Even emperors have it tough, so don't be too picky about the entries.

Xiao Jingming scooped up Xiao Jingyao as if he were a chick.

With a loud bang, the door to the woodshed was kicked open.

Xiao Jingming threw the third brother on the ground without searching him.

Instead, he sat there, took out a snow-white handkerchief from his bosom, and slowly wiped the gleaming sword.

Everyone in Lulong City knows that the Second Young Master, Xiao Jingming, is both a scholar and a warrior, and is known for his refined and elegant demeanor.

"Third brother, think of a way to die."

"Logically speaking, for a crime like yours, you should be castrated before being killed, but I, your second brother, don't like that."

"That's not cruel enough, it's meaningless. You choose one, and I'll oversee the selection, how about that?"

Xiao Jingyao was terrified and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Second brother, search all you want, I definitely didn't do this."

"Please, I beg you, search it up, I'm innocent!"

Xiao Jingming shook his head slightly.

"Third brother, you're such an idiot."

"Your father sent me to search, don't you understand?"

"Whether you did it or not, you could only have done it."

"If I did it, it would be difficult for my father to decide whether to kill me or not. Of course, I have no interest in that vile woman, so I didn't do it."

"Once you enter this room, all that's left for you is death."

Xiao Jingyao trembled all over, saying in disbelief:

Why...?

"There's no reason why, it's just because you're a bastard. Your existence in this world only brings shame to the Xiao family."

"I can't choose my birth, wouldn't it be better for me to be a servant?"

"I am cautious and timid, I do not fight or grab, and I do not even dare to utter a sound when the servants beat, scold or insult me. I have not affected any of you, so why do you treat me like this?"

Xiao Jingyao's Dao heart collapsed.

What he protected and what he longed for, even if it was just a life worse than that of pigs and dogs, seemed to be intolerable to others.

"Go on, Second Brother. I love seeing people's despair before they die. The more you are like that, the more satisfying it is to kill them."

Xiao Jingyao suddenly stood up and burst into wild laughter.

He wanted to unleash all the anger he had accumulated over the past two decades.

"Hahaha! So some people are born with sins."

"He couldn't control his own spending, why should I pay for it with my life!"

"Twenty years, I've been here for twenty years, and I don't even have the right to be a rat. How ridiculous, how ridiculous!"

"You say you enjoy watching people's despair before they die? Well, watch closely, the greatest despair I, Xiao Jingyao, have ever felt in my life is not being killed by you, but the fact that I have never truly lived a single day."

"Today, I will live for myself."

Xiao Jingming was delighted with what he heard and couldn't help but clap his hands.

"Wow, not bad, not bad. As expected of a dying man, he finally showed some backbone."

Xiao Jingyao gave a cold laugh, "The tough stuff is yet to come."

"Your Majesty is right. Only by killing everyone can we look like human beings."

He suddenly roared:

"I'll do it! I'm willing to serve Your Majesty!"

Xiao Jingming frowned slightly. Had the third brother gone mad? If he was insane... then there would be absolutely no fun left.

Just then, a sound came from under the bed.

A burly man with a yellow turban wrapped around his head crawled out from under the bed.

He opened the window and shot an arrow into the sky.

"A single arrow pierces the clouds, and a thousand armies rush to meet it!"

Seeing that things were not going well, Xiao Jingming was about to get up when a knife was already at his neck.

"Move even slightly, and I'll chop you up immediately."

Before long, two thousand Yellow Turban soldiers stormed into the Xiao residence, which was already poorly defended.

Xiao Jingyao gritted his teeth as he looked at his second brother, who was begging for mercy.

He roared:

"Kill him! Kill him now! I don't want to see that face again!"

......

......

Xiao Jingyao kicked the door open.

The father and son were mourning silently at the corner of the bed.

Upon seeing it was him, Xiao Yan's face immediately fell.

"What's wrong with you? You came in without announcing yourself. Where's your second brother?"

"My second brother went to another place and asked me to come and pick up my father and eldest brother to reunite with them."

Xiao Jingrun pointed at her nose and started cursing.

"You bastard, how dare you speak to your father like that? Kneel down!"

Xiao Jingyao did not move.

He tilted his head and looked at his older brother, who had treated him like a dog since childhood, and suddenly smiled.

"Kneel down?"

"I, Xiao Jingyao, have knelt enough in this life. I've knelt to my father, my mother, my eldest brother, my second brother, the steward, and the wicked servants. But from this day forward, I will only kneel to the Emperor."

"Are you planning a rebellion?" Xiao Yan realized what was going on.

This cowardly child actually dared to kick open the door.

illustrate...

He suddenly exclaimed in shock: "What did you do to your second brother?!"

"Of course we'll kill them! Father, you're right, I'm going to rebel!"

Splash!

Dozens of burly men with yellow turbans wrapped around their heads filed in.

With a steel knife in hand, he exuded a murderous aura.

They surrounded the father and son in the middle.

The leader clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xiao Jingyao:

"General, the entire Xiao family has been captured. Please give your instructions."

Xiao Jingyao nodded, expressionless.

"Put them all in the ancestral hall."

"Third brother, have you gone mad? You've actually colluded with the Yellow Turbans! You want to use their power to become the head of the family and a military governor? Are you stupid?!"

After Xiao Yan finished cursing, he immediately froze on the spot.

No, no, no, no.

The Yellow Turban Army is already in cahoots with the Xiao family, so why are they getting involved with the Third Prince?

A terrible thought suddenly surged into his mind.

Could it be a celestial master...?

Suddenly, the fragmented images in Xiao Yan's mind came together.

Xuanjizi...secret letter...imperial army...Xiao Jingyao...Your Majesty...

"You!" He looked at the leader of the Yellow Turban army in horror.

"Haha, Lord Xiao has figured it out?"

"Indeed, that Taoist Xuanji is none other than His Majesty. Lord Xiao, don't you think that besides His Majesty, who else could possess such extraordinary abilities?"

"His Majesty even specially sent a message to Lord Xiao via express courier service."

"He did what he did to the lady; that was just the beginning. The entire Xiao family will be buried with the dry well."

The dry well... Xiao Yan finally understood.

The Mysterious Taoist... It was His Majesty who discovered the dry well and sought revenge for the children...

He couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Hahahahahahahahahaha!

"Just for this? Just for a broken well, just for a few peasant kids?"

"He, Chen Shao, the dignified Emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty, is going to attack my Xiao family just to avenge a bunch of bastards!"

Xiao Yan spat on the ground.

"In chaotic times, what year doesn't people die? What month doesn't see starving corpses? These commoners' children are born to be trampled on, killed, and used as sacrifices!"

"Does he think only my Xiao family is capable of killing? Go out and see for yourself. In all eight towns of the Great Yan Dynasty, which town hasn't been ravaged by blood? In the capital, which powerful family hasn't had the blood of peasants on their hands?"

"Our Xiao family guards their northern gate. Isn't our blood more precious than those little bastards'?"

"What's wrong with a blood sacrifice to a flag? What's wrong with worshipping ancestors?"

"One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers; doesn't Chen Shao understand that?"

"This is utterly insane! He's the emperor, does he really think he's a saint? Even a saint can't save this world!"

"You talk too much nonsense."

The Yellow Turban soldiers held their knives to his neck.

"His Majesty has one more thing to say."

"Your wife is very voluptuous!"

puff!

After venting his anger, Xiao Yan collapsed, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Dissatisfaction aside, reality is reality.

Reality told him that he was finished.

His wife was slept with by someone else, his house was ransacked, and his 50,000-strong army fell into someone else's trap...

puff...

Another spurt of blood shot out.

Xiao Yan's vision went black, and he collapsed.

Xiao Jingrun took several steps back, staring at his third brother as if he had seen a ghost.

"Third brother, I...I've treated you well..."

"Bring them all into the ancestral hall."

Xiao Jingyao coldly gave the order:

"It was burned down."

......

The army marched for another two days.

Xiao Lue lay sprawled on the horse's back, his buttocks so jolted numb he could barely feel them.

Seeing that the Mysterious Immortal Master next to him was standing upright, he was too embarrassed to complain of being tired.

Finally, Chen Shao's "Stop!" was like heavenly music reaching the ears.

The army immediately stopped.

Not far ahead was the entrance to a narrow valley.

The stone walls on both sides are as if they were cut by a knife and axe, bare and devoid of any vegetation.

Looking inside, the valley path winds and twists, with no end in sight.

Just then, a plume of dust rose from the mountain road ahead, and a rider on horseback came galloping towards them.

The man on horseback was imposing and strong, carrying a halberd on his shoulder.

Upon reaching Chen Shao, he immediately dismounted, knelt on one knee, and performed the movement in one fluid and seamless motion.

"This humble general, Aluminum Cloth, greets Your Majesty!"

"Thank you for your hard work, General Aluminum."

Aluminum Cloth raised his head, his face weathered and worn.

There were even some dark circles under her eyes.

Chen Shao didn't know if he was wearing makeup on purpose or if he was really that tired.

"This humble general was ordered to investigate here and has found out the movements of the imperial army. They are currently camping and resting in Shangfang Valley."

Everyone looked towards the valley entrance again.

One can see many wisps of smoke rising into the sky, one after another.

Xiao Lue asked, "How many troops do they have?"

"No less than 50,000."

"So many people?"

Xiao squinted as he looked towards the valley.

He then laughed and said:

"I fought on the battlefield for many years. I wouldn't dare say I won every battle, but I am certainly experienced."

"Based on the amount of smoke, General Aluminum's estimate is probably wrong; there are at least 68,750 people."

Depend on...

Chen Shao and Aluminum Cloth both thought to themselves, "How can there be whole or odd amounts like this?"

That old man really knows how to show off.

"It seems the imperial court is truly determined to take Lulong."

"It is said that Yu Qi'an's Iron Fist Regiment only has 60,000 troops, yet they have sent out their entire force. Heh."

"Otherwise, how could we have General Xiao personally taken charge?" Chen Shao replied with a smile.

"It's getting dark, why don't we rest for a bit and then launch a surprise attack while they're asleep tonight?"

"The terrain of Shangfang Valley is treacherous, with a narrow entrance and winding valley. If attacked from both sides, it will surely trap us like turtles in a jar."

Xiao Lue did not agree immediately.

Instead, I had some doubts.

"Logically speaking, stationing troops here is a major taboo in military strategy. How could the imperial army be so foolish?"

Chen Shao laughed loudly:

"Chen Shao personally led the expedition and appointed Yuwen Huagu as the Grand General."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lue immediately smiled with relief.

"It's him... then it's not surprising."

"This person is brave but lacks strategy. He rose to power through nepotism and is the number one incompetent fool."

"Chen Shao was so foolish as to appoint him as a general... The Great Yan Dynasty is doomed."

This was the first time Chen Shao discovered the use of Yuwen Bone:

What a proud army!

"Then it's settled. The Yellow Turban Army is slightly weaker, so it's not advisable to charge them head-on. We should go around them and block their retreat."

"The Xiao family army is a seasoned warrior, and their attack from the valley entrance caught them completely off guard."

Xiao Lue frowned again.

Knowing what he was thinking, Chen Shao quickly explained:

"I will charge into battle alongside General Xiao."

Xiao Lue's slightest doubt vanished instantly.

He burst into laughter.

"With General Lu Long here, it's like a fish finding water!"

"Then it's settled."

"Pass down the order: the entire army shall rest on the spot, cook meals at the second watch, break camp at the third watch, and begin operations at the fourth watch."

The orders were passed down layer by layer.

The cooks of Lulong Army began setting up the cooking pots.

The soldiers sat in twos and threes on the ground, eating dry rations and sharpening their knives, the atmosphere both tense and excited.

Both Chen Shao and Xiao Lue, the two main generals, had their own camps.

At this moment, a tall, slender, and graceful figure was standing inside Chen Shao's tent.