"I will live up to the great trust of the Marquis. I also hope that the Marquis will have many kind words in front of Commander Yuan!"
"Don't worry! Ruyi's five sons will receive the post of hundreds of households!"
"Thank you, Lord Marquis! Thank you, Lord Marquis!"
Xiongba waved his hand, watched the ancestor Ruyi retreat, and breathed a sigh of relief with enjoyment.
Over the past year or so, his influence in the court has become more and more powerful, and he has been in close contact with Yuan Bin, the commander of the Royal Guards, and they are like acquaintances of eight worshippers.
Everyone knows that Yuan Bin never abandoned the emperor during the Battle of Tumubao, and later proposed many times to go north to welcome the emperor back. He was very loyal.
Therefore, after the emperor returned to Beijing, he handed over the power of Jin Yiwei to Yuan Bin.
Thinking about the regulations of the Yongle period, one can imagine how powerful Yuan Bin was.
However, Yuan Bin was an upright man. Anyone who dared to disrespect or criticize the emperor would be severely punished. He only respected Xiongba and even gave him some face when he was appointed to the Imperial Guard.
With this powerful alliance, the civil servant group headed by Yu Qian had no choice but to retreat.
In addition, the emperor has been practicing martial arts in seclusion recently and no longer goes to court every morning. Xiong Ba feels that the days when he can walk sideways in the Forbidden City are not too far away.
Even the Xiongba did not attach much importance to the Western Regions and transferred a large number of elites from the Tianxiahui to the Central Plains.
Compared with this land of outstanding people and a vast territory, who would want to go to that barren place full of yellow sand?
"Master!"
Just as he was thinking about the bright future, Qin Shuang's voice came from outside the door.
"Come in!"
Xiongba looked at the eldest disciple: "How did things go?"
"Master, Wudang Shaolin is still closed."
Qin Shuang said: "But..."
"Nothing but!"
Xiongba slapped the table: "Ziyang and Buxu have been reduced to useless people. Their successors are not as prestigious as they are. How dare they refuse my kindness? Do they still think they are the Taishan Beidou of the martial arts world? There will be no martial arts world in the future, only the Ming Dynasty!"
Qin Shuang looked at his master blankly, feeling familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.
The former hegemon made all gangs in the Western Region dare not disobey him. He was also unparalleled in domineering, but he was brave and resourceful and was by no means blindly inflated with self-confidence.
But now...
"Shuang'er, don't be afraid, the ten major sects are already in the past!"
Xiong Ba didn't feel inflated, he decided that the emperor definitely didn't like Wudang Shaolin.
As the leaders of Taoist and Buddhist forces, they are like the imperial court in the world. Whenever major events happened in the martial arts world in the past dynasties, they have to be invited to come out and uphold justice. With such authority, where should the imperial court be located?
In fact, Gu Cheng still admires Wudang Shaolin's knowledge and interests. This kind of Jianghu forces who adhere to the doctrine of moderation play a complementary role to the imperial court.
What really displeases them is that they want to dominate the world.
Qin Shuang, on the other hand, was mature and prudent, and advised: "Master, my disciple thinks that Wudang Shaolin has a profound heritage and we should not take the initiative to provoke it. As long as we take all the eight major sects under our command and force the two sects to close the mountain and not leave, twenty years later, they will be
The legend of Jianghu has no more influence..."
"Twenty years? I seize the day and night!"
Xiongbahu glared: "If you act according to your plan, and with the cooperation of Jin Yiwei, we will definitely reduce the prestige of Wudang Shaolin. When they become fish on the chopping block, we will decide whether to kill or behead them!"
"yes!"
Qin Shuang had no choice but to hand over his hand, but the trembling voice of a Tianxiahui disciple made him change his mind: "Master Hou, a letter has been sent from Tianshan, and the Wushuanghui has issued a letter of war. After three months, Dugu Sword Master will go to Tianshan."
, fight to the death with the gang leader, and invite fellow martial artists from all over the world to watch the battle! They also said..."
Xiong Ba asked coldly: "What else can you say?"
The disciple said tremblingly: "I also said that the Marquis was a cowardless person when he was at Shanhaiguan in the past, and he would definitely not dare to accept this battle!"
Xiongba sneered: "Go down!"
As if he had been granted amnesty, the disciples issued a letter of war and quickly retreated.
Qin Shuang hurriedly said: "Master, Wushuang City uses the method of provoking the generals with deliberate intentions. This battle cannot be fought!"
"It's just the long-lost bandits of Wushuang City..."
Xiongba spoke with disdain and launched a challenge, but his pupils shrank.
There is only one word on it
war!
Looking at the silver-hook iron painting and the powerful characters, deep in the eyes, there is fear.
When the Dugu Sword Master was rampant in the world, he had not yet founded the Tianxiahui. He only heard of his name, and even knew that the Sword Master was later defeated by Wuming and had just retired to seclusion, so he subconsciously felt a sense of contempt in his heart.
But facts have proven that failure does not mean weakness, it may also mean that the opponent is too strong.
"With such a fierce sword power that almost breaks through the limits of the world, I am no match for you!"
Xiongba took a deep breath, covering up his fear and replacing it with ruthless killing intent.
He is now no longer a simple martial artist, but a count of the Ming Dynasty. When the sword master gives the invitation to fight, his first thought is no longer to fight for the sake of face, but to send troops to encircle and suppress Wushuang City and directly destroy Wushuang City.
"Master, don't pay any attention to it, don't mobilize troops and mobilize people!"
Qin Shuang saw what Xiong Ba was thinking and hurriedly said: "The Wushuang Society is located in the highlands of the North Plains. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if we send out a large army, it is impossible to win it in a short time. If there is a defeat, the current situation is great."
There is no guarantee that the situation will not be destroyed in one day."
"Indeed!"
No matter how strong the Xiongba was, he did not lose his mind, but he shook his head: "But now it is the critical moment to gather the forces of the rivers and lakes. The sword master declares the martial arts. If I blindly avoid the war, I am afraid that there will be a recurrence of the eight sects..."
Wushuang City and Tianxiahui belong to the same four major forces, and their strength is even higher than that of Wudang Shaolin. Now he is not even sure of destroying Wudang Shaolin, so he can directly capture Wushuang City, which is really fantastic.
But if it cannot be destroyed and simply avoids the battle, the tyrant will be cornered.
This is not just a matter of losing face. He has now gathered the forces of the world and placed himself among the royal guards in the court. At the critical moment, Dugu Sword Master has not challenged him sooner or later, but to choose this time is simply a slap in the face.
Once you avoid it, you can imagine the reaction of those Jianghu sects, disciples and disciples.
They are not officials yet, and Wugong Bo cannot give orders. It is because of their status as the leader of the world and the overlord of one party. If their reputation in the world is disgraced, they will not surrender even for their own face.
"Master! When the soil accumulates, a mountain will be formed, and the wind and rain will stir up it. When the water accumulates, a puddle will form, and a dragon will emerge. It is not a bad thing to be slower!"
However, Qin Shuang felt that Xiongba was moving too fast and too fiercely. It seemed that he had a huge power in the court, but in fact it was like a castle in the air. He avoided fighting, but he was able to stabilize and lay a solid foundation.
If Xiongba is satisfied with the title of martial arts earl, then he can indeed pursue it slowly, but he is very ambitious and aims at the position of the Ninth Five Lords. How can he listen to Qin Shuang's words?
His eyes moved and his tone softened: "Shuang'er, you are the next gang leader of the Tianxiahui. I have always regarded you as my biological son, and this title will be yours in the future!"
"Master?"
After being a master and apprentice for twenty years, how could Qin Shuang not understand Xiong Ba? His heart felt cold.
As expected, the next moment Xiong Ba continued: "As a teacher, we cannot avoid this battle, let alone lose it. Go and kidnap Dugu Ming's sister Dugu Meng, and ask her about Holy Spirit Swordsmanship. As a teacher, you must know yourself and your enemy!"
Qin Shuang was stunned, slowly knelt down, looked up at Xiong Ba's face, and realized for the first time that it was so despicable and ferocious.
But for more than ten years, I have been under its breath, taking its joy as joy and its anger as anger.
Rather than feeling sad, Qin Shuang felt inexplicably sad.
…
…
"Junior Brother Feng?"
When the devastated Qin Shuang walked out of the palace, he saw a handsome man in white standing in the moonlight, swinging his folding fan gently, as if he was going to follow the wind and walk on the clouds and the moon.
The two looked at each other. Qin Shuang was stabbed by the divine light in Nie Feng's eyes, and his expression changed slightly.
He found that he had been left far behind by this junior brother.
Although his talent was not as good as Feng Yun's originally, he took one step at a time and walked extremely steadily, and his strength was not inferior to Nie Feng's.
But since the battle at Shanhaiguan, Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun seemed to have completely changed. In the past year, their progress has been unbelievable. Xiongba became more and more suspicious, and master and disciple gradually drifted apart.
"After ten years of nurturing me, if my master is afraid of Dugu Sword Master and orders us to kill Dugu Ming, I will break into the dragon's den and the tiger's den!"
So at this moment, when Nie Feng said these words, Qin Shuang was not surprised: "But he has changed. I despise such despicable and cowardly methods from the bottom of my heart. Brother Shuang, don't want to become what we used to be."