met free Chapter 18 The Publicity Hype of Yue Fei's Legacy
Chapter 18 The Publicity Hype of Yue Fei's Legacy
Outside Yizhou Prefecture.
Green grass by the Qinghe River, a beautiful woman in red.
Yang Miaozhen strolled along the riverbank, while Yang Kang followed behind, leading the Golden Crow.
Today, unusually, neither of them carried iron spears with them, nor did they bring any attendants.
"You don't seem very willing to marry me."
Yang Kang looked at the beautiful woman in front of him with a hint of doubt.
"I have no intention of becoming a nun; I will get married someday anyway."
"Marrying you is certainly better than marrying someone else."
Yang Miaozhen sighed softly. The shyness she felt when she first heard the words had long since dissipated. Now, she no longer concealed her feelings for herself, nor would she act like a typical young girl.
"But you're not happy?"
"Isn't marrying me something to be happy about?"
"Or are you afraid of the difficulties you might face after marrying me?"
Yang Kang said with a hint of nervousness.
Having lived two lives, this was still his first love.
When a man falls in love for the first time, he inevitably feels like he's losing control.
"There is no difficulty in the world that I should be afraid of."
"I'll marry you, but you have to promise me one thing."
Yang Miaozhen suddenly turned her head and stared into Yang Kang's eyes as she spoke.
"Does this mean I should only love you for the rest of my life?"
Yang Kang felt a little curious.
"Only women who can only bear children in the inner quarters would have such dreams."
"For a man with ambitions for the world, only one woman is foolish and risky."
"As a woman, I naturally have such fantasies, but as a subject, I do not want my monarch to make such a foolish decision that could kill countless people."
Yang Miaozhen scoffed and said arrogantly.
Yang Kang was speechless, but he became even more curious about what Yang Miaozhen wanted.
"I started learning martial arts at the age of seven, beginning before dawn and not stopping until midnight every day."
"For sixteen years, it has never stopped."
"I hope to use my spear to bring peace to the world."
"If you agree that I can still lead troops and fight on the battlefield after marriage, I will marry you; otherwise, our relationship ends here."
"I don't want to be a caged canary in your inner quarters; I want to be the spear in your hand that sweeps across the world."
"Miaozhen can only be Long Ju under the command of the Overlord, and can never be Yu Ji."
"If the Hegemon-King desires a Consort Yu, he should seek her elsewhere."
Yang Miaozhen looked at Yang Kang in front of her, took a deep breath, and said sincerely.
Looking at the red-clad beauty before him, who was showing signs of unease for the first time, Yang Kang finally couldn't help but laugh.
As Yang Miaozhen looked on in confusion, Yang Kang straightened his clothes, bowed deeply with his hands clasped, and paid his respects to Yang Miaozhen with utmost seriousness.
"This benefit is because Yang Kang asked Fourth Sister to use her spear to pacify the world."
After Yang Kang finished speaking, Yang Miaozhen was at a loss, thinking that Yang Kang had given up on marrying her.
Yang Kang then bowed again.
"This gift is Yang Kang's invitation to Fourth Lady to marry me!"
Yang Kang stood up and smiled gently at Yang Miaozhen.
"You agreed."
Yang Miaozhen looked at Yang Kang with surprise and delight. She never expected that such a proud man would agree to her request, which was almost shocking in this era.
Looking at the beauty's smile, Yang Kang finally couldn't resist stepping forward and embracing her.
Yang Miaozhen stiffened, but ultimately did not push him away.
The river rippled gently, shimmering with a dazzling luster under the bright sunlight. A breeze ruffled the hair of young men and women, and an intoxicating, ambiguous atmosphere filled the air, making one lose track of time and forget the way home.
After a long time, the two finally separated, and a shy expression finally appeared on Yang Miaozhen's face.
Yang Kang mounted his horse, pulled Miao Zhen into his arms, and the two rode around together!
Soon, the news that Yang Kang, the leader of the World Society, and Yang Miaozhen, the current deputy leader and a former member of the Red Turban Army, had announced their engagement and would be married soon spread throughout the streets and alleys of Yizhou.
What people talk about most is not their wedding, but Yang Kang's unconventional promise to Yang Miaozhen.
It is truly a strange tale that a local lord would agree to allow his wife to lead troops into battle after marriage.
Some praise Yang Miaozhen as an extraordinary woman of her time, and Yang Kang as a rare enlightened ruler. Others say he was letting a hen crow at dawn, which would inevitably lead to disaster sooner or later.
Of course, some people say that he was just a teenager who was blinded by love.
These rumors, coupled with the complicated engagement and marriage process at the time, easily dispelled the strangeness that Yang Kang and Yang Miaozhen had never appeared together in the following months.
In both the imperial court and the martial arts world, a major piece of news attracted everyone's attention almost simultaneously.
Rumors have it that Yue Fei's dying words, known as the "Wumu's Testament," which contains his military strategies and even divine skills, have resurfaced in the martial arts world.
Originally, a single military treatise would not have been enough to cause a significant stir.
However, some say that Wanyan Honglie's mission to Lin'an was specifically for this book, given the century-long enmity between the Jin and Song dynasties, coupled with the Jin people's fear of Yue Fei and the Song people's reverence for him.
This immediately ignited a storm across the land, and countless martial arts practitioners began to flock towards Lin'an.
Meanwhile, news spread in Lin'an that the Song emperor had ordered the retrieval of the "Wumu's Legacy," only to discover that it had already been stolen.
This has once again ignited public opinion.
. . . . . .
May, Taihu Lake!
Wanyan Honglie stood on the official ship prepared for him by the Song court, while Duan Tiande fawned over him, introducing him to the gold and silver treasures and beauties from Jiangnan that he had prepared in advance.
Despite being physically and mentally exhausted, Wanyan Honglie remained humble and polite, politely declining Duan Tiande's flattery.
Under the cover of night, the undercurrents of Taihu Lake surged, and Lu Guanying, the young master of Guiyun Manor, led a group of waterborne experts to attack the official boat.
"Your Highness, there's a water ghost!"
Suddenly, the Three-Headed Dragon Lord Tonghai stepped forward and reported.
Wanyan Honglie is not the Yang Kang of the original story. The methods of ordinary Jianghu people like Lu Guanying are certainly no problem to deal with the young prince of Jin Kingdom who only had guards. However, they are completely inadequate in front of Wanyan Honglie, who is protected by a group of experts.
Wanyan Honglie glanced at Duan Tiande, then signaled Hou Tonghai, Sha Tongtian, and the others to take action and resolve the situation.
Lu Guanying's martial arts skills are considered good among the younger generation, but that's all. He's not even as good as Yang Kang, who practiced the Nine Yin White Bone Claw in the original story, let alone Sha Tongtian and others.
The bandits under his command in Taihu Lake were only at the level of ordinary Jianghu gangs, and their boat-carving skills were practically useless in front of veteran Jianghu figures like Sha Tongtian.
Even though Ouyang Ke had already left the Zhao Prince's Mansion, the remaining five people—Lingzhi Shangren, Sha Tongtian, Hou Tonghai, Liang Ziweng, and Peng Lianhu—quickly slaughtered them.
Only Lu Guanying and the other two remained, fleeing in a sorry state towards Guiyun Manor.
"Your Highness, three thieves have escaped."
Master Lingzhi wiped the blood from his hands and reported to Wanyan Honglie.
"General Duan, could this be the Southern Dynasty's way of showing sincerity?"
Wanyan Honglie looked at Duan Tiande with apparent anger and said.
"Your Highness, please calm down. This matter was not authorized by our dynasty; it must have been the work of the bandits from Taihu Lake."
Duan Tiande immediately knelt down and answered in a flustered manner.
"Water bandits? Would ordinary water bandits dare attack an official ship? Especially an official ship flying the flag of our Great Jin Dynasty?"
"Does Lord Duan perhaps think I can be bullied?"
"Even if this group of people are not officials, they are probably not ordinary river bandits."
Wanyan Honglie said in a deep voice, but in his heart he was calculating how to use this matter to put pressure on the Lin'an court.
"Your Highness...please calm down. This Taihu Lake...covers hundreds of miles, dotted with numerous water fortresses."
"The only ones with such power, who dare... dare to stroke a tiger's whiskers, are probably... probably only Guiyun Manor."
"Lu Chengfeng, the owner of Guiyun Manor, appears to be a wealthy man, but his background is illegitimate, and he has long been associated with the underworld."
"However... however, this is merely a petty person's speculation, without any real evidence..."
Duan Tiande said tremblingly.
"Guiyun Manor..."
Wanyan Honglie frowned slightly.
"Recently, there have been rumors that Yue Fei's 'Wumu's Testament' has appeared in the world. If the Jin dynasty obtains it, they can wipe out our dynasty, and if our dynasty obtains it, we can launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains."
"A large group of martial arts practitioners from all over the world gathered on Taihu Lake."
"I'm afraid they thought the prince's trip was for the 'Wumu's Legacy,' which is why they dared to make such a bold move."
Duan Tiande explained, his forehead covered in sweat.
"What? How do they know about the 'Military Manual of Yue Fei'?"
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
"Go to Guiyun Manor. I want to see where this rumor came from!"
Wanyan Honglie slammed his fist on the table and said in utter astonishment.
Everyone nodded in agreement, turned the boat around, and headed towards Guiyun Manor.
No one saw that as Wanyan Honglie stormed back to his cabin, Sha Tongtian, Hou Tonghai, Liang Ziweng, Peng Lianhu, and Lingzhi Shangren exchanged awkward glances for a moment.