knife

Chapter 313 Winner
A steady stream of carriages drove out of the South Gate, each one fully loaded, leaving deep ruts on the official road. In the past few days, countless such fully loaded vehicles have left from here, heading south in an endless stream.

After reaping their profits, He Zudao's army finally began to withdraw from Luoyang.

He Zudao was the last to walk out of Yingtian Gate.

Looking back, the once majestic and magnificent Wufeng Tower had become dilapidated due to the war that lasted for more than a month. Most of the gate towers on both sides had collapsed, and even the main building had been burned down by fire.

He grinned.

"Maybe I'll come back!"

He thought to himself.

When he first emerged from the fourth underground level of the Black Ice Platform, his plan was to kill all the high-ranking people in the city, burn the city to the ground, and then force the hundreds of thousands of people here to march all the way to Chang'an.

Because he has a clear understanding of himself, he knows that with his own strength alone, he has no way to become a mastermind except to be a disruptor.

Because he could not return to the south.

The South is his base of operations.

It wasn't until Ke Wuji appeared that He Zudao changed his mind.

He used to just want to cause trouble, but now he wants to be at the table.

In Luoyang, by cooperating with Zhang Quanyi, he obtained the wealth he desired most. The money he received from the high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and other important figures in Luoyang ensured that he would not have to worry about food supplies for several years. Moreover, the eight southern towns never lacked food.

With money, food, and a strong army at our disposal, why can't we contend for the world?

What Linghuye can do

Why should something so trivial be forbidden?
With a spur on his horse, He Zudao laughed heartily and galloped away.

As He Zudao's army departed, a small cavalry unit tentatively entered the southern city area from the north. They galloped along without seeing a single enemy until they reached the top of the Five Phoenix Tower. From there, the banners of He's army were barely visible.

"That scoundrel He is gone!" one of the officers who was being led away shouted gleefully, "We've driven that scoundrel He away!"

The soldiers cheered along with their commander.

"Raise the flag! Raise the flag!"

Amidst the officers' shouts, they raised the imperial black flag.

Black flags fluttered in the air, and the distant sounds of bugles and war drums could be heard as Zhang Quanyi's main force advanced into the southern city from several directions.

The three-way battle raged for over a month without ceasing, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, and the burning of numerous houses. The back-and-forth fighting and struggle has finally come to an end.

Feng Congwen's entire army was wiped out, and the local powerful families and clans that had allied with him all became delicious dishes at this grand feast. Even if they wanted to surrender, they could not.

Because He Zudao didn't want their people, he only wanted their money.

Zhang Quanyi hated their betrayal and used them as bargaining chips in this deal, so he naturally refused to accept them. Therefore, they had no other choice but to die and their clans be exterminated.

In a world of great strife, a single misstep can lead to an abyss.

Then, in accordance with his previous alliance with Zhang Quanyi, He Zudao withdrew from Luoyang.

Luoyang will undoubtedly become a target of contention among many forces. If he stays here, he will become the target of everyone's attacks. Once those forces arrive, his current ally, Zhang Quanyi, will naturally turn his back on him.

Therefore, when it's time to leave, you should leave immediately.

Zhang Quanyi emerged as the ultimate winner.

They occupied the entirety of Luoyang.

This is how the Battle of Luoyang was seen from an outsider's perspective.
As for what's really going on inside, only the participants know the truth.

Zhang Quanyi galloped to a luxurious mansion, dismounted, and hurried inside. His brother, Zhang Quanli, came out to greet him.

"Is it here?" Zhang Quanyi asked.

Zhang Quanli nodded: "It's in a secret room in this house. I've already sent away all the irrelevant people and have been personally guarding it!"

"Well done!" Zhang Quanyi nodded approvingly. "Lead the way!"

The two entered the study, and Zhang Quanli activated a mechanism on the bookshelf. With a clicking sound, the bookshelf slid open to the left and right, revealing a secret room inside.

Zhang Quanyi waved his hand, dismissing everyone around him, including his younger brother Zhang Quanli, before pushing open the door and going inside.

Li Tai sat upright in his chair, staring in horror at the open door. "Your Highness, you've been frightened!" Zhang Quanyi bowed deeply. "This humble servant is too late, this humble servant is guilty!"

"It's General Zhang! Is that you, General Zhang?" Li Tai shouted. "I was drugged by those thieves and imprisoned here."

Zhang Quanyi straightened up, took out a small bottle from his pocket, took out a pill from inside, and put it into Li Tai's mouth.

"Your Highness, this is the antidote. After taking the antidote, you will be fully recovered in about half an hour."

"How did you find this place?"

Zhang Quanyi pondered for a moment and said, "I dare not deceive Your Highness. In order to exchange Your Highness from that scoundrel He Zudao, I gave most of the wealth of Luoyang to that scoundrel He."

"The wealth of most of Luoyang?" Li Tai asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I was engaged in a fierce battle with that traitor He outside Luoyang. Your Highness suffered a defeat, and I had no choice but to retreat. However, He's general Feng Congwen turned against me at this time. He joined forces with the powerful families of Luoyang and refused to hand over Luoyang to He. Instead, he wanted to hand Luoyang over to Linghu Ye. So I joined forces with He and attacked Luoyang. We attacked from both sides and defeated Feng Congwen."

Li Tai suddenly realized: "Then you let that thief He plunder and sweep through Luoyang."

“Yes!” Zhang Quanyi gritted his teeth and said, “Those people truly had no loyalty to the emperor or love for their country. They deserved to die and have their clans wiped out. When Feng Congwen attacked Yingtian Gate, Zhang Jian of Hongnong and Kou Dayin were both badly wounded and died at Wufeng Tower. If those people hadn’t retreated then, but instead fought to the death with Quanli and the others, would Feng Congwen have succeeded so easily? They got what they wanted. Those people wanted to cling to Linghu Ye’s coattails, and in the end, they lost their lives. Haha!”

"Good riddance!" Li Tai gritted his teeth. "General Zhang was brave and resourceful. He defeated the traitor He and recovered Luoyang. His achievements are immense. I will definitely write to my father to praise General Zhang's merits."

"Your Highness, I do not wish for this merit. No matter how great the merit, it cannot outweigh the crime of causing Your Highness to fall into the hands of the enemy. If Your Highness has any concern for me, please keep this matter a secret. Otherwise, His Majesty will certainly not forgive me!" Zhang Quanyi quickly knelt down and touched the ground with his forehead.

Li Tai was taken aback, but quickly understood Zhang Quanyi's meaning.

If word got out that I had been captured by the enemy, it would be very bad for my reputation.

Zhang Quanyi is giving up the great credit he was about to gain in order to cover up this matter!

He was truly a loyal subject.

He bent down and helped Zhang Quanyi up: "General Zhang's merit in protecting me is remembered by this king."

After saying that, he realized that he could move around freely again.

"Your Highness, Luoyang is currently in chaos. Although the rebels have retreated, Luoyang still needs Your Highness to take charge, reward the soldiers, provide relief to the wounded, appease the people, and restore their livelihoods. If Luoyang is unstable, then Chang'an will be unstable!" Zhang Quanyi helped Li Tai walk outside. "Luoyang is in dire need of rebuilding!"

"As long as I am still here, I can naturally stabilize Luoyang!" Stepping out of the mansion, looking up at the rising sun, Li Tai took a deep breath of the free air.

Dozens of miles from Luoyang, Feng Congwen reined in his horse and looked at a person slowly riding out of the dense forest ahead.

The man was burly and carried a nine-ringed sword. With a slight movement of his hand, the nine iron rings on the hilt rattled and vibrated.

Yang Lixin, leader of the Green Forest Army under He Zudao.

"Old Feng, when it comes to leading troops, strategizing, and outmaneuvering, you can't even come close to General He!" Yang Lixin sneered as he rode closer, and one after another, cavalrymen emerged from behind him. "The General ordered me to ambush you here, and sure enough, you came this way."

Feng Congwen didn't speak, but just turned around and looked behind him.

During the Battle of Luoyang, he never expected that Zhang Quanyi would join forces with He Zudao.

When He Zudao's tens of thousands of troops entered the city from the Tao Guangyuan area near the North Gate, and then joined forces with Zhang Quanyi's troops to attack from both the left and right, although he fought desperately, he ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.

Now, only a hundred or so riders remained behind them.

"I submitted to He the traitor only because of the expedient measures taken in a desperate situation," Feng Congwen said through gritted teeth. "If it weren't for the massacres perpetrated by people like you in Hedong, how could my Feng family have been wiped out!"

“We didn’t kill a single member of your Feng family!” Yang Lixin said angrily. “Don’t talk nonsense! Your family members were clearly killed by the Black Ice Guard.”

“You are at least accomplices, aren’t you?” Feng Congzhu sneered. “Kou Zhong is not human, and neither are you. You are all murderers who harmed my Feng family. It’s just that I, Feng, am too weak to kill all of you villains one by one.”

Yang Lixin shook his head and said, "You fickle and capricious scoundrel, it's no wonder you've ended up like this. Come on, for the sake of the year we fought together, I, Yang, will give you a quick death!"

Feng Congwen roared and charged at Yang Lixin with his gun.

Yang Lixin brandished his nine-ringed saber, which clattered as it lashed out, and charged towards him. Behind him, thousands of cavalrymen rushed toward Feng Congwen's troops. Those men had no intention of fighting alongside Feng Congwen; they immediately turned their horses around and scattered in all directions.

Feng Congwen was a seventh-rank Xuan Yuan, while Yang Lixin was a notorious bandit leader from Hedong, a peak eighth-rank Xuan Yuan. In a one-on-one fight, the difference in their strength was extremely obvious. Even though Feng Congwen was devastated and fought desperately, he could only last for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before Yang Lixin chopped off his spear with one stroke and beheaded him with another.

Thus, the last surviving member of the Feng family in Hedong died outside Luoyang.

The Feng family of Hedong has been completely wiped out in the long river of history.

(End of this chapter)