Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Two hours later.

The night was getting darker and darker. The moon had risen high above our heads without us noticing when. Bursts of frog croaking could be heard from outside the dark city.

Li Chengqian sat cross-legged on the futon, muttering with a tired look on his face, "Du He, it's so late, why haven't Rengui and Junmai come back yet?"

"Your Highness, why don't you go back and rest first?"

"I'd better wait here. The army has suffered a great defeat and its morale is low. I need to comfort the soldiers."

Li Chengqian said while yawning and shaking his head.

At this moment, a long fire dragon suddenly appeared on the official road far outside the city.

A soldier nearby shouted, "Your Highness, Prince Consort Du, a large army is approaching!"

When Li Chengqian and Du He rushed to the edge of the city wall to look, a white shadow had already rushed to the city gate.

"Tap~"

"Xu~"

Xue Rengui stopped his galloping horse.

He clasped his fists and shouted to Li Chengqian who was standing by the city wall: "Your Highness, it is our army that has returned."

Li Chengqian quickly ordered: "Open the city gate!"

Half a quarter of an hour later, the army returned to the city gate.

"See His Highness the Crown Prince!"

More than a thousand cavalrymen shouted in unison at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian looked at the sparse cavalry outside the city and the bodies of the fallen soldiers pulled by the carriages, and his heart couldn't help but twitch.

He shouted loudly: "Soldiers, you have worked hard. Come into the city quickly. I have prepared a sumptuous meal for you."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

More than a thousand cavalrymen roared in unison.

As the army entered the city gate one after another, Zhang Jian, who was riding on his horse, stood there in a daze. He actually felt a little timid in his heart.

Su Dingfang reined in his horse and came to his side, saying softly, "General Zhang, let's go in."

"We have almost wiped out the enemy's elite cavalry in this battle. We will say something good for you later. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not punish you."

Zhang Jian nodded palely, and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, Deputy Chief Steward Su."

...

Half an hour later.

Zhang Jian settled the soldiers, then had his personal guards tie his hands, and walked to the city lord's mansion alone to confess his guilt to the prince.

When they arrived at the City Lord's Mansion, they found the door was tightly closed.

Zhang Jian said to the soldiers guarding the gate: "Please report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and bring Zhang Jian here to be punished!"

The soldier shook his head and said, "General Zhang, please go back. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already rested. We can talk about it tomorrow if there is anything."

"this..."

Zhang Jian was stunned.

Because Su Dingfang, Xi Junmai and Xue Rengui had just come to the City Lord's Mansion to meet the Prince not long ago, they must be discussing something inside now.

The only explanation is that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't want to see him!

"Hey~"

Zhang Jian sighed deeply, then left in a daze.

In the main hall of the city lord's mansion.

Su Dingfang held a simple battle report, ready to report the casualties of this battle.

Li Chengqian waved his hand anxiously and said, "Dingfang, report our casualties first!"

"promise!"

Su Dingfang nodded and said.

He found the data recording his own casualties and read it out in a deep voice: "In this battle, Zhang Jian's troops lost 6312 men, 315 were seriously injured, and the remaining 620 cavalrymen were all injured."

"46 Black Armor soldiers were slightly injured, but they are not seriously injured and will be fine after a few days of rest."

"Snapped!"

Li Chengqian slapped the table heavily.

He said angrily, "Before the battle, Zhang Jian signed a military order and vowed that he was 100% sure of victory!"

"If it weren't for the generals and the Black Armor Army risking their lives to rescue him, I think Zhang Jian's troops would have been wiped out!"

"Damn Zhang Jian, he lost so many soldiers. I think he deserves to die a hundred times!"

"Someone, take Zhang Jian away and chop him up!"

Li Chengqian was so excited that he actually ordered Zhang Jian, the chief of the army, to be beheaded.

Seeing Li Chengqian's rage, Su Dingfang, Xi Junmai and Xue Rengui's faces changed and they quickly stood up to plead for Zhang Jian.

"Your Highness, calm down!"

"Although General Zhang suffered heavy casualties in this battle, he remained on the battlefield and fought bravely at the most critical moment."

"Moreover, General Zhang's troops fought desperately and killed many enemy cavalry."

"Please, Your Highness, spare General Zhang's life!"

Seeing his three trusted generals pleading for mercy, Li Chengqian had no intention of forgiving Zhang Jian, but spoke excitedly.

"Zhang Jian had previously suffered a great defeat, with 4125 men killed and 6012 wounded! Now this battle has cost him another 6312 men!"

"How can I forgive him?"

"How can you forgive him when you caused the deaths of more than 10,000 soldiers?"

The old account was not turned over, but was still remembered by Li Chengqian.

Su Dingfang, Xi Junmai and Xue Rengui were also speechless when they heard about the casualties under Zhang Jian's command.

In just a few months, most of the 2 soldiers under his command were lost. Such a record is really unacceptable.

Just when the atmosphere was serious, Du He said softly: "Your Highness, why not let General Su finish reading the battle report and see the enemy's casualties."

Li Chengqian's expression eased a little, and he said softly, "Dingfang, please continue reading."

"promise!"

Su Dingfang continued reading: "In this battle, a total of 8153 Wugucheng cavalrymen were annihilated, the King of Nuo Sayuan was annihilated, and 18 enemy generals of all sizes were annihilated."

"Because we were short-handed, and it was dark, and thousands of enemy cavalry had escaped."

Then Su Dingfang told Li Chengqian and Du He in detail about the heroic performance of Xue Rengui, Xi Junmai and the Black Armor Army.

When Li Chengqian heard that Xue Rengui charged into the battle alone and killed King Yuanfen and the enemy general with two arrows, his face was full of smiles.

"Rengui, Junmai, you did a great job!"

"The accumulated military merits of the two of you are now enough to earn you a title of nobility and a title of general!"

During this expedition against Goguryeo, the performance of his two trusted generals was very impressive. The number of enemy generals killed by them accounted for half of the army.

Du He pointed at Su Dingfang and said with a smile: "Your Highness, General Su has performed well. After returning to the court, he will be granted a title of nobility and appointed as a general."

Hearing the praise from Li Chengqian and Du He, Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui and Xi Junmai hurriedly clasped their fists and said.

"I am grateful to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for his trust in me. I will repay His Royal Highness with my death!"

"Three generals, please stand up quickly." Li Chengqian raised his hands in the air.

Li Chengqian saw that his three favorites were exhausted, so he said gently, "You have been fighting for so long, go back and have a good rest first."

"I'll take my leave."

The three of them spoke in unison again.

After Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui and Xi Junmai left the hall, Li Chengqian looked at Du He and whispered.

"Du He, you should think carefully tonight about how to deal with Zhang Jian."

Du He smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, I am just a small military advisor..."

"Don't give up on me. This is an order."

After saying that, Li Chengqian slowly left the hall, leaving Du He standing there with his mouth open.

After a silence of ten breaths.

Du He shook his head helplessly and muttered, "Li Chengqian is throwing the problem on me again!"