Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 91: Self-created "Six Secret Teachings" Armor and Weapons, the whole city is in turmoil!

By the end of midnight,
As the water clock struck three, the candle wax on the table had piled up into a patch of crimson coral.

"So sleepy~!"

"Is it almost past 1 AM?"

The teenagers discussing exam questions in front of the desk yawned repeatedly; some covered their faces with their sleeves, while others rested their foreheads on their hands and pretended to sleep.

Only Jiang Xingzhou stood ramrod straight, having already finished copying a volume of "Six Secret Teachings".

The last bamboo slip was snapped into the knot with a "click".

One hundred bamboo slips were neatly stacked in a sandalwood book box. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the ink characters on the slips like rows of black armor, exuding a sharp and piercing aura.

Han Yugui rubbed his sore neck and vaguely saw the war-torn characters on the bamboo slips moving slightly in the moonlight.

"Brother Jiang, what is the purpose of copying these bamboo slips?"

Han Yugui held a cup of hot tea in his hand to refresh his mind. The amber-colored [Pre-Rain Dragon Bud] tea soup exuded a rich, scholarly atmosphere.

He forgot his manners at that moment, his body leaning forward unconsciously, and a rare look of curiosity appeared in his eyes.

Jiang Xingzhou lightly tapped the bamboo slips on the table with his fingertips. The still-wet ink on the military strategy texts faintly gleamed with the aura of war under the candlelight.

He raised his eyes and smiled, his eyes sparkling like stars: "Everyone knows that this [All Plants and Trees Are Soldiers] technique uses plants and trees as materials to transform them into puppet soldiers!"

"If I were to write down military strategies on bamboo slips—with military strategy as the soul and bamboo slips as the bones!"

These military strategy bamboo slips were transformed into military puppet soldiers.

But what effect will these puppet soldiers have?

Jiang Xingzhou smiled slightly and tapped the bamboo slip lightly with his fingertips, producing a clear and melodious sound.

He had never seen such a literary design in any peasant or military book—combining the literary concept of "every bush and tree is an enemy" with the bamboo slips of the military book "Six Secret Teachings".

【Seeing every bush and tree as an enemy】This literary technique, though it is the first four-character mantra a student learns to master, is actually a literary technique.

However, even those who passed the imperial examinations and those who passed the metropolitan examinations frequently used it; it was the most common literary technique.

He usually copied military books onto bamboo slips and kept them in his silk pouch for future use.

"Wonderful!
This is an ingenious and brilliant idea!

Upon hearing this, Han Yugui's breath hitched.

The teacup in his hand clicked, his pupils contracted sharply, and he was extremely surprised.

His pupils reflected the eerie light and shadow of the bamboo slip soldiers from the Six Secret Teachings—the rune soldiers with the words "fire attack" on the bamboo slips suddenly burst into three feet of ghostly flames, their blue-green tongues licking the void.

The bamboo slips containing the characters for "chariot warfare" transformed into bronze chariots with rune soldiers, and a blood-red aura swirled between the wheel hubs.

"This"

He was shocked, his voice hoarse and unlike his own, "Brother Jiang, is this a sudden inspiration that combines peasant puppetry with military strategy?"

"Brother Jiang, is this your latest understanding of the literary technique of 'seeing every bush and tree as an enemy'? Is this considered a peasant-style military literary technique, or a military-style peasant literary technique?"

"I've never heard of such a military talisman puppet soldier before?"

The teenagers were all horrified.

If even plant and wood puppet soldiers could understand military strategy and tactics, that would be terrifying!

"However, transforming the bamboo slips of the Six Secret Teachings into runic weapons? That's probably impossible!"

Lu Ming frowned.

"You should know that plant puppet soldiers are very dull-witted. Their intelligence is even less than that of a three-year-old child. They need to be carefully controlled and directed by a person."

Otherwise, it would be stunned on the battlefield, completely unaware of how to fight.

These are usually consumables on the battlefield, used to hold off the enemy!
The military strategy in the *Six Secret Teachings* is extremely profound; it is a tactic that a dull-witted puppet could not possibly grasp!

"Not bad!"

"The plant and tree puppet soldiers I created using the [All Plants Are Soldiers] spell are just dull-looking wooden soldiers! If I say go east, they'll go west!"

After thinking about it, everyone realized that Lu Ming was right.

too difficult!
Jiang Xingzhou nodded and smiled, "That's why we need a piece of [Ji Shen Incense]! Applying Ji Shen Incense to the bamboo slips of the Six Secret Teachings will greatly enhance their intelligence."

I was able to make this attempt only because I possessed this Jinshi-level [Ji Shen Xiang].

I estimate that I can raise their intelligence to the level of a child in their teens or early twenties.

Otherwise, how could the wooden puppet soldiers, with their dullness and lack of intelligence, understand the text on the bamboo slips of the "Six Secret Teachings"?

But with the [Ji Shen Incense] enlightening them, the situation is different!

Jiang Xingzhou dipped his fingertips in incense, and the blue mist of the Ji Shen incense swirled around as he brushed it across the bamboo slips of the Six Secret Teachings. The military strategy texts seemed to faintly evoke the sounds of iron horses and clashing swords.

This may be why the "Essential Techniques for the Common People" did not record this method!

【Ji Shen Xiang】This material is too rare, most scholars cannot obtain it, and it is impossible to use it on plant puppet soldiers.

Jiang Xingzhou pondered for a moment,
He also wanted to see just how much intelligence these "Six Secret Teachings" bamboo slips and military implements actually possessed!

He picked up a bamboo slip of "Six Secret Teachings" from the book box with two fingers.

This bamboo slip bears the military strategy inscription "fire attack".

His fingertip hovered three inches above the bamboo slip, and a wisp of green smoke from the God of Millet completely soaked it!
The incense smoke from the God of Millet etched meridian patterns onto the surface of the bamboo slips, patterns never before recorded in the "Essential Techniques for the Common People".

"【Every bush and tree seems like an enemy】—!"

Jiang Xingzhou flicked his wrist and snapped his fingers.
He pointed his fingers like a sword, drew out the characters, and shot out a beam of green light that struck the bamboo slip.

Amidst the stirring of literary spirit,

The bamboo slip flew more than ten feet away and landed in the backyard.

As the green light passed, the wind swelled, and the characters disassembled and reassembled themselves in mid-air. The bamboo simplified into crimson armor plates, which clanged together to form the shape of an armored soldier.

It instantly transformed into a red-armored soldier holding a "torch," with the military tactical symbol "[Fire Attack]" clearly engraved on its red armor.

As the last character was embedded in his chest, the soldier suddenly opened his eyes—the unique phantom image of the five grains of the Divine Incense danced in his pupils.

"I wish to attack the enemy, but they are fortified in a high wall. What methods are available?"

Jiang Xingzhou asked it.

The torchbearer knelt on one knee, his eyes burning with unwavering determination.
It suddenly plunged the torch into the soil, and a three-dimensional sand table emerged where sparks flew.

It traced the ground with its burning fingertips, each scorch mark transforming into a fiery serpent that snaked along the attack route of a fortress, hoarsely saying:

"Reporting to the commander! A southeast wind is blowing tonight; a fire attack is advisable! If the enemy holds a high position—use the wind to set fire to three layers of fire, break their palisades, and burn their supply lines!!"

In the study in the backyard of the Xue family mansion, the young men stared at the torchbearers in the courtyard and fell into a deathly silence, with only gasps rising and falling in waves.

The flame on the bronze lampstand flickered, casting an unpredictable shadow on the horrified faces of the crowd.

"It can actually judge the weather on its own, whether a southeast wind is blowing, and whether it is appropriate to use fire?"

"Triple Burning - A three-stage fire attack!"
Deer Antler Breaker – This refers to the wooden chevaux-de-frise used as a barrier against the fortress, a wooden defensive structure used to burn down the fortifications outside the city! Clearing the way for the siege!

Burn their supply lines—this is to cut off the enemy's rear supply route, causing panic among the enemy in the fortress, and putting them in disarray like turtles in a jar!
Finally, the next step is to breach the fortress and annihilate the enemy!

"The application of military strategy involves pressing forward step by step, with each move linked to the next!"

"The wisdom of the soldiers in the Six Secret Teachings bamboo slips"

The subtleties of military strategy can be traced back to at least six or seven parts of the true teachings of the Six Secret Teachings!

He absolutely surpasses the average fifteen-year-old student, and is even comparable to a scholar specializing in military strategy!

The teenagers stared in disbelief, their mouths agape.

Lu Ming glanced at the book box on the table in horror, as if he could see hundreds of soldiers—the phantom soldiers formed from the two characters "Military Struggle" on the bamboo slips were being etched with mysterious meridians and arranged in formation as the incense of the God of Millet flowed.

pity--

The young men looked at each other, their eyes burning with desire, but they could only sigh.

They did not possess the extremely precious [Ji Shen Incense] that Zhou Shanchang had given to Jiang Xingzhou.
Naturally, they couldn't emulate Jiang Xingzhou's method of using the incense of the God of Grain as a catalyst and borrowing the military strategies from the bamboo slips of the *Six Secret Teachings* to transform plants and trees into military puppets. Even with the *Six Secret Teachings* bamboo slips in hand, the wooden puppet soldiers, lacking sentience and as dull as wood, were utterly useless!

"That's it!"

Cao An rubbed his sore eyes, shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"Only someone as leisurely and carefree as Brother Jiang would have the mind to deduce a new interpretation of 'every bush and tree is an enemy'!"

The teenagers exchanged glances, all feeling helpless.

They stayed up all night, racking their brains to predict and solve the questions, afraid of missing even the slightest chance of passing the prefectural examination.

Jiang Xingzhou, on the other hand, even managed to find some free time to leisurely use a piece of Jinshi [Jishenxiang] to test the latest solution to the "every bush and tree is an enemy" idiom!
As expected of the top student in the preliminary examination, his energy far surpasses that of others.

"I'm sleepy, let's go to sleep first! We'll discuss the exam predictions again tomorrow."

Cao An covered his mouth and let out a long yawn, his voice slightly slurred, "Brother Jiang, please make yourself at home!"

The teenagers, whose eyelids were already heavy with sleep, all rose to take their leave upon hearing this.

After all, if you stay up any longer after working most of the night, you might not even have the energy to get out of bed tomorrow.

As night deepened, the young men went to the side rooms to catch up on their sleep.

Inside the study, only a solitary lamp flickered, illuminating Jiang Xingzhou's figure as he pondered intently.

He lightly stroked the bamboo slips of "Six Secret Teachings" with his fingertips, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, as if thousands of weapons were arrayed in the void.

Within the Sea of ​​Knowledge Palace, bronze bamboo slips moved without wind, and lines of seal script information flew by like streaks of fire:

【Ding! 】

Jiang Xingzhou suddenly realized a new interpretation of the literary technique of "seeing soldiers in every bush and tree", and created the unique "Six Secret Teachings" bamboo slip military strategy!

The military strategy is as follows:

"Take a piece of bamboo slip from the Six Secret Teachings, and fumigate it with the incense of the God of Grain. The true meaning of military strategy will naturally seep into the bamboo, making it stronger over time."

The characters are written with pine soot ink, the shape is solidified with black tortoise shell glue, and then wrapped with ice silkworm silk and gold thread, thus creating an indestructible puppet—unharmed by swords and blades, impervious to water and fire, with even better results.

[Hint: Jiang Xingzhou has had a sudden enlightenment. His proficiency in the [Every Bush and Tree a Soldier] literary technique has increased dramatically, reaching the pinnacle of the Novice Realm - Perfection (1000/1000)]

"Not bad!"

Jiang Xingzhou smiled slightly, a satisfied smile playing on his lips, and snapped the bamboo scroll box shut.

Time flies.

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and it is already the beginning of summer.

More than two thousand students in Jiangzhou Prefecture were still engrossed in their studies, trying to solve problems, while cicadas began to chirp outside the window and the summer heat intensified.

In the study of the Duke of Xue's mansion, under the shade of bamboo, the young men, including Jiang Xingzhou and Han Yugui, were still sweating profusely as they held scriptures in their hands, yet none of them dared to slack off in the slightest.

The ink on the table was not yet dry, and it was already smudged by fresh sweat. Occasionally a gentle breeze would pass through the bamboo, but it brought little coolness.

Fortunately, the Duke of Xue's mansion had a cellar of ice, which could be used to freeze some fresh fruits and vegetables, and was quite effective in quenching thirst and relieving the summer heat.

The servants presented chilled fruits, and glistening ice beads rolled down the emerald-green fruit skins, adding a rare touch of coolness to the scene of studying hard.

"boom--!"

Suddenly, a thunderclap shattered the sky, and daylight turned to darkness.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky, and a hurricane swept in from the southwest, bringing with it torrential rain.

"Crash!"

The entire city of Jiangzhou trembled in the wind and rain, tiles flew everywhere, and the long streets were flooded.

A sinister aura rose from the depths of the dark clouds, like a black python stirring up the wind and clouds, making the midday hour as dark as midnight.

"Clang—clang clang!"

The urgent sound of gongs pierced the rain, and patrolling soldiers waded through knee-deep water, shouting: "There's an evil spirit! Everyone, keep your doors and windows tightly shut! No one is allowed to go out!"

The soldiers' desperate shouts were instantly swallowed up by the rumbling thunder.

"what's the situation?"

The young men in the study looked at each other in bewilderment, and the scriptures in their hands fell to the ground with a thud!
"Is this... a demonic scourge?"

At the Duke of Xue's residence, Jiang Xingzhou put down the book and iced melon in his hands, abruptly stood up from his seat, and his expression turned serious.

Xue Fu hurriedly closed the window frame to prevent it from being smashed by the strong wind.

Their faces showed surprise; such a strange phenomenon was no ordinary natural wind and rain.

Jiangzhou Prefectural Government Office.

The official hats and robes of the officials and yamen runners were disheveled by the hurricane.

Xue Chonghu stood with his hands behind his back under the eaves of the government office, his black official robe fluttering in the wind, the jade belt at his waist ringing like a sword.

His gaze pierced through the rain like lightning: "Such a heavy fishy smell, eight hundred miles southwest, must be from the Taihu Lake area."

Before he could finish speaking, a streak of azure light pierced through the air.

"Qiang——!"

The flying sword hovered three inches away.

Zhou Shanchang landed gracefully, stepping on the sword's edge. Rainwater was still dripping from his raincoat and straw hat. He said, "Lord Xue! This beast dares to show himself in broad daylight on the day of the Beginning of Summer, summoning clouds and rain. How arrogant!"

"Your arrival is just in time!"

The official seal clutched in Xue Chonghu's sleeve was faintly burning hot, and the demonic clouds on the southwestern horizon had condensed into a ferocious dragon shape. "Judging from this location, it should be around Taihu Lake?"

"That's right!"

The moment their eyes met, they seemed to realize something, and their hearts skipped a beat.

Taihu Lake!

The vast expanse of water stretches for eight hundred miles, serving as the hub of the waterways of Jiangnan. It is the core lake of the ten prefectures and cities of Jiangnan, and the heart of the entire river and lake system.

Long ago, a magnificent dragon palace stood at the bottom of the lake, where 100,000 water demons dwelled.

The Demon Court of the East Sea bestowed the title of a Flood Dragon King upon him, who once stirred up trouble here, causing floods in Jiangnan Province every year.

Until about a hundred years ago, in the twelfth year of the Jinglong reign, the governor of Jiangnan Circuit, wielding the Shangfang sword, mobilized troops from ten prefectures.

Thirty thousand armored soldiers fought on the lake, and a thousand warships arrayed themselves, blasting the Crystal Palace into ruins and slaughtering one hundred thousand water demons.

From then on, only a few scattered soldiers and crabs remained at the bottom of Taihu Lake, posing no threat whatsoever.

Look at the momentum today!
"A hundred years have passed."

Xue Chonghu pressed down on the trembling official seal, and the demonic clouds reflected on the lake surface condensed into a phantom image of a throne. "The demonic aura soared straight to the heavens. With such momentum, it seems that another arrogant great demon is leading his demon soldiers and generals, attempting to re-establish a Taihu Demon Court in Taihu Lake?!"

"Lord Xue!"
The Jiaolong clan has always been arrogant; they dare to stir up trouble in the great river if they have even a little strength!

The flying sword in Zhou Yuanjun's sleeve hummed incessantly, its green blade reflecting the fierceness between his brows. "If this great demon is allowed to rebuild a demon court in Taihu Lake, Jiangzhou will surely become a swamp within ten days!"
Should you send troops to investigate?

"To mobilize troops without the tiger tally is tantamount to treason!"

Not a single soldier of the Jiangnan Circuit's garrison was allowed to cross the boundaries of their station! This matter still awaits the order of the Governor of Jiangnan Circuit!
However, the governor probably wouldn't dare to easily mobilize troops; he would need to report to the imperial court and request an imperial decree.

The back-and-forth communication took quite a bit of time and effort.

Xue Chonghu shook his head, his voice as deep and resolute as iron.

Unless demon soldiers attack Jiangzhou Prefecture, his unauthorized troop deployment to Taihu Lake would be a grave taboo for the imperial court.

"Fine!"
The imperial court can control military seals, but it cannot control the disciples of my academy. Slaying demons and eliminating barbarians is the duty of scholars.

I will first take some instructors and students from Jiangzhou Prefecture to Taihu Lake to investigate the truth and slay the demons!

Wait until the governor's order arrives before dispatching the local troops!

Zhou Yuanjun chuckled, a bronze academy token between his fingers, and rose on his sword, heading towards the Jiangzhou Prefecture. In a fleeting glance under the eaves, his white robes were already stained with the color of thunder.

(End of this chapter)