142: Encirclement and killing of Xu Mujun

Chapter 141: The Encirclement and Killing of Xu Mujun

"What did you say? Someone wants to break into the imperial mausoleum?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Chen Liancang said, "Chen Zhi, who guarded the imperial mausoleum today, reported that a top general under Meng Guang claimed he wanted to view the scenery of Tianshou Mountain and accidentally broke into the Tianshou Mountain Forbidden Ground, but was stopped by him."

"However, in this old servant's view, he was merely driven by curiosity and attracted by the sound of gunpowder explosions beneath Tianshou Mountain."

"Oh? Has it been investigated who it was?"

"Although the three of them—the Flying Dragon Daoist Tan Yunlong, the Thousand-Man Butcher Shentu Kui, and the Earth Immortal Sun Hui—are all in the Grandmaster Realm, the methods they Cultivate are all unorthodox paths, and their combat power is far inferior to orthodox Grandmasters."

Chen Liancang said, "According to Chen Zhi's description, the person who came to spy should be the Earth Immortal Sun Hui."

"In his early years, this person was taught by an eccentric master and possesses the Divine Mobility Technique, capable of traveling eight hundred li a day with superb lightness skills."

"Divine Mobility Technique? Eight hundred li a day?" Zheng Yi's tone was somewhat odd, "The Divine Marche?"

Chen Liancang shook his head and said, "It is merely an unorthodox path, and moreover, this is just a rumor; no one has ever witnessed it."

"Your Majesty, how should this person be dealt with?"

"Did he find out anything?"

"Not at all. He was stopped by Chen Zhi as he approached the Forbidden Ground."

"Then never mind. I remember that one of these three people belongs to the Shangwu Division, right?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, it is a person from the East Depot."

Chen Liancang said, "The Flying Dragon Daoist Tan Yunlong was recruited by the East Depot two years ago and is one of our East Depot's secret agents."

"Then have him keep an eye on Meng Guang. This person is extremely deep in city, let him play his role well and incidentally monitor Meng Guang and the important personnel under his command."

"Understood!"

Chen Liancang added, "Your Majesty, Chen Zhi also reported that that block of Konjac Sea Lotus in the Grand Ancestor's underground palace is about to be broken through, and the opposite side can already be vaguely seen through."

"Really? How much longer?"

"According to calculations, it will still take three months."

"Three months..."

Zheng Yi said calmly, "I can afford to wait. Pass the order to Hu Bafeng, telling him to take his time and not to damage the treasure behind the Konjac Sea Lotus."

"Understood!"

"Right, Old Chen, how are things over at Xu Mujun and Xu Xuanwu's side?"

Chen Liancang hesitated and said, "Xu Mujun has already arrived at Daming Prefecture in Yunzhou, and no specific intelligence has been transmitted back yet."

"However, the Shadow Guard is paying attention to that place at all times. At most, in another two or three days, intelligence will be sent back."

"Oh? Then I will wait and see!"

Zheng Yi did not wait long. Two days later, the Shadow Guard sent the latest intelligence regarding Xu Mujun and Xu Xuanwu.

"Interesting... Minister Xu truly did not disappoint me!"

The fifth day of the eleventh month in the eighth year of zhengyong!

Daming Prefecture.

Xu Mujun urged his horse forward, with only one hundred and seventeen personal guards remaining behind him.

Everyone bore injuries on their bodies, yet their armor remained bright, cast from fresh blood, with cold gazes.

Below Daming Prefecture, a sharp arrow shot forth fiercely and landed steadily in front of Xu Mujun.

"Great General! Go back! The Young General will not see you!"

Above the city wall, a heavily armored man shouted loudly.

The surrounding city-guard soldiers all had nervous gazes, staring fixedly at Xu Mujun under the city.

Two months' time.

Xu Mujun led over three hundred men heading south from Bin Province, slaying tens of thousands of rebels along the way, and at least seven rebel leaders were also slain by him.

Wherever he went, rivers of blood flowed and wails filled the land.

This caused most of the rebel leaders behind him to change their expression at the mere mention of Xu; whenever Xu Mujun passed by, the surrounding rebels immediately scattered like birds and beasts, fearing that they would be targeted by this malevolent star.

And Xu Mujun did not stop his horse either. Along the way, he only rested when eating and sleeping, riding horses the entire rest of the time!

Along the way, the three hundred plus men exhausted a full thousand fine steeds to death, finally rushing to Daming Prefecture in Yunzhou!

Xu Mujun slightly raised his head, looking toward the general on the city wall.

"Who are you?"

"Deputy General of the Longxiang Army, Hu Junshan!"

"Longxiang Army?"

Xu Mujun asked in return, his tone full of coldness, and said calmly, "When did my Longxiang Army ever have a Major like you?"

Hu Junshan was furious and said through clenched teeth, "This subordinate was personally promoted by General Xu Xuanwu; why would I need anyone else's acknowledgment?"

"Grand General Xu, although you are General Xu's father, swords have no eyes, and General Xu has his ambitions set on the world. As General Xu's father, you naturally ought to support him with all your might..."

"Shut up!"

Xu Mujun's tone finally showed a trace of fluctuation.

"Rebellious ministers and thief-traitors ought to be executed by everyone!"

"You... are not worthy of being part of my Longxiang Army!"

As soon as his voice fell, a blood-colored long saber appeared in Xu Mujun's hand, and he casually slashed toward Hu Junshan's direction.

"Boom...!"

A streak of blood-colored radiance slanted across. Hu Junshan, who was a full hundred meters away from Xu Mujun, failed to react at all before his head was sliced off by a single blade!

The head soared into the sky, and the body merely swayed before collapsing to the ground, kicking up a burst of dust and smoke.

"General!"

"General Hu!"

"Someone come quickly..."

Exclamations were ceaseless on the city wall, and other soldiers still steadfastly guarded their posts.

Beneath the city wall, Xu Mujun suddenly roared, "Longxiang Army, where are you!!!"

The men and horses on the city wall were immensely puzzled. The person before them only brought over a hundred people; how could there still be...

Suddenly at this moment, from inside Daming Prefecture and on the city wall, voices rang out one after another.

"Longxiang Army, present!"

"Longxiang Army, present!"

Soldiers, Centurions, chiliarchs, and other confidants of General Xu Xuanwu who were originally holding their posts suddenly shouted one after another, their eyes incomparably fanatical and respectful.

"Open the city gates!"

"Understood!!!"

Continuous sounds rang out again. Over a hundred soldiers originally under Xu Xuanwu's command actually vaulted down the city wall, attempting to open the city gates, startling the nearby garrison soldiers.

"What are you doing!"

"Are you defecting to the enemy?"

"General, don't..."

The leading Longxiang Army soldier said coldly, "Since we are part of the Longxiang Army, we naturally must obey the commands of Grand General Xu. Scram!"

Both sides drew their swords against each other, but the Longxiang Army was, after all, an army of a hundred battles, whereas the garrison soldiers were merely new recruits enlisted over the past few years.

Although they had combat power, they naturally could not compare to the Longxiang Army. They were quickly cleared out and the city gates were opened.

Xu Mujun urged his horse forward, and over a hundred Dragon Scale Army personal guards closely followed behind.

On both sides of the city gates, countless Longxiang Army soldiers knelt all over the ground.

"We pay our respects to the General!"

Xu Mujun stopped in front of a person and gently struck this person's shoulder with a riding crop.

"This General remembers you. You entered the Longxiang Army in the 35th year of Tianqi, and your name is Shi Dashan, right? When this General headed to Bin Province, you were only a decurion. You've been promoted to Major so quickly?"

Shi Dashan said excitedly, "Yes, General! This humble person is Shi Dashan. I didn't expect the Grand General to still remember this humble person."

"With over one hundred thousand people, big and small, in the Longxiang Army, this General naturally remembers all of them."

Xu Mujun's voice was calm, and pointing at a few others, he said, "You, a native of Cangshan, enlisted in the 37th year of Tianqi, Chen Feiyu."

"You, a native of Jiangzhou, enlisted in the first year of zhengyong, Wang Dong!"

"You, a native of Hanzhong, also enlisted in the first year of zhengyong, Lin Feng, and you have a brother named Lin Jun, right?"

Several people said excitedly, "Thank you for your care, Grand General!"

"Grand General, we have missed you so much too!"

"Grand General..."

Xu Mujun comforted them with a few words, then immediately asked, "This General asks you, where is Xuanwu?"

"The Young General..."

Several people hesitated somewhat. In the end, Shi Dashan gritted his teeth and said, "Grand General! When the Young General rebelled, at the very beginning, we truly did not know!"

"After we found out, military orders are like mountains, and we could not refuse either."

"Today, thanks to Grand General Xu coming here, otherwise we would also..."

Speaking to this point, his voice choked up, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "We don't know why the Young General rebelled either. Had we known this earlier, we should have followed the Grand General to Bin Province back then!"

"Where is he?"

"The Young General is at the prefectural yamen. However, Grand General, in the past few days, several very strange people have come to the prefectural yamen, seemingly here specifically for you!"

"Oh? Interesting?"

Xu Mujun sneered, "That brat Xuanwu has grown up and knows how to borrow momentum."

"Lead the way for this General!"

"Understood!"

Shi Dashan said respectfully. Immediately, hundreds of thousands of Longxiang Army soldiers cleared the path ahead, guiding the way for Xu Mujun.

There were still quite a few commoners inside Daming Prefecture. Through their windows, they quietly watched the procession on the street, all frightened into tightly closing their windows, not daring to look anymore.

The fine steeds stepped forward slowly. Along the way, former Longxiang Army comrades-in-arms joined in from time to time.

"General!"

"General! Gao Yalin reports for duty!"

"General! Chu Xiaoer reports for duty!"

"General!"

Very soon, fully over a thousand soldiers of various official ranks ran over from all directions of Daming Prefecture, saluting Xu Mujun, and then followed closely behind the procession according to their former ranks.

Among them, there were Centurions, chiliarchs, Majors, and Deputy Generals.

Even... there was a staff officer of Xu Mujun whose status was equivalent to a top general!

In just over half an hour of travel, Xu Mujun was followed by a full three thousand-plus people.

They were all the Longxiang Army he had left behind in Nanyue County back then!

Having been bewitched and deceived by Xu Xuanwu, they were helplessly set on the path of rebellion.

And now, with Xu Mujun's arrival, this group of coerced Longxiang Army soldiers immediately felt as though they had found their maternal home, all abandoning Xu Xuanwu and returning to Xu Mujun!

Soon, Xu Mujun and the others arrived at the Daming Prefecture yamen.

Outside the yamen, however, teams of fully armed troops were guarding the front, their weapons pointing unhesitatingly at Xu Mujun.

"General!"

Xu Zhanshan spoke up, "Guarding outside the yamen, some are Black Yue Tribe people, and some are troops of the Nanzhao Kingdom."

Xu Zhanshan, a member of the Xu clan, was also the number three figure under Xu Xuanwu's command.

He had never been very supportive of Xu Xuanwu's rebellion in the first place, and with Xu Mujun's return, he immediately abandoned Xu Xuanwu and returned to Xu Mujun.

"Nanzhao Kingdom..."

Xu Mujun closed his eyes and said calmly, "Traitors who sell out their country ought to be executed by everyone!"

After a few breaths, his eyes suddenly opened wide, and a decision was already made in his eyes.

"Xuanwu, come out and let this father see whether the loyalty to the sovereign and patriotism taught to you in your childhood have all been fed to the dogs!?"

Although his voice was not loud, it echoed throughout the entire yamen, and almost everyone present heard it.

Inside the yamen.

Xu Xuanwu was sitting upright in the main seat, trembling all over.

"General! Make a decision quickly! Xu Mujun has already arrived outside the door. If you don't decide now, it will be too late!"

Li Wenyou at the side had an anxious expression, repeatedly advising him.

He also hadn't expected that the Longxiang Army under Xu Xuanwu's command would give up resistance so easily?

Xu Xuanwu had been stationed in Nanyue County for nearly twenty years, suppressing the entire Nanyue County, and his great name was even spreading throughout Nanzhao Kingdom.

He hadn't expected that after so many years, he couldn't even win over the Longxiang Army under his command!

Up and down the Longxiang Army, they only recognized Xu Mujun.

Even Xu Xuanwu wouldn't do!

Xu Xuanwu gritted his teeth and said, "Wenyou, you are forcing this General!"

"The person outside is this General's father!"

"What father?"

Suddenly, a voice sounded, and seeing that beside Xu Xuanwu sat a scar-faced old man wearing a black robe, an unpleasant odor radiated from his entire body.

Toying with the teacup in his hand, he said, "Those who block my path, even closest kin can be killed!"

"Xu Xuanwu, oh Xu Xuanwu, you are someone who aspires to contend for hegemony over the world; how can you be stopped by the mere barrier of family affection?"

"Indeed, General. For the sake of your grand undertaking, various rebel kings have dispatched three Innate experts to assist you."

"As long as Xu Xuanwu is killed, Great Yu's empire will immediately collapse by half, and at that time the world can be settled, the imperial throne will be within easy reach!"

"Amitabha."

Suddenly, an old monk wearing a kasaya and having a kindly expression said in a deep voice, "Benefactor Xu, your father is acting as an accomplice to a tyrant, understanding nothing of the world's great righteousness, and is willing to be driven by a tyrant to poison the world."

"For the sake of the common people, today Xu Mujun must undoubtedly die!"

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