Chapter 457: Human tragedy, brothers turning against each other!
As soon as Chen Chongshan finished speaking, Xu Zhaojie's hearty laughter was heard coming from the door.

"No need to bother Commander Chen, I'm coming right away!"

After the voice fell, Xu Zhaojie, with a smile on his face, slowly walked over under the gaze of everyone·················
Compared with Chen Chongshan who was surrounded by a crowd, Xu Zhaojie who entered the restaurant went to the other extreme. He seemed unaware of any danger, and did not bring any men with him. He came to the banquet alone!

Seeing Xu Zhaojie's appearance, Chen Chongshan's eyes flashed with a gleam of light. Just when he was about to say something, Xu Zhaojie took the initiative to speak to him sincerely:

"I'm sorry, Commander Chen! I just arrived in Anqing and there are so many things to do. I didn't pay attention to the time when I was dealing with official business in the morning. By the time I realized it, I had already missed the auspicious time for your birthday banquet. I'm so sorry, so sorry!"

Listening to Xu Zhaojie's words and feeling the humble attitude of this Great Zhou Zhenyuan Marquis, Chen Chongshan was a little surprised!
After all, logically speaking, he is now Xu Zhaojie's subordinate, and Xu Zhaojie is his immediate superior. According to official rules, even if Xu Zhaojie missed his birthday party, just explaining it was already good enough, which was very respectful to him. There was no need to use words like "sorry, my sin", which were usually words used by subordinates to superiors...

And the most important thing is that Xu Zhaojie, the Marquis of Zhenyuan of the Great Zhou, has always been known for his toughness in the court. When has he ever been so humble to his subordinates like he is now?
Thinking of this, Chen Chongshan's eyes showed a smug look. He thought that Xu Zhaojie had recognized the current situation and knew that he was a strong dragon and could not suppress a local snake. Moreover, Xu Zhaojie was now in a state of decline and could not be called a strong dragon. At most, he was just a sick cat!
Although he realized that Xu Zhaojie seemed willing to give in, Chen Chongshan, who did not want to endure any more, had already decided that he would step forward and be the master of Anqing in broad daylight. He immediately said:
"Your official duties are more important, and Mr. Chen's birthday party is nothing. But you must take care of your health, Lord!"

At the end, Chen Chongshan deliberately emphasized his tone, and the meaning of the whole sentence was very profound!
Although Chen Chongshan's performance was very deliberate, Xu Zhaojie did not seem to hear the hidden meaning of Chen Chongshan's words. He smiled and nodded and said:

"Don't worry about me, Commander Chen. I've always been in good health. I can eat five taels of rice in one meal and can draw a ten-stone bow. In addition, Anqing has many talented people and a good feng shui. I'm very happy to be here..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Chongshan narrowed his eyes and looked at Xu Zhaojie who was smiling in front of him. He didn't know whether this Zhenyuan Marquis really couldn't hear what he was saying, or was just pretending to be stupid and trying to get away with it!
Chen Chongshan, who believed that he had an absolute advantage in strength in Anqing, was too lazy to think about it. He stared at Xu Zhaojie and said coldly:

"That's not right. I heard that you, Lord Xu, are having trouble adapting to the climate in Anqing."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire Linglong Restaurant fell into silence. Chen Chongshan's brothers all looked at Xu Zhaojie, who was alone, with malicious eyes.

Under the gaze of everyone, Xu Zhaojie kept smiling and did not answer Chen Chongshan's question. Instead, he found an empty seat at the table and sat down. He picked up the half-empty wine jug and drank directly from it without even using a glass.

After drinking all the remaining wine in the jug in one breath, Xu Zhaojie was not fussy about details. He wiped the wine stains from the corners of his mouth with his sleeve and said with satisfaction:
"I heard when I was in Luoan that the wine from Anqing Linglong Restaurant is the best in the world. After tasting it today, I found that it is indeed worthy of its reputation..."

At this point, Xu Zhaojie looked at Chen Chongshan and continued:
"Commander Chen, I am late for your birthday party, but drinking this wine is worthwhile to celebrate your birthday!"

Seeing Xu Zhaojie's behavior, Chen Chongshan was increasingly confused about what tricks Xu Zhaojie was playing. However, he had made up his mind and thought that Xu Zhaojie was just being mysterious. After taking a deep look at Xu Zhaojie, he said:
"I heard that Lord Xu has lived in the north for a long time. You are not used to the climate in Anqing and you are too unwell to govern. You want to return to Sichuan for medical treatment. On behalf of the people of Anqing, I would like to give you 5,000 silver coins for your travel expenses!"

Although he has decided to step forward and serve as the Inspector General of Anqing, this does not mean that Chen Chongshan wants to kill Xu Zhaojie. For him, the best thing would be for Xu Zhaojie to be more sensible and get out of Anqing on his own!
Even though the whole country is in chaos and many towns are divided, no matter how they fight, they are all under the banner of the Great Zhou. Although Xu Zhaojie has lost power now, his ancestral banner of the title of Zhenyuan Marquis is still very famous. His family has been making friends with other powerful people through marriage for generations. Who knows how many people will be offended if Xu Zhaojie is killed...

Another point is that Xu Zhaojie was the commander of the Xuanwu Army in the imperial guards and had fought in the battlefields for the Great Zhou and made countless military exploits. He also defeated the Luobi people and pacified the palace capital for the Great Zhou and made great contributions in foreign wars. He was a famous general in the world and was deeply loved by the people. Therefore, if you kill him, your reputation will be ruined.

Chen Chongshan is fifty years old this year and is no longer a young man. Although he has made up his mind, he also knows the pros and cons of the matter. Therefore, if he can avoid killing anyone and get Xu Zhaojie out of Anqing, he will never do it. Of course, if Xu Zhaojie is ignorant and insists on staying in Anqing, the determined Chen Chongshan will never hesitate or be soft-hearted!
Seeing that Chen Chongshan had finally shown his true colors, Xu Zhaojie shook his head slightly, looking somewhat helpless as he said:

"Commander Chen, why are you doing this?"

"Lord Xu, I have given you enough face, please don't be ungrateful!" Chen Chongshan put his hands behind his back and looked at Xu Zhaojie with murderous intent, and said coldly:

After he finished speaking, Chen Chongshan gave a look to his brothers and subordinates who were gathered around him. After receiving Chen Chongshan's hint, they immediately drew their swords and pointed them at Xu Zhaojie, ready to hack Xu Zhaojie to death in this Linglong Restaurant if they disagreed with him.

Under Chen Chongshan's gaze, under these countless blades, Xu Zhaojie sighed helplessly.

"well················"

Hearing Xu Zhaojie's sigh, just when Chen Chongshan thought Xu Zhaojie was going to admit defeat, Xu Zhaojie suddenly threw the wine jug in his hand to the ground. "Bang!"

With a crisp sound, the ceramic wine jug broke into countless pieces. Just when Chen Chongshan was confused about what was going on, his closest brother Li Sandao suddenly turned around and chopped Chen Chongshan in the face with the knife in his hand.

Chen Chongshan was caught off guard and had no time to dodge, but even though he was over fifty years old, he had worked his way up from the bottom and was agile and quick to react. He directly blocked the fatal blow from his brother with his right hand!
"what!"

Li Sandao's blade fell, and Chen Chongshan screamed. Although his life was saved, his right hand was cut off by the sword...
Following Li Sandao's actions, most of the guards in the restaurant turned against their allies and began to slaughter their former companions.

For a moment, the Linglong Restaurant, which was famous in Anqing, was filled with the flashing of swords and the sound of wailing and screaming!

Li Sandao's attack failed, and the guards loyal to Chen Chongshan reacted immediately, leaving Li Sandao no chance to attack again. Li Sandao had no choice but to retreat temporarily and command his men to rush towards Chen Chongshan.

After experiencing the panic of being suddenly attacked, the guards loyal to Chen Chongshan in the restaurant slowly began to stabilize their position. With the help of people around him, Chen Chongshan himself temporarily dealt with his severed right arm and stopped the bleeding.

Seeing Li Sandao commanding his men to charge towards him not far away, wishing to kill him as soon as possible, Chen Chongshan shouted angrily:

"Li Sandao, you bastard deserves to be chopped into pieces! I treated you well but you actually betrayed me! Without me, would you be able to become the commander?"

Listening to Chen Chongshan's curse, Li Sandao snorted coldly, pointed the sword in his hand at Chen Chongshan and said:
"Mr. Chen! You are right. You helped me earn this position as commander!"

“But I don’t owe you anything. Just count it with your conscience. How many times have I pulled you out of the private pile in the past few decades? If I, Li Sandao, hadn’t risked my life to save you, Chen Chongshan, let alone now, your body would not even be in that mass grave...”

At this point, Li Sandao's eyes changed, and he looked at Chen Chongshan fiercely and said:
"Mr. Chen, I saved you so many times, but you turned your kindness into enmity! Do you really think there is an impenetrable wall in this world, and no one knows about the conspiracy between you and Cao Changping? Don't you know that Cao Changping killed my whole family?"

"You still want to use my head to exchange for silver and food from Cao Changping, Chen Chongshan, you bastard, since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust!"

Listening to what Li Sandao said, Chen Chongshan, whose conspiracy was exposed, was suddenly speechless. He never expected that the plan, which he thought was perfect, had already been known by Li Sandao, and that Li Sandao had set up such a big trap to counterattack him!
Xu Zhaojie, who was sitting on a chair at the dining table, watched with great interest the drama of the brothers turning against each other. He was glad that he had made the right move to go to Huainan to find Feng Keqin.

Not only did he obtain support in terms of manpower and money from Feng Keqin, he also learned about the specific situation in Anqing, and got the secret helper Li Sandao...

This Li Sandao is Chen Chongshan's sworn brother, and also Chen Chongshan's right-hand man in the Anqing Army. He is the second most important person after Chen Chongshan. He has saved Chen Chongshan's life many times and was one of Chen Chongshan's most trusted people before.

After Cao Changping, who was far away in Qi and Lu, learned that Chen Chongshan wanted to be the Inspector General of Anqing, he sent someone to contact Chen Chongshan and expressed his support for Chen Chongshan to be the Inspector General of Anqing, and invited him to join forces to march south to conquer Huainan.

Faced with the goodwill shown by Cao Changping, Chen Chongshan was also an ambitious man who coveted the richness of Huainan. Without thinking too much, he secretly formed an alliance with Cao Changping. Li Sandao was an obstacle to the alliance between Chen Chongshan and Cao Changping!
Although he held an important position in the Anqing army, Li Sandao was not from Anqing, he was born in Qi and Lu. In the early years of Anhe, Anqing was plagued by bandits. Qi and Lu, as neighboring provinces, assisted in sending troops to encircle and suppress the bandits. Because of his bravery in combat and the killing of more than a dozen bandits, Li Sandao was valued by his superiors at the time, so he stayed in Anqing to serve, but his family remained in Qi and Lu...
But just five years ago, Cao Changping was collecting grain in Qi and Lu. Li Sandao's father refused to cooperate and secretly hid the extra grain in a secret cellar at home. However, he was reported by the family's farmhand, which made Cao Changping furious. In order to make an example of him, he killed all 17 members of Li Sandao's family!
Li Sandao, who became a lonely man, hated Cao Changping to the core. He repeatedly declared that he would cut Cao Changping into pieces and eat his flesh and sleep on his skin. Therefore, his existence became the biggest obstacle to the cooperation between Chen Chongshan and Cao Changping. Cao Changping secretly sent someone to tell Chen Chongshan that as long as Li Sandao died, Cao Changping was willing to give Chen Chongshan 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 shi of grain!
Although these money and food are tempting, to be honest, as a general who has worked his way up from the bottom, Chen Chongshan would not kill his sworn brother, his right-hand man in the army, for these money and food, which would make his loved ones sad and his enemies happy!

But at this time, Cao Changping not only tempted Li Sandao with money and food, but also bribed several close people around him. After taking Cao Changping's money, these people kept saying that Li Sandao had too much power in the army, had ulterior motives, and would rebel sooner or later. They asked Chen Chongshan to strike first to eliminate future troubles...
Chen Chongshan didn't care about these words at first and expressed his willingness to believe Li Sandao. However, after listening to more words from people around him, he slowly began to doubt Li Sandao. Finally, under the instigation of people around him and the temptation of Cao Changping's money, he finally nodded and agreed to get rid of Li Sandao.

However, Xu Zhaojie came to Anqing at this time, so the matter of dealing with Li Sandao was postponed. Chen Chongshan originally planned to drive Xu Zhaojie away, secure his position as the Inspector General of Anqing, and then deal with Li Sandao.

However, what he never expected was that Li Sandao knew the news. In anger, Li Sandao sent his confidant to find Feng Keqin in Huainan in order to protect himself. He revealed the conspiracy of Chen Chongshan and Cao Changping to Huainan to seek Feng Keqin's help.

Because of this, under Feng Keqin's matchmaking, Li Sandao and Xu Zhaojie got in touch. Then Xu Zhaojie also learned from Li Sandao that Chen Chongshan had set up this Hongmen Banquet for him. After careful discussion, the two decided to play a trick on Chen Chongshan in order to send Chen Chongshan off...
(End of this chapter)