Chapter 244: Moonlit Camp Mutiny, the Defeat at Pingdu

As night deepened and the moonlight shone bright, the camp of Liu's army outside Pingdu Prefecture was suddenly ablaze with firelight.

"Boom——!"

Suddenly, a tremendous sound came from the rear half of the camp where grain and weapons were stored. In an instant, billowing black smoke rose into the sky. Some officers and soldiers who stumbled out in panic, too flustered to wipe the black soot from their faces, waved their arms and shouted:

"Disaster! Fire! Quick, put out the fire!"

"What? A fire!?"

"How did this happen? Where do we find water to put it out?"

"Don't look at me—how would I know? You should go ask the commander about this!"

The officers and soldiers who had toiled all day were already wounded and exhausted. At this moment, most had just finished their meals and lain down in their tents. Hearing this news out of nowhere, they were already gripped by shock and fear. When they asked around and learned that the nearest water source was two li away, naturally they were a thousand times unwilling.

What was this all about? They had worked hard all day, barely managed to keep their lives, and now they had to suffer the petty tyranny of those officers again, running back and forth fetching water to fight the fire—this night would never end.

Given their commander's temperament, he wouldn't care one bit about the lives of ordinary soldiers. Come dawn, they'd probably be dragged out to die again, and they might not even get one last meal.

Many hung their heads in dejection, and the more they thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed.

"Put out the fire! Go find water now! What are you all standing around for—looking for a beating?!" At this moment, an officer, himself terrified of being blamed by Liu Liangzuo, stepped forward with a heart full of resentment. Seeing a stunned young soldier before him, he kicked him without a word.

This young soldier had fought bravely in the day's battle, and many soldiers knew he had a wound on his leg. The kick came so suddenly that he had no time to dodge, and it struck him square on. He cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.

"What are you doing?! Don't you know he's wounded in the leg?!"

"That's right, this is too much—they don't treat us like human beings!"

"What, are you lot thinking of rebelling?!" The officer started off with a hard mouth, but then he realized the situation was clearly turning wrong.

His kick just now had been like a fuse in this section of the camp. Soldiers clenched their fists and pressed forward, many already cursing loudly. Added to that were certain agitators with ulterior motives. The soldiers who had long harbored resentment against Liu's officers now seemed to erupt all at once.

At this moment, several of Liu Fang's household retainers ran over, shouting with faces full of terror: "Assistant Regional Commander Liu had merit and no fault, yet was beaten to death by that Huama Liu! With something like this happening, none of us will survive—we might as well rebel! Take Huama Liu's head to the Dashing King and beg for merit and rank!"

Seeing this, several household retainers under Wang Shou's command stepped forward and shouted: "Well said! We joined the army to serve the state, originally seeking military merit and to protect our families. But look at what we've gotten so far!"

"We've gotten nothing! We're just slaves under Liu Liangzuo—how is that any different from living under the Jianzhou barbarians beyond the pass? We might as well rebel, throw in with the Dashing King, change the dynasty, and seek merit and rank!"

"Well said—rebel!"

With a roar, the entire camp exploded into chaos. The officers quickly discovered that because they had always looked down on and oppressed the ordinary soldiers, they now found it nearly impossible to control the troops under them, aside from a small number of household retainers.

The soldiers raised placards they had found from who knows where, shouting slogans to slay the traitor Liu, and began surging toward the main command tent in the middle of the camp.

This rebel force grew larger with every step. Almost every officer and soldier who witnessed the scene had not suppression but vindication as their first thought, and without much hesitation, they joined the great throng.

The main command tent was already in utter chaos. Some officers still loyal to Liu Liangzuo moved quickly, organizing soldiers to form a defensive line and huddling tightly around the main tent.

"How could this happen? That villain Wang Shou—I will kill him!" Liu Liangzuo was beside himself with rage. Hearing that Wang Shou was behind this, his first thought was not to reflect on what he had done wrong, but to keep shouting that he would kill these rebellious villains.

"Kill Huama Liu!"

"Take Liu the traitor's head to the Dashing King—follow the Dashing King to found an eternal empire!"

Suddenly, the sounds of fierce fighting came from outside the tent. The officers inside looked at each other in dismay. Clearly, the rebelling troops outside and the guarding troops had already begun to clash.

One officer after another led men out to hold the line, but the sounds of slaughter never ceased—instead, they drew closer and closer to the main tent. Liu Liangzuo looked at the last officer beside him, Xu Lang, thought for a moment, and said with a frown:

"Take your men out to hold them off for a while. Shortly after, I will personally lead the household retainers to reinforce the line!"

"As ordered!" Xu Lang went out without a second word, blade in hand. But the moment he stepped through the door, the scene before him immediately changed his mind.

Before his eyes was a scene of total collapse. The loyal troops of Liu Liangzuo could no longer withstand the mad assault of the rebels and had begun to rout across the entire line. Blades, spears, and command flags lay strewn all over the ground, ignored by all.

The commander's banner bearing the character Liu had long since been knocked to the ground by the excited rebels. Xu Lang even saw that many officers who had earlier led troops out from the main tent to hold the line were now charging this way alongside the rebels, shouting slogans.

Thereupon, Xu Lang turned around with his household retainers and came before Liu Liangzuo with a grim expression.

By this time, Liu Liangzuo had sensed something was wrong. He quietly rested his hand on his blade, keeping his composure, and said with a smile: "Assistant Regional Commander Xu, didn't I send you out to hold the line? Why have you returned?"

"The rebel force is too strong, Commander. We should leave." Xu Lang naturally knew Liu Liangzuo was no weakling in martial arts. Seeing that Liu hadn't noticed anything, he too played his part while harboring murderous intent.

"Very well."

Liu Liangzuo spoke with a calm expression, then turned around as if to adjust his armor. Just as Xu Lang sneered coldly, thinking the moment had come and preparing to strike, Liu Liangzuo suddenly spun around and drove his blade straight into Xu Lang's chest.

"I treated you well—why did you betray me? Speak!"

"Heh heh." A piercing pain shot through his chest. Xu Lang knew he had little time left, gave a few cold laughs, and coughed up blood as he said: "Liu Liangzuo, you... brought this on yourself!"

Throwing Xu Lang's lifeless corpse to the ground, Liu Liangzuo stepped out of the tent for a look and found that even his own household retainers had all fled. He suddenly recalled the story of Zuo Liangyu fleeing the battlefield several times.

At a time like this, he couldn't care less about how he had once mocked Zuo Liangyu. Without much thought, Liu Liangzuo put on a common soldier's armor and turned to flee. But after running a few steps, he felt something was off—he was too clean, not like someone who had come off a battlefield.

Thinking it over, Liu Liangzuo went to a pile of corpses and, fighting back the urge to vomit, smeared blood and flesh all over himself. When he felt it was about right, he slipped out of the camp amid the chaos.

At the same time, the Dashun army commander guarding distant Pingdu Prefecture received word. Taking a look at the chaos, he laughed heartily and said: "Send the cavalry out of the city—the time to earn merit has come!"

Immediately after, the thick city gates that had been shut for so long slowly opened. Some eight or nine hundred Dashun cavalrymen raced toward the government army's camp, cutting down anyone they saw, killing everyone they met.