His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

Seeing Mu Yuan's unwavering resolve and lack of room for negotiation, Feng Zhong's expression was complex, but a resolute glint flashed in his eyes at the end.

The next moment, he knelt down in front of Mu Yuan with a thud.

Mu Yuan was startled by his actions.

"I, Feng Zhong, have never knelt down to beg anyone in my life. Today I beg you, please don't make me disband the new recruits. From now on, I will respect you. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west. If I break my promise, may I be struck by lightning."

As Feng Zhong spoke, he raised his right hand and made an oath in front of Mu Yuan to prove his stance.

Seeing his resolute gaze and serious expression, Mu Yuan remained unmoved, instead coldly issuing his final ultimatum:

"Vice Commander Feng, your begging only makes me despise you!"

After being rejected by Mu Yuan again, Feng Zhong felt as if all his strength had been drained, and he collapsed to the ground, but he still refused to give in.

After racking his brains, Feng Zhong suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said:

"If I were to inform the commander-in-chief of the purpose for which the imperial court sent me here, would that cancel the bet?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan merely gave a cold smile.

Although it seemed like he was telling the truth, Mu Yuan didn't really care. Moreover, Feng Zhong wasn't telling the truth either; the court sending him was just a facade.

There must have been Liang Guogong Lan Shi secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes.

However, Feng Zhong did not mention Lan Shi at all.

This shows that the secret he voluntarily revealed was not from his true feelings, but rather an attempt to exploit the information gap and deceive Mu Yuan.

"Vice Commander Feng, stop pestering me. I'm only giving you one day. If I don't see the new recruits you've recruited leaving the Western Army's garrison by tomorrow morning, you should know what the consequences will be!"

After saying this, Mu Yuan left Feng Zhong, who was slumped on the ground with a blank look in his eyes, and went away alone.

This is why he didn't speak to Feng Zhong in the training ground but instead spoke to him privately. After all, if he spoke to him in public, he would become the one in charge of dismissing the new recruits, while in a private conversation, Feng Zhong would naturally become the villain in the eyes of the new recruits.

"What did you talk about?"

As soon as Mu Yuan stepped out of the central military camp, Qin Hongxiu quickly approached him, curious about what Mu Yuan and Feng Zhong had discussed inside.

"You'll find out tomorrow," Mu Yuan said with a mysterious smile.

Qin Hongxiu looked puzzled. Lately, every time she asked, Mu Yuan would always dodge the question, unwilling to tell her more or reveal more details.

Qin Hongxiu was a little angry because of this, thinking that Mu Yuan did not trust her.

"You don't even believe me?"

Mu Yuan simply smiled and waved his hand.

Recently, he has been racking his brains to deal with Feng Zhong, and he carefully considers every word he says when talking to Feng Zhong.

Because his nerves were constantly on edge, Mu Yuan, exhausted both physically and mentally, was unwilling to speak whenever he relaxed.

This is also why he was unwilling to explain to Qin Hongxiu.

Unfortunately, Qin Hongxiu was unaware of Mu Yuan's thoughts, and she became even angrier when she saw him waving his hand.

"If you don't want to disclose it, then so be it."

After saying this, Qin Hongxiu stormed off, seething with anger.

Seeing her leave in a huff, Mu Yuan felt a sense of helplessness.

The next day.

Mu Yuan was awakened by a series of loud arguments.

They stepped out of the tent.

A large number of soldiers were gathered on the training ground ahead.

Mu Yuan squinted and carefully examined the soldiers' faces. He noticed that they were all unfamiliar faces and immediately realized that these were the new recruits that Feng Zhong had recruited a few days ago.

Mu Yuan had already guessed most of the truth. He withdrew his gaze and turned to the guard beside him, asking:

"What happened?"

"Reporting to the Commander," the guard replied truthfully, "Vice Commander Feng sent someone to deliver an order to the new recruits, giving them the deadline to leave the Xifu Army's garrison today. Now, these new recruits can't find Vice Commander Feng, so they've all come here to demand an explanation."

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan looked thoughtful.

It must be said that Feng Zhong did have some brains; he knew that disbanding the new recruits would invite their verbal attacks and condemnations.

He deliberately sent someone else to deliver the order, but then slunk away and hid himself.

On the other side, after leaving the Xifu Army's garrison, Feng Zhong found Lan Que, who was still stranded in Caiyun City.

I told him about my recent experiences.

"waste!!!"

After listening to Feng Zhong's complaints, Lan Que not only offered no comfort, but also verbally abused Feng Zhong.

"Young Master, why don't you write a letter to the Duke of Liang, saying that I am not up to the task and ask the Duke of Liang to send someone else?" Feng Zhong pleaded with a bitter face.

He suffered two losses at Mu Yuan's hands.

Having cut off his own left arm once, this time, by disbanding the newly recruited soldiers, his hopes of cultivating his own power within the Western Army have been completely dashed, and he has even incurred the resentment of the new recruits.

Feng Zhong didn't want to stay in the Western Army for even a moment longer; he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would be tricked and killed by Mu Yuan sooner or later.

"My father praised you for your strategic thinking in his letter, but now it seems you're a complete waste!" Lan Que said angrily.

Previously, at the county government office, I was tricked by Mu Yuan and received dozens of lashes.

Next, he found Prince Ning, Zhu Zheng, and went with him to the Xiping Prince's Mansion to celebrate the birthday of Old Madam Mu.

He had hoped to embarrass Mu Yuan at the birthday banquet and make the Mu family lose face.

The result was still fruitless.

Therefore, Lan Que wrote a letter to his father, Lan Shi, for help.

Lan Shi, who was far away in the capital, successfully persuaded the court to send Feng Zhong to serve as the deputy commander of the Western Army.

They thought Feng Zhong could disrupt the morale of the Western Army and then deal with Mu Yuan, but unexpectedly, just a few days later, Feng Zhong was tricked by Mu Yuan and lost his left arm. In the end, he came to complain in disgrace.

"Young master, please be merciful and write to the Duke of Liang to have me transferred back to the capital, even if it's without an official position."

Feng Zhong, who was called a good-for-nothing, was not angry at all. Instead, he begged Lan Que in every way possible.

Seeing Feng Zhong repeatedly defeated by Mu Yuan and utterly demoralized, Lan Que was furious. However, he quickly came up with a brilliant idea.

He took a small porcelain bottle out of his pocket and handed it to Feng Zhong.

Feng Zhong took it with a puzzled look on his face and asked:

"Young master, what is this?"

"Poison!" Lan Que replied.

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhong was so frightened that he immediately dropped the small porcelain bottle in his hand, his face turning deathly pale.

"Young Master, you wouldn't be thinking of...poisoning me, would you?"

Feng Zhong had originally served under Lan Shi, so he not only understood Lan Shi's personality but also the Lan Que before him.

He suffered repeated setbacks at Mu Yuan's hands, lost his left arm, and messed things up completely.

In Lan Que's eyes now, he is nothing but a useless piece of trash.

A useless person means someone who has no value to be used. The poison Lan Que is giving him now has an obvious intention: to make him commit suicide by poisoning himself.

Just as Feng Zhong was lost in thought...

Lan Que, however, offered a different explanation: