Chapter 854

First Volume, Chapter 854: Grand Commandant Arrives, Clear the Emperor's Side

The common folk on the Official Road willingly cleared a path; those who couldn't dodge quickly enough jumped straight into the roadside weeds, desperate to avoid them.

The locals feared them not merely because the convoy was enormous, but more so because the carriage's design and the accompanying officers' attire clearly marked them as high-ranking figures from Jingdu.

The man inside the carriage was none other than Qin Tianhu!

Zhao Yuxiong personally led the Black Cavalry and a thousand cavalrymen transferred from the Longhu Army to protect Qin Tianhu's safety.

Qin Tianhu leaned against the carriage window, watching the common folk on the Official Road, his gaze utterly grim.

Before this, he had repeatedly pressured the Imperial Party to immediately relinquish military command, but every military dispatch he sent vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, with no response whatsoever.

Clearly, the Imperial Party intended to resist to the bitter end.

At first, Qin Tianhu had considered sending the Vice Minister of War to negotiate, but after much deliberation, he ultimately decided to come himself.

He came in person because no one else could possibly intimidate the Imperial Party.

Although the broad strategy had already been set—to surround and crush the Imperial Party at any moment—any war would bring suffering to the people, and with winter already here, their lives had grown even harder; thus, it was best to avoid war if possible.

As for Jingdu, the Taolin Party and the Junior Protector Chen Zheng were holding the line, so no chaos would arise there.

At that moment, Zhao Yuxiong's voice came from outside the window.

"Grand Commandant, the Imperial Party's ZhuZhen lies just ahead."

Hearing this, Qin Tianhu gazed far into the distance and indeed spotted a massive wooden encampment on the distant horizon.

It was close to the County City; should war break out, the Imperial Party's army could instantly move into the city for defense, abandoning the camp entirely, so the camp didn't need to be built too strongly.

The Imperial Party had already learned of Qin Tianhu's arrival.

Their Right Army Vice General, Ma Biao, had been waiting on the Official Road long before; as Qin Tianhu's carriage drew near, Ma Biao quickly bowed his fists in salute.

"Your servant, Zhao Wu Xiao Wei Ma Biao, has been awaiting Grand Commandant Qin for a long time."

The carriage slowed to a stop, but Qin Tianhu did not get out.

Zhao Yuxiong rode his horse slowly to Ma Biao's side, showing no intention to dismount; he glanced at Ma Biao once, then swept his eyes over the hundred-odd men behind him, his face expressionless: "Clear the road!"

Ma Biao frowned, looking up at the towering Zhao Yuxiong, his smile vanishing: "Who are you, General?"

Zhao Yuxiong blurted out: "Commander of the Black Cavalry, Zhao Yuxiong."

Upon learning Zhao Yuxiong's identity, Ma Biao's expression changed visibly; he silently sighed—no wonder he was so arrogant; he was the son of the Dragon Tiger Army Grand Commander.

Ma Biao had already adopted the lowest posture, showing sincerity and goodwill, yet Qin Tianhu didn't even show his face—and now Zhao Yuxiong sat atop his horse, looking down from above?

How outrageous!

Zhao Yuxiong was indeed a scion of a prestigious family and Qin Feng's right-hand man, but in terms of OfficialRank, Zhao Yuxiong was merely the Vice General of Beixi County; strictly speaking, he didn't even rank higher than a Seventh Rank Xiao Wei.

Yet Ma Biao was a proper Sixth Rank Zhao Wu Xiao Wei of Shedynasty!

Military officers generally held low ranks, so a Sixth Rank Xiao Wei was already quite formidable.

Had it not been for Zhao Yuxiong's powerful backing, Ma Biao would have dragged him off his horse and punished him for "insubordination."

Ma Biao took a deep breath, calming his irritation, and bowed his fists again.

"So you are General Zhao—I've long heard your name. I am here on behalf of…"

Before Ma Biao could finish, Zhao Yuxiong coldly cut him off: "I'll say it again—clear the road!"

"Anyone who blocks the Grand Commandant's path shall be treated as an Assassin—kill on sight!"

Facing Zhao Yuxiong's ruthless command, Ma Biao's face darkened; he could no longer contain his fury and shouted: "Zhao Yuxiong, don't push your luck too far!"

"Even if you are a noble scion of Jingdu, that's in Jingdu—this is the Imperial Party's territory! When did it become your place to bellow orders?!"

"If you dismount and apologize, we'll let it go—but otherwise…"

Zhao Yuxiong had no patience whatsoever; he didn't even wait for Ma Biao to finish his outburst—he snatched up his halberd and slammed the halberd shaft hard against Ma Biao's shoulder.

The blow made Ma Biao grimace in pain.

"Zhao… Zhao…"

Ma Biao clutched his shoulder, still unable to shout Zhao Yuxiong's name, when the sharp tip of Zhao Yuxiong's halberd pressed against his chest.

Feeling Zhao Yuxiong's icy gaze, Ma Biao swallowed his remaining words.

Zhao Yuxiong had no interest in wasting time with him: "You, a Sixth Rank Zhao Wu Xiao Wei, come to greet Grand Commandant Qin? Do you even qualify?"

The words "Do you even qualify?" froze Ma Biao solid.

Zhao Yuxiong sneered: "Grand Commandant Qin concurrently serves as Minister of War—he stands second only to the Imperial Throne, the pillar of the state. Not only are you, a lowly Sixth Rank Xiao Wei, unworthy, but even the other five Ministers must bow and salute before Grand Commandant Qin!"

"The Imperial Party sends only a petty Xiao Wei to greet Grand Commandant Qin? Clearly, you've resolved to resist to the end—then we needn't waste words with you!"

"Get out of the way!"

Zhao Yuxiong shoved the halberd forward; its sharp tip slipped through the gaps in Ma Biao's armor scales.

Feeling the pain in his chest and Zhao Yuxiong's unyielding gaze, Ma Biao swallowed hard—he had no doubt Zhao Yuxiong would kill him outright.

The reason was simple: he was Qin Feng's right-hand man.

As the saying goes: if the top beam is crooked, the bottom beams will be crooked too. With Qin Feng backing him, what wouldn't they dare do?

Ma Biao had no choice but to yield; he slowly stepped aside, his eyes filled with hatred as he watched the convoy pass by.

One of the Vice Commanders clenched his teeth: "General, that Zhao Yuxiong is utterly arrogant!"

"Even if he wields immense power in Jingdu and the Northern Border, this is our territory! He dares to act this way here—doesn't he fear being buried in the earth?"

Ma Biao snorted: "Arrogance invites heaven's retribution—just wait and see."

Zhao Yuxiong had no interest in wasting time on a nobody like Ma Biao; he led the convoy straight to the Imperial Party's ZhuZhen.

Along the way, more and more people came to greet them—each time, the same result: they were driven away without even seeing Qin Tianhu's face.

Only when they reached the ZhuZhen's Door did the Right Army General, Zhou Yunhai, finally appear.

Zhou Yunhai had already heard of Zhao Yuxiong's bullying behavior, but considering Zhao Yuxiong was Zhao Li's son, he held his tongue and forced a smile.

"Who would've thought Grand Commandant Qin and Young Master Zhao would come in person? Hahaha, we failed to welcome you properly—please forgive our oversight."

Feeling Zhao Yunhai's insincere smile, Zhao Yuxiong dismounted from the Horse, gave a casual fist salute, and that was that.

"General Zhou, the matter has come to this—must your unit still cling to the Imperial Party's haughty airs?"