Chapter 583

The foothills of Mang Mountain lay faintly in the distance.

The grayish-white ridge traced undulating contours against the pale sky, like a natural barrier and also like the last hope.

Yue Fei mounted his horse on a low earthen mound, gazing at the woodland edge less than five li ahead.

Behind him were troops that had endured bloody battles, exhausted.

Their numbers had fallen below three thousand, and almost everyone was wounded, armor damaged, banners askew.

The ranks were filled with a sense of emptiness after escaping death, as well as deep sorrow.

Many familiar faces remained forever beneath the walls of Yancheng, on the bloody road of the breakout.

But no matter what, they broke through.

Once they entered Mang Mountain, relying on the complex terrain, they could temporarily shake off the pursuit of the Jin army's large cavalry units and gain a chance to catch their breath.

The rendezvous point agreed upon with Lin Chong and Yue Yun lay thirty li inside the mountain.

"Pick up the pace."

Yue Fei's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"Send scouts three li ahead to probe the mountain path."

"Keep the rear guard alert; Jin cavalry may still harass."

The orders were passed down.

The column's marching speed barely increased a bit.

The soldiers supported each other, gritted their teeth, and pressed forward toward that forest.

Hope seemed right before their eyes.

However.

Just as the leading scouts were about to enter a sparse grove.

Suddenly, an anomaly occurred.

Ahead of the grove, it was not empty.

A cavalry unit of about two hundred suddenly emerged from behind a dirt embankment to the side and rear.

Their attire was completely different from that of the Jin army.

They wore the Song army's standard crimson battle robes, with leather armor over them, bearing bright Song-character banners and the dragon-tiger flag representing the heavenly emissary's honor guard.

At the center of the unit, a tall yellow silk canopy swayed slightly in the morning breeze.

Under the canopy, a middle-aged man in crimson-purple civil official's robes, with a pale, beardless face, sat upright on his horse, his expression cold and arrogant.

By his side were dozens of brightly armored Imperial Guard escorts, holding ceremonial battle-axes, standing solemnly.

The emissary of the False Song court actually appeared here!

He appeared at the edge of the Jin-controlled territory, right before the Yue family army was about to flee into the mountains!

Yue Fei's pupils suddenly contracted.

The generals and soldiers behind him also noticed this abrupt unit, and the ranks were instantly stirred with unease.

"Whoa—"

The emissary's contingent halted a hundred paces away.

The purple-robed official slowly rode his horse forward a few steps, his gaze sweeping over the disheveled Yue army, finally settling on Yue Fei standing on the mound.

A faint, icy curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Ahead, are you the Commissioner of Huainan West Circuit, Yue Fei, Yue Pengju?"

His voice was shrill, drawn out in a long official tone, sounding especially grating on this solemn battlefield.

Yue Fei drew a deep breath, urged his horse down from the mound, and came before the battle array.

He clasped his fists while on horseback.

"This subordinate, Yue Fei, is here."

"I do not know why the emissary has graced us with his presence; what is the imperial decree?"

His heart had already sunk.

At this time, in this place, the appearance of such an emissary bodes no good.

The purple-robed official did not dismount, merely giving a slight nod as a return salute.

He took from the hands of a little yellow-door attendant holding a gilt-lacquered wooden box a scroll of bright yellow silk.

He unfolded it with both hands.

"Commissioner Yue Fei, receive the edict——"

The drawn-out tone, like icy steel wire, scraped over everyone's eardrums.

The Yue army soldiers looked at each other, many instinctively wanting to kneel.

But glancing around at the directions where the Jin cavalry might appear, and then at the mere two hundred guards behind the emissary, they felt exceedingly strange.

Yue Fei did not move.

He merely stared at the scroll of the imperial edict, his fingers gradually tightening as he gripped his sword hilt.

The purple-robed official seemed not to care whether he knelt to receive it, and proceeded to read aloud in his shrill, clear voice:

"Edict: I have inherited the foundations and overseen all affairs. Commissioner of Huai Xi, Yue Fei, having been ordered to campaign northward, you do not think to serve the nation with loyalty, but instead rely on bravery to advance recklessly, lightly provoke border conflicts, waste state resources, furthermore consorting with bandits, secretly communicating with the enemy, harboring ulterior motives… you truly fail my grace and deeply shock public opinion."

Each charge, like a poisoned dagger, was spat from the emissary's mouth.

"Holding troops to exalt yourself, repeatedly defying imperial orders, even the twelve golden plaques have not been returned… such arrogance, is this the way of a subject?"

"Immediately strip Yue Fei of all offices and titles, remove his military registration, arrest him and bring him to the capital to be interrogated by the Ministry of Justice!"

"His troops shall at once remove armor and surrender weapons on the spot, to be temporarily taken charge of by the emissary's guard, awaiting the Imperial Court's disposition!"

"Such is the imperial command——"

The last character fell.

On the battlefield, there was utter silence.

Only the mountain wind swept across the wilderness, stirring up blood and dust.

The soldiers of the Yue Family Army could hardly believe their own ears.

Dismissal? Stripping of power? Arrest and transport to the capital? Hand over to the Ministry of Justice?

And they were ordered to lay down their armor and surrender their weapons on the spot?

Countless gazes first drifted blankly toward the envoy, then all turned as one to the tall, solitary figure standing before the earthen mound.

Yue Fei's body swayed slightly.

His complexion appeared unusually pale in the morning light.

Although he had anticipated it, although he had already made up his mind.

But when this final, uncompromising edict was proclaimed in this manner, at this place and moment, the icy malice and utter betrayal hidden in its words still struck his heart like a heavy hammer.

It was not the crime of defeat in battle.

It was not a mistake in command.

It was "colluding with bandits," "secretly communicating with the enemy," and "harboring treacherous intentions."

It was "arrogant and defiant," "holding onto his troops for self-importance," and "repeatedly resisting imperial orders."

They wanted not only his life.

They also wanted to nail him to the pillar of shame for a traitorous general, trampling his lifelong convictions and loyalty into the mud.

Furthermore, they sought to completely dismantle the battle-hardened army behind him.

"Yue, the Commissioner."

The purple-robed official closed the edict, his tone flat yet carrying an undeniable oppression.

"Please hand over the military token and seal, and accompany this official back to the capital."

"Have your men lay down their weapons."

He paused, then added, his gaze sweeping over the Yue Family Army soldiers.

"The Imperial Court considers that you have been deceived, and may leave you with a way out."

"If you persist in your obstinacy..."

His words were left unfinished.

But everyone understood the meaning.

Just then.

As if in coordination with the reading of the edict.

The Jin cavalry scouts, which had only been looming faintly in the distance, suddenly emerged from all directions.

Their numbers were few, but their speed was extreme.

Farther off, dust and smoke rose in great clouds.

Low horn blares and battle drums sounded again from the direction of Yancheng, rapidly drawing near.

Obviously, the main pursuit force of the Jin army had arrived.

Moreover, they deployed a final encirclement aimed directly at this direction.

Ahead, the envoy blocked the road, demanding surrender.

Behind, the Jin iron cavalry closed in.

On the flanks, the threat of scouts not yet fully shaken off remained.

And the sole path of survival—the forests of Mang Mountain—were blocked right in front by this suddenly appearing envoy detachment.

Desperate straits.

True desperate straits.

Besieged from within and without, with no way to heaven and no gate to earth.

"Marshal..."

Zhang Xian rode his horse to Yue Fei's side, his voice hoarse, his eyes bloodshot.

Wang Gui and the other generals also gathered, gripping their weapons, glaring angrily at the envoy while anxiously looking toward the rising dust behind.

The soldiers began to stir.

Despair and anger spread silently.

Some stared at the envoy, eyes blazing.

Some looked toward the pursuing troops, showing fear.

Still others turned their bewildered, helpless gazes toward their marshal.

What should we do?

Surrender our weapons and be slaughtered?

Or…

The purple-robed official took in everyone's reactions, the faint curve of his mouth becoming more pronounced.

He waited leisurely.

Waiting for Yue Fei to collapse, waiting for the last fighting spirit of this army to be shattered.

In his view, this was an unsolvable problem.

To defy the edict is death.

Not to defy the edict is also death.

The only difference lies in whether one dies at the Imperial Court's execution ground or beneath the hooves of the Jin cavalry.

No matter which, Yue Fei this 'variable' will be completely erased.

Yue Fei slowly raised his head.

His gaze swept past the scroll of bright yellow imperial edict, past the arrogant envoy, and looked toward the direction of Eastern Lin'an.

There lay the Imperial Court to which he had once sworn death‑bound loyalty.

And it is the Imperial Court that, at this moment, hands the butcher's knife to the enemy.

His gaze showed neither collapse nor despair.

Instead, something was swiftly settling, cooling, and finally solidifying into a substance harder than steel.

The shackle that had once entwined his heart, named 'loyalty to the sovereign', at the moment this edict was finished being read,

With a crack.

Completely broken.

Turned to powder.