Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 69 Emptying Langya
Holding the tiger tally, Wei Wusheng rode his horse and arrived at the Langya military camp in the first instance.

Even at midnight, they are on high alert.

Seeing a horse galloping towards them, the guards immediately stepped forward and shouted, "Halt ahead at the military camp!"

He pulled on the reins, the horse raised its head, and its hooves began to pound. Wei Wusheng brought the horse to an abrupt halt and shouted, "I am Wei Wusheng, the Sixth Prince, General of the Central Army and Prefect of Shuojun."

Upon hearing this, the other party immediately knelt on one knee and clenched his fist, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Although his identity still needs to be verified, the guards have no reason not to disbelieve him because he did not enter the military camp or give any instructions.

If he has any requests, then he will definitely have to provide information.

"Who holds the command in the military camp?" Wei Wusheng asked.

"Your Highness, it is Commandant Chu."

"Call him over."

Wei Wusheng gave the order directly and displayed the tiger tally.

Upon seeing only the outline of the tiger tally, the soldiers immediately turned around and ran back into the camp.

Soon, a middle-aged man, who wasn't even wearing armor but only a red inner robe, ran over and bowed to Wei Wusheng: "This humble official greets Your Highness."

Wei Wusheng simply tossed the tiger tally to him.

After catching the tiger tally, Commandant Chu took out his other half.

After they fit perfectly together, one on the left and one on the right, they raised their heads and asked, "Your Highness, what brings you to the camp?"

Wei Wusheng's tone was flat but oppressive: "The imperial court has secretly ordered the deployment of a large army to resist Ji Yuan. Now, all the supplies in the city are being transported to ships, and all troops are being mobilized to sail down the waterway."

"..." These words completely stunned Commander Chu. "Excuse me for speaking out of turn, but what is General Luo Ting doing now?"

“I am carrying out the imperial orders with the general, but he has other important matters to attend to.”

Wei Wusheng's tone gradually turned stern as he threatened, "Are you trying to delay military operations?"

"I don't dare!"

Now that the tiger tally has been matched, there are no problems with the procedure. Commandant Chu immediately said, "Order all soldiers to put on their armor and transport the treasury supplies onto the ships!"

"Yes!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the action began without a moment's hesitation or doubt.

At all times, professional soldiers consider obeying orders their primary duty.

The reason why deserters are punished so severely, and sometimes when a deserter is caught, it is better to kill him than to give him a chance to atone for his crime by killing the enemy, is because the four words "strict military discipline" are inviolable.

As long as the tiger tally Wei Wusheng is holding is correct, ordering them to attack Ji Yuan's camp barefoot is a must.

After the order was given, the assembly bell rang in the military camp, its deep and heavy sound resonating.

"Don't deploy troops! You must not deploy troops!"

Just then, a rider suddenly charged up from behind, shouting loudly.

"It's General Wang..."

Someone recognized him, and then the group slowly looked at Wei Wusheng, all of them filled with fear and unease.

Without turning his head, Wei Wusheng directly ordered, "Wang Dalong intends to seize power. You all must capture him alive immediately."

The moment the order was given, Commandant Chu hesitated again.

The matter was too bizarre.

The next moment, Wei Wusheng took out the fish-shaped tally that proved his official status and threw it over.

Commandant Chu accepted it.

Following the torchlight, a line of words appeared: "General of the Great Yu, Prefect of Shuojun, Rank 3, Wei Wusheng."

"General Luo Ting may have been taken hostage. All of you, return to camp!"

Wang Dalong galloped at full speed and finally arrived at the camp gate just before the army was to be mobilized.

However, just as he was about to approach Wei Wusheng, several people suddenly rushed out.

Directly in front, the two quickly straightened the tripwire, causing the horse to trip over.

Wang Dalong flew out and landed on the ground. Two halberds crossed and locked his neck, locking him in place seamlessly.

Before he could even cry out in pain, seeing Wei Wusheng's cold gaze looking down at him from above, he could only grit his teeth, clench his fists, and slam his fist heavily onto the ground.

"Before dawn, all supplies must be loaded onto the ships, or you will be subject to military law."

Wei Wusheng reminded Commandant Chu. "Yes!" Commandant Chu immediately agreed.

Wei Wusheng bent down and extended his hand.

With utmost respect, Commandant Chu returned the tiger tally and fish tally to him with both hands.

The reason these two things are more useful when combined is that they enable people to think quickly.

There is a possibility that the tiger tally could be stolen or taken away.

But once the fish tally proved that he was Wei Wusheng, those in lower positions no longer needed to do any further thinking or exploring those possibilities.

"Give me a hundred cavalrymen to command."

Wei Wusheng gave the order.

"Yes!"

One hundred cavalrymen were quickly assembled in front of the camp gate.

With these people in tow, Wei Wusheng immediately returned to the prefectural government.

The cavalry completely surrounded this most important government office in Langya.

After ordering a strict lockdown, Wei Wusheng rode alone into the mansion.

It was quickly discovered by the people inside.

But he didn't care and kept walking inside.

The number of people he noticed had increased to four or five, who stood far away to the side, keeping their distance and being very wary of him.

After a while, Manager Bai came out of the lobby and rushed to Wei Wusheng.

"Your Highness?"

Mr. Bai asked somewhat tentatively.

“Yes,” Wei Wusheng replied.

"..." After bowing, the centurion stood up and asked nervously, "We found General Luo unconscious under the desk in the main hall. His hands were bound and his palms were bandaged. Your Highness, who did this?"

Ironically, they searched the prefectural governor's mansion for half an hour before finally returning to the main hall and finding Luo Ting.

It was hidden right under our noses, how ridiculous!

"I."

Wei Wusheng responded simply.

Upon receiving this answer, everyone was stunned into silence, gripped by extreme fear.

"I have seized the Tiger Tally, and now, apart from you, the entire city's army is under my control," Wei Wusheng announced from his horse.

"Your Highness, please grant us a way to live!"

After the general knelt down, everyone else knelt down as well.

"I have ordered the guards to stand watch at the front and back gates of the prefectural government until dawn. You are all to stay here and take care of General Luo. You are not allowed to leave the premises."

Wei Wusheng raised his head, looked at the bright moon in the sky, and murmured, "When it gets light, you will be free. General Luo too, he can do whatever he wants."

…………

The journey from Langya City to the military camp wasn't far, mostly consisting of gentle downhill sections, and the trip was generally smooth. However, since it was already pitch black, Song Shi'an could only follow behind Xin Yue, who was holding a faint torch, struggling to keep up on horseback.

This is equivalent to someone with 500 degrees of myopia driving on a national highway at night without wearing glasses.

Basically, it's all based on intuition.

Fortunately, this is an era without great fortune.

After more than half an hour, the two finally arrived outside the military camp.

Although it was called a military camp, it was just a cluster of tents set up along the river.

On the outermost edge, a large banner bearing the character "Wei" was erected on a simple wooden watchtower. Huge oil torches burned, their light swaying in the night wind.

After all, this was the heartland of Southern Liang, not the front line, so this was basically how the army camped during marches.

Although seizing power is extremely tense, exciting, and a race against time, the most crucial step is the next one.

Before entering the camp, Song Shi'an looked at his teammates, who had become quite sympathetic after the series of events, and couldn't help but sigh, "Your Highness has no worries and it is reasonable for him to commit this 'treason' for the greater good. But it is truly beyond my expectations that you would dare to participate in such a task that would exterminate nine generations of your family."

Despite such praise, Xin Yue remained humble and said, "I am an orphan, I have no extended family."

(End of this chapter)