The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 322 The New Generation of Beiwei Army

At the foot of the eastern slope of Centipede Ridge, in a fortified village large enough to accommodate several hundred people, Wu Chengyu, disguised as Tang Kuo Shanying, was brought here by a group of people.

The person in charge of escorting him was naturally Nalan Zhui Song, who now fully knew Wu Chengyu's identity and was shocked.

In the previous farce, Tangkuo Shanying made a series of foolish moves and was unable to recover. When he was punished and imprisoned in Youyanling, Wanyan Hongsheng's side expressed their complete acceptance. For a noble son of the Jin Dynasty, this was already a severe punishment, and this incident was not enough to kill Tangkuo Shanying.

Not a single member of Tang Kuo's family offered any advice; they were completely deserted and wished they could drive Tang Kuo Shanying away immediately.

This series of actions left Nalan Zhuisong bewildered. Tang Kuo Shanying shouldn't be so foolish, so what methods did Madam Wen use?
Before setting off, Madam Wen called him over, and Yan Chunyu, her own commander, was also there. It was then that he learned that Tang Kuo Shanying was actually an imposter, and that the imposter was actually their righteous leader.

To his astonishment that such a disguise technique existed in the world, Nalan Zhuisong finally understood the whole story and was filled with admiration for Wu Chengyu.

The castle was built on a hillside, backed by Centipede Ridge. Not far to the west of the castle was the coal mine, where a small village of miners had slowly formed. The private army responsible for protecting the coal mine was stationed in the castle.

Wu Chengyu, the Tangkuo Shanying, was free to move around in the vicinity of the castle and the coal mine, but he could not return to Tongguan County. He immediately surveyed the surrounding environment and became more and more excited as he looked around.

A main road, 16 or 17 meters wide, had been formed between the castle and the coal mine. However, if you continued west from where the main road turned into the coal mine, about ten miles away, you would reach the mountain where Wu Chengyu's small base was located.

Using the castle as cover, and with the help of Tang Kuo's craftsmen to build roads, it won't be long before a hidden mountain road is built, leading directly to the foot of the mountain where the base is located.

Once all the guards in the castle have been replaced by rebels, and the rebel artisans have been used to develop the base, if a hidden route can be found to connect with the mountain road, then a stable supply channel will be available.

When he returned to his room in the castle with a look of excitement, he saw Yan Chunyu sitting in the room drinking tea with a smile on her face.

"It seems my husband is in a good mood."

"Of course, the location of this castle is exceptionally advantageous. With just a little modification, it can be connected to my little base."

"In that case, this place will become a base for my righteous army in Ziwu Ridge. I will work with Madam Wen to gradually replace the people here with members of the righteous army."

However, Nalan Zhui Song will become the commander of Tang Kuo's private army and will need to protect Lady Wen's safety, so he cannot stay here.

I will send another person here to take charge of the righteous army and obey my husband's orders.

"I wonder what requirements my husband has for this person?"

"Although there are many bandits in Ziwu Ridge, they dare not make any moves against Tang Kuo's family's property, so it is very safe."

But the castle is still a bit small and needs to be expanded and its defenses strengthened, since the number of rebels here will only increase in the future.

As for the selection, that's up to my wife. My idea is to find someone mature, steady, skilled in training troops, with battlefield experience, and adept at defense.

“Now I understand. This place is under the control of Nalan Zhui Song, and the soldiers here are all his confidants. My husband doesn’t need to stay in the castle all the time. Why don’t you take me to see your little base? I’m very curious.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was no road from the castle at Youyanling to the entrance of the small base, and it was not easy to walk. Wu Chengyu, with one arm around Hong Niangzi, used his lightness skill to take half an hour to reach the entrance.

They entered through the hollow of the giant tree in front of the waterfall, and after climbing several hundred steps, the two finally returned to their small base.

In just half a month, not much has changed here. The original twenty-odd slaves can no longer be called slaves; they are now considered servants.

They cleared three or four acres of land on the sunny side of the valley, and the ground around the stone cave was paved with stone slabs after the craftsmen quarried the stones. They also reinforced the two stone wells.

In addition, there were the children. After nearly twenty days of rest and recuperation, although they were mainly given porridge, their complexions had visibly improved. When they saw Wu Chengyu, they immediately surrounded him, and everyone was laughing and chatting happily.

But most importantly, when they saw Wu Chengyu, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They were really afraid that Wu Chengyu would never return, as he was their only support.

Wu Chengyu brought over a lot of meat, and after drinking porridge for more than twenty days, the children's stomachs were able to digest some oil. The servants' cooking was mediocre, but Wu Chengyu cooked a pot of braised pork, which was served with rice and some vegetables. The children ate it with great joy.

As night fell and everyone else had gone to sleep, Wu Chengyu led Yan Chunyu to the outermost edge of the cliff. Looking at the full moon in the sky, the dark forest in the distance, and the roars of beasts in their ears, Yan Chunyu was no longer shy and nestled in Wu Chengyu's arms.

How do you plan to raise these children?

“I remember telling you that I am a descendant of the Beiwei Army.”

I am no match for you in training troops, and I am an amateur in commanding battles. All I know is martial arts. I promised these children that I would give them the power to control their own destiny, so I want to train them into a new generation of the Beiwei Army.

A special army with superb martial arts skills, capable of protecting our generals and infiltrating enemy positions to carry out missions such as infiltration, intelligence gathering, and assassination.

This is the true meaning of the Beiwei Army in my mind. The Beiwei Army during Marshal Yue's time was more like a suicide squad, which could only play a role when fighting desperately against the enemy.

My Beiwei Army possesses both martial prowess and strict military discipline. They can form well-coordinated formations and snipe the enemy like vipers from the shadows. Only by cooperating with your rebel army can such an army fulfill its most crucial mission.

"It must be very difficult. As far as I know, not everyone has the aptitude for martial arts, and it will take a very long time."

"It is indeed difficult, but I have a way to improve their qualifications. After all, my qualifications were not good back then, so it was impossible for them to reach my level."

I am confident that I can make them all into true masters, far surpassing ordinary martial arts figures. These hundred or so children are not enough. I heard that you have also found many children. Select some with clean backgrounds and who are willing to endure hardship and send them to me.

We can also explore some caves here. With the support of Madam Wen, I now need five hundred men. Ten years later, the rebel army will have five hundred small troops with at least first-class combat power.

Furthermore, I only know how to teach martial arts, so it would be best to assign me an instructor who understands the training methods of the Yue Family Army. We need to work together.

"Okay, I'm going back tomorrow. I've been away for too long this time, and the Qinling base can't be without me for too long."

"My lord, it will be difficult for us to meet again in the future, but I am deeply grateful for your willingness to join the cause of resisting the Jin."

"Actually, it might not be good to say it like this. I'm not doing this for you. I just don't want to see Han people being bullied or used as food by others anymore. In my opinion, cannibalism is the most unbearable thing in the world."

"That's enough. From now on, my husband and I will fight side by side."

"My lord, I'm leaving tomorrow. Kiss me."

~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Wu Chengyu took Yan Chunyu back to the castle at the foot of Youyan Ridge. Yan Chunyu, along with Sister Niu and a group of people, left reluctantly.

Wu Chengyu gave some instructions to Na Lanzhui Song, asking him to send a message to Madam Wen to gather some craftsmen to build a road into the mountains at the foot of Youyan Ridge. He also instructed them to prepare some winter clothing and supplies, as winter was approaching and the heavy snow that would block the mountains would be difficult to endure.

This is the significance of his trip down the mountain to Tongguan County. Despite many twists and turns, it finally provided the small base with a stable supply channel.

Afterwards, Wu Chengyu, disguised as Tang Kuo Shanying, wandered around the castle, then returned to his room while cursing and pretending to be depressed, saying that he didn't want to see anyone or go out, and that all his meals would be provided by Na Lan Zhui Song.

He quietly left the castle and returned to his small base. Before the castle was entirely under the control of the rebels, he only needed to show his face every few days.

Once he returned to the base, he could finally begin to implement what he had always wanted to do.

He called all the children over and checked their aptitude one by one. Just as Yan Chunyu had said, there weren't many people with the aptitude to practice martial arts.

Only a dozen or so of the children had good aptitude and potential. The best one was Li Geda, the little wolf cub he had been paying attention to. This kid's aptitude was probably no worse than Qu Lingfeng and Chen Xuanfeng, a step below Feng Mofeng, and of course, he was no match for A Ku.

The other one, Song Mu, was not tall, but had a large frame. Despite long-term malnutrition, his strength was not much less than that of an average adult, making him most suitable for powerful martial arts or body-strengthening techniques.

And then there's that little deer whose origins are shrouded in mystery. He's got good potential, though not as good as Li Geda, but he should have great comprehension.

But these children, just like Ah Ku back then, suffered the greatest hardships in the world when they were young. Their physical foundations were all damaged, and they had to find a way to rebuild them, otherwise they would not be able to withstand high-intensity martial arts training.

Fortunately, Wu Chengyu was very experienced in this area. The techniques he possessed, such as the Ox and Horse Stance, the Bear Appearance that helped Aku rebuild his foundation, and the Silkworm Transformation that transformed him, all had the effect of rebuilding one's foundation.

However, all three are too high-end and require more resources, especially the silkworm transformation, which probably doesn't have rare and precious materials like the Bodhi snake here.

Wu Chengyu could only combine the relatively basic parts of the three techniques, and with the guidance of the bamboo slips, he gradually deduced a relatively low-level body-refining method that could rebuild the foundation and improve various aspects of the body's qualities.

This set of exercises alone, combined with various medicinal supplements, takes a year to master, but for these children, it is nothing short of defying fate.

In terms of effectiveness, this set of techniques is actually far inferior to the Ox and Horse Stance and the Bear Appearance, but Wu Chengyu gave it a rather domineering name: The Heaven-Mending Technique.

　The Ziwu Ridge dungeon will end soon. This is to lay the groundwork for the main storyline. Spending a few years here allows the characters from the original work to grow up quickly. Please be patient. Also, I know that my data has dropped sharply in the past two days. I know I didn't write well earlier, but there's nothing I can do. I'm limited by my abilities. I apologize to everyone.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)