C41 Bai Jiang

Ji Cheng put on his robe and quickly followed Qii Liufeng. The two of them braved the snow and traveled to the remote tent. In the tent sat three mighty men who were slightly older than Ji Cheng.

"From today onwards, they will follow you and walk the rest of the way." Qii Liufeng finished introducing the few people in the tent and supported Ji Cheng's broad shoulders. "Ji Cheng, the grandfather of these few generals and my father share the same robe. I have a brotherly relationship with their father, do you understand? " They had been friends for three generations, and now they were all in Ji Cheng's hands. It could be said that they trusted him wholeheartedly.

After Ji Cheng nodded seriously, Qii Liufeng told him the names of the other people. Now he had arranged for a prince to tell him in detail. "Do you understand the rest of them? To make it easier for them to hide their identities, we don't need to meet them for the time being."

Ji Cheng thought for a moment and understood what Qii Liufeng meant. "Your disciple understands." So, he respectfully bowed to the three people in the tent. "Brothers, please help Ji Cheng conquer the city." As for the rest of them, his master arranged for them to be by the side of the other princes. They should be the 'eyes and ears' that were necessary for success.

After the three of them returned the bow, they each took their seats. Qii Liufeng then told Ji Cheng about the hatred that had been buried for many years in detail. "Even if this case is clarified, dozens of people from the Qi Family will not be able to make it back alive."

One of the young men, who had a ruddy face and a tall stature, added in a muffled voice, "The Lang Family was also innocent and implicated. Our entire family was demoted to slaves and lost the ability to hold official positions. Grandfather originally thought that General Qi's family would be able to collect the coffin after the execution, but who would have thought... "

Everyone probably did not know what losing an official position meant. The Great Zhou laws stated that those who had an official status and rank could be exempted from tax! In the later stages, the Emperor's words added another line: Those who had an official status could also be exempted from tax.

Do not underestimate the word tax exemption. It was truly a dividing line between poverty and wealth. There was no need to mention the heavy taxes from ancient times. There was also one thing that the citizens hated the most but could not resist. That was human head tax, which meant that a person had to pay money to the country from birth.

On the other hand, in modern times, children were born to enjoy nine years of compulsory education, free lunch at noon, and milk and fruit snacks in the afternoon to increase nutrition. Comparing the two of them, it was obvious how unreasonable the human head tax was.

Only then did Qii Liufeng get to the point. "Ji Cheng, Master and a few young generals do not ask for anything else. They only want to come to the capital and find my father's corpse and bury him properly. All of our filial piety... " At this point, he felt somewhat powerless. "Then... we can remove these slaves and return their glory to their ancestors."

"Master." Ji Cheng's heart ached. "Master, take care. Is there any whereabouts of the grandmaster's skeleton?" He turned to look at the few generals. "Everyone, don't worry. This is Ji Cheng's duty." The generals immediately cupped their fists and thanked him in unison.

After a while, they finally got to the main topic. Qii Liufeng opened the map and pointed at the mountain path. "Although this mountain is not dangerous, it has the geographical advantage. If we attack it, we will suffer heavy casualties."

The Zhou general beside him took over and said, "If it were not for this crazy massacre, why would we have encountered such intense resistance when attacking from the south?" He pointed at a few cities that had been conquered. "These few cities only had ten thousand defending troops, but they fought with their lives on the line. They actually took half a month to take it down..."

General Xie, who had spoken earlier, also said, "No matter what, they all died..." Then he sighed with emotion. "I only hope that we won't face such a tragic situation when we go into battle. Otherwise... Otherwise..."

When Ji Cheng heard this, he quickly recovered from his deep thoughts and said seriously, "Everyone, don't worry. Ji Cheng doesn't dare to disagree with the actions of the other brothers. He even feels extremely disappointed. If we get your help to seize the position of Grand Marshal of the Army, we will strictly order the three armies not to disturb the people. We are not allowed to slaughter surrendered soldiers. "

"That's good, that's good." The few generals were delighted and cupped their fists, "With that, we can be considered to have saved the people of Great Zhou."

Once these words were said, the knot in their hearts was lifted. From then on, there were no longer any grudges in the tent, and the princes and generals began to study the strategy.

"Advise surrender!" Qii Liufeng pointed at Mt. Mang and said in a deep voice, "When the three armies arrive at Mt. Mang, I propose to the king to set up the position of Grand Marshal. At that time, Mt. Mang will be the contract, and whoever takes it will take it."

Ji Cheng suddenly straightened his upper body. His two sword-shaped eyebrows slanted slightly. "Master's intention is to ask my disciple to personally advise surrender?"

"Taking it down is not considered a skill. It is called brilliant if the army does not shed blood." Qii Liufeng said provocatively and raised his chin. "What is it, Ji Cheng? He does not dare to take this military order..."

Ji Cheng was not moved by the provocation at all. He calmed his mind and thought for half a cup of tea before slowly getting up. He put his hands together and bowed slightly. "Ji Cheng understands Master's intention." He put down his hand and said in a deep voice, "Ji Cheng will definitely persuade the general of Mount Mang to surrender. He will not let Master down for so many years of teaching."

Nodding his head in satisfaction, Qii Liufeng pointed to the person who did not speak much. "General Meng Xia's literary and military strategy is far above everyone else's. You can discuss this with him. I will wait for your good news... "

He had noticed that Meng Xia did not speak much among the three of them, but every word he said was the main point. He had already decided to put him in an important position. Now that his master had said so, Ji Cheng immediately turned around and bowed earnestly to Meng Xia. "If that's the case, I will have to trouble General Meng."

Meng Xia sat up for a while before getting up and saying, "The Twelve Princes are polite." He smiled proudly and said, "Prince Twelve sincerely greets a general. If we do not do our best, we will be disloyal."

His words reminded Ji Cheng. He quickly took a step back and bowed. "Ji Cheng sincerely greets all of you as the generals of the three armies..."