Longzang

Chapter 999 Nine-Leaky Fish

Outside Baocheng County, Lu Jiande and his men stood below the city walls, watching a group of farmers guarding the city.

A burly, fierce-looking man suddenly chuckled and said, "Those standing up there really are all farmers, not even fully armored, and most of them aren't even at the Body Forging stage. Is this the great talent you mentioned who defended the city with these people?"

Lu Jiande narrowed his eyes, looking at the farmers on the city wall.

Most of these farmers looked pale and sickly, and none of them showed any signs of physical enhancement. They were just ordinary farmers, not even capable of serving as militia. However, their eyes were completely different from those of the farmers Lu Jiande had ever seen. They were all ready to die, and even when the powerful Dharma Aspect experts beside Lu Jiande released their auras, forcing them to their knees, the ferocity in their eyes remained unchanged.

"Brother, these guys saw our banner but didn't open the door. It seems they don't intend to acknowledge you as their leader. A bunch of peasants, should we kill them all?"

Lu Jiande suddenly became curious. He wanted to know what methods the people in the city had used to suddenly make these farmers so fearless of death.

The common people are nothing more than ants; a single step from the powerful will cause death and destruction, with the rest scattering in all directions. In this era where power resides within themselves, describing them as a mob is an exaggeration.

But if ants can unite as one and be fearless of death, and a superior can step on them, thousands of ants will rush forward without regard for their own lives, which will startle the superior to some extent.

But ants are ants. No matter how their will changes, as long as they don't grow bigger, they're all just easy targets to crush. Lu Jiande had several killing machines among his generals, having slaughtered more than one city, so they naturally weren't afraid of the fierce-looking peasants. The fiercer the resistance, the more excited they became to kill.

Lu Jiande then ordered someone to shout from the city walls. A dark-skinned young farmer on the city wall shouted, "The master said that no one can be let in except for a high-ranking official surnamed Lu!"

The generals were enraged and unleashed several fierce spells at the city wall.

These generals primarily used powerful magic; a single spell could wipe out everyone on the city walls. But Lu Jiande simply raised his hand and pressed down, and all the spells vanished without a trace. The farmers on the city walls were completely bewildered, utterly unaware that they had just brushed with death.

Lu Jiande said, "This is interesting. You all stay outside the city, I'll go and meet this expert."

Several generals tried to stop him, but Lu Jiande waved his hand and said, "It's alright, a small county town can't contain a dragon."

He was about to walk into the city when he saw that the city gates remained tightly shut. Lu Jiande frowned slightly and said, "I am Lu Jiande, why aren't you opening the gates?"

The city gate remained completely still, showing no sign of opening.

Just then, the earth shook violently, and a cavalry force in gleaming armor emerged from behind the county town, numbering in the thousands! This cavalry was incredibly fierce, and their very presence seemed to conjure up a long, sharp sword!

Lu Jiande's pupils contracted sharply. Such an elite imperial heavy cavalry force, with such a conspicuous military aura, should have been something he could sense from a hundred miles away. How come he only noticed their military aura now that they were right in front of him? This force was as if it had appeared out of thin air.

The general leading the group had a thin beard and pale gold eyes. Behind him, on the military flag, was embroidered a red character "陆" (Lu).

Lu Jiande was taken aback, recognizing the general before him as the renowned Golden-Eyed Lean Tiger Lu Wenzhao, one of the most formidable generals in the Ji Kingdom. Lu Jiande had surrounded him several times with overwhelming force, but each time Lu Wenzhao had led his cavalry to break through the encirclement.

Lu Jiande never expected to run into his old nemesis here today. Lu Wenzhao spotted Lu Jiande at a glance, then glanced at his few remaining followers, his face contorted with rage, and said, "I never imagined that Heaven would be so kind to me, bestowing upon me such a great achievement! Brothers, capture the bandit chief, and everyone will be promoted three ranks!"

The imperial cavalry charged forward, while Lu Jiande fought his way back. Both sides had numerous powerful warriors accompanying them, and the battle raged from the ground to the sky, creating a scene of utter chaos!

A few hours later...

Lu Jiande suffered heavy casualties, with more than half of his hundreds of personal guards killed or wounded, and two more Dharma Aspect generals falling in battle. He only managed to escape with the desperate protection of his subordinates. Lu Wenzhao's side also suffered heavy losses, with two Dharma Aspect generals also dying in battle. Lu Wenzhao himself fought Lu Jiande to a standstill and was seriously injured. His cavalry was reduced to only a little over a thousand men, with seventy percent of them killed in action.

Covered in blood, Lu Wenzhao arrived at the gates of Baocheng County. A large hole had been burned into the banner behind him by magic, leaving only half of the character "Lu" remaining. A young farmer on the city wall took out a piece of paper, examined the character "Lu" on it, then looked at the banner below, feeling it resembled the character somewhat, yet not quite. After a moment's thought, he ordered the city gate to be opened halfway.

Lu Wenzhao originally intended to enter the city to rest, but for some reason, looking at the dark city gate, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He glanced intently at the two characters "Baocheng" on the city wall, but changed his mind and retreated immediately, not even caring about the remains of the fallen soldiers.

In the county government office, the lean Eighth Brother, dressed in the uniform of a constable, returned, muttering all the way: "Such a big county, and they can't even find a dragon robe? Forget about a dragon robe, they don't even have a bolt of yellow cloth. How is our eldest brother supposed to ascend the throne?"

Bald Old Six emerged from the yamen and asked, "What were you talking about just now? What dragon robe, what ascension to the throne?"

"I was thinking, haven't we already captured a city? Why don't we get our elder brother to ascend the throne as soon as possible? That way, we'll have already overthrown the Great Tang. If our elder brother becomes emperor, we'll both be founding fathers. You'll be the Grand General, and I'll be the Prime Minister. I've even thought of the name for the dynasty: Wei! From now on, our elder brother will be Emperor Gaozu of Wei, and if he has a son to inherit the throne, he'll be Emperor Taizong of Wei!"

"What nonsense! I told you to put up the 'Shock Talisman' at the city gate, did you do it properly?"

"It was already pasted up, scaring those government troops outside the gate like crazy. Once they're all gone, there will be plenty of horses and armor on the battlefield, and we can make another fortune. Brother, your empty city strategy is really brilliant."

"Stop arguing, go inside and report. Our brother's waiting!"

The two entered the county government office and saw Wei Youcai sitting behind his desk, using an abacus in one hand and a pen in the other, calculating the amount of money and grain that each citizen in the city could receive. The more he calculated, the more worried he became.

The lean man said, "Brother, don't worry! Two groups of people came to the city for some reason and started fighting. There are plenty of dead horses outside now, enough to last until spring and summer!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Youcai finally smiled and said, "With winter grain secured, there are still nearly two months before spring planting, and everyone will be idle. I was thinking, why don't we open a few schools, gather all the able-bodied people, and teach them to read?"

Old Six rubbed his bald head and said, "Why bother? I've finally learned quite a few characters, but I don't feel any difference! It feels like all that hard work was for nothing."

Old Eight said, "Sixth Brother, you know a thousand or eight hundred characters, but you can recognize them individually, but you don't understand them when they're put together. You're quite an oddball. You're really a clueless person."

The sixth brother immediately became agitated: "How dare you talk like that! You have no respect for your sixth brother! How am I a 'nine-fish'? Am I that stupid, that greedy, or that unpalatable?!"

Lao Ba said, "Sixth Brother, if you're not, then why are you in such a hurry?"

Old Liu was speechless for a moment.

Wei Youcai said, "Alright, alright, stop arguing and hurry up and set up the school! If we don't have enough teachers, you two can fill in."

"Brother, why bother with this?" Bald Old Six still didn't understand.

Wei Youcai said, "Once you can read, you can punctuate sentences, read books, and think about principles for yourself. The more people who can think about principles, the clearer the principles will become. This land will gradually prosper, and people will be able to take their destiny back into their own hands, no longer needing sages to think for us."

The eighth brother seemed to understand but not quite, and said, "Brother, isn't this a bit urgent? Why don't we ascend the throne first and experience being an emperor? Look, I've even found a dragon robe. With a few minor alterations, it'll look just like that."

Then the lean man pulled out a yellow and red garment from his robes, which turned out to be a cassock.

(End of this chapter)