Chapter 17: North Latitude Line (7)

  Li Chengzhong turned around and saw that the person captured by Zhong Silang was slender, with a slightly childish face, seemingly just a young man, not very old. Looking at the military general surnamed Liang, whose expression showed a hint of tension, he smiled and said: "What's the use of this coward who only knows how to hide under the bed? Kill him!"

  As soon as he heard this, the young man's legs went soft and he knelt down on the ground, shaking all over with fear, unable to even kowtow properly, and suddenly burst into loud wailing.

  "Wait! Don't move!" General Liang's face turned red with rage, but after muttering to himself for a moment, he finally nodded his head and said, "Fine, I'll do as you say. I'll go out and let them surrender."

  Li Chengzhong had Wang Dalang take the general out to persuade him to surrender. The general turned his head and looked at the captured young man, with a worried expression. Li Chengzhong said: "Don't worry, I won't kill him." The general nodded and walked out in big strides, scolding Wang Dalang as he walked: "Still don't trust me?"

  Li Chengzhong rolled his eyes and ignored the general's anger, he really didn't believe it, what if the general went out to gather troops and fight again without caring, who would reason with him then? Li Chengzhong didn't speak, Wang Dalang still had the knife at the general's neck, and followed him out.

  Before long, a commotion broke out outside. Li Chengzhong signaled Zhang Xing to go and take a look. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he finally asked about the identity of the young man. The young man was none other than Wang Zhaozhi, the only son of Wang Rong, the military governor of Chengde!

  It's said that he personally captured the only son of the Chengde Military Governor, Li Zhongzheng was so happy that he almost fainted. What a great achievement this is! This achievement came so easily, he couldn't even dare to believe it. The other brothers in the capital were also overjoyed, everyone was so excited that they didn't know what to do with themselves.

  Li Chengzhong, who had finally come back to his senses after a good while, chuckled and circled around Wang Zhaozuo twice, the covetous glint in his eyes making Wang Zhaozuo, who was kneeling on the ground, tremble with fear. After staring for a good while, Li Chengzhong asked with great interest: "Is your family's master Governor Wang?"

  Wang Zhaozuo said with a trembling heart: "That's right..."

  Li Chengzhong was again taken aback, and after a moment's pause, he said: "Oh my, I really didn't expect this. How old are you, anyway? Why would Commander Wang let you take on such a dangerous task?"

  Wang Zhaozuo said with a sigh: "It's better for the young master to come out and gain some experience, it will also increase his prestige and reputation."

  Li Chengzhong nodded and looked around, making Wang Zhaozhu feel a bit uneasy. He then asked again: "How old are you exactly?"

  Wang Zhaozuo said: "At twelve years old..."

  Li Chengzhong sighed, "So young and already out here messing around... Alas... The world is a treacherous place, don't you understand? Haha!" He was getting a bit incoherent, then asked, "By the way, who was that person who just left?"

  "Ah, it's General Liang..."

  Li Chengzhong angrily said: "Cut the nonsense, I know his surname is Liang! What's his name? What does he do?"

  Wang Zhaozuo was scolded by Li Chengzhong, and was so frightened that he stuttered: "L...Li...Lord... Governor of Luzhou, Commander of the Army..."

  Just then, Zhang Xingchong and Wang Dalang brought back the military general named Liang Gongru. The two of them looked relaxed, and Wang Dalang's knife had returned to its scabbard, no longer pressed against Liang Gongru's neck. Apparently everything was already settled outside.

  Zhang Xingzhong gave Li Chengzhong a wink, hinting that he should go out and comfort the captives outside. As they walked towards the exit, Zhang said to Li: "Outside, a total of 223 people have surrendered, including five Renyong lieutenants and seventeen Peijun lieutenants. Li Lang, this is a great harvest!" When saying this, he couldn't hide the joy on his face.

  With Wang Zhaozuo, Li Chengzhong looked down on those Ren Yong and Pei Rong outside, he chuckled and said: "Guess who we caught? Wang Zhaozuo! ... What? You don't know who he is? Won't be... Aren't you all-knowing? He's the only son of King Wang Jiedu of Chengde Military! ... Cheat you? Is old Li that kind of person? ... Oh, right, this surname Liang is called Liang Gongru, he is... You know this one? Thought you didn't know..."

  Two men were talking, and Li Chengzhong arrived at the outer head, only to see the soldiers of the Chengde Army kneeling down in front of the gate of the large courtyard, with knives, guns, flags, and banners piled up in one place. Four people under Zhang Xing's command were responsible for guarding them. Li Chengzhong comforted them, roughly saying that as long as the surrendered soldiers did not make trouble, they could be spared their lives. Moreover, the main force of the Lulong Army would soon enter the village, and at that time, everyone could have a full meal. If there was any trouble, they would be executed without exception. In short, it was a big stick with a sweet date, threatening and deceiving them into making some promises, which finally calmed down the frightened surrendered soldiers of the Chengde Army.

  Li Chengzhong had someone find some ropes in the village and ordered the surrendered soldiers of the Chengde Army to tie each other up, only then did he put his mind at ease and return to the courtyard. He saw Liang Gongru still looking unhappy, so he smiled and patted him on the shoulder, saying: "Don't be like that, brother, relax a bit."

  Li Gongru shook off Li Chengzhong's hand and said coldly, "You're just a small squad leader, how dare you address me as brother?"

  Li Chengzhong also pulled down his face: "What's wrong with the partner army? Still let you surrender! The defeated general is still so arrogant, don't give face to those who don't want face!"

  Liáng Gōng Rú angrily said: "If it weren't for our recent defeat, you would again use sinister plots and surprise attacks. Otherwise, with just this handful of men, how could you possibly succeed? Taking advantage of someone's misfortune is not heroic!"

  Li Chengzhong took a deep breath and said, "Take advantage of others' danger? On the banks of Yongji Canal, who exactly is taking advantage of others' danger? My Lu Long army's tens of thousands of brothers shed their blood on the riverbank, all because your Cheng De army was treacherous and stabbed us in the back! Tens of thousands of brothers were killed by you from behind... Do you still have the qualifications to talk about taking advantage of others' danger with me?"

  Liáng Gōng Rú listened, closed his eyes and slowly said: "It's not my idea, I didn't think of it either... In short, now that things have come to this, it's too late to say anything. Liáng can be at the mercy of Lú Lóng Jūn, just spare my young master. My family's general only has one son..."

  After a moment of silence, no one spoke again. Everyone thought about everything that had happened in the past few days and couldn't help but let out a sigh. Then, the courtyard suddenly fell silent.

  Less than an hour had passed when the sound of commotion came from outside the manor. Li Chengzhong hurried to the outer courtyard and saw a large troop of soldiers pouring in at the entrance, wearing the uniform of the Lu Long army. Wang Dalang, who was sent to welcome them at the entrance, rushed over to Li Chengzhong, panting: "They've arrived!... Young Master...... I just found out that General's second son...... Young Master has brought his troops here personally..."

  Before Wang Dalang could finish speaking, he saw a group of riders surrounding a silver-helmeted and silver-armored cavalry officer galloping towards them. The officer was quite young, with handsome eyebrows and eyes, looking extraordinary and heroic. Without needing Wang Dalang to introduce him again, Li Chengzhong naturally knew that this must be the Second General Liu Renkuang's second son, whose real name was Liu Shouguang. He stepped forward, bowed his head, and saluted: "Greetings, Young General!"

  Liu Shouguang didn't bother to say more to Li Chengzhong and hastily asked: "Where is he?"

  Li Chengzhong pointed to the courtyard, and Liu Shouguang's personal attendants all dismounted their horses and rushed into the large courtyard. Liu Shouguang also got off his horse and followed closely behind. Li Chengzhong followed Liu Shouguang into the courtyard and saw that General Wang Zhaozuo and others were lined up in a row, being held under guard by the Young Marshal's personal troops.

  Liu Shouguang seemed to be familiar with Liang Gongru and others, walked forward with a loud laugh, sarcastically and mockingly scolding the generals of Chengde Army, then waved his hand in satisfaction, letting his personal soldiers take people away. It wasn't until now that he turned around to size up Li Chengzhong.

  Li Chengzhong bowed his head and waited for Liu Shouguang's reward, when he heard Liu Shouguang ask: "Which army are you from?"

  Li Chengzhong replied: "Certain troops belong to Jianzuobian, stationed in front of the capital, under the command of Zhou Zhihua."

  Liu Shouguang exclaimed, "Oh!" and smiled: "It's not easy, being able to come back alive is good enough. This time, capturing the leaders of the Chengde army, thanks to you all for discovering the traces of these rats early, it can be considered a great achievement."

  Li Chengzhong was taken aback. Obviously, it was his side that had captured Wang Zhaozuo and Liang Gongru, but why did General Liu seem to think it was only a matter of discovering their trail? He looked up to see Liu Shouguang gazing at him with an ambiguous smile, and suddenly his mind cleared - this guy wanted to steal the credit! But he couldn't understand why someone like Liu, who was already a general, would want to compete with lowly soldiers like himself for merit. As the second son of General Liu, the entire Lu Long military and thirteen states were under your family's control, what do you need this achievement for?

  He stood there in a daze, and several of his brothers behind him also looked at each other in dismay. Zhou Duanjian couldn't help but speak loudly: "Young Master, these Chengde troops are not to be underestimated..." Before he could finish speaking, one of the generals behind Liu Shouguang rebuked him: "Shut up! Who do you think you are to speak in front of Young Master?"

  Liu Shouguang slightly furrowed his brow, sizing up the armor worn by Li Chengzhong and the others, coldly saying: "Speaking of which, looking at your armor, it seems that you are not brothers of the Lu Long army, but rather...southern troops..." The officer behind him who had just rebuked Zhou Kanjian added: "Young Master, this is the attire of the Bian army."

  When he heard this, Li Cheng's head suddenly shook violently and he hastily said: "General, these are some armor that we seized from the Bian army after killing a few of their soldiers on the way. Uh...also...we brothers congratulate you on capturing the enemy commander alive, as for us discovering the enemy commander's tracks, it's just a small matter, no need for you to worry about it."

  Liu Shouguang smiled and nodded, saying: "Although it's like this, what should be rewarded will still be rewarded. After returning to Hejian, go to the government office to receive the reward, each person will be rewarded with 3,000 coins!" After speaking, he ignored Li Chengzhong and others, and led the army to take the captured soldiers of the Chengde Army back.

  After Liu Shouguang and his group left the village, everyone fell silent for a while. Zhang Xing let out a deep sigh, Jiang Miao stared at Li Chengzhong in disbelief, Wang Dalang opened his mouth but couldn't say anything for half a day, and Zhou Kangdao said angrily: "What kind of thing is this!"

  They lingered for a moment, and then continued northward with their heads hung low in dejection. No one felt like talking, so they just plodded along listlessly. Suddenly Li Zhong remembered something and hastily ordered the brothers who were wearing armor to change back into their clothes, causing everyone to scramble about in a flurry of activity.

  Along the way, they gradually encountered the troops of Lu Longjun sweeping the battlefield and pursuing the Chengde army. Wang Dalang went forward to ask about it, and after several times, he finally understood that Commander-in-Chief Zhou Zhiyong had already returned to Youzhou with General Liu Ren'gong.

  Upon hearing the news, Li Chengzhong suddenly stopped in his tracks, and everyone else also halted their footsteps, looking at him. Li Chengzhong gathered several of the squad leaders together and said: "Up ahead is Hejian..." He paused for a moment before continuing: "Everyone knows that Commander-in-Chief and General Zhou have already returned to Youzhou... Our brothers from the Jianying Camp are no longer in Hejian..."

  Before he finished speaking, Jiang Miao asked: "Doesn't Li Lang want to enter Hejian?"

  Li Chengzhong nodded, but Wang Dalang didn't quite understand and asked: "Why don't you go in? The brothers have traveled thousands of miles and are all very tired."

  Zhao Da also said: "Yes, each of our brothers still has a reward of 3,000 yuan to collect."

  Zhang Xingzhong suddenly said: "Is Li Lang afraid that General Shao will be unfavorable to us?"

  Li Chengzhong nodded again.

  Zhou Duan Dao angrily said: "What's there to be afraid of? We're acting properly and sitting upright! At worst, we can go find the commander to judge who's right..."

  Zhang Xingzhong suddenly glared at Zhou Dabao: "Shut up, Zhou! If it weren't for Li Lang just now, we would have almost been wiped out! And this matter will end here. What is the identity of General Shao? Is he also a certain theoretical achievement? Don't stir up trouble for all the brothers!"

  Zhou hacked at the knife in extreme depression, but knew that Zhang Xingzhong was right. With a belly full of anger and nowhere to vent it, he could only hatefully go "hiss" and squat on the ground, panting heavily.

  Zhang Xing turned his head and asked: "Where is Mr. Li planning to go?"

  Li Cheng said slowly: "Youzhou! Let's go straight to Commander Zhou and return to the Jianzu Camp."