"Oh, you're asking that?"

Jiang Deng pointed at two soldiers who were beaten black and blue. "We were passing by here when these two men tried to molest us three weak women. We had no choice but to fight back. Who knew that other soldiers would see this and swarm over us, trying to bully the few with their numbers?"

Cui Ning's expression gradually became a little embarrassed.

I thought he was strict enough in disciplining his army, but I didn't expect something like this would happen, and he even provoked immortal cultivators because of it.

Cui Ning's face turned cold, and he ordered, "Zhang Gousheng and Li Sidan have violated military discipline. Drag them away and give them a hundred beatings with military sticks!"

One hundred military sticks?

Even men of steel wouldn't be able to withstand a hundred blows from the military sticks!

"General! Please forgive us! We know we are wrong!" Zhang Gousheng and Li Sidan knelt down and begged for mercy.

Several counselors also advised: "General, if these 100 military sticks are used to hit them, they will be dead!"

"Yes, the war is imminent, and we can't let the soldiers down. Let's give them a lighter punishment!"

Cui Ning remained calm and said, "These two have disrupted the discipline of our Cui Family Army. Their crime is unforgivable. Anyone who protects them will be punished just like them!"

Hearing this, the others didn't dare to persuade them anymore and quickly dragged Zhang Gousheng and Li Sidan away. Soon, the muffled sound of sticks hitting and the men's howling were heard.

Seeing that Cui Ning not only did not protect the two soldiers, but also dealt with them decisively, Jiang Deng changed his opinion of this man slightly. He thought that the Fenglan Empire must have done a lot of evil things to force such righteous people to rebel.

"Are you... General Cui?" Feng Qing looked at Cui Ning's face, confirmed it several times, and suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Cui Ning followed the voice and his eyes fell on Feng Qing's face. The solemnity in his eyes was replaced by surprise. "Sixteenth Princess? Why is it you?"

Feng Qing's face turned cold, returning to her usual indifference. "I am no longer the sixteenth princess of the Fenglan Empire. You can call me Feng Qing."

"Okay...Feng Qing."

Although Cui Ning didn't understand why Feng Qing said that, he didn't ask any further questions. He just looked at the Jiang Deng sisters beside Feng Qing in confusion, "They are..."

"They are the peak master and fellow junior sisters of my sect."

Cui Ning's face lit up with joy. "Since we're all acquaintances, could we please come in and discuss in detail?"

"No, General!"

The counselors and generals all tried to persuade him, "What if these three people were sent by the old emperor to assassinate you? What should we do?"

"Yes, there is also the Sixteenth Princess here. She is the legitimate daughter of the old emperor, and it is obvious that she came here with bad intentions!"

"General, think twice! The old general's revenge is still waiting for you! Your safety must not be compromised at this moment!"

…

"Commanders, why do you judge a gentleman by your own standards?"

Cui Ning shook his head, rejecting his subordinates' kindness. "The three of them are cultivators. If they want to kill me, even if I have 100,000 soldiers protecting me, they can still take my head amidst the hordes. There's no need to wait until we're alone."

Jiang Deng couldn't help but laugh, "Indeed, if we really wanted to kill you, we could do it now."

"this……"

No matter how unwilling everyone was, they could only watch their general enter the main tent with three female bandits.

Inside the main account.

As soon as the four of them sat down, Feng Qing couldn't wait to ask, "Does your father know about General Cui's rebellion?"

She remembered that Cui Ning's father, Cui Yongan, was a founding general of the Fenglan Empire and a very loyal and patriotic person. How could his son rebel?

Cui Ning clenched his fists, a faint bloodshot flashing in his eyes, "My father is dead!"

"Huh?" Feng Qing was stunned. "When did it happen?"

"Last August, my father led troops to suppress a rebellion in the southwest. Because the eunuch Lu Ronghua embezzled military funds, the war was lost, and my father and 30,000 Cui family soldiers were killed!"

Cui Ning slammed his fist on the table, suppressing his anger and continuing, "I will write a letter to explain the whole story. The old emperor protected Lu Ronghua and refused to avenge my father, but he also threw all the blame for the defeat on my father!"

"They even attempted to force me to surrender my military power, but due to the war in the southwest, they had to put it on hold for now."

"A month ago, the old emperor ordered me to lead troops to suppress a rebellion in the southwest. But then Lu Ronghua showed up again to embezzle money. So I decided to go all out and lead my troops in rebellion midway!"

Feng Qing pondered for a moment, she knew Lu Ronghua.

The chief eunuch was initially supported by his father in order to fight against the elders of the previous dynasty in the court. Later, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Lu Ronghua's power was overwhelming.

As for his various acts of corruption, the emperor was not completely unaware of it. He was even the one who instigated it behind the scenes. Most of the money that Lu Ronghua embezzled went into the emperor's pocket.

The emperor not only took the lead in corruption, but even sold his daughter. I really don’t understand why his father, who is already half buried in the ground, still needs so much money?

Looking up, Feng Qing stared at Cui Ning: "Because the emperor treated your family unfairly, you want to take over the capital and become the emperor yourself, right?"

Cui Ning was stunned and quickly said, "Princess, you must have misunderstood. I rebelled not to become emperor myself, but simply to clear my father's name. Even this mutiny was under the slogan 'Purge the court of the wise and choose the virtuous.'"

"To be honest, I've only read military books since I was young. I'm not good at the ways of an emperor. I don't want to be an emperor, and I won't be one. If we can successfully capture the city this time, I will only dethrone the incompetent old emperor and choose a wise man from the Phoenix clan to establish a new ruler."

Feng Qing looked at Cui Ning with a complicated expression.

This was the first time she had seen a rebel who led troops in rebellion with a purpose other than becoming emperor...

However, because they grew up together, she knew that Cui Ning was telling the truth and was not just pretending.

"Okay, in that case, I'll help you," Feng Qing looked at Jiang Deng with pleading eyes, "Peak Master..."

Jiang Deng leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, and said boredly, "It's up to you. Whoever you want to help, we will only help you."

"Well, thank you, Master."

There was finally a smile on Feng Qing's face.

"What is the current situation?" Jiang Deng asked.

Since she has decided to help Cui Ning and his gang of rebels, she must aim for victory. Even if the other party does not have the advantage, she has to revive this dead end game!

Cui Ning's face turned grim as he spoke, "Ever since I led my troops to Phoenix City two days ago, the old emperor has remained behind closed doors and refused to fight."

"If this battle drags on, once the nearby defenders mobilize their forces, we'll be surrounded. We must capture the capital within three days! Otherwise..."