Xue Shen spurred his horse and galloped towards the Northern Rong army camp.
In the woods east of the Northern Rong army camp, his men were waiting in place.
These men were all generals under his father. After his father's death and Emperor Cheng'an's ascension to the throne, they were demoted and dismissed by Emperor Cheng'an for various reasons because they were loyal to the late emperor and had been secretly searching for the truth.
Later, Xue Shen gathered them together, entrusted them with money, and had them secretly raise a group of private soldiers for him.
These generals had fought alongside the late emperor to conquer the land, possessing exceptional skills. The private soldiers they trained were naturally formidable in combat, and these private soldiers were precisely Xue Shen's trump card in this provocation against the Northern Rong.
Seeing him ride over, the leading general stepped forward and asked excitedly, "Your Highness has finally arrived! The Northern Rong army camp is in complete chaos. Is it possible they've already made their move?"
Xue Shen took the sword from his personal guard and shouted, "Follow me to the Northern Rong camp and take the head of the Northern Rong King!"
The soldiers waiting for orders perked up and followed him, spurring their horses toward the Northern Rong army camp.
Spring has arrived, the weather is dry, and with the wind picking up today, the fire in the granary is growing larger and has spread to other parts of the camp. The Northern Rong people are so busy fighting the fire that they've even become lax in their guard.
Xue Shen took the lead and broke through the door before the Northern Rong people could even react.
It wasn't until countless swords, spears, and halberds rained down, and the heads of the Northern Rong soldiers rolled to the ground, that the Northern Rong belatedly realized—the Wei army had attacked.
Caught off guard, the Northern Rong people were put on the defensive and could only flee in panic and disarray.
By the time the Northern Rong King learned of the news and ordered Yelü Hachi to organize a counterattack, Xue Shen had already led his men to the king's tent.
He gripped the sword with one hand, and dripping blood continuously fell from the blade, staining the ground red.
Yelü Hachi saw his expression change repeatedly, and finally could only curse, "Cunning and despicable Wei people!"
Xue Shen chuckled, flicked the blood off his sword, and met the attack with a ferocity more fierce than ever before.
Behind him, countless private soldiers fought fiercely against the Northern Rong people.
Yelü Hachi's eyes turned bloodshot upon seeing this, but he was no match for Xue Shen. In just a few exchanges, Xue Shen cut off one of his arms.
He endured the pain, clutching his severed arm, and retreated. Protected by his trusted confidants, he turned to Yelü Nanxian through gritted teeth and said, "Princess, take the King and retreat first. I will cover the rear!"
Knowing how difficult Xue Shen was to deal with, Yelü Nanxian did not hesitate any longer and immediately entered the royal tent, ordering her personal guards to help the wounded Northern Rong king retreat.
Knowing the situation was critical, the King of Beirong gritted his teeth, stood up, and mounted his horse without the help of his soldiers.
He glanced back at the fiercely fighting Northern Rong army camp, his eyes bloodshot, and said, "One day, I will take Xue Shen's head."
Yelü Nanxian said solemnly, "As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn."
The two quickly retreated under the protection of their personal guards. A scout noticed their movements and reported, "Your Highness, the King of Beirong has escaped!"
Xue Shen looked up and gazed into the distance, seeing the retreat of the Northern Rong King, and the Northern Rong army also retreating one after another.
The Northern Rong people numbered 180,000, but they were overconfident and underestimated their enemy, allowing Xue Shen to launch a successful surprise attack. Countless Northern Rong soldiers were killed or wounded in the fire alone.
Now that their supplies have been burned and the Northern Rong king has fled wounded, the Northern Rong army, which originally had the strength to fight back, has suddenly become a disorganized mess. Although they are numerous and powerful, they can only scatter like rats.
The army capable of following the Northern Rong King in his retreat numbered only tens of thousands.
"Your Highness, should we give chase?" the trusted aide asked upon seeing this.
Xue Shen said, "Don't pursue a desperate enemy."
He pointed the tip of his sword at Yelü Hachi's corpse on the ground and said, "Hang him up, hang him on the flagpole, and go back to the city!"
The generals who were following them were still a little confused: "Are we just going back like this?"
Although they had once served as officials in the court, they were later dismissed for various reasons. Afterwards, they secretly raised and trained private soldiers for Xue Shen, and always hid carefully, not daring to openly appear in front of others.
They were still a little taken aback when Xue Shen suddenly said he wanted to return to the city.
Upon hearing this, Xue Shen smiled and said, "If we take the corpse of the Northern Rong general and tens of thousands of prisoners back with us, even if Emperor Cheng'an is unwilling, he will have to give you a legitimate identity."
Even if Emperor Cheng'an knew these were his private troops, so what? If he didn't want to be despised by the people, and didn't want to admit his weakness and incompetence, he would have no choice but to accept the story arranged for him. Xue Shen not only wanted to force him to acknowledge the legitimate existence of these 30,000 private troops, but also to force him to hand over military power to him.
Thinking about the possible expression on Emperor Cheng'an's face, Xue Shen smiled.
The next day, 30,000 men escorted tens of thousands of prisoners back to the city in a grand procession. The city's garrison was on edge, thinking that the Northern Rong people had come to attack.
Upon closer inspection, however, it became clear that the newcomer was carrying the banner of the Great Wei army.
The guards on the city wall shouted, "Who goes there?!"
Xue Shen rode forward and replied loudly, "Xue Shen was ordered to lead 30,000 soldiers to resist the Northern Rong. Today, we have achieved a great victory, killing the Northern Rong general Yelü Hachi and capturing more than 50,000 Northern Rong soldiers. Now we are returning to the capital to report to the Emperor."
The city gate guards looked incredulous and hurriedly went down the city wall to report to their superiors.
Moments later, the city gates swung open, and the city's garrison commander came out to greet them. However, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the corpse hanging on the flagpole: "What... what is that...?"
"The body of Yelü Hachi".
The general defending the city stumbled. Although he didn't know what had happened, he knew that the King of Qin had made a great contribution, so he hurriedly and politely welcomed the army into the city.
The people, who had been frightened by the Northern Rong people and kept their doors and windows closed for days, heard the stories of the King of Qin's bravery from the returning girls. Today, when they heard commotion outside the city, they all poked their heads out to investigate.
Then they saw Xue Shen and his group, as well as the corpse hanging on the flagpole.
The people did not recognize Yelü Hachi, but they could tolerate the clothing of the Northern Rong people, especially his burly figure, which suggested that he must be an important figure in the Northern Rong army.
In no time, the news that the King of Qin had defeated the Northern Rong people spread throughout the capital like the wind, and the streets and alleys were crowded with people who came out to see the King of Qin after hearing the news.
By the time Emperor Cheng'an learned of the news, Xue Shen was already waiting outside the palace gates with his elite army for an audience.
Emperor Cheng'an turned pale with anger and coughed repeatedly: "That Xue Shen! Not only does he raise a private army, but he also dares to forge an imperial edict to coerce me! If I had known this would happen, I should have been ruthless and killed him to prevent future troubles!"
After saying that, he broke out in another fit of heart-wrenching coughing.
When the chief eunuch Qi Zhong saw that he had coughed up blood, he served him some medicine while advising him, "Your Majesty, please don't get angry anymore. The imperial physician said that Your Majesty's condition cannot be affected by any more emotional fluctuations."
Emperor Cheng'an was panting, and it took him a long time to calm down his cough.
He grabbed Qi Zhong's arm and struggled to his feet, staggering as he walked out: "I will not let him have his way!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
