The Martial Saint, starting with daily intelligence.

"Your Majesty~"

"We should seize this opportunity to mobilize our entire army to punish the disloyal king and the regional military governors, so that the Chu region can be unified and its administration centralized!"

"If we don't do this now, when will we?"

As soon as Grand Secretary Li finished speaking, someone immediately retorted.

"Grand Secretary Li, times have changed. Things must be done one step at a time, and meals must be eaten one bite at a time."

"Our Great Chu Dynasty is no longer the Great Chu of a hundred years ago!"

"The quantity and quality of the directly subordinate army, the national treasury's tax revenue, the population under its control, the overall number of martial artists, and the number of top experts are all less than one-third of what they were a hundred years ago!"

"Yes, Grand Secretary Li, our current strength means we only effectively control the two capitals, the northern and southern directly governed territories, the three northern prefectures, and two outer prefectures!"

"Compared to the peak of the Great Chu a hundred years ago, when we had two capitals, directly governed the north and south, six northern provinces, nine southern provinces, and six outer provinces."

"Furthermore, the south is prosperous, with abundant grain and a large population. The foundation of the prosperous southern states can even be compared with that of the two northern states."

"It's already difficult enough to maintain half of the country's territory; rashly resorting to war could lead to its collapse!"

"We hope Your Majesty will reconsider."

"Minister Qian is mistaken. War is not just about money and supplies, but also about the bravery of the soldiers and the sophistication of the military strategy."

"Martial arts are prevalent in our northern lands, and the proportion of warriors among our soldiers far exceeds that of the southern states. With equal military strength, our northern soldiers have at least an 80% chance of winning."

"Moreover, our Great Chu is the legitimate dynasty, and many people in the world are loyal to us. In the past, the Western barbarians interfered, which is why we suffered repeated defeats."

"Now that we no longer have the Western barbarians as our backers, and given that the princes and regional governors each have their own agendas and numerous conflicts, these military leaders are no match for our imperial army."

"Lord Zhongyong, the six northern provinces are not yet unified, yet you're already thinking of attacking the southern provinces. You really do know a thing or two about military strategy!"

"You old bastard, what do you mean? When did I ever say I'd attack the southern nine provinces first?"

Hearing the sarcastic tone of the other party, the Marquis of Zhongyong was immediately enraged.

  

If they weren't in the imperial palace, they would have slapped the other person to death.

Although the other person's eyes were filled with fear, they still held their necks straight, with a fearless and arrogant look, as if to say: Go ahead and kill me if you dare!

The Earl of Zhongyong was furious, clenching his fists, but there was nothing he could do.

"Your Majesty~"

Seeing his ministers chattering and arguing endlessly, the Emperor of Chu was also having a headache.

"quiet!"

The chief eunuch beside him held the imperial edict in his mouth, and the previously chaotic ministers instantly came to their senses.

"What Grand Secretary Li said is correct. The Western barbarians are now too busy to look eastward, which is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for us to sweep across the world."

"To miss this golden opportunity would make one a mediocre ruler!"

The Chu Emperor's eyes narrowed, his heart burning with passion.

The young emperor yearned to create achievements for himself, not only for the dynasty but also for his posthumous reputation!

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The pro-war faction made no attempt to hide their joy; everyone was filled with enthusiasm for rebuilding the Great Chu and the belief in avenging a century of national humiliation.

The appeasement faction wore bitter expressions, while their minds were filled with thoughts of their own.

"Another war is brewing. How many people will die? How much money and food will be wasted?"

"Those who died were all citizens of the Great Chu!"

···

The Chu Emperor spoke slowly.

"The powerful families do not heed the king's authority, they outwardly comply but inwardly defy him, and the princes' rebellious intentions are obvious. The regional military governors collude with foreign barbarians to seize land and establish their own independent regimes."

"Does my Great Chu still resemble the Great Chu Dynasty?"

"It pains me too. They are all my subjects. I do not wish to resort to violence, but if this continues, when will my Great Chu be able to wash away the shame of the past century?"

"When can we restore our divine land? When can we avenge the destruction of the dragon veins of our land a thousand years ago, and the subsequent fall of our nation!"

"My esteemed leaders, do you still remember the national calamity of the Jia Shen year three thousand years ago? If it weren't for our founding emperor establishing the Chu region as a base to defend against the barbarians from all sides, would our people have even an inch of land to recuperate and thrive?"

"Your subject will never forget!"

"All the people of the land, especially those of Chu, hate this!"

Seeing the united front of his ministers, the Emperor of Chu felt much more at ease.

"National hatred has not subsided, but morale is still high!"

Having completely grasped the rhythm of the court, the Chu Emperor began to issue orders.

"Minister of War Zhou Weiguo, how many soldiers can our Great Chu still trust?"

"Your Majesty, our Great Chu has three major military camps in the capital, namely the Longxiang Guard, the Pingyuan Guard, the Longqi Guard, and twelve other guards, with a total of approximately 870,000 troops according to the Ministry of War's records."

"In addition, there are three major naval fleets: the Bohai Fleet, the Yellow Sea Fleet, and the East China Sea Fleet, with more than 2,800 warships and over 160,000 officers and soldiers."

"Your Majesty, our Great Chu still has a million soldiers."

Minister of War Zhou Weiguo hesitated for a moment, but still gritted his teeth and added.

"Yes."

"Apart from the necessary garrison troops, the outer Liaozhou and outer Hetao regions need to be guarded against the Tatars and Rakshasas. At least 150,000 of the 270,000 troops stationed in these two regions must be left behind to defend themselves."

The maximum number of troops that can be mobilized is 120,000.

"Nanjing and Southern Zhili directly face the southern prefectures. The total number of troops in this area is 300,000. At least 200,000 troops need to be left behind for emergencies, so only 100,000 troops can be transferred."

"Afterwards, tens of thousands of troops will also need to be stationed in the capital and other important cities and prefectures."

"The navy needs to guard against foreigners and the navies of the southern states. The navy that can actually be mobilized is only 100,000 officers and soldiers and more than 1,200 warships."

"Your Majesty, although our Great Chu has a million soldiers, the number of soldiers that can actually be mobilized, even including the three major naval forces, does not exceed 500,000. If we exclude the three major naval forces..."

"Our Great Chu has at most 400,000 field legions capable of fighting at any time!"

After speaking, Minister of War Zhou Weiguo lowered his head and huddled up like an ostrich, waiting for the new emperor's thunderous wrath.

The Chu Emperor merely sighed and did not vent his anger on him.

The problems in the court had been long-standing; how could the Chu Emperor not know them?

If he were cut off, he could turn into an army of hundreds of thousands, and the Chu Emperor could exterminate his entire clan.

But it didn't work.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. With no money and no food, and the continuous drought in the north for the past few years, it's already quite difficult to maintain the status quo.

"Minister of Revenue Qian Xingzu, how long can the national treasury's funds and grain support the imperial army?"

The Minister of Revenue walked out shakily and answered truthfully.

"The cost of a million-strong army is enormous; the national treasury may not be able to sustain it for three months!"

Qian Xingzu gritted his teeth and continued, "If we cut the salaries of the other officials, we can hold out for another half month."

The Chu emperor then asked, "If an army of 400,000 were to be dispatched, how long could they hold out?"

"At most six months! And the recent rewards for officials must be postponed..."

The more the Chu emperor asked, the more upset he became.

The original plan was to unify the six northern provinces first, but now there is a shortage of money and food.

Unifying the north within six months is simply impossible.

The remaining three prefectures in the north were occupied by the military governor of Xizhou, the Prince of Lu, and the Prince of Jin, respectively. Even the weakest, the Prince of Lu, had more than 300,000 armored soldiers, while the strongest, the Prince of Jin, had 700,000 troops.

Suddenly, the Chu emperor no longer wanted to fight in the north.

In the three northern prefectures, there were only three major warlords, but the situation was different in the nine southern prefectures, where warlords were everywhere, divided into dozens of large and small military governors and rebel kings.

Even the strongest King of Jiujiang only controlled most of Jiangzhou, and his overall strength was only slightly stronger than that of King Lu.

The three major military leaders in the north are tough nuts to crack; even if we manage to take them down, we won't gain much benefit.

The Great Chu court is short of money and food, and the three military commanders are in a similar situation. The northern regions have been suffering from continuous drought in recent years, and everyone is having a hard time collecting taxes.

Even if we take over the northern prefectures and counties, we won't be able to quickly replenish our funds and supplies. In the short term, it will only be a burden, requiring the imperial court to allocate funds and supplies to restore production.

On the contrary, the nine southern provinces are all extremely wealthy.

Taking over one or two states will quickly replenish money and supplies.

When the Southern Nine Provinces were still under the control of the Great Chu Dynasty, more than 70% of the court's revenue came from the south. However, after losing control of the Southern Nine Provinces...

More than half of the tax revenue of the Great Chu now comes from Nanjing and Southern Zhili.

Furthermore, the three northern prefectures and the two outer prefectures struggled to even be self-sufficient, let alone supply the imperial court.

The Chu emperor then consulted with several key ministers before finally making his decision.

"First defeat the King of Lu, then sail down the river and take over all of the southern nine provinces!"

"Your Majesty, may we discuss this further?"

Grand Secretary Qian stepped forward, bowed deeply, and said with great sorrow and indignation.

"King Lu was benevolent and virtuous. Although he established himself as king, he respected the emperor and repelled the barbarians without overstepping his bounds. He should be a model among the kings. Moreover, the people of Lu lived in peace and prosperity."

"Moreover, Shandong is also a barrier between us in the East and foreigners."

"If we launch a campaign now, I fear we will lose the hearts of the people, Your Majesty!"

"Luzhou is the throat of the army's southward advance. If Luzhou launches an attack while the army is marching south, it will be uncertain whether the army can even safely withdraw, let alone conquer the south."

The Chu Emperor was displeased, but he still patiently explained.

"I have made up my mind; my ministers, there is no need for further discussion!"

"Here you go~"

···

"Friend, you've been following me all this way, haven't you?"

In a small alley, Zhong Ming looked at the three people and asked helplessly.

Having just left the Steel Bone Extraordinary Club and exited the concession, I noticed someone was watching me.

Zhong Ming then deliberately led the people to this deserted alley.

"I ask myself, what brings you all, strangers to me, along?"

"Zhong Ming, you used to study martial arts at Zhenyuan Martial Arts School, you were a student there, right?"

"A person on the other side asked."

Zhong Ming nodded.

"I stopped paying last month. I've been away from Zhenyuan Martial Arts School for about a month and a half now."

"After that, did you go to the Extraordinary Club in the foreign concession? Or the Steel Bone Club?"

The other party pressed for an answer.

Zhong Ming nodded again.

"Is there a problem?"

The three people opposite him grinned maliciously.

"Then that's it."

"Go, cripple him."

Zhong Ming looked completely bewildered.

"What's wrong with me? Are you going to cripple me?"

Although filled with doubts, Zhong Ming showed no mercy.

A few dozen seconds later, the three of them, their faces bruised and swollen, were huddled in a corner.

"Gentlemen, can we talk this out now?"

Zhong Ming grinned and asked.

"You, how could you possibly be?"

"It's only been a little over a month, and you're already a third-tier transcendent? That's impossible!"

"Slap slap~"

The response was two slaps from Zhong Ming.

"Now."

"I ask, you answer, understand?"

Zhong Ming looked at the young man who was leading the group of three. He was about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old and his strength was probably at the late stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. The other two were slightly weaker and had probably just reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm. They also looked a few years older.

Zhong Ming couldn't tell their cultivation level. In fact, apart from cultivators at the Refinement of Spirit level and above who could use their spiritual sense to detect and judge by the density of blood energy in their bodies, no one else could know the extent of their body tempering.

We can only make a rough inference based on the strength of the other party.

The young man in the lead had a strength of about two thousand jin, which is exactly the strength that a martial artist in the late stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm should have, hence this inference.

The other two followers had a strength greater than 1,000 jin but less than 1,500 jin, which matched the strength of the early stage of marrow cleansing.

"Name, age, and place of origin?"

The young man was clearly indignant and very uncooperative.

*Slap slap~*

Two more slaps followed.

Zhong Ming then asked, "Name, age, and where are you from?"

The young man was quite stubborn; he just puffed out his cheeks and wouldn't say a word.

clap~

Immediately afterwards, a series of slapping sounds came from the deserted alley.

"You're not going to tell, are you?"

"Hehe, just keep slapping me, it's not like I'm the one getting hit."

The young man opposite him was furious, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Zhong Ming, wishing he could devour him.

Since I'm free anyway, I might as well keep the other person company.

With his strength as a foundation, Zhong Ming is no longer the cautious and timid person he once was.

Although it's unclear who sent them, they certainly weren't important figures.

These little bastards are now riding roughshod over me. If I keep backing down, I won't just be pretending to be weak to take advantage of others; I'll actually become a pig!

"Hehe, that's tough enough, I like it. You better keep being tough, or don't blame me for looking down on you."

After saying that, Zhong Ming prepared to use the techniques from the grappling manual to deal with him.

The techniques of grappling can be summarized into three main categories: dislocating tendons and bones, breaking bones and rupturing meridians, and finding the pulse and calming the qi.

The first two are the superficial aspects of grappling, but the core is actually "finding the pulse and stabilizing the qi," which means finding the meridians and stabilizing the qi gates.

By understanding the opponent's method of exertion and the flow of their energy, one can find their vital points and Achilles' heel.

Interrogation doesn't require pulse diagnosis or qi regulation; just knowing one of the techniques like dislocating tendons and bones or breaking bones and tendons will do, and will definitely make the other person feel so intensely uncomfortable that they can't help themselves.

Zhong Ming is only a beginner and has never been very good at finding the pulse and regulating the qi. It would be best to find a human punching bag to practice on, but that's not an option.

Now we have ready-made human punching bags, don't we?

"Stop, stop hitting me! I'll tell you, we are..."

"Shut up! Who told you to say that? Even if you get beaten to death, you're not allowed to say it."

The young man's henchman couldn't stand it anymore and was about to reveal their identities when the tough young man scolded him back.

The two henchmen were clearly afraid of the other party; their faces were grim, and they dared not say another word.

"Hehe, I hope you can maintain this unruly demeanor later, tough guy."

Zhong Ming smiled sinisterly.

"Hmph, if you've got the guts, beat me to death, you bitch! Waaaaah!"

Before the other person could even utter a curse, Zhong Ming had already dislocated their jaw, rendering them unable to speak and only able to make muffled sounds.

"Awooo!"

"Cough cough cough..."

"Ahhh~ Ughhh..."

Zhong Ming used a technique to dislocate his bones and meridians, specifically targeting his painful areas.

The other party's cries of agony were incessant, but since Zhong Ming had already dislocated his jaw, he could only continue to wail.

Soon after, tears streamed down the other person's face, and the arrogance in their eyes was gone, replaced only by fear.

Zhong Ming knew that the other party had already given in, but just couldn't bring themselves to say it.

But who can blame him for calling himself a "tough nut to crack"?

If you insist on being stubborn, then don't blame yourself for playing a little longer.

While dislocating his tendons and bones, they practiced the technique of "finding the pulse and stabilizing the qi" on him.

A dozen minutes later, the other person lay on the ground like a dead dog, all four limbs paralyzed, unable to muster any strength.

Zhong Ming was kind-hearted and didn't kill him. He only repositioned all of his bones and meridians. Any traditional Chinese medicine practitioner specializing in bone-setting or martial arts who had also practiced grappling could have put them back in place.

The method used is to separate tendons and dislocate bones, which is relatively gentle. If it were to break the meridians and fracture bones, even a god could not save you!

"He's truly a tough guy; he didn't utter a sound even in this situation. I admire him."

"admire."

Zhong Ming deliberately flattered and mocked the other party, who lay on the ground with his face flushed, whether from shame or anger, it was hard to tell.

"Next up are you two. I hope you can be as tough as Tough Guy, hehe."

Zhong Ming turned his attention to his two henchmen.

The two men turned pale instantly and blurted out their purpose and identities as if pouring out beans.

"My name is Zhao Hong, this is Wang Qing, and the person lying on the ground is Yang Shoudao, the young master of our Yang Family Martial Arts School."

Zhao Hong quickly replied.

Wang Qing was quick to respond, answering immediately before Zhong Ming could even ask why they had come.

"The reason we and the young master are causing trouble for you is because you went to the Steel Bone Extraordinary Club. Our martial arts school was recently attacked by the Steel Bone Extraordinary Club."

"The young master is furious and has been wanting revenge."

Wang Qing said in one breath.

Zhao Hong immediately followed up with: "Then the young master discovered you went to the Steel Bone Extraordinary Club and investigated you. Not just you, but many people who recently became members of the Steel Bone Club are under the young master's investigation."

"The young master thinks that you are not a good person because you are a martial artist but you don't practice martial arts properly. You resigned from Zhenyuan Martial Arts School and went to Chaofan Club to hang out with foreigners. That's why he has his eye on you."

"I just didn't expect that~"

After Zhao Hong finished speaking, he lowered his head, clearly indicating that this matter was not honorable.

If you can't beat the Extraordinary Club, you can't just cause trouble for newly joined members. That's embarrassing!

"hehe."

Zhong Ming gave a cold laugh.

They're causing trouble for me because of this ridiculous nonsense.

I never imagined there were angry young people in this world.

No, they're not angry young people, they're just a bunch of trash and dog shit.

"Just because of this? You're coming to cause me trouble?"

The two nodded.

Zhong Ming really couldn't understand why anyone would bother him with something like this.

It's quite common for people from Chu to join a superhuman club run by foreigners and become superhumans.

Similarly, foreigners also came to the Chu Kingdom martial arts school to learn martial arts.

We should learn from and exchange ideas with each other.

Power is a good thing; no one would refuse it.

Martial artists will voluntarily join the extraordinary system, and similarly, the other party can also cultivate martial arts.

This is a perfectly normal thing.

"Don't you have any foreigners coming to your martial arts school to learn martial arts?"

Zhao Hong and Wang Qing nodded and shook their heads respectively, leaving Zhong Ming completely bewildered.

"Are there any foreigners who have studied martial arts at your school?"

Yes, yes, yes.

Seeing Zhong Ming's anger, the two quickly replied.

"I go to foreigners to learn extraordinary skills, and foreigners come here to learn martial arts. Is there a problem with that?"

"Are you all so narrow-minded?"

Zhong Ming really didn't understand, so he looked up and asked them.

Zhao Hong and Wang Qing did not speak, but their eyes were fixed on the young master Yang Shoudao.

"Ah, I almost forgot about you."

Zhong Ming twisted his hands and put the other person's jaw back in place, and the other person was finally able to speak again.

Zhong Ming looked at Yang Shoudao.

"Answer me, why can foreigners come here to learn martial arts, but we can't learn their extraordinary abilities?"

"Hmm? Answer me."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me, why?"

Yang Shoudao was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

Finally, his face flushed red, he blurted out, "How can these be the same? The martial arts passed down from our ancestors are not the same as the supernatural powers that foreign devils use to harm people!"

"Foreigners should all die, and superhumans shouldn't exist!"

Yang Shoudao practically shouted the last sentence.

"So, you got beaten up, right? And it was a foreigner."

"Heh, to be precise, they were beaten by the foreigners using a supernatural system, and beaten very badly."

Zhong Ming mocked.

"No, I didn't lose, I didn't lose! I can still fight!"

"I didn't lose!"

Yang Shoudao almost broke down on the spot.

Lies don't hurt people, but the truth does!

Zhong Ming had a general idea of ​​what had caused his undeserved misfortune.

A second or third-generation martial artist whose Dao heart has been broken has his defenses breached by the Westerners' extraordinary system, and then he comes to loathe all martial artists who learn the extraordinary.

Zhong Ming happened to become his target, and he wanted to regain his face through this childish and pathetic method.

Zhong Ming shook his head, looking at this hopeless mess, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

Zhong Ming didn't find it interesting.

Although it was only their first meeting, there were too many people like Yang Shoudao in the Great Chu, who were self-righteous but were actually nothing.

I am angry at their lack of ambition, and I pity their misfortune!

Zhong Ming tried his best to calm himself down and asked again:

"Phew~"

"What number am I? I'm not the only one to become a member of the Steel Bone Club in the past month or so."

"No, the incident involving the challenge happened more than two months ago."

"I haven't heard of anyone getting into trouble during this time, have I?"

Zhao Hong answered tremblingly, not daring to look Zhong Ming in the eye.

"You, you are the first one."

"Haha, I'm the first one? Why should I?"

People do laugh when they're speechless; the other person's bottom line still has room to fall!

"Answer me, why am I the first one?"

Zhong Ming grabbed Zhao Hong by the throat.

Wang Qing, who was standing nearby, quickly explained.

"Because you have no connections, even if someone beats you up, you won't dare to retaliate. As long as you're threatened, you definitely won't dare to go around talking about it."

"Moreover, you only started bone forging two months ago, and it was only the initial stage."

"Having joined the Extraordinary Club for only a month, at most one can only become a first-level extraordinary being."

"Early stage of Bone Forging + Tier 1 Transcendent, we thought we could win, so..."

Zhong Ming squinted, his murderous aura almost overflowing, while Wang Qing's tone grew weaker as he spoke.

"So, your revenge is just a pretense; your real purpose is to bully the weak under the guise of revenge!"

"You deserved your martial arts gym to get kicked out."

Zhong Ming kicked the two of them hard, and they felt as if they had been hit by a giant beast. Their internal organs were displaced, and they vomited out fragments mixed with their internal organs.

"This time, I won't kill you; I'll spare your lazy lives."

"If there's a next time, I guarantee you'll crave death!"

Looking at these three scumbags, Zhong Ming felt nauseous, then slowly walked out of the alley...