Do you have the strength to force me to join the Liangshan bandits?

Chapter 578 Zong Ze: Life's tough, don't expose it! [3rd update]

While Lin Chong and Wang Jin were catching up, Zong Baoguo, leaning on his iron spear, staggered toward Gao Chong.

"There is no way to repay the kindness of saving a life..."

Seeing that the white-haired Zong Baoguo was about to kneel before him, Gao Chong quickly helped Zong Baoguo up with both hands:

"Old man, there's no need for such formalities!"

"Yes, sir!"

Niu Gao and Dong Xian helped each other over, saying nonchalantly:
"You just saved us too, and we haven't thanked you for saving our lives yet!"
"He's our brother, so let's call it even!"

"Old man, you saved my brother, why thank me?"

Gao Chong also said, "Besides, you are already a citizen of our Qi state, there's no need to be so formal!"

Your state of Qi?

Zong Baoguo remembered that Lin Chong had spoken to Gao Chong as soon as he arrived, so he asked Gao Chong's name.

"To be honest, he is Gao Chong, the adopted son of the King of Qi!"

Niu Gao was quick to speak, and more importantly, after fighting side by side just now, he had already accepted Zong Baoguo in his heart, so he gave a brief introduction:
"I am 'Black Rakshasa' Niu Gao, he is 'Iron Face' Dong Xian, and our master is 'Flowery Monk' Lu Zhishen!"

Upon hearing this, Zong Baoguo exclaimed: "So you are all second-generation generals of the State of Qi?"
Meng Bangjie and Zhuge Ying were overjoyed to hear this, never expecting to have latched onto such a powerful patron!

Who doesn't know that Lu Zhishen is Cai Fu's sworn brother and has now been appointed as the Grand Commander of Huaixi?

By clinging to Niu Gao's coattails, they were essentially clinging to Lu Zhishen's coattails, and by clinging to Lu Zhishen's coattails, they were essentially clinging to Cai Fu's coattails. In a sense, they were now Qi Wang's direct subordinates!

Zong Baoguo couldn't help but ask, "Your fathers lived such extravagant lives, why are you still participating in the primary selection?"

"fair!"

Gao Chong said without hesitation, "The foundation of our Qi state is fairness!"

"So even if we want to be vanguard generals, we have to earn it through our own abilities!"

"My uncle is incredibly stubborn!"

Niu Gao shook his head and said, "They don't give us any special treatment at all!"

Zong Baoguo couldn't help but think of Cai Jing.

Cai Jing's eldest son, Cai You, entered officialdom through hereditary privilege and has already become the military governor of Zhenhai Army and Junior Guardian.

The third son, Cai Xiao, is currently an academician of the Hall of Preserving Harmony and is said to be about to be promoted to Minister of Rites...

Cai Jing made clear arrangements for each of his sons, even his most useless ninth son, Cai Dezhang, became the prefect of Jiangzhou!
The eldest son-in-law, Liang Shijie, was also arranged to be the magistrate of Daming Prefecture!

He's nothing but a seventh-rank official, a servant of the prime minister!

However, Cai Fu was already the King of Qi, and could wield immense power in the state. Yet his adopted son still had to compete with江湖豪侠 (jianghu heroes) for the qualification to become the vanguard general...

In comparison, King Qi seems like a saint!
Zong Baoguo was lost in thought when he suddenly heard Niu Gao ask:

"How should I address you, sir?"

After asking his questions, Niu Gao introduced Gao Chong to him, saying, "Brother Chong, you didn't see it, but this old man's martial arts skills are unfathomable!"

"It's a pity he's so old, otherwise that big, burly man might not have been a match for this old man!"

Zong Baoguo blushed. He had originally intended to remain anonymous, but Gao Chong had just saved his life, and Niu Gao was so straightforward, so he had no choice but to frankly reveal his true identity.

"My surname is Zong and my given name is Ze."

Wang Jin was taken aback: "Aren't you called Zong Baoguo?"

Zong Ze bowed deeply to Wang Jin, saying, "Thank you so much for saving my life. Zong Baoguo is actually an alias..."

Although Wang Jin was also defeated by Lian Xinlong, Zong Ze had to acknowledge the life-saving grace he owed:
"I will never forget your life-saving grace! If you two benefactors ever need my help, I, Zong Ze, will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

"Wait!"

Niu Gao grabbed Zong Ze's wrist and pressed him for an answer:
"Old man, how many teeth do you have left?"

People are tough and can’t be broken down!
Zong Ze rolled his eyes at him, annoyed. He'd been eating hard food for so many years, what was the big deal about losing a few teeth?
Niu Gao and Gao Chong didn't know who Zong Ze was, but Lin Chong and Wang Jin did.

However, Zong Ze has never held a high-ranking official position; the highest position he has ever held is the Prefect of Dengzhou.

Therefore, Wang Jin was unaware of his prowess and treated him with courtesy, while Lin Chong had only heard about him from Cai Fu.

"So it's Elder Zong!"

Lin Chong said respectfully to Zong Ze:
"I have often heard Your Majesty speak of the fact that the Grand Chancellor Zong possesses the talent to assist a king!"

"It's a pity that the emperor doesn't know how to use people, wasting the prime of life of the old prime minister!"

"They even listened to the slander of treacherous officials and demoted the Grand Secretary to Yingtian Prefecture..."

"Your Majesty has long wished to invite the Elder Zong to serve in the State of Qi, but unfortunately, we do not know where the Elder Zong is living in seclusion."

"I never expected it to be Elder Zong in person. Please come to the central command tent to meet His Majesty!"

"Shh-"

Wang Jin, Meng Bangjie, Zhuge Ying, and the others all looked at Zong Ze with envy in their eyes.

Not to mention them, even Gao Chong, Niu Gao, and Dong Xian couldn't help but look at Zong Ze with new respect.

They originally thought Zong Ze was just an old soldier, but they never expected that he would be valued so highly by the King of Qi!
Zong Ze himself didn't believe it, after all, the highest official position he had ever held was Prefect of Dengzhou:

"I dare not accept such praise, Your Majesty flatters me!"
“Zong Ze is nothing more than a rustic villager; how could he be worthy of being called a minister?”

Of course, he had no idea that he would later become the Deputy Marshal of the Army and the People's Liberation Army, serving as Emperor Gaozong's deputy!
I didn't even know that he also served as the garrison commander of Tokyo and the prefect of Kaifeng, and that Yue Fei was one of his generals!

Little did they know that he had beaten Jin Gou into awe, who respectfully called him "Grandpa Zong"!
Therefore, Zong Ze felt that the King of Qi thought too highly of him, and he was also a stubborn person.

"Your Majesty's kindness is deeply appreciated by Zong Ze!"

"However, Zong Ze is currently a participant in the World's Greatest Hero Tournament and it is inconvenient for him to meet with Your Majesty!"
"Please convey to the King that if Zong Ze is fortunate enough to enter the finals, he will certainly serve the King faithfully!"

Zong Ze didn't say what would happen if he didn't make it to the finals, but if he doesn't make it to the finals, it would prove that he's not a capable advisor.

No, he's not even a vanguard talent, so what face does he have to meet the King of Qi?
Seeing that he was very determined, Lin Chong did not press him further and agreed to relay his words to the King of Qi.

Meng Bangjie, Zhuge Ying, and the others looked at each other in disbelief, not expecting that Zong Ze would give up the shortcut so easily.

Everyone could guess that once Zong Ze met the King of Qi, he wouldn't have to continue the competition and could rise rapidly in rank.

But Zong Ze gave up without hesitation, even though the old man was still injured!

Meng Bangjie, Zhuge Ying and the others couldn't help but admire Zong Ze, feeling that the old man was indeed extravagant.

No wonder even the King of Qi looked at him differently.

"Alright, let's go down the mountain."

Lin Chong told them, "The preliminary selection has been suspended due to an accident."

Several soldiers from the Big Sword Battalion escorted them down the mountain first, while Lin Chong continued searching for the other contestants.

After Gao Chong and Zong Ze descended the mountain, they entered the Qi army camp and were assigned to rest in their respective tents.

Gao Chong took Niu Gao and Dong Xian to the central command tent and reported the incident to Cai Fu.

Upon hearing this, Cai Fu flew into a rage:
"Is this really true? How many of my heroes did those three beasts kill?"

(End of this chapter)