"Report—"
"Urgent military news: Chen Huai'an is leading the remaining troops of the Longcheng Polu Army in a rebellion!"
Over three thousand Polu Army cavalry fought a fierce battle with a portion of the vanguard Yunzhou cavalry, holding out at Beichuan. They later fled to the Longshan camp and refused to leave. General Liang Erhu, the commander of the vanguard, urged the General to make a swift decision!
As evening fell, an urgent military dispatch was delivered by messengers from the Yunhui Army on horseback to the army's marching route, and was immediately presented to General Wu Qingyun, the Tiger Might General of the Northwest.
"oh?"
Upon hearing this news, Wu Qingyun's incredibly ugly face remained completely expressionless, as if he had already anticipated all of this.
However, Zhou Wuyang, another deputy general of the Yunhui Army beside him, asked with great interest: "Is the commander of the Polu Army cavalry Pang Xianchu, the garrison commander of Longcheng?"
The messenger, panting heavily, replied, "Reporting to the general, the commander of the Polu Army cavalry is not Pang Xianchu, the garrison commander of Longcheng, but Chen Huai'an, the heir apparent of the Prince of Jin!"
"What?"
The messenger's reply greatly surprised Zhou Wuyang, the deputy general on horseback, who asked again in disbelief:
"Are you sure the commander of the Po Lu Army cavalry is that good-for-nothing Chen Huai'an?"
The messenger replied affirmatively, "Reporting to the general, it is absolutely true. General Liang Erhu, the commander of the vanguard, saw it clearly. The leader of the Polu Army cavalry is indeed Chen Huai'an, the heir apparent of the Prince of Jin."
This surprised even Wu Qingyun, who was leisurely riding his horse forward.
Then, Wu Qingyun waved his riding whip and ordered, "Pass down the order: Commander Liang Erhu of the vanguard is to lead his troops to surround the Longshan camp. Not a single man or horse should be allowed to pass."
"The remaining units of the Yunhui Army should speed up their march and set up camp in the area of Jubeichuan!"
"Understood!"
The messenger immediately obeyed, mounted his horse, and rode away.
Only then did Deputy General Zhou Wuyang spur his horse closer to Wu Qingyun, and say with a disdainful expression:
"General, I never expected that this good-for-nothing Chen Huai'an would dare to lead troops into battle. With his frail, effeminate physique, he dares to don armor and mount a horse. It has truly broadened my horizons!"
Ha ha!
After saying that, Zhou Wuyang didn't forget to laugh loudly, his words and expressions revealing no restraint in his contempt for Chen Huai'an.
Wu Qingyun also thought that Chen Huai'an leading troops into battle was a joke, but as the Northwest Commander-in-Chief, he was considering something deeper.
As is well known, after Prince Chen Polu of Jin was stripped of his military power, Pang Xianchu, the military advisor of Longcheng, was undoubtedly the most capable general among the last eight thousand Polu soldiers.
The consistent impression of the heir apparent, Chen Huai'an, is that he is weak, incompetent, and unfit for important tasks.
Even if the remnants of the Prince of Jin were desperate and rebelled, why did they not use the most capable general, Pang Xianchu, but instead let the heir apparent, Chen Huai'an, who was considered useless by the world, lead the troops?
Something unusual must be going on!
Furthermore, the fact that he had not yet received any news from the vanguard of the Yunhui Army only fueled his suspicions.
Wu Qingyun immediately asked with a solemn expression, "Wu Yang, when was the last time Fengxian and the vanguard reported military intelligence to the central command tent?"
"ah?"
Zhou Wuyang was taken aback at first, then blurted out: "Reporting to the General, it was noon today when the Young General sent someone to report that the vanguard had set up camp in Beichuan and the Young General, along with Deputy General Chang, led 10,000 troops to Longcheng to investigate the military situation."
Wu Qingyun frowned and said, "This is bad! My son Fengxian may be in grave danger!"
"General, what did you say?"
Zhou Wuyang was startled by Wu Qingyun's words, his eyes widening in disbelief as he said, "General, this, this can't be, can it?"
"The young general has practiced martial arts since childhood and is the bravest in the army. He is also accompanied by the seasoned deputy general Chang, who leads 10,000 elite troops. How could the useless Chen Huai'an and a mere 8,000 remnants of the Po Lu Army possibly harm the young general in the slightest?"
Hearing him say that, Wu Qingyun's tense mood relaxed a little, and after thinking about it carefully, it seemed to make sense.
Of course, the claim that the young general practiced martial arts from a young age and was the bravest in the army is just flattery.
Wu Qingyun knew his son's true abilities. It was true that he had practiced martial arts since childhood, but the claim that he was the bravest in the army was nonsense.
However, Wu Qingyun still trusted the abilities of Chang Chenghu, the deputy general who accompanied him.
Although Chang Chenghu might not be able to defeat Pang Xianchu, the most capable fighter in the Po Lu Army, on the battlefield, it wouldn't be difficult for Chang Chenghu to protect Wu Fengxian from Pang Xianchu's command.
The deputy general, Zhou Wuyang, who was standing nearby, quickly noticed the general's worry and hurriedly reassured him, "General, in my opinion, you are overthinking it!"
"General, you should look on the bright side. The young general is temporarily unable to contact the central command tent. Perhaps he is leading the vanguard to kill the remnants of the Po Lu Army and is unable to leave."
"Think about it, the messenger just reported that Chen Huai'an led more than 3,000 Po Lu Army cavalry in a fierce battle with our vanguard Yunzhou cavalry at Beichuan. It is obvious that he wants to lead his troops out of the city to break through the siege. To put it bluntly, Chen Huai'an and the remnants of the Po Lu Army are busy escaping for their lives!"
"In my humble opinion, this precisely demonstrates that it was the young general who led 10,000 elite troops to defeat the enemy in Longcheng, forcing Chen Huai'an to lead his cavalry out of the city to break through the encirclement."
Then, they were intercepted by the arriving Yunzhou cavalry at Jubeichuan. With no hope of breaking out, they led their troops to retreat to the Longshan camp.
At this point, Zhou Wuyang smiled brightly and said, "General, perhaps the young general has already captured Longcheng and is opening the city gates to welcome you in!"
Hahaha!
Upon hearing this, Wu Qingyun burst into laughter, suddenly enlightened.
"If that's the case, then I was indeed overthinking it!"
Zhou Wuyang's "logical" analysis did indeed sound very reasonable and was consistent with the deductions and plans made by Wu Qingyun's strategists when he was ordered to send troops north to conquer Longcheng.
It makes sense, as his 100,000-strong army advanced in three routes, leaving the entire Dragon City completely isolated.
Even if Longcheng still had 8,000 defenders, facing such a certain death situation, their morale would be low and they would be completely powerless. It was only natural that they would be defeated by Wu Fengxian's 10,000 elite Yunhui troops.
For some reason, Wu Qingyun suddenly recalled the words spoken by Liang Erhu, the commander of the vanguard, in the central command tent last night—"Princess Xu Ruoyun, though past her prime, still retains her charm..."
Unbeknownst to them, Wu Qingyun's warhorse seemed to have been suddenly stimulated by something, neighing and galloping forward as if it were having a good time.
Seeing this, Deputy General Zhou Wuyang also spurred his horse and chased after Wu Qingyun.
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), Wu Qingyun and his party finally arrived at Jubeichuan under the moonlight.
At this time, the vanguard soldiers of the Yunhui Army who had arrived earlier had already set up camp here, and Wu Qingyun rode straight to the central command tent.
He dismounted, beaming with pride, and strode into the main tent.
The generals inside the tent heard their voices before they saw them.
"My son Fengxian, why don't you come and pay your respects to your father at once!"
As soon as Wu Qingyun entered the tent, he sensed that something was wrong. The generals did not show any joy or arrogance after a great victory; instead, they had an indescribable look of pity on their faces.
Wu Qingyun's sharp gaze swept across the tent, and the Yunhui Army generals who met his eyes all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
"Young General, I thought I'd be spending the night in Dragon City, haha!" The next second, Vice General Zhou Wuyang walked into the tent with a beaming smile: "Have you heard—"
Zhou Wuyang was about to flatter the young general Wu Fengxian when he suddenly realized that the atmosphere in the tent was not right, and he swallowed the words back down.
"General, this humble general deserves to die! I beg the General to grant my request!"
At this moment, as Wu Qingyun walked along a path that had automatically parted to the left and right of the generals of the Yunhui Army inside the main tent, he suddenly saw a disheveled general covered in blood kneeling in the center of the tent, tearfully begging for forgiveness and death.
Upon closer inspection, this man was none other than Chang Chenghu, the deputy general of the Yunhui Army who accompanied Young General Wu Fengxian on his expedition!
Wu Qingyun's face instantly turned ashen, his already hideous face contorted in a ferocious expression, and he said in an icy tone, "Deputy General Chang, stand up and speak!"
Chang Chenghu dared not get up and remained kneeling, kowtowing frantically to Wu Qingyun.
While kowtowing, he pleaded guilty: "General, I deserve to die! I failed to protect the young general, causing him to fall into Chen Huai'an's trap. I have no face to face you, General. Please grant me death!"
boom!
Wu Qingyun plopped down on the tiger-skin chair in the center of the tent, his two large, copper-bell-sized eyes staring intently at the kneeling deputy general Chang Chenghu.
After a long silence, he asked, word by word, "Chang Chenghu, what did you say? Say it again?"
Chang Chenghu cried out, "General, the young general has been murdered!"
Teng!
Upon hearing this, Wu Qingyun stood up abruptly from the tiger-skin chair, exuding a chilling aura that made the Yunhui Army generals present afraid to even breathe.
Wu Qingyun demanded sharply, "Where is the young general's body?"
Upon hearing this, Chang Chenghu tremblingly presented the head wrapped in a blood-stained white cloth to Wu Qingyun.
In the center of the tent, Wu Qingyun, his face contorted with rage, roared, "Open it!"
Chang Chenghu dared not disobey, and immediately, with trembling hands, carefully removed the blood-stained white cloth wrapped around the head.
The next moment, Wu Fengxian's head, with its eyes wide open in death, appeared in the main tent of the Yunhui Army!
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