My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 31 Confrontation!

Outside the military camp.

Gao Yu stood beside Gao Huan, but his eyes were sizing up the 'armored cavalry' next to him!
Both men and horses were clad in armor.

Suddenly, a strong wind arose. To calm the frightened horses, the armored cavalrymen pulled hard on the reins, their synchronized movements highlighting their imposing presence.

The camp gates were wide open, and Li Chong, along with his deputy general and personal guards, rode out.

The section chief bowed from his horse.

"Because I am in armor, I cannot perform the salute. I beg the General's forgiveness."

Li Chong's eyes revealed both envy and a hint of annoyance. This was what the elite troops should look like, not the good-for-nothings in his camp who didn't train properly all day but drank and laughed. But the commander was extremely rude, bringing armored cavalry to show off!
Whether he felt envy or anger, Li Chong knew that the current situation was difficult to handle.

He immediately retorted sternly.

"General Duan, you have led your troops here without military orders. What is your intention?"

Duan Chang quickly explained, "I have something important to report, Grand Commander, please don't misunderstand."

"If that's the case, why not go into the camp and report it?"

"This matter is of great importance, and I was afraid it would cause unnecessary misunderstandings, so I asked the general to come out of the camp to meet me. I hope the general will understand."

"What could be so important that General Duan has gone to such lengths to come to my camp?"

The section chief glanced at Lou Neigan beside him and said, "Some bandits impersonated the central army and robbed the Lou family's merchant caravan. They were defeated by our soldiers, but we learned from the captured defeated soldiers that... they were men from the central army under the general's command."

Li Chong already knew, but showed no emotion on his face, instead asking, "Do you have any evidence?"

With a wave of his hand, the commander brought up several captured fleeing soldiers, as well as the corpses of Lu Zhong and others who had been killed by Gao Yu.

"They admitted it themselves."

Li Chong glanced at it briefly before loudly retorting, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"My soldiers are all elite troops of the central army, and they are all from respectable families. There is absolutely no way they would do such a thing!"

Upon hearing this, the man inside the building sneered repeatedly, sarcastically remarking, "With witnesses and physical evidence gathered, does the Grand Commander mean we are framing the Central Army?"

Li Chong sneered, "Where are the witnesses and physical evidence?"

Lou Neigan was not afraid of him at all, and even mocked him, "The Grand Commander is no different in age from me, yet his eyesight and hearing have deteriorated to such an extent? Didn't you hear what General Duan said just now?"

"You need not worry about my health. These men are indeed soldiers of my army, but they are covered in wounds. How do I know if they were tortured into confessing?"

"I am right here now. Answer me truthfully: did you rob the Lou family's caravan or not?"

The fleeing soldiers were initially bewildered, but quickly recovered and cried out, "We are all soldiers of the Central Army, how could we do the deeds of bandits? Grand Commander, you must do us justice!!"

“They detained us, tortured us, and forced us to say those things in order to save our lives.”

Li Chong then chuckled, "Now that the truth is out, does the Lou family patriarch have anything else to say?"

He knew the whole story. No matter how despicable these soldiers were, and no matter how much he loathed them, he had to stand up and protect the soldiers in the central army!
This matter is no longer simply a matter of right and wrong; it involves stances!

During this northern expedition against the Rouran, he was a general holding the title of Grand General and Commander-in-Chief of all military affairs in the north. However, the troops of the Six Garrisons were not his direct subordinates. The central army he brought from Luoyang was his greatest reliance and the source of his confidence to intimidate the Six Garrisons and make them obey him.

He must protect the central army in order to get the central army on his side.

This is why he ordered Lu Zhong's soldiers to be kept under guard from the beginning, not wanting things to escalate.

If the Lou family doesn't come looking for him, then everyone will be happy. They can just announce to the outside world that Lu Zhong was killed by the Rouran tribe that came south, and cover up the matter.

Now that the Lou family has come knocking on his door, he has no choice but to deny the robbery of the caravan to the death and to protect the central army to the end.

of course……

He also did not want to clash with the Lou family and other local powerful clans in Huai Shuo. The Lou family had been operating in Huai Shuo for many years and had great prestige. They also had deep connections with the surrounding powerful clans. Offending one of them would mean offending all the powerful clans in the entire Huai Shuo area and even the six towns. That would make the war much more difficult.

...............

Inside the military camp! Although Li Chong had strictly ordered his soldiers to return to camp and await further orders, quite a few still secretly ran out and were watching from afar.

Just then, I heard the soldiers kneeling on the ground crying and shouting that they had been tortured into confessing.

Immediately, someone angrily stood up!
"How dare these lowly commoners from Huai Shuo bully me like this! Do they really think my central army is without anyone to rely on?"

"That's right! We are the Tiger Warriors and Feathered Forest Guards, personally appointed by His Majesty! We are here to guard Luoyang on His Majesty's behalf. This time, we have traveled thousands of miles to Huai Shuo to fight against the Rouran in order to avenge our family feud. These lowly military households are not only ungrateful but also dare to bully us like this. They deserve to die!"

"Kill! Kill these lowly servants!"

"General Lu was usually quite righteous. Such a fine young man has been killed. We must avenge him!!"

The central army was essentially a group of "military households," but they were military households in Luoyang. The imperial court managed all military households in a unified manner, and they all lived in the same area, which was somewhat like the "children of a large compound." Many of them had known each other since childhood.

Once someone started stirring things up, the emotions spread among the soldiers!
Two or three hundred soldiers donned their armor, grabbed their guns, and prepared to rush out, but were stopped at the gate of the military camp by Li Chong's personal guards, though they were still restless.

Such a large-scale operation naturally attracted the attention of the people outside the military camp.

Li Chong's heart skipped a beat; this was truly a disaster!
If not handled properly, before even setting out to fight the Rouran, his own people will turn on each other and fight each other. He, the Grand Commander, will surely be in big trouble!
"Kill! Avenge General Lu!"

"Hand over the murderer, and we'll spare your lives!"

The soldiers of the central army were filled with fervor!

The armored cavalry behind the commander displayed their elite status. Upon seeing this, they immediately drew their spears, ready to charge without hesitation at the command.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense!

Gao Huan pulled Gao Yu behind the crowd. It was a battle between gods, and the two brothers couldn't get involved. They needed to avoid getting burned.

It seemed that the two sides were about to start fighting at the slightest disagreement, and the area outside the military camp was about to become a river of blood!
The section chief suddenly shouted, "Stop it, all of you!"

He immediately rode forward to Li Chong's side and said, "Grand Commander, this time you led a large army here, and powerful families like the Lou family from Huai Shuo donated grain and fodder. Their loyalty to the emperor and their love for the country are truly evident!"

"We must not let them feel disheartened."

The section chief directly explained the advantages and disadvantages.

After several changes of expression, Li Chong turned to the soldiers in the central army behind him and shouted sternly, "Do you intend to disobey military orders? Return to camp immediately!"

"Right now, the most urgent task is to subdue the Rouran in the north!"

"After our victorious return, I will certainly report this matter to the imperial court, and then the court will uphold justice!"

After shouting at the soldiers in the central army to retreat.

Li Chong then spoke to the section chief.

"General Duan, from now on, you and I will each restrain our soldiers and prevent any further trouble."

"As for whether or not the Lou family's caravan was robbed, the matter will be settled in due time!"

After saying that, he said to the few defeated soldiers on the ground, "Take these men into custody and keep them under guard. General Duan, I won't see you off."

"Respectfully seeing the Grand Commander back to camp!"

The section chief then looked at Lou Neigan and advised, "Since things have come to this, let's just drop this matter."

Lou Neigan didn't say much.

He came here to make his stance clear: even if they are from the Central Army, he will seek justice. The Lou family is not a spineless coward who can be bullied at will!

Simply state your attitude.

We can't really encourage the Huai Shuo garrison to fight against Li Chong's Northern Expeditionary Army, can we?

The Lou family cannot afford this responsibility.

(End of this chapter)