192: Under the ring, there are murderous intentions everywhere

Ju Bei City, in the northern part of Liyang.

This once impregnable city was now adorned with the black Dragon banners of the Great Tang.

Inside the city, Tiance Manor soldiers patrolled everywhere. Their armor was still stained with fresh blood, and their eyes were filled with high Battle Intent and a hint of… confusion.

The victory was too easy.

Was this truly the Liyang border army that had fought the Northern Liang Iron Cavalry for decades?

Why did they seem even weaker than rural hooligans?

Inside the main tent.

Yuchi Gong, the fierce general with the dark face, angrily smashed the wine bowl in his hand to the ground.

“Bang!”

The ceramic wine bowl shattered into pieces.

“Damn it! What kind of pathetic battle is this?!” Yuchi Gong roared, his voice hoarse. “I took off my pants, and this is what you show me?”

“Are Liyang’s soldiers made of paper? They break with a single poke!”

“Give the order! Keep chasing them! I want to see how far they can run!”

The several adjutants in the tent exchanged glances, their faces showing expressions of wanting to laugh but not daring to.

They naturally knew that their commander was putting on an act.

Just last night, His Majesty’s secret imperial edict had arrived.

The eight characters “lure the enemy deep, turn their scheme against them” left them both shocked and excited, a tingling sensation on their scalps.

His Majesty actually planned to use three hundred thousand Tiance Manor elites as bait!

What incredible boldness!

“General, you mustn’t!” an adjutant quickly stepped forward, feigning earnest persuasion. “Our army is deep behind enemy lines, and our provisions have not yet caught up. If we fall into an enemy ambush, we will regret it deeply!”

“Ambush? Damn it, do those weak-kneed Liyang soldiers even deserve to play ambush with me?” Yuchi Gong glared, kicking the adjutant’s backside.

Of course, he held back his strength.

“Scram, scram! Don’t you dare boost the enemy’s morale and diminish our own here!”

“All troops attack! Anyone who retreats a single step will be dealt with by military law!”

With Yuchi Gong’s command, the Great Tang army, which had only occupied Ju Bei City for less than a day, once again poured out of the city.

They furiously pursued the enemy deep into Liyang’s heartland.

Meanwhile, on Liyang’s side, the three hundred thousand elite Imperial Guards personally led by Commander Gu fought and retreated.

Their acting was so superb, it could win an award.

Every engagement was a quick defeat.

Every retreat involved abandoning armor and weapons, appearing utterly disheveled.

Battle reports, like snowflakes, continuously flowed back to Taian City.

“Great victory! Great victory! Commander Gu defeated the Tang army again in Qingfeng Dao, slaying three thousand enemies!”

“Great victory! Commander Gu burned seven hundred li of enemy camps, and the Tang army vanguard suffered heavy casualties!”

“Great victory! Commander Gu has forced the Tang army into a desperate situation and will soon lure them into Hulu Pass for a complete annihilation!”

The repeated cries of “Great victory” plunged the entire Taian City into a joyous frenzy, almost bordering on madness.

The people of Liyang spread the news, celebrating with high spirits.

It was as if the Great Tang “Cultivator army,” which once struck terror into their hearts, had become a joke.

Inside the Hall of Political Affairs, singing and dancing filled the air.

Liyang Emperor Zhao Dun sat on the Dragon throne, his face flushed with joy, laughing heartily.

“Good! What a Commander Gu! He is truly my Champion Marquis!”

He raised his wine cup and, facing the Civil and Military Officials below, who also wore joyful expressions, declared loudly: “My beloved officials, drink this cup dry! To Liyang! To Commander Gu!”

“To Your Majesty! To Commander Gu!”

The officials cheered like a mountain tsunami.

The entire hall was filled with joyous air.

Only one person was an exception.

Grand Tutor Grand Tutor Zhang Julu.

He had not come.

Ever since Commander Gu departed on his campaign, he had claimed illness and stayed home, never attending court again.

As for this Grand Tutor, who once held immense power, Zhao Dun no longer bothered with him.

In his opinion, this old fellow was simply jealous!

Jealous of Commander Gu’s achievements, jealous of him, the Emperor, for having a Wisdom Eye to recognize talent!

“Hmph, an old thing who only knows how to scheme behind the scenes with unsavory tricks, does he even deserve to be compared with my Commander Gu?” Zhao Dun thought disdainfully in his heart.

His mind was now completely filled with his invincible Grand Marshal.

It was all about the unprecedented great victory that was about to unfold at Hulu Pass!

He had even begun to fantasize about how, after annihilating Li Chengqian’s three hundred thousand strong army, he would lead his forces north, flatten Chang'an, and trample that presumptuous false Emperor underfoot.

Looking at the Emperor on the Dragon throne, completely immersed in his beautiful dream.

Looking at the sycophantic colleagues below the hall, celebrating their good fortune.

An inconspicuous general standing in a corner had a flash of pity and… coldness in his eyes that no one noticed.

He quietly exited the hall.

Passing through layers of palace gates.

He arrived at a secluded alley.

At the end of the alley, an unassuming black carriage was parked.

The general walked to the carriage, respectfully kneeling on one knee.

“Reporting to Your Highness, everything is as you predicted.”

The carriage curtain was gently lifted by a pale white hand.

Revealing Xu Weixiong’s calm yet breathtakingly beautiful face.

“Understood.”

She replied indifferently, her gaze, however, turned towards the direction of the Grand Tutor’s residence.

The fish had completely taken the bait.

Next, it was time to deal with that troublesome old fish.

“Tell Eunuch Han that he can proceed,” Xu Weixiong’s voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable command.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The general took his leave.

The carriage slowly drove out of the alley.

The wheels rolled over the bluestone road, making a “gulu gulu” sound.

As if the approaching Death Qi was playing its prelude.

Night deepened.

Grand Tutor’s residence, study.

Grand Tutor Zhang Julu sat alone under the lamp.

He wasn’t reading or handling official business.

He was just quietly looking at the crescent moon outside the window.

His face was deeply lined and filled with Death Qi.

He knew his death was near.

From the moment Commander Gu stepped forward, he knew he had lost.

Lost to that sick tiger far away in Northern Liang.

Lost to that Emperor who sat on the Dragon throne in Taian City, yet was dumber than anyone else.

And also lost to this rotten Dynasty.

“Alas, alas…”

He sighed deeply, picked up the wine cup on the table, and drank it in one gulp.

The wine was poisoned wine.

He didn’t want to die by those dirty means.

He wanted to preserve his last bit of dignity.

However, just as he was about to drink the second cup.

The study door was violently slammed open with a “bang.”

A group of black-armored Imperial Guards rushed in like wolves and tigers.

Leading them was a pale-faced, beardless old eunuch.

It was Han Shengxuan, Zhao Dun’s most trusted Grand Eunuch.

“Hehehe…” Han Shengxuan looked at the poisoned wine on the table and let out a harsh, owl-like laugh. “Grand Tutor, where are you in such a hurry to go?”

“Your Majesty has an imperial edict.”

Han Shengxuan’s laughter abruptly stopped.

He pulled out a scroll of bright yellow imperial edict from his bosom and slowly unrolled it.

“Grand Tutor Grand Tutor Zhang Julu, for colluding with the enemy, betraying the country, and attempting rebellion, the evidence is conclusive!”

“I, remembering his past meritorious service in assisting me, bestow upon him death by slow slicing, and the extermination of his nine generations of kin!”

“As a warning to others!”

“By imperial decree!”