Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 452 Accelerated Fission, Transfer of Military Power, Military Coup and Mutiny
The crowd at the South Gate seemed to be in high spirits, but in the end, there were only a little over a hundred soldiers from the Yellow Armor Army scout camp. In the end, it could only be considered a small-scale event and could not cause much of an impact.

Helian Ba ​​used some method to quickly calm everyone down.

The daytime lasted only two hours, and as night fell, the city gates began to be rotated.

The army that came to relieve the garrison was a large force of about four hundred soldiers, all clad in ordinary thousand-times-forged iron armor. The leader was a middle-aged general in silver armor. He led his troops in arrogantly, not even bothering to greet them, and immediately ordered his men to begin the garrison change.

The soldiers of the garrison also left the city gate laughing and joking, and not one of them took the initiative to greet them.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers in yellow armor all showed a slight anger on their faces.

Putting aside the status of the two armies for the moment, they were assigned to guard the city gates during the day to help the Zhenyu Army. Now it seems that not only do they not appreciate it, but they are also being treated as suckers.

"Go back to camp!"

Helian Ba ​​saw this but said nothing. He simply gave an order with a somber expression and then led his more than one hundred soldiers into the city.

"Captain Helian, did anything go wrong during the day?"

But unfortunately, they didn't want him to just leave like that.

Duan He, the captain of the Second Battalion of the Garrison Army who came to relieve the garrison, saw that Helian Ba ​​was about to leave the city gate and deliberately turned his head to make a sarcastic remark.

Helian Ba, who was leading his men forward, immediately stopped upon hearing the sound. His already gloomy face was now filled with even more anger.

The others beside Duan He seemed oblivious to his expression and continued to mock him.

"Although the daytime temperature is low and the wind and snow are heavy, your Yellow Armor Army is, after all, the elite force that guards the city. You must keep a close watch on the city gates and not let anything go wrong!"

"Brothers of the Yellow Armor Army, hurry back and get some rest. When it gets light, you'll still have to come and guard the city gate."

“Deputy Commander Duan Yang has given the order that for the next month, the Yellow Armor Army will be responsible for guarding the city gates during the daytime.”

………………

The soldiers in yellow armor were so angry that their chests heaved. Soon, someone couldn't help but stand up, clearly ready to retort.

"go!"

However, before they could speak, Helian Ba ​​angrily stopped them.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers seemed to realize something. They clenched their fists, suppressed their anger, and followed Helian Ba ​​into the city.

Seeing that Helian Ba ​​and his group did not give any response, Duan He and the others around him immediately showed contempt on their faces.

"Such a temper, no wonder he has to come to the city gate every day, humph!"

"What elite troops? They're clearly just rebels from the border mountains. The lord has repeatedly ordered the Yellow Armor Army to sever ties with the Mu Clan, but they stubbornly refuse to agree. Just like those seven garrison armies, they only recognize the Mu Clan and not the lord. Such a rebel army should be disbanded as soon as possible and replaced with our own people!"

"Mu Qinghe's position as commander-in-chief is about to be lost, and their three armies will soon be reorganized. They are like grasshoppers in autumn, they won't be able to jump for many more days."

………………

Like the Great Xia, Chuishan was also divided into an inner city and an outer city. As the core elite force of the town, the Yellow Armor Army naturally had its military camp located in the inner city area.

Helian Ba ​​led over a hundred elite scouts back to the inner city camp in silence. After letting the soldiers return to their barracks to rest, he left the camp alone and headed towards his home in the inner city.

His father, Helian Shan, was one of the three direct disciples of Mu Longhe, the leader of the vanguard army. The Helian family was naturally a prominent family in Chuishan Town. The Helian family mansion was built in the western part of the inner city, almost next to the Mu family's territory.

Helian Ba ​​knew the way well and quickly arrived at his own door. Seeing that the once bustling mansion gate was now only occupied by two lonely servants, a cold smile appeared on his face. He ignored the servants who were bowing to him at the door and quickly went inside.

Helian Ba ​​walked all the way to the main building of the mansion before stopping at the entrance. He bowed respectfully and said, "Father, I'm back."

"come in!"

In the main hall of the main building, an elderly man in a yellow robe with gray hair and a face that looked to be in his seventies or eighties sat quietly in the main seat. He was Helian Ba's father, Helian Shan, the former deputy commander of the Chui Mountain Army, who commanded two thousand garrison troops of the Dongqing Camp.

Seeing that his father's vital energy was showing signs of decline, Helian Ba ​​clenched his fists, a hint of resentment rising between his brows.

Chui Shan had a total of six deputy military leaders, formerly Duan Chang, Duan Mian, Mu Qinghe, Zhu Ziying, Qiu Sanming, and his own father Helian Shan. The Mu family's influence in the army had always surpassed that of the Duan family.

It's no secret that the Duan clan, to which Lord Duan Hong belongs, has been vying with the Mu clan for military power in Chuishan for years.

The problem is that of the two men who founded the Chui Mountain Army, the first lord, Duan Zhao, has passed away, leaving only the army leader, Mu Longhe. As a result, Mu Longhe is essentially the spiritual totem of the entire Chui Mountain Army. Taking military power from him is not so easy.
Especially after the Dajue Temple Rebellion ended two years ago, Duan Chang led his army to seize Hongmen but failed. He could only change course and occupy the Fengshan camp. However, Fengshan was taken away by Da Xia just one day later, and Duan Chang himself was personally killed by Xia Chuan.

After Duan Chang's death, although Duan Sheng succeeded him in time, in the Battle of Fengshan, Duan Chang not only lost his own life, but also lost two thousand Zhenyu soldiers, plus four hundred Yuhan-level soldiers from Jiangyan County. This undoubtedly made the soldiers in the army more resentful of the Duan family, and naturally made it more difficult for the Duan family to seize military power.

The military system of Chuishan is similar to that of the various towns of Mo'ao. The army commander and the lord are in charge of the entire army and have the authority to dispatch three thousand elite Yellow Armor Army soldiers. The remaining six deputy army commanders each command two to three thousand garrison troops.

Duan Mian and Mu Qinghe, in addition to each commanding three thousand garrison troops, also served as commanders of the Yellow Armor First Army and the Third Army, respectively, responsible for the defense of the town. The remaining four deputy commanders each commanded two thousand garrison troops, responsible for the defense of the four major camps of Jiangyan, Tieling, Dongqing and Pingkang in the entire Chuishan region.

It can only be said that times have changed. Duan Chang's death in May of the year before last did indeed cause the Duan family to lose some of their say in the army, and the Mu family was quite comfortable for a long time.
However, just four months later, in September of the same year, when military leader Mu Longhe was killed in the Battle of Hongmen, the Mu faction faced a harsh winter.

Starting last year, Zhu Ziying, who was in charge of the Tieling camp, and Qiu Sanming, who was in charge of the Pingkang camp, were successively removed from their positions as deputy military commanders and replaced by Duan Yang and Duan Chen respectively. In January of this year, his own father, Helian Shan, also could not escape being dismissed and is now left to live in retirement.

The removal of three deputy military commanders is just a microcosm of the problem.

In the army, from the commander-in-chief and captain down to the squad leader level, anyone who had a deep connection with the Mu family, unless they pledged their loyalty to the Duan family or were too deeply involved with the Mu family to sever their ties, was either dismissed or expelled from the army.

It wasn't just the military; the Supervisory Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and other institutions in the town all underwent major reshuffles. A large number of people from the Mu faction were replaced, and now the military and political institutions of Chuishan are almost entirely controlled by the Duan family.

The struggle for power is for the purpose of seizing profits. The core purpose of controlling military and political institutions is, in the final analysis, to seize the town's resources, or to put it bluntly, to get a share of more cultivation resources and silver.

For both individuals and families, strength is always the foundation for survival, and cultivation resources are the only way to improve strength.

Helian Ba ​​is over fifty years old this year, so he naturally understands this principle well.

My father, Helian Shan, is seventy-six years old this year. In the past few years, when his grandmaster Mu Longhe was still alive, he received more than three million taels of silver every year, not to mention the cultivation resources he received as a deputy military commander. This was the key to the Helian family's rise to the ranks of the famous families of the border mountains.

However, since January of this year, when his father was removed from his position as deputy military commander, his two younger brothers, Helian Cheng and Helian Gang, as well as the rest of the Helian clan, were also dismissed from their posts by the major military and political institutions in the town. As of this month, the Helian clan has been completely marginalized.

Being marginalized is nothing, the key issue is that Lord Duan Hong doesn't assign them any new positions, and actually treats them like ordinary people.

The Helian clan, with over a hundred members, suddenly found themselves in dire straits.

They weren't starving, and they weren't without cultivation resources either. The problem was that it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. The reduction in material resources had already caused them great dissatisfaction, not to mention the psychological gap.

Helian Ba ​​remembered very clearly that his father, Helian Shan, used to be able to increase his strength by one or two zhang every year, thanks to the rewards from his master and the cultivation resources he purchased himself. However, ever since his master, Mu Longhe, had an accident two years ago, his father's strength had remained at 39 zhang without any change.

Others may not know the reason, but he, as the son, naturally understands.

Helian Shan is so old, of course he has long since reached the peak of the Cold Resistance level.

If you want to continue to improve your strength, cultivation won't work; you can only rely on elixirs.

As for the pills used to enhance strength at the peak of the Cold Resistance level, there are currently only four types in the Nine Towns: Tiger Power Pill from Jinshan Town, Dragon Carp Pill from Jiangxia Town, Green Cod Pill from Bashang Town, and Black Fiend Pill, which was recently developed by the Great Xia Dynasty.

In fact, during the Battle of Dajue Temple two years ago, Ba Shang was destroyed. At that time, the six lords who joined forces to divide up the Ba Shang treasury had already shared the recipe for Qingxedan.

The problem is, knowing the recipe isn't enough; you also need the ingredients!

As the name suggests, the main ingredient for making Qingxedan is a cold-water beast called Qingxedan, which is only distributed in the Xinghe River basin, and is mainly concentrated in the Bashang water area.

This entire area is now under the control of the Great Xia. Firstly, the Great Xia cannot allow outsiders to fish in its own waters, and secondly, the Great Xia cannot sell the blue cod to others. As a result, the formula for the blue cod is basically meaningless.

Therefore, the pills used to enhance strength at the peak of the Cold Resistance Realm can only be purchased from the three towns of Jinshan, Jiangxia, and Daxia in Chuishan.

The problem is that the production of such top-grade pills is limited, and the three towns will definitely prioritize supplying them to their own cold-resistant grade pills, so they will not sell them in unlimited quantities. Therefore, the number that Chuishan can buy each year is limited.

Before the Great Xia Dynasty moved eastward, based on the fluctuating production of the three towns of Jinshan, Jiangxia, and Bashang, the number of coins that Chuishan could purchase each year was roughly between 500 and 800. After the Great Xia Dynasty moved eastward, the production increased dramatically, and Chuishan benefited somewhat. The year before last, they purchased a total of 1200 coins, and last year the amount was even higher, reaching 1400 coins.

1200 pieces may seem like a lot, but considering that there are more than 7,000 cold-resistant pieces in total in Chuishan Town, it's not much at all.

Of course, not all those at the Cold Resistance level are at their peak cultivation, so not everyone needs these pills. The problem is that the worse one's battle physique aptitude, the faster one will break through to the Cold Resistance level. So no matter how you calculate it, at least a thousand people need them. If they were distributed equally, each person wouldn't even get one pill, which would be meaningless for improving strength. Naturally, the town wouldn't distribute them like that.

The previous quota rules of Chuishan were that the lord and the military leader each received 10% to distribute freely; the remaining 80% was given to the military for 40%; another 20% was divided between the Duan and Mu families; and the last 20% was put out to the merchants for sale.

Of course, the so-called quota is actually a purchase quota for you, not a free gift. Except for the 10% quota for Lord Duan Hong and Military Leader Mu Longhe, which is free, everyone else has to spend silver to buy it.

Speaking of this, we must mention the magnanimity of Master Mu Longhe.

Mu Longhe has the cultivation level of Xianyang, so he doesn't need this kind of pill. Logically, he should have just given it to the Mu family members, just like Lord Duan Hong.

But Mu Longhe did not. Every year, he directly divided his 10% share equally among the Mu, Zhu, Helian, and Qiu families. This shows that Master Mu Longhe treated his three direct disciples like sons. This is also why the Mu family's influence in the army has always been superior to that of the Duan family.

Not only that, Master Mu Longhe also decided to include the Zhu, Helian, and Qiu families in the distribution of the original 10% share that belonged solely to the Mu family. Because of this, the Mu family members had many conflicts with the members of the three families in the past, but Master Mu suppressed them in the end.

Of course, all of that is in the past.

Two years ago, when Mu Longhe had an accident, Lord Duan Hong changed the original rules. Every year, he would take 20% of the four kinds of pills, including Dragon Carp Pill, that were purchased from the three towns. The remaining 80% would be put on the market by the merchant guild for the townspeople to buy and sell freely.

This sounds reasonable; it's free competition, and anyone with money can buy it.

But in reality, it's not like that at all.

The Duan family still reigns supreme in Chuishan. All the silver mines in the town are controlled by the Duan family. Although the Mu family has a great influence in the army, the Duan family always holds the purse strings. This alone determines that the Mu family cannot compete with the Duan family in terms of financial resources.

Two years ago, the Mu faction was able to compete with the Duan family and snatch back a portion of the pills, thanks to the silver reserves they had accumulated over the years. Last year, however, they suffered a complete defeat, with the entire Mu faction only managing to obtain less than 10% of the pills.

Over the past two years, a large number of members of the Mu faction have been squeezed out of the town's military and political institutions. Their silver income has been decreasing, which has undoubtedly made matters worse. This year's share of pills is almost negligible. Let alone 10%, they probably won't be able to get even 50%.

This is why his father, Helian Shan, has not made any progress in strength.

The entire Mu clan can't get any pills anymore, so where will Father get the pills for cultivation?

Of course, it wasn't just his father; Helian Ba ​​himself was also at the peak of the Cold Resistance realm, and his own strength had also stopped at level 23. He was also a victim, but compared to himself, he was more worried about his father.

Helian Shan was nearly eighty years old, and his vital energy was about to enter a period of decline. As long as his strength stopped improving, the period of decline would come sooner. As his son, he naturally did not want his father's period of decline to come so early.

"What? Feeling sorry for your father because he's not feeling well?"

No one knows a son better than his father. When his son entered the room and glanced at him, he immediately guessed what his son was thinking. While feeling gratified, he couldn't help but tease him.

Unlike his father, Helian Ba ​​was not so carefree. Upon hearing this, his expression immediately turned serious. He nodded first, then remembered that he had to get down to business. He stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Father, I have already had the two hundred brothers of the Three Armies Scout Battalion tested separately, and they are all fine!"

“The three armed forces are our Mu family’s direct line. They have been suppressed too much in the past two years and have received so few resources. It’s normal for them to have this sentiment.”

Hearing his son's words, Helian Shan's expression turned slightly solemn, but he didn't show much surprise, clearly having expected it.

He Lianba's gaze sharpened slightly upon hearing this, and he continued in a low voice, "Are things all prepared on the side of my senior uncles and aunts?"

Besides his three disciples, Mu Longhe also had two sons. The five of them, arranged by age, were Mu Qinghe, Zhu Ziying, Helian Shan, Qiu Sanming, and Mu Qingyu. Helian Shan was the third oldest. According to seniority, Helian Ba ​​had to address the other four as his senior uncles and master uncles.

"It's been prepared for a long time..."

After answering, Helian Shan paused for a moment before continuing, "As soon as night fell, Duan Hong dismissed your senior uncle, the commander of the Third Army of the Yellow Armor Army. Guess who the new commander is?"

Grandmaster Mu Qinghe's position as Commander of the Third Army has been revoked.

When Helian Ba ​​heard this news from his father, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face. This was the last commander of the Mu clan in the army. Withdrawing him was equivalent to completely removing the Mu clan from the Chuishan military.

Who replaced him as the new commander-in-chief?
Helian Ba ​​lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Seeing the teasing look in his father's eyes, he immediately realized something and said with disbelief, "It can't be Duan Ming, can it?"

Seeing Helian Shan nod in confirmation of his guess, Helian Ba's eyes were also filled with astonishment. His expression remained frozen for more than ten breaths. After recovering, he shook his head repeatedly, looking extremely helpless, as if he didn't even want to say anything more.

But after a moment, he couldn't help but speak up:

"The Duan family truly has no one left to use!"
Duan Sheng, Duan Yang, and Duan Chen, these three are only in their early thirties, yet they were forcibly promoted to the position of deputy commander, causing widespread resentment in the army. Duan Hong has already incurred the wrath of the masses.
With Ziheng's strength of 31, according to the rule of the two families taking turns in charge, he should have been promoted from deputy commander of the Second Army of the Yellow Armor Army to commander last year. Duan Hong directly suppressed the change and not only continued to let Duan Xian be the commander, but also directly removed Ziheng from the position of deputy commander and expelled him from the Yellow Armor Army.

Now it's even worse. Instead of using the 42-mane strength of the eldest master, they promoted Duan Ming, who only has 28 mane strength, to be the commander of the Third Army!
"By acting so perversely and practicing nepotism to this extent, Duan Hong truly intends to turn Chuishan into his personal fiefdom..."

"If he really has that ambition, I might think more highly of him!"

Helian Shan suddenly interrupted his son with a cold laugh, then said with a look of disdain, "Chushan is a ship full of holes right now. If he really has the ambition to unite the whole town and seek to make Chushan continue to stand in the territory of the Nine Towns, then it will not have been in vain that the former lord passed the position to him back then!"

"What kind of bullshit one-man rule is this? This good-for-nothing suppresses dissent and lets the Duan family control all the military and political departments, just to better surrender to Beishuo and hand over the entire Chuishan Mountain. If the former lord knew this in the afterlife, he would probably rise up and slap this good-for-nothing a few times!"

Helian Shan's use of the lord's name was already disrespectful, but now he went so far as to call Duan Hong a piece of trash, demonstrating the depth of his pent-up anger.

Helian Ba's emotions were also stirred up by Helian Shan's words, and he asked angrily, "Father, what are those senior uncles waiting for? Just lead your troops to rebel against them. With the support of Great Xia, we can't lose! Rather than being coerced by the Duan family to surrender to Bei Shuo, we might as well take the initiative. Right now, in the Nine Towns region, who doesn't want to be a citizen of Great Xia?"

"No need to rush, it's almost time. My senior and junior brothers just informed me that Duan Ming will be going to the inner city barracks to hand over the reins to your eldest master at dawn. That will be a momentous occasion. You should go back to the inner city barracks and get ready. I also need to get ready!"

Helian Ba ​​was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. He had some understanding of the current situation in the town, but he had only received Helian Shan's order last night to test whether the soldiers of the scout camp would join them in rebellion. Now, he suddenly learned that the big event he had been planning for several months was about to begin at dawn, and he was somewhat flustered. For a moment, he forgot to answer his father.

Seeing his son's expression, Helian Shan's face darkened, but remembering that his son knew very little, he quickly relaxed and said confidently, "Don't worry! As soon as it's light, our Chuishan Town will undergo a complete transformation, and it will only change in the direction we want. There is no other possibility!"

Upon hearing this, Helian Ba ​​looked up at his father with curiosity and confusion in his eyes. He even wanted to ask a question, but Helian Shan waved for him to leave, so he held back and turned back to the inner city military camp.

Helian Ba ​​returned to the inner city military camp from the mansion, his eyes filled with gloom as he saw the barracks of the First and Second Armies next door.

“The First Army is the direct descendant of the Duan family; the Second Army has been almost completely re-integrated, and is basically composed of people from the Duan family; we only have the Third Army left, but our Grand Master Uncle still has three thousand Zhenyu soldiers under his command…” Helian Ba ​​returned to his quarters in his barracks, and suddenly realized something, his expression hardening: “Wait a minute! Duan Ming came to take over the military command at dawn, did he calculate this correctly? Would our Third Army disobey orders?”

The transfer of military power is an extremely sensitive matter, especially for their Yellow Armor Army's Third Army. As of now, the Mu faction only has their Third Army and three thousand garrison troops left in Chuishan Town.

Once the Third Army is taken away, the three thousand garrison troops will definitely not be able to cause any trouble.

Duan Hong was clearly aware of this. He was worried that his senior uncle Mu Qinghe would take the opportunity to cause trouble, so he deliberately chose daytime to have Duan Ming come to the barracks for the handover. His purpose was to prevent the three thousand garrison troops from playing their role!
Of the three thousand garrison troops, only a small portion of the soldiers were at the Cold Resistance level; the majority were at the limit of the Earth Digging Realm, making it impossible for them to appear normally during the day.

Thinking of this, Helian Ba ​​instantly became anxious and uncertain.

"The Duan family holds two Yellow Armor Army units, plus the three thousand Northern Shuo Army units in the Duan family territory, totaling five thousand. If you include their own clan members, the number of Cold-resistant soldiers is at least six thousand or more."
On our side, the Third Army, plus the Mu, Zhu, and Qiu armies, as well as the descendants of our four Helian clans, totals about three thousand. Last month, I let in a thousand Xia soldiers, so in total, we have just over four thousand.

The odds of winning don't seem very high, do they?

The fact that a large number of Northern Shuo's cold-weather gear secretly entered the city could be kept secret from ordinary people in the city, but how could it be kept secret from those who had been in charge of the town for many years?

Grand Master Mu Qinghe had already prepared a response. Just last month, Helian Ba ​​was assigned to guard the south gate, and under Grand Master Mu Qinghe's instruction, he secretly let a group of Xia soldiers into the city.

The problem is that this batch of Xia soldiers is not large, only a thousand men.

A thousand Xia soldiers are clearly not enough to influence the current situation.

Why was the father so confident just now?
"No, no, after all, this is the mighty Great Xia! As long as that number one person in the Nine Towns shows up, our chances of winning will increase to at least 80%!"

Helian Ba ​​quickly found his answer. He had personally witnessed Xia Hong's prowess during the Battle of Hongmen two years ago. In his opinion, as long as Xia Hong himself arrived, all the problems could be solved.

Helian Ba ​​sat there in his barracks, lost in thought. As an even colder chill swept in, the night slowly faded, and the sky gradually turned a pale white.

A rustling sound came from the military camp; it was the sound of soldiers getting up.

All members of the Yellow Armor Army possess the Cold Resistance level of cultivation, so their daily routine is different from that of ordinary people. Under normal circumstances, they are active during the day and the first half of the night, and only use the second half of the night to sleep.

Helian Ba, who hadn't slept all night, heard the noise outside gradually subside and got up to leave the barracks. When he came out, the two hundred soldiers of the scout battalion were already dressed and lined up.

At dawn, before the captain left the barracks, any soldier who did not join the ranks would be punished. This was one of the more important rules among the many military regulations of the Yellow Armor Army.

Seeing the two hundred men lined up meticulously before him, Helian Ba's eyes lit up with satisfaction. Without saying a word, he led them to join the First and Second Battalions in front of the main tent.

As soon as Helian Ba ​​stood in the front row, a hand reached out from inside the main tent, and then Mu Qinghe, with a full head of white hair and wearing silver armor, walked out.

His expression was unusually calm. He stepped out and faced the army, then announced loudly, "There's no roll call today. The lord's newly appointed commander-in-chief will soon be taking command of the Third Army. Brothers, please wait here with me for a moment..."

"Their military bearing is impeccable, and their imposing presence is truly worthy of the Yellow Armor Army!"

Coincidentally, just as Mu Qinghe finished speaking, a slightly frivolous middle-aged voice came from outside the barracks.

All one thousand soldiers in yellow armor kept their eyes fixed straight ahead, except for Mu Qinghe and the captains of the three battalions, Helian Ba, Mu Ziming, and Zhu Qingkai, who turned their heads to look outside the barracks.

Three people came together outside the barracks. The one in the middle was carrying a long sword, had a thin face, and looked to be about fifty years old, about the same age as Helian Ba.
Two elderly men with white hair stood on his left and right sides, their ages clearly similar to Mu Qinghe's.

"Hey, Duan Mingxian, I apologize to Commander Mu. Commander Mu has been in charge of the Third Army for many years. If it weren't for the Lord's order, I would never have accepted this position so carelessly."

Accompanied by two white-haired old men, the middle-aged man with the knife walked to the front of the main tent. Although he bowed apologetically to Mu Qinghe, his face wore a forced smile, practically screaming hypocrisy.

This middle-aged man was none other than Duan Ming, whom Lord Duan Hong had personally selected to replace Mu Qinghe as the commander of the Yellow Armor Army.

Mu Qinghe first gave Duan Ming a cold glance, then ignored him completely. Looking at the two old men beside him, he sneered, "For a routine handover of military power, you actually have two deputy commanders accompany you to your new post. If the lord is so distrustful, why hand over the Third Army to him in the first place?"

The two old men were none other than Duan Mian and Duan Xian, the two deputy commanders of the current Chui Mountain Army. They were not only deputy commanders, but also concurrently served as commanders of the First and Second Armored Armor ...

Clearly, Lord Duan Hong knew that Duan Ming alone could not control the situation, so he sent Duan Mian and Duan Xian to accompany him to ensure that he could smoothly take over the command of the Third Army from Mu Qinghe.

"Brother Mu, we've known each other for decades, and now we're both halfway to our graves. Let's skip the pleasantries and hand over the military token!"

Upon hearing Duan Mian's words, Mu Qinghe took out a silver military token from his pocket. The front of the token was engraved with the four characters "Chushan Yellow Armor" and the back was engraved with "Third Army".

Raising the talisman symbolizing the command of the Third Army, Mu Qinghe took a deep breath, then walked to the front of the Third Army and declared loudly, "The Lord has given the order, and I, Mu, have no choice but to obey. This military talisman is now handed over to Duan Ming. From now on, the Third Army will be under Duan Ming's command!"

After saying that, he threw the military tally directly to Duan Ming.

Duan Ming accepted the military tally with a joyful expression, completely unaware that a hint of coldness had quietly risen in Mu Qinghe's eyes.

"The Third Army has only one commander-in-chief!"

A voice suddenly rang out in the queue, instantly freezing the joy that had just appeared on Duan Ming's face.

Duan Mian and Duan Xian did not show much surprise on their faces. They simply turned their heads to look at the queue in front of them and quickly locked onto the person who had spoken.

"We recognize no one but Commander Mu!"

"The Third Army has only one commander surnamed Mu."

"We don't know who Duan Ming is."

………………

Even if Duan Mian and the other person locked on, it was useless, because the entire queue was filled with sounds, one after another.

The newly appointed commander, Duan Ming, was even called out by name by the soldiers. The joy on his face completely disappeared, leaving only anger.

The scene before him seemed to be exactly as Duan Mian had anticipated. He showed no surprise whatsoever, but instead stepped forward slightly, his blood surging, his long white beard moving without wind, and he shouted angrily at the soldiers, "Disobeying military orders, are you plotting rebellion?"

The soldiers were clearly stunned by the question, and the sounds that had been rising and falling immediately stopped.

"The commander is showing favoritism. What kind of military order is this? Duan Ming's strength is not even as good as mine. He is not even worthy to carry the shoes of the commander-in-chief. What qualifications does he have to command my Third Army?"

The soldiers dared not speak, but the three captains were different.

Especially Zhu Qingkai, the captain of the first battalion, although his strength is also 28, the same as Duan Ming, he has extremely strong swordsmanship talent. Not to mention Duan Ming, even many people in their early 30s would not dare to easily defeat him.

Zhu Qingkai's words were a complete slap in the face to Duan Ming.

Upon hearing these words, Duan Ming's face alternated between pale and flushed, clearly indicating that he was extremely angry. However, even so, he did not dare to refute Zhu Qingkai and simply stood there clenching his fists.

"waste!"

Seeing Duan Ming's appalling behavior, even though they were cousins, Duan Mian couldn't help but curse inwardly before slowly stepping forward. He looked at Zhu Qingkai with an unfriendly expression and threatened sharply, "Captain Zhu, criticizing the lord is a serious crime. I'll give you a chance to take back what you just said, or don't blame me for dealing with you according to military regulations."

It has to be said that experience counts. Duan Mian avoided Zhu Qingkai's doubts about Duan Ming's strength, but instead seized on the loophole in his words and accused him of criticizing the lord. In terms of momentum, he actually gained the upper hand.

"Enough with the nonsense! Lord Duan, just tell us why Duan Ming is in charge of the Third Army! The lord's orders are illogical and irregular. I now suspect that these orders were fabricated by your Duan family. We absolutely do not believe that the lord is so muddle-headed!"

Unfortunately, Zhu Qingkai was clearly well-prepared today. He first tried to cover up his criticism of the lord, and then took the opportunity to separate Duan Hong from the Duan family, directly targeting the entire Duan family.

"Be bold!"

Duan Mian finally couldn't hold back any longer. He and Mu Qinghe were of the same generation, and Zhu Qingkai was the son of Mu Qinghe's junior brother, Zhu Ziying. In front of thousands of soldiers, how could he save face after being refuted like this by a junior?

"Dissentful Lord, you're going to suffer today!"

Seeing that thousands of soldiers were staring at him with hostile expressions, Duan Mian quickly realized that if he did not completely intimidate these thousands of soldiers, Duan Ming would have no chance of successfully seizing military power. So he stopped talking and drew his silver broadsword from his waist, rushing straight toward Zhu Qingkai.

Duan Mian didn't notice that in the brief moment he drew his sword, a dark glint flashed in Mu Qinghe's eyes, who had been coldly observing from the front of the main tent.

call out…………

The clamor of blades came like a storm, and Zhu Qingkai fled backwards without hesitation.

Unlike the other useless members of the Duan family, Duan Mian served as the deputy military commander for more than ten years, with a basic strength of 43. Even Mu Qinghe was overshadowed by Duan Mian. With his mere strength of 28, if he dared to confront him head-on, he would surely die.

However, he had just been standing directly in front of the soldiers, so by stepping back, he ended up in the middle of the army.

The soldiers of the Third Army clearly held Zhu Qingkai, the battalion commander, in high regard. As soon as he retreated, they immediately made a gap to allow him to enter smoothly. Then, the soldiers on both sides quickly closed in to block Duan Mian.

"Get out of my way!"

Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. Since he had decided to make a move, Duan Mian naturally wouldn't hesitate any longer. Seeing the soldiers of the Third Army blocking his way, he didn't slow down. Instead, he shouted angrily. When the soldiers didn't retreat, he flipped his wrist, changing the blade to the back of the blade, and with a sweeping motion, he tried to sweep away all the dozen or so soldiers blocking his way.

Pfft...

However, as he swept the ball across the ground, something amazing happened.

The armor of the dozen or so soldiers in front of him was cleaved open, and more than a dozen spurts of blood burst out. The three soldiers who were hit first were even swept backward and flew more than ten meters away, finally crashing to the ground with the sound of bones shattering.

Pfft...

Two soldiers fell to the ground and died instantly, while another soldier clutched the blood-red wound on his chest, looking up at Duan Mian with disbelief on his face, as if he couldn't believe that Duan Mian would kill him.

"You...you..."

The soldier uttered a few words with trembling lips, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, closed his eyes, and collapsed to the ground, seemingly dead.

"this…………"

Duan Mian was stunned. He looked at the bloodstains on the back of his knife and vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn't react for a moment.

But soon, he understood.

"Duan Mian, how dare you kill my brother!"

"Slaughtering your own people, what kind of deputy commander do you think you are?"

“Brothers, the Duan family never intended to give us a way out. If Duan Ming really takes over the position of commander-in-chief, the three armies will be reorganized like the two armies. The Duan family will not let us continue to stay in the army.”

"The Duan family wants to hand over our Chuishan to Beishuo. Once the Third Army is reorganized, we will all have to merge with Beishuo along with the Duan family. From now on, we will be second-class citizens of Beishuo!"

"Inverted!"

"Chushan belongs to all of us, not just the Duan family. Brothers, we can't tolerate this any longer. If we continue to tolerate it, we'll have no good days ahead."

"Inverted!"

………………

The soldiers' chorus of words, especially their content, shocked Duan Mian, Duan Xian, and Duan Ming, turning their pupils wide and their faces deathly pale.

"Since the military leader died at Hongmen, the Duan family has been instigating the lord to suppress loyal officials, causing resentment in the town. In order to curry favor with the Yang family and surrender, they have allowed the people of Beishuo to sneak into the city. I'm afraid that in just a few days, you will hand over my Chuishan Town to Beishuo."
Now they've even turned their backs on their own people, slaughtering my comrades. The crimes of the Duan clan are countless. If the lord doesn't eliminate you, I, Mu Qinghe, will not tolerate you any longer. Brothers, if these treacherous Duan clan members aren't eliminated soon, the lord may never come to his senses…”

Mu Qinghe, who had been observing the situation from the sidelines for a long time, finally spoke.

He continued to separate the lord from the Duan family, then, in an increasingly somber tone, recounted the numerous crimes the Duan family had committed over the past year. Finally, after a brief pause, he drew his broadsword from his waist, faced the soldiers, and suddenly pointed it to the sky:
"Brothers, we are not rebelling, we are staging a military coup to eliminate the treacherous Duan family, to bring our lord back to his senses, and to revitalize the borderlands!"

"A military remonstrance will revitalize the borderlands!"

"A military remonstrance will revitalize the borderlands!"

………………

"A mutiny! A mutiny! One army, two armies, surround the barracks! Quickly!"

"Surround the barracks immediately! Don't let a single person escape! Hurry!"

The soldiers roared one after another, and the entire inner city barracks were filled with a surge of energy. The Yellow Armor First and Second Armies next door had already been alerted. Under the stern command of Duan Mian and Duan Xian, two thousand soldiers quickly surrounded the Third Army's barracks.

Seeing that the Third Army barracks were surrounded, Duan Mian and Duan Xian relaxed slightly, but before they could even relax for two breaths—

Whoosh...whoosh...whoosh...

Amidst a deafening roar, Mu Ziming, the Second Battalion Commander who had remained silent until now, suddenly drew a longbow from behind him, lit three iron arrows, and then fired them one after another into the air.

The three iron arrows were clearly made of coal powder. After being shot into the air, they quickly burst into flames, leaving a straight arc of sparks that lingered in mid-air for three or four breaths.

Just as the three arcs of sparks were about to disappear.

The same arcs of fire also lit up the skies above the rest of the town.

If you count carefully, there are at least twenty or thirty!
"A mutiny! The Mu family is about to launch a mutiny..."

Duan Mian's face turned deathly pale, and his pupils suddenly became extremely panicked.

If he still can't react now, he'd be incredibly stupid!

Everything that happened today was planned in advance by Mu Qinghe. He fell into the trap the moment he drew his sword against those soldiers.

"The lord was right, the Mu family really has the guts to launch a coup!"

(End of this chapter)