The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 212: Don't accept fooling around

Chunniang put down the medicine bowl in her hand, walked over, supported Li Chaohui, and let her sit down.

"Your Highness, what happened to you?" Seeing Li Chaohui's pale face, Chunniang asked in confusion. She was just going to boil a bowl of medicine, what happened?

Li Chaohui was trembling all over and couldn't say a word. Seeing this, Chunniang hugged her in her arms.

Li Zhaohui, who was comforted by Chunniang's arms, finally couldn't help but burst into tears and cried until he fainted.

Shen Tingzhi took Yu Sheng and Wang Zongyuan to survey the periphery of Wuya Mountain.

Although so many years have passed, the situation in Wuya Mountain is the same as it was back then, with not much change.

After getting the news, Shen Tingzhi began to make plans. His goal was to exchange the minimum casualties for the greatest victory.

These soldiers from Wuya Mountain are also his, Yunli's, soldiers. The result of killing each other can only bring pain to their loved ones and joy to their enemies.

"Second Young Master, what should we do next?" Wang Zongyuan couldn't wait any longer. Seeing that Shen Tingzhi didn't say anything and just stood there with his head down, he was so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks, running around like an ant on a hot pan.

Shen Tingzhi looked up at Wang Zongyuan and knew what he was thinking.

Wang Zongyuan was a military general and also a reckless man. As he himself said, his family fell into poverty and he was forced to become a bandit.

Although he had been subdued by the Marquis of Zhenbei for many years, the bandit spirit in him not only did not diminish with the passage of time, but became even more serious.

He is the kind of person who will do whatever he wants without caring about anything.

Apart from the Marquis of Zhenbei, there is probably no one in the world who can control Wang Zongyuan yet.

Although Wang Zongyuan obeyed Shen Tingzhi in words, he would definitely not obey discipline in his heart, nor would he carry out Shen Tingzhi's arrangements.

The most important thing now is not how to subdue the group of people inside, but how to calm down the reckless man in front of him who is eager to have a big fight.

So Shen Tingzhi used his tricks to trick Wang Zongyuan.

"Uncle Wang, if the West Mountain Camp could take in these people, it would be a great bargain."

"These people have all been professionally trained. Their quality, physical fitness, and combat effectiveness are extraordinary, far surpassing those newly recruited soldiers who still need training and drills before they can go to the battlefield."

Wang Zongyuan was just impatient and acted a little rashly, but he was not stupid, so he naturally understood the implicit meaning of Shen Tingzhi's words.

"Second Young Master, are you planning to recruit all the people here as soldiers and send them all to the West Mountain Camp?"

Before Shen Tingzhi could answer, Wang Zongyuan was already secretly delighted. He was the kind of person who would not take advantage of an opportunity and was a bastard.

Now that such a good thing has fallen on his head, if he doesn't want it, wouldn't he be a real fool?

Looking at Wang Zongyuan's excitement, Shen Tingzhi knew that the matter was accomplished.

What he didn't expect was that Wang Zongyuan was fooled by him so quickly. He hadn't even started to show his strength yet, but this guy took the bait. This made him feel so unfulfilled.

"Well, I do have this plan, but I'm just discussing it with you first. We'll have to see how to arrange them most appropriately later."

"What are we discussing? There's nothing to discuss about this matter. Getting them into the Xishan camp is the most appropriate thing to do."

"There's no need to make any arrangements for the rest. Let them go to the Xishan camp."

"I, Wang Zongyuan, promise you that once they enter the Xishan camp, I will definitely train them into the best troops in our Shen family army and will never bring shame to you and the Marquis."

Wang Zongyuan was afraid that Shen Tingzhi would change his mind if he was any later, so he immediately patted his chest and made a promise to Shen Tingzhi.

Little did he know that this was the bait Shen Tingzhi had set for him, just waiting for him to take the bait.

"Well, well, well," Shen Tingzhi said, seeing Wang Zongyuan agreed so readily, "Wang just said that casually. We'll make plans when we get back."

"What are you planning? Making plans?" Wang Zongyuan was a firecracker who would get angry at any time. When he saw that Shen Tingzhi had changed his mind, he was so anxious that he wanted to jump up.

"Second Young Master, you are a scholar. Scholars value integrity above all else. Once you've spoken, you can't go back on your word. There's no need to make any further plans on this matter. It's settled."

"After these people are recruited, they will be under the management of my Xishan Camp. No one can snatch them from me. If anyone dares to snatch them from me, I will complain to the Marquis!"

Although Wang Zongyuan is over fifty years old and a general with real power, he still has the mentality of a child. He always brings up the Marquis of Zhenbei, like a naughty child, and no one can do anything about him.

Shen Tingzhi shook his head helplessly, looked at Wang Zongyuan and said, "Okay, okay, okay, don't get excited, don't get excited. I can promise you that if these people are recruited, they will all be sent to the Xishan camp and will be under your control."

"But there are conditions. If you don't listen to me, then we'll end this matter and pretend I never said anything and you didn't hear anything."

"Listen, listen, listen. I promise to listen to you, Second Young Master. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west."

Shen Tingzhi's words made Wang Zongyuan excited. It's just a matter of being obedient. It's not life-threatening. What's so difficult about it?

Just let him listen, it won't cost him anything. As long as he is obedient, you can gain such an astonishing number of soldiers. This deal is a profit-making one.

Shen Tingzhi raised the corner of his mouth slightly. He has never lost in manipulating people's hearts.

"Okay, now it's settled. You must follow orders in all your actions. You are not allowed to act on your own, and you are not allowed to shout and kill when your temper flares up."

As long as we can control this wild donkey Wang Zongyuan, everything else will be easy.

"Okay, let's study the battle plan." The biggest trouble has been solved, and Shen Tingzhi is now going to start planning how to attack.

His decision to come here was too hasty. He could already imagine Shen Tianjiao's worry and anger at this moment, so he had to make a quick decision, solve these troubles, and return to Shangjing as soon as possible.

"If I'm not mistaken, the head coach leading these people here should be Liu Hu."

"Who? Liu Hu? Which Liu Hu?" Wang Zongyuan became excited when he heard that the commander-in-chief was Liu Hu.

Shen Tingzhi waved his hand to signal him to calm down and sit down to talk. Wang Zongyuan, who was completely under Shen Tingzhi's control, obeyed and sat down immediately, not daring to move.

"Who else could it be? The Liu Hu you know, Liu Cheng's son, Liu Hu."

Shen Tingzhi knew Wang Zongyuan, so why did he get excited when he heard the name Liu Hu? It was just that human hearts are fickle, so how could the past affections withstand the fickleness of human hearts?

Wang Zongyuan was so excited that he wanted to stand up again, but when he saw Shen Tingzhi's expression, he calmed down again.

Wang Zongyuan was not unfamiliar with Liu Hu. Liu Hu's father, Liu Cheng, and Wang Zongyuan could be said to be friends for life and death.

The two men had a life-and-death friendship on the battlefield, but later because Liu Cheng had a lame leg and could no longer fight, he and his family returned to his hometown.

After not seeing each other for many years, when I heard news about my old friend's son again, I found that we could only meet on the battlefield.

Such a result made Wang Zongyuan, who was always carefree, couldn't help but sigh that the world is unpredictable.

"That old man Liu Cheng is so confused. Not only did he follow the wrong person and take the wrong path, but now he wants to sacrifice his own son as well."

"Conspiracy for treason is not only punishable by death, but also by the extermination of nine generations of the family. He really wants all members of his Liu family to die with him."

Wang Zongyuan was so angry that he kept shaking his head. Although he was a reckless man, he was not confused in his heart. He had a sense of justice and could distinguish right from wrong.

But although Liu Cheng was more knowledgeable than him, he was an extremely pedantic and unreasonable person.

He is truly a fool who cannot distinguish between right and wrong, only cares about personal favors, and ignores the interests of the country and the nation.

Things in the world are unpredictable, how can people control them?

Shen Tingzhi shook off the distracting thoughts in his mind and said seriously, "If we want to reduce casualties and recruit all these people, we can't choose a frontal attack."

"Instead, we have to choose a psychological strategy. Although these soldiers were brought here by Shen Pingzhi, some of them may be veterans of our army."

"No matter how Shen Pingzhi tricked these people into coming here, since they have served in the Shen family army before, they should still have some ideas about national justice and right and wrong."

"So, what do you mean, Second Young Master?" Wang Zongyuan, who understood the meaning of Shen Tingzhi's words, swallowed nervously.

Although the second son of his family is a well-educated scholar, if he gets angry, he will be much crazier than this old man.

Back when Shen Tingzhi was still leading troops in battle, relying on his own skills and courage, he dared to run into the enemy commander's camp with only a few dozen people. Not only did he steal intelligence, he almost killed the commander.

Although Shen Tingzhi acted extremely bravely in that incident, he also paid a heavy price. All the people he brought with him were killed except him.

His own body was also pierced by the silver spear, and he was just a step away from death.

Because of this incident, the Marquis of Zhenbei was very angry. Not only did he lead his troops to kill all the enemy troops, he also put Shen Tingzhi in solitary confinement for half a year.

However, Shen Tingzhi was still recovering from his injuries at that time, so there was no difference whether he was in confinement or not.

But from then on, Marquis Zhenbei no longer allowed Shen Tingzhi to act alone.

Even when he was not fighting, he would keep Shen Tingzhi by his side and not give him any chance to display his strength.

Wang Zongyuan looked at Shen Tingzhi. He was really nervous and scared. If Shen Tingzhi had any mishap this time, Wang Zongyuan knew what consequences he would face without even thinking about it.

Looking at Wang Zongyuan's nervous expression, Shen Tingzhi wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. His bravery and fearlessness back then left a deep memory that everyone around him would never forget in their lifetime.

"Don't worry, I won't risk my life."

Things are different now. Shen Tingzhi has a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. His life is no longer his own, so he must keep his life well.

Protect your sister and defend Yunli's kingdom for your nephew.

Shen Tingzhi's words made Wang Zongyuan breathe a sigh of relief involuntarily.

Although this was not very credible, Wang Zongyuan still felt more at ease with Shen Tingzhi's guarantee.

"What I'm thinking is, I'll take Yu Sheng and a few others inside to see what the situation is."

"If the information we gather suggests we can persuade them to defect, then we should find an opportunity to do so and try to ensure everyone's safety."

"If the people inside are stubborn and refuse to repent, then we will have no choice but to fight them."

"As for the rest of the people, Longyin, Huxiao, Yingchi, and Fengming will guard the four exits of Wuya Mountain. If a war breaks out, there will be support inside and outside."

Shen Tingzhi's words made Wang Zongyuan, who had just felt relieved, become frightened.

Is this what someone should say to reassure themselves and not take risks?

Wang Zongyuan looked at Shen Tingzhi with a confused look on his face. He was speechless and didn't know what to say to this kid.

If there weren't so many people around now and he wanted to save face for Shen Tingzhi in front of all the soldiers, he would have scolded this brat a few times.

Even without looking up, Shen Tingzhi could feel the lethality of Wang Zongyuan's murderous gaze.

Shen Tingzhi touched his nose feeling a little guilty, as his thoughts did not seem to be very reassuring.

But there is no other way around it. It seems that no one else can do this except him.

"If that's the case, then I'd rather not have these people and not try to incite them to rebel. Let's just start fighting."

Wang Zongyuan was almost pissed to death by Shen Tingzhi. This kid was really hopeless.

He can die, but Shen Tingzhi must not be in any harm. If anything happens to Shen Tingzhi, how can he have the face to go back and see the Marquis of Zhenbei?

Shen Tingzhi looked up and smiled at Wang Zongyuan. Just as he was about to persuade Wang Zongyuan, he was interrupted by Wang Zongyuan, "Don't tell me anything. I don't want to hear your nonsense."

"You are such a good talker, you can make a living person dead or a dead person alive."

"I'm an old man, but I'm not as smart as you are even though I've lived all my life."

"I'm telling you, just shut up. If you have any more bad ideas, you'll end up collecting the body for the old man. After he collects the body, no one will be able to control you anymore."

After Wang Zongyuan said this, he turned around and walked away with big strides without waiting for Shen Tingzhi to respond, as if he was afraid that if he walked too slowly, he would be fooled by Shen Tingzhi.

Shen Tingzhi was left dumbfounded, watching Wang Zongyuan's back as he left, and he kept muttering in his heart: "When did this old man learn to be smart? Wasn't it going smoothly when he was fooling him just now? How come he can't fool him so easily now?"