Chapter 74 The Traitor
When he rode his horse and led his men to the granary, the battle was almost over.
The Tartars' objective was to seize grain, not to attack the city, so they were not very tenacious and began to retreat after losing many soldiers.
Qi Rong led his generals in a fierce pursuit, and anyone who was even slightly slow became a victim of their blades.
Lin Changning led his team along the roads inside the city and happened to come face to face with the Tartars.
Qi Rong shouted, "Lin Changping!! Stop them!!"
The Tartars, their horses laden with grain and those carrying provisions on their backs, followed their leading general and prepared to flee. Lin Changning, leading a hundred-man force, brandished his sword and glared at the approaching general on horseback: "Everyone, form ranks! Kill them all!!!"
After saying that, she spurred her horse forward and charged ahead. The general opposite her was riding a black horse and was almost twice the size of Lin Changning. He was wielding a crescent-shaped broadsword and slashing down at her fiercely.
Lin Changning's phoenix eyes burned with a scorching flame as she directly clashed head-on. The cold light reflected from the blade shone on Lin Changning's face. The two blades collided, producing a crisp metallic clang. Lin Changning bent over to deflect the force from the curved blade, and with a clever move, slashed at the waist and abdomen of the other blade.
The newcomer steered his horse back two steps to dodge Lin Changning's blade. He then slashed at Mo Yun beneath Lin Changning with his curved sword. Lin Changning parried the blade tightly, forcefully pushing it up and then, with a touch of ruthlessness, slashed at the general's neck. The general was no pushover either, using the back of his blade to firmly block Lin Changning's sword. Lin Changning, in a fit of rage, pressed down hard, and the blade was already embedded in the general's shoulder blade.
Suddenly, the general's horse tumbled to the ground with a thud. Seeing the opportunity, Lin Changning swiftly thrust his sword into the general's heart before he could react. The general seemed incredulous, and in his final moments, he raised his curved sword as if to take Lin Changning with him.
Another gust of wind came from the side, and the general's arm suddenly fell to the ground. He turned his head and looked at Qi Rong rushing towards him, then fell down unwillingly.
With their general dead, the rest of the army was in complete disarray; those on horseback fled on horseback, and those on foot took off running.
Seeing that the fleeing Tartar soldiers were still taking their rations even after they had run away, Lin Changning glared at them and was about to give chase.
"My grain!!!"
Qi Rong breathed a sigh of relief, and pursed his lips as he looked at Lin Changning, who seemed to want to tear the Tartars apart and devour them: "Sixth Brother, don't pursue a cornered enemy. Let's go back. There's something fishy about what happened today!"
Lin Changning reined in his horse and turned around, realizing something as he looked into the commander's heavy gaze.
Qi Rong shouted, "Listen! Lead your personal guards to clean up the battlefield. Qi Ming, take stock of the losses! Everyone else, return to camp!"
Upon hearing this, he clasped his hands in acceptance of the order and led a group of men to search for and kill the remaining Tartars along the streets.
Lin Changning and several centurions and chiliarchs followed Qi Rong back to the camp. Qi Rong casually picked up a cloth from the table and wiped his blood-stained hands: "What do you think about tonight's events?"
Commander Zhang spoke first: "My men were on duty at the North Gate tonight. The messenger said that someone set a fire in the inner city. Seven or eight men from the team guarding the North Gate went to help put out the fire, leaving two men to guard the gate. Those two men were killed at the city gate. I saw it. They died with a single blow. The wound was caused by the sword of our garrison."
After speaking, he glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Commander, there is a traitor in the army who took advantage of the chaos to open the city gates and let people in."
As soon as Ma Qianhu finished bandaging his wound, he came in and, upon hearing this, walked over: "Old Zhang is right. When Changping and I closed the gate, the bolt on the gate was still intact. It was definitely opened from the inside."
Lin Changning hesitated for a moment, his mind racing, before finally speaking: "Where are the guards at the watchtowers along the North Gate? None of the four watchtowers are giving warnings? Could it be..."
At this point, Lin Changning looked at Zhang Qianhu and asked, "Have the guards on duty at the watchtower returned tonight?"
Commander Zhang sighed and shook his head: "No, I've already sent people to look for them."
The others also fell silent. With such a commotion in the city, they hadn't returned; it seemed these people were unlikely to come back.
But how could an attack go completely unnoticed? Unless, these people were already on the watchtower. Lin Changning paused for a moment and asked again, "Was anyone delivering anything to the north gate tonight?"
Commander Zhang suddenly slapped his forehead: "I've got it!! Tonight, a soldier said that today is the bonfire festival, and the commander gave the men on the watchtower and those on duty three ounces of beef and two jin of good wine!!"
Commander Zhang added, "That's not right. I told them they could only drink after their shifts were over! They've all been put away!"
Lin Changning's eyes were unfathomable: "Where's the meat?"
Qi Rong slammed his fist on the table, his eyes blazing with anger: "Zhang Hongshi! I'm asking you, what is the twentieth rule of military discipline?!"
Commander Zhang knelt down with a thud, lamenting, "On duty, one must not drink alcohol or touch food of unknown origin!!"
A group of people knelt down one after another. Lin Changning was stunned for a moment before Ma Qianhu grabbed him and made him kneel down: "Hey, don't stand there. The commander is in a bad mood. Be careful you get punished!"
Qi Rong rubbed his temples, looked at the group of men and Lin Changning mixed in among them, and said coldly, "Lin Changning! What's the punishment for violating military discipline?!"
"Punish her if you will, why are you calling her out?" Lin Changning replied loudly, "Reporting to command! Determine the punishment based on the damage: one hundred strokes of the cane! Imprisonment!"
Then Lin Changning's voice trailed off: "Beheading as a public spectacle..."
Seeing Zhang Qianhu trembling and not daring to raise his head, and glancing furtively at Qi Rong's icy face, Lin Changning silently pleaded, "Commander, I believe Zhang Qianhu deserves to be flogged, but the most crucial thing right now is to find the traitor who delivered the goods..."
Qi Rong remained silent for a moment before speaking coldly: "Commander Zhang's negligence in military discipline led to the theft of supplies, and the fate of those on duty is unknown. Today, he is demoted to centurion and given eighty strokes of the cane! Now, assemble the entire army. Centurion Zhang, you look carefully and see who exactly sent you the food!"
Commander Zhang, no, he's now a centurion, bowed his head to the ground and muttered, "Your Excellency obeys!"
After saying this, the group left. Zhang Baihu came out of the tent, breathed a sigh of relief, and called out to Lin Changning, wiping the sweat from his forehead: "Thank you for getting me out of trouble today, brother. I will remember this favor."
After saying this, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and went to join the group to identify people.
At this moment, the remaining Tartars returned, dismounted, and walked straight towards Lin Changning. They grabbed Lin Changning's clothes and pulled him away.
Lin Changning stumbled as he was pulled: "What are you doing, Wenzhi?"
Hearing this, he turned to look at Lin Changning, his eyes filled with pity and compassion: "Old Liu is dying, you should come with me quickly."
Lin Changning's face suddenly tightened, his lips pursed, and he looked tense and somewhat incredulous: "Where is it? Take me there!"
Upon hearing this, he mounted his horse and reached out to pull Lin Changning up, saying, "It's not far from the garrison. If we hurry over now, we should still be able to see her one last time."
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