Chapter 178

178. Chapter 178: Leng Leng and Zhui Feng! The Counterattack of Civil Officials!

Li Ge Xiao, who absorbed the Wedding Dress Divine Art, had his cultivation restored to about 70-80%. The reason it couldn't be restored to its peak was that the power of the Wedding Dress Divine Art was greatly reduced after the transfer.

On the other hand, Li Ge Xiao also clearly felt that his martial arts had improved. When he returned to his peak, he would be stronger than his former self.

"Lord Li, in addition to the Wedding Dress Divine Art, I have also passed on my self-created Divine Sword Art to you. If you feel it with your heart, you should be able to find the sword Qi seed in the depths of your Qi Sea."

"That is the essence of my lifelong sword path, I hope it will be helpful for your revenge in the future."

Li Ge Xiao stood up and said with emotion: "I am deeply grateful for Great Hero Yan's gift of power!"

Yan Nantian laughed: "Anyway, I had to disperse my power. If I didn't pass it to you, wouldn't it be a waste? And my sworn brother and I are now people without the strength to truss a chicken, so I have to ask you to take care of us."

"I dare not delay the Prince's sightseeing. Just drop us off when you pass by Jinling City."

Li Ge Xiao's mouth curled up, "What a coincidence, our trip is to find someone in Jinling City."

Jiang Feng was overjoyed and said happily: "We really have fate!"

Thinking that this chance encounter would end here, he didn't expect the fate to continue. Chu Yang shook his head, walked out of the courtyard on his own, got on his horse, and traveled further and further away.

"Hurry up and pack your luggage, remember to keep up. If the Prince walks too fast, it won't be easy for us to catch up."

Li Ge Xiao reminded him, sat directly on the Great Wolf Dog, and told it to follow Chu Yang quickly.

The caravan followed the two as before, only there was one more world's number one swordsman in the carriage.

While the group was heading to Jinling City, the news of the total annihilation of the Twelve Zodiacs spread like wildfire, spreading through the Jianghu at a very fast speed.

There were also rumors in the imperial court, but they didn't reach the Emperor's ears, stopping at the Six Fan School and the Jinyiwei.

The two sides seemed to have reached some kind of consensus and were trying their best to cover up Chu Yang's every move, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble and affect the stability of the imperial court.

The Six Fan School was responsible for the cleanup work. They were responsible for sweeping away the complex black market forces under the Twelve Zodiacs, and anyone who had seen Chu Yang would be killed on the spot.

The leader was Leng Feng, whose name Chu Yang complained was a unique skill, and also the Leng Leng in Li Ge Xiao's mouth.

In the Six Fan School, no one dared to mention the name Leng Feng directly in front of her.

She would likely beat them into a disability.

Just because she took a man's name, Leng Leng had broken with her father for many years.

"It seems the news is true. The one surnamed Li is really better, and he was actually able to kill the Black Dog Star of the Twelve Zodiacs. The rotten drunkard has recovered well..."

Leng Leng had just tortured the news of Li Ge Xiao from some prisoners and couldn't wait to share it with her senior brother Zhui Feng.

"Lord Li is our senior, pay attention to your words, don't let Master hear you, or you'll be scolded again."

Zhui Feng reminded Leng Leng, who spoke without thinking, helplessly, but he was thinking about another thing in his heart.

"I know, senior brother, why are you always frowning? It's because you always have a straight face that you scared away the ninth junior sister. She would rather walk the Jianghu than marry you."

"I've said it many times, there is no romantic relationship between me and the dog junior sister; I have always treated her as a sister!"

"Can you change your accent first?"

"What do I need to change about my standard Mandarin?"

"Sigh... forget it, it's useless for only us to know your thoughts. You have to tell Master your own thoughts!"

"No, Master has great kindness to me, I cannot live up to Master's intentions."

"Then you marry the ninth junior sister!"

"No, I have always treated her as a sister. How can we get married without romantic feelings? Now we advocate free love!"

"This won't work, that won't work, are you playing with me? Get out of my sight, get lost!"

"The Six Fan School is now in a state of panic; it's really an eventful autumn."

Thinking of the recent situation of the Six Fan School, Leng Leng couldn't help but look worried, exactly the same as Zhui Feng's expression just now.

"Master was dismissed for no reason. What did we do wrong to make the Emperor unhappy?"

"I'm also thinking about this. I had no clue before, but the matter of the Twelve Zodiacs has given me some ideas."

"What?"

"It's mostly related to the Virtuous Prince..."

"The one who is traveling the Jianghu with the ninth junior sister and is now being protected by the rotten drunkard?"

"It's him."

"You mean the Virtuous Prince is threatening..."

"Junior sister, be careful with your words!"

Leng Leng was silent for a moment and said slowly: "Senior brother, I understand what you mean, but Master has been working diligently for so many years, is it not enough for the Emperor to trust him?"

Zhui Feng said meaningfully: "As long as you sit on that dragon chair, suspicion becomes a nature..."

Leng Leng suddenly felt that the vast imperial court was very boring, including the so-called Four Great Divine Catchers of the Six Fan School. Everything they did seemed to have no great significance. The person on the dragon chair only needed a thought to turn their efforts into a joke.

"Senior brother, help me finish the cleanup of the Twelve Zodiacs."

"Where are you going?"

"Go out for a walk. It's so suffocating here that I can't breathe. I guess I know why that Prince left with the ninth junior sister; he probably also felt that it was suffocating here."

Northern Zhenfu Division.

Zheng Dongliu sat in the main hall, listening to Thousand-Household Zuo's report, his fingers constantly rubbing the chair, unable to hide the excitement in his heart.

"The brat really has a chance to recover!"

"He didn't even come back to tell me such good news in person!"

"Annihilating the Twelve Zodiacs is a great achievement. I can plead with the Emperor to let him return to his original position."

"Why didn't he come back..."

Zheng Dongliu sighed as he spoke.

Thousand-Household Zuo said softly: "My Lord, there is something I don't know whether to say or not."

Zheng Dongliu frowned and said: "Speak! It's just the two of us, what's there to be afraid of saying."

Thousand-Household Zuo explained: "The reason Lord Li didn't come back is probably because he didn't want to implicate us. He was afraid that you would be suspected by the Emperor like Hero Guo."

Zheng Dongliu said: "His Majesty is just worried about Hero Guo's health, don't talk nonsense!"

"Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, it's an indisputable fact that Lord Li is now traveling with the Virtuous Prince. Plus the feud between him and Grand Secretary Yan, as long as he comes back, not only will he become a thorn in the Emperor's side, but the Jinyiwei will also be affected."

"Our flying fish suits all rely on His Majesty's support. If we can't get any favor from His Majesty, we're basically not far from death." Thousand-Household Zuo said very bluntly, and Zheng Dongliu understood what he meant.

Li Ge Xiao would come back one day, but it would be for Yan Song's head. From the moment he chose to travel with Chu Yang, he stood on the opposite side of the current Emperor.

As the Emperor's eagles and dogs, the Jinyiwei might stand on the opposite side of Li Ge Xiao in the future, and as the Commander, Zheng Dongliu might even cross swords with Li Ge Xiao.

This is the most cruel thing.

Compared to a leisurely Prince leaving the capital to travel the Jianghu, Guo Bujing's dismissal was a major earthquake in the imperial court.

Most officials believed the Emperor's explanation, considering Guo Bujing's fatigue from holding two positions, but a very small number of high-ranking officials sensed something was wrong.

Senior Grand Secretary Yan Song held a small tea party at his home, inviting a group of imperial court bigwigs. The hall was full of high-ranking officials above the third rank.

Junior Grand Secretary Xu Jie, Cabinet Scholar Zhang Juzheng, and the Ministers of the Six Ministries; such a lineup was like a small imperial court, and Yan Song here was no different from the Emperor.

The temptation of the vacancy of the Imperial Guard Instructor was too great, and even the civil official group had ideas.

If they had strong martial force support, the civil official group could get rid of the decline, override other forces, and take back the right to speak they once had.

Since ancient times, civil and military officials have not been compatible.

The mutual friction between civil and military officials has become the norm.

Although there are also struggles between the two Marquises, one gate, and two factories and one guard, when facing the civil official group, they will still stand on the same front.

Since the pattern of the six major forces in the imperial court was formed, the days of the civil official group have been getting worse day by day, like dark clouds covering the top, making them unable to breathe.

The Jinyiwei is okay. Under Zheng Dongliu's control, they only inspect the officials and sometimes deal with officials with improper conduct.

And the two factories in the east and west have never stopped attacking the civil officials. Anyone who oversteps will be raided at best and exterminated at worst.

That feeling of having a knife held to your neck at all times is not good.

Scholars cannot compare to martial artists; moving their lips cannot kill people.

Sometimes they envy the neighboring Buddhist and Taoist religions. Since the great changes in the world decades ago, monks and Taoists can really kill people with their lips.

"Speaking of saints, my Confucian school has produced so many saints for thousands of years, why isn't there a Confucian saint who can speak the law of heaven?"

"It's a waste to let those Taoist priests and bald monks gain face. Now there are more people reading Buddhist and Taoist scriptures than reading the books of sages. What kind of talk is this?"

Every time he thought of this, Yan Song was furious, and in front of everyone, he threw the teacup in his hand fiercely.

"Prime Minister Yan, don't be annoyed. Everyone is waiting for Prime Minister Yan to preside over the overall situation. The most urgent task is to find a way to make the Imperial Guard Instructor one of our own."

Junior Grand Secretary Xu Jie spoke slowly, his tone as gentle as a little daughter-in-law.

Yan Song nodded and then asked: "Is there anyone in your clans who is highly skilled in martial arts and can be qualified for the position of Imperial Guard Instructor?"

Everyone looked at each other, lowered their heads and said nothing. The long silence answered Yan Song's question.

How can a scholarly family produce a martial artist? If you don't read books properly and go to practice martial arts, aren't you afraid of being broken by your ancestors? "I have two recommendations, but they are both from military backgrounds. I don't know if Prime Minister Yan..."

"Tell me first."

"Li Chengliang, the garrison general who resists the Jiannu in the north, and Qi Jiguang, who is responsible for resisting the Japanese pirates and guarding Jinling City."

"Both are highly skilled in martial arts and have excellent command capabilities, enough to be qualified for the position of Imperial Guard Instructor."

Yan Song knew the reputation of these two, but still shook his head and said: "They are both from military families..."

Zhang Juzheng whispered: "Prime Minister Yan, it's not just us who have been suffering these years. The generals guarding the borders of the Ming Empire also have many criticisms about those few people."

"The responsibilities of the two Marquises and one gate are too great, and they have touched the power of the military."

"It is not yet known which side the military families will stand on!"

As soon as this was said, Junior Grand Secretary Xu Jie also nodded and said: "Shuda is right. The enemy of the enemy is a friend. Before these six major forces, we and those reckless men were indeed incompatible, but that is already old news."

"Now, if we want to regain the power of the civil officials, we must cooperate with them once."

Others echoed one after another.

Yan Song hesitated for a moment, but still agreed with Zhang Juzheng and Xu Jie's proposal, nodding: "Since this is the case, who is more suitable to choose between the two?"

Zhang Juzheng had the answer in his heart, but didn't say it directly, instead looking at Xu Jie.

Xu Jie laughed: "The situation in the south is complex. Not only are there frequent Japanese pirates harassing the people, but there are also demons and big demons running rampant. As the person in charge, Qi Jiguang should not be moved easily. The situation in the north is better. Those Jiannu haven't appeared for a few years."

After hearing this, Yan Song immediately made a decision: "Then we will recommend Li Chengliang to return to the capital to serve as the Imperial Guard Instructor. This hard-won opportunity must be firmly held in our hands!"

The purpose of this trip was achieved, and everyone chatted for a while before leaving one after another.

Just after leaving the Yan Mansion gate, Zhang Juzheng hurriedly found Xu Jie and said: "Teacher, I originally intended to recommend Qi Jiguang. Li Chengliang has great ambition, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to control after he becomes the Imperial Guard Instructor."

Xu Jie nodded: "I know your thoughts, but Qi Jiguang should not be moved easily. I received an urgent report this morning that there is a movement of Japanese pirates in the south, and this time it seems that demons are involved."

"If Qi Jiguang leaves at this time, it will be unfavorable to the overall situation!"

Zhang Juzheng was shocked and hurriedly asked: "How can Japanese pirates be connected with demons? Isn't the Ten Thousand Demon Nation busy dealing with demons, how can they have time to provoke us?"

Xu Jie sighed: "I have an ominous premonition. In recent years, the actions of demons have become increasingly rampant. The Ten Thousand Demon Nation is afraid that it can't hold on and has the idea of a desperate fight!"

"The world is about to be in chaos!"

Chu Yang and the others walked for half a month after leaving the desolate village and finally saw the prosperous Jinling City.

Compared with the majesty and grandeur of the capital, Jinling City is more beautiful, full of magnificent atmosphere everywhere. If the capital is compared to a mighty general, then Jinling City is a peerless beauty.

Because land and water transportation is extremely convenient, everything can be said to be available in Jinling City. All the strange things in the Ming Empire can be seen here, and there are also many foreign things.

In short, if you can't find it in Jinling City, you won't find it anywhere else.

Li Ge Xiao had spent a few years in the Southern Zhenfu Division of Jinling City and was familiar with it, so he took the initiative to be a guide.

Yan Nantian had a simple house in the city as a temporary place to stay. He originally planned to take Jiang Feng's family to go overseas after a little rest.

When he was young, he had participated in the action against Japanese pirates and accidentally found a small island with birds and flowers, and even settled down on it. That was the final destination for Jiang Feng and his wife.

But now he has to rebuild his cultivation, so he has to change his plan and may need to live in Jinling City for a while.

For Jiang Feng, living in Jinling City is not a big problem. He is so poor that he only has money left. Buying a big house to live in is not a problem at all.

Saying goodbye to Jiang Feng and the others, Li Ge Xiao led Chu Yang to the largest brothel in Jinling City—Xianyu Building.

It's not that the two are in a hurry, but they are going there to find someone.

Known in the Jianghu as Four Eyebrows.

Lu Xiaofeng. (End of chapter)