Chapter 143 Siege (two in one)
Cultivation is not everything in this world, but it can represent a person's status.
A grand master of the third rank may not be considered a big deal in a place like the Imperial Capital, but in a small frontier town like this, it is enough to be called a distinguished guest among distinguished guests.
It is precisely because of this that, thanks to Ran Qingmo, Xu Yuan easily made an appointment to meet the highest military and political officer in Shengshan County.
Under the night,
A young general in his twenties led a pair of young men and women towards the inner hall of the county government without saying a word:
"Young Master Zhou, this way please, General Wang is waiting for you inside."
Xu Yuan walked all the way, looking at everything in the county office.
This is not so much a yamen for officials and masters, but a military camp. Everyone in the yamen is wearing the standard military uniform of the Great Yan Frontier Army.
The only other clothing I saw was probably the tax department.
But looking at the thick calluses on the hands of those officials of the Taxation Department, it is obvious that a group of frontier soldiers have covered the skin of the Taxation Department.
The entire Shengshan County is a frontier city completely controlled by the frontier army.
However, even if they hold the military and political power in one place, the life of these frontier soldiers does not seem to be very easy. There is no trace of formations in the entire county government, not even the most basic Mingwen lamps, all relying on firelight illumination.
If you take modern society as a metaphor, it is probably equivalent to a government agency and military compound in a place that is poor enough to use kerosene lamps for lighting.
It can be said that poverty is extreme.
And these basic necessities of life are still secondary, the key is that the sabers of these frontier soldiers are basically ordinary iron.
The reason why the Dayan Dynasty is so rich in martial arts is because Dayan's army is full of cultivators and apprentices.
There are almost no mortals in the regular army except for some civilian jobs.
It's a very simple reason, a mortal army can barely rely on numbers to win against a low-level monk like Xu Yuan, but once it meets a master and strong man like Ran Qingmo, it only needs a powerful sword move, and the rest Just watch the mortal armies flee.
The cultivator army is completely different.
Because practitioners can form formations.
According to the evaluation given by the sage Remnant Soul, the most important change from Zongmen Tianxia to Dynasty Tianxia is not only the change of heaven, earth and source of qi, but also because of the study of things like military formations.
Xu Yuan has never seen a large-scale military formation, but according to the internal counselor of the Xiangguo Mansion, the large-scale military formation seems to be very powerful.
The third-rank grand master is basically taken in seconds in front of the tens of thousands of troops.
Of course, third-rank powerhouses would not be so stupid as to go head-on.
There are two battalions here in Shengshan County, which can also be said to be a town. When it is full, there are about 10,000 people. However, judging from the state of Shengshan County, it is definitely impossible to be fully staffed.
Xu Yuan doesn't know exactly how many people there are now, but he knows that at least two-thirds of these frontier soldiers are armed with ordinary iron weapons.
Cultivators use mortal weapons.
Ordinary iron weapons can indeed kill people, but their combat power must be reduced by at least half.
Because pig iron weapons cannot carry Yuan Qi.
The weapons used by the big muscle fighters in the Jingjiang Xu Mansion Wuxuan Academy are more or less mixed with some "black iron" and "iron essence" to ensure the strength of the weapons. Now it seems that the imperial court really has no money.
The young general leading the way ahead seems to have noticed Xu Yuan's gaze:
"Young Master Zhou is laughing. Most of the silver allocated by our Shengshan County court every year is used by General Wang to repair the city walls and the formations of the city. To deal with those beasts, pig iron weapons are barely enough."
As he spoke, General Tun pointed to the saber on his waist.
Xu Yuan glanced at the blade and smiled slightly:
"The blade is rough and thick, simple and rough, but it is still a solution. However, after you pass the commercial road in Shengshan County, the situation will be better after next year."
The young general grinned:
"General Wang also said the same. If there are no accidents, our Shengshan Army will be able to replace a batch of equipment next year. This is all thanks to Miss Xu's formation."
When talking about Xu Xinyao, there was a look of yearning in the young general's eyes, but he restrained himself immediately.
Several people walked all the way to a gate where there were two sergeants who were on duty at the gate and stood still. The young general clasped his fists at Xu Yuan:
"Young Master Zhou, General Wang is inside."
“.”
Xu Yuan heard the words and glanced at the yard in front of him, and felt a rare fluctuation in the formation.
The sound-proof array and the soul-avoiding array to prevent others from probing, it is estimated that this should be regarded as the most important place in the county government.
"Open the door."
The young general commanded the two sergeants on duty, and the sergeants quickly opened the door for the three of them.
The entrance of the courtyard is an open space that looks like a martial arts platform, surrounded by burning bonfires to illuminate the entire martial arts platform, a wide avenue extends inward, and the innermost end of the courtyard is a lobby, where a group of people seem to be discussing wearing something.
Xu Yuan could clearly see that those people were all in uniform, but compared to the ordinary soldiers he saw just now, the group of people in the lobby should obviously be generals.
Young Tun will explain in a low voice:
"General Wang should be discussing military affairs and political affairs with Mr. Liu and the others. Mr. Zhou, please go to the side room with me and wait for a while."
Xu Yuan was not in a hurry, and nodded.
Led Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo to the side room, and the young general left to report.
After General Tun left, the house fell into silence for a while,
Xu Yuan glanced at Ran Qingmo, who had been silent all this time, and laughed softly:
"Why do you feel a little uneasy?"
Ran Qingmo took off the curtain fence and laid it flat on his lap. After thinking for a while, he said in a low voice:
"The source qi fluctuates a lot after the array is activated here, and Tian Yan may follow this source qi to find it."
Xu Yuan smiled slightly when he heard this:
"We have been lost in the Wanxing Mountains for more than a month, and we don't know the final destination. If she can follow her to find her, then I will accept my fate."
paused,
Xu Yuan sighed, and glanced at the fog on the sky outside:
"Besides, the top priority now is not Tianyan's affairs, but I hope that prodigal girl will not let me wipe her **** off for her behavior."
"Prodigal girl?" Ran Qingmo tilted her head.
"Xu Xinyao."
Xu Yuan said with a smile: "My dear silly sister seems to be used by the Wanxiang sect."
"oh"
Ran Qingmo seemed to understand, hesitated a little, and asked: "Xu Yuan, why don't we run away?"
Xu Yuan’s words seemed very helpless:
"If you can run, you will naturally run. The key is that if the formation cannot be broken, we will not be able to get out."
Ran Qingmo looked at Xu Yuan with a serious voice:
"Your teleportation sword skill should be able to break through the formation."
"I went out, what should you do?" Xu Yuan asked back.
“.”
Ran Qingmo pursed her red lips, but did not speak.
In the silence, the door of the side room was gently knocked from outside.
"Tuk Tuk Tuk—"
The sound of knocking on the door was calm and powerful.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan knew that the rightful owner he wanted to see was coming, so he immediately got up and said:
"Come in."
"Squeak—"
Accompanied by the harsh creaking sound of the wooden door, a burly middle-aged man in military uniform appeared at the door, glanced around the room like a falcon, stepped into the room and clasped his fists:
"Zhou Chen, Mr. Zhou?"
"It's Zhou, who met Captain Wang." Xu Yuan also cupped his fists and saluted.
"The situation is urgent, so I'm going to be rude and rude." The middle-aged man in military uniform acted neatly, and the two of them sat down without any nonsense, and asked neatly, "Why does Mr. Zhou want the old man?"
Xu Yuan heard the words and asked directly:
"Senior sister and I want to make an excuse to get out of the battle. I wonder if it is convenient for Captain Wang?"
Xu Yuan asked in a low voice: "Have any difficulties?"
Xiaowei Wang didn’t mean to be around the corner:
"Young Master Zhou, this may not be possible for the time being."
Xu Yuan looked at the burly man, and tentatively said:
"Lieutenant Wang, if you are worried that monsters will disrupt your arrangement, my senior sister and I will deal with the monsters along the way, and I will compensate Shengshan County with ten thousand taels of silver."
Captain Wang shook his head, his voice was low: "That's not the problem."
Xu Yuan's heart sank slightly when he saw this.
Arrays are not immutable, and it is not difficult to achieve a path on the psychedelic array at the technical level.
After carefully choosing his words, Xu Yuan finally chose to ask directly:
"But there is something wrong with the psychedelic array?"
General Wang's eyes froze suddenly, but he didn't hide it immediately:
"Yes."
"Not controlled by your Shengshan frontier army?"
“.”
General Wang immediately frowned, with a look of scrutiny in his eyes, and just whispered:
"Young Master Zhou, this is a matter for our Shengshan Frontier Army. You are a guest."
Xu Yuan shook his head, and took out a Tingfenglou Token from his bosom:
"Captain Wang, have you ever heard of me listening to Fenglou?"
"Are you information dealers?"
"." Xu Yuan.
General Wang's eyes flickered, he glanced at Ran Qingmo, his attitude slowed down obviously, and asked:
"Sorry, Mr. Wang speaks more straightforwardly, Mr. Zhou, are you not from the sect?"
Xu Yuan smiled slightly: "Of course not."
Dayan's frontier army has always maintained great hostility towards the people of the sect, especially in the hardest hit areas like Shengshan County, which are attacked by monsters every year.
paused,
Xu Yuan asked: "General Wang, was what I just said right?"
General Wang pondered slightly, and said in a low voice:
"My Shengshan army can still handle the current situation for the time being."
Xu Yuan sighed and said in a low voice:
"Lieutenant Wang, there is some news about the Wanxiang sect that I think you might be interested in."
Captain Wang raised his eyebrows, and tapped the table with his callused index finger:
"Oh? Mr. Zhou is planning to sell news to my Shengshan frontier army?"
"It's not a sale, it's a gift."
"Do you still do charity in Tingfenglou?"
"Maybe."
Xu Yuan looked at the other party calmly and did not speak.
Sometimes silence is more convincing than explanation.
There is a moment of silence in the room,
Captain Wang narrowed his eyes, and finally sighed:
"Then Wang will listen attentively."
"The Wanxiang Sect wants to create ghost fog in Shengshan County."
"." General Wang.
Looking at the astonishment and doubt in Wang Xiaowei's eyes, Xu Yuan said in a steady voice:
"It seems that Captain Wang, you don't know that ghost fog can be raised?"
“.”
Captain Wang remained silent, but frowned tightly.
Xu Yuan stared at the other party for a few breaths, and he had a general understanding in his heart.
It may be a matter of course for him, the third son of the Xiangguo Mansion, that Ghost Mist can be kept, but it is unheard of and terrifying information for Captain Wang.
The technique of raising demons and ghosts is basically equivalent to a country's highest level of technical secrets.
Xu Yuan leaned gently on the back of the chair:
"The following news is still given by me for free, but please keep it a secret from Captain Wang."
"Today's Dao Dao has developed to the point where it can control and limit ghost fog. Many sects in the world are actually raising ghosts secretly. Big forces such as Tianyuan Sword Sect and Tian'an Chamber of Commerce have more than one ghost fog. The 'Soul Pill' is refined by the 'ghost farms' of these sects or chambers of commerce."
Lieutenant Wang listened carefully, took a deep breath, and said:
"I can trust Mr. Zhou's words about raising demons and ghosts, but Mr. Zhou has evidence for what the Wanxiang sect wants to create a ghost fog in our Shengshan County?"
"There is no evidence." Xu Yuan shook his head very bachelor.
When Xiaowei Wang heard this, he seemed to be relieved, and let out a long breath:
"To be honest, Mr. Zhou, I have never had any good feelings for people in the sect, but now there are 400,000 people gathered in Shengshan County, and the Wanxiang Sect doesn't have the guts."
"Why not?"
"For 400,000 people, as long as some of them escape, if this matter is revealed, the Wanxiang sect will be accused by Wanfu, and no one can protect him."
"Captain Wang, you are right."
Xu Yuan glanced at the burly middle-aged man in front of him, and said softly, "But don't let people escape?"
"400,000 people, 400,000 pairs of eyes"
"But now 400,000 people are trapped in this phantom fog formation, well, there may be tens of thousands of monsters outside."
"." Captain Wang.
"Tuk Tuk."
Xu Yuan tapped the table lightly, and said in a low voice:
"I would like to add another piece of news to Wang Xiaowei. In the past five years, the number of small frontier fortress towns that were breached by monsters in the Wanxing Mountains in our Dayan Dynasty cannot be counted on both hands. Zong just happened to find that this place is suitable for building ghost fog."
"But you still have no real evidence." Captain Wang seemed unwilling to believe this horrific information.
Xu Yuan can probably understand Wang Xiaowei's thoughts.
Four hundred thousand people.
If there is evidence of such inhumane incidents, the imperial court will absolutely destroy the sect.
Even if they don’t care about the tragic death of the people in Shengshan County, they will forcefully destroy the Wanxiang Sect in order to make an example to the monkeys.
But in other words,
If what he said is true, Wanxiang Sect must be fully prepared, the most thorough preparations to implement the plan to massacre the city.
Under this kind of mental calculation and inadvertent, today's Shengshan County is hardly immune to death.
This kind of information is suddenly placed in front of people, and no one can accept it immediately.
Sighed, Xu Yuan looked at Captain Wang and said in a low voice:
"If you don't believe it, it's actually very simple to verify. Captain Wang only needs to verify a few things."
Captain Wang clenched his fists slightly, looking at the handsome young man in front of him:
"what?"
Xu Yuan whispered:
"The control of the phantom mist formation and the number of monsters around Shengshan County are much higher than in previous years. In addition, you can also check the other protection formations on the city wall."
Speaking of which,
Xu Yuan paused, then whispered;
"Of course, and the most important point, Lieutenant Wang, you'd better go see if the communication wafer in the county office is still working."
"If not. Hehe."
(end of this chapter)