Chapter 00155: Military Dissolution (For the New and Old Alliance Leaders)
# Military Dissolution? (For the New and Old Alliance Leaders)
Chapter 155
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 155: Military Dissolution? (For the New and Old Alliance Leaders)
"After escaping, everyone was quite anxious, but General Lu didn't take it seriously. About ten people took advantage of his drunkenness to stage a coup, but they failed and their end was quite miserable."
The captive swallowed hard, "General Lu is at the end of his rope. Perhaps some brothers will support him to the end, but I... I don’t want to die."
"A dog without a home!" Zhao Qinghe kicked him, "Report to my lord about General Lu Yao's journey after escaping from Woling Pass along with the other traitors."
The captive nodded his head to the ground: "I beg Lord He to show mercy!" He obediently divulged all the information.
After hearing this, He Chunhua and his son realized that after the Woling Pass was retaken by the Yuang King Court, the traitors lost their backbone.
Seven or eight of them gathered their remaining forces to flee, while Lu Yao managed to gather over a thousand people, which was already the result of having absorbed others once.
This time, he responded to Pei Xinyong's call for a meeting at Xianling Village, of course wanting to seize the position of commander and then occupy a territory near Shuitou in the west, gradually growing stronger.
He Lingchuan's doubts remained: "How is this different from Wu Shaoyi's original intention?" Lu Yao mocked Wu Shaoyi for wanting to be a grass-roots king, but wasn't he also planning to become a king of the mountain?
"Not the same."
The captive explained, "General Lu hopes to use Shuitou as a base to gradually swallow the surrounding states and counties. He believes the Yuang Kingdom is weak and has to deal with troubles in the north, so their control over the west will inevitably loosen. We—no, he has a great opportunity. By then, his prestige will be so great that the Yuang King Court won't be able to deny it, and perhaps they will even bestow titles and plead with us to send troops."
"Perhaps, perhaps he could even claim kingship and be granted the Nine Seals."
He said dryly, "General Lu said that many powerful figures in the past built their careers this way."
He Chunhua couldn't help but sneer: "The Nine Seals? He is worthy?"
The three of them understood that Lu Yao was aiming for local power and forcing the central authority.
In fact, Lu Yao understood that when the national fortune declines, local tyrants often rise.
With soldiers and grain in hand, their power increases dramatically, creating a situation where the royal court rises and falls in relation to them.
When the latter becomes unable to act against them, they can only appease them with kind words, either giving them titles or rewards.
Even then, they might not be satisfied and could establish their own kingdom.
He Yue nodded: "People like Lu Yao, once they taste the flavor of power, can never go back. They can only walk down a dark path."
He Lingchuan chose a large wooden stump to sit on and said leisurely: "This fellow is truly lawless."
He Chunhua glanced at him, wondering why this kid's tone sounded a bit envious?
The captive continued: "Actually, after meeting the county governor in Xianling Village, General Lu was extremely happy and planned to seize your seal and the State Order to become the governor of Xiazhou himself."
Upon hearing this, the three of them were taken aback.
He Yue looked down on him: "Daydreaming! The Yuanli Monarch bestows power; how could he gain it?"
The captive stammered: "General Lu said he has his own ways to take Lord He's birth date and identity, thus replacing his official position to wield Yuanli."
He saw the expressions on He Chunhua and the others' faces and quickly added, "As for how he would do it, we don't know. General Lu wouldn't say."
He Lingchuan slapped the wooden stump: "No wonder Lu Yao is pursuing us relentlessly, as if we set his whole family on fire. It turns out he harbors the ambition of a monkey wearing a crown!"
From the moment they entered Xianling Village, Lu Yao had been eyeing their father, and He Yue felt a wave of fear.
Zhao Qinghe urged the captive from the side: "What else? Repeat what you said about the Holy Master to my lord!"
The captive took a cup of clear water, moistened his cracked lips, and then said: "Regarding the Holy Master, we also don't know the real process. However, before Tianwang Dui was breached, the Holy Master sought General Lu for a secret discussion."
Tianwang Dui was the last stronghold of the bandit army at Woling Pass, as solid as a fortress.
He Chunhua had read the battle reports and knew that the royal court's army had paid a great price to capture it.
"General Lu took four or five people, including me, to wait outside two zhang away. We couldn't hear a word of what was said inside. The situation outside became increasingly urgent, and Tianwang Dui was on the verge of collapse. The front line sent urgent reports four or five times, but due to the Holy Master's orders, we couldn't enter."
"About an hour later, General Lu pushed the door open and came out, his eyes red, declaring that the Holy Master had already perished."
"Everyone was stunned. Several generals rushed over upon hearing the news, wanting to enter the room to investigate, but Lu Yao brought all his men to guard the retreat and wouldn't allow anyone to step inside. General Wu Shaoyi even fought with Lu Yao over this. Suddenly, the city was breached, and the royal court's army rushed into Tianwang Dui. The generals knew the situation was hopeless and turned to leave."
When the army was at its wits' end, they were hoping for a pillar to emerge and turn the tide, but who knew that the pillar would suddenly break, unable to support them, and instead would crush them first.
He Lingchuan could understand the kind of frustration the righteous army felt.
He couldn't help but ask: "From what you say, could it be that Hong Xiangqian didn't die, but rather that false news was spread?"
"He died. Lord Ke Jihai delivered Hong Xiangqian's head to the capital, and it circulated countless times in between, with everyone identifying it as Hong Xiangqian's true head."
He Chunhua tapped his fingers on the firewood pile, "Unless he had a double that looked exactly like him."
He Lingchuan said nonchalantly: "What's so strange about a double? I know many people raise doubles; they can come in handy at critical moments."
"Oh?" He Chunhua's gaze deepened, "Then tell me, who are they?"
"Uh..."
He Lingchuan choked, quickly turning to the captive, "What you said, I could ask other traitors too. Is there any more substantial information?"
"Y-yes."
The captive swallowed hard, "Actually, General Lu surrounded the retreat, and I entered the secret chamber with him. I also saw the Holy Master's body lying on the ground, decapitated!"
He Chunhua found it hard to believe: "Lu Yao killed Hong Xiangqian?!"
Hong Xiangqian held a high position among the bandit army.
According to the intelligence he had previously gathered, Lu Yao was originally a street thug who had killed seven people and injured nine in broad daylight.
He was captured and was supposed to be executed after the autumn, but it was Hong Xiangqian who saw his talent and saved him, teaching him martial arts and tactics, which could be considered a life-saving grace.
Why would Lu Yao suddenly betray him?
"But, but there was no blood on the ground, not a single drop. It was completely clean. Although the Holy Master was left with only a head, his expression was very peaceful, looking as if he were merely asleep. The items in the secret chamber were also undisturbed, showing no signs of struggle or fighting."
The captive swallowed hard, "General Lu just called us in to clean up the secret chamber, so I think he hadn't specifically tidied it up beforehand."
He Chunhua listened intently: "And then?"
"At that time, Tianwang Dui had already fallen, and a large number of officials and soldiers surged in. We didn't have much time, so we had to follow General Lu's request to wrap the Holy Master's headless body tightly and sink it into the Mingtai River along with several large stones. As for the Holy Master's head, I don't know how General Lu dealt with it."
He Chunhua said slowly: "Lord Wu Di and Lord Ke Jihai found Hong Xiangqian's hiding place. There were no heavy soldiers guarding it, but there was a brocade box on the table. When they opened it, it contained Hong Xiangqian's head. Inside the box was also his handwritten letter, stating that he confessed to being the culprit and thanked the world, asking the officials and soldiers not to trouble the common people of Woling Pass."
He Lingchuan immediately said: "So it wasn't them who personally beheaded him, which raises doubts about its authenticity."
He Yue shook his head: "Although the two lords were suspicious, they used various methods to verify it, and that was indeed Hong Xiangqian's head, which was then sent to the capital. In fact, as long as it was announced to the world that Hong Xiangqian was defeated and dead, it wouldn't make much difference whether he was truly dead or alive. He and his traitors would no longer pose a threat."
He Chunhua's expression grew serious as he said slowly, "From what this person says, I have an idea. Perhaps Chuan'er wasn't entirely wrong."
He Lingchuan immediately felt proud: "So I was right? Aha, but right is right, wrong is wrong. What does it mean to say I wasn't entirely wrong?"
"Hong Xiangqian may not be dead, but he can't be considered alive either."
He Chunhua hesitated, speaking cautiously, "I suspect he called Lu Yao into the secret chamber to perform the Military Dissolution technique for him!"
"Military Dissolution?" He Lingchuan heard this term for the second time and immediately thought of the old turtle demon.
Demons can undergo corpse dissolution; humans can do the same, just with a different name?
"To liberate with weapons, assisting the primordial spirit to exit."
He Chunhua articulated each word, "In simple terms, it means having someone behead oneself to liberate the primordial spirit!"
He Lingchuan turned to look at his second brother, whose brows were tightly knit, knowing that this knowledge point was likely too obscure, even elementary scholars hadn't touched upon it.
"So, Hong Xiangqian's primordial spirit escaped? The so-called 'Military Dissolution' shouldn't just be a simple beheading, right?"
"Of course not. He needs to concentrate all his essence, qi, spirit, and blood into his head, so that when Lu Yao strikes down with a knife, Hong Xiangqian has the chance to break free from the constraints of his physical body. Timing is crucial; if it's too early or too late, it would just be murder."
He Chunhua explained, "This process should have succeeded because there were no bloodstains on the ground, indicating that all the essence and blood from the body had been concentrated in the head. Hong Xiangqian couldn't move at all; only when Lu Yao swung the knife could he take the opportunity to give birth to his primordial spirit. The most important thing is that corpse dissolution cannot be completed by oneself; it must rely on the hands of another."
"So, Lu Yao is truly Hong Xiangqian's confidant?" He Lingchuan asked curiously, "What can he do after the primordial spirit escapes?"
He was thinking that if the old turtle demon's corpse dissolution was also this troublesome and couldn't be completed by itself, did it borrow the power of the Crocodile God?
Although the risk was not small, that skin bag had no further room for cultivation, right?
If so, that would be a good calculation.
"Seizing a body."
This time it was He Yue who spoke, "I have heard that the primordial spirit cannot be exposed to the wild for long; it must quickly find a body to settle in, preferably an unborn fetus."
He Lingchuan shrugged: "So, at least Hong Xiangqian can't come out to cause trouble for ten years."
"Not necessarily. Lord Ke has said that Hong Xiangqian possesses ghostly powers, rivaling the National Master. Perhaps he has already prepared a suitable body for unexpected events."
He Chunhua asked the captive, "After Lu Yao left Woling Pass, did he have any contact with pregnant women or children under three years old? Those who were eaten don't count."
Forget it, let's move tomorrow's update to today.
This chapter is dedicated to the latest alliance leader, Gluttonous Snake, the neighbor uncle, and the generous supporters from the past few days, including Qian Dai Qi Xiu, Fairy YL, the passing matchstick, and the Cup of Misery Pavilion!
All debts have been cleared!
Cleared!
Cleared!
Additionally, the Mid-Autumn gift box sent by Yuewen to my old account has arrived.
Interested friends can check it out in the book friend circle (comment area).
I won't reveal my old account for now, so you don't need to ask.
The day I show up here, rest assured, it will be hard for you not to know.
(End of Chapter)