Cui Haichang was on the verge of collapse. He cursed, "You bunch of beasts! You'll all die a horrible death!"

Cui Ning also wanted to curse, but his tongue had been cut out, so he couldn't speak clearly. His face was flushed red, and he looked extremely angry.

With a righteous and awe-inspiring expression, Cui Haichang shouted: "The tyrant is tyrannical! The tyrant is tyrannical! He has harmed the loyal and virtuous, and all the loyal and righteous people in the world should unite to condemn him!"

While busy cutting off his flesh, Zhang Jian said, "Magistrate Cui, I thought you had lost all humanity, but I didn't expect you to have lost all face too. Well, if you're no longer human, what face do you still have!"

Cui Haichang continued his furious rant: "Tyrant! This world belongs to the sages, not to tyrants and lowly people! You will all die a horrible death! Die a horrible death!"

Zhang Jian was not in a hurry. While slowly cutting the meat, he said, "Magistrate Cui is truly a man of fine character!"

Knowing he was doomed, Cui Haichang shouted, "We have studied the classics since childhood. The sages said... that they could not be subdued by force! Tyrants have incurred the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. They have committed the atrocities of Qin Shi Huang and Yang Guang. They will surely die without a burial place!"

Zhang Jian said, "Magistrate Cui, just how shameless can a person be? Aren't you afraid that the souls of the dead in the mass graves outside the city will come back to haunt you? You have harmed so many people, not even sparing children, yet you still have this face that says you are responsible for the well-being of all people!"

As he spoke, he moved even more nimbly.

Cui Haichang retorted angrily, “Since ancient times, the laws of Heaven have been orderly, and human society has its moral order. You are nothing but lowly commoners, slaves! How dare you possess fertile land? This tyrant is acting perversely, attempting to destroy the sacred way of our Chinese civilization that has lasted for thousands of years. Alas! We must sacrifice ourselves to defend this way!”

Holy crap!

This was the first time Zhang Jian had ever seen such a shameless person. This guy sucked people's blood and flesh and then pretended to be righteous. What was wrong with his brain?

Zhang Jian was furious, and the surrounding onlookers were also furious.

Zhang Jian said, "I've also read the classics. Damn it, if Confucius were still alive, you guys would really drive me crazy!"

He increased the force, stabbing Cui Haichang wildly with the knife, causing Cui Haichang excruciating pain, yet he couldn't die.

Then, he started cutting flesh off Cui Haichang's face.

With each piece of flesh cut off, Cui Haichang screamed in agony, blood gushing from his entire body.

Cui Qingliu, Liu Dafu, and the others on the side were already terrified.

Finally, Zhang Jian plunged a knife into Cui Haichang's neck. Cui Haichang did not die immediately; Zhang Jian kept twisting the knife, tearing Cui Haichang's neck to shreds before Cui Haichang finally breathed his last.

With a smile on his face, Zhang Jian ordered someone to bring over a long knife. He first cut off all of Cui Ning's limbs, and then began to dig into his chest.

Cui Ning was in excruciating pain, but no matter how much he screamed, he couldn't make a sound.

Next came Cui Qingliu and the others, each of whom was slowly sliced ​​to death.

...

After leaving Tang County, Lin Jinfeng hurried towards Tokyo City.

At present, Qin Hui and Han Shizhong's army has arrived in Tang County, and he, as the commander-in-chief of the Imperial City Guard, cannot play a significant role on the battlefield. At this time, the emperor needs to know the situation in Hebei more.

Lin Jinfeng rode at full speed, arriving in Tokyo in a day and a night. He hurriedly went to the palace to meet the emperor and told Zhao Huan in detail everything he had learned in Hebei.

Lin Jinfeng concluded, "Your Majesty, I am concerned that this rebellion may have ulterior motives! We should prepare accordingly!"

Zhao Huan frowned slightly: "What do you mean by that, my dear minister?"

"Your Majesty, the rebels in Zhongshan and Hejian are nothing but a rabble. Your Majesty's divine power is at its peak, and the Cui family would never dare to confront you head-on! Although the case of purchasing land in Tang County has been exposed, they have not been forced to the point of rebellion!"

"Something unusual must be going on!"

"Thank you for your hard work. You should go and rest now."

"It is my duty to share Your Majesty's burdens. Now that Hebei is in turmoil, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Hebei Imperial City Guard, I dare not neglect my duties. Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty, and I am willing to go through fire and water!"

"In that case, continue to investigate the Hebei region for me. Report back immediately if there is any unusual activity!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After Lin Jinfeng left, Zhao Huan fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he ordered his men to bring Zhong Shidao into the palace.

He repeated what Lin Jinfeng had just told him to Zhong Shidao.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhong Shidao said, "Your Majesty, we should make preparations as soon as possible!"

Zhao Huan already had a plan in mind, but Zhong Shidao knew more about war than he did, so he was willing to listen to what Zhong Shidao had to say before taking any action.

"Why do you say that, my dear minister?"

Zhong Shidao expressed his worries.

As night fell, Tokyo remained as bustling as ever. No one knew that the Imperial Censor had already fled Tokyo.

A day and a night later, in Qinzhou City on Qinfeng Road, Wang Kuian received an imperial edict.

Half a day later, the generals of the three armies, who were stationed on the frontier, received an imperial edict from the emperor.

"By the grace of Heaven, Wu Jie has quelled the rebellion of Wu Yong, a great achievement. He is hereby promoted to Major General and appointed Commander of the Three Armies!"

Wu Jie accepted the imperial edict and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your mercy. I will certainly not fail to live up to Your Majesty's grace!"

Two days later, Zong Ze and Yue Fei, who were far away in the southwest, also received the imperial edict.

Zong Ze and Yue Fei immediately led the original Shenwu Army north to return to the capital to report back.

After a year of preparation, the situation in Jiaozhi had stabilized, and Yue Fei trained a strong army of considerable size for Zhang Jun in Jiaozhou.

Zhang Jun now has the full power to forcefully implement the imperial decrees in Jiaozhou.

Zong Ze and Yue Fei led two thousand cavalrymen back first, while the rest of the Shenwu Army followed behind, also marching at full speed.

Zong Ze and Yue Fei marched hastily and arrived in the capital region on May 2nd.

Meanwhile, the war in Hebei had already fully unfolded.

Han Shizhong divided his troops into two routes. He personally led one route, while Qin Hui led the other, which included key generals of the central army such as Huyan Tong, Zhang Shu, and Liu Zhong.

On April 25, Han Shizhong's army advanced towards Zhongshan City.

Along the way, Han Shizhong witnessed the displacement and hunger of the people of Hebei, and even the tragic incident of exchanging children to eat each other.

Now, most of Hebei is inhabited by rebels, bandits, and outlaws.

Whether on the plains or in the mountains, you can encounter bandits. These bandits are ruthless and extremely cruel.

Some of them became bandits at a young age because they were idle and aimless in their hometowns, while others were imperial guards who fled south when the Jin army marched south and became outlaws.

These bandits and outlaws originally occupied their own mountain strongholds and fought independently, so they could not amount to much.

But now, according to the intelligence that Lin Jinfeng sent to Qin Hui and Han Shizhong, all the bandits, outlaws, and mountain bandits in Hebei have been incorporated into the government.

They suddenly became organized and disciplined, and their fighting was no longer just about looting and running away, but about capturing civilians to do hard labor and stockpiling food.

In short: They're taking over territory!

According to Lu Qing's confession, Chen Changyuan had evidence of his embezzlement and bribery, and he also had evidence of many other people's crimes, all of which were capital offenses.

Anyone who dares to oppose him or oppose him will have their criminal list and evidence sent to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Either way, I'm going to die. Following Chen Changyuan might give me a brighter future.