"As for the situation in Jiangning City, I came alone, and I still haven't seen it clearly. Next, who we should help and who we should fight, I hope General An can tell me clearly..."

In the room, after You Hongzhuo sat down with An Xifu and Liang Si'yi, he directly stated the doubts in his mind. He had a straightforward Jianghu personality, and once he decided to help someone, he wouldn't be ambiguous. An Xifu naturally understood this, and smiled at this moment.

"No one can really say how the situation in the city will develop, but in terms of the general trend, it can still be understood..." he said, "In the past two years, the Fairness Party has risen rapidly in Jiangnan. Although it is said that they all respect He Wen, in fact, it was just dozens of forces at the beginning, all using He Wen's name. In these two years, they have actually had several large and small alliances. The initial dozens of forces have now become the five largest branches of the Fairness Party. And today's Jiangning meeting is also a new alliance."

An Xifu said: "In the previous alliances of the Fairness Party, none of the forces expanded to the entire Jiangnan, so at that time, it was an internal alliance. Dozens of factions, any two combined, were a strengthening. But today, the five largest branches of the Fairness Party have become intertwined. There are also many frictions between them. To put it bluntly, they want to rank themselves properly. This is the purpose of today's entire Jiangning Conference."

You Hongzhuo nodded.

An Xifu said: "If it was just the five branches of the Fairness Party fighting behind closed doors, many situations might not be as complicated as they are today. These five families could end it with a series of alliances and battles. But the division of power in Jiangnan, although it still seems chaotic, and there are still small forces like 'Big Dragon Head' rising up one after another, the general trend has already been set. So He Wen opened the door, and the other four also extended their hands outwards. They are setting up arenas in the city with this intention. The martial arts competitions on the surface are just for fun. In reality, the five families of the Fairness Party are all calling for reinforcements."

You Hongzhuo smiled: "This means that since a winner cannot be determined internally, they will first call for helpers to see whose fist is bigger and who has more helpers on the surface, and then engage in a melee. Or if one side is strong and powerful, and everyone can see it clearly, then even the melee can be avoided."

"That's the principle." An Xifu said, "Many of the large and small forces in the world have already sent people here. As we know now, Wu Qimei and Tie Yan of Lin'an have both sent people to lobby here. They have been badly beaten by the Fairness Party for some time, especially by Gao Chang and Zhou Shang. Sooner or later, they will be unable to resist. Therefore, they seized the opportunity to see if there is a branch among the five branches of the Fairness Party that can be talked to. Perhaps by joining them, they can find a new path."

Speaking of Wu and Tie of Lin'an, An Xifu smiled slightly coldly. You Hongzhuo and Liang Si'yi also laughed. Liang Si'yi said, "These people may be able to survive to the end."

You Hongzhuo thought for a while, but couldn't help nodding: "That's certainly possible."

"Wu and Tie are just clowns, but they are still a bargaining chip after all." An Xifu shook his head and laughed, "As for the other parties, such as Zou Xu, Liu Guangshi, and Dai Mengwei, they have also sent teams. Like Liu Guangshi's people, we know them relatively well. The deputy leader among them, who is also the most skilled in martial arts, is 'Monkey King' Li Yanfeng."

"...Brother You may not be clear, but the title of 'Monkey King' originally came from the Manichaeism. It was originally a branch of the twelve guardians of Manichaeism. In the early generations, Manichaeism only circulated among the poor households in Jiangnan. There were many believers, but they were scattered. When the previous generation leader, He Yunsheng, secretly had ties with the wealthy families in Jiangnan, the former leader, Fang La, couldn't stand it. Therefore, together with the 'Tyrant Saber' Liu Dabiao and the Fang brothers, he killed He Yunsheng and replaced him. Li Ruoque, the 'Monkey King' of that generation, left Manichaeism because of this."

Jianghu heroes love to hear these tales of the Green Forest. You Hongzhuo stared wide-eyed as An Xifu spoke of these past events, nodding repeatedly.

"Later, after the failure of Holy Duke's Yongle Uprising, Si Kongnan and Lin Echan came out again to take charge of Manichaeism. When the Right Chancellor of the Capital lost power and the Secret Investigation Department was abolished, they received instructions from the Qi family, a prominent family in Hebei at the time, and gathered old ministers such as 'Monkey King' Li Ruoque and 'Quick Sword' Lu Bingyuan. They planned to go north to Bianliang and create a great and vigorous momentum for the Great Bright Religion."

You Hongzhuo laughed: "I know about this. Later, they were all trampled to death by the cavalry of that person in the Southwest."

An Xifu nodded: "At that time, many elites and guardians of the Great Bright Religion were all trampled to death by the cavalry when they went to Zhuxian Town. Not long after that, that person in the Southwest killed the emperor with a knife in the Golden Luan Hall. Lin Echan was terrified and never dared to show his face in front of that person in the Southwest for the rest of his life. For more than ten years, he never even had the thought of revenge. It can be regarded as karma. And the Qi family at the time, later betrayed to the Jin Kingdom. They couldn't escape retribution a few years ago and were involved in a great chaos in the Jin Kingdom. More than half of the Qi family were killed or injured. The old man Qi Yan and his two grandsons were locked in water tanks, and a fire burned them alive, young and old..."

"Is that so?" You Hongzhuo thought for a while, "Was it done by the Black Flag Army?"

"Everyone guesses it was, but naturally, no one outside can find out. In the cloud of misery a few years ago, not only the Qi family, but also many local tyrants, dignitaries, and ordinary people in Yunzhong City were implicated, and many were burned or killed. The one most involved was the grandson of the great traitor Shi Li'ai... Only the Black Flag Army could have done such a thing. We don't know..."

"...what kind of hero could have done it."

"It's gratifying... If it was really done by some hero in the Chinese army, I really want to meet him and thank him in person for his kindness." You Hongzhuo applauded, sincerely admiring.

An Xifu's description of the Yunzhong Mansion incident invisibly narrowed the distance between him and You Hongzhuo. At this time, he returned to the main topic.

"The people I mentioned earlier are certainly just clowns in front of that person in the Southwest, but in one place, they can all be regarded as powerful figures that cannot be underestimated. 'Monkey King' Li Ruoque was trampled to death by the cavalry, but his son Li Yanfeng surpassed him in martial arts and scheming. He now occupies the Tongshan area and is a local tyrant. He came on behalf of Liu Guangshi and naturally has some connections with the Great Bright Religion. In this way, he has brought Liu Guangshi and Xu Zhaonan closer together."

You Hongzhuo nodded: "So, Liu Guangshi is temporarily on Xu Zhaonan's side."

"It seems so at the moment. At least Li Yanfeng is serving under Liu Guangshi, but after coming here, he also accepted the position of protector of the Great Bright Religion. But it is difficult to say whether there will be any changes in the future... As for the other larger forces, Zou Xu and Dai Mengwei's people are like us. They are newcomers and are still exploring and contacting various parties. It is not clear whether the little emperor in the southeast has sent anyone, but it is estimated that he will. As for the Southwest..."

An Xifu tapped the table with his finger: "If the Southwest makes a move here, it will definitely be a crucial step. No one can ignore the existence of this Black Flag Army... However, in the past two years, Mr. Ning has advocated opening up and seems unwilling to randomly take sides. In addition, the Fairness Party's attitude towards the Southwest is ambiguous. It is difficult to say whether his people will come or whether they will appear publicly."

"...In addition to these major forces, various parties from the Three Religions and Nine Streams, such as some small and medium-sized forces with thousands or several thousand men under their command, have also come this time. The Jiangning situation will inevitably involve these people's moves and taking sides. As far as we know, 'Equality King' Shi Baofeng, one of the five great kings of the Fairness Party, has the most connections with these small and medium-sized forces. In the past few days, several teams arriving in Jiangning have come from outside to openly support him. He has opened a 'Gathering of Talents Hall' in the east of the city, which is quite reminiscent of Lord Mengchang in ancient times."

An Xifu analyzed the situation in the city piece by piece. You Hongzhuo nodded after hearing this.

"In that case, it's roughly clear." He said, "But in this situation, I don't know which side we are on. General An called me here... who do you want me to kill?"

An Xifu smiled and nodded: "This time, our overall direction is not to take sides. After all, Jin is far away from Jiangnan. After the news from Jiangning reached us, the Female Chancellor's intention to intervene was not strong. Anyway, it is safest to talk to whoever comes to power. We also agree with this idea. However, Commander Wang has a connection with the Great Bright Religion, which Brother You should know."

You Hongzhuo nodded.

"To be honest, Commander Wang and I are both old members of Yongle. Although the Holy Duke's uprising failed, we still have a few living friends in Jiangnan. Commander Wang's idea is that, considering the future, when we can easily make a move, we might as well place some chess pieces. After all, in the early years, we could hardly protect ourselves in Yanmen Pass and Taiyuan. We couldn't talk about protecting others. But now everyone has returned to Jin and has a home and a career. Some old friends can be found. Maybe they will be useful in the future. As for whether to choose which family to support, or to sit on the sidelines and watch the tiger fight, we can wait and see how things develop and talk about it later."

"However, a few days ago, something unexpected happened with Miao Zheng..."

The accident he mentioned about Miao Zheng was something that You Hongzhuo had participated in. Liang Si'yi, who was on the side, lowered her head slightly and said, "This is my fault."

You Hongzhuo looked at the two of them: "This... Brother Miao, is he alright now?"

"After the incident the night before yesterday, Miao Zheng immediately left home and sought refuge with 'King Yama' Zhou Shang, temporarily saving his life. But yesterday, we asked someone to inquire and learned that he had been caught by the 'Seven Killings'... The order was given by Wei Xuwen, the 'Celestial Killing' of the Seven Killings."

You Hongzhuo narrowed his eyes: "...The leader of the Seven Killings?"

An Xifu nodded: "According to our inquiries, this 'Celestial Killing' Wei Xuwen is not simple. He is the mastermind under 'King Yama'. He is eccentric and ruthless. Those who are targeted by him rarely end well. Now that Miao Zheng has been noticed by him, we estimate that things will not be easy to settle... This place is too far from Jin, and it is not easy to summon people. Therefore, when we heard that Brother You was here, we shamelessly asked Si'yi to invite you, hoping that you can help us when we take action later."

"As long as there is an order, I will not refuse."

The two sides had not had much direct contact in Jin before, but they had fought side by side with Wang Juyun's "Rebel Army" on the battlefield more than once or twice. An Xifu's words were spoken here, and You Hongzhuo agreed without thinking, which was extraordinarily natural.

An Xifu smiled. Just as he was about to explain in detail, he heard footsteps coming from the courtyard behind him, followed by a knock on the door.

The person who came in from outside was naturally one of An Xifu's subordinates. He looked at the three people in the room. Because he didn't know if things had been negotiated, he walked to An Xifu at this time and whispered a message to him.

This message was not a big secret, so the whispering was just for show. You Hongzhuo was stunned after hearing it, and An Xifu also frowned slightly. Then, he glanced at You Hongzhuo.

"That fatty... is still so impatient..." An Xifu murmured, and then said to You Hongzhuo, "It's Xu Zhaonan and Lin Zongwu who are making the first move. Lin Zongwu has taken people to the Five Directions Arena. The first person he wants to fight is Zhou Shang. Brother You, are you interested?"

"I really want to see the legendary number one in the world." You Hongzhuo said.

"He may not be the number one in the world, but in terms of martial arts, there are indeed not many who can suppress him..." An Xifu stood up, "Let's go. We'll talk as we walk."

You Hongzhuo and Liang Si'yi stood up one after another and left the dilapidated house one after another. At this time, the sunlight had dispersed the morning mist, and there were chaotic human voices in the distant streets. An Xifu walked in front, speaking to You Hongzhuo in a low voice.

"I know that Brother You is highly skilled in martial arts and can even repel 'Hooded Crow' Chen Juefang head-on. However, this Wei Xuwen has a different style from Chen Juefang. He is good at using people. If it is a one-on-one fight on the arena, the difference between people may not be great. But in terms of the total number of people, the Fairness Party under the rule of Jiangnan has more than tens of millions of people. Under the rule of 'King Yama', the 'Seven Killings' are divided, and the number of people in each branch is extremely large. Since Wei Xuwen has gained the reputation of being good at using people, then he is definitely not as easy to deal with as Chen Juefang. I hope Brother You will not underestimate him."

"General An is right to remind me. I will remember it."

You Hongzhuo cupped his hands and agreed. He had heard of this General An's reputation in the army in the past. On the one hand, he could be ruthless at critical moments and rectify military discipline. On the battlefield, he was the most reassuring. On weekdays, he could also take care of logistics and planning. He was a first-class reliable talent. At this time, he was carefully reminded by him, which was slightly enlightening.

The woman named Liang Si'yi walked behind. She had a straight face and was expressionless from beginning to end. It was unknown whether she thought An Xifu was long-winded or whether she felt guilty about Miao Zheng's matter.

The three walked through the streets and headed towards the Five Directions Arena of "King Yama". Along the way, people who had come to watch the excitement had already gathered. You Hongzhuo laughed: "After entering the city for a few days, it seems that all the forces in the city, whether good or bad, have chosen to fight Zhou Shang first. This 'King Yama' is really the target of public criticism. Maybe his power will be divided up before this meeting is over."

He remembered that he had a feud with the Great Bright Religion, but now he had to come and help fight Zhou Shang; An Xifu contacted the old members of the Yongle branch of the Great Bright Religion, and suddenly the enemy became Zhou Shang; and "Turning Wheel King" Xu Zhaonan, "Great Bright Religion Leader" Lin Zongwu, and "Hooded Crow" Chen Juefang also started by fighting Zhou Shang. This "King Yama" Zhou Shang was really a person of very poor character. Thinking about it, he found it interesting.

An Xifu shook his head: "It's hard to say... Although everyone is shouting to beat him on the surface, the number of people in Zhou Shang's line is actually increasing the fastest. This matter cannot be publicly argued. It can only be regarded as... the inferiority of human nature."

"General An, you must be very familiar with this Leader Lin, right?"

"I met him when I was a child, and I had a few dealings with him after I became an adult. We are already enemies... I was actually adopted by Princess Yongle, Fang Baihua. Later, I followed Commander Wang. I know more about their grudges than others..."

The three moved forward, chatting casually about some interesting trivia. An Xifu was almost forty years old at this time. He had been busy all his life. He had a family in his early years, but they had all dispersed and he had not remarried. At this time, when he said the words "Princess Yongle, Fang Baihua," his voice was calm, but his eyes flickered slightly, and the figure of the red-clothed female general seemed to appear in his vision. At this time, the crowd gathered on the street, and the thrilling uprising that had taken place in Jiangnan had already passed twenty years...

**************

In the plaza ahead, a surging crowd gathered, and all kinds of flags fluttered in the wind above the crowd.

That massive figure had already stepped onto the Five Directions Arena.

The surrounding noise was chaotic, like boiling water.

"Make way! Make way! Boiling water—boiling water here—"

On one side of the plaza, the insignificant Little Hero Long Aotian was now using a strange Southwestern accent, arching and squeezing into the crowd. Occasionally, he would look up at the chaotic scene of onlookers and mutter to himself, "If a fight breaks out later, won't some people be trampled to death..."

But in order to join in this excitement, he couldn't care about that now. If things really got chaotic, he would run onto people. Anyway, those who came to such a dangerous place to watch the fun were probably not good people. They were desperadoes. It was their own fault if they were trampled to death...

"Boiling water! Make way! Make way here—"

He used force with his feet, unfolded his movements, and moved forward quickly like a loach. After a while, he finally broke through this crowd and reached the front of the arena. He heard a few deep voices forced out by internal force echoing above the heads of the onlookers.

The most powerful of these internal forces excited Long Aotian's heart. He looked up at the Buddha-like figure on the arena and was deeply moved.

Aunt Hong, Aunt Gua, Dad, Uncle Chen... I finally saw this number one fattest person in the world. His internal power is so high...

The leader of the Martial Arts Alliance did not pretend to be important. One of his pursuits in martial arts over the years was to one day unscrew the head of this fatty and kick it as a ball. At this time, he finally saw the person in charge and almost burst into tears.

Listening carefully to their conversation, he only heard people from "King Yama" Zhou Shang's side accusing "Great Bright Religion Leader" Lin Zongwu of being too senior and not being qualified to bully the younger generation here. Leader Lin said that he was not here to bully people, but to see that they had set up an arena, and would issue plaques and titles to people who won three matches. Therefore, he was here to question whether they had the qualifications to issue plaques and titles. If it was a martial arts contest to recruit a spouse, then it would naturally be consensual. But if you say that you can be called a hero by winning the arena, then the person behind the arena must have convincing qualifications. Therefore, the important figure who is overseeing this arena should come out and let everyone weigh him.

These words were beautifully said and overwhelmed a large number of noises below. Long Aotian was moved by his internal power again.

Wuwuwu, as expected of my lifelong enemy, his internal power is really high...

"Stop arguing—"

He jumped up in front of the crowd and shouted excitedly.

"Listen to my advice!"

"Fight—fight—"

Long Aotian's arms danced like noodles, and the voice of this sentence was also extraordinarily loud. The people behind him were also infected for a moment and felt it made sense.

"Hit him, hit him—"

"Kill him—"

"Wo wo wo—"

"Dead bald head! Dead bald head—"

It was a very chaotic shout...

Above the arena, that massive figure turned his head and slowly scanned the entire audience, and then opened his mouth towards this side.

"Si! Lence--"

These two words were accompanied by a strange rhythm, like the chanting of a Buddhist temple, instantly pushing away like a sea tide, overwhelming half of the noise in the field. For a moment, everyone in the front of the field could not help but quiet down.

Seeing that his power alone was so terrifying, after a moment, a team of people belonging to the Great Bright Religion on the other side of the field knelt down on the ground with tears in their eyes and kowtowed.

Bah! What's so great about this...

The figure named Long Aotian was burning with anger, searching for stones on the ground, preparing to secretly smash open the heads of these people. But after finding the stones, considering the sea of people in the field, he gestured fiercely in his heart a few times, and finally could not really do it...