Chapter 387

The net that blades and swords couldn't cut, he simply tore apart with his bare hands!

And the ropes binding his feet were also forcibly snapped.

Free of his restraints, Li Yuanba once again grabbed his great hammer and charged at the oncoming enemies.

As the great hammer swung, flesh and blood flew in all directions.

Waves of thick, heavy bloodlust rapidly spread across the battlefield.

And at this moment, the cannons atop the city wall began to roar.

All the cannons fired at once.

Countless cannonballs once again rained down upon the earth.

Only these cannonballs all avoided the direction where Li Yuanba stood.

In an instant, the cannonballs once again blasted General Meng Tian's army into utter disarray.

"Heaven wills it so, we're finished!"

Someone beside General Meng Tian let out a wail of despair.

"Still not working?" General Meng Tian stared blankly ahead.

His army had no ability to fight back at all under the cannon fire.

Not to mention there was still Li Yuanba, that god of slaughter.

"Let's retreat!" someone shouted.

"Retreat? Retreat where? Go home and then wait for Facing Ying Su Sect to send people to kill us?"

Wei Pao shouted.

"But if we don't retreat, what can we do?" someone asked.

Wei Pao said nothing, his eyes bloodshot.

Yes, if they didn't retreat, what could they do?

But even if they retreated, what then?

Either way, it was death...

Unless...

A thought surfaced in Wei Pao's mind.

If it really came down to it, he might as well submit to Ying Su!

Let the new emperor collect however much tax he wanted!

But this thought merely flashed through his mind, and was immediately rejected by Wei Pao.

Unwilling, so unwilling.

Hand over ninety percent of the tax, keeping only ten percent.

That was only enough for the whole family to get by, and nothing else could be done.

How was that any different from a landless peasant?

Those wretches worked for themselves, gave the bulk of the harvest to themselves, and only kept a small amount of grain to stave off hunger, maintaining a state where they wouldn't starve to death.

If he, Wei Pao, compromised with the new emperor, wouldn't that be the same as those wretches?

Giving most of his harvest to the new emperor, left with only a small amount of grain barely enough for his family to eat.

The moment he thought of such an ending, Wei Pao felt it would be better to just die!

"Won't retreat, absolutely won't retreat. If he wants to kill me, then let him kill me!"

Wei Pao had lost his reason by now, and charged forward with his sword.

The people beside him couldn't stop him even if they tried!

"Another one's gone mad," someone muttered softly.

"General Meng, make a decision quickly!" someone urged.

The men had already lost their footing, and now urgently needed someone to step forward and lead them.

Whether it was fighting to the death or retreating, either was fine, but someone needed to take the lead.

But they wanted General Meng Tian to take the lead, unaware that he too was just as rattled as they were.

The soldiers brought by the nobles were the same.

An army of nine hundred thousand had now lost its backbone.

The cannon fire finally stopped.

Then the city gates were thrown wide open, and a cavalry unit charged out.

At the same time, the sound of drums rang out from atop the city wall.

This cavalry unit charged into the enemy formation with an unstoppable momentum, immediately throwing General Meng Tian's army into chaos.

And by now, Li Yuanba was getting closer and closer to General Meng Tian and the others.

"Retreat!" General Meng Tian, steeling himself, issued the order to retreat.

No matter what was said, not retreating meant death.

As for whether they'd die after retreating, that could be dealt with later.

Soon, the drumbeat signaling retreat sounded.

Hearing the drums, the soldiers immediately felt a weight lift and turned to flee.

Once a great army began to retreat, it could no longer be stopped.

At a time like this, even if General Meng Tian issued orders to counterattack or halt the retreat, it would be useless.

Once the formation broke, every soldier had only one thought in mind: run!

171. Finally Retreated

"Chancellor, I will go in pursuit!" Li Xin asked Zhuge Liang for permission.

"No need." Zhuge Liang shook his head: "Issue my order for the cavalry and General Li to withdraw."

"Why?" Li Xin was stunned for a moment.

Shouldn't one pursue the enemy while victory is fresh at this time?

They have cavalry, and their morale is high.

As long as they catch up with the enemy soldiers, killing them is as simple as chopping melons and slicing vegetables!

"They are all subjects of the Great Qin, they are the army of the Great Qin; if they can be spared, let them be spared," Zhuge Liang said lightly.

Li Xin did not understand.

The others did not understand either.

Except for Ying Zheng.

Only Ying Zheng understood the meaning behind Zhuge Liang's words.

The army that rebelled following the nobles numbered nearly a million.

If that million-strong army were all killed, then Ying Su could only obtain the nobles' submission.

But if they are not killed, Ying Su might gain this million-strong army!

Keep in mind that it is the nobles who oppose Ying Su, and how many of those million soldiers are nobles?

As for the remaining common soldiers, as long as they are paid, whose orders would they not obey?

So by eliminating only those nobles who oppose Ying Su, one can obtain nearly a million soldiers!

Of course, doing so is very difficult and carries great risk.

If one does not handle it properly, Ying Su will be pulled from his horse by this million-strong army.

But since Zhuge Liang did this, he must have received Ying Su's authorization.

Perhaps this idea came from Ying Su himself!

Thinking of Ying Su having such boldness, Ying Zheng felt both loss and relief.

The loss was that his chance to return to the throne was now very slim.

The relief was that no matter how strong Ying Su is, is he not my son?

To speak plainly, if I had realized early on that Ying Su was so capable, establishing him as Crown Prince back then would have been logical and natural!

"Chancellor, if we do not pursue now, we will surely let the tiger return to the mountain; when the Emperor holds us accountable..."

Li Xin reminded him.

At this moment, he still did not understand Zhuge Liang's actions.

"I am executing the Emperor's orders," Zhuge Liang said with a smile.