Chapter 15 Flood

The officers and soldiers advanced along the path, marching in silence.

Huang Ping walked in the lead, his face grave as he calculated to himself:

"Now that I've breached Dingbo Inlet, causing a flood, the waters are sweeping across the territory of Huyang. The longer it goes on, the wider the disaster, destroying the foundation of the bandits. This battle, though seemingly a defeat, is actually a victory… When I return to the imperial court, I wonder if I'll be able to submit a memorial praising my accomplishments."

He knew that this move would invite criticism from the court, but as a general leading troops, he only cared about what was beneficial to the war and how to achieve victory, and he would use any means necessary to achieve it.

In Huang Ping's view, severely damaging the enemy was better than wasting a lot of manpower and resources without achieving anything, which would only incur the emperor's displeasure.

"Now that the die is cast, as long as I warn these soldiers not to blurt anything out when they return to the army, everything should be fine."

Huang Ping glanced back at the soldiers and silently shook his head.

Silencing to maintain secrecy was mainly to avoid interruption before the mission was completed.

Now that the goal had been achieved, even if the bandits knew about it, it would be difficult to repair the breach, so he didn't care too much about whether it was leaked. As for silencing his own soldiers, it would easily cause mutiny, so it would be overkill and inappropriate.

"It's just a pity about this opportunity to command troops… The current emperor is stingy and unwilling to invest in military expenses. It was hard enough to get a chance to lead troops in battle. If I could delay it for a year or two, I could have made a fortune, but now I have to end the war prematurely…"

Huang Ping lamented inwardly.

However, at this moment, a burly figure suddenly appeared ahead, standing in the middle of the road, blocking the way, with unmistakable features.

"Chen Thief?!"

Huang Ping's pupils shrank, his face changed drastically, and he quickly reined in his horse.

The many officers and soldiers were also shocked, gripping their weapons tightly, their minds flashing with various rumors about Chen Feng, their bodies trembling involuntarily.

"This road is closed."

Zhou Jing stood with his arms crossed, speaking in a cold voice.

His foot speed was exceptional, and he had directly cut in front of this team of officers and soldiers, appearing to block their path.

Zhou Jing's gaze scrutinized the officers and soldiers, and when he saw Huang Ping's appearance clearly, he was slightly stunned.

Why did this high-ranking general suddenly appear nearby, acting so suspiciously? There must be some conspiracy or trickery afoot.

While he was pondering, Huang Ping didn't hesitate and immediately drew his sword, shouting:

"Retreat!"

The officers and soldiers were thrown into turmoil at the command, hurriedly turning around to flee.

But at this moment, many figures emerged from behind, who were the soldiers of Dragon King Fort who had caught up, blocking the retreat.

Just as the officers and soldiers were in a dilemma, a piercing whistle suddenly rang out.

Whoosh!

Zhou Jing threw a large spear, piercing through the bodies of the officers and soldiers along the way, and plunged straight into the formation, scaring the surrounding officers and soldiers to the ground.

"Drop your weapons, and those who surrender will not be killed."

Zhou Jing's roar exploded, but in the ears of the many officers and soldiers, it was like heavenly music.

With hardly any hesitation, batches of officers and soldiers decisively threw away their weapons and prostrated themselves in surrender, completely disregarding Huang Ping's orders, even some of the supervising officers did the same.

Chen Feng's reputation had left too deep an impression on the officers and soldiers during this period. The officers and soldiers present were also people, and no one wanted to be torn to pieces for no reason… Chen Feng had attacked camps of thousands of people as he pleased, and no one present believed that they could match him with their numbers.

Violating military law was a death sentence, but resistance was an even more miserable death, so it was better to surrender and exchange it for a chance to live!

With just the deterrent of his fierce reputation, he directly made this team of officers and soldiers break away from Huang Ping's control, which showed that Zhou Jing's actions during this period had been quite effective, and the officers and soldiers basically had no fighting spirit when facing him.

"Drive! Go!"

Seeing this, Huang Ping knew that there was no way to turn the tide, but he didn't want to sit still and wait for death, so he whipped his horse and fled.

Zhou Jing had no intention of letting him leave. His figure flashed, faster than a galloping horse, and he quickly caught up.

With a simple leaning shoulder, he sent Huang Ping flying, along with his horse.

Bang!

Huang Ping fell from the horse, and his legs were crushed by the fallen warhorse, immediately letting out a painful scream.

"It's over, it's over…"

Huang Ping was covered in sweat from the pain, and his heart sank to the bottom.

He had dug the river and breached the embankment, flooding Huyang. Now that he had fallen into the hands of the enemy, wouldn't he be subjected to all kinds of torture?

He must not fall into the hands of the bandits!

He gritted his teeth, turned his sword, and wanted to kill himself.

However, this move failed. As soon as he raised his sword, it was kicked away by Zhou Jing with a casual kick.

"Want to slit your throat? Reacting so violently, there must be something fishy."

Zhou Jing frowned, pushed away the warhorse, dragged Huang Ping out, and dislocated all four of his limbs with the bone-separating hand technique.

This was one of the generals appointed by the imperial court, and also the descendant of a noble family, so he was quite valuable. Letting him die so easily would not be worth it. He had to be taken back to be sacrificed to the flag.

"You were lurking around here with troops, what's your intention?"

Zhou Jing lifted Huang Ping and asked in a deep voice.

Huang Ping's face was pale, and he remained silent.

"If you don't answer, there are plenty of people who will."

Zhou Jing didn't mind, and ordered the children who had caught up to control the surrendered officers and soldiers and interrogate them.

Before long, everyone had extracted information from this group of officers and soldiers, and they were all furious.

"Fort Lord! This group of officers and soldiers secretly ran to Dingbo Inlet and demolished the river embankment there!"

"This group of bastards actually wanted to cause a flood and inundate Huyang!"

"The imperial court doesn't dare to fight us honorably, and actually uses such a vicious and insidious trick. They really deserve to die!"

Many of the children cursed non-stop.

Most of them were natives of Huyang, and when they heard that the officers and soldiers wanted to harm their hometown, they were all furious and couldn't wait to draw their swords and kill this group of surrendered soldiers, scaring the officers and soldiers into cowering into a ball.

Zhou Jing's face also darkened, and he slapped Huang Ping, sending half of his teeth flying, and shouted:

"Good, it seems we overestimated the bottom line of you gentlemen. If we don't confiscate your property and exterminate your families in the future, we'll be too kind."

Huang Ping hung his head, his mouth and nose bleeding. He was dizzy from the slap and had no words to refute.

Zhou Jing threw him directly into the hands of his personal guards and said in a deep voice, "Keep an eye on this guy and take him back to the stronghold. Don't let him die on the way, that would be too cheap for this bastard."

Bill hadn't sent any relevant news, so it seemed to be a secret operation in private.

The government's actions would surely cause an uproar in the world. He had a bunch of witnesses in his hands, which he could just make public and completely destroy the legitimacy of the imperial court's rule in Huyang.

But before that, he had to solve the flood caused by the officers and soldiers.

If the flood was allowed to spread, it would not only drown the people, but also submerge farmland, destroy agricultural production, and so on, leaving endless troubles, and the base of Huyang would be severely damaged… This was what the imperial court wanted, and naturally what the stronghold could not accept.

Zhou Jing quickly divided the troops into two groups, one to escort Huang Ping and the surrendered soldiers back to the stronghold, and to inform the situation and ask for reinforcements.

The other group followed him straight to Dingbo Inlet.

…

During the period when Zhou Jing decided to turn around and rush, the flood had already spread to many areas and was still expanding.

Moreover, the weather was not good, and there were heavy rains for several consecutive days, which caused the river to flood even more, making the flood even more serious.

As the flood spread, the news of the flood disaster also quickly spread throughout the territory of Huyang, causing shock and panic among the local people, and they couldn't even bother to pay attention to the war.

The government army also discovered the flooding situation and quickly sent it back to the main camp.

Inside the central army tent.

"Hahaha, heaven is really helping us!"

"Our army is in a stalemate with the bandits, but at this critical moment, a flood broke out. It will definitely disrupt the bandits' formation. It is really heaven that is blessing our Great Xia orthodoxy. These rebels are not blessed by heaven!"

"This is called those who do many unrighteous deeds will perish!"

The officers and soldiers were beaming with joy.

They thought that the flood was a natural disaster and felt schadenfreude, marveling that the imperial court had the blessing of luck.

"This commander has long said that Chen Thief's rebellion will be punished by heaven!"

Ma Zhen said solemnly, his face unchanged.

He had not yet made his own plans public, intending to take credit after everything was settled, so the generals did not know that it was the commander's plan to cause the flood.

However, although he was keeping it a secret for the time being, Ma Zhen was still a little proud in his heart.

However, at this moment, Ling Fengzi, who was listening in the tent, suddenly got up and walked to the center.

Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, he slowly said:

"General Ma, this poor Taoist has something to tell you."

"Please speak, Real One."

Ma Zhen frowned, enduring his annoyance as he responded.

Ling Fengzi flicked his horsetail whisk and slowly said, "The flood has endless troubles, poisoning the common people. This poor Taoist has achieved success in cultivation and cannot ignore it, so this poor Taoist must go to control the flood and try to save the people. I hope General Ma understands."

As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of the generals became subtle.

Ma Zhen's face instantly turned gloomy, and he said coldly:

"Real One, do you know what this behavior is? The flood can severely damage the bandits, but you want to control the flood and help the bandits to survive this disaster. If it is reported back to the capital, how will the Emperor view this matter?"

Ling Fengzi's tone did not change: "This poor Taoist's actions are without guilt. Regardless of whether General Ma agrees or not, I will go."

After saying that, he turned around and was about to walk out of the camp.

"Ling Fengzi! Don't be ignorant!"

Ma Zhen slammed the table and shouted, having long been unable to stand Ling Fengzi's actions:

"You have repeatedly disobeyed this commander's orders, delaying opportunities for battle time and time again. That's all, but now you want to help the bandits. Are you an enemy or a friend? Don't think that just because the Emperor favors you, you can act recklessly. If you dare to walk out of the camp today and ruin my battle, I will definitely impeach you. All the blame for the defeat in this battle will be yours!"

Ling Fengzi ignored him and walked out of the central army tent without stopping, directly flying away on the wind, quickly moving away.

The generals retracted their gazes and looked at the furious Ma Zhen, all trembling with fear.

They did not expect that their commander and the Wind-Riding Real One would turn against each other in public.

Ma Zhen's chest heaved, and after a long while, he suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice:

"You have all seen what Ling Fengzi has done. If the flood is contained, Chen Thief will be able to recuperate and harm the country again in the future. It all stems from what Ling Fengzi has done today. This commander has done everything he can, but he did not listen to advice and this commander could not stop him. There is nothing I can do."

The generals hesitated, knowing that this was to ask them to testify.

"Commander, don't worry, we have all seen it with our own eyes. That Ling Fengzi disregards the country and helps a group of rebels. No matter what he says, it is an act of disloyalty and unrighteousness, without respect for the ruler or parents!"

Yuwen Yan immediately stated his position.

The crowd looked at each other and had no choice but to express their positions as well.

Ma Zhen nodded and stopped dwelling on this point, and said coldly:

"That's good, so as to save the court officials from impeaching me for ineffectively commanding troops. Since Ling Fengzi is helping the rebels, there is no need to care about his life or death… Announce to the entire army, break camp and withdraw!"

"This subordinate obeys."

The faces of the crowd tightened, and they all responded.