Before the army moves, supplies must be ready.
A steady stream of provisions was being gathered from various regions, and the troops from the Western Garden began to assemble and select their soldiers.
Lu Ming didn't go. Emperor Ling had ordered him to form his own army, operating independently, which would inevitably lead to isolation.
He had to handle the provisions and supplies himself; there was no other way.
Of course, he could ask Huangfu Song for them. Although this stubborn old man disliked such things, he dared not disobey the emperor's orders.
However, how his subordinates would make things difficult was unknown.
It was best to prepare for both possibilities and not rely too much on these people; testing the waters was always a good idea.
Unexpectedly, someone invited Lu Ming to his residence. It wasn't Yuan Shu, the then-Minister of Justice, nor Princess Wannian, but Feng Fang, the Right Colonel of the Army!
Previously, Lu Ming had intervened when Feng Fang's daughter, Feng Qin, was harassed by Wu Kuang's son at the market, and many days had passed without a word from him.
Now, he was unexpectedly invited to his residence; this was quite strange.
Originally, Lu Ming hadn't intended to pay any attention to such a person, but after seeing Feng Qin's beauty, and considering she was historically Yuan Shu's wife, his collecting obsession kicked in, and he naturally thought about how to get his hands on her.
The worse Feng Fang's performance, the less Lu Ming would take him seriously in the future. What ability could someone who couldn't even protect his family have?
Upon arriving at Feng Fang's residence, he was refused entry by the servants and told to wait outside.
Lu Ming narrowed his eyes, sensing something was amiss.
He stroked his chin; he needed to analyze the situation.
Feng Fang had invited him to a banquet, but this servant had stopped him at the door.
So now there seem to be two possibilities. The first is unlikely; the servant acted on his own initiative and stopped him.
The second is that this banquet is probably a trap!
After waiting for a while, Feng Fang still hadn't come out. Suddenly, Lu Ming threw a punch, sending the gatekeeper flying. He grabbed the man and strode forward.
*Swoosh!* The guards immediately drew their swords, their expressions as if facing a formidable enemy. "Sir, don't go any further, or we'll have to take action! Let him go!"
A sinister smile played on Lu Ming's lips. He put the servant down, and just as the guards breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly raised his foot and stomped down hard!
*Crack!* The sound of breaking leg bones rang out.
"Ah!"
The gatekeeper's scream followed. Lu Ming stomped on him twice more, crippling both his legs.
With a sinister grin, he said, "Since Captain Feng repays kindness with enmity, so be it. We'll see what happens next!"
"Wait!" Just as Lu Ming was about to leave, Feng Fang appeared.
He was dressed in plain clothes, a long sword hanging at his waist.
Seeing his servant slumped on the ground, screaming in agony, he frowned slightly.
"Captain Lu, what happened?"
"This servant not only refused to let me in when I presented the invitation, but also spoke arrogantly to me. Captain Feng, you invited me to a banquet. I waited outside for almost half an hour, and this is your way of treating guests?" Lu Ming's tone was very unfriendly. His time was precious, and to waste it like this, he was already being very polite by not killing Feng Fang.
Feng Fang frowned slightly. He had genuinely been delayed and only wanted Lu Ming to wait.
But the servant had made Lu Ming wait at the gate without even inviting him in, which had caused a misunderstanding! "It was a mistake, but Lu Ming's ruthless and direct crippling of the man was simply too much!"
"Captain Lu, I admit this was due to the servants' negligence. I originally intended to have someone invite you inside to rest, but the servants made our honored guest wait outside. However, Captain Lu's ruthless actions show a complete disregard for me, Feng!"
"Oh? You think you're so great, so high and mighty! Where were you when your family was being bullied? Hmph, what a fine way to bully the weak with a gun, Feng Fang, you've really got it. Hmph, farewell!" Lu Ming finally saw through him; this was a complete idiot!
Yes, a complete idiot!
Invited me here, and didn't even show proper courtesy. After this happened, instead of apologizing, he's demanding an explanation?
What a joke!
Afraid to offend Wu Kuang, yet dares to talk back, huh!
"Lu Ming! Don't push your luck!" Feng Fang felt his face burning with embarrassment. They were both captains, what was with the airs!
He genuinely didn't dare offend General He Jin. He had originally invited Lu Ming to express his gratitude.
In fact, if his daughter had been insulted, he could use the marriage alliance with Wu Kuang to ride on the General's coattails.
But things had been messed up!
If it weren't for face and social etiquette, he wouldn't have wanted to speak to Lu Ming at all!
What a waste of time!
Mind your own business!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited so many days to belatedly invite him to the banquet.
This was already impolite, and now the conflict had escalated because of his own actions and the servant's behavior.
If it weren't for Lu Ming's strength, Feng Fang would have already sent someone to capture him!
Their main tactic was to bully the weak and fear the strong, never daring to confront anyone head-on. Now that Lu Ming had shown some backbone, Feng Fang immediately backed down.
Having seen through Feng Fang's intentions, Lu Ming, on the other hand, didn't want to leave.
So, grinning maliciously, he said, "Looks like you don't want me to leave! Fine, then let's make a scene! Let's go and reason with His Majesty! Draw your sword and kill all the guards!"
Lu Ming drew his longsword and charged forward.
Before Feng Fang could react, he kicked him away, then swept his sword horizontally, decapitating a guard!
The head flew high, a terrified expression still etched on the face!
Thud!
The longsword was as fast as lightning; wherever the blade touched, blood flowed instantly.
A feint thrust tricked another guard into raising his sword to parry, but the next second, Lu Ming changed his move, gripping the sword and slicing down, instantly cleaving the guard's stomach open! His intestines spilled out, and with a backhand sweep, he chopped off his head again!
"Using a banquet as a pretext to ambush and assassinate a general about to lead his troops to quell the rebellion! You've got some nerve, Feng Fang! You must be a Yellow Turban remnant! Prepare to die!" Lu Ming immediately pinned the blame on Feng Fang!
He absolutely couldn't tolerate someone who dared to use a banquet to trick him. He had to establish the impression and reputation of a madman, letting the Yuan family and He Jin know that offending him would mean facing the consequences of having pieces of their flesh torn off!