Chapter 181 It’s Easy to Defeat Zong Ze (25)

This old hero, at the age of nearly seventy, fought against the Jin army. He repeatedly blocked the Jin army's so-called "invincible" offensive, defeated the Jin army's morale, painstakingly planned the counterattack, recovered lost territory, promoted Yue Fei, and left a spark.

Zong Ze was the backbone of the Han people of that era.

It’s a pity that Wanyan Jiumei was frightened to death!

I dare not go north again.

During the years when the country was in decline, Zong Ze submitted more than 20 memorials requesting Emperor Gaozong to return to the capital, but was obstructed by the peace faction each time.

He became ill due to worry and anger, and developed a malignant sore on his back.

When Zong Ze became seriously ill, the generals came to inquire about his condition. Zong Ze looked at them and said, "I was not ill at first, but I became ill because of my worry and anger. If you can destroy the enemy for me and fulfill the master's ambition to restore the Central Plains, I will die with no regrets."

All the generals cried and said, "How dare we not serve!"

On July 12, the second year of Jianyan, Zong Ze, who was on his deathbed, did not talk about family affairs. After shouting "Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!" three times, he passed away suddenly.

Later generations praised his loyalty and integrity, which were so brilliant that they could rival the sun and the moon.

Such a person's will is definitely harder than steel, and his soul is absolutely unshakable.

Confucianism also has its own methods of cultivation, and Zong Ze is most likely a master among Confucian masters.

Can't beat it, can't beat it at all!

Cao Jie would rather face military generals like Zhang Shuye and Han Shizhong than Confucian generals like Zong Ze, Lao Zhong and Xiao Zhong.

"What's there to be afraid of, just a judge?"

Chen Xizhen didn't care about the news from his daughter. He sneered and said, "That little Meng Deguan is good at making up stories, exaggerating, and setting up vicious schemes to deceive people. How could I fall for his schemes? Let's see how I can defeat Zong Ze..."

"Generals, please find out about Zong Ze for me. I need his detailed information."

"Village leader, I am familiar with Zong Ze..."

Zong Ze had served as a county magistrate in Shandong for several terms and had a good reputation, so he was certainly not an unknown person.

After some discussion, Chen Xizhen nodded and said, "Since he is a good official, I will capture him and bring him to the mountain stronghold to be a herdsman for my Yuanbi stronghold."

Under his command, there are now some crude warriors, such as Zhu Yongqing and Luan Tingyu.

The commander-in-chief, Yun Tianbiao, who was supposed to serve under him, had already been killed by Wu Song in Yanggu County, and grass had grown on his grave.

However, Liu Guang, the brother-in-law, also had some strategic talent. He had now become Cao Jie's father-in-law and was living a life of luxury on Mount Liangshan every day.

Even his daughter Chen Liqing was deceived and taken away.

It can be said that he is the only brain left in the entire Yuanbi Village, and he has been severely injured and has lost all his brainpower.

…………

On the way back to Liangshan, Gongsun Sheng could not hold back his curiosity and asked, "Brother, why do you think so highly of Zong Tongpan? Even if he is a fellow Jinshi and has practiced Confucian magic, it would be difficult for him to break through Yuanbi Village by himself!
Even though Chen Xizhen has broken his foundation, with his fifth-grade Sun Travel Realm cultivation, combined with his thunder technique, and the support of several generals, if he is defeated, he can just flee far away. I don't think it will be possible for the imperial army to come and suppress him."

Cao Jie smiled and said, "Mr. Yiqing, do you understand the magical powers of Confucianism?"

"Confucian magical powers? I know a thing or two about them." Gongsun Sheng pinched his long beard and said, "Confucian saints can criticize people with words and pens. They can kill people, kill gods, and judge the emperor as unjust. No matter whether it is Taoist or Buddhist magical powers, they can all disappear under the will of the saints."

"A great Confucian scholar speaks the law of heaven, speaks the law, and is full of righteousness, specializing in dealing with evil ways." "Brother, do you think that Zong Ze is a great Confucian scholar?"

Cao Jie asked back: "Why not?"

"To become a great scholar, one must first establish virtue, second establish words, and third establish merit. Zong Ze has made some achievements in herding the people. But to say that he can cultivate great Confucian supernatural powers with this, in my opinion, it is impossible."

Cao Jie sighed slightly: "In troubled times, not only do demons and monsters appear, but it also provides a stage for heroes to show off their skills. From what I see, Zong Ze is no ordinary person."

Thinking of his brother's ability to identify talent, Gongsun Sheng did not dwell too much on this issue.

"If he is really a great Confucian sage, then Chen Xizhen's Taoist skills will be useless, and the strength of Yuanbi Village will be greatly reduced..."

Gongsun Sheng clasped his fists solemnly and said, "I'm talking about defeat before I talk about victory. If Liangshan were to encounter this enemy, my skills would be useless. Brother, do you have any way to deal with it?"

Cao Jie had already thought about this problem a long time ago and didn't seem to be overly worried.

"Mr. Yiqing, although the Confucian school can break the magical power of the Taoist school, it does not have much combat power on its own and needs the power and authority granted by the court to cooperate. As the saying goes, if the name is not right, the words will not flow, and if the words are not flowing, the law will not work. To defeat Zongze, it is not on the battlefield, but in the court."

Gongsun Sheng suddenly realized and whispered, "Wu Xuejiu is an expert in this art. Now Huang Wenbing has also joined Liangshan. With these two people's plan, Zong Ze will surely be in my brother's pocket!"

"It's not easy to take down a tough guy like Zong Ze. I don't want to destroy him either... Let's take it one step at a time!"

The worst that could happen is that he would bribe Cai Jing and Gao Qiu and have Zong Ze removed from office.

Moreover, in history, some officials falsely accused Zong Ze of improperly rebuilding the "Shenxiao Palace" in Dengzhou and demanded that Huizong punish him. As a result, Zong Ze was quickly dismissed from his post and sent to Zhenjiang Prefecture for several years.

History has taught us specific methods, and they are so simple and effective!
Yizhou, Linyi.

Zong Ze, who had received an order from the imperial court, was leading his officers and soldiers to discuss strategies for suppressing bandits in the camp.

An old and powerful voice sounded: "Quality is more important than quantity. Most of the soldiers in Yizhou are old and weak and can no longer be used. Although Dengzhou has elite soldiers, they cannot be used lightly. I have dispatched Sun Li, the commander of the Dengzhou army, to assist. Within three months, you must train an elite force for me, and then we can start suppressing the bandits."

"Sir, the court has only given me three months to wait. What should I do if I miss the deadline?" The deputy general stood up and asked with a fist salute.

A tall figure stood up at the coach's position.

"Naturally, I will bear the blame. You just need to obey my orders and stop talking."

Faced with such a strong commander, the generals dared not say anything and went to train their troops.

In the camp, "Sick Weichi" Sun Li stood under the tent. He was a big man with pale yellow complexion, a full beard, a height of over eight feet, and a tiger-eye bamboo steel whip hanging from his waist.

On the other hand, although Zong Ze is not yet sixty years old, he is not much different. His face is full of wrinkles, with a white beard floating on his chest, big earlobes, a hanging nose and a wide mouth. His eyes are like bright stars and his gaze is spirited.

Just looking at these eyes, how can there be any sign of oldness?
He was about eight feet tall, with broad shoulders and long arms. Although he was wearing a civil servant's robe, he could not conceal his awe-inspiring air.

With his imposing manner, he actually suppressed Sun Li.

"Sun Tixia."

"I'm here!" Sun Li clasped his fists.

Zong Ze looked down on the many officers in Yizhou, but he valued this man very much, and his face became a little kinder...

(End of this chapter)