Chapter 29

Leng Shouqing understood that his current situation was no longer in his own hands, and finally asked, "Third Prince, could you tell me where Xue Ran and Ying'er are?" The Third Prince simply smiled and didn't speak. Seeing this, Leng Shouqing understood and said, "Then I will take my leave." The Third Prince smiled and said, "General, rest assured, they are well. I will not mistreat them, after all, Xue Ran is my imperial sister." Hearing this, Leng Shouqing sneered inwardly. So what if she's an imperial sister? A person who dares to rebel against even her own father for the throne, what conscience does she have? Leng Shouqing still smiled and said, "Then I can serve the Third Prince with peace of mind." Seeing this man's subtle threat, the Third Prince smiled, waved his hand, and indicated that he could leave.

A few days later, the entire nation was shocked. The once loyal and patriotic General Leng Shouqing had betrayed the court and joined the anti-government force of Guan Haoshan. In the imperial court, the emperor, his face grim, looked at the civil and military officials standing in the hall and sneered, "What a Leng Shouqing! I trusted him so much, yet he has betrayed the country and turned against us. Do any of you ministers have any good suggestions?" The officials, trembling with fear, dared not look at the man on the dragon throne, nor speak. Seeing this, the emperor's expression darkened further. "My ministers, speak up! Weren't you usually so talkative? Now you're all mute! Minister Du, you speak!" "The Prime Minister, Du Yuheng, whose name had been called, carefully stepped forward and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, I have heard that Leng Shouqing has a deputy general, Tu Yimin, who did not betray Leng Shouqing but severed ties with him and led soldiers who refused to betray him to fight against the rebels. Perhaps we can give him an important position and see if he can achieve victory this time." Upon hearing this, the Emperor remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Since that's the case, I'm still not at ease. Do any of my ministers have other candidates?" As soon as he finished speaking, Crown Prince Wang An hurriedly stood up, "Father, I am willing to go." Upon hearing this, the Emperor stood up. The Emperor angrily exclaimed, "No!" The Crown Prince pleaded, "Father, as the Crown Prince, shouldn't I be serving the country and its people? Besides, I'm grown up now; it's time to gain experience. Otherwise, how can I be a good heir apparent? I can't always be under your protection. I hope to protect you and those I care about as you have protected me." The Emperor, moved by his sincere words, said, "But Fengcheng is on the border. Although we annihilated the invading enemy last year, other enemies may come again. Besides, I don't know whether those relocated people are friend or foe. How can I let you take such a risk?" Seeing the Emperor's refusal... The Crown Prince was anxious. His beloved Leng Ying was still in the enemy's hands. If he weren't trapped in the palace, he wouldn't be here worrying. "Father," he said, "I'll go and see for myself whether Yi Min is friend or foe. Besides, I have many skilled warriors around me; how could anyone easily harm me?" Silence fell over the court. After a long while, the Emperor said helplessly, "Then do as the Crown Prince says. General Sun Wei will lead 50,000 elite troops to accompany the Crown Prince to Fengcheng to punish the traitor." Sun Wei stepped forward, knelt, and said, "Your subject obeys!" The Emperor waved wearily, and a eunuch announced loudly, "Court adjourned!"

Since Leng Shouqing joined the Third Prince's forces, the Third Prince, disguised as Guan Haoshan's soldiers, occupied Fengcheng in the suburbs. At this time, Fengcheng was in chaos, with people displaced and the vast majority having fled the city to wander elsewhere. Looking at everything before him, Xi Yimin felt ashamed. If he had protected Xue Ran, this situation would not have occurred, and the people would not have suffered such hardship.

That night, in Xi Yimin's tent, Xi Yimin sat in the main seat, looking at the five generals standing below. He said worriedly, "There are 50,000 rebels in Fengcheng, and I only have 20,000 troops given to me by my adoptive father. How can we possibly win? According to reports from the secret guards, the Third Prince also has rebels in other counties, and we don't know when they will arrive. This will put us in a pincer movement. Therefore, we must dismantle the forces in Fengcheng before the other rebels arrive. Do any of you have a good plan?" Hearing this, Qi Zi, the leader, said, "The enemy outnumbers us. We can only achieve victory by attacking unexpectedly. We can attack during the day and then raid again at night, launching two consecutive attacks." One of the five, a strong man named He Qixiao, retorted, "If we attack during the day, we may not win, and we might suffer countless casualties. How can we have the energy to launch a sneak attack at night?" Gao Yan, a man with an honest appearance and a slightly weaker build, disagreed with He Qixiao's words. "You're already talking such discouraging words before even attacking! This only boosts their morale and diminishes our own. Tomorrow I'll be the vanguard and scout their strength." Hearing Gao Yan's rebuttal, He Qixiao's face darkened. Just as he was about to speak, Qi Ziyue interrupted, "In that case, I'll lead a team tonight to launch a night raid on the rebels. Regardless of whether we win or lose during the day, the plan remains unchanged." Hearing this, Xi Yimin also agreed with Qi Ziyue's idea. "If we fail during the day, the rebels might lower their guard and not expect us to have the energy for a night raid. If we win during the day, we'll demoralize them, and the night raid might be successful. Qi Ziyue will plan the raid route, and it can only be told to the raiding soldiers beforehand to prevent spies. The five generals must not tell anyone about tonight's plan." The five replied in unison, "Yes, General." Seeing that it was late, Xi Yimin said, "Everyone, go back and rest. Ziyue, stay."

"yes"

Qi Ziyue asked, "Does Young Master have any instructions?" Xi Yimin said worriedly, "I'm worried that Xue Ran is suffering under the Third Prince." Qi Ziyue comforted him, "Young Master, at least not now. After all, Madam is his sister, and since his goal has not been achieved, how could he dare to harm a hostage?"

“But I still haven’t found a trace of her, how can I not worry?” After saying this, Qi Ziyue fell silent for a long time, unsure how to answer. Then she heard Xi Yimin ask, “Ziyue, after Fengcheng was occupied, how is Miss Gu’s family?” Hearing this, Qi Ziyue also looked worried and said, “Before Fengcheng was occupied, I went to her house. They had already moved to the capital. I chased after them overnight and secretly followed them for a while. When I saw that they had left this dangerous area, I came back. It’s good that they’ve left this place of trouble; I’m less worried now.” After a long silence, she said, “It’s better this way; we can forget each other in the world.” Hearing her so disheartened, Xi Yimin comforted her, “Perhaps there’s still a chance. After all, you’re married now, and everyone in Fengcheng knows.” Hearing this, Qi Ziyue became even more heartbroken. Seeing this, Xi Yimin stopped comforting her. After all, they were both troubled by love, and he himself was also filled with anxiety. He changed the subject and asked, “Ziyue, have you thought about the route for tomorrow’s night raid?”

“Fengcheng, we are very familiar with each other. We know exactly where to go in and where the weak points are. But the daytime battle may result in heavy losses.”

Xi Yimin laughed and said, "Not necessarily. Tomorrow I will personally go out and fight the rebel leader and take his dog's life first."

The following day at dawn, vanguard Gao Yan led five thousand soldiers directly to the weakest point of Fengcheng's defenses, the west gate. Although the weakest point, it was still guarded by eight thousand rebel troops, with Yimin hidden among them. The vanguard shouted for battle, and the rebel general guarding the west gate appeared on the city gate. The man was burly and intimidating. He cursed, "Damn it, what are you yelling about so early in the morning? Who are you outside the city? State your name, and I'll beat you to a pulp!" Hearing this, Gao Yan's face darkened. He cursed, "You brute! Today, your grandpa will deal with you!" While the two were still exchanging insults, a figure flashed past, directly onto the city wall, and with a single sword thrust to the throat, the rebel leader guarding the gate died instantly. The speed of the attack startled those around him, who quickly raised their weapons to attack the man who had flown up the gate. Seeing this, Gao Yan below shouted, "Soldiers, listen to my command! Fire!" In an instant, arrows soared into the sky. The rebels, reacting quickly, shouted, "Fire! Defend the gate to the death!" The figure flashed again, in the blink of an eye... He arrived at the city gate in an instant, took the life of the rebel guard, and opened the gate. Gao Yan, seeing this, exclaimed in amazement, "Truly an extraordinary man! His martial arts are so high, I've never seen anything like it before. It seems we are destined for victory in this battle! Soldiers, charge!" Amidst the flashing swords and clashing blades, Gao Yan charged into the city, reached the man's side, and shouted, "General, your unpredictable martial arts are beyond my comprehension. I am truly ashamed of my inferiority." The man replied, "Gao Yan, although my martial arts are superb, I am no match for a million-strong army. Therefore, this battle..." "We must rely on our soldiers to fight to the death." Hearing her say this, Gao Yan's morale soared, and he declared with great spirit, "We will follow the general to the death!" The man who had taken the order from the gatekeeper was Xi Yimin. Seeing that half an hour had passed and the rebel army had suffered ninety percent casualties, he hurriedly shouted, "Gao Yan, retreat! Reinforcements may be coming. We cannot linger. The entire army must retreat!" Hearing her words, Gao Yan shouted, "Soldiers, retreat!" In an instant, the soldiers retreated in an orderly fashion, leaving behind only corpses strewn across the field.

In this battle, the rebels suffered 90% casualties, while the relocated civilians suffered 40% casualties. Although they won, they suffered heavy losses.