The light of the sword is like the moon reflecting on Kyushu

Before Li Wenzheng even sank to the bottom of the lake, his entire body had already turned into a skeleton!
It's even cleaner than when Liu Changfeng used a small willow-leaf knife to remove it!

Those piranhas were incredibly numerous, devouring every last drop of flesh!
Thousands upon thousands of piranhas came and went in a flash, as fast as lightning, like a dark shadow that sometimes grew large and sometimes small!
Li Wenzheng's bones slowly sank to the bottom of the lake, merging into countless other skeletons!
Those skeletons were all thrown into the lake alive by lords and lamas before they died! Over time, they piled up like a mountain!

On the shore, the smoke of battle finally dissipated.

The air was thick with the thought of Pang Shiwu staring blankly at the lake, lost in thought. "They perished together?"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Yes."

Pang Shiwu sneered, "After such a long time, there's no winner. It's really speechless."

Feng Jiuxiao said, "There are piranhas in the lake."

Pang Shiwu was taken aback. "Piranhas? Fish that eat people?"

"Not bad!"

"You just saw it?"

"Of course! That second-in-command, all the flesh on his legs has been eaten!"

"Holy crap! Isn't that second-in-command on top of the ice? How did the fish bite him?"

"Those fish are very powerful! They can break through the ice!"

"Holy crap! Those chili peppers..." Of course, the only thing that could worry Pang Shiwu was chili peppers!
"It's alright, your Blood Sword can suppress those piranhas."

"Really?" Pang Shiwu thought for a moment, then fell silent. Blood Sword is even more bloodthirsty than a shark, but when another bloodthirsty life form appears, it will ignore its prey and instead unleash intense hostility to suppress its rival!
The killing intent emanating from the Blood Rain Fragrance Sword is exceptionally intense!

The more bloodthirsty a creature is, the more acutely it can sense that overwhelming killing intent!
It's like a memory that was instilled into one's bloodline before time immemorial, and it's suppressed from the very beginning!
Pang Shiwu said, "Then I'm relieved!"

Zeng Yong was a little worried at this point, "Are those piranhas easy to deal with?"

Feng Jiuxiao knew he was worried about Erni, so he smiled and said, "Piranhas aren't as scary as you think. Your true energy can completely protect Miss Li. There are two reasons why the second-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang couldn't withstand the piranhas' attack: First, he was too careless. After wiping out the entire core of the Black Tiger Gang, he inevitably became a little complacent and didn't notice the situation under his feet, causing him to slip and fall into the water. Second, his combat strength was not high to begin with, only at the seventh level. His physical body had not yet reached the point of being indestructible. In addition, he had been fighting with their gang leader for so long, so his physical strength was inevitably greatly depleted. Third, he was a poor swimmer. As soon as he fell into the water, he panicked. The more he struggled, the more water was poured into his mouth, and the faster he sank! Without an indestructible body, it would definitely break with a single bite! We are all at the peak of the ninth level, with skin as hard as iron and impervious to blades and spears. Even if the piranhas bite us at will, they can't bite us."

Zeng Yong remained silent.

He knew, of course, that the piranhas couldn't bite him, but the problem was that the piranhas could bite Erni!

Those monstrous things definitely won't be just one or two! There must be tens of thousands! Once they gather on a large scale and launch a frenzied attack, the offensive will be extremely fierce, and with so many of them densely packed, they'll be like mercury seeping into the ground, penetrating everywhere! It'll be impossible to defend against!
Feng Jiuxiao laughed and said, "Oh, don't worry! Your sword intent is enough to intimidate those little things! As long as you release your sword intent, not a single piranha will dare to come near within a zhang!"

Zeng Yong's eyes lit up immediately. "Really?" He knew nothing about piranhas, so he was inevitably confused by his concern.

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Of course it's true."

Zeng Yong finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Erni didn't stray more than ten feet from his side, she was safe. Besides, Yuan Zishan and Chang Zijin certainly wouldn't be too far away; their sword intents had unknowingly formed a vast net of sword intent, so Erni could rest easy!
Yuan Zishan said, "This is an inland lake, how could there be such a strange fish?"

Erni said, "Miss, do you mean that piranhas shouldn't be here?"

Yuan Zishan said, "Yes! According to the Records of Strange Tales from the Western Regions, this kind of strange fish only exists in the Western world. Its appearance here is very likely due to someone deliberately introducing it."

Erni asked, somewhat puzzled, "Was it deliberately introduced?"

Pang Shiwu said, "It's possible! Very likely! It's probably those Tibetan nobles who did it! The Wei family, the Dai family, it's probably them!"

Bai Lian said, "That's right! This place is rich in salt. To prevent theft, we raise some piranhas in the lake. This can effectively deter theft and also intimidate the serfs. It is one of the cruel punishments for serfs and has a very strong deterrent effect!"

The methods of rule employed by the Tibetan nobility were simple and brutal, consisting entirely of coercion! There was absolutely no incentive whatsoever! According to the great lord, these serfs were nothing more than talking tools, powerless and without influence, so why would they need to be bribed?
If someone is slow at work, just give them a few lashes and it'll do the trick!
If you happen to encounter a few "old foxes" who insist on being sick and would rather be whipped than move, then you'll have to let them experience the lord's methods! For "disobedient" serfs, countless "services" await them! Beheading, skinning, gouging out hearts, cutting out tongues, gouging out eyes, severing limbs, burning, drowning... there's nothing they won't do!

When the lord told the salt slaves that if they didn't work hard at salt production, they would be thrown into the lake to feed the fish, what would the salt slaves think? Especially after witnessing firsthand the entire process of a living person being devoured by piranhas, how a living flesh and blood body could be turned into a skeleton, the visual impact must have been incredibly shocking! The salt slaves immediately understood one thing: if they didn't work hard, they would be thrown into the lake like garbage, left to be devoured by thousands of piranhas!
A cloud of fear hung over everyone's hearts!
The intimidation effect was perfect!

The truth of the matter is probably this: the Tibetan nobles introduced the man-eating monster fish to prevent theft and to suppress rebellions.

What makes everyone feel indignant is that countless innocent Tibetan serfs have been buried at the bottom of this lake!
They were born into a lowly status, destined to be slaves for life. If it were me, it's hard to say whether I could even survive. It's quite possible I wouldn't be able to accept such an ending and would commit suicide!
Pang Shiwu said, "If I were born in this kind of environment, I really can't imagine how I would survive!"

Chili asked, "What will happen if you can't hold on?"

Pang Shiwu said sadly, "He'll probably commit suicide!" Chili, however, disagreed, saying, "The reason you want to die is because you have a strong sense of contrast! You haven't truly put yourself in the shoes of a Tibetan serf! Real serfs are indoctrinated with servile ideology from birth, forming the understanding that they are born lowly, their ancestors were lowly, their descendants will be lowly, and they will be lowly their entire lives. After indoctrinating them mentally, they are exploited materially. All the tools of production, land, houses, and all property are controlled by the serf owners. Their understanding is destroyed mentally, and their dreams are cut off materially, trapping them in a cage both mentally and physically. They will never see the wonders of the outside world. Therefore, serfs will definitely not choose suicide because of psychological disparity! Because without comparison, where does the disparity come from? In their worldview, the Zanpu (king) is the greatest, the lord is the greatest, the lama is the greatest. They can only survive by recognizing their own position! This is the true thought of serfs!"

Pang Shiwu was taken aback, looking at her in surprise, "Hey! You...you..."

Chili rolled her eyes at him and said, "What do you mean, 'what'? Is it strange? It's such a simple truth, what's so strange about it?"

Feng Jiuxiao exclaimed, "Chili pepper! Brilliant! Brilliant!"

Chili pepper said proudly, "That's right!"

Xiong Mengyan chimed in, "Yes, the people here are too old-fashioned, content with the status quo, and don't know how to resist."

Wang Sheng said, "They may not be content with the status quo! They don't even have the opportunity to learn to read and write, how could they possibly know how to read? How could a bunch of illiterate people plot anything?"

Duanmu Yan said, "Yes, apart from being given farm tools when doing farm work, they don't even have enough clothes to wear, let alone ironware or wooden sticks to use as weapons. Even if they have the will to resist, they have no power to resist!"

Wang Sheng said, "Yes, they intimidate them psychologically, control them materially, and oppress them at every turn! The serfs are starving, cold, unarmed, illiterate, indecisive, and powerless. Such an army is not easy to lead! Moreover, with their cruel methods of suppression, such as beheading and skinning, who would dare to rebel?"

Zeng Yong sighed, “This is a matter of great importance concerning the lives of all people. We simply cannot change the course of events with our own strength! Unless… a ruler like Zhao Guangyi, who mobilizes the entire nation to bring Tibet into the Song Dynasty’s territory, might have a chance to abolish the status of serfs and restore their status as commoners!”

Erni said, "I think we discussed this before. Young Master Feng said it might not be feasible."

Zeng Yong said, "I know. He said that Zhao Guangyi hasn't even conquered the Northern Han yet, so how can he have the energy to advance westward into Tibet? Moreover, the Khitan have been eyeing us from the north and could invade the south at any time. The Song Dynasty must maintain a standing army to protect the capital!"

Feng Jiuxiao looked at Helian Rongguang and laughed, "And our Great Xia Dynasty, on the surface it seems neutral, but in reality it's because the Song and Liao dynasties have been locked in a stalemate without a clear victor! Once the Song and Liao dynasties go to war, how could the Great Xia Dynasty be content with the status quo? When two tigers fight, one will surely be injured; when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman will benefit! Xia Prefecture has wanted to be the fisherman for a long time!"

Helian Rongguang chuckled dryly and quickly denied it: "Our country is small and sparsely populated, how could we have such a guts!"

Feng Jiuxiao laughed, "You don't need to rush to deny it, we're not going to eat you! Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains has experienced five dynasties and ten kingdoms, the world has been divided for a long time, and the people have been living in dire straits, suffering immensely! Whoever holds military power wants to go further and become emperor, wants to unify the world! That's normal! It's human nature! Although the Li family of Xia Prefecture is keeping a low profile now, accepting investiture from both the Song and Liao dynasties and temporarily calling themselves the King of Xia, I dare say this: the Li family will become emperors sooner or later! If they don't become emperors, they'll be letting down the soldiers of Xia Prefecture! The soldiers of Xia Prefecture will think that Xia Prefecture has finally built up such a strong military force over the years, and it would be a waste not to take advantage of it!"

Helian Rongguang felt a chill run down his spine!
He was naturally aware of Li's ambition to become emperor, but this secret was known only to a few close advisors. Helian Rongguang's uncle, a confidant of the Xia King, revealed this secret to him during a drinking session.

But how did Feng Jiuxiao know?
He suddenly realized that Feng Jiuxiao was the deputy commander of the Imperial City Guard of the Great Song Dynasty. Could it be that... the Great Song Dynasty's spies had infiltrated the Xia King's Palace?

Thinking about this, he suddenly felt a sense of fear!

If the Song Dynasty's intelligence network infiltrated Xia Prefecture, wouldn't the Song Emperor have complete control over the Xia King's every word and action? What's the difference between that and running naked in the Song Emperor's eyes?

Seeing Helian Rongguang's eyes flicker with thought, Feng Jiuxiao naturally guessed what he was thinking. Feng Jiuxiao smiled and said, "General Helian, don't overthink it. The reason we hope Zhao Guangyi will unify the Central Plains is that, looking at all the major dynasties in the world, only the Zhao family has the strength to end the state of division! To put it bluntly, whoever has the ability to end the division the fastest, we will support! If the King of Xia can unify the world, we will also support him! The premise is that he must be able to ensure that the people live in peace and prosperity!"

Bai Lian suddenly asked, "If Tibet had the strength to unify the Central Plains, would you support it, young master?"

Feng Jiuxiao smiled and said, "How could that be!"

Bai Lian said, "Just because the Tibetans treat human life so lightly?"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Isn't this enough? Although most of the rulers in the ten kingdoms of the Central Plains were tyrannical and the common people lived a life of hardship and toil, the people of the Central Plains at least had something that the Tibetan serfs did not have—freedom! At least relative freedom!"

Even a landlord's dog can run around outside the yard a few times before coming back, but what about serfs? They don't even have the right to talk to other serfs!
If the Tibetan Empire were to unify the Central Plains, it would be a nightmare for countless Han Chinese! They would live worse than dogs!

Therefore, even if the Tibetan army was incredibly powerful and could conquer the Central Plains ten times over, the people of the Central Plains would not submit!
Bigwolf said, "We have a proverb where I'm from: 'Life is precious, love is more precious, but freedom is the most precious of all.' Freedom is more precious than life!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Yes! Since ancient times, our ancestors have had the traditional virtue of 'better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile'! That's why we have been able to stand tall for thousands of years! We Han people have backbone! The key is that Han people understand astronomy, calendar, agriculture, commerce, music, and even more so, military affairs. Letting Han people rule this place is definitely a hundred times better than letting the Tibetans rule the Central Plains!"

Bai Lian said, "That's right! No matter how many faults the Central Plains dynasty has, the people of the Central Plains are far happier than the people here! At most, they worry about paying rent, but they don't have to worry about being beheaded, skinned alive, or thrown into an icy lake to drown!"

Master Yichen said, “Indeed. I have traveled far and wide and seen many injustices, but if we talk about places where people suffer, Tibet is the darkest, cruelest, and most oppressive place, without exception!”

Feng Jiuxiao sighed, "What good will knowing do? We can only hope that a sage will appear one day and change the world!"

Pang Shiwu said, "I wonder how Brother Liu Miezhou is doing now!"

Feng Jiuxiao gazed into the distance, his thoughts soaring thousands of miles, as if he could see that figure in purple robes, now wearing a dragon robe, standing atop the city wall of Jinyang, facing off against the Song army below!

"The latest battle report hasn't arrived yet, but the harsh winter season is unfavorable for the Song army; they'll most likely have to retreat!" (End of Chapter)