Chapter 1 天王寨's Demise

These days, the Tianwang stockade leaders were all injured and covered in dirt. Lu Longchuan was unconscious and lying on a stretcher, his wounds crudely bandaged and still slowly seeping blood.

Fang Zhen was taken aback and said in surprise, "Yo, how did he get so badly injured? He's about to die, isn't he?"

At this moment, Lu Sheng stepped forward and clasped his fist.

"Don't worry, leaders. Lu Longchuan is lucky. He wasn't injured in any vital spots. We've applied herbal medicine to him, so he probably won't die."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Lu Sheng, their faces filled with surprise.

"Good fellow, was it you who led a group of villagers to capture Lu Longchuan?"

"Yes, I am Lu Sheng."

Lu Sheng nodded.

Fang Zhen's interest was greatly piqued, and he urged, "Tell me quickly, how did you capture him?"

Everyone was also very interested and curious about how Lu Longchuan could have been defeated by a group of villagers and beaten to near death.

"To inform the leaders, Lu Longchuan passed by Suolong Ridge, looking for a guide..."

Lu Sheng narrated the process in detail, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

After listening, everyone couldn't help but look at him with admiration.

Guo Hai couldn't help but praise:

"Although Lu Longchuan is a defeated soldier, he still has several hundred men, which ordinary villagers cannot match. Brother Lu was not afraid, saw through the enemy's wavering morale, used a feigned ambush to scare away the soldiers, and then lured the enemy general into a trap. He is truly bold, meticulous, brave, and resourceful. A true hero!"

Lu Sheng immediately clasped his fist and said loudly, "Second Master Guo, you are too kind. To be honest, I have long admired the Dragon King Stockade. Hearing that the imperial court was attacking, I always wanted to do my part. Now that I have the opportunity, I took the liberty of capturing this defeated army, wanting to offer it as a certificate of allegiance to join the stockade and swear brotherhood with you heroes!"

"Good!" Chen Feng exclaimed, then nodded and said, "Brother Lu captured the enemy leader, which is a great contribution. Please come up the mountain and take a seat of honor."

Lu Sheng was overjoyed and loudly declared, "I am willing to serve the chief with the utmost loyalty!"

Since he had made such a great contribution, no one naturally objected, and they all accepted the new leader.

Chen Feng turned to look at Lu Longchuan and the others. Only Sun Rong was in relatively good condition.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Rong smiled bitterly and said, "Chief Chen, we admit defeat. We hope you will send a doctor to treat our commander and save his life for now."

"Alright... Take them back to the stockade and deal with them later."

Chen Feng nodded casually and ordered his subordinates to escort the group of prisoners into the ranks.

...

The purpose of the pursuit was to capture the enemy leader. Now that the goal had been achieved, they immediately returned to the stockade.

Back at Dragon King Stockade, Chen Feng did not delay and summoned all the Tianwang stockade leaders who had been captured.

In addition to Lu Longchuan and his group of more than ten people, there were also dozens of other leaders who had already been captured.

Some were captured directly on the battlefield, and some were captured after being scattered and pursued. In total, there were more than fifty leaders, accounting for more than half of the Tianwang stockade's leaders.

As for the remaining leaders, some were dead and some had fled, and their whereabouts were unknown.

Inside the hall, a group of Tianwang stockade leaders were brought in, all dejected.

All the Dragon King Stockade leaders sat in their respective seats, staring intently at the group of prisoners.

Chen Feng was expressionless and casually said:

"Untie these leaders."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lackeys immediately came forward to untie the ropes of the Tianwang stockade leaders.

The expressions on their faces changed, but even though they had regained their freedom, they did not dare to resist at all.

They all knew Chen Feng's abilities. This man was like a Dinghai Shenzhen (a magical staff that stabilizes the sea), suppressing the waves in their hearts.

Lu Longchuan's injuries had not healed, and his face was pale. He was still weak and took the initiative to speak:

"Chief Chen, we are not as skilled as others, and we have nothing to say. You can kill us as you please."

His expression was lonely, and his hunched back showed his old age. Because he had lost his foundation, he was disheartened.

Upon hearing this, many Tianwang stockade leaders also shouted, all acting as if they were ready to die generously, feeling that the victor was king and the loser was the villain, and there was no chance of survival.

However, they did not speak harshly to Chen Feng. Although they had been miserably defeated and captured, they were convinced by the defeat. Chen Feng's martial prowess had already subdued them.

Xiang Tianjie did not speak, and his heart was not happy.

He had been locked in a prison by Lu Longchuan. He was not captured on the battlefield, but when the Tianwang stockade was defeated, no one came to care for him. He was captured in the prison and transferred directly to the Dragon King Stockade's prison. He did not even have a chance to resist throughout the entire process.

Chen Feng looked around at everyone, waited for them to quiet down, and then slowly said:

"Your Tianwang stockade was once a heroic outlaw, but you were willing to be lackeys of the imperial court. The reputation you accumulated over the years has been completely lost. Everyone in the martial world despises you. I wonder if you have any shame at all when you use your former fellow outlaws as stepping stones for promotion and wealth?"

As soon as these words came out, many leaders showed shame on their faces.

Lu Longchuan's face twitched, and he said sullenly: "Chen Feng, you have won, so be it. Why do you have to humiliate us? Just cut off our heads!"

But Chen Feng shook his head: "In any case, the Tianwang stockade has been kind to my brother. I can let you all go and let you go back."

Everyone was stunned, then their eyes widened, greatly surprised.

Their group had all been captured in one fell swoop, and the other party was willing to let the tiger return to the mountain?

Guo Hai's expression changed slightly: "Second brother, I..."

Chen Feng waved his hand, stopped him from speaking, and said sternly:

"Not only do I not want your lives, but I will also give you another choice... Stay in my stockade and join us, return to the life of an outlaw, and restore your reputation."

Everyone's faces changed.

Xiang Tianjie said in a deep voice: "You want to recruit us?"

Chen Feng nodded and did not hide it: "That's right. Although you were recruited by the imperial court, you should have seen what the officials of the imperial court look like in the past two years. They harbor evil intentions, thinking of killing the hunting dog once the rabbit is dead. They want us to suffer both losses. Now that you have been defeated, you will not have a good time when you go back."

The expressions on everyone's faces were uncertain.

Chen Feng continued: "You were all heroes of the martial world, upright heroes. If you still want to go back to curry favor with treacherous officials and cling to powerful and influential people, degrading yourselves, I won't stop you. If you are willing to stay and join us in this great cause, then submit to me."

Without waiting for everyone to respond, he paused, pointed at Lu Longchuan, and his tone turned cold:

"But that does not include Commander Lu. You personally led the Tianwang stockade to join the imperial court and attacked us, harming the lives of many of our children. It's good enough that I don't kill you, and it's impossible for me to keep you. I, Chen, am ashamed to be with you. In a few days, you will get out of my sight and don't get in my way."

Lu Longchuan's face suddenly turned red.

When he heard Chen Feng's proposal just now, his thoughts became active. He was still thinking about whether to agree or not. He didn't expect that the other party would directly say that he didn't want him, and the contempt was beyond words.

Seeing this, the Tianwang stockade leaders looked at each other, their expressions hesitant.

They were also somewhat tempted by the choice of staying in the Dragon King Stockade. If Lu Longchuan agreed, then they would join without hesitation... But Chen Feng made it clear that he didn't want Lu Longchuan, so what should they do?

Should they follow Lu Longchuan back to the imperial court for the sake of many years of brotherhood? Or should they break off their relationship and no longer follow Lu Longchuan, but stay in the Dragon King Stockade?

Lu Longchuan gritted his teeth, knowing that the other party would not accept him, so he gave up and asked, "Chen Feng, now that your power is established, what are your intentions? Do you want to continue occupying the mountains and causing chaos in the world?"

Chen Feng glanced at him, suddenly stood up, and said loudly to everyone present:

"Brothers, since I came to Huyang, I have become the Qing Tian (just and upright official) in the mouths of the people just by seeking justice for the people. I have also distributed a lot of land to the farmers for cultivation, so that the tillers have their own land. Without exorbitant taxes, they are grateful and do not have to sell their children, and they can survive a winter without starving to death... Just this is better than most of the people in this world. It can be seen to what extent the government oppresses and bullies them. How can there not be monstrous grievances?

In today's world, those powerful and wealthy people treat the common people like pigs and dogs, plundering their wealth and sucking their blood and sweat, enriching themselves at the expense of the public, and disregarding the lives and deaths of the common people. And no one can do anything about them, so they become more and more intensified. I gather in the mountains and forests to act on behalf of heaven, cleanse the universe, and slaughter all these aristocratic families and powerful clans who exploit the people!"

"No matter what kind of landlord, tyrant, or noble, kill them when you see them, and let them know that just because they wear an official skin, they are not superior and can ride on people's heads and defecate. We common people can still make them bleed five steps!"

Lu Longchuan's face twitched: "Do you really want to rebel? This is a rebellious thing!"

Chen Feng waved his hand and shouted:

"Is the imperial court your father? What is there to be afraid of rebelling against! Since the imperial court regards us as rebellious, what is there to fear if we heroes really rise up in rebellion one day?"

"Brother is right!"

Everyone was agitated and cheered.

If he had shouted the words of rebellion in the early days of building the stockade, perhaps many leaders would have been worried.

But after these years of influence, coupled with the trust of winning consecutive battles, Chen Feng's shout of rebellion did not panic everyone at all. The awe and yearning for the imperial court's orthodoxy had disappeared, and they were a group of lawless people.

Many Tianwang stockade leaders were also dumbfounded. It was the first time they heard Chen Feng personally talk about his ambitions, and they only felt the blood in their chests surge, and they were infected by this boldness.

They were mostly from poor backgrounds, and they were inherently disliked by those in power.

After a period of commotion, Xiang Tianjie suddenly gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind, and stepped forward.

In full view of everyone, he clasped his fist towards Lu Longchuan and said slowly:

"Commander Lu, I have followed you in the south and north for more than ten years, and I have always followed your lead. Once you were chivalrous and righteous, a hero, and I was willing to lead your horse and hold your whip. Later, the Tianwang stockade became bigger and bigger, and you said that you wanted to lead the brothers to accept the imperial court's recruitment. Although I was not happy, I obeyed your orders.

But since the recruitment, you have become more and more opportunistic, currying favor with powerful people and flattering treacherous officials. In my eyes, you are no longer the Tianwang you used to be. This time, I followed you to Huyang, where I faced nine deaths and one life, and lost so many brothers. I have fulfilled my loyalty. From now on, I will no longer follow you. Today, I will tear off my robe and break off my relationship with you!"

After saying that, Xiang Tianjie tore off a piece of his robe and threw it on the ground.

Before everyone could recover, Xiang Tianjie turned to Chen Feng, clasped his fist and said in a deep voice:

"Chief Chen is a hero of the world. I am willing to stay in Huyang and be a small soldier under Chief Chen's command!"

"You, you..." Lu Longchuan was stunned, trembling with anger, pointing at Xiang Tianjie.

At this moment, he almost determined that Xiang Tianjie was the traitor who colluded with the enemy!

Seeing someone taking the lead, several other familiar leaders looked at each other, suddenly stepped forward, and said in unison:

"We don't want to be lackeys of the imperial court anymore. We are willing to serve Chief Chen!"

Soon, more and more leaders stood up and said that they were willing to stay.

Many people originally admired Chen Feng, and they were not happy to be recruited. Now, after considering the pros and cons, they had given up the idea of returning to the imperial court and simply became outlaws again.

The fact that these people made this choice also had the factor of the discord being effective. They still remembered the "secret letter from the imperial court" – after the ups and downs of the defeat, they felt more and more that they had seen through Lu Longchuan, who was using the lives of his brothers as a stepping stone for his promotion. They had long been separated.

For a time, the scene seemed like Lu Longchuan was being betrayed by everyone, and one leader after another broke off their relationship with him.

Only Sun Rong and a dozen other leaders showed hesitation and were still standing beside Lu Longchuan.

"Brothers, you are so ruthless..."

Lu Longchuan's lips trembled.

Suddenly, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight to the ground with a thud. He was so angry that his heart was attacked, coupled with his injuries not yet healed, he fainted directly.

Chen Feng's face did not change, and he waved his hand and said, "Come on, carry Commander Lu back. When his injuries are almost healed, drive him down the mountain!"

The leaders who had expressed their allegiance looked at Lu Longchuan's appearance and sighed secretly, shaking their heads silently.

People change, and they no longer wanted to serve such a leader.

Immediately afterwards, they looked at Chen Feng, and the look in their eyes changed.

Such a peerless fierce man only appears once in many years. Following this person, perhaps it will be a different story.
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