Chapter 254 Traitors in Chaotic Times (30): How to Become a Super Strategist...

Seeing that everyone had received their tasks, Gao Chengfeng, who was a step behind, couldn't help but lean forward and ask in a low voice, "General, you are so wise and powerful, then... where should this humble servant go?"

Song Ce turned to look at him, a faint smile in his eyes, "Chengfeng, this time, you will accompany me and the army into battle!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Chengfeng was overjoyed. He quickly cupped his hands in greeting and proudly replied, "General, this humble general obeys!"

"Alright, go ahead!"

"yes!"

After Song Ce had arranged everything in Pingzhou that night, the generals all got up, took their leave, and departed.

Two days passed in a flash. Before the army set off, although most of them did not understand why the commander-in-chief insisted on doing so, no one came forward to question or inquire about the matter.

After all, Song Ce's undefeated record over the years had already earned him enough respect in the army.

Meanwhile, in Qi, the new capital city...

In recent years, wine and women have gradually eroded Prince Liang's health, and he has lost interest in handling state affairs. Therefore, as his only son, Liang Ziqi naturally came into contact with many confidential matters.

In the study, Liang Ziqi's right hand leisurely wrote, while his left hand slowly slipped into the bodice of the beautiful maid beside him. Just as he was about to take it a step further, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! A terrible thing has occurred!"

Guangbai, the eunuch who had been by his side since childhood, scrambled through the door and rushed in. He stumbled and fell to his knees, his voice trembling as he shrieked.

Liang Ziqi's mood was ruined, and his face immediately darkened. He grabbed a paperweight and threw it at him forcefully. "What kind of behavior is this, all flustered like this? Is the sky falling down or something?"

Guang Bai was hit squarely on the forehead by the paperweight, but dared not flinch. He simply lowered his head even further and stammered, "Your Highness, it's...it's the Dali army! Scouts outside the city report that tens of thousands of Dali troops are heading towards our Qi territory! They're almost a hundred li from Xindu now! Judging from their posture, it seems...it seems..."

"If you dare to play tricks again, I'll kill you! Now tell me, what does it look like?"

"It's like they're going to launch a full-scale attack on my new capital in Qi!" Guang Bai looked terrified, wishing he could bury his head in his chest.

"What did you say?!" Liang Ziqi stood up abruptly, his mocking smile vanishing instantly. He shoved the maidservant away and gritted his teeth as he asked, "The Dali Army? How could it be the Dali Army? Aren't they fighting against Northern Yan right now? How come they still have troops scattered throughout Qi?"

Guangbai lay prostrate on the ground, her voice trembling as she said, "This...this servant doesn't know!"

Liang Ziqi felt a buzzing in his head and staggered back a few steps until his lower back hit the desk, barely managing to stop himself.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

He had always known the strength of the Dali army, but he never imagined that they would dare to recklessly divert some of their forces to attack Qi, even with 100,000 troops from the Northern Yan army pressing in.

This doesn't make sense!

Thinking of this, Liang Ziqi strode up to Guang Bai, grabbed him, and roared, "Where is Father? Quick! Take me to see Father immediately to discuss this matter!"

Guangbai quickly got up to help him, and whispered, "His Highness... he accompanied Consort Li to the imperial palace in the east of the city to admire the chrysanthemums yesterday morning, and he hasn't returned yet!"

"Chrysanthemum viewing? Good heavens, what time is it to go chrysanthemum viewing!" Liang Ziqi was both anxious and angry, and kicked the wooden table hard. "Prepare the horses! Prepare the horses immediately! I'm going to the imperial palace!"

At this time, in the Qi imperial palace.

King Liang leaned back on the soft couch in the palace, lecherously embracing Consort Li, who had recently gained his favor, and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. The low table in front of them was filled with candied fruit, fruit, and wine, and musicians, their clothes half-undone, played softly on their instruments, creating a scene of extravagance.

"Your Highness, look! These are the newly arrived courtesans from all over the land. Look at them, one or two of them, how beautiful their figures are!" Consort Li giggled, gently tapping the musicians in the hall with her slender white fingers, and said in a seductive voice, "You mustn't forget me now that you have new beauties!"

King Liang squinted at the group of courtesans, lazily grabbed Consort Li's delicate hand and kissed it hard, "They are far inferior to you, my darling."

"Oh dear, Your Highness, you're so naughty!"

Consort Li nestled coquettishly into Prince Liang's arms, her fingertips deliberately tickling his chest. Prince Liang was aroused by her alluring demeanor and was about to reach out to undress her to make love when suddenly Liang Ziqi's anxious shouts came from outside the palace.

"Father! Father! Your son has urgent business to discuss with you!"

The man under the Liang King paused, then shouted impatiently, "What urgent matter could you possibly have that requires you to come all the way to the palace to bother my father?"

At this moment, Liang Ziqi disregarded all decorum and rushed in, pushing open the door and urgently saying, "Father! The Dali army is attacking! They're probably only a few dozen miles away from our Xindu city! Father, Father, you must think of something!"

Upon hearing this, the impatience on King Liang's face vanished instantly. He sat bolt upright, exclaiming incredulously, "What? The Dali Army? Song Ce? The Northern Yan's 100,000-strong army is about to press on our border, why would they suddenly come to attack us?"

"Your subject doesn't know either!" Liang Ziqi was sweating profusely with anxiety. "Although our Xindu garrison has 80,000 troops, we suffered a crushing defeat in the last battle against that damned Xiang Wende, and we haven't recovered yet! If, if the Dali army really attacks, I'm afraid we won't be able to withstand it!"

Upon hearing this, King Liang panicked. He grabbed his half-open robe and pointed outside the palace, shouting, "Qi'er, hurry! Quickly convey my orders! Have the city defense battalion immediately close all four gates and dispatch 30,000 elite troops to guard the city gates! Also, have General Liu Qinsang lead 20,000 troops to form ranks 30 li outside the city. They must stop the Dali army!"

Liang Ziqi didn't dare to delay, so he replied "Yes" and turned around and left quickly.

Inside the palace, the musicians and maids were also terrified and knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe. Consort Li was even more pale, clutching Liang Wang's sleeve tightly, tears streaming down her face, she said, "Your Highness, what should we do! If those Dali troops break in, I...I'll die..."

At this moment, King Liang had no intention of showing any mercy to the beautiful woman. With a stern face, he forcefully pushed Consort Li to the ground, shouting, "You wretch! Get out of here!"

Consort Li's fall was quite severe; her lower back slammed into the hem of her robe against the wooden table. Tears streamed down her face from the pain, but she dared not cry out. She could only lead the other women in the hall out, looking rather aggrieved.

On the other side, General Liu Qinsang received the order from the King of Liang and hurriedly led 20,000 soldiers out of the city.

But what he didn't expect was that before the 20,000 Liang soldiers could even form ranks, they were bombarded by the Dali army with a barrage of rockets, traps, catapults, and fire bombs. The Liang army was driven back by the Dali army, utterly powerless to fight back. As a result, not long after the battle began, the Liang soldiers were either killed or fled, and the entire army was in chaos and disorder, with morale completely collapsed.

Thus, the 20,000 Liang soldiers surrendered without posing any obstacle to Song Cefang.

Just as King Liang was hoping that Liu Qinsang could hold off the Dali army, a scout covered in blood came to report that General Liu Qinsang had been captured alive by the Dali army and that the Liang army had suffered a great defeat.

Before this battle, King Liang was already being relentlessly pursued by Xiang Wende, and now tens of thousands of brave and skilled Dali soldiers had arrived... It seems Heaven is determined to destroy him!

Inside the new capital, the Liang King's army, which was already a motley crew, was filled with fear when they heard that General Song Ce, the war god of Dali, had descended like a divine warrior and personally led tens of thousands of troops to attack. Their hands, which were gripping their swords, trembled incessantly, and their hearts were filled with unease.

"I've heard that General Song of the Dali Kingdom is a benevolent commander who never mistreats enemy prisoners!"

"Then tell me, if we surrender to him, can we save our lives?"

"I think it's a good idea. After all, we've all seen what kind of lives the people of Heyang and Pingzhou are living!"

"But...but we are now the soldiers of the King of Liang..."

"Fighting means certain death, but surrender means survival. What do you suggest we choose?"

"That's right! The Dali Army is a legitimate army, and its momentum is unstoppable. These soldiers are just trying to make a living here. Why should they risk their lives for this debauched and incompetent King Liang?"

As the whispers grew louder, finally a emaciated young man, his hands trembling, threw away the broken bow he was holding.

After the first soldier threw down his weapon, the rest of the soldiers followed suit and threw down their weapons as well!

That evening, King Liang hurriedly changed into inconspicuous clothes in the palace, quickly packed the gold and silver treasures in the brocade box, intending to escape in the chaos. He firmly believed that as long as he was alive, he would one day rise again!

Before he could escape the palace, he saw a tall, handsome young general standing in the twilight at the corner of the low wall not far away. Who else could it be but Gao Chengfeng, who had been ordered to guard this place in advance?

"Prince Liang, where are you going?" Gao Chengfeng asked in a deep, authoritative voice.

Upon hearing this, King Liang's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. Leaning tightly against the palace wall behind him, he feigned composure and said, "What... what do you want? I am the ruler of Qi. If you dare to act rashly, my 200,000 Liang soldiers will not spare you!"

Gao Chengfeng drew his sword and approached Prince Liang step by step, saying expressionlessly, "Prince Liang, you are now a prisoner of Dali. Stop using your power to oppress others. You led your troops to occupy Qi, oppressing the people and tyrannizing the country for decades. You deserve this fate!"

King Liang turned deathly pale with fright. Forgetting all about saving face, he knelt on the ground with a thud and begged for mercy in a trembling voice, "General, spare my life! Here, here are rare and precious treasures and jewels. If you're willing to release me, I'll give you all these treasures! And beauties, as many as you want! Please, General, spare my life. Just pretend you've never seen me before, okay?"

Gao Chengfeng sneered, his eyes full of disdain: "So what! You don't think these mere material possessions can bribe me, do you? His Majesty and General Song have been incredibly kind to me. How could I, a dignified man, be seduced by your wealth and beauty!" With that, he waved his hand, and a squad of soldiers instantly surged out from behind him, surrounding the Prince of Liang.

Seeing that begging for mercy was useless, King Liang made a desperate move and suddenly pulled out a jeweled dagger from his sleeve, thrusting it fiercely at Gao Chengfeng!

Gao Chengfeng was, after all, a third-rank general, how could he be injured by such a weak and unsteady drunkard? He immediately dodged to the side, easily avoiding the attack of the King of Liang, and then struck the King of Liang's wrist with the hilt of his sword.

The dagger clattered to the ground. Upon seeing this, the soldiers swarmed forward, pinning the Prince of Liang down and binding him tightly.

"Take him away first and keep him under strict guard!" Gao Chengfeng coldly ordered.

"yes!"

The soldiers shouted in response and dragged the wailing King Liang away from the palace.

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Author's Note: [Peeking while covering face]