I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

It was as if they had timed it perfectly and came specifically to pick peaches!

In a flash, Zhao Bingkun understood Liu Wei and He Yong's scheme.

This is like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken—it's up to no good!

He took a deep breath, his face displaying just the right amount of gratitude and embarrassment, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Zhang Mang below the city walls: "So it's General's heavenly troops! The entire Qingyang County is deeply grateful!"

He abruptly changed the subject, his tone becoming serious: "However... Commander Zhang, you may not know this, but although the main force of the Yelü bandits has been routed, nearly two thousand remnants still roam the wilderness outside the city, their whereabouts uncertain. Our scouts have just discovered that there seem to be enemy activity in the dense forest ten miles to the east!"

"Just in case, and for the safety of Commander He's army, I request that your troops temporarily set up camp outside the city. Once I have sent men to clear away the threats, we will open the city gates and prepare a welcoming feast for the soldiers. What do you say?"

These words were perfectly worded, expressing both gratitude and reasonable concerns.

Zhang Mang, standing below the city, was taken aback. He clearly hadn't expected that this seemingly weak county magistrate would dare not open the gate immediately.

His face darkened, and his tone became unfriendly: "Lord Zhao, what do you mean by this? Does Commander He's army fear a few defeated soldiers? Do you not trust the fighting strength of our border troops, or... do you intend to disobey the General's orders?"

The serious charge of "disobeying military orders" was thus slapped on his head.

Zhao Bingkun sneered inwardly.

Damn it, the fox's tail has been revealed.

His smile remained unchanged, but his tone hardened: "Commander Zhang, you flatter me. It is precisely because we admire the bravery of the border troops that we are even more unwilling to let our soldiers take any risks. How can matters of national importance be treated lightly? If the bandits were to set an ambush and cause casualties to our elite forces, could you bear that responsibility? I... could not!"

He deliberately emphasized the word "responsibility".

Zhang Mang's face turned a deep purplish-red. As a mere captain, he naturally dared not take on this responsibility. However, He Yong had given a firm order before setting off: Qingyang County must open its gates.

He gripped the reins tightly and shouted sternly, "Zhao Bingkun! I'll ask you one more time, are you going to open the city gate or not? If you delay the important task of suppressing the bandits, and the General-in-Chief blames you, can you, a mere seventh-rank county magistrate, bear the consequences?!"

A threat. A blatant threat.

The atmosphere on the city wall instantly became extremely tense. The county soldiers gripped their weapons tightly, staring intently at the border troops below.

Zhao Bingkun slowly straightened up, the smile on his face completely disappearing, his gaze turning as cold and deep as a still pool.

He stared at Zhang Mang and said, word by word, "The peaches in Qingyang County were earned by Brother Qi Shan and two hundred soldiers with their lives. Although they are not yet fully ripe, they are not something just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can pick."

"Go back and tell He Yong."

"If he wants to enter the city, he can. Let him take his men and cut off the heads of the nearly two thousand defeated Yelü soldiers outside the city and pile them up at the city gate."

"Otherwise, no one will be allowed to enter the city gates of Qingyang County!"

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable resolve.

Zhang Mang was completely stunned. He never expected a civil official to dare to say such harsh words. This wasn't a discussion; it was a blatant challenge!

He pointed at Zhao Bingkun, his lips trembling for a long time before he finally managed to stammer out, "Fine... fine, you Zhao Bingkun! You just wait! You just wait!"

Having said that, he suddenly pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, and led his men and horses away in a cloud of dust.

There was a deathly silence on the city wall.

Chen Chong walked to Zhao Bingkun's side and said in a worried whisper, "Sir, doing this... is tantamount to completely breaking ties with the border army. They have a thousand men..."

"So what if there are a thousand people?" Zhao Bingkun interrupted him, his gaze returning to the dim yellow horizon to the north, his voice carrying a weariness and anticipation that no one could understand.

"It's better to have a falling out than to be stabbed in the back."

Outside the city gate of Qingyang County, He Yong listened to the exaggerated report by Captain Zhang Mang, and instead of being angry, he laughed.

"A mere seventh-rank county magistrate dares to ask me, a centurion, to chop off two thousand heads as a stepping stone?"

He reined in his horse, squinted at the tightly closed city gate and the county soldiers standing guard on the city tower, and his smile became increasingly amused.

interesting.

Zhao Bingkun wouldn't open the door, and he didn't intend to force his way in.

After the city fell, he came to "suppress the remaining rebels" and took over Qingyang County, which was the original plan.

Now plans can't keep up with changes, and the Yelü people have ruined themselves.

However, his core mission also became more focused: to kill Qi Shan.

As long as Qi Shan's head is still intact, General Liu Wei can report back.

As for the dilapidated city of Qingyang County, he was not concerned about it for the time being.

He turned his horse around and looked towards the eastern horizon.

Even from dozens of miles away, you can still see that the sky is shrouded in an indelible gray-black hue.

Those were the embers after Yelüda's camp of three thousand men was burned down.

The scouts sent out have already reported back that the once invincible camp is now nothing but charred corpses and abandoned ruins.

As for those Yelü soldiers who managed to escape...

He Yong even heard that some peasants from several villages, emboldened by their courage, picked up pitchforks and hoes and beat several exhausted Yelü soldiers to death.

More often, they are carried off by wolves in the wilderness or become prey for wild animals.

The once-mighty prairie wolf is now a homeless dog.

As a Han Chinese, this scene was undeniably satisfying.

But as a close confidant of General Liu Wei, this gave him a headache.

The mission to cover the safe evacuation of Yelü's elite troops has now completely failed.

"We must do it as soon as possible," He Yong muttered to himself.

Kill Qi Shan and take his head back to report.

This credit must be accepted by Lord Liu Wei, and only Lord Liu Wei can accept it.

Just then, a scout came galloping from afar, looking flustered.

"Report! Commander He, a troop has been spotted ahead, heading straight for us!"

He Yong raised an eyebrow: "How many people? What's their banner?"

"About... about a hundred riders, without banners! But... they were immediately covered in things!"

He Yong's personal guards tensed up instantly and drew their swords.

A hundred or so riders were nothing more than a piece of cake for their thousand elite troops.

He Yong raised his hand, signaling everyone to calm down.

He urged his horse forward a few steps and gazed into the distance.

On the horizon, a line of black dots slowly appeared and gradually became clearer.

That was an cavalry force that was utterly exhausted.

Their numbers were indeed small, just over a hundred, all covered in blood, their armor tattered, as if they had just crawled out of hell.

Even the warhorse beneath him was taking heavy steps, foaming at its mouth and nose.

However, as they drew closer, a thousand elite border troops under He Yong's command erupted in a suppressed gasp.

There was no luggage on those horses at all.

Instead, they were hideous, gruesome human heads, their eyes wide open in death!

Braids, tattoos, fierce faces—all Yelü people's heads!

One by one, in clusters, they were haphazardly tied to the side of the saddle with ropes, swaying and bobbing with the horse's movements, their dried blood staining the horse's belly black.

The thousand border soldiers remained completely silent.

They looked at this hundred-man team as if they were looking at a group of demons returning from a battlefield of carnage.