My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 356 Sadness

Li Xuanba walked out of the government office and immediately mounted his warhorse.

He looked at Yang Xuanzong beside him, "The emperor has already made the first move! Go and inform Duke Xu! Tell him to hold the camp!!"

Yang Xuanzong agreed and quickly left.

Li Xuanba rode his warhorse and galloped away, heading directly north towards the city gate.

Yang Xuanzong moved extremely fast. Because the government office was not far from Yuwen Shu's camp, he quickly brought the news to Yuwen Shu. When Yuwen Shu learned of the situation, he couldn't help but curse loudly.

There are many reasons why he chose to back down this time.

The purpose was both to draw out those who could become the emperor's weapons and to gauge the emperor's attitude.

Yuwen Shu truly did not want to rebel. Even though he knew the truth, he still harbored a sliver of hope that the emperor would not punish him and that everyone could return to their previous way of getting along.

However, what happened inside the government office has already proven the emperor's magnanimity.

The emperor did not let Yuwen Shu's opportunity to back down pass and chose to take direct action.

If Li Xuanba hadn't repeatedly persuaded him and insisted on going to the government office to resolve Su Wei's problem, demanding that he not hesitate and act immediately, Yuwen Shu would truly be in a very passive situation now.

The emperor suddenly took action, first subduing the government offices, then the foreign troops entered the city, and Mai Tiezhang then launched an attack on the military camp.
Yuwen Shu grew angrier the more he thought about it. He immediately put on his armor, ordered his soldiers to gather, and rushed towards the camp.

When Yuwen Shu launched his troops, Li Xuanba had already caught up with Guo Rong and the others who had separated.

As Guo Rong and his group were walking, they noticed the pursuers behind them.

Guo Rong, being a veteran, immediately sprinted towards the city gate the moment he realized someone was chasing him.

"Whoosh~~~"

He heard the sound of crossbows whistling through the air.

One after another, his followers screamed and fell to the ground.

Arrows even flew out from above Guo Rong's head, nearly hitting him. Guo Rong looked around as people fell to the ground, while the city gates in the distance remained closed. Despair instantly filled his eyes.

"Don't hit me!! Don't hit me!!"

Guo Rong shouted and reined in his horse, then raised his hands high.

The pursuers behind them quickly caught up with them.

"dismount!!"

Someone gave the order.

Guo Rong tactfully dismounted and turned to look at the crowd behind him.

Li Xuanba stared at him fiercely, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Guo Rong was shocked to see the young general in front of him stained with blood, but he was not afraid.

He asked, "General Li, why did you do this?!"

"Fan Zigai colluded with Pei Yun in a plot to rebel, and I have already killed him. Guo Rong, were you involved in Pei Yun's rebellion?"

Li Xuanba spoke up and questioned him.

Guo Rong was shocked to learn that Fan Zigai was dead, and his eyes were filled with sorrow.

“I deserve to die. If you want to kill me, I will not explain. But the people around me are innocent. They know nothing. They entered the city on my orders. I only beg General Li to spare their lives.”

Guo Rong pointed to the equally young military officers around him.

The young people's faces were filled with fear and bewilderment.

Li Xuanba's hand holding the hammer trembled for a moment, then he lowered his voice and said, "General, you were also in the battle when we attacked Liaodong City, but we had to retreat to the rear because of the heavy casualties."

“I know your loyalty and courage, and I know that you have submitted many memorials to the emperor to offer advice.”

"If you truly care about the soldiers around you, then work with us."

"A million-strong army—we brought them here, and we must take them back with us!!"

Guo Rong stared in astonishment at the young man in front of him.

“General, if you hesitate, it won’t just be these people around you who will die. Back then, you led the army to be the first to launch a strong attack on Liaodong. You were almost able to take it, but you were forced to stop because of that messenger. I saw with my own eyes that you were holding your fallen general and weeping. Do you want such a thing to happen again?”

Guo Rong closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly.

"Are you planning to assassinate the king?"

"We just want to get everyone back."

Guo Rong looked at the young men around him again. As if remembering something, he finally spoke, "I'll go with you to see Yuwen Shu!"

Before setting up camp, the situation was extremely critical.

Duan Da, sword in hand, stood at the forefront, while Mai Tiezhang led his soldiers in a distant standoff. The tension between the two sides grew increasingly palpable, as if a battle was imminent. Duan Da, fully prepared, his eyes fierce, ordered his men, "If we clash later, anyone trying to leave the camp, shoot them down with arrows! Don't hold back!"

On the other side, Mai Tiezhang was furious.

He looked at the officers and captains around him, trembling with rage.

"This is an imperial edict! It's an imperial edict!!"

Are you plotting a rebellion?

The imperial edict that Mai Tiezhang received was to attack Duan Da, recapture the drill ground in front of the camp, and then protect the camp and resist the foreign army.

However, problems arose as soon as the matter began, the biggest problem being that the generals under Mai Tiezhang were unwilling to obey his orders.

Meng Jincha stood at the front, meeting Mai Tiezhang's gaze without the slightest fear.

"General, we have already died once. Because of the imperial edict from the rear, we are now reduced to just a few brothers."

"The general is aware of the imperial edict ordering them to march with heavy loads. Now that generals are fighting over these chaotic orders, are we supposed to fight them too?! Must we all die?!"

As victims of the West Bank Campaign, apart from Mai Tiezhang, who led the charge, everyone in the Right Garrison had grievances against those imperial edicts.

The order to carry out this heavy-load march caused an uproar among them.

Meng Jincha had completely sided with Li Xuanba. He trusted Li Xuanba's character more than the emperor's, since this general had saved the lives of their entire army!
Mai Tiezhang glared angrily at these people and drew his sword.

"We are His Majesty's subjects! How can we disobey the imperial edict? If you disobey again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Meng Jincha decisively threw away his weapon, saying, "I'd rather die at the hands of the general than die under chaotic orders."

"General, please let me go first!"

He knelt directly in front of Mai Tiezhang, sticking his head out, and the others followed suit.

"Please let me go first!!"

Seeing the state of his old comrades, Mai Tiezhang felt immense pain in his heart. At that moment, he even regretted that he had managed to walk out of the West Bank alive. If he had died there, perhaps he wouldn't have had to go through all this!

On one side was the emperor who had been kind to him, and on the other side were his old brothers who had followed him for many years.

Mai Tiezhang slowly said, "I was originally a worthless savage. I made mistakes when I was young, but I was fortunate enough to be valued by His Majesty, which led to my current situation. Now that His Majesty is suffering, I cannot ignore it. You have followed me for a long time and have made great contributions in battle, and I do not wish to harm you."

"If a ruler is in danger and his subjects fail to come to his aid, it is an act of disloyalty and injustice."

Meng Jincha sensed something was wrong as he listened to Mai Tiezhang's words.

He suddenly raised his head, "General!!"

"Pfft~~"

Mai Tiezhang swung his sword violently, but instead of killing the general in front of him, he swung it at himself.

As the longsword sliced ​​across his neck, the massive body swayed slightly, only glancing towards the distant camp before collapsing heavily.

Meng Jincha rushed over, hugged Mai Tiezhang's body, and roared loudly.

"We forced the general to his death! We forced the general to his death!!"

Meng Jincha instantly picked up the longsword from the ground. Before the other generals could react, Meng Jincha also swung the sword towards his own neck.

Blood splatters.

The two fierce generals who had been rescued by Li Xuanba had died meaninglessly in front of the training ground.

The officers and captains cried out loudly, as did the soldiers.

When Yuwen Shu charged over on horseback, all he saw were these soldiers wailing and crying.

He dismounted and looked at the ground.

But all they saw were the two corpses.

At that moment, Yuwen Shu's hands trembled. He breathed heavily, his chest heaving. He raised his head and looked at the person opposite him.

Duan Da, who was standing on the opposite side, stared wide-eyed.

He knows nothing!
When he saw Mai Tiezhang arrive, he was terrified and prepared to fight to the death. But before the battle even began, the general and his men died right before his eyes. Duan Daren was dumbfounded!
When Yuwen Shu looked at him, Duan Da could only say fearfully, "It wasn't me."

"Of course it's not you!!!"

"It wasn't you!!!"

Yuwen Shu roared loudly, his current state somewhat similar to that of Li Xuanba just now.

The next moment, Yuwen Shu led the group towards the camp.

(End of this chapter)