Chapter 340: Capture the Rebel Leader Alive

In the chaos, the rebel soldiers, their morale shattered, wished their parents had given them two extra legs.

Each one scrambled to flee, ignoring all shouts from their officers.

If they encountered someone they bore old grudges against, they slashed them down on the spot.

Realizing the battle was lost, the rebel high command who had defected to the imperial side dropped their pretenses and led their men straight to surrender.

The effect was immediate: vast numbers of rebel soldiers followed suit, laying down their weapons and joining the prisoner ranks.

Units surrendering en masse extinguished the last hope of the righteous army.

“My Lord, order a retreat at once!”

In the Wu army camp, the commander of the guards urged.

“Retreat?”

“Where could we retreat to?”

The camp is in total chaos; orders can’t even be transmitted.

If I lose the entire army and flee back alone, how can I face His Majesty?”

“That bastard Wei Haorui has really screwed me over this time!”

Yin Mufeng spat out bitterly.

He felt cheated—Wei Haorui was the one who did the unspeakable, yet he was the one dragged down with him.

They were allies; they shared the same improvements in rations.

He didn’t make the human meat rations, but when the scandal broke, he had to share the consequences.

To minimize the damage, he had spent the past few days tirelessly calming the troops.

Before any effect could take hold, the enemy attacked.

With the traitors’ help, the enemy launched a single charge and stormed straight into the camp.

Before they could organize resistance, the troops began mass surrendering, and the situation collapsed instantly.

“My Lord, as long as the green hills remain, firewood will never be lacking.

If the soldiers are gone, we can recruit more—there’s no shortage of men willing to enlist for food.

We can’t return to Nanjing; then let’s first flee to the outside.

If fortune favors us, we might even gather some stragglers along the way.

Once we’ve replenished our ranks, we can return and beg His Majesty’s pardon.

This defeat was never our fault.

Once we explain clearly, His Majesty will understand.”

The commander of the personal guards pleaded earnestly.

Other soldiers can run, but the personal guard unit cannot.

They are too closely tied to the commander; even if they narrowly escaped, they'd still lose their heads.

“Enough!”

“The blame lies entirely with me—I won’t let you all die with me.

Issue orders: each unit breaks out on its own.

If you escape, regroup at Jiujiang Prefecture.”

Yin Mufeng spoke in a low voice.

Punishment is a matter for the future.

Right now, we must flee—only those who live have the right to be “settled accounts with” later.

“Yes, sir!”

…

At midnight, the lanterns on Wuchang’s city walls were all extinguished, lit only by moonlight.

A group appeared quietly atop the city gate tower, waiting for the outcome of the battle outside.

“It seems we’ve won this engagement.”

Li Mu smiled.

“Not just won—we won brilliantly.

Since the battle began, everything has gone smoothly; the rebels couldn’t have organized any effective resistance.

With this battlefield a complete victory, the other rebel camps won’t be able to stir up trouble.

Issue orders: have the men prepare the victory banquet quickly.”

Li Yuan added.

Their conversation left the civil officials utterly bewildered.

They had all come to watch the battle; apart from the fires in the rebel camp, they could see nothing else.

“Your Excellency, how do you know our army has won decisively?”

The Huguang Provincial Governor couldn’t help asking.

Tonight’s battle was of critical importance; all high-ranking officials in the city had stayed awake and rushed over to observe.

Since the battle began, no battlefield report had yet reached them.

These two noble lords had already declared victory outright, making the officials feel like fools.

“It’s simple: the fire keeps spreading, and the cries of battle are moving farther away from us.

If the enemy camp hadn’t been breached successfully, none of this would be happening.”

Li Yuan explained calmly.

These were basic common sense for any general.

To civil officials, they were complete blind spots.

The military texts circulating outside recorded various battle examples and stratagems, but stripped away the mundane details.

Many who had memorized military texts and mastered tactics collapsed on the battlefield precisely because they lacked these fundamentals.

In fact, what Li Yuan said were all common, widely known basics.

Anyone who spent a few years in the army and fought a few battles could have drawn these conclusions.

There were many other subtle details that could also be used to judge the battle’s progress.

“Uncle, the front is settled—no turning point remains.

Staying here any longer serves no purpose.

I’m sure all the officials are exhausted; let’s call it a night!”

Ignoring the civil officials’ murmurs, Li Mu stated his own view outright.

Commanding large-scale operations required attention to too many points—it drained one’s energy terribly.

No wonder ancient famed generals rarely lived long.

Such intense, all-consuming focus was impossible for anyone in poor health to endure.

Exhausted both mentally and physically, Li Mu now only wanted to return and sleep deeply.

“Hmm.

Everyone, disperse.

We’ll all attend the victory banquet once the battle ends.”

Li Yuan immediately ordered.

Most of the officials present were his subordinates; this order had to come from him.

…

“How dare you treat His Royal Highness like this!”

“Let me go!”

“Quickly, let me go!”

“I’d rather die on the battlefield than be a homeless dog!”

“Damn it!”

“I’ll…”

Wei Haorui, forcibly dragged away by guards, kept raging nonstop.

By day he was a regional lord; by night he was a fleeing fugitive—no normal man could bear such a fall.

Chu’s entire foundation was lost in this battle.

Even if he barely escaped, he could only drag out a miserable existence.

Even if Jiangxi and Zhejiang still held some prefectures under his control, they could never serve as a base for resurgence.

Unlike any previous defeat.

Tonight’s loss was both political and military collapse.

In no time, his title “Cannibal King” would spread across the land.

Had the human meat rations not been exposed, even with imperial intervention, far fewer would have turned traitor.

In an age where reputation outweighed life, at least a few would have died with Chu.

But his name was ruined—sticking with him would only drag others’ reputations down with him.

In the future, all under heaven would see Wei Haorui as a great scourge; the people of Huguang, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang would wish him dead.

With a slight nudge from the court, families who lost loved ones in the chaos would pin the blame squarely on him.

Explanation meant nothing—no one would believe a cannibal king.

“My Lord, we’ve finally found you!”

“What are you people doing?”

“How dare you show disrespect to the Prince? Are you plotting treason? Soldiers, seize these traitors with me!”

At his command, Fang Kecheng’s troops immediately charged forward.

Before the guards could explain, both sides were already locked in combat.

“It’s a misunderstanding! All of it!”

“Stop! We’re all on the same side…”

Seeing this, Wang Weijiarui hurriedly cried out to stop them.

Anger was one thing; he didn’t want to let his own men slaughter each other.

At this moment, every loyal soldier was a precious treasure of Chu.

Unfortunately, his order as Prince of Chu meant nothing—except for his personal guards, who obeyed and stood down, the enemy soldiers fought even more fiercely.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of his personal guards lay dead in pools of blood.

“Fang Kecheng, what are you doing?”

“I ordered you to stop—have you gone deaf?”

Wang Weijiarui rebuked him anxiously.

He had assumed the Minister of War who came to protect him was a loyal subject, but instead, this man was a hungry wolf.

Under the pretense of guarding him, he slaughtered his personal guards.

“My Lord? No—now I should call you Wei the Traitor!”

“Facing death, can you still not understand?”

“By the way, my name isn’t Fang Kecheng.”

“I’m Yang Zhiyu!”

“I’ve been hiding beside you for two years, waiting for this day—to rid the nation of a traitor!”

Yang Zhiyu sneered.

Having chosen to defect, he naturally had to dress up his betrayal.

To erase the black mark of joining the rebels, he swiftly crafted a persona for himself: a loyal servant of Great Yu who had infiltrated the traitors’ ranks at great personal risk to crush them.

By capturing Wang Weijiarui, he cemented this identity—his past misdeeds could now be wiped clean.

“Despicable villain!”

“I trusted you so completely!”

“No wonder Chu lost—there was a traitor among us all along!”

“You helped draft every one of our strategic plans—how could they ever have succeeded?”

“I had no judgment—I believed a scoundrel like you. Today’s defeat is no injustice!”

Wang Weijiarui screamed in despair.

Nothing struck harder than betrayal by the one you trusted most.

Watching Wang Weijiarui collapse, Yang Zhiyu looked equally awkward.

Wang Weijiarui’s words indirectly confirmed Yang Zhiyu’s infiltration of Great Yu.

But the truth was—he had never collaborated with Great Yu; every strategic plan he’d drafted for Chu had been done with full sincerity.

He had spent half his life claiming he was underappreciated, only to finally get his chance to prove his talent—and immediately fail utterly.

The blow to Yang Zhiyu was immense.

The thought of using Wang Weijiarui’s head to carve out a path to glory vanished in an instant.

“Now it’s too late to regret—those who do too much evil will surely perish.”

“Take this traitor with you—come with me to see the Viceroy!”

Yang Zhiyu said coldly.

Though deep inside he felt a pang of pity, reality forced him to make the right choice.

To return to the imperial camp, he had to sever all ties with the rebels.

Rebellion was always the gravest of crimes.

Any sympathy for rebels was a serious political error.

…

“What? Captured Wei the Traitor?”

In the Viceroy’s mansion, Li Yuan, who had just finished lunch, was stunned by the news.

One of the rebel leaders who had ravaged the southern provinces had been captured? It felt unreal.

Though Bai Lian, the Holy Emperor, had been defeated before, he was never found alive or dead—his death had been declared unilaterally by the court.

“Yes, Your Excellency. He was captured by the Yang family. This man served as Minister of War among the rebels and enjoyed Wei’s complete trust.”

“We’ve verified the rebel’s identity—multiple prisoners confirmed he is the rebel king, Wang Weijiarui.”

The middle-aged private secretary explained.

During wartime, the Viceroy of Huguang had a mountain of official duties every day.

As a secretary, he had to screen out useless information in advance.

Without verifying the identity, he dared not report it directly.

Without verifying his identity, he dared not report directly.

“With the rebel leader captured, retaking Zhejiang and Jiangxi will be simple!”

Li Yuan immediately made his decision.

Though he was deeply curious about Wang Weijiarui, right now he had too many urgent matters—he had no time to see him yet.

“Uncle, Wang Weijiarui has too many enemies—he shouldn’t be kept in Huguang for long.”

“To avoid complications, we should send him to the capital as soon as possible!”

To avoid trouble, let’s escort this man to the capital as soon as possible!

A living Wang Weijiarui was worth more than a dead one.

The court had suffered long from these rebels!

Capturing Wei the Traitor meant he must be sent to the capital so everyone could vent their rage.

His political value outweighed the destruction of a hundred thousand rebel troops.

“You’re right—Wei the Traitor cannot stay in Huguang.”

“Secretary, tell the men to guard Wei the Traitor closely—no accidents allowed.”

“Once the cleanup is done, send troops to escort him to the capital immediately.”

Li Yuan agreed at once.

Keeping Wei the Traitor alive would help lure more rebels to surrender—but the reality didn’t permit it.

Whether the southern gentry, the ministers, or the Emperor himself—all would never allow him to live.

They couldn’t afford to offend so many by sparing a rebel.

Sending him away now would still yield political gains.

If he delayed, the Emperor would eventually order his handover—he’d have to give him up anyway.

Even if we delay for some days, when the Emperor orders the prisoner, we’ll still have to hand him over.

Nanjingcheng.

“Your Majesty, disaster!”

“Bad news from Wuchang front: the Prince of Chu, acting wickedly, used human flesh as rations—his soldiers discovered it, causing morale to collapse.”

“Three nights ago, the enemy launched a surprise attack; our allied forces suffered a crushing defeat, with massive losses.”

“The main Chu army was nearly annihilated in battle.”

“Thanks to Marquis Yin Mufeng’s efforts, a portion of our troops broke out and are now retreating toward Jiujiang Prefecture.”

“The situation in the southeast is dire!”

Minister of War Fan Xiuwen trembled as he spoke.

If this battlefield report hadn’t come from Marquis Yin Mufeng, he’d have thought it a joke.

The Prince of Chu, who had risen from chaos, was no ordinary man.

To make such a fatal mistake at a critical moment was simply unbelievable.

Even if using human flesh had damaged morale, it shouldn’t have led to such a swift defeat.

The rebel forces outnumbered the imperial army several times over; even with low morale, they could have simply held their camps.

To lose the camp overnight was almost magical.

The camp was overrun by the enemy army overnight—truly surreal.

“I know Wang Weijiarui’s tactical skill well.”

“From the start of the Wuchang campaign, he built high fortifications and strictly guarded against night raids.”

“Even Li Mu, that villain, couldn’t have won so quickly.”

Fu Haoxuan immediately shook his head.

He had anticipated Wuchang’s defeat—but only after the imperial army paid a terrible price.

Even in defeat, most of the rebel forces should have escaped safely.

Even if defeated, most of the righteous army could withdraw successfully.

Reality, however, was a bitter slap in the face: the Wu Army managed to withdraw at least part of its forces, while the Chu Army’s main force was nearly annihilated.

Even if they were tens of thousands of pigs, the imperial troops could not possibly slaughter them all in one night—let alone an army of tens of thousands.

If you can’t win, can’t you at least run away?

The rebel forces were numerous; even if the imperial troops wanted to pursue, they simply didn’t have enough men.

“Your Majesty, this battle report was written in the hand of Marquis Wei Yuan—it is unlikely to be false.”

Fan Xiuwen gently reminded him.

Lost is lost.

Whether you wish to accept it or not, this is the reality.

The Battle of Wuchang consumed the majority of Chu’s main forces; no further major battles could be relied upon afterward.

The once fervent anti-Yu uprising suffered a crushing blow, and the situation in the southeast turned sharply for the worse.

In the future, the southern rebel forces would have to rely solely on themselves to hold the line.

The immediate priority is to prepare for damage control; otherwise, if the imperial troops seize Jiangxi and Zhejiang in succession, they will be completely on the strategic defensive.

“Worthless!”

“All of you are worthless!”

“I am ashamed to be named alongside that fool Wang Weijiarui!”

“Enough!”

“Since the matter has already happened, prepare for damage control.”

“My loyal ministers, do any of you have a brilliant strategy to teach me?”

After a burst of venting, Fu Haoxian forced back his displeasure and asked.

(End of chapter)