knife

Chapter 257 The Consequences of Making a Deal with the Devil

Lengge's originally mottled hair turned completely white in just over ten days.

Realizing things were going badly, he immediately withdrew his troops from Tongquan Fort, dashing Li Dachui's hopes.

If Lengge lingers for a few more days, and Chen Liang's side takes Longgou Fort, then the main army can cut off Lengge's retreat route by marching out from Longgou Fort.

This is the real reason why Li Dachui placed his trusted generals Fang Xiaomao and Xia Zhi in Tongquanbao.

However, Lenger's experience was simply too extensive.

Moreover, he did not exert all his strength to attack Tongquan Fort, which gave him a lot of leeway in terms of tactical choices.

Upon hearing that Longgoubao had fallen, he immediately fled.

The speed was so fast that Chen Liang's troops, who had just occupied Longgou Fort, had not even had time to wipe out the remaining enemies before Lengge had already fled back to Qingtongxia.

As soon as the old man got back, he started a full-scale mobilization.

They conscripted all able-bodied men aged fourteen to sixty from the surrounding area, trained them into the army, and even brought strong women into the city to do some auxiliary work.

As for the elderly and children, Lengge can't take care of them. If they live, it's luck; if they die, it's fate!
Lengge had a gut feeling that Zhebie would never return after going there.

The victorious Anxi Protectorate will inevitably send a large army to attack Qingtongxia and Yezhuling, and seize these two strategic locations.

Lenger did a very good job with all of these things.

But what he never expected was that his superior, the Second Prince Tiele, suffered a great setback in Yandu.

Akdun rose to power and gained the support of the Renduo family in the southern camp and the Xifeng family in the northern camp, which forced the Tiele to retreat to Zhengding and start anew there.

Akdun certainly wouldn't forget the tens of thousands of troops in the southern border region. The imperial envoy arrived at Qingtongxia immediately and offered Lengge a price: as long as Lengge was willing to pledge allegiance to Akdun, Lengge would become the commander of the southern border region on the spot.

Meanwhile, the Tiele also sent people to Qingtongxia to tell Lengge that he must guard Qingtongxia and the area along Yezhuling. The Tiele wanted to integrate the southern Xinjiang territory with places like Zhengding and Dading.

Tiele had been operating in the southern border region for many years and did not want to give it up. Moreover, continuing to occupy this area had another advantage: it would maintain strategic pressure on the Anxi Protectorate outside the Great Wall. Although Tiele was well aware that he would not have the strength to attack the area outside the Great Wall for many years to come, occupying these two places would allow him to control commercial exchanges with the area outside the Great Wall.

This is a huge boon for him, both economically and in terms of the overall benefits.

In the standoff with Aktun, it now appears that the Tiele have indeed lost ground.

After the two major camps in the north and south made their stance clear, powerful local factions within the Yuan Dynasty also successively sent envoys to Yandu.

Although they also secretly sent people to Tiele, the difference between sending people openly and secretly shows who they favored more.

Sending people to the Tiele was merely a convenient measure, a precautionary measure in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

Lenge expelled the imperial envoy sent by Yandu.

The envoy sent by the Tiele tribe demanded that Lengge kill the imperial envoy.

But Lengge didn't want to go too far, after all, he also had relatives in Yandu. If he killed the envoy, Akedun, that petty man, would retaliate.

Lenger had made all the preparations for war, just waiting for Xiao Changche and Li Dachui to lead their army to attack Qingtongxia and the Wild Boar region. But he never expected that Xiao Changche and Li Dachui would not come; instead, it was Zhebie who came.

Standing atop the city wall, watching the more than ten thousand cavalrymen approaching in the distance amidst billowing dust, Lengge remained stunned for a long time.

How did Zhebie manage to break through the encirclement of Xiao Changche and Li Dachui?

Lengge couldn't understand it.

"Open the gate!" A roar startled Lengge, who was deep in thought. When he looked closely, he saw Jebe shouting and cursing outside the city gate.

Looking around, the soldiers were at a loss, and all their eyes were on Lengge.

Should we open the door or not?
this is a problem.

Opening the door would inevitably mean losing control, but Jebe was still the legitimate commander of the southern frontier, personally appointed by the late Emperor Yingzhuo.

The new emperor came to power, and whether he forgot about it or thought that Jebe would definitely die at the hands of the Anxi Protectorate, he didn't mention Jebe at all.

This is very embarrassing.

The officials and soldiers throughout Qingtongxia all knew that Jebe was refusing to open the gates, turning away the eldest prince of the Yuan Dynasty and the commander of the southern border. Was he planning a rebellion?
Moreover, there were still remnants of Jebe's forces left behind in the city, and at this time, those people were already itching to make a move.

After hesitating for a long time, Lenger finally gave the order to open the door!

With over 15,000 cavalrymen pouring into Qingtongxia City, Lengge's fate was sealed.

Jebe sat high in the hall, his expression stern. With each beat of the drum, officers rushed over, saluted, and took their places.

Anxiety was evident on everyone's face. At this very moment, Jebe's army was taking control of all the key locations within the city.

Outside the main hall, the barbarian chieftain An Xuan, carrying two bare clubs, surveyed the surroundings with murderous intent. Around the hall, thousands of barbarians were fully armed, looking ready to devour anyone in sight.

Jebe's cold gaze swept over the hundreds of generals, both high and low, in the hall for a long while.
Whether it's his status as the commander of the southern frontier, the eldest prince of the Yuan Dynasty, or Jebe's past military achievements,
They all exuded an overwhelming and oppressive aura towards the people in the hall.
Apart from a few people like Lengge, everyone else involuntarily lowered their heads.

"I lost this battle!" Jebe's cold voice echoed in the hall. "We suffered heavy losses, a truly devastating defeat. Even General Che Zhe was beheaded by the enemy!"

Many people looked up in shock.

Che Zhe was a renowned and valiant general in the Yuan Dynasty, but little did he know that this trip would be his last.

"There are no undefeated generals in this world, and victory and defeat on the battlefield are common occurrences. But this time, I am not convinced of my defeat at all!" Jebe said, "Because my defeat was so frustrating and infuriating. Do you know why?"

Jebe suddenly stood up, glaring at the afternoon, and roared, "Because our army hasn't even set off yet, all the military plans have already been sold out! An Xuan ran into Li Dachui, and Che Zhe ran into Xiao Changche. Haha, they were surrounded in a desperate situation. An Xuan barely escaped with his life, but Che Zhe will never come back!"

Lengge turned to look at the angry Jebe at the head of the table and said, "General, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, but we cannot attribute defeat to something that does not exist. Li Dachui and Xiao Changche are famous generals from beyond the Great Wall. It is not unjust for us to lose to them. The Second Prince also often lost to them in the past."

Jebe laughed heartily, "Well said, Lengge. Heaven is watching what people do. What you think is flawless is often riddled with holes and loopholes. Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Lengge looked at Zhebie with a surprised expression: "General, what can I say to you? You were deceived by Linghuye. Not only did you pay a lot of money and food for nothing, but you were also outmaneuvered by the Chang family's army and Chen Liang's army. It is an extremely risky thing to conspire with a tiger. From now on, we must be more careful."

Jebe leaned forward, his eyes filled with murderous intent: "Lengge, I gave you a chance, but you didn't take it!"

Lenge and Jebe locked eyes, but neither was afraid of the other.

Jebe slowly sat down and clapped his hands.

Footsteps sounded outside, and a moment later, several people, bound hand and foot, were dragged into the hall by Man Hu and thrown hard in front of Leng Ge.

Lenger was stunned.

How could these people have fallen into Jebe's hands?

He looked up abruptly, only to see Jebe's mocking face.

You were able to collude with the Anxi Protectorate to betray the interests of the Yuan Dynasty, but you never expected that the Anxi Protectorate would sell you out completely, did you?
"Lengge, what else do you have to say?"

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Lenge's mind, and he understood everything that had happened. He also understood why Jebe was able to return with half of his army under such circumstances.

Indeed, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

The Second Prince was already making a deal with the devil, and now that he has been betrayed by the devil, there is nothing for him to complain about.

In the coup in Yandu, the Second Prince and the Third Prince clashed on the battlefield. Naturally, the First Prince was unwilling to remain a mere spectator, and he must have reached a deal with the Anxi Protectorate.

The price of the deal would certainly be Qingtongxia and Yezhuling.

Zhebie doesn't care about these two places because his base is in the north. This time when he returns, he will definitely go directly back to the north.

So whether Qingtongxia and Yezhuling are lost or not, he really doesn't care.

Those affected were Tiele and Akdun, especially Tiele, who lost the territory he had built up over many years.

Of course, the Yuan Dynasty will ultimately suffer the loss.

Whoever wins the final battle for the Yuan throne will likely face immense difficulties in reclaiming these two places.

More than 20 years ago, the late Emperor Yingzhuo took advantage of the chaos in the Qin state and the large-scale purge of the Qin border troops to acquire these two places.

The cycle of life is endless, and retribution is inevitable!

Now that the Yuan Dynasty is in turmoil, the Qin people are taking advantage of the chaos to plunder.

Jebe waved his hand, and several barbarians stepped forward, pinning Lengge to the ground with his arms tied behind his back.

Lenger did not struggle.

Only a handful of people truly knew about the deal with the Anxi Protectorate. Just by looking at the surprised, astonished, and angry eyes of the generals in the main tent, Lengge knew that he had no room for retaliation.

Moreover, in terms of cultivation, both Zhebie and Anxuan are beings who can easily crush him.

"Your Highness, please don't give up on Wild Boar Ridge in Qingtongxia! For the sake of the Great Yuan, for the sake of the Great Yuan!" Lengge struggled to raise his head and shouted loudly at Zhebie.

“I don’t need a traitor like you to teach me how to do things!” Jebe said coldly.

(End of this chapter)