Thinking of this, Gu Yuzhi became even more curious about the owner of Tianquan Manor.
The manor lord was unaware of what the prince was thinking, and continued, "I heard early this morning that Your Highness had lifted the siege of Huizhou, so I led the manor's leader and all the disciples to come and support Your Highness."
He clasped his hands and knelt on one knee: "Please, Your Highness, grant my request."
Gu Yuzhi turned to Xie Changshi in disbelief, pointed to himself, and asked silently, "He said he would support me?"
Chief Secretary Xie nodded with a smile.
Gu Yuzhi then turned to look at the person: "How could you have such thoughts?"
Isn't it said that the imperial court and the martial arts world should not interfere with each other?
Upon hearing this, the manor lord's expression turned solemn, and he sighed deeply before saying, "Because we commoners also want a way to survive!"
After the manor lord finished speaking, the other two knelt down as well, saying in unison, "We commoners feel the same way."
Gu Yuzhi then learned that since his brother, the Prince of Chu, arrived in Jiangnan, he had not only conscripted soldiers without going through the imperial court, but had also contacted various Jianghu forces in Jiangnan.
Originally, the martial arts world and the imperial court did not interfere with each other, but that was under the condition that the imperial court did not interfere.
Once the imperial court intervenes, no matter how big your sect is, can you withstand the imperial court's massive army?
In just one day, they can raze your sect to the ground.
Therefore, after the arrival of the King of Chu, the Jianghu forces in Jiangnan were no longer just Jianghu forces, but rather lackeys who were attached to the King of Chu and obeyed his orders.
The manor lord's voice choked with emotion: "We commoners naturally opposed it at first, but the King of Chu's actions..."
Even though he didn't say it, Gu Yuzhi understood.
Just from the fact that the King of Chu disregarded the lives of ordinary people, it is clear that he would not easily let go of these martial arts sects that did not obey him.
The atmosphere in the room became somewhat heavy. After a while, the manor lord said, "For the sake of everyone in the manor, I have no choice but to temporarily obey the King of Chu's orders."
At this point, the manor lord immediately held up four fingers and swore firmly, "Your Highness, rest assured, even though I was forced to follow the King of Chu, I have never done anything that is against heaven and reason."
Just like last year when they were chasing Qi Shiwei and his men, they pretended to be out of the house so that the people sent by the King of Chu wouldn't see them, and that's how they escaped.
But these people all knew that they could hide once, but not a second time.
Just like the recent disaster in Huizhou.
Although the manor lord and others were not members of the court, they were very sensitive to matters of the court. From the King of Chu sending people to hunt down the Qi guards and others, to his open harassment of the Qi heir, it was clear that the King of Chu had already decided to rebel.
From that time onward, these martial arts sects that did not want to collude with the King of Chu gradually "withered away" for various reasons.
Fortunately, the King of Chu was busy fighting with the Crown Prince of Qi and had no time to deal with them, which gave them a chance to catch their breath.
The manor lord said, "This humble subject knows that Prince Qi is a good man who has resolved the plague in Jiangnan. Therefore, we have volunteered to come and support Your Highness. We only wish to serve as Your Highness's vanguard and kill as many rebels as we can."
As soon as the manor lord finished speaking, the other two also quickly stated their positions.
Gu Yuzhi didn't speak but looked at Chief Secretary Xie. Chief Secretary Xie stroked his beard, unsure of what to do.
After all, he knew nothing about these forces in Jiangnan, so he naturally couldn't believe these people's sudden declaration of loyalty.
Although Guard Zhang said that these sects were relatively upright, that was the image they presented.
Their power has been under the control of the King of Chu for so long, it's hard to say whether it's still the same as before.
Prince Qi glanced at Guard Zhang, who nodded knowingly and led the others out first.
Tonight's raid on Houhu Island is a major event. If these few people leak the plan and cause their operation to fail, the loss will be far more than just a few hundred soldiers.
Instead of receiving a reply from the Prince, the men were escorted out by the guards. They understood what was happening and exchanged a bitter glance.
With the King of Chu suppressing them and the new prince distrusting them, if they don't find a way out, their sect may truly perish.
After the three had walked away, Prince Qi went around behind the screen and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, I do know a little about these forces."
Gu Yuzhi looked up at Prince Qi, his eyes sparkling: "Prince Qi is amazing. He has only been here for a little over a year and he has already figured out all the martial arts forces here."
Most importantly, these forces are not from Huizhou.
His big eyes darted around, and he thought to himself that he had been in the Northern Desert for more than two years and still didn't know what kind of martial arts forces were there there.
He puffed out his cheeks and secretly glanced at Chief Secretary Xie.
If the Jianghu forces in Jiangnan are willing to help the imperial court fight against the rebels, would the Jianghu forces in the northern deserts be willing to help them fight against the Northern Barbarians?
The Northern Di are a foreign tribe, they should know how, right?
Gu Yuzhi suppressed his thoughts and stared intently at Prince Qi with his big eyes. He saw Prince Qi scratch the back of his head uncomfortably, looking somewhat awkward.
He was somewhat surprised; what was wrong with Prince Qi?
Prince Qi was just a little shy.
His purpose in coming to Jiangnan was not only to stabilize Huizhou, but also to understand the situation in the entire Jiangnan region. Therefore, the Jianghu forces in Jiangnan were naturally within the scope of his investigation.
Especially after Qi Chenglang was hunted down by martial arts figures last time, Prince Qi intensified his investigation in this area, and he naturally knew about Tianquan Manor, Jian Ge Sect and Shenyou Sect.
But the fact that the young prince spoke of something so ordinary in his eyes made him feel incredibly happy.
The young prince always praises people so generously that it makes one feel embarrassed.
Prince Qi coughed lightly, cupping his fist to his lips, and said, "What these people said does match what I investigated. However, while the sect leader doesn't want to align himself with the King of Chu, the people within their sect may not..."
It was common knowledge that the King of Chu was favored by the late emperor, so it was inevitable that some people who couldn't see the situation would have their own selfish thoughts.
Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head: "What I mean is that these sect leaders can be trusted, but some people within their sects cannot be trusted."
He scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled: "Chief Secretary Xie, Prince Qi, we already have few people. If we could have more martial arts masters, that would definitely be a good thing."
But they can't tell who's good and who's bad, which is a big problem.
Chief Secretary Xie stroked his beard and said, "Your Highness is absolutely right, but to accept them, the first thing to do is to find out who in their sect has secretly sided with the King of Chu."
As soon as Chief Secretary Xie finished speaking, they all looked at Guard Zhang in unison.
Gu Yuzhi, in particular, grinned, revealing a small tooth that was missing: "Guard Zhang, you have to keep it up!"
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