Chapter 143

Chapter 143

"Trap the rebels in the valley as much as possible, delay them and seize Liangzhou City."

"We know about the troop division, but why are you here! How can the Crown Prince come to the front line!"

On a dark and windy night, after the Imperial Army finished off the assassins attempting to set the mountain on fire, a soldier stepped forward to report the current situation: "Junior General Qi and General Lu used the empty fort strategy to misdirect the troops. The entire army is now hidden in Nanshan, holding back over ten thousand trapped rebels with just five thousand troops!"

Wu Lao was greatly surprised when he learned that Qi Hanzhou had used that valley to trap the enemy. He had only initially provided clues about the herbs, never expecting the Jinyiwei’s investigation of Western Shu to be so meticulous—not only using herbs to locate hidden troops but also mapping out several key terrain features!

"Now all remaining forces are charging the South City Gate!" the Imperial Army commander added.

Ying Fusheng immediately understood Qi Hanzhou’s intent. The Imperial Army was outnumbered by the rebels, so they had to capture the city gate first and use it as a defensive stronghold against the remaining Liangzhou rebels to compensate for the numerical disadvantage.

"Who is currently defending Liangzhou City?"

"Unclear. Most of the Liangzhou rebels are veteran generals we’ve encountered before, but it’s said there is a garrison general in Liangzhou who has never shown himself."

Ying Fusheng’s expression turned serious. It could only be Pei Yi.

That meant the Liangzhou rebels were now divided into three groups: one trapped in Nanshan by Qi Hanzhou, one that attacked the empty Imperial camp and was likely now returning, and the remaining rebels inside the city.

Qi Hanzhou and General Lu must capture Liangzhou before the rebel force that attacked the empty camp returns to defend the city... The plan to set the mountain on fire was likely a backup move by the secret faction.

Ying Fusheng’s heart tightened as he immediately looked at Wu Lao: "Is there anywhere in this mountain that can catch fire?"

Before Wu Lao could answer, one of the Imperial soldiers replied: "Yes! Near the Liangzhou River!"

Everyone looked at Ying Fusheng, who had already mounted his horse. "Do you know who commanded the attack on our camp?"

Hidden dangers lurked within the mountains of Nanshan.

Outside Liangzhou City, the Imperial Army that had charged out of Nanshan arrived at the city gates. The Liangzhou rebels had not expected the confusing battle commands to throw them into disarray, allowing the Imperial Army a chance to strike the south gate of Liangzhou. The empty city tactic had bought the Imperial Army time to attack. As General Lu led the advance, grappling hooks latched onto the city walls, and arrows filled the sky like a storm.

If there were tens of thousands of elite troops, the Imperial Army might not have succeeded in the assault.

But the south gate was guarded by fewer than three thousand elite rebels, who could not withstand this fierce assault. When the first Imperial soldier leaped onto the wall, the defending rebels panicked. Before they could sound the horn to call for reinforcements, the Imperial Army’s deceptive horns sounded again from afar. In that brief time, more and more soldiers scaled the wall and entered the city. Eventually, the south gate of Liangzhou was opened from within—

The city gate had been breached!

"After entering, seal the gate! First squad, follow me to seize the north gate; the rest, head for the military camp!" General Lu shouted.

As the city fell, horns sounded again in the distance. General Lu turned and saw torches and smoke—the rebels deceived by the empty city tactic had realized the ruse and were rushing back to defend!

They reacted so quickly.

Ye Xuanjiu exclaimed, "Truly worthy of veterans who once fought alongside the late emperor. We must take the north gate as soon as possible!"

If they returned to defend successfully, casualties inside and outside Liangzhou would spiral out of control.

A silent urgency pressed on everyone, but the Imperial Army did not slow its pace.

In moments like this, time was critical. If they could control the north gate, they could still buy time. General Lu looked back and saw a figure vanishing on a fast horse. The young man galloped past enemy lines, leading a squad straight for the Liangzhou military camp—that was Qi Hanzhou.

General Lu felt a surge of adrenaline. With young commanders charging ahead, they had no reason to fall behind. Liangzhou City must be taken!

Inside Liangzhou, the clash between the Imperial Army and the rebels erupted in full force.

When Qi Hanzhou turned, he saw the rebels gathering in the city. Through the Imperial Army’s deliberate diversion, most of Liangzhou’s troops were now outside, leaving only the city’s garrison general inside. He looked up and saw a figure in armor approaching him. Though he couldn’t make out the face, there was a strange familiarity.

As they clashed, an arrow flew from a distance.

Qi Hanzhou dodged sideways, and a spear came at him. As their spears met, he instantly recognized the technique—the Pei family spear style he had known since his childhood, the same style his senior brother, Pei Zhuiyun, had taught him hand over hand, guiding his hands!

He changed his spear's angle, and when he closed in again, he knocked the helmet off his opponent.

Then, a face appeared before him.

Pei Yi’s expression went cold: "Long time no see!"

Qi Hanzhou was stunned.

Pei Yi—his face was much older than when he had last seen him in Youzhou, but the features were unmistakable. Back then, in Youzhou City, so many of the Pei Family Army had been slain, their bodies piled high in pools of blood, horses trampling over them. Some had even disappeared without a trace, leaving only cenotaphs.

Pei Yi was one of them. Qi Hanzhou remembered him as a strategist under his senior brother, Pei Zhuiyun. He had followed General Pei on the northern expedition and, after the general’s death, stayed with the Pei Family Army to defend Youzhou, becoming the strategist for General Pei’s son, Pei Zhuiyun, and held the city for five years.

Qi Hanzhou’s long-buried memories suddenly surged. The sounds of battle in Liangzhou seemed to drag him back to that night in Youzhou.

To this day, he still didn’t know what had happened that night. Before it all, it had been an ordinary evening for him. His senior brother had told him that barbarians were invading, the urgent report had reached the nearest garrison post, and reinforcements would arrive soon.

Young Qi Hanzhou didn’t understand. He thought his senior brother was invincible as always, that life would go on, and that by morning, the sun would rise over Youzhou as usual.

But that night, a horn pierced the streets of Youzhou. The people were still asleep, and without a sound, the city gates were breached. The sound of horse hooves flooded every corner of Youzhou. Flames consumed half the city. He was pushed by his senior brother’s trusted men into a dark room in the mansion, and a blood-soaked man told him not to come out, to wait for reinforcements.

But that night, no reinforcements came. The city was littered with corpses. The barbarians’ horses trampled over the dead, fire consumed half of Youzhou. The soldiers and civilians defending the city never saw reinforcements that night. In the years that followed, he replayed that night countless times, wondering why the reinforcements hadn’t come, why the city had fallen... until now, when he saw Pei Yi.

But why was he here now...

Qi Hanzhou was momentarily distracted. Pei Yi’s spear flew toward his face. At the critical moment, a falcon’s cry in the air snapped him back to reality. He drew the sword from his waist, blocked the incoming spear, leaning back over his horse's rump.

He quickly regrouped his defense, locking the spear tip with his sword. Using his core strength, he sent Pei Yi’s spear flying away! Pei Yi’s eyes showed surprise, but with his crippled leg unable to exert force, he had to turn and retreat.

Seeing him about to flee, Qi Hanzhou reached out to capture him.

"Junior General!" Ye Xuanjiu’s voice rang out.

Rebels were gathering inside Liangzhou. Qi Hanzhou saw the enemy troops behind Pei Yi, and further off, he spotted a man. Since the wanted posters from Yingtian had spread across Jiangnan, this man had managed to escape after having his hand crippled and reach Western Shu. He never expected to see him again in Liangzhou.

Fei Xun!

Qi Hanzhou asked: "What about Youzhou back then—"

Pei Yi laughed coldly. "The court knows best what happened in Youzhou."

Qi Hanzhou frowned. No, Pei Yi was the strategist of the Pei Family Army.

Over the years, he had investigated many things. The destruction of Youzhou might have involved the court’s delayed response, but the massacre was definitely not the court’s doing. As a strategist, Pei Yi should have understood that.

The dead from old Youzhou had become the garrison general of Liangzhou, colluding with Fei Xun of the secret faction.

From the northern borders to Western Shu, such a long journey. Pei Yi’s presence suggested one possibility to Qi Hanzhou.

In an instant, boundless hatred surged within him. Qi Hanzhou’s voice was choked with rage: "You were the one who ordered the gates of Youzhou opened that night."

The Pei Family Army were valiant fighters. They had fought countless battles against the Northern Barbarians. His senior brother, Pei Zhuiyun, was a veteran of a hundred battles. A city like Youzhou, even if undermanned, could never have fallen in a single night. So when Ying Fusheng mentioned the secret faction’s plan for a massacre in Jiangnan, Qi Hanzhou had understood, but he always felt one piece was missing.

The northern borders were not like Jiangnan, already infiltrated by the Fei family.

But if there were moles within the Pei Family Army, they wouldn’t need many. Just enough to open the city gate while the main force was defending, plunging the Pei Army into internal and external chaos. The fall of Youzhou that night could only have been the result of collusion between the secret faction and the Northern Barbarians.

"Nonsense! It was clearly the imperial court's delay in military operations that led to the tragedy at Youzhou City. General Pei barely escaped south back then, and when he fled to Liangzhou, he nearly died!" a rebel retorted.

Ye Xuanjiu responded angrily, "Youzhou City is in a strategic location. Even if the court received the urgent report, they couldn't have arrived overnight. Someone deliberately engineered the fall of Youzhou City back then! Have you ever been to the northern border? Have you seen Youzhou City? If not, shut up!"

The rebels fell silent under his roar, while more rebels gathered in the distance.

Just then, someone shouted that Nanshan was on fire. Everyone's heart sank. Qi Hanzhou spun around and saw a plume of smoke rising from Nanshan.

Both those on the walls of Liangzhou City and the approaching rebels saw it. General Lu, who was fighting for the north gate, his expression changed. They had sent men to prevent this—how could Nanshan still be burning?

"Send someone to check the situation!" General Lu looked toward the military camp. Qi Hanzhou better not be in trouble!

Inside the camp, someone among the rebels shouted.

"The imperial army is treacherous! They set the mountain on fire!"

This cry stirred up the rebels in Liangzhou City. They had risen in revolt because of oppression from the court and prefectures. Some were homeless, others had endured years of humiliation. Now that Western Shu was showing promise, if they could hold Liangzhou and repel the imperial army... there might be a turning point.

Pei Yi immediately looked at Fei Xun.

Fei Xun gave him a calming look. This fire came at the perfect time. Youzhou was a northern border matter, but in Liangzhou, it was different. Liangzhou was a key point in Western Shu, affecting countless people in the region. The attempt to massacre Huaizhou had been thwarted by Ying Fusheng, but burning Nanshan in Liangzhou would still serve their purpose.

Now that northern Western Shu was hard to reclaim, they needed an excuse to shatter the court's facade of "disaster relief" and enable other rebels in southern Western Shu to attack Jiangling. The court thought occupying northern Western Shu would stabilize things—how naive they were. Jiangling Pass was easy to defend, but with overwhelming force, it could still be taken!

The rebels' anger was stoked. The earlier emotions stirred by Youzhou City disappeared.

What could be more real than seeing it yourself? The court had caused the Youzhou massacre back then, and now they wanted to do the same to Liangzhou!

Few troops remained in the camp. Qi Hanzhou ordered his men to surround the camp and then moved to capture Pei Yi. Several soldiers shielded Pei Yi and Fei Xun as they retreated. Seeing the Liangzhou camp falter, Pei Yi looked in surprise toward the north gate. "No, why hasn't the Liangzhou army returned to defend?"

A soldier rushed in to report that the north gate had fallen to the imperial army, and the rebels outside the city, having split forces to head to Nanshan, didn't have enough troops to attack.

Pei Yi cursed, "If we don't return to defend in time, Liangzhou City will be lost!"

"But there are over ten thousand of our men at Nanshan. If we don't clear a path, what will happen to them?" a soldier beside him asked, bewildered.

The retreating rebels shifted direction. A small unit split off toward Nanshan, where over ten thousand rebels were stationed. If the mountain was set ablaze, they wouldn't escape—it would be a massacre!

"In wartime, orders come first!" Pei Yi said, looking at Qi Hanzhou. With that lady still in Liangzhou City, this place must not fall.

By then, Qi Hanzhou's forces had fully surrounded the rebels. The imperial army encircled half the Liangzhou camp, trapping the rebels inside the city. Forced to fall back, the rebels found themselves cornered. But just as they expected doom, the imperial army stopped advancing after cornering them.

Pei Yi tried to speak again, but a figure flashed by. Before he could react, Qi Hanzhou's sword swept him off his horse. As he hit the ground, imperial soldiers closed in with spears.

"Nobody move!" Qi Hanzhou barked.

Seeing their garrison commander captured, the Liangzhou rebels halted.

"Fight them! They set the mountain on fire!" a rebel shouted. "Old Liang and the others went to Nanshan—they never came out!"

Above, a falcon's cry rang out again. The circling bird descended and landed steadily on Qi Hanzhou's shoulder. Fei Xun sensed something wrong. He looked at the distant smoke plume—it hadn't grown since the start. Realizing the main Liangzhou force had been diverted, he turned toward Nanshan. Damn, it was a trap!

"Advisor Fei, the Liangzhou army outside the city has stopped attacking!" a scout reported.

The rebels inside the city couldn't understand why the outside forces had halted.

Fei Xun's face turned pale as he looked toward the gate nearest the camp. On the city wall stood someone who should have been in Youzhou City. Qi Hanzhou's eyes narrowed when he saw Ying Fusheng appear on the wall. Even though the falcon's cry had hinted at it, he shouldn't have risked coming here!

Ying Fusheng stood there, flanked not only by imperial soldiers but also by two soldiers from Liangzhou.

Wu Lao stood among them. When the rebels arrived at Nanshan after seeing the smoke, they found only the bodies of assassins and Wu Lao. Wu Lao's previous acquaintance with the leading Liangzhou general allowed the two sides to talk.

With the crown prince at the front line, the Liangzhou rebels saw a chance to take him hostage.

It was a huge gamble. The imperial soldiers were on edge, and the Light Garment Guard watched closely, fearing the prince would come to harm.

Ying Fusheng addressed the soldiers inside and outside the city.

"I know you don't trust me, General. But the imperial army has trapped over ten thousand rebels. In war, to achieve victory, you have to use any means necessary—burning mountains, rolling rocks. You know this better than I." Ying Fusheng knew that besides Wu Lao, his identity was key to gaining the ear of this Liangzhou general. "I could threaten you. Over ten thousand elite rebels are trapped in Nanshan Valley. General Liang knows the terrain well. The east wind is rising now. If I set this fire, the whole mountain will burn, and you won't be able to save them."

But the imperial army hadn't acted.

Whether it was the trapped forces at Nanshan or those in Liangzhou City, the imperial army only encircled them. Apart from some casualties, despite the possibility of a full-scale assault, the situation inside the city had exceeded the Liangzhou rebel commander's expectations.

Such restraint in causing casualties meant the imperial army's original intent was not to fight.

The Liangzhou rebel commander held a letter urging surrender and a secret letter. The letter bore the imperial court's official seal—imperial decrees sent to Western Shu over the years, evidence that the prefectures had deceived the people.

The commander was shaken. "What does this mean?"

"Judge for yourself," Ying Fusheng said.

Below, hoofbeats approached. Ye Xuanqi arrived at a gallop and threw two corpses to the ground.

"Those who tried to set the mountain on fire were stopped by us. Recognize these faces?" Ye Xuanqi said. "We showed the other bodies to those outside the city too."

"What?!" The Liangzhou rebels were stunned. These men should have been in the camp—how were they at Nanshan?

Thanks to Chen Xuqiu's medicine, the assassins' faces had not decayed, preserving their features. When the corpses were thrown before them, the rebels immediately recognized them. They had been seen around Advisor Fei—they were from Liangzhou City.

What did the imperial army mean by this? These men set the fire?

"Nonsense! They're trying to throw us off! They killed our people and disguised them as the arsonists!"

Several men in the crowd tried to slip away. Qi Hanzhou, quick as a flash, hurled his sword.

The blade cut through the crowd, sending them scattering. Those were Fei Xun's men. The Light Garment Guard seized them, forced them to their knees, and lifted their clothes, revealing tattoos identical to those on the dead.

Qi Hanzhou dismounted, drew a sword from a nearby soldier, and moved swiftly.

The blade fell, blood flowed, and the poisonous blood corroded the clothes.

"What kind of person carries poison on their body?" Qi Hanzhou looked at the nearby rebels, then glanced at Fei Xun's men. "Back at Youzhou City, the invaders included not only Northern Barbarians but also assassins bearing this tattoo. The relevant records are in the Qi Family Army of the northern border. You don't need to check the Qi family—this is the totem of the former dynasty's imperial clan. Are there any old soldiers in Liangzhou who fought the former dynasty? Do you recognize this totem?"

Fei Xun's face grew paler. As he tried to flee, the imperial soldiers surrounded him.

Former dynasty remnants—every Dayuan soldier knew what that meant.

Among the Liangzhou troops, several veterans were shaken. They hated the court, but they also hated the former dynasty remnants. Fei Xun was one of them? Yet he had provided for Liangzhou all these years—without him, they would have perished long ago...

But the imperial army had no reason to lie. They had already taken Liangzhou City, had control over both Nanshan and the camp. If they wanted to kill, Liangzhou would be littered with corpses... Fei Xun's men were clearly different.

Pei Yi sneered, accusing Qi Hanzhou of twisting the truth.

"He said someone was hunting him," Qi Hanzhou said to the crowd. "Who? Where is the court's arrest warrant? Youzhou City fell in a single night. Everyone in the northern border knows that. You are soldiers too—Youzhou's location makes it nearly impossible to fall in one night."

"Do you claim the court delayed military orders, or that it colluded with the Northern Barbarians?" Qi Hanzhou dismounted, his gaze sharp on Pei Yi. "Did you see what happened later? The emperor personally led campaigns and took multiple cities. Why would the court do that?"

The rebels fell silent. The young ones didn't know the past, only hearsay about the north. The older veterans sensed something wrong. They hated the court, but Qi Hanzhou's words made sense. Pei Yi had done much for Liangzhou—how could he be the one behind the Youzhou incident...

"Go get Old Military Physician Liang. He has been in Liangzhou for many years—he was the one who saved Pei Yi back then!"

At the mention of the old military physician, Pei Yi's expression shifted slightly, and he suddenly turned back to look.

In the distance, some Liangzhou rebel soldiers had already gone to find the veteran generals who knew what really happened. Many of the old Liangzhou soldiers had passed away, leaving only a few veterans in the city. These matters required those present from that era to confront each other on the spot. The rebels still refused to believe it, but what Qi Hanzhou had said was riddled with doubts. How had Youzhou City fallen? And what did Pei Yi say back then?

"And what about the imperial court! What about the court and Western Shu...?" a rebel soldier asked hysterically.

"The imperial court has not abandoned Western Shu!"

Qi Hanzhou's blade was already against Pei Yi's neck, drawing blood.

That shout silenced everyone. Qi Hanzhou held back the hatred inside him, raised his head, and looked up at the people on the wall: "Right now, there are countless people in the imperial court who refuse to abandon Western Shu."

Ying Fusheng stood there, the crown prince himself. He knew better than anyone that his position meant he couldn't come to the front lines, yet he also knew that the rebel soldiers in Liangzhou were filled with resentment. His identity as crown prince was the confidence the imperial court could offer the Liangzhou rebels.

If the imperial court had abandoned Western Shu, it would not have sent troops with grain to deliver disaster relief. If it had abandoned Western Shu, it would not have painstakingly retaken the northern part of Western Shu piece by piece and settled the refugees. If it had abandoned Western Shu, it would not, now that victory was almost certain, be earnestly negotiating with the Liangzhou rebels.

If it had abandoned Western Shu, why would the crown prince personally come to Liangzhou?

His presence here is the best proof that the imperial court has not abandoned Western Shu!