The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 219 The Secret of Wuya Mountain

Shen Tingzhi led a group of people down the mountain and met up with Liu Hu.

When everyone saw Liu Hu's miserable appearance, their hearts felt as if they were stabbed by a knife.

Although I had heard Yu Sheng talk about Liu Hu's current situation before meeting him, there is still a big difference between hearing about it and seeing it with my own eyes.

How could the Liu Hu in front of him look as strong, capable and energetic as before?

He was so thin that he was almost just a bag of bones, and his eyes were dry and lifeless. If no one present knew that he was Liu Hu, no one would have recognized him.

Wang Zongyuan was the first one who couldn't hold it anymore. After all, he had watched Liu Hu grow up since he was a child. In a sense, he was Liu Hu's mentor.

This man, who had not shed a tear even when his abdomen was stabbed by the enemy on the battlefield, was now crying loudly while hugging Liu Hu, not caring about his image at all.

"These bastards are so shameless and heartless. How could they do such a thing? They are worse than animals!"

Wang Zongyuan howled and cursed at the same time. He felt that he was too kind and had been too gentle with Lou Qing just now.

Although Shen Tingzhi didn't cry, he felt no less upset than Wang Zongyuan.

In his impression, Liu Hu was a young man with great strength and who was quick and efficient in his work. For a moment, he really couldn't regard the man in front of him as the same person as the Liu Hu in his impression.

Although Shen Tingzhi felt uncomfortable, he still admired Liu Hu very much.

If it were someone else, Liu Hu would have died from the torture he endured today, but he managed to hold on.

From this we can see that Liu Hu is also a real man who stands tall and upright.

"Okay, stop crying. There are more important things to do now."

Shen Tingzhi pulled Wang Zongyuan over. If he let Wang Zongyuan continue howling like this, it would probably be dark by then.

After pulling Wang Zongyuan over, Shen Tingzhi looked at Yu Sheng and called out, "Yu Sheng."

Yu Sheng immediately understood and went forward to check Liu Hu's injuries.

As the captain of Shen Tingzhi's secret guard, Yu Sheng not only has superb martial arts skills to protect Shen Tingzhi, but he also has to master various sources of intelligence so that he can help Shen Tingzhi make correct decisions.

Most importantly, he is also a doctor who is proficient in medical skills and is simply an omnipotent person.

As a secret guard, it is inevitable that you will get injured when going out on missions or protecting your master.

If you are injured and cannot receive timely treatment, you may suffer fatal injuries, which will affect your mission as a secret guard.

So through his daily experiences, Yu Sheng slowly trained himself to become a doctor, and his medical skills were no less than any experienced doctor who had been practicing medicine for many years.

After Yu Sheng carefully examined Liu Hu, she returned to Shen Tingzhi and said, "Although his leg has missed the best time for treatment, it can still be treated."

"But the treatment process will be very painful, and that kind of pain is not something that ordinary people can endure."

"After his leg is healed, although he may not be as strong and free as before, he will still have no problem walking and living normally."

Shen Tingzhi stared at Liu Hu and asked, "What do you think? Do you want treatment?"

"Second Young Master, I am not afraid of pain. I can endure any pain and am willing to accept treatment."

Liu Hu, who hadn't reacted much when Wang Zongyuan hugged him and cried just now, was moved and his eyes turned red when he heard that his legs could still be healed.

As a fierce general on the battlefield, Liu Hu's skills and abilities are naturally beyond doubt.

When his legs were broken, he felt discouraged when he thought that he might become a cripple from then on. He thought about ending it all and dying happily.

He was able to hold on and still be alive only because of his belief that he must not let these evil people succeed.

If he really became a cripple and couldn't even take care of himself without anyone's help, it would be more painful for him than killing him.

Now that he knew that he didn't have to be a cripple and that he wouldn't have to rely on anyone for the rest of his life and could take care of himself, how could he not cry for joy?

"Second Master, Liu Hu deserves death. He has failed the Marquis's years of instruction and is too ashamed to live in this world."

"You can't be blamed for this. If you have anyone to blame, you can only blame your stubborn, stubborn father."

"That old man is ignorant and can't tell good from bad. Not only did he take the wrong path and do the wrong things himself, he also wants his son to follow in his footsteps and continue his mistakes."

"What a complete fool! If he were still alive, I would curse him to death today!"

No one else except Wang Zongyuan would curse someone's dead father in front of his son.

Shen Tingzhi glanced at Wang Zongyuan and cursed in his heart: "Old fox!"

Others didn't know what Wang Zongyuan meant by this action, but Shen Tingzhi knew it clearly.

He did this to offend Liu Hu, fearing that he would punish Liu Hu, so he put all the blame on the dead Liu Cheng in advance.

This way, even if you are angry, you can't bother with a dead person.

"Alright, stop acting. I won't hold you accountable for what happened in the past."

As soon as Shen Tingzhi said this, Wang Zongyuan grinned, and he felt relieved immediately.

Since Shen Tingzhi said so, it means that no matter what happened in the past, Shen Tingzhi will not ask Liu Hu about his crime again.

"Liu Hu thanks the Second Young Master." Liu Hu was so guilty that he couldn't even raise his head.

When his father Liu Cheng asked him to leave Ganzhou and come here to help Shen Pingzhi, he was reluctant, but he had no choice but to disobey his father's orders.

But even though he has been here for all these years, his heart is still in Ganzhou. He dare not forget that he comes from the Shen family army and dare not forget the teachings of Zhenbei Hou.

On weekdays, he is only responsible for training these soldiers. He himself does not do anything illegal, nor does he allow his soldiers to do so.

"Second Young Master, let's talk about the Wuya Mountain."

Liu Hu wiped his tears, adjusted his state, and began to speak: "This Wuya Mountain was originally the secret training base of Shen Pingzhi's father when he was still a soldier in the army."

"After I came here, I was responsible for training the new recruits. Life here was originally quite peaceful."

"But ever since Shen Pingzhi colluded with the current Pingzhou governor Yin Qihui, the peace here has been disrupted."

"It is no longer a simple training base for new recruits, but has become a venue for many illegal activities."

"I usually control the soldiers under my command and never allow them to do evil and get involved in those things."

"My actions caused Yin Qihui's dissatisfaction, so he secretly placed a lot of his people here."

"Half a year ago, Yin Qihui's brother-in-law, Lou Qing, suddenly brought a group of people here, saying that he was following the orders of Yin Qihui and Shen Pingzhi."

"We must take all these soldiers out to Fuping in Pingzhou to mine the newly discovered iron ore there."

"Of course I refused, so I refused on the grounds that I had not received Shen Pingzhi's handwritten letter."

"Who would have thought that Lou Qing had such evil intentions? He bribed the people around me, drugged me, knocked me unconscious, locked me in a dungeon, and then broke my legs."

"Then they took most of the soldiers out to mine iron ore."

Shen Tingzhi narrowed his eyes. Iron ore? How big of an iron ore was it that required the use of the military?

Because there was once an incident where a vassal king secretly mined iron ore with the intention of rebelling, from that time on, the rulers of Yunli Kingdom had extremely strict control over iron tools.

No matter whether they are from aristocratic families, royal relatives or ordinary people, the number of ironwares that can be owned in the home is regulated and limited.

Once any violation is discovered, the offender will be subject to severe punishment.

Who is the backer behind Yin Qihui that gives him the courage to use the power of the army to mine iron ore so confidently?

What was the purpose of these people mining the iron ore? Was it for the huge fortune, or was there some ulterior motive?

Or what is even more terrifying is that he is colluding with foreign enemies and wants to overthrow Yunli in one fell swoop?

Shen Tingzhi suppressed his anger and asked, "Do you know if the former Pingzhou governor, Yuan Qing, is still alive?"

Liu Hu shook his head and said, "I don't know whether Master Yuan Qing is still alive, but Lou Qing and his men were responsible for Master Yuan's disappearance."

"Master Yuan disappeared on his way to Wuya Mountain with his men to investigate the illegal activities committed by Lou Qing and his men."

"But I think the main reason for Mr. Yuan's disappearance is because of the iron mines in Fuping. Those people want to mine the iron mines, and Mr. Yuan is their obstacle. If they don't get rid of him, they won't be able to mine the iron mines."

"Lord Yuan was a rare good official. It would be a pity if he met his end."

Shen Tingzhi glanced at Lou Qing, who had fainted on the ground, and ordered, "No matter what method you use, pry open his mouth and make him say everything he needs to say word for word."

"Leave this matter to me. I promise to make this old fellow spill everything he knows."

Wang Zongyuan's eyes lit up and he began to get excited. When he was in Ganzhou, he had interrogated enemy prisoners many times before, so he was very experienced in this kind of thing.

Shen Tingzhi glanced at Wang Zongyuan and said, "Don't kill him. I still need to take him back to Beijing to accuse the people behind him."

"Do you know that Old Wang is such a tactless person?" Wang Zongyuan looked back at Shen Tingzhi with dissatisfaction. In this boy's mind, he was just a reckless man who knew nothing.

"Although my old man is a rough man, he still knows the importance of things."

"We promise to make this old guy say everything he should and shouldn't say, and still live well."

Shen Tingzhi turned his face away, unwilling to look at Wang Zongyuan again.

"Yusheng, who is in charge of the garrison closest to here?"

"The troops stationed here are all quite far away. One is from General Bai Qishan's army, and their commander is Tong Tai. Another is from General Yan Mingde's army, and their commander is He Chao. The remaining one is not one of ours, but belongs to the Chu family army, and their commander is Ma Dapao."

After Shen Tingzhi pondered for a moment, he took out a jade pendant from his body, threw it to Yu Sheng, and instructed: "Take this jade pendant to Generals Tong and He and ask them to gather their troops and rush here as quickly as possible."

"As for the Chu family army, block the road leading to them and don't let any news leak out to alert them."

"Also, in the name of suppressing bandits, all roads in and out of Pingzhou have been temporarily blocked. No news from here can be leaked out."

"Second Master, this time I'll lead you guys on a big mission and poke a hole in the sky of Pingzhou."

Shen Tingzhi's words made these people's eyes light up. Since leaving Ganzhou, they have been away from the battlefield and rarely have the opportunity to have a good fight again.

Now that they have this opportunity, how can they not be excited?

Among these people, Wang Zongyuan is the most excited and active one.

He couldn't wait to pick up Lou Qing from the ground and leave. After dealing with this old guy, he could go to the battle.

Shen Tingzhi stopped Yu Sheng and said, "Tell the Queen what's happening here as quickly as possible. Ask her to gather the remaining people in the Xishan camp and take precautions in advance."

What Shen Tingzhi is most worried about now is Shen Tianjiao and his two nephews.

Judging from the current situation, the person behind Yin Qihui has a great background. He is either the most powerful aristocratic family in Shangjing City, a royal relative, or even a vassal king with his own army.

Although he had ordered the roads in and out of Pingzhou to be blocked and tried his best to prevent the news from leaking out, nothing was foolproof.

It's better to be safe than sorry. If the news here leaks out, even a desperate dog will jump over the wall, let alone a human.

Only when he is fully prepared can he show his skills here without any worries.

"Yes, I'll send someone back to report the news." When Yu Sheng turned around and was about to leave, Shen Tingzhi stopped her, "No, this matter is serious. You must go back to the capital and report to the Queen in person."

Since it concerns Shen Tianjiao's safety, Shen Tingzhi dare not relax at all. Yu Sheng already fully understands what happened here, so it is most appropriate for him to talk to Shen Tianjiao about this matter.

"Understood. I'll leave right away."

Yu Sheng would obey any order given by Shen Tingzhi without any objection.

After Yu Sheng left, Shen Tingzhi turned around and looked at Liu Hu, asking, "How confident are you that those captured soldiers will obey you?"

No matter who those soldiers were loyal to before, they were still Yun Li's soldiers. If possible, Shen Tingzhi still hoped to reduce casualties, prevent large-scale conflicts as much as possible, and resolve this dispute peacefully.