Chapter Thirty: The Heavenly Strategy Army Formation

  Tongchuan Prefecture, since ancient times has been a stronghold in the north, with the Ku Yan Pass two hundred miles away responding to each other from afar, like a pair of giant pincers, firmly blocking the nomadic barbarians on the grasslands outside the Central Plains.

  After the founding of Da Hong, he attached more importance to the grassland than any previous dynasty. He led his army northward four times, with the farthest expedition directly piercing through the grasslands and fighting all the way to the icy wasteland in the extreme north. All the major tribes on the grasslands were subjugated.

  In the past hundred years or so, Tongchuan and Suide have had no wars, gradually changing from a military stronghold to a border trade hub. Although it does not have the elegance of Jiangnan prefectures, nor the prosperity of inland prefectures, these two border towns also have a unique exotic charm.

  The sound of horseshoes clattered, a horse-drawn carriage drove on the official road, Liang Xin drove the carriage, Qu Qingmo sat in it. They had been leaving Kunai Mountain for more than ten days.

  Tongchuan Prefecture was in sight, Liang Xin sat in front and touched the gold in his pocket, suddenly hehehe laughed and turned back to whisper to Qu Qingmo: "Do you know, Second Brother gave me thirty taels of gold... that's a lot of money!"

  After finishing speaking, one hand tightly covered the pocket, and was so happy that his mouth couldn't be closed.

  To know the market conditions at that time, one or two silver coins could buy 2 shi of rice. One shi of rice is 180 jin, so calculated this way, one or two silver coins would be equivalent to 360 jin of rice.

  Ten taels of silver is enough for a small family's living expenses for a year. The Da Hong currency system was one tael of gold equal to ten taels of silver, so thirty taels of gold was indeed a large sum of money for ordinary people.

  Qu Qingmo was already in a bad mood, and after hearing Liang Xin's words, he became even angrier. He muttered a curse: "You're so petty! You're so obsessed with money!"

  Liang Xin had never used money before, until this time he went out and knew the benefits of gold and silver. However, unlike those children who suddenly have money in their pockets and spend it recklessly, he tightly grasped his purse at all times, which can only be described as stingy.

  As they spoke, the horse carriage entered the city. Liu had already arranged all the details along the way and without much trouble, they entered Tongchuan Prefecture and found an inn where Liang Xin gritted his teeth to rent a two-bedroom suite. After settling in, the two of them went out to stroll down the main street with great enthusiasm.

  Qingmo transformed into a stout middle-aged man with a greasy face, who was on familiar terms with Liang Xin and his nephew.

  This time Liang Xin was unusually generous, as soon as he went out, he bought a bag of pine nut sugar for Qu Qingmo, which made the young girl very happy. After eating a few pieces, she suddenly remembered that she was now a middle-aged fat man, and it didn't look good to walk around with a big bag of sugar, so she suddenly came to her senses and angrily threw the sugar into Liang Xin's hands...

  It was early autumn, the peak season for border trade. The streets were bustling with people coming and going, including Chinese from inland China, Xianbei people from the grasslands, and even some red-haired and blue-eyed foreigners. Two of them looked particularly curious, constantly pointing and whispering to each other, discussing something in hushed tones.

  Tian Ce Men is a local gang, with some reputation in Tongchuan Prefecture. The main hall is located on Tie Xie Street in the city, which is a bustling area. Before Liang Xin had time to ask around, he strolled around and found it with just one glance.

  "Plop, whoosh!"

  "Take off, Huo!"

  "Turn, Huo!"

  A series of loud and powerful shouts came from within, nearly a hundred young men were practicing boxing under the command of their instructor, exuding a sense of majesty. The Tian Ce Gate deliberately recruited disciples, with its doors wide open, allowing outsiders to enter and observe.

  Liáng Xīn couldn't help but laugh when he saw them. What they were practicing was clearly one of their signature moves: the Taizu Long Fist.

  On the other side of the courtyard, the stone brick floor was covered with a thick layer of yellow earth, and dozens of big men were constantly colliding with each other. This time even Qu Qing and Mo also laughed, those Tian Ce disciples were practicing Liang Xin's second greatest skill: the art of tumbling.

  Qing Mo smiled at Liang Xin and said, "Let's go a bit further in, maybe there are still people practicing archery." Her disguise was flawless, from appearance to voice.

  As soon as the words fell, an old man who was watching the excitement next to him chimed in: "Of course there is a shooting technique. The Tiān Cè Mén teaches martial arts, from boxing and sword fighting to archery and horse riding, all of which are mastered!" Following that, the old man whispered to the two of them: "It seems that you two are not people from the Jianghu, like the way you two were just now, pointing at Tiān Cè Mén's performance and laughing, it is very improper."

  Liang Xin didn't understand the rules of Jianghu, but after being told by the old man, he also felt that he had been a bit rude just now. He looked up and saw that there were indeed several people who looked like instructors standing in the courtyard with their hands behind their backs, coldly staring at them. Liang Xin hurriedly bowed his head and apologized to them with a smile, full of apology on his face.

  The old man smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, as long as it's not intentional troublemaking, the Tiān Cè Mén won't randomly harm people. You two just be more careful next time."

  Perhaps it's a bloodline problem, the old man looks like a Han Chinese, but his eyes are yellow, so he got a nickname called Old Cat. His family has been settled in Tongchuan for several generations and lives on Tie Xie Street. Relying on familiarity with the street, he runs errands and acts as an intermediary for people. As there are many outsiders in Tongchuan Prefecture, Old Cat usually talks to outsiders to alleviate boredom and also to find suitable jobs.

  The old cat was a professional at making small talk, and Liang Xinsen was afraid he wouldn't be able to find anyone to chat with. After chatting for a while, the two of them became familiar with each other, and only then did the old cat ask: "You two, have you come to Tongchuan for business or to visit relatives?"

  Liáng Xīndá had been preparing the lie for over a dozen days, and after mentioning two sentences about his own background, he expressed the idea that he and his uncle wanted to find a storefront to open a restaurant.

  The old cat's yellow eyes rolled a few times, and he said thoughtfully: "This street is prosperous, the business of shops is generally good. I happen to know of one shop that the owner wants to sell because they want to return to their hometown, but the price they're asking for is quite high."

  Liang Xin immediately went to touch the gold in his pocket and frowned, asking: "How much money did you get?"

  The old cat smiled and said, "I'm not the master of the house, so I'll have to take you all to see the shop. If we like it, then we can discuss the price with the owner!" Although he said this, he remained standing on the ground, showing no intention of leaving.

  Liang Xinluo thought for a moment and understood what Lao Mao meant. He smiled and asked: "How much commission?"

  After haggling over the price, both parties agreed on the commission. Apart from finding a store on Tie Xie Street, other trivial matters such as registering with the government and finding a chef were also handed over to Old Cat to handle. The folk custom in Tongchuan is simple and honest, so this small amount of commission only needs to be verbally agreed upon.

  The old cat had picked up a business, and was naturally delighted. He immediately wanted to take Liang Xin to see the shop. Just then, a loud drumbeat suddenly sounded from inside the Tian Ce Gate. The people who were passing by the gate all showed excitement on their faces and rushed into the large courtyard of the Tian Ce Gate to watch the commotion.

  The old cat smiled and explained to them: "On the first and fifteenth of every month, the Tian Ce Men will have its disciples form a military formation and perform martial arts. It's really lively. Today happens to be the fifteenth, you've just arrived in this place, if you're not in a hurry to go see the shops, you might as well go take a look."

  Liáng Xīn was greatly excited, but Qū Qīng Mò showed no interest in this ordinary person's resistance and pulled Lǎo Māo to go see the shop first, leaving Liáng Xīn behind at Tiān Cè Mén to watch the 'performance'.

  After Lao Mao and Qu Qingmo left, Liang Xin found someone else to chat with, casually bringing up Lao Mao, and seeing that everyone said this old man had a very good reputation, he finally felt at ease.

  ……

  Tian Ce Men mobilized 400 disciples to practice military formations. Although the number of people was small, they grasped the essence of the formation method. First, they formed a "Pi Jia" array, followed by a "Rui Feng" array, and then there were also arrays such as "Gong Nu" raid, "Ju Ma" raid, and "Gou Liang" raid. The more they practiced, the more magnificent it became, causing Liang Xin and a group of onlookers to watch in awe, cheering loudly without stopping.

  By dusk, all sorts of formations had been practiced one by one. With a loud shout from the instructor, the four hundred Tian Ce Gate disciples dispersed with a boom. Liang Xin thought the performance was over, but when he turned his head to look back, the local people beside him not only didn't disperse, but instead became even more excited.

  Liang Xin felt puzzled in his heart and asked a bystander: "What's going on? Is there still an army formation?"

  That idle fellow smiled and nodded: "There's one last round, also the climax, Beast Riding Ambush!" As he spoke, those disciples who had just withdrawn rushed back onto the field, each of them holding an additional iron net.

  The flag-waving instructor waved the array flag, and the sound of machinery rose with a "za za za" noise. One by one, huge iron cages slowly rose from the underground of the Tian Ce Men courtyard, immediately followed by the roaring of beasts, shaking the heavens!

  Tigers, leopards, hyenas, wolves, snakes, rhinos... all kinds of ferocious beasts are pacing back and forth in their cages, baring their fangs as soon as they see people!

  The onlookers retreated in a hurry, leaving more space for them. Another round of war drums shook the air, and a special disciple opened the control cage door mechanism. Hundreds of ferocious beasts rushed out immediately, roaring and running wildly in all directions.

  The flag bearer shouted loudly: "Rush!" The 400 disciples moved at the sound, three people in a row, five people in a group, seemingly scattered but actually well-organized. A iron net flew up and down, capturing one by one the beasts that wanted to escape or hurt people. The movements were neat and efficient, showing their rigorous training.

  The audience had obviously seen such a formation many times, cheering and shouting loudly for the Tian Ce disciples. However, after his initial surprise, Liang Xin's eyes widened fiercely.

  Among the hundred beasts, there was a small monkey with a slender body, its tail cut off at the root, but its fur was bright and clean, and its two big eyes were orange-yellow, it was clearly a young Tianyuan! The Tianyuan is a 'special product' of Kunai Mountain, they have an ancestral training that does not allow them to leave the mountain. Liang Xin couldn't understand how this little thing ended up here?

  The little gibbon's expression was flustered and disheveled, mixed in with the beast group, hastily running and jumping, because its tail was broken and it couldn't grasp balance well, after running a few steps it would trip and fall, looking both pitiful and laughable, yet provoking the audience to burst into loud laughter. The disciples of Tian Ce Men seemed to intentionally leave this farce alone, constantly intimidating and driving away the little guy, but refusing to directly take action to catch it.

  Liang Xin lived in the Monkey Valley for five years, day and night with the heavenly monkeys, almost treating them as his own kind. Seeing the little one suffer, he gritted his teeth to hold back the urge to take action, making up his mind to wait until tonight to rescue it.

  Little Monkey suddenly stopped running, looked up with his fluffy little head and sniffed hard. His face suddenly burst into a mix of happiness, grievance, sadness, and extreme joy! He quickly turned his head, gazed at Liang Xin with his orange-yellow eyes, and then stumbled and ran towards him!

  －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

  Next week, continue to rush the list, and at zero o'clock, one more chapter will be added.

  Starting point. Welcome, book lovers! The latest, fastest and hottest serialized works are all on the starting point of original works!