"General Tu! General Park! The Deputy Commander-in-Chief has issued a strict order: anyone who leaves the pass without authorization will be executed!"

Hearing his subordinates' attempts to dissuade him, Park shoved them aside and shouted, "These bastards are cursing the Empress Dowager and my brother-in-law! Do you know who my brother-in-law is? He's the General's own brother and the Deputy Commander's own brother!"

"I'll kill them; the General and the Deputy Commander won't blame me!"

Tu Wei thought for a moment and said, "Brother Pu is right, let's go!"

Park said, "We'll each take a thousand men and wipe out this bunch of filthy bastards!"

"Walk!"

"kill!"

His subordinates, unable to dissuade him, could only shake their heads.

Tu Wei and Pu Ke acted immediately, each leading a thousand men to break through the pass. The Southern Zhou soldiers who had been cursing them fled in panic, only to be slaughtered in large numbers by the two men.

However, after the two chased out of the pass, several thousand Southern Zhou soldiers suddenly attacked from both sides of the pass, forming a pincer movement against them.

Parker angrily exclaimed, "Why are there so many ambushes?!"

Tu Wei gritted his teeth and said, "There's no use talking about this now, let's break through!"

Park Ke-do: "These brothers..."

Tu interrupted Parker, saying, "We can't worry about them anymore, saving our own lives is the most important thing!"

The two fought fiercely, and just as they were about to break through the encirclement, a group of Southern Zhou archers appeared on both sides and started shooting arrows at them.

At this moment, a figure leaped over, unleashing countless bursts of energy that knocked down the archers. Then, with a swift movement of his blade, he deflected the arrows aimed at the two men.

"General Who Unattached!"

"Enough talk, let's retreat!" Tuo Tiewuhua covered their retreat, allowing them to escape.

Seeing that Tuwei and Puke had succeeded, Tuo Tiewuhua continued forward to cover the retreat of more soldiers. However, the enemy was too numerous, and Tuo Tiewuhua knew that he was powerless to turn the tide. He had no choice but to abandon the soldiers who were further away and go to join Tuwei and Puke.

Tu Wei said, "General Tuo Tie, thank you very much!"

Tuo Tiewuhua said expressionlessly, "If Li Yunqing were here, you two would be dead long ago."

Tu Wei said, "I have no way to repay your life-saving grace!"

Park Ke also said, "If General Tuo Tie needs me in the future, I, Park Ke, will go through fire and water for you..."

Don't make promises you can't keep.

Tuo Tiewu waved his hand and said, "The deputy commander sent me to rescue you, but you have violated military regulations. Do you think you can get past the deputy commander?"

Tu Wei and Pu Ke exchanged a glance, speechless.

Jiangxia Pass.

Council hall.

Zhao Yan sat at the head of the table, surrounded by generals of all ranks, while Tu Wei and Pu Ke knelt in the hall.

No one dared to speak; even their breathing was barely audible.

Tu Wei and Pu Ke were not of high rank, but both of them had very special identities.

One of them was the Empress Dowager's younger brother.

One of them is a relative of the Zhao family.

"What did I, the commander-in-chief, say? You disregard military orders?!"

Zhao Yan let out a thunderous roar.

Upon hearing this, Tu Wei and Pu Ke shuddered.

But Pu Ke still mustered his courage and said, "Reporting to the Deputy Commander, these Southern Zhou bastards insulted the Second Young Master, saying that the Second Young Master is a fool!"

Zhao Yan snorted and said, "Isn't my second brother a fool?"

"this……"

Park was taken aback for a moment, then said, "But we can't let others say that!"

"Don't try to be clever in front of me!"

Zhao Yan slammed his hand on the table and scolded, "Did you really lead the men out to fight for my second brother? Or were you just trying to steal the credit?!"

Tu Wei interjected, "Vice Commander-in-Chief, General Park is absolutely wrong! Those Southern Zhou bastards used extremely offensive language. They not only insulted the Second Young Master, but also the Empress Dowager! They said the Empress Dowager..."

Zhao Yan interrupted Tu Wei, saying, "I know what they are saying."

Tu Weidao exclaimed, "How can this be tolerated?!"

Zhao Yan stood up, walked to Tu Wei, and said, "If the Empress Dowager weren't your sister, could you tolerate this?"

Tu Wei's face turned pale instantly, and he lowered his head.

"Two idiots!"

Zhao Yan kicked Tu Wei to the ground and roared, "Your deaths are no loss, but what about those brothers who went out with you? How innocent were they?"

"Two thousand people!"

"Only eight hundred came back!"

"It's all your fault!"

Seeing Zhao Yan's anger, Tu Wei and Pu Ke prostrated themselves on the ground.

"Vice Commander-in-Chief, please calm down!!"

Zhao Yan waved his hand and said, "There's nothing more to say. My order is clear: take him out and execute him!"

"Deputy Commander, spare my life!"

"Have mercy!"

Tuo Tiewu stepped forward and said, "Vice Commander, although General Tu and General Park made mistakes, they are, after all, of special status..."

Zhao Yan glared at Tuo Tiewuhua and said, "What did I say when the Southern Zhou army started cursing? Whoever disobeys will be executed."

Tuo Tiewuhua leaned closer to Zhao Yan and lowered his voice, saying, "Pu Ke is Pu Youxi's cousin and General Pu Jian's nephew. Tu Wei... is even more so someone the Empress Dowager personally entrusted to the General..."

Zhao Yan said, "I asked you to save them so that you could save more people, not to protect them."

Tuo Tiewuhua said, "What I mean is, why don't we go and tell the General so that he can make a decision?"

Zhao Yan suddenly shouted, "Those who disobey orders will be executed! This is a strict order given to me by the Grand General! If I go to the Grand General for orders at a time like this, how can I command the army? What qualifications do I have to be the deputy commander of an army of 200,000?!"

The author, having removed the plaque, was momentarily speechless.

Zhao Yan pointed at Tu He Pu Ke and angrily said, "These two are greedy for merit and reckless, utterly foolish! Today they can cause more than a thousand people to die with them, next time they can cause more than ten thousand people to perish! What use are such people?"

"The General has given orders, and I have repeatedly reminded them, yet they still dare to disobey orders."

"If we don't kill them, how can we govern the army? Where is our military prestige?!"

"Drag him away!"

"cut!!!"

Upon hearing this, men immediately came and dragged Tu Wei and Pu Ke away.

Pu Ke shouted, "Zhao Yan! You can't kill me! If anyone's going to kill someone, it should be the General! My brother-in-law is your brother, your brother!"

Tu Weidao: "Deputy Commander, outside Jiangxia Pass, Pu Ke and I made great contributions..."

"Shut up!" Zhao Yan suddenly roared, and a burst of energy shot out from his body, like a gust of wind, making Tu Wei and Pu Ke's hair stand on end.

"Tu Wei! Pu Ke! His merits don't outweigh his demerits!"

"Your merits will be rewarded by the General after this battle, and your families will be blessed."

"But today, you must submit to the law!!"

"kill!!!"

After he finished speaking, Tu Wei and Pu Ke were dragged away, and soon the sound of knives and axes being plunged into bones could be heard.

Zhao Yan glanced sternly at the assembled generals and said, “I know what you’re thinking. Killing Tu Wei and Pu Ke will bring a lot of trouble. Pu Ke is fine; it’s a family matter of the Zhao family. But Tu Wei is the Empress Dowager’s brother, which will create a rift between the General and the Empress Dowager.”

"but!"

"Even if the Great General were here today, these two would have to be killed!"

"I, Zhao Yan, am not very talented; I only know two things."

"Obey orders! Military orders are absolute!"

Zhao Yan waved his hand and returned to his seat, saying sternly, "Today, I, the commander-in-chief, will issue another military order: before the Grand General orders us to leave the pass to fight the enemy, anyone who leaves the pass without authorization will have their entire family executed!"