I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

Chapter 124 Seeking to establish authority, he was instead taken hostage.
Just as the kingdom was pondering what to do next, a sudden commotion erupted outside.

"what happened?"

The kingdom frowned and looked out of the tent.

"General! Some deserters have been captured!"

Before the kingdom could send anyone to investigate, a personal guard had already come in to report.

"Hmm~?"

Upon hearing the report from his personal guard, Wang Guo jumped to his feet.

"Ha, I'd like to see who's so audacious as to desert."

As he spoke coldly, the kingdom turned to leave.

"General, they are just some deserters."

"Executing the head according to military law and circulating it throughout the army as a warning is sufficient; there's really no need for the general to personally intervene."

One of his generals said dismissively.

Just then, the guard who had just reported spoke again:

"This time it's the centurion who's petitioning, preparing to lead his entire squad of soldiers in a defection."

Upon hearing this, both the kingdom and the general's expression changed.

A centurion is nothing to the Kingdom and its people, but he is still a mid-to-low-level officer.

Especially at this time, if not handled properly, it could cause a major mess.

"Come on! Let's go take a look."

Immediately, Wang Guo walked out of the military tent with a gloomy face.

At this time, Chen Qing and his men had been taken to the training ground and were being escorted and guarded by three to five hundred men. Some generals were angrily criticizing and cursing Chen Qing.

In addition, many people gathered outside the parade ground to watch.

As Wang Guo and his group parted the crowd and entered the training ground, they heard someone angrily cursing.

"Chen Qing, you are truly unworthy of being a centurion of the Ming Dynasty. Instead of serving the Ming Dynasty and His Majesty, and obeying orders, you actually intend to defect to the rebel camp."

"it is good!"

The kingdom shouted loudly and looked at the man with admiration.

The man seemed startled, his whole body jolted, and he quickly turned around.

Upon seeing that the visitor was from the Kingdom, he immediately knelt down on one knee to pay his respects.

"Commander Gu Qingwu pays his respects to the General."

"Yes, you did a great job!"

Wang Guo looked at Gu Qingwu and nodded with a satisfied smile.

He was already considering whether or not to transfer him to his own command.

"Thank you for your praise, General. This is all thanks to your excellent military leadership!"

"Um"

Looking at the group of deserters kneeling in front of him, and the centurion's petition, the kingdom's face darkened.

If you don't know how to compliment someone, then don't compliment them at all. I have reason to suspect that you're mocking me.

"You dare to incite your soldiers to desert!"

"General, General, I know I was wrong. Please give me another chance."

Chen Qing's hands were tied, but he still knelt on the ground and crawled towards the kingdom, begging for mercy with a look of fear on his face.

"Hmph! If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."

Know that military law is merciless! It's too late to beg for mercy now!

"Choke!"

Enraged, Wang Guo suddenly reached out and drew the long sword from the waist of his personal guard. He strode toward Chen Qing, intending to kill him with a single blow.

Upon seeing this, Chen Qing and Gu Qingwu were both startled.

"General, spare my life! General, spare my life!"

Chen Qing once again loudly begged for mercy. The other soldiers kneeling on the ground, disregarding the long swords held to their necks, also knelt down and begged for mercy.

"presumptuous!"

Gu Qingwu shouted loudly, silencing the crowd, before approaching the kingdom and whispering:

"General, I don't think it's wise to kill them outright now."

"Hmm~?"

Wang Guo narrowed his eyes slightly, and his gaze toward Gu Qingwu became somewhat unfriendly.

Don't think that just because you've captured a few deserters, you can teach me how to do things.

"General, why don't we summon all the soldiers to the drill ground to watch the execution?"

"Killing them now, while it might serve as a deterrent to others, is ultimately not as direct and effective as witnessing the beheadings firsthand."

"Yes, General, what the centurion said does make some sense."

"Yes! Then gather all the soldiers to watch the execution, so they will know the fate of deserters."

"As ordered!"

Before long, a mobilization drumbeat resounded throughout the army.

Amidst the drumbeats echoing from the Ming army camp, a faint sound suddenly arose from a forest several miles away.

"here we go!"

"General! Do you think those people are trustworthy?"

"Ha, based on various sources, that should be credible."

Wang Dahu said with a smile, then changed the subject, a cold smile curving his lips:
"And even if it's a trap, so what? Can they stop us?"

"It's still somewhat dangerous. If they disregard their own lives and plant gunpowder beforehand, we won't be able to stop them."

Staff Officer Xu Ming was somewhat worried.

"Hey~, let's not even talk about whether they have that much gunpowder. Even if they did, they couldn't possibly bury it silently."
It should be noted that the Ming army camps are now not only spies of the Ming soldiers, but also have intelligence agents who have infiltrated them.

"Given their capabilities, it's impossible for the Ming army to have planted explosives without their knowledge."

"Ok!"

Although Xu Ming was still somewhat worried, he nodded nonetheless.

He could only offer his opinions and strategies, providing advice and planning, but the final decision rested with the army's commander, Wang Dahu. Perhaps because he had too many ideas, he also had too many concerns, and in terms of on-the-spot decision-making, he was indeed inferior to Wang Dahu.

This is probably one of the reasons why he was a staff officer, while Wang Dahu was the commander.

After the third drumbeat, all the soldiers in the Ming army camp, except for those on guard, were summoned to the drill ground.

At the drill ground's command platform, Chen Qing and the others knelt to one side, while Gu Qingwu led his men, armed with knives, to escort them away.

That was arranged by the kingdom on purpose; he wanted all the soldiers to see the consequences of desertion.

Then, Wang Guo led a dozen or so personal guards slowly toward the command platform, preparing to recount to the soldiers below the platform the consequences of desertion.

Upon seeing this, Gu Qingwu and Chen Qing exchanged glances; the kingdom was finally free of a large number of personal guards.

Just as Wang Guo arrived at the center of the command platform, Gu Qingwu signaled to his soldiers to prepare.

Chen Qing and the others, who were kneeling and waiting to die, instantly untied the ropes binding their hands using the slipknots left beforehand.

Then, Gu Qingwu and the others reached into their robes, pulled out short knives, and handed them to Chen Qing and the others who were kneeling on the ground.

Then they suddenly turned their blades around, some of them raising their swords to kill Wang Guo and his men, while others rushed towards the area around the command platform.

Chen Qing and the others who received the short swords also acted instantly. Like Gu Qingwu and his group, some killed Wang Guo and others, while others rushed towards the area around the command platform.

"What do you want to do?"

"Stop them!"

"Damn it, save the general!"

Upon seeing this, the king was shocked and immediately ordered his personal guards to stop them. The king's generals below the stage also reacted instantly and commanded their soldiers to come to the rescue.

However, their path was firmly blocked by a group of soldiers on the command platform.

The kingdom's personal guards, anxious to save lives, instantly clashed with the crowd on the stage.

"Ding Dong!"

"Pfft!"

"what!"

The sounds of clashing weapons and screams filled the air.

However, even with more soldiers below the command platform, it would not be possible to charge up there in a short time.

Some of the soldiers, in particular, were like they had been injected with chicken blood, their speed and strength were incredibly powerful.

Some people were killed with a single blow before they could even react, while others had their weapons knocked away and were instantly killed, truly like cutting melons and vegetables.

This, this, this.
His brave and invincible performance left many people speechless.

Those who were particularly familiar with Chen Qing and Gu Qingwu were filled with disbelief.

When did Chen Qing and Gu Qingwu have such brave and fierce men under their command?

Based on their performance, even though there were more soldiers below the stage, it was absolutely impossible for them to break through their defenses in a short period of time.

Looking at the other side, there were also many very powerful soldiers who, in just a few strides, had already rushed up to the Kingdom and his men.

Facing the kingdom's personal guards, their swordsmanship was fierce, and their strength and speed far exceeded ordinary standards.

Some of the guards had their necks slit before they even drew their long swords.

Even when the guards raised their weapons, they couldn't even block a single blow from the attacks of those soldiers. They were knocked away and killed on the spot.

Upon seeing this, some people couldn't help but secretly complain.

These people are just like those militia. Why didn't I see you being this brave when you fought against the militia?

However, suddenly, many people realized what was happening and their eyes widened as they looked at the person who was fighting bravely and invincibly on the command platform.

Could it be, could it be, that these are the militia?

They said, where did Chen Qing, Gu Qingwu and the others get the audacity to kidnap a commander-in-chief from among nearly ten thousand troops?
It turns out that the militia was secretly supporting them.

For a moment, everyone felt a sense of relief.

Oh, so there's the militia supporting us. That's good then.

If they have the support of the militia
Upon realizing this, many people couldn't help but shake their heads violently, shaking off the absurd thoughts in their minds. They were loyal to the emperor and loved their country.

This sudden scene left most of the soldiers and officers below the stage completely bewildered, except for a small number of people who knew the inside story and gradually guessed what had happened.

"Wow!"

After gradually realizing what was happening, the crowd erupted into a chaotic commotion.

Many people also thought about going to rescue the kingdom.

However, most of the soldiers remained indifferent, watching everything unfold with cold indifference, and some even gloated.

Although they didn't know what had happened and didn't rush to help, they unintentionally blocked the path of those who wanted to rescue the kingdom.

This shows that the kingdom is currently extremely unpopular with its soldiers.

On the other side of the command platform, by the time Gu Qingwu led the other soldiers to surround them, the kingdom's personal guards had already been almost all killed.

However, at this moment, the kingdom, under the protection of his personal guards, retreated to the edge of the command platform, and was about to jump off.

Just then, a figure suddenly pounced.

In an instant, he was tackled to the ground.

When he came to his senses, he realized that the person on top of him was Chen Qing, who had been tied up earlier.

It turned out that Chen Qing had been keeping an eye on Wang Guo during the earlier charge, which is why he managed to tackle him before he jumped off the command platform.

When Gu Qingwu arrived later and saw this scene, he couldn't help but shake his head, feeling quite sorry for the place.

Meanwhile, the kingdom gradually came to its senses and immediately saw Chen Qing grinning.

"you you you"

"Stop saying 'you, you, you' and 'me, me, me'."

Chen Qing grinned, placed a knife against his neck, then pulled him up and retreated to the center of the command platform.

The cold blade sent a shiver down Wang Guo's spine, stopping him from saying anything he wanted to say. Without any resistance, he allowed Chen Qing to pull him to the center of the command platform.

At this moment, the kingdom felt utterly cold inside.

He originally intended to execute these deserters to establish his authority and deter other soldiers with ulterior motives.

Now look what happened! Not only did he fail to establish his authority, but he was also kidnapped.

How unpredictable life can be!

However, he still held onto a sliver of hope.

Perhaps these people are just asking for military pay and food?
In this way, he still has a chance to turn the tide.
Thank you to reader [20190713202422879] for the 100-coin reward!



(End of this chapter)