Chapter 138 Cai Yan's Unforgettable Night

In the past, Jiang Qin had no choice but to become a thief in order to survive. After all, in this fucked up world, if you are not ruthless enough, you won’t even have the capital to survive.

But now Zhou Tai has shown him a clear path. If he can be a good person, why should he go back to being a thief?
It is better to stay and follow a wise leader, pacify the troubled times, and bring honor to the family.

"Okay, Youping, I'll stay with you!"

"Ok!"

So Jiang Qin also decided to stay.

At the Liang County government office, Wang Jing was reading the battle report from Hulao Pass when suddenly a subordinate came to report: "General, there are two people outside the gate who claim to be Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin asking to see you."

"Zhou Tai! Jiang Qin!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jing was stunned for a while, and then he found it incredible. Aren’t these two famous generals of the Eastern Wu listed among the Twelve Tiger Ministers of the Jiang Biao?

Why didn't they follow Cheng Pu, Han Dang and others to escort Sun Ce away? Why did they suddenly come to find me?
In the history of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were both listed as the tiger ministers of Jiang Biao, and were the leading figures in the sequence of military generals of Eastern Wu. Among them, Zhou Tai's ranking was only after the three veteran generals Cheng Pu, Han Dang and Huang Gai. In terms of personal bravery, only Gan Ning could be compared with him.

Moreover, Zhou Tai was well-known for his loyalty and bravery. Not to mention taking the initiative to come and surrender, Wang Jing didn't even think that he had enough personal charm to recruit a die-hard general of the Eastern Wu like Zhou Tai.

As a result, when luck came, nothing could stop it.

Wang Jing also kept searching for relevant memories in his mind and deduced them in chronological order, and finally he figured out why Zhou Tai took the initiative to surrender.

The Eastern Wu regime had not yet been established at this time, and Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin probably had not yet followed Sun Ce to pacify Jiangdong, so they were "wild generals" without a master.

Why hesitate?

Wang Jing was so excited that he immediately ordered his men: "Where is the person? Come in quickly!"

In just a moment, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were invited to the front hall of the county government office. Wang Jing even ordered his subordinates to prepare a banquet and entertain them personally.

"Greetings, Lord Qi."

"Two brave men, please stand up quickly."

Wang Jing suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and was very polite to Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin.

However, the curve of his lips betrayed his true emotions at the moment. A famous general came to his doorstep, and Wang Jing was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

"Now, it seems that the Twelve Tiger Ministers of Jiangbiao can only be called the Ten Tigers of Dongwu from now on."

When the banquet began, Wang Jing, wearing a silk robe and a golden crown on his head, spoke humorously and frequently toasted the two of them. He did not put on airs as a member of a noble family at all. Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were deeply moved by this courtesy.

You have to know that they were all clan bandits, not even commoners. In the eyes of the aristocratic families, they were "criminals engaged in illegal activities." Therefore, when they were under Yuan Shu's command, although they fought bravely, they were always looked down upon.

But now, the two of them are treated as guests of honor by a high-ranking court official like Wang Jing?

They wouldn't even dare to dream of such a thing!
In the past, a county official could order them around and boss them around.

When they were soldiers under Yuan Shu, if they had not led their clansmen to surrender, they would not have been able to get even a small official position like team leader, let alone receive courtesy.

Therefore, after this conversation, the two of them became more determined to follow Wang Jing. Zhou Tai put down his wine cup, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and said solemnly: "Gong Yi and I both want to follow a wise leader like the general, pacify the troubled times, and establish a career. Please take us in."

Jiang Qin also quickly knelt on one knee and begged sincerely: "General, please take me in!"

"Hahaha, today I have the help of two brave warriors, which is like adding wings to a tiger."

After that, Wang Jing personally stepped forward and helped Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin up from the ground: "Youping, Gongyi, I will now appoint you as Jianwu Duwei and Fenwu Duwei."

As soon as he joined, he was given the rank of captain and served by Wang Jing, which meant he had a bright future.

Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin looked at each other and immediately bowed to the ground in high spirits: "Thank you, Lord!"

After the war, Wang Jing returned to the capital. When he arrived in Luoyang, Liu Xie, in order to ease the relationship with Wang Jing, led all the officials together with the imperial teacher Wang Yue to go out of the city ten miles to welcome him, which gave Wang Jing enough face.

The Imperial College in the south of the city is crowded with people at this moment.

Many students skipped classes and came here to watch the fun.

Seeing more and more people gathering around him, Liu Xie appeared calm on the surface, but he was actually very panicked inside. The death of Dong Cheng was a huge blow to him, especially the bloody scene of killing in front of Wang Jing's palace, which had a huge impact on his young mind.

Even in Liu Xie's view, Wang Jing was more terrifying than Dong Zhuo.

With the idea of ​​joining if you can't beat them, Liu Xie has now come to terms with it. He decides to offend no one but Wang Jing. Now many people in the world are hoping for the death of this young emperor, and only Wang Jing can keep him safe.

As for whether he can rule the country after seven years?

I'd better live till that time before thinking about this kind of question.

Liu Xie was a little nervous at this time, and asked in a low voice: "When will Marquis Qi arrive?"

The two eunuchs serving Liu Xie were also terrified. They were new recruits. The previous group who were bribed by Dong Cheng and wanted to cause trouble secretly were all killed by Wang Jing.

So let alone Liu Xie being afraid of Wang Jing, which of these palace people is not afraid?
When they heard the little emperor ask, they could only muster up their courage and whispered, "Your Majesty, please be patient. Marquis Qi should be here soon."

"OK then."

Liu Xie sighed quietly and sat back in the imperial carriage quietly. However, he felt somewhat uncomfortable all over, and his eyes drifted involuntarily to the south.

Among the crowd of onlookers, there were also people looking far to the south, their bright eyes like scissors of water, filled with a hint of anticipation.

Beside the official road leading to Luoyang, there was parked a luxurious carriage with a pearl curtain. The style of the carriage was very peculiar, and it actually had four wheels. It was obviously the latest four-wheeled carriage produced by Qiqiao Pavilion, made by a disciple of the Mohist school who was proficient in mechanical engineering. Not only was it expensive, but many people could not buy it even if they had money.

Inside the carriage, Cai Yan stretched out her white hand and gently opened the curtain. Her bright eyes began to look out, as if she was looking for something.

Huang Xin, who was very clever, was sitting next to her. She couldn't help but laugh and said, "Hehe, Sister Zhaoji is getting anxious. I don't know when the master will come back."

Cai Yan was teased by her and glared at the girl unhappily. Although she didn't reply, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she felt a little more embarrassed.

It was rare to see Cai Yan showing a shy expression, Yuan Ying couldn't help but chuckle with her hands covering her mouth: "Yeah, I've been watching for two hours, and I still haven't seen enough."

Ever since her father Cai Yong was rescued by Wang Jing, Cai Yan missed Wang Jing more and more every day, as if every day they didn't see him was like a long time, and she was always missing him in her heart.

At first, Cai Yan just thought that Wang Jing was a witty and humorous person, and it was easy to get along with him without having to care about so many red tape. Therefore, Cai Yan regarded Wang Jing as a confidant, and they often talked about everything under the sun, including the past and present.

But this friendship now seems to be slowly deteriorating.

When her father Cai Yong was imprisoned, Cai Yan sought help everywhere, but few people offered her a helping hand, so that she suddenly felt lonely and helpless as she looked around.

And when she was almost in despair, Wang Jing reached out and pulled her out of the dark abyss.

Wang Jing not only persuaded Wang Yun not to pursue Cai Yong's crimes, but also saved her father's life from the assassin. It was from that night that Cai Yan regarded Wang Jing as her spiritual harbor and support in life.

In the carriage, Huang Xin held Cai Yan's arm and continued to talk about Wang Jing with great interest: "Sister Zhaoji, have you heard? This time, Master won another great victory in Liang County, and defeated the enemy."

The good news had already been reported back to Luoyang and was talked about by everyone.

However, Yuan Ying's identity was somewhat awkward because she was born in the Yuan family. After all, the other party in this war, Yuan Shu, was her cousin, and Yuan Shao was also his cousin.

But she was different from the ambitious men in her family. She just hoped that the war would stop and the world would be peaceful again: "Alas, I really hope that the imperial dynasty will not start wars again. Otherwise, the chaos and disorder will not be a blessing for the country."

Cai Yan agreed: "Yes, I don't want there to be war again in this world."

Wang Jing went on expeditions one after another, and Cai Yan was always worried about him, fearing that something unpredictable would happen to Wang Jing on the dangerous battlefield.

Just when the atmosphere became silent, a flagpole slowly rose on the distant horizon against the scorching sun.

"Marquis Qi is here!" Someone shouted, and the crowd began to boil.

Boom boom boom~
Amid the thunderous footsteps, a mighty and majestic army seemed to be marching towards us with high spirits, stepping on thousands of mountains and rivers, ignoring the dangers and obstacles, with the momentum to swallow the world.

The scarlet battle uniforms were like raging flames, the dark black armor looked like raging waves, the soldiers had firm eyes, their formations were neat, and they marched in unison, in the flying dust, they came into the eyes of the people of Luoyang.

"Such a spirit, truly a teacher of kings!"

Many of the onlookers exclaimed in admiration.

The fortune teller Zheng Ludao opened his spiritual eyes in the crowd and peeked into the sky above the army. He saw the soldier evil spirit transformed into a tiger, roaring and screaming. At the same time, Wang Jing's own luck gradually transformed into the shape of a dragon, and it seemed to be taking off.

"Qi Cheng Longhu?"

"Why is there no destiny?"

"It's really strange."

Zheng Ludao thought about it over and over again, but still couldn't figure it out.

He learned from the lineage of Yin Xi, one of the ten great heroes in the world during the pre-Qin period, and his best skill was observing the stars and the weather.

However, Wang Jing's "destiny" followed the path of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in ancient times and belonged to the ancient method of becoming an emperor. It was obviously different from the "destiny" he had known before.

"Did I calculate wrongly? There's no reason for this, right?"

Zheng Ludao scratched his head, thought about it, and decided to go find his Taoist friend Shi Zimi to discuss it.

In addition to Zheng Ludao, there were many fortune-tellers from other schools in the crowd, and even some famous Confucian scholars who had reached the master level of spiritual cultivation. They could all see that Wang Jing's momentum was already formed and his power was difficult to control.

Compared with the complicated feelings of the people in the aristocratic families and wealthy clans, the people of Luoyang felt honored to see that Wang Jing had such a strong army under his command.

They all cast envious eyes on the soldiers under Wang Jing's command who were recruited locally in Luoyang, especially the Iron Scale Sword Guards, who were the tallest and had the most luxurious equipment, and were the ones who were closely watched.

Many families with daughters waiting to get married have already started choosing sons-in-law.

Some of the more daring girls looked around with their bright eyes, searching for their ideal husbands among the team.

Wang Jing successfully changed the image of soldiers in the eyes of ordinary people by providing generous food and favorable treatment. As a result, the soldiers under his command greatly improved their sense of honor and fighting will and were able to maintain high morale.

Xun You saw the young emperor Liu Xie standing in front of all the officials, and hurried to Wang Jing and whispered, "My lord, His Majesty is here in person."

Wang Jing nodded calmly when he heard this, and immediately realized that Liu Xie was trying to show goodwill to him and wanted to ease the relationship between the two sides.

Unfortunately, Wang Jing thought that doing so would only backfire, and he couldn't help but sigh: "Isn't this just roasting me on the fire? Forget it, he's just a naughty kid after all."

Although he didn't take Liu Xie seriously, he still had to do some face-saving work for the sake of his own reputation.

Wang Jing dismounted from his horse, walked to Liu Xie with a tiger-like stride, and bowed slightly, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"Marquis Qi, please get up quickly."

Facing Wang Jing, Liu Xie now dared not put on any airs. Otherwise, if there was another attempt to purge the court, where would he find a brother-in-law for Wang Jing to kill?

Although he was obviously frightened, Liu Xie still pretended to be very close to Wang Jing. He talked and laughed with him, acting like a king and his subject getting along well.

This made some people unhappy. Yuan Wei and Yang Biao, who were standing in the center of the line of officials, had their brows twisted into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

Liu Xie was a smart man after all, and after experiencing the incident with Dong Cheng, he had completely learned his lesson. The old party wanted to stir up a fight between the royalists and the new party, and wanted to alienate the relationship between Liu Xie and Wang Jing, but Wang Jing woke Liu Xie up with a slap. After distinguishing who was the big and small king, Liu Xie now obeyed Wang Jing's orders and responded to his requests. He was just short of hugging Wang Jing's thigh and calling him daddy.

Many important civil and military officials from the old party factions in the court were watching the situation and were worried.

Wang Jing naturally saw the expressions of Yuan Wei, Yang Biao and others clearly, but he was too lazy to argue with them now.

After Wang Jing stood up, he smiled and said to Liu Bian: "Thanks to your majesty's great blessing, the siege of Liang County has been lifted. Next is the coalition of princes from Guandong outside Hulao Pass. Your majesty, please rest assured that I will definitely wipe out these traitors for your majesty and bring peace to the world."

"Great! I knew it. Marquis Qi is a loyal and capable general of our dynasty. It is a blessing for our country and the people to have Marquis Qi here."

Liu Xie was supported by Dong Zhuo to come to power, and his political legitimacy had always been questioned by the coalition of 18 princes. Therefore, in his eyes, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others were nothing more than traitors and evil forces who were eager to create chaos in the world.

After chatting for a while, Liu Xie planned to hold a banquet in the palace to celebrate Wang Jing's success.

The coalition forces of princes led by Yuan Shao outside Hulao Pass are still eyeing them covetously. How can Wang Jing have so much time to eat and drink now?
Therefore, he politely declined: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but at this moment we are facing a powerful enemy, and I want to focus on state affairs. As for the celebration, I will drink with Your Majesty after we defeat the rebels."

"Marquis Qi is focusing on state affairs, so what's the harm in me waiting for a while?"

Although he was rejected, Liu Xie dared not get angry. He had to put on a smile and praised Wang Jing a few words before returning to the palace in the imperial carriage.

After Liu Xie left, Wang Jing was about to go to the West Garden, but he glanced to the side and saw Cai Yan and the other three sitting side by side in the carriage. He immediately smiled and greeted them, "Zhao Ji."

Yuan Ying and Huang Xin also poked their heads out of the carriage and said with a sweet smile, "Sir, you are really biased. You only have eyes for Sister Zhao Ji and don't even see us."

"It's Jing's fault. I accept the punishment."

Wang Jing's face was filled with smiles. When he saw beautiful things, his mood naturally became relaxed and cheerful.

Especially Cai Yan, who I haven't seen for a while has grown more graceful and elegant, like a delicate and beautiful flower, about to bloom, with a gorgeous appearance.

The four of them chatted for a while, and then Wang Jing had to leave first because of something.

Cai Yan looked at Wang Jing's departing back, her pretty face slightly tilted upward, her pair of starry eyes staring blankly.

Huang Xin pushed her arm and said, "Sister Zhaoji, stop looking. Everyone has left."

Cai Yan suddenly felt lost and muttered to herself, "Yes, everyone is gone."

After arriving at Xiyuan, Wang Jing immediately summoned his men to discuss battle strategies.

Although the siege of Liang County was lifted, the eastern front was still in a state of war with the Allied Forces, and the battle was difficult to resolve.

Jia Xu was previously stationed in Luoyang and had secret guards under his command, so he had a lot of first-hand intelligence. At this moment, he selected the key points and reported to Wang Jing one by one, saying, "For five consecutive days, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and other Guandong princes led their troops to attack Hulao. Although General Xu tried his best to hold on and used the crossbow formation and the power of the earth to repel the invading enemies several times, the situation is not optimistic."

At this time, Hulao Pass was not only facing military threats, but Yuan Shao also constantly sent people to spread rumors and create panic around Luoyang in an attempt to undermine the morale of the defending soldiers.

Xun You also took the opportunity to speak up: "Because of the fierce fighting, trade from Yuzhou and Jizhou has almost been cut off. If this continues, the people will probably complain."

"The army will take a short rest. Three days later, we will march to Hulao Pass. I will personally meet with the princes of Guandong."

Wang Jing's domineering war declaration once again boosted the morale of the entire army. Everyone had no doubt about the final victory of the battle. They all firmly believed that only the Northern Army could save the empire and save the Han people's country.

During the rest period, a special "guest" also came to Luoyang.

"My lord, Sun Ce, the son of General Sun Jian, who defeated the enemy, wants to see you."

"Sun Ce? Let him in."

"Yes."

Wang Jing met Sun Ce in the side hall used for receiving guests.

The future little overlord was only fifteen years old at this time, young and a little immature, but there was already a lot of sharpness between his brows, like a sharp sword, and his eyes were bold and brave.

As the founder of the future Eastern Wu regime and the elder brother of Wu Emperor Sun Quan, Sun Ce naturally carries the true dragon aura unique to a king, even stronger than that of Sun Jian.

Wang Jing could not help but feel murderous intent, and his eyes fell coldly on Sun Ce: "You are the descendant of a guilty minister, and you dare to come to see me alone? Do you really think I dare not kill you?"

(End of this chapter)