Chapter 390: Dead End

The sky gradually darkened, and the Yue troops assigned to hold the line quietly withdrew from the battlefield.

Although they moved with great care, their retreat drew the attention of the Yu army.

“General Ruan, the chance to redeem yourself has arrived.

The rebels are retreating—take your men and blend in with them, seize the city gate amid the chaos, and welcome the main army inside to crush the rebellion!”

Li Sanqi said with a smile.

If not for the need to capture Liangshan City faster, those worthless Yue troops they’d stationed would have been wiped out long ago.

They deliberately slowed their advance, waiting for this very moment.

“Commandant, I know all of them personally—leading our troops over there risks exposure!”

Ruan Yunxiang declined.

He chose to surrender to the Yu army partly due to unfair treatment in his own ranks, but mostly because he feared death.

Assigning a cowardly officer to carry out such a dangerous mission was clearly unreasonable.

“Don’t worry—we sealed off the news from the start.

The rebels don’t yet know you’ve defected.

Knowing them is an advantage; if you didn’t, you’d have to find ways to gain their trust.

Lately, there’ve been countless rebel stragglers—your unit won’t stand out.

Everyone taking part in this operation was part of the original rearguard—they won’t spot anything wrong.

Once you enter the city, seize the gate immediately; no one will blab.

Hold for fifteen minutes, and our forces will arrive.

If you take Liangshan City, I’ll petition the Marquis on your behalf and secure you a rank.”

Li Sanqi explained calmly.

Impersonating the enemy to trick your way into a gate—these are old tricks.

When we first suppressed the rebels, Li Mu used this very tactic; I witnessed it firsthand.

Now copying it, Li Sanqi wasn’t sure if it would succeed.

To seize Liangshan quickly, he felt he had to take the gamble.

Success means capturing Liangshan in the shortest time, gaining a puppet force, and laying the groundwork for future Yue-rule-by-Yue governance.

Failure means sacrificing a group of surrendered troops—losses he could afford.

“I accept the order!”

Ruan Yunxiang replied with a complex expression.

The time to offer a token of loyalty had come—there was no room for refusal. After tonight, he’d be the hated Yue traitor to all of Great Yue.

If the Yu army won decisively and swallowed Great Yue, fine; if not, he’d bear eternal infamy.

“Don’t carry psychological burdens—after this battle, Annan will become history; only Jiaozhi Provincial Administration remains.

Opening the history books, Annan only broke away from the Central Plains dynasties in the late Tang Dynasty, meaning its period of independence has not even lasted as long as its time under unified rule.

What we’re doing now is upholding national unity.

If we succeed, you and I will be recorded in history, revered by future generations.

News from the rear confirms our troops have retaken Thang Long City and are sweeping through the Hanoi region.

Once the rebels leave Liangshan, they’ll find Annan has turned—there’s no escape for them!”

Li Sanqi spoke to soothe him.

His education hadn’t been wasted—he could now deploy these manipulative platitudes with ease.

In essence, it was just sophistry dressed in another guise.

At another time, Ruan Yunxiang wouldn’t have been fooled.

But now, circumstances were different—he had no better choice, so he forced himself to believe.

…

Liangshan City.

“Stop crying! If you cry again, I’ll boil your whole family alive!”

The woman in his arms kept weeping, enraging Pu Yufeng.

Normally, he loved to train such virtuous women—the more they cried, the more aroused he became.

But now was different.

The enemy was on the verge of storming the city; this was the time to release pressure, not to coddle beauty.

“My Lord, forgive me, your servant…”

“Charge!”

“Boom… boom… boom…”

Shouts of battle mingled with cannon fire, dousing Pu Yufeng’s lust.

“Get out!”

He shoved the woman away, dressed himself at top speed, and rushed to headquarters.

The enemy was attacking the city—this was a matter of life and death.

“What’s the situation?”

Seeing a middle-aged Assistant Regional Commander approach, Pu Yufeng asked anxiously.

“My Lord, disaster!”

“Some of the troops assigned to hold the rear have defected to the enemy.

These traitors disguised themselves as stragglers and seized the city gate while we were careless.

By the time we reacted, the main Yu forces had already stormed into the city.

Our units are now organizing counterattacks, but the enemy’s combat power is too strong—we can’t dislodge them for now.”

The Assistant Regional Commander explained, looking aggrieved.

No matter how vigilant the defenders were, the enemy who seized the gate were themselves Yue stragglers.

Many were familiar faces—each one checked, each one seemed loyal.

In recent days, they’d accepted countless stragglers, and none had caused trouble before.

No one expected that, in such a short time, an entire unit had been turned by the enemy.

“Useless!”

“Don’t you understand how powerful the Great Yu Dynasty is?

There are countless traitors in our own land eager to become Yu subjects.

If they offered terms to buy them over, they’d find no shortage of…”

Mid-sentence, Pu Yufeng realized he’d spoken carelessly.

Some truths were real—but couldn’t be spoken aloud.

Whether secretly declaring himself emperor or promoting the myth of Yue invincibility, both were meant to erase the influence of the suzerain state.

If the northern campaign had succeeded, all would be fine.

Now that the war had failed, all prior efforts were wasted.

Even his own deep-seated “fear-of-Yu” as a senior officer had been awakened.

The rank-and-file soldiers were almost certainly no exception.

Once fear took root, combat became hesitant, timid.

The enemy using political means to win over captured Yue troops—this was entirely normal.

“My Lord, watch your words!”

The middle-aged deputy lowered his voice.

Piercing this veil amounted to publicly accusing the Emperor of megalomania and launching a disastrous war.

By now, resentment toward Hu Xinbo in the army had reached a breaking point—only a spark remained to ignite it.

But for any officer, whoever lit that fuse would die with it.

“Enough. Everyone here is one of us—no one will spread this.”

“Order all commanders back to their posts.

If you can’t hold the enemy, fight them street by street using the city’s buildings!”

Pu Yufeng issued the order with forced calm.

He had firsthand experience with the Yu army’s combat power.

Once the enemy broke into the city, driving them out was nearly impossible.

His mission was to hold back the enemy, not defeat them.

If he couldn’t match them head-on, he’d use street fighting to buy time.

With buildings as cover, the enemy’s artillery would lose half its power.

Since arriving in Liangshan, he’d prepared for street fighting, making tactical arrangements in advance—now they’d finally be put to use.

…

In the night, bloodshed filled every corner of the city.

After crushing the city’s defenders, the Yu army swiftly took control of the walls—then ran into trouble.

The enemy used the darkness as cover, hiding behind buildings to launch sudden ambushes on Yu troops entering the city.

The attacked Yu soldiers didn’t back down—they launched fierce, immediate counterattacks.

Both sides fought fiercely for every street and every building.

“Issue orders: avoid entanglement with the enemy—set fire to the city!”

Seeing the casualty count rising steadily in his hands, Li Sanqi swiftly changed his battle plan.

Like most cities of this era, Liangshan’s main buildings were all wooden.

Once ignited, they would burn across vast areas.

Fire attacks were effective, but the cost was extremely heavy.

Once it caught fire, the flames showed no mercy to friend or foe.

While striking the enemy, they also endangered the safety of the city’s civilians.

Back home, unless utterly desperate, no one would dare use such a brutal tactic.

But here, in enemy territory, the situation had changed.

The Yu army had entered Annan territory and needed a bloody massacre to establish dominance.

Such orders couldn’t wait for the commander to issue them.

A good subordinate must dare to act, shouldering the blame in advance.

“Commander, once we set fire, we’ll be stuck in Liangshan for ten days or more.

By then, the other guards will have surged ahead, leaving us here choking on dust.

The soldiers below will surely complain.”

The deputy commander beside him reminded him.

In the Annan campaign, the guards of Guangdong and Guangxi were both allies and rivals.

Unlike other Yu army units that shirked responsibility, within Li Mu’s group, war had always been seen as a ladder to rapid promotion.

Every officer in the army had risen through battlefield merit; their hunger for military glory surpassed that of any other army of the time.

“If the soldiers complain, the officers will handle their morale.

The enemy clearly intends to fight to the last—by conventional tactics, a single guard couldn’t possibly swallow twenty thousand enemy troops.

It’s night now; they don’t know our numbers, so they’ve chosen passive defense.

At dawn, when the enemy realizes our strength, we’ll lose two teeth for sure.

If we can’t hold out and have to beg nearby units for help, we’ll be utterly humiliated!”

Li Sanqi immediately rebuked him.

In his view, if they could swallow these twenty thousand enemy troops alone, the campaign wouldn’t have been in vain.

To want more would be to choke on it.

Even if they paid any price to team up and destroy this enemy force, they’d gain little from the coming major battles.

There was no choice—the landing forces were sweeping through Hanoi and would likely clash with the Annan King’s army.

Three regular garrisons, plus countless irregular militias, totaled no less than a hundred thousand troops.

If that many forces still couldn’t block the Annan King’s path, the commanding general might as well go home and raise children.

If we intercept ahead, the pursuing troops will rush in behind.

With so many guards competing, the average merit each guard could claim was less than what they’d gain by fully destroying the enemy before them.

As orders were issued, fueled by the wind, roaring flames rapidly spread through the city.

The Yue soldiers hiding in buildings, ready to ambush the Yu army, were instantly doomed.

Facing searing heat, countless Yue soldiers fled toward the rear.

The once-tight street defense instantly collapsed.

“Extinguish the fire!”

“Organize teams to put out the fire!”

Watching the towering flames, Pu Yufeng urgently ordered.

Such a massive fire would be hard to contain even in later eras, let alone this one.

Without high-tech equipment, relying solely on manual water-carrying, efficiency was severely limited.

“Lord Hou, the enemy are madmen.

The fire is out of control—order a retreat immediately!”

The Assistant Regional Commander urgently pleaded.

Under normal circumstances, after capturing a city, the plundering began.

Though their street-fighting tactics had caused the enemy some trouble, it was only meant to delay.

As long as the enemy advanced steadily, step by step, they were happy to slowly abandon their positions.

They’d put on a show, complete their mission, and leave after several days.

The enemy could receive Liangshan intact, with no cost—seemingly a win-win.

But the enemy rejected their goodwill—not only refusing to cooperate, but launching a brutal strike from the start.

Facing an enemy who cared nothing for plunder or the city, they’d run straight into a wall.

The wind blew straight toward them—not only did the flames rush their way, but smoke and dust followed.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

As they spoke, the smoke hit them like a wall, nearly choking them.

“Retreat!”

Pu Yufeng, gritting his teeth against his frustration, gave the order.

The question was no longer whether to hold ground—it was whether they could escape at all.

The mission mattered, but their lives mattered more.

He had once hoped Liangshan would show the enemy their strength and force the Yu army to abandon its southern advance.

Reality proved it was all fantasy.

Compared to the experienced Yu army, their own troops—only used to bullying indigenous tribes—were no match.

The gap between them, from daily training to command ability, was incomparable.

…

As the fire raged in Liangshan, the main Yue army finally emerged from the mountains.

Gazing at the open plains ahead, Hu Xinbo’s good mood lasted less than a stick of incense before being shattered by the sight of approaching Yu troops.

“Deploy the war elephants—I’ll show the Yu people the might of Great Yue!”

Hu Xinbo snarled the order.

After so long of humiliation, it was finally his moment to shine.

In his mind, he already saw himself crushing the Yu army, retaking Hanoi, then launching a counteroffensive into Guangdong and Guangxi.

In an instant, a hundred war elephants appeared between the two armies—the ground trembled.

These colossal beasts alone could crush morale with their sheer size.

Unfortunately, they’d run into a Yu army experienced in fighting war elephants.

Even if they hadn’t faced them firsthand, they’d heard veterans boast—and their officers had received professional training.

“Cavalry, harass the flanks with firelocks!”

“Artillery, fire freely at the elephant herd!”

Wan Zhongxuan instinctively ordered.

Instantly, a dense barrage of fire swept over the elephants.

Countless shells flew, explosions roared, followed by the elephants’ agonized cries.

In just one artillery volley, twelve war elephants fell, and the survivors went mad.

Before they’d advanced far, a second barrage struck—another dozen elephants lay dead on the field.

Then came another wave of artillery fire.

Compared to the tribal elephant units they’d faced before, the Annan war elephants were better trained—and died faster.

The elephants’ massive bodies made them perfect targets.

No matter how thick their hide, they were still flesh and blood—unable to withstand cannon fire.

“Impossible!”

“This can’t be!”

“How could the Yu dynasty’s cannons be this powerful!”

Watching from afar, Hu Xinbo erupted in rage.

Having witnessed the Yu army’s artillery, his own artillery now looked pitiful.

If the Yu troops at Zhennan Pass had cannons this powerful, he’d have ordered a full retreat long ago.

Compared to Great Yu, their national strength was already far inferior.

He’d assumed the Yu army was decaying, ripe for picking—never imagining he’d run straight into a wall.

“Your Majesty, stay calm!”

“Artillery matters, but victory doesn’t depend on cannons alone—it depends on men.”

Chen Chuyang urgently advised.

At this critical moment, the Yue army had no retreat.

Either break through the enemy ahead and carve a bloody path for the main force.

Or be blocked here, and when the pursuing troops arrive, be crushed between two fires.

The more critical the moment, the more the commander must remain rational.

Any wrong decision will lead the army down a path of no return.

……

(End of Chapter)