Chapter 1383: Old Fart (Part 3)

Chapter 1383 -337: Old Fart (Part 3)

The Sword Saint saw the situation and said, “This item, if you can avoid consuming it, it’s best not to.”

Every highly cultivated expert is very persistent in caring for and cherishing their body, as is the Sword Saint, so is Tian Wujing. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Old Tian once told Lord Zheng that tobacco was bad for his health.

After taking the pill, Lord Zheng laughed, “I wouldn’t usually take it, but isn’t it crucial that things are settled now? Once this battle is thoroughly concluded, then I can have a good three-day and three-night sleep, it’s not too late.”

The pill’s effect was excellent, and Lord Zheng’s energy quickly returned, along with a kind of strange excitement.

One after another, military orders were issued from Lord Zheng. In fact, they were not guidance on the battle situation, but rather a readjustment of various areas. Even if the commander does not speak, the generals in each area should know what to do if they are not foolish.

This fact was clear to Lord Zheng;

But the reason for forcefully having orders conveyed was actually to tell them that their lord was still doing well, serving as a reassurance to the troops.

At present, with the collapse of the Chu people, the actual areas of contention were reduced to two.

One area: the collapsing Chu people began instinctively fleeing towards East Mountain Fort. In their view, within the city walls was the safest place. What they now urgently wanted most was a sense of security.

Jin Shuke led his troops pursuing them from behind, like wolves driving a flock of sheep, while the north city gate of East Mountain Fort opened at this moment, attracting a large number of fleeing Chu people, and then the gate mercilessly closed again.

This opening and closing can be said to have crushed and then spread open the hearts of the Chu people.

Over half of the Chu people fleeing here completely lost hope, simply knelt on the ground, surrendering and begging to survive.

A small number planned to run to the side; some wanted to continue entering the city through other gates, determinedly stubborn; others thought of leaving the area altogether, running as far as they could.

However, the Yan people, who had passed the most difficult times and began a major counterattack, finally had the chance to showcase their archery skills on horseback—these fleeing Chu people were nothing but a hunting game for them.

Unlike Lord Zheng, whose body was forcibly weakened by Mo Wan, for ordinary soldiers, when victory was in sight, their ecstatic spirits could help them ignore the fatigue, whereas for the Chu people, despair intensified their current burden.

So-called hunting meant a one-sided slaughter; for those Chu people unwilling to surrender, the Yan Army’s blades would show no mercy.

The fiercer the previous Chu people’s offensive, and the more heavily suppressed the Yan people were before, the greater the anger in everyone’s hearts now.

If not for Jin Shuke’s order forbidding slaughter, even the Chu people kneeling and begging for life might have been mowed down by these already bloodthirsty Yan soldiers.

Killing captives in this battle was right, and of course, you can’t say that the previous order by Prince Jingnan to kill captives under Jade Plate City was wrong.

Because had they not killed captives back then, during the Yan and Chu great war now, the Chu people would have a baseless elite Blue Luan army and a youthful, vigorous Zhuguai.

Last time, when Lord Zheng broke through Yangshan Village, capturing a lot of Baipu soldiers, Prince Jingnan sent people to take many away and dispersed them in batches back to various military forts, villages, and even Town South Pass—this move was to tell the Chu people that in this war, surrendering could still spare your life.

If the Chu people were really driven to a corner, resolutely defending to the death, then the Yan people would have to incur more casualties.

This way, the Chu army could be said to have nearly been gnawed away; those who fled were like a pack of cats and dogs, just a hunt to finish;

The other route was where the bronze chariot was located; Shi Yuantang’s personal soldiers wanted to protect their own Zhuguai and break out, but Chu routs kept gathering here.

Some of the routed troops, verbally claimed to protect Zhuguai;

In reality, they blocked the bronze chariot, making movement impossible.

The organized Chu army near the chariot wished to draw their swords to open a path among their own soldiers, but were stopped by Shi Yuantang’s words.

Shi Yuantang stood on the carriage, looking around, with A Cheng leading troops to surround them tightly.

If there was outside reinforcement, the Chu army might still charge, or form ranks to continue delaying.

There were many defeated soldiers around, and if Shi Yuantang as the Zhuguai wished, he could still suppress them. In fact, this was the intention of the routed troops; in their panic, they could only escape here, seeking “coordination.”

But Shi Yuantang knew very well in his heart, there were no reinforcements.

Because his troop was essentially considered reinforcements; moreover, East Mountain Fort was just a part of the battle zone, while in the outer wildlands, Yan troops were stationed and maneuvering everywhere, their scouts and riders completely covering this area. It was simply impossible for reinforcements to covertly mobilize here and launch an attack again.

The soldiers and officers were actually waiting, waiting for someone to make a decision.

And in this situation,

there were really only two decisions you could make.

Shi Yuantang spoke:

“I wish to meet with Lord Pingye of the Great Yan.”

…

The bronze chariot remained there, surrounded by Chu soldiers, who were terrified, anxious, because before them were Yan soldiers displaying a distinctly mocking expression.