Chapter 007: The Ghost Valley Lineage

  "After the death of Master Guigu, his disciples compiled his teachings and strategies into a book for future generations to study. However, no one expected that Master Guigu's talents were unparalleled, and his knowledge was boundless. Especially in the three aspects of divination, strategy, and martial arts, he was unmatched. Although the disciples were intelligent, they found it difficult to comprehend Master Guigu's rich legacy. Helplessly, they divided his works into three parts, each inherited by one of the three most outstanding disciples. This is the origin of the Guigu Tiān Yuè, Shén Jī, and Yīng Wǔ lineages." Pang Yan explained in a clear and emotionless tone, but the crowd was still deeply moved, lost in their memories of Master Guigu.

  "When selecting and teaching disciples, the first master's disciples considered a point. Although their talents were not enough to integrate the various works of the first master, there would always be someone in the world who could do it. Therefore, when the disciples taught, they also concentrated all the works of the first master together, which was managed by the oldest of the three veins, Tianyi vein. The disciples of the three veins, because of their emphasis on entering the world with divine machines and heroic bravery, would not have too much energy to teach. So, the rule for the disciples under the door was that the successors of the three veins had to concentrate together to learn before they went out of the mountain. This was both for the convenience of teaching according to the material, and also for letting them better contact these works. It's possible that among these successors, there were some disciples who could integrate the first master's works. However, in a thousand years, except for the famous prime minister Sleeping Dragon in ancient times, no one had been able to integrate the first master's teachings into one school. Even those who learned two schools of thought well were rare."

  Taking advantage of Pong Ye's nostalgic moment, Xue Sha inserted a question: "Master Uncle, you said that the successors of the three veins must grow up together from a young age. But I've been following Master since I was a child and have never been here before. Why did Master take me as his apprentice?"

  "You are a disciple of Master Yingwu, but to be strict, you are not his true successor. His real heir should be the young man who was standing next to Tanpo earlier, Shi Huang. Our Ghost Valley sect is divided into three branches, and our successors were chosen directly by the sect and then taught by Master Yingwu. Of course, Master Yingwu isn't proficient in everything either; he just passed down the writings and research of our predecessors to his disciples for them to study on their own. Just like my disciple Xuanji - strictly speaking, I'm not even his master. It's just that since he inherited the teachings of this branch, he calls me 'master' out of respect. Master Yingwu is actually his true master. I think Master Yingwu took you in as a disciple because he saw your exceptional talent and thought you were a promising student." Pang Yan said slowly, while Huan Tian and the others nodded in understanding. This method indeed brought out the spirit of Ghost Valley's tradition to its fullest extent. It seems that the person who came up with this rule is no ordinary person.

  "We, the three branches of Guigu, have a specialty in observing the stars and divining the will of heaven. Just like our great master brother, his skills in this area are unparalleled. However, this kind of reckless attempt to measure the heavens is most detrimental to one's lifespan, which is why the successors of the Tianguan branch often have weak bodies.

  Apart from this, the Tianguan branch has another extremely important task, which is to guard and pass on the legacy. All the works of the Guigu branch are in their keeping, so they must strive to find people who can inherit these teachings.

  The Yingwu branch not only excels in martial arts but also in military strategy. Our former master once said: 'If heaven loses its way, I will surely punish heaven; if gods fall, I will surely kill the gods; for the sake of all living beings, one must uphold justice.' Therefore, the task of the Yingwu branch is to bring about a new era for the people when the country loses its way.

  The Shenji branch's task is to devise strategies behind the scenes to save the world and rescue the people. The greatest revenge for this branch is to assist a wise ruler and create a prosperous era. Alas, I am incompetent and not only failed to bring blessings to all living beings but also brought suffering to the people of the world. I am ashamed before our former master."

  Pang Yan said with some pain and regret.

  "The imperial teacher doesn't have to blame himself, the problems of our dynasty have been around for a long time. Since the previous emperor ascended to the throne, the governance has been almost in shambles. If it weren't for the efforts of the imperial teachers and others to prop it up, the empire would not have been able to hold on until today." Xiang Heng hastily said. What he said was true, Emperor Shen had been on the throne for twenty years, and the governance had been in shambles for a full twenty years. Moreover, due to the obstruction of treacherous officials, Emperor Shen was extremely extravagant and indulgent, a typical example of someone who didn't care what happened after they died. If it weren't for people like Pang Yan who endured humiliation and worked diligently, it's unknown whether the Qingfeng Empire would have already perished by now. Despite this, under the pressure of the three major families and treacherous officials, the governance was still in a state of utter chaos.

  "Alas, when you first came out, I told you that the emperor you wanted to assist was not a wise ruler. Following him, except for exhausting your mind and energy, there will be no results at all. Unfortunately, you didn't listen." Tianji Old Man said with his eyes closed.

  "That's not necessarily true! If my two senior brothers could have come out of the mountains with me, the world might not be in this state." Pang Yan said discontentedly. He had originally invited the two to come out of the mountains together, but neither of them had agreed. Thinking about the current corruption and problems in the imperial court, Pang Yan couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

  "Junior brother, all things in the world have their own destiny. To reverse the trend of the world with one's own power is impossible unless our former master comes back to life. Your task is to help the people and save them, so you entered the imperial court as an official, I won't stop you. My task is to guard and pass on the tradition, so for my whole life, I must stay here. And junior brother Yingwu's task is to defy heaven and kill gods, now that the imperial court is corrupt, as a member of the Yingwu family, he should be traveling around the world, striving to overthrow a rotten dynasty and rebuild an empire where the people and nation can prosper. But he hasn't done so, just because there is still you, his junior brother, serving as an official in the imperial court. Isn't this enough? The masters of the three major families are all cunning and treacherous, plus the Minister of Revenue An Yongchang, none of them are less intelligent than you. Not to mention others, just say that this time the northern expedition army was defeated, with your wisdom, before it happened, you didn't see through their conspiracy. Even if we helped you together, it would only add to the joke." The old man said slowly, while Pang Yan's face turned extremely ugly.

  "I just didn't expect them to be so ruthless, that's 300,000 elite soldiers and 80 million people of the Yellow River Basin!" Pang Yan said with a pained expression.

  "National Master, what do you mean by this? Is there another hidden reason for our defeat this time?" Xiang asked sharply, grabbing the loophole in Pang Yan's words. From the beginning, he felt that this battle was lost unclearly, and now hearing Pang Yan say so, he naturally became even more suspicious.

  "General, don't you think it's strange that we lost this battle? The Empire's 600,000-strong army marched north, led by the famous General Zhang Mingjing, and the scouts outside the camp were arranged by me and General Zhang together. But how did Khan's 150,000-strong army manage to cross the river in one night, bypass our layers of scouts, and launch a surprise attack on us? And they succeeded! With such a big movement, our army was completely unaware. Is that possible? If he were leading a small unit of only a thousand men, it might be possible. But this is an army of 150,000, the elite iron-clad archers of Rouran! If the night attack failed, Rouran would have been doomed. Our army has 600,000 men, including 100,000 soldiers from the Xuanwu Army who are experts in defensive warfare. How could he be so sure of success? And what's even more bizarre is that during the night attack, the Bai Er Army, Chi Mei Army, and Huang Jin Army retreated to the Yin Feng Mountains without hesitation, while the Qing Long Xuanwu and Bai Hu Armies were completely annihilated. Do you think there's something fishy going on here?"

  "Guoshi, you mean this is a trap set by the three major families?" Haotian was the first to react, asking somewhat bitterly.

  "But this time, the northern expedition was originally a conspiracy of the three major families." Pang Yan nodded and said.

  "How can this be possible? If it's really like that, what are they after? Is it just to annihilate those three hundred thousand troops?" Xiang Xing said disbelievingly.

  "General Hao, you'd better explain it to General Xiang," said Pang Yan with a sigh. Xiang Ying was good at fighting, but he didn't quite understand these plots and schemes, whereas Hao Tian surprisingly grasped them in an instant.

  "General, please listen to my explanation. As you have been in the military for a long time, I'm sure you are familiar with the geography of our country. Our country can be roughly divided into six parts: the northern five routes and the river route, the area between the rivers and the south of the Yangtze River. The imperial court directly controls several legions, including the Northern Legion and the Black Tortoise Legion guarding the northeastern border, the Western Legion and the White Tiger Legion guarding the northwestern border, the Blue Dragon Legion stationed in Yangzhou Road, the Eastern Legion stationed in Yuzhou Road, the Southern Legion and the Vermilion Bird Legion stationed along the western river, and the Dragon Rider Legion and the Imperial Guard Legion stationed in Tiandu Holy City. The three major families directly control the Yellow Turban Legion of the Zhang family on Huai River Road, the Red Eyebrow Legion of the Li family on Qin River Road, and the White Eared Legion of the Song family on Yi River Road.

  Last year, foreign tribes invaded from outside the borders, and the Western Legion and Northern Legion were completely defeated. The White Tiger Legion retreated to the river route, and the Black Tortoise Legion retreated to Yuzhou. This spring, the three southern barbarian tribes and the Golden Flower Kingdom launched a northern invasion, tying up the Southern Legion and part of the Vermilion Bird Legion. The eastern barbarians have been harassing our coastline, also tying up the Blue Dragon Legion's forces.

  Therefore, excluding the necessary defensive forces, the empire can only mobilize 300,000 troops from the Black Tortoise, Eastern, and White Tiger Legions. Although this force cannot recover the five northern routes, it is more than enough to solidify the defense of the Yangtze River. For the three major families, these 300,000 troops gathered near Tiandu Holy City are a huge pressure.

  The three major families have always had ulterior motives and have been self-sufficient in their military power. However, over the past few decades, although the empire has weakened, its prestige still remains. The Grand Master of the Imperial Court and the Minister of War are loyal and wise officials, and the generals such as Dingbei Hou Jingnan are renowned for their bravery. Although the three major families have been operating for a hundred years, they did not dare to openly rebel.

  However, this time, the foreign invasion has given them a great opportunity. Two legions were completely defeated, and the Black Tortoise and White Tiger Legions suffered significant losses. The five northern routes have all fallen, and the imperial court will certainly launch a northern campaign to restore its reputation. If the empire launches a northern campaign, the military forces in the imperial capital will certainly decrease, and the three major families' opportunity will arise."

  Huang Tian spoke very carefully, and he had only roughly thought through this earlier. However, after careful analysis, Huang Tian actually grasped the key point.

  "What good would it do them if the three legions of the empire were completely annihilated?" Xing Yan said, still somewhat unconvinced.

  "In this war, regardless of the outcome, it will be beneficial to the three major families. If the Northern Expeditionary Army wins, the Empire will inevitably take advantage of the momentum to recover the five routes in Hebei. Although the three major families may not gain any obvious benefits, they will still contribute money and troops for the sake of recovering their ancestral lands, earning them a good reputation that cannot be escaped. Moreover, the imperial forces and civilian forces in the five routes of Hebei have been largely eliminated by the foreign tribes from beyond the Great Wall. After the recovery of their ancestral lands, they can deploy their own forces. If the Northern Expeditionary Army loses, they will take advantage of the situation. These three armies are the Empire's last mobile forces. If they are completely defeated, the imperial court will no longer have any power to suppress their ambitions. General, think about it: if the foreign tribes from beyond the Great Wall want to move south, they must either go through the treacherous terrain of the Blood-colored Plateau in the west via Yizhou Road, or pass through the Yin Wind Ancient Fortress or Sword Gate Stronghold in the middle, or cross the great river in the east. The western route is too high in elevation, and there is also the Blood-colored tribe that has always been loyal to the Empire, whose elite cavalry cannot be matched even by the iron-clad archers of the foreign tribes; the central route has strongholds like iron, and also has the elite private soldiers of the Song and Li families; the eastern route has the great river as a natural barrier, and also has the Empire's Dragon Army. Therefore, even if the Empire loses the war, as long as they can maintain the integrity of these three lines of defense, the foreign tribes will only be able to roam in the north. As for the Empire's three elite armies, what they hope for is probably to let them and the foreign tribes fight each other to mutual defeat."

  "Are you saying that the three major families and the foreign tribes outside the pass have been colluding?" Xiang's eyes suddenly became extremely sharp, and his body also emitted a strong killing intent that only those who had experienced life and death on the battlefield could possess. His hands were also pale due to excessive force. In that battle, countless comrades and subordinates had died in the sand, and he himself had become a prisoner of war. Therefore, he had an unrelenting hatred for the foreign tribes outside the pass. Now, hearing that the three major families actually had dealings with them, how could he not be enraged?

  Pang Yan shook his head and interjected, "It's not that they had a prior agreement, but rather a temporary decision. At least before the Great Wall defense line was breached last year, they should have been sworn enemies. Those who steal hooks will be punished, those who steal countries will become vassals. We underestimated their audacity. This battle must have been intentionally leaked to the foreign tribes outside the pass, allowing them to launch a surprise attack under our tight surveillance. When the war broke out, the three major families' direct military units began to retreat and fell back all the way to the Yin Wind Mountains before stopping. Hmph, Li Tie said he received false orders and led the defeated soldiers in retreat. If they were truly defeated soldiers, why did only their three major military units escape, while the Empire's seasoned Eastern Xuanwu White Tiger Army was completely annihilated? Think about it carefully, why didn't the six tribes outside the pass continue to advance south after defeating our Empire's Northern Expeditionary Army? Was it really because of the cooling weather? This is because the three major families had a hidden hand, quietly holding back their legs. Otherwise, with the nature of the foreign Hu barbarians, they would not have left tens of thousands of troops in Dingzhou and then returned north."

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