PFC Chapter 330: Cui Tianyu's Surrender
Chapter 330: Cui Tianyu's Surrender
It's only early spring, and Li Xiuning is still a long way from giving birth.
Upon hearing about Chen Futu's experiences on this trip, she couldn't help but complain again, saying that she would take her with her next time she went.
Chen Futu spent a day with Li Xiuning, and the next day he went to the Northern Frontier Academy in person. Before he even got off the carriage, he heard the students discussing the Sun family's surrender.
Some students harbor extreme hatred for the Sun family and have vowed never to give up on any member of the Sun family they see in the future. Yesterday's lesson to Sun Feng was just to teach him a lesson and let him know how powerful the Northern Frontier is.
In their view, Sun Chengzong had repeatedly opposed the northern frontier, and the king should not be lenient but should exterminate the Sun family.
"That's not quite right. Everyone in a position serves their own master. Sun Chengzong is indeed a loyal and virtuous man."
"What do you mean? Sun Chengzong is a loyal and virtuous man, but aren't the Prince of Zhenbei and the Prince of Beijiang also loyal and virtuous men?"
"That's right, who are you mocking!"
The students split into two factions, arguing and shouting until they were red in the face.
If Sun Chengzong is a loyal and virtuous man, then conversely, the King of the Northern Frontier is a traitor.
Listening to the students' remarks from inside the carriage, Chen Futu found it amusing. What kind of dichotomous talk was this? However, as scholars, they were good at verbal sparring. If this matter wasn't resolved, it might cause trouble in the long run.
After a moment's thought, Chen Futu personally alighted from the carriage. Upon seeing the king's arrival, the previously noisy academy suddenly fell silent, and all the teachers and disciples came forward to pay their respects.
Chen Futu scanned the crowd, "Who did what happened to the Sun family?"
The crowd exchanged glances, and a few young men stepped forward, one of them saying defiantly, "Your Majesty, the Sun family are our enemies. How can we be so soft-hearted? If we do so, how can we face the soldiers who died on the battlefield in the north?"
"Yes, Your Majesty! Sun Chengzong is loyal to the royal family, but he is stubborn and unyielding. We acted out of righteous indignation!"
Chen Futu shook his head and said, "I have sensed your intentions, but the Great Qian is ruthless and persecutes the loyal and good. My father died at the hands of the Great Qian. How similar is the fate of Sun Chengzong."
The students were speechless.
Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. The Prince of Kaiping dedicated his life to the country, yet he ended up being torn apart by five horses. His female relatives were sent to the brothel, and his male relatives were conscripted into the army. Why didn't he flee and wait to die?
Previously, the King of the Northern Frontier had fled the capital and occupied the Northern Frontier, thus becoming the ruler of the world.
Chen Futu continued, “It is understandable that you hate the Sun family, but the Northern Frontier is not a place where reason prevails. If you have grievances, you may issue a challenge, whether it is a verbal or physical contest. If you win, you may expel the Sun family. If you lose, this matter will end here.”
"We'll send invitations to those two young men from the Sun family right away!"
Some students were eager to fight. They had long heard of the Sun brothers' virtuous reputation. There were laws in the northern frontier that it was inappropriate to resort to violence without permission, so a duel was undoubtedly the best choice.
Chen Futu set a time for a fight in the courtyard three days later, but no outside help was allowed.
The news quickly spread like wildfire throughout Longcheng, and the Sun family soon received the challenge.
Lying on the bed, Sun Feng gritted his teeth in hatred. "These guys are going too far! Even the King has no objections, yet they still want to cause trouble. If I weren't a newcomer, I wouldn't be sitting here waiting to die!"
Sun Feng is the son of a military family, and his own strength is extremely strong. If he were not afraid of fighting the academy disciples and displeasing the Northern Frontier King, he would not be able to defeat even ten more students, let alone those few.
Sun Wei said in a deep voice, "This is an order from the King. Given that Father has been at odds with the Northern Frontier many times, he cannot openly favor you and my brother. Therefore, we must accept this battle, and we must not lose."
The Sun family had no way out. If they were defeated and driven out of the northern frontier, not a single member of the family would survive.
Sun Linlin knew the journey was dangerous, and her eyes reddened with anxiety. Her voice trembled with tears as she said, "Brother, how about I go and plead with Young Master Qin? Maybe there's still a way to salvage the situation..."
"No."
Sun Wei was in a real bind when he heard about the mysterious Young Master Qin. He hadn't even decided whether to tell the King about the guy's relationship with Qin Liangyu.
"But how are we going to deal with so many students? What if people from the military academy get involved too? I'm afraid things will get bad."
"Don't worry, sister. The King said that no outside help is allowed. The Northern Frontier Academy and the Military Academy are separate."
Sun Wei remained relatively calm. He asked Sun Linlin to take care of Sun Feng, and then he hurriedly left alone.
On the other side, Chen Yuling burst into the royal court and shouted as soon as she entered, "Brother, I heard that the academy is going to have a competition with those two boys from the Sun family. I want to go too."
"Your military academy shouldn't get involved; things are already chaotic enough."
Chen Futu refused the memorial without even looking up.
"No! In your words, our military academy is a brother unit of the university, how can we ignore it?"
Chen Yuling had been so bored these days that she was eager to have some fun.
Chen Futu glared at her irritably, "I said no, and that's final. If you cause trouble, I'll send you to the southern war zone and let your sister-in-law deal with you."
"Hmph! Fine, I'll just come along and watch the show, okay?"
Chen Yuling was fuming, and Chen Futu felt a headache coming on, so he could only give in to her.
"Hehe, I'm going to play now, nyah nyah nyah—"
Chen Yuling made a funny face and then rushed off.
During this time, she followed Huo Qubing to learn martial arts, and her strength improved greatly. She became a princess who was both literate and skilled in martial arts, but her personality was too unruly, and it was hard to tell who she took after.
News of the competition continued to spread throughout Dragon City, and now even ordinary people knew that the Sun family had fled to the northern frontier.
People have different opinions about the Sun family. There is no dispute that Sun Chengzong is a loyal minister, but he is also an enemy of the northern frontier. Therefore, it is reasonable to decide his fate through a contest. Whether he can stay or leave depends on the talents of the two brothers.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Chen Futu disguised himself as "Young Master Qin" again to join the fun. As soon as he arrived at Pingkangfang, he saw that the area around the garden was crowded with people. Among them were not only scholars and Confucianists, but also many unmarried young ladies.
"My lord, Cui Zhengyu wishes to see you."
Dian Wei suddenly leaned closer, and Chen Futu scoffed, "I almost forgot about this guy. Is he quiet now?"
"Yes, he seems to want to defect."
Cui Zhengyu was captured alive by Chen Futu's dozens of riders, losing all face. Given his character, he was determined to return to the battlefield to kill the enemy and prove to the world that he was not a useless person.
When he was young, Chen Futu met Cui Zhengyu in a secret dungeon. Cui Zhengyu was eating a chicken leg with great relish, his mouth dripping with oil. When he saw Chen Futu arrive, he quickly got up and said, "Young Master Qin, didn't you say you wanted to talk to me? Why did you wait until now to come see me?"
“I’m very busy, how can I have time to pay attention to you? Tell me, why are you disciples of Tianyang Academy not cultivating diligently at Shouyang Mountain, but going to Daqian to become generals? Are you going to be an enemy of my Northern Frontier?” Chen Futu pulled up a chair and sat down outside the prison.