Chapter Eighty-Five: Wen Zhong's Army

  Wen Zhong was a great merchant who had been entrusted with the orphaned children of a high-ranking official, and he was also a disciple of the Jie Teaching Sect, a student of the Golden Spirit Mother. Although his cultivation of the Great Way was not successful, he was a straightforward person, skilled in both literature and martial arts. The Golden Spirit Mother knew that he had no affinity with Qing Fu, but he had a share of Hong Fu, and he was a rare talent for governing the world and bringing peace to the nation. Therefore, she transmitted to him the dual whips of yin and yang, bestowed upon him the steed Mo Qilin, and knowing that the great calamity was approaching, she sent Wen Zhong to the Shang Dynasty early on as a hidden pawn.

  Since Wen Zhong entered the imperial court as an official, his political achievements have been outstanding, and he has been deeply loved by all officials and respected by the emperor. He has always been a trusted minister who has been entrusted with important tasks, and is the leader of all officials. Wen Zhong was extremely understanding of King Zhou's thoughts, or it could be said that most of King Zhou's national policies came from this old minister's hands. Regarding weakening the vassals who threatened the foundation of the great Shang dynasty, Wen Zhong was even more active than King Zhou himself.

  A million troops set out from Chao Ge, and Wen Zhong had not yet rushed to Beihai. He heard that Wen Zhong understood in his heart that although Yuan Futong had rebelled, Beihai was vast and barren, lacking grain and population, and could not become a big deal. However, it was really not easy to completely eradicate him, so Wen Zhong on the one hand loudly declared war against Yuan Futong, and on the other hand rushed directly to Fengcheng, the capital of Northern Bo Hou Chonghou Hu.

  Chong Houhu's behavior was not good among the various town lords, he liked to provoke and stir up trouble everywhere, fanning the flames of discord and plotting in secret, fearing that the world would not be chaotic. The two hundred town lords under his rule did not obey his orders very much, which was also one of the factors that led to Yuan Futong's rebellion. Now, Wen Zhong has come to Fengcheng, speaking eloquently, saying that he will sit in Fengcheng, take charge of the overall situation, and better quell the rebellion. However, Chong Houhu knew that Wen Zhong's arrival was not a good omen, it was to ask for his crimes.

  As the Marquis of Beibei, if there is a rebellion in his territory, he cannot shirk responsibility no matter what. Moreover, it's not just a matter of asking for punishment, but also possibly having to send troops and supplies to help quell the rebellion. Calculating carefully, it's definitely a losing deal. Chong Hou Hu was anxious like an ant on a hot pot.

  Several disciples of Mount Xumi left one after another, went to Honghuang to plan for the Great Tribulation. After Hou Yi left Mount Xumi, he heard that Yin Shang Taishi Wen Zhong led an army to punish the rebellious vassal Yuan Futong in Beihai. As a member of the Wu tribe, Hou Yi still liked the matter of war, so he rushed to Fengcheng, the capital of Beihaihou.

  Hear the army is still nearly a hundred miles away from Fengcheng, and countless people and horses are lined up in a row. The leaders of the civil and military officials, led by Beihou Chonghou Hu, are waiting respectfully for Wen Zhong.

  Wen Zhong was relatively familiar with Chong Hou Hu, who was greedy and cruel by nature, thin-skinned and ungrateful, and liked to curry favor with the emperor. From a personal standpoint, Wen Zhong found this kind of despicable person extremely distasteful. However, from the perspective of the imperial court, Wen Zhong still preferred this incompetent vassal.

  From a distance, he saw the dust rising high and Chong Hou hurriedly ran forward to greet him. "Old Master, you've finally arrived! Xiao Hou is incompetent and ashamed to face the imperial court, please forgive me, Old Master!" He knelt down before him.

  When Wen Zhong saw Chong Hou Hu, he burst into tears and apologized, which was beyond Wen Zhong's expectations. He didn't expect a great lord like Chong Hou Hu to be so unscrupulous. It seemed that Chong Hou Hu was indeed afraid. Wen Zhong quickly got off his ink qilin and helped Chong Hou Hu up with both hands.

  "Bei Bo Hou, you have been guarding the northern border for the country without any achievements, but with hardships. The blame for Yuan Fu Tong's rebellion cannot be placed on your head. Even if the Emperor wants to investigate, I will speak up for you. Everyone in the world knows about your loyal heart."

  Lao Wen heard that Zhong did not live to comfort Chong Hou Hu, and Chong Hou Hu also wiped away his tears. He kept praising Lao Wen's military strategy, able to conquer and fight, for the country and the people, good words are like money, he couldn't help but praise Lao Wen.

  Huang Houhu and others surrounded Wen Zhong, mounted their horses together, and headed towards Fengcheng. When Wen Zhong saw the majestic city wall of Fengcheng from afar, he turned to Huang Houhu and said, "This Fengcheng is indeed the largest city in the north, magnificent and extraordinary, unlike any other. The governance of Beibohou is wise and just, truly a pillar of the state."

  "The old master was wrong to praise him, this northern border has always been a poor place, many grassland barbarians do not disturb the people's livelihoods are difficult, and it is all thanks to the ancestors' hard work that we have the present appearance, but also because of guarding what has been achieved, it is difficult to make progress, otherwise Xiao Hou would have pacified Yuan Fu Tong long ago. Now seeing him wreak havoc on the northern border, harming the people, my heart feels like a knife cut."

  When Wen Zhong saw that Chong Hou Hu was crying and not stopping, he secretly laughed in his heart. None of these local lords were simple, now Chong Hou Hu was desperately pretending to be a bear, pushing the blame outward, able to put down the face of a great lord of a town, and indirectly begging for himself, which also counted as being flexible.

  "The difficulties of the Northern Marquis, I have seen them all. You can rest assured that as soon as my great army arrives, we will quickly put down the rebellion of Yuan Fu and his ilk. The imperial army is not to be underestimated, and soon the peace of the northern border will be restored."

  Yuan Futong was in the north, although he was a great merchant and a vassal, but he was deeply influenced by the grassland nation, and there were many cavalry under his command. He was difficult to deal with, so he dared to rebel. Now Yuan Futong was sitting in the big tent, next to him sat a Taoist priest. The Taoist priest was about 40 years old, wearing a yellow Taoist robe, with a white face like jade, and a beard that was almost a foot long scattered on his chest, looking like an immortal. He was Yuan Futong's newly appointed military advisor, Lu Ya Dao Ren.

  After Lu Ye closed the door and beheaded the evil corpse, as soon as he came out, he heard that Yuan Futong of Beihai had rebelled. He keenly felt that this was the prelude to a great disaster. He also heard that Wen Zhong personally led troops to quell the rebellion. Lu Ye knew that Wen Zhong was a banner of the Jie Teaching in Dachang, and although his cultivation was not the highest, he was absolutely the most powerful in terms of rallying power. So Lu Ye rushed to Beihai to help Yuan Futong and weaken the Jie Teaching's influence.

  Lu Yao harbored resentment towards the saints and plotted against the witches, always seeking revenge against the saints. The saints themselves were not something Lu Yao could plot against, but their disciples were not so lucky. Lu Yao was also extremely cautious, knowing that the Xuan and Jie sects were the main protagonists of this great calamity. Since the Jie sect's power far surpassed that of the Xuan sect, he wanted to strike at the Jie sect, making the powers of the two sects more balanced, so that their mutual slaughter would be even more intense.

  After arriving at Beihai, Lu Ya showed a few tricks of Taoist magic in front of Yuan Futong. As soon as Yuan Futong saw that Lu Ya was a true immortal with the Tao, he was extremely respectful and revered him as a military strategist, listening to his plans and following them.

  "General, look at Wen Zhong leading the army to attack us, how can we resist? Wen Zhong is the first minister of Yin Shang, proficient in both literature and martial arts, and it's also said that he has magical powers, I'm afraid it will be difficult to win."

  Yuan Futong, being daring enough to rebel, was not a timid person, but Wen Zhong's reputation for many years still made Yuan Futong's heart tremble with fear, and he couldn't help but be afraid. Lu Ya smiled slightly.

  "Your Majesty, why fear a mere Wen Zhong? Our cavalry is numerous and this vast grassland is our battlefield. How many men can Wen Zhong possibly have to counter us? Moreover, since Wen Zhong knows magic, can't Your Majesty gather some wise and extraordinary individuals? I am willing to help Your Majesty gather some cultivators; that old man Wen Zhong is not worth worrying about."

  After listening to Lu Ya's words, Yuan Fu felt a lot more at ease in his heart. On the one hand, he was reorganizing the army, and on the other hand, he asked Lu Ya for help gathering talented people, preparing to fight Wen Zhong to the death.

  King Zhou had heard that Zhongli had left the capital for over a month, and thinking that the old marshal would surely be able to pacify the north, he put his mind at ease and focused on handling official duties. On this day, during the morning court session, the old prime minister Shang Rong stepped forward to make a report.

  "Your Majesty, tomorrow is the birthday of the Holy Mother Nüwa. I hope Your Majesty will personally go to the Temple of Nüwa to offer incense and pray for blessings."

  "The Grand Preceptor's words are most reasonable. As the Holy Mother of Mankind, Nüwa created humans from clay and also saved humanity by repairing the heavens. Her virtue is as vast as the sky. I shall personally go to offer incense and pray for the divine spirit's protection, so that our great dynasty may forever prosper."

  "Your Majesty is wise."

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  The 20,000-word manuscript from Daoyou is really hard to accept, I've been out visiting relatives all day and only saw it when I came back at night. I'll try to update more often, but I'm really frustrated that I don't have the habit of saving drafts and my typing speed is too slow.

  Also, I wish all fellow Taoists peace and good health, may everything go smoothly and be satisfactory.