"By the way, boss, we also caught a guy who claimed to be Dugu Cheng's confidant, Military Advisor Yu Ziqi."
Logically, such a fellow should have been killed outright, but he claimed to possess a priceless treasure of Dugu City to offer to the lord, begging only for his life.
Yang Cheng raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Bring him up so we can see."
A moment later, Yu Ziqi, who had been punched by someone and had a bruise around his eye, was brought up with a bitter smile on his face and looked trembling with fear.
"Are you really Dugu Cheng's confidant? Then why would you offer up Dugu Cheng's most valuable treasure to save your life?"
"Dugu Cheng said, 'I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me,' so how come he misjudged you?"
Yu Ziqi smiled wryly and said, "I am not lying. I am indeed Dugu Cheng's trusted military advisor, and many members of the Wuwei Army can attest to this."
Although General Dugu Cheng treated me well, my life is my own. The general is already dead. If I'm still alive, at least someone will burn paper money for him, right?
I had previously advised the General not to make an enemy of the Grand Commander, but he wouldn't listen, and ended up in this predicament, which is quite unfortunate.
I am but a scholar, neither skilled in literature nor martial arts, who only seeks to survive in this chaotic world. Therefore, I humbly beg the Grand Commander to spare my life.
Yang Cheng said calmly, "Then we'll see if the treasure you've offered is worth your life."
Yu Ziqi quickly took out an old sheepskin book and said, "Grand Commander, please take a look. This is the martial art that Dugu City is famous for, the 'Hun Yuan Xuan Gong'."
Yang Cheng took the Hunyuan Xuan Gong and flipped through it, his expression becoming somewhat serious.
If it truly is the Hunyuan Xuan Gong, then it is indeed a great treasure.
The fact that Dugu Cheng was able to cultivate to such a level with just one technique shows how precious it is.
However, Yang Cheng's martial arts skills were not high. This technique looked profound and could be practiced, but he didn't know if there were any problems with the specific details and needed to verify it before using it.
"This cultivation technique should be the foundation of Dugu City's foundation, so why is it in your hands?"
Yu Ziqi said, "Because the general also wants to choose a disciple to inherit his mantle. However, the Hunyuan Xuan Gong is extremely special. It does not look at the surface aptitude, but whether it is compatible with the Xuan Gong. So it is impossible to tell."
Therefore, it is necessary to find a teenager of suitable age to practice the initial stage to see if it is compatible with the technique.
I've been handling this matter all along, because I'm just a scholar who doesn't know anything about martial arts, which is why the general felt comfortable entrusting the martial arts manual to me.
Furthermore, the general was not worried at all about the technique being leaked. According to him, the technique's upper limit was so high and the cultivation conditions so demanding that it was almost unparalleled in the martial arts world.
It was already quite difficult for his master to find him to inherit his mantle; to force someone else to practice it would be a complete waste of time.
Yang Cheng pondered for a moment while holding the cultivation manual, then waved his hand and said, "Go, either take the bounty and leave, or take a clerical position in the Zhenwu Hall. The choice is yours."
Yu Ziqi quickly replied, "I'll just be a clerk in the Zhenwu Hall."
He was the military advisor of Dugu City, and could be said to be a criminal under punishment.
If he gets targeted by people Dugu Cheng has offended after he goes out, he'll be in big trouble.
Therefore, it is safer to stay in Zhenwu Hall.
After sending Yu Ziqi away, Yang Cheng put away his cultivation technique and went to the morning court.
The entire court was immersed in the joy of Dugu City's defeat, and both the emperor and Zhang Xuansu appeared very excited.
There were even some disputes in the imperial court because of those Wuwei Army soldiers.
Yang Cheng looked down on the 300,000-strong Wuwei Army left behind in Dugu City, and even felt that they were a burden.
But for the imperial court, as long as it can hold these 300,000 Wuwei Army soldiers in its hands, wouldn't that be a force that belongs exclusively to itself?
Therefore, Zhang Xuansu and Cai Yan began to compete for power in the imperial court.
Indeed, Zhang Xuansu, the maternal relative and father-in-law of the emperor, also wanted to seize military power.
This kind of thing is very taboo, but it seems that the Great Zhou Dynasty doesn't have so many taboos anymore.
The two argued for half an hour, and in the end, the emperor had to personally intervene to resolve the issue.
Of the 300,000 soldiers of the Wuwei Army, about 50,000 deserted and were killed, and about 50,000 others refused to continue serving.
Of the remaining 200,000, Cai Yan seized 50,000, which were then used to replenish the Great Zhou's garrisons throughout the Central Plains. However, Zhang Xuansu managed to seize a full 100,000 men.
After all, he was the emperor's father-in-law, so Cai Yan couldn't just turn against him directly.
Yang Cheng was too lazy to look at these things, so as soon as the morning court session ended, he went to the Sutra Repository to find Zhou Yan.
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