Chapter 80 The Fallen Ye Family Army?
"What's going on?" Ye Qiongying looked forward.
It’s a pity that after getting off the horse, my view was blocked by the crowd in front of me and I couldn’t see clearly what was happening.
But soon, she knew what was going on.
The people ahead of her had already started a discussion.
"Is it Lieutenant General Chen again?" One person stood on tiptoe to take a look forward and immediately knew what was going on.
Another person nearby said:
"Ah, isn't it Lieutenant General Chen? Ever since General Ye passed away, several lieutenants in the Ye family army have become depressed or missing, and the rest are not very reliable."
"I think this Deputy General Chen is not a good guy. He used to be restrained by General Ye, but now that General Ye is gone, isn't his true nature exposed? This is the nth time he has come to the city gate and specifically asked for tolls from wealthy merchants. Isn't this obvious extortion!" The man said unhappily, "If this continues, the reputation of our Pingwu City will be ruined. What should we do if no merchants are willing to come here in the future?"
"That's not the case," said another person. "Vice General Chen doesn't ask for much. Compared to what those businessmen earn, it's nothing. So, at most they'll just curse at each other in private. We still have to do this business."
Ye Qiongying and Uncle Ye frowned after hearing this.
Deputy General Chen?
When this person was mentioned, Ye Qiongying thought of a figure with a big beard.
Several deputy generals of the Ye family had visited the mansion before.
Although Lieutenant General Chen is chubby, he is quite capable in fighting. He was praised by my father himself, saying that he has the style of famous generals in history when taking action. It's a pity that his brain is not flexible enough and his strategies are a little lacking. He is okay as a lieutenant general, but he needs more practice to lead troops to fight alone.
Deputy General Chen was also a fat and kind-hearted man. He never cared about it. He was cheerful with a big beard and found everything interesting. He once held Ye Qiongying, who was only a few years old. After getting drunk, he yelled at Ye's father to let him take the little girl back and make sure she would be raised to be plump and white.
This caused Mr. Ye to raise his walking stick and hit him on the head.
It was really hard for Ye Qiongying to associate such a simple and honest person with the character who extorted money from passers-by as mentioned by others.
Ye Qiongying was still just a vague shadow to Deputy General Chen.
Uncle Ye was even more familiar with it, and after hearing it, he found it even more incredible.
It could be anyone, but Deputy General Chen? How could it be possible!
Both of them suspected that they had recognized the wrong person, and they were talking about another deputy general named Chen.
But the person in front was talking about the people in the Ye family army.
And who else could be the famous Deputy General Chen in the Ye family army except that one?
They suppressed their shock and followed the team forward. Soon, it was their team's turn.
The soldiers guarding the city checked the pass and were about to let them pass, but they heard a vague voice shouting:
"Wait a minute, hiccup, let me see..."
A sturdy man in a brocade robe staggered over.
He looked like he had drunk quite a bit of wine. He was still holding a wine jug in his hand. He reeked of alcohol and his face was red. He walked over drunkenly. When he saw Ye Qiongying's horse, her clothes, the carriage beside her and the horse in front of the carriage, he knew he was another wealthy man.
So, he raised his head and said with a hint of alcohol in his mouth:
"Don't you know the rules of Pingwu City? Come, pay the toll, one person..."
"How come I don't know? When did Pingwu City have such a rule?" Uncle Ye couldn't help but said as he sat in front of the carriage, "You little bear, you seem very proud now!"
Lieutenant General Chen's family was very poor when he was young. His family had only boys. In the end, they could not afford to raise them and had no choice but to sell him off.
At that time he only had a surname but no given name, so he was addressed according to his ranking in the family.
Finally, he was bought by Mr. Ye who was away from home, brought back to his mansion, discovered his talent, and brought him into the army, where he was promoted to deputy general.
Since he was a teenager, his physique had been particularly prominent and as strong as a bear, so he named himself Chen Xiong. Old Man Ye suggested that the name was too simple and crude, so he changed the word "Xiong" to Chen Xiong, which has the same pronunciation.
The brothers who were familiar with him called him Bear Cub.
Upon hearing this address, Lieutenant General Chen was stunned. Soon, his eyes, which had been blurred by alcohol, finally cleared up and he saw Uncle Ye sitting in the carriage.
Deputy General Chen shuddered all over, as if something flashed across his eyes, but the next moment, he laughed again and said to Uncle Ye:
"Ah, isn't this Brother Ye? How come he looks so old? This is..."
He looked at Ye Qiongying on the side and was about to tease Uncle Ye, but suddenly he saw some familiar traces on Ye Qiongying's face.
Ye Qiongying discovered that the eyes of this man, who looked like he had fallen, suddenly turned red.
But Deputy General Chen did not say anything sentimental, but waved towards the guards:
"Old acquaintance, old acquaintance, there's no need to pay the toll. Come on, come on, Brother Ye, Old Bear invites you in for a drink!"
As he spoke, he took their horses and led the people inside.
Uncle Ye didn't look happy.
But it's not a good idea to start a conflict in front of so many people.
No matter what, Chen Xiong is a member of the Ye family army, and internal conflicts must be resolved privately. If they get out of hand, it will be a disgrace to the Ye family.
The team at the rear also passed the inspection quickly, and a group of people entered the city gate.
Going further in, the road is still flat, but slightly narrower than the main road outside the city.
The houses on both sides of the road are not as exquisite and dense as those in the capital, and look more rough and simple.
There were also many hawking sounds on both sides of the road.
Most of them were local people who had set up stalls on the roadside, selling some unfamiliar wild fruits, some random animal furs, and other local specialties.
However, the goods sold there were inferior to the high-quality goods purchased by the merchants in the shops and shipped to the capital. It was obvious that the prey and trophies hunted by these people themselves were not as professional as those sold in the big shops.
After entering the city, Ye Qiongying called out to Deputy General Chen:
"Let's put the drinking aside. Deputy General Chen, we are here for a mission. We have to hand over the prisoners first to avoid delays.
On the way, people from Xili came to assassinate him, just to rob him."
When Deputy General Chen heard this, he frowned and said:
"How dare you attack you? Damn Xili people, are you tired of living? I will..."
"You really have a bad temper. Didn't you hear that the young lady has to go and hand over the prisoners first?" Uncle Ye interrupted him in time, "Why don't you lead the way?"