Chapter 546: Martial Arts Experts Gather

It must be said that Zhu Ying still possessed a sense of leniency; in other words, he cared for the common people.

The people of the Song Kingdom and the people of the Great Ming shared the same roots. Naturally, the army of the Great Ming Empire would not harm the people of the Song Kingdom; on the contrary, Zhu Ying even required the Great Ming army to treat the populace with kindness.

Before long.

The people of the Song Kingdom began to rise up one after another to resist the Song imperial court. In fact, in some places, the Song people even took the initiative to eliminate the defending troops and open the city gates to welcome the Royal Army of the Great Ming Empire!

At this moment, within the capital of the Song Kingdom, many martial arts masters had already arrived.

Among them were Guo Jing, Huang Rong, and Zhou Botong; additionally, the Northern Beggar Hong Qigong had come out of seclusion. There were also Xiao Feng, Xuzhu, Duan Yu, Wuya Zi, Yang Guo, and others!

It was evident that these martial arts masters had all learned of the news that Wang Chongyang had been killed by Zhu Ying!

These masters gathered together within the Song imperial palace.

When the Emperor of the Song Kingdom saw these masters arrive, the heavy stone hanging in his heart finally felt as though it could drop to the ground!

The Song Emperor hurriedly said to the martial arts masters before him, "I thank you, great heroes, for coming to the capital to protect me! As long as you can hold back the siege of the Ming army, I will naturally grant you all wealth and honor!"

However.

Once the Song Emperor finished speaking, Zhou Botong directly snapped back in anger, "You old Emperor, the reason we have come to this palace is not to protect you! It is to avenge my Senior Brother!"

The Old Mischief, Zhou Botong, had always been impolite toward the Song Emperor; in fact, deep in his heart, he harbored great resentment toward him.

After all, the reason Wang Chongyang had originally left seclusion to head to the Great Capital was precisely due to the assignment given by the Song Emperor!

In other words, it was equivalent to the Song Emperor causing Wang Chongyang to be killed by Zhu Ying!

"Old Mischief, what you say is incorrect! We are all people of the Song, and now that the Song is in peril, we must naturally lend our strength!" At this time, Hong Qigong, acting as the Northern Beggar, also spoke up.

Although Hong Qigong had a profound relationship with Wang Chongyang, he also knew very well that if the Song Kingdom were to be annihilated by the Great Ming Empire, then they, the martial arts masters, would all be left to wander the world as vagabonds!

They might even face death at the hands of the legendary Grandson of the Great Ming Emperor!

Therefore, it was better for all the Song masters to assemble in this palace and fight a decisive battle against the Grandson of the Great Ming!

At this time, Guo Jing also hurriedly said to the crowd, "Everyone, please stop arguing. The current priority is to resist the invasion of the Great Ming Empire... I wonder how the situation is for General Han Shizhong currently?"

Just as Guo Jing finished speaking, Han Shizhong, clad in armor, stumbled into the imperial palace!

Furthermore.

At this moment, Han Shizhong was heavily wounded!

Upon seeing this scene, panic appeared on everyone's faces. Of course, the most nervous was the Song Emperor sitting upon the dragon throne!

Seeing Han Shizhong injured and arriving at the palace, the Song Emperor, Zhao Gou, was instantly struck with terror!

He hurriedly interrogated Han Shizhong, "Han Shizhong... you... why have you come to the palace?"

"Did I not order you to guard the Great Wall? Without my decree, how dare you come here on your own?"

Clearly.

At that moment, Zhao Gou did not care about Han Shizhong's injuries, but instead questioned him for fleeing the battlefield.

Seeing this, Han Shizhong knelt directly before the Song Emperor and said in a very panicked tone, "Reporting to Your Majesty... the Great Wall has fallen!"

"The strength of the Great Ming Empire is too immense; we are no match for them!"

"I beg Your Majesty to punish this subordinate!"

As Han Shizhong's voice fell, the Song Emperor Zhao Gou slumped into the dragon throne. It could be said that Zhao Gou's emotions were a complex mixture of many things; he was both angry and filled with fear.

And, of course, there was doubt.

Zhao Gou hurriedly said, "Han Shizhong... your subordinates numbered as many as two hundred thousand! How could you let the Great Wall fall!"

"What exactly happened?"

"Could it be that all two hundred thousand troops were annihilated by the Great Ming Empire?"

Zhao Gou knew very well that the two hundred thousand troops responsible for guarding the Song Great Wall were the elite of the elite, and with the Great Wall as their reliance, it would be nearly impossible for an army to break through unless there were traitors within.

Han Shizhong let out a sigh and said to the Song Emperor with a look of despair, "Reporting to Your Majesty... this subordinate has done his utmost, and the soldiers defending the city fought bravely; not a single soldier retreated."

"The reason the Great Wall fell is primarily because the military power of the Great Ming Empire is too overwhelming. Their various high-powered cannons attacked the Great Wall, making it impossible to hold!"

"Furthermore, high in the sky, the soldiers of the Great Ming Empire rode strange birds to bypass the defenses of the Great Wall directly..."

"The soldiers of the Great Ming Empire are also equipped with fire tubes! The power of these fire tubes is extremely strong; it is something unheard of!"

Han Shizhong recounted the scenes he had encountered to the Song Emperor as best as he could.

Upon hearing this, a look of despair also appeared on the latter's face. He hurriedly questioned Han Shizhong again, "Then... what is to be done?"

Han Shizhong shook his head. Clearly, he also did not know how to deal with the Great Ming army that seemed like a celestial host.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I still have fifty thousand subordinates. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely lead these fifty thousand to defend the capital to the death! I will absolutely not let the Great Ming Empire break through!"

However, once Han Shizhong finished speaking, the Song Emperor immediately said, "Only fifty thousand elite troops? How can they possibly hold the line!"

"Issue orders immediately!"

"All the armies of the Song Kingdom must come to protect the capital!"

"Anyone who defies orders shall be treated as a rebel!"

Clearly.

After hearing how powerful the Great Ming Empire was, Zhao Gou panicked instantly. Although the Great Ming Empire had not yet invaded the Song capital, to be safe, Zhao Gou directly ordered the local armies to come and assist the throne!

...

Meanwhile.

Within the capital of the Ming Kingdom in the Wulin/Martial Arts World.

The Ming Emperor, Zhu Houzhao, also received intelligence from the Jinyiwei and learned of the current situation.

Immediately.

Zhu Houzhao realized the gravity of the situation and hurriedly convened a court assembly!

"Everyone, the Great Ming Empire's army in the north has already begun attacking the Song Kingdom! Tell me, what should our Ming Kingdom do next?"

As soon as Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, the entire imperial court fell into chaos for a moment!

"Ah! The Great Ming Empire's army in the north has actually moved south? And they are attacking the Song? It seems this nation calling itself the Great Ming Empire does not just attack the Tartars!"

"The Song Kingdom's military strength is quite mediocre. Since the Jin Kingdom is no match for the Great Ming Empire, surely the Song Kingdom will also be absolutely unable to defeat the Great Ming Empire!"

"Certainly! The combat effectiveness of the Song soldiers is quite weak! It seems the fall of the Song Kingdom is only a matter of time!"

"It's hard to say. Don't forget, although the Song soldiers' combat effectiveness is average, the Song Kingdom possesses many martial arts masters!"

"Martial arts masters? What use are martial arts masters? Don't you know? Even Cheng Shifei of our Dragon Protection Villa was killed by the Grandson of the Great Ming!"

...

On the dragon throne, seeing that the civil and military officials had no ideas, Zhu Houzhao's emotions naturally became irritable.

Zhu Houzhao suddenly barked loudly, "All of you, shut up!"

"I asked you to provide ideas, not to chat about trivialities!"

"Cao Zhengchun, you tell me, what should my Ming Kingdom do now?"

Zhu Houzhao directly called upon the Grand Eunuch, Cao Zhengchun. After all, Zhu Houzhao knew very well that among the entire court, the one most loyal to him was Cao Zhengchun.

After all, once Zhu Houzhao was killed by the Great Ming Empire, Cao Zhengchun would also lose his value for living. In a sense, Cao Zhengchun and Zhu Houzhao were tied together.

They were grasshoppers on the same string.

"Reporting to the Emperor, this servant believes... the most urgent matter is to send martial arts masters to assassinate this so-called Grandson of the Great Ming!"

"If we rely solely on military strength, I fear my Ming Kingdom will absolutely be no match for the Great Ming Empire in the north!"

Cao Zhengchun knew very well that the only immediate solution was to send martial arts masters to clash with the Grandson of the Great Ming. Only by killing the Grandson of the Great Ming would the so-called Great Ming army naturally stop invading the Ming Kingdom.

However.

After Cao Zhengchun finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao said in a cold tone, "Send martial arts masters to assassinate the Grandson of the Great Ming?"

"Hmph, if I remember correctly, Cheng Shifei was a martial arts master sent by the Dragon Protection Villa, and what was the result?"

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Zhu Wushi.

To be honest, after hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Zhu Wushi felt a slight pang of sadness in his heart; after all, Cheng Shifei could be considered his disciple.

Now that Cheng Shifei had been killed by Zhu Ying, it was naturally difficult for Zhu Wushi to accept.

And since Zhu Houzhao brought up Cheng Shifei, it caused Zhu Wushi's mood to drop significantly.

Zhu Houzhao naturally noticed Zhu Wushi's mood, so he took the initiative to speak, "Imperial Uncle, what do you think our Ming Kingdom should do?"

Upon hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Zhu Wushi immediately spoke, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this official believes that what Eunuch Cao says is extremely correct. Currently, if we wish to send an army to confront the Great Ming Empire, there will naturally be no chance of victory!"

"Nowadays, one must capture the leader to capture the bandits! As long as the person known as the Grandson of the Great Ming is killed, the external threat can be resolved."

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Houzhao took the initiative to press Zhu Wushi, "Since Imperial Uncle also believes in sending martial arts masters to assassinate the Grandson of the Great Ming, then tell me, who should be dispatched?"

"Cheng Shifei was also a martial arts master, yet he was no match for the Grandson of the Great Ming at all!"

Zhu Wushi glanced at Cao Zhengchun and then spoke directly, "Reporting to the Emperor, how about we dispatch Eunuch Cao?"

"Eunuch Cao is at the Peak Grandmaster realm, and the Celestial Boy Skill he has practiced has reached great completion. If Eunuch Cao can personally assassinate the Grandson of the Great Ming, success can naturally be achieved."

To be honest, for the current Zhu Wushi, he was not considering the future of the Ming Kingdom at all; instead, he was single-mindedly trying to weaken Cao Zhengchun. He was doing everything in his power to send Cao Zhengchun to assassinate the Grandson of the Great Ming.

After all, as long as Cao Zhengchun left the Ming Kingdom, Zhu Wushi would have the opportunity to kill Zhu Houzhao and then take his place...

However.

After Zhu Wushi finished speaking, Cao Zhengchun immediately retorted, "Divine Marquis, you are likely hoping that this servant will be killed by the Grandson of the Great Ming, aren't you?"

"Have you not heard? That Grandson of the Great Ming even killed Wang Chongyang. Furthermore, even when Cheng Shifei and Wang Chongyang joined forces, they were still no match for him."

"That Wang Chongyang was also a Peak Grandmaster... Since even Wang Chongyang could not kill the Grandson of the Great Ming, this servant is naturally no match for him either."

Cao Zhengchun was a clever man; he had naturally guessed Zhu Wushi's inner thoughts.

At the same time, upon the dragon throne, Zhu Houzhao, as the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom, also said to Zhu Wushi, "Imperial Uncle, what Cao Zhengchun says is very true."

"Since the Grandson of the Great Ming can kill Wang Chongyang, his realm must naturally be the Divine Ability Realm. If I remember correctly, Imperial Uncle's realm should also be the Divine Ability Realm, right?"

Clearly, Zhu Houzhao's meaning was quite explicit: he wanted Zhu Wushi to go and assassinate Zhu Ying.

However.

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, Zhu Wushi directly refused.

"Reporting to the Emperor, although this official is in the Divine Ability Realm, I fear I am also no match for the Grandson of the Great Ming. Perhaps only if this official and Eunuch Cao join forces can we achieve victory."

...

While the Ming Kingdom was still discussing how to deal with the Great Ming Empire, the Great Ming Empire's army had broken through more than a dozen Song cities one after another with irresistible force.

With an momentum like autumn winds sweeping away fallen leaves, they were heading straight for the Song capital!

At this moment, within the imperial palace of the Song capital.

A heavily wounded messenger used his last breath to rush into the main hall!

"Report!"

"Reporting to the Emperor... the Great Ming Empire's army is about to arrive at the foot of the capital! There are now less than twenty li remaining between them and the capital!"

After speaking.

The messenger breathed his last.

Seeing this, Huang Rong immediately went to the messenger to check his injuries.

She saw that the messenger's back had been pierced by a bullet!

Huang Rong used her hand to pull the bullet out of the messenger's body.

"This... what kind of weapon is this?" Clearly, even the incredibly intelligent Huang Rong was greatly shocked upon seeing the marks left by the bullet!

"Having traveled the world for so long, I have never seen such a hidden weapon!" To Huang Rong, she treated the bullet as a hidden weapon.

At this time, Han Shizhong, who had witnessed the modern weapons of the Great Ming Empire, hurriedly explained, "This is not a hidden weapon, but the weapon of the Great Ming Empire's soldiers!"

"The firearms used by the Great Ming soldiers can fire these projectiles at extremely high speeds. Once a soldier is hit by this metal object, they will lose their life instantly!"