Chapter 388: The Battle of Shenglong

“My life is right here—if you’ve got the guts, come take it!”

Shi Yufeng immediately taunted.

Trapped in the enemy’s encirclement, with only this ragtag remnant under his command, breakout was hopeless.

As a general of Đại Việt, he intended to use the last glow of his life to buy as much time as possible for the main army’s escape.

But this self-deception fooled others—it fooled no one.

The enemy forces they had exhausted themselves to pin down amounted to no more than a single guard battalion.

The rest of the Yu army was still chasing the main force.

Yet with the nation in peril, he had to do something—otherwise he could never die in peace.

Deep inside, he harbored bitter resentment toward Hu Xinbo.

He’d eaten too well and had nothing better to do than provoke Đại Việt—pure suicide.

During the previous emperor’s reign, so much preparation had been made, yet they still chose to remain behind the scenes, inciting the White Lotus Sect to fight Đại Việt.

Staying behind the scenes and standing out front were two entirely different things.

If you didn’t personally step onto the battlefield, even if exposed, you could simply sacrifice a few scapegoats and bury the matter.

Đại Việt would not open a new front while beset by internal turmoil and external threats.

As for the border clashes that had occurred before, they were commonplace.

Over the past century, both sides had clashed every few years.

Who was right or wrong had long since become a tangled mess.

“General Shi, you may not care for yourself, but you must think of your soldiers!”

Their families are waiting for you to bring them home.

The rebel Hu Xinbo has acted wickedly—he dared to proclaim himself emperor and launched an invasion against the Celestial Empire; his crimes are unforgivable.

Rather than follow him to the grave, better to turn from darkness to light…”

Before the middle-aged man finished speaking, an arrow flew down from the hill and landed ten meters in front of him.

“Ruan Yunxiang, you damned traitor—I’m ashamed to be named alongside you!”

Shi Yufeng couldn’t help but curse.

He had assumed his deputy had died on the battlefield and had mourned him in silence for a long time—he never imagined this man had become a traitor.

Had his arquebus ammunition not run out and had the enemy not been beyond bow range, he would have killed the traitor on the spot to steady morale.

“Shi Yufeng, you old bastard, if you’re tired of living, just slit your own throat—why drag others down with you?”

“All my brothers up here are listening: the Celestial Empire orders that those who lay down their arms and surrender shall be pardoned for all past offenses.”

“If you resist to the end, not only will you die, but your nine clans will be punished as traitors.”

“Before you decide, think of your wives, children, and elderly parents.”

“This old scoundrel Shi Yufeng wants to preserve his own reputation by dragging your entire clans to death.”

“Don’t be fooled by his false benevolence—take one wrong step, and your whole lineage will be exterminated!”

Ruan Yunxiang pleaded desperately for surrender.

A mere two or three hundred broken soldiers held no military value to Đại Việt—but politically, they were immensely significant.

To reclaim Annan, brute force alone was insufficient; he needed to win over some locals.

Once these men surrendered, it would set the precedent for organized defection by Đại Việt troops.

After minimal reorganization, these remnants could become Đại Việt’s best allies in ruling Annan.

“Don’t listen to his lies—the Yu army can’t break through…”

Before he could finish, an arrow pierced Shi Yufeng’s body.

“Why… old man…”

He had imagined many ways to die—but never by his own men’s hands.

“General, forgive us.”

“You’re old and fearless of death, but we’re not ready to die yet!”

“Brothers, don’t look at me like that.”

“This arrow wasn’t fired just for me—it was fired for all of you.”

“We don’t mind dying, but if our families are dragged into this, the guilt would be unbearable.”

“You don’t want to let a moment of rage doom your entire clan, do you?”

The big man’s explanation quickly drained much of the anger building in the men.

At a time like this, loyalty and righteousness came at a terrible cost.

In this moment, the deep-seated fear of Đại Việt was instantly awakened.

“Thud… thud… thud…”

The sound of weapons dropping echoed one after another.

With courage gone, the will to resist vanished.

In the age of clans, one could die—but the clan must not perish.

No one dared gamble that Đại Việt, once victorious, would not launch a massive purge.

…

Chancellor’s Mansion.

“Why is there cannon fire in the city?”

Cui Ziyan, hosting a banquet, was startled by the sudden explosion.

“Chancellor, the sound seems to come from the South Gate—there’s cannon fire from the west too.”

Upon hearing this, Cui Ziyan’s face turned pale.

Shenglong City was the capital of Đại Việt; its artillery was strictly controlled—no one could fire without orders.

Either a mutiny had broken out within the city, or the enemy had breached its walls.

“Report!”

“Chancellor, disaster!”

“There are… so many enemy troops outside… they…”

The messenger’s grim news silenced the banquet; guests all turned pale as if performing Sichuan opera face-changing.

The enemy had reached Shenglong City—this was a matter of life and death.

Many present had fled their hometowns precisely to escape war.

Now that the enemy had arrived, even the last illusion of peace was about to vanish.

“Lin, you’re in charge of intelligence—don’t you have anything to say now that the enemy stands at the imperial gates?”

Cui Ziyan demanded immediately.

With the emperor away from the capital, he had been handling all military and civil affairs.

Now the situation had deteriorated, he bore undeniable responsibility.

If he was going down, he wouldn’t let others escape unscathed.

First on the list was Lin Zeliang, in charge of intelligence.

The enemy had reached their doorstep without any prior warning—negligence was undeniable.

“Chancellor, for the enemy to reach us, they had to pass through many regions.”

Besides, two major camps were stationed near Shenglong City to guard the imperial palace.

With so many troops, even if they couldn’t stop the enemy, they should have sent word.”

The Yu army only landed three days ago—any unit along the way, if not dead, could have delayed them for days.”

Unless the troops we’ve pacified have turned traitor again and let the Yu army straight through.”

Lin Zeliang hurried to explain.

This blame was too heavy—he refused to carry it.

The main force had encountered trouble during retreat and failed to return to Shenglong City; the city’s garrison now numbered only thirty thousand.

Though seemingly large, most of these soldiers were peasants who had just put down their hoes.

The two camps outside the city were entirely composed of pacified rebels.

They were kept outside to use against the Yu army, yet feared they might rebel again.

“Impossible!”

“The Yu army and the White Lotus Sect have been killing each other—each side drenched in the other’s blood.”

Their hatred runs deep in their bones.”

After barely escaping hell, how could they return to serve as dogs for the Yu emperor?”

Cui Ziyan immediately rejected the idea.

As the secret financier behind the White Lotus Sect, since the Guangxi rebellion erupted, Đại Việt had always been allied with the sect.

He knew every twist and turn of their feud with Đại Việt by heart—their enmity was profound.

Following the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend,

after failing to crush the rebels, Cui Ziyan shifted strategy: military suppression as a supplement, political pacification as the main approach.

The results were excellent—many rebel units had begun considering surrender.

To date, several rebel forces had already accepted pacification.

To eliminate hidden threats, he had deliberately rotated these surrendered rebel units to different postings.

The two camps outside the city were formed by drawing troops from multiple rebel factions, and their commanders were still his trusted men.

Suddenly, at the banquet, he saw two familiar figures—and nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.

“Bai Youlin, Shi Hongjun, you two bastards, how dare you abandon your posts?”

Cui Ziyan couldn’t help but demand.

At this critical moment, the commanders of both camps weren’t in their camps controlling the situation—they’d come here to wish him a happy birthday.

If nothing had happened, fine; but now that problems had arisen, weren’t they putting him on the fire?

The enemy was at the city gates, yet he was busy celebrating his birthday—this was a clear political disaster.

When the Emperor returns, he won’t escape punishment.

“Prime Minister, we’ll return to camp immediately to mobilize troops—we’ll hold the enemy outside the city!”

Bai Youlin responded first.

Whether they could complete the mission didn’t matter—first, blow the horn, then deal with crossing this crisis later.

Deep inside, he felt deeply wronged.

Cui Ziyan might not remember who attended today’s birthday banquet, but those who didn’t come would surely be remembered.

As a trusted subordinate, one absolutely couldn’t be absent.

This was the political ecology of the Great Yue Empire.

To become an official, first learn to be a person.

If you don’t master human relations, even the wealthiest and most powerful families would crash headfirst into blood and bruises once they entered officialdom.

“Someone, seize these two negligent officers and hold them until His Majesty’s judgment!”

“Issue orders: have the city’s defenders mobilize immediately—ensure Shenglong City does not fall!”

In this crisis, Cui Ziyan showed a wise side.

The Yu army had reached the city walls so quickly—likely, the two camps outside had defected.

He couldn’t fathom what had caused these men to rebel again, no matter how hard he racked his brain.

But he knew that at this sensitive moment, he absolutely could not let Bai Youlin and Shi Hongjun leave again.

If they feared punishment and fled to join the Yu army as guides, it would be a disaster.

“Prime Minister, we’re innocent!”

“Prime Minister, we’re innocent!”

…

Their grievances were ignored by the group.

Even friends and relatives spontaneously kept their distance.

Smart people knew that after such a major upheaval, someone had to be made the scapegoat.

Getting too close now might drag them in too.

…

The booming artillery fire continued without pause.

With a thunderous “BOOM,” a section of the once-solid wall collapsed, leaving a gap ten meters wide.

“Charge!”

Without hesitation, the Yu army launched its assault immediately.

Watching from beyond the battlefield were the Bai Lian rebels, now pacified by Annan.

“General, give us a chance—let our men join the fight?”

The bearded man pleaded to Zhang Ning.

After entering Annan, though they’d killed many enemies, the system of collective punishment was too terrifying.

Add to that the policy of awarding military merit by enemy heads—often, even when they killed an enemy cleanly, they couldn’t preserve the head intact.

To secure full amnesty for their families, they still had to prove themselves.

“Don’t worry—you’ll have your chance to prove yourselves.

Once we take the city, I’ll petition Marquis Hou on your behalf for rewards!”

Zhang Ning immediately promised.

Their rapid advance to Shenglong City’s gates was made possible by these rebel forces.

Not only had they deceived the Annan court with their surrender, but they’d also brought the lower reaches of the Nine Dragon River under their control.

Thanks to their cover, the main army had suddenly appeared before the city, catching the enemy off guard.

Even now, Zhang Ning’s head was still ringing.

He simply couldn’t understand how Annan had thought it wise to rely on these surrendered rebels to block the Yu army’s advance.

Even more absurd: they’d taken control of the lower Nine Dragon River region—and done nothing to guard it.

It couldn’t be that they assumed these men, as former Bai Lian prisoners, were true believers who lived only to overthrow the Great Yu.

Those allowed to join were screened—only those deemed low-risk were permitted.

The hardline Bai Lian fanatics had long been sent to mines for re-education.

After a brief moment of confusion, Zhang Ning quickly sorted out the logic.

As someone in the know, he found Annan’s thinking bizarre.

But from Annan’s perspective, it was different.

It wasn’t that they didn’t fear these surrendered rebels—they simply lacked troops to guard them.

The rebels’ territories were seized by their own blood and steel—not surrendered on a word of pacification.

Even if they were willing to hand them over, there were no troops to station there.

Since they couldn’t, they might as well gamble.

Win, and they profit immensely; lose, and they lose nothing more.

To reduce risk, they even drew troops from multiple surrendered units to form two camps guarding the imperial capital.

Under normal circumstances, such a mixed force of rebel factions would maximize mutual restraint.

The bloody slaughter continued; after the first breach, new gaps quickly appeared.

The new artillery’s debut, with its dazzling display, declared its place in warfare.

Watching the massive cannons keep firing, everyone knew that from today, the nature of war had changed.

Before these steel titans, once-impregnable city walls would become meaningless.

If solid-shot cannons delivered brute force, the newly armed artillery now delivered vastly increased lethality.

Compared to old shells, both the blast radius and explosive power had increased dramatically.

The only pity: these new shells were scarce, insufficient to supply the entire army.

If not for the urgency of capturing Shenglong City, Li Mu wouldn’t have deployed them at all.

There was no choice—sugar production was limited, and the price was simply too high.

The fierce assault terrified the city’s defenders.

Especially the conscripted laborers—facing the Yu army like gods of slaughter, they broke quickly.

“Get back!”

“Come back, hold the line for me!”

“Who—”

The defender’s shouts were like the dying struggles of a drowning man.

Before overwhelming force, no individual could turn the tide.

Sensing the situation was dire, noble-born officers in key positions fled first.

The execution squads raised their blades—but ultimately dared not bring them down.

(End of Chapter)