knife

Chapter 231 Betrayal
Chen Liang is fishing.

However, his luck seemed to be not very good. He sat by the pond all morning without catching a single fish, not even a small loach, let alone a big one. Instead, several large crabs crawled out of the water and scurried around his feet, seemingly quite interested in the fishing bait at his feet.

Then, Chen Liang kicked the crabs a few times, turning them into a pile of broken shells.

The guards noticed that their general seemed a bit unstable today, so they all stood far away, so that they could hear his orders at any time, but wouldn't be caught red-handed if he wanted to vent his anger.

Only those who have been with him for a long time can properly grasp this distance.

An officer strode over from a distance, his face full of anxiety and dissatisfaction. However, the moment he saw Chen Liang, he slowed down and forced a smile onto his face.

"General Chen!" He tried to make his tone sound relaxed and kind.

His name is Linghu Shili.

He is Linghu Zhishu's brother.

However, their status and importance in the Andong Protectorate were not comparable.

Linghu Zhishu could access all high-level secrets, while Linghu Shili could only wander around on the periphery, doing some unimportant work.

He's the kind of character whose presence or absence wouldn't make a difference.

This time, he was sent to Chen Liang's place to supervise Chen Liang's final retreat.

This should have been an extremely easy task.

Because Chen Liang had always been extremely obedient to Linghu Ye and listened to his every word, and because the families of Chen Liang and more than a dozen of his important generals and captains had already been taken away by Linghu Zhishu in the first batch.

Chen Liang didn't want to become a lonely man, so he had no choice but to obediently listen.

But sometimes, the things that seem most certain to be done turn out to be full of problems during implementation.

Linghu Shili discovered a major problem.

The Yuntai Wilderness has a garrison of just over 10,000 troops, half infantry and half cavalry.

According to the previous plan, when Jebe's main force at Longgoubao left and launched an attack on the Anxi Protectorate, Chen Liang's side was to begin a phased retreat.

Now that Jebe has left, keeping his promise and showing no intention of attacking Chen Liang, Chen Liang can leave with peace of mind.

Chen Liang did indeed arrange for the troops to begin their withdrawal.

However, the direction is somewhat wrong.

Linghu Shili hadn't discovered this matter before. However, during his patrol today, he happened to encounter a scout team returning from an outpost. From them, Linghu Shili learned something that greatly shocked him.

The first vanguard team that Chen Liang sent out was actually approaching Longgou Fort.

What is Chen Liang planning to do?
Chen Liang glanced back at Linghu Shili, then turned back to focus intently on the buoy on the water.

Linghu Shili was actually somewhat intimidated by Chen Liang.

Since the Wanfeng incident, Chen Liang has become somewhat unpredictable, with a temper that can flare up at any moment. The key point is that his martial arts cultivation has steadily increased since then, and he is about to step into the ninth rank of the Xuan Yuan realm.

"General, you must have had a great harvest today!" Linghu Shili walked over with a dry laugh, glanced at the fish basket, but his smile froze on his face.

What kind of bumper harvest?

It's clearly just emptying my mind.

I sat here all morning and didn't catch a single fish.

Chen Liang chuckled, "A bumper harvest? It's that simple!"

Before Linghu Shili could understand what Chen Liang meant, Chen Liang had already stood up.

With a flick of the wrist, the fishing line retracted, the bait on it was long gone, and naturally, no fish was caught.

"You took my bait but won't take my bait. If you're so uncooperative, then I'll have to resort to other methods!" Chen Liang sneered, grabbed the end of the fishing rod, and plunged it into the water with a whoosh.

The pond water churned, and Linghu Shili stared in disbelief as a fish weighing about two pounds was pierced through the middle by the fishing rod and stuck onto the rod.

Chen Liang quickly jabbed the rod, and with each jab, a fish was hooked onto the rod. In a short while, he had hooked more than a dozen fish, the largest of which weighed about five pounds.

For some reason, Linghu Shili felt a chill creeping up his back.

Only after Chen Liang threw the fishing rod on the ground and walked away did he hurriedly chase after him.

"You're saying Kang Laonian is leading his troops closer to Longgou Fort?" Chen Liang glanced at Linghu Shili. "Do you think he has the guts? Where did you get that information?"

“It was a returning scout team that ran into them!” Linghu Shili quickly said, “Their mission was to scout ahead for the army’s retreat. Captain Kang is openly disobeying orders, General. This must be stopped immediately.”

Chen Liang chuckled, put his hands behind his back, and strode towards the military camp. "Beat the drums, raise the tent!" Chen Liang ordered sternly as he took his first step into the camp.

When Chen Liang stepped into his central command hall, all the garrison commanders of Yuntai Wilderness were already lined up inside.

Linghu Shili looked around but couldn't find a suitable spot, so he simply stood behind Chen Liang.

With his hand on his sword and chest out, he resembled a bodyguard with a sword.

Chen Liang glanced at the generals below and said, "Jebe led 30,000 elite troops out of Longgou Fort and headed straight for Tai'an City. He intends to have a decisive battle with the Anxi Protectorate at the city. According to my information, the Anxi Protector-General Xiao Changche and the Deputy Protector-General Li Dachui are also determined to fight Jebe at the city of Tai'an."

A buzzing sound filled the hall.

Clearly, everyone was quite surprised by the Anxi Protectorate's strategy of direct confrontation.

The Anxi Protectorate is not the same as the Andong Protectorate.

The 100,000-strong army of Andong could certainly fight the Yuan people head-on, but Anxi had only been established for a few days, and all the intelligence showed that they only had five or six thousand cavalrymen. Adding the infantry, the total number was no more than thirty or fifty thousand.

"Why engage Jebe head-on? Defend the city and use Tai'an as the center; we can wear Jebe down. Unless Jebe can mobilize tens of thousands of infantry, their long supply lines will become targets for the Anxi Protectorate!" Someone in the tent couldn't help but analyze.

Clearly, this person is quite concerned about the war.

As soon as this general spoke, the other generals below started discussing it animatedly.

Chen Liang tapped the table and laughed, “Gentlemen, the Anxi Protectorate is a bit different from us. This time it’s not an external battle, but an internal one. If they defend the city, then Jebe will wreak havoc outside. It’s like fighting a war in your own house. The things you damage are all your own. How can you not feel bad?”

"Where there's life, there's hope!" someone shouted. "General Xiao is still the same old man. If he doesn't change after we leave, he'll suffer greatly! Sometimes, you have to give up what needs to be given up! Don't lose sight of the bigger picture!"

Another buzzing sound came from inside the room.

This time, Chen Liang did not stop them. Instead, he walked out from behind the case and paced back and forth in the room until everyone quieted down and all eyes were on him. Only then did Chen Liang say calmly, "Everyone has said a lot and considered a lot. So, have you thought about one thing? In fact, the strength of the Anxi Protectorate is enough to rival that of Jebe?"

The room suddenly exploded with a loud bang.

"How can this be?"

"General, are you joking?"

Chen Liang laughed and said, "The latest intelligence I received is that General Xiao Changche is leading 5,000 iron cavalry towards Tai'an City, while Deputy Protector Li Dachui returned to Tai'an City a few days ago. Tai'an City has started a full-scale mobilization, and within a day, 10,000 elite cavalrymen have been assembled."

The room fell completely silent.

Xiao Changche commanded 5,000 cavalry against Jebe's 30,000 cavalry. Everyone thought that no matter how brave General Xiao was, it would be difficult for him to win.

However, if General Xiao Dachang was commanding 15,000 cavalry, then the situation would be different.

Moreover, this is an inside operation, so there's no need to worry about logistical support.

“What Protector Xiao is thinking about is not just stopping Jebe’s attack, but annihilating Jebe’s 30,000 cavalry, and then taking advantage of the situation to advance and seize Qingtongxia and Yezhuling! To take back these two strategic points that have been lost for more than 20 years!” Chen Liang said, emphasizing each word.

The expressions on everyone's faces in the room became excited.

Those with shallow minds already showed envy on their faces.

Those with deep thoughts are already pondering Xiao Changche's ideas and plans. How do you know so much about them?

Sure enough, the next moment, Chen Liang smiled at everyone and said, "Aren't you surprised that I know so much?"

Everyone nodded.

"Because I have discussed it with Protector-General Xiao and Deputy Protector-General Li, and we will help them accomplish this great feat!" Chen Liang said, his words astonishing, but his gaze was fixed on Linghu Shili, who was still behind the case.

However, at this moment, Linghu Shili was already trembling all over.

Even if he was slow to realize, he knew something was terribly wrong.

Chen Liang has betrayed them.

Inside the hall, several generals, along with Linghu Shili, also changed their expressions, except that at this moment, they had knives at their necks.

Chen Liang walked step by step back to the aftermath of the major case.

Linghu Shili knelt down with a thud.

"General, spare my life!" he cried out.

Chen Liang reached out and helped him up, then pointed to the generals below and said, “We’ve all been colleagues, so I won’t kill you. Take these men and go! Tell the commander-in-chief that I, Chen, do not wish to enter the pass to fight a civil war. I was born outside the pass, and all I’ve ever wanted in my life is to fight for the people outside the pass. The commander-in-chief wants to conquer the world, and I wish him all the best in achieving his goal and becoming the sole ruler of the realm. When that day comes, if the commander-in-chief wants to cut off my head to punish me for my betrayal, Chen Liang will naturally send my head to the capital.”

(End of this chapter)