Chapter 134 The Defeated Army's Return
The setting sun was like blood, casting long shadows on the beacon towers. Three thousand defeated Daxing guards dragged their weary bodies, listlessly trudging along the gravel on the road towards Daxing.
They went there full of pride and high spirits, but returned like stray dogs.
Leading the way was Commander Wang, the same one who had brought Lin Changning to report. He had a blackened and yellowed strip of cloth wrapped around his shoulder, and his long gun was broken in half. His weathered and tired face showed deep resentment. Most of the border soldiers behind him were wounded. More than 3,000 men went there, but less than half of them returned.
The group helped each other up, and every now and then someone would fall to the ground due to weakness. Commander Wang stopped his troops and led his men to sit down by the roadside to rest. His gaze swept over Zhang Bo, who was unharmed but dejected at the front, and he wished he could devour him alive.
Since the King of Chu took over, Daxing had never suffered such a great defeat. He and several colleagues stopped Zhang Bo and told him it was a trap, but the greedy and reckless Zhang Bo refused to believe them and led his men straight into the trap. Eighty percent of the cavalry guard was lost and forty percent of the infantry were lost before he finally managed to break out with this incompetent commander.
Wang Baihu covered his slightly inflamed wound and closed his eyes, unsure of how to go back to see Qi Rong.
With this incident, Zhang Bo's position is inevitably in jeopardy. However, Daxing is out of food, and Yongning has not been captured. In this situation, it's truly difficult to know what to do.
After resting enough, Commander Wang was helped up by Commander Chen: "Let's go back to Daxing first, and we'll talk about the rest later."
Wang Baihu nodded. The sudden standing made his vision go black for a moment, and he swayed, but Chen Baihu held him tightly so that he didn't fall down.
On the gate of Daxing City, Lin Changning and Qi Rong saw the returning Daxing Guards from afar. Lin Changning stared at Zhang Bo, who was sitting on horseback at the front, and couldn't help but tighten his grip on the hilt of his sword. Zhang Bo had suffered a defeat, and he would definitely lose his position as commander. However, their news was blocked, and the Tartars were gathering in the surrounding area. It was always a worrying situation if Zhang Bo did not step down.
Lin Changning was deep in thought, not even hearing Qi Rong call her several times.
The gate slowly opened below, and the soldiers nearby looked shocked at the miserable state of the army. The medics and soldiers had been waiting in the city for a long time, ready to treat the wounded as soon as the group entered.
A hint of disgust flashed in Qi Rong's eyes as he patted Lin Changning on the back: "Sixth Brother, go down and greet them. After all, he is nominally the commander of Daxing, so we should still be polite."
Lin Changning didn't speak, but then went down from the city wall to greet him. Qi Rong led the way and bowed to Zhang Bo on horseback: "Commander, please come to the tent. We have important matters to discuss."
Zhang Bo looked unwell and waved his hand, saying, "Let me rest first. I haven't slept for five days and I'm exhausted."
Qi Rong looked at Zhang Bo and said in a serious tone, "Commander, there's no time to rest, the military situation is urgent!"
Zhang Bo looked at Qi Rong, who was confronting him head-on, and sneered: "Although I have suffered a defeat, the imperial order has not yet been issued. As long as I am here, I will be in charge of Daxing. It is not up to you, a mere commander, to tell me what to do. I said I want to rest!"
Lin Changning unconsciously touched the hilt of her sword with both hands, her head lowered as if she was considering how likely it was to kill Zhang Bo with one blow. Shi Lang had already been sent away, and Qi Rong would probably protect her. Once Zhang Bo was dead, Qi Rong could become the highest commander on the front line. Thinking about it that way, it wasn't a bad deal.
Qi Rong bowed and stepped back, making way for Zhang Bo without saying a word. He glanced back and saw Lin Changning's hand silently pressing on the hilt of his sword. His heart skipped a beat, and he grabbed Lin Changning's hand. Liu Lang's habit of drawing his sword to kill people at the drop of a hat was not a good thing.
Lin Changning watched Zhang Bo walk away, then turned his head with a hint of regret, only to meet Qi Rong's disapproving gaze: "Sixth Brother, you can't."
Lin Changning shook off Qi Rong's large hand that was holding her wrist, feeling somewhat guilty: "Second Brother? What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Qi Rong shook his head helplessly: "Let's go back to the camp and have Lao Ma and the others come back quickly after they've finished their patrol."
Lin Changning nodded: "Yes, I understand, Second Brother."
At midday, several commanders were in their tents listening to reports from several centurions whose wounds had just been bandaged. After the reports were finished, they all let out a long sigh.
"Why send someone like this? Is there no one else in the court capable of handling this?"
Wang Baihu hesitated and said, "Commander Zhang, I feel that he is not very proficient in military affairs, and he trusts his personal guards quite a bit. Several of us Baihu and I tried to persuade him for a long time that it was a trap, but the commander did not believe us. He insisted that we were cowards and that we were the prince's men so we did not want to see him make a contribution."
Chen Baihu covered his forehead: "Your Highness, what do we do now? We can't take Yongning. Prince Sheng and the others are definitely on guard."
Qi Rong's face darkened: "I sent letters to all the garrisons yesterday, but there has been no reply yet. The Tartars are gathering in the surrounding area. Let's organize our troops first and see how many men are still capable of fighting."
A group of people responded and went down to prepare. Qi Rong covered his face and sat in the main seat. Lin Changning could not see the expression on Qi Rong's face, but felt that Qi Rong and Daxing were like a trapped beast caught in a trap.
Lin Changning didn't go out, but sat in his seat watching Qi Rong. After an unknown amount of time, Qi Rong finally looked up and said in a hoarse voice, "Xiao Liu, come with me to find Zhang Bo."
Lin Changning stood up, nodded silently, and followed Qi Rong out. When they reached the entrance of Zhang Bo's tent, Qi Rong shouted loudly, "Commander! The Tatars have gathered nearly ten thousand troops around Daxing. Please write to the court to request support for Daxing!"
Lin Changning echoed loudly, "Please, Commander, submit a petition to the Imperial Court requesting their support for Daxing!"
A series of clanging and banging sounds came from inside the tent, as if Zhang Bo had thrown something in a fit of anger: "So noisy!"
Zhang Bo got off the bed wearing an overcoat and stormed out. He saw Qi Rong and Lin Changning and seemed to be enraged. He glanced at the two of them and suddenly kicked Lin Changning hard in the chest.
Lin Changning raised an eyebrow, grabbed Zhang Bo's kicking foot with one hand, twisted it, and kicked it back, saying in a calm tone: "Sorry for the command, it was a conditioned reflex."
After saying that, he clasped his hands in a fist, took a step back, and remained silent, clearly showing his shameless attitude of "I'll fight you if you want, what can you do to me?"
Zhang Bo winced in pain and fell to the ground. Several guards rushed to help him up. Zhang Bo groaned and glared fiercely at Lin Changning, yelling, "This is outrageous! This is truly outrageous!!"
Lin Changning clicked his tongue, genuinely finding this man annoying. Sensing the barely suppressed killing intent in Qi Rong's eyes, he swiftly overturned several of Zhang Bo's guards, drew his sword, and pressed it against Zhang Bo's neck. His handsome face, head bowed, held a mixture of mockery and ruthlessness.
"Lord Zhang seems to have misjudged the situation. Please write to the court immediately and request reinforcements!"
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