stonecrandall Chapter 267 Encirclement and Suppression of the Great Zhou Emperor
Chapter 267 Encirclement and Suppression of the Great Zhou Emperor
The inner palace was as quiet as a stagnant pool. As the end of April approached, Shen Shixi had taken control of the people who relayed messages inside and outside Fengyi Palace.
Li Yuanke had already arrived in Shanzhou and clashed with the 300,000-strong army of Beisha Xiling. Inside the imperial tent, Li Yuanke stroked the bracelet on his left hand. The red gemstone shone brightly, and Ling Menghui thought it looked terrifying.
"The general leading the Xiling army this time is Yelü Xiaoquan, who is known as the God of War on their side, leading an army of 100,000. Your Majesty has dealt with him before, I wonder if you still remember him?" Ling Menghui introduced the enemy camp.
Li Yuanke nodded, "I've fought him before, he's definitely someone to be reckoned with!"
"As for the North Sands, for some reason, the Wolf King didn't come in person. After Uvi's death, he groomed a new successor. Batu is his third son, the mother of the Grand Queen, and his only son after Uvi. The Wolf King also likes him very much. This time, he came with the Left Wing King Asujiba, serving as the Left Vanguard!"
Inside the tent, a sand table was set up, and more than twenty generals expressed their opinions, which Li Yuanke listened to attentively.
"Report!"
"Come in!"
A rogue entered and reported to the Emperor that 50,000 shi of grain, which was being transported by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War, had been intercepted by Beisha at Lijia Mountain, more than 100 li away from our army.
The generals inside the tent gasped and all looked at Li Yuanke.
Ling Menghui reminded him, "Your Majesty, the army's provisions can only last for three days at most. Tonight's attack..."
"Proceed according to plan!" Li Yuanke said.
"Your humble servants obey your command!"
At night, Li Yuanke personally led his troops in a surprise attack. His elite troops followed him, charging left and right, heading straight for the enemy camp. In a burst of firelight, Yelü Xiaoquan saw Li Yuanke's face and was immediately shocked.
He had only heard that the Emperor of Great Zhou was personally leading an expedition, but he never expected that the Emperor of Great Zhou would be so audacious as to actually go to the battlefield himself.
"Charge, my lads! Follow me and capture the Emperor of Great Zhou alive! Whoever captures him alive will be made a king, and whoever cuts off his head will be made a marquis with ten thousand households!" Yelü Xiaoquan shouted excitedly, raising his arms.
Instantly, the entire Xiling army, scattered and disorganized from the surprise attack, turned and charged towards Li Yuanke. The Bad Guys followed closely behind Li Yuanke, who, wielding a silver spear, charged forward like a dragon.
He used his spear to knock away the man facing him, and entered the enemy ranks alone, as if he were in an empty field.
Yelü Xiaoquan had long known that Li Yuanke was brave and skilled in battle, but he never expected him to be so valiant. As the ruler of the country, he dared to take such a risk, as if he were wearing divine armor.
Li Yuanke didn't have this thing on him, but his life-saving artifact was indeed very powerful.
Seeing the emperor's bravery, the soldiers of the Great Zhou were all energized, and the Xiling army, which outnumbered them several times over, was quickly routed.
At this moment, Yelü Xiaoquan had no time to spare. If he could capture Li Yuanke alive or kill him, it would be a momentous event that would shake the world. It was even possible that Xiling and Beisha would divide the Great Zhou.
Seeing that the enemy had gathered thousands of people to besiege him, Li Yuanke realized their intentions.
That's good, that's what he was planning too.
If Yelü Xiaoquan could be killed, the alliance between Xiling and Beisha would be largely broken.
Li Yuanke was gradually forced northward, with only a few hundred men left by his side, while the enemy had thousands, cutting them off from the main force. By the time Ling Meng came to her senses, the Emperor had been lost.
Ling Meng was almost out of his mind. He summoned two deputy generals, led several thousand men, and chased after the direction where the emperor had disappeared.
Li Yuanke and his men have been surrounded.
Behind them was a tributary of the Wuding River, and the other three sides were all inhabited by people from Xiling.
"Your Majesty, if you surrender now, I will certainly treat you as an honored guest and bring you into my Xiling. My Emperor of Xiling is willing to become sworn brothers with you and let you live a life of wealth and leisure in Xiling!" Yelü Xiaoquan said.
The people of Xiling were both excited and nervous.
"You talk too much nonsense!" Li Yuanke unconsciously used Shen Shixi's tone.
Cen Yin stayed in the capital, while Xu Chun was the one who came out with Li Yuanke.
Xu Chun whispered, "Some people will protect the Emperor, and the rest will follow me to fight our way out. We must ensure the Emperor's safety."
"No need!" Li Yuanke said. "Perfect timing, I want to test the life-saving artifact that the Imperial Noble Consort gave me. When I fire, all of you dismount and lie prone. Do you understand?"
The person opposite them was about 500 paces away.
Li Yuanke raised his hand and sent a white light rushing towards Yelü Xiaoquan. The speed was so fast that only a phantom could be seen flashing through the air.
Li Yuanke didn't even have time to look; as soon as he fired, he pulled his horse down to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, a white light spread out, and a huge shockwave rushed out in all directions. As if it were tangible, all the people and horses that were touched were torn to pieces, and the part centered on Yelü Xiaoquan was turned into dust.
In the moment Yelü Xiaoquan was dazed, his soul seemed to rise into the air. His last sight was of his own body, torn to pieces, with fine fragments of blood and flesh filling the air.
A huge gap appeared in the encirclement, and in an instant, thousands of people were wiped out.
Even Li Yuanke was shocked. He never expected that a tiny, thumb-sized object would have such power.
Both surviving individuals were stunned.
Li Yuange mounted his horse and shouted, "Mount up! Charge!"
The villains reacted quickly, urging their warhorses to rear up, and charging forward with their weapons in hand.
Before the surviving soldiers of Xiling could react, the massacre followed.
Ling Menghui was still frantically searching for the Emperor on the battlefield like a headless fly when she heard the explosion. Without a doubt, she knew it was the Emperor.
They charged forward and met another wave of routed Xiling soldiers head-on.
The fighting continued until noon the next day. The Xiling army, numbering nearly 100,000, killed nearly 50,000, 20,000 fled, and more than 10,000 were taken prisoner.
On the battlefield, corpses piled high and blood flowed freely.
Li Yuanke was also exhausted and tumbled off his horse, lying on the ground, staring blankly at the blue sky and white clouds.
Ling Menghui lay beside him, glancing at his wrists. "Was that thing Your Majesty used to escape last night made by the Imperial Noble Consort?"
"Um."
"No wonder Your Majesty is so fearless; you've scared me to death!"
"What's there to be afraid of? Do you think I'm someone who's unafraid of death and deliberately seeks to die?"
"That's not what I meant! You are the Emperor, the person on whom the world rests. How could I not worry if I turned my back on you and you disappeared?"
Li Yuanke raised his wrist, looked at the rubies, and smiled. These things are so powerful, and that bastard even got him a whole bag of them. He could take down an army by himself, what's there to be afraid of!
However, he really didn't know that the power would be so strong before he tried it.
"Your Majesty, our provisions are running low. After such a fierce battle, our soldiers deserve a reward. How about I go to Youzhou to quell the famine?"
"Don't panic!"
"Report!"
Not far away, a scout came running up, "Your Majesty, General, supplies have arrived from the rear. However, due to the fighting here, the supply officers dare not come rashly. Please grant Your Majesty's decree!"