I am Xu Qi'an

"These common soldiers in Yunzhou dare to rebel?"

The man with the silver gong immediately raised his eyebrows and shouted, "What's the situation outside the city?"

The soldiers rode up at breakneck speed, their lips cracked and bluish-purple from the cold wind, their mouths parched, and their voices hoarse and strained. "The south gate is closed."

"Don't rush, catch your breath first!"

Upon hearing the noise, Xu Qi'an came downstairs and poured a glass of cold water for the soldier.

The soldier quickly took it and gulped it down. Feeling much better in his throat, he glanced gratefully at Xu Qi'an and spoke rapidly:

"The garrison has assembled three thousand troops outside the south gate. The garrison commander, Xu Huchen, declared that if the governor does not release the commander and give them an explanation within half an hour, they will enter the city!"

Military remonstrance!

The first word that flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind, who was well-versed in history, was "military remonstrance," which refers to using force to persuade a monarch or elder to submit.

In short, it's about forcing you to submit with your fists.

The difference between a military coup and a political upheaval lies in their objectives, but the actions are the same. The two military coups that left the deepest impression on Xu Qi'an were the death of Yang Guifei at Mawei Slope and the Young Marshal pulling out a small pistol and shooting Chiang Kai-shek.

Both military remonstrances were successful; one changed the future of the Tang Dynasty, and the other changed the future of China.

However, military remonstrance is a desperate act of remonstrance, and no one would use it unless absolutely necessary.

"How dare you!"

The silver gongs who rushed over to investigate were furious after learning what had happened.

Such a thing is unheard of in the capital. Upon hearing the news, their surprise and anger were beyond words.

"The governor has gone to the Regional Military Commission; it's impossible for him to arrive at the South City within half an hour," a silver-clad official said in a deep voice, gripping the hilt of his sword.

How many soldiers are there in the southern city's garrison?

"Less than a thousand men," the soldier replied.

I'm afraid we can't hold on to this.

"In that case, a few of us will lead the Tiger Guards to the south city. If those soldiers dare to rebel, we'll chop them down. I believe we can hold them off until the governor and reinforcements arrive," suggested one of the silver-ranking guards.

Several belligerent Nightwatchers immediately became eager to try.

The Tiger Guards were already battle-hardened soldiers, and with the addition of the night Nightwatchers were at least at the Qi Refining Realm, and in coordination with the city defense forces, it wouldn't be difficult to hold out for a period of time, if not absolutely foolproof.

"What about Yang Chuannan? He's a wanted criminal; we can't just abandon him," Xu Qi'an reminded the hot-headed Nightwatchers.

"Take him with you," said a gong player.

"Do you believe the guards will fight us to the death on the spot?" Xu Qi'an raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't this exactly what they're aiming for, with their troops at the city gates?" the gong-wielding man scoffed.

"You think you can force the governor to submit to us? Let these barbarian soldiers from Yunzhou know what Nightwatchers is like."

This is what annoys the Nightwatchers the most.

They have always been the ones supervising officials and punishing corrupt officials. When did someone dare to bully us at our doorstep? They even threatened to meet the governor within half an hour or they would storm into the city.

This completely disregards the Nightwatchers and tramples on their dignity.

One can tolerate this in a scholar-official position, but not in a military one.

The Warlock can be tolerated, but the warrior cannot.

Damn it.

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Xu Qi'an quickly tapped the table and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, calm down. Force won't solve this problem."

The silver gong who first met the soldiers had the most volatile temper. Looking at Xu Qi'an, he cursed, "Anyway, I can't stand it! With Jiang Jinluo gone, the silver gongs are in charge here. Brothers, follow me, and take Yang Chuannan with you."

Li Miaozhen stood aside, observing coldly.

Bang!

With a loud bang, Xu Qi'an stood up.

The group of Nightwatchers were about to leave the post station, returned in astonishment.

Xu Qi'an pointed at the man's nose and cursed, "I don't care if you're a silver gong or not, don't try to intimidate me with your position. Do you think you can? Go ask that guy surnamed Zhu if he can!"

"You've escalated the conflict. What do you expect the governor to do? Slaughter all three thousand soldiers of the garrison? Even if you can't hold the city, and the fighting spreads to ordinary people, are you going to take responsibility? Can you afford to take that responsibility?"

The man with the silver gong stiffened his neck, puffed out his beard, and glared. "Xu Qi'an, do you fucking think you can take responsibility?"

"At least my shoulders can carry more weight than yours!" Xu Qi'an shouted.

For a moment, no one objected.

A gong's outrageous pronouncements silenced all the night Nightwatchers in the room. The female ghost Su Su watched this scene in astonishment, finding it hard to comprehend.

"All of you stay here and guard Yang Chuannan. He's a serious criminal of the court, and we can't afford any mistakes. I'll leave the outer city garrison to delay him," Xu Qi'an said, revealing his plan when no one continued to argue.

"You?"

Everyone looked on with disbelief.

Xu Qi'an rubbed his temples and explained clearly, "The garrison's army is at the city gates, but their purpose is not to attack the city. Instead, they want the governor to release Yang Chuannan. This leaves room for maneuver."

"You rushed over there in such a hurry, bringing Yang Chuannan with you. This is tantamount to provocation. On the contrary, it has intensified the conflict and left both sides with no way out."

"Of course, I certainly can't persuade the soldiers of the Guard Command, but General Li can."

Xu Qi'an pushed Li Miaozhen forward and said with a smile, "General Li probably doesn't want things to get so tense, leaving Yang Chuannan with no way out."

As for sending Yang Chuannan personally, he hadn't considered it. First, Yang might not cooperate. Second, what if he was rescued directly?

Li Miaozhen seemed to have been waiting for this outcome. She slowly exhaled, no longer standing by indifferently, and nodded, saying, "This general will do his best to hold out until the governor arrives."

Li Miaozhen and Xu Qi'an led two fast horses toward the south gate, with the paper doll Su Su holding Li Miaozhen's slender waist and sitting behind her.

"You little brat, you're quite capable!" Su Su tilted her head, sizing up Xu Qi'an was walking beside her.

"It's not that I'm particularly capable, it's just that," Xu Qi'an coughed, revealing a secret in his tone, "Governor Zhang and I are actually half-brothers."

Su Su immediately grasped the key point. "Oh, you're Governor Zhang's brother?"

"Otherwise, how could I have such a great deal of influence?"

"I see." Su Su suddenly realized, feeling as if she had discovered a great secret.

Li Miaozhen's lips twitched. She really wanted to remind her maid that not a single punctuation mark Xu Qi'an said could be trusted.

He wielded such influence because he enjoyed Wei Yuan's deep trust and appreciation, and held an extraordinary position within the government.

But this information came from within the Heaven and Earth Society. What connection does the intelligence that Number Two knows have with Li Miaozhen?

Upon arriving at the south gate, after displaying their waist tokens, the two climbed onto the city wall, where they were personally received by the commander of the city's defense forces.

"Why hasn't the governor arrived yet?"

Holding a military saber, the burly commander with a square face and triangular eyes gazed at the empty street, unable to hide his disappointment.

"The governor is investigating a case at the Regional Military Commission and cannot come over immediately. The cavalry general and I have come to stall for time," Xu Qi'an explained.

He stood atop the city wall and looked down. There were two square formations outside the city. The larger one was the army of the Guard Command, with cavalry in front, infantry behind, and artillery in the middle.

Banners fluttered in the wind, and three thousand soldiers gazed silently at the city wall. An indescribable aura of ferocity swept over them.

Xu Qi'an is now at the half-step Spirit Refining Realm, but when facing this battle-hardened army, his thoughts are still to avoid it, and he dares not confront it head-on.

What kind of martial artist could accomplish such a feat, fighting across three thousand miles and single-handedly defeating a million soldiers?

He thought with emotion.

"The army of Yunzhou is incredibly fierce; they're always ready to cause trouble and have no fear of death." Li Miaozhen, holding a silver spear, stood beside him, looking down.

"I rushed to the post station last night because I was afraid that the governor would act too rashly and push things to an irreversible point."

Xu Qi'an nodded. Bandits were rampant in Yunzhou. It would be strange if soldiers in Yunzhou weren't fierce. Soldiers who had fought for many years had a deep-seated Sha Qi and usually only recognized the leaders who fought alongside them. Outsiders would find it difficult to control them.

Unlike soldiers in comfortable places, they don't value their lives as much.

"Those little squares over there, which unit's army are they?" Xu Qi'an asked.

The force besieging the city is the Guard Commandery, also known as the Guard Division, under the jurisdiction of Baidi City. The next level is the Sub-district, and the small square next to it, which looks to be about four or five hundred people, Xu Qi'an guessed is a county-level Sub-district.

Li Miaozhen was immediately somewhat embarrassed. "They belong to my Flying Swallow Army."

"Is Ning also a traitor?" Xu Qi'an looked at her with distrust in his eyes.

Li Miaozhen explained, "I did consider using the army to exert pressure; this is a bad habit that developed within the Yunzhou army."

She shifted the blame to the Yunzhou army.

"So what do we do now, leave the city?" Xu Qi'an asked tentatively.

"Mm." Li Miaozhen nodded.

Can I not go?

"The governor you represent," Li Miaozhen glared at him, "Commander Xu Huchen is hot-tempered and stubborn. If you want to resolve the conflict, you'll have to be patient."

"You don't even care about your own dignity?"

Li Miaozhen scoffed, "If I don't stay with him, he might just chop you up like a gong."

"Hey, soldiers really can be unreasonable."

The city gate creaked open, and the commander of the city defense force saw the two men off as they left, waving goodbye. "Take care."

Xu Qi'an looked back from horseback. "Commander, why don't you come with us?"

The commander said, "It's windy here, sir. What did you say? I can't hear you. Oh, you said to close the city gates? Okay, I'd rather die than open the city gates."

The city gates slowly closed.

"..." Xu Qi'an thought to himself, "Damn it."

Li Miaozhen did not rush straight to the Guard Command, but instead turned her horse around to her own Flying Swallow Army, summoned several dozen riders to reinforce her, and then met the Guard Command's three thousand soldiers.

"My Flying Swallow Army has a minimum Essence Refining Realm. The squad leaders are at the Peak Essence Refining, the platoon Qi Refining Realm, and the centurions are at the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm."

Li Miaozhen's voice was pleasant and clear as she introduced her private army to Xu Qi'an with a hint of pride.

Four sixth-grade cultivators and forty Qi Refining Realm! My god, this woman is terrifying!

Xu Qi'an swallowed hard. "There probably isn't another army like this in Yunzhou."

Li Miaozhen hummed in agreement and said reservedly, "Everyone came to Yunzhou with me only because of me."

"How much face do you have?" Xu Qi'an turned his head and looked at the American woman with a high ponytail, riding a horse and wielding a silver spear. He had to reassess her strength.

Xu Qi'an's initial impression of her was that of the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect, and only secondarily of the Flying Swallow Heroine. But now it seems that the title of Flying Swallow Heroine should come first.

Li Miaozhen's connections in the martial arts world were perhaps more profound and unfathomable than he imagined.

The Heaven and Earth Society is full of talented people; I, a mere lowly servant, need to step up my game. Hmm, let's set a small goal first: to become Wei Yuan's son.

"What is Xu Huchen's cultivation level?" Xu Qi'an suddenly asked.

"Peak of the Spirit Refining Realm," Li Miaozhen replied.

"His cultivation level isn't high," Xu Qi'an said in surprise.

"Wei Yuan was just an ordinary person, yet he still became the commander-in-chief of the three armies." Li Miaozhen shook her head and said, "Military campaigns are not about being brave and fierce. A high-ranking martial artist can be one against a hundred or a thousand, but he may not be able to command an army of a thousand."

"My ability is limited to five hundred men. But Xu Huchen can command an army of three to five thousand. In a direct confrontation on the battlefield, I will undoubtedly be defeated."

Violence is aesthetics, war is art—two completely different concepts.

Li Miaozhen stopped five zhang away from the garrison troops and called out loudly, "Commander Xu, come here and have a word with me."

A rider stepped forward; the general at the head was eight feet tall, and his mount was larger than an ordinary horse. He wielded a long spear.

Those who dared to use long spears were all brave and fierce generals.

Xu Huchen, holding a long spear, his gaze sharp, his dark blue chin freshly shaved, nodded slightly to Li Miaozhen:

"General Li also joined us in rescuing the Commander-in-Chief?"

Li Miaozhen shook her head. "Lord Yang is well, but General Xu acted too impulsively. Do you know the consequences of his actions?"

"The worst that can happen is death."

Xu Huchen, being quite the rogue, grinned and said, "My life was saved by the Commander-in-Chief. If the court wants to punish him, I'll risk my life."

Xu Qi'an suddenly asked, "How did you find out about this?"

Xu Huchen glanced sideways at Xu Qi'an and sneered, "So you're one of Wei Zhongxian's henchmen."

You say I'm fine, but talking about my father is going too far. Xu Qi'an flicked his thumb, and the black-gold longsword at his back was drawn half an inch from its sheath. He said in a deep voice:

"General Xu, do not challenge the authority of the imperial court. I have come with sincerity. If you do not know your place, I would have already cut you down from your horse."

What Li Miaozhen really meant by all that was this: don't try to reason with soldiers.

Reasoning is for scholars; soldiers only fight with their fists. Only those with strong fists have dignity.

Xu Qi'an's plan was to first demonstrate his strength, earn respect, and intimidate these fearless individuals, before trying to reason with them.

Xu Huchen was polite to Li Miaozhen, but he directly mocked and ridiculed her, which showed a lack of dignity.

But directly attacking someone is definitely not an option, as that would escalate the conflict.

"Da da da"

He turned his horse around and silently rode to the other side.

Xu Huchen, Li Miaozhen, and dozens of riders from the Flying Swallow Army followed him with their eyes.

"Hmph! I want to see the governor. Does a mere gong-wielder dare to speak to me?" Xu Huchen scoffed disdainfully. "A brat who hasn't even grown his first hair yet, does he think this is the capital, where everyone is afraid of Nightwatchers?"

"General Li, what has become of the Commander-in-Chief?"

Li Miaozhen shook her head, only gazing at Xu Qi'an's retreating figure.

Xu Huchen was somewhat impatient. He was by nature short-tempered and easily angered. He was already extremely dissatisfied with the governor's avoidance of him and the fact that a mere gong was sent to deal with him.

He even couldn't suppress the urge to kill the gong-bearer as a show of force against the governor.

He only agreed to speak with her because of General Li Miaozhen.

At this moment, the gong stopped, turned its head to look at Xu Huchen, and sneered.

Then, he flicked his left thumb, pushing his sword forward half an inch, and gripped the hilt with his right hand, briefly gathering his strength.

"Clang!"

The ear-piercing sound of a sword being drawn echoed in the air. To Xu Huchen and the thousands of soldiers, it was as if the air had distorted slightly, as if something had passed by.

The next moment, with a dull thud, a thin crack appeared in the ground, stretching from Xu Qi'an's feet all the way to the army, extending more than ten zhang in length.

The cavalry at the front stirred, their horses seemingly startled.

Xu Huchen's eyes widened in disbelief. He really had managed to dismount me just now.

The general, who was incredibly brave and skilled in leading troops into battle, felt a sense of awe and acknowledged Xu Qi'an's sincerity.

Li Miaozhen stared at Xu Qi'an in surprise, a huge question mark flashing through her mind.

Judging from her perspective as the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect, this blade was so sharp and swift as lightning that even a martial artist who had just entered the sixth-grade Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm would not be able to withstand it with their bare body.

Could a martial artist in the Qi Refining Realm really have produced such a strike?

She then remembered what Number One had said: Xu Qi'an had once killed a Silver Gong, and that Silver Gong was a master of the Spirit Refining Realm.

Back then, he was able to kill people of higher levels, and now, he is a half-step into the Divine Refinement Realm.

If he were a genius, why didn't Master Jinlian invite him to join the sect? Instead, she chose his cousin, who was terrifyingly powerful.

"Wow."

Behind them, the experts of the Flying Swallow Army gasped in amazement.

"Da da da"

Xiao Tongluo rode back, forcing himself to remain weary, and said in a low voice, "General Xu, I am Xu Qi'an, representing the Governor to discuss matters with you."

"..." Xu Huchen said in a deep voice, "Please speak, sir."

P. S.: There are many words, so the update is late. Also, please vote! I'll update first and revise later.