Chapter 76

Moreover, several people jumped out directly and jeered at Jia Jing, saying:

Tens of thousands of troops in Bashang Daying look only to the two marquises for guidance; Military Governor, do not mislead yourself!

Ferocious in appearance but weak inside—seeing them is laughable!

The Military Governor is still young; you should go back and gain more experience for a few years!

……

Amid the clamor, two Colonels and seven or eight Commandants walked over to the Marquises of Riverside and Loyalty and Diligence, surrounding them like stars around the moon.

Furthermore, someone adept at flattery brought a chair for each of the Marquises of Riverside and Loyalty and Diligence, letting them sit down to talk with Jia Jing.

The personal troops of these commanders then encamped around the barracks, and at a glance numbered no fewer than a thousand.

After the Marquis of Riverside had greeted each commander in turn while seated, his face lit with pride, he smiled and asked Jia Jing:

"Military Governor, how about it? Now can you prove that what we two said is not false?"

"From now on, Military Governor, you must think twice before acting in everything! Otherwise, causing a joke would be hard to wrap up!"

Jia Jing paid no heed to the mockery and warning in the Marquis of Riverside's words, firmly scanning all the martial officers,

then pointed at a Colonel and several Commandants outside the barracks who had not voiced an opinion and asked:

"Who are these people? Why aren't they standing beside the two marquises? Do you think what the two marquises said is wrong?"

The Marquis of Riverside glared viciously at Ma Guocheng and the others outside the barracks, mentally noting them again, and said coldly:

"These people have only just arrived at Bashang Daying; they don't yet know military regulations, lack respect for superiors, and will sooner or later face military law—Military Governor, you need not bother with them!"

As he spoke, his tone shifted, and he loudly pressed again, asking:

"Military Governor! Now, over half of the military officers in the camp are willing to testify for me and the Marquis of Loyalty and Diligence—are you satisfied with this situation?"

"I am a second-rank marquis, my noble rank is above yours! This is the Bashang Daying of our Jingnan Wuxun; Military Governor, you'd better not throw your weight around!"

When the Marquis of Riverside's words fell, the Jingnan Wuxun officers and the household retainers present all felt honored, holding their heads high, their spirits exalted.

Meanwhile, Ma Guocheng and the others outside the barracks sighed, their faces grim, their eyes at Jia Jing filled with anger and dissatisfaction!

We had thought a strong Military Governor had come to restore order in the camp, but who knew he was also a spineless coward!

Inside the room, Jia Jing slightly narrowed his eyes, revealing his snow-white teeth,

watching the Marquis of Riverside and Marquis of Loyalty and Diligence sit there with an air of overconfidence,

finally dropping any pretense of his purpose, he sneered:

"Excellent! Well said! What a second-rank marquis! What a Bashang Daying of the Jingnan Wuxun! What a bunch of flag-planting, head-selling scoundrels! Since all who should have jumped out have done so, it's time to cast the net!"

Is Jia Jing's initial step back really because he feared the Marquis of Riverside and Marquis of Loyalty and Diligence?

Given Jia Jing's current martial prowess, how could he possibly fear those two?

His actions merely aimed to lure all the senior officers of the Jingnan Wuxun out, to catch them in one net!

Doing this has two benefits: first, it distinguishes friend from foe, facilitating later troop reorganization.

Otherwise, once the Marquis of Riverside and Marquis of Loyalty and Diligence are executed, the others might be frightened into inaction, leaving a hidden danger for the later reorganization of Bashang Daying.

Second, capture the leader first to prevent other officers from secretly inciting the soldiers to mutiny, which would have too great an impact.

Although Jia Jing is not afraid, he also does not wish to invite trouble for himself, and many ordinary soldiers are innocent—there's no need to implicate them.

As Jia Jing's words fell, swift action followed.

All that could be seen was Jia Jing stamping heavily with his foot, instantly shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow, crashing into the Marquis of Riverside and the other Bashang Daying officers.

Only a chorus of pained cries, wails, and exclamations rang out; the crowd of household retainers, commandants, and colonels surrounding the Marquis of Riverside had not yet reacted,

when over half of them were struck and flung away, each flying several meters before collapsing with broken bones and torn tendons, losing the ability to move in the blink of an eye.

The ground was filled with cries for father and mother.

At that moment, Jia Jing's figure had already appeared like a ghost beside the Marquis of Riverside and Marquis of Loyalty and Diligence,

with a sweep of his palm, both were heavily rolled off their chairs onto the ground.

"Ouch!"

The two let out a cry of pain, collapsing ungracefully to the ground, feeling as if their whole bodies had fallen apart.

The household retainers and personal guards protecting them on the side were all shocked by Jia Jing's agility, momentarily unsure whether to step forward and fight.

The Marquis of Riverside clutched his aching lower back, which seemed on the verge of breaking, stared at Jia Jing standing before him, his face full of disbelief, and shouted angrily:

"Jia Jing, you have a huge gall! We are all martial meritorious officials of the court, yet you dare to act violently on your own! I'll kill you! Where are the soldiers……"

Saying this, he was about to summon his personal troops to come forward and fight.

But Jia Jing remained cold-faced, said no more, and a killing intent rose from him, sweeping across the entire field,

amid the shocked gazes of everyone present, he kicked the Marquis of Riverside in the body with one foot.

The Marquis of Riverside didn't even have time to scream before his whole body flew up into midair,

then, with a boom, he exploded into pieces in midair!

Flesh and blood from the corpse sprayed over everyone inside the barracks, leaving only a head, eyes unclosed, to drop to the ground and roll a few times.

Even at the moment of his death, the Marquis of Riverside never imagined that Jia Jing would actually dare to kill him!

He was a second-rank marquis of the court, wielding real power over the military authority of Bashang Daying! He even had the backing of the Retired Emperor!

Even if Emperor Jing Sheng wanted to kill him, he would have to weigh the matter carefully.

Over these years, he has committed countless evils: embezzling military funds, drinking soldiers' blood, toying with common women, corruption and lawlessness, letting troops pillage……

Who dares to say another half-word?

He never imagined he would meet such a fate, nor that Jia Jing, who had just clearly shown cowardice, would suddenly erupt in murder.

Where did he get the gall?

After the Marquis of Riverside's corpse fell, Jia Jing then addressed the stunned crowd:

"I didn't control my strength well; I had originally intended to leave him a whole corpse! After all, he is a court marquis—he deserves some dignity!"

The Marquis of Loyalty and Diligence and his companions came to their senses, full of killing intent, their faces ashen.

Then, only see the troops and household servants brought by the Marquis of Linchuan all going mad, drawing their blades and charging straight at Jia Jing.

Jia Jing merely waved his hand, and the personal troops at his side, already poised to strike, immediately drew their blades and went forward to meet them.

The two sides were not even on the same level of strength; Jia Jing's personal troops were all elite picked from the Liaodong border army.

As for the Marquis of Linchuan, who hasn't been on the battlefield for years, his personal troops can at most bully ordinary civilians,

Now, upon encountering Jia Jing's personal troops, it was like snowflakes meeting the sun, and they collapsed in a heap in an instant.

Of course, there were also one or two brave and loyal men among them, but before they could reach Jia Jing's side, they were captured by Zhu Que's people; among them were important witnesses that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been watching for a long time, and they could not just be killed like that!

The one-sided slaughter on the field made the Marquis of Loyalty and Diligence and his companions' eyelids twitch.

"Jia Jing, do you know what you're doing? You have unlawfully slaughtered second-rank martial marquises of the court, wounded so many colonels and captains, and allowed your troops to run rampant in the camp—this is a capital offense!"

The Marquis of Loyalty and Diligence shouted in a stern voice.

Today's events had already exceeded his expectations; at this moment the scene was in utter chaos, and even the Jingnan lineage's military leaders watched him, not allowing him to retreat in the slightest.

Just moments ago he still dared to follow the Marquis of Linchuan in pressuring Jia Jing.

But now the Marquis of Linchuan is dead, the other colonels and captains are mostly seriously wounded, the situation has completely blown up, and he finds it hard to make a decision for the moment, daring only to question them verbally.