Chapter 157: Falling into a Trap, Agreeing to Peace Talks for My Sake

Chapter 157: Falling into the Trap - Agree to Negotiate for My Sake

Bing Wengu was counting the frontier army, about to lead his men out to set an ambush, when a soldier reported, "Lord Prefect, Mr. Wuwei has arrived."

Bing Wengu often kept Nan Jinping by his side, and all the members of the frontier army knew him. Initially, they called Nan Jinping "Mr. Bing," but later, after Bing Wengu corrected them and spoke of Nan Jinping's contributions to literature, they changed their address.

Bing Wengu did not have anyone call Nan Jinping in; instead, he went out personally to welcome him.

"Mr. Bing, why have you come?" asked Bing Wengu.

Nan Jinping replied, "The third prince of the Xiongnu was killed by you, so the Chanyu of the Xiongnu will certainly not let this go easily. Moreover, the Xiongnu have never taken our frontier army seriously. If nothing unexpected happens, they should launch a fierce counterattack soon."

Bing Wengu nodded. In matters of state, he never hid anything from Nan Jinping. Sometimes, even without being asked, he would bring up issues himself. If there were things Nan Jinping didn't understand, Bing Wengu would explain them in detail until Nan Jinping fully grasped them. So when Nan Jinping asked directly, Bing Wengu answered immediately.

"Wengu, I want to go with you," Nan Jinping said straightforwardly.

Without hesitation, Bing Wengu agreed. Although he always protected Nan Jinping, he never intended to keep him sheltered. Especially now that they were on the border, Bing Wengu believed it was a good opportunity for Nan Jinping to see what war truly was, to understand it, and to learn how to fight.

None of the young officers present objected. Bing Wengu had led them to their first victory against the Xiongnu, making him their war god. Furthermore, during the last attack, Nan Jinping had been present, and the soldiers subconsciously found his presence reasonable.

Buguya was full of confidence, completely disregarding the frontier army led by Bing Wengu. Although the killing of Uyak by Bing Wengu was somewhat surprising to Buguya, he barely gave it a second thought.

After all, the frontier army of Fengzhou had been as gentle as lambs for nearly a hundred years. Even if they suddenly hurt someone, everyone would consider it an accident.

Buguya led the Xiongnu soldiers at a gallop towards Fengzhou City.

He assumed that this time would be no different from before—charging straight to the walls of Fengzhou City, attacking the city tower as usual, and then breaking into the city. The only difference this time was the additional task of taking the head of the Prefect of Fengzhou. But it was not worth worrying about, just a matter of convenience.

However, events did not unfold as Buguya had imagined. When he led the Xiongnu soldiers to within a few hundred miles of Fengzhou City, a sharp-eyed soldier suddenly noticed something.

"Prince, look over there." The Hun soldier raised his trembling finger toward the front, "There, hanging on the tree, it looks like Prince Uyak's head."

Bugya's face turned grim, his dark eyes fixed on the direction the soldier pointed. He saw Uyak's head and the eyes that seemed to refuse to close in death.

In any other place, Bugya would have laughed out loud at the sight of Uyak's head. But not here, for it symbolized a challenge and humiliation to all the brave warriors of the Hun tribe.

"Uyak, the fool, even in death he brings shame upon our grassland warriors," Bugya muttered under his breath.

Bugya reached into his quiver, drew an arrow, and prepared to shoot down Uyak's head with his bow.

Seeing this, his confidant quickly placed his hand on Bugya's to stop him.

The confidant shook his head and advised, "Prince, this is absolutely inappropriate."

"We came here under the banner of avenging Prince Uyak. Regardless of your personal differences with him, you must show Prince Uyak the respect and solemnity he deserves. Otherwise, his followers will be dissatisfied with you, and may even resent you for not giving him proper dignity in death, leading them to oppose you at every turn. This goes against our original intentions, so you cannot shoot the arrow; you cannot let Prince Uyak's head fall to the ground. He must be given the respect he deserves."

The prince was not a complete fool, nor was he someone who wouldn't listen to reason. After a moment's thought, he put down his bow and arrow.

"If so, I will personally remove Uyak's head, showing enough sincerity and respect, wouldn't that be enough?" Bugya said.

The confidant shook his head again, "Prince, don't you find it strange? Why would Prince Uyak's head suddenly appear here?"

Reminded by his confidant, Bugya also sensed something amiss. He cautiously surveyed the surroundings, but it was midsummer, and the lush vegetation made everything green and indistinct.

But whether it was just his imagination or not, Bugya suddenly felt that the surroundings were eerily quiet.

"Something's wrong, there's an ambush here!" Despite his faults, Bugya had some skill. He recognized the danger and shouted, "Retreat, fall back!"

The Hun soldiers, hearing the order, immediately began to retreat, but the unexpected happened in an instant.

Suddenly, something poured down from the sky like a deluge.

It was a powder, pale gray, something the First Prince and the Hun soldiers had never seen before.

But it was clear that it couldn't be anything good. Buguya shouted loudly, "Everyone, cover your mouths and noses! This stuff must be a trap. Retreat quickly."

However, just as the Hun soldiers urged their horses to leave, they heard the horses neighing in distress and the soldiers screaming in agony.

It turned out that at some point, ropes had been laid across the ground. As the horses ran forward, they were tripped by these ropes, causing both riders and horses to fall to the ground.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of the powder. The fall caught them off guard, and they were splattered with it, covering their heads and faces. Both men and horses were drenched in it.

Then came even more agonized cries from the Hun soldiers and horses. It turned out that the powder was nothing but quicklime.

Whether it entered the eyes of the Hun soldiers or the horses, the quicklime caused intense burning.

The intense burning sensation made the soldiers and horses struggle even more, causing more quicklime to fly into the air and into more eyes. This struggle only led to more quicklime being kicked up, creating an endless, vicious cycle.

The quicklime burned their eyes, making the soldiers unable to open them. Instinctively, they reached up to rub their eyes. But as they fell from their horses, they instinctively put their hands on the ground, picking up more quicklime. Rubbing their eyes only worsened the burns.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!!"

"It hurts, my eyes!"

"My eyes are going to burst, I can't see anything, am I blind?"

Blinded, the soldiers, though panicked, managed to control themselves and not strike their comrades. But the horses couldn't do the same. Their eyes burning, they thrashed about even more. This movement only kicked up more quicklime, which then entered their eyes, causing even more pain.

In the intense eye pain, even well-trained warhorses became agitated and violent. They stood up, hooves raised high, and stomped down heavily, regardless of whether the person beside them was their close companion and comrade-in-arms.

Another wave of wails, more pitiful than the last, echoed as countless men had their legs and ribs trampled by their own or their comrades' horses, some even suffering internal injuries, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood. Others were simply trampled to death by a single hoof.

Bugya himself was also hit, but he reacted swiftly, tearing off his clothes to cover the horse's eyes. He kept his own eyes tightly shut, urging the steed to run faster.

"Everyone, close your eyes, don't open them, this stuff burns the eyes, run fast!"

Bugya urged his steed to accelerate, trying to escape, but just as the Xiongnu soldiers all closed their eyes and attempted to charge out of the area, arrows rained down from all directions and from above.

With their eyes closed, many Xiongnu soldiers were directly struck down by the rain of arrows.

In fact, even if they had kept their eyes open, it wouldn't have helped, as their eyes were burned by the lime, rendering them blind.

Bugya indeed had some skill; even with his eyes closed and in the chaotic environment, he managed to use his ears to discern the direction of the arrows aimed at him. Unfortunately, there were too many arrows. Despite identifying the direction and swinging his sword to block, Bugya was still hit by several arrows.

Fortunately, he finally broke through the ambush, and the ground was no longer covered with lime.

Bugya forced his eyes open, trying to ignore the burning sensation, but even when he could open them, his vision was blurred. He could only vaguely make out a group of people standing ahead, looking in his direction. Even though he couldn't see their gazes clearly, Bugya could feel the palpable malice in their eyes.

And those standing not far away were none other than the frontier army led by Bing Wengu.

"My lord, you are truly the reincarnation of a war god, foreseeing everything!" Junglin said in admiration.

Bing Wengu replied, "It is only because the Xiongnu are too arrogant and overconfident. They knew the Third Prince died at our hands but still refused to learn their lesson. If they had been cautious today, they would not have fallen into our trap so easily."

"They still think of us as the drunken and incompetent frontier army of the past. With your wise and valiant leadership, my lord, we will eventually break into the heart of the Xiongnu territory!"

"Yes, sooner or later, just as the Xiongnu once did to us, we, the frontier army, will raid their lands, burning, killing, and plundering."

Burning, killing, and plundering were naturally out of the question. Bing Wengu would never allow his soldiers to treat civilians that way, even if they were Xiongnu. But this was not the time to debate such matters.

Bugya strained to open his eyes, tears streaming down uncontrollably, yet he still couldn't see clearly. All he could make out were blurry figures. He was unaware that his eyes were bloodshot, looking as if they had been soaked in blood.

Bugya wasn't so arrogant as to be oblivious to the danger. He was fully aware that in his current state, there was no way he could escape.

"Governor of Fengzhou?" Bugya decided to negotiate with the Governor of Fengzhou. "You can't kill me; I am Bugya, the eldest prince of the Xiongnu."

"You killed my third brother, Uyak, and my father is already enraged. If you dare to kill me, I believe my father will lead the iron cavalry of the grassland warriors to flatten the entire city of Fengzhou, and even advance into Bianjing."

"Release me, and offer more compensation. My father will consider your terms for peace on my behalf."