In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

How could the empire's number one swordsman lose to a sword saint from a small country by 19?

Similarly, for swordsmen, this was a showdown of the best.

If swordsmen in the martial arts world knew this, they would definitely cross the ocean or climb over Changbai Mountain to witness the legendary battle of the sword saints.

After all, their fame is in no way inferior to that of Ximen and Ye Gucheng!

Hundred-step flying sword!

Suddenly, a bright light, like a shooting star from outer space, pierced through everything in an instant with sword energy.

The seemingly simple and casual sword throw, which could have been easily broken, actually pierced through Fu Cailin's throat in his disbelief.

He had already glimpsed the mystery of this sword strike.

But the price was death!

"master!"

Fu Junzhuo and the others looked at Fu Cailin in disbelief. His throat was pierced by a sword, and even if Zhang Xiaoshan were present, he would not have been able to save him.

Meng Tian, ​​Xiao Feng, and the others looked at Fu Cailin with admiration.

The Hundred-Step Flying Sword is a unique skill of the Ghost Valley School. Even if they were in Fu Cailin's position, they wouldn't dare say they could handle it.

Moreover, their position in Gai Nie's eyes is at most on par with Fu Cailin's.

"What a magnificent Hundred-Step Flying Sword!"

Demon Blade Ding Peng looked at Gai Nie, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.

The Divine Blade Slash is incredibly powerful, but it largely relies on the power of the Demon Blade. Without the Crescent Moon Demon Blade, the Divine Blade Slash he wields now might not be a match for Gai Nie.

"You traitor, give me back my master's life!"

Fu Junzhuo's longsword thrust forward, completely lacking the essence of the Yi Jian technique.

However, Gai Nie casually twirled and slid his longsword, directly taking the sword from Fu Junzhuo's hand, while the gleaming blade rested on Fu Junzhuo's shoulder.

What a familiar scene! For Gai Nie, countless swordsmen have died by his sword, which is why he has many enemies in the martial arts world.

However, he was not one to kill indiscriminately, and besides, Fu Cailin was an opponent he admired, a first-rate swordsman in Kyushu.

"If you want to take revenge on me, you should first master your master's swordsmanship and the method to counter the Hundred Steps Flying Sword."

Otherwise, Fu Cailin would die with his eyes wide open in disbelief!

"you···"

Fu Junzhuo glared at Gai Nie, but in the end, she temporarily put aside her hatred.

This was a fair duel on the battlefield, and what's more, that seemingly casual sword strike was the world-renowned Hundred-Step Flying Sword.

Even if they want revenge, they must reach the level of their master in swordsmanship and find a way to counter the Hundred Steps Flying Sword.

"Siege!"

At this moment, Meng Tian didn't care about any of that. He pushed a small cart behind him, and after the camouflage was lifted, it turned out to be a Hongyi cannon.

boom!

Without saying a word, he fired a shot directly at the city gate.

To the astonishment of the Goryeo soldiers, the city wall, which they had once considered 'indestructible,' was blasted open with a single cannon shot.

Moreover, the domineering white phosphorus bombs caused smoke and fire to fly everywhere, and many soldiers behind the city gates were caught in the crossfire.

"Golden Fire Cavalry, attack!"

Meng Tian directly led the Golden Fire Cavalry and Imperial Armored Cavalry in the attack.

Meanwhile, Xiao Feng directed the crossbow formation from the rear to cover Meng Tian's attack on the city.

After all, there were tens of thousands of Goryeo soldiers on the city wall, and they had everything they needed: rolling stones, arrows, tung oil, etc. Therefore, the crossbow formation could suppress the enemy and prevent them from showing their faces, thus helping Meng Tian to enter the city smoothly!

···

On the banks of the Yalu River.

At this time, the Later Jin dynasty was rushing to cross the river because Goryeo had transferred soldiers back to the capital for defense.

Once they cross the Yalu River, they can take advantage of the Imperial army's weakened state and seize the opportunity to defeat the enemy.

Or they could launch a sneak attack on the empire's armor from behind, and seize the empire's fruits for themselves.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Wang Li had just arrived at the banks of the Yalu River. Looking at the Jin soldiers crossing the river, he couldn't help but smile.

He did not launch an immediate attack; the Later Jin Empire had not even amassed half its forces.

You must know that he now commands an imperial army of 30,000. Even if the enemy has 50,000 Jin soldiers, Wang Li is confident that he can defeat them head-on.

Moreover, the enemy had just crossed the river and was in a state of chaos; a single attack could easily defeat them.

kill!

A quarter of an hour later, just as a batch of Jin soldiers arrived, Wang Li led his army to charge in.

The cavalry charged first, and even though there were only a few thousand of them, they still exerted a tremendous sense of pressure on the Jin soldiers.

And then another volley of arrows came from behind, with a range of 543 paces.

In an instant, even though some of the Jin soldiers had already formed their battle formations, they were mercilessly shot down or trampled under the hooves of the empire's crossbows and iron cavalry.

The Jin commander, seeing his troops being slaughtered on the opposite bank, was filled with rage and fury.

It should be noted that Wang Li was a promising young general of the empire, while the Jin army commander was merely an insignificant Jin general, no match for Wang Li.

After less than three rounds of fighting, he was killed by Wang Li, and the Jin soldiers were thrown into chaos.

An hour later, at least 30,000 Jin soldiers died in the empire's massacre.

The Jin commander-in-chief wanted to cross the river to provide support, but he knew that if he crossed the river without being prepared, he would be handing his lives to the enemy.

"asshole!"

Facing each other across the river, the murderous intent in the eyes of the advancing commander was enough to incinerate Wang Li.

But Wang Li smiled dismissively and set up camp on the opposite bank.

The small number of Goryeo troops left behind had already been ambushed and killed by the Jin army during a nighttime crossing of the river, so the empire didn't even need to lift a finger.

However, the Jin commander also left 30,000 troops here to set up camp and prevent the enemy from crossing the river and launching a surprise attack.

After all, the empire has now unified Goryeo, and will inevitably attack from both sides in the future, only to be at the mercy of their Great Jin.

The 30,000 troops here are more than enough to stop the enemy from crossing the river.

Chapter 662 A Plan to Cut Off the Source of the Gold Rush in Japan

"Three gold mines? Ten silver mines?"

"Zhao Gao, what is the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) doing? Such an important matter, and there wasn't a single clue beforehand, now it's all benefited the Zhang family!"

Looking at the message in his hand, Ying Zheng realized that the promise he had made to Zhang Xiaoshan had now become a knife stuck in his heart.

I was tricked again!

Unexpectedly, this tiny place has as many as three gold mines and ten silver mines.

Moreover, most of the gold and silver mines there are on the surface, so there's no need to dig deep; they can be mined directly.

In this way, one could earn at least a million gold coins or tens of millions of silver coins a year.

These are real, tangible benefits!

"Your Majesty, please forgive us. These matters were previously in the hands of the Shogun and the Emperor of Japan, and the influence of the Nara Net in the East China Sea..."

"Alright, don't try to make excuses for me. Incompetence is incompetence."

However, these things did not belong to the Empire to begin with. Besides, the Zhang family played an indispensable role in the Empire's great victory this time, and those who have made contributions should be rewarded. I am not a man of my word.

Although Zhang Xiaoshan tricked them, the empire also gained enormous benefits, completely gaining control of Japan and Goguryeo.

It's just a few gold and silver mines; they'll eventually flow into Kyushu.

Zhang Xiaoshan is not the kind of person who clings to gold and silver. Zhang Xiaoshan's golden touch is merit, not gold and silver.

No matter how much gold and silver you have, if you don't have strong power, in the end you'll only be working for others and sowing the seeds of future troubles.

Therefore, apart from the gold he kept hidden away in Ghost Street, Zhang Xiaoshan mostly used gold and silver to flow into the market, increase market prosperity, or hire laborers to build some infrastructure, thus accumulating a continuous stream of merit.

"Then, Your Majesty, the Zhang family?"

"Ignore them. The Zhang family's business and empire pose no threat. The biggest threat is the Zhang family's strength!"

"The slave knows!"

The Zhang family considers themselves businessmen, and needless to say, they have withdrawn from and re-entered the market several times, yet they remain a prominent force, making them arguably the biggest businessmen in the world.

In addition to the Zhang family controlling the absolute supply of goods, they also have an extremely wide range of distribution channels.

Otherwise, if you hold onto the goods, they'll rot even if they don't smell bad.

However, with Ghost Street under their control, even if the Zhang family retreated to the East China Sea, their goods could still be continuously distributed through Ghost Street.

Moreover, the Zhang family did not suffer any loss. Although it seemed that they left with nothing each time they withdrew, those who were given gifts by the Zhang family never forgot the kindness of the Zhang family.

When the Zhang family was in charge, everyone received high salaries;

After the Zhang family withdrew, everyone received shareholder dividends. It could be said that anyone who betrayed the Zhang family was dismissed at a shareholders' meeting without even having to pay compensation.

In this way, the Zhang family had disciples and former officials all over the world.

···

Job Advertisement:

In the fifth year of the Dragon Emperor's reign, the empire launched an eastern expedition, expanding its territory and incorporating the ancient Penglai into its domain...

The Zhang family has rendered service to the empire and has been granted more than a dozen gold and silver mines in Penglai. They are now recruiting young miners aged eighteen to thirty, with a standard wage of three taels of silver and three meals a day including meat. There is no limit to the number of miners!

Furthermore, in response to the imperial policy, all those who migrate to Penglai will receive a settlement allowance of ten taels of silver, a residence for ten years (after which a land deed can be obtained), and three mu of fertile land (distributed per capita).

Wow!

The entire land of Kyushu was visibly shaken by the Zhang family's recruitment notice.

How could such a small island like Japan possess more than a dozen gold and silver mines? And all of them benefited the Zhang family.

Even though everyone knew that there must have been a prior agreement between the Empire and the Zhang family, no one expected that the Zhang family would actually get such a huge windfall.

The gentry of Jiangnan, in particular, sent out hundreds of large Fujian ships, but in the end they gained nothing.

Compared to the Zhang family's gains, it was like heaven and earth.

Giving them a gold mine would ensure they would live a life of plenty for generations.

After all, business is risky, and you never know when your business might capsize, while gold and silver mines are a never-ending source of wealth.

Even if you earn 100,000 gold a year, in ten years that's a million, a million, a tens of millions...

At the same time, this also shocked countless people in Kyushu.

Gold Rush?

This is absolutely their dream job, especially with the Zhang family's incredibly generous compensation.

The reaction within the empire was even more intense.

I originally thought the Zhang family had only asked for a tiny piece of land, but good heavens, they have more than a dozen gold and silver mines. Can the Zhang family handle that?

In a short time, powerful families in Guanzhong submitted petitions one after another, wanting to take back the Zhang family's privileges in Japan.

However, the Dragon Emperor only had one sentence to this:

A ruler's word is his bond!

"Since the promise I made is a gift recognized by the Empire, whoever can take it back from the Zhang family will own the gold mine!"

One sentence completely blocked everyone's path.

Going against the Zhang family? Even the Luo Wang (a powerful online organization) wouldn't dare, let alone them.

As for the Meng family? The Wang family? The Luo Wang (Net of Heaven)?

As the empire's most powerful military family and its most dangerous member, how could Zhang Xiaoshan not have made proper arrangements?