Chapter 174: Having evil intentions
Were women in ancient times so knowledgeable about military matters?
Xu Qing remembered that when the crossbow cart first appeared, Qin Shuying also knew a lot about this thing. Now he was stunned by what this female hero said. The two were exactly the same, and it taught him a lesson.

When he turned around, not only did Shui Haozi nod his head repeatedly with admiration in his eyes, but even a lieutenant officer like Shan Yongpei, who came from the military, praised him, "You are worthy of being the helper you found. You are absolutely right."

Feeling frustrated, Xu Qing waved his hands and said, "Alright, alright, let's discuss how to get in."

Shui Haozi gestured with his hands and said to Xu Qing: "Sir, although there are arrow towers built around the valley, we can still go down the same way. These arrow towers are not used for observation, but for defense."

"Defense?"

Xu Qing looked around at the sparks and the towering arrow tower below, frowned in confusion, and felt that something was wrong.

But the time at night is always limited. After carefully confirming the safety of the route, they slowly slid down the steep slope and went around.

When he successfully arrived near the valley, Xu Qing saw for the first time the current situation of the clans living around the imperial tomb.

The residence here is not much different from ordinary mountain villages, but compared to ordinary places, it seems more ethereal and quiet.

It was as if a cold wind was blowing through the empty mountains and fields, taking away the fatigue and noise.

"Is it convenient to talk here?"

The four of them followed the arrow tower to a torch nearby, and they heard strange voices approaching.

Xu Qing carefully lay in the dark and observed. He heard footsteps not far away, and three figures suddenly appeared.

Walking in the front was a charming woman with a delicate face and beautiful eyebrows, wearing a tight-hipped and narrow-waisted skirt. Behind her followed a tall and thin man and a middle-aged man with a ligature and a rather strong figure.

The woman's status was obviously higher than the other two. She paced slowly and stopped only when she reached the blazing fire.

Shui Haozi gestured to the three people to hold their breath, concentrate, and keep quiet.

"As long as it's on the ground, it's convenient."

The woman had applied glittering powder on the corners of her eyes and face, which made her look more charming than an ordinary woman.

Although there were gusts of cold wind in the valley, she still held a small folding fan and waved it back and forth, as if to drive away the heat in her body.

Upon hearing this, the tall and thin man in the blue-white coat spoke first: "Kurozuka, we in the Japanese tribe respect you as the head of the family, and we don't want to follow your reckless actions and cause the extinction of the tribe."

The other burly man obviously had the same intention. He stared at the other party with a cold gaze and waited for the woman in front of him to reply.

The woman called Heizhong had straight long hair. She smiled and looked back at her two subordinates. She said slowly, "I am just a weak woman who can't even tie a chicken. Huang Lingqiong, how can the Japanese do the opposite of what the other two families have decided?"

The two looked at each other in bewilderment. The tall and thin man continued to ask, "What did the three-family summit the night before yesterday discuss with the apostle who claimed to be from the White Lotus Sect?"

Although the three tribes guarding the imperial mausoleum cannot leave the valley, the imperial palace in the capital will send vehicles to deliver daily necessities to supply life in the valley.

At the same time, people coming in from outside will read out the will of those in power to the heads of the three clans, so that the descendants of the criminals in the valley can listen to their teachings.

Therefore, the three tribes were not completely isolated from the outside world, and they were also aware of what was happening in the capital city of Da Qi.

The news that the White Lotus Sect was causing trouble in the capital had spread to the top leaders of the three clans. Anyone who was not a fool knew that allowing these people to enter the imperial mausoleum would lead to revenge from Da Qi. If they wanted to survive, they could only expose and report this incident.

"The other two tribes agreed to the deal with the White Lotus Sect, using 300 boys and girls in exchange for the other party's qualification to enter the imperial mausoleum."

"Qiong, what do the other two tribes want young boys and girls for?"

The tall and thin man was the first to raise a question, saying, "The births and deaths in the imperial mausoleum are compiled into a book every year and sent to the Ministry of Revenue regularly to check the number of people... and the rice, flour, fruits and vegetables sent in are all calculated by the number of people. With so many people coming in all of a sudden, aren't they afraid of not having enough food?"

With a faint smile on his face, Heizuka explained, "It's not enough, but don't forget that there are exactly 300 people of our Japanese tribe in the valley, no more, no less."

The other two were stunned for a moment, then realized the meaning of Heizuka's words, and their faces became gloomy and their eyes became fierce.

"What do you mean? They want to use our Japanese food rations to feed those kidnapped boys and girls?"

The Japanese people have a low status in the Imperial Mausoleum Valley. The lowest-level Japanese people have endless labor to do every day. Even the heads of large families with higher status in the tribe need to work.

It would be fine if the masters of the two clans did not work on weekdays, but who would have thought that they would make deals in private and treat their lives as props and throw them away at will.

"The Liao Kingdom, which borders the Qi Kingdom, has four levels of surrender. If you defect with more than 300 people, the Liao Kingdom will not only pardon your old country status, but also provide you with a position as a head of a pavilion to protect you."

After hearing what Heizhong said, Xu Qing, who was hiding nearby and eavesdropping, also understood.

The Liao Dynasty was also known as Khitan or Dafan. Because it was founded by foreigners, it has always been resisted by the Han people.

Although the Liao Kingdom had previously occupied a large amount of territory with its powerful army and dominated the north, with the largest territory among the Three Kingdoms, it had always been in a dilemma of vast land and sparse population.

If the people stationed in the imperial mausoleum really want to get rid of their status of being hidden from the public eye, surrendering to the enemy is indeed a shortcut.

The muscular man sneered, "Bringing a bunch of kids with you, aren't you afraid that they'll all die along the way?"

The one who answered him was not Kurozuka, but the tall and thin man.

"It's not that simple. The Liao Kingdom also has age restrictions for surrendering to the enemy. They want to take our food away and raise those kids until they are twelve years old... They are really cruel people."

The man clenched his fists when he said this.

Normally, those ethnic groups looked down on the Japanese, but considering the renovation of the imperial mausoleum and other projects, they still cared about their lives.

When those 300 children arrive, the food supply in the valley will be tight. How can the Japanese survive here?

The sturdy man looked at the gorgeous Heizhong and asked suspiciously, "Heizhong, you are our clan leader, why didn't you tell us this news in advance? Why did you have to wait until today to tell us?"

There was no sign of nervousness on Kurozuka's face.

"What if I told you in advance? Are you going to hold up flags and protest in front of the gates of the other two tribes?"

After saying this, they all fell silent.

Heizhong was right. The Qiong and Ri tribes controlled the checkpoints for going out, the armaments in the valley, and the distribution of food.

If the other two tribes really had the intention of rebelling, the protests of the Japanese tribe would only provoke massacres and suppression by the other two tribes.

"So, it's just right for me to tell you now... If you didn't know about this beforehand and worked hard for them, it wouldn't arouse their suspicion. In return, we can also gain the initiative."

Heizhong turned his head slightly and pointed to the arrow towers around them.

"These arrow towers are what they prepared... In order to prevent us from finding out the truth and causing chaos on the food distribution day, the Qiongbie and Qiongbie tribes specially built arrow towers everywhere in the valley to shoot down those who disobeyed them."

All the previous unreasonable aspects about the arrow tower were explained, and Xu Qing also understood why an arrow tower was built in the imperial mausoleum instead of a sentry tower.

It turns out that these people's goal was not to resist foreign enemies, but to intimidate the internal forces through the use of force.

"Chief, what should we do?" The tall and thin man heard Heizhong explain the goals and plans of the other two tribes so clearly, and knew that the other party already had a response plan.

So he took a step forward and asked about the plan.

"After all, communicating with foreign enemies is something that cannot be seen in public, so most of the people from the two tribes are now in the mausoleum... It's a good opportunity to call our people out and occupy these four arrow towers."

Upon hearing Kurozuka's idea, both of them were shocked.

But they immediately reacted and felt relieved.

The two tribes are ready to replace the Japanese tribe with abducted boys and girls, so why do they still care about the consequences of resistance?
As long as he could capture the evil people from the two tribes and the White Lotus Sect, and then report what happened here to Da Qi, he could save his own lives and those of others.

"Yes! I will go and gather some men right away. Shilang, go to the east to find some people, and use the bamboo whistle as a guide, and we will start together."

"it is good!"

After hearing this, the two of them no longer hesitated and immediately ran outside in different directions.

Heizuka sighed and was about to head to the mausoleum when he suddenly noticed a long black shadow cast on the ground in front of him.

When she realized there was someone behind her, she turned around immediately.

He saw several night walkers in dark clothes appearing there silently, and Heizuka couldn't help but gasp.

She was usually very alert, but today because the people from the other two tribes had gone down to the tomb, she relaxed her guard a little and forgot to search the surroundings in advance.

Now that I think about it, the conversation just now must have been overheard by this group of people.

"Sirs, judging from the clothes you are wearing, do you think you are from outside?"

Kurozuka pretended to be calm, but the sweat on her forehead due to panic betrayed her inner emotions.

As someone who grew up around the imperial mausoleum, she could tell at a glance that the men's attire and the things they carried were all those of tomb robbers, and that they were most likely here to resell burial ornaments.

"Hey, as the patriarch of one of the three clans of the Imperial Mausoleum, how could you not know who we are?"

Without any further attempt to cover himself up, Shui Haozi simply tore off the black cloth, revealing his extremely ugly face.

As expected, when Heizuka saw Shui Haozi's face, he was stunned at first, then he subconsciously shook his head, his face pale.

"How could it be you? Weren't you taken to the capital's prison? You're already dead..."

When Kurozuka said this, he realized that something was wrong.

"You are not dead yet, and you are still planning to rob the imperial tomb?"

Just as Shui Haozi was about to nod, Xu Qing patted him on the head and he quieted down.

Xu Qing's purpose in intercepting this woman was simple. The other party understood the situation of the imperial mausoleum, was aware of the factional struggles among the three clans, and was about to confront those two clans.

Although he had no good feelings towards the Japanese who drifted over from the East China Sea, those two tribes who, for their own selfish desires, abducted young boys and girls with the White Lotus Sect deserved to die even more.

If you want to become an enemy of the White Lotus Sect, establishing contact with them is the safest option.

"We are from the capital, responsible for arresting the White Lotus Sect. This guy is here to lead the way."

Xu Qing's rhetoric to fool the heroine just worked here.

"Sure enough! The capital has also noticed this place!"

As joy appeared on Kurozuka's face, his body froze.

Even if she knew that these four people were the catchers of the capital, what would it matter? Her own people were about to cause trouble. The reason why she didn't tell them about the White Lotus Sect before was not to keep it secret, but because she knew that this was a road to death.

The Star God beside Chunsheng Envoy once demonstrated the magic of the White Lotus Sect to everyone in person. It was a real rebirth of a broken arm.

What's the point of the court sending four people to deal with this terrifying existence that possesses peerless martial arts and regenerative abilities?

"Are you worried about our limited capabilities?"

Xu Qing saw Heizhong's worry, turned around and said to Shan Yongpei, "Yongpei, this is the tiger talisman for mobilizing the imperial troops in the capital. Now that we know that the people in the mausoleum are from the White Lotus Sect, you should hurry back and lead the troops to support them."

"Yes!"

Shan Yongpei took the order and retreated, and with his agility, he quickly disappeared into the night.

When Kurozuka saw this scene, he immediately felt relieved.

The checkpoints set up by the two tribes at the entrance and exit of the valley are simply unable to cope with the regular army. The tribesmen only need to wait quietly here and, with the support of the palace soldiers, they can suppress the unrest.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I will do anything for you, even if it means everything to you."

As Kurozuka spoke, he squatted down and made a respectful salute.

Yang Xianning, who was standing by, saw that the matter of the imperial mausoleum was resolved so easily and began to think of backing out.

Her identity was special, and if the palace guards recognized her, it would cause a lot of trouble.

"In that case, Kurozuka will go down first."

Shui Haozi asked, with his hands on his hips, "What are you doing down there, woman? Didn't you hear my master calling for help?"

"My lord, you may not know that beneath the tomb of the late emperor, those evil cult demons and two other tribes are preparing a ceremony. If Hei Zhong does not show up, it will surely arouse their vigilance."

Heizhong looked up at the man in the middle and explained carefully, "The capital is a long way from Qinling. Even if the horses are fast, it will take two hours to run... Your men are one in front and one behind, so the reinforcements will not arrive here until dawn."

"That makes sense."

I have to admit that Kurozuka has good reasons.

Just as Xu Qing was about to nod and allow her to leave, he asked curiously, "What kind of ceremony are they preparing down there?"

"I don't know the specific details of the Black Mound, but I have seen them occupy the underground tombs to make elixirs before."

"Alchemy?"

Heizhong's words made Xu Qing a little confused. Alchemy was a very particular thing, especially since most of the people who made it were Taoists, and they paid attention to the Eight Trigrams and Feng Shui.

Who would be so stupid as to not use the perfectly good alchemy room on the hill and instead occupy a dead person's tomb to make elixirs?

(End of this chapter)