si-mexico Chapter 2240 Keep them occupied!
Chapter 2240 Keep them occupied!
"General Xue, I know of your loyalty, but..."
Feng Mulan was moved, but still shook her head.
It wasn't that she didn't believe in Xue Huaide's abilities, but she knew all too well that this journey was extremely dangerous, with almost no chance of survival, and it also concerned the safety of His Majesty. How could she entrust it to someone else?
Moreover, Xue Huaide was a pillar of the city's defense.
"Your Majesty! There's no time to hesitate!"
Xue Huaide suddenly stood up, a sharp glint of something he had never seen before flashing in his eyes.
He stopped pleading and, with an almost defiant decisiveness, turned to the several captains of Feng Mulan's personal guards and several mid-level generals who had rushed to the scene, and sternly shouted:
"Listen to my command! Protect the Imperial Concubine, guard the city walls, and without further orders from the Imperial Concubine and myself, do not allow the Imperial Concubine to risk leaving the city!"
"The defense of Jianghuai City will temporarily be entrusted to you all to assist Her Majesty in strictly adhering to the established strategy! Any deviation will be dealt with according to military law!"
"Xue Huaide! How dare you!"
Feng Mulan was both shocked and furious. She never expected that Xue Huaide, who was always respectful, would be so "bold" as to directly order restrictions on her movements.
The captains of the personal guards and the mid-level generals were clearly stunned. They looked at Xue Huaide and then at Feng Mulan, at a loss for what to do.
Xue Huaide stopped explaining. He looked at Feng Mulan with a complex expression, which contained loyalty, determination, and a deep sense of entrustment.
Immediately, he turned around abruptly, giving Feng Mulan no chance to stop him, and roared at his deputy general and personal guards, who were also fully armed and following behind him:
"Beat the drums! Rally the troops! All cavalry at the west gate, along with the first and third infantry battalions, follow me out of the city! Target—enemy reinforcements to the southeast! Anyone who obstructs will be killed without mercy!"
"General! This..." The adjutant hesitated.
"Execute the military order!" Xue Huaide's eyes widened in anger, his voice like thunder.
"Yes, sir!" Military orders are absolute, and the deputy general dared not disobey again.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The rapid and powerful sound of war drums suddenly rang out on the west gate, breaking the silence of the night and drowning out Feng Mulan's shocked and angry rebuke.
The garrison troops, who had been prepared beforehand, quickly assembled in the square inside the west gate.
Feng Mulan wanted to rush down the city wall, but was tacitly and respectfully "blocked" at the entrance by Xue Huaide's few loyal personal guard captains and a group of generals.
They bowed their heads, clasped their hands, and stood in front of them, silent but their attitude was clear.
They were carrying out General Xue's order to "protect the Empress and defend the city," and at this moment, they chose to trust Xue Huaide's judgment and sense of responsibility.
"Xue Huaide! You come back here right now!"
As Feng Mulan watched Xue Huaide stride down the city wall without turning back, she called out urgently, her eyes already glistening with tears of anger and worry.
She knew that Xue Huaide was willing to risk his life for her, for His Majesty, and for Jianghuai City.
Xue Huaide paused slightly, but did not turn around.
He simply raised his right arm and waved it forcefully behind him, as if saying goodbye, or as if making a promise: Don't worry, leave it to me.
Soon, with a heavy creaking sound, the west gate slowly opened a crack, and the drawbridge was lowered.
Xue Huaide took the lead, wielding a long sword, and charged out first.
Behind him, ten thousand elite infantry and cavalry filed out like a flood bursting its banks, quickly disappearing into the deep night outside the city, heading headlong towards the Youzhou army reinforcements that were on their way to Changtingpo.
The torchlight dragon stood out starkly in the darkness, and it was also exceptionally tragic.
Feng Mulan was "stopped" on the city wall. Watching the firelight quickly recede into the darkness, her heart was filled with turmoil.
She gripped the hilts of the two swords at her waist tightly, her knuckles turning white.
Anger, worry, emotion, helplessness... a mix of emotions.
Finally, she stomped her foot hard, forcing herself to calm down.
"Xue Huaide...you must come back alive!"
She muttered to herself, then took a deep breath, straightened her back, and scanned the enemy's movements in other directions outside the city with lightning speed, regaining her commander's dignity and composure.
"Order all gates to strengthen defenses! Ballistae and artillery vehicles, aim at the main camp of the Youzhou army and the Scorpion Clan camp outside the city, and be ready to fire at any time!"
"No one may leave their post without my order!"
She knew that Xue Huaide had put himself in the most dangerous situation, so she had to protect Jianghuai City for him and for His Majesty!
This is the only thing she can do now, and it is also the best response to Xue Huaide's unwavering loyalty.
As the night deepened, the murderous intent intensified.
On the plains outside the west gate of Jianghuai City, the night was as thick as ink.
Only the torches on the city walls and in the allied camps outside the city, like scattered spots of light on a dark velvet cloth, outlined the blurry and ferocious contours of the battlefield.
General Gongsun Yi of the Scorpion Clan did not personally participate in the direct assault on Jianghuai City. Instead, like a patient alpha wolf hunting, he sat firmly in the center of the army, controlling the overall situation.
He had already received Chu Xuan's signal and dispatched reinforcements from Youzhou, who were now closely monitoring every move in Jianghuai City.
When the west gate suddenly opened in the dead of night, the drawbridge was lowered, and an army carrying torches surged out like a flood bursting its banks, his hawk-like eyes instantly locked onto this army with its clear intentions.
"Hmph, he really can't hold his temper."
A cold, mocking smile curled at the corner of Gongsun Yi's lips. In the firelight, the tattoos on his face appeared even more ferocious.
"That woman Feng Mulan does have some guts, daring to leave the city at this time. Is she trying to rescue her emperor? Wishful thinking!"
He almost immediately saw through the Chu army's intention—to rush to the aid of Changtingpo.
This would undoubtedly disrupt his plan to join forces with Chu Xuan and Li Shiming to annihilate Chu Ning.
"We must not allow this army to interfere with the Khan!"
A cold glint flashed in Gongsun Yi's eyes, and he issued the order without hesitation: "Send word! Eight thousand 'Azure Wolf Cavalry' on the left wing, attack immediately and intercept this Chu army that is leaving the city!"
"We don't need to annihilate them all. Just hold them back, divide them up, and prevent them from advancing eastward smoothly!"
"Tell Urhan that I want him to cling to them like wolves tearing apart their prey, and to hold them fast!"
"Woo—!" A desolate horn sounded in the Scorpion Clan camp.
The eight thousand elite Canglang cavalry, who had been waiting for battle, led by the fierce general Urhan, howled excitedly like wolves smelling blood and quickly broke away from their main force.
They didn't light many torches. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain and their superb horsemanship, they transformed into a silent yet incredibly swift black current, suddenly plunging from the flank directly into the front of Xue Huaide's route!
Xue Huaide's 10,000 infantry and cavalry had just left the city and were traveling swiftly along the main road leading to Changtingpo.
The sounds of horses' hooves and footsteps carried far into the quiet night.
He knew full well the danger of this mission and that he had to race against time to escape the direct threat of the enemy's main force outside Jianghuai City as soon as possible.
However, the enemy's reaction was faster than he had anticipated!