Chapter 54: Verbally Executing Lu Jilan

As the saying goes, fine birds choose the tree to nest in, and wise ministers choose the lord to serve! Seeing Chen Ying smile, Lu Jilan truly believed that Chen Ying was tempted, which greatly boosted his confidence. General Chen is a person of peerless talent, possessing both extraordinary courage and resourcefulness. It is simply laughable that the ruler of the Li Tang dynasty fails to utilize your talents to the fullest. For General Chen to serve the Tang is like casting pearls before swine. It would be far better to align with my lord, who recognizes and cherishes heroes. If General Chen is willing to surrender to our Great Liang, my lord will certainly confide in you wholeheartedly and bestow upon you a position of immense power—ranking as the first among officials, beneath only one person yet above tens of millions. With my lord's virtue and your ability, our ruler and minister shall join hands to sweep away the chaos, unify the realm, and leave our names in the annals of history. Would that not be magnificent!

Yang Ze, who had just arrived, was instantly filled with panic upon hearing that Liang Shidu had sent an emissary to win over Chen Ying. If Liang Shidu secured the allegiance of Chen Ying, it would be like a tiger growing wings. With Chen Ying's formidable capability, crushing the Tujue would be as easy as cutting melons and vegetables. If he were to turn against ordinary Tang soldiers, the soldiers of Tang might not necessarily perform any better than the Tujue.

Furthermore, Chen Ying was far from being alone. He enjoyed immense popularity among the troops; whether it was the Right Guard officers and soldiers in the city or the garrison forces in Lingzhou, all held Chen Ying in profound awe. Not to mention, over thirty thousand Tujue captives regarded Chen Ying as a deity, and the entire Yushuishedu tribe, led by Yugu Ni, completely pledged allegiance to Chen Ying.

At this moment, Chen Ying commanded the five prefectures and twenty-six cohorts of the Right Guard, plus five cohorts of the Valiant Cavalry, totaling thirty-one cohorts—nearly ten thousand elite and vigorous soldiers. In addition, there were over thirty thousand Tujue prisoners of war who could be instantly armed into an army, along with more than six thousand Tujue cavalrymen of the Yuduni tribe. One could well imagine that once Chen Ying rebelled against Tang, the consequences would be utterly unimaginable.

Not only would Lingzhou be lost, but as long as Chen Ying led this fierce, wolf-like army south along the Yuanzhou-Fengxiang route, they could breach the passes and press onward without encountering any resistance. It would be tantamount to marching through unpopulated territory.

Hearing Lu Jilan's promise of a position beneath one person yet above tens of millions, Yang Ze felt the stakes were extraordinarily high. Should Chen Ying lose his moral footing and be seduced by such temptations, it would truly deal a fatal blow to the Tang dynasty.

At this thought, Yang Ze could not help but inwardly despair. Although Guo Zihe had weathered the crisis, Guo He lacked both troops and generals, and possessed no strength whatsoever to keep Chen Ying in check.

It was not just Yang Ze; even Liu Tong's heart was gripped with dread. He was originally a surrendered official under Liang Shidu. If he were to surrender to Liang Shidu once more, given Liang Shidu's vengeful and petty nature, Liu Tong was unsure whether Chen Ying would face trouble, but he was certain that Liang Shidu would never let him off lightly. Liang Shidu would undoubtedly make him wish he were dead rather than alive.

Before Yang Ze and Liu Tong could speak to stop him, Chen Ying sighed and said, Tsk tsk, beneath one person yet above tens of millions, ruler and minister joining hands to sweep away the chaos, unifying the realm, and leaving a legacy in history—it certainly sounds wonderful, but it is a great pity...

Upon hearing these words, the expressions of Yang Ze and Liu Tong shifted drastically.

Lu Jilan, on the other hand, wore a smile brimming with excitement.

However, Chen Ying pointed to his own knees and said, What a pity, my knees are rather stiff, and I simply cannot kneel.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jilan's expression changed completely.

Meanwhile, expressions of wild joy surfaced on the faces of Yang Ze and Liu Tong.

Next, Chen Ying extended a finger to point at his waist and said, My waist is rather flexible, which is why I must hold my head high and stand straight. Only then can I look down without shame before Heaven and Earth, and without disgrace before my ancestors.

Chen Ying suddenly pointed at Lu Jilan and rebuked him in a stern voice: And you, this despicable villain, aside from your glib tongue, your distortion of white into black, and your confusion of right and wrong, do you truly believe that everyone in this world is as devoid of principles as you are? What kind of creature is Liang Shidu anyway? No matter how he tries to whitewash himself, he can never alter his ugly posture of bowing and scraping, groveling, and servilely submitting to the Tujue. And what kind of thing is your Liang regime? A mere speck of territory consisting of three prefectures and twenty-eight counties, yet you dare to style yourselves as kings and solitary rulers. It is the height of absurdity in this world! In the court of Liang, rotten wood serves as officials; within the halls, beasts partake of the state's grain. The hearts of wolves and the conduct of dogs run rampant, while servile and spineless sycophants seize the reins of government. The altars of state lie in ruins, and the common people are plunged into misery... Do you truly believe that with the Tujue at his back, Liang Shidu can conquer the realm?

Assailed by Chen Ying's continuous rebukes, Lu Jilan turned pale, his body trembling like chaff in the wind. Despite the biting cold of the first lunar month, beads of dense sweat broke out across his forehead.

As for Yang Ze and Liu Tong, they were overjoyed, clapping their hands and loudly applauding.

Chen Ying's voice suddenly rose by an octave, every single word roared out: And what on earth are the Tujue? They are nothing more than opportunistic bandits who took advantage of the twilight years of the former Sui, the frequent natural disasters, the chaotic governance, and the abandoned military defenses to engage in looting! Do they truly believe they can swallow the Central Plains whole like a whale? Truly, a frog at the bottom of a well has never seen the vastness of the sky!

Chen Ying turned to point toward the north and roared: Ever since the Qin and Han dynasties, how many nomadic tribes have risen amidst the chaos upon these grasslands? Back then, the Xiongnu were equally arrogant and overbearing; they besieged the Founding Emperor and insulted Empress Lü through letters, exhibiting an arrogance unmatched before or since. Yet where are the Xiongnu today? Emperor Wu of Han dispatched Wei Qing and Huo Qubing on two campaigns deep into the northern desert, shattering the Xiongnu until they were utterly routed. After the Xiongnu, the Xianbei rose, clamoring to graze their horses in the Central Plains and bathe the divine land in blood. Yet where are the Xianbei today? The Tujue have rather pleasant dreams of grazing their horses in the Central Plains and washing the realm in blood, but I can tell you this lackey of the Tujue: as long as the men of the Central Plains are not utterly exterminated, as long as even a single man remains alive, the Tujue will spend all their days eating sand in the northern desert! Now, get out of here and crawl back. Tell Liang Shidu to wash his neck clean and wait for this General, for before long, this General will come to take his head! There is one more message you must deliver without fail: tell those Tujue mongrels to behave themselves. If they provoke me to the extreme, they won't even have the chance to eat sand in the northern desert!

At this moment, Lu Jilan's facial complexion resembled a rollercoaster. It turned pale, then flushed a deep red, and then grew sallow once more. Probably even a Best Actor winner from later generations could not rival Lu Jilan's skill in changing facial expressions.

With a ferocious expression on his face, Lu Jilan pointed at Chen Ying and shrieked hysterically: How grand General Chen's majesty is! Do you truly believe that with your mere thousands of troops, you can pacify our Great Liang and annihilate the Tujue?

Hmph, naturally I am not so arrogant, nor am I so conceited! Chen Ying shook his head and said: Since I have come, I will never allow the conspiracy of the Tujue to succeed. Perhaps I might be defeated, and perhaps I might even perish in battle, but our Huaxia nation shall never perish. If Chen Ying falls, countless passionate and hot-blooded men will rise up to fight for this nation and this country. I, Chen Ying, will stand before the iron hooves of the Tujue. Their cavalry might cross the Great Wall and traverse countless formidable passes and strongholds, but can they ever cross the Great Wall of flesh and blood constructed by tens of millions of passionate sons of Han?

The personal guards and soldiers of the General's Manor unconsciously straightened their postures. As ordinary individuals amidst the masses, they might not understand the grand concepts of statecraft or the future of the nation, but they had witnessed the brutality of the Tujue. They knew that ever since the eleventh year of Daye, the Tujue had perpetrated countless horrifying massacres across the border prefectures stretching six or seven thousand li from Weiwu in the west to Liaodong in the east.

In particular, the soldiers originally from Lingzhou were moved to tears by Chen Ying's impassioned and stirring speech. Ordinary soldiers might have enlisted merely to survive and eat their rations, but at this moment, Chen Ying had rekindled the long-cooled blood burning within their chests, filling them with the urge to follow him immediately into a bloody, life-and-death struggle against the Tujue.

Sometimes, soldiers merely require a single role model to undergo a total transformation and unleash a terrifying combat capability.

Yang Ze was moved beyond measure: Well done, Chen Ying! His Highness the Crown Prince made no mistake in choosing you!

Liu Tong muttered to himself: What magnificent spirit, rivaling ten thousand men...

However, at this moment, Lu Jilan's body swayed even more violently. His face grew as pale as paper, and his breathing became so faint it was nearly imperceptible.

Thud!

Lu Jilan's body collapsed limply to the ground.

Just as Liu Tong stepped forward to check, he suddenly heard a voice resembling that of an aging drake cry out: Chen Ying, Senior Cavalry Commandant, Baron of Xiuwu, General of Loyal Martial Prowess, commander of the Right Guard, and Campaign General, receive the imperial decree...

Liu Tong stepped forward and tested Lu Jilan's breath, then cried out in alarm: He's dead!

What? Yang Ze asked in disbelief: Lu Jilan was actually talked to death?

Liu Tong nodded solemnly: Indeed!

The gazes the crowd cast toward Chen Ying instantly shifted.

Words have great power, yet they never imagined that Chen Ying's words could act like a blade capable of taking a man's life.

The personal guards and soldiers of the prefectural garrison looked at Chen Ying with entirely new eyes. If their previous attitude had been merely one of awe and respect, it was now transformed into fanatical worship.

Yet at that very moment, the voice resembling an aging drake rang out once more: Chen Ying, Senior Cavalry Commandant, Baron of Xiuwu, General of Loyal Martial Prowess, commander of the Right Guard, and Campaign General, receive the imperial decree...