Chapter 506

First Volume, Chapter 506: Enemy Army Fractures

Xu Qian was about to retort, but seeing the ferocious Xiongying Brigade cavalry around him, he swallowed his words and forced a deeply insincere look of apology onto his face.

"General Chen is right—this time, I, your humble servant, have been negligent. I am grateful General Chen arrived in time to quell this chaos."

"But no one could have foreseen the rebels launching a night raid on the camp; our losses were severe. We must first inventory the damage and comfort the fallen soldiers. Once we regroup, I will accept full responsibility for any aftermath—no complaints."

Chen Ping was greatly surprised by Xu Qian's unusually reasonable demeanor.

Ma Ning beside him kept signaling Chen Ping, hinting that Xu Qian was merely using his silver tongue to delay reporting the military intelligence.

Chen Ping understood that nature is hard to change, yet Xu Qian had not been killed by the enemy, and as the supervisor, he had lowered himself so completely.

Even if he wanted to strike, he could only swallow his rage.

"Enough! As Master Xu says, immediately inventory the losses and comfort the fallen soldiers—no delays. Xiongying Brigade, listen up: encircle Qingyu Mountain at once to prevent the enemy from regrouping and returning."

Seeing Chen Ping leave, Xu Qian turned and returned to his ying zhang; the moment the tent flap fell, his face turned utterly grim.

At that moment, a faint sound came from behind.

"Sir, I have something to report."

Through the gap in the tent flap, Xu Qian saw it was the County Assistant Magistrate of Pingcang County.

Since Pingcang County was attacked, its officials had sworn revenge; County Assistant Magistrate Liu Qing brought the last ten surviving guards and defected to join them.

Though he loudly vowed to make the mountain rebels pay in blood, when faced with actual rebels, he ran faster than anyone else.

Fortunately, no one noticed this minor figure, Liu Qing.

Earlier, seeing Chen Ping publicly rebuke Xu Qian, Liu Qing knew his chance had come!

If he could cling to Xu Qian's coattails, promotion and fortune were within reach!

Feeling Xu Qian's wary and hostile gaze, Liu Qing did not hesitate: "Sir, I just witnessed Chen Ping selecting messengers—I fear he intends to report tonight's events to the Frontline Command. I know how tirelessly you've worked to suppress the rebels, how drained you've become. I cannot bear to see you harmed by treacherous men, so I risked death at the hands of Xiongying Brigade's henchmen to come warn you."

Hearing this, Xu Qian felt deeply relieved—he finally found a sensible man in this military camp.

Seeing Xu Qian's expression soften, Liu Qing pressed on: "Sir, will you truly wait until the army is fully rested before acting on tonight's events? If so, it'll be too late. There's something I'm not sure whether I should say."

He'd gone this far—what was there left to hesitate about?

Xu Qian clasped his hands behind his back, feigning profundity: "Speak freely—I pardon you in advance."

Liu Qing bowed deeply in gratitude: "Chen Ping's Xiongying Brigade cavalry is only five li from our Central Army camp. Logically, when our camp was attacked, Chen Ping should have arrived within one cup of tea time. Yet he only showed up after the raiders had vanished—clearly he delayed on purpose!"

"And just now, Chen Ping publicly humiliated you, then selected messengers to sneak off at night to report your misdeeds to the higher command."

"Put together, these acts prove Chen Ping intends to strip you of your MilitaryRank, seize full authority, and claim all the credit for himself!"

Xu Qian had never gotten along with Chen Ping; hearing Liu Qing's words, he now hated Chen Ping with a burning fury.

But the camp had just been attacked, and only Chen Ping and his Xiongying Brigade had held the line—Xu Qian had no good way to act against him.

As if sensing Xu Qian's helplessness, Liu Qing quickly offered a plan: "Sir, at this moment, you must cut through the chaos with a swift blade—send someone immediately to the Frontline Camp to report the bandit suppression intelligence."

"Chen Ping has repeatedly defied military command and stood idly by, causing repeated failures in suppressing the rebels on Qingyu Mountain."

"You should demote Chen Ping to a Junior Officer, temporarily revoke his command of the Xiongying Brigade, and assume control yourself. Once the rebels on Qingyu Mountain are eliminated, you can then decide his fate."

Liu Qing's words struck right into Xu Qian's heart.

But Chen Ping was the blood brother of General Chen Si, and had led the Xiongying Brigade to repeated victories—removing his command would be no easy task.

At that moment, Liu Qing bowed and volunteered: "If you trust me, sir, I shall handle this. If I fail to bring Chen Ping to justice, I will present my head to you."

Moved by Liu Qing's loyalty and needing capable hands at his side, Xu Qian beamed: "County Assistant Magistrate Liu, from this moment, you are Jiaobie Deputy General of Qingyu Mountain's bandit suppression, directly under my command. I entrust you with reporting the military intelligence to the Frontline Camp."

Liu Qing's heart surged with excitement—though the title of Jiaobie Deputy General carried no formal rank and was merely an honorary temporary promotion, it still made him second-in-command of the Search and Exterminate Army.

Future glory from the bandit suppression would include his name, and with Xu Cishi's favor, promotion was inevitable.

Liu Qing bowed deeply and immediately turned to leave.

Xu Qian watched Liu Qing depart, his eyes flashing with cruel intent: "Chen Ping, since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unrighteous!"

Meanwhile, on Qingyu Mountain not far away, activity was intense.

Two hundred Tianji Camp Guards were divided into three units.

Unit One, one hundred men, under Qin Feng's direct command, continued accelerating modifications atop the MountainTop.

Unit Two, ninety men, laid traps along the enemy's inevitable path—this time, the traps were deadlier and more concealed.

Unit Three, twenty men, led by Ning Hu, patrolled the Mountain Foot to prevent any possible stealth attacks.

Though Qin Feng did not believe the Search and Exterminate Army would dare attack now, he knew caution ensured safety for ten thousand years.

Atop Qingyu Mountain, Qin Feng had used the Zhaixie Fa to "level" every massive rock that could aid enemy climbers.

Only a narrow path remained on the southern face—designed to lure the enemy into an attack route, allowing Qin Feng to concentrate his forces for defense, while also enabling guards to transport materials up the slope.

At the highest point of Qingyu Mountain, Qin Feng built a watchtower using stones, wooden stakes, and tree branches—the only basic materials available.

Because the mountain top was windy, he dared not build it too tall, nor was there need to—on first glance, it resembled a crude "open field bunker."

No defensive structures were added around the Watchtower.

First, the stone foundation provided sufficient cover; second, if the enemy attacked, their bows would fire upward, and since the Watchtower was too distant from the "attack platform," there was no danger of arrows reaching it.