American Comics: BOSS Invasion

A group of people crowded around Zhang Deliang and surged into the tavern.

Only then could they see that the tavern's interior was simply decorated, with only a few tables, a bar with various wine jars, an abacus, ledgers, and a slightly hunchbacked old shopkeeper.

Behind the curtain should have been the kitchen, but it was quiet, without a sound. Looking at the old shopkeeper, he had a white towel draped over his shoulder and an apron tied around his waist, yet he was wearing a long gown, making the whole combination seem mismatched.

The old shopkeeper was clearly not young. Not only was his hair and beard completely white, but his hands and feet were also rough, indicating that he must have done hard labor when he was young.

Probably because there had been no business for a long time, the old shopkeeper was dozing off behind the counter.

Upon seeing this, a servant was about to step forward, but Zhang Deliang stopped him.

He glanced around and quickly determined that this so-called tavern was actually run by only the old shopkeeper from top to bottom.

He nodded secretly in his heart, this was indeed a good contact point, secret and not suspicious. A tavern built on a remote fork in the road would of course not have any business, so it was very reasonable and logical that only one person, from the shopkeeper to the Chuzhou to the waiter, was busy.

Usually, merchants and passersby traveling to and from the capital would walk on the main road. Seeing that they were only twenty miles away from the capital, they would basically speed up their pace. As a result, the tavern's business was even worse.

If it were really about doing business, this old shopkeeper would probably have starved to death long ago, but as a contact point, it was quite suitable in such a hidden and inconspicuous place.

Even if someone occasionally stayed there, it would not arouse suspicion. Most people would naturally think that they had missed the closing time of the city gate and had no choice but to find a small tavern nearby to stay temporarily. Although the environment was not good, it was better than staying in the wilderness overnight.

Even if they wanted to pass on some information, the two sides only needed to quickly exchange intelligence during meals and accommodation to complete the message transmission.

After all, Zhang Deliang was only a Grand Secretary of the Military, and he had studied military affairs more. He usually didn't pay much attention to intelligence transmission, but he had many capable people under him, and several staff members even specialized in this area, so he had some understanding from chatting with them on weekdays.

At this time, seeing the surrounding environment and the layout of the tavern, a series of inferences quickly flashed through Zhang Deliang's mind.

Then he determined that this was the contact point of the Flying Tiger Army.

He slightly raised his hand and temporarily drove his men out, except for the family general, Master Shanxi, and another person who guarded the door, staring closely at the shopkeeper. If they found anything unusual about this old man, they would pounce on him immediately.

Zhang Deliang felt relieved, he had finally found the tail of the Flying Tiger Army.

He slowly stepped forward and gently knocked on the bar twice.

The sound was not loud, but the sound of knocking on the wooden board echoed in the somewhat empty hall, which seemed exceptionally crisp. The old shopkeeper was suddenly awakened, still a little sleepy-eyed, as if he hadn't reacted, staring blankly at Zhang Deliang for a few seconds before he came back to his senses.

He hurriedly stood up and opened his mouth to shout.

But Zhang Deliang suddenly took out half of a purple tiger tally from his sleeve and gently patted it on the counter!

With a soft thud, it seemed to hit the old shopkeeper's heart. His eyes instantly sharpened, and his entire aura changed from the frail and decaying wood that seemed ready to step into the grave at any moment to a fierce tiger that had just been awakened.

As his aura rose, Zhang Deliang felt the fine hairs on his face stand on end. Although there was nothing there, he always felt as if he was being pricked by needles.

He was horrified in his heart, but a smile appeared on his face.

Sure enough, it was here!

Having been in a high position for a long time, he had seen all kinds of scenes, this was just a small scene. Zhang Deliang smiled and said, "The old shopkeeper's reaction is so intense, it seems that he should recognize this tiger tally!"

As soon as the word "tiger tally" came out, the old shopkeeper's sharp aura instantly dissipated. This sudden change was as if everything just now was an illusion.

The old shopkeeper once again turned into the frail and decaying wood. He coughed a few times, covered his waist, and walked out from behind the counter with a bit of a stagger, saying indifferently, "Please wait a moment, sir!"

Zhang Deliang remained noncommittal, watching the old shopkeeper slowly walk into the kitchen and take out a small iron box after a while.

The iron box was ordinary, except that the surface was extremely smooth, like a polished mirror, there was nothing special about it.

The old shopkeeper put the iron box on the bar, and only then did Zhang Deliang see that the iron box could not be opened at all. No matter which angle you looked at it from, it was a whole ingot of iron.

But his intuition told him that there must be something fishy about this thing.

Sure enough, the old shopkeeper picked up the tiger tally on the table, carefully looked at it a few times, and gently pressed it on the right wall of the iron box.

Zhang Deliang's eyes widened at the next situation.

The ordinary tiger tally, made of some unknown material, actually melted into the iron box little by little.

It was like embedding a red-hot iron into that piece, without any hindrance, the process was very smooth, even effortless.

The old shopkeeper just pushed it gently with his hand, and the tiger tally was directly embedded in the right wall of the box.

At this time, another shape slowly emerged on the left wall.

It also looked somewhat like a lying tiger, nine points similar to the previous tiger tally, but the direction was completely different, and there were some small changes in the tail.

Then he saw the eyes of the other tiger on the other side suddenly open and light up.

With a click, the box returned to its original shape, and the tiger tally jumped out.

The old shopkeeper straightened his body slightly, and his body seemed to become strong in an instant. If he was still a frail old man just now, then now he was a vigorous old soldier, and his entire spirit had changed.

"A little interesting! Aren't you going to ask who I am?"

The old shopkeeper's face was calm and his eyes were firm.

"The Flying Tiger Army only asks what the mission is? Where is the enemy? Never ask why!"

Zhang Deliang slapped the table and said, "Good! Where is the Flying Tiger Army now?"

"The Flying Tiger Army gathers to form an army, and disperses to become the people. Gathering and dispersing are up to the heart, and changes are unpredictable. If you ask like this, sir, then I can only answer, the Flying Tiger Army is everywhere!"

Zhang Deliang suddenly understood, so that's how it is, so that's how it is, no wonder he couldn't find any trace of the Flying Tiger Army for so many years!

But in this way, the soldiers are undisciplined, and there are no generals. How can they lead the Flying Tiger Army to fight? Could it be that the rumors of the Flying Tiger Army being invincible, the royal family's last resort, is just a rumor?

“Forget it! How many people are in the Flying Tiger Army?”

The old shopkeeper pondered slightly: “I don’t know how many people your Lordship needs? And what is the mission for?”

Zhang Deliang narrowed his eyes: “It is impossible for me to tell you this! You only need to answer my question!”

“Your Lordship, please forgive me! It’s not that I am deliberately probing for secrets, but the Flying Tiger Army is divided into different arms, a total of 18 types. Different tasks require gathering different units. If we are only talking about numbers, your Lordship's question, this humble one cannot answer!

Then please inform your Lordship, is this a frontal battlefield or special intelligence?”

Zhang Deliang was silent for a moment, calmed his slightly shocked mood, and slowly said: “Frontal battlefield, but the situation is urgent. I can only give the Flying Tiger Army half a month to gather. Once the time is up, they must set off immediately. How many people can you gather during this period?”

The old shopkeeper pondered slightly: “If it is a frontal battlefield, it should be easier to handle! With half a month, if we are only in a hurry for four types of troops, we should be able to gather about 200,000 people.

If your Lordship thinks that the source of soldiers is insufficient, you can continue to recruit the Flying Tiger Army during the march. After half a month, the news should be spread throughout the entire Daqi territory. At that time, it will only take about seven days to gather another 300,000 people!”

Zhang Deliang was silent, but secretly rejoicing in his heart. Fortunately, he seized the opportunity to get the tiger seal from the emperor, otherwise, with such a huge power in the hands of the royal family, how could they, these powerful cabinet ministers, be able to sleep soundly!

That's right, Zhang Deliang is now somewhat afraid. If he had pressed too hard before, causing the emperor to have the heart to fight to the death, I am afraid that the entire Daqi territory would be in chaos at this time.

After a long silence, Zhang Deliang slowly turned around: “Do as you said, the more people the better! Pass the message up and let your commander come to me to discuss the details!”

The old shopkeeper responded with a yes and bowed.

Zhang Deliang left like a whirlwind with his family's guards. The sharp wind blew across his face, but it could not extinguish his somewhat fiery heart.

Most of what he said to the emperor before was just boasting. If the Flying Tiger Army can really gather 500,000 troops in a short period of time, then the promises he made before have a certain chance of being realized.

As long as the Flying Tiger Army is as elite as the legends say, or even if they don't need to be as elite as the legends say, just about the same quality as ordinary border troops, then this battle will be very promising!

Qishan has already arranged everything. With the characteristics of Bai Jue's spore division and the supply of unlimited chakra, as long as enough time is given, any number of Flying Tiger troops can be produced.

Doesn't Zhang Deliang want to uncover the royal family's trump cards? Then let him uncover them, keep uncovering them until he is shocked.

The main character is here, this play can also end. Qishan canceled the transformation technique and returned to its original state.

He made a hand seal, and his figure flashed and disappeared directly.

After Qishan left, the ground suddenly turned into a huge Yellow Springs swamp, gradually swallowing the small tavern. As the topmost beam disappeared, the swamp gradually hardened and turned back into solid yellow mud.

The small tavern did not exist for even a few hours from its appearance to its disappearance, but the meaning it represented was very significant.

Qishan didn't imagine that it would return to its original state. After all, it was the first contact point he established. It was right to abandon it after use, and there was no problem with clearing it. If it was completely restored to its original state, it would be a bit too much.

Zhang Deliang would suspect that he had seen a ghost.

Back at the palace, Qishan changed his clothes and continued to browse through various ancient books.

It has to be said that the collection in the palace is indeed quite large. He has been tossing around with many large boxes, but he has not found any useful information so far.

However, Qishan is not in a hurry. He feels that there must be some useful things in the palace. After all, the royal family established a huge dynasty from scratch, it is impossible that they did not leave some means.

Eunuch Li stretched his arms and legs in his small courtyard. After all, he was old, and his physique was different from usual. If it were in the past, let alone standing for half a day, even if he stood for a day and a night, he would not feel the slightest bit of fatigue.

But now, when he returns to the small courtyard, he wants to sit down, and after sitting for a while, he wants to lie down. After lying down, he falls asleep.

Old, old!

Eunuch Li shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly. He was just about to call someone to bring some tea to moisten his throat, and then go to the emperor's side to guard him.

The scene of the emperor giving out the purple tiger seal flashed inexplicably in his mind. He paused slightly, shook his head, and sighed: “Your Majesty, what are you trying to do!”

As a veteran of two dynasties, and both of them are close ministers of the emperor, and also hold great power and are deeply trusted, Eunuch Li knows a lot, including the Flying Tiger Army.

Although the Flying Tiger Army is mysterious and unpredictable, and no one can find anything about it, in fact, the Flying Tiger Army is hidden in the palace, and it is hidden in the warehouse behind the back garden.

When he was young, he was fortunate enough to follow the late emperor once, and he personally witnessed what the Flying Tiger Army was!

He still remembers that he was frightened for several days and couldn't fall asleep. It was only later, after a long time, after he had experienced more things, that he gradually put it behind him.

When Zhang Deliang mentioned the Flying Tiger Army, he was a little frightened. The Flying Tiger Army is not something that can be seen by people. If it is discovered by the cabinet elders, who knows what kind of trouble will happen.

They thought that the emperor would avoid the topic and change the subject, because the late emperor would use this method to gloss over such problems.

Everyone in the world knows that the Flying Tiger Army is the royal family's trump card, and it is right to keep their mouths shut, which will not arouse suspicion from others, but the emperor's approach surprised him and he did not understand it at all.

It was precisely because of this, and also because he was afraid that the emperor was young and vigorous and had fallen for the old thing's trick, that he sent two young eunuchs to follow him, one in the open and one in the dark.

To see what exactly is going on!

Eunuch Li looked up at the sky. It was not early, why hasn't he returned yet?

As soon as the thought fell, there was a knock on the door.

“Eunuch, the matter you ordered has been completed, and I have returned to report to you!”

The voice was that of the young eunuch.

“Come in!”

The young eunuch hurriedly pushed open the door and entered the small courtyard. When he saw Eunuch Li, he trotted all the way over, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, and said with a smile: “Eunuch, I have not failed my mission!”