Chapter 13 Beheading the Head Coach

Somewhere in the forest in the wilderness.

Zhou Jing pushed aside the grass and stopped on a flat ground, putting down Ma Zhen, who was unconscious on his shoulder.

He had struck the imperial army and left, long having shaken off the enemy. Now that he was in a deserted place, he could rest for a while.

"You son of a bitch, wake up."

Zhou Jing was impolite, slapping Ma Zhen's face a few times, making his cheeks red and swollen.

Ma Zhen woke up, his cheeks burning. His dazed eyes quickly focused, landing on Zhou Jing.

Seeing the appearance of the person in front of him, Ma Zhen immediately remembered the encounter before he fell unconscious. A flash of fear immediately flashed in his eyes, but soon an expression of shock and anger appeared on his face as he gnashed his teeth:

"Chen Thief!"

"Oh, you still dare to be arrogant?" Zhou Jing raised his eyebrows and said grimly, "You set up a plan to flood Huyang, killing countless people. Now that you've fallen into my hands, it's retribution!"

Ma Zhen's cheeks twitched, and he shouted sternly, "Chen Thief, don't be arrogant in front of this commander! You only defeated my army by luck. If that Ling Fengzi obeyed my command and used his supernatural powers to attack cities like you, your gang of bandits would have long been defeated by my men!"

Zhou Jing was amused:

"It's none of my business that you can't command that Daoist. Besides, if that Daoist hadn't helped the government soldiers, you would have been defeated long ago. Do you really think that the government soldiers, a bunch of chickens and dogs, can conquer Grandpa?"

Ma Zhen's expression froze.

At this time, Zhou Jing developed some wicked taste and deliberately sneered:

"Speaking of which, I went to Dingbo Estuary to help with disaster relief a few days ago, and I happened to meet that Ling Fengzi. I thought he had received orders from the imperial court to stop me, but I didn't expect him to help me block the dike and stop the flood, claiming that this was for the sake of the common people... Heh, you are really a failure as a commander. Such an expert doesn't give you face at all, which shows that you didn't even discuss this poisonous plan with him, which caused the Daoist to become estranged from you."

When Ma Zhen heard this, his eyes were about to burst, and he roared hoarsely to the sky:

"Ling Fengzi, you ruined my plan, you are a great thief of the country!"

Although he had a premonition that his plan might be destroyed by the Yufeng Zhenren (Real Person Yufeng), he was still very angry when he received confirmation from Chen Feng, the person involved.

Zhou Jing smacked his lips and continued to stab him in the heart:

"Fortunately, you are narrow-minded. If you two hadn't had internal strife, forcing that Ling Fengzi to act alone outside and not protecting you, I really wouldn't have been able to attack you."

Hearing this, Ma Zhen was both surprised, angry, and regretful.

But then, he suddenly thought of a possibility.

Could it be that all of this was that Daoist's plan... using disaster relief as an excuse to deliberately fall out with him, but in reality, taking the opportunity to leave the camp, allowing the enemy to take advantage of the situation to attack him, using a knife to kill someone?

Ma Zhen was shocked and felt more and more likely. He was 80% sure that this matter was inseparable from Ling Fengzi.

He did not hesitate to judge Ling Fengzi with the greatest malice, and was filled with resentment in his heart, directly defining Ling Fengzi.

—This Yufeng Zhenren seems otherworldly, but in reality, he is extremely insidious, petty, and vengeful. He must be a hypocritical villain!

Zhou Jing saw that this guy's expression was distorted, so he stopped teasing him and grinned:

"Anyway, what's done is done. You are already my defeated general. It's useless to talk nonsense... When we return to the mountain stronghold, I will take good care of you, otherwise, how can I be worthy of your vicious heart?"

Ma Zhen came back to his senses, suppressing his panic, unwilling to show a pleading attitude, and gritted his teeth:

"Kill me if you want, don't even think about me begging for mercy. This commander is a descendant of the founding general, the grandson of the Duke of Yi, loyal to the emperor for generations, and serving the imperial court. How can I fear you, a rebel? It is a worthy death to die for the country. You, a thief who wreaks havoc on the world, will surely die without a burial place in the future. This commander will be waiting for you under the nine springs!"

Hearing this, Zhou Jing suddenly showed a ferocious smile:

"Don't worry, Grandpa won't let you be lonely in the underworld for too long. In the future, I will slaughter the entire family of the Duke of Yi, leaving no chickens or dogs behind. I will also dig up your ancestral grave and expose your corpse in the wilderness, sending them all down to accompany you, so that you can still have a prominent family in the nine springs and have a family reunion for generations, ten generations under one roof."

"You thief, how dare you!!"

Ma Zhen was furious.

"Heh, if one life is exchanged for another, even if your nine clans are compensated, all chopped into minced meat and cut into pieces, it won't be enough to pay for the interest of the casualties caused by your flood in Huyang."

After Zhou Jing finished speaking, he stopped talking, and with a hand chop, he knocked Ma Zhen, who was emotionally agitated, unconscious.

After resting for a while, he had recovered a lot of strength. He picked up Ma Zhen again and continued on his way home.

……

On the other side.

Because Chen Feng went straight to Huanglong and captured the commander of the three armies, the morale of the government soldiers plummeted and they were in a state of panic.

In an emergency, Yuwen Yan and others suppressed their panic, shouted to restrain the soldiers, took over the command, ordered the government soldiers to stand by, and sent sentry riders to pursue symbolically.

The result was naturally fruitless. Chen Feng had already run away without a trace, not even leaving a fart for them to eat, very stingy.

The commander fell into the hands of the enemy. According to common sense, they should not ignore it, but after Yuwen Yan and other generals discussed it, they felt that Ma Zhen could not be rescued. He was probably already dead, and if they were delayed here, they might fall into Chen Thief's trap and be caught up by the Dragon King Village army.

After thinking about it, everyone reluctantly decided to sacrifice the small me to preserve the army, abandon the commander, and continue to evacuate.

—Ma Dashuai, a general who is so dedicated to the country, would probably agree if he knew under the spring.

So the government soldiers marched again and continued to withdraw from Huyang, always maintaining vigilance on the road, fearing that Chen Feng would visit again, and they had become startled birds.

However, all the worries were in vain. Chen Feng was like an old cow who doesn't eat grass, and never attacked this government army again. Yuwen Yan and others only felt that their amorous glances were wasted on the blind.

However, everyone was satisfied to be able to withdraw smoothly and couldn't help but feel lucky to escape.

"This expedition was fruitless. If the water flooding plan is broken again, then the rebel will have gained momentum..."

The setting sun was like blood in the sky. On a small hill, Yuwen Yan reined in his horse and turned around, looking at the topography of Huyang, feeling sad.

He still remembered how high-spirited the three generals were when the imperial court ordered them to lead troops out of Beijing.

But now only he is left on the way back. Ma Zhen and Huang Ping are both trapped in the hands of the enemy. Yuwen Yan inevitably feels a sense of sorrow for the loss of his kind and the changes of things.

"After returning to Beijing, I don't know how much blame I will have to bear..."

Yuwen Yan pursed his lips.

Now he has calmed down and realized that Ma Zhen's capture is beneficial and harmful to his situation.

The advantage is that some of the mistakes can be pushed onto this commander. The disadvantage is that it is impossible to escape all responsibilities by this. As the only remaining one of the three appointed generals, he will definitely become the target of public criticism and face the questioning of the court.

As for whether the Ling Fengzi who helped the rebels with disaster relief can be used to shirk responsibility...

Yuwen Yan was a little hesitant.

Ma Zhen had planned to do so, and Yuwen Yan's statement at that time was mainly to agree with the commander's meaning and stand in the right position.

But now that the commander is gone, no one is taking the lead, and Yuwen Yan has to reconsider the pros and cons. He doesn't really want to be the one to take the lead.

While he was pondering, a figure suddenly appeared in the sky and flew quickly.

Yuwen Yan came back to his senses and immediately recognized that it was the Yufeng Zhenren, and his face changed.

Before long, Ling Fengzi landed on the small hill.

"Real person, you are back."

Yuwen Yan took a deep breath, put on a serious expression, and asked in a deep voice.

Ling Fengzi nodded and took the lead in turning the blame on the other party before he could ask:

"Where is General Ma? Why did you withdraw your troops without waiting for me, causing me to search for a long time?"

Hearing this, Yuwen Yan immediately felt the pain of Ma Zhen lifting a stone to hit his own foot.

"To inform the real person, the commander was captured by Chen Thief..."

He had no choice but to tell the truth and explain the process.

Ling Fengzi frowned: "General Ma's actions gave the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. He deliberately didn't wait for me, which caused this disaster."

Yuwen Yan gritted his teeth and asked in a deep voice, "This matter cannot be entirely blamed on the commander. The real person did not listen to the command and left the camp abruptly to help the rebels with disaster relief. What is the reason for that?"

"Oh? General Yuwen wants to question me too?"

Ling Fengzi's face remained unchanged.

Yuwen Yan clenched his fists and did not back down: "I dare not, but the real person's actions still need a public opinion."

Ling Fengzi glanced at him and said casually, "You don't need to worry about this. I will explain it to the Holy One myself. If you are worried about me, I will return to Beijing myself."

"Cough, this general doesn't mean that, I'm just telling the real person the pros and cons, I have no other intention... The carriage is already prepared, please rest, real person."

Hearing this, Yuwen Yan quickly changed his words, offered a stiff smile, and stopped pursuing this topic.

No matter what problems there are with this Daoist's disaster relief behavior, it should be decided by the Holy One. In any case, with the return of the Yufeng Zhenren, the generals can breathe a sigh of relief and no longer have to worry about Chen Feng returning and using the same trick to attack.

Yuwen Yan didn't want to follow in the commander's footsteps, so when he saw the real person say this, he immediately changed his attitude and didn't want to care like Ma Zhen, so as not to offend the real person.

Ling Fengzi nodded indifferently, then found his disciple's team and walked with the government soldiers, as if nothing had happened.

……

The end of the fourteenth year of Xinghe.

The government soldiers from all walks of life withdrew from Huyang one after another, indicating that the imperial court's expedition had returned without success, which had become a foregone conclusion.

The bandit leader Chen Feng gathered people to start an uprising, and the imperial court's suppression failed. This was an irreparable blow to the prestige of the Great Xia Dynasty.

At the same time, the Dragon King Village publicized the truth about the flood and used the imperial commander Ma Zhen and Huang Ping as witnesses, claiming that the two were the masterminds behind the digging of the dike to flood Huyang, disregarding the lives and deaths of the local people.

As soon as the news came out, the people of Huyang were in an uproar, and the public was outraged. Their hatred for the imperial court rose to a new level, and incidents of smashing and looting the government offices occurred frequently.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the local officials abandoned the city and fled early, and the government's control over Huyang was almost non-existent.

After this, the people of Huyang can be said to have completely given up on the imperial court. Chen Feng, who solved the flood, had his reputation soared and was almost regarded as the living Buddha for the masses.

The hearts of the people of Huyang are all towards Chen Feng.

The masterminds of this incident, Ma Zhen and Huang Ping, were publicly executed and suffered the punishment of dismemberment, wailing for a day and a night before dying.

The more prominent the family background of these two nobles, the more resentful the people were, and the happier they were to see it.

Chen Feng hung the corpses of the two on the city gate of the first prefecture, exposing them to the public, and were spurned by the people. The people who suffered from the disaster in Huyang couldn't wait to eat their flesh raw.

On the other side, after expelling the imperial army, the Dragon King Village no longer defended Mount Yue Lake, and sent troops to formally occupy the cities in each prefecture. They did not encounter any resistance along the way, but were welcomed by many people.

In this battle, the government soldiers were defeated, and Chen Feng's army officially occupied Huyang, taking one of the twenty-four provinces from the imperial court. They were the first rebels to start an uprising and dared to be the first in the world.

The flames of war ignited, and the trend of division began from this.

And this result quickly spread throughout the north and south, shaking the world!

7017k