Chapter 177 East Palace Reprimand

The battle to defend the city almost killed all the soldiers of Guying City, leaving only two or three hundred people walking around in the camp, which looked quite desolate.

In sharp contrast to this is Yan Shijiu’s Dongyan Camp next to it.

The troops were complete and well-equipped, and everyone had the high-spirited attitude of a brave general ready to fight, which made the soldiers of Guying City feel itchy.

Since the day Yan Shijiu led his troops into Guying City, the Black Scale Cavalry attacked several times.

When the brave and warlike Black Scale Cavalry met Yan Shijiu, it was as if they had met their natural enemy.

Yan Shijiu was good at using military tactics and deploying surprising troops, and he managed to put the Black Scale Cavalry in a difficult position several times.

It is already the Lesser Heat of June, when the temperature is gradually rising.

Although the armor of the Black Scale Cavalry was sharp and strong, it was extremely hot. After being exposed to the sun for a while, the armor would immediately become hot to the touch and could burn a person's skin red, causing them to faint from heatstroke in a moment.

Seizing this weakness, Yan Shijiu launched a massive attack, specifically choosing the hottest days, at noon when the sun was at its highest and even dogs wouldn't go out.

This unconventional sword tactic was very effective and actually pushed the Black Scale Cavalry back to the border.

While most of the borders of the Nan Kingdom were caught in a difficult war situation, the southeastern part where Yan Shijiu was stationed was the first to receive news of the victory in repelling the enemy.

On the other hand, Huo Gannian only had the official position of the patrol commander. Most of the 3,000 infantrymen he borrowed were killed, and the guards of the Huo Gang he brought with him were almost all killed by the black-scale cavalry in the forest.

Apart from four personal guards and hundreds of soldiers defending the city, Huo Gannian had no troops capable of fighting.

In addition, Yan Shijiu has a strong army and it is not the turn of the Huo gang to take the field.

So Huo Gannian wrote a letter to the emperor, recommending himself as a general.

But when the letter entered the Eastern Palace, it fell into oblivion and there was no response.

Every day, the camp in Guying City was quiet and empty, with soldiers boredly basking in the sun and polishing their swords and armor;

In the camp next door, loud trumpet sounds could be heard from time to time, and either the troops were rushing to the battlefield with their iron hooves boiling like boiling water, or they were returning to the camp victoriously, drinking and dancing all night long.

Yan Shijiu led his troops to fight on the battlefield. Every day they would go out in an orderly manner and come back exhausted and disheveled, covered in the thick smell of gunpowder.

Huo Gannian, Ye Yan and others stayed in the tent all day, eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating. They were almost fat and their situation was quite embarrassing.

It was not a pleasant feeling to be left out, and Yan Shijiu knew it very well, so he deliberately only talked to Yun Chen and ignored everyone else.

Every time before leaving the camp, Yan Shijiu would run to the tent door in high spirits and shout, "Xiao Yunyun, I'm going to fight! You wait for me to come back to the camp!"

Every time they returned victorious, Yan Shijiu would drag Yun Chen out to eat and drink to celebrate, and they would raise their glasses and drink in the coach's tent until midnight.

These days, Ye Yan has been looking at Huo Gannian's expression until he felt scared and didn't dare to raise his eyelids.

Bu Yan muttered unhappily, "Damn it! Isn't Yan Shijiu quite good at fighting? Doesn't he have soldiers at his disposal? Wasn't he just given the title of General of the Dawn by the Eastern Palace? Isn't it just that Achen considers him a friend and is willing to give him some face? Damn it, he has some achievements on his shoulders, and he wants to brag about them to everyone in the city! It's really frustrating!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Ye Yan clearly felt the temperature in the tent drop sharply. He looked around at the other people's faces and really wanted to take off his socks and stuff them into Bu Yan's mouth.

Hua Jue was originally eating the ginseng fruit that Yan Shijiu gave to Yun Chen, but suddenly he couldn't eat it anymore. He threw the fruit to the ground and cursed, "Damn Yan Shijiu". After venting his anger, he picked up the fruit, wiped it, and put it back into his mouth.

Yun Chen was adjusting his clothes, preparing to go to Yan Shijiu's tent for the small banquet for the thirty-third time.

Huo Gannian lay on the couch facing inward, without saying a word or moving a muscle.

Ye Yan looked at Yun Chen who was about to "go out on a date", and then looked at Huo Gannian who was emitting a resentful aura, and couldn't help but speak:

"Achen, um... Yan Shijiu always calls you, but you don't have to go every time. Just give him face a few times."

Yun Chen said:

"Today, he not only invited me to dinner, but also asked me to see a newly captured Black Scale Cavalryman. I want to take a closer look at his Black Scale armor. We'll have to meet him someday, and I want to find a flaw in his armor."

Ye Yan was speechless now, but Bu Yan became interested and shouted:

"Can you show me too? Last time, I wrapped the silver thread around the neck of that black-scaled cavalryman, and the tattered armor pierced me, causing blood to ooze out. This thing is so sharp, I'm curious how they wear it."

Yun Chen agreed without a second thought, "Let's go, let's have dinner together, and then go see the Black Scale Armor together. Yan Shijiu is very generous, he won't mind."

Ye Yan shrank his neck and said nothing.

Bu Yan really followed Yun Chen without hesitation. After a few hours, he came back and the first thing he said when he entered the tent was:

"You know what, Yan Nineteen is actually quite nice! Quite kind!"

Ye Yan glanced at Huo Gannian, whose face was already full of dark clouds, and started taking off his socks without saying a word.

In the following time, Buyan began to go in and out with Yunchen.

Moreover, Bu Yan not only went there himself, but also came back to show off to Ye Yan and Hua Jue what delicious food he had eaten in the evening and what interesting things he saw in the Dongyan Army.

One day, when he came back, Buyan brought a book about how to make a fire bomb mechanism.

Ye Yan was quite interested, but unfortunately Bu Yan only brought back the first half of the book, and the second half was still with Yan Shijiu.

So, with Huo Gannian's face almost dripping with ink, Ye Yan also joined the "in and out" team.

All day long, Huo Gannian was the only one left in the tent, sitting there with a sullen face, gnawing on dry biscuits gloomily, while Hua Jue was cursing and gnawing on fruits endlessly beside him.

Ten days later.

When one victory report after another was transmitted from Guying City to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, an order from the Eastern Palace flew back through the victory reports like snowflakes and flew towards Guying City, causing everyone to burst into an uproar.

The Eastern Palace Order reprimanded Huo Gannian for disregarding the law when pursuing Yu Yangji and for rashly going deep into the border.

He also reprimanded Huo Gannian for his procrastination and indecision before the battle, which almost led to the loss of Guying City and heavy casualties among the soldiers.

There were even members of the Xuanjia Army who wrote a letter to impeach Huo Gannian for breaking his promise, borrowing 3,000 infantrymen but not returning them, causing 3,000 soldiers to die in a foreign land.

After this order was issued, the members of the Huo Gang felt ashamed to hold their heads up when walking in and out of Guying City.

The six hundred guards of the Huo Gang who had originally rushed to Guying City to provide assistance were so angry that they changed their route to Yancheng and no longer had to come.

Everyone was angry that Donggong didn't care how much the Huo Gang paid, and how they had shed blood and sacrificed over the years before finally eliminating the Yu Family Party. They didn't even care that Huo Gannian was seriously injured and unconscious for so long, and the first thing he did when he woke up was to lead the troops to defend the city. At the same time, they also felt ashamed and unworthy for Huo Gannian.

"Young Master, why don't we just go back to Kyoto!"

"Why go back to Kyoto? Let's go back to Yancheng directly! No matter whether this Eastern Palace Order was issued by the princess or the prime minister, it's obvious that he is not our master! Young Master, let's go back to our hometown in Yancheng! Concentrate on running the Huo Gang! Don't worry about anything else!"