I Have the Martial Arts Heavenly Eye in the Storm Riders

Wu Chang's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of the dragon throne.

"What about the border?"

The old minister glanced at the Minister of War.

The Minister of War immediately understood and stepped forward again.

"Your Majesty, we must not forcibly conscript men at this time."

"The Great Qian Dynasty has just collapsed, and the people's hearts are not yet settled. If we were to impose a household tax system at this time, it would only make the people think that the court is trying to restore the dynasty and that they are going to be arrested and sent to their deaths."

"I request that the method be changed from conscription to recruitment."

"Those who voluntarily go to the border will first receive a settlement allowance, and will be paid their full military pay monthly."

"Anyone who enlists in the border army and is unmarried may be married to a woman chosen by the government."

"Any family willing to send their daughter to marry into a military household will be exempt from military service quotas."

"Those who perform meritorious service will be granted land and ranks, and those who die in battle will receive additional compensation for their parents, wives and relatives."

"Those with martial arts skills join the border army, while those without martial arts skills repair passes, transport grain and fodder, and build beacon towers."

"Then select the strongest men from the Beijing Garrison, the military garrisons, the grain transport gangs, and the escort agencies to assemble a usable force and send it to the nine border regions as quickly as possible."

Wu Chang frowned slightly.

"Is it enough to just recruit soldiers?"

The Minister of War gritted his teeth.

"Even if there's no time, we must do it first."

"Therefore, a second decree is required."

"Order the border generals who fled along the way to atone for their crimes by immediately gathering the remaining troops and rushing back to their original passes."

"If he can hold the border, spare his life."

"If we cannot defend it, the entire family will be executed."

Many people in the hall gasped for breath.

This method is ruthless, but it's the only source of soldiers we can immediately recruit.

With the main force of the Nine Garrisons wiped out, the only people truly familiar with border military affairs were the remnants of the army that had been utterly annihilated by Dugu Ming.

Wu Chang did not immediately agree.

He asked the most crucial question.

"Who will take over as the general at the border?"

As soon as those words were spoken, the hall, which had been barely audible just moments before, fell silent once more.

Soldiers can be recruited, provisions can be procured, and imperial edicts can be issued.

The position of a border general is not one that anyone can secure simply by putting on a suit of armor.

All eight generals died.

Millions of border soldiers are buried in Longfeng.

Even if ordinary officials were promoted, they could not suppress the remnants of the border army, let alone deter the covetous foreign tribes.

The Minister of War broke out in a cold sweat, remained silent for a moment, and then forced himself to speak:

"Your Majesty, in extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are necessary."

"It is difficult to fill the positions of the nine border generals in a short time. We can select people from the palace to temporarily fill the border general positions."

"These people may not be knowledgeable about border affairs, but at least they are skilled in martial arts and their status is close to that of the emperor, so they can help the court stabilize the morale of the army."

"Once the situation stabilizes somewhat, we will select truly capable generals from the remnants of the army and the local garrisons, and replace them one by one."

Many military officials in the hall noticed a slight change in expression upon hearing this.

This method is not safe, and is even somewhat crude.

But now that all eight border generals are dead and the nine border generals are almost empty, there is simply no time to select good generals in an orderly manner.

Sending top experts from the imperial palace first is not for the purpose of long-term border control.

Instead, they first let the remnants of the border troops know that the emperor's influence could extend to the nine border regions.

Wu Chang slowly raised his eyes.

"Draft an imperial edict."

His voice trailed off.

"From among the imperial guards and close personal guards, select the one with the strongest martial arts skills and the most stable temperament, and temporarily bestow upon him the seal of the General Who Guards the Border."

"Immediately take the gold medals out of the capital and go to the nine border regions."

"Anyone who dares to disobey orders shall be executed."

"Anyone who dares to disrupt border defenses shall be executed."

"Anyone who dares to take advantage of the chaos to amass military power shall be executed."

As the three "cut" sounds rang out, a chill suddenly descended upon the entire Golden Palace.

The assembled officials bowed in unison.

"Your Majesty, we obey."

After the court session, candlelight flickered low in the imperial study.

Wu Chang sat alone behind his desk, on which lay several newly arrived secret memorials from the inner court.

Every word on that secret letter was like a cold needle piercing his eyes.

Of the three thousand beauties in the imperial harem, most of them have already been sunk into a deep well by Dugu Ming.

Those who survived by sheer luck were all defiled by Dugu Ming, becoming stains left behind by the new emperor of Daqian after his one night of debauchery.

Wu Chang looked at it for a long time, his face expressionless.

But the tightly clenched fingers tightened little by little, the knuckles turning a pale white.

In the study, a newly promoted head eunuch knelt on the ground, his breathing extremely low.

He didn't dare to look up.

They dared not even look at the emperor's expression.

After a long while, Wuchang finally spoke.

"The harem".

His voice was so low it sounded like it was being squeezed out from deep in his throat.

"Clean it once."

The head eunuch trembled.

These few words are enough to explain everything.

He immediately kowtowed.

"Your servant obeys the decree."

But after he finished speaking, the head eunuch did not leave immediately.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally asked in a trembling voice:

"Your Majesty, what about...the princes?"

Inside the imperial study, the candlelight flickered silently.

At that moment, a hint of undisguised pain finally appeared in Wu Chang's eyes.

Those children are innocent, of course.

But in this palace, the innocent can never save anyone.

Dugu Ming's meddling in the harem has trampled the dignity of the Ming imperial family into the mud.

If those princes were still alive, they would become the sharpest blades in the hands of countless ambitious people.

Some people might use them to question their bloodline.

Some people might use them to stir up old grudges.

Some might even use them to stir up another palace coup while the Ming Dynasty's foundation is still unstable.

Wuchang closed his eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, the pain had been completely suppressed.

"Leave no one alive."

The head eunuch's face turned deathly pale instantly.

But he dared not ask another word and could only press his forehead heavily to the ground.

"This servant... obeys the decree."

Soon, the door to the imperial study closed again, and the footsteps faded into the distance.

Wu Chang was the only one left in the room.

He sat behind his desk, silently watching the flickering candlelight.

Are you feeling unwell?

It's naturally uncomfortable.

But he knew better than anyone that as an emperor, if he wasn't ruthless, he wouldn't be able to hold onto his throne.

When he lost his kingdom, he could bow his head outside the bamboo house, beg his brother to come out of seclusion, and trample all dignity underfoot, just to get a chance to restore his country.

But when he sat back on this land, he could no longer consider himself an ordinary person.

A ruler is one who can bend and stretch.

A ruler is one who can let go and make sever ties.

The candlelight illuminated his lonely profile.

After that day, Wu Chang, sitting on the dragon throne, was no longer just a deposed monarch who had escaped death.

He became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty again.

He has become truly alone again.

Three days later, outside the mountain gate of Tianwaitian.

A figure in plain clothes slowly ascended the long steps.

The nameless man was still recovering from his injuries and his breathing was still somewhat weak, but his steps remained steady.

At the end of the long staircase, a maid was already waiting quietly.

It didn't seem like she bumped into Wuming by chance; it was more like she had been waiting there for a long time.

As Wuming approached, the maidservant bowed in greeting.

"Nameless senior."

Wuming nodded slightly.

"I apologize for the inconvenience."

"I am anonymous at Zhonghua Pavilion, and I request an audience with Senior Jiang."

The maid showed no surprise whatsoever, and simply said softly:

"The nameless senior has arrived at an inopportune time."

"The Supreme Elder is no longer in the Outer Heavens."

Wuming's brow twitched slightly.

The maid said again:

"However, the Supreme Elder gave instructions before he left."

"He predicted that the senior would come today, and specifically ordered me to wait here."

"If the nameless senior comes, then give this item to him."

As she spoke, she took out a neatly folded sheet of Xuan paper from her sleeve and presented it with both hands.

The nameless man took the paper.

The paper is very light.

But for some reason, when it landed in his palm, it felt as if it carried some kind of predetermined destiny.

He slowly unfolded it.

There was no lengthy explanation on the paper, only a few lines.

Wuming stared at the words on the paper, his eyes narrowing.

Then, as if he had finally figured something out, he let out a long breath.

After a long silence, Wuming folded the paper again and put it into his sleeve.

He looked up into the depths of the heavens.

Since Jiang Chen left this piece of paper, it means that everything was within his expectations.

He is not in the Outer Heavens at the moment, presumably because he has more important things to do.

Wuming didn't ask any more questions.

He gave a slight bow to the maid.

Thank you.

The maid quickly stepped aside to avoid it.

"You flatter me, senior."

Wuming turned and walked down the long steps.

The mountain breeze swept past his sleeves, and also caused the clouds and mist in the sky to slowly churn.

He has already received the answer.

Bujia Village, Hangzhou.

Deep in the bamboo forest on the west side of Gushan Mountain, Bu Tian stood alone in the center of the open space.

He has barely slept these past few days.

After the Sky Rift disappeared, Bu Jingyun never returned.

An unease weighed on his heart, growing heavier with each passing moment, until finally he could only suppress it little by little into his palm strike.

Bamboo leaves spin on their own even without wind.

Bu Tian slowly raised and lowered his palms, and the boundless true energy within his body pushed out layer by layer like the tides of the deep sea.

This true energy was not violent, but it was so vast that it seemed to have no end.

With each breath, it feels as if the energy of the surrounding grass, trees, rocks, breeze, and flowing water is drawn into the chest and then slowly exhaled through the palms.

However, the style of his palm strikes was the Cloud-Dispelling Palm, which was most familiar to the Bu family lineage.

Clouds have no fixed shape, and the palm has no fixed form.

It was clearly just a single palm strike, yet in mid-air it seemed as if several layers of cloud shadows were simultaneously rising up, some as light as floating catkins, some as heavy as mountains, some fierce and direct, and some swirling and circling.

suddenly.

Behind Bu Tian, ​​the depths of the bamboo forest suddenly turned cold without warning.

It's not the wind that's cold.

Instead, it was a murderous intent.

The terrifying killing intent, almost tangible, pierced his back like a silent, cold glint of light.

In an instant, Bu Tian felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

He didn't turn back, nor did he have time to turn back.

Almost at the same instant the killing intent was about to strike, he twisted his waist and back, and struck out with his right palm!

boom--!!!

Before the palm even touched the ground, the clouds had already risen.

Boundless true energy surged from his body, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, and then transformed into a thick, sweeping cloud in his palm.

The Cloud-Dispelling Palm's illusory and real transformations were forcibly propped open by the Boundless Divine Skill.

The palm strike, which was originally unpredictable, now possessed an infinite and vast meaning.

With a single palm strike, it was as if ten thousand layers of clouds were stacked together, forcefully crashing into the icy sword intent behind him.

The next instant, the sword intent and the palm force collided with a deafening roar.

The entire bamboo forest suddenly trembled.

Countless green bamboos bent from the middle, and were then pressed outwards and fell in large swaths by the two forces of energy.

The ground cracked open like a spiderweb, and pebbles and bamboo leaves were lifted off the ground at the same time, shredded into countless fragments in mid-air by the violent aftershocks.

The distant stream was shaken so violently that it surged upwards, the waves suspended in mid-air as if forcibly overturned by an invisible hand.

Bu Tian took three steps back.

With each step back, a deep crack appeared in the ground.

But he did not fall.

The cold glint that had attacked from the shadows vanished at that moment.