Chapter 2814 - 2813: Where Are the Axemen

Chapter 2814: Chapter 2813: Where Are the Axemen

In General Yang Zhi’s army, the men were already exhausted and the horses worn out.

Now, blasted by these cannon shells, their will to fight completely collapsed, and in an instant they all scattered and fled back.

Lin Chong knew that unless Yang Zhi and his men were beaten badly enough, they would never voluntarily surrender.

He ordered the artillery fire to be extended, and under the direction of the lookout in the sky, they bombarded Yang Zhi for a full hundred li before finally stopping.

The soldiers on the city walls all erupted in cheers; it was the first time they had ever seen such an easy battle.

No one even needed to move, and the entire enemy army was driven off.

Someone happily suggested to Lin Chong, "Great General, let’s hurry and ride out in pursuit. We can definitely wipe out Yang Zhi and all his men!"

Lin Chong said calmly, "Do not pursue a desperate foe. Yang Zhi’s main army has not actually taken that many casualties; they have only been startled for the moment by the Fire God Cannon. Their Iron Cavalry is the finest in the Great Songg. If we pursue them out in the open, I fear we will still not be their match."

One of the officers under him objected, "At least three or four thousand of them were blown to bits, right?"

Lin Chong asked them, "If you were in the midst of that shelling, how many of you would be dead or wounded?"

The officers replied in shame, "Fear it would be over ten thousand!"

Lin Chong nodded and said, "Exactly. That is the measure of the Dragon Blood War Horse’s extraordinariness. All of these warhorses were carefully bred in Yan Yun with Dragon Blood, and have always garrisoned the Northern Frontier of the Great Songg. Their defensive power is astonishing, far from so easy to break. The moment for battle has not yet come; we still cannot take such a risk."

"Yes!"

The officers cupped their fists and nodded, and immediately organized the troops to go out of the city and clean up the battlefield.

On the battlefield, some of the Dragon Blood War Horses were not yet fully killed by the blasts; in everyone’s eyes, these were treasures.

After Yang Zhi’s main force had escaped the bombardment, they gradually closed up at one point and restored their formations.

As Lin Chong had predicted, though they had fled in panic, the lines of command between officers and men had not been broken.

The battle array was not in chaos; within a short time they could still muster combat strength.

He and Suo Chao were furious to the point of choking; they had never expected these rebel troops to be equipped with such formidable Magical Weapons.

Suo Chao said helplessly, "This war is simply impossible to fight; these rebels don’t follow any rules at all!"

He had fought for so many years and had never been so stifled.

Yang Zhi knit his brows tightly and said, "Hurry and tally up the brothers’ casualties; tell everyone to hold on a bit longer. Once we return, we will immediately treat the wounded brothers and the horses."

"Yes!"

Suo Chao shouted, yanked his reins, and galloped off to inspect the casualties.

Yang Zhi felt despondent in his heart, thinking to himself that if he returned with nothing accomplished, he would surely be tormented by that old thief Gao Qiu.

Although the Imperial Court boasted of a million-strong army, they were not under unified command, they consumed one another, and even turned their blades on each other.

Never mind exterminating rebels—at this rate they could wear themselves out to death.

He was utterly disillusioned with the Imperial Court, and then and there, on horseback, he wrote a letter in blood, and ordered a Messenger to send it to Tong Guan at once.

Earlier in the camp, he had noticed that Tong Guan held him in some esteem.

In the past, when resisting the Northern Barbarian Country, he had served under Tong Guan, and knew that this Privy Council Envoy did have some ability.

If Tong Guan were willing to come forward to reorganize the army, the situation would surely be better than it was now.

The army marched for over a thousand li, and only by afternoon did they return to the forward camp.

But in the camp, black smoke was rising everywhere, and the tents and grain stores had all been burned to nothing by a great fire.

Someone came up, crying to Yang Zhi, "General Yang, after you left last night, the rebels from Green Stone Pass came down from the mountain and raided our Logistic Camp, burning all our supplies and provisions!"

"What were you eating to live on that you couldn’t even guard the grain?"

Yang Zhi flew into a rage; a mouthful of pent-up blood nearly spurted out.

He raised his hand, just about to order the Defensive Commander of the Logistic Camp dragged out and beheaded.

Suo Chao and the other officers hurriedly interceded for the commander, saying, "The rebel army is treacherous. Once our main force left, they seized the chance to launch a surprise attack. That bit of strength in the Logistic Camp—how could it be a match for the rebels? Now that things have come to this, it is more urgent to quickly search for grain and fodder!"

The officers knelt on the ground and cried out, "General Yang, everyone has been on the march for two days straight. Without supplies of grain and fodder, we won’t even be able to keep the warhorses alive!"

"You wait here; I’ll go beg the Grand Commandant!"

Yang Zhi snapped his whip and hurried to the Marshal’s Camp.

At this moment, in Gao Qiu’s command tent, two men were drinking with him.

These two, with treacherous smiles, were looking over the blood-written memorial Yang Zhi had addressed to Tong Guan.

They were precisely Wang Fu and Li Bangyan, whom Cai Jing had sent here, now in the provincial city assisting Tong Guan with military affairs.

After Yang Zhi sent the letter in blood, it had happened to be intercepted by the two of them.

They did not show it to Tong Guan, but instead took it and handed it over to Gao Qiu.

Wang Fu said to Gao Qiu, "Chancellor Gao, if the Privy Council Envoy were to read this blood letter, what might happen?"

Li Bangyan laughed loudly, "The Privy Council Envoy has always been scrupulous about public and private matters; I fear he would reprimand the Grand Commandant for dereliction of duty!"

Gao Qiu’s face was dark as he said, "This Yang Zhi, thick-faced and vicious-hearted—who would have thought he’d dare to memorialize over my head to my superior. If I don’t convict him of privately colluding with the enemy, lax military discipline, and inept command, he’ll really think I’m easy to push around!"

Outside the command tent, a squad leader happened to come report, "Grand Commandant, General Yang is here to request an audience!"

"He’s come at just the right time!"

Gao Qiu’s eyes were red with fury; he immediately had Axemen prepared, lying in ambush behind the command tent.

Once he smashed his cup as a signal, they were to seize Yang Zhi.

Outside the tent, Yang Zhi anxiously entered; seeing Gao Qiu, he put aside his own pride, dropped to one knee, cupped his fists, and bowed. "This lowly general pays respects to the Grand Commandant!"

Gao Qiu sipped his tea and snorted coldly, "What is the meaning of this, General Yang? I cannot bear such a grand salute from you!"

Yang Zhi frowned tightly and said, "Last night we pursued the rebels for over a thousand li, but did not expect them to raid the camp and burn the grain stores. At present, the men and horses are exhausted, and we urgently need supplies. I beg the Grand Commandant to allocate us some grain and fodder; once we are resupplied, we will fight the enemy again!"

"So you’ve come for grain and fodder!"

Gao Qiu’s gaze swept over Yang Zhi with a sinister glint as he said, "Isn’t General Yang on excellent terms with the Privy Council Envoy? Why don’t you go to the provincial city to ask the Privy Council Envoy for help? What do you mean by coming to the tent of an incompetent commander like me?"

Wang Fu and Li Bangyan both gave cold, mocking laughs.

Suppressing his anger, Yang Zhi asked, bewildered, "What does the Grand Commandant mean by this? Please speak plainly!"

Gao Qiu flung the blood-written memorial straight into Yang Zhi’s face and said, "Look at this—someone who stabs people in the back like this, just how thick is his hide? He has just petitioned the Privy Council Envoy, and then comes to me for help."

He glared at Yang Zhi, murderous intent laid bare. "And you still have the face to ask what I mean? Let me ask you—what do you mean by this blood letter?"

"Grand Commandant!"

Yang Zhi’s hand clutched the blood letter; looking at Wang Fu and Li Bangyan, he understood everything in an instant.

His letter in blood had never reached Tong Guan; it had been intercepted en route by Gao Qiu.

He hastily defended himself, "Grand Commandant, please see clearly—I was not targeting you. I merely wished to report the military situation to the Privy Council Envoy, to have him rectify military discipline so that we might concentrate our strength to annihilate the rebels!"

Gao Qiu sprang up, roaring, "Utter nonsense, shameless beyond measure! You petition over my head, and still claim you were not targeting me? If the Privy Council Envoy knew of this, wouldn’t he first come to make trouble for me, the Grand Commandant? Yang Zhi, Yang Zhi, do you think only you are a loyal and capable general, and that we are all wine sacks and rice bags? You disregarded military orders and privately led troops in pursuit of the rebels. You wasted men and horses and returned with nothing accomplished, yet still dare to memorialize over my head—this is piling crime upon crime!"

He smashed his tea bowl to the ground and shouted, "Axemen, where are you!"

The Axemen who had been lying in ambush behind the tent immediately rushed forward with ropes, bound Yang Zhi on the spot, and pressed him to the ground before Gao Qiu.