Chapter 2712: Imperial Edict

Manbao walked to Bai Shan’s side.

Bai Shan looked at her complexion and asked in a low voice, “Didn’t sleep again last night?”

Manbao said, “I slept for half an hour in the early morning.”

Bai Shan slightly frowned.

Manbao examined him up and down, asking, “You smell of blood.”

Bai Shan smiled and said, “It’s inevitable on the battlefield. You don’t have it on you?”

Manbao shook her head, “Not the same. Although I’m a healer, I don’t have that murderous aura. It’s on you.”

Bai Shan then said, “I went onto the battlefield to kill enemies.”

No wonder.

She curiously asked, “Can you be counted for military merit?”

Bai Shan felt troubled, “Didn’t kill many, probably not counted as military merit.”

He said, “His Majesty said I look too gentle, only skilled in literature, not in martial arts, so he let me go to the battlefield for practice.”

What else could Manbao say?

“Are you going again later?”

Bai Shan said, “Yes, His Majesty wants me to follow Lord Yin during this period.”

Yin Li was going up, so he could only follow.

Manbao said, “Then you must be careful.”

Bai Shan nodded, “Rest assured, I’m wearing armor, and there’s Daji too, he will protect me.”

However, indeed going on the battlefield can blood-boil people, Bai Shan thought differently now, unlike before where he feared life and death, avoiding danger wherever possible.

Sometimes, confronting danger head-on can better resolve the crisis.

Everyone heard the sounds of charge and battle, Yin Li immediately selected troops to leave, taking two thousand imperial guards first, leaving the remaining two thousand to protect the imperial presence.

Bai Shan and Manbao nodded and followed Yin Li.

The Emperor continued forward, on the main road were corpses of horses and people, and the injured, clearly a great war had just happened here, the battlefield had already moved to a place further ahead.

Yin Li directly crossed over these corpses and wounded to go forward, while the Emperor and his men started clearing the battlefield, not only finding the injured from Great Jin but also many wounded from Goguryeo.

The Emperor glanced and said, “Send them all to the medical tent.”

Manbao got busy nearby, while the Emperor continued forward, ahead was an open wilderness, no, it should be harvested fields and wilderness, at this moment the two armies were battling there, the Emperor did not move forward nor retreat, just stopped at the roadside watching them fight.

The wounded left on the road were not many, most couldn’t run and had almost lost their lives, found and soon died, Manbao managed to save eight temporarily, three of which were captives.

After treating their wounds, Manbao grabbed her medicine box, mounted her horse, and with the numbed Su Mu continued forward, soon catching up with the Emperor.

She rode up and managed to squeeze to the Emperor’s left side, half a step behind watching the battlefield.

The Emperor lamented, “The terrain just now was truly a perfect place for pincer attacks.”

It’s a pity the Goguryeo army was too cowardly, fleeing overnight, otherwise Qi Bi Heli’s arrangement was quite good.

Manbao said, “Why insist, Your Majesty, it’s a battle between two armies, they didn’t lose their minds.”

“But they will still lose,” the Emperor confidently said, “Their morale is lost.”

This is a major taboo.

The Emperor turned and instructed a guard to bring a drum to assist in the battle.

The guard responded and went.

Military drums are used to boost morale, as Great Jin’s drums sounded, seeing the imperial presence, they instantly felt invigorated, originally brave, now even more valorous, fearless of death.

The Goguryeo army, however, was even more frightful, terrified by Qi Bi Heli from last night till today, not thinking of retrieving Baiyan City, only wanting to break out, now facing enemy reinforcements, and it’s the Great Jin Emperor himself, so hopeless.

In despair, some turned to flee, running in all directions.

Even the flag bearers couldn’t help but run, then their flagpole was cut off by Qi Bi Heli’s personal soldiers, as the flag fell, the Goguryeo army fell into chaos, the Emperor saw this and immediately said, “Have them surrender.”

The observing two thousand imperial guards immediately shouted, “Lay down your arms and live, lay down your arms and live——”

Qi Bi Heli and others fighting angrily shouted, “Still not surrendering?”

Xue Bei also led his men slowly halting, seeing the opponents hold swords in hesitation, pointed his sword menacingly, “Drop——”

The pointed men were scared and dropped their swords, once someone dropped it, those around followed, thus the number dropping weapons increased, everyone slowly knelt to the ground.

Qi Bi Heli immediately waved, ordered others to confiscate their weapons, and started capturing prisoners.

He turned his horse to pay respect to the Emperor.

Manbao seeing they stopped fighting, then saluted the Emperor, moved forward with people, finding a relatively clean spot, letting the wounded come for treatment.

Qi Bi Heli came to see the Emperor.

The Emperor immediately dismounted and supported him, worriedly saying, “I heard you were injured?”

“Your Majesty, I’m fine.”

Quite the opposite, Qi Bi Heli was seriously wounded, coupled with continued fighting, the wound never healed, naturally the body wouldn’t be well.

The Emperor personally supported Qi Bi Heli to find Zhou Man for treatment, meanwhile finding the person who stabbed Qi Bi Heli among the captives, gave him for punishment.

However, Qi Bi Heli shook his head, letting the person be released with other captives, he said, “They serve their lord respectively, him stabbing me is rightful, now the battle is over, if letting captives go, let them go together.”

The Jin army doesn’t kill captives, especially in the Emperor’s expedition, fighting under the banner of righteousness, won’t kill, in the Emperor’s view, even Goguryeo’s people are his subjects, cough cough, not only because Goguryeo is Great Jin’s tributary but also this land originally belongs to the Central Plains.

After seizing the cattle, horses, weapons, and armor, they were let go home, not only Jin army’s favors towards them but also a way to strip their combat power.

Reaching here, the Emperor simply set camp on nearby mountains, waiting for Zhou Man to treat the wounded, the Emperor’s decrees and military orders were issued one by one from here, “Rename Baiyan City to Yanzhou, Gaimu City to Gaizhou, command to take Anshi City, Huang City, Yin City.”

Bai Shan noted them all down, presenting two imperial edicts written to the Emperor.

After the Emperor reviewed, he stamped the edicts, sent them out.

The Emperor did not plan to detour to Anshi City, deciding to continue south, then open the road from here to Anshi City, subjugating all villages and towns along the way.

Qi Bi Heli had no objections, let Xue Bei lead the troops to comply, he would rest for his injuries, Zhou Man had said, his wound couldn’t be jostled about, otherwise easy to cause death.