Chapter 48

  After lunch, the four of them sat in the front hall chatting.

  Tang Yin asked Qiu Zhen Dao: "Have you heard any news about the situation on the other side of Tongmen recently?"

  Qiu Zhen said, "The Ning army is stationed outside the city, and Liang Qi leads twenty legions to defend inside the city. The Ning army does not dare to attack easily, and Liang Qi also does not launch a counterattack. Both sides are in a stalemate like this, but it must be the Ning army that can't hold on first."

  "It's really strange!" Gu Yue interjected, "I heard that when Liang Qi first entered Tongmen, he was very powerful and wanted to kill his way out of the city in one breath. Now that he has more troops in his hands, he is instead stubbornly defending Tongmen."

  "There's nothing strange about this." Qiu Zhen smiled and said, "As for Ning Jun's counterattack, whether or not they can win, there will definitely be casualties, and it will definitely cause losses to the Liang family's direct troops. It's so comfortable for Liang Qi to defend Tongmen, with no risk and being able to ask Wang Ting for reinforcements from time to time. Originally, the Liang family only controlled ten troops, but now they have twenty troops in their hands, having gained both tangible benefits and reputation, it can be said that they have reaped a double harvest!"

  "Ah-ha!" Gu Yue suddenly realized and nodded her head in surprise, exclaiming: "How cunning of Liang Qi!"

  Qiu Zhen waved his hand and said, "This may not be Liang Qi's intention. I think it's more like Left Prime Minister Liang Xing's idea. Liang Qi can be considered a genius at commanding troops, but he is not a master of manipulating power, whereas Liang Xing is an old hand in this regard!"

  "It seems that in the future, the Liang family will be the only one left!" Gu Yue muttered.

  "Who knows!" said Qiu Zhen, turning his head to look at Tang Yin, who was silently sipping tea water, seemingly uninterested in their conversation.

  Le Tian, who had been silent for a while, spoke up: "The Liang family's power is expanding, and later they will inevitably squeeze out the other three families. This will also have some impact on us, won't it?"

  Qiu Zhen nodded and said: "However, Jun Shang still attaches great importance to the dancers. For the Second Army, the dancers will not let go easily."

  Just as they were talking, a sudden shout came from outside the door. The leader of the guards in armor rushed in quickly and came to Tang Yin's side, bowed deeply and said: "General Tang, Deng Qianjun requests an audience!"

  Deng Mingyang? What is he doing here? Tang Yan raised his head and said: "Let him come closer."

  "Yes!" The captain of the guard responded with a single word and quickly ran out.

  Before long, Deng Mingyang rushed in from outside in a hurry.

  He was dressed in casual clothes today, but looking at him, Tang Yin, Qiu Zhen, Gu Yue and Le Tian almost burst out laughing.

  Deng Mingyang was seen with his hair disheveled, dark circles under his eyes, a swollen cheek, and his clothes torn open in several places, covered in dust, looking wretched, like a vagrant begging for food.

  Tang Yin looked him up and down, smiling and asking: "I say, Commander Qianfu, what play are you acting in?"

  As soon as this was said, Qiu Zhen, Gu Yue and Le Tian could no longer hold back their laughter.

  "Tang... General Tang!" Deng Mingyang knelt down with a thud and exclaimed, "We've clashed with the 8th and 9th Infantry Regiments! Ai Jia and Ai Qian have been captured by them!"

  He spoke inconsistently, and Tang Yin listened in bewilderment.

  "He said in a low voice: 'Get up, what's going on, tell me clearly!'"

  "It's like this......" Deng Mingyang spat and tried to slow down his tone, saying: "This afternoon, a few of us chiliarchs went out for drinks together. We ran into the commanders of the 8th and 9th infantry regiments at the tavern, as well as several other chiliarchs. At first everything was fine, but later...later on they said some things that were really hard to listen to, so we started arguing with them. In the end, words didn't work out, and both sides threw punches. I...I got beaten up like this, and my brothers aren't much better off either. And also, Aika was caught by them too. She's a woman, and if she falls into those guys' hands, it'll be..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Tang Yin suddenly stood up and turned to Qiu Zhen, asking: "Who are the commanders of the 8th and 9th infantry brigades?"

  "If I'm not mistaken, it should be Liang Yuan and Wu Lixiong." He added in a low voice, "These two legions are directly affiliated with the royal family. Moreover, Liang Yuan's background is not simple, he is from the Liang family."

  Could it be someone from the Liang family?! Tang Yin's eyebrows furrowed subconsciously.

  Deng Mingyang was afraid that Tang Yin would be too timid and afraid of trouble, and didn't dare to show his face to save people. He hastily added: "At the time, their words were really too unpleasant, saying... saying that General Tang is a dancing general's guest, able to become a battalion commander not because of ability, but because of appearance, fundamentally unqualified to sit on an equal level with them..."

  He spoke in a softer and softer voice, because Tang Yin's face was getting uglier and the fierce light in his eyes was getting stronger.

  Even though he knew that Tang Yin was not venting his anger on him, Deng Mingyang was still intimidated by the cold and almost beast-like gaze in his eyes, causing his legs to tremble involuntarily. Tang Yin did not release any spiritual pressure, but he could indeed feel the presence of pressure, not weighing down on his body, but like a massive boulder pressing down on his heart.

  "Where are they now?" Soon, the anger on Tang Yin's face disappeared, replaced by a smile, but it was a cold and eerie one.

  "Should... should still be at the tavern!"

  "Take me away!" Tang Yin laughed and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him out in big strides.

  He didn't think highly of Ai Jia, but in any case, she was now under his command. If something happened to her, he couldn't just ignore it, and this matter seemed to have originated from him; how could he possibly sit back and do nothing?

  It's definitely not a small matter, Gu Yue and Le Tian hurriedly followed out, Qiu Zhen ran forward, stopped the two of them, and said: "You two quickly go to General Wu's place to report, I'm worried that with Tang's temper, things might get out of hand!"

  "Got it!" Gu Yue and Le Tian responded in unison, then loudly asked towards Deng Mingyang's back: "What's the name of that tavern?"

  "The Reception Hall!"

  Tang Yin walked out while ordering his servant to prepare the horse, and when he reached outside the mansion, he mounted the horse. Qiu Zhen and Deng Mingyang also got on their respective horses, and the three of them rushed towards the direction of the wine shop.

  On the way, Qiu Zhen occasionally reminded Tang Yin that major events should be downplayed and minor ones ignored. Now the Liang family is in a strong position, it's not beneficial to have a direct confrontation with them.

  Tang Yin nodded with a hint of a smile and repeatedly agreed, but on his body, there was an aura that seemed to foretell the coming of a storm.

  Yingbin Building, a two-story large tavern, is also somewhat famous in Yancheng.

  When Tang Yin and his two companions arrived, they had not yet dismounted their horses when more than a dozen men suddenly rushed out from the small alley beside the wine shop and surrounded them.

  These people all had disheveled hair and untidy clothes, with a few still having colors on their faces. Tang Yin lowered his head, looked carefully, and found that this group of wretched young men were actually the thousand-household heads under his command, Li Wei, Liu Zhongsheng, Chen Fang, Zhang Jiu were all among them, and there were several other young people he didn't recognize.

  "General Tang, you've finally arrived!"

  "That bunch of guys is in the tavern!"

  "Aiya is still in their hands, General Tang, you must rescue her!"

  The crowd spoke in a cacophony of voices, among them, apart from a few centurions, the rest were all squad leaders of the Second Legion.

  Tang Yin dismounted his horse, his eyes scanning the faces of the crowd one by one. He then said coldly: "If you don't have the ability, then don't go causing trouble and making a scene, it's really embarrassing!"

  "If we could use the Lingwu, we might not have lost..." Zhang Jiufei said indignantly, but was interrupted by Tang Yin's sharp gaze before he could finish speaking.

  There is no explicit rule in Feng Jun that prohibits private fights, but if Ling Wu is used in a private fight, it is a serious crime and will be severely punished, and in severe cases, it may even lead to death.

  Feng Ren's temperament is fierce and violent, with a quick temper. A disagreement can easily lead to a big fight. Private fights in the military are not uncommon, but during these fights, no one dares to use Ling Wu, which has become a taboo in Feng Jun.

  Deng Mingyang and others clashed with the other side, although they both suffered losses, but only minor injuries, no big deal. The real loss was face, not just their personal face, but also the entire brigade's face.

  Tang Yin withdrew his gaze and stopped speaking, striding into the tavern with large steps.

  Due to the recent fight, the tavern was in disarray, with many wine jars, cups and plates scattered on the ground. The patrons who were drinking and eating had mostly fled, leaving only three tables of people shouting and cheering as they drank, and Aika was among them.

  Behind her stood two burly men, their large palms pressing down on her shoulders, making it difficult for her to move. On either side of her sat a man in his thirties, who would occasionally reach out to touch her while chatting and laughing. Although Aika's expression seemed calm, it was clear that she was forcing herself to remain composed, actually suppressing her emotions.

  "Gentlemen, if you want to drink and find women for company, you should go to a brothel, not set your sights on my people." Tang Yin said with a loud laugh as he walked towards them.

  Three tables of big men, more than twenty people heard the words and turned their heads one after another. They saw that it was a young man in his early twenties with a white face and a handsome appearance. Behind him were several thousand husbands and team leaders from the Second Army. Without asking, they had already guessed the identity of the newcomer.

  The man on A Jia's left burst out laughing and asked deliberately: "Who are you?"

  "Tang Yin!" Tang Yin said with a smile.

  "Oh! So you're Tang Yin!" The man feigned a look of sudden realization, and sneered: "I know you, aren't you that pretty boy who's having an affair with Dancer Mei?"

  "Haha——"

  As soon as this was said, all the Chinese people present burst out laughing.

  Deng Mingyang's face turned extremely ugly. Their superior being ridiculed in public was more humiliating for them than being beaten up.

  Tang Yin's face remained unchanged, the smile on his face didn't decrease by a single degree, but instead became even more intense.

  He walked up to the big man with a smile, and when he was about to get closer, the other two tables of big men stood up at the same time, frowning and staring at him coldly.

  "It's nothing!" The big man waved his hand carelessly and chuckled: "It's just a pretty boy, what are you guys so nervous about?!"

  PS: I'm extremely sorry for the past two days with only one chapter per day. On the eighth day of the first month, there will be a big explosion with at least 20 chapters!