"Holy crap!"
Zhao Cheng had never been so humiliated. He rubbed his hands together and said, "I'm so hot-tempered! Yuan Zhang, are you senile or suffering from dementia?"
"We brothers risked our lives to swim to the other side. Would we lie to you out of fear of dying?"
"You don't need to get angry so quickly." Yuan Zhang snorted coldly, took a step closer to the lake, and said, "Come and take a look. They're cooking on the other side right now. Look at the smoke from their chimneys. Compared to the usual number of people, is there more?"
"Look at the lake and the area under the bridge. I sent people down to investigate this morning, and there are no problems."
"You said Yang Qingzhi would come to catch me from this dirt road to the west. Go down there and try it yourself. The water will be over your head. This road is impossible to walk on!"
Yuan Zhang turned to Zhao Cheng, took a step closer, and said, "The water level on this dirt road is gradually decreasing. I was able to notice it because I have been staying by Wei Lake for ten years! Yang Qingzhi has only been here for a short time, how could he have noticed it? But I mentioned it to you yesterday, so you know."
"What a pity. I said the water level on the small dirt road was gradually decreasing, but it won't be decreasing by tomorrow. How will Yang Qingzhi's five thousand men get here? Will they all hold their breath and swim over?"
Yuan Zhang shook his head and said, "Zhao Cheng, your lie has too many loopholes."
Zhao Cheng took a step back and staggered slightly.
Yuan Zhang chuckled and stroked his beard, saying, "What's wrong? Did you get caught?"
"I'm convinced, I'm truly convinced." Zhao Cheng clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Yuan Zhang, saying sincerely, "I used to say that some people are self-righteous and arrogant. But only today! I've truly witnessed what self-righteousness means! Champion King, please accept my bow, you are truly the most self-righteous person in the world!!"
Yuan Zhang turned to the side and continued to look at the lake, saying, "I am old and cannot be provoked. I have fought on the battlefield for many years and never easily believe what others say. The truth must be analyzed from all aspects."
Tuo Tiewu interjected, "Your Highness, even if the驸马 (the驸马's son-in-law) is lying, now that you've finished your inspection, why don't we return to camp tonight?"
"You're confused!"
Yuan Zhang glared at Tuo Tiewuhua and said, "Where have I finished my inspection? I need to observe the water level on this dirt road for several more days before I can determine the approximate time when we can cross it stealthily. I told you yesterday that this is a good opportunity to attack Southern Zhou, how can we give it up?"
Zhao Cheng said leisurely, "A road that can be traveled in and out is a good opportunity to attack Southern Zhou, and also a good opportunity to attack Da Jing."
With his back to Zhao Cheng, Yuan Zhang said, "You should leave. Don't spread alarmist rumors and affect the morale of the army. I keep my word. I will pretend I don't know anything about Yang Qingzhi sending you women after you leave Yun Jing County."
"I'm really not going to play along!"
Zhao Cheng turned and left, saying as he went, "If we don't leave now, and Yang Qingzhi attacks tomorrow, we'll be dead!"
"Prince Consort! Prince Consort!!" Tuo Tie Wu Hua shouted from behind.
Zhao Cheng ignored him and quickly left with his men.
"Your Highness..."
"Ignore him."
Yuan Zhang gazed at the lake and said, "If Southern Zhou is not destroyed, I will die of old age in Yun Jing. I am getting old, and I estimate that I will indeed die of old age in Yun Jing. But as long as I am alive, I will never allow the Southern Zhou army to set foot in Yun Jing City!"
...
"This guy is really senile!"
"Give back the War God of Zhennan, give back the Champion King!"
"Bullshit!"
Zhao Cheng and his group left the military camp and headed towards Yun Jing City, grumbling and cursing all the way.
Everyone remained silent, knowing that Zhao Cheng had been wronged; it had been a long time since they had seen him so angry.
"How did someone with such a mindset manage to help my brother-in-law seize power?"
"Were those powerful ministers back then even more foolish than him?"
"Being the emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty must be really easy!"
Heng Wenhao quickly said, "Your Highness, please be careful with your words!"
"Pah, pah, pah!" Zhao Cheng slapped his own mouth and said, "Guard Heng, please don't be offended, I was just driven crazy by him."
Heng Wenhao said in a deep voice, "Champion Wang did not handle this matter properly. Because of his prejudice against the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, he seemed to have lost his mind."
Zhao Cheng said leisurely, "Actually, I can understand. Think about it, of the three most powerful people back then, Wen Tai now holds great power in the court, is at the pinnacle of his position, and is still young. Although my father has been idle for a long time, I have made military achievements, been appointed as a general, and married a princess. Hasn't the presence of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion been strengthened?"
"Only he made a vow to never let Southern Zhou perish, and to die an old man in Yunjing. He drew a circle around himself and trapped himself. Who can he blame?"
Zhao Cheng, mounted on his horse, let out a cold laugh.
“Master, actually, when I was eavesdropping on Yang Qingzhi and Zuo Zhu’s conversation, I also heard some other things,” Yuan Fei followed up and said.
"What else did they say?" Zhao Cheng slowed down.
Yuan Fei said, "Yang Qingzhi's words expressed his respect for the Champion King. He said that if it weren't for him guarding Yun Jing for ten years, his father would have taken Yun Jing County long ago. He also said that if the Champion King hadn't never left the border, he could have taken Yun Jing County by taking command of the troops while the Da Jing army was deep in Ye Dan."
"Yang Qingzhi also mentioned something else. Three years ago, the daughter-in-law of the Champion King was playing by Wei Lake with his youngest grandson when they were intercepted by a group of bandits who had wandered to Wei Lake. The bandits learned her identity from the daughter-in-law and sold her to the Southern Zhou army at a high price."
"At that time, Yang Zhanbei negotiated with Champion Wang, saying that he would not ask for the city to be ceded, but only for the two bridges to be ceded so that the Southern Zhou army could build fortifications on the bridges. In return, he would help him redeem his daughter-in-law and grandson. Otherwise, he would let them fend for themselves and rely on their own luck."
"There are several bridges over Wei Lake. Two bridges are not much in themselves, but they will change the strategy of the Zhennan Border Army in dealing with the Southern Zhou. The Champion King refused to accept Yang Zhanbei despite his son's pleas, which led to his daughter-in-law and grandson being drowned in the lake by bandits. The Champion King's son asked him to send troops to hunt down the bandits, but the Champion King refused to send troops for the sake of the overall situation. In a fit of anger, his son took a small number of personal guards to hunt down the bandits and avenge them. As a result, both sides were badly injured and he died in Wei Lake."
Yang Qingzhi said that although this lake was shared by Da Jing and Nan Zhou, it was actually Da Jing's stronghold.
"A wall built with the corpses of the soldiers of the Great Jing Dynasty."
"A barrier built with the blood of the champion's relatives."
"Actually, the barrier to the Great Realm is the Champion King..."
After a pause, Yuan Fei pondered and said, "This is also why Yang Qingzhi insisted on eliminating Champion King."
Zhao Cheng pondered for a moment and asked, "Why are you telling me this? Is it because you hope... we can help him?"
“I won’t try to influence my master’s thoughts. I’m just saying this because I find it strange myself.” Yuan Fei said seriously, “Champion King is such a powerful figure, why would he act so foolishly in this matter concerning my master?”
Zhao Cheng suddenly tightened the reins, raised his head in a daze, and looked at the outline of Yun Jing City in the distance.
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