Chapter 246: The Marquis and His Fief
“Lin Feng, you’re just trying to ruin my reputation, what you’re saying is a pack of lies! I have never dispatched anyone to kill you or the princess. Besides, I suspect that you’re the one who kidnapped the princess, and it is only because you have threatened her and she’s under pressure that she listens to you.” said Duan Tian Lang while making a false accusation.
“Is that so? How come the high-ranking soldiers who tried to kill me told me that they were only obeying orders and the black guard lieutenants confirmed that you were collaborating with Mo Yue, you sowed disorder within our army which resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. If you were not working with Mo Yue, why would you have attacked Liu Cang Lan’s army? You, Duan Tian Lang, are good at secretly at plotting against people.” said Lin Feng sounding cold and detached. The crowd was astonished, Duan Tian Lang had collaborated with Mo Yue?
Lin Feng’s words were too powerful, these crimes were enough for Duan Tian Lang to be sentenced to death a few times over.
Duan Tian Lang’s heart was also pounding. He was fixedly staring at Lin Feng. Surprisingly, Lin Feng was also declaring that Duan Tian Lang had collaborated with Mo Yue.
“Lin Feng, I devoted my life to Xue Yue and you dare say that I collaborated with the enemy, how am I supposed to let you live?” said Duan Tian Lang while releasing a deadly Qi. He really wanted to kill Lin Feng.
“So that’s how it is, you really did commit all of these crimes. I said that you collaborated with Mo Yue and again the only thing you can do is try to silence me. Apart from that crime, you also deserted and created chaos within the troops, which resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, it was a bloodbath. Then, you tried to make Liu Cang Lan bear the responsibility for all of these crimes, then you almost killed him. Also, because of you, the officer of the Chi Xie army, Jiu Chi Xie, is now dead. How could the army of Chi Xie forgive you?” Lin Feng sounded imposing and domineering. Immediately after, he looked at the soldiers and said: “Tell me, can you forgive Duan Tian Lang?”
“No!”
“We can’t!”
The tens of thousands of Chi Xie soldiers were shouting loudly and aggressively. Duan Tian Lang suddenly had the impression that he was being absorbed by Lin Feng.
“Alright.” shouted Lin Feng. Immediately after, he looked at the second prince and said: “Your Highness, you have seen it too, I only said a few truths and Duan Tian Lang tries to kill me. Besides, the soldiers cannot forgive him for what he has done. Now, if Duan Tian Lang kills me, I will have no regrets because I have done nothing wrong. However, I would like to ask Your Highness and Officer Meng not to intervene in this fight.”
Duan Wu Ya had remained silent, almost the entire time, he looked pensive while looking at Lin Feng. He was also surprised. Lin Feng’s words had been sharp, harsh and powerful. Duan Tian Lang couldn’t reply at all.
At that moment, a battle was probably going to break out and if Officer Meng didn’t get involved, Lin Feng would have the advantage.
“At the moment, I cannot clearly distinguish what is right and wrong but there is already a profound hatred between Duan Tian Lang and you, if he wants to fight against you, I will not prevent him from doing so, I want to see if he believes he has the required ability to kill you.” said Duan Wu Ya indifferently. Everybody was astonished. Duan Wu Ya said that he was wondering if Duan Tian Lang had the ability to kill Lin Feng but actually, that was covering his tacit consent for Lin Feng to dispose of Duan Tian Lang as he wished.
But everybody understood what Duan Wu Ya meant. He had agreed and the crowd was astonished.
Duan Tian Lang also remained silent. He an felt ice-cold chill in his heart. Duan Wu Ya was not hiding his intentions anymore, he wanted to kill him.
“Officer Meng.” said Duan Tian Lang while glancing at Duan Wu Ya and then immediately looking at Meng Han.
“Duan Tian Lang has a high status within the Imperial Family, I, Meng Han, am the officer of the Imperial Guard, I have to protect the entire Imperial Family. I obviously couldn’t accept it if anything happens to Duan Tian Lang.” said Meng Han sounding calm. He was clearly on Duan Tian Lang’s side.
Duan Xin Ye and Duan Wu Ya were worried about Lin Feng, they would help him even if it meant contradicting Duan Tian Lang. Lin Feng was calmly looking at everything that was happening around him.
Besides, Meng Han, who was the officer of the Imperial Guards, didn’t even care about making Duan Wu Ya lose face.
“It seems like the fact that Duan Wu Ya and Meng Han both came has a profound meaning, it shows that they are both in opposing factions.” thought Lin Feng. The things that happened within the Imperial Family were hard to understand.
“Hehe.” When Duan Wu Ya heard Meng Han, he laughed but the laugh also contained some coldness.
“An officer of the Imperial Guard, indeed.” thought Duan Wu Ya. Immediately after, he started walking slowly towards Duan Xin Ye and asked: “Xin Ye, is what Lin Feng said the truth? Did you really get kidnapped in Duan Tian Lang’s tent?”
“Yes, it is the truth.” said Duan Xin Ye while nodding and then added: “On that day, Lin Feng and I were chatting in the tent when suddenly, an assassin came and as Lin Feng saved me, I was kidnapped. After that, the kidnapper confirmed that he received orders from the holy courtyard and Uncle Duan, who were cooperating with Mo Yue. Duan Tian Lang was also plotting against Lin Feng.”
“I understand.” said Duan Wu Ya while slightly nodding and then immediately said: “Xin Ye, you went through many hardships because of me.”
When he finished talking, Duan Wu Ya walked back towards Duan Tian Lang, who started feeling uncertain. Duan Tian Lang didn’t fear many people but Duan Wu Ya was one of those he feared.
Duan Wu Ya’s way of working wasn’t easy to understand. There were very few people who could guess what he was thinking.
“Then, Lin Feng and Liu Cang Lan managed to encircle the enemy in Duan Ren City and burnt the city, killing a few hundred thousand enemy soldiers, then they were forced to retreat back to Mo Yue. Duan Tian Lang, would you like to say anything about this?”
Duan Tian Lang was fixedly staring at Duan Wu Ya and said: “No.”
“Alright.” said Duan Wu Ya while nodding and continued: “During the battle, a few hundred thousand soldiers were sacrificed but regardless of that, Lin Feng and the princess have come back to the Imperial City alive and the invading army has been repelled. Besides, there was also a huge misunderstanding about Liu Cang Lan, right?”
“That’s right.” said Duan Tian Lang who didn’t feel like nodding anymore.
“Good.” said Duan Wu Ya while nodding. He started walking on the Death Sentence Stage and glanced at the crowd. He then said: “The dead are already gone and I am not looking for the guilty party any longer, but my family has falsely accused General Liu Cang Lan. General Liu Cang Lan, the Divine Arrow, has always been loyal, devoted and courageous. He has always fought for the country. We can’t forget that. I will report all of this to my father. I would like to grant Liu Cang Lan with the status of Imperial Minister and he will also retain his status as a general. Besides, we will grant Jiu Chi Xie with a posthumous title for his courage and loyalty.”
He was conferring an imperial title upon Liu Cang Lan and a posthumous title upon Jiu Chi Xie.
For Liu Cang Lan, that didn’t matter much, in Duan Ren City, he was already like a king.
As far as Jiu Chi Xie, what was the point in granting him a title? He was already dead.
But Duan Wu Ya’s point was more about admitting that the Imperial Family had made mistakes. They had unjustly accused Liu Cang Lan, but they recognized his loyalty and courage.
“Uncle, do you agree with these things?” said Duan Wu Ya while looking at Duan Tian Lang. Duan Tian Lang was surprised and had no choice but to nod. They were rendering justice to Liu Cang Lan and at the same time establishing Duan Tian Lang’s own guilt. Liu Cang Lan retained his title as a general.
“General, what do you think about it?” asked Duan Wu Ya to Liu Cang Lan. Liu Cang Lan still had Jiu Chi Xie’s corpse leaning against him. He slowly looked at the Chi Xie troops. He looked expressionless.
“I, Liu Cang Lan, am grateful to the second prince, thank you for your kindness. I am willing to accept these titles.” said Liu Cang Lan sounding indifferent.
“General.” shouted the thousands of soldiers. How could he accept? Accepting meant letting Duan Tian Lang get away with it!
Liu Cang looked at the crowd. Many of the soldiers were looking at Lin Feng. Liu Cang Lan sighed but also felt gratified.
Lin Feng could now lead a whole army without Liu Cang Lan’s help.
“Officer Jiu’s last wish was to grant Lin Feng the status of Officer of the Chi Xie after his death. From today, Lin Feng, you are the officer of the Chi Xie army. I will first bring the soldiers back to Duan Ren City and then hand the army over to you. Forget about what happened today.” said Liu Cang Lan. Immediately after, he jumped on a horse while carrying Jiu Chi Xie’s corpse in his arms. A wave of sorrow filled the atmosphere, everybody could feel how desperate and sad Liu Cang Lan felt.
They had fought loyally for their country and this was how they were repaid.
When Lin Feng heard Liu Cang Lan, he calmly nodded. He, of course, knew what Liu Cang Lan had meant. He was hoping that no more blood of the people he cared about would be spilt, so he wanted Lin Feng to forget about what had happened with Duan Tian Lang.
If Lin Feng continued his verbal attacks against Duan Tian Lang, the blood of the soldiers would inevitably flow. Liu Cang Lan didn’t want such a thing to happen again.
When Lin Feng saw Liu Cang Lan leave, he sighed. What a sorrowful hero.
Duan Wu Ya was relieved to see that Liu Cang Lan had accepted. Immediately after, he said: “Lin Feng, with your strategy, you managed to kill hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers and repel their army. Then, you travelled into the enemy country to rescue the princess and returned her safely to the imperial city. General Liu Cang Lan just granted you the title of Officer. I, as a representative of the Imperial Family, also confer Lin Feng a title, the title of Marquis and your fief is Yangzhou City.”