Chapter 360 One after another
A rectification of the Beijing military camp initially targeted noble families and eunuchs, but soon spread to civil servants.

The first person to suffer was the Minister of War He Jian.

An imperial censor stepped forward and exposed that He Jian's servant had taken money from officers and soldiers.

In order to avoid suspicion, He Jian had to withdraw from the Beijing camp for rectification and presented the seal of the Shangshu.

Emperor Zhengde did not take back the Shangshu seal, but sent the Jinyiwei to investigate the matter.

However, before one problem was solved, another one arose. Just when many nobles were being investigated, Zhang Tai, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, suddenly fell seriously ill. After holding on for a few days, he could not get out of bed.

Inside Zhang's mansion, the night was as dark as ink. Thick clouds obscured the stars, shrouding the entire mansion in an invisible gloom. The occasional low sound from the door hinges turning seemed particularly harsh in the silent night.

In the courtyard, the lights were dim, and the dim light barely illuminated a few main paths, but it added a bit of loneliness.

The shadows of the trees swayed in the dim light, dark and ghostly. There was a dull atmosphere in the air, and even breathing seemed to become heavy.

The servants walked hurriedly with nervous expressions, rarely spoke to each other, and even when they had to communicate, they spoke in low voices, with worry written all over their faces.

In this atmosphere, the gate of Zhang's mansion slowly opened, and the dragon sedan chair carried by sixteen people of Emperor Zhengde stopped at the door.

Everyone in the Zhang family knelt on both sides of the gate to welcome the emperor.

After Emperor Zhengde stepped down from the dragon throne, he exempted himself from all formalities and went straight into Zhang's mansion with the imperial physician.

When Emperor Zhengde saw Zhang Tai lying on the bed with his last breath, his face suddenly darkened. Half a month ago, his Zhang Qing was still full of vigor and vitality. How could he suddenly fall ill?
"His Majesty."

Zhang Tai was very touched to hear that the emperor had come in person. Unfortunately, his vision was blurred and he could not see the person clearly. He still wanted to stand up and salute, but was held down by Emperor Zhengde: "Mr. Zhang, there is no need to be polite. This is the imperial physician!"

Two old imperial doctors immediately stepped forward and began to take Zhang Tai's pulse. Emperor Zhengde and Zhang Yong stood by and waited.

After a long while, the two old imperial doctors looked at each other and saw fear in each other's eyes.

Seeing that the two of them were silent, Zhang Yong said coldly: "Your Majesty is here, just say whatever you want to say!"

"His Majesty."

One of the old imperial doctors knelt down and said tremblingly, "Master Zhang, these are the symptoms of being poisoned by the white snake venom."

"Snake venom?!"

Emperor Zhengde's eyes turned cold, and he immediately asked, "Is it possible to detoxify?"

Another old imperial physician shook his head and said slowly: "Master Zhang is poisoned to the bone marrow. There is no cure."

"Waste!" Emperor Zhengde was furious and wanted to kick them each.

Fortunately, he heard Zhang Tai's inarticulate cry: "Your Majesty."

"Mr. Zhang, what do you want to say?" Emperor Zhengde paused and moved closer to Zhang Tai's bed.

"Your Majesty, you must persist in rectifying the Beijing camp! This is the best opportunity!"

Zhang Tai's eyes were dull, and he spoke with great difficulty: "If we miss this opportunity, where will Your Majesty find five hundred unfounded military officers? You must know that a rich country has strong soldiers, strong soldiers win, and victors have vast territories."

Emperor Zhengde patted Zhang Tai's hand and said seriously: "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang. I will never stop rectifying the Beijing camp!"

"Okay, okay, okay." After Zhang Tai said "Okay" three times, the last gleam of light in his eyes slowly dissipated, like the gradually fading starlight in the morning light, and finally merged into the eternal darkness.

"Zhang Qing?"

"Zhang Qing."

On April 18th, the eighth year of Zhengde, Zhang Tai, Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate of the Ming Dynasty and General Manager of the Three Borders, passed away.

Emperor Zhengde was impressed by Zhang Tai's dedication to the country and bestowed upon him the titles of Prince's Guardian and Minister of Justice. Qiu Yue brought Sanhe to Zhang's residence and solemnly lit a stick of incense for Zhang Tai.

In response to Zhang Tai's eldest son Zhang Tan's thanks, he helped him up, handed him his jade pendant, and said solemnly: "If you need it in the future, you can bring this to me."

"Thank you, Lord Qiu." Zhang Tan held the jade pendant and bowed deeply.

After coming out of Zhang's house, Sanhe saw that his boss was in a bad mood, so he asked, "My Lord, do you want to go eat some roast duck?"

"No, let's go back to the barracks!" Qiu Yue jumped on his horse and galloped towards the Beijing camp with Sanhe.

The more those people try to stop him, the more he will succeed!
These layers of obstacles will only make his determination stronger.

Moreover, the atmosphere in the Beijing camp has been gradually changing, and the rectification has begun to show results. If he is given some more time, he will definitely be able to build an elite force.

When the horses ran out of the city, dozens of sharp arrows flew towards them ten miles away from the camp.

"My lord, be careful!" Sanhe drew out his sword to block, but the horse under his crotch was hit by a volley of arrows and fell down after a neigh.

Under the influence of inertia, Sanhe rolled a long distance before stopping.

Qiu Yue's face darkened, and the spear in his hand was like a stalk of straw, dancing out a series of afterimages and knocking all the arrows away.

Then a group of men in black came out and rushed towards Qiu Yue holding various weapons.

"Humph!"

Qiu Yue snorted coldly, and the spear in his hand suddenly shook, like a dragon roaring out of the abyss, and instantly displayed the Zhao family's unique spear technique - "Seven Deadly Snake Moves".

The tip of the gun was like a spirit snake spitting out its tongue, transforming into seven silver rays, as fast as a meteor, with a blurred trajectory that was dizzying to the eyes.

The gun coiled and danced like a poisonous snake in the mountains. It was flexible and changeable, yet contained endless murderous intent. Every turn and every twist represented the death of a man in black.

The leader knew that Qiu Yue was a martial arts expert, but he didn't expect him to be so strong. The eighty warriors kept by the family were like chickens and dogs in front of him, and several of them were killed in the blink of an eye.

"Are you the leader?!" Qiu Yue immediately noticed the backbone of the team. Under the cover of the rapidly spinning gun flowers, he suddenly used a move called White Snake Spits Out Its Tongue.

He loosened his front hand, thrust out with his spear, and knocked the man to the ground with one stab.

Unfortunately, the other men in black did not stop and continued to kill Qiu Yue.

Qiu Yue was not going to stand still. He jumped off his horse and chopped Huashan with one powerful move. The man in black was in a hurry and had no time to draw his sword. There was only a dull thud, and then the man flew backwards like a kite with a broken string, with blood splattering and his brain bursting.

The moment he landed, his shooting skills changed, and he connected the gun's pressure and lifting with one move perfectly. The tip of the gun brought up a whistling wind, and easily repelled the attacks launched by the surrounding men in black.

Then he moved his body to the side with nimble steps, and used the skill of side-stepping to move the spear, which not only resolved the crisis but also took advantage of the situation to counterattack. With a wave of the spear, an irresistible force shocked the remaining men in black and made them retreat again and again. Some of them were even knocked several feet away, falling to the ground, unable to move.

"Kill!" The remaining assassins finally shouted.

Qiu Yue's eyes turned cold, with a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, and he used the Hundred Flowers Spear Technique: Chasing Stars and Catching the Moon.

Every thrust of the spear was accompanied by subtle sounds of wind and changes in light and shadow. It was so fast that it was dazzling, yet so accurate, as if it could see through every subtle movement of the opponent.

It is hard to imagine that a general who is famous for his strength can use such exquisite spear skills.

At this time, Sanhe stood up again. After dodging the fight between the two men in black, he took out a flare from his arms and fired it into the sky.

There was a sound of "whoosh!" and a beam of fire shot up into the sky and suddenly exploded in the air.

Ten miles away in the Beijing camp, the three thousand soldiers saw the signal flare, immediately put on their equipment, jumped on their horses and rushed out.
　It's an adenovirus infection and I need to be on IV drip for three days. Fortunately it's on the weekend so it doesn't affect anything.

　　This is outrageous. This is the first time I've heard of this virus in my life.

　　Before this, I had coughs and diarrhea, and I even suspected that I had been infected with the coronavirus for the third time.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)