Eternal Sword

Chapter 419 Killing three birds with one stone

Jingkou of Daxia is located in the northeast of the capital, adjacent to the Xia River. It is an important town of Daxia, guarding against Qian Kingdom in the north and Xuantian in the south, and protecting the capital.

The Northern Expedition Army was stationed here.

There are many generals with titles in Daxia, but most of them are generals of miscellaneous titles. Only four of them can set up their own offices. The commander of the Northern Expedition Army, General Wang Xiaobo, is one of them.

As the brother of the late emperor's empress and a relative by marriage, he was highly valued by the late emperor. After Ye Xuan retired, the late emperor handed over the Northern Expedition Army to Wang Xiaobo.

Since the Great Xia Dynasty moved south, the royal family has declined due to the power of the aristocratic families, their separatist rule, and their lack of compliance with the emperor's orders. There have been many internal conflicts that have endangered the imperial power.

It was not until Wang Xiaobo took charge of the Northern Expedition Army that the royal family truly possessed a military force capable of shocking the six states and all the major clans!
But later, the previous emperor suddenly passed away and the current emperor succeeded to the throne.

Xia Daozi, who had assumed the power of assisting the emperor in his capacity as the emperor's uncle, appointed Shen Guobao and other favored ministers and villains. In addition, the emperor was stupid and did not know the difference between the cold and the heat, which led to the loss of power. The government became increasingly corrupt, and the royal family began to show signs of disintegration.

The night is falling, dotted with a few sparse stars.

The lights in the Jingkou General's Mansion were bright, just like daytime.

In the main hall, Wang Xiaobo, who is over sixty years old, has a gaunt face, sword-like eyebrows, eyes like cold stars, a straight nose, and tightly pursed thin lips, exuding an aura of majesty without even being angry.

At this moment, he was wearing a black battle robe with gold edges, standing in front of the desk, with an upright figure and an exceptionally slender back. In his hand behind his back, he was holding a secret letter, his eyes were deep, and he seemed to be thinking about something.

At this moment, a personal attendant came to report outside the door.

"General Wei, one of General Liu's officers has an urgent matter to report."

"Oh?"

Wang Xiaobo raised his eyebrows slightly.

The military officers under Liu Daojian came to him to report, which was equivalent to skipping a level, which was a big taboo in the army.

Wang Xiaobo was unhappy and asked calmly, "Who is this person?"

"Song Wu."

The attendant replied.

Wang Xiaobo's heart moved.

He had not originally planned to meet this person, but he still had some impression of this Song Wu.

Although he was born in the underworld, he did not have any bad habits. He was down-to-earth, alert, smart and capable. When he was sent to Beiqian to gather information, he did a good job.

"Let him in."

Wang Xiaobo said.

After receiving the order, the attendant quickly retreated.

Not long after, he brought Song Wu to the main hall.

Wang Xiaobo saw that Song Wu's face was weather-beaten, his face was flushed, and his breathing had not yet adjusted. He knew that he had traveled a long distance and was traveling fast.

"what's up?"

Wang Xiaobo asked straight to the point.

Song Wu took out a few yellowish letters from his bosom, handed them over with both hands, and said in a deep voice: "I recently investigated the Sword Forging Villa and found that the Sword Forging Villa was secretly colluding with the Xuantian Sect. This is a serious matter, and I dare not neglect it."

"These are the secret correspondences between the Sword Forging Villa and the Xuantian Sect. Please make your decision, General."

Song Wu raised his arms high, and after he finished speaking, he lowered his head, not daring to look into Wang Xiaobo's eyes.

To be honest, his actions today were extremely dangerous!
The fact that he went beyond Liu Daojian to find Wang Xiaobo violated military regulations.

But he knew that if he told Liu Daojian about this, it would probably not help Chen Tang and might even backfire.

The only chance lies with Wang Xiaobo!
But he had no idea what Wang Xiaobo's attitude would be.

After saying this, Song Wu had already resigned himself to his fate.

But after a long time, Wang Xiaobo didn't respond.

There was deathly silence in the main hall.

A few beads of sweat dripped down Song Wu's forehead. Before he knew it, he was sweating profusely and his heart gradually sank to the bottom.

No response, maybe that’s the response!
When Song Wu's arms were almost stiff, a faint question came from the front: "Why didn't you tell Dao Jian about this?"

Song Wu said in a deep voice: "General Liu is not in the barracks, so I came here with the secret letter to report to the general first."

This was of course just his excuse.

But in fact, Liu Daojian had indeed led his troops away and was heading towards Langya Pavilion.

"Sword Forging Villa has always had close contacts with the Northern Expedition Army. Why are you suddenly investigating Sword Forging Villa?"

Wang Xiaobo narrowed his eyes slightly and suddenly asked, "Who gave you the information?"

He had just received a letter from Ye Xuan, which explained the collusion between Zhujian Villa and Xuantian Sect.

Then, a soldier from the Northern Expedition went to investigate the Sword Forging Villa. This was too much of a coincidence.

Could it be that this person has some connection with Ye Xuan?
If there are still Ye Xuan's men in the Northern Expedition Army, this will be more serious to him than the matter of the Sword Casting Villa!

Song Wu originally wanted to make up an excuse, but he vaguely sensed that there was something wrong with Wang Xiaobo's tone, and there was a hint of murderous intent in it!
Song Wu pondered for a moment and decided to report the truth, saying: "One of my friends had a conflict with Zhujian Villa and killed someone..."

Song Wu then gave a brief description of what happened between Chen Tang and Zhujian Villa.

"The reaction of the Sword Forging Villa was too strange, so I decided to investigate."

Song Wu said: "The Zhujian Villa is heavily guarded, and I didn't have a chance in the past few days. It was not until just now that Zhujian Villa gathered experts to go to Langya Pavilion that I got the chance to sneak into the villa and obtain these secret letters."

Hearing this, Wang Xiaobo's expression eased a little.

He took the secret letter from Song Wu, put it on the table, and said, "Sit down and talk."

"Yes."

Song Wuru felt like he had been pardoned, and his whole body was drenched in sweat.

He felt like he had just been to the gates of hell!
Wang Xiaobo asked, "Is this Chen Tang you are talking about the young man who crippled Xia Yuanxian today?"

"Yes."

Song Wu nodded.

Wang Xiaobo's eyes flashed with admiration, and he said, "You are really loyal and righteous. For this friend, you are willing to risk your life."

"General, you are too kind. The Sword Forging Villa is empty tonight, so it is not a dangerous place."

In front of Wang Xiaobo, Song Wu was very humble.

Wang Xiaobo snorted and said, "I'm not referring to the Sword Forging Villa. You're putting yourself in danger by coming to me!"

Song Wu was shocked and looked at Wang Xiaobo in surprise.

Wang Xiaobo looked directly at Song Wu and said slowly, "The Sword Forging Villa has close ties with the Northern Expedition Army, and most of the weapons in the army are supplied by the villa. Have you ever thought about the possibility that I might have some connection with the Xuantian Sect?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Song Wu said decisively: "The general's heart is in Daxia, and his loyalty to the emperor is evident to all. He despises the powerful and is upright. He is full of righteousness. How could he be in cahoots with the Xuantian Sect!"

These words were powerful and heartfelt, and Wang Xiaobo benefited greatly from listening to them.

But he didn't say anything, his expression remained normal, and he just nodded without saying anything.

Seeing that Wang Xiaobo did not respond, Song Wu continued, "In recent years, there have been sycophants and villains in the court, causing chaos in the government. All officials have been sitting in their positions and doing nothing, but the general is the only one who is upright and speaks out directly. He dares to denounce the treacherous ministers in the court. In the court and in the rivers and lakes, who doesn't know the general's reputation!"

"Xia Daozi, although Shen Guobao and the others are powerful, they still have to be cautious in front of the general!"

"It is because of the general guarding Jingkou and protecting the capital that the country of Daxia has not been overthrown and fallen into the hands of villains. When I was traveling around the world, I heard people mention the general. They all said that the general was the 'purple gold beam that spans the sea and the white jade pillar that supports the sky' of Daxia!"

No matter how mature and steady Wang Xiaobo was, he felt a little flattered by these words.

More importantly, what Song Wu said was indeed true.

In the current court, he is the only one who dares to rebuke Xia Daozi and Shen Guobao in public!

"Humph!"

When mentioning Xia Daozi and Shen Guobao, Wang Xiaobo's face darkened and he said coldly: "These two villains deceived the emperor and disrupted our government. If we have the chance, we must eradicate them!"

"Your friend crippled Xia Yuanxian, which was equivalent to cutting off one of Xia Daozi's arms. It's a good idea to cripple him!"

Hearing this, Song Wu finally felt relieved.

He dared to report the matter to Wang Xiaobo because he heard that Chen Tang had deposed Xia Yuanxian and became enemies with the Prime Minister's Mansion.

In this way, it can be regarded as helping Wang Xiaobo solve a major problem.

In recent years, Wang Xiaobo has been at odds with Xia Daozi and Shen Guobao, and the conflict is so deep that it is difficult to resolve.

Xia Daozi even thought about summoning Wang Xiaobo to the court, and ambush and kill him with the masters of the palace!

Wang Xiaobo had similar thoughts.

Some time ago, Shen Guobao wrote a letter to the emperor, asking him to reduce the strength of the Northern Expedition Army, which made Wang Xiaobo very angry!
At the moment, it seems to be just a matter of Zhujian Villa, but because Chen Tang has a grudge with the Prime Minister's Mansion, Shen Guobao of the Prime Minister's Mansion is likely to take the opportunity to intervene and add insult to injury to Chen Tang.

If Wang Xiaobo is willing to come forward, not only can he eliminate the hidden danger of the Sword Casting Villa, but he can also teach the Xuantian Sect a lesson. It is also a great opportunity to strike at Xia Daozi and Shen Guobao!
The Northern Expedition Army will surely become famous!

Three birds with one stone.

Wang Xiaobo stood up and said in a deep voice: "Pass the order down, all the commanders of the camps should gather in the training ground immediately, dress lightly and prepare to march out!"

It's done.

Song Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)