Yeli Ming led the Tangut army in a swarm into the commander's mansion, killing all the guards inside.
Xigong roared in fury: "Yeliming, have you gone mad!"
"Commander Xi, I'm not crazy, you're too stupid. If you trusted Yue Fei, act immediately, and I'll be the one dying now!"
"You!" Zhou Can shouted from the side, "Yeli Ming, Commander Xi has treated you well, why did you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ye Liming swung his knife forcefully across his face, splitting it open and severing his eyeballs, causing blood to spurt out.
Zhou Can's body twitched twice before he collapsed to the ground and died a gruesome death.
Xigong's face turned pale: "Do you know that this is treason? Even if you kill me now, there are still 50,000 Song soldiers in the city. You can't leave!"
"Who said I was going to kill you? I only kill useless trash like Zhou Can. You're my last resort!"
“If you don’t kill me, you’ll only have control of the commander’s mansion. How will you then occupy Suzhou?” Xi Gong, a veteran general with a long history of battles, remained remarkably calm in this situation.
"Commander Xi, in a little while, I'll invite you to witness a magnificent bonfire that will illuminate the entire city of Suzhou!"
Xigong's face darkened completely. He knew that Yeliming was going to set fire to the place under the cover of night!
"Ye Liming, I advise you to turn back before it's too late. Even if you occupy Suzhou, how long can you hold out once the armies from Xuanhua Prefecture and Xiping Prefecture arrive?"
"Commander Xi, didn't Yue Fei tell you that the Mongols have already moved south?"
"How could those mere Mongols possibly be a match for the iron army of my Great Song Dynasty!"
"I don't know if Yue Fei told you, but this time Yelü Dashi is personally leading an army of 300,000 south to take the Hetao region. They will arrive in Xingqing Prefecture within half a month!"
Xigong's face grew even paler, as if he had aged twenty years in an instant.
"Even so, our Great Song Dynasty has a wealth of powerful generals. Yelü Dashi is simply throwing an egg against a rock!"
"Hahaha, Commander Xi, the Tanguts in Xingqing Prefecture will be just like me, and the same will be true in Xuanhua Prefecture, Xiping Prefecture, and Heishan Prefecture!"
Xi Shuai's expression completely changed.
Although Yue Fei was of low rank, he was Zhang Cai's idol.
The idol now suggests that he gather all 25,000 people in the left wing of Suzhou City together, and that no one be allowed to sleep tonight.
After Zhang Cai issued his order, it was immediately and strictly carried out.
It must be said that Zhang Cai's army had excellent discipline, strictly adhering to the new military law of the Song Dynasty, and every soldier moved as fast as the wind.
Even though it was cold outside, everyone stood outside like upright cedar trees.
Soldiers are expected to obey absolute orders. Before the military reforms of the Song Dynasty, the discipline of the Song army was very poor, a point that Zhao Huan implemented in the army.
Zhang Cai did a very good job in this regard.
Zhang Cai personally led 5,000 men, jogging all the way, ostensibly for training, but actually running towards the Marshal's Mansion.
Another group ran towards the right flank camp, basically blocking all the main roads.
Sure enough, Zhang Cai noticed something amiss soon after he approached the Marshal's Mansion.
A large number of Tangut soldiers gathered there.
Why are there so many Tangut soldiers near the commander's mansion so late at night?
Zhang Cai immediately shouted, "Shield!"
At his command, the soldiers at the front uniformly placed their shields at the front, forming a solid wall.
At the same time, crossbow bolts were fired from the front, fired by the Tangut soldiers.
Immediately, the soldiers in the second, third, and fourth rows all put up their shields and covered their heads.
"Prepare the crossbows!"
The soldiers from the fifth rank onwards were very skilled at drawing their bows and firing upwards. In an instant, hundreds of arrows flew over the sky and shot towards the Tangut army on the other side.
Upon hearing the screams outside, Nori Akira's previously smug expression immediately changed.
Then one of his trusted men ran in and said, "General, something bad has happened! We've been discovered by a Song army!"
"How could that be? In such a short time, that army would just wander into the commander's mansion for no reason!"
"It's the Left Wing Army!"
Ye Liming angrily slammed the table down: "Quickly, launch an attack! Be quick, don't let the Song army in the city react!"
"yes!"
Xigong said, "Yeliming, surrender, and I will spare your life!"
"Surrender?" Nori Akira sneered. "You're in my hands now, you're my greatest protection!"
"Arrest Xigong and take him out!"
After saying that, Nori Akira turned and walked outside.
"Commander Xi, the Right Wing Army is asleep now, right? I have a suicide squad that has arrived at the Right Wing Army camp. They will set the camp ablaze for you. In less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, flames will be burning over there. Just wait and see the show!"
"Your whereabouts have been discovered, why don't you surrender!"
"It's just a small team that's come; the outcome is still uncertain!"
As they walked out, Yeli Ming was dragged over by Xigong, who was bound hand and foot. The soldiers in the front rows raised their shields, and Yeli Ming shouted, "Who goes there?"
"Zhang Cai!"
"So it was Zhang Jundu. Now that Commander Xi is in my hands, I advise you to stop immediately, or I'll kill him!"
Xigong shouted, "Zhang Cai, stop!"
Zhang Cai immediately ordered the crossbowmen to stop firing.
"Zhang Jundu, I now order you to surrender immediately, or I will kill Xigong!"
"Surrender is impossible!" Zhang Cai's voice was exceptionally loud. "Song soldiers would rather die than surrender. If you want to fight, then fight to the death!"
Ye Liming's face twitched: "Xigong, your general doesn't even care about your own life!"
"Zhang Cai, I order you to surrender!"
"Commander Xi, if our men give up now, they will become meat on the chopping block!"
"That's an order!"
Zhang Cai hesitated. Military orders are no joke. Xigong was his superior. Even if Xigong ordered him to die, he would die. What's more, he was only told not to resist.
"Commander Xi, His Majesty the Emperor has made an oath for the soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty: We are the guardians of the Great Song Dynasty. We will not be saddened by separation, nor will we fear death. We will fight the enemy to the last man, to the last drop of blood, until death do us part!"
"Commander Xi, this is what you always taught us!"
Xigong's face trembled. In his eyes, those bullshit oaths were just for fooling those soldiers. When it came to the critical moment, what was more important than saving one's life?
"Zhang Cai, are you disobeying military orders?!"
"Commander Xi, this humble general dares not!"
"If you dare not, do it now! Otherwise, I will kill you!"
Ye Liming sneered from the side: Xigong is really a coward who fears death. If it weren't for Zhang Cai among his generals, Suzhou City would have been much easier to take.
"Commander Xi, according to the new military law of the Great Song Dynasty, any commander who deserts in the face of battle is guilty of a capital offense and can be executed on the spot by anyone! You are now ordering Zhang Cai to give up resistance, which is tantamount to betraying the enemy in the face of battle, a capital offense!"
Suddenly a voice rang out, very loud and very infectious.
Zhang Cai immediately recognized Yue Fei's voice.
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