Chapter 68: One General

“Stop!”

“Everybody, stop right now!”

Huang Renlong’s furious shouts did nothing but attract a group of soldiers blinded by bloodlust.

If not for his personal guards fighting desperately to cover his retreat, he might have been trapped in the chaos.

The rebel army was hastily assembled; the soldiers didn’t even know their own commander.

Of course, if they all did know him, he’d barely have a chance to escape alive.

Besides a few soldiers who genuinely wanted to join the rebellion, most were forcibly conscripted.

To cut off the soldiers’ escape routes, they didn’t just take away their grain—they burned down their homes.

To many soldiers, Huang Renlong was not just their commanding general, but the man who destroyed their families.

Human flesh was merely the spark; the chaos in the camp was fundamentally a concentrated explosion of internal rebel conflicts.

“Big brother, the army is in complete disarray—there’s no way to turn the tide.”

Besides, the granaries are burned; even if we quell the chaos, we can’t conjure up grain.

Without food, our allies will tear us apart.”

While they haven’t reacted yet, we should leave now—it’s still not too late!”

Huang Renliang pleaded urgently.

They were originally salt smugglers; they joined the rebellion only to profit from the chaos.

All their grand ambitions were implanted in them during the rebellion by Zong Guangtai.

After encountering hardship, their solution was still the mindset of salt smugglers.

“Leave? Where to?”

With a band of broken troops, we’ll either be absorbed by other rebel forces or crushed by the imperial army.”

Either way, you and I won’t escape death!”

Huang Renlong laughed bitterly.

I could do the first, others can do the fifteenth.

Earlier, when he absorbed other rebel bands, to maintain stability, he always eliminated their leaders.

Judging by himself, he dared not seek refuge with any other rebel group.

“First, retreat to Taizhou—there’s still ten thousand troops stationed there.”

Gather some stragglers, and we’ll still be a rebel force.”

Avoid big cities like Yangzhou; strike only small towns, slowly rebuilding our strength.”

It’s all that bastard Zong’s fault—if he hadn’t given those idiotic ideas, we wouldn’t be in this humiliating situation!”

Huang Renliang angrily shifted the blame.

After such a massive upheaval, the rebel army needed to offer an explanation.

Since the brothers didn’t want to take responsibility, they had to dump the blame on the strategist Zong Guangtai.

Besides, it wasn’t unfair—if Zong Guangtai had planned more carefully or spoken up to stop it, tonight’s tragedy wouldn’t have happened.

“Hmph!”

“That bastard Zong Guangtai is just a fraud with empty reputation—if his family weren’t the main conspirators, I’d suspect he’s an imperial spy.”

If that brat hadn’t run off so fast, I’d flay him alive!”

Amid curses, the Huang brothers and their loyal followers set off on their flight.

Without a commander to intervene, the chaos in the camp spread outward, dragging nearby rebel factions into the turmoil.

Screams and battle cries pierced the sky, clearly visible even within Yangzhou city.

On the city gate tower.

Watching the flames rise from the rebel camp and hearing the commotion from across, Li Mu’s tense nerves gradually relaxed.

Tonight’s raid was almost certainly a success.

Now it depended on whether the troops could withdraw safely.

One general’s glory is built on ten thousand bones.

It sounds easy to say, but when it’s time to act, staying calm is still terribly hard.

“Captain, Lieutenant Zhou has returned with his men.”

Hearing this good news, Li Mu’s heart settled.

“Tell the kitchen to prepare a victory feast immediately.”

After speaking, he immediately stood up to welcome these meritorious officials.

Looking at each returning soldier, Li Mu began counting in his mind: five hundred had set out; fewer than two hundred returned.

The rest either died in the night raid or fell behind and got lost in the chaos.

Whether they return later depends entirely on luck.

“Captain, I have not disgraced your orders—I successfully burned the rebel granary!”

Zhou Chuanfa exclaimed excitedly.

Though opera often features scenes of “ambushing supply lines” or “burning granaries,” real-life successes are exceedingly rare.

Anyone with basic sense knows how vital grain supplies are.

To protect them, besides heavy garrisons, they usually set up decoy granaries to mislead the enemy.

Li Mu sent the death squad on the night raid primarily to create greater chaos and make the rebels turn on each other.

“Burning the granary” was the ideal goal, not a mandatory objective.

In pitch darkness, finding the enemy’s granary inside the rebel camp was already difficult.

“Tell me—how did you manage it?”

Li Mu asked in surprise.

Creating chaos in the rebel camp only reduced pressure on the city walls; but if you burn their granary, Yangzhou’s siege is lifted outright.

“Captain, when we arrived, the rebels were already in chaos—their camp defenses were lax.”

We grabbed a scholar trying to flee—he knew the rebel camp inside and out.”

Under his guidance, we slipped in undetected, reached the enemy granary directly, and then... hehe..."

Hearing Zhou Chuanfa’s explanation, all the officers present were stunned.

Reaching the granary directly? That was too legendary.

No wonder the raid succeeded—the guards never imagined an enemy attack could happen inside their own camp.

When you strike with intent against unprepared foes, by the time they realize it, the fire is already blazing.

If nearby units had rushed to rescue, they might still have saved the granary.

But the rebels’ internal problems meant someone deliberately sabotaged things, causing them to miss the critical rescue window.

As commander, Li Mu thought further.

Earlier, the rebel artillery camp had an accident; now the main camp had another. Two accidents together weren’t coincidence.

The rebel army was a mix of good and bad, with chaotic internal structure—impossible to verify every soldier’s identity.

Infiltrating a few imperial agents was only natural.

Loyal gentry coerced into joining, imperial troops dragged in against their will, or embroidered uniform guards planted as spies—all could have helped us.

Who exactly helped? That could be investigated later—what mattered was that the merit was secured.

“Good.

Lieutenant Zhou, you’ve done great service—prepare for promotion!”

All soldiers who participated will receive generous rewards.”

Besides the promised silver, I’ll personally petition for more—just wait for good news!”

The victory feast is ready—Lieutenant Deng, host the heroes on my behalf.”

The Commandant is deeply concerned about the night raid—I must report to him immediately!”

Knowing what they wanted, Li Mu didn’t waste words—he gave them a firm reassurance.

Since the night raid succeeded, it was time to deal with the issue of acting first and reporting later.

Launching an attack without superior orders was a grave taboo in officialdom.

Such things could be done—but never admitted.

Before news spread, he had to secure Marquis Hou’s approval and cement this legendary military achievement.

(End of Chapter)