Chapter 501: The Place of Decisive Battle

49th Year of Hongguang, July 10th.

Bai Sha Province.

As one of the provinces with the strongest Martial Dao strength in the country, among the "Sanshan, Four Sects, Seven Great Families," the Baituo Mountain of the "Sanshan," the Gouchen Sect of the "Four Sects," and the Shenquan Yu family of the "Seven Great Families" were all in Bai Sha Province!

Coupled with Bai Sha University, one province had a full four Grandmasters!

When the news of Gouchen Sword Master Benefactor Bai Chen's sudden death spread back to Bai Sha Province, it immediately caused a huge shock.

Everyone then realized that the Gouchen Sect had already secretly joined the First Imperial Prince!

With the two telegrams from the Central Secretariat spreading across the world, the situation of the Gouchen Sect in Bai Sha Province also became subtle.

The First Imperial Prince, King Li, Lu Wenzheng, and Xu Jing and others had been officially characterized as "rebellious subjects and traitors"!

Then the Gouchen Sect, which chose to stand on their side, was naturally to be dealt with.

After Benefactor Bai Chen's death, the Gouchen Sect could no longer maintain its status as one of the "Four Sects," and the Bai Sha Province government contacted Bai Sha University, preparing to take action against it!

Baituo Mountain, the highest mountain in Bai Sha Province.

The top sect of the "Sanshan" was named after this mountain.

On this day, a swordsman visited Baituo Mountain alone.

He was quickly invited up the mountain by the people of Baituo Mountain, but he didn't enter the sect directly through the main mountain gate, but took a detour from the back mountain, coming to a large hall in the back mountain.

When this swordsman stepped into the large hall, six people were already sitting in the hall.

One was the current sect master of Baituo Mountain, Guo Feiyu, and the other five were the peak masters of Baituo Mountain.

Among these six people, four were Martial Arts Masters, and two were True Persons of the current age.

Baituo Mountain was one of the few top sects that possessed both Martial Dao and Art Dao inheritances!

Among them, Sect Master Guo Feiyu was even a Martial Arts Master with six supernatural abilities!

Of course, Guo Feiyu also encountered the same problem as Xiao Tao of the Xiao family—too many supernatural abilities, making breaking through the realm difficult.

"Sect Master Zhang, you have a lot of guts."

Guo Feiyu looked at the swordsman walking into the hall and said with a cold face.

The person who came was the current sect master of the Gouchen Sect, Zhang Yuanhong!

The sect master of the Gouchen Sect was not necessarily the Sword Master; usually, the Sword Master focused on cultivation, while the sect master managed the affairs of the sect.

One was the foundation of the sect, the other was the person in power of the sect.

At a time when the court had publicly denounced the rebels and was preparing to take action against the Gouchen Sect, Zhang Yuanhong actually dared to climb Baituo Mountain alone.

If Baituo Mountain wanted to be unfavorable to him, they only needed to capture him and then send him to the government, which would be a great merit!

That was why Guo Feiyu said the other party had a lot of guts.

Zhang Yuanhong held his sword in one hand, his eyes a bit sinister, like a lone eagle on a cliff wall.

His gaze swept over everyone present, and he said calmly:

"Today I came to give your Baituo Mountain a chance."

"Ha?"

A Martial Arts Master present sneered upon hearing this, "What a big tone? Give my Baituo Mountain a chance?"

Back then, it was he who represented Baituo Mountain to participate in the competition for the Lan Xun Pavilion member in Lanling City, but unexpectedly lost to the Gouchen Sect. (See Volume 3, Chapter 173)

This made him feel very embarrassed, so he didn't have a good face for Zhang Yuanhong.

Zhang Yuanhong glanced at the other party, then looked at Guo Feiyu:

"A change not seen in hundreds of years is right before our eyes; is your Baituo Mountain unwilling to seize the opportunity and go a step further?"

Guo Feiyu remained unmoved: "Opportunity? I only saw your Gouchen Sect about to be wiped out, two hundred years of foundation about to be destroyed! My Baituo Mountain doesn't need any opportunity, it can still be stable for a hundred years, its prestige undiminished!"

Zhang Yuanhong smiled disdainfully: "If that were really the case, why is the Lan Xun Pavilion member of Bai Sha Province now a person from my Gouchen Sect? Your Baituo Mountain doesn't even have the courage to get on the gambling table, and you deserve to talk about prestige undiminished?"

This remark suddenly tightened the atmosphere in the hall, and several killing intents locked onto Zhang Yuanhong.

As long as Sect Master Guo Feiyu gave an order, the others could immediately take action to capture Zhang Yuanhong!

Guo Feiyu frowned slightly, not rushing to take action.

He didn't understand where Zhang Yuanhong's confidence came from?

But what the other party said indeed made him mind a bit.

Previously, the competition for the Lan Xun Pavilion member in Bai Sha Province, Baituo Mountain unexpectedly lost to the Gouchen Sect, which indeed shocked many people, and many felt that the Jianghu of Bai Sha Province was about to change its sky!

This undoubtedly made everyone in Baituo Mountain hold their breath, and at the same time secretly vigilant.

After the news from Feng Province spread, Guo Feiyu knew that it turned out the Gouchen Sect had already secretly taken sides and had connections with top-tier powerful figures in the palace.

No wonder Baituo Mountain lost the competition back then.

In fact, if it weren't for this mutiny, the Gouchen Sect being elected as a Lan Xun Pavilion member of Bai Sha Province would be equivalent to becoming the Martial Arts Alliance Leader of the Bai Sha Province Jianghu in name.

Whether it was prestige, resources that could be obtained, or real power, they could all suppress Baituo Mountain.

If such a situation continued for a dozen years, then Baituo Mountain would probably really be comprehensively surpassed by the Gouchen Sect.

Guo Feiyu's so-called "prestige undiminished" would indeed be a joke.

"Stable development is just sticking to old ways, why does Sect Master Guo have to deceive yourself? Even if you fully support the court, how much more can the court give you?

I came today to give you a chance to get on the gambling table; if you can't make up your mind, go ask Old Senior Hong."

Zhang Yuanhong's voice resounded in the hall, and what he said no longer had any scruples.

The "Old Senior Hong" he spoke of was the Supreme Elder of Baituo Mountain, and also the foundation of Baituo Mountain—a Martial Dao Grandmaster!

"Presumptuous—"

That Martial Arts Master from before couldn't hold back anymore, suddenly standing up and scolding.

"Junior Brother Wang."

Guo Feiyu stopped the other party, his gaze constantly changing.

Stable development is just sticking to old ways; this sentence was actually correct.

It was no longer the early days of the founding of the country.

The Great Lan Dynasty had continued to this day, and many things had long been solidified.

The benefits that could be divided had long been divided up; if there were no big changes, no one could get more.

Baituo Mountain had been established for over three hundred years and had always had only one Grandmaster.

The number of Martial Arts Masters and True Persons was also limited.

Was it that they didn't want to cultivate more powerhouses?

It was just because resources were limited, and the size of the sect had already determined the upper limit of Baituo Mountain.

Just like the court, did it not want to possess more Imperial Guards?

It was just that it couldn't be done.

Zhang Yuanhong had said something that touched Guo Feiyu's heart:

Even if Baituo Mountain fully supported the court, how much more could the court give Baituo Mountain compared to now?

The Crown Prince already had the Xiao family, the Duke, and various other forces by his side.

You Baituo Mountain are sticking to it now; even if you are rewarded for your merits afterwards, do you have no idea what position you can rank in?

Baituo Mountain just picks up the "leftovers" others have eaten; what more can you talk about going a step further?

"Zhang Yuanhong."

A moment later, Guo Feiyu called him by his name:

"If you came today just to say these things, don't blame me for capturing you!"

As the words fell, several peak masters in the hall stood up one after another, and powerful auras like mountains pressed toward Zhang Yuanhong!

If Zhang Yuanhong didn't bring out something substantial, Guo Feiyu wouldn't be moved.

Even if it meant eating "leftovers," it was still better than being eaten as a dish by others!

Zhang Yuanhong's expression remained unchanged, just transmitting a sentence to Guo Feiyu.

Guo Feiyu's expression was uncertain upon hearing this.

"Sect Master?"

The other peak masters all turned to look at him.

"I said, you should go ask Old Senior Hong for advice."

Zhang Yuanhong said indifferently.

"You all accompany Sect Master Zhang and wait here."

Guo Feiyu finally made a decision, leaving the hall to see that Supreme Elder of Baituo Mountain.

A moment later, he returned to the hall and said to Zhang Yuanhong:

"Sect Master Zhang, please follow me."

A smile appeared on Zhang Yuanhong's face.

A few minutes later, he followed Guo Feiyu to a lake.

Guo Feiyu didn't say a word, leaving directly, leaving Zhang Yuanhong alone here.

Soon, an invisible force descended on Zhang Yuanhong.

This sect master, who had been very calm from beginning to end, finally had a change in his complexion.

He had been enveloped by the other party's Martial Dao Domain, his life and death under the other party's control!

If this talk didn't work out, he really might leave his life here!

"Speak, you only have three chances."

A majestic voice suddenly sounded in Zhang Yuanhong's ear.

Zhang Yuanhong didn't speak, taking a jade pendant from his bosom.

The jade pendant glowed slightly, and then a voice came from within:

"Brother Hong, long time no see."

After this voice sounded, the originally calm lake suddenly rippled:

"Benefactor Bai Chen?"

"You didn't die?!"

July 11th, late at night.

Bai Sha University President Liu Changwen personally led the team, leading a group of elites to kill their way to the sect station of the Gouchen Sect.

After persuasion to surrender failed, Liu Changwen led people to kill their way in.

Without Benefactor Bai Chen, the Gouchen Sect had no one who could stop him.

But just one minute later, two Martial Dao Domains collided within the sect station of the Gouchen Sect.

"Hong Zhi, does your Baituo Mountain want to rebel?!"

Liu Changwen's voice resounded through the night sky.

"Hahahahaha—"

A majestic laughter followed.

"What rebellion? The Crown Prince is immoral, imprisoning his father and killing his brother! My Baituo Mountain is to uphold justice, helping the First Imperial Prince clear the side of the Emperor, returning a clear and bright universe to my Great Lan Dynasty!"

This night, Baituo Mountain, one of the "Sanshan," suddenly took action, and Grandmaster Hong Zhi even hid in the dark to launch a sneak attack.

With the help of Baituo Mountain, the court's forces were defeated, and Bai Sha University President Liu Changwen fled with injuries.

The next day, Bai Sha Province fell into internal chaos.

Baituo Mountain and the Gouchen Sect, these two top sects, joined forces, colluding with Jianghu forces everywhere and local powerful families, quickly controlling the land of two prefectures, occupying half of Bai Sha Province!

On the same day, the First Imperial Prince and King Li spent four days completing the reorganization and assembly of the Southern Territory army, officially starting to march north.

The First Imperial Prince had already sent a vanguard force composed of a small number of elites to kill their way into the nearest Linji Province, killing their way to the provincial capital city wall that afternoon, starting to send people to persuade surrender.

Linji Province Inspector Feng Ping resisted resolutely, swearing not to surrender.

Unfortunately, the high-end combat power of the provincial capital couldn't compare to the Southern Territory army at all; after holding on for over an hour, the provincial capital of Linji Province was breached.

Feng Ping died for his country, becoming the first frontier official to die for his country in this mutiny!

After taking the provincial capital of Linji Province, the First Imperial Prince Qin Zihong and King Li quickly "won over" a portion of the forces in the provincial capital.

Among these were Jianghu forces, local powerful families, and government soldiers.

These people, either coerced, lured by profit, or wrapped up, joined the Southern Territory army just like that.

Two provinces adjacent to Linji Province chose to blow up railways and highways to block the "rebel army."

But this method only had an effect on conventional troops; the vanguard force established by the First Imperial Prince with elites was composed of Imperial Guards, martial artists, and exotic beast cavalry.

This batch of elites only carried a small amount of dry rations; even without relying on transportation, the marching speed was still extremely fast.

Continuing to march north!

Lanling City.

A great morning assembly was held again in the Imperial Palace.

The theme of this great morning assembly was only one—how to solve the rebel army marching north.

Regarding this matter, there had been arguments in the court for several days, and there was still no conclusion.

The Emperor was absent, and the Crown Prince supervising the nation sat below the dragon chair, presiding over this great morning assembly.

"We cannot let the rebel army fight its way here like this, otherwise where will the court's prestige be? Crown Prince, I propose that we should immediately let the Military Generalissimo personally lead troops south to crusade against the rebel army!"

The combat power of the Southern Territory army was not considered too strong for the court.

What was truly tricky was that there was a Martial Saint among them.

If a top-tier powerhouse capable of matching them wasn't sent to lead the team, then this battle would be very difficult to fight.

"No!"

A minister immediately stood out, "Now the National Master is in seclusion to heal, if the Military Generalissimo goes south, wouldn't the capital have no top-tier powerhouse to sit in town? What if Qin Mingli abandons the army, only bringing a few elites north, and strikes directly at Lanling City, how should we respond?"

"Yes, I also think the Military Generalissimo shouldn't move lightly!"

"Lanling City bears the weight of the world, Crown Prince should be cautious."

"..."

Many ministers actually understood the mystery of national fortune, knowing that the Crown Prince supervising the nation, bearing the national fortune, could possess the power of a top-tier powerhouse while sitting in the Imperial Palace.

But this power would significantly decline once leaving the Imperial Palace, at most used to guard against assassination, very difficult to use for defending the city.

Lanling City is the capital, with civil and military officials, millions of people, various critical departments, and large amounts of resources hoarded...

Once a problem occurs, it will directly shake the national fortune!

So many ministers didn't agree with letting Wen Ren Zheng lead troops south.

National Master Yun Shu was seriously injured, and if Wen Ren Zheng left, they would feel very insecure.

"How about mobilizing the Bai Yan Army or the Chilin Army?"

Someone else proposed.

The four ten-thousand-level Imperial Guards, each possessed the power to match or even kill top-tier powerhouses!

Mobilizing this power was enough to deal with Qin Mingli.

But military formations were ultimately not as flexible as individuals; if Qin Mingli fought flexibly enough, it would be difficult for the Imperial Guards to leave him behind completely.

However, at least it could completely defeat the rebel army, and there was a chance to capture the First Imperial Prince.

In this way, Qin Mingli would have no reinforcements and lose his righteousness, only able to be a rootless tree, a lonely ghost.

It could be considered a solution.

"Inappropriate!"

But immediately someone stood up to oppose, "The grassland royal court has always been restless, and the Western Continent foreigners are eyeing covetously! Once these two major Imperial Guards are mobilized, it will give the enemy an opportunity!"

"Crown Prince, now my Great Lan Dynasty is in a time of many events and turmoil; if we relax border defense at this time, I fear there will be a disaster of national extinction!"

Once these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the hall.

Some people immediately stood out to accuse the other party, and some even cursed, feeling that the person had ulterior motives.

Looking at the group of ministers arguing in a group below, the Crown Prince on the cinnabar steps only felt a headache.

He cast his gaze toward Ye Zean and Wen Ren Zheng sitting in the first row.

"Grand Secretary."

The Crown Prince shouted loudly, also making the arguing ministers quickly quiet down.

"I am here."

Ye Zean stood up slowly.

Crown Prince: "What do you think, how should this matter be solved?"

Ye Zean said decisively:

"I think we can send the Tianlan Cavalry south to sweep away the rebel army!"

Once these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone in the hall were different.

Due to the prestige of the Grand Secretary, no one stood out to oppose for the time being.

At the moment when the Crown Prince had not yet ascended the throne, in terms of influence on the court, this Grand Secretary was actually the number one person!

Crown Prince continued to ask: "Who should lead the army?"

Ye Zean: "Tianlan Cavalry Deputy Commander Huang Qiyuan is enough to handle it!"

The commander of the Tianlan Cavalry had always been Wen Ren Zheng, while Deputy Commander Huang Qiyuan was a Grandmaster; his personal combat power was strong enough, but his military Dao cultivation hadn't reached the "Commander level," and commanding a ten-thousand-level military formation was a bit beyond his reach.

If he led the Tianlan Cavalry, he could contend with top-tier powerhouses, but killing them was basically impossible.

"If the Tianlan Cavalry goes south, the defense of the capital will inevitably be empty, does the Grand Secretary have a good strategy?"

Crown Prince continued to ask.

Ye Zean obviously had a draft in mind, saying without hesitation:

"We can mobilize the Qingshuang Army south, rushing to Lanling City to guard."

This plan made many people stunned for a moment.

In the previous discussion, the reason why the Qingshuang Army wasn't mentioned was because the Qingshuang Army and the Southern Territory army were too far apart.

One in the south and one in the north, by the time the Qingshuang Army was mobilized, the day lily would have withered.

But if the Qingshuang Army was mobilized to Lanling City, and the Tianlan Cavalry was sent out at the same time, this seemed feasible.

After the last battle, the Northern Barbarians were severely damaged and temporarily not worth worrying about.

Even without the Qingshuang Army, the Northern Territory army led by Prince Cheng was enough to guard for a period of time.

The only problem was that the Tianlan Cavalry was mobilized away, and before the Qingshuang Army arrived in Lanling City, there would inevitably be a "gap period."

However, compared to other plans, Ye Zean's plan was already quite suitable.

After hearing this, the Crown Prince looked at Wen Ren Zheng again:

"What does the Military Generalissimo think?"

Wen Ren Zheng stood up and said in a deep voice:

"I think it is feasible!"

The Crown Prince's eyes lit up, continuing to ask:

"If the Tianlan Cavalry goes south, where should they ambush the rebel army?"

Wen Ren Zheng also said without hesitation:

"I have calculated the rebel army's marching route; if the Tianlan Cavalry sets off today, and orders are simultaneously issued for various provinces to concentrate elites to converge, the two sides should ultimately have a decisive battle near Feng Province!"

"Feng Province..."

A name immediately surfaced in the Crown Prince's mind.

After pondering for a moment, he said decisively:

"I think the plan of the Grand Secretary and the Military Generalissimo is the best, do you all have any opinions?"

The ministers in the hall looked at each other.

The Grand Secretary and the Military Generalissimo both agreed, and it had obtained the affirmation of the Crown Prince supervising the nation, so this decision was almost impossible to be changed.

So everyone bowed one after another:

"I second the motion!"

49th Year of Hongguang, July 12th.

The number one cavalry in the world, the strongest Imperial Guard of the Great Lan Dynasty, the true killing weapon of the country—the Tianlan Cavalry left Lanling City.

Marching south all the way, preparing to crusade against the rebel army!

On the same day, the Central Secretariat simultaneously issued orders to six provinces, requiring these six provinces to concentrate all elite forces to converge on Feng Province.

The elite forces of the six provinces, plus the forces of Feng Province, plus the Tianlan Cavalry marching south.

This temporarily assembled army would have a direct decisive battle with the rebel army marching north!

Feng Province.

War clouds gathered!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 502 =====