134: Dawn (Part 1)

"You're joking, Grand Chancellor?"

The Taoist was shocked, but his voice still carried a hint of sarcasm: "Five thousand soldiers, you say they didn't exist, that you could just take them away whenever you wanted? Even though I stay behind closed doors all day, I know that the Shen Family maintains strict military discipline..."

"I am well aware that the Shen Family manages their army effectively, but at that time, their military power was not centralized," Zhou Chutian smiled. "I knew the Shen Family was no ordinary force, so I secretly planned all of this at the beginning of the late Emperor's reign."

"You're truly mad..." The Taoist looked at him. Despite his own high-level martial arts, he felt an inexplicable fear toward the man before him. "You could actually pull off something like this, and you actually dared to do it?"

"To achieve great things, one must not be bothered by trivialities. Taoist, when you left the School all those years ago, didn't you have the same mindset as me?" Zhou Chutian merely smiled, unbothered by the Taoist's words. "I mentioned it just now; the affairs of this world are essentially all the same."

"Back then, the Location Raid was planned by me from the very start. The commander of those five thousand soldiers was someone I rescued as a child and raised myself before secretly sending him to join the army. I knew long ago that I would never be able to touch the military power of this world, even if I reached the position I hold today."

"Since that was the case, I settled for the next best thing. Any powerful official must have his own death soldiers, and I am no exception. Back then, the warning that commander received was fake, and the enemy raid was also fake."

Hearing Zhou Chutian say this, the Taoist found it even harder to understand. He had once traveled everywhere to evade the School's pursuit and refine his skills, and he had heard of that battle.

The Location Raid was famous because the Daxing Dynasty had never suffered such a tragic loss since the Great Ancestor unified the world. Not a single one of the five thousand soldiers survived; all perished in the forest sea known as Location on the border.

The Border Army of the Daxing Dynasty went to conduct search and rescue, but most of what they found were mangled corpses. Because of this, the late Emperor was furious and ordered the Shen brothers to personally lead an expedition, conducting the largest encirclement and purging of the jin man people and other tribes since the founding of the Daxing Dynasty.

The late Emperor's order had been a single sentence: 'Spare neither old nor young, neither man nor woman; leave not even a chicken or a dog alive!'

Over the years, there were occasional skirmishes at the border, but the Daxing Dynasty always regarded military preparation as a top priority, and the Border Army was properly trained and battle-hardened. It had always been the Daxing Dynasty's heavy cavalry chasing and killing those barbarians. Let alone five thousand men, they hadn't even lost five hundred before. For the other side to take the initiative to provoke and attack—how could that not send the late Emperor into a violent rage?

But now, all of this had been orchestrated by the man before him; it had never truly happened. To the Taoist, the whole thing sounded far too preposterous.

"You say the enemy raid was fake, but I heard that the Border Army searched and found many mangled corpses..."

As the Taoist spoke to this point, he suddenly looked at Zhou Chutian as if looking at a monster. His hands involuntarily clenched, and his voice carried a hint of disbelief: "So, you say the enemy raid was fake... but in fact, the raid was real, or rather, you planned that too?"

"Naturally," Zhou Chutian adopted an expression as if teaching a promising pupil. "On the border of the Daxing Dynasty, if a unit of five thousand men is moved into a forest, how could it be hidden from the Border Army commanders and generals without some real evidence?"

"So, you conspired with the jin man people?"

"Now, Taoist, that's not the right way to put it," Zhou Chutian waved his hand. "It wasn't conspiring with the enemy. The jin man people both hate and fear the Daxing Dynasty. In the past, they deluded themselves into thinking they could touch the Central Plains, but they didn't expect the Great Ancestor to be so skilled in war and so merciless. Forget ruling the Central Plains, even their own territory was whittled away by our Daxing Dynasty's heavy cavalry."

"In recent years, they no longer seek to unify the world, only to reclaim their own territory. But they didn't expect that from the Great Ancestor until now, every generation of monarchs has sought to exterminate them. But there's more than just the jin man people at the border. What about the Lamas, the Steppe Wolf Tribe, and those Ruskies? Which of them isn't eyeing our Daxing Dynasty like a tiger watching its prey?"

"So, I simply gave them a little nudge. The other side mistakenly thought those five thousand soldiers were unaware. The Daxing Dynasty had long since driven them to the point of running out of food and ammunition. I only had to inform them in my name that if they raided these five thousand soldiers and returned to the Border Army camp by nightfall, my people would receive them."

"Those barbarians have been running around like dogs for so many years; naturally, they'll pounce if they see a bit of meat. Moreover, I told them I intended to rebel, otherwise I wouldn't do something so risky. When the current Senior Grand Secretary says such things and sends over plenty of gold and silver, well... flies will always come when they smell something."

"But I told them there were two thousand men, when in fact there were five thousand. Furthermore, my people informed those soldiers that the Daxing Dynasty's court had long since abandoned them and was sending them to their deaths this time. If they followed my man, they would have a way to live—perhaps not great wealth, but they could save their lives and the lives of their families."

"When people are in dire straits and face betrayal, how do you think they'll choose? Everything was timed perfectly. Those barbarians thought they were launching a surprise attack, never realizing they had fallen into my trap."

"As for those soldiers, as long as they can stay alive and someone gives them silver, they'll naturally work for whoever pays. Country and world? Loyal service to the state? To be honest, I've said such things countless times over the years, but at a moment like that, who cares about such things? Not to mention most of those soldiers barely knew a few words; how could they have much sophistication?"

Pausing for a moment, Zhou Chutian seemed a bit tired. He leaned back slightly, resting in his chair in an extremely relaxed posture. The Taoist remained silent, simply lowering his head to eat and drink for himself.

"So, those so-called corpses..."

After a long while, the Taoist finally raised his head slightly, looking into Zhou Chutian's half-closed eyes. "Your people annihilated those barbarians, made them put on the soldiers' uniforms, and then destroyed their bodies to confuse the Border Army, right?"

"Exactly. My Disciples told those soldiers to destroy the faces as severely as possible, or just cut off the heads if they had to. Thus, the illusion was created that all five thousand soldiers had died in battle," Zhou Chutian said, his tone becoming more excited. "Even if the army's coroners went there, what could they find from a pile of mangled corpses? Oh, right, not to mention even the coroners were my people!"

"And after that?" The Taoist originally had no interest in these matters, but the more he heard, the more he wanted to know the outcome. "Five thousand people—how did you arrange for them?"

"That was simple. Although 'all under heaven is the King's land,' it's still quite easy to hide five thousand people." Zhou Chutian's eyes closed slightly, as if he were napping. "In fact, some of those five thousand died or were wounded after that battle, but that's not important. After all, even if they've lived until now, they'd probably be middle-aged."

"So I dispersed them and settled them in various places, specially hiring people to train them. I even arranged for them to marry one by one, so that once they had children, those children could continue to be used by me."

"Everyone says Partridge Sky has god-like methods, but who else in the martial world can do these things? In the imperial court, even now, there are probably imperial in-laws eyeing that dragon throne, let alone the mixed bag of people in the martial world. Partridge Sky has dominated for so many years, controlling water transport, the salt trade, and so on. So many eyes are on them, but they just lack the opportunity."

"But it doesn't matter. I can give them the opportunity, as long as they help me train these death soldiers. To them, I am like a second parent; naturally, they are grateful to me and willing to die for me."

"I haven't really used them for anything all these years, but at this point, if I don't use them, I'm afraid it'll be too late. As for their strength, Taoist, forgive my bluntness, but even if the top ones among them are no match for you, they are certainly not to be trifled with."

Zhou Chutian suddenly opened his eyes again, then smiled and said, "There should be a result soon. This is just the beginning; the even more exciting parts are still to come..."

Lu Qianyuan used his Miao Dao to prop himself up on the ground and wiped the blood from a gash on his left cheek. The old woman was unscathed, merely holding her sharp dagger and looking at him with a relaxed expression.

"Sir, I also come from the Border Army. I'm afraid I'm more familiar with your skills than you are." The old woman's voice suddenly turned into a deep male voice. "Don't bother thinking about it; I'm afraid your men won't be coming over."

"Heh, I don't believe you really have the ability to kill all the Flying Fish Guards in this vicinity..."

Before Lu Qianyuan could finish, the 'old woman' interrupted him with a cold laugh: "You've misunderstood. Kill that many Flying Fish Guards? Making such a big scene would be very troublesome for us, as there are still things for us to do."

"Do your mother's head!"

Lu Qianyuan gritted his teeth and cursed. Even though his men had been killed by this 'old woman' and his accomplices, Lu Qianyuan still showed no fear.

Mo Yingqi had said something he strongly agreed with: "You can lose, you can die, but never be afraid, and never back down."

He knew he was no match for these people, and if the man said the remaining Flying Fish Guards weren't coming, then they likely really weren't coming.

But what of it? He, Lu Qianyuan, had grown up at the border with his father, knocking about in the Border Army, and later joined the Flying Fish Guards to seek revenge for his sister.

Fear? Don't be ridiculous. If he were afraid, he wouldn't have made it to where he was today. Even though he was now a Centurion and might be promoted to Thousand-man Commander in the future with a smooth career ahead, what did that matter?

"The Sir truly has commendable courage..."

"If it weren't for our different positions, I might actually be willing to let you off today."

"A pity. Your mistake, Sir, was standing on the wrong side and choosing the wrong master."

Various voices drifted from the shadows. These people were extremely fast and highly skilled. Even against this disguised 'old woman,' Lu Qianyuan didn't have the confidence he could actually win in a one-on-one fight.

And as for the rest, their skills were likely no weaker than this person's, and some might even be more formidable.

"This really is a desperate situation..." Although Lu Qianyuan sounded tough, he felt a bit helpless in his heart. "Tsk, if Little Mo and capital were here, how could I have ended up like this?"

"If Little Mo and Old Lu were here, how could I have ended up like this?"

Tang Jingzhong was having the same thought. He was originally a civil official; although his martial arts weren't weak, he had been doing clerical work for years and rarely had the chance to fight.

"A pity, Clerk Tang. You have to fight me while also worrying about our people assassinating Grand Secretary Ning," the old man sneered. "Furthermore, your hands... tsk tsk tsk... Sir, why bother? You really are no match for me."

Tang Jingzhong said nothing. His clothes had several gashes, and his palms and the backs of his hands were dripping with blood.

The opponent's martial arts were extremely bizarre, seemingly designed specifically to counter those skilled in hand-to-hand combat like him. Every blade strike targeted his hands and feet. Even though the wounds weren't deep, the pain had already significantly weakened his striking power.

What confused Tang Jingzhong most was that while the man's skills were strange, the moves he occasionally used felt incredibly familiar. He would occasionally spar with Lu Qianyuan at the Pacification Bureau. This man used strange techniques to restrain him, then would suddenly switch to Border Army killing techniques, striking ruthlessly in an attempt to kill him in one blow.

"Are you from the Border Army?" Tang Jingzhong frowned. "I've long heard that some from the Border Army couldn't take the hardship and deserted, either becoming bandits or wandering the martial world as assassins..."

"The Sir is joking. Such people, even if not caught by the Border Army, would likely be killed by Partridge Sky," the old man laughed. "But you have a good eye, Sir. I indeed come from the Border Army. Of course... not recently, but from a much earlier time."

"So, who is your employer?" Tang Jingzhong suddenly smiled. "I am no match for you, and your people have almost surrounded me and Grand Secretary Ning. Why not let me die knowing the truth?"

"Hahaha, don't joke, Sir. You'd better die in ignorance!" The old man laughed loudly. "But I can tell you that we've known about your skills for a long time, which is why I was sent. After all, for a hand-to-hand expert like you, my martial arts are the easiest to counter you."

"But there's another important reason: I hate you scholars. No matter how good your skills are, to me you're just a man of letters. Killing you people who think so highly of yourselves just because you have a bit of ink in your bellies and constantly quote Confucius and Mencius... it makes me truly... so happy!"

Tang Jingzhong said nothing, merely stepping in front of Ning Wuya. Although the elderly Grand Secretary was not afraid, his expression was not pleasant.

"Jingzhong, you..."

"Don't worry, Grand Secretary. I will find a way to get you out of here," Tang Jingzhong said without looking back. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to leave. Please, after you escape, do not enter the palace. Do whatever you can to leave the city and find Marquis Mo..."

"If these people are to be killed, I'm afraid... Marquis Mo and the others must personally take action!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Jingzhong took a deep breath and lunged toward the old man... (There was no update yesterday due to New Year's Day.)

(Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, may all your endeavors be successful and everything go smoothly.)

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