The two men, both taciturn, continued their journey, and the frequent encounters with surviving remnants of the Red Turban Army as they traversed the rocky pass only made them less inclined to speak.
Both men knew that today's event was extremely dangerous because the Red Turban Army was no longer the same as it had been at the beginning of the uprising. Everyone knew how brutal they had been along the way.
After they passed through the pass, Zhu Zhaozhou took the initiative to speak: "Xiang Ze, can you tell me why?"
Xiang Ze knew what he wanted to ask, which was also what Lü Tu had told him. This showed that Zhu Zhaozhou was trustworthy in this regard. On the spot, he gave a brief account of his participation in the Red Turban Rebellion.
Zhu Zhaozhou was stunned and exclaimed in surprise, "You mean you were once one of the leaders of the Red Turban Army?"
"good."
"General Lü has so many talented people under his command. No wonder he was able to rise to prominence in such a short time."
Xiang Ze laughed heartily: "Although Brother Lü is not old, he is a first-class master in every aspect, whether it is courage, strategy, character, or martial arts. It is no exaggeration to say that he is rare in the world. We are naturally willing to follow him."
Zhu Zhaozhou then understood why Lü Tu had let Xiang Ze come along and why he had given Xiang Ze a death order, instructing him to bring him back safely.
"Our Wuchuan is truly a place where dragons and tigers dwell; no, it should be said that General Lü is truly unfathomable!"
Xiang Ze said in a deep voice, "I don't know who's leading the other team yet. If anything goes wrong and we can't reach an agreement, I'll cover your escape first."
Zhu Zhaozhou's expression changed: "No, I won't leave you there alone!"
Xiang Ze laughed heartily: "Old General, have you forgotten again? Even if I were captured by them, with my reputation within the Red Turban Army, they wouldn't dare do anything to me! Besides, my elder brother will definitely save me."
Zhu Zhaozhou was speechless. He had never heard a soldier speak so confidently to his superior. Perhaps it was because he had served under Yun Tian for so long that he always felt that expecting his superior to save him unconditionally was a bit of a fantasy.
Soon, the two discovered the Red Turban Army regrouping their troops five miles away from the Luanshigang Pass. Although all they could see were torches in the sky, the chaotic figures and the occasional cries of agony were enough to prove how heavy the enemy's losses had been.
Seeing this scene, Xiang Ze felt bad. After all, these were the rebel armies he had helped organize, but they had been ruined by incompetent good-for-nothings like Zhang Chengyan.
This feeling was like having a girl you cherish and protect being kicked around without any pity by someone else. The more Xiang Ze thought about it, the angrier he became!
Wielding their whips, they arrived with an air of righteous indignation before the Red Turban Army's camp. Only then did the Red Turban Army notice their arrival and shout, "Who are you?"
When the firelight illuminated Xiang Ze's armor, the Red Turban soldiers exclaimed in surprise, "The Wuchuan border troops are attacking!"
His shout startled everyone around him, who trembled as if startled birds and hurriedly tried to get up and back away.
Xiang Ze shouted, "A bunch of trash, open your dog eyes and see clearly who I am!"
At his shout, some people turned around to examine Xiang Ze's face closely, but these soldiers didn't recognize him at all: "Brothers, don't run! There are only two hotheads coming from the other side!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately flew into a rage and turned their guns on them again: "Kill them! Avenge our fallen brothers!"
Upon seeing this, Zhu Zhaozhou drew his sword and shouted, "Send your men out to see me! I am Zhu Zhaozhou, the deputy general of the Wuchuan border army, and this is Xiang Ze, our Wuchuan Polu Colonel!"
One of the soldiers retorted defiantly, "I don't care who you are! Two people dare to charge into our ranks? I'll kill you both as a sacrifice to the flag!"
These words were clearly inflammatory. The Red Turban soldiers, who had just suffered a crushing defeat, desperately needed an outlet for their emotions. After all, endless fear would eventually turn into anger.
Their anger reached its peak after Zhu Zhaozhou introduced himself.
But when these Red Turban Army soldiers slowly gathered around, they saw the eight-foot-tall young captain burst into loud laughter: "You don't even recognize me? Let Zhang Chengyan come out and see me!"
Upon hearing Zhang Chengyan's name, the soldiers slowed their pace. Those with a keen eye naturally connected the dots and spoke up at the opportune moment: "Brothers, wait a moment. Surround them both first, and I'll go report to the general and ask him what's going on!"
Xiang Ze also quietly pressed down on Zhu Zhaozhou's knife, signaling him with his eyes to wait a moment.
Before long, a burly man with a thick beard came over. He sat astride his horse and cursed, "You mean two border soldiers from Wuchuan have come? And they know the Prince of Yan?"
Soon, the burly man with a thick beard arrived in front of Xiang Ze and his companion. Before they could even see his face clearly, he shouted, "Does any of you know the Prince of Yan?"
Upon hearing this, Xiang Ze spat out a word of disdain and said, "Who is the Prince of Yan? Is it that good-for-nothing Zhang Chengyan?"
"How dare you!"
"presumptuous!"
"How dare you openly insult our Prince of Yan!"
In front of all the Red Turban Army soldiers, Xiang Ze took off his helmet and said, "Zhou Xiaowu, take a good look at who I am!"
The burly man with a thick beard leaned forward, curiously examining Xiang Ze. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Brother Xiang!"
He then immediately dismounted, ignoring the muddy ground where he nearly slipped and fell. He pushed aside the soldier who came to help him, squeezed through the crowd surrounding Xiang Ze, and knelt down on one knee beside his horse: "Brother Xiang, I didn't expect you to still be alive!"
Under these circumstances, Xiang Ze dismounted and helped Zhou Xiaowu up, asking, "How are you doing in the Red Turban Army?"
This scene, as seen by the other soldiers, was like witnessing something terrifying. Everyone quickly put away their weapons, fearing punishment from their general.
Zhou Xiaowu stood up and said, "Brother Xiang, after you were forced to leave by them, they took away the military power from the brothers. They only gave me military power because they thought I was honest, but every time they make me lead the troops to do the work of charging into battle!"
Xiang Ze nodded after hearing this: "I just heard you address Zhang Chengyan as the Prince of Yan, what's that about? Could it be...?"
"That's right. Chu Cangwu declared himself emperor half a month ago and appointed nine people, including Zhang Chengyan, as kings."
Zhu Zhaozhou shouted angrily, "Have you eaten the gall of a bear and the heart of a leopard?!"
Xiang Ze patted his arm, signaling him to calm his anger, then frowned at Zhou Xiaowu: "They are clearly suffering defeat after defeat, yet they still dare to call themselves emperors?"
Zhou Xiaowu led Xiang Ze to the back, sighing helplessly, "Who says otherwise? They've been using the emperor's name to plunder everywhere, and the brothers have long since given up!"
Xiang Ze raised an eyebrow: "I think it's because they didn't bestow upon you the title of king, isn't it?"
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