Chapter 380 Bullying the King
Xiao Beiheng fled from Leshan in a panic and ran until he could no longer see the road before stopping his mount.
Looking around, he saw that besides Lin Kui, there were also several generals and more than 5,000 cavalrymen following him. They were all his old subordinates who had followed him since he led the Dingbei Army on the Western Expedition. They were all soldiers loyal to him.
Since he led the army to war, although he had occasionally encountered setbacks, he had never suffered such a great defeat. His mind was a mess, and he just rode his black horse and wandered around, not knowing where to go next.
Lin Kui went ahead to scout the way and returned, saying to him, "Your Majesty, it's getting late and cold out in the wilderness. There's a village ahead where our army can stop and rest."
Xiao Beiheng was confused and had no idea what to do, so he nodded in agreement.
The village that Lin Kui referred to was called Xuehe Village, located in Xiliang, northwest of Leshan County. The village had a population of 500 and more than 200 houses.
The villagers were preparing dinner, and smoke rose from every household. The defeated army had been on the run all day, without food or water, and their horses were exhausted. The smell of the delicious food made their eyes red with anger. They rushed in, causing chaos and occupying the villagers' houses. The villagers were forced to leave and find shelter elsewhere. The soldiers ate inside, while the horses were tied outside, munching on grass roots.
The villagers of Xuehe Village had just learned that the emperor was coming, and they personally presented wine and food to him.
Now that Xiao Beiheng had a place to live, his mood finally stabilized a lot, so he asked the head of the village what this place was.
Li Zheng, an old man in his sixties, said, "Your Majesty, this village is called Xuehe Village. It was Queen Meidai's fiefdom, located northwest of Leshan County. Go south onto the main road and you'll reach Zhangwu City."
Xiao Beiheng was stunned for a long moment after hearing this. He called Lin Kui over and whispered in his ear, "I wanted to go back to Zhongzhou, but I ended up going the wrong direction and am almost at Zhangwu."
Lin Kui soothed him, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Enjoy your meal first, and then we can consider the next step."
Xiao Beiheng was starving, so he ordered the soldiers to bring the food and wine the village head had presented. When the soldiers brought it over, he saw three large porcelain bowls and a basin of rice on the flaking tray. The first bowl contained three or four pieces of chicken, the rest of which were potato chunks. The second bowl contained half a bowl of blackened pickled vegetables, and the last bowl contained a bowl of egg drop soup so clear you could see your reflection in it, with two wilted green vegetables floating in it.
"What the hell is this?" Xiao Beiheng angrily slammed the table. "Is this the kind of meal you offer me?"
The village head was frightened and quickly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your Majesty, please forgive me. It's not that I'm being disrespectful, it's just that there's really nothing in this village for Your Majesty to enjoy."
Xiao Beiheng said, "This village is quite large, how is it possible that there is not even some pork, beef or mutton?"
The village head said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, you don't know that this village was once prosperous. If Your Majesty had come then, slaughtering pigs and sheep would have been a piece of cake. Last year, the army of Emperor Yongde's second prince passed through here and plundered the village. Most of us villagers had to flee to Zhangwu to make a living, and we've only been back less than three months."
Xiao Beiheng then recalled the Second Prince's locust-like advance, plundering every village along the way. Thinking that he and the Second Prince were allies at the time, he had no choice but to tell the village head to leave.
Su Mo served him some rice, and he wolfed down two bowls. The remaining food was shared by Lin Kui and Su Mo.
After dinner, Xiao Beiheng and Lin Kui discussed what to do next. Lin Kui suggested, "Your Majesty, we can't keep going west. We should find a way to go back and reunite with Anzhou Governor Su. Governor Su still has 50,000 troops."
Xiao Beiheng thought about his army of over 100,000 being annihilated by Xiao Zhuo, and the shame of defeat surged in his heart. He angrily said, "What can we do with those 50,000?"
Lin Kui knew he was angry, so he tried to appease him, "Your Majesty, please send another decree to Governor Guo of Yuzhou, ordering him to march quickly to join Governor Su. That way, we will have an army of 100,000."
"That old scoundrel Guo Xinyuan swore his loyalty to me, yet he stopped in Zhongzhou and refused to move forward..."
Xiao Beiheng was fuming when he suddenly heard faint cries and shouts from outside the door. Thinking an enemy army was attacking, he quickly stood up and grasped the Yanque Sword. Su Mo, who was inside, also ran out nervously and hugged his arm.
Lin Kui went out to check and returned a short time later, saying, "Your Majesty, the villagers hid some food and drink in the cellar, and the soldiers discovered it. During the dispute, the soldiers accidentally injured a child, and the child's mother is crying."
Xiao Beiheng was furious and said bitterly, "How dare these unruly people deceive me."
He was about to walk out the door with his sword when Su Mo grabbed his arm and said, "Your Majesty, the villagers have suffered greatly from the war, and hiding food is a helpless move. The soldiers accidentally injured the children, and the fault is ours."
Xiao Beiheng ignored Su Mo, shook her off with a shake of his shoulder, and walked out of the yard.
Seeing Xiao Beiheng's rough movements, Su Mo knew something was wrong. She stood up and tried to chase him out the door, but Lin Kui blocked the door and kept saying, "Empress, don't go out."
Lin Kui blocked the door, and Su Mo had no way to get out. She couldn't push anyone out either, so she angrily said, "Lin Kui, how dare you stop me?"
Lin Kui lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, what's going on outside...you'd better not look at it."
As soon as he finished speaking, a scream, seemingly from a man, was heard outside the house. Then, from farther away, another scream, seemingly from a woman, was heard, but it only stopped mid-scream.
After a few more pauses, the whole village suddenly became chaotic. The sounds of swords and guns clashing, people crying, and children wailing all poured into the house through the door that Lin Kui was guarding.
Su Mo took a few steps back, her body trembling as she raised her hand and pointed outside the door, saying, "Bei Heng, he... he's killing someone?"
Lin Kui remained silent and just nodded.
Su Mo's face turned pale and she fell to the ground weakly.
After an unknown amount of time, the noise outside gradually died down. Xiao Beiheng, his face livid, walked into the house, sword slung over his shoulder.
Seeing Su Mo sitting on the ground with a dazed look in her eyes, he stepped forward, pulled Su Mo's hand up and said, "What's wrong with you? Can't stand it anymore?"
Su Mo raised her head and said, "Your Majesty, they are all innocent people, why are you killing them?"
Xiao Beiheng snorted coldly, threw Su Mo's hand away, and said, "They are guilty of deceiving the emperor, so what's wrong with killing them? Besides, if my cavalry can't eat and drink enough, their morale will surely be weakened. How can they protect you and me then?"
Su Mo said nothing, just sat slumped on the ground, watching Xiao Beiheng walk past her and go into the inner room.
She recalled Xiao Beiheng's massacre of a Beidi village. She had questioned him about it before, and he, just as he did now, offered many plausible reasons. For example, the village provided food and fodder for the Beidi army, and if they were kept alive, the Yan army would suffer even more casualties. And, as long as victory was assured, benevolence and righteousness were of little use.
She finally understood that no matter how cruel a person's actions were, they could always find a seemingly reasonable reason. Her stupidity lay in the fact that when Xiao Beiheng used these lies to deceive her, she always chose to believe him and forgive him.
Now Xiao Beiheng was walking step by step towards the abyss. She could not stop him or persuade him, and could only be dragged forward by him.
She just sat there until Lin Kui knelt before her and said, "Empress, you should get up and rest."
Su Mo said, "Lin Kui, why didn't you stop him?"
Lin Kui looked ashamed and said, "Your Majesty, what His Majesty said is reasonable... We have 5,000 people. If we don't rob the villagers of their hidden food, our cavalry will have nothing to eat. If we continue to starve, we will all scatter."
"So you're going to kill people, right?" Su Mo said sarcastically, "This is really the simplest solution."
Lin Kui was a little embarrassed. He turned away and didn't dare look at Su Mo. He said, "Empress, the villagers are unwilling to compromise... They really did bully the emperor first... We have to ensure our own survival first. Sacrificing some innocent people is inevitable. In fact, I also..."
Before he could finish his words, Su Mo interrupted him coldly:
"Stop talking. You and Bei Heng are the same kind of people. In your eyes, no one's life is worth caring about. As long as you can get what you want, you can kill everyone, and you can always find a good reason."
Lin Kui was humiliated by Su Mo's scolding. He was not a shameless person. He knew that Xiao Beiheng killed an entire village just because they had insulted the emperor. This was too cruel.
But then he thought, this village belonged to Xiliang, and they didn't like the Yan court to begin with, so it was no problem to treat them as enemies. Besides, if the army really didn't eat, 5,000 people would be exhausted after a night of hunger. How would they fight if they encountered the enemy?
If the army disperses, how can Lin Kui protect his master, the princess, even if he has eight hands?
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that although Xiao Beiheng's approach was cruel, he was right.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com