Chapter Thirty-Five: Golden City's Yan Xing

  Li Zhēn heard this and pretended to be stunned, saying: "Since that's the case, why doesn't Brother Fu just go with the flow? Not only would it complete the family's beautiful intentions, but there wouldn't be any risk of offending the emperor. More importantly, if Brother Fu does this, wouldn't he be letting the Fu family lose a precious horse for nothing?"

  Fu shook his head and smiled wryly, saying: "It's all because of the eunuchs' meddling that I was appointed as the Governor of Hanyang. But having taken office, one should bring benefits to the people. Hanyang is currently in a state of turmoil, if I were to leave, how could I justify it to my conscience?"

  Li Zhong listened and fell silent for a moment before saying: "Brother Fu's righteousness is great, I am enlightened!"

  The two of them chatted and chatted, and again talked about the overall situation in the world.

  Fu Xi shook his head and sighed, saying bluntly: "After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the imperial court's foundation was shaken. However, local officials did not take it seriously and continued to extort and plunder, what can be done about it?!"

  Fu Xiufu's face turned difficult, and after a moment, he said: "Fu Mouren was born into a noble family, and by rights shouldn't have to slap himself in the face, but under current circumstances... Alas, the Yellow Turban Rebellion has almost completely destroyed the imperial court's foundation of control in the local areas. Nowadays, in various prefectures and counties, it is mostly the powerful and noble families who hold sway."

  "The power of the court officials is divided, some competing with eunuchs for power, others fighting among themselves, neglecting governance and disregarding the feelings of the people. I have seen that there are already those in the court who harbor treacherous intentions!"

  Li Zheng also didn't know what to say after hearing it.

  However, I think Fu Xi is a wise man who has a thorough understanding of the world's situation and is indeed a great talent.

  "Hehe," after a long time, Li Zhēn smiled and said: "Not in the position, not planning for it. Although Brother Fù is famous throughout the world, he's just a prefect of a border county. And I'm just a commoner, these things are still for the emperor and his ministers to worry about, we can't control them."

  "This remark is quite wrong!"

  Fu's brother said seriously: "The situation in the world concerns everyone. It's not that if you don't care about it, it won't happen to you."

  Li Zhēng however spread his hands: "How to manage? What can be used to manage? Since it's the trend of the world, a few individuals, can't they just follow the current and not resist?"

  Fu Xi was speechless.

  Just then, a loud sound of horse hooves came from the other side of the Wei River.

  Li Zheng stood up and looked around carefully, then turned back and said: "Brother Fu, it seems we should leave."

  Fu Xi also looked at the south bank and said: "The pursuing troops from Xixian are coming quite quickly."

  The two men mounted their horses and led eight riders in a swift gallop northward.

  After this short rest, with enough energy replenished, both men and horses regained their strength. They galloped forward like a gust of wind, causing the pursuing soldiers who had just arrived at the southern bank to jump in alarm.

  No matter how the pursuing soldiers were behind them, Li Zhēng and his group were very calm and composed, not hiding their tracks, just heading north.

  Because they had fewer men, Li Zhong did not scatter his troops to forage. However, Li Zhong was not afraid; with fewer men, he could change direction at any time, and even if the rebels surrounded him, he could find a gap to escape through.

  On his way, halfway through, Li Ding also ran into a rebel army of about 1,000 men coming from the east.

  With so few people, Li Zhong didn't take it seriously.

  But didn't stop entangling with each other, exchanged a few waves of arrow rain, relying on the horse's speed, and soon escaped from the sight of this wave of rebels.

  On the second day, after noon, Li Zhēng and others arrived at the foot of Lǒng Dǐ.

  After a brief rest, just as they were about to set off again, they entered the depths of the Liupan Mountains and were caught up by pursuing soldiers.

  Li Jing reined in his horse, letting Fu Qian and seven others lead the way into the mountain forest. He himself stood with his spear at the ready, watching intently as the rebel army's pursuing troops approached.

  But then came the rumbling sound of horse hooves, bringing with it a sky full of dust, appearing before Li Zhēn's eyes.

  At the forefront was a large flag waving in the wind, with a huge "Yan" character written on it.

  Under the great flag, a general holding a spear led his horse to gallop in front of the army, Li Zhēn met this person's eyes, like a tiger or wolf.

  Li Zheng secretly gripped the long spear in his hand tightly.

  He is a fierce general!

  At least, he is one level stronger than the general who was killed in the battle array of Jizhou City at the beginning, and two levels stronger than Cheng Yi who was beheaded at the mountain pass of Shehu Valley!

  "That Han will be finished!"

  Suddenly a loud shout, the spear-wielding general who was rushing forward roared in anger, raised his long spear and accelerated, leaving behind the large army, directly charging towards Li Zhēn.

  "Come and make yourself known!"

  Li Zheng gripped the gun tightly, the muzzle pointing at the ground, his head held high and chest out, sitting motionlessly on Qingyun's back, his sharp eyes fixed on the rebel general.

  "I am Jin Cheng Yan Xing!"

  The rebel general reined in his horse about two hundred paces away from Li Jing, and the warhorse let out a long whinny, its entire upper body standing upright.

  Good riding!

  Li Zheng said quietly.

  His riding skills are much stronger than his own. At least, Li Zhong can't stop the war horse immediately in a rapid gallop and remain steady without shaking.

  He sat on horseback, as if he and his warhorse were one!

  "Is it Yan Xing?!"

  Li Ding pointed his spear and shouted: "These days are just right for itching hands, I see that your martial arts are extraordinary, dare you fight with me?"

  Yan Xing heard this, but burst out laughing: "That little brat, you may have fooled Cheng Yi with that trick, but you can't fool me! Do you think I'm as stupid as Cheng Yi?!"

  "Hehe,"

  Li Ding smiled: "You're not as stupid as Cheng Yi, but you're even more stupid than him. Times have changed, back then I was competing with Cheng Yi to go down the mountain, but now it's different - if you want to compete with me, I won't refuse, but if you think you can use numbers to bully the few, I'll turn around and head back into the mountains!"

  Yan Xing was taken aback, his face suddenly flushing with shame and anger.

  "How dare you, kid...!" Yan Xing gritted his teeth and cursed: "If you have the guts, don't run away! Let's fight it out, you think I, Yan Xing, am easy to bully?! I'll definitely kill you, hang your head on my horse saddle, and take it back to use as a chamber pot!"

  Hahaha...

  Li Zhong didn't get angry either, and instead laughed loudly: "Not bad, not bad, you've got some guts."

  Having spoken, he urged on his dark cloud, and walked slowly down the mountain slope.

  Yan Xing gripped his long spear tightly, his eyes fixed intently on Li Zhuang. He didn't move a muscle until he saw Li Zhuang's warhorse, at which point he was taken aback for a moment before saying: "You little brat, do you think that just because your horse has grown horns it can rival mine? This time I'll kill you and seize your mount - what a wonderful feeling!"

  "Are you daydreaming?"

  Li Ding sneered: "Why didn't I kill you and seize your warhorse?! Treacherous general, you're too confident!"

  "Hmm!"

  Yan Xing let out a cold snort: "Come on, come on, whether you're confident or not, we'll find out in battle!"

  As they spoke, Li Zhēng descended the mountain slope, and between him and Yan Xing, only a hundred paces remained.

  The two men locked eyes, their gazes sparking with intensity. In an instant, they let out a simultaneous loud shout and charged at each other.

  The extent of Yan Xing's martial arts is unknown to Li Jing, but his aura is the strongest among all the military generals he has met so far.

  Li Zhong himself also didn't have confidence in taking down Yan Xing.

  But in order to plan in his heart and also to test what level he was at, he did not follow Fu Xie into the mountains immediately, insisting on taking action with Yan.

  Both were sensitive generals and knew that each other was not easy to deal with, so the first move almost exhausted all their strength.

  All they heard was a loud clang, and amidst the sparks flying everywhere, the two horses crossed each other, and then both riders felt a shock throughout their bodies, feeling numbness in their arms, while secretly being shocked in their hearts.

  In the silence, the two men in the arena began their second round of confrontation.

  At this time, Yan Xing's troops also arrived nearby and formed a battle formation under the command of the deputy general.

  The confrontation with Yan Xing lasted for more than an hour.

  In the heat of battle, Li Zhēn relied on his extremely strong physique, which had been evenly strengthened by the system, as well as his skilled martial arts and super sharp senses, plus Qīng Yún's ferocity, to repeatedly wound Yán Xíng.

  But Yan Xing was not an easy person to get along with either.

  Yan Xing is not like Li Zhuang, his physical attributes are not so balanced. Although in terms of strength and martial arts level, he is not inferior to Li Zhuang, and even stronger in some ways, but in terms of agility, reaction, and sensory acuity, he is not as good as Li Zhuang.

  But he relied on his battlefield intuition and experience, as well as his exquisite riding skills, to dodge Li Jing's fatal attacks several times, only suffering some minor injuries.

  But it also made him even more furious.

  As time slipped away, the battle on the field entered its final stage.

  Both of them were panting, especially Yan Xing's mount, which was sweating profusely.

  Li Zhong had already made up his mind to retreat at this time.

  A prolonged battle tested not only his martial arts and physical strength but also awaited the pursuing troops coming from both east and south.

  The pursuers from three directions have now joined forces, and it is estimated that there are already more than 15,000 people!

  "That's about it!"

  Li Zheng muttered to himself, his long spear in hand didn't stop, he used his inner energy to shock Yan Xing's long spear away, turned the Qingyun around and walked away.

  "As I leave, I won't forget to say: 'This time the fight was pleasant. However, my stomach is hungry now, wait till I eat and drink enough, then I'll meet you again!'"

  Yan Xing's war horse was exhausted and about to die, unable to catch up, he could only watch as Li Jing entered the mountain.

  "Damn it!"

  Yan Xing flipped over and dismounted his horse, stomping one foot heavily on the ground, his face full of resentment.

  At this time, Zuo's deputy general came forward and asked: "General, what should we do now?!"

  Fu Shuo disappeared, the Han general fled into the forest, and the mission was about to fail. Yan Xing naturally refused to give up. Moreover, he had boasted in front of Han Sui, if he returned in defeat, where would his face be? So he shouted: "Wait for me to rest for a while, immediately enter the mountain forest, pursue this thief! If I don't kill him, I won't stop!"

  Li Jing entered the mountain and soon followed the traces along the stream, catching up with Fu Xie and seven others who were waiting for him in a mountain valley.

  After dismounting, Li Zhēn hastily removed his armor and took off the clothes that had been drenched in sweat. Meanwhile, Qingyun, on the other hand, was not tired at all and was frolicking about.

  Li Zhong shook his head, this guy is indeed inferior to beasts in this aspect.

  Not to mention the Green Armor Cavalry produced by the system.

  Fu Xiang came up and worriedly asked: "Are you okay?!"

  Li Zhong smiled and shook his head: "That Yan Xing is indeed formidable, but wanting to hurt me is not very possible."

  Fu Xiang let out a sigh of relief, and at this time, soldiers had already brought over some spring water and handed it to Li Zhong.

  "Come two brothers, go to the mountain edge to keep watch and see what Yan Xing will do."

  Li Dang took a sip of water and ordered the soldier: "No matter whether it is the rebel army's pursuit or preparation for withdrawal, you must come back and tell me as soon as possible."

  "Ah!"