Chapter Twenty-Eight: The So-Called Rebel Army

Ye Feng, upon hearing Xu Yaozu recount the events of borrowing troops, cursed Feng Rusong for his despicable and shameless conduct, accusing him of looting amid chaos and behaving like a petty villain.

But what use was cursing now?! Black Earth City had been seized by others. If they did not reclaim it swiftly, so many soldiers and civilians would be left homeless. Once the enemy forces regrouped and attacked again, the situation would become perilous!

Hurriedly, he ordered his troops to seal all city gates, allowing only soldiers from within to exit but forbidding entry. The city’s food supplies had been depleted for some time; within a few days, Zhang Jixian would surely be unable to hold out and would have to come out to do battle. Then, they could defeat him and reclaim Black Earth City.

Once everything was arranged, Ye Feng waited several days, estimating the time was right, and was about to go challenge at the city gates.

Xu Yaozu stopped him, saying, “Feng’er, you rest here. That bastard was invited by me, so naturally it’s up to me to deal with him.”

With that, he called out, “Li Yiqing, Wang Erbao, come with your Uncle Xu to teach Zhang Jixian, that dog thief, a lesson and show them how mighty Black Earth City truly is!”

Li Yiqing and Wang Erbao replied cheerfully, “Alright, alright, we’re ready!” Rolling up their sleeves, they joked, “This old rascal’s skin must be itching again, and he wants us brothers to help him feel better!”

Ye Feng reminded Xu Yaozu, “Senior, we only need to drive Zhang Jixian away. Don’t harm a single soldier. After all, they are all righteous troops; if we break ties, it will be awkward to meet in the future.”

Xu Yaozu chuckled, “Don’t worry! Just wait in the camp for good news!”

He turned away, muttering, “Zhang Jixian, old rascal, I won’t let you off so easily!”

Ye Feng didn’t catch it and asked, “Senior, what did you say?”

Xu Yaozu smoothed things over, “Feng’er, I didn’t say anything, just that for old times’ sake, I’ll treat Zhang Jixian kindly and send him back whole.”

“That’s best, truly best.”

Ye Feng wasn’t sure if this was true, but nodded approvingly.

Xu Yaozu led Li Yiqing and Wang Erbao out of the camp, heading straight for Black Earth City. He had the soldiers atop the city summon Zhang Jixian to come out.

Zhang Jixian was brooding inside the city. When he left the mountain, his strategist had warned him: Black Earth City’s righteous army would be a future enemy of Meng Lianshan’s forces. Though there was no conflict now, one day they would clash. Better to either incorporate or eliminate them now.

This time, leading troops down the mountain, he must not directly rescue them. He should watch from afar while Black Earth City was defeated, then intervene to claim victory with little effort. If Black Earth City prevailed, wait until they pursue the enemy, then cut off their retreat and trap them. Only then would Murong Yan and Ye Feng surrender without a fight, and Meng Lianshan would reap all the benefits.

He had planned well! But Ye Feng was not one to surrender easily. Moreover, though Black Earth City had been seized, its food supplies were empty; it could not be held for long.

Just then, a soldier hurried to report, “Xu Yaozu is calling the commander to meet outside the city!”

Zhang Jixian quickly donned his armor and went to the city walls. Looking down, he saw Xu Yaozu flanked by Li Yiqing and Wang Erbao, with just over a thousand troops behind them.

Zhang Jixian laughed heartily, feigning friendliness, “Old hero Xu, how have you been these days? Have you considered the matter of incorporation?”

Xu Yaozu, anger rising at the sight of Zhang Jixian, cursed, “Dog thief, you take advantage of disaster—what hero are you?! Come down and accept your fate!”

Zhang Jixian’s face hardened, and he reprimanded, “Old hero, that’s unfair. You wrote a pledge stating that if Meng Lianshan sent aid and saved Black Earth City, you’d submit. Yet now you renege and want a decisive battle—are you not fickle and untrustworthy?!”

Xu Yaozu was incensed, “Shameless dog, when did you ever rescue Black Earth City?! You dragged your feet all the way, just waiting for us to perish so you could claim the spoils. How disgraceful!”

Zhang Jixian retorted, “When has Meng Lianshan not rescued you? Isn’t your own force subordinate to Meng Lianshan?”

Li Yiqing and Wang Erbao, watching from the side, couldn’t stand it and scolded, “Nonsense! How are our men your troops?! Shameless!”

Zhang Jixian chuckled, “Heroes Li and Wang, don’t join Old Xu in causing trouble. You accepted my commission, did you not? So how can you claim your men aren’t under my command?”

This left Li Yiqing and Wang Erbao speechless. Originally, they had accepted Zhang Jixian’s positions for easier unified command, never taking the titles seriously. They hadn’t expected Zhang Jixian had no intent to aid and now acted alone.

Because of these titles, the opposition now had leverage. Li Yiqing was so agitated he scratched his head in frustration. Wang Erbao cursed, “Nonsense! Utter nonsense!” He charged forward with his wooden staff, but was driven back by a hail of arrows from the city.

Xu Yaozu called them back, “Don’t worry. We’ll stay here and see how long that old turtle can hide in his shell!”

He had a table brought out, with wine and food, and the three sat around, playing drinking games and feasting.

Those in the city hadn’t eaten all day; seeing Xu Yaozu and his companions feasting, their mouths watered.

Zhang Jixian frowned, thinking: This won’t do. They must send troops to attack, if only to seize some food.

He asked, “Who dares go out to fight?”

His men, knowing the prowess of the three outside, dared not answer.

Seeing his subordinates’ heads hung low, afraid even to breathe, Zhang Jixian grew furious, cursing, “Useless lot! Seems I’ll have to do it myself!”

With a furious shout, “Bring my horse and lance!”

His soldiers hurried to fetch his warhorse. Zhang Jixian mounted, took his lance, and charged out.

Once outside, he saw Xu Yaozu and his men already mounted, blocking the exit. The food and wine had been cleared, and their soldiers stood alert, not at all as lazy as before!

Zhang Jixian realized he’d been tricked; retreat was impossible. He would have to leave the city sooner or later—without food, no one could hold Black Earth City.

He raised his lance and called out, “Xu, let me through. Today I won’t fight you—let me leave, and perhaps we’ll meet again!”

Xu Yaozu laughed, “Zhang, old rascal, it’s too late for you to leave now.”

Zhang Jixian was startled, “Xu, do you mean to kill me? We’re all righteous troops—if we slaughter each other, the world will scorn us!”

Xu Yaozu cursed, “Old rascal, you call yourself a righteous soldier? Don’t disgrace us!”

He signaled his companions, “Take care of this old fool!”

Li Yiqing and Wang Erbao charged forward.

Zhang Jixian, terrified, turned his horse to flee.

But he couldn’t outrun their speed. Soon, they caught up.

Wang Erbao swung his staff, shouting, “Strike him!”

He swept at the horse’s legs.

With a series of cracking sounds, all four legs broke, and Zhang Jixian was thrown to the ground.

Before he could rise, Li Yiqing leapt onto him, his Dragon Claw poised at Zhang’s chest.

Xu Yaozu, watching from horseback, was delighted. He shouted, “Well done! Yes, finish him! Finish him!”

Suddenly remembering his promise to Ye Feng to let Zhang Jixian return alive, he called, “Don’t cripple him—let his body remain whole!”

Li Yiqing replied, “Alright!” He withdrew his Dragon Claw and stomped fiercely on Zhang’s chest.

Zhang Jixian spat blood, his eyes rolled back, and he died instantly.

The rest of his men, terrified, cried out and scattered.

“Stop! Anyone who tries to escape will meet the same fate as Zhang Jixian!”

Xu Yaozu’s shout scared them into submission; they returned and surrendered, hands raised.

Xu Yaozu looked at the prisoners and scolded, “You fools, you followed Zhang Jixian against Black Earth City—was that right?”

The surrendered soldiers hung their heads. Xu Yaozu kicked one, who stammered, “We… we were wrong, it… it was Zhang Jixian who forced us.”

Xu Yaozu swept his stern gaze over the others, who all chimed in, “We were wrong! We won’t fight our own people again!”

Xu Yaozu questioned, “Since you know you were wrong, what will you do?”

The captured soldiers shouted indignantly, “We won’t return to Meng Lianshan’s army!”

“Nonsense! Why go back?! Join Black Earth City’s righteous troops! You’ve seen it—we’re the ones truly fighting the enemy!” Xu Yaozu berated them.

One soldier muttered, “If we stay, what about our families in Meng Lianshan?”

Xu Yaozu kicked him, “What about them?! Feng Rusong won’t eat them! If you want to go back, I’ll send you to the grave right now!”

Frightened, the soldiers dared not speak.

Seeing their submission, Xu Yaozu threatened, “Remember, you joined us willingly. If anyone asks, say it was voluntary; swear never to leave. If anyone repents or badmouths us behind our backs and I find out, I’ll tear your tendons and strip your skin!”

Left with no choice, the soldiers followed Xu Yaozu back to camp.

Xu Yaozu arranged for two surrendered men to escort Zhang Jixian’s corpse back to Meng Lianshan, then, humming a tune, went with Li Yiqing and Wang Erbao to find Ye Feng.

At Ye Feng’s quarters, Xu Yaozu, embellishing the tale with exaggeration, recounted the events of the battle.

Ye Feng nodded repeatedly, but still asked anxiously, “Did you see Zhang Jixian leave with your own eyes?”

Xu Yaozu slapped his chest, “Rest assured! I personally sent him back whole!”

Ye Feng, not knowing what “whole” meant, assumed Zhang Jixian was unharmed and alive, and nodded, “That’s best, truly best!”

“But I must tell you, the soldiers he brought, seeing his betrayal, despised him and refused to follow him. They’ve joined our righteous army!”

Ye Feng was shocked and firmly objected, “No! If we take in these men, we’ll have a bitter feud with Meng Lianshan. The enemy is not yet defeated, and we’d be fighting among ourselves—how would that serve the cause against the enemy?”

Xu Yaozu spread his hands, “What can I do? I told them to return, but they refused. They said they’d rather die than go back, so I had to take them in for now.”

This left Ye Feng troubled. He scratched his head and said helplessly, “We have no choice. When Feng Rusong comes, we’ll return these soldiers to him face to face. Perhaps, seeing our sincerity, he won’t make trouble for us.”

Li Yiqing and Wang Erbao exchanged secret smiles, thinking: Uncle Xu, you’re remarkable! With your words, you can bring the dead back to life!

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