Chapter 151

Jiang Ziya felt a desire to retreat, but this battle was his to establish prestige; victory or defeat affected the Sect of Enlightenment's plans and his later influence in West Qi.

It determined whether he could grasp supreme power and conveniently carry out the Investiture of the Gods, so he could not afford any slip, and he said lightly.

"Wen Zhong is the cornerstone of Yin-Shang; I never expected that a mere Chong Houhu would make him personally lead troops here, so we will meet Wen Zhong."

San Yisheng had nothing more to say, and with a slight bow of his hands he said, "Everything will follow the Prime Minister's orders."

Wen Zhong stepped out of the tent and told the deputy commander, "Pass the order down for the troops to prepare to meet the enemy."

While Jiang Ziya was organizing the three armies in preparation to face Wen Zhong, a soldier came running.

"Report, Prime Minister, Chong Heihu has captured the Chong Houhu family; they are shouting at us from the city wall, the chief culprit Chong Houhu has been seized, and they intend to surrender to us."

Hearing this, Jiang Ziya went to the gate of Chong City and had someone shout to Chong Heihu.

After a moment, the gate slowly opened; Chong Heihu appeared in full armor, leading a troop of elite soldiers, with the Chong Houhu family escorted behind him.

Seeing the Chong Houhu family bound neatly and brought out, Jiang Ziya felt great delight.

"Heaven helps me; I originally worried that Chong Houhu, seeing Wen Zhong arrive, would gain courage to sally out and join Wen Zhong in a pincer attack, forcing us to divert troops to garrison, but now it seems unnecessary."

As soon as Chong Heihu emerged, seeing Jiang Ziya stride forward, he dropped to one knee and loudly declared, "Prime Minister Jiang, Chong Houhu is violent by nature and has committed countless evils; I, Chong Heihu, have captured him and now lead the city's soldiers and civilians to surrender to West Qi."

Jiang Ziya nodded slightly: "Chong Heihu, your act is righteousness over kin, you understand the greater good, you follow Heaven's mandate, and West Qi welcomes your surrender."

Chong Heihu rose, bowed with clasped hands, and said, "Thank you, Prime Minister; from now on I am willing to serve West Qi and jointly achieve great undertakings."

Behind him, Chong Houhu's face was filled with resentment; he never expected his own younger brother to betray him.

He shouted angrily: "Heihu, we are blood brothers; you sell your brother for glory, betray our king, and sell your life to West Qi—how can you repay the king's grace to our Chong clan? How can you repay our Chong ancestors?"

Chong Heihu gave a cold snort: "A wise bird chooses its tree; elder brother, the fate of Yin-Shang is exhausted, you fail to adapt, don't blame me—today's outcome is entirely your own doing."

Hearing this sophistry, Chong Houhu continued to curse.

Jiang Ziya waved his hand: "Detain the Chong Houhu family for now."

He had originally intended to execute the Chong Houhu family immediately, but since Wen Zhong was on his way here, Jiang Ziya had to postpone it and focus on dealing with Wen Zhong.

Chong Heihu surrendered, West Qi soldiers took control of Chong City, and Ji Chang took up residence there.

After a while, Wen Zhong led his troops to the outskirts of Chong City, according to the scout's report.

Wen Zhong already knew what had happened in Chong City; he never expected Chong Heihu to betray his brother, sell him out for glory, and surrender to West Qi.

Wen Zhong's eyes turned chilling; he was determined to execute Chong Heihu on the spot.

Seeing the West Qi soldiers ahead already waiting for his arrival.

Wen Zhong waved his hand, signaling the troops to halt.

Looking at the leading Jiang Ziya, Wen Zhong's eyes grew complex.

Once they had joined forces to suppress rebellions and fought monsters together; now they must meet on the battlefield.

"Jiang Ziya, our king has not treated you poorly, appointing you as a senior official; you suddenly disappeared, and I thought you had met with misfortune, but I never imagined you would betray the king, flee to West Qi and become a rebel—do you know your crime?"

Jiang Ziya gave a cold snort.

"King Zhou is decadent and tyrannical, the fate of Yin-Shang is exhausted, the Zhou house ought to rise; I merely surrendered to a wise ruler—where is the betrayal? Grand Tutor, you have come all this way—could it be that you only wanted to say these things?"

Wen Zhong's expression turned solemn, and he coldly said, "Of course not; I, acting on the king's orders, have come to eradicate you rebels and preserve peace in the Yin-Shang realm."

Jiang Ziya bowed with clasped hands and said, "Then I shall seek your instruction, Grand Tutor."

Wen Zhong glanced at Jiang Ziya; beside him were only mortal generals, and the disciples of the Sect of Enlightenment had not yet come to assist.

Thanks to Gu Xiu's reminder, Wen Zhong learned in advance of the Sect of Enlightenment's intentions, and he planned to eliminate Ji Chang and Jiang Ziya before the sect's disciples entered the fray.

Thus he could thwart the Sect of Enlightenment's plan to use West Qi to replace Yin-Shang.

Because Wen Zhong had long commanded troops in battle and was highly experienced, without the Sect of Enlightenment's aid, Jiang Ziya's military talent alone could not match him.

Hardly had the fighting begun when the West Qi army collapsed into disarray.

Seeing that Wen Zhong lived up to his fearsome reputation and was not to be provoked, Jiang Ziya immediately withdrew his troops, retreated into the city, and held Chong City.

Wen Zhong rode a black qilin, his expression stern, his eyes like torches, with a vast, imposing army of dark masses behind him,

"Beat the drums! Attack the city!"

Wen Zhong thought, "This city must be taken; before the Sect of Enlightenment can react, I will kill Ji Chang and Jiang Ziya inside."

With a single command, the mighty war drums thundered suddenly, rolling like muffled thunder across heaven and earth.

Jiang Ziya saw that Wen Zhong gave no rest, directly ordering the soldiers to assault the city, and his face grew grave.

He had thought that Wen Zhong, weary from travel by boat and cart and having just fought a major battle,

as long as he held Chong City, Wen Zhong would surely be encamped outside, letting his troops rest and not attack immediately, giving him time to seek aid from the Sect of Enlightenment.

But Wen Zhong did not follow convention; he came straight up and launched an assault on the city.

Jiang Ziya organized resistance, but the West Qi soldiers' morale was low, making effective resistance difficult.

The siege wagons rammed the gate again and again, until finally, with a tremendous crash, the gate was smashed open.

Wen Zhong personally led the elite troops in, cutting through like splitting bamboo.

Seeing that the situation was lost, Jiang Ziya took Ji Chang and fled.

As soon as Jiang Ziya fled, the enemy's resistance collapsed entirely; soldiers threw down their weapons and knelt to surrender.

Wen Zhong rode the black qilin, continuously searching the city for Jiang Ziya's traces, with no hint of joy on his face.

"Report! Grand Tutor, we have not found Jiang Ziya's trace!" a soldier hurriedly reported.

Wen Zhong furrowed his brows; Jiang Ziya must die, otherwise this siege would be meaningless.

"Report! Grand Tutor, we have questioned some captives; when we stormed the city, Jiang Ziya had already escaped through the south gate."

Wen Zhong cursed silently.

"Damnable."

"Pass the order down: rest and regroup; soon we will send troops to attack West Qi."

"Yes."