"I am... I was originally a subordinate of Lord Dai Xi, the Prefect of Canghai County." The soldier finally caught his breath, and although he was frightened, he spoke fluently. "Our Prefect was detained last night by the deputy general sent by Dong Cheng, who took away his seal and ordered us to fight against the Peace Army with all our might."
"Oh?" Lu Wubing's eyes lit up. He now knew why Dong Cheng couldn't launch a full-scale attack. The Canghai garrison must be resentful of Dong Cheng's sudden seizure of power. During the battle, Dong Cheng dared not rely on them too much. This temporary peace was merely Dong Cheng's way of unifying these two originally separate forces.
Meng Yuan frowned; he knew the enemy was currently preparing a full-scale offensive. Compared to the enemy, his Peace Army had the advantage of having a large reinforcement force arriving in three or four days, but the disadvantage was that it only had half the strength of the enemy, and its troops were primarily cavalry, unskilled in urban warfare. If Dong Cheng's command went smoothly, he could use those three or four days to drive them out of Xizhou City, and then defend the city using its natural defenses when the main Peace Army force arrived. In that case, Meng Yuan's objective of disobeying orders and advancing would be completely unachieved.
"Wu Bing, do you have any plans?" Meng Yuan asked, seeing Lü Wu Bing standing to the side, leaving a deep mark on the ground with his foot.
"I only have a general idea..." Wubing pondered for a moment, then turned to the prisoner and asked, "What kind of person is your Prefect Daixi?"
"He...he's greedy and stingy..." The prisoner had no choice but to tell the truth, since he had already spoken, he had no more reservations.
"Indeed, otherwise Dong Cheng wouldn't have needed to strip him of his military power." Wu Bing's eyes lit up. "Do you know where Dong Cheng is holding him captive?"
"The entire family of the acting prefect was imprisoned in the prefect's residence."
"Alright, take him away." Meng Yuan interjected. He had already asked everything he needed to know. If he continued to ask, Wu Bing's plan would be completely exposed.
“General…” Wu Bing looked at Meng Yuan with some hesitation. Meng Yuan smiled encouragingly: “I understand your meaning. Just do as you think.”
As dusk fell, the prefectural governor's mansion, though not as brightly lit as usual at night, was still illuminated by lanterns and torches. "Prefect, what should we do?"
Although Dai happy, confined to his own prefectural residence, was not subjected to any difficulties in his daily life, he was ultimately under house arrest. Feeling like a fish on a chopping block, he and his loyal advisors couldn't help but worry about their future.
Because Mo Zidu had only recently detained Dai Xi when Meng Yuan's cavalry arrived, Mo Zidu only had time to send a hundred or so of his personal guards to surround the prefectural governor's residence before rushing off to meet the enemy. Dong Cheng, hearing that Dai Xi was under control, no longer took the villain seriously. The once arrogant and domineering Prefect Dai Xi, who had swaggered around Xizhou City, was now just a nobody, cowering in his room, oblivious to the world.
"How should I know what to do?" Dai Xi glared at the advisor in frustration. He usually flattered and praised him, but why was he so helpless at this crucial moment?
The staff members remained silent, but one of the guards who had been holding them under house arrest heard the conversation and strode in, saying rudely, "Stop talking nonsense, go to sleep if you have nothing else to say!"
Seeing that he was just a low-ranking officer, Dai Xi was furious. He stood up and roared, "I am the prefect of Canghai County appointed by imperial decree. How dare you, a mere squad leader, point fingers at me?"
The junior officer gave a cold snort, pressed his hand on the hilt of his waist knife, and Dai happy immediately slumped back into his chair, his face turning pale and weak.
"Your Excellency, Prefect, how impressive you are!" The officer chuckled coldly twice, finally turning and leaving the house, closing the door behind him. Dai Xi's expression shifted rapidly. In the past, wielding immense power over the prefecture, he could have killed such a low-ranking officer at will. But now, he was like a defeated rooster, devoid of his former arrogance. His earlier impulse to show off had now turned into boundless regret.
"That minor official, to avoid future trouble, might do something to harm me..." A sense of dread rose in his heart. "Dong Cheng, to prevent me from impeaching him before His Majesty in the future, probably won't let me get out smoothly... No, I must find a way to escape, otherwise I'll surely die a horrible death!"
But despite his thoughts, his mind, crammed with greed, could only conjure up ideas of how to accept bribes and sexually assault people; he couldn't think of a way to escape. He had already tried bribery and threats, but those had failed. It seemed all he could do was wait for a miracle.
“My lord, do not be discouraged. I overheard the soldiers outside talking about a battle in the city. It must be your loyal subordinates trying to drive out Dong Cheng and rescue you,” a maid whispered, her eyes secretly glancing towards the door.
Dai Xi's spirits lifted, and a spark of hope rekindled in his eyes. If there were still loyal troops in the city, Dong Cheng wouldn't dare to do anything to him easily. But that hope was quickly extinguished. He was aware of his own limitations. He used to wield great power, and everyone feared him like a tiger. Now that he was a prisoner, how many people would still stand by him and protect him? That was a real question.
Just then, a shout seemed to come from afar. Dai happy was feeling dejected, and the shout startled him. Could it be that Dong Cheng had sent someone to deal with him?
Immediately afterwards, he heard the sounds of fighting, clashing and banging, interspersed with screams. The Dong Cheng troops scattered throughout the prefectural governor's mansion were alarmed and began to quickly assemble. The sounds of fighting and screams, however, quickly carried towards the inner courtyard, clearly indicating that the assembling Dong Cheng troops were unable to stop the enemy.
Dai Xi's heart pounded, and his hope was rekindled. The newcomers were clearly not sent by Dong Cheng, so they must be here to rescue him. Just as he was holding his breath and listening intently, a loud bang rang out, and the door that had been closed was kicked open again. The officer who had entered earlier strode in, carrying a gleaming knife, exuding murderous intent, accompanied by several soldiers.
"Come with us!" the officer shouted, staring intently at Dai happy.
Dai Xi huddled in the chair, trembling, and said, "I...I...I am a...I am an official of the imperial court, you can't treat me like this..."
The officer glanced at him, strode over, grabbed his sleeve, and yanked him out of the chair. Dai happy let out a pig-like scream, struggling wildly with his hands, but he couldn't break free from the officer's strong arms.
"Scream again and I'll kill you!" The officer's voice was cold and arrogant. Once the mask of solemnity was torn off, this once high and mighty prefect was surprisingly cowardly, which greatly disgusted him, who was used to Dong Cheng's imposing manner. Therefore, he couldn't even be bothered to maintain a semblance of respect for the obese Canghai prefect before him.
Tears streaming down his face, Dai Xi looked helplessly at the staff, concubines, and servants in the room. They were all silent, not daring to utter a sound. Some of the servants even returned his gaze with cold, gloating eyes, which filled him with utter despair. He was finally dragged to the doorway by the soldiers.
Just then, the sounds of battle reached the courtyard. The officer pulled Dai happy back into the house, and as he was about to close the door, a hole was smashed through the beautifully crafted wooden wall. A body clad in Soviet armor flew through the hole, rolled a few times on the ground, struggled to sit up, and met Dai Xi's gaze.
Looking at the bloodied and mangled face, seeing the despair and helplessness in the dying person's unfocused eyes, seeing the face that was just alive now twisted and frozen in horror, Dai Xi couldn't help but scream, and a foul stench filled the room.
"Kill!" The officer, who was dragging Dai Xi, threw down the incontinent Dai Xi and charged toward the cave with his sword. But his movements quickly froze as a blade tip protruded from his back, dripping bright red blood from it.
His body fell to the ground, revealing a figure that had been hidden beneath his body. The person appeared extremely young, and without hesitation, kicked aside the officer's corpse and beheaded him with a single stroke. He then raised his face and smiled slightly at the people in the room, the murderous intent that had filled his once youthful face seemingly gone.
"Those who surrender will not be killed. Who is Dai happy?" he asked slowly.
The fighting outside had subsided, and more than ten Peace Army soldiers rushed into the house, clearly indicating that the outside was under their control. Inside, Dong Chengjun mustered his courage to fight, but the sight of the spear in the young Peace Army soldier's hand made him lose his nerve.
Although no one spoke, the eyes of everyone in the room told the Peace Army soldiers which one was Dai Xi. Even the Peace Army soldiers, fresh from the bloodshed, couldn't help but cover their noses at the stench emanating from the unconscious Dai Xi. The young Peace Army commander pointed at Dai happy and said, "Take him away, quickly!"
Two Peace Army soldiers quickly carried Dai happy out of the house. After even the footsteps of the Peace Army soldiers had disappeared, the people inside the house finally caught their breath, and cries and screams filled the air.
"You're Dai happy?"
When Dai happy woke up after being splashed with cold water, the first thing he heard made him want to faint again.
"I...I am..." Seeing that the armor worn by the person who asked him was not the standard uniform of a Su general, he forced himself to ask, "General...who is the General?"
“Meng Yuan of the Peace Army.” Meng Yuan answered briefly. This Dai Xi was not only greedy and avaricious, just as the prisoners had said, but also cowardly, which made Meng Yuan feel disgusted from the bottom of his heart.
"General Meng... Thank you so much for rescuing me from Dong Cheng's clutches. I was ready to open the city gates to welcome you, but I was imprisoned by that treacherous Dong Cheng. If it weren't for your swift advance, I would surely be dead by now. You saved my life, General Meng. Please accept my bow!" With a fawning smile, Dai Xi fell to the ground and bowed wildly to Meng Yuan.
Meng Yuan didn't dodge the question and said calmly, "Since you are willing to serve the Peace Army, there is a place for you right now. Go down and wash up and change your clothes, then go and recruit your subordinates. Just make sure they do not help Dong Cheng."
When you're under someone's roof, how can you not bow your head? As for Dai Xi, he's lucky to be alive, let alone that Dong Cheng used the pretext of sending an envoy to see him to suddenly imprison him, which he already resented.
When Dong Cheng learned that Dai Xi, who had been under house arrest, had been captured in a surprise attack by elite troops of the Peace Army, he couldn't help but sigh to the heavens. Li Jun was formidable enough, but he hadn't expected that one of his generals would be so decisive. The Peace Army was truly a formidable opponent. Facing such an adversary, it seemed that manpower alone was insufficient; a stroke of luck was also necessary.
Section 02
"The rise and fall of a nation is the responsibility of every citizen."
Dong Cheng's somewhat haggard face appeared even more somber as he spoke. Looking down from his horse at the Canghai Prefect's army, he said, "Our Great Su is currently in a perilous time. The bandit Li Jun, ruthless and greedy, is determined to invade. Prefect Dai Xi of Canghai has colluded with the bandits, showing no regard for the country. Therefore, I ordered his capture. Now that Dai Xi is in league with Li Jun, he will surely come to sow discord among our troops. You are all patriotic soldiers of our Great Su, and you can distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous, the wise and the foolish. The safety of our nation depends on you all. I, Dong Cheng, am willing to stand with you and swear to defend our Great Su to the death!"