Chapter 474 - 428: The Disorderly Army (Part 2)

Chapter 474: Chapter 428: The Disorderly Army (Part 2)

"Who are you?"

Zhao Tieying stared intently at the young man.

The young man slowly broke into a grin. "My name is Li Huan. Others call me... the First Staff Officer."

Li Huan put special emphasis on the word "First."

At the mention of Li Huan’s name, Zhao Tieying’s pupils contracted sharply.

In the past, Li Huan’s name was hardly known outside of Qingzhou. But now, as Bai Yuan’s most ruthless strategist, he was well-known among the powerhouses of Shuofang.

A cold sweat was already drenching Zhao Tieying’s back.

The young man before him was a Sensing Powerhouse—the kind who could crush him with a single hand!

"Get him!"

But Zhao Tieying didn’t run. Instead, he ordered the hundred or so men ambushing them in the woods to swarm forward. Those who didn’t know better heard their leader’s voice and charged without a second thought.

The outcome was, of course, predictable.

At the same time, Zhao Tieying’s figure flashed backward.

He ran...

He was clearly using his men’s lives to buy time for his own escape.

Li Huan slapped a bandit in front of him to death with a single palm strike, a cold sneer forming on his lips. "Trying to run?"

Since he had come here personally, he had naturally made thorough preparations.

In the next instant, Zhao Tieying’s forward charge came to a halt. He stared wide-eyed, unable to believe the sight of the powerhouses who had suddenly surrounded him. "The Divine Mansion Sect?"

The newcomer was none other than the Grand Commander of the Divine Mansion Sect, Yu Hui!

With a single slash, Yu Hui lopped off Zhao Tieying’s head.

Zhao Tieying’s head, its face still etched with unwillingness, rolled several times across the ground before coming to a stop.

Li Huan walked up to Yu Hui. "Many thanks, Commander Yu."

"It is merely my duty."

Yu Hui smiled faintly.

As for the other bandits, the experts of the Divine Mansion Army would naturally take care of them.

The shattering of the dynastic providence brought sorrow to some and joy to others. He was one of the joyful ones.

He had been stuck at the Jin-Inception realm for thirty long years, but with the bolstering of providence, he had finally shown signs of a breakthrough. With Bai Yuan’s help, he broke through in one fell swoop to become a Sensing Powerhouse.

That was why he had been able to slay Zhao Tieying so easily.

Li Huan looked utterly confident. "Though this cur Zhao Tieying acted covertly, it wasn’t hard to investigate. It should be the handiwork of the Celestial Profound Sect."

Upon hearing it was the Celestial Profound Sect, Yu Hui’s expression turned grave.

For the past several months, powerful rebel armies had been popping up in Ling Province, causing a huge headache for the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.

Both the Prefect of Lingzhou, Yang Fangyu, and Li Huan felt that a hidden master had to be pulling the strings. Thus, Li Huan had deliberately disguised himself as an ordinary Jianghu Person, infiltrating this unit and spending a full month to finally uncover the identity of the person behind it all.

It was indeed the Celestial Profound Sect.

Though such situations were already common in Xuan Yang, did people really think these rebel armies could cultivate so many experts overnight?

It was all the handiwork of the great sects of the Jianghu.

There was more than one group of these rebel armies in Ling Province, and Li Huan was almost certain that the Celestial Profound Sect was not the only power backing them.

Li Huan smiled slightly. "Commander Yu, I’ll leave things here to you for now. I must return to Huanglong Prefecture to inform Ah Yuan of what’s happened."

Yu Hui nodded.

The next day, Li Huan arrived at Huanglong Prefecture, alone with his horse.

He rode nonstop to find Bai Yuan and told him everything that had transpired the previous night.

Yang Fangyu was also present. He cursed, "The Celestial Profound Sect is truly audacious!"

Bai Yuan, however, wore a placid expression.

In truth, he had long anticipated this. The confirmation was well within reason. In Xuan Yang today, without exception, the rebel armies all had the backing of a major sect or great clan. As the number one sect in the Northern Lands, the Celestial Profound Sect had no reason not to get involved.

Besides, even if the Celestial Profound Sect hadn’t acted, other major sects would have.

Li Huan looked at Bai Yuan. "Ah Yuan, what should we do next?"

Bai Yuan slowly set down his teacup and gave a faint smile. "Suppress the bandits, of course."

’I was just worrying about a lack of enemies to kill. Now that they’ve delivered themselves to my doorstep, how could I possibly let them go?’

...

The rebel armies of the Three Shuofang Continents began to despair.

They were finally witnessing just how terrifying the Shuofang Jiedu Envoy—long renowned for being cold-blooded, merciless, and brutal—truly was.

Bai Yuan personally led the troops to suppress the bandits.

Countless rebel leaders were brutally pummeled to death by the Jiedu Envoy’s fists; he didn’t even seem to have the slightest intention of leaving any of them alive.

Any who were discovered by Bai Yuan, without exception, met the fate of total annihilation.

For a time, the rebel armies in the Three Shuofang Continents fell silent and ceased their activities.

Did they really think they were a proper rebel army?

They weren’t people who had been forced into a corner with no way to live. Most were simply stirring up trouble to take advantage of the chaos, promised huge rewards by major sects or great clans.

Naturally, Bai Yuan had no reason to hold back.

These people all deserved to die!

The tale of his suppression of the rebellion spread quickly, undoubtedly boosting morale in the already ravaged Xuan Yang.

Because of this, even Emperor Li Chengyuan, who was far away in the Southern Border suppressing another rebellion, specially issued a Holy Decree to praise Bai Yuan for his meritorious service in slaying the enemy.

Soon, Eunuch Chang arrived in Lingzhou with the Holy Decree.

"Lord Bai."

"Eunuch Chang."

Bai Yuan met with the Chief Eunuch once again, and both were filled with a multitude of emotions.

Counting the times, Bai Yuan had quite a fateful connection with this Eunuch Chang. They had met three times in Lingzhou alone, and each time he had come bearing a Holy Decree.

Since then, Bai Yuan’s relationship with the Chief Eunuch had been quite good.

Now, with the sudden shift in Xuan Yang’s situation, the two met again in Lingzhou.

Eunuch Chang was all smiles. "Lord Bai, you have worked tirelessly for the good of the state, and your contributions are immense. His Majesty has specially commanded this old slave to reward the officials of Shuofang."

"Thank you for His Majesty’s immense grace."

Next came the much-anticipated segment: the reading of the Holy Decree.

Ever since Grand Protector Yan Shao’an had turned Lingzhou City into a Provisional Government, the provincial capital of Ling Province had quietly shifted to Huanglong Prefecture.

Now, with Dingzhou reclaimed and Yan Shao’an returned to the capital, Lingzhou City had lost its former prosperity. Huanglong Prefecture had, for all intents and purposes, become the new provincial capital, a matter that both Prefect Yang Fangyu and Jiedu Envoy Bai Yuan tacitly agreed not to mention.

Over time, Huanglong Prefecture had become the de facto center of Ling Province.

The officials of the Lingzhou Prefecture Magistrate’s Office also worked in Huanglong Prefecture, and they were all kneeling together now in the magistrate’s office courtyard.

Only one person stood ramrod straight: Bai Yuan.

This was a special privilege granted to him this time by Emperor Li Chengyuan: he did not have to kneel when receiving a decree.

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Jiedu Envoy Bai Yuan has suppressed the rebel army. His merits will last for a thousand autumns, benefiting the state. We are deeply gratified. The soldiers of Shuofang have bravely slain the enemy, a model for all armies..."

Eunuch Chang read for a full quarter of an hour before the Holy Decree was finished.

Bai Yuan even suspected this might be the longest Holy Decree Li Chengyuan had issued since ascending the throne.

But while the scroll was the longest, by the end of it, he hadn’t heard a single tangible reward. Instead, fine-sounding titles he’d never received before, like "Pillar of the State" and "Backbone of the Court," had been used repeatedly.

Bai Yuan sighed softly.

’It seems the Court is truly out of money.’

’Otherwise, Li Chengyuan wouldn’t have been reduced to peddling honors.’

Xuan Yang was now beset by enemies on three sides. The only region with any real fighting strength was perhaps the Northern Territory. His Master, Xu Dingchun, had already gone south to command the Zhenxi Army, leaving him and Old Dong as the two strongest figures in the north.

Li Chengyuan could, of course, see clearly that Bai Yuan’s faction now called the shots in the Northern Territory.

Thus, while Bai Yuan’s actual contribution wasn’t that great, the posture of the reward was immense. This was a clear attempt to win over Bai Yuan and Old Dong, hoping to entice them into action.

He estimated that Old Dong would probably receive a Holy Decree soon as well.

After the decree was read, the officials dispersed. Bai Yuan and Eunuch Chang went to a side courtyard for tea.

Eunuch Chang wore a warm smile. "Lord Bai, His Majesty often reminisces about the days you spent trimming branches with him in the Imperial Garden."

"..."

Bai Yuan was speechless. He didn’t particularly miss the time he was taken advantage of for free.

The two made small talk for a while longer.

Finally, Eunuch Chang revealed the true purpose of his trip to Lingzhou. "Lord Bai, His Majesty hopes that you will dispatch troops to quell the rebels in the Northern Territory."

Bai Yuan quickly waved his hands in refusal. "His Majesty truly overestimates this humble servant. The soldiers and officers of Shuofang number less than ten thousand in total. We are truly powerless to help."

Eunuch Chang seemed to have anticipated Bai Yuan’s response.

He smiled faintly. "His Majesty has given a verbal command: you are permitted to temporarily exercise the authority to conscript soldiers and forge weapons on behalf of the Court in the four prefectures under your jurisdiction, for the purpose of quelling the rebels."

Bai Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Li Chengyuan is really putting down a huge stake!’