The pursuit lasted for three whole days. Lu Yanjun had almost lost all his warhorses. Feng Jixing, Xiang Yu, and the others had already joined forces and released all the civilians that Lu Yanjun had captured as "food" and sent them back home. Meanwhile, the main force of the Imperial Army and Cangnan Army killed countless people along the way. They directly killed their way to Lie City, but due to the lack of provisions, they had to retreat. A mere Lie City could not be defended for long. Lu Yanjun's fate was already at its end.
Two days later, they returned to Shangyang City.
…
The city was decorated with lanterns and streamers, as if the Shangxi Festival had come again. The haze of death that shrouded the whole city had ended because of the great victory of Feng Jixing and Xu Jiantao. The civilians naturally cheered and danced.
After the battle, Lu Yanjun lost more than half of his men, while the Imperial Army and the Cangnan Army lost nearly ten thousand men. As for Yihe Country, they attacked from the flank and were counterattacked by Lu Yanjun. They only had about thirty thousand men left. As for the thirty thousand soldiers of Yihe Country, they were now stationed outside Shangyang City. On one side, the Imperial Army and the Cangnan Army surrounded and protected them.
Although the Governor's Office of Shangyang City was not as majestic and solemn as Ze Tian Palace, it had a unique style. Southern-style buildings could be seen everywhere. There were groups of maids and countless attendants. At this time, the Governor's Office was beating drums and gongs to welcome the arrival of Feng Jixing, Xu Jiantao, and other important officials of the Empire. This first celebration banquet must be unique and extremely luxurious.
At the banquet, Feng Jixing sat in the host's seat. After all, he was acting as the Marshal for Lin Muyu, so his status was naturally above everyone else. Next in order were Xu Jiantao, Xiang Yu, Ding Xi, Ouyang Yan, Ling Shusheng, Zhang Wei, Luo Yu, and others. The commander-in-chief of Yihe Country, Qin Yi and Qin Huan, sat after the twentieth place. The people next to them had even been reduced to chiliarchs.
Qin Yi, on the other hand, looked calm as he sat there without saying a word.
Qin Huan looked a little angry. He seemed to be very dissatisfied with the seating arrangement. After all, the social status in the Qin Empire was very clear. The seating arrangement meant the level of status. Obviously, Feng Jixing did not take the people of Yihe Country seriously at all.
Feng Jixing raised his cup, pondered for a moment, then stood up and said in a clear voice, "When Her Highness Yin, Lin General, and Princess Xi were in closed-door cultivation, we were guarding the empire's borders. Now that the bandits have invaded our borders, all of us have worked together to chase Lu Yan and the others to Lie City. As long as we have sufficient supplies and fodder, we will be able to sweep them away in one fell swoop. This battle will definitely be decided based on merits. Please rest assured, everyone, Feng Jixing will record down every single merit and reward them together when Her Highness Yin returns. The empire will never mistreat those who have rendered meritorious service."
"Is this also considered a reward based on merit?" Someone in the seventh row said indignantly.
Feng Jixing looked over and smiled, "Who are you?"
The man stood up, "I am Lu Yang, the Lieutenant of the Yihe Kingdom's 3rd Legion. Five days ago, I led my men and charged into the heart of Lu Yan's army. I killed more than five thousand men and lost more than six thousand men. May I ask Commander Feng if this is considered a great achievement?"
"Yes, of course it is."
Feng Jixing smiled faintly. "Someone, come and take some of General Lu Yang's credit. Oh, I remember now. General Lu Yang's cousin seems to be Lu Zhao, who was ranked first among the Seven Marshals of Yihe Country?"
"Yes." Lu Yang was stunned.
"Then … General, do you remember what happened at Fire Badger Valley? If I remember correctly, Fire Badger Valley's general also participated, right? "Feng Jixing's words were really simple but there was killing intent in them.
Who in the world didn't know that the thirty thousand guards army of Fire Badger Valley was killed? That was the biggest humiliation and pain in Feng Jixing's life. He wouldn't be able to forget that painful memory. Naturally, he remembered his enemies clearly.
Lu Yang lowered his head and his voice trembled, "I am afraid that General Feng remembered wrongly. I was working under the commander and didn't participate in the Fire Badger Valley massacre with brother …"
"It is good that you didn't."
Feng Jixing's gaze was ice cold, "If I find out, all of you can forget about escaping. All of you have to die!"
Not only Lu Yang, but even Qin Yi, Qin Huan, and a group of Yihe Nation's generals felt a chill in their hearts. Now, Feng Jixing's words were no longer as insignificant as before. Feng Jixing was now the commander-in-chief of the three armies. His words were the imperial edict, and no one could defy it.
Qin Yi picked up the wine cup on the table and said, "General Feng's memory is really good. However, since you said that, will General Feng start to look into what happened in the past?"
"I won't. These are two separate matters." Feng Jixing cupped his fists and smiled. "Don't worry, King Zhennan. Feng Jixing is not the kind of person who would do anything for personal gain. The Yihe Kingdom has made a great contribution in protecting the country and willingly submitting to the Great Qin Empire. This is a good thing for the people in the world. However, before settling the matter of Lie City, I'm afraid there's one more thing that I need the Yihe Kingdom's army to do for me."
"What is it?" Qin Huan asked.
"The National Army."
Feng Jixing said lightly, "Nearly 50,000 National Army troops are camped ten miles north. Their commander, Zhuang Yan, has already pleaded guilty and was executed. The National Army colluded with the enemy and committed treason. All officers above chiliarchs must be executed, but the foundation of the National Army must not be harmed. After all, those soldiers are brave warriors of the Qin Empire. So … I need your brave soldiers to be on standby at all times. When I subdue the National Army, if anyone tries to rebel, they must be suppressed immediately. I wonder if South Protecting King is willing to carry out this task?"
Qin Yi nodded, his face neither sad nor happy, "I am willing. I will listen to General Feng's instructions."
"Good."
Feng Jixing poured a cup of wine and said, "Come, I, Feng, toast all the soldiers of Yihe Country. You repent in time, which is the good fortune of the Qin Empire. I hope that we can fight the enemy side by side in the future and serve the empire together! As for the rewards and official titles, I will ask Her Highness Yin when we return to Lanyan City. Everyone's contributions will be indispensable. "
Dozens of generals of Yihe Country said in unison, "Thank you, General Feng!"
Qin Yi and his son were silent. At this point, what else could they say? They could only listen to what Feng Jixing said.
However, Feng Jixing's intention of letting the Yihe Country troops suppress the rebel army of the National Army was so deep that it made people tremble. This famous general of the empire seemed to have the intention of watching the dogs bite each other.
Qin Yi had no choice and could only do this. In order to protect the last bloodline of Yihe Country, he could only do this. He could only hope that Feng Jixing was a benevolent general and would not be ruthless!
Thinking of this, Qin Yi inadvertently glanced at Qin Huan beside him and saw that there was gratitude on his face. It seemed that the province according to merit that Feng Jixing said had already affected him.
"Haha …"
Qin Yi smiled silently. This was also good. Perhaps.
…
Four days later, the army from the north of the ridge arrived ten miles away. All 200,000 people of the National Army were stationed in the plains and valleys. On the side were 50,000 people of the Imperial Army and tens of thousands of people of the Cangnan Army.
On the 2nd of May, under Feng Jixing's order, 2,000 notices about the death of the National Army's commander, Zhuang Yan, were sent to all the camps of the National Army. Almost every centurion camp received a notice and every soldier of the National Army knew about this news. In the notice, Feng Jixing ordered all centurions and chiliarchs of the National Army to bring their men to the Imperial Army's camp within three days to disarm and accept reorganization and arrangement. Otherwise, they would be charged with treason.
On the first day, nearly 100,000 soldiers of the National Army disarmed themselves and accepted reorganization.
On the second day, 40,000 people disarmed themselves.
On the third day, 20,000 people disarmed themselves.
However, there were still 40,000 soldiers who refused to disarm. They were the subordinates of Su Changying and Liu Xiyu.
In the middle of the night, stars filled the sky and illuminated the earth. However, the people on the ground were extremely distressed. In the big tent, Liu Xiyu and Su Changying sat opposite each other and drank wine. Their faces were deathly pale.
"There are only two hours left. Brother Su, do you have an idea?" Liu Xiyu asked.
Su Changying shook his head. "What idea can I have? We have offended Feng Jixing too much. Even if we disarm ourselves … will Feng Jixing let us go? Impossible … Feng Jixing and Lin Muyu have wanted to kill us for a long time … "
"Then, Brother Su, what do you mean?"
"We will die if we disarm ourselves, but we might have a chance of survival if we rebel. We have more than 40,000 soldiers. If we rebel against the empire, we can kill our way to Lie City and seek refuge with Lu Yan. Perhaps we can even take a boat from the southern border to the Blackstone Empire to serve Great Emperor Shiyuan. This is our only chance of survival!" Su Changying gritted his teeth and said each word firmly.
Liu Xiyu suddenly raised his cup and drained it in one gulp. Then, he smashed the cup on the ground. "Rebel! Pass down my order immediately. Follow me to kill our way out of the valley!"
"Alright, we will kill our way out together!"
"Yes!"
…
Under the starlight, Su Changying and Liu Xiyu's 40,000 soldiers did not even raise their torches. They just headed straight for the exit of the valley. However, they did not notice the dozens of Magic Crystal Cannons that had been set up in the valley, as well as the tens of thousands of Yihe Country's soldiers blocking the exit.
In the forest on the hillside, Feng Jixing sat on a huge rock with a wine pot in his hand. He said, "It seems that they have made up their minds."
Xu Jiantao sneered. "Su Changying and Liu Xiyu are two idiots. Do they really think that they can charge out of the valley with just these few people? General Feng, what should we do? Should we spare the lives of these 40,000 soldiers? "
"No … There is no need to spare them …"
Feng Jixing waved his hand. "We have given them too many chances. However, these 40,000 soldiers are still determined to follow Su Changying and Liu Xiyu. There is no need to spare them anymore. Pass down my order. Kill all of them. Spare none."
"Yes, I understand."
Xu Jiantao raised his hand. Immediately, the Magic Crystal Cannons on the mountain spat out tongues of fire. In the next moment, the valley was in an uproar.
In the midst of the chaos, Liu Xiyu held his sword and shouted, "Don't panic. Charge forward. Once we get out of here, we will have a chance of survival!"
…
At the entrance of the valley, a general was guarding with thousands of soldiers and horses. It was Lin Xun, Lin Yu's cousin. He could be considered the person that Feng Jixing and Xu Jiantao thought the most of the Yihe Country's army.
Lin Xun slowly raised his palm and said, "Raise your shields and start shooting."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
