Chapter 822: First Volume, Chapter 822: The Liang Emperor

First Volume, Chapter 822: The Liang Emperor's Final Card

As Xu Zhangqing had predicted, this rebel army, composed of mixed units from several factions, had abysmal coordination and stark factional divisions.

The soldiers sent by the Lin Family refused to sacrifice themselves pointlessly and deliberately fell back.

The troops dispatched from the Western and Eastern Camps, eager to preserve their strength, also held back their full force.

The forces from the Nan Jing powerful clans, who merely sought to profit from the chaos, were even less reliable.

Only the Imperial Party soldiers fought bravely, holding out the longest against the advancing Relief Army for the King—but it only delayed their defeat, for their rear allies refused to lift a finger; after a brief resistance, they too began to rout.

This rout was catastrophic—the Relief Army for the King immediately surged forward, and though they were infantry formations, they directly breached the enemy's battle line.

On the surface, they appeared trapped deep within the enemy's encirclement, surrounded on all sides.

But reality often diverges sharply from expectation.

In warfare, familiarity matters most.

This army of thirty thousand was too large for any logistical system to equip uniformly with standardized uniforms, armor, and weapons in such a short time.

As their formation collapsed, this vast force became a ragtag army stitched together from multiple factions.

In contrast, the Relief Army for the King wore uniform uniforms and wielded identical weapons; unless utterly cursed, friendly fire was virtually nonexistent.

With this imbalance, the rebel army's formation shattered, compounded by unfamiliar faces and pitch darkness—they could no longer distinguish friend from foe and began slaughtering each other.

The battlefield's progression matched Xu Zhangqing's predictions almost exactly.

From the moment he saw the enemy's disorganized uniforms, he had already identified their fatal weakness: they feared chaos above all.

Precisely because of this, Xu Zhangqing issued a death-order: his soldiers must hold their formation at all costs—even if they died, they must not engage in chaotic close combat with the enemy.

On the other side, messengers kept rushing to Li Yuxiu's side.

"General, the front is in total chaos!"

"Our defensive line has collapsed; tens of thousands of troops are in disarray, unable to tell friend from foe."

Li Yuxiu's eyes widened in utter despair—he had long known his ragtag army could never match the Northern Border Troops in combat experience.

But he never imagined their collapse would come so swiftly.

The very thing Ma Chu had feared most had indeed come to pass.

Seizing Li Yuxiu's moment of confusion, Ma Chu gritted his teeth and drew his sword, slashing hard at the back of Li Yuxiu's neck.

Pūtōng.

Li Yuxiu tumbled from his horse, dead.

Ma Chu ignored the stunned stares of the surrounding officers and roared: "General Li has been assassinated by enemy stealth! From now on, I command this battle! This is His Highness's order—I hold the Command Authority and can seize it at any moment!"

Hearing this, the officers' gazes calmed.

Ma Chu snarled: "A stupid move—utterly stupid!"

"Li Yuxiu deployed our main force to confront the Northern Border Troops—seemingly correct, but in truth, idiotic!"

"The enemy are Hundred-Battle Veterans, already superior in tactical advantage; direct confrontation would yield only minimal victories at enormous cost—no gain, only loss."

"Moreover, rapidly mobilizing ten thousand troops into organized battle is impossible!"

"Could Li Yuxiu's command possibly reach every single soldier clearly? No matter how well he issued orders, by the time they reached the entire army, the tea would be cold!"

"Foolish—absolutely foolish!"

"Our primary mission is to breach Taishan and capture the Liang Emperor; once we control this trump card, even the Northern Border Troops will hesitate to act!"

Ma Chu swiftly summarized the reasons for failure, then adjusted his stance and began military deployment.

"Since the main force has already been dispatched, recalling them now would only make us more passive—let them continue entangling with the Relief Army for the King."

"We'll turn their strategy against them: gather our remaining strength and launch a full assault on Taishan!"

"Beidi War Command: no priority, no sequence—charge en masse! Overwhelm the Imperial Guard's defensive line with sheer numbers!"

Watching the messenger's retreating back, Ma Chu's eyelids twitched—victory or defeat hinged on this single move.

This was rebellion—if it failed, he would face extermination of his Nine Clans; this battle must be won, no room for loss.

Excluding fallen soldiers and the main force still entangled with the Relief Army for the King, Ma Chu now had exactly ten thousand men under his command.

According to his estimate, the Imperial Guard defending Taishan numbered fewer than a thousand.

A tenfold numerical advantage was more than enough to forcibly breach the defensive line.

Ordering a frenzied, all-out assault was a desperate measure.

After all, the sudden appearance of the Relief Army for the King had shattered their offensive rhythm—they must end this swiftly.

To achieve speed, orderly command was impossible; with ten thousand men, orders moved too slowly.

The simplest command became the most efficient one.

"Full army—attack!"

……

At this moment, the Imperial Guard defending the Mountain Foot numbered fewer than eight hundred.

Relying on makeshift defenses, they kept firing arrows; facing the tidal wave of rebels, they could only fight to the death in close combat.

These Imperial Guards were all experts, rigorously trained in military discipline; even after losing eighty percent of their numbers, their morale had not broken.

Yet after prolonged battle, they were utterly exhausted; facing enemies vastly outnumbering them, their death rate accelerated rapidly.

Half a Envoy ago, there were eight hundred; now, only four hundred remained.

Their numbers had been halved.

And more and more rebel soldiers bypassed the dying Imperial Guards entirely, rushing straight up the MountainWaist, aiming to capture the king first.

Zhang Xiuye pleaded desperately for the Liang Emperor to retreat to the Camp, but the Liang Emperor paid no heed.

He stood in the most visible position, arms crossed, every gesture radiating arrogance.

If he feared mere rebels, how could he wield Qin Feng as a sharp dagger?!

At that moment, cries of battle reached them.

Over a hundred rebel party soldiers charged toward the location of the Liang Emperor.

Zhang Xiuye turned pale with fear and collapsed onto the ground.

The Liang Emperor merely snorted in disdain: "Useless trash! What is there to fear from a mere chaotic faction?!"

Just as Zhang Xiuye believed he and the Liang Emperor were surely doomed.

Amid a heavy, dense trampling sound, the Liang Emperor's final trump card appeared.

Fifty Palace Guards!

Their golden armor gleamed brilliantly, even piercing the darkness of night.

After a volley of arrows, the first twenty-odd chaotic faction soldiers were slain on the spot.

After another coordinated volley, the Palace Guards laid down their Bow and Arrow, splitting into two ranks—front-line soldiers raised their Great Shields and charged straight into the chaotic faction, while Second Line warriors wielded long spears, stabbing wildly in unison.

The more than one hundred chaotic faction soldiers who had barely managed to surge forward were wiped out in an instant.