The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 495 1 Everything is under control, this battle is unwinnable

In the fourth year of the Daye reign, Sui minister Pei Ju ordered the Gaoche to attack Tuyuhun, who requested reinforcements from the Sui. Yang Guang seized the opportunity and, the following year, annihilated Tuyuhun, forcing Busabo Khan to flee. This campaign expanded the territory by thousands of miles, stretching from the eastern shore of Qinghai Lake in the east to the Tarim Basin in the west, from the Kuruktag Mountains in the north to the Kunlun Mountains in the south. The Sui court established the four prefectures of Shanshan, Qiemo, Xihai, and Heyuan.

In the same year, Yang Guang sent Fushun to take charge, but he failed to reach the target and returned. Subsequently, Tuyuhun returned to their homeland and attacked Heyou of the Sui Dynasty, which was unable to defend itself.

Yang Xuyan, who was well versed in history, did not miss this opportunity. The two brothers, Yang Yu, King of Pingyuan, and Yang Jun, King of Ancheng, followed Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) in his campaigns, and their strength and power continued to increase. They were senior innate masters. Although they were not masters and could not control a country in the Western Regions, they could barely be leaders of a region, commanding hundreds of miles and more than ten thousand soldiers and horses.

With the support of Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) and the business companies supported by Anlong and Yang Xuyan, they started a business with no capital at all along the main transportation routes of the Silk Road, connecting the East and the West, and stabilizing Sichuan and Shu. They complemented each other with the native tribes secretly controlled by Yang Xuyan, and lived a relatively comfortable life.

However, there are many barbarians in the Western Regions, and there are also many strong people. The innate strength of the Yang brothers is somewhat insufficient. If it were not for the sophisticated equipment provided by Lu Miaozi and the support of a large number of subordinates, they would not be able to gain a foothold and seize the huge benefits.

Not only are the barbarian masters of the Western Regions in the procession, but even more demonic masters are hidden within. After being defeated by the Celestial Sword Master Song Que, Xi Ying, the Celestial Sovereign, fled to the Western Regions. The Yang brothers, along with Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan), encountered him twice. Later, Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) decisively defeated Tuguhun and returned to the Sui Dynasty with complete merit. However, Xi Ying, however, looked down on his two juniors and coveted their territory and wealth, often suppressing them. Furious, Yang Xuyan sent a letter to the overlord Yue Shan, requesting him to journey to the Western Regions to defeat Xi Ying.

Despite his advanced age and years of injuries, Yue Shan's martial arts skills showed little decline. With Yang Xuyan's assistance in healing him and his acquisition of the "Purple Qi Coming from the East Divine Art," his martial arts skills gradually returned to peak form. After numerous duels with Yang Xuyan, his combat prowess surpassed all others. Upon hearing the news about Xi Ying, he immediately packed his bags and headed for the Western Regions, where, with the secret support of his brothers Yang Yu and Yang Jun, he sought out the Heavenly Monarch Xi Ying.

The great battle alarmed many people. The Heavenly King Xi Ying had been defeated by Yue Shan, and was later hunted by Song Que and fled to the Western Regions. His courage was broken and his martial arts were not yet fully developed. Naturally, he was no match for Yue Shan, who had not yet completely aged and was reborn. The two fought for a whole day, and Xi Ying was seriously injured and retreated. Yue Shan could not catch up and had no choice but to return to Sichuan and Shu, intending to learn a superior light skill from Xiaoyao Taoist Boy.

Yue Shan before was an absolute tyrant swordsman. He believed in the underworld that respected strength. His lightness skills could not be said to be weak, but they were definitely not the best in the martial arts world. Otherwise, how could the seriously injured Tianjun Xi escape from death?

Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) attacked the Tuyuhun, alienated, divided, and weakened the Turks. He opened up trade and cultural exchanges between China and the West, directly contributing to the submission or tribute of over 40 states in the Western Regions to the Sui Dynasty, and expanding the territory by thousands of miles. His spirit and energy were revitalized, and he showed signs of breaking through to Grandmaster status. Yang Guang expanded his territory by thousands of miles, reaching the Yanzhi Mountains on his western expedition. Although he did not personally participate in the battlefield, he still made significant progress in his War God Technique, furthering his path to Grandmaster status.

Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan), promoted to the rank of Silver and Green Guanglu Dafu for his meritorious service, accompanied the emperor to Luoyang. In the sixth year of Daye, citing the "large number of tribute-paying barbarians," he suggested that Emperor Yang of Sui summon entertainers from all corners of the country to perform a variety of operas on Luoyang's Duanmen Street, inviting officials and common people to dress in their finery and enjoy the performances. Shops in the Three Markets also set up tents and hosted banquets, lavishly entertaining the barbarian people. The barbarians were overjoyed, calling the Central Plains a land of immortals.

In the seventh year of the Daye reign, Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) accompanied Emperor Yang of Sui on a tour of the northern frontier, arriving at the territory of Qimin Khan. Goguryeo had already sent envoys to communicate with the Turks. Qimin Khan, fearing a hidden agenda, brought the Goguryeo envoys to the Emperor Yang. Seizing the opportunity, Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) offered his advice: "Liaodong has been Chinese territory since the Zhou Dynasty. The late Emperor intended to conquer it. Your Majesty, how can you allow it to remain a barbarian territory? I would like to personally warn the Goguryeo envoys to tell their king to come to court immediately, or we will ally with the Turks and launch a campaign." Emperor Yang of Sui accepted Pei Ju's advice, but Goguryeo King Go Won refused to come to court.

In the eighth year of Daye, Emperor Yang of Sui sent troops to attack Goguryeo, and Pei Ju was appointed General Wuben and followed the army.

At this time, the Sui Dynasty reached its peak of strength, and Yang Guang's confidence grew. He recruited more than 1.13 million soldiers, concentrated the land army in Zhuo County, and the navy in Donglai. He also mobilized 2 million civilians to transport clothing, armor, food, etc.

After many years, the seventeen-year-old Yang Xuyan once again stood beside his master Shi Zhixuan, accompanied by his brothers Wang Yangke and Yang Ke, who had mastered the Sunflower Manual and were at the level of a half-step grandmaster.

Are you talking about the other brothers?

The two elder brothers, Yang Jun and Yang Yi, who specialized in the Yang family's war magic, have now become the overlords of the Western Regions, covering an area of ​​800 miles, with tens of thousands of cavalry and hundreds of thousands of people under their command.

After several years of hard work, the brothers Yang Ke and Yang Gai have established a foothold in Jeju Island. They have more than 3,000 pirates and nearly 10,000 Han people under their command. In addition, they are the deputy leaders of the Buzhou Anbu. They have completed many assassination missions and made a name for themselves in the Butian Dao. Among them, there are extraordinary innate masters, even several half-step masters have fallen at their hands.

Indeed, the brothers Yang Ke and Yang Gai had always acted under the guise of the Bu Tian Dao, serving as Yang Xuyan's ostensible right-hand men, or even his doubles. Even Yang Guang had only heard of their reputations, rarely knowing of Yang Xuyan's existence. However, both were now using their mother's surnames, Yun Ke and Yun Gai, and wore masks to disguise themselves, to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Yang Xuyan did use his real name, but he followed Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) as a guard, holding a spear and a sword on his waist. He occasionally dressed like a scholar, so he was not that eye-catching.

Sometimes he needs to take action, but he never displays his Butiandao martial arts in public. He mostly uses the Yang family spear technique and the Five Mountains sword technique to meet the enemy. Although he is only seventeen years old, he is already a senior half-step grandmaster, and ordinary people of the same age rarely have any rivals.

Oh, he has been a half-step grandmaster for five or six years, and has not been able to break through yet. However, his strength has never stopped improving. With his martial arts skills, he can even escape unscathed when facing a senior grandmaster.

All seven brothers of the Yang family are innate. Among them, Yang Jun, Yang Yi, Yang Ke, and Yang Gai are half-step masters. Yang Gai and Yang Ying also have senior innate strength. Only Yang Shao, who has been practicing the "Yi Jin Jing" hard, has entered the innate realm for less than a year. However, he is not vague at all when fighting. The seventh level of Dragon Elephant Skill makes him extremely powerful, and he has few rivals at the same level.

However, the martial arts he practiced required long-term persistence to show results. Although there were almost no bottlenecks, it was definitely not the kind of skill that could make him a peerless master in a short period of time. The other brothers also knew that Yang Shao had unlimited potential and was the type who would strike back after being attacked. They were very tolerant and caring towards him and were not willing to let him out easily.

This time, Yang Guang launched an expedition to Goguryeo, mobilizing one million soldiers and two million civilians, and bringing great power to overwhelm Goguryeo. It was a feast for their brothers. After all, whether in the Western Regions or Ryukyu, Yang Guang had left them huge benefits, and this time would be no exception.

Even so, not all of them went out. Yang Jun and Yang Yi stayed in the Western Regions, and Yang Shao was strictly ordered not to go out until he became a half-step master. The rest of the people, Yang Xuyan, Yang Ke, and Yang Ke followed the army, while the brothers Yang Gai and Yang Ying led the navy pirates to Jeju Island, ready to go, ready to seize the spoils of battle at any time.

As Pei Ju's (Shi Zhixuan) superior and good friend, Yang Guang knew a lot about his background. He also had the idea of ​​bringing the Butian Dao under his control. In the past two years, Yangguang Tokyo has become more and more powerful. Many northern aristocratic families have resisted, and rebellions have occurred frequently throughout the country. Many of Yang Ke's assassination missions were instructed by Yang Guang.

It can be said that the Butian Dao often acted as the imperial power's thugs, yet they lived a comfortable life because of it. After all, all Butian Dao members hid in the shadows, each with their own identity, only becoming assassins when carrying out missions. If a strike missed, they would flee thousands of miles away, prioritizing their own safety. They planned every mission carefully before acting, never acting recklessly.

In Bu Tian Dao, Yang Ke and Yang Ke are Yang Xuyan's substitute shadows, and they both have two or three substitute assassins respectively, which can be regarded as shadows of shadows. All of them are innate masters. The value of assassins of this level is absolutely huge, and the reward for each action is also very high.

"How many people were dispatched this time?" Yang Xuyan looked into the distance. There was the capital of Goguryeo, where there were a handful of masters in the world, the grandmaster-level strongman, the chess and sword master Fu Cailin. Shi Zhixuan suddenly asked a question, which made Yang Xuyan stunned.

Shi Zhixuan wasn't surprised by Yang Xuyan's reaction. His expression remained unchanged as he continued, "Master, with all your painstaking efforts, conquered the Western Regions with your Majesty's army, only to lose them again. Tuyuhun suffered heavy losses, and the Turks gained nothing. In the end, it was you brothers who benefited. Don't think I'm unaware of your little tricks. It's just that the Great Sui's territory is vast, and remote areas are difficult to govern due to the emperor's distance, so Master acquiesced to your actions. This is one thing, two things, but not three. Ultimately..."

"Master Shi, do you really think His Majesty can be as invincible as before?" Yang Xuyan suddenly asked. Shi Zhixuan looked at him deeply and said, "Do you really think that just because Goguryeo has a Grandmaster, it can truly withstand His Majesty's million-strong army? Haha, don't overestimate the Grandmaster. Ordinary Grandmasters and Grandmasters are not invincible against a large army."

Yang Xuyan shook his head slightly and said, "Master Shi is wrong this time. It's not Goguryeo that wants the court to win, and it's not Grandmaster Fu Cailin who's in control of the battle. Everything depends on Your Majesty! If Your Majesty wants to win, then the army can win. If Your Majesty doesn't want to win, then even with a million-strong army, there's no hope of victory."

"So, Master Shi, do you think His Majesty really wants to win?"

In response to Yang Xuyan's question, Shi Zhixuan gave him a complicated look, which finally turned into a long sigh.

"No matter what Your Majesty thinks, I am determined to win."

Shi Zhixuan wanted to win, but Yang Guang himself didn't want to win, or didn't want to win smoothly. The northern aristocratic families didn't want Yang Guang to win, and the Buddhist sect didn't want Yang Guang to win. Even with the support of the Demon Sect, could he really win?

Yang Guang destroyed the Southern Chen, pacified Linyi, pressed Ryukyu in the east, and conquered the Western Regions in the west. He won victory after victory along the way. He opened the Grand Canal and built the Eastern Capital internally, and exerted pressure on all directions externally. If he could defeat Goguryeo at this time, and thus push the God of War Art to the level of Grand Master in one fell swoop, I am afraid that no one in the world would be able to control him from then on.

Faced with such a Yang Guang, would the people of the world, especially those ambitious people, really let him get what he wanted? Shi Zhixuan couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Your Majesty, please don't commit suicide this time.

Yang Guang: I own the world, everything is under my control, this battle cannot be won!