Chapter 58: Entering the Military Camp
"Let's not talk about Wu Mengshan's intentions for now. Now that the rebellion has already taken place, we can only suppress it first and then pacify it."
"That's what your Excellency said."
The Miao people have become a powerful force. If we don't subdue them first and just try to appease them , this rebellion cannot be suppressed.
But don't overdo it.
After all, it's not their fault.
"I think the first ones to be dealt with are those local officials!" Gu Yanzhu has been investigating here for a few days and is very familiar with some basic situations: "The local official of Ganziping is called Tian Xingjue. He is insatiable and has raped Miao's wife several times! He was also the fuse. Several experts among the anti-people tried to assassinate him three times but failed. Instead, this bastard relied on the power of the government army to deceive the superiors and subordinates, and became more and more lawless! Damn it! I want to help them!"
“…”
Cao Jinxing was speechless and said, "Are these people so shitty?"
“Very shit!”
Gu Yanzhu said firmly: "The local officials have been handed down from generation to generation, and their power is deep. They are arrogant to the government and abuse the people. They act as perpetrators on weekdays, and take advantage of the unrest to make profits. If we don't get rid of these bastards, there will be another time after this one."
Unfortunately, the imperial court’s rule over the southwest cannot be separated from the assistance of local officials, so at most one can just replace them.
Cao Jinxing said: "Don't mention what will happen next. The most important thing to do right now is to break the miasma first."
He has the [Poison-Avoiding Beads] given by Bai Yunxiu, which are specifically used to prevent poisonous insects and miasma. He also has the medicinal wine prepared by Huang Fangling. Even if there really are some poisonous insects in the miasma, he should be able to deal with it.
However, the anti-poison beads are spiritual objects from the Miao area and are very rare. It is impossible to equip every soldier with them, so another way to detoxify must be found.
"Let's stop here for today. You can go back and rest first. You must be exhausted from traveling these days."
Cao Jinxing waved his hand and said, "Let's go to the military camp tomorrow and listen to what Wan Tong has to say. He is the main person in charge, and there is no need for us to put ourselves in danger."
"yes."
The other four exited the room.
Cao Jinxing fell on the bed, took out some dried meat and fed it to Xuanyuan Fourteen, muttering, "This isn't going to be easy. I feel like this Wu Mengshan is unusual. Are his poison, poison-avoiding beads, and medicinal wine really effective?"
No words were spoken that night.
The next day, the five men rode to the military camp.
This time.
In order to quell the rebellion, the imperial court sent the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief Wan Tong to mobilize more than 5,000 Ming troops from Yongshun, Baojing, Youyang, Tongren and other places, and set up camps at Tiangaoya and Jueziping respectively, forming a pincer attack to block the east side of Laer Mountain and prepare to take it slowly.
But now the place is full of poisonous miasma, making it difficult to move, so this majestic formation is in vain.
The five people came to the foot of Jueziping Mountain. Cao Jinxing revealed his identity to the guards at the foot of the mountain, and soon someone invited him into the military camp.
In recent days, there have been frequent assassinations by Miao masters, and the military camp is filled with spears and halberds, with an atmosphere of strict order.
The five men passed through the camp and arrived at the big tent.
Cao Jinxing paused slightly.
Two powerful auras locked onto him!
There is a master hiding in this military camp!
Most likely he was sent by the Yan family to protect Wan Tong...
"No wonder he's not dead yet."
Cao Jinxing sneered and strode into the tent.
Wan Tong was wearing a bright red official uniform and was standing behind the desk at the head of the table, looking at a map.
Below him stood two rows of people on the left and right.
The left row is composed of two military officers in armor, and the right row is composed of two native officials wearing cotton tops and wide-legged trousers in a very Miao style.
Wan Tong’s official rank as Left Vice-Minister of the Imperial Censorate was third grade, making him a serious official of the imperial court.
You still have to be careful about his identity.
After Cao Jinxing entered the account, he ignored the others. Anyway, these people were all members of the Yan Party, birds of a feather. Judging from the patterns on their armor, they were only of the fifth grade, mostly half a level. He was too lazy to indulge them, so he just clasped his fist to Wan Tong as a salute.
"Cao Jinxing from the Northern Pacification Department greets you, sir."
With Shangguan's words, the four Jinyiwei who followed him naturally tried to be frugal and just bowed slightly to get the job done.
Seeing their behavior, the two native officials on the right were stunned, and the two generals on the left were about to get angry on the spot, but they noticed that Wan Tong gave them a look.
"It took twenty days to travel and ten days to arrive. You can imagine how hard Lord Cao worked. Come on, please take a seat."
Wan Tong is nearly fifty years old and has a very pleasant face. If one didn’t know that this guy is a close confidant of the Yan family, he would really act as if he was being courteous to others.
There were seats behind those people. After Wan Tong spoke, his personal soldiers immediately brought up three chairs - the centurions had seats, but the general had to stand.
Su Yunsheng and Sun Lang didn't care either.
Everyone took their seats.
The two of them stood behind Cao Jinxing.
"I will introduce you."
Wan Tong pointed at the generals and local officials one by one and said, "You Qin, the garrison commander of Chenzhou Guard, Xu Yanming, the commander of Tuozhou Guard; the two over here are Tian Yingchao, the superior officer of Zhenxi, and Tian Xingjue, the superior officer of Ganziping."
Cao Jin was rude, but they did not dare to be rude.
Even if you are angry, you have to endure the formality.
Who made him a Jinyiwei?
Several people bowed.
Cao Jinxing... He picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.
"you!"
Chenzhou Guardsman You Qin was furious and slammed the table with a loud bang. Fortunately, he managed to hold it back, and the curse that was about to come out of his mouth turned into a sarcastic tone:
"The rebellion is so strong that we have waited for ten days and only got a deputy commander! The Pacification Office is underestimating this rebellion! Can Lord Cao solve the miasma?"
"yes."
Xu Yanming, the captain of the Tuozhou Guard, immediately chimed in: "I thought there would be another captain coming... What's the use of a fourth-level Xiantian person?"
"oh?"
Cao Jinxing raised his eyebrows, not taking it seriously, and asked knowingly, "Then I wonder what realm Lord Xu is at?"
Xu Yanming said proudly, "I have been practicing martial arts since I was young. I learned from Dali Dian Cang Sect and learned the sect's unique skills "Dragon Wandering" and "Purple Flame Knife". I was promoted to the seventh level of Xiantian half a year ago!"
" awesome."
Cao Jinxing's tone was calm. Although the two words were clearly a compliment, they sounded more like sarcasm. Xu Yanming's face suddenly turned red.
Just when he was about to lose his temper, Cao Jinxing moved his wrist quickly, drawing and then putting away his sword in an instant!
Suddenly, a loud sound of a sword was heard in the big tent , and a flash of a sword was seen. The sword energy was everywhere, and a very thin line of blood appeared on Xu Yanming's temples!
“Good tea.”
Cao Jinxing let go of the embroidered spring knife and slowly put down the teacup: "It's a pity that I don't know how to taste tea, so I wasted the high-quality tea."
There was total silence in the big tent.
Eugene's mouth dropped open.
The two local officials looked at each other with surprise in their eyes, then they quickly lowered their heads and drank their tea honestly, pretending they didn't see anything.
Xu Yanming was stunned for three seconds, his face turned pale, he carefully touched his temple, felt a slight pain, put his hand down and saw a trace of blood on his fingertips!
He slumped down on the chair with a thud, his limbs went limp and cold sweat ran down his face - if the aim was at the neck, he would have been beheaded by now!
“Great job!”
The first person to react was the civil servant Wan Tong. He kept smiling and clapped his hands, saying, "With Lord Cao here, a mere poisonous miasma will be no problem! Why not..."
"Don't worry."
Cao Jinxing glanced at him and said, "Master Wan, please don't flatter me. I am only good at killing people. I have my own specialty. There are not many people who deal with poison in the entire Zhenfu Division. The Zhenfu Envoy is forcing me to come and take a look. If you want to break the miasma, it depends on your ability. After all, this had never happened before I came... Of course, if you have any brilliant ideas, I will do my best to "assist". As for the rest, please forgive me... I am not very knowledgeable!"
Want to put all the blame on me? Just sit back and reap the benefits?
You wish!
“…”
Wan Tong's face darkened.
Cao Jinxing pretended not to see it and said with a smile: "Aren't there two local masters, Tian Yingchao and Tian Xingjue? They have inherited the knowledge from generation to generation and have a deep family background. They must be well versed in the theory of poison and I think they will have a way."
"puff!"
Tian Yingchao and Tian Xingjue were drinking tea. When they heard this, they immediately spat out the tea in their mouths, looking shocked. How could the fire suddenly burn us?
"If even they have no clue..."
Cao Jinxing said calmly: "...Please don't force us, sir. We don't understand! Perhaps, we can ask your guards for help?"
He looked behind Wan Tong with a half-smile: "You have such a powerful guard hiding in the dark, and you put all the responsibility on us, Lord Wan, you are too petty!"
