"That Tan Yankai, what did he do before?"
Shu Guan sat next to Master Qi and asked curiously.
Master Qi's laughter gradually subsided, and then he began to tell.
"I told you the day before yesterday that I wanted to kill someone, but because of the rules of heaven, I couldn't kill him. As a result, I became depressed and eventually became obsessed."
"And the person I always wanted to kill is Tan Yankai!"
"Sixteen years ago, he was a division commander of the Northern Expeditionary Army. His division was the main force of the New Army's attack on Jingcheng."
"The battle between the New Army and the Northern Expeditionary Army in Jingcheng lasted for a total of six months. The battle was so brutal and tumultuous that it can be said to be the largest battle that has occurred on the land of Dahua in the past few decades."
"However, in fact, at the beginning, the Northern Expeditionary Army was overwhelming. It only took about ten days to capture Jiangyang and Yingcheng. The forward troops advanced to the bank of East Lake and at the foot of Luojia Mountain. At that time Judging from the battle situation, it seems that the old army’s side will not be able to hold on for long.”
"Unexpectedly, something happened at this moment, which changed the situation on the battlefield."
"The new army that finally attacked Luojia Mountain was Tan Yankai's division. The geographical location of Luojia Mountain is a matter of life and death for Yingcheng District, because as long as it occupies a favorable position on the top of Luojia Mountain, artillery fire can cover the entire Yingcheng District.”
"And if the new army can occupy the top of Luojia Mountain, it means that the Battle of Jingcheng can be over."
"Tan Yankai's division is indeed the ace division in the Northern Expedition. It successfully attacked the top of Luojia Mountain."
"The old army in Jingcheng will naturally launch a massive counterattack, and other units of the new army are also constantly approaching the Luojia Mountain area. The armies of both sides have gathered around Luojia Mountain, preparing for the final decisive battle."
"The battlefield situation at that time was very favorable to the new army. Tan Yankai's division had already captured Luojia Mountain and the artillery had been set up. At the same time, the morale of the new army was high, while the old army was in panic. The outcome of the battle seemed to have been decided. clear and distinct."
"But something unexpected happened that day."
"That's when the new army headquarters planned the start of the war, but the cannons on the top of Luojia Mountain did not sound as scheduled."
"Tan Yankai did not order his troops to fire artillery."
"Why, is he worried that artillery fire will hurt the civilians in the city?"
Shu Guan, who had been listening quietly, finally couldn't help but ask.
"At that time, the surrounding civilians had already been evacuated in advance. After all, it was a civil war. Neither side was willing to affect civilians unless it was absolutely necessary."
"The reason why Tan Yankai did not order the artillery fire is actually very simple. That is, around Luojia Mountain, especially in the positions where the old army is located, there are many properties belonging to the Tan family."
"There are two major families in Jingcheng, one is the Qin family, and the other is the Tan family. In terms of long history, the Tan family is not as good as the Qin family, but in terms of the splendor and glory in the past two hundred years, the Qin family is far inferior to the Tan family. In the past two hundred years, the Tan family has produced four minister-level officials. Therefore, over the past few hundred years, the Tan family has accumulated a large number of industries in Jingcheng. Like Zhou Bancheng, their reputation sounds great. But the real family wealth in Jingcheng cannot be compared with that of the Tan family."
"The most important property of the Tan family is in the Luojia Mountain area, where there are many manors, fields, factories, and shops of the Tan family."
"So the night before the war started, an elder of the Tan family, who was also Tan Yankai's uncle, went up to Luojia Mountain and had a word with Tan Yankai."
"That sentence is, if you, Tan Yankai, are destroyed this time at Luojia Mountain and destroy the foundation of the Tan family, so what if you have made great military exploits for the new army? Without the support of your own family, you, Tan Yankai, will not be able to do anything in the future. How big a wave can we create in Jingcheng?"
"Of course, no one knew about this secret discussion at the beginning, and only our Seven Immortals Alliance knew about it later."
"But in the end, Tan Yankai's selfishness trumped justice. In that battle, not only did he not fire, he even deliberately defeated the enemy and returned the position on the top of Luojia Mountain to the hands of the old army again."
"So in the battle of Luojia Mountain, due to unexpected changes, the old army reoccupied the top of Luojia Mountain and fired fiercely at the new army that had gathered at the foot of the mountain and had already set up an offensive formation. The situation on the battlefield was reversed. Not only did the New Army suffer its first defeat since the attack on Jingcheng, but it was also a huge defeat. In the battle of Luojia Mountain, the New Army suffered nearly half of its own military casualties. The number of soldiers reached more than 30,000."
"As a result of the Battle of Luojia Mountain, the new army had to retreat back to Jiangyang, and its morale was severely damaged. It was unable to launch an attack for a long time. However, under the circumstances, the morale of the old army was greatly boosted. Seeing the hope of holding Jingcheng, coupled with the reinforcements coming from the north, the battle of Jingcheng, which was supposed to be over in half a month, lasted for half a year."
"In the end, the New Army was able to regain victory in the Battle of Jingcheng. In addition to the Northern Expeditionary Army's Eastern Route Army transferring several divisions to them, the most important thing was that at that time, they were in charge of the two cities of Xiangfan and were only a commander of the old army. Xu Pingxi finally took action after waiting and watching for several months."
"He led his army and gave the old army of Jingcheng a fatal blow from the side, capturing Jiangkou and most of Yingcheng. Then the new army had to appoint him as the commander-in-chief of the Battle of Jingcheng. Finally, Xu Pingxi became the biggest gain in the battle of Jingcheng."
"If Tan Yankai did such things during the Battle of Jingcheng, how could he not be engaged in military law by the New Army and later become the mayor of Jingcheng?"
Shu Guan once again expressed his confusion.
"I have said that the secret discussion between Tan Yankai and his Tan family members at the top of Luojia Mountain that night was something that only our Seven Immortals Alliance knew. At that time, the position on the top of Luojia Mountain was lost and gained in his hands. , in the eyes of ordinary people, it was nothing more than a military failure, and Tan Yankai later explained that he was injured that night and had a high fever and fell into a coma. When the enemy made a sneak attack, he was unable to command the army, so he lost his position. "
"Although this excuse is a bit far-fetched, because Tan Yankai's previous military exploits in the New Army and his reputation for conduct are quite good, there are not many people who doubt him. Even if someone sees some problems, there is no evidence. .”
"Of course, the leaders of the New Army are not all fools. There are always people who will guess some reasons, so they immediately deprived Tan Yankai of his military power. This is also the real reason why Tan Yankai left the army."
"But other than that, Tan Yankai has not been punished any more. His uncle is right. The Tan family is Tan Yankai's real backer. No one can ignore the Tan family's influence in Jingcheng and even the entire Chuzhou." Due to his prestige and status, killing Tan Yankai will only completely make the Tan family fall to the side of the old army."
"Furthermore, after regaining Jingcheng, the New Army still needs the Tan family to help them stabilize the situation in Chuzhou. And after Xu Pingxi took over most of Jingcheng, the New Army will need people like Tan Yankai to help them even more. Balance the situation to prevent the entire Chuzhou from being completely controlled by Xu Pingxi alone."
"So almost at the same time that Xu Pingxi's army entered Yingcheng, the New Army lifted Tan Yankai's house arrest and asked him to handle post-war matters on behalf of the New Army, and soon after helped him become the mayor of Jingcheng."
"One trap cost the lives of 30,000 soldiers on our side. No, because of Tan Yankai's selfishness, the battle of Jingcheng lasted for half a year. The final number of casualties on both sides was many times greater than the original number. The number of these people In fact, the death must be attributed to Tan Yankai, but such a person ended up becoming the mayor of Jingcheng. It is really ironic that things in the world are like this."
Uncle Qi sneered repeatedly.
Shu Guan was silent for a while, and then he asked Master Qi.
"What else did he do?"
Yes, even though Tan Yankai deserved to die just for what Master Qi just said, it was an unpredictable battle among mortals after all, and it would not be like Master, Master Sanmu, and Su Jie being exposed as soon as they mentioned it. The look of hatred would not make Master Qi become obsessed with this person.
Shu Guan's question made Master Qi silent for a long time, and then he continued:
"I just said it, and I said it twice, the real reason why Tan Yankai retreated on Luojia Mountain is known only to us, the Immortal Alliance."
"The Tan family is a family that has inherited hairpins for more than a thousand years. The existence of us practitioners is just a legend of immortals to most mortals, but for these children of the family, they still vaguely know about our existence. Many people have even had contact with us practitioners."
"For example, I have some friendship with Tan Yankai's grandfather, and Tan Yankai and your senior brother Zhai were close friends back then, because before the battle of Luojia Mountain, Tan Yankai was a very good person in Jingcheng regardless of his character or talent. He can be called a rare and talented person, Tianci has always made him a confidant, and even told him many things about the spiritual world."
"It's a pity that Tan Yankai knows your senior brother Zhai very well, but your senior brother Zhai has never really understood Tan Yankai. Of course, the same is true for us old guys."
When he said this, Master Qi paused slightly, and then continued:
"When the old and new armies were fighting in Jingcheng, the atmosphere between our Seven Immortals Alliance and those practitioners from the Western Continent in Jingcheng was already extremely tense. Although they had not yet taken action directly, they were both ready to fight. "
"The powerful countries in the Western Continent have always supported the old army, because for them, the old warlords are easier to control. However, this support was originally controlled at the secular level, but as the new army conquered Jiang Yang rushed into Ying City and attacked the foot of Luojia Mountain. The Western Continent practitioners who were in Jing City at that time began to feel a little unable to sit still."
"On the battlefield, practitioners from the Western Continent often appear. We also know very well that those practitioners from the Western Continent are not only observing the situation on the battlefield, but they are also probably trying to find an excuse to take action."
"And we, the Seven Immortals Alliance, are also keeping a close eye on them."
"My master said about this. It was a vanguard unit of the New Army that approached the concession area of Jiangkou and was killed by practitioners from the Western Continent. This triggered a battle between our Seven Immortals Alliance and them."
At this time, Shu Guan interrupted.
Master Qi was silent for a moment, shook his head and said:
"That's what happened after that day. Another thing happened before that. Junior Brother Li probably didn't want to mention that thing again, so he told you like that!"
"In fact, in the battle between the practitioners on both sides, we were the first to intervene in the war between mortals. The first one to take action was you, Senior Brother Zhai."
"On the night when Tan Yankai withdrew his troops, he made a special trip to see what he was planning to do, and told Tianci without any concealment what he was going to do."
"What? Why did he do that?"
Shu Guan was extremely surprised.
"Because Tan Yankai knows your senior brother Zhai's character very well. He knows that your senior brother knows about this matter and will definitely not stand idle."
"As for the reason why he did this, whether it was because he felt guilty for the ordinary soldiers who would inevitably be sacrificed, or whether he simply wanted to preserve the strength of his army, it is unknown and it is not important."
"And God's temperament is indeed too pure and hot-blooded. After learning about Tan Yankai's decision, although he was extremely angry and disappointed, he still went to Luojia Mountain the next day."
"That day, at the foot of Luojia Mountain, the water of East Lake was dyed red with blood."
"We have witnessed wars among mortals, but battles as tragic as that day are extremely rare, so Tianci couldn't hold back in the end."
"He used Taoist magic to help the new army soldiers retreat. Although he did not attack the old army soldiers, he still intervened in the affairs of the mortal world, and it was a major event like war."
"So Tianci finally died on the battlefield, at the foot of Luojia Mountain."
Shu Guan was suddenly startled, and then exclaimed in disbelief.
"How could it be? Could it be the master..."
Shu Guan's first thought was whether Li Zhixia had taken action to clean up the family.
Because even a practitioner in the qi-entraining stage has basically no chance of dying on the battlefield unless he stands motionless and allows himself to be attacked by artillery fire and bullets.
But think about it more carefully. Although the master has a cold face and a cold mouth, his heart is soft. I'm afraid he can't really execute his disciples by himself.
"It's not as you guessed. It was the practitioners from the Western Continent who killed Tianci."
"On the battlefield at that time, there were many Western Continent practitioners hiding in the dark. They had been looking for excuses to intervene in the war, and God's intervention gave them the best excuse."
"So they took action against Tianci without hesitation, first with a sneak attack, then with a siege, and killed Tianci at the foot of Luojia Mountain, on the bank of the East Lake."
Shu Guan's face slowly turned pale.
"And that day, it was supposed to be my turn to keep an eye on those Western Continent practitioners. Unfortunately, I went to do something temporarily. When I returned to the battlefield, Tianci was already dead."
"This incident is the most regretful thing in my life. If I could have arrived earlier, Tianci might not have to die."
Shu Guan's face turned paler.
It turns out that this is the cause of death of Senior Brother Zhai.
Senior Brother Zhai died at the hands of practitioners from the Western Continent, but the person who really killed him was Tan Yankai.
Tan Yankai took advantage of Brother Zhai's compassion for mortals and forced him to death.
"And I haven't been able to let go of this inner demon. I really want to kill Tan Yankai, but due to heaven's rules, I can't kill him, because Tan Yankai's incident is ultimately a fight between mortals, and your master will not allow me. I took action to avenge Tianci, and this incident was also the reason why I finally became obsessed."
"Actually, if I want to say that I feel bitter, I'm afraid your master feels even more bitter. Your master has taken the rules of heaven too seriously in his life, so much so that he has to live in a box... In fact, you Master, he loved to laugh a lot when he was young, and he was very impulsive in doing things, which is very similar to the temperament given by God. When our master was still here, we often complained to him that the rules of heaven were too unreasonable, but in the end the master chose He became the master of the temple, so he had to take up the responsibility..."
Master Qi's voice gradually became lower. He talked a lot today, and his energy was naturally running low. As he spoke, soft snoring sounded next to Shu Guan.
Shu Guan raised his head.
He finally understood why the master and the others gnashed their teeth with hatred when they mentioned Tan Yankai.
The sunset in the sky is almost setting.
A bright moon also peeked out from the other side of the cliff.
But the master...still didn't come back.
Where did he go? What were you doing?
Shu Guan felt increasingly uneasy.
So he stood up, returned to his half of the building, walked into the quiet room where he practiced daily exercises, and sat cross-legged on the bed, trying to adjust his breathing and luck, and restore his chaotic and uneasy mood at the moment.
But it didn't take long for Shu Guan to open his eyes.
Still not working, his mind was so confused that he couldn't even control his breathing.
At this time, he inadvertently saw the dark purple wooden box placed beside the bed.
Ever since I got the Taoist secret book "Thunder and Thunder", I have never had the chance to open it again.
Shu Guan took the purple wooden box over, opened the lid, and took out the thin silk book.
Since the practice is not working, it is better to read the Taoist secret book, maybe it can divert your attention.
Shu Guan thought like this and started to read the "Thunder and Thunder" secret book page by page.
This "Thunder and Thunder" Taoist technique is the method of the Earth Immortal. Whether it is the techniques or the process of practicing it, it is much more complicated and cumbersome than the Taoist techniques he has practiced before.
But no matter how complicated and complicated the secret book of Taoism is, it cannot be very thick.
Just like the book in my hand, it only has a dozen thin pages.
Shu Guan was not planning to actually practice at this moment, but was just flipping through it casually, hoping to calm down his mood.
So he quickly turned to the last page.
When he turned to the last silk page, a paper swallow fell from the page.
Shuguan stretched out his hand and caught the paper swallow.
The next moment, his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
