Chapter 114: The Chaozhou Uprising

  Chen Jiou shook his head: "I don't know".

  Li Hui sat alone there and waved his hand at Chen Jiu: "Alright, that's it, you can go back now."

  "The student took his leave" Chen Jiuxi bowed and walked out with a smile.

  This conversation was not pleasant, Chen Jiu's heart felt as if there was something on his mind, he still wasn't strong enough.

  Back at the inn, it was already very late, and Yixiao had fallen asleep. Chao Xiaoyu sat alone in the hall, with Dishi quietly lying on her knees.

  Seeing Chen Jiugong come in, Zhao Xiaoyu's eyes lit up: "Back?"

  "Hmm" Chen Jiu's face didn't look good, and he forced a smile.

  "Is Dean making things difficult for you?" Chao Xiaoyu asked with concern.

  Chen Jiu didn't say a word, quietly sitting beside Zhao Xiaoyu, Zhao Xiaoyu looked at Chen Jiu, his clear and distinct eyes gradually becoming determined, as if making a decision.

  Chaozhou is one of the largest prefectures in the kingdom.

  The forces in Chaozhou are mixed, with immortal Taoist practitioners, scholars and some evil Taoist practitioners.

  At this time, the government office in Chaozhou was brightly lit, with officials coming and going constantly, and letters being sent to various places one after another.

  Outside the city of Chaozhou, the general of the town's garrison looked displeased, behind him were rows of fully armed soldiers.

  "A report..." A soldier rode a horse, galloping quickly towards the direction of the army formation.

  The general's deputy stood out and shouted: "Who is so bold as to dare to intrude on the military formation?"

  The war horse's front legs were lifted high, and a soldier fell from the horse, without noticing the dust on his body, without explaining, he directly knelt on the ground and said: "General, I am a secret agent in the army. The news of the refugees' rebellion is true. Please, General, lead the expedition."

  The general's hand stiffened for a moment, then helped the soldier up: "Hurry up and get up. I'll ask you, is the news that those refugees are rebelling true?"

  "I guarantee with my life that I am willing to request General to quickly go on an expedition to quell the rebellion" The urgent words of the soldiers.

  "Come in."

  "In" has a personal soldier coming out.

  "Have this brother sent to the rear camp to rest. As for the matter of going on an expedition to quell the rebellion, we can discuss it later." said the general.

  The Nassauers were forcibly marched to the rear without any resistance.

  "Hurry up and get ready for battle on both sides. The generals of various routes discussed important matters." The general ordered.

  Soon all the generals came here, quietly watching the general.

  The general's body was wrapped in black armor, as if all the town generals of the entire dynasty were dressed similarly.

  The entire campus was quiet and still, without a single sound, of course, except for the sound of 30,000 soldiers breathing, an atmosphere of solemnity and killing intent filled the air.

  "Now there are spies coming to report, someone wants to gather a crowd to rebel, how should we deal with it?" The general's voice was icy.

  The general's words were followed by no grand or heroic phrases, no declarations of war. There was only silence.

  "The General has something to say" A deputy general standing in the middle stepped forward.

  "Say".

  "Kill that detective."

  "Kill him," another general stood up and agreed with General Li's view.

  The general waved his hand: "That soldier is also a soldier of our great army, and he is also our brother. It's not right to do this. Treating comrades without benevolence."

  "General, our Chaozhou has been plagued by drought for three years, with no harvest in the fields and famine all over the place. And yet, the defenders of Chaozhou Prefecture have secretly sold the disaster relief grain sent down by the imperial court. Now the officials are forcing the people to rebel, leaving them no way out. What choice do they have but to rebel?" said that Li surname deputy general.

  "It's extremely difficult, our army's rations have been embezzled by half by that greedy official, barely enough to keep us from starving, how can we possibly go on campaign?" The following deputy general echoed in agreement.

  Another burly man with a thick beard stepped forward: "General, you and I are both from the countryside. Now that the common people can't even get enough to eat, how can we have a way out if we don't rebel? If you want us to turn our blades against our own parents and relatives, I, Old Cow, will be the first to refuse."

  Another general stepped forward: "General, if we go on an expedition, it's probably not suitable. It may cause a mutiny."

  "Oh, why?" The general's body remained still as ever.

  "The families of the 30,000 soldiers behind me are among those refugees. If you force them to take up their swords against their own parents, I fear that these soldiers will turn their blades on us first. I implore you, General, to reconsider." All the generals present knelt down on one knee in unison.

  As soon as these words came out, the three armies behind him all knelt on one knee: "Please think thrice, General."

  "If we don't go to war, by the time the refugees break into Chaozhou City, it will be our turn to die. The imperial court won't let us off, you can think about it." The general was still as iron-blooded and cold as ever.

  "This, this, this...," everyone looked at each other in dismay.

  The atmosphere was solemn, and the 30,000-strong army behind him all knelt down to the ground, with only one person standing.

  Suddenly, a burst of lanterns rose in the distance, and a large team of horses galloped over.

  The general waved his hand: "Everyone stand up, form a battle array and be on guard."

  "Drink", "drink", "drink".

  Thirty thousand people shouted in unison, their voices shaking for tens of miles, and the horses and men in the distance scattered in disarray.

  A man on horseback, holding a sword, blocked the way of that team: "You and your men, ahead is the location where the Chaozhou Town Government Army is stationed, stop immediately".

  "I am the defender of Chaozhou, I want to see the general." He stopped in his tracks, and soon someone came out to talk to him.

  "General, that corrupt official wants to see you. We can't meet with him, if we do, there will be no reason to drag it out and the only way is to send troops," said the deputy general in a low voice by his ear.

  "Hiding is not a solution, call him over," said General.

  "Yes," replied the personal guard.

  After a while, the Chaozhou defender arrived: "I have seen the general."

  By the light of the lamp, I carefully examined this Chaozhou guard and found that he indeed had a wolf's head and rat's eyes, not looking like a good person.

  "Who are you?" The general's voice still didn't have a hint of fluctuation.

  To be honest, the military and politics are separate, and the literary and martial arts have always been at odds. This general has never met that garrison commander of Chaozhou.

  "In the lower part is the guardian of Chaozhou" The guardian of Chaozhou respectfully said.

  The situation is stronger than the person. When asking for help, one has to swallow their pride and not act arrogant. Logically speaking, the town governor and the guardian of Chaozhou are on the same level, but looking at the current situation, it's impossible to remain proud. In the past, withholding military pay had offended them terribly.

  "Oh, so it's Guardian who has arrived. I wonder what brings you to my place?" The general's figure was visible through his armor, and there was a bloody smell that made Guardian almost vomit.

  "General, there are refugees rebelling, please quickly take action to quell the rebellion," said the guard urgently.

  "Guard, you've brought so many people out of the city. If the defense of Chaozhou City is not strict and something goes wrong, how can you bear the responsibility?" The general suddenly spoke with a stern tone, and a wave of martial arts pressure pressed down on the guard.

  The golden light on the general's head suddenly flashed, an official seal appeared, blocking this martial arts momentum. A qilin seal appeared on the general's head, holding back that official seal.

  "I implore you, General, to dispatch troops at once. If we delay any further, it will be too late." The guard changed the subject, and in front of so many people, he couldn't very well say that he was afraid of death.

  "It's a good thing you're aware of the situation, my 30,000 soldiers have not had a full meal in two years, the soldiers are resentful and disobedient to their commanders, what can be done about it?" The general said helplessly.

  Shoubei's face suddenly turned pale when he heard the words, his expression was unpleasant. He knew what he had done, withholding military pay from others, whoever did it would have grievances.

  "General, this is my fault, I beg you to send troops, and when the time comes, I will definitely make up for it twofold."

  "Guard, what are you talking about? Are you asking me to lead these 30,000 brothers to fight on an empty stomach? They're so hungry they can't even hold their swords. How can we fight like this? Are you telling us to go die?" The general said in a cold voice.

  Shou Bei heard this and looked back at the large army, only to see An's 30,000-strong army with their flags in strict formation. Under the moonlight, he could see the flickering cold light.

  However, this general grasped his own small braid and refused to let go. He had a grievance that he couldn't express, like a mute eating bitter melon, with a bitterness that couldn't be expressed.

  "General, personal grudges are trivial, matters of the state and family are great, cannot be neglected due to private affairs." The guardian's forehead was sweating.

  "It's not right to defend this, I just can't let my three million brothers who are starving and weak go to their deaths." The general was only holding on to the point that the military rations were insufficient and refused to deploy troops.

  "Even if all these soldiers of yours have gone soft, those are refugees, not even worth striking, and you still won't send troops out. Are you trying to start a rebellion or something?" The guard finally lost his temper, revealing his true nature after pretending to be a gentle guy for so long.