The 63rd day of the country’s demise
It was midnight, and the imperial army was still in their dreams.
Suddenly, the sound of fighting outside the camp shook the sky.
Many soldiers didn’t even have time to put on their armor.
They hastily grabbed their weapons and rushed out of the tents to meet the enemy.
The attackers were led by a cavalry unit that swiftly broke through the camp.
The officers and soldiers still inside the camp were unable to resist.
The confusion of the night attack, coupled with days of fatigue, led to a disorganized military, unable to even adjust their formation before being scattered by the cavalry.
The outcome was decided in an instant.
Shen Yanzhi had been thinking tirelessly about the siege in the past few days.
Tonight was the first time he closed his eyes, only to be awakened by the sound of battle in the camp.
He quickly picked up his sword and got up, but before he could leave the tent, a bandit was struck down by Chen Qing outside the tent.
Chen Qing quickly handed Shen Yanzhi a common soldier’s armor and said, “Master, the former Crown Prince’s army has launched a night raid with all their forces.
We are powerless to turn the tide. Hurry and change into this outfit. I’ll cover your escape!”
Shen Yanzhi’s face tensed up. “I have eight thousand elite soldiers in my hands. Their few thousand scattered soldiers and mercenaries are nothing to fear. If they dare to come, I will take their heads!”
He pushed Chen Qing away and lifted the tent flap, only to be blinded by the flames outside.
The camp was ablaze, and the bandits were roaring like wild beasts released from their cages.
With the cavalry’s assistance, they were driving the unprepared imperial soldiers back step by step.
Even a layman could see that the situation was irreversible for them.
Shen Yanzhi stood stiffly in front of the tent flap, his eyes reflecting the flames in the camp.
He clenched his fists tightly. “Who was on duty tonight? Why didn’t they sound the alarm as soon as they noticed the enemy attack?”
Chen Qing knew that he was already consumed by unwillingness and anger.
Now was not the time to assign blame.
The Chu army obviously came prepared and wouldn’t give the night watchmen a chance to sound the alarm.
Chen Qing stepped forward and put the small soldier’s armor on Shen Yanzhi’s body. “It’s not the time to talk about this now, Master. You must leave here quickly. If we can preserve our strength, we can always make a comeback.
The former Crown Prince doesn’t know that you have been here these days. If we kill Xue Yan and the Chu army captures their main general, they will not pursue a group of scattered soldiers...”
Chen Qing forcibly pulled Shen Yanzhi out of the tent, and a few guards pressed the bound Xue Yan into the tent.
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Soon, the sound of sharp weapons piercing flesh came from inside.
This was the best way to escape.
Xue Yan had been controlled by Shen Yanzhi these days, and the court didn’t know that he hadn’t gone south yet, but stayed in Qingzhou.
Now that Qingzhou was completely lost, with Xue Yan’s death, Li Xin wouldn’t blame him.
But there was still a burning fire in Shen Yanzhi’s chest, almost burning his internal organs to ashes.
How did the former Crown Prince, who was clearly trapped in Liangyan Mountain, end up like this?
The people he sent out to investigate the secrets of the former royal family had not brought back any useful information.
The former Crown Prince had no twin brother.
The only reason he had been able to hold the position of Crown Prince for so many years was because he had the same fate as Emperor Wu Jia, the founding emperor of Da Chu.
Shen Yanzhi couldn’t believe that a person who had been useless for more than twenty years would suddenly become so powerful after the country fell.
There must be some unknown secret behind this!
He had been defeated twice by this idiotic Crown Prince.
Shen Yanzhi was unwilling to accept this!
Chen Qing and several trusted followers pushed and shoved Shen Yanzhi, urging him to leave quickly.
Shen Yanzhi, full of resentment, mounted his horse.
But when he saw Chu Chengji riding towards the main tent, the hatred and anger in his heart surged like a wild fire, burning away the last shreds of his reason.
“Bring me my bow!” he heard himself growl in a deep, ominous voice.
“Master, it’s urgent to withdraw!” Chen Qing wanted to persuade him, but Shen Yanzhi snatched the bow and arrows hanging from his horse and aimed them at Chu Chengji in the distance.
Chu Chengji arrived at the main tent, and several guards rushed in to find General Xue Yan lying on the ground, holding a blood-stained dagger, with a bloody wound on his neck, looking like he had committed suicide.
The guards hurriedly came out to report the situation to Chu Chengji.
He felt something was wrong and was about to dismount and enter the tent to check when a breaking sound came from afar.
He instinctively drew his sword to block it.
With a crisp sound, the arrow collided with the sword, sparking off.
The arrowhead was blocked and fell to the ground.
Chu Chengji raised his eyes coldly and met the gaze of Shen Yanzhi, who was dressed as a common soldier on a horse in the distance.
Shen Yanzhi’s eyes were filled with hatred.
Seeing that the sneak attack arrow had failed to take Chu Chengji’s life, he fiercely urged his horse forward, turning to flee into the night with his followers.
The Chu army, who had reacted, quickly chased after him.
Chu Chengji took down the bow and arrow from his horse and aimed at Shen Yanzhi, who was riding away.
The bowstring was pulled as tight as a full moon.
It seemed that if the force increased by one more point, the bow would break.
When the arrow was shot out, Chu Chengji’s hair was swept up by the forceful wind, and the bowstring trembled violently.
Chen Qing, while protecting Shen Yanzhi’s escape, turned to see how many pursuers were behind him.
When he saw Chu Chengji shooting the arrow, he instinctively rode forward and stood in front of Shen Yanzhi’s back, “Master, be careful!”
“Puff!”
The arrow pierced through Chen Qing’s back, completely passing through his chest, and continued to hit Shen Yanzhi.
Shen Yanzhi grunted in pain as the arrow struck him, but he couldn’t care about himself.
He turned his head and saw Chen Qing, who had fallen off his horse with a blood hole in his chest, unable to hold onto the reins and rolling off the horse.
He screamed hysterically, “Chen Qing!”
As the warhorse galloped away, Chen Qing fell off the horse and rolled on the ground several times.
The blood hole in his chest was oozing blood, and the powerful force of the arrow had shattered his heart and lungs.
Blood flowed from his throat into his mouth, and he struggled to look in Shen Yanzhi’s direction.
However, he couldn’t even speak a complete sentence, and only a few broken words came out intermittently from his throat, “Master... run... quickly...”
Shen Yanzhi felt his eyes swelling with tears.
The night wind on the horse felt like a knife cutting on his face, and the taste of blood in his mouth was overwhelming.
He gritted his teeth, and when his remaining loyal followers protected him and fled, he didn’t look back.
Although Chu Chengji didn’t know why Shen Yanzhi, who should have gone south, stayed in Qingzhou, when he saw him tonight and thought about how he had tried to kill him several times, he also dispatched troops to pursue him with all his strength.
Shen Yanzhi and his party were forced to the Yuanjiang ferry and couldn’t wait for a boat.
With pursuers behind them, they jumped into the river to escape.
The archers on the bank shot hundreds of arrows into the river, floating up more than a dozen dead bodies, but none of them were Shen Yanzhi’s.
Chu Chengji ordered a search along the river, and he himself returned to Qingzhou City.
In this battle, the court’s 8,000 elite soldiers were caught off guard by their sudden attack.
Apart from those killed and fleeing, they captured more than 2,000 prisoners of war.
With General Xue Yan dead and their food and supplies cut off, Chu Chengji, as the former Crown Prince, fighting under the banner of restoring Chu, quickly gained more than 2,000 desperate prisoners of war.
Lin Yao watched as the army not only suffered no losses after a major battle but also grew exponentially, leaving him in awe of Chu Chengji.
After counting the weapons captured in this battle, he was even more excited.
They returned to Qingzhou City in a grand manner.
Song Heqing and Wang Biao, seeing their triumphant return, couldn’t help but be overjoyed, despite their earlier expectations.
They went down the city tower to welcome their triumphant return.
The former useless Crown Prince, who had shown such strategy and martial prowess, made Song Heqing ecstatic.
Amidst his joy, he was also filled with mixed emotions and repeatedly exclaimed, “Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Your Highness!”
Chu Chengji did not dismount.
Having just experienced a slaughter, the fierceness in his body had not yet subsided.
His appearance was completely different from his usual refined demeanor when he wore his Confucian robes.
Now, returning covered in blood and armor, he looked more like a warlord. “Recently, the court’s troops have forcibly seized a lot of food from the people for the military rations. Tomorrow, you will lead people to nearby villages and give three liters of rice to each household.”
Song Heqing understood that he wanted to win over the people’s hearts.
The court’s army had been forcibly seizing food from the people for military rations for some time now.
Now, after the people in the villages near Qingzhou had just been disturbed by the court’s army, if Chu Chengji sent people to deliver food, the people would naturally be grateful towards him.
This battle completely solidified their position in Qingzhou.
However, the former Crown Prince’s reputation was not good.
By spreading good deeds, when recruiting talents and recruiting soldiers, talented and brave people would come to join them.
He bowed and said, “I understand, Your Highness.”
Chu Chengji returned to the Qingzhou Prefectural Office in the middle of the night, and Lin Yao, Wang Biao, and others had already gone to rest.
At this time, a handsome young man sought an audience with Chu Chengji.
He was the eldest son of the main branch of the Lu family from Yingzhou.
After receiving the letter asking for help from Chu Chengji, the Lu family sent him to make contact with Chu Chengji.
The eldest daughter of the Lu family’s second branch is now the concubine of the Prince of Huaiyang.
The second branch has repeatedly clashed with the main branch.
Therefore, when the main branch learned of Chu Chengji’s request for help, they had always intended to help.
They hoped that when Chu Chengji became powerful, the main branch could also regain control of the Lu family.
This trip to Qingzhou was originally intended for the eldest son of the Lu family to come, but several legitimate sons of the Lu family were unwilling to take the risk.
The Eldest son of main branch knew that this was an opportunity for himself, so he took the initiative to escort the grain ship here.
He was indeed efficient in his work.
When Chu Chengji was trapped in Liangyan Mountain, he managed everything in an orderly manner through messages sent by carrier pigeons.
Tonight, when Chu Chengji discovered that Shen Yanzhi had not gone south and Xue Yan had committed suicide in his tent, it was not difficult to guess that Shen Yanzhi had been the one commanding the court’s army to attack the city all along, and Xue Yan was just a puppet.