My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 325 You've messed with the wrong person!

The huge camp was situated on high ground.

The surrounding area was filled with countless soldiers. There were six or seven layers of wooden palisades protecting the camp, with a large number of soldiers guarding each layer. Cavalry patrolled back and forth on both sides, making the defense extremely tight.

Zhao Xingjiu, accompanied by two generals from the front lines and a lieutenant general, walked back, covered in sweat.

He felt this was somewhat like a coup, but at least these two generals came alone and didn't return with their troops, so there shouldn't be any problems, right?
When they passed through the layers of defenses and reached the innermost part of the camp, it was quiet inside and out, lacking the usual atmosphere of singing and dancing.

Zhao Xingshu left everyone there and led the way into the camp.

Inside the camp, many generals and ministers sat on either side, their heads bowed, looking uneasy and not daring to speak.

Yang Guang sat on the throne, coldly staring at Zhao Xingchu who walked in. It was clear that he was also suppressing his anger.

"His Majesty!"

Zhao Xingchu bowed cautiously, then said in a low voice, "I have brought Li Xuanba back. In addition, General Mai and Duke Xu have also arrived. They both said they want to report to His Majesty in person."

Yang Guang already knew about it when they were near the camp; otherwise, they wouldn't have made it to the camp gate.

Yang Guang was now furious.

He had already learned of the defeat at the front. The initial setback in battle infuriated Yang Guang. In his view, this should have been a resounding victory, with a series of victories and a swift end to the battle.

Yang Guang summoned several chieftains and khans to accompany him on the expedition. At the banquet, he boasted to them that he would only need three months to cut off Gao Yuan's head and achieve a great victory!
With such high self-confidence, Yang Guang never considered the possibility of defeat.

Husi Zheng was the first to rush over and complain. He recounted how the pontoon bridge was too short, which led to the Right Guard army being slaughtered in frustration. He then told the story of how Yuwen Shu ignored his advice, how Li Xuanba attempted to assassinate him, and how he wanted to send troops out on his own.

Husi Zheng clearly did not understand the emperor's temper. He rushed over with several bad news, which the emperor could not tolerate. He immediately arrested Husi Zheng and had him flogged.

Later, the emperor learned that the initial battle had officially failed, with the Right Guard Army suffering heavy casualties, including even officers of the rank of Langjiang who had been killed in action.

Yang Guang was furious, but he only sent someone to bring Li Xuanba back.

Unexpectedly, all three of them showed up.

Yang Guang stared coldly at Zhao Xingchu in front of him. "Let them in."

A moment later, the three fierce generals entered the camp. Mai Tiezhang, covered in wounds, was the most conspicuous. Seeing him like this, the ferocity in Yang Guang's eyes lessened considerably.

"His Majesty!!"

The three of them went together to see each other at the church.

Mai Tiezhang's eyes were red as he looked at Yang Guang. "Your Majesty, I suffered a defeat in the first battle, losing many soldiers and generals. I deserve death! I have come here to beg for forgiveness! I beg Your Majesty to punish me with death!!"

Mai Tiezhang bowed three times to Yang Guang.

Yang Guang still liked Mai Tiezhang very much. Mai Tiezhang was a southerner and not one of the nobles in the north. At the same time, he was upright and loyal to him. Yang Guang felt a little sorry for him when he saw him like this.

"General Mai, this initial setback is due to Minister Yuwen's dereliction of duty. As the Minister of Works, he can't even build a pontoon bridge properly!"

"That mere ten feet of distance cost the lives of over ten thousand of my elite troops!!!"

Yang Guang was also heartbroken. Therefore, when talking about this matter, he gritted his teeth. If Yuwen Kai hadn't been seriously ill and unable to get up, he really would have gone to give Yuwen Kai a caning.

Yang Guang comforted Mai Tiezhang with a few words, and then looked at Li Xuanba.

"Although this defeat was due to Yuwen Kai's actions, the fact that a general on the front lines disregarded my edict and attempted to assassinate officials of the Ministry of War is unforgivable."

Yang Guang's tone was icy.

Mai Tiezhang then said, "Your Majesty, General Li disobeyed the imperial edict just now in order to support us. This was all caused by me. Please forgive his crime in consideration of the fact that he rescued so many soldiers of the Right Guard. I deserve to be punished!"

Yang Guang shook his head. "I know he has made meritorious contributions in providing support, and I know his thoughts. However, I have issued an order that no one is allowed to disobey the imperial edict, and anyone who does so must be executed. If this crime is not punished, what will happen if others follow suit? Moreover, he dared to murder an official. How can we ignore this?"

"Men, seize General Li Xuanba!" Yang Guang gave the order, and Yuwen Shu hurriedly stood up.

"His Majesty!!"

"It was not that Li Lang disobeyed the imperial edict, nor that he intended to murder officials; it was all Hu Sizheng's fault!"

Yang Guang looked coldly at Yuwen Shu, "What does Duke Xu mean by this?"

Yuwen Shu solemnly said, "After Husi Zheng arrived at the vanguard, he assumed the role of commander-in-chief and issued orders to the generals, claiming that he was acting on the emperor's orders! When it was time to send out troops, I suggested that the length of the pontoon bridge be checked, but Husi Zheng said that His Majesty had given him full authority over the vanguard, and that he had already measured the pontoon bridge, so there was no need to check it again. He insisted on sending out troops!"

"Then General Mai was besieged on the pontoon bridge. Li Lang and I suggested that we report to His Majesty in time and send him to the rescue. But this fellow claimed that he was the commander of the army and that when to ask for help and when to send troops depended on his will. He forbade us to say anything!"

"General Li was furious and argued with him for a few words. He then spoke rudely to General Li, saying that General Li was young and ignorant and that he only got his current position because of His Majesty's favor. He shouldn't be telling him what to do! General Li scolded him a few times, and he was so frightened that he fell to the ground and said that we were going to kill him. He then abandoned the army and ran away!"

"Seeing this situation, the soldiers' morale plummeted, and I had no choice but to order the troops to advance!"

"Your Majesty!! What I just said is absolutely true! There are hundreds of thousands of troops at the front! Thousands of people witnessed this scene, and they can all testify to it!"

Yuwen Shu spoke loudly and then kowtowed deeply to the emperor.

Yang Guang froze on the spot, and asked suspiciously, "Is that so?"

Yuwen Shu said loudly, "Your Majesty, since Minister Duan passed away, Husi Zheng has repeatedly made outrageous remarks and been disrespectful to the generals, acting as if he were the commander-in-chief! The generals all despise him, but they haven't had the chance to tell Your Majesty about this in person!"

Yang Guang slowly looked at the generals around him.

Right Wing Guard General Yu Zhongwen hurriedly rose and bowed to Yang Guang: "Your Majesty! That is indeed the case! This fellow is arrogant and incompetent. If any of the generals offend him, he threatens to embezzle grain and provisions!"

General Jing Yuanheng of the Left Valiant Guard stood up. "Your Majesty, this fellow even tried to extort bribes from many generals!"

Right General of the Martial Guard, Li Jing, and Left General of the Martial Guard, Guo Yan, also rose to file a complaint.

Then a large number of generals, such as Xue Shixiong, Xin Shixiong, Zhang Jin, Zhao Xiaocai, Cui Hongsheng, Wei Wensheng and others, stood up.

Seeing that the generals of the Twelve Guards had all stood up and were reprimanding Husi Zheng in unison, Yang Guang suddenly became restless.

He heavily relied on Husi Zheng because this guy had a bad relationship with many generals and was very suitable to serve in the Ministry of War. But if things didn't go this far and he forced the generals under his command to this point, then something was wrong.
In reality, these generals weren't necessarily at odds with Husi Zheng. However, Husi Zheng was just a minor issue. What the generals were truly dissatisfied with was the emperor's practice of demanding obedience to all orders. Now it was Mai Tiezhang who was lucky enough to be rescued, but who would be next? If they were surrounded and no one came to their aid, and they had to wait for imperial decrees, who the hell would dare to go and die?

Yang Guang frowned. "Guards! Bring Husi Zheng here!"

Husi Zheng had just been flogged and was resting when the soldiers brought him here again.

Seeing Yuwen Shu and the others there, Husi Zheng's eyes were filled with resentment. That bastard Li Xuanba actually dared to lay a hand on him! He wanted to watch Li Xuanba be killed by the emperor and fed to the dogs!

After he was carried over, he looked up and burst into tears, crying, "Your Majesty!! I am incompetent and have been bullied by these people. They have gone too far!"

"You scoundrel!! I entrusted you with the responsibility of liaising with the entire army, and you dare to act as the commander-in-chief?! You even dared to extort money from the generals, frame them, and cause our army to suffer a defeat. How can there be such a shameless person as you in the world?!"

Yang Guang launched into a tirade of curses.

Husi Zheng was stunned by the scolding. He tried to defend himself, saying, "Your Majesty, I did not."

"So many generals have testified to your crimes, do you still dare to deny it?!"

"Guards! Drag this scoundrel out and behead him as a warning to the public!!"

"Your Majesty!! Spare me!!!"

Husi Zheng really cried this time, so much so that his pants were soaked. He struggled and begged for mercy, but the soldiers ignored him and pulled him out. The generals in the tent were all staring at him coldly, their faces looking particularly terrifying.

You bastard, you've messed with the wrong person.

P.S.: I'm adjusting my schedule and will resume four updates a day as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)