Chapter 93: Breakout

Taizhou City.

From the start of the third day, the siege and defense turned the city into a crumbling ruin.

The ancient, neglected city walls collapsed in multiple places under the government troops’ artillery fire.

Only through the soldiers’ desperate efforts were the breaches barely sealed.

To hold the line, the battle supervision units were stretched to their limits.

Each day, more than a hundred soldiers were killed by their own officers’ blades.

At this point, the rebel forces fully realized the dire situation.

Sensing the shift in his subordinates’ morale, the Huang brothers, who had long planned to flee, now lost all will to hold out.

“Brothers, I, Huang, am incapable of leading you to defeat the government troops.

I am ashamed of your trust—I apologize to you all here.

I know you all realize: the fall of Taizhou is now inevitable.

I cannot lead you to overthrow Great Yu, nor will I force you to stay and die with this city.

These chests before you contain treasure.

All of it, our recent gains.

I never distributed it to you because I intended it as capital to seize the heavens, to lay a foundation for our descendants.

But now the tide has turned—it seems Great Yu’s Mandate has not yet ended.

To defy Heaven is folly; all guilt rests on me alone, not on you brothers.

These treasures will be divided among you all shortly—consider it your parting fee for our brotherhood.

Take this money, leave Yangzhou, this land of sorrow, and vanish into obscurity!

Spend it wisely—it will see you through the rest of your lives, and not in vain for our brotherhood.

At midnight, I will lead the breakout, and carve a blood path for you all.

No more empty words—I’ll drink this last cup with you!”

Huang Renlong spoke with a grim, tragic air.

Reaching this point had utterly surprised him.

His current sorrow was less about inspiring loyalty and more about deep uncertainty for the future.

Others could vanish, start new lives elsewhere—he, as rebel leader, could not.

Even if the rebellion was crushed, the court would never stop hunting him.

Local gentry everywhere despised a man like him.

Too many people in the land wanted him dead; now, he could trust no one beside him completely.

“General, when you’re dead, your cock points to heaven; if you live, you live forever.

We’re past the point of talking about splitting up.

All under Heaven belongs to the Son of Heaven—wherever we run, even in hiding, where can we truly escape?

Don’t forget every one of us has blood of government officials on our hands—they won’t spare us.

Since we raised our banners, has the court ever once offered amnesty?

No matter what we do, the court will exterminate us utterly—so let’s just fight them to the death.

If Taizhou can’t be held, we’ll find another place to rebel.

The Jiangnan rice-bowl isn’t suited for rebellion—then go to the barren northwest.

Perhaps most of us will die on the road, but if we keep fighting, someone will live to see Great Yu fall!”

A scarred man declared with bold spirit.

But this performance was doomed to be useless.

Once morale is shattered, no few words can restore it—otherwise, “broken troop spirit” wouldn’t exist.

Even those indifferent to the situation knew the massive Two Huai Uprising was nearing its end.

Rebel forces across the land had been crushed one by one; their own shattered remnant had no chance to turn the tide.

Now deep autumn, the climate no longer hindered the government troops’ combat effectiveness.

Heaven’s timing, geographical advantage, human unity—the rebels held none of them. What could they use to overthrow the court?

Realizing morale could not be reversed, Huang Renlong lifted his bowl and drained the wine, then hurled it to the ground.

With a loud “crash,” he coldly ordered: “Distribute the money!”

As a rebel commander who had feared poverty since childhood, had there been any other choice, he would never have given away money already in hand.

But now, carrying such vast wealth made escape impossible.

Distributing the money served both to buy one final wave of loyalty and to set up decoys.

Having spent over a decade in illicit salt trade, he knew the government troops well—they acted only for profit.

He wasn’t a famous figure; soldiers could not recognize him from a wanted poster’s sketch alone.

A little disguise could let him pass as an ordinary soldier.

Since they couldn’t tell who was the rebel leader, whoever carried the most money became the prime target.

One man carrying heavy gold might go unnoticed; a group carrying it would inevitably betray themselves.

If his personal guards all carried vast wealth, the government troops would easily mistake them for rebel leaders.

Even if the plan failed, traveling light always meant faster escape.

Inside Taizhou, men, women, and children totaled nearly a hundred thousand—government troops couldn’t capture them all in a hurry.

If you can’t outrun government soldiers, just outrun your comrades.

…

Midnight.

“What’s happening outside?”

Li Mu, jolted awake from sleep, urgently asked his guard.

“Captain, the rebels are breaking out!”

Upon hearing this, Li Mu abandoned sleep entirely.

“Issue orders—prepare all troops for battle!”

As he gave the order, he immediately rose and donned his armor.

Though in this Taizhou siege, he had played the role of a bystander and reserve force,

Normally, without orders from Marquis Wuyang, he had no need to act.

His fellow officers in charge of the assault didn’t want him meddling in the main battle.

But on a battlefield, caution was always wise.

Better to be ready before the commander’s order came than to still be asleep when it arrived.

Though Marquis Wuyang seemed easygoing, delay a single military order and his temper would turn in an instant.

Shouts grew louder; from the commotion outside, it was clear nearby allied troops were locked in combat with the escaping rebels.

“Wu Dagè, fetch Master Zhou—I need to question him.”

Amid the chaos, Li Mu suddenly remembered he had a man in his camp who understood the rebels.

…

“Master Zhou, Captain Li wants you!”

Hearing that title, Zong Guangtai, just awakened, was startled.

Since his last meeting with Li Mu, he had been restless.

His gut told him Li Mu had spotted his false identity—but for some reason, hadn’t exposed him on the spot.

Since then, they hadn’t met again, yet Zong Guangtai’s fear deepened.

A man who saw through his deception but didn’t expose him must have another motive.

He’d tried fleeing several times, but the camp’s guards were too tight—each attempt failed.

“Sir, may I ask why Captain Li wants me?”

Zong Guangtai asked, puzzled.

He hadn’t wasted his time in camp.

He’d learned Li Mu’s background.

Though Great Yu favored scholars over soldiers overall, this rule didn’t apply universally to individuals.

A powerful officer like Li Mu, with such influence and authority, even the Zong family at its peak would not have ignored.

Now reduced to this state, the only thing of value left on him was the Zong family’s hidden wealth.

Unfortunately, this wealth was scattered and guarded by multiple people; he himself knew only one location.

Mostly books—gold and jewels there were astronomical to commoners, but trivial to great clans.

The Zong family wasn’t poor—they simply hadn’t foreseen their swift ruin.

Their wealth was tied up in property, never transferred in time.

“Just go when you’re called.

What does Captain Li want? How would I know?

Calling you ‘Master Zhou’ is me giving you face—don’t start thinking you’re actually a scholar!”

Hearing the soldier’s grumbling, Zong Guangtai’s fleeting courage vanished.

There was no way—Li Mu didn’t care about him.

Lan Shiyeh, who had once regarded him with special favor, now deliberately distanced himself upon realizing there might be an issue with his identity.

With no one offering special attention, Zong Guangtai’s status in the camp became awkwardly precarious.

“I shall go at once—please, sir, lead the way!”

Zong Guangtai said, trembling with fear.

When one is under someone else’s eaves, one must bow one’s head.

Even if he had once been famed throughout Jiangnan, he was now merely a prisoner.

If he angered the soldier before him, he might well be beaten.

In past days, he had learned the soldiers’ fists firsthand after failing to escape.

He arrived before Li Mu, trembling with dread, and was met by a pair of piercing eyes.

“Mr. Zhou, have you grown accustomed to life in the camp lately?”

Hearing that familiar yet alien voice, Zong Guangtai suddenly lost his balance and nearly collapsed to the ground.

How could a prisoner’s life ever be comfortable?

The hardships he had endured in over thirty years of life paled beside what he had suffered in recent days.

Even in the rebel camp, Master Zong had once been above all, untouchable.

“Thank you, Battalion Commander, I am getting by.”

Zong Guangtai forced himself to answer, suppressing the urge to complain.

Reason told him that complaining would serve no purpose.

His miserable life in the camp could not have happened without the tacit approval of the man before him.

“Since Mr. Zhou is still comfortable, there is no need to move you just yet.”

The rebels are attempting to break out; with your intelligence, you should be able to guess where Huang Renlong will head next.”

“If you can capture the rebel leader, you will have earned redemption for your crimes.”

Li Mu spoke with a half-smile.

Leaning on the Great Yu Dynasty as a mighty mountain, he had gathered vast intelligence on the rebel forces in recent days.

Combining all available information, it was nearly certain that this Mr. Zhou was the missing scholar Zong from the rebel camp.

He deliberately did not expose his identity, because the moment he did, it would be the end of this man.

As a true-blooded second-generation scion of the Great Yu Dynasty, Li Mu could never be entangled with rebels.

No matter how brilliant Zong Guangtai was, once his identity was revealed, he must die.

The only question was whether he would be executed on the spot or handed over to the court.

“Battalion Commander, the rebel Huang Renlong is cunning by nature, with many hideouts.”

“I do not know where he will flee now.”

“But I know several of his secret lairs—I can provide them to you!”

Zong Guangtai spat the words through gritted teeth.

The Zong family had been Huang Renlong’s patrons; without their support, he would have remained nothing but a salt-boiler, never rising to power.

Yet the little brother they had lifted up turned on them, seized control, and slaughtered the entire Zong household.

Thinking of his wife, children, and elders, Zong Guangtai’s hatred for Huang Renlong surged beyond control.

Even if he had to ally with the imperial court, he would see this traitor dead.

“Bring ink, brush, paper, and inkstone—Mr. Zhou, write down every secret lair of the rebel leader!”

Li Mu said with a smile.

It never hurt to prepare in advance.

If unused, it was merely wasted ink; if used, it was another achievement.

(End of Chapter)