Seeing Qiao Feng's polite attitude towards him, Wang Yang smiled and said.
"Vice Chief Qiao, you flatter me."
"I am hardly a hero."
"All I did was to avoid seeing so much suffering and death!"
Upon hearing this, Qiao Feng looked on with admiration and was about to speak again.
At this moment, Zhou Botong skipped and hopped over to Wang Yang's side, grinning as he said:
“Young Wang, I’ve heard that you are exceptionally skilled in martial arts and possess various unique techniques.”
"Once this battle is over, we should find a place to have a proper sparring match."
"Also, let me make it clear beforehand that my idea of sparring with you is purely my personal opinion."
"It's definitely not about avenging those Taoist priests from the Quanzhen Sect."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yang couldn't help but chuckle.
Naturally, he knew that Zhou Botong was Wang Chongyang's junior brother and the grand-uncle of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen.
Although she is old, she is still innocent and carefree, just like a child.
Since he had said that, Wang Yang naturally had no doubts and nodded, saying:
"Alright! I'll definitely be there to keep you company once the war is over!"
Zhou Botong was overjoyed to receive Wang Yang's reply.
Then, Wang Yang turned his gaze to Qiao Feng and Xuan Ci, and got back to the main point:
"Vice Chief Qiao, what's the situation here right now?"
Upon hearing Wang Yang's question, Qiao Feng frowned slightly, and without hesitation, began to explain:
"Alliance Leader Wang, to be honest, the situation in Tahu City is not optimistic."
"Abbot Xuanci and I will temporarily lead the martial arts practitioners who have come to support Tahu City."
"Besides the massive army pressing in, the Ming Dynasty also has many martial arts masters on its side."
"For example, Lu Bing, Cao Zhengchun, Yu Huatian, Iron-Blooded Marquis, Iron-Clawed Flying Eagle, and the Four Great Secret Agents are all formidable opponents!"
"In addition, there are numerous Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), skilled agents from the Eastern and Western Depots, the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends."
"These martial arts figures from the Ming Dynasty are elusive and have obtained a great deal of intelligence. They have also secretly killed many generals and members of our martial arts community."
At this point, Qiao Feng couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
At this moment, Abbot Xuanci began chanting Buddhist prayers and took over the conversation, saying:
"Amitabha!"
"In order to avoid being defeated one by one, Vice Chief Qiao and I gathered all the martial arts practitioners of the Song Dynasty in Tahu City and held this place!"
"With the combined efforts of a group of passionate martial arts practitioners and the soldiers defending the city, we barely managed to hold this place."
"Even so, other cities, lacking powerful commanders, have fallen!"
"Moreover, our Great Song Dynasty is currently besieged on multiple fronts. Japan is launching attacks from the eastern seas, and the small southern country of Annam is also constantly causing trouble."
"The main problem was that we were attacked simultaneously by the two great powers, the Yuan and the Ming."
"The Song Dynasty was already weak, and with its troops and some supporting martial arts masters being dispersed, it became even more powerless."
Hearing what the two said, Wang Yang nodded slightly.
Naturally, he also saw it, and although with his help, the crisis in Xiangyang City was resolved.
However, for the Song Dynasty as a whole, the situation remained extremely dire.
After a brief silence, Qiao Feng spoke again:
"Currently, our Great Song Dynasty is also in chaos."
"Some martial arts factions don't care about national affairs at all; instead, they fight each other and vie for territory."
"Many evil cults and cults took advantage of the chaos to wantonly slaughter martial arts practitioners and innocent civilians."
"Some martial arts forces were even won over by the Ming Dynasty and turned against the Song Dynasty."
At this point, Qiao Feng paused slightly, then looked at Wang Yang and continued:
"Fortunately, Alliance Leader Wang, you stepped forward at this critical moment and led everyone to quickly stabilize the situation."
"Right now, as long as we can defeat the martial arts masters of the Ming Dynasty and suppress the rebellious martial arts forces within the Song Dynasty, the situation will truly be stabilized."
Wang Yang neither confirmed nor denied what Qiao Feng said, but nodded slightly and said:
“Vice Chief Qiao is absolutely right.”
"Now that we've all come to this Tahu City, let's first find a way to defeat the martial arts practitioners of the Ming Dynasty!"
Upon hearing this, Abbot Xuanci continued, "..."
"Alliance Leader Wang, we have fought against martial arts figures from the Ming Dynasty on several occasions, with both sides experiencing victories and defeats!"
"Recently, they seem to have sent out more experts."
"Besides, it seems they are secretly recruiting and gathering more martial arts practitioners."
"Judging from their posture, they seem to be planning a decisive battle with us!"
After Abbot Xuanci said this, Wang Yang fell into deep thought.
After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke:
"It seems the commander overseeing the Ming Dynasty isn't stupid after all!"
"They knew they had to deal with martial arts practitioners like us first."
"If we are not dealt with, even if they manage to seize some cities, without a certain number of experts to guard them, it will all be in vain in the end."
As he spoke, Wang Yang turned his gaze and swept it over the group of martial arts practitioners present.
"Since the martial arts world of the Ming Dynasty is already making preparations, we must not let our guard down."
"They recruited a large number of martial arts masters from the Ming Dynasty, attempting to devour us bit by bit."
"Isn't this a perfect opportunity for us to wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"
Upon hearing what Wang Yang said, Qiao Feng and the others all agreed, their eyes blazing with fighting spirit!
...
at the same time.
Ten miles outside Tahu City, one can see banners fluttering and swords and halberds like a forest in the distance.
Horses galloped back and forth, raising clouds of dust.
This is where the Ming Dynasty army set up camp.
Inside the central command tent.
Seated in the main seat was a man, clad in armor, with a robust physique, gleaming sideburns, and a hint of heroic spirit on his forehead.
It was none other than Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, who was the Grand Marshal of the Ming Dynasty's army in this campaign.
This time, the Yuan and Ming dynasties launched simultaneous attacks on the borders of the Song dynasty.
Zhu Di originally thought that he would be able to conquer the Song Dynasty in one fell swoop.
After all, the Ming Dynasty had a much larger military than the Song Dynasty, with more soldiers and more generals.
Who would have thought that they would be blocked outside Tahu City by the martial arts masters of the Song Dynasty, and the city could not be breached despite multiple attacks!
This made Zhu Di very frustrated.
After a moment's thought, Zhu Di turned his gaze to the four people inside the tent.
These four individuals were the leaders of the four major forces in the Ming Dynasty: the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, the Western Depot, and the Dragon Guard Manor.
Lu Bing, Cao Zhengchun, Yu Huatian, and the Iron-Blooded Marquis Zhu Wushi were all ignored.
"Is everything prepared?"
"A chance to win a war is fleeting; you don't have that much time!"
"If everything is ready, I will lead my troops in a fierce attack. As for the martial arts masters of the Song Dynasty, that's up to you to deal with."
Zhu Di said in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, Cao Zhengchun stepped forward first, smiling sweetly as she said:
"Grand Marshal, our Eastern Depot has been performing well recently, killing many Song generals and martial arts masters, and even capturing some cities."
"In addition, they also won over masters such as Zuo Lengchan's Songshan Sect, Yu Canghai's Qingcheng Sect, Kongtong Sect, and Yu Jizi."
"Everything is ready, and we will surely defeat the martial arts masters of the Song Dynasty in one fell swoop this time."
Seeing this, Yu Huatian was not to be outdone.
"My Western Depot has many skilled fighters, and we have also gathered martial arts masters such as Po Jun and the Ten Evils to reinforce us. We are ready to act at any time."
Lu Bing also chimed in.
"Our Imperial Guard has found top assassins from the Tang Clan, Happy Forest, and Misty Rain Pavilion in Sichuan, and we are ready to put our skills to the test!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Di nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Zhu Wushi, the Iron-Blooded Marquis.
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