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Chapter 225: The Heroic Spirit, the Last Martial Arts Legend
Among this group of people, there were officials who issued seals of marquis and imperial edicts, as well as the Yulin Army who represented the majesty of the Zhongzhou royal family. Pang Shuiyun was also among them. They set out from Zhongzhou and headed towards the south of the Yangtze River in a mighty manner.

Before they arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, the news had already reached the capitals of Chen and Ying, and then reached the royal family and was presented on the tables of major families and nobles. In the court of Chen, the atmosphere was extremely depressing.

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look at His Majesty sitting on the throne.

Since the arrival of this news, Chen Dingye knew that the hearts of the ministers were numb. Only a few people remained calm as before. One of them was the Prime Minister Xue Daoyong. The prince was born a few months ago, so this old tiger became more casual.

Since ancient times, powerful officials, no matter whether they were loyal or treacherous, never had a good death.

Xue Daoyong could not escape this rule.

With Chen Dingye's hatred for Li Guanyi.

The reason why the generals who had arrived in Jiangnan before were all ranked around 90th on the Godly Generals List and there were no stronger ones, apart from the activeness of the Regent, was also inseparable from the actions of this fierce tiger.

The other person who did not bow his head was the Grand Marshal of the time.

His nephew was Liu Shideng, who had led the army to besiege Dongdu City before. He cursed:

"Your Majesty, this Li Guanyi is a traitor of our dynasty. He received the emperor's grace, but he did not think of repaying it with his death. He even dared to make a scene during the grand sacrifice, disrupting our national prestige and occupying our land. Now he is trying to deceive the emperor of Zhongzhou."

"I don't know how he got the title of marquis. This is a slap in the face of our country, Your Majesty! If we acknowledge it, if there are arrogant soldiers and generals who are arrogant enough to cause trouble in the future, they only need to run to Zhongzhou and they will be safe and sound, and they can also get rewards."

"Where is the dignity of our Great Chen?! Where is the dignity of your majesty?!"

"This is a major event that will shake the country!"

"The country will no longer exist, Your Majesty!"

The rest of the ministers and officials also agreed one by one, and loudly denounced Li Guanyi as a traitor in the court. Only Xue Daoyong put his hands in his sleeves, and looked at these doctors in red and purple robes calmly as they attacked him, as if they were a pack of wolves.

Chen Dingye exhaled and said, "How outrageous!"

Chen Guo Taiwei said: "Li Guanyi is more than just outrageous?!"

He thought he had the support of Chen Dingye, but suddenly he heard a fierce wind. He looked up and saw the memorial being thrown down hard, hitting his forehead. Chen Dingye seemed to be angry this time, and even though the commander was skilled in martial arts, he did not dare to resist.

His forehead was smashed and blood gushed out all of a sudden. He was at a loss as to what to do.

Chen Dingye stood up and said, "I'm talking about you being presumptuous!"

The Grand Marshal and all the officials looked at Chen Dingye in confusion.

Chen Dingye covered his forehead with his hands, his eyes were cold and calm, his heart was filled with hatred for Li Guanyi, but he knew what he should do, and said slowly: "Go to the treasury and choose gifts, a black weapon, a thousand pearls, and send them to Jiangnan, for-"

"Qin Wu Hou, congratulations!"

These words were spoken in a very calm manner, yet carried with them great power.

However, all the ministers and officials of the State of Chen were stunned.

Xue Daoyong looked towards Chen Dingye. Emperor Chen was standing above all the officials. Shadows fell over the hall, covering his face. Xue Daoyong stood up straight, lowered his eyes slightly, and felt a surge of hatred and restraint from Chen Dingye.

Although his hatred and murderous intent towards Li Guanyi was even greater than that of the Regent.

But he could suppress his hatred, like a giant poisonous python lying dormant...

Chen Dingye looked at Xue Daoyong.

In the perception of the tiger in troubled times, this hall was like mountains and wilderness. The man in the dragon robe changed his form in a trance, like a huge poisonous python with hard and cold scales and vertical pupils.

Xue Daoyong remained silent.

Chen Dingye, is he also transforming?

A giant python that knows how to restrain its hatred is more dangerous than an existence that is simply angry and resentful. Even Chen Dingye, who has been spent more than ten years being controlled by Tan Tai Xianming and has exhausted all his heroic spirit, still has the remaining spirit of a hero when he stands on this wave.

Chen Dingye retired from court.

Today, the State of Chen selected envoys to send various treasures to Jiangnan, but everyone knew that Chen Dingye was very angry about Li Guanyi. The only reason he could tolerate his hatred today was because Li Guanyi had gained great power from the Red Emperor's faction.

As long as the world was not in complete chaos, the title of Red Emperor was still extremely important.

However, as a minister of Chen Dingye, anyone who dared to go would be associated with Li Guanyi, and after returning, he would basically have no hope in the officialdom of the Great Chen.

On the third day, the child prodigy was summoned for an examination. The former aide of the Crown Prince's Palace and scholar Yan Daiqing volunteered to take the exam.

A banquet was held at Yan Daiqing's home. Yan Daiqing's father, Yan Chen, the former Yellow Gate Minister, remained silent. Yan Daiqing's mother cried several times and could not sit there, so she left. The father and son just sat opposite each other and ate, following the gentleman's manners, not talking while eating or sleeping.

The father and son sat facing each other like wooden figures, neither of them showing any sadness at the impending separation.

Yan Chen put down his chopsticks and said in a deep voice: "Are you planning to stay in Jiangnan?"

Yan Daiqing remained silent, he had been ostracized by the State of Chen as an idler for more than a year, and his friends were becoming fewer and fewer. However, he learned sword from the Angry Sword Immortal and had a lot of knowledge, so he naturally did not want to be buried in this place of intrigue and deceit, so he accepted the responsibility of delivering gifts to Jiangnan.

Yan Chen's expression remained unchanged as he said, "You have a straightforward and simple character, but you are also impatient. This is your strength, but also your weakness. The Qilin Army is a righteous army with a great and noble way of doing things, and gentlemen support them. At this moment, they lack people like you, and you also lack a place to use your talents."

"You should go there."

"But I am a minister of the State of Chen, and I have received the emperor's grace. I cannot go with you."

Yan Daiqing sat there in silence.

Yan Chen knew his son very well, and answered Yan Daiqing's questions one by one, saying:
"So far, let's go."

"Okay, let's eat."

Then he picked up the bowl and ate in silence.

He didn't talk while eating or sleeping. After eating, he would wash up, read, and rest, just like usual.

The next day, Yan Daiqing escorted a team of gifts to Jiangnan. Yan Chen and his wife watched him go very far. Yan Daiqing's mother Wu Liu's eyes had already turned red from crying, but Yan Chen still stood there with his back straight and no expression on his face.

He didn't say anything, just watched his son go away.

With eyes wide open, he watched Yan Daiqing go far away, completely gone, without moving. When Wu Liu raised his head, he found that this old-fashioned and quiet scholar had raised his sleeves to wipe away his tears and replied:
"In summer, the wind is strong, and the dust and sand are so strong that they blind our eyes."

"Ma'am, let's go home."

After returning home, Wu Liu couldn't help crying, "My son is gone. I don't know how many years it will take for him to come back. What should I do in such a chaotic place like Jiangnan?"

"Didn't you say that we shouldn't travel far away while our parents are still alive?!"

"Why didn't you stop him?!"

Yan Chen held his wife's hand and replied softly:
"The Master said, 'When your parents are still alive, don't travel far away.'"

"But there is another sentence: You must have a plan for your trip."

"My son is traveling around the world."

"Can't stop it, can't stop it..."

………………

Ying State·Longqi City.

The night was deep and the news had already been delivered. At the highest point in the entire Longqi City, there was a tall building that seemed as if one could pick the stars in the sky with just a raise of the hand. A white-haired old man was sitting here, looking at the world, and quiet footsteps could be heard from behind him.

The extremely elite guards of Ying State did not stop this man from coming. Even if the emperor of Zhongzhou wanted to come here, he would be stopped. In such a big world, there is only one person who has the honor of coming here without notifying.

A man in a loose gown walked in. His hair was flying, and he looked very old. A wooden hairpin held up his white hair. He smiled gently and said, "Your Majesty, are you still here to watch the stars today instead of sleeping?"

Emperor Ying replied, "Isn't it the same with the Grand Master?"

Master Ying came forward with a smile. At the highest point of the entire empire, or even the entire world, there was a portrait. In the portrait was a very beautiful woman who seemed to be looking at this place with a smile. The heroic ruler who had the ambition to swallow up the world was sitting here, in front of the portrait of the woman, looking at the world.

That was Jiang Gao and Jiang Yuan’s biological mother, who had passed away.

The woman was also the daughter of a prominent family in the world. When Emperor Ying was young and unsuccessful, they fell in love with each other, but the woman was given to the Emperor of Zhongzhou at that time.

The young Emperor Ying also rode a horse and a knife to snatch a bride in front of the eyes of the people of the world. The young man's strong heroic heart conquered the world and also conquered the heart of the girl at that time.

But the woman left him early.

The emperor then did not appoint another empress.

Only in this tallest building is the portrait of this woman left.

Come here to be alone from time to time.

When the Grand Tutor Ying mentioned this news, he said, "Li Guanyi will be granted the title of Marquis."

Emperor Ying said, "Yes, it is one level higher than I thought. It seems that the Emperor of Zhongzhou is much stronger than his father. He is not stingy and has the courage to gamble. This is not a good thing. After all, there are too many heroes. It is impossible to kill them all. When will the world be at peace?"

"But it also makes my heart beat faster."

"In this way, enemies appear one after another, so that I don't feel old."

Master Ying looked at the old man's back and said softly:

"Ji Zichang wants Qin Wuhou Li Guanyi to go to Zhongzhou to participate in the emperor's tour."

Emperor Ying replied, "The emperor is on a tour, and the princes are following him. Ji Zichang wants to return the world to its original state." He looked at the prosperity of the imperial city of Ying State outside and said calmly, "But the era of the Red Emperor has long passed..."

Ying Guo Tai Shi smiled and asked, "Your Majesty, what do you want?"

Emperor Ying replied, "Let's go to Zhongzhou! Let's go too!"

"The great emperor of Zhongzhou wants to hold a banquet for the whole country, and has already invited Qin Wuhou to attend. People of the old times like us cannot miss the event. Now that the world is in turmoil, let this be the last time the emperor tours the country in history."

"Eight hundred years of the Red Emperor's glory should end in a dignified manner."

"This time, the emperor's tour is the last meeting of the princes as described by the historians. Let Ji Zichang see the bubble of this world. After this banquet, he will start his plan to conquer the world. Although I am sorry for Qilin, I also want to see Qilin mature."

"But time doesn't give me time anymore."

The old hero smiled calmly and gracefully, and made the decision to shake up the world situation.

"Besides, Sword Maniac has already invited you, hasn't he?"

Yingguo Taishi said: "If your Majesty does not allow, I will not go."

Emperor Ying shook his head and said, "Go, why not? The sword mania is about to end, and you are the first martial arts legend in the world. You should go to such an event."

The eyes of Ying State Grand Tutor Jiang Su were calm. Back then, he led the elite troops, bypassed the Zhenbei Pass, and then suddenly appeared near the capital of Chen State, Jiangzhou City. The number of people he led was small, and he had to rely on the powerful regent at that time, Duke Taiping, who led a large army with logistical supplies behind him.

There are generals of the younger generation like Xiao Wuliang and Yue Pengwu who are fighting to the death.

But it was just enough to stop his attack.

The best general in the world.

He is the first martial arts legend in history.

Emperor Ying slowly stood up. He stood at the highest point, looking at his city, his country, his world. He stretched out his hand, feeling the night wind blowing through the mortal world, and whispered, "Time is like falling flowers and flowing water, it never turns back."

"I rose from humble beginnings, defeated my elder brother, married, had children, and became the king of Ying." "When I was young, my mother was seriously ill. There was an old tree in our yard that looked like a canopy. The world was all I had in my eyes. I ran wildly for a decade in this world, and I could still pick up my sword, put on my armor, gallop on the battlefield, and fight loudly."

"But recently I looked in the bronze mirror and realized that I have grown old without realizing it."

"A head full of white hair."

"Old people in ordinary families would have already been enjoying their grandchildren by this time. How many of them are as fierce and heroic as me? I have been running towards the world in my life. Before I die, I must see the world unified."

Emperor Ying paused and sighed, "But I'm not the only one who's old."

"The sword maniac who roamed the world, and the world of the Red Emperor, are both old."

"But even though we are old, we still have the young generation of heroes."

"These young heroes will grow old like me."

"This world never gets old."

"Very good, very good!"

He was holding the wine beside him, and suddenly raised his hand, spilling the strong wine on the high building, stirring up the eagles he had raised, and then turned around, his sleeves rolled up, and said, "Let me go and see what Qilin Li Guanyi looks like."

Jiang Su asked, "Are you going to kill him?"

Ying Huang laughed loudly: "It's a pity to kill such a hero."

"Only cowards would use swords to kill heroes. I have seen many heroes, but they were all convinced by me in the end, and then they said that I was the hero. Master, I don't want to see the same thing as Li Wanli again."

Emperor Ying and the Grand Tutor of Ying State passed each other by.

The Grand Master lowered his eyes, but the Emperor strode forward:

"I will unify the world."

"Leave him here to have a look. Let him see how magnificent this huge world is. Is it still magnificent?!"

"I am not a stingy person. Such a magnificent beauty in the world should naturally be witnessed by people who are qualified."

"Let us meet during the last patrol of the Scarlet Emperor, Qilin."

The inspection tour in Zhongzhou was in turmoil.

………………

In the Jiangnan area, Li Guanyi learned the news from Pang Lao Feiniao earlier than other forces. The news was about the emperor conferring a title of nobility. Li Guanyi and Yuan Zhiyi decided to do something based on this trend, for example, setting a trap for people to jump into.

Therefore, the Qilin Army, Changfeng Tower, and Pang Shuiyun joined forces to block the news outside Jiangnan and prevent it from being spread outside. Anyone who tried to pass on the news to Jiangnan would be intercepted by Changfeng Tower and the Qilin Army.

With Yaoguang's inference ability, he cooperates with the scouts composed of martial artists led by Nangong Wumeng.

It successfully completed the precise blocking and delay of intelligence information and artificially created an information cocoon.

It is impossible to stop it forever, but it can be delayed for a while.

Yuan Zhi watched the young man lock the message, then rub his hands together, his eyes gleaming, with a sinister expression on his face. Suddenly, he was stunned and felt that his lord might, just maybe, have a little bit of potential to be compatible with Wen He.

Then he shook his head vigorously.

No, no, no, this is the transformation of dragons and snakes.

This shouldn’t happen. My lord, you shouldn’t commit such a crime.

Then the young general thought for a long time and said:

"We have to get it done before Mr. Pang comes home!"

"Otherwise, I'm afraid the old man will be mad, and he won't be able to do anything when he gets angry..."

Yuan Zhi's forehead twitched.

Li Guanyi issued the second decree.

Among the soldiers of the Qilin Army, those who have families can guide their families to Jiangnan.

Divide the land according to the number of people.

The eyes of the Qilin Army soldiers who joined along the way turned red, and they immediately began to sneak people into Jiangnan in batches. After the Angry Scale Dragon King Kou Yulie made tentative inquiries, he learned that the navy was also the Qilin Army, and naturally they had the qualifications to do so.

The old man was overjoyed, and the families of 30,000 naval soldiers moved to the south of the Yangtze River almost at a rapid speed.

Li Guanyi and Yuan Zhi continued to implement the third step.

The land distribution policy will be extended from the Qilin Army to the Qilin Army’s families, and then to ordinary people.

The news spread to the outside at a terrifying speed. Coupled with the reputation that Wen Lingjun had gained by suggesting the strategy of releasing the captives from both countries, the population of the remaining seventeen states in Jiangnan began to move to the eighteen states in Jiangnan.

The population of the Eighteen Prefectures in the South of the Yangtze River began to recover rapidly.

After the land was distributed to the people, these hardworking people could not bear to see the land go to waste.

Start banging bang bang.

The wasteland and the land that had been abandoned due to more than ten years of war confrontation were recovering at a high speed. This behavior had aroused the dissatisfaction of many families. They all sent people from their families to the location of the Qilin Army and tried to start negotiations with the Qilin Army as they did in the past.

The famous scholar went there, but saw Li Guanyi eating and reading files at the same time.

The famous scholar was quite unhappy and said, "If you want to be famous, you shouldn't treat gentlemen so disrespectfully."

Li Guanyi: “Ah???”

The young man raised his eyebrows and asked, "What do you want?"

The famous scholar was stunned for a moment, not expecting Li Guanyi to be so direct, so he stroked his beard and stated his demands one by one, including but not limited to the children of noble families being able to serve as officials in their respective cities, tax reductions, and the exemption of taxes on the land under the names of officials, granting officials permanent farmland, etc.

Li Guanyi was eating noodles.

A handful of noodles, a bite of garlic, and the meal is very enjoyable.

But when the old scholar started talking, the young man was dumbfounded. He didn't even bother to eat his noodles. His face was full of "how dare you say that?" He blinked and said, "Do you have a key?"

The famous scholar was puzzled: "Not worthy."

Li Guanyi said: "You also know that you are not worthy?!"

The young man thought about it, looked at the weapon and the scroll, and thought it would be a bit dirty to throw away the weapon, so he used the scroll to hit him, and Yuan Zhi could give him a headache later. After hesitating for three seconds, Li Guanyi slapped the man on the head with the scroll, pouring hot soup all over his head, and then said:

"Left and right, take it away!"

Two burly Qilin Army soldiers came and grabbed him and dragged him out. The white-haired old man was shocked and angry, and shouted, "I am well-read, and everyone in the world knows my name. How dare you treat me like this, you you you!!!"

Li Guanyi said: "Lei Laomeng, didn't you hear it?! Celebrity!"

"Celebrity!"

"How can you use a drag?"

Lei Laomeng was stunned. The young man said, "Get the fork out!"

As a result, the dissatisfaction of the various families with Li Guanyi grew day by day. However, there was also a Jiangnan family, the Chen family, who took the initiative to donate their land and a huge amount of gold to the Qilin Army and took the initiative to place a bet. Those families gathered in the largest provincial capital among the 18 states in Jiangnan, waiting for Li Guanyi to come and intend to negotiate with him.

But Li Guanyi was too lazy to pay attention to them.

The Qilin Army implemented the new land policy in an arc, starting from the small villages and towns where the aristocratic families had the least control, and then slowly implemented it to the small cities where the smaller aristocratic families were located. The power of these aristocratic families was completely unable to compete with Li Guanyi's Qilin Army, and the decree was quickly implemented.

At first, the noble families thought that it was just a small village, what was the use of it?

Then I thought, how dare a guy from a small town, with a little money, call himself a noble family?
Li Guanyi attacked these little guys, I think he would never dare to attack the big families!
By the time they realized what was happening, the entire Jiangnan region had been quickly filled with scarlet Qilin flags, which had directly surrounded the largest cities. When these noble lords opened their eyes, they saw ordinary people clamoring everywhere outside.

One more question, what about ours?

Where is our family’s land?
What, no points?

At this time, their eyes were red. At this stage, their eyes were red even because it was not their own interests that were damaged.

It's simply that I didn't get any benefits.

Those peasants felt more uncomfortable when they got the benefits than when they lost money.

If the peasants have land, the gap between them and themselves will be narrowed, which is more painful than killing them all, as it touches upon fundamental interests.

However, it also led to all the aristocratic families, big and small, in Jiangnan rushing to the provincial capitals of the Eighteen States in Jiangnan to find the great aristocratic families and celebrities of their own states to complain. As a result, the elders of these great families were all furious and wrote articles and manifestos, accusing Li Guanyi of committing atrocities.

They are simply traitors and rebels!
Li Guan laughed loudly, and then he and Yuan Zhi implemented the fourth phase of the policy, which modified the system of allocating land tax to link taxes with land and population. Those with assets paid more, those with less land and less assets paid less, and those with no assets paid nothing. The aristocratic families all cursed.

Yuan Zhi's mouth twitched. When he saw that Li Guanyi had cut the head tax, he understood why Li Guanyi was determined to block the news, the team, and Pang Shuiyun who came with the team outside Jiangnan.

My lord, is this intentional?
The head tax is a law that has been in effect since the time of the Red Emperor.

Mr. Pang’s eyes turned red.

What, the poll tax? Cut it. What is this, the spring tax, cut it!
Fire consumption? Cut it down!

Cut, cut, cut all the exorbitant taxes and levies!
Family tax exemption?

Cut it off!

The relatives of the aristocratic families join the aristocratic families, nominally as master and servant, but in reality they are evading taxes?

I'll cut it!

Just when Li Guanyi’s reputation was about to reach [harsh rule] [harsh rule]!
[This boy is not qualified to rule the world]!
And [Qilin][Qilin]!
[There are some good people here to share the land]!
As the two states continued to diverge, the young man supported his chin with one hand and turned a pen with the other, looking at the joint letter written by the major families, scolding Li Guanyi as a traitor, a tyrant, and a harsh policy, as well as the letter secretly contacting the forces of Ying State and Chen State, and said:
"Yuan Zhi, the pit has been dug almost completely, it's about time."

"Put the message in."

"We should go to the state capital. This group of people has started to attack me and is planning to ambush the swordsmen and axemen. Six..."

Yuan Zhi remained silent and said, "Perhaps, you don't have to knock Wen He unconscious."

"Your tactics are flexible and changeable. Perhaps, possibly, he can come up with some strategies. In this case, his strategies must be the most useful and much better than what we two can come up with."

Li Guanyi was suspicious: "Yuanzhi, are you cursing me secretly?"

Yuan Zhi said sternly: "No, it's just that the lord is like a dragon, able to soar and hide."

Li Guanyi laughed.

"Let's go!"

The Qilin Army led their troops forward, and news began to spread.

All the noble families, big and small, in Jiangnan were gathering in the newly built Changfeng Tower in Jiangnan.

For example, at the oath-taking ceremony, he angrily scolded Li Guanyi.

(End of this chapter)