Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 100: Beating Jiedu with Three Punches

"Hahahahaha..."

Zhu Wen's eyes suddenly lit up as he stared at Governor Wang Jingchong, then he looked up to the sky and laughed loudly, his laughter so loud that it seemed to break through the clouds.

Wang Jingchong calmed down. "What's so funny? Could it be that Master Zhu has gone mad because he couldn't keep his beautiful fiancée?"

Mr. An, Mr. Gao, Mr. Cui, and Mr. Yin nodded secretly, feeling that what Governor Wang Jingchong said was absolutely right.

The power of Zhu Gongzi's family was completely crushed by Wang Jiedu. Even Tian Si Niang, the flower girl of Weizhou, whom he had finally won over and showed off to them, was snatched away by Wang Jiedu.

What other explanation is there for such laughter except impotence, rage and madness?
Unexpectedly, Zhu Wen stopped laughing and his expression became as calm as autumn water.

"There are three things that are ridiculous about what Wang Jiedu said."

Wang Jingchong's expression shifted slightly. "Three ridiculous things? Which three ridiculous things are you talking about? Tell me."

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Wen's figure turned into a bolt of lightning and pounced on Wang Jingchong, catching Wang Jingchong off guard.

"Duke of Zhao, Prince of Changshan, and Jiedushi of Chengde?"

"Jiedu, Jiedu, dog-foot Jiedu!"

Wang Jingchong never imagined that Master Zhu would so brazenly attack in front of everyone.

The dignified Jiedushi of Chengde was grabbed by the collar and pushed to the ground.

A heavy punch hit Wang Jingchong's face. Wang Jingchong felt the bridge of his nose collapse and his nose suddenly filled with blood. The blood was so red that he almost suffocated.

"To prevent Governor Wang from accusing me of being unreasonable, I, Zhu, will come and have a proper talk with the Governor."

"Wang Jiedu was a high-ranking official, but he inherited his father's influence and had no military achievements to show for it. He was only famous for participating in the campaign against Ming Cult leader Pang Xun in his early twenties. In that battle, it was General Feng who achieved great success, while Wang Jiedu was defeated and forced to flee on horseback. The court, taking pity on Wang Jiedu's hard work, rewarded him with the title of Duke of Zhao. Wang Jiedu wasn't ashamed of this, but rather proud of it. How ridiculous."

In fact, Wang Jingchong was quite young during that battle and led a small number of troops. He followed the troops of He Quanhao, the then Jiedushi of Weizhou. However, it is also true that he was defeated along with the Weizhou army and fled in panic.

Another punch hit Wang Jingchong's left cheek, causing his cheekbone to burst with pain and his cheek to swell up like a mountain.

"Wang Jiedu boasts of his Uighur ancestry again, but everyone in the Tang Dynasty knows that thirty-five years ago, the renowned commander Shi Xiong defeated your Uighur army of 100,000 with only 3,000 cavalrymen, beheading your last Uighur Khan, Wujie, in battle. The head of your father and king still hangs on the Mingde Gate Tower in Chang'an today! A Uighur bastard who lost his country and family fled to the interior and stole a key vassal state by chance. What is there to praise? It's ridiculous."

The third punch hit Wang Jingchong's eye socket directly, making his already slightly sunken eye socket even more sunken. Blood spurted out of his eyes, and his eyeballs were almost popped out. The dripping blood instantly blurred his vision.

"As for Wang Jiedu's royal bloodline... As far as I know, my sister Jun's great-grandmother was also a princess. When a family is strong for a time, they can marry a princess, but when they decline, she's worthless! Boasting about this, thinking your bloodline is noble, is ridiculous!"

Hearing this, Captain Tian suddenly came to his senses. Yes, isn't our eldest mother also Princess Jiacheng? It's just that our family has declined so much that we are too embarrassed to mention it!
After saying all this, Zhu Wen grabbed Tian Jun's hand and rushed out the door in the stunned atmosphere of the whole audience.

Wang Jingchong was knocked to the ground, feeling dizzy, but he heard every word Zhu Wen said clearly.

Every word is heartbreaking!

He could not say that Zhu Wen was simply unethical and launched a surprise attack, because he was also defeated miserably by his opponent in the literary battle.

Zhu Wen and Tian Jun had already mounted the two strong horses tied at the gate of the manor, cut the ropes, and galloped out like arrows.

Master Yan looked at Tian Jun's slim back with a complicated expression.

But Zhu Wen's dignified words still drifted into the courtyard with the wind.

"I'm definitely not some Youzhou Zhu Huang. I defeated Qi Kerang, the governor of Taining, in Songzhou, and beheaded Mu Renyu, the governor of Xuanwu, in Qihuang. I'm Zhu Wen, the general of the righteous army Luoyandu, who served under the command of Huang Chao, the Great General Chongtian!"

"Humans are not animals, so why do we need any name or blood? I was born in the countryside, but with my wisdom and courage, I can dominate the world."

"Wang Jingchong, my boy, if you wish to avenge your humiliation, do not implicate others. Lead your troops south of the Yellow River, and let us fight to the death!"

Everyone in the garden was stunned and speechless.

Only Wang Jingchong, the governor, covered in dust and blood, stood up unsteadily after a while. "Chase him for me! Bring that bastard back and tear him into pieces!"

Wang Jingchong quickly caught up with his personal soldiers.

"Kid, save your life!" The Chengde cavalry actually ran faster than the fast horses ridden by Zhu Wen and Tian Jun. They were all tall and strong horses produced in Xiliang.

"What arrangements have you made this time?" Tian Jun had completely trusted Zhu Wen's wisdom and used his snake spear to block the sharp arrows coming from behind him.

"Just look at it and you'll find out."

Before he could finish his words, two groups of men suddenly emerged from the mountains, carrying black flags and black armor, like ghost riders out of the mud-plow prison.

The two cavalry teams immediately charged into Wang Jingchong's personal guards, leaving two bloody wounds.

Wang Jingchong, who had already been beaten black and blue by Zhu Wen, was then chopped down by a tall knight in black armor with a sword, which broke his tibia. He vomited blood from his mouth and fled in panic.

"Boy Zhu Wen, wait for me..." Wang Jingchong fled in panic without forgetting to say a harsh word.

But the first thing he has to consider now is undoubtedly his own life.

"You didn't bring so many people with you, did you? Where did these reinforcements come from?" Tian Jun asked in confusion.

"Fool, you just changed your clothes, and even the soldiers from Wei Bo Town can't recognize you?"

"When I was helping Master manage the intelligence network, I already had some dirty laundry on those city scumbags in Heshuo." Zhu Wen added, "The evidence that Wang Jingchong instigated a mutiny against Han Jian, the governor of Weizhou, two years ago was already delivered to the governor's office in Weizhou."

Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi, both powerful figures, possessed formidable intelligence networks, holding a wealth of incriminating material on officials of all ranks. It was only Wang Jingchong's presence that forced Zhu Wen to use the material on him.

Even if Wang Jingchong could escape this time, he would never dare to set foot in Weizhou again - otherwise, Jiedushi Han Jian would definitely chop off his head.

Tian Jun was overjoyed, knowing that Wang Jingchong wouldn't even dare come to Wei Bo again, let alone vent his anger on the Tian family. Having offended Han Jian, Wang Jingchong would never touch a blade of grass or a tree in Wei Bo again!
"Jiedushi Han Jian should really thank me," Zhu Wen laughed. "If I hadn't given him those things, how could he have known that Wang Jingchong, the 'good brother' who always calls him 'Brother Han', actually wanted to take his territory and his life!"

The two riders on fast horses galloped across the fields of Weizhou, and soon disappeared into the vast wasteland and could not be found.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Zhu Wen laughed at Tian Jun. "It's wonderful!" Tian Jun smiled brightly, her honey-colored skin reflecting the midday sun, making her look even more vibrant and beautiful, like a goddess.

"But you didn't tell me the whole truth." Zhu Wen said, "Master Yan is not as bad as you say."

"I didn't lie." Tian Jun suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"That's true, but I didn't expect a fool like you to only speak half the truth."

If only half of a thing is said, its nature will be quite different.

"So you also have a childhood sweetheart." Zhu Wen smiled slightly.

"Not really. We haven't known each other since we were two or three years old." Tian Jun snorted, "When I was eight, I was running around on the walls of houses in Weizhou and accidentally fell into his yard."

"And then you said you wanted to marry him?"

"How can you take seriously what an eight or nine-year-old says?" Tian Jun denied.

"What would a six-year-old child, who had been locked up in a deep courtyard since childhood, think if he suddenly saw a sister two years older than him, as beautiful as a fairy, falling from the sky?"

Zhu Wen sighed and said, "But the foolish thing about this Master Yan is that he thinks his family is much higher than yours, so he doesn't consider your feelings."

"Jiedushi Han Junxiong's youngest daughter, twelve years his senior, is ill and dying, and he wants him to marry her to bring good luck. If the Yan family refuses, the Jiedushi will immediately exterminate the entire family."

Jiedushi Han Junxiong is the father of the current Jiedushi of Weizhou, Han Jian, and Han Jia's daughter is Han Jian's sister.

"So he told you to be a concubine for a year or two, and then he would make you his wife after the Han family's daughter died of illness."

"I think you, a fool, did have some feelings for him back then."

"No!" Tian Jun denied flatly: "My aunt doesn't like this kind of effeminate man. It's just that I didn't dislike him at first. Marrying him would bring many benefits to the family. Who would have thought that he would wronged my aunt to be his concubine!"

"Willful." Zhu Wen commented.

Tian Jun didn't answer. She knew that if her behavior were applied to many other girls, it would indeed be considered willful and she didn't care about the interests of the family at all.

"Master Yan is truly a lovestruck man. Even after five years, he still thinks of you, even though you immediately broke up with him and slapped him in the face."

"He and the daughter of the Han family have never been husband and wife, and he still has no wives or concubines. Even if you refuse to go back, he has promised to help us resolve all the problems..."

Zhu Wen had originally intended to deal with Lord Yin, whose ancestor had massacred people in Songzhou. As for inviting Master Yan, it was to ask him to help clean up the mess, and this had already been agreed upon.

Unexpectedly, Jiedushi Wang Jingchong met his good friend Master Yan on the way and tried to get close to him and confront him.

"However, it may be difficult for Master Yan to appease Governor Wang." Zhu Wen added, "So I can only ask Governor Han Jian to protect your Tian family."

"It doesn't matter what he thinks. He made me unhappy back then." Tian Jun said, with a somewhat lonely look in her eyes.

"Actually, it's good that you're so willful." Zhu Wen sighed, "Because I was much more willful than you back then. Do you want to hear my story?"

Tian Jun was stunned. She certainly realized that Zhu Wen was a man with a story.

"Go ahead, I'd love to hear it."

She was indeed curious about Zhu Wen's past.

"Xingxiang and I weren't strictly childhood sweethearts. We were both seventeen when I met her," Zhu Wen said, suddenly lost in a long memory. "But in reality, we were still children, and we didn't understand many things in the world."

Many people get married and have children before they are 20 years old, but their mental state has not actually changed qualitatively. It is just that the children are forced to raise children younger than themselves.

"She and I have always been friends, even though we once traveled together from Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south to Heshuo in the north."

"Because we're all so proud."

"One day, I sneaked into her house again, but was stopped by her grandfather, Governor Zhang Rui."

"Inspector Zhang Rui asked me what I planned to do, and I said I didn't know."

"Governor Zhang claims to have been an honest official his entire life, but he's willing to use his connections to secure a better future for me. But I say, if that's the case, then let's not blemish the Governor's reputation for integrity."

"Inspector Zhang told me that he's been ill from overwork and won't live long. Coming from a humble family like him, if he's gone, the family's connections and power will be wiped out in an instant."

At this point, Zhu Wen laughed at himself and said, "How foolish and willful! Even though the adults have said this, I still stubbornly refuse to rely on others."

"Inspector Zhang clearly told me that he was able to reach this position because he worked harder than everyone else and was also quite lucky. It's impossible for me to follow his path!"

"I didn't expect that those were the last words Governor Zhang left me."

"I went out to do something, and when I came back I heard the news that the governor had passed away. Xingxiang and her mother had left Songzhou together, and I don't know where they went. She had left a letter for me, but it was blown away by the wind."

"We haven't had any contact in all these years, and I don't know where she went. I wonder if it's because I haven't confessed my feelings that she blames me."

Tian Jun listened quietly, and then remained silent for a long time. The breeze blew her hair up, and it flowed on her cheeks like green clouds.

"Is this the reason why you keep your distance from your junior sister?"

"Her intelligence is very similar to that of awakening fragrance."

"So Zhizhen and I make you feel safer." Tian Jun commented: "You don't have to worry about the fire happening and being unable to escape."

Zhu Wen gave a wry smile: "So you see, I am just such an awkward and terrible person."

"Then, play with me, now." Tian Jun suddenly said.

(End of this chapter)