“The brutes of Yun Province dare to rebel?” The Silver Gong’s eyebrows immediately raised as he barked, “What’s the situation outside the city now?”

The soldier had ridden hard to get here, his lips cracked and purple from the cold wind, his mouth dry. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse and unpleasant: “The South Gate has been closed…”

“Don’t rush, catch your breath first!”

Xu Qi An came downstairs upon hearing the commotion and poured a cup of cold water for the soldier.

The soldier quickly took it and gulped it down. Feeling his throat much better, he looked gratefully at Xu Qi An and spoke rapidly:

“The Garrison Command has gathered three thousand troops just outside the South Gate. The Garrison Commander Xu Hu Chen declared that if the Prefect doesn’t release the Commander-in-Chief and give them an explanation within half an hour, they’ll enter the city!”

Military remonstrance!

This term was the first to flash through Xu Qi An’s mind, well-versed in history as he was. Military remonstrance refers to using military force to persuade a ruler or superior to comply.

In simple terms, it means using fists to force you to submit.

The difference between military remonstrance and a coup lies in their objectives, but the actions are the same. The two instances of military remonstrance that left the deepest impression on Xu Qi An were the death of Yang Yuhuan at Mawei Slope, and the Young Marshal pulling out his small pistol and firing at Chiang Kai-shek.

Both of these military remonstrances were successful, one changing the future of the Great Tang, the other changing the future of China.

However, military remonstrance is a desperate measure. Unless necessary, no one would use it.

“Outrageous!”

The Silver Gongs who had come to investigate the situation were furious upon hearing the details.

This kind of thing would never happen in the capital. Hearing the news for the first time, their surprise and anger were beyond words.

“The Prefect has gone to the Commander-in-Chief’s office. He can’t possibly get to the South Gate within half an hour,” one Silver Gong said gravely, his hand on his sword hilt. “How many men does the city defense force have at the South Gate?”

“Less than a thousand,” the soldier replied.

This might not be enough to hold…

“How about this: a few of us lead the Tiger Warrior Guards to the South Gate. If those brutes dare to rebel, we’ll cut them down. We should be able to hold out until the Prefect and reinforcements arrive,” one Silver Gong suggested.

Several of the more belligerent Constables immediately became eager to try.

The Tiger Warrior Guards were already battle-hardened soldiers. Add to that the Constables with their Qi Refining realm cultivation at minimum, and working together with the city defense force, while not foolproof, it shouldn’t be difficult to hold out for a while.

“What about Yang Chuan Nan? He’s a criminal of the imperial court, we can’t just abandon him,” Xu Qi An reminded these hot-headed Constables.

“We’ll take him with us,” said a Bronze Gong.

“You think the Garrison troops won’t fight us to the death on the spot?” Xu Qi An raised an eyebrow.

“They’re at the city gates. Isn’t that their purpose?” That Bronze Gong snorted coldly. “They think they can make the Prefect and us submit through force? Let’s show these Yun Province brutes what Constables are made of.”

This was what angered the Constables the most.

They were always the ones supervising officials and punishing corrupt ones. When had anyone ever dared to bully them on their turf? And now they were threatening to enter the city if the Prefect didn’t come out to meet them within half an hour.

This was completely disregarding the Constables, trampling their face underfoot.

Scholars might endure it, but martial artists couldn’t.

Diviners might endure it, but martial artists still couldn’t.

Damn them all.

Seeing the situation wasn’t good, Xu Qi An quickly knocked on the table and said in a deep voice, “Everyone, calm down. Violence won’t solve this problem.”

The Silver Gong who had first received the soldier had the most volatile temper. He looked at Xu Qi An and cursed, “I can’t stand for this anyway. With Gold Gong Jiang not here, we Silver Gongs are in charge. Brothers, let’s go, and bring Yang Chuan Nan with us.”

Li Miao Zhen stood to the side, coldly observing.

Bang!

Amidst the loud sound of a table being slammed, Xu Qi An stood up.

The group of Constables who were about to leave the inn turned back in surprise.

Xu Qi An pointed at the nose of that Silver Gong and cursed loudly, “I don’t care if you’re a Silver Gong or not, don’t fucking try to pull rank on me. Can you? Go ask that Zhu fellow if he can!”

“You’ve escalated the conflict. What do you expect the Prefect to do? Kill all three thousand soldiers of the Garrison Command? And even if you step back, what if you can’t hold? If the fighting spills over into the city and affects innocent civilians, will you take responsibility? Can you bear that responsibility?”

That Silver Gong stuck out his neck, puffing up his mustache and glaring, “Xu Qi An, you fucking think you can take responsibility?”

“At least my shoulders can bear more than yours!” Xu Qi An shouted.

For a moment, no one could refute him.

A Bronze Gong’s wild words had silenced a room full of Constables… The ghost girl Su Su looked at this scene in astonishment, finding it hard to understand.

“All of you stay here and guard Yang Chuan Nan. He’s an important criminal of the imperial court, we can’t allow any mishaps. Leave the troops outside the city to me to delay,” Xu Qi An, seeing no one continue to argue, stated his plan.

“You?” Everyone looked skeptical.

Xu Qi An pinched the bridge of his nose and explained his thoughts clearly: “The Garrison troops are at the city gates. Their goal isn’t to attack the city but to demand the Prefect release Yang Chuan Nan. This gives us room for negotiation.

“If you all rush over there in a hurry, bringing Yang Chuan Nan with you, it’s tantamount to provocation. It will only escalate the conflict, leaving both sides with no way out.

“Of course, I alone certainly can’t persuade the Garrison soldiers, but General Li can.”

Xu Qi An pushed Li Miao Zhen forward, smiling, “I’m sure General Li also doesn’t want things to get so tense that Yang Chuan Nan has no way out.”

As for letting Yang Chuan Nan go himself, Xu Qi An hadn’t considered it. Firstly, Yang might not cooperate. Secondly, what if he was rescued right away?

Li Miao Zhen seemed to have been waiting for this outcome. She slowly exhaled, no longer coldly observing, and nodded, “This general will do her best to hold out until the Prefect arrives.”

…

Li Miao Zhen and Xu Qi An took two fast horses and headed towards the South Gate. The paper doll Su Su hugged Li Miao Zhen’s slender waist, sitting behind her.

“You’re quite capable for a little Bronze Gong!” Su Su turned her head, looking at Xu Qi An riding alongside them.

“It’s not that I’m capable, it’s mainly…” Xu Qi An coughed, using a tone as if revealing a secret: “Actually, Prefect Zhang and I are half-brothers from the same father.”

Su Su immediately grasped the key point: “Oh, you’re Prefect Zhang’s brother?”

“How else would I have such authority?”

“I see…” Su Su had a sudden realization, feeling as if she had learned a big secret.

Li Miao Zhen’s mouth twitched. She wanted to remind her maid that not a single punctuation mark of what Xu Qi An said could be trusted.

The reason he had such authority was because he had earned Wei Yuan’s trust and appreciation, holding an unusual status in the yamen.

But this information came from within the Heaven and Earth Society. What did Number Two’s intelligence have to do with Li Miao Zhen?

…

Arriving at the South Gate, after showing their waist tokens, the two climbed up to the top of the city wall. The Thousand households of the city defense force personally received them.

“Why hasn’t the Prefect come yet?”

The burly Thousand households, holding a military sword, with a square face and triangular eyes, looked towards the empty street, unable to hide his disappointment.

“The Prefect is investigating at the Commander-in-Chief’s office and can’t come over for now. The Cavalry General and I have come first to buy some time,” Xu Qi An explained.

Standing on the city wall, he looked down. Outside the city were two formations. The larger one was the Garrison Command’s troops, with cavalry in front, infantry behind, and artillery in the middle.

Banners fluttered in the wind. Three thousand troops looked up at the city wall, silent. An indescribable fierce aura hit them.

Xu Qi An was now at the half-step Spiritual Refinement realm, but facing this battle-hardened army directly, his instinct was still to avoid, not daring to confront them head-on.

One man could fight across three thousand li, one sword could match a hundred thousand troops… What kind of martial artist could achieve such a feat?

He thought with admiration.

“The troops of Yun Province are extremely fierce. They act on impulse and don’t fear death at all,” Li Miao Zhen held her silver spear, standing shoulder to shoulder with him as they looked down. “I rushed to the inn last night because I was afraid the Prefect might act too rashly and push things to an irreversible situation.”

Xu Qi An nodded. With banditry rampant in Yun Province, it would be strange if the soldiers here weren’t fierce. Soldiers who had been fighting for years were heavy with killing intent, usually only recognizing leaders who fought alongside them. It was difficult for outsiders to control them.

Unlike soldiers from peaceful areas who cherished their lives more.

“What about that small square formation over there? Which garrison’s troops are those?” Xu Qi An asked.

The troops at the city gates were from the Garrison Command of White Emperor City, also known as the Wei Si. The next level down was the Suo. The small square formation on the side looked to be about four or five hundred men. Xu Qi An guessed it was a county-level “Suo”.

Li Miao Zhen suddenly became a bit embarrassed: “Those are my Flying Swallow troops.”

Is Ning also a traitor? Xu Qi An’s eyes were full of distrust as he looked at her.

Li Miao Zhen explained, “I did consider using troops to exert pressure. It’s a bad habit I picked up from the Yun Province army.”

She shifted the blame to the Yun Province army.

“So what do we do now? Go out of the city?” Xu Qi An probed.

“Mm.” Li Miao Zhen nodded.

“Can I not go?”

“You represent the Prefect,” Li Miao Zhen glanced at him. “Garrison Commander Xu Hu Chen has a hot temper and is stubborn. Since you want to defuse the conflict, you’ll have to endure some.”

“Your influence isn’t enough?”

Li Miao Zhen scoffed, “If I don’t accompany you, he might just cut down a Bronze Gong like you.”

“Heh, soldiers don’t play by the rules.”

The city gate creaked open. The Thousand Households of the city defense force saw the two off, waving his hand: “Take care!”

Xu Qi An looked back from his horse: “Thousand Households, why don’t you come with us?”

The Thousand Households said: “It’s windy here, what did you say, sir? I couldn’t hear clearly… Oh, you said to close the city gate? Alright, I’ll die before I open the gate.”

The city gate slowly closed.

“…” Xu Qi An thought, damn it.

Li Miao Zhen didn’t head straight for the Garrison Command. Instead, she turned her horse towards her own Flying Swallow troops, called over dozens of riders for support, and only then approached the three thousand troops of the Garrison Command.

“In my Flying Swallow troops, the lowest cultivation is at the Qi Refining realm. There are 437 men in total. Squad leaders are at the peak of Qi Refining, platoon leaders at the Qi Condensation realm, and company commanders at the Bronze Skin Iron Bones realm.”

Li Miao Zhen’s voice was clear and pleasant, with a hint of pride as she introduced her private army to Xu Qi An.

Four at the sixth-grade realm, forty at the Qi Condensation realm… My goodness, this woman is too frightening!

Xu Qi An swallowed and said, “Such an army probably doesn’t exist elsewhere in Yun Province.”

Li Miao Zhen gave an “Mm” and said modestly, “They all came to Yun Province with me out of respect for me.”

How many faces do you have? Xu Qi An turned his head, looking at the high-ponytailed beauty soldier with her silver spear on horseback, and had to reassess her strength.

Xu Qi An’s immediate impression of her was as the Holy Maiden of the Celestial Sect, with Flying Swallow Heroine coming second. But now it seemed that the title of Flying Swallow Heroine should come first.

Li Miao Zhen’s network of relationships in the jianghu was perhaps deeper and more unfathomable than he had imagined.

Everyone in the Heaven and Earth Society is talented, I, as a little Bronze Gong, need to work harder… Well, let’s set a small goal first, to become Wei Yuan’s son…

“What’s Xu Hu Chen’s cultivation level?” Xu Qi An suddenly asked.

“Peak of Spiritual Refinement realm,” Li Miao Zhen answered.

“His cultivation isn’t that high,” Xu Qi An said in surprise.

“Wei Yuan is still an ordinary person, yet he’s the commander of the three armies,” Li Miao Zhen shook her head. “Warfare isn’t about brute force. High-grade martial artists can fight a hundred or a thousand, but they might not be able to lead an army of a thousand men.

“My limit is five hundred men. But Xu Hu Chen can lead an army of three to five thousand. In a confrontation on the battlefield, I would certainly lose.”

Violence is aesthetics, and war is art – two completely different concepts.

Li Miao Zhen stopped five zhang away from the Garrison Command troops and called out loudly, “Commander Xu, come over and talk.”

A rider came forward from the ranks. The leading general was eight chi tall, riding a mount larger than ordinary horses, and wielding a long spear.

Those who dared to use long spears were invariably brave and fierce generals.

Xu Hu Chen held his long spear, his gaze sharp. His dark green jaw had just been shaved. He nodded slightly to Li Miao Zhen:

“Is General Li also here to rescue the Commander-in-Chief with us?”

Li Miao Zhen shook her head: “General Yang is perfectly fine. General Xu, you’re being too rash. Do you know the consequences of your actions?”

“At worst, it’s death.”

Xu Hu Chen was very straightforward. He grinned and said, “My life was saved by the Commander-in-Chief. If the imperial court wants to punish him, I’ll risk my life.”

Xu Qi An suddenly asked, “How did you come to know about this?”

Xu Hu Chen glanced sideways at Xu Qi An and sneered, “So it’s one of Wei the Eunuch’s claws.”

You can say I’m nothing, but insulting my father is going too far… Xu Qi An flicked his thumb, causing the black gold long sword at his waist to slide out half an inch. He said in a deep voice:

“Commander Xu, don’t challenge the imperial court’s authority. This official has come with sincerity. If you fail to appreciate it, just now, I could have already cut you down from your horse.”

Li Miao Zhen had said so much, but what she was conveying was one point: Don’t try to reason with soldiers.

The reasoning is for scholars. Soldiers only understand fists. If your fist is hard enough, you earn respect.

Xu Qi An’s idea was to demonstrate his martial prowess first, earn respect, and intimidate these fearless fellows. Then he could properly reason with them.

Xu Hu Chen treated Li Miaozhen with courtesy but directed cold sarcasm at him, demonstrating a complete lack of dignity. However, directly attacking someone was not an option; that would only escalate the conflict.

“Tat tat tat…”

He turned his horse’s head and silently rode to the other side. Xu Hu Chen, Li Miaozhen, and several dozen cavalry from the Flying Swallow Army all followed him with their eyes.

“Hmph! I want to see the governor. Does a mere bell-ringer think he’s worthy to speak with me?” Xu Hu Chen scoffed disdainfully. “A kid who hasn’t even grown a full beard thinks this is the capital, where everyone fears the bell-ringers?”

“General Li, what’s going on with the Commandant?” Li Miaozhen shook her head, merely gazing at Xu Qi An’s retreating figure.

Xu Hu Chen grew impatient. His naturally irritable and hot-tempered disposition made it difficult for him to accept being avoided by the governor, who had sent a mere bell-ringer to deal with him. His dissatisfaction simmered to the point where he almost felt the urge to kill the bell-ringer and demonstrate his power to the governor. He only restrained himself out of respect for General Li Miaozhen.

At that moment, the bell ringer stopped and turned to Xu Hu Chen, wearing a cold smile.

Then, he flicked his left thumb, pushing the blade of his sword out by half an inch. Gripping the hilt with his right hand, he gathered strength for a brief moment before—

“Clang!”

The sharp sound of the blade being drawn echoed through the air. To Xu Hu Chen and the thousands of soldiers present, it felt as if the very air distorted, as if something had sliced through it.

In the next moment, a dull thud resonated as the ground split open beneath Xu Qi An’s feet, stretching out for over ten zhang in front of the army.

The frontline cavalry began to stir; their horses appeared startled.

Xu Hu Chen’s eyes widened in disbelief. He… had genuinely been able to cut him down.

This battle-hardened general, fierce and formidable, felt a sliver of respect rising within him, acknowledging Xu Qi An’s sincerity.

Li Miaozhen stared at Xu Qi An in astonishment, her mind filled with questions.

From her perspective as a Holy Maiden of the Tianzong, the sharpness and speed of that strike were akin to lightning. Even a martial artist in the Copper Skin and Iron Bones realm, having just entered the Sixth Rank, would find it impossible to withstand their physical body.

Was this a feat achievable by someone at the Qi Refinement stage?

She then recalled what the First Lady had mentioned: Xu Qi An had once slain a Silver Bell, a master in the Spirit Refinement realm. Even then, he had been able to fight above his level, and now he stood at half a step into Spirit Refinement.

If a genius like him had not been invited to join the sect by Daoist Jinlian, who instead chose his cousin, how terrifying must that cousin be?

“Whoa.”

Behind her, the elites of the Flying Swallow Army gasped in awe.

“Tat tat tat…”

The small bell-ringer returned on his horse, forcing himself to stand straight despite his fatigue, and said coolly, “General Xu, I am Xu Qi An, representing the governor to discuss matters with you.”

“…” Xu Hu Chen replied in a deep voice, “Please, speak, my lord.”