Zhenguan: I, Dou Fengjie, will not be the first cuckold.

Chapter 79 To Release or Not to Release? (Fourth Update)

Dianke Office of Honglu Temple.

The Khitan chieftain Dahemo looked constipated, and his hesitant manner annoyed Cheng Chumo.

Dou Fengjie gave a signal, and the head steward Beimen Shuang consciously led his men out of the dormitory to keep watch for them.

Cheng Chumo secretly rubbed his hands together, ready to loosen up Mo Hui's muscles at any time.

Mo Hui spoke softly, "Before I arrived, there was a minor conflict between the Khitan and Yingzhou—"

Dou Fengjie sipped his tea without replying.

Everyone knows that the opening remarks and the main topic are often worlds apart.

If it were a normal robbery, Mo wouldn't even blush, and Dou Fengjie didn't believe he would be so kind.

Mo Hui's old face revealed a cunning look: "Unintentionally, the young men invited Yang Fei, the Prefect of Liucheng, to the Xianbei Mountains."

"I heard that Shangguan and Magistrate Yang are at odds. Should we ask him to follow the example of Su Wu?"

Cheng Chumo laughed in a grotesque manner.

It wasn't just discord; Dou Gui and his son Dou Fengjie wiped out the other man's elder brother and nephew.

If it weren't for Dou Fengjie, Yang Fei wouldn't have had to travel from Princess Yongjia's residence in Chang'an to the war-torn Liucheng County in Yingzhou, only to become a prisoner of the Khitan.

Following this logic, it makes sense that Dou Fengjie ordered the Khitans to deal with Yang Fei, as an opportunity for revenge.

Dou Fengjie calmly put down his teacup: "Release the people, or go to war."

"My feud with Yang is not a personal one; the Khitans' abduction of Liu Chengcheng was an act of hostility."

"Remember, regardless of Yang Fei's character, he stands on the land of Yingzhou and Liucheng County, representing the face of the Tang Dynasty."

This is not a mere posturing; it is a show of force against the Khitan.

If possible, Dou Fengjie would not mind leading troops to rescue Yang Fei, and then using the pretext of settling personal grudges to decide their fate at the training ground.

"That's right, that makes sense!"

Li Shimin, dressed in casual clothes, strode into the room, his eyes filled with murderous intent as he looked at Mo Hui.

If the Khan hadn't secretly visited the residence of the Imperial Envoy, he wouldn't have known that the outwardly submissive Khitans dared to abduct officials of the Tang Dynasty!

"The Duke of Zanguo has a firm stance and is not swayed by personal grudges, which greatly pleases me. I hereby promote him to the rank of Fifth Grade, Lower Grade Grand Master."

"The Khitans are wolves in sheep's clothing, capturing my Tang officials. Even the Yellow River could not wash away the hatred in my heart."

"An imperial edict was issued ordering the Xueyantuo, Uyghur, Tongluo, Pugu, and various Turkic tribes to order Li Shiji, the Chief Administrator of Bingzhou, and Xue Wanche, the Prefect of Puzhou, to lead two armies to jointly attack the Khitan."

Li Shimin's roar echoed through the dormitory, causing the black tiles on the roof to tremble.

"Heavenly Khan, spare us! The Khitans were wrong! Your subject is willing to send Magistrate Yang back!"

Mo Hui knelt down with a thud, pounding his head like garlic, blood staining the stone slab red.

Li Shimin remained silent for three breaths, seemingly considering whether or not to let the Khitans go.

Cheng Chumo spoke casually, "Once His Majesty speaks, it's the law, and there's no way to change it. Go back and wash your neck!"

Li Shimin kicked Mo Hui angrily and strode out of the room.

Dou Fengjie gave a thumbs up, and Cheng Chumo smiled smugly.

Although his words were presumptuous, they blocked any possibility for Li Shimin to back out, leaving him with no choice but to send troops to fight the Khitan.

Dou Fengjie pointed to Mo Hui, who was sprawled on the ground like a rag doll. Cheng Chumo understood immediately and dragged him to the Sifang Pavilion with a wicked grin.

Blood stained the path as he went, and the rumor that "Cheng Chumo beat the envoy to death" quickly spread throughout the capital.

Upon hearing this news, Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but widen his leopard-like eyes: "Is this little bandit going to inherit my Wagang gang's legacy?"

Just as Feng Dexia was about to seize on Cheng Chumo's assault, the overwhelming imperial edicts spread far and wide, causing him to withdraw his claws.

The news that the Khitans had plundered Yingzhou and captured Yang Fei, the magistrate of Liucheng, shocked the ministers so much that they dared not voice any objections.

The Heavenly Khan is furious, the Emperor Zhenguan is furious, and the General of Heavenly Strategy is furious!

The blades of the Tang Dynasty, when faced with provocation, will not return without bloodshed!

Dou Fengjie actually wanted to take advantage of the imperial edict to visit Yudu Mountain and Selenge River to check out the terrain, but Li Shimin forbade him to leave Chang'an.

The Turkic army —

The disorganized Turks, even if they could draw troops from the Yelu River, would only have a marginal advantage, barely enough to block the Khitans' westward escape route.

Li Shiji and Xue Wanche are indeed skilled in warfare, but it will take some time to recruit troops.

No one expected that, while everyone was preparing for war, the Xi chieftain Kedu led 30,000 Xi troops out of the Xi tribe's western mountains and suddenly attacked the Lengxing Mountains in the south of the Khitan.

Even though the Khitan had 43,000 troops and the Dahemohui was always on standby, they did not expect that the Xi tribe would be the first to attack!

Having lost the initiative, Mo Hui led his troops back to Baoqingshan, only to receive another piece of bad news: Yang Fei, the former magistrate of Liucheng who had been imprisoned in Baoqingshan, had disappeared.

That's right. What Mo told Dou Fengjie was half true and half false. Yang Fei was indeed captured by them, but he was never taken to the Xianbei Mountains.

Mo Hui exemplified the principle of speaking only three-tenths of what you know to others and never revealing your whole heart.

Xueyantuo, with Yishitongtel as the main general and Shaboloninidunzejin as the deputy general, led a total of 100,000 troops from the Luo, Pugu, Uyghur, Bayegu, and Hun tribes to Baixiao and brought Baixiao under their control.

This tactic, like a dull knife cutting flesh, broke through the Khitan's northwestern barrier, forcing the Khitan to directly confront the threat of the Xueyantuo.

Oga Mo was so angry that he gritted his teeth. Even a piece of trash like Otoshi-tō dared to attack him!

However, the Xueyantuo army outnumbered the Khitan army, and the Uyghur leader Huojielifa Yaoluoge Pusa was a skilled warrior. The Khitan could only maneuver between Baoqingshan and Xianbeishan, and Mohui was thoroughly humiliated.

Knowing full well that Duke Dou Fengjie had a bad attitude towards the Khitans, Mo Hui secretly regretted that he had been blinded by greed and went to Dou Fengjie to show off the capture of Yang Fei!

By sheer coincidence, the Heavenly Khan happened to appear, and happened to hear his boastful words and Dou Fengjie's statement of his position. Cheng Chumo then delivered the final blow!

The Yuling tribe issued a direct statement declaring its separation from the Khitan and becoming a free and independent tribe.

Subsequently, the Fufuyu and Chiliuyu tribes publicly declared that they were gyrfalcons flying around the Tang Dynasty, and would fly wherever the Tang Dynasty commanded them to.

Chi Liu Yubu further claimed that they had rescued Yang Fei, the trapped magistrate of Liucheng, and would soon escort him back to Liucheng County.

Oga Mokai coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Does Chi Liu Yu's department dare to be any more shameless?

The previous Yang Fei was arrested and imprisoned by Chi Liu Yubu, and the false claim of his disappearance was also done by Chi Liu Yubu!

Unfortunately, the leader of the Eight Clans Alliance was Dahemohui, so he had no choice but to take the blame.

Xue Wanche led a detachment and shot towards Baoqingshan like an arrow. The 10,000 soldiers of the Dahe clan were like paper in front of him. Dahe Mohui hid alone in the Xianbei Mountains.

Xue Dachong's power not only intimidated the Khitan, but also instilled fear in the Xueyantuo and other Turkic tribes.

Li Shiji, the chief secretary of the Bingzhou Grand General's Office, chuckled. The Khitan were such a minor problem that he didn't need to deal with them; Xue Wanche alone was enough to show off his power.

The once mighty Khitan was torn apart by a combined attack from several factions. The remaining tribes fled to their own territory and dared not covet the Yingzhou region any further.

At the same time, the tribes of the grasslands also gained a clear understanding of the shamelessness of the Xi people.