Before noon, the sounds of fighting within Yuping Pass had already subsided.
For Pei Ji, such a result was not at all unexpected.
After Shen Jing and his group breached the city walls, there was no longer any suspense in this battle.
The only remaining suspense was whether Ning Ji could capture Prince Ji.
If Ning Ji failed to capture Prince Ji, he would not let Cao Yuan show mercy when it was time for military law.
Just as Pei Ji was deep in thought, a soldier rushed in to report: "Reporting to Duke Qi, General Ning has led his troops to capture Prince Ji alive!"
"Good! Very good!"
Pei Ji was overjoyed and immediately ordered the messenger: "Order Cao Yuan to come see this old man at once!"
"Yes!"
The messenger quickly took the order and left.
Before long, Cao Yuan rushed over.
Cao Yuan had also received the news that Prince Ji had been captured alive, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face.
Pei Ji looked at Cao Yuan with a smile: "The war is not over, so this old man won't celebrate with you yet! This old man will escort Prince Ji back to the capital tomorrow. You don't need this old man to teach you how to fight the rest of the war, do you?"
"This subordinate understands!"
Cao Yuan said in a deep voice: "Within seven days, this subordinate will completely eliminate the rebel army of Qu Prefecture!"
"Good!"
Pei Ji nodded in satisfaction: "After the rebellion is quelled, leave ten thousand men to guard Qu Prefecture. You are to immediately lead the rest of your men back to Su Prefecture to deter the Qiang people! The imperial court, this old man will personally request rewards for you!"
"Thank you, Duke Qi!"
Cao Yuan bowed.
...
"Found him! Found that son of a bitch, Fan Qinghu!"
Just as Shen Jing was anxiously waiting for news, Du Heng ran over, panting.
Shen Jing suddenly jolted, asking loudly: "Where? Is he still alive?"
"He just retreated and is bandaging his wounds!"
Du Heng said, gasping for breath: "That son of a bitch has a long life; he took six or seven stabs, but none hit a vital spot..."
"Take me to see him!"
Shen Jing hurriedly pulled Du Heng and walked out.
Soon, they arrived at the infirmary.
When they found Fan Qinghu, a large group of wounded soldiers had already gathered around him.
"Is this the fierce man who single-handedly took down over thirty rebels?"
"That's him. This guy is simply a madman. I saw him twist a person's neck like a pretzel with my own eyes..."
"He's really tough-skinned! After so many stabs, he can still sit..."
Fan Qinghu had become famous.
A group of wounded soldiers surrounded Fan Qinghu, discussing him animatedly, which made Shen Jing's heart pound.
Shen Jing and Du Heng pushed through the wounded soldiers and finally saw Fan Qinghu, who was having his wounds bandaged.
Seeing the two, Fan Qinghu suddenly stood up, almost making the soldier who was bandaging his wounds curse.
It wasn't until the soldier saw Shen Jing that he suppressed the urge to curse.
"Not dead yet?"
Shen Jing glared at Fan Qinghu in annoyance, really wanting to kick him.
Fan Qinghu gave a dry laugh and explained: "I saw Lao Guai..."
Lao Guai?
Shen Jing and Du Heng were both startled at the same time.
Lao Guai among the rebels?
So, Lao Guai gathering those bandits was to help Prince Ji recruit soldiers and buy horses?
No wonder this scoundrel fought so desperately to kill his way into the rebel army.
It turns out he was avenging his father.
"I won't deal with you now! When your wounds heal, I'll deal with you then!"
Shen Jing cursed with a dark face, then asked the soldier who was bandaging his wounds: "How are his injuries?"
"It's nothing!"
Before the soldier could reply, Fan Qinghu grinned: "Those rebels are like women, every single one of them... Hiss..."
Fan Qinghu hadn't even finished his sentence when the soldier bandaging his wounds gave a strong tug, making him wince in pain.
"Serves you right!"
Shen Jing glared at Fan Qinghu in annoyance, "Didn't you just say it was nothing?"
"This..."
Fan Qinghu looked embarrassed, "It still hurts a bit after the fighting..."
As they were talking, Pei Ji also arrived at the infirmary.
Seeing Pei Ji, everyone saluted.
"Duke Qi, why aren't you talking to Prince Ji? Why did you come here?"
Shen Jing looked at Pei Ji in surprise.
"Of course, I came looking for you!"
Pei Ji smiled, "Come with this old man, Prince Ji wants to see you!"
"See me?"
Shen Jing was puzzled, "Why does he want to see me?"
"What do you think?"
Pei Ji raised an eyebrow and smiled: "He can almost be said to have been defeated by you alone this time. Shouldn't he want to see you?"
Alright!
Then I'll go see him!
Coincidentally, he also wanted to see what this Prince Ji actually looked like.
After instructing Du Heng to help look after Fan Qinghu, Shen Jing followed Pei Ji to see Prince Ji.
"Prince Ji had people curse Duke Qi. Does Duke Qi want to beat Prince Ji up?"
On the way, Shen Jing said with a playful smile: "I have a way to..."
"Don't be ridiculous! Although Prince Ji rebelled, he is still the former emperor's offspring. How could this old man do such a thing?"
Pei Ji righteously interrupted Shen Jing, then suddenly changed the subject: "However, this old man is curious to know what mischief you're brewing in your mind again."
Shen Jing grinned and whispered to Pei Ji.
Soon, they arrived inside the tent, which was heavily guarded by Pang Suo and his soldiers.
Prince Ji was not bound. He was only wearing a single layer of clothing, and his hair was as messy as a bird's nest, making him look utterly disheveled.
However, even so, Prince Ji, who was clearly older than Emperor Zhou, surprisingly looked much younger than Emperor Zhou.
Looking at Shen Jing, who walked in with Pei Ji, a cold light suddenly erupted in Prince Ji's murky eyes: "You are Shen Jing?"
"Yes!"
Shen Jing sized up Prince Ji, "I heard Your Highness wanted to see me, so I came."
"Are you very proud right now?"
Prince Ji asked, staring at Shen Jing with fierce eyes.
"Not really!"
Shen Jing smiled indifferently, "I have no grievances or grudges with Prince Ji, so there's no question of being proud or not."
"But this king wishes he could tear you to pieces!"
Prince Ji looked at Shen Jing viciously, "This king never dreamed that this king's grand plan would be ruined by an unknown nobody!"
"It's fine, you don't have that chance anyway." Shen Jing shrugged indifferently, "But speaking of which, Your Highness, your grand plan was purely ruined by the Zhao family. You say you rebelled, but you should have chosen someone smart to rebel with you. After choosing and choosing, you picked a bunch of idiots..."
"Nonsense!"
Prince Ji was furious, "If you hadn't breached the city walls, how could this king have been defeated so quickly?"
The Zhao family really was foolish!
But Shen Jing was the real culprit!
Even if he was forced to raise an army, he still had a glimmer of hope!
However, Shen Jing breached the sturdy city walls of Yuping Pass, directly strangle any last possibility of his rebellion succeeding.
If it were possible, he wished he could devour his flesh!
"Whether I breached the city walls or not, you would still have been defeated."
Shen Jing shook his head, "Your Highness, I'm not criticizing you, but the Emperor has not lost the support of the people. You don't even have a decent slogan, and you still rebelled?"
"Your subordinates all know to shout the slogan 'Clear the monarch's side, execute Yao Jian,' but you insist on not using it!"
"With a mind like yours raising an army to rebel, it would be a miracle if you succeeded!"
Upon hearing this, Pei Ji's face immediately darkened as he looked at Shen Jing.
This kid certainly holds a deep grudge against Yao Jian!
He still hasn't forgotten Yao Jian?
Prince Ji was greatly angered by Shen Jing's words, and he growled through gritted teeth: "Don't get too smug too early! Don't think you're glorious now. This king's fate today will be your fate in the future!"
Shen Jing was unconcerned, smiling and saying: "Your Highness, you can only rage impotently now. I have a peculiar habit; I just love to see my enemies rage impotently in front of me!"
"You..."
Prince Ji was completely provoked and suddenly lunged at Shen Jing: "This king will fight you to the death!"
"Your Highness!"
Pei Ji roared, quickly lunged forward to embrace Prince Ji, and took the opportunity to land several 'thump, thump' punches on Prince Ji's kidney area, all while shouting loudly to the outside of the tent: "Someone! Quick, someone..."
