Chapter 22: A show of force

Style: Historical Author: The ups and downs of fateWords: 3624Update Time: 24/01/12 06:24:10
Guo Zhengsun and Gao Jia expressed their stance one after another, but no one among the civil servants objected and just stood by and watched.

They all seemed to be looking forward to it, wanting to see how Cao Youwen, the upstart of the imperial court, would handle this matter.

"General Cheng, Gao Yifeng and He Tao have committed extremely serious crimes. If they don't kill them..."

While Cao Youwen was talking, a group of noisy border army generals came over, and there were quite a few of them.

"General..."

Zhang Zhongxia wanted to speak, but Cao Youwen shook his head and stopped him, signaling with his eyes.

Zhang Zhongxia understood and gently stepped aside.

"General Cheng, what crime did Commander Gao commit to treat him like this?"

"General, Commander He is guarding the border. He has done a great job with his hard work. Please, let him go quickly!"

The generals rushed over and spoke one after another in front of the high platform, but they were begging Cheng Xin.

"Presumptuous! What are you going to do?"

Cheng Xin turned his head, glanced behind him, and scolded the generals sternly.

"General Cao is the one who calls the shots in the army now, so you must not be rude! Do you still think you can do whatever you want like before?"

"Don't dare! Don't dare!"

The generals apologized to Cheng Xin one after another, and all looked at Cao Youwen behind the table.

"General Cao, may I ask what crime Commander Gao has committed that the general wants to treat him like this?"

The leader, a fat black general, was the first to speak in an aggressive manner.

"General Cao, you really think that our Lizhou border troops are easy to bully, and we can arrest whoever we want!"

"Hurry up and let him go! Brothers are going through life and death, are they just for you to bully?"

"Yes! How about you catch us all!"

The generals scrambled and shouted.

"Bold! What are you going to do?"

"Why don't you retreat? General Cao is in charge of the border army. He has good evidence. What do you want to do?"

Guo Zhengsun and Gao Jia slammed the table and stood up, angrily scolding a group of generals.

These guys are domineering and unruly, and they will kick their noses in the face if they don't go their way at all. I have never seen them so brave in battle.

The angry rebuke of Guo Zhengsun and Gao Jia only made the border army generals even more arrogant, and it was the fat black man who took the lead in shouting loudly.

"Two gentlemen, this has nothing to do with you. The brothers are not convinced. They just want to seek justice for the border army generals and demand his release as soon as possible!"

Fatty Hei opened his mouth, and other generals agreed, asking Cao Youwen to release him.

Cao Youwen smiled coldly, glanced at the calm Cheng Xin, glanced at the excited generals, and said softly.

"Why, I won't let him go, are you going to mutiny?"

The generals were all stunned. The fat black man did not flinch and immediately asked:

"General Cao, you are so overbearing! You kidnap people casually. Why don't you give me and other frontier generals an explanation?"

He pointed at the tied-up He Tao and ordered the generals next to them.

"Huang San, Lao Li, you guys go over and untie the man!"

The fat black man ordered that several frontier generals were about to go over, and it looked like they were going to release them.

"Who dares to make a mistake?"

Cao Youwen stood up, walked to the front of the stage, looked at the generals, pointed at the fat black man, his eyes were cold.

"You, that's you! I will explain to you, who are you? Do you have this qualification? I am the commander of Lizhou West Road appointed by the emperor, the commander of the border army, and all generals below the commander are alive. Killing the great power, let alone arresting two criminal generals? This general is so overbearing, what do you want? Mutiny?"

The generals who had committed the crime came up. Before they could say anything, they were slapped down by these generals. It is evident that he is arrogant and domineering and his military discipline is lax.

These guys are so domineering, can they still obey military orders and fight? Do they still see him as a superior officer?

Cao Youwen didn't even bother to explain. Fatty Hei and the generals were stunned.

Such a tough Shangguan was even more arrogant than the civil servants, which really surprised them.

"General Cao, your treatment is unfair, and I won't accept it! Let the two generals go!"

The fat black man was furious and shouted loudly.

"Let them go! Let them go!"

The soldiers around the fat black man shook their fists and shouted.

"Bold! Seek death!"

Cao Youwen's face turned livid and furious, and he shouted loudly:

"I will give you one last chance. Retreat immediately, otherwise military law will be imposed!"

Cao Youwen's attitude was tough, and the generals hesitated for a while, not knowing whether they should step forward and continue to fight with the opponent. Some people are drawn to support themselves and subconsciously withdraw.

"Brothers, help!"

"General, brothers, save us!"

At this moment, Gao Yifeng and He Tao cried again.

Probably the two of them also felt that with the crimes they had committed, they might not be able to escape once they fell into the hands of Cao Youwen.

"General Cao, please let Commander Gao and Commander He go, so that the soldiers can be convinced! Brothers, please say so!"

Cheng Xin remained calm and said nothing, and the fat black man shouted again.

"Let them go, let them go, let them go!"

The dozens of soldiers left behind shouted in unison, pumping their fists together.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Cao Youwen glanced at Zhang Zhongxia, who was already prepared and immediately blew the whistle.

While the generals were astonished, many officers armed with swords and guns ran from all directions on the school grounds and quickly formed a circular formation. Together with the sergeants on the high platform, they raised their swords and guns simultaneously, stretched their bows and nocked arrows, and aimed at the generals such as Fatty Hei.

The fat black man and others were frightened, and some people subconsciously pulled out their swords and protected them in front of them.

The fat black man was so frightened and angry that he unconsciously pressed his right hand on the handle of the knife, pointed at Cao Youwen with his left hand, and shouted angrily.

"General Cao, what do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do? What do you want to do?"

Cao Youwen looked away with his hands behind his back, his eyes cold and stern.

"Are you going to mutiny? Everyone, throw away your weapons, or we will kill you without mercy!"

Kill without mercy!

Cheng Xin looked ugly and couldn't help but speak.

"General Cao, please be patient. By doing this, aren't you afraid of chilling the hearts of all the soldiers and causing riots in the army?"

How dare these foolish youths from the martial arts hall dare to be so tough?

Mutiny? Isn't he worried about causing a mutiny in the army?

"I am adhering to the emperor's orders, shouldering the important responsibilities of the imperial court, and managing the northwest frontier. Whoever dares to make mistakes and disobey military orders will be killed without mercy! I want to see who can mutiny?"

"General Cao's military order is to capture him without restraint!"

Zhang Zhongxia raised his hands, roared loudly, and glanced at Fatty Hei and the others.

As long as Cao Youwen nodded, he would immediately give orders and kill.

"Sun Biao, Sun Hu, why don't you throw away your weapons quickly and start making noises?"

"Yang Dehong, Bao Kai, kneel down quickly. It's none of your business!"

Ma Zhong and Wang Shi were so confident that they shouted quickly one after another.

They could see clearly that Cao Youwen was as hard as iron and was no joke.

These idiots all have rough lines. Is this a place where loyalty is emphasized?

There was a "bang" sound, the swords and guns fell to the ground, and several generals knelt down one after another, lying on the ground.

They probably also noticed the killing intent in Cao Youwen's eyes.

"General Cao, are you trying to use force?"

Although the fat black man was a little flustered, he still managed to keep his composure.

A man who crawled out from among the dead still cares about this little bit of intimidation?

"That's right, if you feel like it, kill us and see if you can convince the crowd?"

"You want to use your brothers to establish your power, but we won't accept it!"

Several frontier generals shouted loudly and continued to confuse people.

With so many frontier generals and Cheng Xin as their backbone, what else do they have to worry about?

The imperial court still expects them to kill the enemy, serve the country, and guard the borders!

"General Cao, the soldiers are working hard, although..."

"Stop! Back off!"

Before Cheng Xin finished speaking, Cao You heard a loud shout and waved his hand suddenly.

The surrounding officers rushed over and stabbed with their spears, heading straight towards the dozen or so fat black men who had not thrown away their swords and spears.

"Ah! Ah!"

Gunheads came from several directions. Fatty Hei and the others hurriedly avoided, and were stabbed by the gunheads one after another. For a while, they were dripping with blood, and their screams and cries were loud.

All the soldiers in the field, including Cheng Xin and other generals, were watching with fear. The fat black man and others were stabbed with bloody holes all over their bodies. They were twitching and moaning on the ground. Their flesh and blood were all mangled. The miserable situation was unbearable to look at.

"You... are so cruel..."

The fat black man pointed at the menacing sergeants, blood dripping from his mouth.

"General Cao, spare my life!"

"General Cao, we are all forced, we are really helpless!"

The generals who had knelt down earlier kowtowed and apologized, and everyone's expression changed.

Fortunately, he reacted early, otherwise he would have been dead at this time.

"General Cao, Zhao Chun, Hong Rendong and others incited a mutiny and deserved their death. The others just made noise and deceived him. I also ask General Cao to disregard past suspicions and receive a lighter sentence."

"General Cao, most of the generals are threatening and have no intention of committing any crime. General Cao, please give me a gentle sentence!"

Ma Zhong and Wang Shixin looked at each other, walked out one after another, knelt down on one knee, and begged the familiar generals for mercy.

If this was investigated, I don’t know how many more bodies would be needed.

"General, please give me a lighter sentence!"

Cheng Xinxin was shocked and said in a hesitant voice, also cupping his fists to plead for mercy.

At this point, all we can do is helpless and settle for the next best thing.

Cao Youwen looked at Cheng Xin coldly for a moment before looking away.

He really didn't believe it if General Cheng didn't instigate him behind his back.

"Since several generals have begged for mercy, I will spare you. However, each general will be demoted one level to see the consequences. I will remember it all. This is in the army. Military discipline is strict and military law is ruthless. Don't do it again. , otherwise there will be consequences at your own risk!”

Cao Youwen's voice was cold, and he waved his hands gently. The generals who were kneeling to beg for mercy stood up one after another and saluted Cao Youwen together.

"Thank you, General!"

Once the hell gate is closed, everyone is shocked.

This young Cao Youwen is decisive in killing and is indeed a ruthless person!

There was silence among the sergeants on the school field. Many people's faces were pale and they were watching all this with fear.

People don't speak much when they are ruthless. This new commander of the Lizhou Rongsi is decisive in killing and has a heart as hard as iron. He is definitely not a good person.

"Put Gao Yifeng and He Tao into prison temporarily. We will wait until His Majesty arrives."

Cao Youwen waved his hand, and the two frustrated generals were suppressed. The bodies of the generals who were killed were also carried away, leaving only blood stains on the ground.

After dealing with these arrogant and powerful generals, the next step is to take drastic measures to organize the border army and recruit and train troops.

Everything, but it has just begun.

"General, there are only 10,000 soldiers and horses on Lizhou West Road, three passes and five states, which seems too few. Just like Dashan Pass, there are only a thousand soldiers guarding it. If a war breaks out, I'm afraid the troops will not be enough!"

Wang Shixin said worriedly, and Ma Zhong immediately picked up.

"General, the local militia is brave. There are many brave men who want to join the army and serve the country. Why not post a list and let them serve in the army? Now that the soldiers' pay has increased, they will join the army and their families will have an easier time."

"Wang Shixin, Ma Zhong, you two are right. His Majesty's decree is that there will be 100,000 border troops on both sides of Lizhou, and there will be 30,000 on the west side of Lizhou. I will immediately arrange to recruit border troops. !”

Cao Youwen nodded and said appreciatively.

Recruiting and training troops are the basis for organizing the frontier army, and no one can be left behind.

On the high platform of the teaching ground, Guo Zhengsun, the pacifying envoy of Lizhou West Road, Gao Jia, the magistrate of Mianzhou, and other civil servants of Lizhou West Road were frightened when they saw Cao You heard about Cao You's decisive killing, and everyone was shocked and speechless.

It seems to be full of joy and thunder, but it is a rampage of warriors. I don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse for the Song Dynasty's frontier?