Chapter 383: Secret War Inside Shuoning City

The Ming Army's archers immediately drew their bows, shooting at the backs of the routed soldiers.

Huang Yan led the light cavalry, chasing and hacking at Wei Xi Yuan's rear.

Wei Xi Yuan fled for his life under the desperate protection of several hundred of his most loyal Imperial guards.

He looked back several times and could see that hateful Ming Army general appearing and disappearing in the tide of routed soldiers, biting tightly behind them.

The guards beside him were constantly being hit by arrows and falling off their horses, or being scattered by the routed soldiers.

He had never felt death so close, and had never felt so battered and exhausted.

This pursuit lasted for nearly twenty miles, until the routed soldiers fled into the more complex and dense mountain forest, and the Ming Army cavalry slowly reined in their horses.

Huang Yan reined in his horse and stood on a high slope, looking at the scattered defeated soldiers who had thrown away their helmets and armor and disappeared into the mountains, and spat, "Damn it, they ran fast! It was cheap for that dog Emperor! Withdraw the troops! Go back and report the victory to the Lord!"

Hedong, Court Army Camp.

When Wei Xi Yuan appeared outside the camp like a beggar with less than 3,000 remaining remnants, the entire court army camp fell into a deathly silence, followed by the spread of uncontrollable panic.

The Emperor leading the expedition in person, 50,000 of the most elite Imperial Guards almost completely wiped out, only this few people escaping back, and the Emperor himself being so battered... this news was more destructive than any report of defeat.

The remaining generals went out to meet him, looking at Wei Xi Yuan, whose hair and beard were disheveled, armor damaged, and eyes hollow and numb, and for a moment didn't know how to salute.

Wei Xi Yuan didn't look at them, walking straight toward the main army tent, his footsteps floating.

Entering the tent, he waved everyone away, sitting alone on the commander's chair, motionless for a long time, only his chest heaving slightly.

He knew that Da Qian was finished, and he himself was finished.

What remained was only a matter of time.

However, in this final time, what else could he do?

Just wait for death like this?

Or...

The news of victory came, and everyone was overjoyed.

Although Han Xiao and Huang Yan did not behead Wei Xi Yuan, they successfully thwarted the court's full-country strike at a very small cost, almost completely annihilating their 50,000 most elite Imperial Guards, and heavily damaging their main army, successfully achieving the strategic goal.

"The Lord's divine calculation! Wei Xi Yuan this time can be said to have lost his wife and soldiers!" Luo Feng laughed loudly.

Jiang Jinshi's face didn't show much joy, he looked toward the direction of the capital and said slowly: "Wei Xi Yuan is very paranoid; suffering such a great humiliation this time, he will definitely not let it go."

"A trapped beast fights, and its wounds are even more severe. Pass the order to all units not to relax, and be doubly vigilant."

Everyone's expression tightened, and they all agreed.

Repelling Wei Xi Yuan's crazy counterattack only eliminated the immediate threat, but his men were not all dead, and he still had one chance.

Thinking that forcing Wei Xi Yuan back would make him behave for a few days, he didn't expect that Wei Xi Yuan had previously sent death squads to sneak into Beijiang, attempting to trigger internal chaos in Beijiang.

At this moment, Wang Hou was in a small courtyard, with several other expressionless faces beside him.

Spread out on the table in front of him was not a map, but dozens of wooden plaques of different colors and shapes, each representing a tracked and monitored enemy infiltration group, or a vital point that needed key protection.

"Report from Group Jia-3, at the mule and horse market in the west of the city, a suspicious peddler was discovered, the herbs he carried had the smell of fire oil, confirmed, the target might be the outer outpost of the city's west armory. It is under control, should we close the net?"

"The 'refugee' team monitored by Group Yi-7, two of them tried to approach the city's south well last night, were driven away, but we found this at their temporary lodging."

A scout gently placed a small, sealed ceramic jar on the table, the mouth sealed with wax, labeled "Open with Caution."

"The 'merchant caravan' focused on by the Bing-character group, after entering Shuoning, dispersed and stayed in three inns, seemingly normal, but the weight of the goods they carried did not match the bills, and one of them drunkenly mentioned 'after the big event is done, there will be a heavy reward in Jiangnan.' We have secretly monitored the drinking water and food of the inns they stayed in."

Pieces of concise information gathered from different channels.

Shuoning was a front-line hub and a major battlefield, so Wang Hou naturally wouldn't let it go, and the information protection in the dark was even more intense than ever before.

Wang Hou stretched out his finger and tapped on several wooden plaques.

"Strengthen the guard at the armory outpost, and add a secret sentry on the periphery. The peddler... keep watching, find out if he has any accomplices and who his superior is. Before confirming his direct harm, there is no need to startle the snake."

Wang Hou was already very skilled at handling such things, "The jar by the well, hand it to the workshop's pharmacist to handle, find out what kind of poison it is. That merchant caravan... focus on them."

"Since Jiangnan was mentioned, it might be involved with the Cui family or even Western Liang, not necessarily all Wei Xi Yuan's death squads. Monitor them separately, and record everyone they have contacted."

He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over several core leaders: "Notify General Han's, General Yang's mansions, as well as the residences of important officials like Mr. Xiao and Mr. Feng, and raise the protection level to 'Jia-High'."

"All food and drinking water entering the mansion must go through three checks. All servants in the mansion, especially those who have entered recently, must be re-vetted. The Lord has an order, in extraordinary times, it is better to kill by mistake than to let one go."

"Yes!" Everyone accepted the order in low voices.

"Wei Xi Yuan, this old dog, even wants to spray blood on people before he dies."

Wang Hou sneered, "These people he sent are just desperate criminals blinded by gold, silver, and hatred, or abandoned pawns thrown out to attract attention."

"The real killing move might still be behind."

"But no matter what, Beijiang is not a place where they can run wild."

"Tell the brothers below, keep your eyes bright and your hands and feet light."

"The Shuoning the Lord wants is a solid piece of iron; don't let these flies ruin the big event, go down and do your work!"

Everyone retreated silently, and the small courtyard returned to silence.

Wang Hou faced the pile of wooden plaques alone, took out another city defense map marked with dense symbols, and began to deduce various possible attack paths and response plans in his heart.

He knew that the battle in the dark was often more dangerous than the swords and shadows in the open, and it tested patience and meticulousness even more.

In the next few days, a silent secret war unfolded inside and outside Shuoning city.

At the mule and horse market in the west of the city, that "peddler," while trying to pass a package containing fire oil to an accomplice disguised as a beggar, was caught on the spot by the Ming Army disguised as tax officials, and more fire oil and a rough map of the armory's surrounding terrain were found at his residence.

Under interrogation, the peddler couldn't hold up under torture and confessed three other accomplices also lurking in the city, but their knowledge was limited; they were just ordered to create chaos and attract attention.

The ceramic jar by the south well was confirmed to contain refined deadly poison "Crane Top Red" mixed with rotten blood clots of some epidemic-stricken livestock; if thrown into the well, although it might not cause large-scale casualties due to the dilution of flowing well water, the panic and trust crisis in the water source would be extremely serious.

Wang Hou followed the vine to find the melon, captured the two "refugees," who were also death squads, and insisted that they were instructed by a "court secret envoy," flatly denying any connection to Jiangnan. ===== CHAPTER 384 =====