69novels Page 133
Page 133
Meanwhile, Sun Li and Luan Tingyu arrived, their spears and clubs moving like dragons, blocking Feng Mei and Wu Bingyi's swords and axes. Hua Rong immediately turned his horse and retreated, twisting his waist 180 degrees backward, drawing his bow and unleashing a rain of arrows. Feng Mei was able to fight Luan Tingyu while dodging the arrows, but Wu Bingyi was not so lucky. He was already under pressure from Sun Li and could not concentrate, and when Hua Rong sniped at him, he was shot through the throat with an arrow and died on the spot.
Seeing that the battle was going badly, Wang Yi, the military commander of Dengzhou, and Zhou Xin, the military commander of Songzhou, wanted to come to their aid. However, in front of them was Xu Ning, the Golden Spear Master. Xu Ning wielded his hook-and-sickle spear and fought fiercely with the two of them, refusing to retreat an inch.
These two military commanders are also formidable figures. Although they are not as strong as military commanders like Qin Ming and Dong Ping, each of them is no less capable in combat than the Eight Tiger Generals of Liangshan.
But alas, their opponent was Xu Ning! Their weapons pierced Xu Ning's armor without leaving a mark, unable to break through his defenses. If they tried to run, they would be pulled back by the hook of the sickle spear, and Xu Ning dragged them here, unable to move!
While the Eight Tiger Generals of Liangshan completely suppressed Tong Guan's eight generals, Lu Junyi was already less than a hundred meters away from Tong Guan! The Grand Councilor, terrified, turned pale and trembled. In his panic, he made a decision that followed the example of his ancestor, Emperor Taizong of Song: abandoning his 100,000-strong army, he rode a blue dragon and fled alone!
Chapter 383: Jade Kirin Captures Tong Guan Alone
Seeing that Tong Guan had abandoned his army and fled on his dragon, Lu Junyi remained calm. He placed his Golden Dragon Spear across his saddle, drew his Precious Carved Bow, and fired three arrows into the sky! Each arrow possessed the power to split mountains and shatter rocks. The Privy Councilor's blue dragon was also covered in an extra layer of mithril dragon armor, but even the double defense of the dragon armor and dragon scales could not stop Lu Junyi's arrows! The three arrows shattered the blue dragon's armor and tore its scales apart, causing it to howl in pain. Each arrow penetrated deep into its flesh, with only the fletching remaining outside.
However, as the blue dragon continued to ascend and fly forward, Lu Junyi's arrows became less powerful. She was shooting upwards, and the distance was over a hundred meters. Under the pull of gravity, the arrows gradually weakened at such a height and distance, becoming unable to penetrate the dragon's armor and scales.
"Don't even try to escape!!!"
With a roar, Jade Kirin Lu Junyi, alone on horseback, continued her pursuit of Tong Guan through the army of 100,000! The terrifying roar of her jet-black, snow-white flaming kirin, even drowned out the clamor of the 100,000-strong army. Each stomp of its iron hooves seemed to strike the heart of the army formation, causing the entire road to tremble slightly! The momentum of this single rider charging into the enemy lines was even more overwhelming than the charge of thousands of troops, carrying a resolute determination to destroy mountains and seas, and to perish together with the enemy!
"Fire arrows! Stop him!" Tong Guan's sharp scream during the rout was barely audible amidst the chaos.
Arrows rained down like locusts, obscuring the sun, but Lu Junyi's Golden Dragon Spear, like a black dragon emerging from its cave, had transformed into a roaring golden dragon! The spear's shadow was like a mountain, a raging torrent! The torrential rain of arrows was pulverized by the impenetrable spear's wheel! Where the steel spear passed, the air was torn apart with sharp, ear-piercing explosions, and broken arrows danced wildly around him like snowflakes, unable to even touch the hem of his clothes!
At this moment, Lu Junyi merged with the Qilin, transforming into an unparalleled divine blade, which forcefully wedged into the seemingly impenetrable steel army formation! A golden dragon spear as thick as a bowl was wielded with ferocious power; it was not a clash, but a crushing blow! A tearing blow! A piercing blow!
The heavily armored infantrymen in the front ranks had their shields shatter like rotten wood the moment they came into contact with the spear! Their muscular bodies, clad in two layers of iron armor, were easily pierced, torn apart, and flung away by the steel spears with muffled "thuds"! The heavy iron armor, like paper dolls, twisted and deformed under the unparalleled force, and blood and fragments of internal organs mixed with broken armor plates sprayed into the sky like a scarlet rain of iron!
The spear tip thrust forward like a dragon emerging from its cave. The spear shaft swung and swept, like a divine dragon whipping its tail; those who dared to intercept were instantly shattered! Row after row of elite Imperial Guards were as if being brutally overturned by an invisible giant plow; those with broken bones, collapsed sternums, and splattered brains fell to the ground in an instant. She alone had plowed a continuously extending, shocking corridor of flesh and blood in the core formation of the 100,000-strong army.
With each thrust of that dragon spear, one or even several fierce generals or heavily armored soldiers would be pierced through the heart. When the spear tip emerged from behind, it often carried more than one still twitching body! Lu Junyi's arm muscles were bulging and knotted. His spear twisted and thrust in the enemy ranks, sometimes plucking, sometimes smashing, sometimes stabbing, sometimes sweeping. Each swing brought a storm of death. Blood meandered down the steel shaft of the spear, and in the high-speed swing, it lashed out in countless scarlet arcs, staining him and his horse a terrifying crimson.
At this moment, the 20,000 imperial guards in Tokyo were already demoralized by Tong Guan's desertion. They were even more terrified and on the verge of collapse after being killed by Lu Junyi. They all fled in disarray. Lu Junyi rode his Qilin and leaped to Tong Guan's command flag. He seized the Song army's command flag, stuck it on his back, and then continued to pursue Tong Guan!
In reality, Lu Junyi's combat prowess wasn't that outrageous, but the terrain was far too advantageous for her. The battlefield was too narrow, and Lu Junyi could only face a maximum of ten cavalrymen or twenty infantrymen at a time, along with a barrage of arrows. These few men couldn't stop her at all, and the rear guard had no room to help. Lu Junyi could simply fight them off in groups of ten or twenty, and keep pushing forward. The few top-tier warriors who could have stopped Lu Junyi were all held back by the other Liangshan cavalry, and the Song army couldn't concentrate its elite forces to intercept her.
The Song army's morale was so low that after Lu Junyi slaughtered hundreds and thousands of men, the remaining soldiers completely lost the courage to fight Lu Junyi and began to spontaneously scatter to both sides.
If Dong Ping were in her shoes, she would most likely be killed by a barrage of arrows.
If Xu Ning is released, she is not afraid of arrows, but she may not be able to break through thousands of troops.
If Lin Chong were to come, she wouldn't be afraid of a rain of arrows and could charge thousands of troops, but she's the type who can only unleash bursts of energy, and her stamina can't sustain her through prolonged combat.
Lu Junyi alone possessed defense and parrying abilities so high that he was fearless of being surrounded by arrows, and his impact and destructive power were invincible. Moreover, his stamina was frighteningly high, and he could fight for a whole day and night without getting tired.
Lu Junyi, single-handedly charging through the enemy ranks, spear in hand, slaughtered thousands. Wherever he went, men and horses fell, formations crumbled. The valiant elite troops of Henan, faced with this inhuman power, went from shock to terror, and from terror to utter collapse! The gruesome deaths at the front rank terrified the rear ranks; no one dared to withstand his onslaught. They scattered like a tidal wave, their disciplined ranks of 100,000 men ripped open by his single rider, a gaping, bloody gash several meters wide! The soldiers preferred to leap into the swamp rather than confront Lu Junyi head-on!
For a moment, the air above the official road was thick with the stench of blood, a cacophony of screams, wails, the clanging of metal, and the pounding of hooves, as if hell had descended upon the mortal realm. At the end of that road, paved with flesh and mangled limbs, stretched straight towards the 100,000-strong army.
Only one fierce general, his battle robe stained with blood, stood ready, spear in hand! Thick drops of blood still dripped from the tip of his spear, and behind him lay the shattered courage of a hundred thousand soldiers and an insurmountable chasm of death. With just one man and one horse, he pierced through a hundred thousand wolves! Tong Guan, riding his blue dragon, fled through the sky at a speed even slower than Lu Junyi, riding his qilin, charging through the hundred thousand soldiers! Lu Junyi actually closed the distance and fired another arrow, causing the blue dragon to wail miserably.
At that moment, a golden light flashed across the horizon, and Liu Hong was rapidly approaching with his wings flapping. Li Cunxiao also led four blue dragons that had surrendered from the imperial court, launching an attack from five directions. The sky was not safe for Tong Guan either.
"No, what do you four mean by this?"
The blue dragon cursed loudly.
"I thought the four of you had been captured and imprisoned at Liangshan. Now you're actually acting as accomplices, helping the Liangshan bandits to attack your own people? What kind of logic is that???"
The four blue dragons didn't speak, but simply pointed at Li Cunxiao. Tong Guan couldn't understand what they meant, but his blue dragons were instantly shocked, their eyes becoming incredibly clear.
He pondered for three seconds. In the sky, five compatriots were chasing him, along with the formidable Liu Hong. On the ground, a killer was relentlessly pursuing him. And Li Cunxiao was actually his youngest son…
The blue dragon gritted its teeth, steeled its heart, retracted its wings, and suddenly performed a death roll in the air, throwing the unsuspecting Tong Guan away!
"I've caught Tong Guan! I've caught Tong Guan!!!"
The blue dragon grabbed Tong Guan with one claw, and then, surrounded and intercepted by the crowd, it landed on the ground, lowered its head, and surrendered.
Chapter 384: Han Shizhong Heads South to Suppress Fangla
In this battle, Liangshan suffered 300 wounded and 20 cavalrymen killed in action. Those charging at the forefront were heavily armored cavalrymen, along with Liangshan's elite generals. Everyone was armed to the teeth, and even the Divine Arm Crossbow could not inflict a fatal blow on the heavily armored cavalrymen after piercing through such thick armor.
The twenty who died were simply unlucky; there was nothing they could do—arrows pierced their eyes. The men died instantly, the horses died instantly, and the riders were thrown off balance, breaking their necks in the process.
The Song army suffered 12,000 casualties in this battle, and the remaining 88,000 were unable to escape. They were all stuck in the congested official roads and mired in the mud on both sides, unable to run. After Tong Guan was captured alive, they simply surrendered. Two thousand imperial cavalrymen faced one hundred thousand local troops—a numerical disadvantage of one to fifty—yet they inflicted a staggering one to forty casualty ratio! They captured countless horses, weapons, equipment, and provisions. Among the spoils was an unexpected capture of a military doctor, An Daoquan, thus completing the 108 constellations.
This battle greatly boosted the morale of the Liangshan army, striking fear into the hearts of those in the Central Plains! Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and Yang Jian were utterly bewildered. Had Tong Guan lost? Or was it a crushing defeat in an instant? He hadn't even reached his destination before Liangshan launched a surprise attack and routed him?!
At this moment, the defense of the Song Dynasty has begun to have problems. The Song Dynasty claims to have 800,000 Imperial Guards and 2.2 million Garrison Troops, with a total strength of 3 million. No one knows how much of that is exaggerated.
However, the Song Dynasty also had many enemies. The Western Xia invaded the borders every year, and the country was engulfed in war. There were also three other bandits as powerful as Liu Hong and his Liangshan bandits. At this time, the Song Dynasty had launched four consecutive campaigns against Liangshan, losing more than 100,000 men each time. The total loss of 400,000 troops had already caused a deficit in the Song Dynasty's defense system, which was beginning to collapse.
There was no other way. The treacherous ministers in the Privy Council discussed the matter and decided that internal strife must precede external resistance. They decided to sign a peace agreement with the Western Xia, end the fighting, and recall all the elite Guanzhong troops to quell the rebellion. The four bandits were causing more and more trouble, and it seemed like it would never end!
However, although Gao Qiu's political alliance was not destroyed by the opposing party this time, his prestige was greatly reduced, his words no longer carried any weight, and he could no longer stand up straight. The officials felt that Gao Qiu was acting inexplicably, and that he was attacking Liangshan just to save face! Among the four major bandit groups, Liangshan occupied the smallest territory, and in some areas they actually controlled, they even paid taxes to the court. They had the least destructive power, but they could be said to be the most capable fighters.
Fang La, however, was the most destructive. He occupied the most prosperous Jiangnan region, severely impacting tax revenue. The priority should be to defeat Fang La first, restore Jiangnan's tax revenue, and get the finances running smoothly.
Helpless, Gao Qiu had no choice but to compromise. He watched as the most elite border army of the Song Dynasty, the Guanzhong Army, marched in great numbers to Jiangnan to quell the rebellion of Fang La. Among them was a valiant and unstoppable military commander named Han Shizhong.
Subsequently, the ministers continued to discuss how to redeem the captured Tong Guan, and whether it would be better to offer Liangshan another amnesty.
Inside the capital city of Tokyo, officials were engaged in heated discussions. Meanwhile, at Liangshan Marsh, heroes gathered together.
A huge bonfire roared in the center of the hall, licking at the whole, golden-brown roasted lamb hanging above it. The air was filled with the rich aroma of wine and the sizzling fragrance of roasting meat.
Inside and outside the hall, the noise was deafening, almost lifting the roof off. The many heroes and leaders of Liangshan were all radiant with pride and boundless pride. Large jars of strong liquor were passed between rough, calloused hands; the amber-colored liquid, like a burning mountain spring, rippled in the rough porcelain bowls, reflecting on every face brimming with the joy of surviving a calamity and pure exhilaration. The clinking of cups and the clatter of dishes filled the air; the brothers' unrestrained laughter and rugged shouts merged into a magnificent triumphant song, echoing and reverberating through the night sky of the mountain stronghold.
On both sides of the hall, the mountains of spoils were the most shocking testament to this unprecedented victory! Brand-new infantry armor was piled up like steel hills, and sharp spearheads and gleaming swords were densely packed upside down in the ground, reflecting the flickering firelight, like a frozen sea of cold stars spread across the ground! Captured Song Dynasty military flags were trampled underfoot or torn into strips to be used as leggings for the victors. The bright red "Tong" character was stained with blood and dust, telling the story of the end of this once fearsome army.
Boxes of copper coins and iron ingots, intact powerful bows and crossbows, and bolts of fine cloth... all testify to the immense wealth and formidable strength brought about by this victory!
Sitting at the head of the table, Liu Hong beamed. He didn't say much, but slowly rose, his rough earthenware bowl filled with the strongest liquor. He surveyed the room, his calm and unwavering gaze sweeping over every excited face, and finally, like a mountain of immense weight, landed heavily and undeniably on Lu Junyi.
"Senior sister!"
Liu Hong's deep, resonant voice pierced through the clamor of the crowd, clearly echoing in every corner: "In this battle! Ten thousand tigers and wolves have vanished into thin air! The old traitor Tong Guan is now a prisoner! The foundation of our stronghold is now as solid as a rock!"
Liu Hong raised the wine bowl high with one arm, pointing it directly at Lu Junyi, his voice booming like thunder:
"Who else deserves such great credit—Master Shelu?!"
In an instant, the entire Hall of Righteousness erupted into a frenzy like a tsunami!
"Brother is right!"
"The master is truly a god descended from heaven! He fought the entire battle single-handedly, moving freely among an army of 100,000!"
"The greatest credit goes to Jade Kirin!"
"Only today do I truly understand what it means to be invincible against ten thousand men! I am completely convinced!"
"Sister! When you first joined Liangshan and became the commander of the Imperial Guards, I was still unconvinced. But today, I've truly seen it all! Sister is amazing, I admire you so much!!!"
Li Kui hurriedly jumped up first to offer a toast, tilting his head back as the strong liquor poured into his mouth like a waterfall.
Lu Zhishen patted his bare chest, the sound like the booming of a giant bell.
"Exhilarating! Truly exhilarating! In my half-life of wandering the martial world, I have never seen anyone as valiant as you, sir! Amidst thousands of troops, you stroll as if in a leisurely garden! That dragon spear, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, utterly destroying everything in its path! I am in awe! Come! Let us drink from this bowl together!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he strode forward and slammed his huge wine bowl against Lu Junyi's bowl, splashing wine everywhere!
Wu Song, Lin Chong, Zhang Qing, the Ruan brothers... one after another, these renowned heroes rose up. Without saying a word, they offered their most sublime and fervent respect to the divine general who, with only one horse and one spear, had pierced through an army of 100,000 men!
At this moment, Lu Junyi was surrounded by countless ardent gazes, shouts of admiration, and heartfelt wine. She raised her wine cup and toasted each of her brothers and friends. At first, she was dignified and reserved, but later, as she got drunk, she put her arm around everyone's shoulders. The betrayal of her wife and the betrayal of her friends had created a huge void in her heart, and this void was gradually filled again by the brothers and sisters of Liangshan.
Chapter 385: Liangshan Marsh's Second Imperial Appeal
After the great battle, Liangshan began to regroup and continue preparing for the second expedition to Daming Prefecture, including supplies, routes, and other miscellaneous issues, in order to give Lu Junyi an explanation. Just then, the second imperial pardon from the Song Dynasty arrived.
This time, Liangshan, relying on the prestige of their four great victories and with Tong Guan as their trump card, was naturally arrogant. Although they once again sent a grand procession to receive the envoy, they refused to kneel.
The second envoy sent from Dongjing (Kaifeng) was Su Yuanjing, Grand Commandant Su, Gao Qiu's greatest political enemy. He sat upright in the guest seat of the Hall of Righteousness, his palms clammy with cold sweat. The wine and meat before him remained untouched, and he felt that every breath of air in the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness of Liangshan was permeated with the domineering and murderous aura unique to outlaw heroes. His mission was extremely awkward, yet crucial to the nation's stability—to redeem the captured Privy Councilor Tong Guan, and to find a way to grant amnesty to Liangshan.
At this moment, Grand Commandant Su was all smiles at Liang Shan. The Song Dynasty was riddled with bureaucratic redundancy. Not to mention those below him, even within the capital city of Kaifeng, there were three Grand Commandants, the highest military commander. Gao Qiu was a Grand Commandant, Chen Zongshan, who had previously been granted amnesty, was also a Grand Commandant, and now Su Yuanjing was also a Grand Commandant. Three people held the same position and all three received the same salary. This showed just how corrupt and redundant the Northern Song court was.
Gao Qiu absolutely did not want to grant amnesty to Liangshan.
Grand Commandant Chen didn't care about the matter, but he didn't want to offend Gao Qiu.
As for Grand Commandant Su, he's really eager to recruit Liangshan—these guys are truly formidable fighters! If I can successfully recruit them, Liu Hong and the others will surely regard me as their benefactor. With the military force of Liangshan, I'll be able to stand against Gao Qiu in the imperial court! Let's see what conditions they propose later. As long as they're not too outrageous, I'll agree to them.
Liu Hong sat casually on a tiger-skin chair in the center, with Chao Gai on his left and Song Jiang on his right, his posture relaxed yet imposing. He listened to Grand Commandant Su's impassioned message about the court's goodwill—this time, the court truly wanted to offer amnesty and had offered very generous terms.
If they surrender, Liu Hong could become the prefect of Dongping Prefecture, equivalent to the mayor of a municipality. Lu Junyi would become the prefect of Dongchang Prefecture, also a municipality. Song Jiang would become the prefect of Jizhou, also a mayor. Chao Gai could become the prefect of Dengzhou, also a mayor. Wu Yong would become the prefect of Qingzhou, also a mayor. These five prefecture-level administrative regions were all ravaged by Liangshan and were beyond the reach of Liangshan's rule in the short term.
Each of his brothers also received a reward. The Five Tigers and Ten Leopards were all at the level of military commanders in various prefectures, counties, and cities across the country. The brothers below them were all commanders and captains in various prefectures. Their fiefdoms covered the entire Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, Henan and other places. They were basically officials who had become vacant after the four campaigns against Liangshan, when they suffered heavy casualties.
The imperial court's rewards this time were incredibly generous, and many of the brothers were tempted. The third of the surrendered brothers, led by Huyan Zhuo, were especially eager to return to their former status.
"Grand Commandant Su".
Liu Hong's voice was not loud, but it clearly drowned out the crackling of the candlelight in the hall.
"The imperial court is showing some sincerity now, unlike last time when they sent our brothers to Tokyo to face punishment."
Grand Commandant Su relaxed slightly, feeling that such favorable conditions had already moved these Liangshan bandits, but Liu Hong's next words exploded in his ears like thunder.
"However, since the court wants us to submit and return to Privy Councilor Tong, this little bit of stuff is probably not enough."
Grand Commandant Su swallowed hard and looked at Liu Hong with a puzzled expression.
"Great Sage, the Emperor Zhao has bestowed upon two prefects, three governors, military commanders, and countless other military positions in one go! Never before in history has the Emperor Zhao offered such a price to any bandit! If the Great Sage feels this is insufficient, please speak freely. The court may discuss any further requests."
"Discuss it? Okay!"
Liu Hong sat up abruptly, his gaze shooting towards Grand Commandant Su like lightning.
"If the imperial court truly recognizes the ability of my Liangshan brothers to act on behalf of Heaven, it should show genuine sincerity! Jizhou, Dongping Prefecture, Dongchang Prefecture, Qingzhou, and Dengzhou have already become Liangshan's de facto territory! Even without the Zhao Emperor's official appointment, the people of these five prefectures are willing to follow Liangshan, not the Zhao Emperor! We are already the masters here, and our brothers all hold positions such as military commanders in Liangshan. Why do we need the Zhao Emperor to come and bestow official titles upon us?"
"Then, what does the Great Sage want?"
Grand Commandant Su was a little unsure of what Liu Hong was up to, so he squinted and asked a question.
Liu Hong's voice suddenly rose, each word like a heavy hammer blow.
"I want to become the military governor of Shandong and control all the troops in Shandong."
Upon hearing the words "Shandong Jiedushi" (military governor of Shandong), Grand Commandant Su nearly slipped off his chair! His face turned deathly pale. "Are you out of your mind, or am I?" he thought. A Jiedushi was a powerful regional military governor! Although this position still existed in the Northern Song Dynasty, it had been weakened to the point where he could only govern one city. For example, the Guangji Army Jiedushi could only govern Dingtao City, a far cry from the exaggerated power of the Tang Dynasty, where three Jiedushi could control the entire Hebei province.
What Liu Hong wanted wasn't just a city's military governorship, but the entire Shandong province! This was even more outrageous. Regardless of which part of the Song Dynasty's administrative region he referred to as Shandong, at the very least, he wanted half of present-day Shandong province to be completely ceded to him. The founding emperor had already stripped the military governors of their power; how could a century-old dynasty be allowed to be divided? The court could not possibly agree to this! This was tantamount to open separatism!
Before he could recover, Liu Hong coldly offered an even more shocking option:
"Shandong is in turmoil right now. If the military governor is incompetent, Your Majesty can grant me a princely title and appoint me as the acting Prince of Qi. In that case, I will personally escort Tong Guan back to the capital and submit to His Majesty, and bring Shandong back to unity from this chaotic situation."
Grand Commandant Su gasped, feeling as if his head had been hit hard, his ears ringing.
King of Qi?!
Shandong is the ancient land of the State of Qi, and the title of King of Qi is by no means an ordinary prince! The prestige of a one-character title like "King of Qi" or "King of Qin" far exceeds that of a two-character title like "King of Hengshan" or "King of Runan." Only the eldest son of the current emperor is qualified to bear such a title.
This is no longer "amnesty"; it's demanding that the imperial court publicly acknowledge the existence of an independent kingdom! It's literally tearing a piece of the Song Dynasty apart!
A chill ran from Grand Commandant Su's tailbone straight to the top of his head. He trembled uncontrollably, his lips quivering, and it took him a long time to find his voice, which was dry, hoarse, and incoherent: "Great Sage... this... this... such a request... is not... not something this humble subject can make! It is truly... presumptuous! Rebellious! The laws of our ancestors... the majesty of the Emperor..."
He was so frightened that he became incoherent, his mind a complete mess. He wanted to refuse, to rebuke, to storm off, but looking at Liu Hong's cold, murderous smile, and the Liangshan leaders standing guard on both sides of the hall with their swords drawn, all his tough words stuck in his throat, and he dared not utter a single one. Although Hu Yanzhuo and the other surrendered generals of the court had their doubts, they also listened to Liu Hong in this situation. If they were to cause trouble, they would wait until Grand Commandant Su left. They absolutely could not reveal the divisions and weaknesses of Liangshan in front of the court envoy.
Agree? Even if Grand Commandant Su had ten heads, he wouldn't dare agree to a clause that was tantamount to treason!
Go back and report? He could even imagine Cai Jing and Gao Qiu's fury upon hearing the news, as well as the Emperor's overwhelming imperial power!
A tremendous fear gripped him. He dared not even look Liu Hong in the eye, dared not utter another word. Cold sweat soaked the back of his court robes—only now did Grand Commandant Su realize: Liu Hong was far beyond his control.
"Oh?" Liu Hong sneered at his horrified expression. "Grand Commandant Su can't make the decision? Then please leave. Tell all the ministers and officials in the capital," his voice turned cold, "that if you want to redeem Tong Guan, you'll have to meet my terms. Otherwise... it seems Tong Guan's bones will be resting in this marshland for quite some time. Guards! Show him out!"
"Please, Grand Commandant Su!" The leaders on both sides shouted in booming voices.
Grand Commandant Su felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He was both ashamed and afraid. He almost scrambled up from his chair, cupped his hands haphazardly to Liu Hong, and mumbled "Take leave...take leave..." Under the iron-willed escort of two soldiers, he fled the Hall of Righteousness, which he would never forget, with a deathly pale face and in a disheveled state.
Forget about haggling, he didn't dare linger for even a moment. He just wanted to leave this terrifying place as soon as possible and put this exorbitantly high price demand far behind him.
As for how to reply to the imperial court? The overwhelming fear had already shattered the last shred of dignity and courage he possessed as an envoy. He dared not think about it, nor did he want to. He would deal with it when he returned!
Chapter 386: Seven Killing Star's Verbal Battle with the Group of Girls
Seeing that Grand Commandant Su had left, Huyan Zhuo and the other surrendered generals could no longer hold back and stood up to ask questions.
"Brother! Why are the offers so outrageous? Both the Shandong military governor and the Prince of Qi are ridiculously unreasonable! The imperial court has already offered us five prefectures and appointed two prefects and three governors. Isn't that enough?!"