Chapter 181 The Laugh of the Living King of Hell and the Decision of the Eight Great Kings "grown ups." "There's news just arrived from Yansui Town." Hong Chengchou arranged everything for the general attack three days later. He waved his hand to let all the generals withdraw and let them carry out their respective tasks according to the plan. The voice of the captain of the personal guards, Hong Yuanfeng, came from the door of the central army tent. "Come in!" Hong Chengchou spoke softly, but his voice was clearly heard at the entrance of the huge military tent. Although the distance was more than ten feet, it could be heard clearly. Although Hong Chengchou was a civil servant, he was not a weakling. With his devilish appearance, he is already a martial arts master in the late fourth level. There is no shortage of qualifications, no shortage of cultivation resources, and no shortage of skills. In this great world, no one can resist the temptation of having their lifespan drastically increased to 180 years after breaking through to the Qi Refining Stage.
Hong Chengchou was naturally no exception. Practicing diligently in secret was his daily compulsory course. Why have those thousand-year-old families been able to pass down to this day? In this world where the strong are respected, having enough masters to protect the clan is the foundation of everything. Although Hong Chengchou came from a poor family and belonged to a side branch of the family, his main family, the Hong family, was a well-known and powerful family in Quanzhou, Fujian. Because of his extraordinary talent and outstanding qualities, he was quickly discovered by the eldest branch of the family and was vigorously trained. Thanks to the dedicated training of his family, the path for his advancement was completely opened. He was like a hidden dragon emerging from the abyss. He first became famous in the imperial examination, and then had a smooth career advancement. Until last year, when he was only 37 years old, he had already become the governor of Yansui Town. This guy is both civil and military, extremely cunning, and a representative genius who is good at planning for himself. In this respect, he is comparable to Jia Xu of the Three Kingdoms period. Judging from his own cultivation alone, Hong Chengchou could be ranked among the top 100 among all the civil servants in the Ming Dynasty. He took a secret letter from the captain of the personal guard Hong Yuanfeng who had just walked in, opened it expressionlessly, and then looked at it carefully. "Ha ha……" "A group of petty thieves appeared in Yansui Town three months ago?" "The leader of this group of petty thieves is just a teenager?" "This guy is so bold that he directly led the team out of the customs to hang out?" "They have recently occupied the section of the Jialu River outside the pass and robbed many merchants' treasure ships. Have they become the tyrants of the Jialu River?" When he saw such interesting information, a rare smile appeared on his usually cold face. He then shook his head and said, "Some businesses asked me to take care of them?" "How to care?" "Yuanfeng, go and reply to the letter and tell the butler Hongtai that if someone comes to give you a gift, just accept it." "As long as this little bandit doesn't cause trouble within my jurisdiction, it's fine. As for the things outside the Great Wall, even His Majesty can't control them. What virtue and ability do I, Hong Chengchou, have to take care of the trivial matters outside the Great Wall?" "Those merchants who go outside the Great Wall to do business, what are they doing? Don't they have any idea in their minds?"
"Normally I can turn a blind eye, but asking me to interfere in the affairs outside the Great Wall, isn't that a joke?" "Let Hong Tai reply to them. If that little thief committed a crime in my jurisdiction, I, Hong Chengchou, will be responsible for it, but I can do nothing about what happens outside the border." "By the way, I have to warn them that if they don't have the ability, don't even think about going outside the Great Wall to make a fortune!" "You can't even handle a bunch of petty thieves, yet you still have the nerve to come and beg me? Do you think I'm too easy to talk to?" "Humph!" After saying this, he snorted with disdain. These wealthy merchants always make excuses when asked to donate some money or grain. Now that a trade route has been cut off by a group of petty thieves, and you’re anxious and angry, so you just come to ask for help? I simply don’t know what to say! What does what happens outside the Great Wall have to do with me, Hong Chengchou? If you have the ability, go and make a fortune, and I won't hinder you. But if you don't have that ability, and you still want to make a fortune outside the Great Wall? You rich and unkind guys deserve this bad luck! You can't even deal with a group of small-time thieves who were formed only three months ago, and you still have the nerve to ask me to send government troops to suppress them outside the Great Wall? This is really giving them face! "Yes! Your lord!" Hong Yuanfeng immediately took the order and left, and quickly used a spirit pigeon to deliver Hong Chengchou's reply. For Hong Chengchou, who was best at protecting himself, this little matter was just a change of pace in life and was not worth taking to heart at all. But if that group of petty thieves dare to enter the country and cause trouble, don't blame him for being cruel and ruthless. As for causing trouble outside his jurisdiction? I'm sorry, but my arms, Hong Chengchou, are not that long yet, and I don't want to be used as an excuse by my political enemies to cause trouble for no reason. …… In the huge Yangcheng. The Eighth Battalion of Zhang Xianzhong's rebel army was stationed in a wealthy mansion near the East City Gate. Coincidentally, the owner of this wealthy family’s mansion is also surnamed Wang. The difference is that the original owner of this mansion was a villa of Wang Dengku, a big Shanxi merchant. It was much better than the Wang family compound in Dingbian City! There are at least eighty Wang family villas like this one in the whole Jin Province, if not a hundred. Especially in border areas, they can be found in every county town, prefecture town, and provincial capital. This royal villa alone is much more luxurious than the royal mansion in Dingbian City. All kinds of pavilions, towers, bridges, flowing water, flowers, plants and trees are exquisite and luxurious. Night had just fallen and the meeting hall in the Wang family compound was brightly lit. The Eighth King Zhang Xianzhong sat on the main seat with a gloomy face. He never expected that in just three months, all the rebel armies in Qin and Jin provinces had reached the end of their rope and were blocked in Yangcheng by Hong Chengchou. So much time has passed, but the troops and property lost by Zhang Xianzhong in Dingbian City have still not been fully recovered.
Fortunately, his current trusted subordinates are no longer what they used to be, both in terms of number and the number of experts. First of all, there is the uncanny genius Ai Nengqi, who successfully broke through to the initial fourth level of martial arts a few days ago. In addition, Ma Yuanli stood out and, relying on his profound accumulation, he also broke through to the early fourth level of martial arts. There are also Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier, who are loyal to him, and have already reached the highest peak of the third level of martial arts. It is estimated that it will not take long for them to enter the early stage of the fourth level of martial arts. A month ago, he received three more talented young men: Zhang Keji, Wang Guoxing, and Zhang Sihu. These three monstrous geniuses who were born as beggar orphans have now been trained with all their might by Zhang Xianzhong, and have all broken through to the second level of martial arts. It is estimated that in another two months, the three of them will have no problem breaking through to the third peak level of martial arts. Among them, Zhang Keji has the best qualifications, almost catching up with Ai Nengqi, and slightly better than Liu Wenxiu. "Alas! What a pity for Li Dingguo..." "I don't know how the little guy is doing now. Is he still alive?" Even after so much time has passed, Zhang Xianzhong still can't forget Li Dingguo and can't let it go. It is estimated that it will take at least a year and a half to erase his image from my heart. Time is like a butcher's knife. It will silently and slowly erase some memories of life, and then become calm like waves in the sea. The Eighth Battalion of the Rebel Army where Zhang Xianzhong is now located can be said to be one of the most powerful battalions among the thirty-six battalions of the entire rebel army. There is also a battalion of rebel troops that is now emerging. That was Gao Yingxiang’s 18th Combat Battalion. Among them are Li Zicheng, Li Guo, Liu Zongmin, Hao Yaoqi and other evil geniuses. Their overall strength is stronger than Zhang Xianzhong's Eighth Battalion. Especially Gao Yingxiang and Liu Zongmin, they have already reached the peak of the fourth level of martial arts, which is dazzling. But no matter what, it is an indisputable fact that the rebel alliance between Qin and Jin provinces has now fallen into a desperate situation. Compared with the tens of thousands of elite border troops led by Hong Chengchou, a man of both civil and military talents, their rebel army, although outnumbered, was no match for the enemy. Although among the thirty-six battalions of the rebel army, there are more than ten combat battalions, each of which has trained one or two elite troops who are proficient in military tactics and killing formations, thus avoiding Cao Bianjiao's decapitation operations and the like, and being able to compete with the government army, they are only slightly at a disadvantage. It seemed that the rebel alliance was in good shape, but Zhang Xianzhong knew very well that the rebel leader, Wang Jiayin, liked to appoint people based on personal connections and was too attached to friendship and loyalty, which had already laid a huge hidden danger for the collapse of the rebel alliance. From the actions of Wang Jiayin's two deputies, Wang Guozhong and Zhang Liwei, who became increasingly arrogant and domineering during this period, we can guess that these two guys are probably not good people who are willing to be under someone else's command for long. Unfortunately, Wang Jiayin did not listen to the advice at all, and even increased the power of Wang Guozhong and Zhang Liwei, asking them to help him control the entire rebel alliance. This made the management of the rebel alliance increasingly chaotic, and incidents of withholding military rations and equipment emerged one after another. Zhang Kewang, who was sitting nearby, also didn't look very happy. In recent days, he has also broken through to the middle fourth level of martial arts and his strength has greatly improved. He calmly glanced at Ai Nengqi and Liu Wenxiu who were sitting beside him in silence, a hint of gloom flashed across his brows, and he reported to Zhang Xianzhong, "Foster father, I don't know why, I have been feeling frightened these past two days. I'm afraid that something unexpected will happen to our rebel alliance here."
"In my opinion, our Rebel Army's Eighth Battalion should make some preparations earlier." "Before it's too late." He was telling the truth now. He had been feeling worse and worse in the past two days. He was restless both during the day and at night. The intuition of practitioners has always been very sensitive, and when they encounter such a situation, they are either about to have good luck or bad luck. In the current situation, tens of thousands of elite border troops of the government are at the gates of the city and have surrounded Yangcheng. Talking about being lucky is just a joke. Then there is only one possibility left: the rebels are in big trouble. "Godfather, I have been feeling uneasy these past two days. Maybe something serious will really happen." "It's not just me. Zhang Huier said he also feels uneasy. Maybe something big will happen to our Rebel Alliance in the next few days!" "If we don't prepare early, there is a high possibility that we will repeat the mistakes of Dingbian City, which would be terrible." Ai Nengqi, who was standing by, also looked up at Zhang Xianzhong and said. He, Liu Wenxiu, Zhang Huier, and even the three geniuses Zhang Keji, Wang Guoxing, and Zhang Sihu who had just joined the Eighth Battalion, had all been adopted as sons by Zhang Xianzhong a few days ago. At this point, these adopted sons have become inseparable from Zhang Xianzhong's fate and have become true family members. "Yeah, I feel that way too." After hearing the suggestions from Zhang Kewang and Ai Nengqi, Zhang Xianzhong's brows became even more gloomy, and he said coldly, "Zhang Kewang, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, Zhang Huier, Zhang Keji, Wang Guoxing, Zhang Sihu!" He stood up suddenly and said to his seven adopted sons, "Starting from tonight, you will be divided into two groups. You will take turns patrolling Yangcheng day and night and monitor all movements inside and outside." "Let the soldiers not take off their armor or put down their weapons day and night, and be vigilant at all times!" "If you discover a major change, follow me and seize the opportunity to break out!" "After this so-called rebel alliance, I finally understood that it is better to rely on myself than on anyone else!" "The more mobs there are, the more disorder there will be. How can anything be accomplished when everyone is fighting for power and profit?" During this period of time, Zhang Xianzhong has been thinking about these issues, and now he has finally made the decision to do it alone in the future. "Yes! Foster father!" "I will obey your order!"... Zhang Kewang, Ai Nengqi and seven other sworn brothers accepted the order in unison, then hurriedly dispersed, each busying themselves with their own work. (End of this chapter)