Zhou Ji was silent for a moment. Yang Fuguang was right. In the territory of the Zhongwu Army, if he hadn"t really felt threatened, as the commissioner, he wouldn"t have come to see Yang Fuguang like this.
Several years ago, the rebels invaded the Central Plains and Xue Neng, the former commissioner of Zhongwu, was killed on the battlefield. At that time, Zhou Ji was just a general. He could take the post of the commissioner because of Yang Fuguang"s recommendation, therefore, he always had a good relationship with Yang Fuguang.
When Zheng Tian called on various troops to attack Huang Chao together in Fengxiang and Li Yan (who renamed himself Li Xuan after ascending the throne) ordered every town"s troops to recover Chang"an in Xi Chuan, Yang Fuguang tried many times to test Zhou Ji and urged him to revolt against Huang Chao and send the troops to the west, but Zhou Ji had a lot of concerns and didn"t respond positively.
As long as Tang Empire didn"t fall, Zhou Ji was willing to fight against the rebels for Tang Empire because he would win the fame of his exploit and be rewarded by the imperial court and get promoted. If the world were in chaos in the future, this would be his capital to recruit troops, seek for able men and expand forces. After all, a wise man would choose his own leader and talents wouldn"t turn to a n.o.body.
Prestige and momentum were useful at all times and even more useful in troubled times.
But the premise was that Zhou Ji wouldn"t court his own ruin because of it so that he wouldn"t throw good money after bad.
To put it bluntly, it was the relationship between risk and earnings.
Zhou Ji didn"t respond positively to Yang Fuguang because he felt that the Zhongwu Army had no chance of breaking through Tongguan. The Zhongwu Army only had tens of thousands of people, so even if they broke through Tongguan, it was impossible to enter the border from the east alone and go to Chang"an to fight against Huang Chao without the coordination of the other va.s.sal states.
It was very important to make achievements in the chaotic world, but self-preservation was the basic requirement.
But the situation was different now because Dengzhou was captured, and Zhu Wen also asked Zhou Ji to meet him, which was clear to tie him to the same boat and not to give him any chance to hesitate and wait and see.
"What did you see?" asked Zhou Ji.
Yang Fuguang made no secret of it. "I"m sure you have noticed that there are more and more Taoists in the city recently. As the arrival of Zhu Wen"s messenger, the city is filled with a tense atmosphere like dark clouds overwhelming the city. As I sniff, I can smell the blood."
Zhou Ji didn"t say anything. As the commissioner, he knew these things.
Yang Fuguang said coldly, "What"s more, I have learned that when Zhu Wen was still attacking Dengzhou, the arrogant Qin Zongquan, who was the Inspector General of Caizhou and who always disobeyed your orders, had already sent a messenger to contact Zhu Wen."
"Qin Zongquan, this old guy! His wild ambition is hateful!" Zhou Ji was irritated at the mention of Qin Zongquan. Caizhou was the affiliated state of Zhongwu, but Qin Zongquan was not satisfied with Zhou Ji. When Huang Chao pa.s.sed through the border, he took the initiative to go out of the city and meet with him. He took the opportunity to recruit troops and seemed to rival Zhou Ji.
Yang Fuguang stared at Zhou Ji and said, "You must know clearly what Qin Zongquan wants to do. He isn"t satisfied with you. This time, if he turns to Zhu Wen, it is really hard to say what will happen in the future. You should know I helped you to this position, so if Zhu Wen wants to control Zhongwu... Zhu Wen is not easy to deal with!"
Yang Fuguang didn"t say it clearly, but Zhou Ji understood what he meant.
Every new emperor would bring his own courtiers, therefore, if Zhu Wen wanted Zhongwu to be obedient to him and become his own force completely, he was likely to support Qin Zongquan to be the commissioner. However, Caizhou had a well-trained and powerful army, so Zhou Ji dared not to send troops to attack it easily. He didn"t have few and weak soldiers, but if Qin Zongquan was stationed in the city to guard it, because of his management of the city defense in Caizhou, Zhou Ji might not break through it in a short time, so it would give other people a chance.
It was not only Qin Zongquan who eyed covetously at the position of the commissioner. Many people wanted to make some achievements in the troubled world. You never knew when a lot of heroes would appear, and the force of the Taoist sect of Zhongnan Mountain was also everywhere...
In all fairness, Qin Zongquan"s ability was superior to Zhou Ji"s, otherwise, Zhou Ji would not be so pa.s.sive and could do nothing to him. It might be said that Zhou Ji"s situation would be worse without Yang Fuguang.
Zhou Ji"s eyes reddened and he clenched his fists. The situation was indeed difficult, so it wasn"t easy to protect himself, to say nothing of making achievements. No one was safe in the turbulent world. Many times, if someone stepped forward, he might succeed or get in beyond redemption, but if he stepped backward, he might die.
Yang Fuguang took in Zhou Ji"s expression. He was expressionless on his face, but in his heart, he knew what he said worked. And now he only needed a real heavyweight to make Zhou Ji listen to him obediently.
Yang Fuguang said slowly, "My old friend in Bianzhou just wrote to me that the commissioner of Pinglu led one hundred thousand troops to go down along the Ji River and would soon arrive at Bianzhou. I think they"re almost there."
At first hearing the news, Zhou Ji was shocked all over.
This was a bombsh.e.l.l. As the situation in the Central Plains was in a stalemate, he could imagine what an impact the one hundred thousand troops would have on the situation. It might also cause the catfish effect.
Of course, Zhou Ji didn"t know about the catfish effect, but he still could understand the situation. He said in shock, "The commissioner of Pinglu, Your Highness Prince An?"
Yang Fuguang smiled and became more and more confident. "Yes. It"s Your Highness Prince An, who brought down Wei Baoheng and Liu Xingshen!"
"Your Highness Prince An will soon arrive at Bianzhou with one hundred thousand troops? Why so suddenly? He... Your Highness has one hundred thousand troops?" Zhou Ji was stunned. It was no wonder he would be stunned because there would not be one hundred thousand troops in the va.s.sal state normally and it would be good if there were thirty to fifty thousand troops.
Only the va.s.sal state army who defended the borders would have more soldiers, but it would not be more than one hundred thousand. And Pinglu was located in the place where there was no war, so there should be only about thirty thousand soldiers. Why would the troops expand to so many people? He could bring out one hundred thousand troops, so there were at least over a hundred thousand troops in the Pinglu Army!
Zhou Ji was not only shocked but also pleasantly surprised. This was exactly what Yang Fuguang needed, so he began to spare no effort to praise Li Ye and build up the momentum for him. "Your Highness Prince An takes office in Pinglu on Your Majesty"s personal decree in order to prepare to fight against the rebels. Although the rebels didn"t go to Pinglu to occupy that good place, Your Highness Prince An"s duties won"t disappear. With the continuous support of armor and materials from the imperial court and with Your Highness Prince An"s extraordinary talent, it is not inconceivable to expand the army to one hundred thousand troops in three years."
Zhou Ji calmed down and said seriously, "You"re right. Your Highness Prince An is the old Prince An"s son, like father like son, so his talent won"t be bad. When he was crowned, he brought down Wei Baoheng and Liu Xingshen. He went well prepared to Pinglu where there was no war. After three years of acc.u.mulation, he now has one hundred thousand troops. It is unexpected but makes sense!"
Zhou Ji"s words were full of admiration.
This was the effect of prestige. If Li Ye hadn"t brought down Wei Baoheng and Liu Xingshen and won the praise and admiration of the world, Zhou Ji wouldn"t have believed that Li Ye could lead one hundred thousand troops to rescue the emperor.
Yang Fuguang thought the time had come, so he no longer hesitated, and he suddenly left the seat and bowed. He cried in pain, "The real man should have grat.i.tude for the kindness, be loyal and righteous, make contributions to the country and have compa.s.sion for ordinary people! The imperial court treats you well. Now that the country is in trouble and you are the backbone of the country, you should make achievements for the country and kill the rebels so that you can go down in history. Are you willing to betray the imperial court and be driven by the rebels so that you will be cursed forever?!"
After declaiming, Yang Fuguang was in tears, but his gaze was firm and his back was straight. No one would doubt that he would press forward with indomitable will even in the face of the most severe trials.
Zhou Ji was greatly moved. He quickly bowed in front of Yang Fuguang and burst into tears. "Since the country is in difficulty, the emperor is going west and ordinary people are suffering, I am torn with grief and I wish I could perish together with the rebels. I"m weak in force, so I can"t fight against the rebels alone. I disobey the orders because I"m waiting for a good opportunity to fight till death on the battlefield! Now, with your help inside and Prince An"s a.s.sistance outside, even though it is difficult, I have to serve my country!"
Yang Fuguang was overjoyed, so he immediately stood up with Zhou Ji and pulled out his dagger to cut their palms. Their blood dripped in the cups. They subst.i.tuted tea for wine and made a blood oath.
It was just a simple ceremony and not large-scale. It was no more peculiar but even more concise than the current popular ceremony of the blood oath.
However, many changes in the situation and the direction of history depended on this oath that was not pure and not grand.
After they made up their minds, Zhou Ji said, "Zhu Wen"s messenger is still at the courier station. I"ll arrange for someone to kill him right now!"
It was to submit the pet.i.tion and express his firm determination and stand.
Yang Fuguang said without hesitation, "You don"t have to do this. I have people here. Although they aren"t outstanding masters, it is more than enough to kill a messenger."
Zhou Ji expressed his unconditional trust in Yang Fuguang.
Both of them were moved by each other and were about to say something more. Suddenly, they heard a sneer from the roof. "I"m so moved by your loyalty to Tang Empire. Unfortunately, you"re unable to kill the messenger. What"s more, your own lives are at stake!"
"Who?" Yang Fuguang and Zhou Ji were shocked. According to the sound, he was on the roof. But just now, they didn"t notice his movements and didn"t feel his breath, which showed that he had higher cultivation than them. Who else in Xuzhou would have higher cultivation than them?
They looked at each other and flew up together. They punched at the roof, smashing it directly, and rushed out from the broken wood and rubble.
On the roof, Yang Fuguang and Zhou Ji stood side by side and immediately saw five Taoists.
Standing on the roof of the next courtyard, the man in his fifties was holding the horsetail whisk and wearing a disdainful sneer. With their swords on the back, four Taoists were standing high and low on the roofs and courtyard walls at four sides. The four people had an untainted bearing. But different from the ordinary Taoists who had an ethereal temperament, they looked fierce and cruel. Obviously, they were not the Taoists who only focused on cultivation, but they experienced many b.l.o.o.d.y battles!
Upon seeing these five people, Yang Fuguang and Zhou Ji became serious. They could feel the strong pressure from the other sides, like Mount Tai pressing on their heads, making them breathless.
As the commissioner in the interior of the Central Plains, in the place of continuous war, Zhou Ji"s cultivation was not low. He had broken through the middle-level Qi-refining and reached Level 7 of Qi-refining. And Yang Fuguang came from the Imperial Palace. He had one level higher cultivation than Zhou Ji and was in Level 8 of Qi-refining!
But now, Yang Fuguang clearly felt that each of the five Taoists gave him great pressure, which showed that they were all in Level 9 of Qi-refining!