Chapter 6, Searching for the Man in Black

Helping the men in black requires skill. If one were to immediately assist them in surrounding and attacking the government troops, Wang Xu would surely be in trouble, and might even bear the label of a rebel. However, if one were to issue a decree before taking action, the situation would be different. If the government soldiers retreat, that would be fine; if they do not retreat, it would be considered defiance of orders. Even if they were to be killed on the spot, Wang Xu would not be at fault.

As expected, Wang Xu was not surprised when a black man dressed in the armor of a school officer pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. He looked at Wang Xu and mocked, "Do you even deserve to be a general? Are you new here? Do you not know that we are the subordinates of the heir, and we have always followed the orders of the prince based on our discretion rather than the proclamations? General, please return."

In Huang Quan's eyes, Wang Xu may be the least skilled general in martial arts, but he is the most approachable general. Huang Quan has spent nearly twenty years in the palace and has encountered countless generals, yet only Wang Xu has been able to candidly express his own lack of martial prowess to others

The entire army dismounted and sat on the ground. Huang Quan immediately dispatched several scouts in various directions. Wang Xu only knew that the residence of the black-clad individuals was not far from the army's camp, but he did not know the exact location. Had he known this earlier, he should have left someone behind to guide them; otherwise, it would be embarrassing to offer rewards to others and end up not being able to find anyone, only to return with the gold in a dejected manner, which would be a great loss of face.

General, the army camp is just five li ahead!

"Stop!" Wang Xu led four hundred Feather Forest troops to arrive, standing on horseback outside the battlefield, and shouted loudly: "By order of the Prince, the troops outside the city are to remain in place, and no one is allowed to leave the camp without the Prince's permission"

The general is being overly modest; there is no need for formal apprenticeship. If the general wishes to practice martial arts, he may come to find me at any time, as I am willing to accompany the general in his training.

While a strong military can certainly ensure the stability of a nation, it comes at the cost of the common people. With nearly 3 million troops, how much food is required in a single day?

Huang Quan commanded his brothers to rest in place and immediately dispatched scouts in all directions from the military camp to investigate whether there were any houses around the camp and to look for any anomalies

Where do these grains come from

The cavalry galloped swiftly, arriving in the blink of an eye. When Wang Xu reached the battlefield, the fighting was intense; although there were only a few dozen men in black, they operated in groups of three, with two defending and one attacking, their coordination seamless, resulting in very few casualties. In contrast, on the side of the imperial troops, although someone fell every moment, those in the rear immediately stepped forward to fill the gaps left by the fallen, each one fearless in the face of death. No matter how hard the men in black fought, they could never finish the battle or kill them all.

When Wang Xu first arrived in Hongzhou Continent, he did not understand why the common people endured such hardship without rebelling. They would rather starve than fight to the death. After more than ten days of observation, Wang Xu finally comprehended the situation; the power of the court was immense, beyond imagination, and no one dared to be the first to raise the banner of rebellion, for that would be tantamount to seeking their own destruction

"Brother Huang, do not be too reserved, come, sit down and talk." Regardless of whether Huang Quan agreed or not, Wang Xu pulled him to sit beside him, smiled, and said: "I am not afraid of you laughing at me when I say this, although I hold the esteemed position of a general, I do not possess martial skills. I would like to take you as my master and learn martial arts from you, what do you think?"

The Hongzhou Continent is divided into nine prefectures: Hexi Prefecture, Guxi Prefecture, Qingyuan Prefecture, Nangu Prefecture, Wujun Prefecture, Bao'an Prefecture, Beijun Prefecture, Dongjun Prefecture, and the Imperial Capital. The Imperial Capital is the capital of the Hongtian Empire, garrisoned by 1,200,000 elite troops, making it a formidable military force. The other eight prefectures are the fiefs of eight princes, inherited without exception.

As he passed through the outer city, the heir apparent and the kneeling officials had vanished, presumably already imprisoned by Zhou Bo; regarding this peculiar prince, Wang Xu could only scoff in disdain; he had not visited other counties and thus dared not make rash judgments, but this ancient Xijun was indeed mismanaged under his rule, with the common people suffering from hunger and hardship; every day, people were dying of starvation, and many were forced to leave their homes.

Alright, it is settled then. We shall begin once we return to the palace

Since A Da parted ways with Wang Xu, he has led all the black-clad warriors back to their base and sent out their unique signal, indicating that all the black-clad individuals should return to the ranks immediately

Huang Quan cupped his hands and replied: "General, I have practiced martial arts since childhood, but my aptitude is dull, and my skills are rather ordinary."

The long wait yielded neither the return of the comrades nor the arrival of the prince's envoy bearing gold and horses, and the hundred thousand troops stationed nearby showed no signs of withdrawal

How bold of you to defy the prince's command. Seize him at once

Accompanying Wang Xu on this mission to escort the gold was a thousand-man commander of the Imperial Guard, named Huang Quan, who commanded a thousand troops. He had served in the military since childhood and had been by Zhou Bo's side, making him Zhou Bo's right-hand man.

Report to the general, three li south of the military camp, two groups of individuals are found fighting, one side consists of officials and soldiers, while the other side consists of men in black.

Time passed second by second, and when A Da saw the dust rising in the distance, with thousands of troops emerging from the barracks, A Da felt despair; what was supposed to come did not arrive, yet what should not have come did. However, the men in black did not concede defeat. They could not concede defeat, for behind them were their own parents, wives, and children.

Looking in the direction pointed out by Huang Quan, the view is boundless, and at the end of the sky, there is a black dot, which is likely the camp of the hundred thousand troops

Each county has two hundred thousand troops, and with eight counties, that amounts to one million six hundred thousand. Adding the one hundred twenty thousand from the court brings the total to two million eight hundred thousand. With such a formidable military force, who would dare to rebel

The matter of the Men in Black was urgent, and Wang Xu did not dare to delay. After obtaining permission from Zhou De, he took command of five hundred elite forest troops and one thousand top-quality warhorses, escorting ten thousand taels of gold to the military camp outside the city

"Huang Quan, how are your martial arts?" After Huang Quan had made the arrangements, Wang Xu asked.

As soon as the scout finished speaking, Wang Xu had already turned over and mounted his horse, commanding loudly: "Leave one hundred men to escort the warhorses and continue forward, the rest follow me."

Huang Quan's respect made Wang Xu feel quite uncomfortable; although he was a general and appeared impressive to outsiders, those close to him knew the truth. He was hardly a proper general, lacking both soldiers and power. In contrast, Huang Quan, despite being merely a minor centurion, seemed far superior in Wang Xu's eyes, as he commanded a thousand soldiers. Furthermore, regarding martial arts, Wang Xu, coming from the 21st century, had virtually no understanding of it; whereas Huang Quan had trained in martial arts since childhood. Even if he were somewhat lacking in talent, after practicing for over a decade, how could he be significantly inferior? Huang Quan, despite being merely a minor centurion, seemed far superior in Wang Xu's eyes, as he commanded a thousand soldiers. Furthermore, regarding martial arts, Wang Xu, coming from the 21st century, had virtually no understanding of it; whereas Huang Quan had trained in martial arts since childhood. Even if he were somewhat lacking in talent, after practicing for over a decade, how could he be significantly inferior?

The scouts sent out returned one after another, but none of them were able to locate the whereabouts of the man in black, which left Wang Xu perplexed and quite embarrassed; could it be that A Da and the others had already met with misfortune, and their residence had been reduced to rubble by the army

Ten taels of gold in the Hongzhou continent is equivalent to one jin, and one hundred million taels of gold weighs a thousand jins; it was packed into eight large boxes, and two horse-drawn carts were needed to transport it all; Wang Xu rode at the forefront on a large red warhorse, closely followed by a thousand warhorses, five hundred feathered forest troops, and two large carts, creating a grand and impressive procession.

It is nothing more than increasing the tax burden and collecting military provisions; often, the common people toil for an entire season, yet only one-tenth of the grain they produce remains. Wang Xu is certain that if someone were to raise the banner of rebellion at this moment, there would undoubtedly be countless volunteers eager to join the military

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