Chapter 504: Caught in a Beast's Nest
Allan was found by patrolling soldiers three miles away from the military camp.
Because Li Xian had issued a strict order when he was looking for someone, the soldiers patrolling the nearby area had seen Allan's portrait, and she had an exotic face, making her very easy to recognize.
Arlan was found in a coma and no one knew how she came back.
After Li Xian and his trusted subordinates agreed on the plan, they took time out to meet Allan while waiting for preparations to be made elsewhere.
Allan has woken up, but he is still very weak.
Li Xian had heard the military doctor's description of her condition. All five fingers of her left hand were cut off, and she also had some other skin injuries. She had not eaten for at least two days and was extremely weak. It was a blessing that she was able to survive and be found.
Li Xian walked into the tent where Allan was temporarily housed and looked at the woman lying on the bamboo couch. The wound on her hand had been treated and bandaged, but her blue dress had not yet been changed. It was now in tatters and covered with dark bloodstains, mud, and grass debris.
Seeing Li Xian coming in, Allan turned sideways and barely raised his upper body.
Li Xian did not get too close to her, but stood still seven steps away from her. There was no pity in his eyes, nor did he dismiss his attendants. He just confirmed and asked, "Arlan, who took you away that day?"
"General, it's Chang Suining..." Allan's voice was as weak as the wind, and his overly dry lips began to bleed when touched.
Li Xian looked at her and asked, "She was the one who hurt you like this?"
"Yes... She forced me to explain the process of making drugs, and then she had people chop off my fingers one by one..." Allan's voice was still very weak, but the nails of his right hand, which was supported in front of him, were tightly embedded in the gaps of the bamboo couch, and hatred was hidden in his eyes.
Li Xian raised his eyebrows slightly: "So, you told the truth?"
"...Yes." Allan lowered his eyes: "If not, there would be no chance of escaping alive. Allan has not yet avenged his great hatred and does not want to die..."
She looked ashamed but not regretful. She raised her eyes and looked at Li Xian bravely: "Allan leaked something that should not be leaked... Please punish me, General."
She forced herself to sit up, then knelt on the couch with her head down. Her thin body was trembling almost imperceptibly. In Li Xian's eyes, she looked like a wounded little beast.
Such a dangerous little beast, after being injured outside and desperately escaping, still crawled back to him and knelt down to beg him to punish it...
After all, he was the one who trained her, so she should be obedient.
And he knows better than anyone where Allan's lifeline lies - if she wants to "take revenge", she can only continue to rely on him.
This feeling made Li Xian regain some sense of control in this situation, so he looked at Allan with satisfaction, and said without any blame: "Heal your wounds first."
Having said that, he led his men out.
He never approached Allan - he knew Allan's methods, but he still had some doubts about her escape.
But at the moment he didn't have time to investigate and verify it in detail, so it was better to be careful.
When they were outside the tent, Li Xian told his confidant He Shan, "Remember to take her with you when you leave."
If Allan's knife could still be used, it would still be useful at the critical moment. It would be a pity to throw it away.
Hearing Li Xian's footsteps fading away, Allan lay back on the couch exhausted and looked towards the top of the tent - Li Xian seemed a little suspicious of her, but she would always find an opportunity...
At this time, the military doctor asked her if she needed to change clothes. She had some skin injuries on her body that needed to be cleaned and medicated.
Allan nodded and said weakly: "Please ask someone to fetch my suitcase. Thank you..."
The military doctor knew how much Li Xian valued her and quickly gave the instructions.
Due to the complexity of counting food and supplies, when it was getting dark, everything was still being prepared. Li Xian was worried that unfavorable news would come at any time. In order to avoid any changes, he wanted to lead 10,000 cavalry to Yuezhou first, and let the rest of the soldiers follow slowly with food and supplies.
But before leaving, he had to sort out some troubles first to avoid any problems later.
On the military parade ground, when Li Xian and his men were counting the 10,000 cavalrymen, the "trouble" in his eyes came to them first.
Li Xian's large-scale move to gather troops and leave the camp with food and supplies naturally caused confusion among many generals.
About seven or eight people came over and asked about Li Xian's arrangements.
Li Xian had no intention of talking to them: "We have suddenly received a sacred order to change our strategic deployment. This is confidential. You just need to follow the order."
Those people exchanged glances with each other. Some did not ask any more questions, but someone still stepped forward and said with a folded hand: "The battle of Tanzhou has not yet concluded. The deputy commander is not in the camp. The commander suddenly ordered a retreat without any clear instructions. I am afraid it will make the army uneasy!"
Although the marching strategy is confidential, as generals, how can they fight if they don't even know where to go? To be honest, Xiao Min is not here at the moment, and at least half of them have limited trust in Li Xian, which is not enough to support them to follow blindly.
Then two more people stood up and asked Li Xian to give clear instructions on the march.
Li Xian sneered at them and said, "Is it my order that will make the army uneasy, or are you trying to take advantage of the opportunity to disrupt the army's morale?"
The expressions of the three men changed slightly. When they were about to speak again, they heard a soldier coming hurriedly to report that Xiao Min had secretly colluded with the Bian army and had already rebelled. This time he took the opportunity to leave the camp and defect to Tanzhou, but was killed on the way!
There was an uproar all around.
The three generals who stood up were even more shocked - something happened to Deputy Commander Xiao? And he was killed for colluding with the Bian army? ! "Impossible!" One of them said firmly: "Deputy Commander Xiao could never have colluded with the Bian army! There must be something fishy about this matter. How could the commander be so careless and let someone execute him!"
"That's right, General Xiao would never betray us in the middle of a battle!"
“…”
There was also an unbelievable noise around.
Li Xian looked at the generals with sharp eyes: "With irrefutable evidence, they still want to defend the rebels. Isn't this taking advantage of the opportunity to disrupt the morale of the army?"
He raised his hand decisively: "Catch all of Xiao Min's accomplices!"
Li Xian was well prepared, and someone immediately stepped forward to hold down the three generals.
The three men had no idea what was happening. They struggled and said angrily, "Korean Duke has accused us of something we didn't even know about with just a few words. Where is the evidence that can convince everyone?"
Li Xian looked at them with a half-smile: "My words are the evidence."
As for winning the support of the people, that is even simpler. If they refuse to obey, kill them until they do!
Li Xian ordered the three men to be taken to the parade ground and beheaded in public, announcing their "crimes" and ordering all officers of the rank of colonel and above in the army to watch the execution, in the name of "serving as a warning to others."
The three men were forcibly taken to the room and were furious: "Li Xian, you will not end well if you act like this!"
Li Xian pretended not to hear anything and told Yan Chenglu beside him: "Anyone who dares to question or plead for mercy among those watching the execution will be executed as an accomplice!"
Therefore, this execution was also a test of obedience, and it was telling everyone that those who were unwilling to obey would suffer the same fate as those three people.
All the captains and above in the army were quickly summoned. When they suddenly learned that Xiao Min had rebelled and been executed, they felt they were unable to react in time.
Most of them instinctively didn't believe that Xiao Min would betray them, but the incident happened suddenly, and they were in chaos. Some people tried to stand out, but were mostly held back by their comrades.
When marching outside, all orders must be obeyed. The four words "military orders are as heavy as a mountain" doomed this place to be more oppressive than other places. This oppression was absolute and brutal, and in many cases there was no real reason to explain it. Even a questioning word could be instantly charged with violating military orders.
If Xiao Min were still alive, they would still dare to stand up and ask for justice, but now that they heard that Xiao Min was dead, they seemed to have lost their backbone and dared not step forward easily.
But there were still people who chose to stand up and express their dissatisfaction, and not surprisingly, they were all taken to the parade platform to await beheading.
The spread of fear was faster than the plague, and the remaining people were all panicked when they saw this.
Li Xian looked at everyone with a disdainful look: "Is there anyone else who doubts that Xiao Min is a traitor?"
The surroundings suddenly became quiet, and at this moment, a loud voice sounded from behind: "Do you have any evidence for what Lord Han said?"
Anyone who dares to ask for evidence at this time is obviously a stubborn person, and this stubborn person is not someone else -
The captains standing at the back made way for him, many of them with surprised expressions: "Deputy Commander Xiao!"
"Deputy Marshal Xiao is still alive!"
Looking at the person coming, Li Xian frowned suddenly.
He was not surprised that Xiao Min was still alive. He had indeed arranged for Xiao Min to be killed, but no news had been received at this time. The reason why he had people release the news of Xiao Min's execution in advance was just to manipulate the situation and people's hearts.
But to his surprise, Xiao Min actually came back...
No, or rather, the person who left the camp today was not Xiao Min at all!
Xiao Min, escorted by his trusted men, stepped onto the reviewing platform and said loudly, "The Saint has issued an order to investigate and punish Duke Hanguo for causing the plague and to remove him from his position as commander-in-chief. The imperial envoy who will deliver the order is on the way! His gathering of troops this time is actually an act of rebellion. I hope you can make a judgment early to avoid being wrongly accused of being a traitor without knowing it!"
As Xiao Min was speaking, an arrow suddenly shot towards him, but his confidant beside him was prepared and swung his knife to block the arrow.
There was a loud vibration all around.
Li Xian gritted his teeth secretly, and his eyes were full of murderous intent when he looked at Xiao Min - so Xiao Min had known the news a long time ago, and today he was just deliberately creating the illusion of leaving the camp!
Little did he know that this was not entirely true. Xiao Min did not yet know that the imperial envoy was on the way. What he had just said was just nonsense in an attempt to win back people's hearts.
But this nonsense was also supported - his future master had already told him that this time the king would definitely punish Li Xian, so he should be prepared.
Xiao Min has always believed in Chang Suining's words. Today, he realized that Li Xian was suspected of sending him away, so he played along with him and got the answer.
His future lord had already shown him the answer in advance. If he could still watch Li Xian cause chaos in the army, how would he have the face to work for his lord in the future?
Seeing the commotion around him, Li Xian sneered and denied: "The current saint is my own aunt. It is simply nonsense to accuse me of rebellion!"
Xiao Min looked at everyone, suddenly drew his sword, and said in a loud voice: "I will never stop those who insist on following Li Xian in rebellion, but I will never show mercy either!"
He usually treats people peacefully, but once his murderous aura as a general is revealed, it can be very intimidating.
When two people each hold a different view and the truth is temporarily difficult to discern in the eyes of most people, the test becomes who is more popular.
Seeing Xiao Min forcing people to untie the generals who were held on the reviewing platform, some people below began to walk towards Xiao Min and stand still.
More and more officers and soldiers came over. Most of them did not speak, but their attitudes were clear and firm.
Some of them were originally loyal to Xiao Min, but most of them had remained neutral. They were unwilling to take sides in the army, but they knew the truth about the plague. They saw the completely different personalities and styles displayed by Li Xian and Xiao Min in this matter.
Even from the perspective of character, they trust Xiao Min more.
Putting aside the need to discern the truth, under such circumstances, they were unwilling to follow a madman who would do anything to achieve his goal - the other party could not care about the lives of the people of Yuezhou and the sick soldiers, and could naturally use them up and discard them at any time.
Such people, no matter what they do, are not worthy of following.
The hearts of people who were not valued by Li Xian in the past, at this moment, collapsed like earthshaking, visibly cutting off his retreat.
Seeing the number of people standing beside Xiao Min increasing, Li Xian's back teeth were almost broken. He knew that people tend to follow the crowd. If this continued, more people would choose Xiao Min...
Li Xian was forced to give up his last layer of disguise. As he raised his hand, suddenly a dense number of sharp arrows flew from the darkness and stabbed Xiao Min and others.
While Xiao Min and others were resisting, Li Xian ordered his men to charge forward.
Half of the more than 10,000 cavalrymen behind him also defected, but Yan Chenglu had nearly 10,000 soldiers under his command. At this moment, with the instruction of Li Xian, he immediately ordered his men to draw their swords and charge.
Some people also took the initiative to choose to join Li Xian. They did not do so out of trust in Li Xian, but because they were following their long-standing ambitions of being uneasy in this chaotic world and wanted to give it a try.
But the situation was obviously tilted. Xiao Min had already made some arrangements. He quickly had people control the archers who were shooting arrows in secret, and ordered people to quickly form a battle array to stop them.
Yan Chenglu, following Li Xian's orders, led his troops to break through the barrier. While fighting hard, he heard a general on the opposite side shouting, "... Li Xian has already fled. Are you sure you want to delay him and die in vain?"
"General Xiao has ordered that those who turn back now may be given a lighter sentence! Those who insist on following will be executed without mercy!"
These words were spoken to the ordinary soldiers, most of whom were just following the orders of their respective captains, and Xiao Min did not want to cause major civil unrest and casualties.
The news of Li Xian's defeat spread quickly. Amid the chaos of fighting, Yan Chenglu looked back in disbelief, only to see Xiao Min leading his troops in pursuit.
In the brief moment when he turned his head, a knife suddenly pierced his chest.
Yan Chenglu turned his head stiffly, only to see that the person who did it was actually a captain under his command. He was afraid that since the situation was not good, the captain would take his head to atone for his crime.
"Fuck it..." Yan Chenglu gritted his teeth, "They are all beasts...!"
This bunch of damned beasts, they are too beastly... He has fallen into a den of beasts! Yan Chenglu was extremely angry, and he suddenly gathered his strength, using his last bit of strength to cut the captain's neck with a knife. Then he fell to the ground with a plop, staring at the direction where Li Xian fled, and died with his eyes open.
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