Chapter 39 Imperial Edict
Li Judao was determined to have died after escaping from prison. That night, a well-trained man from the Li family did come to visit him, probably to inquire about the situation. However, he was captured by Zhang Xuanning who was waiting for him, and was executed after being displayed to the public.
Although it was a false accusation, the people who were captured and displayed to the public were all known members of the Li family, so there was nothing to say.
Zhang Xuanning took advantage of the situation and led the cavalry to attack the Zhubo's mansion. Faced with the eager cavalry and with his master already dead, the resistance ended easily - of course, the resistance was also recorded, and the nature of the resistance became increasingly certain, as it was considered rebellion.
When he finally opened the Chief Clerk's Mansion, Zhang Xuanning burst into laughter.
"Sir, check the inner treasury. There are a thousand swords, spears, sabers, halberds, and more. There are also three hundred strong bows and arrows, a hundred suits of armor, and a number of shields."
At this time, let alone Zheng Dan, even Tao Ji knew that Xiang Tian had poked a big loophole. With so many weapons, even if it was Li Yuan, the current head of the Li family, it would be against the rules, not to mention Li Judao, a mere county that was attacked by thieves. It was even more incredible that he had such weapons. Add to that some letters, and it was vaguely connected together, and it immediately became a disaster involving the entire court.
These old veterans were all terrified, wondering what would happen to them.
Only Guo Posuo, after all he was young and came from the countryside , didn't know much about politics and the world, and there were some things he couldn't comprehend on his own. Others naturally kept their mouths shut and refused to say more, and continued to try their best to carry out orders.
Zhang Xuanning reported this immediately. He knew that if he spoke slowly, the higher-ups might conspire to cover up the truth. Therefore, he contacted his generals, the imperial court, and several other clans that were not aligned with the Li clan, especially the Yuwen clan.
A batch was also transported publicly, with dozens of pieces selected and sent to various locations.
However, after it was sent up, except for a group of people who came to take a look, there was no further response from any source, and even contact with their own army was lost.
The darkness before dawn, the silence before the outbreak, but this is none of Zhang Xuanning's business. The water has been muddied by him. Practically speaking, the Li family should not make any blatant moves now. At this sensitive juncture, other parties who want to explode will also seize a good opportunity.
Therefore, the county has calmed down for a while now. With so many weapons and a large amount of confiscated property, although most of it was embezzled by Zhang Xuanning, the rest is more than enough to operate and restore order in the county.
As for the rest, the most important thing is that there are 10,000 shi of grain counted. Zhang Xuanning used half of it in the county government office and the other half in other warehouses. This batch needs to be digested and transferred slowly.
There were also 200 horses, both male and female. Zhang Xuanning selected a group of uncastrated stallions, about dozens of them, and handed them over to Zhang Yimou and Zhang Yier. Anyway, in his mind, there was still time, so he could slowly digest and transfer them, as long as the weapons did not move.
Make full use of Zhang Yi, Zhang Er and Zhang San. Although this may be a bad thing, it doesn't matter. Send them to travel secretly and transport them to the southern stronghold to plan a retreat.
The militia was also organized, with 300 people. This time, they deliberately selected fugitives with no family background, many of whom had killed people, and gave them military training. They were trained by Tao Ji and others. It would be a waste not to use them. They also deliberately made friends with them to see if they could recruit some fugitives as death squads.
Although Tao Ji was worried, there was nothing he could do at this point and he could only wait for the result. Therefore, he often lost his temper during training and was extremely strict in training.
Zheng Dan originally wanted to try not to participate in order to draw a clear line, but with a slight hint from Zhang Xuanning, he realized that he was just wishful thinking!
Zhang Xuanning was already a soldier who had crossed the river. How could he turn back? Even he couldn't turn back. How could you, Zheng Dan, still want to live well and draw a clear line? If you don't work, you will die.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he could only serve as an administrative assistant. However, he of course secretly exchanged letters with his clansmen and connections. He felt helpless and thought that he must show his value, so he worked seriously. Under his leadership, it didn't take long for the order of the yamen to be restored.
Of course, that group of young people also saw how to rebuild the order of the government office. It was not easy to build it from scratch, and even Zhang Xuanning himself benefited a lot from it.
Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye it was July. Originally, the Battle of Yanmen was to begin next month, but now, Emperor Yang of Sui seemed a little hesitant, and the imperial carriage had not yet reached Yanmen.
Zhang Xuanning ignored it and focused on his cultivation, but he had already made up his mind that if there was no Turkic siege this year, he would resign immediately. Next year would be the twelfth year of Daye, when Emperor Yang of Sui would move south, and it would also be the time for the two little strong men to debut in the original historical track. If he didn't start a rebellion, it would be too late.
There is a small garden in the inner courtyard of the county magistrate's office. At this time, it was drizzling, and the surrounding environment blended with the mist and rain, making people feel boundless.
Zhang Xuanning was sitting in the small pavilion, digesting the evil spirits under the drizzle, and thinking about the secrets of Ba Dao, Huang Guan Jing, and Changing the Sun Method. The breeze made his clothes rustle, but he remained motionless like a stone statue.
The evil energy was still boiling in his body, but he was not without the power to fight back. The soul and the flesh were united, and the flesh affected the spirit. This was natural, but he was in another person's body, so the evil energy did not have a big impact on him. After continuous battles and training, and repeated struggles with the evil energy, he had begun to be able to unite his mind and spirit. Although the evil energy was still there, his mind was clear.
At this moment, he could not only feel every drop of rain falling in front of him, but also feel the power of the wind blowing the raindrops. The whole world seemed to light up in an instant, and everything was in his heart.
This feeling lasted only for a moment, but Zhang Xuanning suddenly realized that it only took one or two hours for others to practice, but for him, the result of fighting against evil spirits all the time was practicing without interruption all day. His own skills had made great progress. Just now, he felt like he had a flash of inspiration and reached another level, which was the innate realm of a first-class master. Although this was not truly reaching the realm of a first-class master, it also meant that he was facing a breakthrough.
Er Xiaoqiang is just fighting to support himself, but the frequency of his battles cannot exceed that of him who is constantly fighting against evil spirits. As expected, without taking great risks, how can you gain anything?
However, this was not the time to think about this. Just when he had awakened to the first-rate innate realm, he suddenly felt a strange object appear in the courtyard. He secretly sighed that he was blessed as heaven. He slowly drew out his knife and asked, "Who is the visitor?"
"Bang!"
As soon as he said this, he felt a slight pain in his eyes, and suddenly his eyes were filled with sword light.
Zhang Xuanning was shocked and understood what was going on.
Fortunately, he had just reached the innate realm, and because the time was very short, it had not been completely eliminated. Although he could not see clearly, he chopped with a knife. There was a "clang" sound, and the sound of the sword clashing was heard.
But almost at the same time, the opponent's sword shadows continued, and it felt like the sword shadows were everywhere, almost killing him immediately. Zhang Xuanning was shocked and retreated, but the sword light became stronger.
There were continuous clanging sounds, and Pojun's sword chopped towards Yang Xuyan one after another. Under the pressure of life and death, his potential was immediately developed. Although he was in a life-and-death situation, and although the opponent's sword light was like a leech attached to his bones, and the torrential attack did not give him a chance to breathe, he still persisted.
With a "puff" sound, the two separated. A crack was opened on Zhang Xuanning's chest, and a few drops of blood splattered. His clothes were torn, but there was not much blood. A small hole was cut on his inner armor.
"Huh?" The other party finally stopped. He was wearing black clothes, a black hood on his head, and holding a long sword in his hand. Even so, his eyes were cold and ruthless: "You are wearing inner armor? Your internal strength is not bad either."
Originally, this sword should have cut open his chest, and the evil internal energy should have rushed into his body to destroy his internal organs, but now he resolved it as if nothing had happened.
Feeling the evil spirit dissolving the internal energy that was attacking him, Zhang Xuanning snorted coldly: "Who are you? Why do you want to assassinate me?"
At this moment, there was a noise of people, and the guards had heard it.
"You don't need to know who I am." As soon as this was said, there was a "bang" sound, and there was another rain of swords in front of him. This person launched another fierce attack, and the sharp sound of whistling energy filled the air in an instant.
"Hmph, nothing more than that!" Zhang Xuanning swung out his long sword, and with a "clang" sound, the sword shadows in the sky disappeared, and it seemed that the real body had been hit again.
Then there was a continuous fight, with only the sound of "ding ding" being heard. This time both of them retreated, and it was obvious that there was no winner.
"Sir, sir?" The personal guards were approaching. Although a group of personal guards would not be of much use, it would be completely different if there was a considerable opponent. If several personal guards entangled him and then a master of the same level attacked him, the power would immediately increase several times.
The man's eyes that were exposed outside his hood flashed with a sharp light, and he laughed: "Master Shi is really amazing, I'll take my leave now!"
Zhang Xuanning also sneered and said, "Your Excellency wants to leave, but it's not that easy."
But the man stopped talking, laughed, and turned away.
"Sir, sir?" In the blink of an eye, the guards came over: "Is there an assassin?"
"It's okay, just a minor injury." Zhang Xuanning did not chase after him. He snorted coldly and left with the support of his personal soldiers, but he was very happy in his heart.
This person is Yang Xuyan, that's for sure, I just didn't want to say it out loud just now. This person's martial arts is indeed one level higher than mine, but because there is evil energy in his body, they are just equal.
The essence of Yang Xuyan's martial arts is to confuse people's perception. For example, at this stage, he can only use the thin sword energy to produce a certain amount of pressure on the opponent's eyes, thus causing a slight error in vision, and this error can be used to assassinate. Of course, Yang Xuyan's internal strength is also unique.
Knowing this in advance, Zhang Xuan concentrated his energy in his eyes and protected his perception. Although it was impossible for him to see through everything, he could roughly sense the opponent's true attack.
Calculating the time, this should be Yang Xuyan's martial arts when he first debuted, but it should also be between second-rate and first-rate. Only when he fought continuously, got promoted, became a first-rate master, and obtained half of the Immortal Seal, did he truly reach the realm between first-rate and master.
However, even if he is now between the second-rate and the first-rate, he was able to fight with him and only lose slightly, which proved that his martial arts had improved by leaps and bounds. It can even be said that as long as he successfully advanced to the first-rate level and was not alone and was always protected by his personal soldiers, he would not be afraid of anyone's assassination.
Perhaps only the joint efforts of several masters, or the assassination of a grand master, can pose some threat.
However, compared to the real Xiaoqiang, he is still a little bit inferior. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong are even more powerful. They reached the level he can reach now within about a year after their debut. This is really terrifying.
Yang Xuyan, this man, was born in the royal family. Even if he wanted to seek refuge (or stay temporarily), he would not have anything to do with people from the Green Forest Gang. Even other powerful people would not look favorably upon him. He could only be one of the four clans. The Song clan had always been at odds with the royal family and was located in the south. The Dugu clan and the Yuwen clan were not suitable. Only the Li clan was suitable.
This is also in line with Shi Zhixuan's character and strategy. Now, he was assassinated by the Li family ? Then something big must have changed. Maybe the Battle of Yanmen in history is about to begin.
Sure enough, not long after he went out, someone announced: "Sir, the imperial edict has arrived."
Ah, I actually heard it from the heaven? Zhang Xuanning was stunned by this news, and hurried out, asking, "Have you set up the incense table?"
"It's already been set up, and we're just waiting for you to come!" The speaker was Tao Ji, his voice trembling, and it was obvious that he didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse.
Sure enough, we saw hundreds of cavalrymen with yellow flags arriving in front of the county government office.
In the middle was a eunuch, who was tall and thin, with a pale face and no beard, and a feminine figure. He was obviously the eunuch who read the imperial edict. When they saw him come out, they said in a shrill voice: The imperial edict has arrived, why don't you thank God for his grace?
Zhang Xuanning took a breath. After this battle, he was full of confidence in himself. He asked himself that even if the imperial decree was to capture him, he could still break out. He then calmly walked down the steps, knelt on the ground, and shouted: "Long live the emperor!"
As he shouted, a group of people knelt down behind him.
"In response to the will of Heaven, I have received this order. I have heard that Shi Wuji, the acting county magistrate of Anchuan County and deputy commander of the Leopard Cavalry Guard, is loyal to the emperor and patriotic, diligent in state affairs, and has repeatedly defeated rebels. I am very pleased. I have specially promoted him to the rank of seventh-rank Guoyi Duwei, and he can lead a regiment. He will lead his troops to see me immediately. I decree this!"
"I obey your order!" Zhang Xuanning responded immediately.
The phrase "the emperor's edict is in accordance with the will of heaven" was first used during the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, believed that his rule was in accordance with heaven's will. Volume 1 of Yu Jideng's Anecdotes and Records records that Zhu Yuanzhang once said, "Everything I see people say and do is in accordance with heaven's will, not my own will."
Therefore, the beginning of its edict is "The Emperor of Bygones and Mights decrees so". The Qing Dynasty inherited the Ming system, and its edicts mostly began with "The Emperor of Bygones and Mights decrees so", which was not the case in other dynasties.
However, these are all minor matters. After expressing his gratitude, Zhang Xuanning accepted the imperial decree and said, "Thank you, eunuch."
As he spoke, he quietly presented a stack of silver bills. Fortunately, there were silver bills in this world, which made things much easier. The eunuch's face immediately relaxed. He took another look and saw that they were several silver bills worth a hundred taels of silver. He immediately became very enthusiastic and said with a smile, "We all know that Lord Shi is diligent in state affairs. The emperor will definitely reward him greatly."
Zhang Xuanning hurriedly thanked him, showing tears of gratitude, and said respectfully: "May I ask your name, sir?"
This person was obviously very pleased with his respectful attitude, and said happily: "My surname is Chen, Lord Shi, you cannot stay for long under the Emperor's order, how about leaving tomorrow?"
One afternoon, one night, was enough. Zhang Xuanning immediately said, "Thank you, Eunuch Chen. Please come in first!"
He immediately arranged for a group of one hundred people to stay and returned to the county government to manage the affairs. One regiment consisted of four teams, and his military power was expanded from fifty people to two hundred people. He immediately summoned the militia and promoted the best among them. After several months, he had an idea of some of the people in the team, so he promoted them quickly.
Guo Posuo was also promoted to fire chief, leading ten people, and Zhang Yi became the captain of the personal guards, also leading ten people. The other people who were willing to be loyal were arranged to positions one by one, but the truly loyal people were sent to the south under the leadership of Zhang San, along with the group of young people.
"This is equivalent to three thousand taels of gold. Remember, when you get to the south, go straight to Yangzhou and contact my people in Yangzhou, but don't go with them. Do you understand?"
"I understand." Zhang San was trained by the Zhang family, so of course he responded without hesitation.
After thinking for a while, Zhang Xuanning sneered and said, "Zhang Er, you have to go to Chang'an and do things in secret. The previous residence is no longer usable. Gather more people and make sure they are reliable."
"Yes!" Zhang Er also responded.
