Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 141 Outside Dingbei City

Two days later, outside Dingbei City.

Eight thousand elite soldiers stood in formation, their black armor gleaming in the sun, their banners fluttering in the wind.

Lin Chen's carriage stopped at the very front of the army formation. The curtain was lifted, and he stepped out of the carriage wearing a loose brocade robe, stretching out with a big yawn.

"We've finally arrived." He squinted at the majestic city gate in front of him.

"Is this the place my father guarded for twenty years?"

The city wall is twenty zhang high, with mottled blue bricks and marks of sword and axe cuts, clearly indicating that it has been through war.

The two characters "Dingbei" on the city wall are written in strong, elegant strokes, and were personally written by the old Duke Lin Tianxiong.

At this moment, a large group of people stood outside the city gate.

The leader was a burly general in his fifties, dressed in military uniform, with a resolute face and calm eyes.

It was Zhou Zhenshan, the garrison commander of Dingbei City, a second-rank general in charge of guarding the north.

Behind Zhou Zhenshan stood dozens of generals from the Northern Border Army, some old, some young, some fat, some thin.

Further back were the civil officials and gentry of Dingbei City.

Seeing Lin Chen get out of the car, Zhou Zhenshan led his men forward and knelt on one knee:

"This humble general, Zhou Zhenshan, along with all the officers and soldiers of Dingbei City, respectfully welcomes the Duke of Zhenguo!"

"Welcome, Duke Zhenguo!" the crowd shouted in unison.

Lin Chen, with his hands in his sleeves, slowly walked to Zhou Zhenshan, bent down, and helped him up.

"General Zhou, please rise. All of you, please rise."

He glanced at everyone and smiled:

"Gentlemen, there's no need for such formalities. I've come here to check on the northern border for His Majesty, and also... to take care of some family matters."

These words were spoken lightly, but the phrase "household chores" sent a chill down the spines of many.

Zhou Zhenshan stood up and said solemnly:

"Your Excellency has had a long journey. I have prepared a banquet at my residence to welcome you back and wash away the dust of your journey."

"There's no rush for the banquet." Lin Chen waved his hand, his gaze falling on a middle-aged general with a slightly pale face behind Zhou Zhenshan.

"Who is this?"

The general immediately bowed: "This humble general, Cui Yuanhu, deputy commander of Dingbei City, pays respects to Your Excellency, the Duke!"

"Cui Yuanhu..." Lin Chen said with a half-smile, "Not a bad name, it sounds a lot like your cousin Cui Yuanhao."

Cold sweat beaded on Cui Yuanhu's forehead: "Yes, Your Excellency, that's right."

"Oh." Lin Chen nodded, then suddenly changed the subject.

"On my way here, I met a group of people who gave me a petition."

He pulled out the petition with bloody handprints from his sleeve, flicked it, and the petition unfolded, fluttering in the wind.

"We are accusing Cui Yuanhu, the deputy commander of Dingbei City, of withholding military pay, forcibly conscripting laborers, seizing farmland, and disregarding human life..."

With each crime Lin Chen read out, Cui Yuanhu's face paled a little more. "A total of seventeen major crimes, with over a thousand bloody handprints."

He looked up at Cui Yuanhu, his smile unchanged:

"General Cui, do you have anything to say?"

The city gate was deathly silent.

All the generals and officials held their breath and looked at Cui Yuanhu.

Zhou Zhenshan frowned slightly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Cui Yuanhu forced himself to remain calm and cupped his hands in greeting, saying:

"Your Excellency, this is a false accusation by a treacherous commoner!"

"This humble general has always acted lawfully and impartially, and would never commit such an evil deed! Someone must be jealous of my family background and deliberately framed me!"

"Framed?" Lin Chen laughed.

"Thousands of ordinary people conspired to frame you? General Cui, how bad must your reputation be?"

"My lord!" Cui Yuanhu gritted his teeth, "This humble general is willing to confront those unruly commoners face to face!"

"No need," Lin Chen waved his hand. "I don't have time to play these tricks with you."

He waved his hand gently and said to Zhao Zilong, "Zilong, capture him."

"yes!"

Zhao Zilong took a step forward, and the overwhelming pressure of heaven and man was suddenly released!

Cui Yuanhu was shocked. He was only at the early stage of Grandmaster, how could he withstand the pressure of a half-step Celestial?

He was immediately forced to his knees and unable to move.

"Lin Chen! What right do you have to arrest me?!" Cui Yuanhu roared.

"I am an official appointed by the imperial court, a fourth-rank deputy general! Without evidence, you..."

"Evidence?" Lin Chen turned around, looking down at him, his smile gradually turning cold.

"What I say is the evidence."

He stomped on Cui Yuanhu's head, pressing him firmly into the mud:

"The withholding of military pay resulted in border troops not receiving their full pay for three years, leading to the deaths of over a thousand from starvation and freezing—this is the first piece of evidence."

With a forceful stomp, Cui Yuanhu's facial bones made a soft "crack" sound.

"Forcibly conscripting laborers to build private houses resulted in the deaths of 437 laborers—this is the second piece of evidence."

"Seizing farmland and driving 72 farmers to their deaths—this is evidence three."

With each statement Lin Chen made, he increased the force of his footing.

When they got to the seventeenth point, Choi Won-ho's entire face was buried in the dirt, and only his legs were still twitching.

"Seventeen major crimes, each deserving of death." Lin Chen withdrew his foot and patted the mud off his shoes.

"Zilong, behead him. Hang his head on the city gate for three days as a warning to others."

"yes!"

Zhao Zilong raised his spear and brought it down.

"puff--"

A head rolled off, and blood splattered everywhere.

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone was stunned by Lin Chen's thunderous methods.

From the moment he got off the carriage to the moment he killed Cui Yuanhu, it took less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

There was no interrogation, no confrontation, and not even a few unnecessary words.

They killed him without hesitation.

Zhou Zhenshan's Adam's apple bobbed, but he ultimately said nothing, only bowing and saying:

"My lord... is wise."

Other generals and officials also bowed, saying, "Your Excellency is wise!"

Lin Chen smiled and looked at Zhou Zhenshan:

"General Zhou, lead the way. Oh, and have someone clean up the bodies so they don't soil the city gate."

"Yes...yes!"

……

Dingbei City, the Zhenbei General's Mansion.

The banquet was set out, but the atmosphere was somber.

Lin Chen sat in the main seat, with Qin Shuyan and the other two women sitting beside him.

Zhuge Liang, Li Chunfeng, Zhao Zilong, the Eight Vajras, and others sat on either side.

Zhou Zhenshan and other northern border generals sat at the lower end, each sitting upright and not daring to breathe loudly.

After several rounds of drinks, Lin Chen put down his glass and looked at Zhou Zhenshan:

"General Zhou, weren't you already in the northern border region when my father was alive?"

Zhou Zhenshan quickly got up:

"Your Excellency, I have followed you for twenty-three years, starting as a personal guard. It was thanks to your promotion that I have achieved what I have today."

"Sit down, sit down and let's talk." Lin Chen waved his hand. "We're all family, no need to be so formal."

After Zhou Zhenshan sat down, he continued:

"I came to the Northern Territory this time for two reasons: first, to resist the Northern Shuo, and second, to find out the truth about the deaths of my father and seven brothers."

General Zhou is an old subordinate; he must know something, right?

Zhou Zhenshan's expression darkened, and he said in a deep voice:

"Lord Duke, the deaths of the old Duke and his seven sons... are indeed suspicious."

"Oh?" Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. "Tell me about it."

"In that great battle three years ago, the old Duke led his seven sons deep behind enemy lines and had already successfully destroyed the Northern Shuo grain supply camp," Zhou Zhenshan recalled.

"According to the plan, they should have retreated from 'Black Wind Valley', but they received a secret report on the way that there were ambushes in the valley, so they changed their route to 'Falling Eagle Gorge'."

"So there really was an ambush at Eagle Falling Gorge?" Lin Chen asked.

"No, there are no ambushes at Falling Eagle Gorge," Zhou Zhenshan shook his head.

"When the old Duke and his entourage were halfway there, they were suddenly attacked by a group of men in black."

Those people had bizarre techniques and worked together seamlessly; they were clearly well-trained assassins.

To protect his seven sons during their retreat, the old Duke single-handedly covered their rear, ultimately... fighting to the death.

His eyes were slightly red: "After the seven young masters broke through the encirclement, they were surrounded and attacked by the Northern Shuo army and all of them died in battle."

When I arrived with my troops, I found only the remains of the old Duke... and the broken armor of the seven princes.

Silence fell over the banquet.

Qin Shuyan and the other two women lowered their heads, tears welling in their eyes.

Lin Chen was silent for a moment, then asked, "Who sent that secret report?"

"Yes..." Zhou Zhenshan paused.

"It was Cui Yuanhu. He said that scouts discovered unusual activity in Black Wind Valley and suggested that the old Duke change his route."

"Cui Yuanhu," Lin Chen sneered, "It really was him."

He looked at Zhou Zhenshan: "General Zhou, why haven't you reported this to the imperial court all these years?"

Zhou Zhenshan smiled bitterly: "Lord Duke, I have no evidence, how can I expose them? The Cui family is very powerful in the northern border, and half of the generals in the army are involved with them."

If I act rashly, not only will I fail to bring down the Cui family, but I will also alert them and implicate more brothers.

"I understand." Lin Chen nodded. "Now, General Zhou, are you willing to help me completely eradicate the Cui family?"

Zhou Zhenshan suddenly stood up and knelt on one knee:

"This humble general is willing to follow the Duke and avenge the old Duke and his seven sons!"

Seeing this, the other generals also rose and knelt on one knee: "We are willing to follow the Duke!"

Lin Chen looked at the generals kneeling on the ground and slowly said:

"Rise. From this day forward, I shall take command of military affairs in the Northern Frontier, Zhou Zhenshan."

"Your subordinate is here!"

"I hereby appoint you as the acting deputy commander of the Northern Army, to assist General Zhao Zilong in reorganizing military affairs and eliminating corruption within the army," Lin Chen said.

"Anyone who colludes with the Cui family shall be arrested. Those who resist shall be killed without exception."

"This subordinate obeys!"

"The Eight Vajras".

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Each of you will lead one thousand elite Tiger Warriors to cooperate with General Zhou's operations," Lin Chen said.

"Remember, be quick and ruthless, leave no room for future trouble."

"yes!"

Lin Chen then looked at Zhuge Liang: "Mr. Kongming, I'm leaving the civil officials in the city to you."

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan:

"Rest assured, my lord, I have prepared evidence of the crimes committed by the Cui family and their cronies, and they will be wiped out within three days."

"Alright." Lin Chen raised his glass. "Then... let's begin."