The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 190 Make the World in Chaos, Rule the World

Dengzhou.

At dusk, the sun was setting on the horizon, and the golden sun shone over the city. The ruined city, which was ravaged by the war, was covered with a layer of golden light. In front of the fallen gate tower, a burly general in golden armor was standing erect with his hand putting on the knife, looking around.

He had an angular face, his eyes like an eagle’s and his waist like a pine. He was mighty and extraordinary and full of momentum. But when people looked at his face, they would know he was in his thirties. Behind him, there were several generals and a company of trusted soldiers in armor. They looked at the general in golden armor with awe.

The general in golden armor was Zhu Wen. He did not speak, nor did the men behind him.

The collapsed parapet wall was stained with blood, and the fallen flags were ruined, but there were no bodies on top of the city wall. Soldiers and civilians were scooting everywhere. They were sending wood and stone and other things to the city wall to repair the city wall they destroyed personally. What a busy scene in full swing!

They made a lot of effort to break into Dengzhou, but they would need more effort to guard it.

A little while later, on the top of the city wall, a group of Taoists walked towards Zhu Wen and saluted him in a distance. There were five of them. The head of them was an old man in his fifties, who was holding a horsetail whisk. The four men behind him were all in their forties with long swords on the back.

Zhu Wen recognized them. They were the Taoists of Zhongnan Mountain and the famous “Zhongnan Four Swords”. They had followed Huang Chao to fight on the battlefield for many years. They usually guarded Huang Chao and saved Huang Chao’s life in chaos many times.

As Huang Chao’s former trusted general, Zhu Wen was very familiar with the Taoists of Zhongnan Mountain and knew their power. These men could charge a battle like sharp knives and take the heads of enemies’ chiefs in the midst of an army like valiant generals, very powerful and mysterious.

However, Zhu Wen himself was in Level 9 of Qi-refining, so he didn’t look up to the Zhongnan Four Swords who were also in Level 9 of Qi-refining. His knew he couldn’t fight a few rounds in their sword formation, but he was a general, not a Jianghu killer.

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“Why do you come to Dengzhou instead of guarding Your Majesty in Chang’an?” Zhu Wen asked loudly with folded hands. The Taoists of Zhongnan Mountain had a high position in the rebels, but Zhu Wen didn’t fear them. He didn’t fear anyone. Even if he was not the veteran general who was famous for fighting the bloody battles or he was just the scoundrel who hadn’t joined the army yet, the powerhouse whom he admired was only himself.

The head Taoist had a long face and white skin. Although he was in his fifties, he still looked delicate, in a better state than the noble women. He claimed to be Wuyazi. He was the elder of the Taoist sect of Zhongnan Mountain and his cultivation was unfathomable, but Zhu Wen always didn’t like him and felt that he was like a eunuch.

Holding the horsetail whisk, Wuyazi smiled. “Your Majesty takes charge of the battle in Guanzhong with the Prime Ministers’ assistance and they have just defeated Zheng Tian, so they won’t have any problems. However, General Zhu is alone outside the borders to face the formidable enemies from the Central Plains and guard the gate for Guanzhong, which is very important, so we come to help you.”

Zhu Wen said with an expressionless face, “Well, thank you all.”

He said thank you, but he looked unconcerned. Apparently, in his opinion, the fight on the battlefield was open and aboveboard, so he didn’t need these Taoists. He and his elites were enough to attack cities, and plunder lands, and take charge alone. This was his basic strength and confidence.

Wuyazi understood Zhu Wen’s thoughts, but he wasn’t angry and remained smiled. “You occupy Dengzhou with mountains to the west, the East Capital to the north and Xiangyang to the south, so you, indeed, can do a lot of things, but Dengzhou is under the jurisdiction of the commissioner of Shannan east, therefore, the Xiangyang Army won’t sit idly by. By that time, in order to control the northern stronghold of the Tang Empire’s troops in the south, you have to secure the eastern flank, while in the east...”

Zhu Wen was impatient for Wuyazi’s literary long speech. He was a scoundrel before and didn’t read much, so he couldn’t stand it. Not waiting for the other side to finish talking, he waved his hands to interrupt. “Liu Jurong in Xiangyang is a coward. If I don’t attack his Xiangyang, he will thank god, so it’s impossible for him to send his troops north to attack me.”

Liu Jurong, the commissioner who took charge of Shannan east in Xiangyang, was the guy who said a “Today we let the rebels run away, but in the future, we may have the opportunity to make a great achievement” and gave up the good opportunity to pursue and attack the enemies.

Zhu Wen continued, “As for the commissioner of Zhongwu in the east...” He snorted. “Last year, when my army crossed the border, he turned to us. He is also a coward. Now since I occupy Dengzhou, he will be eager to come to visit me and dare not fight against me.”

Zhu Wen was hot-tempered, but Wuyazi wasn’t angry. When listening to his comment on the situation, Wuyazi appreciated him. Like looking at an unprocessed jade, he smiled more brightly. “You don’t have to worry too much about Zhou Ji, the commissioner of Zhongwu, but you should remember Yang Fuguang, the inspector.”

“Yang Fuguang?” Zhu Wen certainly remembered him because Wang Xianzhi was induced to surrender by him. He frowned slightly. “How much trouble could a eunuch make? I am not looking down on eunuchs, but the truth is none of them is good and that none of them can do great things. Tian Lingzi, the Lieutenant of the Regal Guards, is also a good-for-nothing.”

Tian Lingzi was eager to guard Tongguan, but he couldn’t restrain his troop to march fast. When they set out, the food and supplies were not arranged well. As a result, he hadn’t yet arrived at Tongguan, Tongguan was declared lost, so he could only flee in panic.

Everyone in the world knew the Regal Guards and the Lieutenant of the Regal Guards. Even the emperor was subject to the constraint by him. However, this Lieutenant of the Regal Guards was defeated without even seeing the rebels, which had long since become a joke among the rebels.

In Zhu Wen’s eyes, this kind of good-for-nothing could only domineer in Chang’an. When he was really on the battlefield, he would be fine if he didn’t encounter the powerful army, but if he did, he must be killed.

However, Wuyazi shook his head and said seriously, “Other eunuchs may not be worth mentioning, but this Yang Fuguang is not a simple figure. Most of the eunuchs came from Fuzhou, so did Yang Fuguang, who was castrated in Fuzhou, and then he came to Chang’an from a long distance. When entering the Imperial Palace, however, he was still in his teens, and he had already had good martial arts, so he soon won recognition and was adopted as an adopted son by a powerful eunuch. In just a few years, he stood out from the competition in the Imperial Palace and took up a high position. But he didn’t content with the status quo and wanted a better future, so he volunteered to supervise the troops in the vassal state.”

“When he arrived at the vassal state, even though he was a eunuch, he soon gained some recognition of the soldiers in the Vassal State Army. This was not only because he had high cultivation, but also because he was generous and righteous, as well as open and aboveboard, different from the general eunuchs. And whenever there was war, he would go to the front line to command the battle personally. His technique was very clever, so he won many battles. Since you joined the army, you had been following Your Majesty, so you had few chances to fight against Yang Fuguang, but Wang Xianzhi’s troops suffered a great deal from Yang Fuguang. Every time they fought against him, they would suffer great losses.”

Speaking of this, Wuyazi paused. He revealed a secret to Zhu Wen. “My Zhongnan Mountain Immortal sect stands in the crucial place, and all the Taoist temples around 500 kilometers have to obey our orders, so we have many informers. The Taoist temple in Xuzhou has reported more than once that Yang Fuguang has bad intentions. Since Zhou Ji, the commissioner of Zhongwu, surrendered to the rebels, he talked with him in secret several times and often showed his different thoughts, so we have to watch out for him.”

Zhu Wen adjusted his helmet and appeared to be somewhat impatient. He didn’t really believe Wuyazi either. “According to what you said, he isn’t a eunuch, but a rare hero in the world! He is castrated, so he is not even a man. Expect for the intrigue, scramble for power and wealth and swaggering around, what else can he do?”

Zhu Wen’s words were very clear. It was a great joke to ask him to take a eunuch seriously. This was the fight on the battlefield, not the plot of power.

Wuyazi said seriously, “He isn’t a man not because he doesn’t want to, but because he can’t. He’s not to blame. Fuzhou is remote and poor, and the ordinary people there live a difficult life. The poor families have no food to eat and hardly survive, and they are oppressed by the rich families either. They live worse than dogs. At this time, who cares if he is a eunuch? For a real man, to live with dignity and respect is more important than anything. To tell you the truth, in Fuzhou, parents will find someone to castrate their children and send them to Chang’an. The eunuchs couldn’t make their own decisions.”

Zhu Wen was stunned. He didn’t know much about it. He thought they were castrated after entering the Imperial Palace, but he didn’t expect that they were castrated before entering the Imperial Palace and then they went to Chang’an.

Zhu Wen waved his hand. “Well, I’ve sent someone to Xuzhou to contact Zhou Ji and ask him to come and see me. If Yang Fuguang really has different thoughts, we will know then, so it is useless to doubt him now.”

This was the reason why he didn’t take Yang Fuguang seriously and didn’t want to waste his breath. Since he had made arrangements, he only needed to see whether Zhou Ji would come to Dengzhou or not.

But Wuyazi said, “I’m afraid it will be too late by then.”

Zhu Wen was angry. “What do you mean?”

Wuyazi didn’t explain but smiled and said, “Why not let me go to Xuzhou for you? If there is an emergency, I can prevent it from happening and try not to trouble you. After all, there’s no room for error in the big picture on the battlefield.”

Zhu Wen was certainly happy that Wuyazi was willing to suffer as long as he didn’t ask for soldiers from him to prevent him from repairing the city defense and arranging the defense affairs in Dengzhou. “Then, I’ll trouble you.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Wuyazi flew out the parapet wall with the famous Zhongnan Four Swords and got on the fine horses chained to the city gate, riding on the official road.

A short time later, the head of the Zhongnan Four Swords frowned and asked Wuyazi, “Why should we run errands to do this thankless task for Zhu Wen, who is so arrogant?”

Wuyazi remained smiled. “All the talented, who isn’t arrogant? Zhu Wen’s little temper is not a big deal. As for the rest, you should not ask more.”

Zhongnan First Sword wanted to say more, but he hesitated.

Wuyazi hesitated for a while and said finally, “I can only tell you that we Zhongnan Mountain spared no effort to assist Huang Chao in the past, but from now on, we have to let Zhu Wen have a good impression on us.”

Zhongnan First Sword thought for a while and realized something suddenly, making him shudder. “Senior brother, you’re saying?”

Wuyazi sighed. “This is the master’s instruction. Huang Chao has the Luck to make the world in chaos, but he doesn’t have the Luck to rule the world.”

Among the five states in Zhongwu, Xuzhou was the capital state and the other four states were affiliated states. The commissioner office was in Xuzhou.

At night, Zhou Ji, who dressed up as a peddler, left the commissioner mansion from the back door. With his head low, he got on a vegetable cart that had just been unloaded and sat on the back of the cart. After taking the money from the steward, the farmer, who delivered the vegetables, left the alley with the cart, without looking at Zhou Ji.

The farmer walked through alleys with the cart and chose the place where there were few people. About an hour later, he came to the back door of a large mansion. The farmer knocked on the door and said in a low voice to the man who poked his head out, “He is here.”

The man in the mansion nodded to Zhou Ji, who then sidled into the mansion. Led by the previous man, they crossed the corridors and yards and soon came to a lonely house. The guide knocked on the door, and a shrill voice came from within. “What’s the matter?”

“He is here,” The guide servant said in a low voice, and then he stepped aside and let Zhou Ji go inside.

Pressing the brim of his hat, Zhou Ji entered the house and looked around quickly. This room was supposed to be for servants. It was not spacious. Apart from the bed, which was next to the wall, there was only one hardwood square table and four benches. The two-meter tall man in splendid clothes standing at the table was Yang Fuguang, the inspector.

Zhou Ji took off his hat, showing his tough but slightly unpleasant face. He bowed to Yang Fuguang with folded hands and smiled bitterly. “Inspector Yang, we are in Xuzhou, so do we have to meet in this way?”

Yang Fuguang had a white face with no beards, but he had profound facial features. He didn’t look feminine but a bit rough. But his skin was delicate, so it made him seem a bit odd.

Yang Fuguang greeted Zhou Ji to sit down and poured him a cup of water from the teapot. He said coldly, “I have no choice. Have you seen Zhu Wen’s messenger today?”

“Yes.” Zhou Ji drank some water. After putting down the cup, he looked at Yang Fuguang and said, “Zhu Wen asked me to meet him. This request is too much, but is it worth your making such a big fuss?”

Yang Fuguang sat down and glanced at Zhou Ji. He said slowly, “You are willing to come not just because of my word, aren’t you? Why are you willing to come and see me like this if you didn’t find anything unusual or feel strange and threatened?”