My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 324 Let's go together!

The Liao River is surging and has been dyed red.

Countless bodies of brave young men drifted slowly across the Liao River. The soldiers on the shore remained silent, staring blankly at the corpses of their comrades floating away. Their morale had plummeted to rock bottom.

The remnants of the Right Garrison returned to the east bank, their emotions a mixture of grief and anger. Some soldiers were weeping bitterly, while others were angrily questioning.

"What's with the pontoon bridge?!"

What is a pontoon bridge?

Meng Lang's eyes were bloodshot. He roughly pushed aside the soldiers in front of him and rushed to the innermost part of the camp. His armor was riddled with arrows, he trembled all over, and his hair was disheveled. He looked like a demon returned from hell. Holding a sharp blade, he stared at Yuwen Shu with grief and indignation, shouting, "Where is Yuwen Kai?! Where is Yuwen Kai?!"

Yuwen Shu frowned, remaining silent.

General Meng roared, "My tens of thousands of soldiers have all become sitting ducks! They've been slaughtered like this by those beasts! Why wasn't the length of the pontoon bridge, such an important thing, determined? Why were we sent to our deaths?"

"Where is Yuwen Kai?!"

Hearing General Meng's roar, Yuwen Shu finally spoke, "He has already been taken away by the army doctor. After discovering the problem with the pontoon bridge, he vomited blood, collapsed, and fell into a coma. I will report the matter of the pontoon bridge to His Majesty, and His Majesty will deal with him accordingly."

Meng Lang dropped the knife in his hand to the ground and began to cry.

"My brothers are dead! Each of them fought ten men single-handedly, yet they died on the pontoon bridge! Shi Xiong's body has never been recovered!!"

"enough."

A voice came from the side, and Meng Lang looked up to see their great general, Mai Tiezhang.

Mai Tiezhang's injuries were much more severe than Meng Lang's. His body was covered in wounds, with almost no intact parts. He was the first to charge and the first to jump into the crowd. Even now, blood was still seeping from his body, and a military medic was bandaging him.

Mai Tiezhang didn't care about his injuries; his eyes were filled with grief. The soldiers who had died were all his Right Guard troops and his subordinates.

He took a deep breath and looked seriously at General Meng, "We cannot let this affect morale."

He looked at the soldier beside him and said, "Let's send him to recover from his injuries first."

Meng Jincha stood up and said stubbornly, "General, I'm not going."

He wiped away his tears, "I must avenge Old Qian, and I must avenge my brothers."

Mai Tiezhang then looked at Yuwen Shu, Li Xuanba, and the others, and slowly bowed to them, saying, "Thank you for your rescue. If it weren't for your help, the entire Right Garrison Army would have perished on the other side."

Yuwen Shu's expression was very unpleasant. He said, "Forget about any favors for now. Let's think about how to deal with His Majesty's questioning first."

"condemn?"

Mai Tiezhang was somewhat puzzled.

Yang Xuanzong couldn't help but say, "General Mai, you don't know this, but my general saw that the vanguard was in danger and wanted to go to their aid. However, that scoundrel Husi Zheng actually said that he had to send someone to ask His Majesty for permission before he could go to their aid!"

"I spoke to him personally, but he ignored me. In a fit of rage, my general wanted to kill Husi Zheng, but Duke Xu tried to stop him, and that fellow escaped."

Yuwen Shu glared at him. "If I hadn't intervened, you'd all be dead here! That Husi Zheng was sent by His Majesty; he's the Vice Minister of War. You think you can just kill him like that??"

Yang Xuanzong didn't dare to argue with Yuwen Shu, but continued, "My general borrowed a boat from Duke Xu and took us there to provide support."

Hearing this, Meng Jincha became even angrier. "Is war a child's play?! Something that could be done by one person has been made so complicated. Not only was the pontoon bridge project handed over to someone else, but we also have to wait for the emperor's edict for advancing, retreating, and providing support?! Is the emperor here to kill Goryeo or to kill us?!"

"Shut up!!"

"How could you utter such disrespectful and ungrateful words?!"

Mai Tiezhang shouted loudly.

He frowned and said seriously, "His Majesty has his reasons."

Yang Xuanzong was somewhat angry. "What, General, are you blaming us for meddling? Should we wait for imperial orders?"

Mai Tiezhang pursed his lips. "We are generals of the nation, and it is our duty to fight to the death for our country. However, this first battle was a defeat, and it has implicated all of you generals. I will personally plead guilty to His Majesty and ask him to pardon you all."

Yang Xuanzong was so angry he laughed. He just snorted and said nothing more.

Yuwen Shu looked at the group of idiots in front of him and felt even more overwhelmed. He really didn't know how he had ended up with such a bunch of scoundrels: a big, dumb idiot, a bad boy, and a good-for-nothing who was always stirring up trouble!
The previous situation had truly terrified Yuwen Shu. If he had been even a fraction slower and hadn't pulled Husi Zheng away in time, Husi Zheng's head would have been smashed to pieces by that kid's hammer.

This kid kills without hesitation, showing no mercy whatsoever.

And that big, dumb guy, he can't understand human speech at all.
Yuwen Shu sighed, "Forget it, there's no point in negotiating with you. Let's leave it to fate. Anyway, the escorts should be arriving soon."

Yuwen Shu dismissed everyone and then continued to have ships built, bodies retrieved, the routed soldiers comforted, and the names checked.
Li Xuanba led his men back, with Yang Xuanzong following beside him, very angry. "General, we shouldn't have gone to save Mai Tiezhang. That bastard won't appreciate it at all. He's just an old dog, all he does is eat bones and wag his tail."

Li Xuanba remained calm. "I didn't save him, I saved tens of thousands of soldiers from the Right Garrison."

Qin Qiong was quite worried at this moment. "General, this Husi Zheng is no good. You treated him like that just now. If he goes to the emperor, he will definitely talk nonsense. If the emperor wants to punish him..."

Yang Xuanzong hesitated, looking expectantly at Li Xuanba.

Li Xuanba frowned, his eyes fierce.

At that moment, the sound of galloping hooves came from afar, and the ground trembled slightly. A large group of people and horses galloped from a distance, followed by many cavalrymen. They charged all the way into the camp of the Xiaoguo Guard. A large number of people and horses appeared in the distance, along with various flags.

Then they saw a man riding a big horse, standing at the very front.

The man, clad in armor and with a solemn expression, looked quite imposing. Holding a decree, he stared at the soldiers before him and loudly questioned:
"Where is Li Xuanba, the General of the Vanguard?!"

He asked several times before Li Xuanba finally led Qin Qiong and the others out in large strides.

Li Xuanba raised his head and looked at the people in front of him. The group that had come was also from the Xiaoguo Army, but it was not the one under Li Xuanba's command.

The general riding the horse was Zhao Xingchu, who held the same rank as Li Xuanba.

Zhao Xingchu looked sternly at Li Xuanba as he approached, "I am here by imperial decree to bring you back to His Majesty's side for an audience!"

He looked to the side and ordered, "Yuanli! Bring him here!"

The person standing beside him was none other than the valiant and resolute General Yuan Li.

Yuan Li's face was extremely ugly at this moment. He frowned and stared at Li Xuanba in the distance, motionless.

Zhao Xingchu was somewhat angry. "Yuanli! What are you standing there for?!"

"My son! When did you become so tough?!"

At that moment, a rough voice came from afar, and another group of people rode in on horseback. Leading them was Yuwen Shu, who was arrogant and squinted at the arrogant Zhao Xingshu.

When Zhao Xingshu saw him, he was so frightened that he quickly dismounted and bowed to him.

"Duke!"

Yuwen Shu slowly walked to his side, then glanced at Li Xuanba, "Are you here to arrest people at the front?"

"No, no, Duke, I came by His Majesty's decree. His Majesty ordered me to bring General Li back."

"And what about me? What about General Mai and the others?"

"His Majesty didn't say."

Yuwen Shu hesitated for a moment, then ordered only that Li Xuanba be taken away.
Just as Yuwen Shu was still struggling with his decision, another person arrived with his men; it was Mai Tiezhang.

"General Zhao, I want to go with you."

Zhao Xingchu said with a wry smile, "But His Majesty only summoned General Li."

"I can't not go."

Mai Tiezhang was very straightforward. He looked at Li Xuanba and said, "General Li, let's go together. I will never let you all be implicated by me again."

Yuwen Shu also spoke up at this moment, "Xing Shu, you are also from Guanzhong, you need to see the situation clearly. If some petty people gain power, it will not be a good thing for us, do you understand?"

Zhao Xingchu nodded quickly.

Yuwen Shu looked at Li Xuanba and said, "I'll go too. Let's go together!"

(End of this chapter)