Chapter 49: Zhao Yun Was The One

  The first year of Chūping, seventh month.

  Han Fu, Governor of Ji Province, led a large army of 20,000 soldiers on a forced march day and night, finally arriving at Changshan County.

  However, the Western Liang army had already marched north, leaving behind only ruins and rubble for Han Fu. Countless powerful families came to his door, crying and begging him to send troops to annihilate this rebel army from Western Liang and help them rebuild their homes.

  Han Fu's anxious heart was on fire, and he used all his skills to appease these powerful families.

  After pacifying these powerful families, he had no choice but to lead his army north again. Because the 3,000 Western Liang rebels were still burning, killing and looting along the way, the powerful families of Changshan County were suffering a brutal purge.

  Changshan, Zhending

  That evening, Luo Zheng led his army to a fort north of Zhending.

  As it was still early, Li Meng and Wang Fang each led a thousand cavalrymen to go and plunder the wealthy and powerful families.

  Unexpectedly, by the time the sun was setting in the west, Li Meng still hadn't returned.

  Luo Zheng's impatience was just about to prompt him to send a messenger to search for them when a small servant rushed in hastily.

  "General, General Li Mong has been captured."

  The first sentence Xiao Xiao said as soon as he entered the school made Luo Zhen's eyebrows furrow deeply.

  "What's going on?"

  Luo Zheng's low voice asked: "Who was Li Meng captured by?"

  Xiao Xiao anxiously said: "Brothers were accidentally trampling some crops near a village five miles away, but dozens of men rushed out from the village and demanded that brothers pay compensation. General Li Meng was furious and wanted to teach those villagers a lesson..."

  "Shut up."

  Luo Zheng shouted, "Who allowed you to ride horses and trample the people's crops?"

  The little school was startled and didn't dare speak again.

  The rest of the originally indignant and murderous military schools also hastily shrunk their necks, swallowing back the scolding that was about to come out of their mouths, and the murderous aura that was brewing also instantly disappeared without a trace.

  Luo Zheng said coldly: "Go on."

  The little school finally calmed down and said: "Who would have thought that those men were all tough guys, and one of them was even highly skilled in martial arts. General Li Meng wanted to give him a lesson, but unexpectedly, after just three rounds, he was captured by that guy. The brothers didn't dare to kill the civilians or violate military rules, so they could only surround the village.

  Luo Zheng was shocked, "You captured Li Mingsheng in just three moves?"

  Li Meng was also a fierce general, his martial arts were not as good as Cheng Pu under Sun Jian's command, but still above Luo Zhen.

  Even if it were Xu Chu, it would be hard to say whether he could capture Li Meng in a head-on confrontation within three rounds.

  After all, capturing alive and killing are two different concepts. Capturing a general alive is much more difficult than killing him, several times or even ten times more difficult.

  Xiao Xiao nodded repeatedly, "Brothers all saw that his martial arts are not inferior to General Xu Chu's."

  "Not inferior to Xu Chu?"

  Lu Zheng was even more shocked, glanced at Xu Chu beside him with eyes shining brightly, and asked: "Zhong Kang, how many times do you think it will take to capture Li Meng alive?"

  Xu Chu furrowed his brow and said: "If you want to capture him alive, it will take at least three rounds."

  Lu Zheng's eyes gleamed with a fierce light as he slapped his thigh and exclaimed: "So this fellow's martial arts skills are indeed not inferior to Zhong Kang's!"

  Xu Chu let out a low growl, and his tiger-like eyes blazed with an astonishing battle intent.

  Luo Zheng asked Xiao Xiao, "What is Li Meng's life like? Who is that guy?"

  The little school grabbed his head and said: "General Li Meng was tied up by the villagers and did not suffer any harm. The one who captured Li Meng alive is only twenty years old, seems to be called Zhao Yun, and he's extremely handsome, haha!"

  "What?"

  Luo Zhenxian was taken aback for a moment, then delighted, "You say that capturing Li Meng is called Zhao Yun?"

  Xiao Xiao nodded hastily, "Exactly, all the brothers have heard it."

  Luo Zhen hastily asked: "Does this Zhao Yun have a style name?"

  The little school was stunned and hurriedly said: "This little person didn't know."

  Xu Zhu said in a low voice: "Wait until I go and capture this guy, then hand him over to the lord for disposal."

  Zhong Kang must not be reckless!

  Luo Zhen waved his hand to stop him, thinking secretly that if Zhao Yun was really the Zhao Zi Long of Changshan, it would be hard to find a general in this world who could defeat him in single combat, let alone capture him alive.

  Even with Lü Bu's bravery, it is still unknown whether he can defeat Zhao Yun or not.

  After all, Luo Zhengyi's, the two had never fought head-on before, and it was still unknown who would die in whose hands.

  "Let's go, General will personally take a look."

  After some deliberation, he made up his mind at once.

  Just because Zhao Yun was able to capture Li Meng three times in a row, his martial arts skills were by no means inferior to those of Xu Chu.

  It's very likely that this Zhao Yun is the one he knows.

  If it's really like this, then this trip to Ji Province won't be in vain.

  Soon, more than 2,000 Western Liang cavalrymen rushed out of the villa and killed their way to a small village five miles away.

  In just a moment, we arrived at the village, but it was still far away. We saw a thousand cavalry surrounding a small village, shouting loudly, yet remembering military discipline, not daring to harm the civilians, only yelling to release Li Meng quickly.

  Dozens of robust Han men stood at the village entrance, holding clubs and being vigilant, yet they showed no fear.

  One of the young men in his early twenties stood at the front with a gun, very eye-catching.

  This young man is extremely handsome, eight feet tall, although not robust, but gives people a very powerful feeling, with a white cloak draped over his body, his elegant appearance is extraordinary, like a true dragon standing proudly among snakes and insects, it's impossible not to attract attention.

  "What a fine fellow."

  Luo Zheng spurred his horse forward and caught sight of the young man in an instant, unable to help but secretly cheer him on.

  The soldiers surrounding the village then swarmed up, some of them saluting nervously.

  Luo Zheng waved his hand, ordering these military schools to retreat, and then loudly asked, "Where is the general's division?"

  A man turned back and gave a few orders, immediately someone ran into the village with his legs pulled up.

  Before long, several men were bound up like dumplings and brought over by Li Meng.

  Li Meng was so ashamed that he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He hung his head and called out in a mournful tone, "General!"

  Luo Zheng gave Li Meng a cold glance before turning to the young man standing at the front of the crowd and asked: "Who are you?"

  The young man replied: "It is indeed Zhao Yun!"

  "Does he have a courtesy name?"

  Zhao Yun's sword eyebrows rose, and he replied: "The Grass Character Sub Dragon."

  Luo Zheng's heart was filled with joy, but he feared there might be a mistake. He asked again, "General, I've heard that you once served under Gongsun Zan. Is this true?"

  This time it was Zhao Yun's turn to be surprised, and he nodded in response: "Indeed, there is such a thing."

  "It's indeed Zhao Yun, no mistake this time."

  Luo Zheng finally let out a sigh of relief and asked: "Why did you capture the soldiers under this general's command?"

  "Zhao Yun's sword eyebrows rose, and he said loudly: 'I've long heard that the Western Liang army is brutal and bloodthirsty. It seems to be true. Your subordinates don't know the value of grain, and they actually let their horses trample our farmland. They don't even know how to repent. Why can't I capture them?'"

  Luo Zheng turned his head and asked Li Meng, "Is this true?"

  Li Meng said: "General..."

  Luo Zheng coldly interrupted, "General is asking you, did this happen?"

  Li Meng was shocked and didn't dare to argue, hanging his head in shame and saying: "It's true."

  Luo Zheng turned his head and shouted, "Who let their horses trample the people's crops? Let him come out!"

  Everyone looked at me with expectation, and after a while, more than ten Western Liang soldiers urged their horses to come forward, their faces extremely uneasy.

  Luo Zheng glared at these unruly guys and scolded: "A bunch of useless things, go back and find the military officer to receive ten lashes. In the future, if you trample on the people's farmland again, you will have to compensate according to the price."

  "Roger that."

  More than a dozen Western Liang soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief, and some were overjoyed.

  I thought I was going to be beheaded again, but unexpectedly I only got ten lashes as punishment. Compared to being beheaded, ten lashes are considered extremely light punishment. These Western Liang soldiers knew how strict Luo Zheng's military rules were, and they couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

  Luo Zheng waved his hand again and said: "Compensate for trampling on the people's farmland."

  A small school hurriedly responded with a sound and immediately ran out to present several pieces of gold and silver.

  Luo Zhen finally looked at Zhao Yun and said: "The general has already punished the soldiers, can you let go of the general's subordinates now?"

  The dozens of Han men guarding the village entrance looked a bit more pleasant now, but they all hesitated and didn't dare to confirm whether releasing this obviously high-ranking Western Liang army officer would cause the Western Liang army to turn against them.

  After discussing together for half a day, they finally decided to release Li Meng after all.

  Otherwise, if they provoke this group of Western Liang army, I'm afraid that Zhuangzi will be razed to the ground.

  Soon, several men pushed Li Mong to the front of the formation and untied the ropes binding his legs.

  Li Meng rushed back with shame and guilt, and was only able to untie the ropes on his body with the help of several soldiers.

  Li Meng!

  Lu Zheng's face was expressionless as he drank a toast.

  Li Meng hung his head and walked forward, kowtowing on the ground, "What are your orders, General?"

  Luo Zheng said coldly: "You're doing something shameful and embarrassing; how have I always advised you? Making mistakes and actively admitting them is not shameful. Knowing that you were wrong but insisting on saving face and refusing to reflect, what kind of thing is this for us to do? As a general in command of troops, being captured by a few common people, my face has been completely lost because of you."

  Li Meng was so ashamed that he didn't know where to put his face, and wished he could dig a hole to bury his head in.

  The crowd of military school students' faces twitched one by one, but they didn't dare laugh out loud.

  "Get out! Go back and receive thirty lashes, reflect on your actions!"

  "I will obey orders."

  Li Meng was suddenly pardoned and hastily scrambled up and ran away like flying.

  As long as I don't continue to lose face here, getting a beating is nothing.

  Dozens of Han men at the village entrance changed their faces again and again, looking at Luo Zheng's eyes, finally no longer so hostile.