High Martial Arts Three Kingdoms: The Incompetent Strategist

Tang Ke thought to himself, "This guy really seems to want to stir up trouble. He seems to be deliberately making things difficult for me and these ministers."

The ministers who submitted the memorial originally intended to take advantage of Xu Feng's attack on this new recruit who had no background but held an important position, but they did not expect that this guy was a tough nut to crack.

These people were all shrewd; once they realized what was happening, they hurriedly surrounded Tang Ke, their attitudes completely changing.

"Lord Tang, your investigation at my home last time wasn't thorough enough. If you have time today, please come again to help with the investigation and clear my household of suspicion. I will definitely be grateful!"

"My lord, why don't we go to my residence first? My daughter has been thinking of you ever since your last inspection and would like to invite you over for tea!"

"..."

"Eh, sirs, I'm sorry, but I've already made an appointment with Lord Tang for today. If you'd like to invite him again, please come back earlier next time."

He Jin smiled, grabbed Tang Ke's hand, and pulled him outside. Seeing this, the others also stepped aside and stopped bothering him.

He Jin pulled him along as they walked out of the palace gates, whispering as he pressed him about what Xu Feng had told him—that he had cuckolded Zhang Feng. Tang Ke naturally dared not speak openly; if he knew he had become Xu Feng's brother-in-law, things would be terrible. Who knew if Xu Feng was as open-minded as Empress He?

He had no choice but to pretend he knew nothing and say that Xu Feng was sowing discord. He Jin was naturally suspicious and reminded Tang Ke before leaving that a rabbit should not eat the grass near its burrow and should not try to take advantage of his innocent sister.

Upon exiting the palace gate, Li Jin was already waiting at the entrance with his horse.

When he led Li Jin on a frantic run to the dilapidated house where Zhang Feng had been castrated, Zhang Feng was struggling to eat a steamed bun he had somehow gotten. His clothes were tattered, clearly indicating that he had been beaten quite a bit.

He was seriously injured and was afraid of being discovered to be abnormal if he returned to the mansion, so he dared not enter the city. He begged around in the suburbs to make a living, waiting to recover from his injuries before making any further plans.

When he first saw Tang Ke, his eyes practically spit fire, and he struggled to rush forward and fight to the death.

Li Jin swung his spear and blocked his way in time, calming him down completely.

"Bring the young marquis back to my residence and have the best doctors treat his injuries. Once he has recovered, I will take him to court to claim credit."

"Yes!" Li Jin didn't ask any more questions, lifted Zhang Feng onto his horse, and rode away in a cloud of dust.

"Seek credit? Seek credit for what?" Zhang Feng was interrupted halfway through his sentence by the gust of wind that was being poured into his mouth.

Tang Ke's arrogant laughter blew into Zhang Feng's ears on the wind: "Young Marquis was seriously injured while capturing the assassin, and he deserves a reward."

Lingxiao Mountain, the Yellow Turban Army's stronghold.

In the afternoon, the sun was blazing.

Zhang Jiao stood on the earthen platform built on the mountaintop, surrounded by a dark mass of Taiping Dao followers, their eyes filled with hope and longing for the future.

Zhang Jiao, wearing a yellow turban and holding a staff, spoke with a powerful voice that resounded through the heavens like thunder: "My disciples, we have suffered enough from the exploitation of the government and the bullying of the landlords! We have endured this humiliation and survived until today. Now the Heavenly Court is dead, and the Yellow Heaven shall rise. I am sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, but all of this will finally come to a perfect end in the year of Jiazi!"

His words were impassioned, each one striking a chord with everyone present. The Taiping Daoists, their expressions filled with righteous indignation, began to whisper amongst themselves, which then coalesced into a deafening roar.

Zhang Jiao continued to shout loudly: "In the year of Jiazi, the world is blessed! As long as we unite as one and rise up in rebellion, we can overthrow this corrupt court and create a peaceful and prosperous era that belongs to us!"

Under his impassioned call, the crowd began to erupt in cheers, some raising their hands and others raising their arms and shouting.

The Yellow Turban flag fluttered among the crowd, and an invisible yet irresistible spiritual belief was tightly binding these people who had suffered so much together, turning them into a powerful force.

A resolute light shone in Zhang Jiao's eyes. He knew that the moment he mobilized the uprising, he had already tolled the death knell for the crumbling Han Dynasty, and ignited a spark that could start a prairie fire for countless suffering souls.

"This corrupt court is trying to stop our progress. I urge you all to hurry to your respective regions, contact other brothers, raise an army together, and rebuild a prosperous era!"

At his command, the crowd responded enthusiastically, descending the mountain in orderly batches, mounting their horses and heading off to various destinations...

"Eunuch Qu, you're so clumsy! How come you failed to kill the person and ended up being chased so badly?"

"Lord Yuan, this man has been playing dumb in the past. He is clearly only a sixth-rank expert but pretends to be a fifth-rank expert. I was caught off guard and suffered a great loss. However, I won't be so lucky next time I meet him."

"Next time we meet? He goes out with his elite guards now, so even if you run into him, you probably can't do anything to him. You might be the one who gets hurt."

"Don't worry, I've seen through his tricks."

"What have you figured out? Let me tell you, he's really aggressive in his search right now. You'd better leave Luoyang and go into hiding, otherwise if you get caught, I'll be in trouble too."

"Lord Yuan, you're getting bigger and bigger in rank, but you're getting smaller and smaller. Don't worry, even if I fail, it won't implicate you."

"Hmph, that's for the best, but I advise you to avoid provoking him. This man is not one of those small fry you used to be able to kill at will."

"Hehehe..."

"Oh dear, young master, where did you bring this patient back from? Your little house is no longer big enough for him."

Ruyan glanced at Zhang Feng, who was slumped on the ground, and gestured with her mouth that the only empty room was filled with antiques and gold and silver jewelry.

Tang Ke handed her a silver ingot: "It's alright. He'll be mostly recovered after a few more days. I'd appreciate it if you could help me buy some medicine to treat his injuries, stop the bleeding, and replenish his blood and energy. I need both external and internal medicine."

Ru Yan replied irritably, "That's easy for you to say. How many days are you going to stay? Even if you only stay for one day, where can you arrange for you to stay? It's not like you can share a room with him, is it?"

“Of course not, I only like to sleep alone.” Tang Ke hurriedly waved his hand: “I mean he can sleep in the living room or the yard.”

"This is outrageous! This is outrageous!" Zhang Feng struggled to his feet and angrily walked out.

When he reached the door, he realized that no one seemed to be following him to stop him. He turned around and saw Tang Ke chatting and laughing with Ru Yan, seemingly not caring at all about his departure.

"Close the door when you're out the door," Ruyan urged.

Zhang Feng considered his current situation, stomped his foot angrily, and walked back.

Tang Ke clapped his hands and laughed: "That's right! I saw long ago that you're a pragmatic person. Right now, you're still walking with a limp. If you go out, they'll definitely find out that you've got feathers stuck in your hair."

Ruyan asked curiously, "Putting in feathers? Why would you put in feathers?"

"Don't pry into adults' affairs!"