Astral Apostle - Chapter 526
526 Severance and Submission (2)
Everyone’s expressions changed.
Xiang Tianjie finally spoke out, “You want to recruit us?”
Chen Feng nodded and did not hide anything, “That’s right. Although you’ve been recruited by the Imperial Court, after two years, you should have seen most of the officials of the Imperial Court. They have malicious intentions, always thinking of how to get the cunning rabbits before cooking the hunting dogs, causing both of us to suffer heavy losses. Now that you’ve suffered a huge defeat, you won’t have a good time when you return.”
Everyone’s expressions turned uncertain.
Chen Feng continued, “Everyone was once a hero of the Green Forest, an indomitable hero. If you still want to go back and curry favor with the treacherous officials, cling to the nobles, and degrade yourself, I won’t stop you. If you’re willing to stay, follow us and submit to me.”
Without waiting for a response, he paused and pointed at Lu Longchuan. His tone turned cold.
“But that doesn’t include Commander Lu. You personally led the Heavenly King Stronghold to join the Imperial Court and attacked us, harming the lives of many of our men. It’s already good enough that we didn’t kill you, so it’s naturally impossible for us to keep you. I’m ashamed to be associated with you. In a few days, get lost from the mountain when you can walk. Don’t be an eyesore in front of Grandpa.”
Lu Longchuan’s face suddenly turned crimson.
When he heard Chen Feng’s suggestion just now, his mind raced. He was still wondering if he should agree, but he did not expect the other party to directly state that he was the only one who did not want him. His disdain was obvious.
Seeing this, the leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold looked at each other with hesitation.
They were also a little tempted by the choice to stay in the Dragon King Stronghold. If Lu Longchuan agreed, they would immediately join him without thinking… However, Chen Feng clearly did not want Lu Longchuan, so what should they do?
Did he follow Lu Longchuan back to the Imperial Court, looking at their many years of brotherhood? Or would they sever all ties and stop following Lu Longchuan and stay in the Dragon King Stronghold?
Lu Longchuan gritted his teeth. He knew that the other party would not accept him, so he threw caution to the wind and shouted, “Chen Feng, your faction has already formed. What exactly do you want? Could it be that you want to keep occupying the mountain in the Green Forest and wreak havoc in the world?”
Chen Feng glanced at him and suddenly stood up. He addressed the crowd directly.
“Brothers, ever since I entered Huyang, I’ve become the heaven that upholds justice in the eyes of the people. I’ve also given a lot of land to farmers to cultivate. The farmers have farmland, and if there’s less harsh taxes, they’ll be grateful. There’s no need to sell their children. To be able to survive a winter where they’re not hungry… Just this is better than most of the people in this world. It can be seen how oppressive the government is. How can they not have a monstrous resentment?
In the current world, those nobles and aristocrats treat the commoners like pigs and dogs. They plunder the fat and ointment of the people, suck their blood and sweat, harm the public just to benefit themselves. They ignored the life and death of the commoners, and no one could do anything to them. Therefore, they became even worse. I gathered in the forest to cleanse the world on behalf of the heavens and slaughter these aristocratic families and nobles who had squeezed the commoners to death.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a landlord or a noble, we’ll kill them when we see them. We’ll teach them that they can’t be superior just because they’re covered in official clothes. We can still make their blood splash everywhere!”
Lu Longchuan’s face twitched, “Do you really want to rebel? This is treason!”
Chen Feng waved his hand and shouted,
“Is the Imperial Court my father? Why wouldn’t I dare to rebel! Since the Imperial Court views us as rebels, what’s there to be afraid of even if we really rebel in the future?”
“Brother, well said!”
Everyone was excited when they heard this and cheered.
If he had shouted out the words of rebellion in the early stages of the establishment of the stronghold, many leaders might have misgivings.
However, after a few years of influence and the trust of his consecutive victories, now that Chen Feng had shouted that he wanted to rebel, everyone did not panic at all. Their reverence and yearning for the orthodox lineage of the Imperial Court were almost gone. They could be said to be a group of lawless people.
Many of the leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold were also dumbfounded. This was the first time they had heard Chen Feng personally talk about his ambitions. They felt the blood in their chests surge, infected by this pride.
Most of them came from poor backgrounds and did not like people in power.
After a commotion, Xiang Tianjie suddenly gritted his teeth as if he had made up his mind and strode out.
Under everyone’s gazes, he cupped his fists at Lu Longchuan and slowly spoke,
“Commander Lu, I’ve followed you for more than ten years and have always followed your lead. In the past, you were brave and heroic, and I was willing to hold the reins for you. Later on, the Heavenly King Stronghold became larger and larger. You said that you wanted to bring us brothers to accept the recruitment. Although I was unwilling, I still followed your orders.
However, ever since you accepted the recruitment, you’ve become more and more cowardly. You cling to the rich and powerful and curry favor with the treacherous officials. In my eyes, you’re no longer the Heavenly King from back then. This time, I followed you to Huyang and narrowly escaped death. I’ve lost so many brothers and have already exhausted my loyalty and benevolence towards you. From now on, I won’t follow you anymore. Today, I’ll tear off my robe and sever ties with you!”
With that, Xiang Tianjie tore off a piece of his robe and threw it to the ground.
Without waiting for everyone to come back to their senses, Xiang Tianjie turned to Chen Feng and cupped his fists.
“Chief Chen is a hero of the current era. I’m willing to stay in Huyang and be a pawn under Chief Chen!”
“You, you…” Lu Longchuan was stunned. He was so angry that he trembled as he pointed at Xiang Tianjie.
At this moment, he was almost certain that Xiang Tianjie was the traitor who had colluded with the enemy!
Seeing that someone was taking the lead, a few more leaders who were familiar with him looked at each other and suddenly stepped out.
“We don’t want to be lackeys of the Imperial Court anymore. We’re willing to serve Stronghold Chief Chen!”
Soon, more and more leaders stood up and expressed their willingness to stay.
Many people already admired Chen Feng and were unwilling to accept the Imperial Court’s recruitment. Now that they thought about the pros and cons, they gave up on the idea of returning to the Imperial Court and simply became outlaws again.
The reason why these people made such a choice was also because of the sowing discord incident. They still remembered the “secret letter from the Imperial Court” back then. After the huge changes after the defeat, they felt that they had seen through Lu Longchuan more and more. He was using the lives of his brothers as a stepping stone to his promotion. He had long left them.
For a moment, the scene was as if Lu Longchuan had been betrayed by everyone. One by one, the leaders cut ties with him.
Only Sun Rong and the other leaders looked hesitant, still standing beside Lu Longchuan.
“We’re brothers, but you’re actually so heartless…”
Lu Longchuan’s lips trembled.
Suddenly, his eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground with a plop. He was so angry that he had fainted.
Chen Feng’s expression did not change as he waved his hand, “Men, carry Commander Lu back. When he’s almost recovered, chase him down the mountain!”
Seeing Lu Longchuan like this, the leaders who had already expressed their loyalty sighed to themselves and shook their heads silently.
People would change. They now no longer wanted to work for such a leader.
Immediately after, they looked at Chen Feng, their eyes changing.
It was unknown how many years it would take for such a peerless man to appear. If they followed this person, they might be able to see a different scene one day.
