Chapter 244: Eat the Emperor's Salary and Be Loyal to Him

"What a great opportunity! I'm willing to lower my face to help you. Coach Lin..."

"This man is a young hero. I can't bear to kill him like this."

Lin Chong not only did not take advantage of the situation, but helped to stop Lu Junyi. Then he looked at Yue Fei who was still in shock and said seriously: "Yue Fei, it's a pity that you are buried under Liu Hao. Are you interested in coming to Luzhou? I will personally recommend you to General Yang."

"Thank you for your mercy, but Yang Chang is colluding with the Jin people and wants to emulate Tian Hu to bring disaster to the Three Jins. How can I, a man of blood and blood, follow the enemy?"

"What?"

As soon as Yue Fei finished speaking, Lin Chong and Lu Junyi were both shocked, wondering what this guy had said.
Although Yang Chang wanted to establish himself, he only mentioned it to his confidants. Did someone leak it intentionally? In addition, when did he collude with the Jin people?
Half of the sentence is true, half of it is false.

Lin Chong was stunned and couldn't turn back. Seeing this, Lu Junyi interrupted and shouted, "Do you know what you are talking about? If it weren't for General Yang leading his troops to resist, the Jin army from the west would have already moved south. It's nonsense to say that he colluded with the Jin people!"

"Hmph, there's no point in talking any more. Goodbye!"

"you"

Yue Fei clasped his fists and bowed, then resolutely urged his horse back to the battle formation.

He had such a prejudice against Yang Chang mainly because of his experience of joining the army in Pingding. Last year, Liu Qian was ordered to aid Taiyuan and led the local soldiers of Pingding to fight against Loushi. At that time, Yue Fei was serving in the army in Pingding.

Liu Qian's lone army was defeated in Loushi and after his defeat, in order to appease his troops, he pushed the blame for the defeat onto his friendly forces, among whom he bore the greatest resentment towards Yang Chang.

He believed that Yang Chang was in control of Weisheng and Pingbei, and occupied the strategic route for the counterattack on Taiyuan, but was unwilling to send troops or food, disregarding the trust of the court and the emperor, and was keeping his troops in place or had other intentions.

Ordinary generals followed suit and cursed, but Yue Fei was more quick-witted and soon discovered that the two states under Yang Chang's jurisdiction were the territories of Tian Hu in the early days of his uprising. Later, while the Jin army was retreating, he arbitrarily took control of Luzhou, completely repeating Tian Hu's path.

After Zhao Gou failed to recruit Yang Chang, he completely stigmatized him, falsely accusing him of secretly colluding with Nianhan and using his geographical advantage to repeatedly frame Taiyuan reinforcements, thereby weakening the court's military strength and money.

As for the deaths of generals such as Lou Shi and Yin Shuke, it was done by Nianhan to eliminate dissidents.

Of course, later when Erlido (Wanyan Zongfu) and Nianhan competed for power, King Kang took advantage of the situation and blamed Yang Chang and Nianhan for Olib's death, confirming the fact that the two were connected.

Yue Fei lacked experience at that time and had a one-sided view of political issues. He had a preconceived notion that Yang Chang was not capable, so when faced with Lin Chong's recruitment, he resolutely refused without thinking.

Seeing him walk away arrogantly, Lu Junyi was so angry that he wanted to chase him and shoot him again, but Lin Chong stopped him with his hand.

"Someone must have deliberately slandered me. You don't need to be angry about this person. You should find a way to deal with the crisis."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

After the two men finished talking, they did not return to the battle formation. Lin Chong glanced toward the northeast, then pointed his snake spear at Liu Hao, questioning him harshly and threatening him.

"What do you want to do? King Kang failed to recruit the Grand Marshal, so you want to start a war directly, right? With so few troops behind you, how can you wait for the reinforcements to arrive? Believe it or not, I can kill them all in one shot!"

"No, no, no, don't misunderstand, Manager Lin. I am just following orders."

Liu Hao swallowed his saliva, pointed at Lu Junyi and said: "Zong Zhizhou didn't want to start a war, he just wanted to intercept General Lu."

"Intercept me?"

Lu Junyi was startled when he heard this, and then he asked contemptuously: "What does Zong Ze want to do? I have nothing to do with him, and I am the commander of Yongning Army. What qualifications does he have?"

"Lu Chengxuan calm down. I really don't know. I suggest not to continue the military action. Zong Zhizhou is in the rear anyway. Why not ask him in person later?"

As soon as Liu Hao finished speaking, Lu Junyi flew into a rage and shouted, "You bastard, you are still cheating and delaying!"

"Cheating? No."

"I hope you'll still say that when I catch you later!"

Lu Junyi was now a frightened bird, and he could not tolerate the slightest grain of sand in his eyes. However, Lin Chong was calmer when faced with things. He pulled his sleeve and whispered, "Sir, don't bother with him. If you really rush the troops to attack, the subsequent battle will not be able to end. I am not sure of a complete victory in the battle in Cizhou. It is better to let this man go for now and return to the battle formation as soon as possible. Let's listen to what Zong Ze has to say later."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

"Ah."

After Lin Chong pacified Lu Junyi, he said goodbye to Liu Hao and returned to his camp. While asking the entire army to prepare for battle, he sent someone on horseback back to Luzhou for help.

This place is less than a hundred miles away from Wu'an, the capital of Cizhou. If Zong Ze sends troops to engage in a fight while calling in reinforcements to encircle the area, Lin Chong and Lu Junyi's troops may not be able to reach Luzhou, so we must take precautions and make preparations in advance.

Not long after, Qin Guangbi, who had withdrawn at noon, and another commander Zhang De, accompanied Zong Ze to the front of the formation and called on Lin Chong to come forward and answer.

"Lin Chong is here. What advice does Magistrate Zong have for me?"

"General Manager Lin is very polite. I am here only for the traitor Lu Junyi, not for the Luzhou troops. Please give me some convenience."

Zong Ze is nearly seventy years old and his hair and beard are already graying, but he is vigorous and his voice is as loud as a bell.

"Old guy, what did you say?"

"Traitor? Where did you get that from?"

Lin Chong interrupted the excited Lu Junyi and responded to Zong Ze in a neither humble nor arrogant manner. He was mentally prepared for war.

Zong Ze had already confirmed who Lu Junyi was after listening to Qin Guangbi's introduction. He stroked his white beard and looked him up and down. Finally, he cursed with empty eyes: "Lu Junyi, how has the Song Dynasty treated you unfairly? You want to help the Jin people break Baozhou, causing the entire army of Ma Jiedu to be annihilated? Are you worthy of your ancestors? Do you have a heart?"

Lu Junyi was both angry and ridiculous, and did not even refute in time after hearing it.

Seeing this, Lin Chong took over the conversation and said in a deep voice: "Why did Magistrate Zong say that? General Lu helped the Jin army to break through Baozhou? How did he help? You know that he has 3,000 soldiers behind him, who were evacuated from the battlefield in Baozhou and fought a desperate battle with the Jin army in Baosai. You have turned black into white and framed General Lu, which will chill the soldiers' hearts."

"Manager Lin, don't believe his one-sided words just because we are from Liangshan together. If you accept this beast, you will suffer from him!"

"Old man, have I tolerated you for a long time?"

Lin Chong was about to answer, but was interrupted by Lu Junyi. He clenched his fists and shouted, "They said that grandpa colluded with the Jin people. Where were you when grandpa was fighting the Jin people in Baosai? You can't believe my one-sided story. Who the hell did you listen to?"

"Asshole! You're full of shit!"

Zong Ze was originally in a stable mood, but he couldn't help but hear the word "dog barking" because his information came from King Kang.

"As the commander of Yongning Army, why did you leave your station if you didn't collude with the Jin army? You helped the Jin army to break through Baozhou, and then you took the initiative to withdraw from Yongning Army. If it weren't for Song Gongming's lone army, Hebei would have been completely occupied by the Jin people."

"Hey Song Gongming? There's no point in talking any more."

Lu Junyi couldn't believe his ears. He thought that this old guy was confusing right and wrong. He was probably already a die-hard fan of King Kang, so he didn't intend to explain any further.

"Not continuing to quibble is a sign of courage and responsibility"

"and many more."

Lin Chong interrupted Zong Ze and said righteously: "I don't know where your information comes from, but according to the intelligence I got, the Jin army from Zhending and Yanjing attacked Baozhou. Ma Jiedu asked for help from Shun'an and Yongning respectively. In the end, General Lu sent troops as agreed, but unfortunately he was defeated in the end. Song Jiang only fired a feint and watched Baozhou fall."

"Impossible, this must be Lu Junyi's sophistry, otherwise why would he lead his troops to escape?"

"Do you think General Lu wants to leave? Do you know who took over Yongning Army?"

“Isn’t it the Golden Man?”

Zong Ze looked at Lu Junyi again, thinking to himself that this guy looked handsome, but he didn't expect him to be so insidious. He colluded with the Jin people and framed his former comrades.

Damn it!
His mental activity had not yet ended, but what Lin Chong said next overturned Zong Ze's three views.

"To answer this question, you need to know another thing. Soon after King Kang spoke out in the Marshal's Mansion, he sent people to Hebei to recruit troops. Song Jiang was the first to support him. Ma Kuo not only refused but also scolded the messenger away. General Lu said he needed to consider it. Later, the Jin army launched an attack on Baozhou. General Lu and Ma Jiedu were defeated one after another, while Song Jiang's Shun'an Army was intact. You can taste the taste of it. Who is the one who colluded with the Jin army?"

"hiss"

Zong Ze took a deep breath. If what Lin Chong said was true, the suspect would naturally be Song Jiang. He was still making indirect accusations, implying that King Kang had instructed him to do so.

Last year, when the Jin army in the east withdrew, Zhao Gou asked Zong Ze to borrow troops to resist the enemy and ambushed them on the banks of the Mingshui River.

Commander Qin Guangbi participated in the war. Although he brought back a lot of trophies afterwards, there were only a dozen or so Jin heads.

Although it was not a great victory, it made the Jin army suffer and gave the military and civilians hope. Seeing Zhao Gou's courage and determination, Zong Ze also signed a letter to ask for military power for him.

Now that I think about it, maybe there is something hidden?
Both sides are making empty promises and have no actual evidence.

Zongze would not be easily persuaded. At this moment, he still supported Prince Kang in his heart. He then reminded Lin Chong in a deep voice: "Manager Lin, it is true that you and Lu Junyi came from Liangshan together, and Song Jiang was the former leader of Liangshan. Why are you favoring one over the other today, telling stories to confuse right and wrong, and praising one and criticizing the other?"

"Favoring one over the other?"

Lin Chong sneered and said grimly: "Lin is an upright person and disdains such conspiracies and tricks. Anyway, this is the fact. Whether you believe it or not, I will protect General Lu. Let's fight!"

“It’s really a deep brotherhood”

Zong Ze stroked his beard, thinking to himself that he was unwilling to let the soldiers fight to the death before the matter became clear. If they really misunderstood the good guys, wouldn't he regret it?
All the forces within the Song Dynasty should be used to deal with the Jin people.

After a moment, he nodded solemnly and said slowly: "I will verify what Chief Steward Lin said. It is not right to accuse a good person. Let's stop the war today. By the way, please go back and tell Taiwei Yang that since he is paid by the emperor, he should be loyal to the emperor. He has the righteousness of the country and the national justice. Don't seek the skin of the tiger."

"I don't agree with this!"

Just now Yue Fei accused Yang Chang of colluding with the Jin people, and now Zong Ze was making insinuations here. When Lin Chong heard the second half of the sentence, he was furious. He didn't care whether to fight or not, and solemnly replied:
"If it weren't for Taiwei Yang's repeated efforts to repel the Jin army, not to mention the entire Hedong and Hebei would have fallen, at least Hedong would have definitely not been saved. If Taiwei doesn't have national justice, no one in the world has national justice. As for the fact that you are eating the emperor's salary and should be loyal to the emperor, you followed King Kang to rebel. Do you really have the nerve to criticize others?" "What a sharp tongue." Zong Ze snorted and explained righteously: "How could King Kang rebel? He just followed the emperor's secret decree and ordered all officials to help the emperor restore his throne."

"The Emperor's secret decree? Whose subject are you?"

"Don't tease me. I am a minister of the Song Dynasty."

Although the situation was very tense and the soldiers on both sides were on the verge of a fight, the sky gradually darkened and they all withdrew at the same time.

As night falls, the lights meander like a dragon.

Lin Chong asked Yan Qing to lead the way, while he and Lu Junyi covered the rear.

By midnight, nearly ten thousand soldiers finally entered Fengyue Pass, and only then did they relax their vigilance and rest.

In the early morning of February 16, the originally quiet camp suddenly became noisy.

Lu Junyi arrived late last night and did not go to bed until the morning after patrolling. His early fatigue made him sleep deeply.

There was a commotion outside the tent, and he was fighting with someone in his dream.

Someone hijacked the camp?

Lu Junyi suddenly opened his eyes, threw back the quilt, jumped up, grabbed the sword beside the couch and rushed out.

"General Lu, you woke up so early too?"

"I thought there was a mutiny, Mr. Chai, who is over there?"

Chai Jin smiled and said, "I heard that General Yang has arrived, and I was just about to go and call you."

"Captain Yang? Isn't he in Weisheng?"

"I heard they came to welcome us."

"What? At this time?"

Lu Junyi was very excited after hearing this, and thought that rushing to Fengyue Pass in the early morning meant rushing over overnight, how could he be valued so much?
At this moment, Yan Qing suddenly appeared in front of him, and behind him was Yang Chang.

"General, General Lu and Mr. Chai are awake."

“Haha, I saw it.”

Yang Changyuan clasped his fists and greeted them with a smile: "My two brothers, how are you?"

"Captain Yang."

"General."

"We are all brothers, no need to be so polite. How was the journey? I heard you encountered some troubles?"

"It's in the past."

When everyone met and greeted each other, Yang Chang saw the smoke rising from the camp and thought it would take some time to prepare the meal, so he took Lu Junyi, Chai Jin, Du Xing, Cai Fu, Cai Qing and others with him and went ahead, intending to rush to She County to have breakfast.

At three quarters past noon, Yang Chang, Lu Junyi and a few others sat in front of a breakfast shop on the street, waiting for the owner to prepare the food.

On the street next to us, which was bathed in warm sunshine, although there were not many pedestrians walking around at this time, there were a few children playing Cuju, and their laughter was as sweet as silver bells.

Lu Junyi stroked his beard and said to Cai Fu beside him with emotion: "We have never seen such a scene since we arrived in Zhending and stationed in Yongning. The people are all trembling with fear. How can children have such fun? Luzhou was just ravaged by the Jin people last year, and it has recovered so quickly. Yang Taiwei is really extraordinary."

"Brother, you are too kind. Normally, we should prepare something splendid to welcome you back, but the conditions in Shexian are really limited. We can only make up for it when we return to Weisheng."

"Having a bowl of hot porridge is great. At the beginning of the month, I was reckless and rushed in. Soon after the defeat, we ran out of food. The soldiers were so hungry that they had to eat tree bark and wild vegetables. If it weren't for Xiao Yi's recovery of the Pingji Volunteer Army, we would have saved thousands of brothers."

"General, don't brag. This is nothing."

When Yan Qing saw Lu Junyi praising Yang Chang and then himself, he quickly changed the subject.

"Do you know how powerful General Yang is? He grew a food called potatoes, which had an astonishingly high yield. Then, with the powerful food reserves, he helped Luzhou quickly regain stability, and the people of the state were able to survive."

"Potato?"

Lu Junyi was stunned when he heard this, and looked at Yang Chang curiously and asked, "Captain Yang, do you know how to farm?"

“Haha, I understand a little bit, I understand a little bit.”

As Yang Chang responded modestly, the little kids playing Cuju came from a distance to the breakfast shop, singing nursery rhymes about him.

Cai Fu was touched by what he heard, and couldn't help muttering, "No wonder Xiao Yige praised him so much, he saved thousands of people, and the Taiwei saved hundreds of thousands of people in Luzhou with this move, he really deserves to be the Guangming Tianzun."

"I am completely convinced. From now on, I will follow your lead."

“I’m convinced too.”

Lu Junyi and Chai Jin expressed their opinions one after another, catching Yang Chang, who was waiting for the meal, off guard. He quickly stood up to return the greetings and motioned for everyone to take a seat.

"Let me make a request first. Don't praise me like this in the future. It's better to give more suggestions."

"hehe."

"General." When everyone responded with silly smiles, Lin Chong, who had been silent all this time, suddenly took over the conversation and asked curiously: "Why are you in Fengyue Pass? According to the saying, Xiao Yi is in danger, and he should be sent back to Weisheng this morning at the earliest."

"I scolded the envoy of King Kang and drove him away at the beginning of the month. I didn't expect that Le He and others would hear a lot of slander against me on their way back. So I was worried and came to remind you. As a result, I learned that you sent troops to Cizhou. Fortunately, no major problems occurred. Zhao Gou is a vindictive guy. He has learned all kinds of slanders without any guidance."

"Unfounded?"

Lin Chong was stunned at first, then he agreed, "You mean to frame me? Yesterday, I went to Cizhou to meet the enemy and met a young general with great skills. I wanted to recruit him for the general, but they insisted that you were colluding with the Jin people."

"Oh?"

Yang Chang seldom heard Lin Chong praise others, so he nodded in affirmation: "If you can catch my eye, this person must be quite good."

"Your martial arts skills are indeed good. After more than ten rounds with Master Lin, your spear skills are still steady and flawless, but you have an eye disease."

Whenever Lu Junyi thought of Yue Fei, he thought of that resolute face.

"Eye disease?"

"What the official meant was that this person was blind and credulous, and misunderstood the commander."

"Haha, it doesn't matter."

Yang Chang smiled suddenly.

Which hero since ancient times is not praised and slandered by the world? I don't force everyone to recognize me, but Lin Chong and Lu Junyi mentioned me repeatedly, which also aroused Yang Chang's interest.

"What's his name?"

"Yue Fei."

"Yue Fei?"

"Is there a problem?"

Seeing Yang Chang’s big reaction, Lin Chong couldn’t help but ask curiously.

It turns out to be the original suspect. No wonder he is so good at martial arts and has such a prominent personality.

Yang Chang quickly calmed down and waved his hand, saying, "What's the problem? But since the Cizhou soldiers and civilians have misunderstood me, it might cause you trouble. The defense of Luzhou needs to be strengthened. I will send you a few deputies later."

"Ok."

Lin Chong nodded in agreement, and then told everyone the story of Lu Junyi's defeat in pushing the cart.

Yang Chang felt bitter after hearing this, thinking, "I am now 'falsely accused'. Is Hei Sanlang going to be Qin Hui? Maybe there will be internal fighting in Liangshan in the future."

"Song Jiang is crazy. His official robe was stained with the blood of his brothers. Now he has no bottom line in his actions. We will definitely be in opposition in the future. Internal strife in Liangshan is inevitable."

"If that day ever comes, leave Duan Jingzhu to me."

Seeing Lu Junyi so excited, Yang Changxin said that he was just a horse thief. If he was regarded as playing Landlord cards, he would only be fit to be a mistress, but you are the joker.

Cannons hit mosquitoes?
Yang Chang had no idea that Lu Junyi's original confidence was left in Duan Jingzhu's hands.

Two days later, the group returned to Weisheng, and Yang Chang held a grand banquet in his mansion to welcome the new brothers.

After three rounds of drinking, Yang Chang was enjoying himself and was planning to arrange tasks for his new brothers when Sun An suddenly sent someone to report urgently: Jin soldiers from Taiyuan crossed the mountain road to attack Liaozhou, and the governor of Liaozhou asked Weisheng for help.

(End of this chapter)