Chapter 83 Whipping Yuan Xiao: You beast, come and get your beating!

Yuan Xiao held a long sword, its blade stained with blood.

To the astonishment of the crowd, she announced that Wang Langguan had committed the crime of treason. The decision not to open the city gates was intended to delay the enemy's advance.

"I, the Empress, will now slay this traitor to restore morale," Yuan Xiao declared, raising her head.

This scene stunned Yin Weiyong, who had been summoned by Yuan Xiao.

Yin Weiyong's original intention that day was simply to please Yuan Xiao and say a few flattering words to please him.

I never expected Yuan Xiao to be so lacking in self-awareness, believing that he was capable of defeating the enemy.

For this reason, he not only arbitrarily mobilized troops, but also personally beheaded Wang Langguan.

This has really blown up!

If she had known this would be the outcome, Yin Weiyong would never have dared to flatter Yuan Xiao even if she had a hundred times the courage.

Yin Weiyong scrambled off his horse, terrified, his limbs went limp, and he trembled slightly.

Yuan Xiao gave her a disdainful look when he saw her behavior.

"Look at you, so scared and cowering, you're such a coward."

"Yes, yes... I was too timid and embarrassed Your Highness." Yin Weiyong forced a smile and forced apologetic.

At this moment, she was filled with regret. If she had known that the Third Princess Yuan Xiao was such a madwoman, she would never have gone up to her.

A long sword was thrown at Yin Weiyong's feet.

"You stay here with your sword and guard the city. Don't let anyone leave. Kill anyone who comes." Yuan Xiao's words, like a demonic voice, rang out above Yin Weiyong's head.

"Giddy up!" Yuan Xiao led his troops out of the city, leaving Yin Weiyong alone, his face pale, as if he had already foreseen his fate.

A group of military generals led their troops in pursuit, and upon seeing the broken locks on the city gate, their hearts sank.

"Where is the Third Prince?" General Chen asked.

Yin Weiyong said weakly, "We've already left the city..."

General Chen didn't hesitate: "Quickly, the Female Warriors, follow me immediately!"

Zhang Yu advised against it: "General, the enemy may have already set up an ambush outside the city. It would be too dangerous for you to go. Why don't you let me go instead?"

"Given the current situation, only I can bring the Third Prince back. The situation is urgent. Zhang Yu, you lead the troops to defend Ji City and be careful of a large-scale enemy attack. I will go and return quickly."

After giving his instructions, General Chen quickly led his troops to pursue them.

However, the disaster had already occurred, and it was too late to make amends for Yuan Xiao.

Yuan Xiao led two thousand elite cavalrymen out of the city gate, and Wu Ziyuan was overjoyed to see this.

"The Phoenix Army has taken the bait!"

She looked closely and saw that the young general leading the group had an unfamiliar face; she had never seen him before.

Immediately, a quick-witted person reminded Wu Ziyuan, "I've heard that the Third Princess of the Phoenix Kingdom is also in the army. This person's age matches, could he be the Third Princess?"

"If that's the case, then it's an even bigger fish that we can't let go." Wu Ziyuan immediately sent out a message.

When the two sides clashed, Wu Ziyuan deliberately pretended to be defeated by Yuan Xiao, and fled with his remaining troops, leading Yuan Xiao to the riverbank.

Yuan Xiao was about to capture Wu Ziyuan when she escaped. He was unwilling to give up the prize he had in his mouth, so he led his troops in pursuit without thinking.

They chased them all the way to the riverbank. Suddenly, a large ambush force rushed out from nowhere and surrounded the entire cavalry with lightning speed.

Only then did Yuan Xiao realize that he had fallen into a trap.

"Despicable Wujun, you've tricked us!" she roared in fury.

Upon hearing this, the enemy generals exchanged glances and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, you fool, this is war, not a game. A naive girl like you should stay in your mother's arms and drink your milk until you're full!"

"Oh no, I misspoke... Your Highness, you must stay. We need to use you to exchange for a city with the false emperor!"

Jin Yuelun laughed loudly, raised his hand, and ordered his men to seize Yuan Xiao.

Seeing that most of his two thousand elite cavalry had been slaughtered in an instant, Yuan Xiao finally realized the danger. Looking around, he saw only Wu army troops all around him; escape was impossible.

It was at this moment that General Chen led his troops to catch up.

She fought bravely and rescued Yuan Xiao from the chaotic battlefield, but was herself slashed by Jin Yuelun, bleeding profusely, and half of her armor was stained red.

"Ding Ze, you take His Highness and go first. I'll stay behind to cover the rear." General Chen made a decisive decision.

Yuan Xiao was taken away by Ding Ze, and General Chen led his troops in a fighting retreat, and actually managed to rescue him.

However, the cost was heavy casualties among the Youzhou soldiers. General Chen was seriously wounded and unable to fight for a short period of time.

To make matters worse, the enemy seized the opportunity to launch a major offensive. Under the leadership of the enemy general Duan Xuchao, they quickly captured Jicheng. Zhang Yu and his men had no choice but to lead their remaining troops to retreat to Pingcheng.

"The only course of action now is to defend Pingcheng to the death, report to His Majesty, and send a message to the Prince of Qin to request assistance," Zhang Yu said.

...

Yuan Yan led his troops to Pingcheng at breakneck speed.

The atmosphere in the Pingcheng military camp was somber and oppressive, like a volcano about to erupt, with molten lava surging beneath its calm surface.

When General Chen saw Yuan Yan, he refused to be helped by his soldiers and knelt down with great difficulty, tears streaming down his face.

"Your Highness, this old general has failed His Majesty's trust. Losing Ji City is a crime deserving of death!"

The soldiers of Youzhou present knew that this was not General Chen's fault, but seeing the old general pleading for forgiveness, while the real culprit remained hidden behind unscathed, a silent emotion spread through them.

Alas, that third princess is truly a wicked woman!

Yuan Shi and the others who came in with Yuan Yan were also not happy to see this scene.

Yuan Yan had already learned the whole story from the messenger.

Seeing that General Chen was injured and pleading for forgiveness, she glanced around the tent but couldn't find Yuan Xiao. Her suppressed anger flared up again, and she personally went forward to help General Chen up.

"I am fully aware of this matter. The loss of Ji City is not the old general's fault. It was already quite an achievement for the old general to rescue the Third Princess from among thousands of troops. There is no need for him to blame himself too much," Yuan Yan said gently.

"In any case, it was the old general's failure to stop the Third Prince from leading his troops out of the city that led to the current situation."

General Chen has led troops in many years of battles and has never suffered such a great defeat.

"The old general has already submitted a memorial to His Majesty confessing his crimes. If this frail body still has a chance to return to the capital, he will then bare his body before His Majesty to accept punishment," she said sorrowfully.

Those inside the tent couldn't bear to listen anymore.

The system was bursting with frustration: [I'm so angry! Yuan Xiao, that arrogant and incompetent bastard! Host, you fought so hard here, risking your life to protect Yidu. And she just casually threw away a city… Ahhh, Host, I can't take it anymore! Can you please kill this idiot who's holding us back?!]

Yuan Yan's voice was icy: "Where is Yuan Xiao? Tell this beast to come see me."

That said, where is Yuan Xiao now that he's caused such a huge mess?

It turned out that this fellow knew he had caused trouble. And because Jicheng had fallen and Pingcheng was in imminent danger, he was worried that staying here with his soldiers would cost him his life. So he took the remaining personal guards and followers and tried to sneak out of the city at night to escape back to the capital through a side road.

As a result, the patrolling soldiers discovered it and reported it to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu harbored deep resentment towards Yuan Xiao and was unwilling to let her escape. He secretly kept this matter from the seriously injured General Chen, and ordered his men to lock Yuan Xiao and her entourage up in the rear camp and place them under guard.

"Your Highness, I have imprisoned the Third Princess in the rear camp." Zhang Yu bowed without changing his expression, but his words surprised everyone.

When General Chen heard about this, he was taken aback. He was about to ask Zhang Yu when this happened when he saw Yuan Yan nod.

"Very good, bring her here."

...

In the rear camp.

"Let me out right now!"

"I am the Third Princess... If Mother Empress knew how you treated me, she would surely kill you all!" Yuan Xiao was furious while locked up inside.

However, the guards remained silent, completely ignoring her, their eyes filled with suppressed emotions as they looked at Yuan Xiao. No matter how Yuan Xiao threatened or bribed them, they paid no heed.

After an unknown amount of time, someone finally came in, untied her, and took Yuan Xiao away.

Where are you taking me?

Yuan Xiao sensed something was wrong from the soldiers' cold attitude and tried to struggle, but was held down tightly by the leading soldier and forcibly taken into the main tent.

Kneel down!

As soon as she entered the tent, she was kicked hard in the back.

"It's you... Yuan Yan! How dare you hit me!"

Yuan Xiao looked up and saw that the person who had made the move was Yuan Yan. After his initial surprise, he glared at him angrily.

Yuan Yan took a whip from Xue Lang's hand, which he had somehow acquired, and walked towards her.

"Heh, what are you planning? I'm going to beat you up again."

Yuan Xiao shouted, "Yuan Yan, what right do you have to use torture on me? If you dare to do this, I will definitely report you to the Empress Dowager when we return to the capital, and you will be in deep trouble!"

"Hang her up for me." Yuan Yan ignored Yuan Xiao's blustering but cowardly threat and said calmly.

Zhang Yu and the others remained silent. Apart from General Chen, none of the generals in the tent offered any advice; they all watched in silence.

In full view of everyone, Yuan Xiao was hung on the tallest tree in the open space.

Many generals from Youzhou stood to the side, and Yuan Yan specially ordered his soldiers to come and watch as well.

"Yuan Xiao, didn't you just question me about why I hit you? Now I'll tell you."

After Yuan Yan finished speaking, he raised his arm and lashed out at Yuan Xiao violently.

"Ah!!!" Yuan Xiao's miserable scream rang out in response.

"This lash is to punish you for your lack of self-awareness, for insisting on going into battle with the army."

Yuan Xiao forced out the words through gritted teeth, "Yuan Yan, I'll f*** your father!"

"The second lash is for beating the registrar, who killed Wang Langguan. This is an insult to the soldiers who were loyal to their duties."

Upon hearing Wang Langguan's name, some soldiers wept quietly.

The sound of a whip whistling through the air rang out. Yuan Xiao was about to retort that those people deserved it for disobeying orders, but the whip struck her squarely on the mouth.

In an instant, my face and mouth felt a burning pain.

"Ugh...!"

In a daze, Yuan Xiao even tasted a trace of blood, his words muffled as he murmured, "You, you're ruthless... Yuan Yan..."

Yuan Yan sneered: "Yuan Xiao, is this ruthless? Compared to what you've done, this is nothing."

"The next lash is for General Chen, who was implicated because of you."

The whip lashed down in front of him, and Yuan Xiao immediately struggled in excruciating pain, like a fish on a chopping board.

Someone shouted from below, "Well done!"

"And these whips, used to commemorate the souls of the fallen soldiers!"

At this point, Yuan Yan's voice was heavy with sorrow, and he used all his strength when he lashed out with the whip.