After that, Li Ling let the injured martial arts practitioners leave first, while he led the remaining small group of people to continue their journey.
"Kill them!"
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Li Ling heard the sounds of fighting.
He quickly led everyone forward, and upon approaching, they saw Yue Family Army being surrounded and attacked by a large number of Black Fiend Death Warriors. Originally, Yue Family Army numbered over three hundred, but now only over one hundred remained.
There were also more than 300 Black Fiend Death Squad members besieging Yue Family Army, and there were also the corpses of no less than 300 Black Fiend Death Squad members around.
The fact that Yue Fei's army could organize a counterattack when attacked by well-trained assassins, and inflict more casualties on the enemy than on themselves, shows that they were indeed elite troops on the battlefield. No wonder they were able to rout the once-powerful Jurchen army.
However, Yue Family Army was already at its last gasp. As Li Ling led his men to their rescue, he unleashed his full power with his Qi Sword Finger, and in the blink of an eye, more than twenty Black Fiend Death Warriors were killed by Li Ling's finger sword, his momentum unstoppable.
"This Yi Jifeng is truly formidable!"
The Blood Slave, leading this group of Black Fiend Death Squad, immediately realized that Li Ling was not easy to deal with. Only then did he understand that what Qin Sirong had said earlier was true, and for people like him, self-preservation was the first priority.
We need to evacuate immediately!
Immediately, the Blood Slave used his signature escape technique to flee swiftly. The remaining Black Fiend Death Soldier was quickly wiped out with the cooperation of Li Ling and his men, as well as the Yue Family Army.
After the fighting ended, Li Ling cupped his hands to the leader of Yue Family Army's personal guards and said, "I am Yi Jifeng from Mingjian Villa. I came here specifically to rescue Marshal Yue. I wonder where Marshal Yue is now?"
"So it's Young Master Yi. I am Chen Song. A short-haired young man rode a fast horse and took the marshal away in that direction. Let's hurry over there!"
As the leader of Yue Fei's personal guards, Chen Song had been keeping a close eye on Yue Fei's movements, but he was constantly entangled by the Black Fiends and could only watch as Marshal Yue was taken away.
After Chen Song's description, Li Ling confirmed that the person who took Yue Fei away was indeed Zhang Junbao, and immediately said, "General Chen, the person who rescued Marshal Yue is named Zhang Junbao, and he is my friend."
He is skilled in martial arts and intelligent. With his help, I believe Marshal Yue will be alright. Most of you are currently seriously injured, so I will go and assist you!
“As Marshal Yue’s personal guards, how could we possibly retreat at this time? Of those here, apart from those who are too badly wounded to fight, there are still more than twenty men who are still able to fight. We will accompany you!” Chen Song said directly.
Li Ling nodded slightly. He knew that Chen Song wouldn't trust someone he had only just met without a reason, even if he had saved their lives. Therefore, he readily agreed.
"Alright, in that case, let my friends take care of these wounded soldiers. General Chen, come with me to find Marshal Yue!"
Thirty-six Heavenly Generals stayed behind to take care of the wounded Yue Family Army soldiers. Li Ling and Chen Song led the group in the direction Yue Fei had left. Half an hour later, they encountered the wounded Yue Fei and Zhang Junbao by a river.
"Marshal, I am late, please forgive me!" Chen Song immediately stepped forward and saluted Yue Fei, followed by Li Ling, who also stepped forward and said, "Yi Jifeng greets Marshal Yue!"
"General Chen, please rise. And this Brother Yi, thank you for coming to our aid!"
Although Yue Fei had been assassinated and was wounded by an arrow, he remained composed and greeted everyone. Yi Jifeng and Zhang Junbao also nodded to each other again.
The arrow wound on Yue Fei's shoulder had already been cleaned and treated by Zhang Junbao. Before the group could exchange more words, a group of more than 500 Song Dynasty imperial guards arrived at the scene.
The leader of the Imperial Guards stepped forward and called out loudly, "Is that Marshal Yue Fei ahead?"
"It is indeed Yue Fei!" Upon seeing that they were soldiers from the Song Dynasty, Yue Fei replied directly.
"Very well, Marshal Yue, please come and receive the imperial decree!"
At this moment, the eunuch who had come with the Imperial Guards, holding the imperial edict, stepped forward and spoke to Yue Fei.
...
P.S.: I'm just two monthly tickets away from 100! Friends, please help me vote! 100 monthly tickets will get me an extra chapter! (^_^) [The following appears to be a separate, unrelated text fragment: "Wishing Star of All Realms"]
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Chapter 174 What's the Celebration For? (Bonus Chapter for 100 Monthly Tickets)
"Marshal Yue, wait a moment!" Zhang Junbao stepped forward to stop him.
But Li Ling grabbed him and said to Zhang Junbao, "Junbao, wait! The people who came are from the Imperial Guards of the Great Song Dynasty, and they brought an imperial edict. If you stop them, you will only put the Marshal in an unjust position! Don't worry, Marshal Yue will be fine!"
The reason Li Ling said that Yue Fei was not in danger was because he was sure that Chen Muyang would not let Yue Fei die. After all, there were not many generals in the Southern Song Dynasty who could fight. If he was determined to launch a northern expedition, he would need Yue Fei's help.
As the emperor's only son, Chen Muyang's words carry considerable weight in the emperor's eyes.
Next, the eunuch read out the imperial edict, which ordered Yue Fei to return to the palace to report for duty and await punishment, instead of being sent to the Dali Temple to await punishment.
Li Ling comes from modern society and has watched countless movies and TV series, so she naturally knows that there are still big differences between them.
Being directly escorted to the Dali Temple means that even the emperor is unwilling to speak to you, while being sent to the palace to report for duty and await punishment means that the emperor still wants to give you a chance to explain yourself, and if he is satisfied, he will reinstate you.
The eunuch's next words further confirmed Li Ling's judgment.
"Marshal Yue, His Majesty has issued several imperial edicts to recall you, but you have been stubborn and only returned after this twelfth edict. His Majesty is furious about this."
"Fortunately, His Highness the Crown Prince pleaded with His Majesty, so you are only temporarily relieved of your post and sent to the palace to await further judgment. You should know what's good for you!" the eunuch delivering the decree said directly.
Logically speaking, such news would not be leaked casually. Yue Fei had offended the emperor, and the eunuch would have been trying to avoid him. However, it is clear that the crown prince values Yue Fei highly.
In this way, even if Yue Fei has lost power now, there is no doubt that Yue Fei might be able to make a comeback when the crown prince takes the throne in the future. He wouldn't mind doing Yue Fei a favor at this time.
"Thank you, sir!"
Upon hearing this news, Yue Fei breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had prepared himself to die, he believed that if he survived, he would one day realize his dream of restoring his homeland. He immediately accepted the imperial decree and left with the imperial guards.
Before leaving, Yue Fei approached Zhang Junbao and said, "Young Brother Zhang, don't forget what I entrusted to you!"
"Marshal Yue, rest assured, I will definitely deliver this to General Feilong!" Zhang Junbao replied loudly.
With Yue Fei being taken away by the imperial guards who delivered the imperial decree, the rescue of Yue Fei came to an end. Li Ling did not ask Zhang Junbao what Yue Fei had left him, since he already knew according to the plot. He simply bid farewell to Zhang Junbao and left.
Just a few days later, news arrived that Yue Fei had been dismissed from his post and imprisoned in his residence.