Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 299 Pigs and Dogs at the North Gate
"Hero, spare my life! Zhang Liu! It was you who ordered my capture? You...you already escaped...What are you trying to do? If you harm me, I will never let you go!"

Ge Yanchang writhed on the deck like a fish that had come ashore. When the gag in his mouth was removed, he hurriedly shouted for mercy. But when he saw Zhang Dai standing in front of him, the fear on his face turned into anger.

He also paid close attention to Zhang Dai. Someone informed him when Zhang Dai entered the neighborhood. He was just considering whether to send someone back to the North Gate to recruit more people to block Zhang Dai in the neighborhood and humiliate him. However, he was told that Zhang Dai and his party did not dare to stay at Song San Niang's house for long and left quickly with several courtesans. He did not expect that the other party had prepared a backup plan to ambush him!

"Ge Lang has such refined tastes, seeking out flowers and willows at dawn and spending the night in the arms of beauties, how delightful! But it disturbs my peace of mind. I have sent someone to invite you here today to resolve this feud between us, so that we will no longer be entangled in the past."

Zhang Dai squatted down and looked at Ge Yanchang from a distance of several feet. The reason he didn't get too close was because he was afraid that the guy would get angry and spit on him. Although the spittle wouldn't be very lethal, it would be disgusting.

"Resolve it? How do you intend to resolve it! The hatred of having my wife stolen is irreconcilable! You've made me the laughingstock of the North Gate! I wish I could tear you apart and suck your blood..."

Upon hearing this, Ge Yanchang became even more agitated, glaring at Zhang Dai with his eyes almost bulging out.

"Can't you understand human language? It was Gao Shiliu who stole your wife. Why don't you seek revenge against him? Why hate me? Even if you hate me, don't you know where my family is? Why take your anger out on innocent people and implicate outsiders?"

As Zhang Dai spoke, he stood up and pointed to the shimmering waters of Xintan Lake outside the boat: "Since your hatred for me is so deep and so difficult to resolve, then I can only temporarily deal with you tonight. The waters of Xintan vary in depth; which part does Ge Lang prefer?"

"What are you going to do? If you dare to plot against me, I will slaughter your entire family! Tens of thousands of soldiers at the North Gate will all be sent to attack your family!"

Upon hearing this, Ge Yanchang panicked and shouted urgently.

"Nonsense! The Four Armies of the North Gate are only a part under my command. Moreover, this part is also the Emperor's personal army. How could it obey the orders of one person!"

Hearing Ge Yanchang mention the entire North Gate, Jiang Xingwei, who was standing nearby, immediately snorted coldly.

These old men from the North Gate were hostile to the newly arrived border guards, which had already caused him to harbor a lot of resentment towards those with different stances. This was one of the reasons why he was willing to obey Zhang Dai's orders.

Zhang Dai didn't waste any more words with Ge Yanchang. He simply waved his hand, signaling Ding Qing and the others to drag him toward the ship's side. Ge Yanchang became increasingly panicked, his voice trembling as he repeatedly said, "Zhang Liu, how dare you... you really dare to harm me! Stop! Even though I hate you, I haven't harmed you. Do you think you're the only one who would raise fugitives? If I really wanted to harm you, you... you... stop, stop!"

The other teenagers also came to Zhang Dai's side and whispered to him to stop them. They were happy to teach Ge Yanchang and his gang a lesson, but they were also a little panicked if someone were to die.

Zhang Dai was certainly not a murderous maniac. He had Ge Yanchang's upper body suspended outside the boat and looked at him from the side, saying, "Now, is Ge Lang willing to resolve our hatred? Life or grudges, which is more important?"

Do I not know that the Geng family harbors many fugitives, and that I myself may one day find myself in the same predicament? Therefore, I sincerely wish to resolve my enmity with Ge Lang, but Ge Lang still forces me to commit violence!

"It can be resolved... Let me onto the boat, and I'll explain everything to you!"

A slightly fishy-smelling lake breeze blew in, and Ge Yanchang said in a trembling voice as he kicked his dangling legs.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai ordered his men to drag Ge Yanchang back onto the boat and untie him. Seeing that Zhang Dai dared not actually harm him, Ge Yanchang regained some composure.

He moved his limbs, which were numb from being bound too tightly, while glancing left and right, and said in a vicious voice, "Which scoundrel broke into my house and captured me just now?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xingwei subconsciously took a step back, but it was in vain. As a newcomer to the North Gate, he was naturally recognized by Ge Yanchang, who immediately locked his gaze on him.

"Jiang Xingwei, you've got some nerve! I have a grudge against Zhang Liuzong, how dare you, you dog, interfere! Don't you want to stay in the North Gate?"

He was still shaken and dared not glare at Zhang Dai for the time being, but he was still fearless when facing Jiang Xingwei and started shouting and cursing loudly.

Upon hearing the insults, Jiang Xingwei frowned and was about to speak, but after glancing at Zhang Dai, he shut his mouth.

“I advise Ge Lang to be more magnanimous and not to dwell on this matter. If I truly intended to harm you, you would already be in grave danger today. Since I will not harm you this time, and it was merely a game, it is also a reminder to Ge Lang to be careful in the future to avoid danger.”

Zhang Dai pointed at Ge Yanchang and said with a smile.

"Do you need to teach me how to handle this? You're not the one who suffered this harm! If I were to send my servants to capture you in the future, and then come back to persuade you to be magnanimous, would you just laugh it off?" Upon hearing this, Ge Yanchang immediately retorted angrily, "How you intend to resolve your feud with me, I'll see your sincerity later. But this Jiang Xingwei actually launched a sneak attack, this is a dispute within my North Gate, and I will not let this scoundrel off lightly!"

“My advice to Ge Lang to be magnanimous was well-intentioned, not meant to ridicule him, but unfortunately Ge Lang did not understand it.”

Zhang Dai sighed and said, "Does Ge Lang not know the duties of the North Gate? Your duty is to protect the Imperial Residence and guard the Emperor's carriage. You must be especially careful and cautious, and absolutely cannot make a mistake due to negligence. The fact that Lady Huo was led away from her residence the other day has already exposed the North Gate guards..."

"You still have the nerve to say it!"

Upon hearing this, Ge Yanchang felt as if his heart had been stabbed again, and he immediately lost control of his emotions.

"Give him another punch!"

Hearing him shouting and yelling, Zhang Dai immediately pointed at Jiang Xingwei and gave him instructions.

After doing this, Jiang Xingwei no longer expected to get along with the Ge family. He only hoped that Zhang Dai could protect him. Upon hearing Zhang Dai's instructions, he immediately raised his fist and stepped forward. Ignoring Ge Yanchang's shouts, he swung his fist and smashed it heavily into the man's abdomen, causing him to bend over, clutch his stomach, and lie on the deck like a shrimp.

"If even the gates of Huo Gong's residence are not secure enough, how can he be expected to oversee the guards of the North Gate? Therefore, the Sage has summoned loyal and diligent soldiers from the border regions to fill the guard positions, which is also a warning to you, the sons of the North Gate, to be vigilant and not to slacken your guards!"

Once Ge Yanchang dared not utter another word to interfere, Zhang Dai spoke again: "Now, Ge Lang, you are clumsy in protecting yourself, and have actually lost your virginity and been kidnapped here. Once this gets out, you will not only be ridiculed, but it will also show that you are not of great use. I'm afraid you will not be able to inherit Lord Geng's position in the future! Without Lord Geng's power to protect you, what qualifications do you have to resolve our enmity?"

He said this aloud, but inwardly he couldn't help but sigh, thinking that the North Gate guards were truly a bunch of useless idiots. What a load of rubbish, the Emperor's personal guard—just a bunch of good-for-nothing showpieces.

The Northern Gate Imperial Guards can be traced back to the Taiyuan Yuan Cong of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, in the early Tang Dynasty. The Xuanwu Gate Incident launched by Li Shimin proved the unreliability of the Northern Gate Imperial Guards, and this unreliability would be frequently repeated in the future.

The systematic expansion of the North Gate occurred during the reigns of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian, and by the time of Emperor Zhongzong and Empress Wei, the basic structure of the four armies at the North Gate was established. The fact that Li Longji (Emperor Xuanzong) launched a coup and eliminated the Wei generals with only a few hundred men during the Tanglong era was not due to the exceptional bravery of Xuanzong's subordinates, but rather because the North Gate's capabilities were limited.

The North Gate system was relatively closed off, and the soldiers within were not exactly battle-hardened veterans; their main source of personnel was government slaves. What outstanding military skills or strategic wisdom could such a group possess?

They were nothing more than a group of slightly capable warriors who happened to be placed in key positions, and who were also greedy and gloating!
But the general public is unaware of this underlying reality. Just like some political figures in later generations, if they hadn't been assassinated in the street, how would ordinary people know that the men in suits and sunglasses accompanying them were such incompetent fools?
Among the generals of the Northern Gate, Wang Maozhong was one of the few who truly possessed administrative abilities, at least in terms of his meritorious service in overseeing the pastures. But others like Ge Fushun had only a few notable achievements in their lives, namely a few coups. They possessed some youthful vigor in their youth, but once they grew older and achieved fame, they lost even that.

It's not that Zhang Dai looked down on them. Perhaps their profession limited them from using their brilliant strategies. But the problem was that after the An Lushan Rebellion, the country was in great turmoil and urgently needed to be rebuilt. How many people in the Northern Army had distinguished themselves and made extraordinary contributions in the war to quell the rebellion?

Position is never equal to ability. Take Jiang Xingwei's easy capture of Ge Yanchang in the ward, for example. Even though Zhang Dai did not approve of his character, he felt that his ability and qualities should be superior to most of the generals in the North Gate.

These are truly brave generals who fought their way up from the frontier, completely different from those guys in the North Gate who only knew how to stage palace coups and bully eunuchs and palace maids!

Zhang Dai even secretly felt that the reason why the emperor was not very willing to bring the border soldiers into the palace guard was not only because the loyalty of these border soldiers themselves was still to be tested, but also because he was worried that these people would see through the true nature of the Northern Gate Imperial Guards, thus causing the border soldiers to underestimate the Imperial Guards.

But this kind of thing can't be hidden forever; the real fear is that they'll actually try it out. Especially if another upheaval like the An Lushan Rebellion were to occur in the future, even the most brilliant general, leading such a group of incompetent and useless people raised at the northern gate, would inevitably meet his end at Tongguan.

Ge Yanchang was still filled with resentment, but he also knew that he was now at the mercy of others, and that being too strong would only make things worse. Moreover, Zhang Dai's words made him worry.

Wang Maozhong was certainly aware that the sage disliked him, and his father had been talking about this matter at home for some time, plotting to profit from it.

He had been wandering around these past few days because he was afraid of being scolded by his father for accepting the robe given to him by Wang Sixian as collateral. If he were to cause a stir by saying that ten thousand cavalrymen were not as good as border soldiers, he would be even more likely to be punished.

"I'll forgive you, but Jiang Xingwei must kowtow to me and admit his mistake!"

After a moment of contemplation, Ge Yanchang spoke again in a deep voice.

"Throw him into the lake and let him calm down."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai waved his hand and ordered, "Damn it, you've really given me face! Do you think I can't do anything to you?"
(End of this chapter)