The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 317 No General Can Exceed General Li

Only among the frontier guards, were there military warriors due to the frequent wars. In the Central Plains, there would be military warriors only amid civil strives. That was when the soldiers came out to participate in the fight for the throne.

The Hedong Army, led by Li Keyong, was modeled after the Northern Army, notably the Shatuo Army. They went on rampages all year round, fought against the imperial army during the reign of Qianfu, and then participated in the settlement of Huang Chao. Under his command, there were not only military warriors but also military generals.

Based on war experience, only Zhu Wen, who experienced eight years of the Huang Chao Uprising and incessantly fought north and south, was qualified to be compared with him. Thus it could be seen that the Pinglu Army, which only went on a campaign during the Huang Chao Uprising, was of little importance.

Since the demise of Xuanzong and the Last Emperor acceded, civil strives continued, and foreign invasion frequently occurred under the rule of the Tang Empire. Li Xian was running around putting out fires during these 20 years and made a number of political and military achievements. Although he failed to turn the tables by himself, many talents were gathered under his command.

Shangguan Qingcheng, Song Jiao, Liu Dazheng, and others were talents left by Li Xian to Li Ye. Shangguan Qingcheng, who was born into a family of generals, was inherited from the military warriors. He was very talented and developed rapidly after going through trials and tribulations. However, Liu Dazheng was a military warrior and Li Xian’s most trusted pro-guard leader.

The combat strength of the Pinglu Army was greatly enhanced because Li Ye received help from the demon clan, and there were many cultivators in the military. Even so, it would be hard to say whose military strength was stronger in the battle with the Hedong Army, without these members left by Li Xian.

After all, the victory not only depended on a fierce head-on battle.

The situation about the two reinforcements from the Hedong Army to rescue Qinzhou City was: Fenzhou’s reinforcement had been held up by Shangguan Qingcheng, while Liu Dazheng personally went to intercept the Yizhou reinforcement in the northeast. He had to face up to another military general of the Hedong Army, Li Cunxiao.

Li Ye took a look at the northeast.

Before the concept of time travel, Li Ye heard had heard this saying that “No king can surpass Overlord of Western Chu, and no general can exceed General Li.” “Overlord of Western Chu” referred to Xiang Yu, while “General Li” was Li Cunxiao from the Hedong Army. The so-called 13-Grand-Guardian sometimes only referred to Li Cunxiao, who ranked 13th among them.

Li Cunxiao could be compared to Xiang Yu and was known as a top man of the ancient generals. Thus, it was imaginable that Li Cunxiao was so powerful. In history, many generals never lost a single battle in their lifetime. Sun Bin, Bai Qi, Huo Qubing, Li Jing... In legendary tales, Li Cunxiao campaigned throughout his life and also never lost a single battle. At worst, it was a tie with the others.

Li Cunxiao died, accused of a false charge, because the other Grand Guardians envied him for his great achievement. Otherwise, Li Keyong might have defeated Zhu Wen and unify the Central Plains, and even the world.

About the two military generals of the Hedong Army, Li Keyong and Li Cunxiao: Li Keyong refused to do away with the protection of the Land Buddhism immortals in Qinzhou City and took a risk, giving Li Ye a chance to kill him. As long as Liu Dazheng could hold up Li Cunxiao, there would be no trouble in the battle of Qinzhou City.

Could Liu Dazheng stop Li Cunxiao? Li Ye looked to the northeast once again.

If Liu Dazheng could not, nobody in the Pinglu Army could stop him — even Shangguan Qingcheng could not. In terms of a military warrior’s cultivation, Liu Dazheng, who followed Li Xian to live a military life, was superior to Shangguan Qingcheng. Maybe that was the reason why Li Ye always asked Liu Dazheng to serve as the deputy commander to lead the whole army.

Shangguan Qingcheng’s troops’ charge against the Hedong Army was coming to an end. Li Ye looked into the wilderness.

It was a big mess on the broad plain, with dead bodies strewn all over, together with scattered weapons and armors. They carpeted the ground like dense straws in the fields. Red blood flowed freely and their colors were the same as the blooming peony.

Far beyond the battlefield, the officers and soldiers of the Hedong Army ran off toward the mountains and plains. Their panicky shouts came in tidal waves. The Pinglu Army, who chased after them, was well-aligned and disciplined. They split into several groups to catch up with the Hedong Army, divided, besieged, and subdued them.

Li Ye glanced around a few times and was well aware of the situation. The Hedong Army had killed a number of people. At the end of the battle, more than half of the 40,000 soldiers from the Hedong Army would undoubtedly die, and less than one-tenth of soldiers would escape. And, there were estimated to be more than 100,000 captives.

For Li Ye, who was capturing cities and expanding territories, captives were the most precious war trophies. With them, his force and strength would develop once again. The Hedong Army was always elite, and stronger than the Weibo Army and Zhaoyi Army. After reorganizing the captives from the Hedong Army, the Pinglu Army’s strength would rise, which would be favorable for future battles.

At the end of the battle, Li Ye returned to the camp outside Qinzhou City.

He sat down in the camp of the middle troops and looked through the paper on the desk. Song Jiao came over.

Since the beginning of the expedition, the mature and glamorous beauty had been experiencing excessive fatigue. Her charming face was pale and she looked sickly, which led to people feeling pity for her, yet wanting to take advantage of her.

Li Ye raised his eyebrows slightly. Song Jiao did not take a seat but went straight to his desk. Her tall body supported her custom-fit purple robe, like a plum tree standing in the snow. The exquisite curves of her wasp like waist and rounded hips were apparent, especially her voluptuous chest. From this perceptive, it seemed that half of the face had been covered.

Of course, the decoration was different from that on earth. Li Ye looked at her rudely, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he asked with affected seriousness, “Who’s that coming?”

Song Jiao glared at him and said angrily, “Are you courting death?”

Hearing that, Li Ye pretended to be enlightened. “Oh, it’s Aunt Song! I’m so embarrassed. I can only see your chest from here, and I can’t see your face. Don’t be angry...”

Even if she thought that she was a wordly person, Song Jiao’s cheeks flushed with shame and vexation because he bluntly complimented her on her big chest. She took a step backward, glared at Li Ye, and clenched her teeth, saying, “How can you still be so glib-tongued now? Do you want to know a tip-off?”

“Aunt Song, Thank you for your hard work. I’m all ears.”

“You still have a little conscience!” Song Jiao snorted, with a smile on her face. His words were simple, but he showed recognition and respect for her efforts. That was what anyone needed at any time.

She continued, “There are changes in the Xuanwu Army. Our informants reported that Zhu Wen met two men by the riverside several days ago. They appeared enigmatic and directly stopped Zhu Wen’s horse, but there were no clashes between them. Since then, they have often appeared next to Zhu Wen. The Xuanwu Army intended to cross the river, but now they stopped doing that.”

Li Ye nodded slightly. Although the news was beyond of his expectation, it was reasonable.

While confronting with the immortals, the Immortal Court of Taoist sect could only choose to support Zhu Wen in his fight for the general trend of the world. He had expected this situation, and now his speculation was confirmed. However, the timing was subtle.

As the immortal force that controlled the blessed place of the Divine Land, the Immortal Court of the Taoist sect was nominally orthodox in the nine states, with the most significant influence. At this time, when the first wisp of the Secret appeared in Taiyuan City, they would naturally compete for it. However, Li Ye did not know how many people were sent, and what tactics they planned to adopt.

“Pay close attention to Xuanwu Army’s trend. Give me a report three times a day. Besides, you and Red Boy can get some masters to monitor the situation in the south.” Li Ye ordered in a low voice.

He did not know what the Immortal Court of the Taoist sect planned to do. At the critical moment when the allied forces attacked and occupied Qinzhou City, Li Ye was up to his ears and could not split the power of the Great Cultivator of the demon clan. He could only choose a conservative strategy to pay close attention to the tendency of the army and the Great Cultivators.

After they negotiated and decided on the matter, the military report from Yizhou came.

The informant was the nine-tail Demon Fox. Her cultivation was neither good nor bad, so the monks of Land Buddhism did not bother her, while she walked around. Moreover, she was proficient in enchantment and acted quickly. Therefore, she was suitable to be a scout and orderly. However, the nine-tail Demon Fox was dissatisfied with this job.

In her own words, she was the saintess of the nine-tail Demon Fox Clan. With such an honorable identity, how could she transmit orders just like any ordinary servant? Indeed, her protests were invalid. There were a lot of saints and saintesses in the demon clan, so these titles did not frighten Li Ye.

In Yizhou, the battle of Liu Dazheng intercepting Li Cunxiao was fierce.

Inspector General’s Mansion, Qinzhou City.

After he arrived in Qinzhou City, Li Keyong took over the Inspector General Mansion, the most important place in the city. He could not stand on top of the city wall day and night. Most of the time, he needed to assume personal command in the Inspector General Mansion, to coordinate the war situation and dispatch all parties.

A bang could be heard from the Office of Government Affairs. The several maidservants who had just stepped into the yard with tea and snacks, were shocked by the sudden sound. All of them trembled and fell to the ground. They were scalded by the boiling tea, and peppered with all kinds of snacks. Hot steam rose with a loud sound. But during the entire process, none of the maidservants screamed.

They were first-class maids from the Longxi Prince Manor. Li Keyong was used to them, so he would take them everywhere he went. Although they were only teenagers, all of them were already at the Qi-refining Stage. Moreover, they had good looks and temperament.

These maids’ family backgrounds were not simple. All of them were the daughters of government officials in Hedong. They were well-bred. They must have some basic knowledge of lyre-playing, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Meanwhile, they were proficient in tea-making, singing, or dancing. Otherwise, they were not eligible to enter the Prince’s Manor.

These girls from respectable and humble families were talented, beautiful, and well-bred. In the downtown streets, many young talents would chase after them. But in the Longxi Prince Manor, they were just a group of maidservants. They were pawns used by their families to flatter Li Keyong.

In the Office of Government Affairs, the desk in front of Li Keyong had shattered into fine powder. A shallow pit as big as half of a tank appeared at his feet. The Spiritual Qi from his blow was so powerful that maidservants of the Qi-refining Realm in the yard could not stand it.

In the office, the advisors, generals, and officials lowered their heads and knelt on the ground, yielding to Li Keyong’s wrath.

“Li Cunxin and Li Cunjin, good-for-nothings, led my 40,000 Hedong Army elites and lost to Shangguan Qingcheng’s 20,000 troops. This is intolerable.” Li Keyong swung his sleeves sullenly and glanced at the crowd with penetrating eyes. “If my generals of the Hedong Army are useless, we don’t have to fight anymore. You guys, you’d better go straight and surrender! I can graze the war-horses on the hillside and return to the forests!”

Hearing that, the military generals felt shame and blushed. Only those hot blooded ones would continue to fight.

Li Keyong snorted, sat down again, without saying anything more.

His trusted subordinates and advisors leaned forward and said, “Prince, calm your anger. Although the Fenzhou military forces have not arrived, Yizhou troops and horses led by General Li Cunxiao will be arriving soon. In addition to the realm of military generals, Li Cunxiao is valiant and unbeatable. Even if he meets an opponent of the same realm, he will be invincible. As long as General Li Cunxiao can lead the Yizhou military forces to rush to Qinzhou City, what can Li Ye do, even with hundreds of thousands of troops? If the Prince and General Li Cunxiao join forces, no army in the world can withstand it.”