This Jinyiwei is obviously super strong but draws too much

Chapter 1153: Northern City Defense

"Sir, the hunting trip is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. General Liu, General Zhang, General Chen and a total of eighteen people are at home on sick leave." In the magnificent city lord's mansion, a general was calmly reporting his work to his superiors.

The man in the upper position just laughed after hearing this: "So, apart from you, no one else is coming, right? Whatever! I am too lazy to see them."

This slightly old man with white hair on his temples is called Wen Kongheng. He is the defender of Liaoyang City, an important city in the north. It can be said that this city lord is also of great background. As the former commander-in-chief of the imperial guards, his name is almost unknown to everyone.

The reason why he is in the situation where he can't even get three companions for hunting can be traced back to the accession of the new emperor six years ago.

As an emperor who was not very interested in the court situation or the power in his hands, the new emperor almost completely inherited the court team left by the previous emperor after he ascended the throne.

From the six ministries of the court to the three officials of the cabinet, the new emperor did not make any drastic changes. He simply and roughly promoted all his followers to a higher level, and then he hardly paid any attention to the court framework.

As one of the few, or almost the only, ministers in the entire court who was "demoted" by the new emperor, Wen Kongheng attracted a lot of attention. Everyone was curious about how he had offended the new emperor.

Although the city defender was sent out to a remote place and became a high-ranking official on the surface, he was actually demoted out of the core of the imperial court. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the new emperor was in his prime, and a young emperor represented unlimited opportunities.

Almost everyone in the imperial court system is now trying their best to win the attention of the new emperor, and Wen Kongheng, who was sent out, was directly kicked out of this group.

So much so that even now, even the generals under Wen Kongheng were not very willing to see him. After all, considering Lord Wen's age, it seemed that he would probably die of old age as the city defender, so it was really not worth their time and effort.

The only general who still respected Wen Kongheng as before was the one in front of him. His surname was Wu, and he was the nephew of Wu Qiming, the assistant minister who was transferred from the Jinyiwei to the Ministry of War.

It was obvious that the Jinyiwei and the Imperial Guards were once incompatible, and this young general from the Wu family should not have much affection for Wen Kongheng. But now, he has become the last person left by Wen Kongheng's side.

It's not that General Wu is so confident that he wants to stir up trouble, but he has been instructed by Wu Qiming before coming to the north that Wen Kongheng's exile is not a hidden demotion, but a result of this man's wisdom and courage.

Especially after learning how many people Wen Kongheng had killed in the palace back then, General Wu felt not only admiration but also awe for Wen Kongheng. Some things cannot be done just by having the means.

"Sir, there have been many gangsters coming into the city recently. Do you want me to go and 'clean them up'?" General Wu whispered.

The previous defender of Beidi City was General Helian Ce of the White Armor Army. General Helian was one of the backup plans left by Lord Meng after considering the worst case scenario. So although it seemed that there was chaos in the North at that time, in fact, the White Armor Army always had swords at their sides, ready to kill people in the North at any time.

The so-called "cleansing" is also one of the traditions left by the White Armor Army. In order to prevent the people in the underworld from being too presumptuous because the emperor is far away, the White Armor Army will openly or secretly sweep the underworld forces in the north every once in a while.

Now that General Helian has been transferred to the capital to enjoy his life, there are a total of 19 generals in the North, and 18 of them are bastards who only follow orders and not announcements. These generals don't care whether Wen Kongheng will make things difficult for them or whether the North is in chaos. They only work hard for one thing every day, that is, to build connections in the capital and try to transfer back as soon as possible. They are unwilling to stay in this hellhole even if they are demoted.

Therefore, the underworld forces in the North revived in a very short time. Originally, due to the White Armor Army's sweep six years ago, the North should have been the place where the underworld forces were the weakest, but apart from here, the survival of the underworld forces in other places is even more difficult!

Over the past six years, the Jinyiwei, whose power has grown rapidly, and the East and West Factories, which have revived like weeds, have dominated the underworld, treating almost all underworld forces as targets for showcasing their achievements. Over the years, the underworld forces in every place have been visibly declining.

The former aristocratic families in the martial arts world have become a thing of the past, and the former major martial arts sects have now disappeared. Wudang and Shaolin can still rely on the framework of religious power to support themselves, but the rest are basically no longer worth mentioning.

For example, the Five Mountains Sword Sect has never recovered, and the Emei, Qingcheng and other sects have also lacked successors. The most ridiculous is the Beggars' Sect. They were once the largest gang in the world, but now they have almost become history.

In the court, Master Luo's words "work-for-relief" completely destroyed the living space of the Beggars' Gang. Facts have proved that there are not so many beggars in the world. Between "finding a living honestly" and "packing up the whole family and sending them to the north to build the Great Wall", most people are willing to choose the former.

If the imperial court is strong, the corresponding martial arts world will inevitably decline. However, there are still many people in the world who are unwilling to be lonely. They miss the free and easy life of riding horses in the martial arts world. This group of people soon gathered together to fight against the imperial court.

The imperial court never hesitated to kill such madmen who had the courage to use the imperial reward as a capital for showing off. Under the day-to-day crackdowns by the Jinyiwei and the East and West Factories, finally, almost all the underworld forces who still intended to resist were driven to the north.

The northern border is vast and sparsely populated. In addition, the 18 generals under the city defender Wen Kongheng act independently. This group of people almost ignores the territories under their jurisdiction, which has led to the revival of the underworld forces.

In just a few years, the underworld of the North has gathered all kinds of people, from all walks of life to various famous sects, and all the well-known underworld forces have come here to participate in the event.

In this regard, the Jinyiwei was surprised but also found something strange. No matter how to say it, the speed of the recovery of the underworld forces was too fast. These guys had no money and no people, so how could they stand up all of a sudden?

Ying Wushang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, personally intervened to investigate the matter, but soon he could not investigate any further because on an ordinary night, a "letter of persuasion" appeared on his desk without any warning.

The content of the letter was very simple. The writer pleaded with Commander Ying to "show mercy" and give them some time. Once they had finished their business in the north, the tens of thousands of people left here would be the heroes giving merit to him.

Ying Wushang finally realized the seriousness of the matter. He was confident in the Jinyiwei's ability to keep secrets. Even if all those martial arts masters who once dominated the martial arts world were resurrected one by one, it would be impossible for anyone to send a letter to him quietly in the secret stronghold that was heavily guarded.

There is only one explanation for the appearance of this letter: there is a "traitor" in the Jinyiwei!

The power that can make the Jinyiwei willingly serve must be extraordinary. Under the cover of night, Ying Wushang looked at the brightly lit Liaoyang City from afar, and remembered what his father-in-law Wu Qiming had said to him. He clearly understood the special nature of this mission.

Their opponents are not the rabble in the underworld, nor the group of useless generals in the north who are drawing salaries without doing anything, but “their own people”.

A powerful hand from an aristocratic family is preparing to use the power of the underworld as a cover to complete their revenge, and the target of revenge is undoubtedly the defender of the Northern City - Wen Kongheng!