Chapter One Hundred and Fifty

  The people present were all startled and looked at Tang Yin in a rage, lowering their heads one after another, with no one daring to speak.

  Tang Yin himself couldn't tell whether he was angry about Zhang Zhou's death or the fact that his body couldn't be found. At this moment, his chest felt like it had a huge stone blocking it, and the flames of anger were suppressed, with no way to vent them. After a while, he slowly calmed down, thinking that the brutal soldiers might have destroyed Zhang Zhou's body in the chaos of burning food and grass.

  He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, then asked in a gentle voice: "Does General Zhang have a family?"

  Bai Yong then said: "Mrs. Zhang was killed by the barbarian soldiers, and there is only one daughter left in the family, who is just... nine years old this year."

  Alas! Tang Yin felt even more heartbroken upon hearing this, he clenched his fists and after a moment of contemplation, said: "If General Zhang's daughter has no one to care for her, then let her be adopted into my household!"

  "Yes! Sir!" Bai Yong had intended to raise Zhang Zhou's daughter anyway, and Tang Yin also had this intention. He naturally accepted it with pleasure. In any case, the county governor's mansion was much more comfortable and luxurious than his own home. Zhang's daughter could also receive better care in the county governor's mansion, which was also a way to make up for Zhang Zhou's spirit in heaven.

  Bai Yong sniffled, his voice choked with emotion: "General Zhang instructed me before he died that if I saw you, sir, to tell you that Zhang Zhou did not bring shame to the honor of our Wind Army!"

  Even the iron-hearted Tang Yin couldn't help but have his eyes turn red, and all the other generals present also wiped away tears with their sleeves.

  Tang Yin nodded and said in a low voice: "Even if there is no body, we must give him a grand burial!"

  "I understand!" Qiu Zhen replied with a bow, and then he continued: "Your Excellency, if the prefecture had sent reinforcements, General Zhang would not have died in the barbarian army's camp. Our request for reinforcement to the prefecture has been met with silence, and in over ten days, not a single soldier or officer has been dispatched to Pingyuan County!"

  His words were like a fuse, igniting the emotions of the crowd on the verge of collapse.

  Juno slammed his fist on the table and roared: "Sir, we are fighting to the death at the front line, resisting 200,000 barbarian troops. Meanwhile, Yu He, that dog official, is indulging in wine and women in the county, living a life of luxury and debauchery. If we don't kill this dog official, how can we face General Zhang's heroic spirit? How can we face the tens of thousands of our soldiers who have died or been wounded?"

  "Sir, let's take our men and kill that dog official Yu He!"

  "Yes! Lord, kill me together——"

  The crowd was stirred up and everyone stood up.

  Kill Yu He? Tang Yin's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but Yu He was the dignified head of the county, even if he made a big mistake, could he be killed just by saying so?

  Just as Tang Yin was still hesitating, Shangguan Yuan let out a cold laugh and said: "Is Lord Tang afraid that Wang Ting will blame him and he can't bear the responsibility? Don't worry, someone like Yu He is a minor villain who anyone can kill, no need for Lord Tang to take action, I'll go get his dog head!

  After finishing speaking, Shangguan Yuan let turned around and walked out.

  "Ka-chak! The armrest of the chair was suddenly crushed by Tang Yin's grip. He stood up abruptly, facing the departing Shangguan Yuanrang and shouted: "Halt!"

  Shangguan Yuan let out a snort and turned around, looking at Tang Yin with disdain.

  Tang Yin is the county governor, if he goes to kill the prefectural head, it would be absolutely considered a great rebellion and unrighteousness. If Wang Tingguo blames him for this, Tang Yin's own life will be in danger, and his whole family will be executed. Shang Guan Yuanrang really wants to see if Tang Yin has such a big nerve.

  At this time, this decision was a decisive decision for Tang Yin's future fate.

  He turned his gaze towards Qiu Zhen, and at this time, Qiu Zhen also realized that Tang Yin was asking him. He sat in the chair without speaking, and his facial expression did not change either.

  Tang Yin is so clever, how can he not understand what Qiu Zhen's silence represents? If this matter is not proper, Qiu Zhen will definitely speak out against it. His silence means that he tacitly agrees to do so. Since even Qiu Zhen agrees to do so, what else does Tang Yin have to hesitate about?

  He drew out the curved knife with a backhand motion, swung it backwards with his palm facing outwards, and with a crisp cracking sound, the chair behind him split in two. Tang Yin gritted his teeth and said word by word: "I swear to kill this villain!"

  Wow! Tang Yin's statement pushed the emotions of everyone present to a boiling point. They had long since wholeheartedly followed Tang Yin, and as long as he dared to do so, they would dare to follow him together.

  Among the crowd, only Shangguan Yongqi's head shook like a drumstick, killing the county chief? Is the county chief an ordinary person? Can he be killed just by saying kill? If this is really done, this pot will be smashed to pieces.

  "He repeatedly said: 'Everyone calm down, brothers please calm down for a moment. No matter how incompetent the county head is, it's not up to us to decide his life and death. If we want to deal with him, we have to go through the imperial court...'"

  Before he could finish speaking, Qiu Zhengyi said: "In times of national crisis, those who betray the country for personal gain should be beheaded first and then investigated!"

  "Traitor seeking glory?" Not only was Officer Yuanji's face filled with confusion, but others also didn't understand Qiu Zhen's meaning.

  Shangguan Yuanji asked in doubt: "Who is selling out for glory?"

  "It's natural!"

  "How... how could he be a traitor?"

  "If Yu He Ruo had not betrayed his country for personal glory, why did he not send reinforcements to Pingyuan County and why did he accept bribes from the barbarian state?"

  "Barbarian bribery?"

  Qiu Zhen burst out laughing and said: "We have a lot of barbarian objects in our hands, can't we just casually put some in Yu He's house? Forgery is not difficult either, writing some correspondence between Yu He and the barbarians is easy too. As long as we kill Yu He, there will be no evidence to prove otherwise, who would still investigate this matter? Now Ning Jun has 400,000 troops near Yan City, Wang Ting himself can't even protect himself, how could he care about us here? If we don't kill Yu He now and wait for the lord to take his place, what are we waiting for?"

  His words stunned everyone present.

  Everyone was unclear whether Qiu Zhen reacted too quickly or he had been secretly calculating and plotting against Yu He, eyeing his position as the county governor.

  However, at this moment, Tang Yan's eyes could emit a bright and sharp light. Yes, as Qiu Zhen said, now is the best time to kill Yu He. A good opportunity should be seized quickly, and things should not be delayed. Now is the time to take action.

  Thinking of this, he put away the curved knife in his hand and shouted to the four army commanders: "Assemble the soldiers and wait for me to rush to Shunzhou tonight!"

  "Understood!" White Yu, Zhu Nu, Gu Yue and Li Wei, the four battalion commanders, simultaneously inserted their hands and paid homage, leading the order to leave.

  Tang Yin gave an order, and the upper and lower ranks moved in unison. The Pingyuan army immediately began to prepare.

  Things have come to this, and Shangguan Yuange thought that he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to. Moreover, the shock brought by Qiu Zhen's words was too great. Shangguan Yuange's reaction was completely opposite to that of his elder brother. He wasn't afraid of big things, and when he saw Tang Yin gathering troops to rush to Shunzhou City, he couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart, and even his eyelashes showed a smile.

  Tang Yin was a man of action, and he immediately set out with his army of less than 40,000 infantrymen and over 4,000 cavalrymen towards Shunzhou.

  They had just gone halfway when they met a minor official sent by Shunzhou Prefecture to Pingyuan County.

  This man was specially sent to Heng City to deliver a message. On the way, he encountered the Pingyuan army and found it very strange.

  The soldiers of the plain brought him before Tang Yin, who looked at the little official with a cold eye and asked: "What did you go to Heng City for?"

  "I am here under the orders of the Prefect, to convey a message to Pingyuan County!" The little official didn't know that the Pingyuan army was going to Shunzhou to kill Yu He, and he looked puzzled, asking: "How did you know that the Prefect wanted to assemble troops and mobilize the Pingyuan army?"

  Yancheng is in urgent need, and all counties are gathering troops to go to Yancheng for reinforcement. Yu He, as the governor of Tianyuan County, cannot avoid this matter. Originally, he did not plan to mobilize the Pingyuan army, after all, the barbarian army invaded, and the Pingyuan army had to stay in the county to resist. Later, when he heard that the barbarian troops had withdrawn, the crisis in Pingyuan County was lifted, Yu He sent someone to mobilize troops, but unexpectedly met Tang Yan and others before arriving in Hengcheng.

  After reading the letter written by Yu He, Tang Yin handed it over to Qiu Zhen and then pointed at the small official with his hand, shouting at the soldiers on both sides: "Take this man down!"

  "Tang... Lord Tang... what have I done wrong..."

  That little official was stunned and didn't understand why Tang Yin wanted to capture him.

  No one explained anything to him. The soldiers around him rushed forward, without saying a word, pressed him to the ground, tied him up tightly and dragged him away.

  Tang Yin asked Qiu Zhen beside him: "Can you imitate Yu He's handwriting through this letter?"

  Qiu Zhenyi smiled and said: "It's easy, sir, I'll take care of this."

  "Alright!" Tang Yin nodded and immediately ordered the army to continue advancing.

  Shunzhou

  As the county was gathering troops from various counties, when Tang Yin led his followers into Shunzhou territory, he did not receive any obstruction or interrogation. Instead, officials from the county specially came out of the city to welcome him and led Tang Yin's group into the city.

  So many troops cannot all enter the city, Tang Yin only brought up Guan brothers, Cheng Jin as the head of the dark arrow members and hundreds of cavalrymen to enter the city first, in addition, Guan Yuanrang also followed him closely. Along the way, Guan Yuanrang always followed Tang Yin, not speaking, just standing by silently observing.

  On the road, Tang Yin asked the welcoming officials: "Where is Governor Yu now?"

  "It's just the county government office!" The official smiled and said: "The county governor was very pleased to learn that Governor Tang had personally led his troops to hurry over, and specially prepared a wine feast in the government office to welcome Governor Tang and wash away his dust!"

  "Oh! Good, good, good!" Tang Yin sat upright on his horse, praising "good" three times in a row.

  The county governor's mansion is much more magnificent than Tang Yin's, with an area of two or three times larger. Inside, the pavilions are towering, and the decorations are resplendent. Even in the most inconspicuous corners, there are exquisite carvings, which also reveal the luxury of Yu He Ping's daily life.

  Tang Yin entered the prefectural capital unimpeded, but Cheng Jin and his followers, as well as the cavalry below, were blocked by the gate guards when they tried to follow.

  He glanced back at Cheng Jin, gave him a signal to stay outside and act according to the situation, Tang Yin didn't say much, only brought the three brothers of Guan with him, striding into the mansion.

  At this time, the main hall of the county government was indeed ready for a banquet, but it was not just to welcome Tang Yin alone.

  County head Yu He, sitting in the middle, with several officials sitting on both sides of his seat, including the deputy county head and high-ranking officials of the county, as well as the county guards of two other counties in Tianyuan County.

  Yu Hehe burst out laughing when he saw Tang Yin, and said with a slight bow: "We're just waiting for General Tang now, please come and take your seat!"