Chapter 291

Ye Guhong and his party continued walking for several days, and had long since entered the Miao people’s sphere of influence.

When the local Miao generals learned of this, they quickly gathered more than 2,000 people and came to block them.

The Miao army was familiar with the terrain and easily cut off Ye Guhong’s path.

The leading Miao general was quite methodical, dividing the troops into two halves: half of them formed a line to block the road, while the other half spread out on both sides of the hills and forests.

When the Emei army arrived, Ye Kuhong saw from afar that the birds in the mountains on both sides were flying high and would not land. Frowning, he ordered his troops to halt from afar and galloped alone to the front of the Miao army.

The Miao army’s archers raised their bows at the same time. Ye Kuhong waved his hand and shouted, 鈥淒on’t shoot! We’re all family, don’t you want to keep the peace!鈥�

Upon hearing this, the Miao general looked Ye Guhong up and down, and said with a sneer, 鈥淏ullshit, who is your family? You are obviously a Han.鈥�

Ye Guhong tilted his head back and said proudly, 鈥淲hat do you know? I am a descendant of the Yang family of Jiazhou, and I am of the same lineage as the Yang family of Feishan. The head of the Miao army, Yang Zhengheng, is my uncle, and the second-in-command, Yang Tongguan, is my brother! I am now the commander of a thousand households in Chengdu Prefecture. Due to a matter of earth-shattering importance, the supreme commander of the country, Hailingdu, has specially ordered me to come here to provide support. If you don’t believe me, just look at my spear!”

With that, he picked up the Chiyou Buddha-belly spear and held it high.

This magical weapon is feared throughout Miaojiang, and the Buddha-belly bamboo is especially easy to recognise. There is no other in the world with a spear shaft like this.

The Hmong general recognized it at a glance and wondered to himself: This is indeed the Yang family’s magic spear. If this person is a fake, how did he get his hands on it?

The Hmong people had mostly heard of the saying that the Chiyou spear harms its owner, and Yang Zhengheng had used his 鈥渘ephew鈥� as a scapegoat, which was not very decent, so there had been no big fuss.

Therefore, seeing that the Chiyou Spear was in Ye Kuhong’s hands, the Miao general could not help but believe it. He ordered the crossbowmen to lower their crossbows and asked curiously, 鈥淚f we reason like this, General Yang is indeed a family member, but I wonder what major event has caused you to make a special trip here with your troops?鈥�

Ye Guhong made a face of anger and said indignantly, 鈥淚’ll tell you, so you won’t be shocked! The crown prince of King Weishun wants to kill my uncle, take over Miaojiang as a base, connect it to Huxiang, and rebel against the current emperor!鈥�

The Miao general was shocked to hear this, but he didn’t dare to believe it. He exclaimed, 鈥淚sn’t the King Weishun related to the emperor? How could the crown prince rebel? Are you trying to trick me?鈥�

Ye Guhong sighed and said, 鈥淲ho would dare spread rumors about such an important matter? Alas, if I were to tell you the whole story, it would turn out that the emperor had selfish motives in the first place…鈥�

He frowned, a worried look on his face, 鈥淏ut let’s talk about the Prince Weishun. He had guarded Wuchang for decades, occupying a prime location for nothing. The current emperor is not a generous man, and he had long wanted to seize it and give it to his favorite male lover, Hamal. This is well known to many people, and you can find out just by asking. If King Wai Shun were still alive, it would be fine, but now that he is dead, it will be difficult to preserve the kingdom. The two crown princes therefore bear a grudge and say to people in private, 鈥淲e are all descendants of Genghis Khan and bear the surname Bo’er Zi Jin. How can they not become emperors?鈥�

They also sighed, 鈥淚t’s also the emperor’s eating habits that look a bit embarrassing, but they forgot that King Wai Shun was from the same line as King Chun Nam. Now King Chun Nam, Borohua, is the cousin of the two brothers, sitting in Yangzhou, and there is King Xuan Rang, Temur, , who is his brother’s full uncle, sits in Luzhou, and together with the Weishun Wang’s own Wuchang, as long as Miaojiang is taken, the Zhenan Wang’s line will immediately occupy the entire Yangtze River, which is a natural fortress. With this as a base, they will be in a good position to compete with the current emperor for the world.

In fact, Ye Guhong didn’t know the origins and connections of the various princes in the imperial court. It was only recently that Liu Ji has been filling him in on the details. Now that he knows a little bit about the situation, he’s just making things up as he goes along.

That Miao general has spent his whole life in the Miao border region, so how much insight could he possibly have? Hearing Ye Guhong’s flowery speech about this prince and that prince, as well as the palace secrets and conspiracy responses, it’s like a country farmer meeting his brother in the imperial capital for the first time, his eyes just glued to the words.

It wasn’t until Ye Guhong had finished speaking that this fellow said indignantly, 鈥淪o that’s it. This dog of a crown prince, after being bullied by the emperor, is bullying us Miao people?鈥�

His face changed as he spoke, and he slapped his thigh, exclaiming, 鈥淥h no, why didn’t you say so earlier? Your uncle and brothers don’t know about this, and they’ve already joined forces with those guys to attack Wuxianling.鈥�

Ye Guhong knew full well why they were attacking Wuxianling, but pretended to be curious, asking, 鈥淲hy are those guys attacking Wuxianling?鈥�

The Miao general said honestly, 鈥淚t is said that King Weisun was harmed by the immortals of Wuxianling, so the two princes want to take revenge. Although the chief is reluctant, the Tartars are too powerful, and he dares not disobey him. He left me here to guard against the Yi army.鈥�

Ye Kuhong angrily said, 鈥淭he Tartars are bullying people too much! My uncle is a bit too weak! Hmph, the Wuxian Sect has always protected us Miao people. If not for the deterrence of the fairies, those Yi people would have already attacked. Besides, let’s all think about it: the fairies of the Wuxian Sect are all beautiful as flowers. Even if we really slaughter the Tartar prince, it was that guy who was rude in the first place. Hmph, our Miao women are not for him to ogle,鈥�

His words were full of inner strength, and his voice rumbled. The thousands of Miao soldiers heard him clearly, and they were all indignant at once: Yes, our Miao fairies, even the Tartars want to look at them, aren’t they bullying our Miao family?

They whispered to each other, gradually developing a common hatred of the enemy.

In fact, Ye Guhong had already guessed most of the intentions of Yang’s father and son鈥�

The one who killed King Weisun was Jie Mo, who single-handedly defeated the nine top experts of the royal court. There is only one nun in the world with such peerless martial arts skills, and that is the head of Emei Sect. Even if the Yang father and son didn’t know, the royal court experts who escaped would have known.

Therefore, the truth is that most likely the Yang father and son bribed the fleeing master and put the blame on the Wuxian Sect.

After all, the Yang father and son are now recognized as the leaders of the entire Miaojiang region thanks to the promotion of King Weisun, and they are no longer the chiefs of the Feishan tribe as they once were. With ambitions as great as theirs, how could they let the Wuxian Sect, which is in a superior position, remain?

Therefore, this move was a scheme by the Yang father and son to drive out the tiger and swallow the wolf.

Ye Kuhong understood in his heart, but deliberately sighed, 鈥淢y uncle also miscalculated. He thought that if he endured and backed down, would the Tartars be satisfied? The Tartars want to occupy Miaojiang and start a rebellion. How could they tolerate such a leader with so much prestige? If they really defeat the Wuxian Sect, I’m afraid they’ll take my uncle’s life! No, I have to save him!鈥�

He looked at the leading Miao general and said with a smile, 鈥淲e’ve been talking for a long time, but I still don’t know your name.鈥�

The Miao general said, 鈥淢y name is Wan Dashi.鈥�

Ye Kuhong praised, 鈥淲hat a name! Just by hearing it, I know that you are a brave and loyal hero! General, would you like to go with me to save my uncle? If he survives, I will persuade him to make you the second leader of the Miao people.鈥�

Wan Dashi was suddenly filled with joy: 鈥淕ood brother, you don’t need to promise me any benefits. For someone as loyal and brave as me, if I don’t get a reward, do I dare not fight? Let’s go, saving a life is like putting out a fire, there’s no time to lose!鈥�

Ye Kuhong looked at him as his eyes rolled around, and he couldn’t help but laugh. The second leader is second only to the first, and General Wan is most likely hoping that my cheap uncle doesn’t live a long life. The first leader is not more popular than the second leader!

At that moment, the two sides joined forces and marched as one, hurrying towards Wuxianling.

At noon on the third day, they arrived at the foot of Wuxianling and saw tens of thousands of troops surrounding and attacking Wuxianling.

Ye Guhong looked carefully and saw that the soldiers attacking Wuxianling were wearing either iron or leather armor, and were obviously the main army of the Tartars.

The Miao army, which was fighting under the banners of various Miao tribes, was fighting on the sidelines, and most of their soldiers and generals looked a little complicated.

Hundreds of Wuxian Sect followers, relying on the steep terrain, had managed to hold onto the first platform, but the situation was already quite critical.

Ye Guhong took off his spear and angrily said, 鈥淭he Tartars are so brazen as to attack the sacred land of Miaojiang. The Chief must have already been harmed by them. General Wan, let’s go avenge the Chief.鈥�

Wan Dashi immediately shouted, 鈥淏rothers, avenge the Chief!鈥�

After saying this, he fiercely whipped his horse, following Ye Guhong’s lead. The Emei and Miao armies followed closely behind, thousands of people twisting into an arrowhead and charging straight towards the Yuan army position.

In the Yuan army formation, the two princes commanded the attack on the mountain. Seeing that another Miao army had arrived, they didn’t take it seriously, thinking that it was just late. Unexpectedly, that army did not stop, but suddenly charged towards their formation. They were shocked and angry at the same time. They sent someone to summon Yang Zhengheng, while mobilizing the rear army to turn it into the front army, forming a formation to block it.

However, the Yuan army under their command was not the invincible army of the Kaiguo army. They suddenly changed formation, causing some chaos. Ye Guhong shouted, 鈥淩elease the arrows!鈥�

This was a battle plan that he had discussed with Wan Dashi on the way. Many Miao soldiers shot their bows and arrows diagonally into the sky while running, and the rain of arrows traced an arc, hanging and shooting into the Yuan army formation, instantly hitting dozens of people.

The Yuan army was in an uproar, and the formation became even slower. Ye Guhong, with more than a hundred cavalrymen from both armies, took advantage of the situation and charged in. With a sweeping motion of his magic spear, he used the move 鈥淏reaking Thousands Alone鈥�, sending more than ten Yuan soldiers flying out in unison. Then, with a move called 鈥淪tars Falling on the Plains鈥�, the spear came like a meteor shower, and another seven or eight Yuan soldiers were shot in the chest and abdomen, screaming and falling over. The already disorderly formation was suddenly torn open.

Among his fellow disciples, Zhu Chongba and a few others were left by him to command the infantry, while only Chang Yuchun, Xu Da, Hua Yun, Tang He, Fang Wen, and Fang Wu followed him into the fray.

Seeing Ye Guhong so valiant, they were all overcome with enthusiasm. Chang Yuchun yelled, his snake spear flailing about, slashing a bloody path diagonally, while Hua Yun, beside him, swung his broadsword, hacking and slashing, sending flesh and blood flying.

Xu Da and Tang He were wielding the two-meter steel guns of the 鈥淭win Swordsmen鈥� of Xiangyang from those days. The two guns danced like a dragon or a python, emitting a dragon’s roar amidst the blood and gore. However, these two iron guns had not tasted the blood of the Tartars for decades and were already starved for blood.

Fang Wen and Fang Wu followed last, each wielding a golden hammer. Their moves were not subtle, but the weapons gave them a big advantage. Whirling around, they killed and injured the ordinary Tartars, crushing countless heads under the hammers.

Although the Yuan army numbered 10,000 men, they had been attacking Wuxian Ridge for three days. On the first day, the two princes ordered the Miao army to attack. However, the Miao people both respected and feared the Wuxian Sect, and even though they were forced to go into battle, they did not put in any effort. Therefore, the two princes decided to attack the mountain with their own troops.

He divided the 10,000 men into ten teams, and except for the 2,000 fresh troops left behind, the remaining eight teams took turns attacking. They have been fighting since yesterday, each team attacking three or four times, with casualties of no less than 700 to 800 people, mostly from being bitten by various poisonous creatures released from the mountain 鈥�

this is because the Miao people were asked to gather a lot of antidotes in advance, so that the Wuxian Sect could not drive snakes and insects on a large scale.

Now, the several thousand Yuan soldiers attacking the mountain in turns had used up most of their strength and morale, and for the time being they could not even spare the energy to go and support the rear army.

As for the other tens of thousands of Miao soldiers, they were completely at a loss as to why their own troops were attacking the Yuan army, and naturally they were even less inclined to go and support them.

With Ye Guhong and other brave generals clearing the way, the 2,000 Yuan soldiers were soon scattered. Zhu Chongba and the others, leading the infantry, caught up and immediately began to slaughter.

Ye Guhong had already killed 70 to 80 people by this point. He felt that with each breath, his Chiyou spear seemed to sense his every move. The desire to kill was more frenzied than ever. Pointing the spear at the two princes’ banners, he yelled, 鈥淏rothers, follow me in slaying the enemy and capturing the banners!鈥�

At this time, the Yuan army, which had been preparing to attack the mountain, returned one after another, heavily protecting the princes. Ye Guhong, however, ignored them all and rode his horse, brandishing his spear, forcing his way inside and fighting his way through. Chang Yuchun, Xu Da, and other guards surrounded him, fighting closely behind him.

The two princes, Tem眉r and D膩tem眉r, each carrying a mace, were originally prepared to go and kill the enemy themselves. But after watching Ye Guhong kill his way through, they felt their hearts pounding and their hands shaking, and they dared not take a single step forward.

They watched in horror as he blazed a bloody path that grew closer and closer, and they couldn’t help exclaiming in desperation, 鈥淲here is that dog Yang Zhengheng?鈥�

The soldiers on the side made a path, and Yang Tongguan rode in on his flying horse, exclaiming in alarm, 鈥淵our Highness, where did these enemies come from?鈥�

A Tem眉r angrily shouted, 鈥淲hy are you pretending? Most of these people are dressed in Miao army uniforms. Didn’t you arrange this? Why didn’t your father come?鈥�

Yang Tongguan hurriedly said, 鈥淭his happened suddenly. My father went to mobilize troops to come and help, and told me to come first to protect Your Highness.鈥�

Timur shouted in reply, 鈥淧rotect us? My brothers are invincible, and you want a Hmong to protect them? I only ask you, do you control these Hmong troops?鈥�

Yang Tongguan jumped on his saddle at this news, and looked over the handrail. At this moment, Ye Guhong happened to be blocked, and he could only see Wan Dashi. He quickly said, 鈥淚 know the commander of those Hmong troops. He is Wan Dashi, the chief of the twelve villages in Leiling!鈥�

Bietemuer anxiously said, 鈥淚 don’t care if he is Wan Dashishi or Wan Dashili, just order him to stop.鈥�

Yang Tongguan was annoyed and said sternly, 鈥淵our Highness, don’t worry, Wan Dashishi doesn’t have the guts to rebel, he must have been egged on by someone else. Hmph, Your Highness, just wait a moment, I will go and summon that guy to come and kowtow and apologize!鈥�

After saying this, he spurred his horse outward, and the Yuan army let him out of the battle formation. However, he ran head-on into Ye Guhong, who had killed his way out and was charging head-on, stabbing him with a spear. Yang Tongguan quickly dodged, exclaiming in surprise, 鈥淐hiyou Spear! How is it you!鈥�

Ye Guhong looked him in the eye and recognized Yang Tongguan. He laughed heartily, 鈥淏rother, it’s been ages, but it’s really me! I passed the imperial examinations and, by order of the emperor, have come to kill the prince of Wei Shun, who is planning to rebel!鈥�

Yang Tongguan was confused. He said, uncertainly, 鈥淲hat are you talking about? You…you…has Prince Wei Shun ever rebelled?鈥�

Ye Guhong pointed at Wan Dashi and said, 鈥淥kay, we’re brothers, so I won’t hide anything from you. I’ve actually come here to help you become the Hmong king!鈥�

Wan Dashi was astonished and said, 鈥淥h?鈥�

Yang Tongguan, however, angrily said, 鈥淒o you really have the guts to do that? Ye Guhong, you’re also a member of our Yang family…鈥�

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Guhong shouted, 鈥淪o you gave me this magic spear to protect you from disaster?鈥�

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Guhong thrust out the Chiyou spear, shaking off more than ten spearheads, which completely enveloped the upper body of Yang Tongguan.

Yang Tongguan quickly swung his sword to defend, no longer having time to speak. The two fought for five or six li, and Ye Guhong shouted, turning and picking up the spear with a flick of his wrist. With his internal strength, Yang Tongguan’s long sword flew out of his hands, and Ye Guhong flicked it in the air, sending it towards him. Ye Guhong reached out his left hand and caught it.

Yang Tongguan was unarmed and was about to flee when he heard Ye Guhong smile and say, 鈥淭his spear is your Yang family treasure. I have borrowed it for a long time, and now I am returning it to you.鈥�

He threw the spear, and it flew towards Yang Tongguan. Without thinking, Yang Tongguan subconsciously caught it in his hands.

However, Ye Guhong’s smile suddenly grew a little thicker, and he said happily, 鈥淚t is said that this spear needs to defeat a fierce general to dispel its demonic nature. Your martial arts are also quite extraordinary, and you deserve the title of fierce general.鈥�

Yang Tongguan’s eyes widened, and before he could say anything, Ye Guhong threw his long knife with a shout, and the knife, like a shooting star rushing to the moon, pierced Yang Tongguan’s chest.

Ye Guhong let out a long laugh, galloped past him, and retrieved the Chiyou spear on the way, continuing to charge forward.

The sudden turn of events had happened in the blink of an eye. Wan Dashi watched in disbelief, dumbfounded, and muttered to himself, 鈥淲hich of the words this person said was true?鈥�

Behind him, Zhu Chongba caught up and happened to hear this sentence. He pulled his horse back and said with a sinister smile, 鈥淚f you order a stop now, Yang Zhengheng and the Tartars, as well as us, all three parties will take your head. I guarantee with my life that this sentence is absolutely true. Do you believe it or not?鈥�

Wan Dashi trembled all over, immediately gripped his weapon tightly, and roared, 鈥淏rothers, kill the Tartars and protect Wuxianling!鈥� He then exerted all his abilities and fought his way forward.