Chapter 216 The Ambition of the Brother and Sister
On the top of Runing City, Deputy Commander Lu Cheng was holding a bowl of soup but had no time to drink it.

He looked at the battlefield below with a confused look on his face. The bandit army that was so arrogant yesterday was wiped out in seconds early this morning?

There were nearly 20,000 bandits!

"Didn't they say that the reinforcements would take five days to arrive? How come they arrived on the morning of the fourth day?" Lu Cheng turned his head and asked the captain beside him.

“I don’t know either.”

The captain was also confused. This guy came too fast, and he was too strong, right? !

At such a long distance, it would be a blessing if one out of ten of their artillery shells could hit the enemy's position, but how did the reinforcements manage to hit the camp with every shell?

And looking at the power of the shells when they exploded, there was quite a lot of gunpowder filled inside. Aren't they afraid of the barrel exploding?

Lu Cheng didn't have time to drink the soup. He returned the bowl to his daughter and looked out along the city wall.

Although the cavalry could not move in unison, they still cooperated well with each other.

Especially those who were in the lead, they were agile and steady. They could kill a bandit soldier with one sword without even blinking an eye.

Lu Cheng's daughter Lu Wan'er was in her twenties, with plump skin, cheeks as red as litchi, a nose as smooth as goose fat, and a medium build. She looked like a gentle person.

As city defense was of vital importance, many civilians in the city also joined in. The men were responsible for carrying logs and stones, while the women cooked and delivered meals. Everyone agreed to prevent the enemy troops from entering the city.

At this moment, Lu Wan'er also followed her father, observing this extremely powerful reinforcement in amazement.

The enemy army besieged the city for nearly six days, which left a deep impression on them. It can be said that no one was afraid of life or death, and they all tried their best to climb the city wall.

There were even many elite bandits who relied on their superb martial arts to fly up and cause great casualties to the brothers in the garrison.

However, such a terrifying bandit army was defeated before even lasting an hour in front of the support troops.

Now even the old woman in charge of boiling water in the city climbed up the city wall, wanting to see who led the army that was so brave!
Finally, as the infantry marched onto the battlefield and began to sweep, those who surrendered had their hands tied and were moved aside, while those who dared to resist were killed on the spot.

When the battlefield was completely under control, two large flags slowly appeared in everyone's eyes: Tianjin Youwei and Ouyang
"Europe?"

Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment, and said in surprise: "Could it be the Minister of Honglu Temple, Lord Ou Zanghuaou?!"

Sure enough, the next moment three cavalrymen ran towards the city gate.

When he got closer, the cavalryman bowed and saluted and shouted, "I am Gao Kexin, a subordinate of Lord Ou, the Minister of the Honglu Temple. May I ask your name?"

After Lu Cheng returned the greeting with a bow, he said, "I am Lu Cheng, the deputy commander of the Ru'ning Guard!"

"Lord Lu is polite. Lord Ou is about to arrive. Please do me a favor and open the city gate." Gao Kexin said as he threw a badge onto the city wall.

Lu Cheng took it and looked at it. There was a lucky cloud pattern engraved on the top, and the words "Honglu Temple Minister" were written on the front. On the back was a line of words engraved: "Officials attending the court must wear this badge. Those without it will be punished according to the law. Those who borrow it will be punished as well as those who lend it to you. It cannot be used when leaving the capital."

"So this is the badge for entering the palace! It appears to be made of ivory." Lu Cheng looked at it over and over again, and said happily to Lu Wan'er beside him.

"Dad, people are waiting downstairs!" Lu Wan'er reminded with a smile.

"Oh oh oh, pass the order down, open the city gate!" Lu Cheng reacted and gave the order immediately.

"Yes!"

As the soldiers of Runing Guards slowly opened the city gate, not long after, a handsome young man in a scarlet robe and a black gauze hat was seen riding a black horse with a long sword on the saddle. Under the protection of the soldiers, he slowly approached Runing City.

Upon seeing this, Lu Cheng led the thousand households down the city wall to greet them, while Lu Wan'er and her younger brother stood on the steps of the city wall to watch the fun.

When Ou Zanghua walked out of the city gate, the soft light seemed to cover him with a layer of translucent veil, and the wind blew gently, causing the corners of his clothes to sway gently.

He came with the spring breeze and dispelled the cold of winter.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites seemed to sense something, turned his head to look at the stairs, seemed to smile, and then looked away.

At this moment, Lu Wan'er felt that time had slowed down, and all her worries and pressures were dissolved by this warm atmosphere, leaving only the tranquility in her heart.

"A handsome young man on a horse with two whips and a sword and a pearl robe"

"Hmm? Sister, what are you talking about?" Little Lu Tong looked up at his sister and asked, "I didn't hear clearly."

"Nothing, nothing." Lu Wan'er came back to her senses and quickly turned her head away, but she still stole a few glances from time to time.

"Lord Lu." "Lord Ou!"

Lu Cheng came forward, grasped Ou Zanghua's hand, and said excitedly: "Thank you, Lord Ou, for your support!"

"It's my job, Lord Lu, so you don't have to be polite." Ou Zanghua smiled, and his words were as warm as today's sunshine.

After the two chatted for a few sentences, Ou Zanghua asked Lu Cheng for some supplies. Lu Cheng naturally would not refuse and generously said that he could take as much as he wanted.

After a while, Cui Changshi of the palace came on behalf of Prince Chong Zhu Houyao and Concubine Li to thank Ou Zanghua for lifting the siege of Runing. At the same time, Concubine Li also expressed that it was not convenient for the palace to receive outsiders at the moment, and Ou Zanghua did not need to go to the palace to pay his respects.

After seeing off Cui Changshi from the palace, Lu Cheng looked at Ou Zanghua and said with emotion, "Empress Li is truly a hero among women. At the most critical moment of the defense of the city, she ordered the palace to send 1,500 taels of silver to reward the entire army, and asked Prince Chong to collect meat from the city to feed the soldiers, which relieved us of a lot of worries."

"He is indeed a man worthy of admiration. I will write everything down in the memorial." After hearing this, Ou Zanghua did not have too many thoughts.

At this moment, Deng Bagong walked in quickly, knelt on one knee to salute, presented something with both hands, and said, "Sir Ou, we found a waist badge on a thief general."

“No need for the gift!” Ou Zanghua took it and took a look. It was carved out of wood and surrounded by a circle of gold.

The front reads "Fengtian Zhengguo Grand Marshal, Commander-in-Chief of the Third Army", and the back reads "Three thousand tiger soldiers, straight to the land of Youyan. The dragon flies to the ninth heaven, reopening the chaotic sky"

"Look again, there should be more than one piece!" Ou Zanghua narrowed his eyes and thought of Yicheng County that had been occupied by the bandit army.

"Yes!" Deng Baguo stepped back and asked the infantry battalion to search carefully. They actually found three more badges, but they were all at the commander-in-chief level.

Upon seeing this, Ou Zanghua immediately asked Zuo Lengchan to select a hundred strong soldiers, and then brought the Taishan plug-in, and set off with him to Xiangyang City.

Lu Cheng looked at the sky and said hesitantly, "Master Ou, I have asked my daughter to arrange a banquet. How about we rest in Runing for a night and set off tomorrow?"

"The sooner this rebellion is quelled, the sooner peace will return to the world."

Ou Zanghua smiled, bowed to Lu Cheng and said, "Please keep this table of wine for me, Lord Lu. If I pass by Runing, I will drink with you again."

Lu Cheng was stunned, and recalled the story of Guan Yu beheading Hua Xiong while drinking warm wine.

Moreover, compared with Guan Yu, Ou Zanghua's pattern is obviously better.

This is the bond between men. With just one sentence, they can recognize each other and become good friends.

Thinking of this, Lu Cheng couldn't help laughing and said, "Hahaha, great! As long as I'm in Runing City, no matter when Brother Ou comes or in what capacity, there will be a banquet for you."

Eh?
How come we are brothers?
Ou Zanghua was a little confused, but still said with a moved look on his face: "Thank you, Brother Lu!"

Just then, Lu Wan'er came over with Lu Tong to inform them that the banquet was ready, but when the door opened, she almost bumped into Ou Zanghua's arms.

"I'm sorry, Lord Ou." The little girl's pretty face turned red and she quickly bowed to apologize.

"It doesn't matter!"

Ou Zanghua smiled, and seeing the little kid staring at him, he squatted down and asked gently, "What's your name?"

"My name is Lu Tong, and I want to be a great general like my father in the future!" The little kid imitated the adults and answered by bowing.

Lu Tong?

This name sounds familiar. Could it be the master created by Mr. Jin?

Ou Zanghua had no clue and didn't think about it anymore.

He patted the little boy on the shoulder and found that the child had a good physique. He had strong muscles at a young age and was a good candidate for martial arts training.

Looking at his round eyes, which revealed a sense of intelligence, he smiled and encouraged: "You have great ambition! But if you want to become a great general, you must not only practice martial arts, but also learn literature. Only when you become a general or a prime minister and make contributions to the world can you show your true manliness."

Lu Tong was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "I see. I will study martial arts and literature well in the future!"

"Very good! Come on, I'm rooting for you." Ou Zanghua smiled, stood up, nodded to Lu Wan'er, and hurried away with Deng Baguo and others.

It took Lu Wan'er a while to come back to her senses. She looked at her father and asked, "Master Ou, don't you want to have a meal before leaving?"

"What Lord Ou? You should call me Uncle Ou from now on."

Lu Cheng looked at the sunset in the distance, and a feeling of sympathy rose in his heart. He said quietly: "My brother Ou has the world in his heart and is open-minded. How can I stop him? I hope that brother Ou will put down the rebellion and return soon!"

Lu Waner:
(End of this chapter)