Republic of China Era: Entering the Dao through Divine Strike.

He's only fifty years old, and he can still do things.

It used to be said that he was retiring from his post, but in reality, he was forced to leave due to being ostracized.

This time, having rendered meritorious service, he should be able to regain his original position, which is better than his current state of desolation and quiet absence.

……

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Chapter 83 Where to Go From Here

"Lord Lin, please inform Lord Rong that Zhang has news to present."

This matter concerns the talent selection ceremony and involves cheating in the military examination; it is of great importance.

Zhang Mingyuan quietly slipped a silver note from his sleeve and handed it over, his face beaming with smiles as he spoke.

Fifty taels.

Lin, the head of the Ministry of War, lowered his gaze slightly, glanced at the document, twitched the corner of his mouth, and naturally slipped the silver note into his sleeve.

"Lord Zhang..."

"I dare not address you as 'sir,' for I have already retired from officialdom and have no further duties."

"Old Zhang, you're making things difficult for us."

Lord Rong is currently busy with the reform movement and has little free time.

The adults were determined to eliminate the corrupt practices in the military, but there were so many things to sort out that they couldn't sleep all night.

How could we bother him with such unsubstantiated rumors?

Also, Lord Xie instructed that any important intelligence should be recorded beforehand.

After we have investigated, we will report back... Rest assured, if it's true, you will be credited.

Zhang Mingyuan gritted his teeth, his anger surging, and his face darkened.

The official in front of me, a junior official of the Ministry of War, was only a sixth-rank official.

Before he took office, he was a fifth-rank garrison commander, but now he was being looked down upon like this.

As for the Master Xie mentioned by the other party, he naturally knew him as well.

He was a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of War.

They were from the same year of the martial arts examination and had once shared drinks and laughter.

Unexpectedly, now even seeing the other person is impossible.

As for Lord Rong, a second-rank official, why would he care about a retired old man like himself?

He was furious inside, but remained outwardly calm, revealing no trace of his inner emotions.

He just smiled and recounted his personal experiences one by one.

Furthermore, he also revealed the whole story of how Yagyu Hakuro had exposed that his name had been stolen from him when he was taking the martial arts exam.

I thought that Director Lin would be greatly alarmed.

Unexpectedly, the other party remained calm and continued drinking his tea.

He flipped through the scrolls from time to time, seemingly not paying any attention to them.

"Old Zhang, I already know about this. You should go back and wait for news."

For the sake of the fifty taels of silver.

Finally, Steward Lin added, "The matter of the military examination is, as it stands today, outdated. The officials have also offered suggestions to the current emperor. After this year's examination, I fear there will be no further successors..."

"How could this be?"

Zhang Mingyuan's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with disbelief.

At that moment, he thought of many things.

If the martial arts examination is no longer valued, then is practicing martial arts still important?

How to select talent and improve the combat effectiveness of soldiers in the future?

How to deal with attacks from foreigners?

Lin, the steward, smiled faintly and said, "What you are thinking is known to all of you... The imperial court allocates so much silver every year to train elite troops."

As a result, they were utterly helpless against modern guns and cannons.

How can a nation become strong through such military training?

And where did they get the ability to compete with foreigners?

Even a traditional martial artist like Zhang Mingyuan had to admit this.

Faced with modern guns and cannons, bows, swords, and the like were indeed completely useless.

He had previously refused to face reality, but now, upon closer reflection, reform might indeed be inevitable.

To remain unchanged is to perish.

But if that's the case, what will become of us?

Are they all being laid off and a new army being trained?

But regardless of whether things change or not, it is wrong for those people to treat national affairs as a game and to buy and sell official titles at will.

Zhang Mingyuan was immediately in a bad mood.

Still not entirely at ease, he added, "Please, Lord Lin, do not underestimate this matter. If it is ignored, it will surely lead to endless trouble..."

After saying this, he took his leave and left the Ministry of War.

……

Zhang Mingyuan's figure disappeared.

The sneer on Steward Lin's face gradually turned into a hint of pity. He sighed and murmured, "Zhang Mingyuan, Zhang Mingyuan, I took the money and sent you a message. It's a pity you couldn't understand it."

Turning his head, he squinted and looked towards the distance near the side door...

A servant in gray had already boarded the carriage and sped away.

He knew what they were going to do.

The officials in charge of the yamen all knew about it.

In fact, before Zhang Mingyuan arrived, the Sakura Embassy had already informed the Ministry of War.

Furthermore, they also took away the lists of all previous martial arts examination candidates...

Those foreigners came in a menacing manner.

Their demands were not something even Lord Rong dared to ignore.

……

Courtyard No. 18, Embassy District.

The flower pavilions and terraces were now in a state of chaos, and amidst the bloodstains, five more corpses had been added.

"waste!"

With a loud shout.

A tall, slender young man with thick, sharp eyebrows, dressed in a white robe, drew a shimmering arc of light with a long sword at his waist.

The man moved with the blade, slicing five constables in two with a single stroke...

Seeing the scene of intestines spilling out and blood gushing out, Yu Side, the commander of the Fifth Army, turned pale with fright.

He quickly bowed and said, "Mr. Yuanye, please calm down. The murderer killed someone last night, so he must not have fled too far."

"Give us a little more time, and with a thorough search, we can definitely bring the murderer to justice."

Yagyu Haruno killed five people with a single slash, feeling the demon sword in his hand leaping and dancing with joy, as if a spirit was quietly forming within it. The violence in his heart burned even more fiercely, like a flame.

"Little Wolf is simple and honest by nature. He loves fine clothes, delicious food, knife skills, and judo. He never makes enemies."

After arriving here, he would practice his sword skills and play with women in his spare time.

I know his nature; he likes to compete with others. Therefore, I instructed others to give him some leeway.

Unexpectedly, this led him to misunderstand his own abilities, believing that his swordsmanship was so strong that no one could defeat him.

As Liu Shengyuanye spoke, his eyes turned fierce: "Heh, a martial arts champion, if he wants a martial arts champion, he can just call on your Ministry of War and have it done."

Even if I can't get it, when I see the martial arts champion, I can just kill him with one blow.

"It's ridiculous that they insist on hiring someone to teach them military strategy and tactics..."

Yu Qianzong bent his waist even lower.

They were terrified that the other party might chop them up again if they disagreed.

He quickly replied, "That's right. Since Mr. White Wolf is interested in studying military strategy and tactics, it's not difficult to find out who he's been associating with lately..."

"No need, I'm here."

Yagyu Haruno gave him a cold look, waved his hand, and a group of elite soldiers escorted several people in through the courtyard gate.

A middle-aged man with graying hair had a lump the size of an egg on his forehead, and his face was flushed red.

His hands and feet were tightly bound by the four horses' hooves, and his mouth was stuffed with a piece of cloth.

The other two were a woman in her forties and a girl of thirteen or fourteen.

"Speak. Since you said in the Ministry of War that my brother White Wolf invited you to our home to teach, you should know who broke in and killed so many people, right?"

"Pooh……"

As soon as the cloth in his mouth was ripped out, Zhang Mingyuan spat out a mouthful of blood and roared, "If we continue like this, the country will cease to exist!"

"Ok?"

Yagyu Haruno gave him a wink.

One of the soldiers raised his rifle, aimed it at the middle-aged woman, and pulled the trigger.

bah...

The woman's eyes were glazed over, a bloody hole appeared on her forehead, and she rolled over and fell to the ground.

"mother……"

The little girl cried out loudly, collapsed to the ground, and crawled to reach for her mother's body.

Nobody cared about her.

The dozen or so people present all watched coldly.

……

Chapter 84 Regret

"you you you……"

Zhang Mingyuan's eyes were wide open, and tears of blood welled up in the corners of his eyes.

“You Japanese devils, you deserve to die! Even if you kill us, you won’t get a single word out of my mouth.”

He struggled with all his might.

With a loud bang, the rope snapped.

With a swing of his arms, he unleashed a move called "Wild Horse Parts Its Mane," sending two soldiers flying backward and spitting out blood.

He lunged forward, gritting his teeth as he threw a punch.

call out……

A flash of white light.

Zhang Mingyuan ducked down and lay on the ground.

Even after delivering the punch to its fullest extent, it was still half a foot away from Yagyu Haruno.