The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 105: When time comes, heaven and earth all work together

September 21st, before noon.

After being away from Yangzhou City for more than half a month, Wang Wen finally returned.

Just as the large group of people could see the mottled city at the end of the horizon, they heard the sound of gongs and drums.

Wang Wen had good eyesight and could see Huang Xingde standing at the front of the crowd from two miles away.

The old man was wearing a festive crimson brocade robe with floral patterns today. He stood at the front of the crowd, trembling with fear, grinning and clasping his hands to the acquaintances around him. His big, rosy face, with even the wrinkles smoothed out, looked as if it had two funny blushes on it under the golden autumn sunlight.
Seeing the returning officers and soldiers from afar, the noisy sounds of gongs and drums suddenly rose several degrees. The hysterical dongdongclang almost depicted the vivid picture of the gong and drum team desperately swinging their arms to beat the drums and cymbals until they smoked.

"This old Deng..."

Wang Wen wanted to laugh, but he felt inexplicably wronged and bitter in his heart. Even the festive sound of gongs and drums sounded harsh and irritating to his ears.

He turned around and looked at the dozens of Si Tianwei behind him, and found that the smiles on their faces were very forced. Many of them even lowered their heads, as if they did not dare to look directly at the villagers who came to greet them.

"What are you doing?"

Wang Wenqiang suppressed some of the negative emotions in his heart, turned his head to face them, and shouted loudly with feigned displeasure: "Everyone, lift your heads and chests up. I am returning in triumph, not fleeing. We defended the people of Yangzhou and killed those bastards of the White Lotus Sect in Huangshan. Even if the Jade Emperor came, he would give us a thumbs up and call us heroes!"

All the Si Tianwei raised their heads and looked at him intently. It seemed as if a ray of sunlight penetrated the dark clouds in their eyes, reflecting a bright light.

No one is willing to be morally blackmailed. The instinct of life is to find a way out for yourself.

But those are hundreds of thousands of lives, and they are of great importance whether they are weighed or not.

Unfortunately, they are not smart enough...

Wang Wen looked them straight in the eye, slowly cracked his mouth, and laughed out loud: "If your brain is not working well, then don't fight with yourself. Just listen to me. My brain is better than yours. If I think we are fine, then we are fine. How can I harm you?"

Dozens of Si Tianwei looked up at his heartless smile, slowly opened their mouths and laughed foolishly with him, and the haze in their hearts seemed to dissipate most of it.

"Enough of the nonsense, today I'm treating you, with plenty of good wine and good food!"

Wang Wen turned his head and waved his hand towards Yangzhou City in front of him. He shouted, "Good women, I don't have the ability to give one to each of you, but tonight, as long as you can find a willing woman, even if you bastards each find eight women to serve you, I will accept it!"

"I've given you this opportunity. How much silver you can get from me today depends entirely on your own abilities. If you can't do it, then you can only blame yourselves for being useless. It's best not to mention that you know me when you go out in the future. I can't afford to lose face!"

A bunch of vulgar and vulgar words, loud and clear.

All the Si Tianwei laughed loudly with shining eyes. No matter they were disciples of the Cao Gang or veterans of the Western Army, they all kept shouting "Brother Hu".

"Brother Tiger is awesome!"

"Brother Tiger is mighty!"

"Brother Tiger will find ten thousand wives and be the bridegroom every night!"

"Godfather, I've been wandering for half my life..."

Wang Wen also laughed and took a bite of the beef belly: "Hahahaha... Brothers, triumph!"

He rode ahead and rushed towards Yangzhou City.

"Triumph!"

Dozens of riders shouted in unison and followed on horseback. The rumbling sound of horse hooves swept across the plain, as if there were thousands of troops.

Huang Xingde, on the other side, saw Wang Wen and others galloping towards him on horseback in a majestic manner, and secretly praised his unfilial son in his heart, praising him for his good cooperation.

"Why are you still standing there?"

He quickly turned his head and raised his hands to signal the Qinghe Gang disciples on his left and right: "Everyone, start yelling! Don't you recognize your Brother Tiger?"

Upon hearing this, the two or three hundred Qinghe Gang disciples hurriedly followed the pre-rehearsed script and shouted in unison, "Congratulations to Lord Wang for defending his hometown, punishing evildoers, upholding justice, serving the people, fulfilling his duties faithfully, fighting bloody battles, and returning victoriously!"

"Congratulations, Lord Wang, for protecting my hometown..."

Zhao Zhiling, Cheng Xian and others who were standing on tiptoe and stretching their necks to look into the distance in the crowd, heard this shout and covered their faces with their hands in confusion.

Wang Wen, who was riding a bull at full speed, heard the shouts and slapped himself in the face in silence and shame... What kind of large-scale social death scene is this?
Only Huang Xingde stood in front of the group, arms folded, nodding tremblingly: "Stand still, everyone. Accept my son's kindness. No one can deny it!"

He has been low-key for most of his life and has never been so ostentatious.

Even though Wang Wen had previously turned the tide and saved the people of Yangzhou, he never mentioned it and pretended that it had never happened.

Until he heard that the ten prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River had become a den of evil, he decisively decided to show off. Even if it meant losing face, he wanted the people of the whole city to remember the kindness of his unfilial son!

This was because Huang Tianba was a gang leader who was well versed in human nature. He knew that people were always particularly tolerant of bad people and extremely harsh on good people...

If he didn't make such a scene, even if the people of the city were grateful to Erhu now, after the furor died down, there would still be people who would come out and secretly blame Erhu and his men, asking why they hadn't been able to save Yangzhou City and why they hadn't been able to rescue the people of the ten prefectures.

Some people may even have ulterior motives and tear their good intentions apart and crush them, making all kinds of distorted and slanderous interpretations, reversing right and wrong and confusing black and white!
There is no doubt that there must be such people, and there are definitely quite a few of them!
After all, compared to believing that a gangster would sincerely and wholeheartedly save their lives, I am afraid that many people would rather believe that they did so for other purposes... such as selling them food or building materials?

Huang Xingde would never allow such a thing to happen to his unfilial son!

Therefore, he had to set the tone in advance that his unfilial son was a great hero and a great man who protected his hometown, punished evil, upheld justice, served the people, performed his duties faithfully, fought bloody battles, and returned victoriously!

Anyone who dares to have evil thoughts about his unfilial son is going against his Qinghe Gang and the people of the whole city!
To this end, he had already leaked the causes and consequences of the battle at the government office in advance to warm up for three days.

Now, the people of the city all knew that it was Wang Erhu who pushed for the Qingcheng Campaign, and it was Wang Erhu who mobilized the Qinghe Gang's manpower and resources to prepare life-saving food for them. It was also Wang Erhu who personally formulated the plan and took the lead in blowing up the evil spirit in the government office...

Combined with the shocking news that the ten prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River have become a den of evil, which has caused a sensation throughout the country, all the people in Yangzhou have already known that it was the brainless Wang Erhu from the Qinghe Gang who saved the lives of their entire family from the clutches of the White Lotus Sect!

Therefore, it was not only the Qinghe Gang who came to greet Wang Wen and the others today.

Instead, all the people in Yangzhou who had free time came here...

At this moment, these common people heard the uniform shouts of the Qinghe Gang disciples. Although they subconsciously felt that these people were really shameless, they did not feel much disgust or resistance towards the compliments in the shouts.

Instead, amidst the growing cheers, they couldn't help but join in, shouting, "Welcome Lord Wang back with a great victory!"

The shouts of thousands of people condensed into a tsunami-like sound, overwhelming the dozens of Si Tianwei who were rushing towards them.

Everyone felt their scalps tingling and goose bumps appeared all over their bodies.

They all turned their gazes to the burly figure riding a bull in front of them, and suddenly felt that all the hardship and suffering along the way had dissipated like the wind...

"Next time we fight the White Lotus Sect, I'll go again!" they all murmured in their hearts.

……

From octogenarians blocking the road to toast, to white-haired ladies blocking the road to feed, to unmarried young ladies shyly throwing bouquets of flowers, dozens of Sitian Guards went through a lot of trouble from before noon to after noon, just like going through five gates and killing six generals, before finally arriving at the Dusi Tianjian Yamen.

Although these guys all enjoyed themselves, they were exhausted both physically and mentally after going through this whole process. They felt that it was even more tiring than fighting the White Lotus Sect with real swords and guns.

When Wang Wen and the others finally entered the yamen, they collapsed on the edge of the parade ground, gasping for breath in a lingering state of fear. Cheng Xian, who had accompanied them the entire time and been ignored the entire time, laughed sourly and said, "Oh, look at all those great heroes and great men like our Yangzhou Du Si Tianjian. How come they've all become useless in the blink of an eye?"

Zhao Zhiling standing by also had a dark face and kept stroking his beard.

He was envious and jealous.

But he had the nerve to say it.

"We all fought together in the battle at the government office. Why are you considered heroes and great men, while we are just passersby?"

'We are unbalanced!'

'Very unbalanced!'

The lower-level Si Tianwei couldn't say anything back and could only laugh foolishly.

Wang Wen was not going to tolerate him. He rolled his eyes and said, "I know you're jealous, but don't be so quick to be jealous. It won't be too late to be sarcastic after the commendation from the capital comes in!"

"Hahaha……"

Cheng Xian couldn't help but laugh out loud. He opened his strong arms and stepped forward to give Wang Wen a bear hug. He patted Wang Wen's shoulder vigorously and said sincerely, "Congratulations, Erhu, on your great victory!"

What he actually wanted to say was 'Congratulations on coming back alive'.

But it's obviously unlucky to say this at this time...

Although they were in Yangzhou, they were constantly receiving battle reports on the battle situation in Huangshan. However, due to the limitations of communication technology, the battle reports sent to them were often about ten days behind the real-time battle situation in Huangshan.

But the journey Wang Wen and his men took from Huangshan back to Yangzhou was enough for them to update the battle situation in their hands to the latest version.

To be honest, they were worried about Wang Wen and the others in Yangzhou!

They even thought at one point that the three talisman sects would definitely lose the decisive battle at Huangshan!

To be more precise, they still couldn't figure out how the three talisman sects managed to hold out during the Huangshan decisive battle until the arrival of the unrivaled swordsman, Senior Zhang Yong, to turn the tide...

It is obvious that no matter from which angle you analyze it, the three talisman sects are at an absolute disadvantage!

"We'll talk later!"

Wang Wen also patted Cheng Xian's shoulder vigorously. Amidst the latter's grimace of pain, he turned to look at the reserved Zhao Zhiling and said directly, "What are the regulations of the department regarding the ten prefectures in Jiangnan becoming a den of evil?"

Zhao Zhiling: ...

He really wanted to ask Wang Wen: "Who is the adult, you or I?"

But he was worried that this guy would get angry, so he could only hold his breath and stroke his beard continuously.

Cheng Xian had followed Zhao Zhiling for years, so how could he not see his predicament? He quickly jumped in to help him out, half-jokingly and half-seriously saying to Wang Wen, "What's the matter? People out there are praising you as the most beautiful woman, and you're really acting like one? You just finished the Battle of Huangshan, and you're not tired yet? You still want to fight more? Your reputation lies in the mouths of others, but your life is in your own hands, brother!"

His words might not be pleasant to the ear.

But Wang Wen knew that this guy was giving him a good warning.

"But we can't just sit there and do nothing, right?"

Wang Wen tried to communicate with them calmly: "Since it has to be done sooner or later, why not do it sooner? Do we have to wait until the resentment of the ten prefectures is so great that they turn into ghosts on earth before we bite the bullet and sacrifice our lives? That's hundreds of thousands of lives at stake!"

"We know you're anxious, but don't be anxious. Anxiety won't solve any problems."

Cheng Xian slowed down his tone and gently patted his shoulder to ease his anxious mood: "We are officers and soldiers. Officers and soldiers must obey military orders and follow regulations to act properly!"

"Let's not talk about anything else. Just talking about our brothers, they have military orders. If they unfortunately die in battle, they will be loyal to the country. Their funeral will be taken care of by the court, and their families will also receive a pension..."

"But if they leave Yangzhou without military orders, they will be considered deserters. The local authorities can arrest them at any time and send them to the border as forced labor. Their families will also be implicated and punished by the authorities."

"Even if we don't consider ourselves, we should at least consider the brothers below us, right?"

After listening to Cheng Xian's story, Wang Wen still felt anxious, but he had to admit that what he said made sense.

Just when he was thinking about whether he should just take a long vacation from the government office and visit those troubled cities alone, Zhao Zhiling finally spoke.

"Erhu, your Shaoqiu official certificate has been issued!"

This was the first sentence Zhao Zhiling said to Wang Wen.

After hearing this, Wang Wen didn't even raise his eyelids.

"We are all the astronomical bureaus, and we may soon be undergoing a major restructuring!"

This was the second sentence Zhao Zhiling said to Wang Wen.

Wang Wen finally raised his eyelids and looked at Zhao Zhiling: "Master Zhao, how do you plan to reform and restructure?"

The call of 'Lord Zhao' made Zhao Zhiling feel refreshed and clear-minded. He bowed gracefully towards the northwest and spoke slowly, "Our current Si Tian Jian Yamen is an expansion of the Si Tian Jian, which was in charge of astronomy, calendar, astrology and solar terms. It was originally just a trial system for the government to deal with major changes in the world and the chaos caused by demons."

"The results of the trial are now clear. The existing Sitianjian Yamen alone is unlikely to cope with the increasingly severe changes in the heavens and the demonic chaos in the world."

"I heard some rumors a month ago that the court intended to split our Si Tian Jian Yamen from the Si Tian Jian Yamen and re-establish a new Yamen."

"This White Lotus Rebellion should be an opportunity for reform and reorganization!"

Wang Wen understood. What Zhao Zhiling meant was that this time, the White Lotus Sect had taken great pains to get back at the imperial court, making it very disgusting. The imperial court would definitely take advantage of this disgusting feeling to get back at the White Lotus Sect and even the mastermind behind it. He should be patient and wait until the imperial court had gotten rid of this trouble before cleaning up the mess.

"From what I hear..."

Wang Wen thought to himself: "I'm afraid I'm going to fly up to the sky and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun!"

(End of this chapter)