This small hill is a barren mountain, devoid of any vegetation, only an inexhaustible supply of stones, making it a natural ambush site!
"My lord, should we contact the border for reinforcements and retreat first..."
Li Laosi was eager to seek revenge on the barbarians, but the situation did not allow for it, and it was best to play it safe at this time.
A personal guard was cleaning and applying medicine to the Marquis's wounds. The Marquis seemed to feel no pain at all. Looking down the mountain, he suddenly said, "It's too late! Immediately collect the bodies of our brothers, gather the wounded and dead horses, and prepare to hold out to the death!"
Li Laosi and Mu Xu were somewhat bewildered, but when they turned to look into the distance, their expressions suddenly changed.
Tens of thousands of barbarians rode their warhorses and galloped across the grasslands like the wind, quickly surrounding the hill!
The originally planned pincer attack turned into a trap, with the enemy surrounding them as soon as they crossed the border!
Mu Xu couldn't believe it. "I checked many times, and the barbarian reinforcements were always two thousand strong! Where did they come from?!"
No one responded for a long time, because the truth that could be vaguely guessed was too horrifying for anyone to believe!
Finally, the Marquis spoke up, “The barbarians must have received the news a long time ago and deliberately concealed the number of reinforcements. They only sent out two thousand men to mislead us. And these two thousand men are enough to ambush us here. The rest of the main force will appear last. This is a predicament in which they are bound to win, and we are bound to die.”
"Who leaked the information?" Mu Xu gritted his teeth in hatred, gripping the hilt of his knife in his right hand, ready to seek revenge at any moment.
Li Laosi's expression was complicated as he gazed at the distant, indistinct, towering border. "Is there even a need to ask? We'll detour through the valley to get behind the barbarians and attack them from both sides. This plan is known only to you, me, the Marquis, and Jiang Cheng. Now that the three of us are here, the one left is naturally the traitor!"
Before Mu Xu could respond, an injured captain shouted, "Impossible! General Jiang has followed the Marquis for many years. He has taken care of everything in our camp, from food and drink to toileting, and has never made a mistake."
“I was injured before, and we ran out of medicine. General Jiang gave me all the good medicine he brought from home.”
"I don't believe it, such a good general... impossible!"
The rest of the soldiers also looked doubtful and surprised.
Li Laosi tugged at his clothes, wiped the blood off his knife, and replied, "Whether he's a traitor or not is easy to tell. We were attacked here, and the fighting was so fierce, yet he didn't send reinforcements. It's probably because it's too dark, and he was afraid of falling into a barbarian trap."
"But soon it was completely dawn, and the time we agreed to attack from both sides arrived. Instead of firecrackers as a signal, the barbarians surrounded the place. Even a fool would know we were in danger."
"We'll see what he does then. If he still doesn't send troops, then you shouldn't hold out any hope."
"He's a traitor! A traitor who colluded with foreign powers, betrayed our marching route, and helped the barbarians hide their reinforcements!"
Even if someone still wanted to speak, they shut up after hearing this.
Yes, facts speak for themselves!
Everyone was assigned tasks: some buried their brothers' bodies, some dealt with the horses, some patrolled and stood guard, and some treated the wounded. Everyone got busy.
But no matter what they were busy with, everyone's eyes were unconsciously drawn to the border.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Mu Xu quietly concealed himself and disappeared from the mountaintop.
More and more barbarians gathered at the foot of the mountain, while the border remained as still as a sleeping giant...
Until the barbarians prepared to attack the mountain, everyone's grief and anger erupted!
"Jiang Cheng, you scoundrel!"
"We've been brothers for over a decade, risking our lives together, and he actually betrayed us! That scoundrel, I'll chop him to pieces when I get back!"
"I didn't die at the hands of barbarians, but I'm going to die at the hands of my own people! What a fucking joke!"
Leaving aside the hatred and curses of the people, even within the border regions, many generals were also making a great fuss.
"How did the vanguard get attacked in the valley?"
"Yes, what plan has the Marquis devised? And General Jiang, tell us quickly! We must reinforce the vanguard army immediately!"
"We should have sent troops last night. With such a big commotion, how could things not go wrong!"
Faced with the accusations, complaints, and anxiety of the crowd, Jiang Cheng, sitting in the main seat, remained silent.
It wasn't until everyone sensed something was wrong and looked at him that he stood up and slowly moved aside.
At this moment, an old eunuch slowly emerged from behind the screen, accompanied by two imperial guards.
Is this someone from the palace?!
Everyone was stunned, not knowing when people from Xindu had arrived and entered the military camp!
Jiang Cheng bowed respectfully, and the old eunuch slowly produced the imperial edict and loudly proclaimed, "All soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army, receive this edict!"
Everyone hesitated for a moment, then knelt down.
Jiang Cheng also knelt down, a strange smile playing on his lips...
Mu Xu sneaked into the border camp and saw that the soldiers all had strange expressions and were whispering among themselves, so he guessed that something had changed.
Sure enough, he found a general he knew very well and was secretly pulled into the tent before he could say a word.
"Guard Mu, how is the Marquis? We're frantic! Were they attacked? What are the casualties?"
Mu Xu recounted what had happened last night.
The general stomped his foot in anger, "I knew Jiang Cheng was no good! We were all going to rescue the Marquis just now, but he brought out a eunuch from the new capital. The Emperor has issued a secret decree."
"The entire Northern Expeditionary Army is under Jiang Cheng's command. He orders us to guard the border and forbid anyone from leaving. This is clearly an order for us to watch our lord be bullied by the barbarians! We were just about to discuss this and see what to do!"
Mu Xu thought for a moment and then said, "Now that the imperial decree has been issued, sending troops would be defying the decree. The price would be far too high! Please wait a moment, I will go back and report to the Marquis."
"If the Marquis has made arrangements, I will come to deliver the message. If not, you should remain still and wait for the right opportunity."
"Alright, I'll go tell everyone that the Marquis is safe and sound." The general agreed.
The two quickly separated and went their separate ways.
In less than an hour, Mu Xu returned to Gushan.
More than 10,000 barbarians surrounded Gushan like an iron barrel, but they could only stop ordinary soldiers, not him.
Li Laosi had long noticed Mu Xu's disappearance, and finally, with a sliver of hope, he asked, "How is the border?"
Mu Xu couldn't bear it, but still shook his head.
"Jiang Cheng, accompanied by eunuchs from the palace, received the imperial edict and took control of the border, forbidding anyone from leaving the pass."
The light in Li Laosi's eyes was completely extinguished.
Back then, when their entire village left the mountains, they were chased and killed by barbarians outside the dock. Fortunately, Lord Hou came to their rescue in time, but Jiang Cheng also helped them.
After that, Jiang Cheng stayed by the Marquis's side. When he and Li Dayong joined the army, Jiang Cheng took good care of them.
And every time Suijintan sent them something, Jiang Cheng always received a share.
It can be said that Jiang Cheng is no different from the Li family except that he doesn't have the surname Li!
Anyone can betray you, but Jiang Cheng cannot.
But now that the facts are before us, what exactly is the reason?
Unable to understand, Li Laosi picked up a large rock and smashed it down the mountain!
Today's update is here!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com