Liver into a martial arts legend: starting with Embroidered Spring Blade

Chapter 179 To destroy something, you must first make it go mad!

After An Jianqing left, three more commanders followed.

To Jiang Xuan's relief, when he asked the remaining people, none of them spoke again.

However, he still confirmed one last time: "Have you all thought this through? If you miss this opportunity, you won't get another one."

"Now I'm giving you a chance to part ways amicably, but if anyone dares to betray me again in the future, don't blame me for being ruthless."

The expressions on everyone's faces were resolute.

"This humble servant swears to follow the Commander to the death!"

Xu Longqing was the first to speak, and then he gritted his teeth and cursed, "An Jianqing and the others are heartless wolves and dogs. If it weren't for the Governor's favor, he would still be a mere centurion. Now that he sees that our Embroidered Uniform Guard is weak, he actually left at this time and went to the Western Depot. This despicable villain is simply a weather vane!"

"They are not only opportunists, but also traitors! They have wasted the Governor's attention and cultivation over the past two years!"

"The governor shouldn't have let them leave so easily!"

"Indeed, I swear to follow you to the death and will never be as ungrateful as those traitors!"

The others echoed their sentiments, filled with righteous indignation.

"Everyone has their own ambitions, so there's no question of betrayal,"

Jiang Xuan spoke calmly, not at all surprised by An Jianqing's choice.

From the very beginning, he knew what kind of person An Jianqing was—someone who would stop at nothing to climb the social ladder, even abandoning his wife and children.

Now that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has weakened and its path to advancement has been cut off, it is only natural that it would choose to seek better opportunities elsewhere.

However, accepting it doesn't mean he can forgive it.

Those who leave now will one day pay the price for their choices!
But at this moment, Jiang Xuan didn't say anything more and turned to look at the others.

“Pingzhi, you will fill An Jianqing’s vacancy in the future.”

Jiang Xuan spoke, and then promoted several centurions or deputy commanders who had performed well to fill the vacancies of other commanders.

There were only a few commanders in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and each one was a unique position. These people could be considered to have benefited from misfortune.

Finally, Jiang Xuan looked at Pei Lun and Luo Yangxing, who were sitting to his left and right, and said, "From now on, the affairs of the two departments will continue as before. Do not get involved in anything related to the Western Depot. Sometimes, glory often means trouble. The less you get involved, the less trouble you will have."

Luo Yangxing nodded. Having served as an official for many years, he naturally understood this principle.

Pei Lun was somewhat worried and said, "Brother, the Emperor has not abolished the Northern Division's law enforcement power. In the future, we will need to handle cases together with the Western Depot, which will definitely cause a lot of trouble."

Jiang Xuan waved his hand and said, "From now on, unless the Emperor appoints you, all other cases should be handed over and not touched."

"This... then wouldn't this just be watching the Western Depot rise smoothly and become the only dominant force?" Pei Lun asked, puzzled.

In his view, the only hope for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to turn its fortunes around lay with the Northern Garrison Command.

After all, the Emperor did not abolish the Northern Garrison Command, so the Northern Garrison Command could be used to compete with the Western Depot.

Is Jiang Xuan really going to give up like this?
Jiang Xuan calmly said, "To destroy something, you must first make it go mad. Temporary glory or disgrace is nothing. The way to survive is to remain steadfast and observe the ebb and flow of the tides and the fickleness of human relationships."

"Just wait and see, there's no rush."

Everyone's eyes lit up slightly, and they finally understood that the governor must have other plans. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

In their view, as long as Jiang Xuan still has the will to make progress, no difficulty can stop him.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard will rise again one day!
……

Western Factory.

Yu Huatian was flipping through the various files and information on the secret agents sent by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, feeling extremely excited.

These things represent the accumulated knowledge and experience of the Embroidered Uniform Guard over many years.

Now, however, they have all come under the control of the Western Depot.

With these hidden agents, the Western Depot now had its own eyes and ears, and its rise to power was not far off!

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Thinking of the glorious future, Yu Huatian felt a surge of pride and couldn't help but laugh loudly, "In the end, I have won!"

What about Wei Zhongxian? What about Jiang Xuan?

"One day, I will be able to take your place!"

"The era that belongs to my West Depot, the era that belongs to me, Yu Huatian, is about to begin!"

Yu Huatian was extremely excited. With this, he had finally taken another step closer to his goal of having absolute power over the world.

"Congratulations, Supervisor! Congratulations, Supervisor!"

Beside him, Ma Jinliang, Tan Luzi, and other experts from the Western Depot also wore happy expressions and offered their congratulations.

"From this day forward, no one in the court will be able to rival the Grand Eunuch!"

Ma Jinliang cupped his hands and offered his advice: "Chief Eunuch, now that you hold great power, it is time to begin eliminating the threat of the Eastern Depot and taking control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"Do not."

Upon hearing this, Yu Huatian's joy subsided slightly. He waved his hand and said, "It's not the right time yet."

"Firstly, what the Emperor wants is a balance of power between the Western Depot, the Eastern Depot, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If I were to take power and immediately target the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it would inevitably displease the Emperor. Therefore, no matter what, we can suppress the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but we cannot destroy them outright."

"Secondly..."

Yu Huatian narrowed his eyes and said, "My martial arts are not yet fully developed, and I need some time to plan carefully. Neither Cao Zhengchun nor Jiang Xuan can be easily manipulated."

He has not forgotten the humiliation he experienced yesterday.

Therefore, although he was happy that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had regressed, he did not become arrogant because of it.

He didn't want to break ties with Cao Zhengchun and Jiang Xuan and put himself in danger before he had enough strength to deal with them.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Huatian ordered, "Pass down the order: without my command, no one is to provoke the Eastern Depot or the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"This……"

Ma Jinliang and the others frowned, looked at each other, and were all puzzled.

"Chief Supervisor, didn't you say that the Emperor needs us to control the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard? If our Western Depot is established but turns a blind eye to the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, won't the Emperor have any objections?"

Ma Jinliang spoke up, voicing the doubts in everyone's minds. "It's not that we'll completely ignore it."

Yu Huatian explained calmly: "What I mean is that you should not provoke the people of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. However, our Western Depot is responsible for monitoring civil and military officials and punishing illegal activities on behalf of the Emperor. If the people of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard commit crimes and fall into our hands, we will act in accordance with the rules. Even if it eventually comes to the Emperor, we will have a valid reason and no one can say anything against us."

As he spoke, Yu Huatian looked at the group and said meaningfully, "Try to act within the rules as much as possible, and be sure to do so without leaving a trace. Like boiling a frog in warm water, slowly dismantle them and take their place."

The crowd's eyes flickered, and they immediately understood. They cupped their hands in unison and said, "Yes, Commander, we understand!"

Yu Huatian nodded slightly.

"Master, An Jianqing, commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, requests an audience!" At this moment, a spy from the Western Depot came in to report.

"An Jianqing?"

"He's not Jiang Xuan's top general, so what's he doing here?"

Everyone frowned.

Only Yu Huatian's eyes flickered slightly, as if he vaguely guessed something, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he waved his hand and ordered, "Please let him in."

"Yes!" The messenger left.

A moment later, a tall and distinguished figure dressed in a white flying fish robe strode in; it was An Jianqing.

An Jianqing glanced around the hall, took a deep breath, and without any stage fright, stepped forward and bowed to Yu Huatian: "I am An Jianqing, paying my respects to Eunuch Yu!"

Hearing An Jianqing use the word "paying respects," Yu Huatian became even more certain of his guess and said calmly, "Commander An, no need for formalities. May I ask what brings you here, Commander An?"

An Jianqing solemnly said, "I have heard that the Western Depot is still short of a Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, so I have come here to volunteer for this position. I hope that Eunuch Yu will accept me."

Everyone was stunned.

Yu Huatian was also slightly taken aback, but then he couldn't help himself and burst into laughter.

Jiang Xuan, even your most trusted and top general has betrayed you and joined me. What do you have to fight against me with?

……

Hulong Villa.

In the year or so since the death of Emperor Tianqi and the ascension of Emperor Chongzhen, the Dragon Guard Villa seemed to have been forgotten, and was rarely mentioned.

It was only now, due to the downfall of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, that people began to compare it with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It is believed that from now on, the Embroidered Uniform Guard might also be "imprisoned" by the Emperor, just like the Dragon Guard Manor, and would no longer be given important positions.

As one of the parties involved, Zhu Wushi was naturally quite concerned about this matter.

Inside the main hall, Zhu Wushi, dressed in a red python robe, sat majestically on the throne. On the table in front of him was a thick stack of documents.

This is a detailed record of intelligence information gathered from the imperial court and the martial arts world over the past few months.

Among them, one can vaguely see the story of how Jiangnan's "Netherworld" reappeared a few days ago, helped the Six-Fingered Qin Demon take revenge, suppressed various factions, and destroyed the Money Gang.

Some of the information was even more detailed than what was circulating outside, and it was all recorded in the documents in front of Zhu Wushi.

Clearly, this "Iron-Blooded Marquis" is not as indifferent to worldly affairs as the rumors suggest. On the contrary, he still controls most of the intelligence in the entire Ming Dynasty, and many things cannot be hidden from his eyes.

At this moment, the person standing beside him reporting the situation was not one of the three imperial secret agents, Tian Di Xuan, but a Japanese man of similar age to him.

This man was none other than Yagyu Tajima-no-kami, the head of the Yagyu Shinkage school in Japan.

Half a month ago, he narrowly escaped death in Wenzhou City. He dared not return to the Giant Whale Gang and rushed back to the capital to report the situation to Zhu Wushi.

"You mean, the Lord of the 'Netherworld' is Jiang Xuan, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

After listening to Yagyu Tajima-no-kami's report, Zhu Wushi frowned slightly, looking somewhat surprised and uncertain.

He would naturally pay attention to the mysterious organization "Netherworld Palace," which had only appeared in the martial arts world for a year or two but was able to destroy a long-established top-tier force like the "Golden Money Gang."

But even he couldn't find out the truth about Youming.

Of course, it's not that nothing was found, but rather that the secrecy level of the Netherworld is extremely high. Even the secret agents of the Dragon Guard Manor had investigated some of the Netherworld's strongholds, but in the end, they knew nothing. All of the Netherworld's undercover agents were in single-line contact, and once something happened to the downstream agent, the upstream agent would quickly disappear or move away.

Some of them don't even go online; they just transmit intelligence from a fixed location every month, making it impossible to dig deeper.

Zhu Wushi was unwilling to provoke an organization with such a high level of secrecy, mainly because it had nothing to do with him, so he stopped paying attention to it later.

But now, Yagyu Tajima-no-kami actually suspects that the Lord of the Underworld is none other than Jiang Xuan, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!
"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Yagyu Tajima-no-kami took a deep breath, and a trace of fear appeared in his eyes when he thought of the scene he saw in Wenzhou City. He swallowed and said, "When I helped the prince assassinate the Izumo Kingdom delegation before, I had a fight with Jiang Xuan. This man not only comprehended the intent of the sword and the blade, but his archery skills are also extremely strong."

"In Wenzhou City, I personally witnessed the battle between the Lord of the Netherworld Palace and Yin Tianzheng, the 'White-browed Eagle King' of the Sky Eagle Sect. He displayed three different artistic concepts: knife, sword, and arrow. Moreover, this person is also a Grandmaster, but has not yet broken through to the Great Grandmaster level."

"Since then, I have had my doubts, but I have no concrete evidence and cannot confirm them."

"It wasn't until later that I heard that Jiang Xuan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, did not return to the capital after the battle of Songshan. Instead, he left the capital on his own and only recently returned to the capital. The timing of this coincides with what happened in Jiangnan."

"It was because of this incident that I became absolutely certain that the Lord of the Netherworld Palace and this Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are definitely the same person!"

"Otherwise, there could never be such a coincidence in the world!"

Yagyu Tajima-no-kami gritted his teeth and spoke with absolute certainty about his conjecture.

After hearing this, Zhu Wushi felt somewhat unsettled. He thought about the clues about Youming that the Imperial Detectives had uncovered over the past two years, and then connected them with Jiang Xuan's whereabouts. Many mysteries seemed to suddenly be solved at this moment.

"No wonder..."

Zhu Wushi murmured, "Youming has appeared in the martial world four times, and each time he was away from the capital on business. Moreover... Youming appeared two years ago, and it was precisely during these two years that he began to rise rapidly..."

Zhu Wushi let out a long breath, his eyes narrowed slightly, and said, "They started planning and laying the groundwork two years ago. On the surface, he is the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard with immense power, but in private, he also controls such a mysterious force."

"It seems this guy isn't as simple as he appears!"

Thinking back to his past encounters with Jiang Xuan, he even considered recruiting him as the "Number One Yellow-Rank Imperial Secret Agent," but Jiang Xuan refused. At the time, he thought the man was too arrogant, but now it seems he underestimated him. Jiang Xuan had the confidence to refuse to be subordinate to others.

This is also an ambitious person!

Zhu Wushi sighed and made an assessment of Jiang Xuan in his heart. Then, thinking about Jiang Xuan's current situation, he thought to himself, "After years of hardship, he is now being neglected and suppressed, and his status has plummeted. I imagine he must be extremely unwilling to accept this."

"If I can seize this opportunity to win him over and make him work for me, my chances of achieving great things will be greatly increased..."

Thinking of this, Zhu Wushi's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had made up his mind. He looked up at Yagyu Tajima-no-kami and said, "Go and do something for me..."

(End of this chapter)