Chapter 796 Clash - Stubborn to the end

With tens of thousands of pursuers behind them, if they continued running like this, all the soldiers would die of exhaustion before they even reached the capital.

Fortunately, the old man had made preparations in advance. Once those things arrived, he was confident that he would defeat the Great Zhou army so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.

"Yes, my lord."

Upon hearing this, the commander-in-chief immediately rode forward and arranged for the cavalry to make preparations ahead of time.

After a casual lunch of dry rations, the old man led tens of thousands of troops into the nearest town to prepare for an ambush.

Yun Yichen's pursuers caught up with him outside the city. Looking at the quiet town, Yun Yichen narrowed his eyes, whispered a few words to Zhong Lin beside him, and then ordered the entire army to set up camp on the spot.

"My lord, they have set up camp outside the town."

A soldier hurried to the small courtyard where the Jin army was temporarily using it as a command post. The old man, who was marking something on the map, looked up when he heard this.

"Have you set up camp?"

He thought the other side would attack them directly, but to his surprise, they set up camp there instead.

Have our cavalry returned?

Even if Yun Yichen and his group didn't make a move, the old man couldn't stay here indefinitely. Putting aside everything else, just the food supply for hundreds of thousands of people alone would wear them down to death.

Upon hearing this, the soldier replied, "We're back. The general has already made arrangements."

The old man nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, trusting his beloved general. "Have him prepare to report to me later."

A major battle was about to break out. Emperor Wei, along with General Song, followed closely behind the Ji family army and stationed themselves outside the town. Just as they were about to rest, Yun Yichen sent someone to invite them over.

General Song had been following the orders of Emperor Wei these past few days, so when he heard the messenger say that Yun Yichen wanted Emperor Wei to come over, General Song's face clearly showed displeasure.

"Although we are now in the Great Zhou, His Majesty is still the ruler of a country. We are doing everything we can to help him, yet Yun Yichen dares to be so disrespectful to His Majesty."

Seeing General Song's indignant expression, Emperor Wei couldn't help but smile.

"General, there's no need to be angry. I suppose Yichen has something to discuss with you. Why don't we go and take a look?"

The emperor's words made General Song even more unhappy, but since the emperor was the ruler and he was the subject, he could only suppress his anger for the time being.

Inside Yun Yichen's tent, as soon as the emperor entered, Yun Yichen hurriedly pulled him to the side of the newly laid-out map.

"Your Majesty, there are a few places you would like to take a look at."

It was one thing for Yun Yichen not to bow, but he actually pulled the Emperor Wei along in such an unruly manner.

General Song dared not be angry with the emperor, but he did not have such good patience when he saw Yun Yichen. "The Grand Secretary has such a big air about him. He even acts so wantonly in front of our Emperor. Could it be that His Majesty of Great Zhou has spoiled you too much?"

General Song's sudden outburst startled everyone present, and then they all burst into laughter.

"It seems General Song has quite a few grievances against me!"

As Yun Yichen spoke, he glanced at Bai Moqin, who was fiddling with the map. Bai Moqin was taken aback, put down the small flag in her hand, and slowly walked to Yun Yichen's side.

"Alright, brother, stop provoking General Song, or he might really have a problem with you."

Bai Moqin's words completely baffled General Song. He glanced at Yun Yichen, then at the Emperor, and couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what do you mean by that? I don't understand."

Bai Moqin didn't beat around the bush and directly explained Yun Yichen's identity, which immediately surprised General Song.

Looking back at Yun Yichen, the former crown prince's face slowly met his, and a sense of familiarity instantly swept through his body.

"This humble general was unaware of your identity, sir. Please forgive me."

General Song, who was in charge of the military power of a country, naturally had an extraordinary demeanor. After learning that Yun Yichen was a descendant of the royal family of Wei, how could he blame him for his rude behavior?

"General, ignorance is no excuse; there's no need to take it to heart."

As Yun Yichen spoke, he walked to the spot where Bai Moqin had been standing. "The great battle is about to begin. Since it will be a three-way battle, we must prepare in advance to avoid accidentally injuring our allies."

Yun Yichen explained his plan to everyone, and then bundles of black cloth were carried to various parts of the army, cut into small pieces, and tied to everyone's arms.

"Speaking of which, I have to thank my second uncle and the deputy general of Wei for this cloth. If it weren't for them using black cloth to disguise a large army, we would have had to find another way."

Ji Wenxuan, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, stood outside the tent, watching the soldiers distributing their hairpins in an orderly manner, and couldn't help but say to Xu Yunzhi.

To be honest, Xu Yunzhi was not in a good mood today. Wei was his maternal grandfather's home, Zhou was his native land, and Jin was his second home. It was inevitable that he would be saddened by the fact that these three families were fighting each other.

Xu Yunzhi nodded, seemingly in low spirits. Seeing this, Ji Wenxuan couldn't help but lean closer to him.

“I know you are reluctant, but with the Emperor of Jin personally overseeing the battle, this fight is unavoidable no matter how unwilling you are. However, I can promise you that as long as the Emperor of Jin is captured, those soldiers will be spared.”

Although Xu Yunzhi knew there was an element of comfort in those words, he still thanked Ji Wenxuan gratefully.

With both armies ready, a battle finally began at the end of the 5-7 PM. It was clear that the one who started the war was the old man again.

"Wei boy, we meet again."

The old man looked at the Wei Emperor standing on his high horse and immediately mocked him.

Given the old Emperor Wei's temperament, he would have been furious and cursed after being spoken to like that, but today he only smiled slightly.

"Hey Xu, so many years have passed, why do you still like to covet things that don't belong to you?"

Apart from a few people who knew the inside story, only the old man could understand what Emperor Wei was saying.

They say you should never bring up something you shouldn't talk about, and the old man narrowed his eyes, suddenly bursting with intense hatred.

"Whether something belongs to you or not, you'll only know at the end."

As the old man spoke, he raised his arm high and then waved it forcefully. At the same time, the horn sounded and the soldiers rushed over quickly.

"Ready for battle!"

The Emperor of Wei shouted, and soon the sounds of fighting, the clash of weapons, and the clamor resounded through the sky.

In the chaotic battle between the three armies, with two armies attacking one, the situation quickly became one-sided, and the number of dead and wounded was increasing. The old man had just taken a life when he turned around and glanced at his soldiers, immediately signaling for a retreat.

Because it was planned in advance, the soldiers also quickly retreated when the old man withdrew.

A signal flare trailing red smoke was launched from the old man's hand. Upon seeing this, the commander-in-chief, standing in the back row, hurriedly shouted to the group of men beside him, "Light it!"

Countless dark, stone-like objects were thrown between the soldiers of the Great Zhou and Wei Kingdoms, but after the fuse burned out, there was no reaction at all.

When the Jin army took out these weapons that belonged only to the Jin state, they were full of confidence, but who could have imagined that they would fail?