knife

Chapter 586 Take one step, think ten steps ahead

When Li Xiu arrived at the enemy's position, where they had fought for a whole day and suffered thousands of casualties, only a few hundred wounded and disabled soldiers remained in the entire camp.

Several bonfires were still burning brightly. Some soldiers with intact legs were walking around with long spears, pretending to be a patrol team. Some of the soldiers with shaky legs were idly banging on drums, while others were striking metal objects with sticks, making a clanging sound.

Upon seeing the Tiger Legion step onto the battlefield, the patrolmen stopped walking, threw down their weapons, covered their heads, and sat down on the ground.

Whether they live or die is no longer up to them; they can only leave it to fate.

When Li Xiu saw Xiao Zhongren, the guy was drinking, and he looked like he had already drunk quite a bit.

Upon seeing Li Xiu, he chuckled.

“Our boss is already gone, you can’t catch up with these metal shells!” He handed over the gourd of wine in his hand, “Have a sip, cool down!”

Li Xiu shook his head: "During military operations, anyone who drinks alcohol will be executed! This military order applies not only to ordinary soldiers, but also to all officers!"

Xiao Zhongren paused for a moment, then put away his wine gourd and took a big gulp: "I don't need to obey military orders anymore!"

"When have you ever received a military order?" Li Xiu looked at him sarcastically. "If orders were truly obeyed, how could we have so easily wiped out your few thousand cavalrymen?"

“With these people dead, the army will be able to obey orders without question!” Xiao Zhongren sighed.

"Do you even have a future?" Li Xiu laughed.

"You have no future, don't you?" Xiao Zhongren laughed loudly. "You must be Li Xiu. Your Empress Dowager has been abandoned, haha. How much trouble can you cause in just Yong'an County and Ruyin County? You'll be finished soon! I advise you to be more discerning. Go and join General He now, and you'll have a better future. Or take your army and join Xiang Ying. That would be better than following Jiang Qian."

Li Xiu looked at Xiao Zhongren as if he were a rare and exotic object, but the smile on her face grew wider and wider.

Xiao Zhongren became uneasy under her gaze: "Isn't that how it is?"

Li Xiu pointed to their camp and said, "Do you really think I'm blind and deaf, or do you think I'm a fool who couldn't guess you'd all run away tonight?"

"So what if you guessed it? In this pitch black, do you dare to chase after them? Do you think these metal shells can outrun us? General Yang might have set a trap ahead, and you'll fall right into it. A great victory can turn into a great defeat in the blink of an eye!"

“Xiao Zhongren, you used to be a bandit, no wonder you only have a superficial understanding of military affairs!” Li Xiu laughed. “Let’s talk about traps first. Do you think it’s possible for ten or a hundred sheep to be ambushed and kill a tiger?”

Xiao Zhongren rolled his eyes.

"Secondly, where do you think my several thousand cavalrymen went?"

"They've ambushed Boss Yang ahead?" Xiao Zhongren's expression changed.

“No, they have another mission!” Li Xiuyi said with a smile.

"Then what do you mean?"

"I'm not chasing you because there's an easier way to wipe out your boss's team. If I immediately close in while you're running, you won't run anymore and you'll have to fight me to the death. We don't think it's worth it. There's an easier way, so why not choose the easier one?"

"What other options do you have?" Xiao Zhongren murmured.

Li Xiu smiled without speaking, watching the large army slowly advancing in the darkness, and said, "At this pace, we should be able to arrive at the finish line of this battle around dawn tomorrow!"

Suddenly, Xiao Zhongren had a flash of inspiration and stared wide-eyed at Li Xiu: "He Yiming, you mean He Yiming!"

Li Xiu laughed loudly: "Do you still think He Yiming is your ally? The hunters have already dug a trap on your boss Yang's path, just waiting for him to jump in!" Xiao Zhongren felt dizzy.

Li Xiu laughed and said, "Brother, you think we're at our wits' end? Little do you know, you're the ones who're truly at our wits' end! Why don't you think about where Commander Kang Zhen is?"

"Where is he?" Xiao Zhongren asked instinctively.

"He's in Yangcheng!" Li Xiu said triumphantly.

Xiao Zhongren's face turned deathly pale.

"Now I'll tell you where our several thousand cavalry went," Li Xiu said, crouching down and looking at the other man. "They went to Xiangcheng!"

Xiao Zhongren's body began to tremble violently.

"Looking at you, you seem ready to die. Do you think you'll win and your family will be well taken care of, so you don't care?" Li Xiu asked. "Do you still think that way now?"

Xiao Zhongren was somewhat desperate. "You don't mean to let me live, do you?"

"Why not?" Li Xiu said with a smile, "Not only can you live, but these hundreds of wounded soldiers can also live. Look, my men are currently treating those who can still be healed. Of course, for those who really can't be healed, a quick cut would be more painless, wouldn't it?"

Swallowing hard, Xiao Zhongren looked at Li Xiu in disbelief.

“Although your injuries are severe, you are a martial arts expert at the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan, and your vitality is much stronger than that of ordinary people. And coincidentally, I also have a life-saving holy medicine.” With a wave of his hand, a dark pill appeared in his palm.

"You only get this medicine if you surrender, right?" Xiao Zhongren said.

"Don't put it so harshly, it's a cooperation!" Li Xiu said with a smile, "I heard that Yang Lixin is doing quite well in Nanyang, and as his deputy, you also have a lot of prestige in Nanyang. Now that Yang Lixin is gone, you can basically be in charge when you return to Nanyang!"

“General Yang?” Xiao Zhongren straightened up with difficulty.

“He’s different from you, he has to die!” Li Xiu’s hand remained outstretched in front of Xiao Zhongren: “But if you live, you’ll have to take care of his wife, children, and elderly parents in the future, and we won’t stop you!”

Xiao Zhongren remained silent for a long time before finally reaching out, taking the pill from Li Xiu's hand, and swallowing it in one gulp.

Li Xiu nodded, turned around and shouted, "Someone, bandage General Xiao!"

Several medics who had been standing guard nearby immediately rushed over.

Li Xiu straightened up and looked at the Tiger Army gradually disappearing into the darkness. He was filled with emotion. Whether it was Protector Li or Empress Dowager Jiang, they were both the kind of people who thought ten steps ahead before taking one.

This scene was part of their plan all along.

Even without Xiao Zhongren, they would still catch Li Zhongren and Wang Zhongren.

Of course, having Xiao Zhongren would be the best solution.

With Yang Lixin's defeat and death, Nanyang will surely be in shock. Li Guohua, who occupies Luoyang, the eastern capital, is a cunning fox. How could he not pay attention to this war? As soon as he hears that Yang Lixin is finished, he will immediately send troops to seize Nanyang.

At present, our side does not have many troops to fight for Nanyang, so we can only make do with what we have. With Xiao Zhongren, we can at least stabilize Nanyang. Even if we lose some territory temporarily, it is not a big deal. As long as we can still grasp some strategic key points in Nanyang, the things we need to do next will be much easier.

Once Xiangcheng and Nanyang are in our hands, the road ahead will be wide open!
(End of this chapter)