Chapter 327: Xie Yan Leads the Troops

Chapter 327: Xie Yan Takes Command

The middle-aged man made a guttural choking sound, his large hands gripping Xie Yan's wrists tightly. His mouth opened and closed as if trying to speak, but only garbled sounds escaped—while blood flowed steadily.

His eyes bulged wide, filled with unwillingness and disbelief.

Unwillingness at having climbed so far only to die in such an unclear manner. Disbelief that the Xie family still had survivors.

If the Xie family had returned to the northern lands, would the Northern Frontier Army still remain the Emperor's Northern Frontier Army?

The blade pushed forward slowly, and the middle-aged man died with staring, unseeing eyes.

Before his body could hit the ground, figures emerged from the shadows and dragged him away.

Xie Yan slipped on a mask molded to match the middle-aged man’s face, his gaze lingering on the distant smoke signals. He ran his thumb over the command token, then descended the city wall and returned to the camp.

"Spread my orders at once: the beacon fire at Zhenzhi Pass signals an emergency, and there is not a moment to lose. All soldiers under my command must be geared up and formed up within a quarter of an hour, ready to march immediately to relieve Zhenzhi Pass from its desperate situation."

As the command was issued, some soldiers obeyed without hesitation, while others, sensing something amiss, pleaded with Xie Yan to rethink.

"Those who defy orders shall be executed!"

"A soldier’s duty is to obey. Those who shake morale or weaken resolve shall get no quarter."

Clad in armor, Xie Yan stood atop the camp’s high platform, his voice resolute. The broadsword in his hand dripped with blood, and at his feet lay two corpses not yet cold.

Those he had executed were the middle-aged general’s most trusted lieutenants, knee-deep in every filthy scheme.

The Northern Frontier Army’s commanders were beyond recognition.

The rot started at the top, and the army’s discipline had gone to hell.

Some camp commanders even issued absurd decrees demanding villages offer a girl of sixteen summers each month to serve as "songstresses" to "boost morale."

What a sick joke. It was nothing but the snatching up of decent girls to sate their appetites.

This was the kind of general the current Emperor had painstakingly cultivated to replace the Xie family’s loyalists.

The northerners no longer spoke of the Northern Frontier Army with respect, but with fear and hatred.

These past three, nearly four years had been an abyss for the Xie family—and no less a torment for the northerners.

Xie Yan let his icy stare sweep across the surroundings. "Does anyone else object?"

By the time a quarter of an hour had passed, the middle-aged general’s troops had fully assembled.

As for those who had sought to leak the news—they had all joined the growing pile of corpses.

"Move out!"

Xie Yan’s voice carried far on the night wind.

Zhenzhi Pass was Daqian’s Zhenzhi Pass.

As long as the people of Zhenzhi Pass had not betrayed their country, they remained Daqian’s people and deserved the protection of Daqian’s army.

The commotion in the camp could not be concealed for long.

In less time than it takes incense to burn halfway, word had reached every nearby camp.

"Has Qiao Song lost his damn mind?" Officers big and small huddled together, looking at each other in shock.

"Should we pursue and intercept them?"

"That’s up to the Grand General."

Northern Frontier Army.

Grand General's residence.

Liu Jingyuan yanked on his robes upon receiving the news and stormed out, barking for his strategist. "What the hell do we do now?" he snapped.

Anyone with half a brain knew that the one in the palace and Grand Tutor Qin were letting Zhenzhiguan rot—not worth lifting a finger for.

The Emperor wanted Old Master Xie and those old ministers loyal to Emperor Jingxiang to perish in Zhenzhiguan, wiping out every last threat.

Once the Emperor took the throne, plenty got the axe, but even more were shipped off to Zhenzhiguan.

To the Emperor and Grand Tutor Qin, Zhenzhiguan was the stronghold of traitors and rebels. Innocent lives didn’t even cross their minds.

Liu Jingyuan had been appointed by the Emperor to the Northern Frontier Army. When he first arrived, plenty still had a soft spot for the Xies—from high-ranking officers down to common soldiers.

You couldn’t kill ’em all.

No way to finish the job.

He’d lost count of how many Daqian soldiers’ blood was on his hands.

Later, the Xie family’s personal guards were nearly wiped out.

Generals loyal to the Xie family were executed or demoted one by one under fabricated charges.

Instead of punishing him, the Emperor showered his family with riches.

From that moment, he knew the Emperor’s mind was set.

To stay alive, he had to toe the Emperor’s line—no questions asked.

His handpicked men jumped at his command.

Qiao Song especially kissed his ass—never a word out of line.

So what the hell was Qiao thinking tonight?

He couldn’t give a damn about Zhenzhiguan standing or falling, nor whether Qiao’s ten thousand men lived or died. What scared the hell out of him was the Emperor’s reaction once the battle report reached the capital.

Would the Emperor think he’d gone soft? Question his ability to control his subordinates?

Everything he had came from the Emperor.

The Emperor could fill the Liu residence with splendor—just as easily as he could drown it in blood.

"Grand General, why not go all the way?" A scholar-looking guy made a slicing motion at his neck, his eyes dark with malice.

Liu Jingyuan frowned deeply. "What do you mean?"

"Make sure none of Qiao’s men make it out of Zhenzhiguan alive."

"Make Zhenzhiguan a ghost town!"

The advisor's words grew progressively more vicious with each sentence.

Liu Jingyuan's fingers trembled, he swallowed hard, his voice tight. "But that's ten thousand troops."

"Including the commoners of Zhenzhiguan, we're talking tens of thousands."

"Wipe them all out overnight?"

Without hesitation, the advisor replied, "Serving their superiors' needs is an honor for such commoners."

"As for the troops under Qiao Song's command—crimes have their perpetrators. Qiao Song's crimes must be answered by Qiao Song himself. No blame will come to you, General sir."

"General, hesitate no longer."

"Wait too long and things go south."

"Either Zhenzhiguan perishes, or the whole Liu family gets wiped out."

"Do you wish to watch the Liu family end up like the Xie family?"

Liu Jingyuan set his jaw and declared coldly, "Qiao Song led his men in a nighttime desertion, colluding with the enemy and committing treason. Wipe them out—no prisoners."

"A sound decision, General."

Once Liu Jingyuan's order was issued, the whole Northern Frontier Army was in uproar.

"Wasn't Qiao Song leading reinforcements to Zhenzhiguan? How did it become treason?"

"General, just intercept Qiao Song and bring him back. Why resort to such slaughter?"

Many officers grew uneasy, fearing they might share the same fate.

"The General received reliable intel—Qiao Song was in cahoots with the Northern Hu. Tonight's attack on Zhenzhiguan was his doing, a plot to first seize Zhenzhiguan and then attack Shengyan Pass."

"Qiao Song's treachery knows no bounds. He deserves to die."

"Anyone pleading for Qiao Song will be treated as an accomplice."

"Move out now! Take down the traitors and demonstrate the power of Daqian and the Northern Frontier Army!"

Few responded.

Few soldiers were willing to raise their blades against comrades they had fought alongside.

After Liu Jingyuan took command, he broke up old units and scattered them across different battalions to consolidate control.

Dark clouds blotted out the moon.

The night was pitch black.

A darkness that made men shiver.

"Thock."

"Thock."

Two more sounds followed.

No one noticed the disappearance and reappearance of two more battalion leaders.

Nor did anyone detect the slightest change.

The men Xie Yan brought were originally survivors of the Northern Frontier Army's Xie family guards, knowing inside out the communication and command methods of the Xie family's forces.

Even if there had been changes over the past three years, their time undercover was enough to catch up.

They had to thank Qiao Song for openly smuggling Xie Yan's men into camp.

"Did Qiao Song really collude with the Northern Hu and betray the country?" a booming voice cut in.

"Everyone knows Qiao Song was loyal to the Grand General to the bone—he’d charge wherever the Grand General ordered."

"To say Qiao Song betrayed the country is as likely as a dog turning down crap."

Signal fires lit the horizon.