Only Li Ming remained expressionless, letting the caravan's crew continue speaking.
"... I heard that the Mist Hidden Temple sent several hundred cavalry to attack the city that night. It was this Militia Commander Wu who led the militia out and ultimately killed over a hundred cavalrymen..."
"Bullshit!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao immediately began to curse, which frightened the waiter so much that he trembled.
"The Mist Hidden Temple is indeed very strong. They have over a thousand monk soldiers. I believe they can also raise one or two hundred cavalry."
Li Ming said in a deep voice.
West River Market near the canal, which flows through several prefectures. In addition to grain transport, caravans also use this canal to do business.
Therefore, the West River Gang and Mist Hidden Temple had some business dealings, and Mist Hidden Temple's strength.
"Brother, even if Mist Hidden Temple really had that many cavalry, there's no way they could be defeated by a bunch of local militia outside the city!"
Chen Xiao immediately said.
Li Ming said in a deep voice, "Even if this matter is exaggerated, the fact that they went out of the city to fight cavalry is probably true. The fighting strength of the militia under their command is likely quite formidable!"
If so many people hadn't witnessed the militia Wu Shuangren brought that day, and hadn't seen that impressive display, Li Ming wouldn't have believed such a feat.
But now, he has to believe it to some extent.
Chen Xiao grew anxious. "Brother, even if the enemy's militia is formidable, they only sent fifty men. Can they really take on ten men at once?"
"Second Brother."
Fifth Leader Du Jianghe, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "I think what Big Brother means is that since the enemy's training force is quite strong, there's no need for us to lead our men into a direct confrontation. If we suffer too many casualties, wouldn't that just be giving them an advantage?"
Chen Xiao glared, about to retort, when Li Ming spoke first:
"Fifth Brother is right. The enemy's strength lies in their militia, but they don't have many truly capable fighters. If we're going to make a move, we need to target their weaknesses. That Wu Shuangren is only seventeen years old; how strong can he be? That's their weakness!"
"Big brother, just tell me how to fight?"
Chen Xiao asked.
Li Ming revealed a ferocious smile, "Issue a challenge! Five people from each side, and let's have a public martial arts contest!"
68. Martial Arts Competition (Two-in-One)
For the West River Gang, securing the Fist Academy's business was the most important thing.
I never intended to talk about rules with the Fist Academy people at first.
Send someone to the Fist Academy for another fight, win back the face they lost, and finally seize it by force.
This was Li Ming and his team's initial idea.
In this world, connections and influence matter!
Now that he has learned about the strength of his opponents, Li Ming is less willing to confront the group from Bo County head-on.
Even if we win, if we suffer too many losses, it's easy for others to take advantage of the situation.
After all, the West River Gang is not the only dominant force in West River Market.
When two major forces clash, each with its own concerns and unwilling to engage in large-scale warfare, there is a traditional way of handling the situation in Xi Province—
Martial arts contest!
This isn't the kind of ring competition you see at the Fist Academy. In Xi Province, this kind of martial arts competition is much bloodier, often resulting in death or serious injury!
When news spread that the West River Gang was going to have a public fight with the Fist Academy, the entire West River Market was in an uproar!
Such public martial arts West River Market for several years.
Fist Academy.
Wu Shuangren received a challenge from the West River Gang, which stated the date of the duel: three days later.
The arena for the martial arts competition is empty; according to the rules of Xi Province, the Fist Academy should fill it in.
The rules of the duel have been set: each side will send five people to fight in the arena, with no limit on life or death, until one side has no one left to stand on the stage.
Finally, there's the bet.
The wager written by the West River Gang was that if the Fist Academy Fist Academy lost, it would have to hand over the business and never return to West River Market.
"Is Militia Commander Wu confident?"
Mo Zhengxing looked at Wu Shuangren.
Five people are needed for the duel, and we certainly can't field that many experts on our side. We can only hope that Wu Shuangren can win a few more matches.
He knew Wu Shuangren was very powerful, but if it came down to a war of attrition, could he hold his own?
"Certainly!"
Wu Shuangren nodded confidently.
What bet should we make?
Mo Zhengxing asked.
Wu Shuangren laughed, "If I wrote a document ordering the West River Gang to disband on the spot or leave West River Market never to return, they wouldn't agree, would they?"
Mo Zhengxing laughed too; he knew it was unrealistic.
If the two sides cannot agree on the stakes, the duel cannot proceed.
But for the Fist Academy, being able to temporarily resolve their grievances with the West River Gang in this way is already the most ideal outcome.
The bets set in the martial arts competition are binding in Xi Province. If one party blatantly breaches the agreement, they will be ridiculed in Xi Province and find it difficult to survive there.
"Then write down three thousand taels of silver, plus that the West River Gang will never be our enemy."
Wu Shuangren had someone write down their bets on the challenge letter and then sent it back to the West River Gang.
Unsurprisingly, the other party did not agree to these conditions.
After much back and forth, Wu Shuangren and his group finally settled on the following bet:
Five hundred taels of silver, plus the promise that no member of the West River Gang would ever set foot in the Fist Academy again.
As for the location of the duel, Wu Shuangren chose the open space in the very center of West River Market.
West River Market always chooses this place to hold major events.
In recent years, all the public martial arts competitions have been held in this location.
Wu Shuangren decided to respect this tradition because he wanted more people to see the competition!
West River Market hasn't been this lively in a long time.
Three days later, before dawn, people began bringing benches to reserve seats in the central open space. By Chenshi (7-9 AM), the entire open space was packed with people, and even the rooftops facing the street were filled with them. The window seats on the second floor of the teahouse were booked long ago.
The arena was set up in the very center of the open space.
The platform was square, measuring three zhang in length and width, and more than seven chi above the ground. It was covered with three layers of thick wooden planks, with glutinous rice mortar filling the gaps between the planks, so that it was completely immovable when stepped on.
There is a flagpole at each corner of the arena, with a pennant with a black background and red edges floating on the top of the pole. The flag has a big word "" embroidered on it, and it rustled in the morning wind.
A grandstand was built to the east of the arena, two feet higher than the arena itself. It was furnished with many armchairs and benches, and a coarse cloth canopy was stretched over it to provide shade.
These stands are for the impartial team and representatives from both sides.
Vendors selling candied hawthorns, herbal tea, and melon seeds weaved through the crowd on shoulder poles, shouting their wares at the top of their lungs.
Gambling dealers were weaving through the crowd with betting slips in hand, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Place your bets! Place your bets!"
Make way! Make way!
A sudden commotion broke out on the outskirts of the crowd.
Everyone turned around and saw a group of people walking towards the west street corner, with the five people in the lead all looking imposing.
These are the five leaders of the West River Gang!
Behind the five men were more than a dozen gang members, all with steady steps and carrying weapons; they were skilled fighters within the gang.
As the group walked along, the onlookers automatically parted to make way for them.
Li Ming walked at the front, carrying his famous ' Scarlet Blood Saber ' with him. The large blade in his hand exuded a murderous aura that made people afraid to look directly at him.
I wonder if the leader of the West River Gang will personally take to the stage today?
A group of members from the West River Gang went up to the stands. The five leaders sat down imposingly in armchairs, while a dozen or so gang members sat on benches behind them.
"All five leaders of the West River Gang have arrived!"
"That's the Scarlet Blood Saber? It really is blood red."
"That guy with the gun on his back is Han Tieshan, also known as Fourth Master Han. I heard he can pierce an inch-thick iron plate with one shot!"
"Did you see Third Master Zhao Kui's hands? One palm strike and he could shatter a stone tablet!"
"..."
The crowd buzzed with discussion, their voices rising in unison.
Just as the West River Gang members settled down, another group of people walked in from the east end of the street.
This group was small, only seven or eight people, but they made quite a show of it. Among them was Zhang Yan, who had recently met Mo Zhengxing.
Four servants carried a small blue sedan chair. The curtain was lifted, revealing a middle-aged man inside wearing a royal blue satin robe with floral patterns.
"It's Commander Zhang!"
People recognized the newcomer as Zhang He, a member of the Zhang Clan from West River County.
Zhang He is the head of the militia in West River County!
He alighted from the sedan chair and led his men onto the platform. The five leaders of the West River Gang rose to greet him, but did not exchange many words.
Just as the Zhang Clan took their seats, another group of people arrived from the south.
Leading the procession were four mounted guards, all riding tall, magnificent horses with glossy coats. Behind them followed a carriage made of nanmu wood, adorned with carvings and gold accents, exuding grandeur!
The carriage came to a stop, the curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man who looked like a steward stepped down first, followed by someone else being helped down.
The man was in his forties, of medium build, with fair skin and three neatly trimmed long beards. He wore a Yuebai long robe, a white jade belt around his waist with a jade pendant hanging from it, and four rings on his hands.
This man is Xie Jingshan, the president of the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce.
With a broad smile, Xie Jingshan led his men up to the stands, greeting the West River Gang and the Zhang Clan members with great familiarity, suggesting they had a very good relationship.
Not long after Xie Jingshan arrived, the fourth group of people arrived.
The group of people were all wearing identical uniforms, with a white feather embroidered on their left shoulder.
They are from the Flying Feather Gang.
The man in the lead was in his early thirties, with a scar on his face that ran diagonally from his left eyebrow to the corner of his right mouth, splitting his otherwise fairly handsome face in two.
His name is Luo Heng, the leader of the Flying Feather Gang.
The Flying Feather Gang, the West River Gang, the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce, and the Zhang Clan are the four strongest forces in West River Market Town.
Luo Heng led four of his men up to the stands. Without greeting anyone, he sat down in the armchair to Zhang He He's left. After sitting down, he crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and meditated like a clay statue of a Bodhisattva, without making a single unnecessary movement.
With all three representatives present, only the far right seat in the stands remained empty; this was reserved for the Fist Academy.
Soon, at the east street corner.
Wu Shuangren arrived with his men.
Today he was dressed in a dark blue outfit, with the cuffs and trouser legs tied tightly with straps, a black cloth belt around his waist, and a long, sheathed sword in his hand.
The scabbard was made of ebony and had no decorations except for a brass band around the opening. The hilt was wrapped with black silk cord.
Wu Shuangren was followed by Mo Zhengxing, Bai Jinhuan, and several guards from the Mo Family.
In addition, there were ten militiamen, two in a row, arranged in five rows. Each of them was still wearing leather armor, carrying a spear in their hand and a round shield on their back.
The ten militiamen stood in neat rows, heads held high, marching in unison.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
The noisy crowd gradually quieted down, leaving only the sound of the militiamen's footsteps on the long street, like drumbeats, each one striking the hearts of the crowd!