Xigong angrily retorted, "Who are you to dare question this commander!"
“Zhang Jundu, if you truly give up resistance now, you will be violating the military law of the Great Song Dynasty, which is decreed by His Majesty the Emperor!”
The moment the emperor was mentioned, Zhang Cai's expression immediately became respectful, his eyes filled with reverence, and the other soldiers did the same.
Although they were commanded by Xigong, thanks to the long-term ideological education by the Political Propaganda Department, they were already absolutely loyal to the emperor.
In the hearts of each of them, the emperor was their spiritual pillar. If the emperor asked them to jump into a fire pit, they wouldn't even flinch.
No one lowered the shields, and the army remained in a state of absolute defense.
Xigong was extremely anxious: "I'm speaking according to military law! As the Commander-in-Chief of the Suzhou Army, I order you to cease resistance!"
"General Zhang, we are His Majesty's men in life and in death! Tonight, we must annihilate all the rebels, or the northern front will be in grave danger!"
With Yue Fei's voice echoing in his ears, Zhang Cai immediately made a decision.
"Commander Xi, please forgive me for being unable to obey your orders. If I were to give up resistance now, it would be a violation of the military law of the Great Song Dynasty and His Majesty the Emperor. Commander Xi, all the soldiers of Suzhou are soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty and soldiers of His Majesty the Emperor. Military law is as solid as a mountain and cannot be violated!"
"Zhang Cai, you bastard!"
Zhang Cai made a firm decision and said, "Keep firing!"
"Forward, vanguard!"
The soldiers at the front, holding shields, advanced, while the crossbowmen behind them continued to fire arrows.
Nori Akira roared, "Kill!"
The two armies quickened their pace, and the front lines clashed first, engaging in close-quarters combat.
Ye Liming kept backing away, clinging tightly to Xigong, grasping at his lifeline.
The time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed quickly, and he did not see any flames shooting into the sky.
Nori Akira clenched his fists, his eyes wide: "How could this be! It can't be!"
Xigong still wouldn't give up trying to persuade Yeli Ming: "Give up, and I'll spare your life!"
"Shut up! With your cowardly face, if I surrendered, you'd probably cut me into a thousand pieces!"
He dragged Xigong toward the city gate.
More and more Song soldiers were entering the city, and they occupied every street in an orderly fashion, blocking all the key intersections.
In such hand-to-hand combat, as long as the commander is capable, the Song soldiers' fighting power is clearly superior to that of the Tangut army. In just one frontal engagement, the situation is quickly brought under control.
Even Ye Liming was surprised; the Song army's fighting strength was getting stronger and stronger.
The Tangut rebels are being pushed back, and more and more Song soldiers in armor are pressing in from all directions.
Half an hour later, almost all the resisting Tangut soldiers were killed, and the streets were piled with corpses.
Ye Liming was surrounded in the middle, with hundreds of crossbow bolts aimed at him; he had no way to escape!
If it weren't for Sigon being in his hands, he would have been riddled with bullets long ago.
"Yeliming, the Song Dynasty has treated you well, yet you dare to betray it!"
Ye Liming laughed loudly, "The victor is king, the loser is villain! I only made one wrong move. I should have listened to Xi Gong and killed Yue Fei!"
"Don't talk nonsense! When did I, the commander, order you to kill Yue Fei?"
"Sigon, you son of a bitch, you're really afraid of death!" Yeli Ming was clearly prepared to die, his face contorted with rage as he said, "I'll take one of you down with me when I die today!"
After saying that, he used a sharp knife to sever Sigon's neck.
Xigong's expression instantly hardened. He struggled to cover his neck with his hands, but his hands were bound. He could only struggle, but blood was gushing out, and he no longer had the strength to struggle.
His mouth was open and moving as if he wanted to say something, and his eyes were wide open, filled with resentment.
Finally, he collapsed to the ground, his body twitched a few times, and then he died.
"Fire the arrows! Kill this traitor!"
At Zhang Cai's command, hundreds of crossbow bolts were fired simultaneously, turning Ye Liming into a pincushion.
The rebellion of the Tangut army in the city was quickly suppressed, and by the middle of the night, almost all the rebels had been executed.
That night, Suzhou City was stained red with blood.
Yue Fei and Zhang Xian fell asleep in the military camp and didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day. They were too exhausted.
After waking up, someone brought me food.
Later, Yue Fei and Zhang Xian were invited to the military camp.
At this time, the military camp contained Zhang Cai, the commander of the left wing army, Sun Huilai, the commander of the right wing army, Gao Hong, the prefect of Suzhou, Zhu Zhen, the transport official, Zhai Xun, the inspector, and other key officials of Suzhou.
When they saw Yue Fei enter, they all stood up and bowed to him.
In fact, officials of their rank did not hate Yue Fei.
Those who truly disliked Yue Fei were the high-ranking figures in the army and some lowly soldiers who felt inferior. On the contrary, they held Yue Fei in high regard, and even if they didn't reach the level of Zhang Cai, they still respected him greatly.
"My lords, I am but a mere constable and would not dare to trouble you."
“Pengju, you’re being too modest. The northern front is in danger. Commander Xi has been killed by a traitor. We are discussing sending reinforcements north and we need you to lead the way.”
Sun Huilai immediately interrupted Zhang Cai: "We cannot send troops without receiving orders from the commander of Xingqing Prefecture!"
Zhang Cai said, "The situation is critical; there can be no mistakes!"
Sun Huilai insisted, "We have just lost our commander-in-chief. It is unacceptable to send reinforcements north now! We must first report this matter to Xingqing Prefecture!"
Yue Fei said, “You are all fine men of the Song Dynasty. Now the northern front is in imminent danger. If Yelü Dashi’s army marches south and penetrates deep into the Hetao region, the consequences will be unimaginable!”
"We haven't received any definite news that Yelü Dashi has arrived. Even if he had, Blackwater City on the northern front has 100,000 troops, so we don't need to send reinforcements immediately!"
"Yelü Dashi dares to rebel against the court; he must have come prepared. We hope that you gentlemen can come to the aid of Blackwater City from the north!"
Everyone fell silent. Although Yue Fei was worthy of respect, sending troops to rescue someone was no small matter.
Zhang Cai stood up and said, "Pengju, I am willing to go north with you. I have 25,000 cavalry under my command, and I am ready to serve you!"
"Zhang Cai! You're insane! Although he is Yue Fei, and I, Sun Huilai, respect him, he's just a captain now!"
"The military situation is urgent, and we can't worry about anything else right now. I will take full responsibility for the consequences. Everyone, stay and hold your posts immediately!"
Silence fell over the tent for a moment.
Inspector Zhai Xun said, "I have the power to supervise, but this is a critical moment for military affairs, and I have no right to interfere. However, I also agree to rush to the aid of the northern front. I am not acting on impulse, but because I trust Yue Pengju!"
Prefect Gao Hong said, "Speed is of the essence in war. If we wait for the order from the commander of Xingqing Prefecture, the situation on the front line may change in an instant, and we may miss the best opportunity to fight."
Sun Hui sighed and said, "Take another five thousand of my men and leave. I'll stay and guard Suzhou. We can't all go."
Yue Fei said, "You all understand the greater good, and I am deeply grateful."
"Pengju, we are here to share His Majesty's burdens. Time is of the essence. I will go and mobilize troops now. I will trouble Zhu Caoguan to help us prepare grain."
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