Chapter 13 Subduing the Masses

Seeing Fan Zong’s navy fall into chaos, the water bandits immediately charged out from the sandbar in the middle of the lake and launched their attack.

If it were a direct confrontation, the water bandits that Zhou Jing had subdued would naturally be no match, but at this moment, Fan Zong’s troops had lost their morale and were like headless flies.

Some leaders planned to put up a desperate resistance, trying to regroup their troops to meet the enemy, but they were singled out one by one by Zhou Jing and captured with ease.

There were also some leaders who wanted to lead their troops to recapture Fan Zong, which saved Zhou Jing the time of swimming over, no different from throwing themselves into the net. What good people.

The water bandits, driving small boats, charged left and right through Fan Zong’s navy, shouting that those who surrendered would not be killed, as if they had become a pack of wolves driving sheep, instantly disrupting the tight formation of Fan Zong’s fleet.

Fan Zong’s large-scale navy collapsed, some surrendering, some resisting, and some fleeing. The entire Qingpo Lake was full of boats running around. The scene from above looked like a handful of sesame seeds scattered at random.

Guo Haishen, Duan Yunfeng, and the others each led their water bandits to board and seize the warships under Fan Zong’s banner, disintegrating the enemy’s main water combat force. Because the waterway was cut off, these navies were trapped in Qingpo Lake with no way to escape.

Fan Zong’s naval force was still well-equipped and had a sense of order, but unfortunately, Zhou Jing had directly attacked the enemy leader in the midst of thousands of troops, destroying the command system. They could only fight on their own, and the advantage of the army could not be brought into play at all.

At this point, the situation was simple. Many water bandits cleaned up the battlefield, captured enemy ships, and more and more enemies chose to surrender, their minds wavering.

Du Ying was also captured. He stared wide-eyed at the scene of the army’s defeat, feeling as if his worldview had been shattered.

In the history books of the Great Xia Dynasty, there were also records of victories with fewer troops, and there were examples of even more disparate enemy-to-enemy ratios. However, they basically used the right time, right place, or sneak attacks. Never had there been a victory like today, where the reason was almost entirely one person’s strength defeating the army!

The fierce generals in the history of this world, no matter how high their martial arts were, had a limit, but Chen Feng’s martial arts seemed to have no end. He was simply the number one person in ancient and modern times.

Du Ying only felt that the art of war he had learned in the past had not been fulfilled in Chen Feng.

He had a vague premonition that Chen Feng had set a precedent, and that in the future, he might rewrite the history of war, causing earth-shattering changes in the way wars were fought. All common sense did not apply to this person, and one person could become an army.

…

The rest was just some finishing work. It took from day to dusk to finally finish the battle.

After the chaotic battle, many water bandits captured most of Fan Zong’s navy, only allowing a few lucky minions to escape, some escaping in small boats through other narrow waterways, and some who were lucky enough to go ashore and flee in panic.

Because the number of water bandits under his command was limited, it was impossible to completely surround the enemy, so it was inevitable that a few people would escape. However, the goal of this battle had been achieved. Fan Zong and many other leaders, as well as a group of water bandit leaders under his command, were all captured.

Zhou Jing left some men to clean up the battlefield, and then led his brothers back to the water寨 (zhai, village), ordering people to send Fan Zong and the others over.

Before long, Fan Zong and his party were escorted into the hall by the minions, all tied up, disheveled, and in a sorry state.

Zhou Jing sat on the main seat, revealing his huge chest muscles, and laughed:

“Chief Fan, we meet again. Bring people here and untie these leaders.”

The minions came up to untie the ropes for everyone. Although Fan Zong and his party regained their freedom, they didn’t dare to attack at all when they saw Zhou Jing was present.

Fan Zong moved his wrist and gritted his teeth: “The winner is king, what’s there to say? You can kill or cut as you please. If I frown, I’m not a hero!”

Many of the leaders behind him either shouted excitedly as if they would rather die than submit, or remained silent with nervous expressions.

Zhou Jing took everyone’s faces into his eyes and suddenly stood up.

Fan Zong immediately shut up and subconsciously shrank back.

He was tough on the surface, but he already had a shadow in his heart. He was really afraid of Chen Feng, who was not like a mortal.

Zhou Jing stepped forward and shook his head, “Victory or defeat is common in military affairs. Chief Fan has lost a battle and wants to seek death. Isn’t that a bit petty?”

Hearing this, Fan Zong said in frustration, “Then what do you want?”

“It’s easy to say. I want to enter Lake Yang, and I’m short of manpower. Why doesn’t Brother Fan join me and help me unite the water bandits of Lake Yang?”

Zhou Jing didn’t play any tricks. He directly stated his intention, not only to Fan Zong, but also to the other captured leaders.

Fan Zong’s eyes were a little strange.

So Chen Feng’s original intention was this. As expected of someone who does great things, he really had a big appetite and wanted to subdue the Three Dragons of Lake Yang and become the only Green Forest Overlord of Lake Yang.

But he didn’t understand why the other party wanted his power but still let him, the leader, off the hook.

As the head of a force, he originally felt that he had no chance of survival. Since the other party wanted to subdue his men, leaving the leader would easily cause trouble. Eliminating him would be a common choice.

But Chen Feng didn’t do that. Either he wasn’t ruthless enough, or he was a bit naive. Or he was concerned about the reputation of the Green Forest and wanted to show generosity to win people’s hearts. It was also possible that he was worried that the other leaders would rather die than surrender, so he let him, the leader, set an example.

Or was it that… the other party didn’t take him seriously at all and thought he could suppress him and wasn’t afraid that he would cause trouble in the future?

For a time, many thoughts flashed through Fan Zong’s mind.

“Brother Fan, everyone, what do you think?”

Zhou Jing looked around and asked loudly.

The crowd looked at each other, and finally, their eyes fell on Fan Zong, waiting for the former master to express his attitude before they could speak.

Fan Zong sighed. Knowing that there was no choice, he directly knelt on one knee, clasped his fists, and said:

“Thank you, Brother Chen, for not killing me. I, Lao Fan, am not someone who can’t afford to lose. Since Brother Chen thinks highly of me and is willing to spare our lives, we are willing to join Brother Chen and serve him.”

Seeing this, many leaders behind him secretly breathed a sigh of relief and bowed down one after another, saying in unison:

“We are willing to serve you, Brother.”

With the old master taking the lead, they wouldn’t be criticized for surrendering.

Zhou Jing then stepped forward, helped Fan Zong up, and nodded, “Good, with Brother Fan joining, we will be even more powerful.”

Fan Zong forced a smile.

He had to hand over his foundation to others. His heart was bleeding, but if he didn’t know what was good for him, he would really have no way out.

The situation was stronger than him. He knew the rules of the Green Forest and had to obediently give in, leaving the green hills so he wouldn’t have to worry about firewood.

But thinking of Chen Feng’s martial prowess, it was difficult for him to summon the courage to be his enemy. At this time, his heart was in a mess, and he planned to take it one step at a time.

Beside him, Du Ying secretly sized up Zhou Jing, his eyes flickering.

He wasn’t very loyal to Fan Zong and secretly judged the prospects of Fan Zong and Chen Feng.

‘Although Fan Zong has been famous for a long time, he is nearly fifty years old, his ambition has been worn away, and his talent is slightly mediocre. On the other hand, Chen Feng has amazing methods and great ambitions. He is more worthy of joining. Perhaps under his command, I will be more useful…’

Du Ying calculated in his heart and was the least resistant to surrendering.

Having learned literary and martial arts, he wanted to sell them to the emperor’s family… Although these Green Forest Overlords were not considered “emperors,” since the imperial court did not value the skills he had worked so hard to learn, he had to find someone who knew his stuff to let him use what he had learned.

Seeing Fan Zong and his party surrender, Guo Haishen and the others exchanged glances, their faces excited.

If it weren’t for Chen Feng, how could they have completed the task in one battle and directly swallowed the local overlord? This battle was the one where they truly gained a foothold and had a foundation!

…

The battle between the “Golden Scale King” Fan Zong and the “World-Wreaking Devil” Chen Feng in Qingpo Lake had already spread throughout the Green Forest of Lake Yang.

Because Fan Zong had been famous for a long time and had a large number of troops, most people were optimistic about him, but the result of this battle shocked countless people in the Green Forest.

Fan Zong, one of the three overlords of Lake Yang, was actually defeated by the opponent with fewer troops and surrendered to Chen Feng, handing over his many years of foundation.

After the Battle of Qingpo Lake, Chen Feng formally announced his entry into Lake Yang, took over Fan Zong’s navy, swallowed most of his foundation, and had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, directly rising to become a local overlord, on par with the other two dragons.

The speed of his rise was astonishing and shocked the world.

For a time, Chen Feng’s name spread like wildfire in the Lake Yang area. From old men to young children, everyone knew it.

Fan Zong was removed from the Three Dragons of Lake Yang and became a leader under Chen Feng’s command, and the other two were frightened.

The two families originally wanted to take advantage of the war between Fan Zong and Chen Feng to rob them while they were on fire, but they didn’t expect that before they could react, the two sides had finished fighting. Their mood was messy in the wind…

Has it started?

It’s already over!

Moreover, Fan Zong, who was as famous as them, directly fell under Chen Feng’s pomegranate skirt… under the big iron spear. These two families were finally on guard, knowing that they had underestimated Chen Feng.

They originally thought that this river-crossing dragon had few people and was weak and could only make waves for a while, so they could use it to wear down Fan Zong’s power. The two families did not expect that Chen Feng could turn against the guest in one fell swoop, directly swallowing a local snake with meat and bones, becoming the number one enemy.

Seeing the rapid rise of Chen Feng, the two families finally panicked a little, tacitly united, and mutually guarded against Chen Feng, not wanting to let him grow any further.

Many people in the Green Forest were interested, either because they saw Chen Feng’s prospects, or because they admired Chen Feng’s prestige. They came to join him one after another, and heroes gathered.

For a time, Chen Feng’s limelight overshadowed the other two families. In addition, with his previous reputation for eliminating traitors and punishing evil, he had a great momentum to become the Green Forest leader of Lake Yang, and his name moved the world.

In addition, it was not only the Green Forest that had a reaction, but the imperial court was also alarmed.

After research, the various prefectures of Lake Yang came to a unified conclusion and submitted memorials one after another.

——This Chen Feng has the posture of a Green Forest Overlord. Given time, he will surely become a confidant of Lake Yang. We must send troops to suppress him as soon as possible!