After Zhang Shusheng rinsed his mouth and washed his face, a servant brought him a cup of tea. Zhang Shusheng sat on the sandalwood chair, took the cup, took a small sip, closed his eyes, and rested.
Before long, a servant dressed as a household servant ran back from outside the Governor-General's Mansion of Guangdong and Guangxi. Seeing Zhang Shusheng catching his breath, he quickly said:
"Sir, it's a gang war. Gangs all over Guangzhou are fighting each other. There are fights everywhere."
Snap!
Zhang Shusheng smacked the servant on the forehead and cursed, "You pig-brain! Those gangsters must be out of their minds to have made a pact to cause trouble today."
“However, this matter is inextricably linked to the underworld.” Zhang Shusheng thought for a moment and said, “Go and pass on my password, telling the Eight Banners Army and Lü’s Green Standard Army not to make any rash moves.”
"Help me change my clothes, I need to go to the yamen!" Zhang Shusheng shouted. "These bastards are always causing me trouble. I'll wipe them all out sooner or later."
Zhang Shusheng had no idea that the outsider from Foshan was planning to wipe out Guangzhou's underground forces in one fell swoop, and then use those forces to gradually gain control of the city.
Outside the Hongmen headquarters, under Li Boyang's command, three hundred militiamen broke down the gate and entered.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Who are you, and why are you attacking our Hongmen?"
As the gunfire continued, the people inside the Hung Society's stronghold realized they had been ambushed and began to put up a fight, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain.
The militia began to suffer casualties. Seeing this, Li Boyang frowned and shouted:
"Organize small platoons of guns, one by one."
The militia, which had originally been fighting independently, quickly assembled in squads and slowly advanced within their encampment along the roads extending from the compound, using platoons of guns. The Hongmen's encampment was quite large, at least a thousand square meters, and it would take some time to clear it all.
"Retreat! Find a place to hide, and avoid being hit by muskets." The Hongmen's organizational capabilities were impressive; upon discovering Li Boyang's actions, they quickly mobilized the manpower within their base.
"Old Yan, it seems that Sergeant Lu has run into a master. Go and take a look."
Standing in the courtyard of the Hongmen, Li Boyang directed operations from the center. Seeing that the platoons on the left were unable to advance, he signaled Yan Zhendong to go and reinforce them.
As time passed, the resistance of the Hongmen weakened, and the corpses of Hongmen members could be seen everywhere in the encampment, with bloodstains scattered all over the place.
Li Boyang knew that the Hongmen was powerless to reverse the situation, and suddenly felt a sense of danger approaching.
A dark figure somehow evaded the search of the volley of guns and suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"There are still experts!"
Li Boyang recognized the person as soon as he saw their posture.
"Eagle Claw King Chen Tiezhi!"
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Chapter 19 Chen Tiezhi, one of the Ten Tigers of Guangdong
"Chen Tiezhi, also known as Chen Changtai, was one of the Ten Tigers of Guangdong. His martial arts were fierce and powerful, his moves were as fast as lightning, and his finger strength was as strong and hard as iron. Hence, he was known as "Iron Finger Chen". Am I right?"
Li Boyang recalled the information provided by Yan Zhendong and recounted it in detail.
Chen Tiezhi said angrily, "Who are you? What grudge do we, the Hongmen, have against you? Why did you ambush us?"
Li Boyang laughed and said, "You don't need to be so harsh. I'm not just targeting your Hongmen family. All the gangs in Guangzhou are within my reach."
"Someone from your yamen?"
Chen Tiezhi's face was full of murderous intent; in his mind, only the imperial court would do such a thing.
Li Boyang shook his head and said, "I'm not from the government, but your time is running out. Once my soldiers realize something's wrong, you won't be able to escape."
"If you want to run away, I'll kill you."
The situation was about to erupt. Chen Tiezhi's shinbones throbbed, and one explosion after another burst forth. Before he could even unleash his "Eagle Shakes Its Feathers" move, an invisible gust of wind swirled through the courtyard, making it feel as if an eagle was truly preparing to take flight.
"Good timing."
Li Boyang was not afraid at all. He pushed off with his back foot and slid his front foot, his legs like a bow being drawn to embrace the moon. He sprang up and shot out like an arrow. Before Chen Tiezhi could make a move, he had already taken the initiative.
After his battle with the leader of the Shahe Gang, Li Boyang gained a great deal. He was able to use his internal strength naturally throughout his body, except for his groin and face.
After three months of reading to cultivate his inner strength, Li Boyang was not referring to the Four Books and Five Classics, but rather to the views of martial arts masters throughout history on the path of martial arts and the deeds of these masters. In the books, Li Boyang saw the shadows of one master after another. Following in the footsteps of these masters, Li Boyang's martial arts skills improved rapidly. At this time, he needed an evenly matched master to verify his martial arts.
"What a fine example of Hung Kuen's Five Forms!"
Before the opponent even got close, Chen Tiezhi felt a gust of wind rush towards him. The opponent's fist hadn't even arrived yet, but the force had already hit him, making his skin tremble. In his eyes, the opponent's tiger pounce wasn't powerful because of its fierce strength, but because of its tiger-like might.
From this single tiger pounce, it's clear that Li Boyang has grasped the essence of the tiger form, perfectly simulating how the tiger's claws, even before reaching its prey, already subdue the prey with the awe-inspiring presence of the king of beasts, rendering it unable to move.
However, Chen Tiezhi, being one of the Ten Tigers of Guangdong and nicknamed the Eagle Claw King, was clearly not someone to be trifled with. With a swift movement, both his palms transformed into eagle claws, striking out suddenly and horizontally, directly blocking Li Boyang's pounce.
"Cough, humph."
The two clashed head-on. Li Boyang felt his hands being blown apart, and upon contact with Li Tiezhu, he felt a hidden force penetrate through the back of his hand and strike his bones, causing him to let out a muffled groan.
"The opponent has already reached the level of mastery."
A master of neutralizing internal energy not only unites intention and strength, but also momentum and intention.
The moment they sparred, Li Boyang knew Chen Tiezhi was stronger than him. The opponent's internal energy had permeated his entire body; upon contact, the internal energy in Chen's arm naturally retaliated, striking with the force of a hawk and penetrating directly into his bones. Had Li Boyang not already mastered bone forging, his hand would likely have broken from that blow.
"As expected of one of the Ten Tigers of Guangdong, we can't fight him head-on."