Chapter 230 Traitors in Turbulent Times (Part 6): How to Become a Super Strategist...

A quarter of an hour later, Song Ce had just reached the city gate when he saw several Meng family soldiers escorting a young soldier quickly into the city. The soldier struggled violently, shouting repeatedly, "Let me go! Let me go! Is there no law anymore? I haven't colluded with the enemy! You can't frame me!"

No sooner had the soldier finished speaking than a tall, imposing soldier next to him swung his arm and slapped him several times across the face!

"Damn it! Still dare to argue! I say you're a traitor, so you are! Humph, the law? In Pingzhou City, I, Sun Zude, am the law! You're still too green to mess with me!"

The onlookers were so frightened that they all retreated, and no one dared to make a sound, for fear of being targeted by this group of vicious soldiers.

Upon seeing this, Song Ce frowned slightly. He was about to step forward when a kind-hearted middle-aged man beside him grabbed his hand and urgently advised, "Young man, you mustn't meddle in other people's business!"

Why is that?

"Why do you ask? With your skinny arms and legs, if that thug slaps you, you'll probably lose your life!"

Song Ce remained calm and said softly, "If I stand idly by today, when disaster strikes in the future, no one will be willing to lend a helping hand to you or me."

The middle-aged man was taken aback. The young man before him had a handsome appearance, with refined features, and although dressed in simple clothes, he exuded an air of nobility. He subconsciously released his grip and spoke much more politely: "Young sir, you... sigh!"

Looking at the soldier who was half-dead, and then at the angry but speechless expressions of the surrounding people, Song Ce stepped forward and asked loudly, "Sir, what crime has this young man committed that warrants such a large-scale attack?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Zude turned his head and saw that the speaker was a pale-faced, frail scholar. His expression immediately darkened, and he said coldly, "Where did you come from, weakling? How dare you meddle in your grandfather's business? Get lost! Or I'll take care of you too!"

Song Ce didn't move. Instead, he pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. "You flatter me. I don't mean to meddle. I just feel sorry for this young man. If he has really committed the crime of treason, I believe your general will handle it according to military law. Why are you resorting to private punishment here? If this gets out, won't people say that the Meng family army is unfair?"

"You!" Sun Zude was speechless, his face flushed red, and he shouted angrily, "When did it become your place to tell me what to do? I think you're tired of living!" As he spoke, he raised his hand as if to hit him.

Song Ce had already restored his body to near full health, so he neither dodged nor evaded, but instead raised his hand to block Sun Zude's fist. At the same time, he secretly exerted force, causing Sun Zude to stagger back several steps and fall to the ground in a disheveled state.

The other soldiers were stunned for a moment, then rushed over angrily. Song Ce remained calm and picked up the sword that Sun Zude had dropped.

With a sudden burst of strength, he snapped the sword in two.

The soldiers who wanted to step forward and teach Song Ce a lesson were bewildered.

The onlookers, secretly clenching their fists and looking on with pity, were bewildered: "???"

No one expected that this seemingly frail scholar, who looked like he could be blown away by a gust of wind, would possess such beautiful and formidable skills. The soldiers stammered for a long time, unable to utter a single coherent sentence.

Just then, a slightly flippant voice came from behind: "What are you doing? Stop it!"

The onlookers looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lu Ying leading several personal guards walking quickly toward them.

Upon seeing him, the tall soldier quickly suppressed his arrogance and respectfully bowed, saying, "Young Master Lu."

Lu Ying snorted coldly, ignoring him, and instead looked directly at Song Ce not far away, "Mr. Song, what are you doing here?"

Song Ce smiled faintly, "Greetings, Young Master Lu. I was just about to leave the city when I happened to encounter an interesting incident, which is why I lingered here for a moment."

Lu Ying was taken aback. "You want to leave the city? Why?"

Song Ce didn't answer him, but said, "Young Master Lu, this soldier surnamed Sun just said that he is the law in Pingzhou City. I didn't know that the Meng family army under Commander Meng's command could be so barbaric. It's truly an eye-opener!"

“Mr. Song, there must be some misunderstanding!” Lu Ying frowned slightly, then turned to look at the soldier being escorted. “Are you all mute? Hurry up and tell the master what this man has done wrong?”

Upon seeing this, Sun Zude smiled obsequiously: "Young Master Lu, we have already investigated and found that Yan Xiucheng is colluding with the Wu army in the south, attempting to pass on our army's deployment maps to them. He was caught red-handed by our subordinates!"

Yan Xiucheng, his face flushed with anxiety, hurriedly protested loudly, "Young Master, please investigate! I did not do it! It was Sun Zude who framed me! Half a month ago, I discovered that he had led troops to plunder property and massacre civilians in Xiaolianshan Village, killing innocent people and claiming credit for their crimes! That's why he was so eager to collude with his accomplices to put me to death, Young Master!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Sun Zude's face turned pale, and he pointed at Yan Xiucheng's nose and cursed, "You damned dog, how dare you bite me back! Everyone knows that your hometown is in the territory of Nanwu, and you may have already secretly defected to the enemy!"

Yan Xiucheng trembled with rage at Sun Zude's distorted words. He roared, "Don't you dare spout such nonsense! My family was burned to ashes by Wu's army three years ago. My parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law all died at their hands! Tell me, with such a deep-seated hatred, how could I possibly collude with Wu's army?"

Sun Zude's eyes widened, and he demanded, "If you didn't do it, then why have you been acting so suspiciously these past few days? Sneaking around our camp like a thief... I think you are clearly..."

"Marshal Meng and Young Master Lu are indeed strict in their military discipline." Song Ce interrupted him, smiling slightly, "They can convict soldiers of treason based solely on the words 'suspicious behavior'."

Seeing that Lu Ying was so polite to Song Ce, Sun Zude immediately smiled ingratiatingly, "Young master, I was just anxious and afraid that I might let a spy in the army escape and ruin the important affairs of my Meng family army."

"Why do I feel like your actions are more like you're trying to kill someone to silence them?" Song Ce asked.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ying lightly tapped his folding fan, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two men. Although he was somewhat impatient, he wasn't entirely without sense; the current situation clearly involved many hidden factors.

"You lot, take all the relevant personnel back to the camp for thorough interrogation. If there is any injustice, find out who framed them and punish them all severely according to military law!"

"Yes!" the guards responded, and they escorted the men away.

Sun Zude grew anxious, "Young Master Lu! This matter has nothing to do with us! Why are you taking us away as well?"

Lu Ying gave a cold smile, looking down at Sun Zude and his group, and said disdainfully, "What, do you want to disobey military orders?" The men's faces changed drastically, and they all bowed and knelt down to beg for mercy, saying that they dared not.

After dealing with Sun Zude and the others, Lu Ying turned to Song Ce, her face softening and her tone becoming gentler: "Mr. Song, we are so grateful for your courageous words today, otherwise we would have almost wronged a good general. But I wonder where you are headed?"

Song Ce said calmly, "I'm just wandering around, I have no particular purpose."

"Just wandering around?" Lu Ying raised an eyebrow, glanced at the bundle on Song Ce's back, and tentatively asked, "Does sir intend to leave Pingzhou?"

Song Ce looked up at him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Lu Ying recalled Meng Tianxi's instructions to her a few days ago, and her tone became much more sincere. "Sir, although my Meng family army has its shortcomings, Commander Meng has always been eager to find talented people. If someone as talented as you were to leave now, it would be a great loss to our army. Why don't you stay for the time being, and after I have investigated this matter, I will personally take you to see Commander Meng? What do you say?"

Song Ce smiled slightly, "I appreciate Young Master Lu's kindness."

Lu Ying wanted to persuade him further, but saw Song Ce turn around and walk towards the city gate without hesitation. He frowned, staring at Song Ce's receding figure, and coldly ordered the guards beside him, "Send a few men to follow him quietly. If he insists on leaving Pingzhou, tie him up and bring him back to me!"

"Yes, young master!"

As Song Ce walked out of the city, he sensed a faint, imperceptible gaze following him. A flicker of understanding crossed his mind, but he didn't dwell on it. He strolled leisurely along the overgrown path, and after about half an hour, he came to a fork in the road. He hesitated for a moment, then embarked on the mountain path heading southwest.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from behind Song Ce.

Four men in military uniforms quickly caught up with him; the one in the lead was the same burly man who had led him to the Meng residence that day.

"Sir, please wait!"

Song Ce smiled faintly, then turned around and looked at the group calmly: "May I ask what brings you all to my presence?"

The burly man cupped his hands in greeting and said in a deep voice, "Sir, my young master requests that you return. We hope you will not make things difficult for us."

"Go back? Go back where?"

The young soldier beside the burly man stepped forward and said matter-of-factly, "Of course we should go back to Pingzhou City!"

"What if I don't want to go back?" Song Ce asked calmly.

Upon hearing this, the burly man's expression turned slightly cold, and he slowly drew his sword from his waist. "If you insist on doing this, then we have no choice but to offend you!"

Song Ce's eyes narrowed, and with a slight push of his feet, he nimbly swayed forward several feet, saying loudly, "Everyone, until we meet again."

The burly man was greatly alarmed by this sight. He truly hadn't expected this seemingly sickly scholar to be so formidable. He drew his sword himself, not daring to underestimate his opponent, and fiercely swung it towards Song Ce.

Seeing this, the other three also drew their swords and immediately joined the battle.

Song Ce remained calm and precisely dodged the blade, simultaneously striking the burly man's chest with a powerful palm strike. In an instant, the man coughed up blood and flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground before the horrified eyes of the others.

With a single move, this man knocked down Mu, the deputy general whom Commander Meng valued most! What profound martial arts skill this was!

The three of them instinctively took a small step back, looking at the gentle, smiling, and frail scholar not far away with lingering fear.

The burly man used his sword to support himself as he stood up, glared fiercely at the group, and roared, "You lot, why aren't you taking him down right now!"

The other three exchanged glances and could only obey the big man's command, swinging their swords in unison. In a short while, all three were defeated and brought down by Song Ce.

“Go back and tell your master that we are not on the same page and there is no need to waste your energy on me.”

The burly man hesitated for a moment, but ultimately gritted his teeth, helped his injured subordinate up, and left the place in a sorry state.

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Author's Note: [Covering face and peeking] No need to revise this weekend (proud face)