzu

Construction of the railway, which started in the 31st year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, began, running from Kaifeng in the east to Luoyang in the west.

During the Republic of China era, the railway was expanded and lengthened, with more branches added, and Luoyang Station also reached a considerable size.

Every time a train arrives here, the area around the station is packed with people getting on and off the train, as well as small business owners, rickshaw pullers, and porters.

In such a bustling scene of crowds, shoulder to shoulder, pickpockets and beggars are naturally plentiful as well.

Sun Feng'an noticed that as the train approached its destination, all the passengers, regardless of their wealth or appearance, became alert, clutching their luggage or their children tightly.

As soon as the car door opened, the crowd surged out warily and nervously.

Sun Feng'an mingled among them. He had short hair, looked to be in his early twenties, and had a very energetic appearance. However, he was only wearing a worn-out long gown and carrying a folding fan. He had no luggage at all.

Even pickpockets wouldn't be willing to search him for anything.

Several short, thin men who were already mixed in with the train clearly looked around, avoiding Sun Feng'an, and moved closer to the people they had been eyeing on the train.

Sun Feng'an glanced at the group of people, opened his folding fan halfway, and then heard a loud shout.

"Free water! It's a government welfare initiative; the water is all boiled and clean!"

In the most conspicuous place in the station, several large wooden barrels were set up for photos. People in uniforms stood next to the barrels, holding tin megaphones and shouting loudly.

People who travel by train these days are rarely thirsty, and when they hear there is free clean water, they immediately head over there.

Some people were more cautious and wanted to see if it was really free.

Those in uniforms were shouting loudly, making people line up.

Sun Feng'an then noticed that long lines were drawn in white lime on the station floor, and people could naturally form a queue by simply finding the lines and standing in line.

Those pickpockets who wanted to take advantage of the chaos were caught as soon as they entered the queue and tried to make a move.

Catching pickpockets in such a queue is much easier than in a chaotic crowd.

Sun Feng'an seemed to be deep in thought, and then walked into the city while fanning himself with his folding fan.

There were naturally guards at the city gate, but in the blink of an eye, he had already walked into the city without noticing anything amiss.

The streets and alleys of Luoyang are well-organized.

Sun Feng'an visited this place years ago; it was a sight to behold, both grand and dilapidated.

The situation has clearly only gotten worse with Liu Xueya in charge for the past few years.

But when he entered the city, he saw people bustling about, with an indescribable energy and spirit.

Slogans painted with white plaster can be seen everywhere on the walls.

Since the establishment of the Republic of China, it was not uncommon for slogans to be posted and painted in various places, opposing the former Qing Dynasty, tyranny, warlords, and restoration.

Indeed, in today's world, there are many national issues that deserve opposition.

But the slogans in Luoyang are different; besides the usual ones, there are many other variations.

Boil the river water before drinking it, and you'll live at least ten years longer.

If a vehicle or horse collidees in the street, the perpetrator will be immediately subjected to severe punishment.

Leave a crack in the coal-burning house, otherwise even a god couldn't save it...

They are all short, catchy sentences.

Sun Feng'an had only walked a few streets when he saw more than a dozen different slogans.

There were also people banging gongs and chanting as they walked through the streets and alleys. Judging from their manner, they must have been paid to sing this song.

Sun Feng'an stopped a night watchman and learned that it was indeed the city government that had ordered them to sing.

Where is the city government?

Night watchman: "The municipal government is in the east of the city? Oh, that area has been converted into a special office for handling cases, they said they were short of that before. The office for handling miscellaneous matters is in the Marshal's Mansion."

Sun Feng'an asked in surprise, "How can someone who does odd jobs be allowed to live in the Marshal's Mansion?"

"It's not about doing miscellaneous tasks, it just means taking care of everything."

The night watchman feigned mystery, saying, "Our Luoyang is quite different now than it used to be."

"Don't even mention the Marshal's Mansion. If you really have something urgent to report, you can go to the prison."

Sun Feng'an's curiosity grew even stronger, so he asked for directions to the prison and headed in that direction.

This Luoyang prison is indeed very different from before.

The stench that used to be noticeable right at the entrance is now completely gone.

There was a lingering medicinal smell.

Luoyang has more than one prison. Those old prisons used to be so crowded that they couldn't hold everyone, but now they are not full. It's not that there are really so few prisoners.

The only options were either to execute them for serious crimes, or to send them to forced labor, as there were too many places in the city that needed manpower.

Since they are not going to rely on arbitrarily arresting people or extorting money, and they are strictly investigating bribery, the sentencing will naturally be much clearer.

The prison in front of us, which was once converted into a hospital ward, does not currently have any prisoners needing to move in.

Sun Feng'an took a few more steps closer, and the guards at the door came forward to question him.

“I am an envoy from Jiangdong. I have heard that high-ranking officials from Luoyang often visit this place, so I have come to pay a visit.”

Sun Feng'an took out an ID card.

The guard didn't quite understand the long list of titles or what positions they represented, but he figured it must be someone important, so he told him to wait a moment.

Inside the courtyard, Chu Tianshu had already sat back down on the bamboo chair and was chatting with the other sorcerers.

Huo Ming stood at the gate, took the document and looked at it.

"Sun Yi?"

Huo Ming said in surprise, "That's Sun Feng'an's real name."

Chu Tianshu looked up at the courtyard gate: "It seems we have guests arriving. Everyone, please organize and tidy up these documents first."

Everyone got up, took their documents, and returned to their rooms where they had taken a nap.

Huo Ming left the courtyard gate and soon returned with Sun Feng'an.

The courtyard was already empty, with most of the bamboo chairs and small tables neatly arranged in the corners.

There was only one square table and two or three chairs left.

Chu Tianshu unscrewed the lid of the teapot, pinched off a pinch of dry tea leaves, and threw them into the teapot that had already been steeped until it was weak.

When Sun Feng'an came in, he had just poured out a cup of tea that was about half-new.

"Young Master Sun, please have a seat."

Chu Tianshu stood up and made an inviting gesture.

Sun Feng'an closed his folding fan, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Doctor Chu, I've heard so much about you."

Chu Tianshu smiled.

"Does Doctor Chu think this is hypocritical? But I did hear of your name more than a year ago. Who wouldn't be wary of the person who stopped the strange poison in Governor Cai's body and escorted him back to Kunming?"

Sun Feng'an said solemnly, "After receiving the warning from the Han government a couple of days ago and hearing some other news, I realized that I had underestimated Doctor Chu."

Chu Tianshu sat back down in his chair, fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan, and carefully examined this young master Sun.

"Underestimating... my recent medical skills certainly deserve to be given more attention."

Chu Tianshu said, "In my opinion, although Brother Sun carries the aura of a curse, it hasn't penetrated to the bone." "Now, a thorough investigation in Jiangdong should still be possible to break the source of the curse. I wonder why you've traveled such a long distance to Luoyang?"

Sun Feng'an took his seat and said gently, "The Cao family may not continue to curse me."

"Their original intention in resorting to such underhanded tactics was simply to wait for my death, so that Jiangdong would become slightly unstable and its attitude would become more conservative."

"In this way, when they go to war with the Han government in the future, the probability of Jiangdong intervening will be smaller. They might even take the initiative to win over Jiangdong and subdue the weak people in Jiangdong."

Sun Feng'an smiled.

"But after I received a message that someone was secretly cursing me, I slightly altered it and released the message."

"Now the whole of Jiangdong knows that the Cao family has sent assassins to kill me."

"If I were to die now, there would be an uproar throughout Jiangdong. Even if some people were to do so for the sake of their reputation, they would find it impossible to submit to the Cao family and would instead unite against them."

Huo Ming was taken aback: "Now that General Feng An has resolved this matter, there is even less reason for him to be in a hurry. Why did he come here alone in such an emergency?"

Sun Feng'an didn't rush to answer, but picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Because there are still many people who don't know the severity of my current condition."

Sun Feng'an said, "My journey to Luoyang alone to meet a renowned physician is a golden opportunity for some people."

Chu Tianshu leaned back, pressing against the back of the chair.

"There are some very unsettling guys within your Jiangdong region. Are you going to use yourself as bait to lure them out and wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"

Chu Tianshu already understood, "The reason I went straight to Luoyang is because many people still don't know what I've done."

"They know neither you nor me. If they dare to come to Luoyang, they will only be dead!"

Chu Tianshu changed the subject and stared at Sun Feng'an.

"But you want me to cover for you, what's your reward?"

"First of all, Jiangdong is willing to form a complete alliance with you all."

Sun Feng'an said sincerely, "Doctor Chu can also make any other requests."

Chu Tianshu lowered his eyes and said, "Jiangdong is the ancient land of Wu and Yue, and has been home to many famous swords and blades since ancient times."

"I've heard that the prominent figures in Jiangdong these days also enjoy collecting these things. I want you to send me all the famous swords and knives you can find."

Sun Feng'an said in surprise, "Even if some of these things were considered magical artifacts back then, they are no longer usable due to their age and are ultimately just playthings..."

"I just love these toys."

Chu Tianshu interrupted him, "Just tell me whether you agree or not."

Sun Feng'an opened and closed his folding fan, tapping it against his palm.

"How could I possibly refuse such a thing?"

He looked solemn. "But the person I'm dealing with is indeed not to be underestimated."

"Although Doctor Chu is here to cover for me, please do not let your guard down."

Huo Ming nodded: "Xu Laohu, the culprit of Jiangdong, is notorious for his viciousness. He is no ordinary person. I have mentioned him to Doctor Chu."

Xu Laohu's real name was Xu Shanbao. He learned martial arts in his youth.

At that time, in the Zhenjiang Jingkou garrison, some banner soldiers were running rampant and committing crimes, raping women and arousing public outrage.

This man found the bannerman's location, went straight to his door, and chopped off the bannerman's head. Because of his fierceness, he was respectfully called "Tiger Xu" by the villagers.

Later, he became a bandit and a salt smuggler, taking advantage of the unstable political situation to expand his influence.

He built a vast empire, stretching from Wuhu in the north to Jiangyin in the south, with over seven hundred ships and tens of thousands of brothers.

Although he was living a life of wandering and hardship, he claimed to be concerned about the affairs of the court.

When the Hundred Days' Reform failed, Xu Laohu was extremely anxious, believing that the emperor had been humiliated by the empress dowager and had rebelled against heaven.

As a salt bandit leader, he actually wrote a letter accusing the former Qing governor of "sitting idly by while Ronglu and others coveted the imperial regalia...and imprisoning our Holy Emperor!"

"In the autumn, we will organize our six armies, join forces in the Jianghuai region, and head north to purge the emperor's inner circle and eliminate the treacherous officials!"

He didn't just write letters and talk.

Not long after, he appointed himself Marshal of the Two Rivers and Two Lakes Army, claiming that he had received a secret edict from Emperor Guangxu, and posted notices to recruit soldiers on a large scale.

The Qing government officials and soldiers were helpless against him, and the local gentry all jointly wrote a petition, requesting the Governor-General of Liangjiang to pacify him.

The Viceroy of Liangjiang agreed to all of Xu Laohu's conditions.

Thus, Xu Laohu and his men transformed themselves into government troops, in charge of local security and maritime smuggling.

When Old Master Sun rallied the nation to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, Xu Tiger, quick-witted as ever, also managed to gain a name for himself in the movement.

At that time, after he announced the restoration in Zhenjiang, there were also revolutionaries in Guangling who mobilized some soldiers and ordinary people to launch an uprising and declared "Guangling Restoration".

When Xu Laohu and his men saw that someone dared to start a rebellion on their own, they attacked Guangling without saying a word.

They captured and killed all the key figures of the local uprising and "reclaimed" Guangling once again.

When Yuan Shikai held great power, Xu Laohu switched sides again and accepted many valuable rewards.

Sun Feng'an rallied his father's remaining troops, wanting to take control of Jiangdong. At that time, their number one enemy was this "Tiger Xu"!
Overt assassinations, covert attacks, naval battles, land battles...

Sun Feng'an spent countless hours and effort to finally break up the warlord forces led by Xu Laohu.

However, Xu Laohu himself is truly fierce and brave, and has repeatedly led a small number of his trusted elite soldiers to break through the encirclement and escape, and has not been captured to this day.

This person is like a golden brand in Jiangdong.

As long as he is still alive, everyone who is dissatisfied with the current stable situation in Jiangdong will secretly provide financial assistance and stir up trouble.

At this moment, Xu Laohu was indeed on his way to Luoyang.

But there was one thing that Sun Feng'an hadn't anticipated.

The hillside is gentle and covered with weeds.

Nearly a hundred spirited horses galloped down the hillside.

Several carriages were parked in front of the slope, with more than thirty people lined up in a row, blocking the way.

"Shut up!"

Xu Laohu pulled on the reins, his hair and beard bristling, his gaze so fierce it seemed to penetrate the carriage.

In the brief moment the curtains fluttered, he had already seen the person inside the carriage.

"Who do we have here to stop me with this group of ninja-like people? It turns out to be Miss Cao!"

"What, now that everyone in Jiangdong knows you want to kill Sun Feng'an, you don't dare to actually do it, and you even want to stop me?"

A cold, hard voice came from inside the carriage. It was faintly discernible as a woman's voice, but it was much more forceful than that of an average woman.

"General Xu's prestige is truly growing day by day. I'm not stopping you, I'm letting you wait for someone else!"

The person in the carriage said, "It's not worth it to kill Sun Feng'an and cause Jiangdong and the Cao family to fight to the death.

"But according to the latest intelligence I've received from the capital, if we can kill Sun Feng'an, we can also kill Chu Tianshu."

"Even if the entire Jiangdong region sides with the Han government, and angrily starts a war, and the fighting begins tomorrow, then..."

"value!!"

(End of this chapter)