Chapter 37 (Part 2) Defeating the Enemy

  "Is Tao Ying's small cavalry scattered?!" At the same time, Monk Bao himself was also shouting in surprise, and under his incredulous gaze, Monk Bao suddenly let out a mournful cry, "How is this possible? How is this possible? I have an army of 10,000, while Tao Ying only has 800 cavalrymen. How did he turn the tables and surround me instead?!"

  "With a loud shout, Tao Ying drew out the horse knife from his waist and yelled: 'Charge forward, take down the heads of the rebels! As I said——!'"

  "The Master said, 'When it comes to food, I do not reject what is finely prepared, nor do I make a distinction between the fine and coarse. If the food is rough and unrefined, or if the fish and meat are spoiled, I will not eat it. If the color is off-putting, I will not eat it. If the cooking is not done properly, I will not eat it. If it is not served at the right time, I will not eat it. If the cutting is not proper, I will not eat it. If I do not get the right sauce, I will not eat it. Even if there is a lot of meat, I will not let it overpower the flavor of the food. The only exception is wine - as long as it does not lead to chaos, I have no limit for it. However, I do not drink ale or spirits sold in the market. I do not eat dried ginger that has been left out overnight. I do not overeat. When sacrificing at a public altar, I do not keep leftover meat overnight. When sacrificing with meat, I do not let it sit out for more than three days - if it sits out for three days, I will no longer eat it! When eating, I do not speak; when in bed, I do not talk. Even if the food is plain and simple, such as vegetables or soup, I must still maintain a dignified demeanor.'"

  The neat and tidy army shouted out chaotic slogans, more than 300 of the Junzi cavalry charged forward frantically, waving their knives and axes at full speed towards the disorganized rebel army. Tao Ji led three teams of light cavalry to encircle the rebel army from all sides, also shouting slogans copied from the Analects, waving their sabers and iron axes, with red eyes charging towards the disorganized rebel army. The poor rebel army was completely routed, leaders and soldiers fleeing in all directions, Mo Rong himself was at a loss, his mouth only shouting "Impossible! Impossible! How is it possible? How is it possible?"

  "Food is not tired of fineness, and meat is not tired of thinness!" Shouting the slogan, Tao Ying, who usually seemed to be pampered and indulged, rushed to the forefront of the Junzi Army, being the first to charge into the enemy's army. With his horse sword, he hacked and slashed, shouting "Food is not tired of fineness, meat is not tired of thinness" with each strike. The enemies were all defeated, while the Rong army was exhausted and demoralized, having lost their will to fight. Even when they saw Tao Ying take the field personally, they didn't dare come forward to compete for merit, but instead fled in disarray, allowing Tao Ying to gallop freely within the formation. It was actually Tao Ying's personal soldiers and Xu Sheng, Lin Qing, and others who feared that Tao Ying would suffer a loss, hastily charging forward to follow up and protect him as much as possible.

  "Confucius said: Those who surrender will not be killed! Mencius said: Those who surrender will not be killed! Zengzi said: Those who surrender will not be killed!"

  The slogan of the absolutely abnormal Junzi Army has finally changed to a relatively normal one, but when this slogan sounded, it also represented that the light and heavy cavalry of the Junzi Army had completely surrounded the rebel army, forming a local advantage of many against few. The rebel army was killed and chopped, desperately harvesting the lives of the rebel soldiers. The leaders and soldiers of the rebel army were originally the remnants of Tao Kan's old unit who defected from Xuzhou. They were exhausted and surrounded by the Junzi Army again, and no one wanted to fight for Rong Feng and the son of their former master. They threw down their weapons and surrendered, and the Junzi Army cavalry took advantage of the situation to shrink the encirclement, gradually closing in on Rong Feng's command flag.

  "Charge! Charge! Let me charge! Get out!" Seeing this scene, General Lun also panicked and shouted loudly, only commanding the soldiers to charge, but the soldiers led by General Lun were just following him because of the money and food provided by the women. When they saw that they would be defeated, they immediately forgot all the benefits and rushed to escape from General Lun, throwing down their weapons and surrendering to the enemy's army. The number of soldiers around General Lun was getting smaller and smaller.

  "You despicable cur! Come and surrender!"

  In the chaos, Tao Ying, who was actually mediocre in martial arts, relied on Xu Sheng and others to fight to the death for his protection. After luckily cutting down a few enemies, he surprisingly became the first to kill his way to Lü Feng's side. Seeing Tao Ying charging towards him with his horse, covered in blood and dirt, Lü Feng was so frightened that his soul flew away, and he hastily ordered his men to come forward and resist the enemy. However, the dozen or so personal guards around Lü Feng looked at each other, and just like Cao Cao's soldiers when they encountered Ma Chao by the Wei River, they threw down Lü Feng's flag and scattered in all directions, abandoning Lü Feng to flee for his life. Tao Ying took advantage of the situation to cut down a rebel officer who was already so exhausted that he couldn't even lift his arms, then rode his horse forward, stood up in the stirrups, and swung his sword down at Lü Feng's head: "You treacherous dog! Take your death!"

  A loud "clang" sound, and Tao Ying's quick reaction allowed him to raise his knife to block the attack. The two knives clashed, and in the sparks that flew everywhere, Tao Ying's powerful blow sent Hua Rong's steel knife flying out of his hand. Hua Rong's warhorse, exhausted and foaming at the mouth, also stumbled and fell to its knees, sending Hua Rong tumbling forward. The soldiers behind Tao Ying were overjoyed and rushed up to pin Hua Rong down, capturing him alive as the greatest traitor in the history of Xuzhou.

  "Master! Master, spare my life!" Our Bodhisattva really knew how to cater to Deputy Director Tao's taste, and as soon as he was caught, he let out a pig-like scream. "Master! I, Rong, know my mistake! Please, great sir, have mercy on me, and just treat me like a fart, let me go! Master, do you still remember? Three years ago in Xuzhou, I even treated you to a meal!"

  "Pshaw!"

  Given Tao Rong's behavior was too heinous, no matter how much Vice Director Tao admired Tao Fo's style, he couldn't let Tao Fo off the hook. After spitting out a mouthful of thick phlegm, Tao Ying flipped over and dismounted, first exercising his wrists. He then picked up his knife again and nodded at the several personal guards holding down Tao Rong. The guards understood and while punching and kicking Tao Rong, they dragged this treacherous and heinous traitor who was even worse than the Mou brothers in front of Tao Ying. They pulled open his arms and made him kneel down, then trampled on his legs.

  "Your Highness! Your Highness! I know my crime! I know my crime! Spare my life, spare my life!" Lü Feng also knew that disaster was imminent, and he struggled to frantically beg for mercy, even shedding tears.

  If possible, our Deputy Director Tao actually wanted to light up a Davidoff cigar first, then let his accomplice Little Brother take off his black windbreaker for him, and then, with an extremely cool attitude, blow a smoke ring at Lian Rong's face, say a few cute words, then take over the metal baton handed over by Little Brother, take off his sunglasses and throw them to Little Brother, and finally, with an extremely cool swing of the bat, knock Lian Rong out! —— This was also what Deputy Director Tao had always wanted to do to his direct supervisor, Director Zheng.

  But now there are not so many suitable conditions, so Vice Director Tao can only use a horse knife to point at Lian Rong and shout: "You treacherous dog! My father treated you with great kindness, but you didn't think of repaying him. Instead, you rebelled in Xuzhou, killed the officials of Xuzhou, poisoned the people of Xuzhou, and harmed the lives of Xuzhou! If I don't kill you today, how can I face the tens of thousands of people of Xuzhou?!

  "Gentlemen, Meng Rong has realized his crime!" Meng Rong struggled and wept tears in front of everyone.

  "May the Buddha forgive your sinful soul!" Amidst the thunderous and earth-shattering roar, Tao Ying's knife chopped down, blood splattered everywhere, and Rong Ren's head fell to the ground. The deafening cheers also echoed on the battlefield amidst the neighing of horses.

  After the death of Lü Feng, his exhausted rebel army was unable to put up any more resistance and were slaughtered by the endurance superhuman Junzi Army. The rebels were killed or fled in all directions, with countless numbers surrendering. A significant portion of the 3,000 warhorses that Lü Feng had stolen from Tao Kan at the beginning of the year also returned to Tao Ying, the absolute legitimate heir. The Junzi Army was overjoyed, with cheers and laughter erupting everywhere. The two external members of the Junzi Army, Xu Sheng and Lin Qing, were like they were dreaming, hardly daring to believe what they saw and heard - how could their army of just over 800 men defeat Lü Feng's rebel army of over 10,000 and behead its leader?

  Gentlemen, soldiers, and generals were clearing the battlefield and chasing down the remaining enemies. By the light of the torches, Tao Ying saw Lin Qing's pretty face with a lost and disheartened expression. He was overjoyed and sat down beside her, taking her soft little hand in his, stroking it as he smiled: "Little girl, what's wrong? Were those words I spoke at the Xu Zhou school grounds six months ago incorrect?"

  Lin Qing finally came to his senses, first gave Tao Ying a white eye, and then hummed: "You won a big victory by luck, and you're getting arrogant? What's so great about that? If I were in command of the Junzi Army, I'd do better than you!"

  "So, don't you regret deserting now?" Tao Ying asked with a smile again.

  Lin Qing turned her big eyes and coquettishly begged Tao Ying in a soft voice, "Young Master, I regret it. Can I go back to the Junzi Army? Can't I?"

  "Alright." Tao Ying replied with a single word, then added: "However, you must first defeat those one hundred soldiers."

  "If you dare, then hit me." Lin Qing started acting coquettishly.

  "With a military stick, I'm really a bit reluctant." Vice Director Tao laughed very lewdly and whispered to Lin Qing's ear: "If you use the military stick on me, I'd be willing, no matter how many sticks, I'd be willing."

  When he said this, Tao Ying was already prepared to jump up and escape with his life, but what surprised Tao Ying was that Lin Qing only glared at him fiercely, then lowered her small face, and her lovely face also turned red to the base of her neck. Tao Ying was overjoyed in his heart and quickly took advantage of the situation to start groping Lin Qing's body. Lin Qing, on the other hand, was afraid of being discovered by the Junzi soldiers beside him, so he carefully dodged while asking in a mosquito-like voice: "That... that Zhenzhen sister, how...?"

  "It's broken!"

  Lin Qing's words had not finished, Tao Ying suddenly slapped his thigh and jumped up, regretting: "I really don't have enough experience, I won the battle, I must immediately send someone to inform Zhang Yi, let him hurry up and lead the army south, take back Guangling City in one go! Come on!"

  "No need!!" Lin Qing, who was both angry and embarrassed, opened his mouth to stop him, saying with hatred: "No need for you to send someone to pass on the order. In fact, Uncle Zhang wasn't waiting for you in Ping'an at all. He and I had an agreement that as long as we confirmed your Junzi Army had passed Gaoyou, he would immediately lead his troops south to prepare to meet up with you. According to the route, if nothing unexpected happens, by tonight at the latest, Uncle Zhang should have received news of the great battle in Guangling."

  "This guy is really disobedient, and didn't listen to orders!" Tao Ying stamped his foot in anger, saying: "Does he know or not, how dangerous this is?! If I hadn't anticipated and led the rebel army of Huo Rong's son to run northwest, letting his 2,000 infantry and rebel cavalry collide, then I'd be in trouble! Running isn't an option, fighting isn't an option, dragging behind would mean being dragged to death!"

  "Uncle is also for your own good." Lin Qingyi was unhappy and snorted: "Uncle is just afraid that you will talk big but can't deliver, leading eight hundred men to die in vain. We were preparing to rescue you from being surrounded. Who knew you're so capable? The eight hundred noble warriors actually defeated tens of thousands of rebels and even beheaded the traitor Quanrong's head! Hmph, madman!"

  "Even if he's kind-hearted, I'll have to scold him a few times when we meet, otherwise who will listen to my orders in the future?" Tao Ying muttered discontentedly and curiously asked Lin Qing: "Lin sister, tell me the truth, is General Zhang really your father?"

  "Of course not, he's just a good friend of my father's." Lin Qing gave Tao Ying a white look.

  "Your father's good friend?" Tao Ying was somewhat confused and asked tentatively: "Then who is your father? General Xu Dan? General Lü You? Or General Qin Ye? No, it must not be General Qin Ye, his son Qin Lang is only two years old this year, it's impossible to have a daughter as big as you."

  "Idiot!" Lin Qing cursed quietly, humming: "Guess whatever you want, anyway I won't tell you now, if you want to know, wait till I'm in a good mood."

  "Then you'd better make the most of your time and be in a good mood." Tao Yingxiao said: "If it's too late, after I get married and my wife enters the door, even if I can suffer losses and be deceived, when I come to your house to propose, you can only be a concubine."

  It's better not to mention this matter, but as soon as it was mentioned, Lin Qing's big eyes immediately turned red, and she lowered her head to hold back her sobs. After a long while, she said proudly: "Pfft! Who wants you to go ask for their hand in marriage? Who would be willing to marry you? In Xu Zhou City, I'm afraid that except for that ugly Cao Ling, no one would want to marry you!"