"Everyone get back!"

  Just as the Jingwei Camp and the Thunderbolt Army were about to clash, Li Suwen gave a soft shout, and several thousand Thunderbolt Army soldiers behind him sheathed their swords.

  Li Suwen took a step forward on his horse, bowed slightly to Sun Cheng, and said, "General, we have no malicious intentions. Please ask the soldiers behind you to put away their weapons."

  Sun Cheng saw Li Suo Wen being so polite, and it wasn't good to say more, so he opened his mouth and said: "May I ask if the general is here to take over the command of Gaoyang City's Lei Ting Army?"

  Li Suwen nodded and said, "Exactly, would you please ask General to withdraw his troops first, so as to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."

  Sun Cheng turned his head and took a look, then shouted loudly: "Rise!"

  But then, several hundred men shouted in unison and raised their long spears, their uniform movements causing Li Suwen's eyebrows to furrow involuntarily after years of being with Wu. He thought to himself that the army before him was absolutely not simple, and if they were to engage in battle, victory would be truly difficult to predict.

  Sun Cheng cupped his fists and said, "Just now, I have been rude in many ways, please forgive me. However, my general has said that the city has just experienced a great battle and cannot accommodate so many people and horses entering the city. At most, only one hundred followers can enter."

  "Very well." Li Su calmed down the general who was about to erupt beside him, "Then I'll trouble General to lead the way."

  Then he turned to the soldiers of the Thunderbolt Army behind him and said: "You wait here, do not make a sound, those who disobey orders will be beheaded!"

  He brought only thirty personal guards with him and followed Sun Cheng into the city gate. The Han flag soldiers on the city tower also put away their bows, but still vigilantly stared at the tens of thousands of troops outside the city. Sun Cheng's troops and Yang Youhua, who arrived later, also made way for Sun Cheng and Li Suwen to let them through.

  All the way to the city master's mansion, Li Suwen found that there was no miserable situation after the city wall was broken, and the expressions of various families were joyful. Many shops and restaurants had also reopened, and the city gradually had a lively atmosphere, which made him feel extremely surprised.

  "Please wait a moment, I'll go and report to the general." In front of the city master's mansion, Sun Chengzhi stopped Li Suwen and others, and entered the mansion to report back to Liu Ce.

  Before long, Sun Cheng came out and invited Li Suwen to go in, then returned to his own post along the same route.

  "It's interesting......" Watching Sun Cheng leave, Li Suwen dismounted and whispered a sentence, then only brought one guard into the city master's mansion.

  As soon as he entered the main hall of the mansion, he saw a young man standing in the center who was much younger than himself. In terms of appearance, he was naturally inferior to Li Suwen, but Li Suwen felt that the youth's temperament and demeanor were completely different from those of the young masters he had met before, exuding an inexplicable air of confidence from head to toe.

  Liu Ce's eyes looked at Li Suwen, also secretly shocked. The person in front of him looked refined and elegant, with a handsome appearance, like a Confucian scholar, but the kind of innate aristocratic air that came with his birth was not something that he had ever seen before from people like Zhu Song or Zong Sheng, who were second-rate families.

  Two people stared at each other, and in a daze, it was as if they were on the battlefield. All around them were earth-shattering sounds of slaughter, corpses scattered everywhere, and blood flowing like rivers...

  After a long time, the two simultaneously clasped their fists and bowed in respect.

  "In Liu's strategy, I have seen General Li."

  "I have long admired the great name of Jingwei Camp, and now I am under Li Xiwen."

  After exchanging pleasantries, they took their seats. Soon, a soldier from the Imperial Guard brought in three bowls of tea water. Liu Ce picked up his bowl and said: "The war has just ended, and there may be some shortcomings in our hospitality. Please forgive us, General Li. I can only offer you this coarse tea to express my sincerity."

  Li Suwen was very satisfied with Liu Ce's attitude of neither being arrogant nor condescending, and then picked up the tea bowl and said, "What did General say? Please."

  Two people simultaneously opened the bowl cover and slid it gently along the edge of the bowl, took a small sip, then covered the tea bowl and started discussing.

  Li Suwen asked in a warm voice, "May I ask General Liu one question, did you come from a military background?"

  Liu Ce smiled and said, "To be honest with General Li, I was originally from the Thunderbolt Army's subordinate troops. However, due to the bandits' overwhelming strength in the past, after our defeat at Thick Earth Fortress, we were forced to flee and scatter, unable to settle down for a single day. In desperation, I raised a righteous army to seek self-preservation, which must have brought amusement to General Li."

  Li Suwen's eyes lit up: "So Liu General is still a fellow soldier of mine, I apologize for the disrespect."

  Liu Ce smiled and replied: "How dare I? How dare I? I am just a low-ranking soldier in the Zhu Qi Tuan army, how can I be mentioned in the same breath as General Li?"

  Li Suwen waved his hand and said: "Heroes don't ask about their origins, General Liu. I'm not one of those idle sons of aristocratic families who rely on their family name to intimidate others. I have always admired heroes like you, General Liu. Although you are not from a famous family, your actions show that you are a true man. I've heard a bit about you during my travels and I must say that I really admire you."

  Liu Ce smiled and clasped his hands, saying: "General Li is overpraising me. What I have done is insignificant compared to General Li's achievements. To mention just one thing, the 100,000 bandits at Wuliang Town were annihilated in an instant, and when I heard about it, I couldn't help but admire you even more, General Li."

  Li Suwen smiled and said: "General Liu is overpraising me, the bandits are numerous but they are just a mob, it's expected that we would win. Unfortunately, the bandit leader Duan Hong escaped. I admire General Liu for taking the city of Gaoyang with several thousand soldiers, I'd like to ask General Liu how he took the city guarded by 100,000 bandits, please enlighten me."

  Liu Ce smiled and said, "I dare not accept your praise, it's just a small trick. First, behead the bandit leader to intimidate the rest of them, then General Li should be able to handle the rest."

  Li Suwen listened, pondered for a moment, then nodded and sighed: "General Liu is wise and brave, I really admire him. However, please forgive me for being presumptuous, as I entered the city, I saw that the people had no worries on their faces, the security in the city was good, and the shops were gradually opening up with a lively atmosphere. According to military convention, after capturing a city, there should be three days of plundering, but it seems General Liu did not enforce this rule. How then did he satisfy the demands for rewards from his soldiers?"

  Liu Ce picked up his tea bowl and took a sip, then stood up and said: "In the three days of besieging the city, those who suffered were still only the laboring common people. Although Liu Mou is not talented, he also came from humble beginnings and deeply understands the harm this method brings to the people. Therefore, since the day his army was formed, he has abolished this strategy and it will never happen in his elite guard camp. As for the rewards sought by the soldiers, they are distributed according to their needs based on the spoils of war. This way, we can ensure the loyalty of our soldiers without harming innocent civilians. Isn't that a win-win situation?"

  Li Suwen listened and secretly remembered, then sighed: "General Liu's military law is deeply in line with my heart. It's a pity that our Great Zhou lacks General Liu's strict discipline and the king's way, otherwise the bandits would not be so rampant."

  At this time, Liu Ce slowly walked to Li Suwen's face and bowed deeply, saying: "General Li, I venture to ask you to agree with me on one thing."

  Li Suwen hastily got up to support Liu Ce and said, "General Liu, what's the meaning of this? There's no need for such courtesy. Whatever you have to say, just speak, as long as it's within my power, I'll definitely do my best."

  Liu Ce stood up and said: "I only ask that after the general's army occupies Gaoyang City, do not implement the three-day siege law again. The people have suffered long enough from the bandits' harassment, I hope the general will definitely agree to my request."

  Li Suwen said to Liu Ze: "Gaoyang has just been recovered with great difficulty, and the people have suffered from the bandits for a long time. Even if General Liu didn't say it, I had this intention."

  He then turned to his guards and said in a stern tone, "Pass down the order that after our army enters the city, anyone who dares to harass the civilians will be beheaded on the spot, regardless of their social status!"

  He stood up and said, "Yes, sir!" Then he stepped out of the city master's mansion.

  "Many thanks, General Li." Liu Ce cupped his hands and bowed in gratitude.

  Li Suwen said: "General Liu, please take a seat. Since there are no outsiders present, we don't need to be so polite. I still want to ask you something. On my way here, I saw many civilians burying the bodies of bandits who had been killed. If General Liu used strategy to capture Gaoyang, then why were there so many bandit corpses..."

  Liu Ce's expression didn't change as he said, "No need to ask, what use is there in keeping this kind of scum that harms the people? If it falls into my hands, it will certainly have no way out."

  Li Suwen's eyes lit up: "A hundred thousand bandits, you say kill and then kill?"

  Liu Ce's eyes narrowed: "General, burning a million bandits is just a matter of saying it's exterminated."

  Li Su said in a low voice, "But what's below is that on the battlefield, we are eliminating bandits, whereas General Liu killed surrendered soldiers. Isn't he afraid of killing prisoners being unlucky?"

  Liu Ce sat back in his own chair and said, "What's the difference? The so-called 'killing prisoners is unlucky' is just a joke. I believe General Li will not believe such nonsense."

  "Haha! Good!" Li Suwen slapped his thigh and stood up, saying: "Well said! General Liu is indeed a hero among men! It's very much to my liking! Please accept a bow from me, Li."

  Liu Ce hastily stood up, bowed and clasped his fists: "General Li is overpraising me, I am not worthy of such a great honor!"

  Li Suwen stood up and said, "Don't worry, today's discussion with General Liu has been very beneficial. General Liu, please rest assured, I will inform Commander Wei myself. If everything goes smoothly, next month your elite guard will officially become a regular army under the name of 'Righteous Army', this elite troop should be heavily rewarded!"

  Liu Ce replied, "I am deeply grateful for General Li's words. The general's prestige is renowned, first defeating the bandits and capturing Wu Liang Town, then easily taking Gaoyang to rescue the people from water and fire. I have always admired you."

  Li Suwen was shocked and said, "General Liu... you..." He knew that Liu Ce's words were equivalent to giving himself the credit for retaking Gaoyang City, and he couldn't help but look at him with newfound respect.

  Liu Ze continued: "After General's great army entered the city, no one was harmed, and it is worthy of being a strict and famous general."

  Liu Ce was well aware of the principle of "giving peaches and receiving plums". Earlier, Li Suwen had promised to speak on his behalf with Jing Wei's camp, so things would go more smoothly and save a lot of trouble. As for giving up the credit for this attack, Liu Ce knew from Qin Mo that Li Suwen was trying hard to revive the Li family, and just burning down the bandits' lair was not enough. If you add in the political factor of retaking Gaoyang, it would be a great help, like sending charcoal in snowy weather.

  Liu Ce's Jingwei Camp was destined to leave this place, and leaving behind the credit was neither here nor there. What mattered most was that they had gained real benefits, as long as the Jingwei Camp remained strong, they wouldn't worry about future opportunities to make achievements. Of course, the most important thing was that the imperial court would never accept the news of a commoner's righteous army recapturing Gaoyang, which would be equivalent to announcing to the world that the aristocracy and royalty were useless, inferior even to ordinary people? Rather than causing trouble later on, it was better to take a step back and gain some practical benefits...

  Li Suwen grasped Liu Ze's hand excitedly and said: "General Liu, you gave me such a great gift when we first met. Fine! I accept your kindness, but this fugitive was captured by me without taking a single penny. I hope General Liu will not decline again, otherwise I will be unable to eat or sleep!"

  Liu Ce thought to himself that this was just as well, and thus thanked him saying: "In that case, many thanks General Li!"

  Li Suwen smiled and said, "You're too polite. We've met late in life, I'm only a few years older than General Liu, so it's better if you just call me younger brother."

  Liu Ce smiled and said, "Since that's the case, thank you, Brother Li, for looking at me with a different eye."

  Li Suwen burst out laughing: "Liu Xiongdi is being polite, come, let's sit down and talk."

  ……

  Two people chatted happily in the city master's mansion until Lee Soo-warm took his leave at sunset. Liu Ce looked at Lee Soo-warm's back as he left, with a smile on his face... (You are currently reading "Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu" 70th Cai Zhou chapter, only half of it is available here. To read the full version, please search for it on Baidu: () and then search again for "Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu")