Chapter 860: Captured

Chen Huai, fueled by rage, led his troops in a swift sweep across the grasslands and soon encountered a wandering group of Oirats—though only a small contingent of a thousand or so, Chen Huai still annihilated them all; only after interrogating the captives did he learn they had received orders to retreat northward, and had Chen Huai delayed even fifteen minutes, they would have slipped away perfectly.

As for which unit they originally belonged to, the captives did not know.

Chen Huai realized they weren't ignorant—they simply refused to speak—so he employed every form of torture.

A group of rough soldiers, wielding their weapons without restraint, failed to extract any information and instead killed the prisoners.

Chen Huai was furious and led his army onward to find more Oirats for interrogation.

The army had won several battles in a row and was brimming with morale, further emboldened by the horrors they had witnessed along the way.

The Oirats carried no provisions; they cruelly mistreated their own soldiers and inflicted massive destruction upon every village along their route.

Villages were slaughtered, looted, then burned—every place the Oirat army passed became a scene of utter misery.

When the soldiers met the villagers' gazes—filled with grief, fury, and hatred—they all guiltily averted their eyes.

Pan Yun watched them squarely, memorizing their expressions, listening to the constant sound of her merit points being deducted.

Precisely because the Oirat army had been so brazen, Chen Huai found them easily.

The army swept northward from Huailai City like a autumn wind clearing fallen leaves, driving out all Oirat forces operating south of Datong and Xuanfu.

The Oirat army suffered heavy losses.

The news reached Yexian.

At this moment, Yexian had just seen the corpse of Bayan Temur.

His deputy immediately said: "It's them—extremely formidable. Among them are mystics who can fly through the sky; one man can stand against a thousand armies."

Yexian sneered: "Even if one man could match a thousand armies, what of it? I have far more than a thousand armies!"

He leapt to his feet and said sternly: "Order the shamans to bring their people here. It's not just the Great Ming that has mystics—we on the steppe have them too!"

Yexian snorted: "Let the shaman summon the Black Heaven War God. If I can defeat the Great Ming's Emperor, then my Northern Yuan armies can defeat the Great Ming's troops—and my steppe shamans can certainly crush those pathetic mystics from the Central Plains!"

The officers instantly regained confidence; their fear of Pan Yun transformed instantly into battle fury. They roared their assent, the tent ringing with their shouts.

"Great Khan, just now Bayan Temur's deputy said they killed the Emperor!"

Yexian: "That wasn't the Emperor."

The deputy's face betrayed unmistakable disappointment.

Yexian said: "It's actually good. Killing the Emperor would do us more harm than good."

"Why? If the Emperor dies, won't their morale collapse?"

Yexian: "I once thought so too—but only if the commander were Wang Zhen. He lacks the ability to lead troops, has no strategic awareness, and no wit whatsoever. Had we killed the Emperor under his command, the Great Ming army would have disintegrated instantly—we could have marched straight to the Yangtze!"

Yexian sighed with infinite regret: "Unfortunately, Wang Zhen was killed by Great Ming ministers. Now the army is led by the Duke of Ying. If the Emperor dies, the army will be galvanized— their battle spirit might even rise."

"Then the Emperor…"

Yexian couldn't help smiling: "Harlazhang said he captured the Emperor."

A living Emperor is more valuable than a dead one—especially one in our hands.

The deputy was stunned: "Is that true?" "They're escorting him across the pass—soon we'll know." But Yexian had full confidence; Harlazhang was never a braggart, and this time it was even his father Saien Boluo personally escorting him.

Saien Boluo was Yexian's own younger brother; he had once traveled with a diplomatic mission to the Great Ming and had seen the young Emperor.

Oh, the young Emperor had been only eleven then, but people resemble each other—since Saien Boluo was personally escorting him, he clearly believed it was real.

For this reason, Yexian had paused his assault on Xuanfu today.

Just imagining the young Emperor in his grasp made Yexian tremble with excitement.

If the Emperor had become his captive, wouldn't he be able to demand anything he wished from the Great Ming?

Soon, Yexian received word and launched a fierce assault on Xuanfu.

At this moment, Yang Hong knew nothing; seeing Yexian's attack intensify suddenly, he continuously deployed troops to defend against any Oirat forces attempting to breach the Xuanfu line.

Since the great battle began, Yang Hong had engaged the Oirat army twice outside Xuanfu and lost both times; he swiftly changed strategy to focus on defending the city, and to this day, the Oirat army had not breached the Xuanfu line.

All hidden Oirat forces had slipped in through the gap at Datong.

Guo Deng and Guo Jing had concealed military intelligence, and Yang Hong knew nothing—until he received successive reports of the Emperor's peril, at which point he sensed something was wrong, and also received Kuang Ye's battlefield report.

Guo Deng and Guo Jing had been demoted for concealing military intelligence, and both Xuanfu and Beijing now received accurate reports.

Yang Hong suddenly felt immense pressure.

Yexian had recently arrived with his central army outside Xuanfu; they had just fought a fierce battle, and today had paused, assuming they could pass through today—yet Yexian launched a full-scale assault at dusk.

Yang Hong stood atop the city wall, watching the dense masses of Oirat troops, calmly directing the battle while a suspicion stirred in his mind.

Why choose this moment for a full assault?

It didn't look like an attempt to storm the city—it looked more like an attempt to draw their attention.

Yang Hong's heart leapt—he seized this feeling instantly and summoned his trusted officer, whispering: "Have every frontline unit conduct a self-check. Watch for Oirat infiltrators."

The officer bowed and went to deliver the order.

But since the main battlefield was outside Xuanfu, personnel on other lines had been reduced; everyone focused solely on those trying to enter, neglecting checks on those moving outward.

In the dim night, Saien Boluo crumpled a strip of cloth and shoved it into the Emperor's mouth, ordered his personal guards to hold him down, while the rest seized the moment when the pass guards turned away, rushed forward, clamped hands over their mouths and noses, and slit their throats—

They swiftly killed the soldiers guarding the pass and moved through rapidly.

The Great Ming soldiers reacted quickly and soon realized the pass had been attacked; mournful horn blasts echoed through the night, the pass swiftly responded by chasing the enemy and repairing its defenses.

A brief clash ensued, but since the enemy retreated too swiftly and the pass's defenders were few, they dared not pursue deeply.

Their commander's order was to hold the pass—not to chase the enemy.

They feared it was a feint, pursued a short distance, confirmed the Oirats had withdrawn, then rushed back to the pass, staying awake all night.

The Emperor, carried away at high speed: …

Yexian saw the Emperor in his tent.

Upon seeing each other, Yexian burst into loud laughter, stepped forward himself to untie the ropes, and said gently: "Your Majesty's visit to my Oirat tent is an honor to the Oirats—and a personal honor to me, Yexian."

Zhu Qizhen was disheveled but retained a noble bearing; he glanced at Yexian, gave a bitter smile, and said: "I lost—I admit it. Kill me if you wish. No need to mock me like this."