Caught in a Trap
"What? Six thousand people died in seven days, and they were all scions of the Aristocratic Clan?"
Upon seeing this report, Qu Heng was completely stunned!
He quickly looked up the detailed data.
All twenty families in Taiheng invested in the Ming Dynasty's righteous army.
At first, only cultivators at the Body Refinement Realm were allowed to enter the Great Ming Dynasty. After being killed by Qi Refining cultivators, the sect leader contacted Hengming then allowed Qi Refining Stage disciples from various Aristocratic Clan to enter the Great Ming.
Then, Qi Refining Stage disciples began to join various righteous armies.
Because the children sent previously had mediocre academic performance, those sent again naturally could not hold high positions and could only start as soldiers.
Unfortunately, the twenty selected rebel armies seemed to have excellent combat capabilities, potential, and even the character and qualities of their lords. They were also willing to start over. In addition, the people they sent this time were exceptionally strong, which naturally allowed them to rise rapidly in a short period of time.
As these young men rose in rank within the army, the twenty families felt their future was promising, so they increased their investment and sent even more of their sons to join.
Twenty Lineage sent over 700 members from some families and over 100 members from others, totaling nearly 10,000!
As a result, out of such a small group of 10,000 people, all of whom were Qi Refining Stage cultivators, more than 6,000 died in just seven days!
The remaining four thousand were all wounded, some missing limbs, others with large knife and gunshot wounds, and none of them had any part of their body damaged!
"This is too tragic!" Qu Heng's first reaction was to laugh a few times, after all, the Qu Family was not among the twenty surnames. However, he soon received a report from the Qu Family elders.
The Qu Family sent out seventy-six men this time, and fifty-four of them died in the battle!
"How could this be!" Qu Heng's first reaction was that something was wrong; someone was playing tricks!
Otherwise, how could so many people have died in just a few days?
He immediately pulled out the battle report and checked the details.
The Qu Family didn't invest all their money in one place; instead, they diversified their investments, which is standard practice for the Aristocratic Clan.
The rebel army that joined this group was called the Great Tang, and its leader was Li Shimin. His name was unremarkable, but his talent in cultivation, military command, and even governance was first-rate.
Li Shimin's main rivals were Liu Heida to the east, Dou Jiande to the south, Shengmen to the west, and the Buddhist temple Jingnian Zen Temple.
"When did Buddhist temples spread to Taiheng?" The Taiheng leadership had long known that these monks were up to no good, and had always been extremely vigilant against the spread of religion.
I never expected to find a meditation temple in Southern Forest County!
He immediately understood the reason.
The authorities forbid belief, but the people below are too superstitious to resist.
With the emperor so far away, how could he possibly govern a small temple in the north?
Because the Qu Family branch was backed by Taiheng and was the lineage of the sect leader, they enjoyed Li Shimin's deep trust. Not only were the first batches of disciples spared from being killed, but the later batches of Qi Refining Stage disciples were also raised in the imperial city and given jobs as Imperial City Guard.
This job doesn't require going out to fight, and even if enemies come, you'll encounter the city guards first, so it's incredibly safe!
However, rumors circulated in March that the Zhou Dynasty's jade seal had been unearthed.
The State of Zhou was a state here before the fall of Southern Forest. Later, the State of Zhou was wiped out by Taiheng, and the state naturally perished.
Although the State of Zhou no longer exists, the Imperial Seal, which has been passed down for countless years, embodies the longing of countless former State of Zhou. They believe that the Imperial Seal carries the mandate of heaven for the State of Zhou, and whoever possesses the Imperial Seal will rule the world.
Qu Heng scoffed at this, but some people in State of Zhou believed him, and then people from all walks of life gathered in Chang'a Tang Capital.
With so many people coming, all sorts of people gathered. Those with good tempers were fine, but those with bad tempers simply sneaked into the palace at night.
As Imperial City Guard, the Qu Family cultivators naturally could not allow these people to enter the city, which led to a conflict and the deaths of fifty-four people!
Qu Heng read the intelligence report five or six times, and apart from finding the writing excellent and the story thrilling, he couldn't find a single flaw.
He was not one to be easily swayed by others, even if the letter was written by a member of the Qu Family.
So he searched for related information online.
You wouldn't believe how many videos there are of the Great Tang!
The reason is that while the Great Tang Dynasty had many powerful figures, Great Tang also had exceptionally beautiful women. In particular, Shi Feixuan, Guan Guan, Shang Xiufang, and Shang Xiuxun were known as the Four Beauties of the Great Tang, and there are many street photos of them online.
Moreover, there are many video clips of the battle for the Imperial Seal, taken from various angles, and the development and resolution of the conflict are very natural.
It really was just an ordinary chance encounter, an ordinary conflict, an ordinary battle, and an ordinary death!
Qu Heng frowned and looked at other cases, and even cases of other Lineage.
Some of these young men died on the battlefield, some on pleasure boats, some poisoned, and some at the hands of martial arts practitioners.
But no matter which one it was, the death was perfectly reasonable, and there wasn't a single flaw to be found!
"Could it really just be a coincidence!?" Qu Heng stroked his chin. He had a feeling that someone was up to something, but it was just a feeling.
Based on this information, the deaths of these people were indeed accidental!
The Ming Dynasty is in chaos now; it's not surprising that anyone dies.
The experiences of these scions of the Aristocratic Clan were nothing out of the ordinary.
The local Aristocratic Clan and landlords, whose houses were even slightly larger, had long been robbed clean, and all the landlords were killed.
The wars in various places were also very fierce; a force of several thousand men could be wiped out in half a day.
If they can die, then the scions of the Aristocratic Clan will naturally die too!
"Even so, there are still far too many deaths!" Qu Heng frowned.
It should be noted that during the war between the two Taiping Paths, some Aristocratic Clan members died in the early stages because they did not know the strength of the Great Peace Way. In the following two years, the Aristocratic Clan members withdrew to command positions in the rear.
No matter how many people die in front, it doesn't affect their ability to live and gain merit, after all, they were meritorious commanders!
What if the commander loses a battle?
That must mean you weren't playing seriously enough; my strategy is definitely flawless!
They rarely lost anyone in major battles, so how come so many died after being dispersed among the rebel army?
The thought of going home and facing the accusations, beatings, and despair of his uncle and aunt from the Qu Family gave Qu Heng a headache.
Does that mean I should still support the rebel army?
Qu Heng gritted his teeth; the answer was obvious, and he would definitely support it!
After all, it is a superpower with a total area accounting for a quarter of Taiheng and a population accounting for 31% of Taiheng's total population!
If the rebel army he supported could last until the end, it would be tantamount to taking control of the country!
With such a large country and so many people, how much fortune, and how many kinds of fortune, can it possibly collect?
This land used to be in the hands of the Nanlin Lin Clan, so no one else could covet it. But now the Lin family no longer owns it!
For the sake of our Lineage's legacy, and to address the challenges of spiritual cultivation for future generations, we must participate!
And
If you don't participate, but other Lineage do, and Lineage power increases, they will seek equal treatment and status.
Since you did nothing, nothing changed.
If you haven't changed while others are improving, then it's equivalent to you declining.
If you fall behind, you'll fall behind the group; if you fall behind, you'll fall into a lower social stratum.
Falling out of social class is not just a matter of receiving less resources; it means having to give back what you previously received, handing over what you shouldn't have, and even having old enemies seize the opportunity to kick you while you're down!
"The Qu Family cannot back down! If we don't seize this god-given opportunity, I'll be so angry I'll jump out of my coffin and curse my grave after I die!"
"Not only can we not retreat, but I must also strongly support Li Shimin. He will surely unify Southern Forest and become the first king of the Ming Dynasty!"
If he were a stock trader, he would know that he's currently stuck with a losing position.
So many of my disciples have died; if I suddenly decide to withdraw, wouldn't all those who died have died in vain?
Not only can't we withdraw, we have to increase our investment!
We must earn it back, with interest!
Little did he know that while he was after Yang Ning's interest, Yang Ning was after his principal!