The First Lackey Under The Empress

The sun leaped over the horizon, and the world suddenly brightened.

The main force of the imperial army, vast and mighty, was advancing directly towards Ning'an County, the rebel stronghold.

However, the anticipated rebel resistance did not materialize; instead, they continuously encountered large groups of refugees being driven towards them.

On a certain hillside.

Xue Shence, clad in military attire, gazed solemnly at the plain ahead, the cold wind caressing his face, his hair fluttering beneath his helmet:

"Reporting, my lord, there are too many refugees. We are carrying a large amount of equipment and supplies and cannot detour. This is already the fastest possible speed," a military officer behind him replied helplessly.

Xue Shence sighed softly, waved his hand, frowned, and said in a low voice:

"Something's not right."

Behind him, Mo Chou walked up the hillside against the wind and asked:

"What's not right? They are clearly using these refugees to hinder our march and avoid a direct confrontation with us."

Today, for the grand counter-offensive, the army within the city was divided into three teams.

Xue Shence led the largest force, including Chen Huoshen's firearms battalion, as the main force, advancing directly.

Shi Meng and Yuan Feng, two commanders, each led a team, attacking along two other routes.

Xue Shence said calmly:

"From the refugees, we have confirmed that they are mostly residents from around Ning'an County, including WenShui County, who were ordered out of the city by the rebels and driven along this route towards us.

This is a clever move. It severely slows down our speed, buys them more time, and throws us a huge burden…

Heh, if it comes to the most urgent moment, and the rebels choose to burn the city, then these refugees will have lost their homes, and the imperial court will have to spend a lot of manpower and resources to settle them.

The military provisions that Governor Zhao painstakingly collected may not even be enough to feed these refugees.

This is their real killer move."

Of course, what he didn't say was that driving out the refugees was also to reduce the harm of the "burning the city" plan.

Even though Prince Mu had already been defined as a "traitor," he chose to burn the city, an act destined to be cursed. But burning houses and fields… and burning people to death were still two completely different things.

Su Dan drove out a large group of refugees, both to disgust the imperial court and to reduce the resistance and consequences of burning the city.

Mo Chou asked doubtfully: "Since you see it so clearly, what's wrong then?"

"Timing," Xue Shence turned his head, looking at her with a deep gaze:

"The timing of using this trick is too early. If they wanted to maximize their combat effectiveness and buy time, they should have first sent out troops, relying on the terrain along the way, to hinder our advance and inflict as much damage as possible, and then drive out the refugees…

But Su Dan chose to do this now. I suspect that some of our previous judgments were wrong, but we need feedback from the other two teams to verify it."

Mo Chou pursed her lips, her eyes filled with worry, and said:

"We've been out of the city for several hours. Considering that Shi Meng and Yuan Feng's teams set out earlier, news should be coming back soon."

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, a military falcon broke through the clouds from the eastern sky.

Soon, a military intelligence report from Yuan Feng was delivered to the hillside.

Xue Shence unfolded the letter, his expression slightly沉 (chén) after scanning it, and said to the group of military officers who had gathered:

"Like a hot knife through butter. Yuan Feng's team is advancing much faster than expected and has already passed Yinma Village."

Everyone was overjoyed:

"The enemy must know that our army is powerful and understands that they cannot resist, so their morale is low and they have no intention of fighting to the death."

Mo Chou was also puzzled: "Isn't this a good thing? Why are you frowning?"

Xue Shence shook his head and sighed deeply:

"A good thing? Something is wrong when things are abnormal. Based on my experience fighting with Su Dan in the past few days, this rebel army is definitely not a scattered group that collapses at the first sign of trouble. It is impossible for them to retreat so quickly. Combined with these refugees in front of us, there is only one answer!

That is, Su Dan has already withdrawn the main force of the rebels, and those left outside occupying the territory are just a group of mediocre soldiers!

And he clearly controls the terrain, but he voluntarily gives it up, handing over these territories to us!

What does that mean?

It means that he never intended to fight us, nor did he ever think about defending the city! Instead, he planned to withdraw from the very beginning! We were deceived by his actions!"

Deceived?

Mo Chou and the others felt a jolt in their hearts!

In the past two days, the imperial court has been constantly analyzing the rebels' actions, and the conclusion reached was:

Su Dan had already prepared for failure, but he would still fight the imperial court.

Both to buy time to transport the materials plundered from the city and to weaken the imperial court's forces and hinder their offensive momentum as much as possible.

And the subsequent tactical arrangements were also based on this judgment.

But at this moment, Xue Shence said that Su Dan never thought about fighting, but had already begun to evacuate.

Mo Chou's heart suddenly skipped a beat:

"If that's the case, wouldn't it mean that the other party might burn the city in advance? They wouldn't wait until 'they can't hold the territory' or 'can't beat us' to do this, but from the beginning, the goal was to burn the city?!"

At this moment, a falcon flew in from the western sky.

"Report! Commander Shi has sent a message! His team has already captured WenShui County! They are advancing towards ChaoNing County!" The messenger ran over.

In an instant, everyone was stunned.

"WenShui County has already been captured?!" Xue Shence couldn't believe it.

It should be known that the purpose of Shi Meng's team was only to contain WenShui County, not the main force of the attack at all.

Therefore, Chen Huoshen's artillery was not equipped at all. In other words, Shi Meng could not have captured the city with firearms.

The enemy occupied two cities, and in just a few hours, one had already been taken. How could this not be shocking?

Could it be that the garrison in WenShui County had also withdrawn?

"Impossible, our spies have repeatedly confirmed that there are main forces of the rebels in Ning'an and WenShui cities. It is impossible for the other party to withdraw without anyone knowing! Such obvious targets cannot have gone unnoticed in advance!" Someone questioned.

Xue Shence immediately snatched the letter, read it, and was slightly stunned.

Mo Chou leaned over, her expression also becoming strange.

According to the intelligence, the success of capturing the city was attributed to the dare-to-die battalion led by Wei Xianzong.

The first target of the dare-to-die battalion was Wūhé Town, and the occupation was unexpectedly smooth. Afterwards, Wei Xianzong led the officers and soldiers of the dare-to-die battalion to change into rebel uniforms, pretending to be "defeated soldiers" and fleeing towards WenShui County.

And successfully deceived the city gate guards.

Of course, being able to do this was mainly due to the assistance of the "puppet troops" from the original patrol department of Wūhé Town who had actively surrendered.

In addition, there was also an important factor: the "garrison commander" of WenShui County was a relative of Chen Yong, the Ba Zong of Wūhé Town…

"After Wei Xianzong successfully entered the city, he disguised himself as Chen Yong's subordinate, approached the garrison commander of WenShui County, found an opportunity to kill him, and wiped out the rebel headquarters in the city.

Then he co-opted some of the original imperial court's surrendered soldiers in the city… opened the city gate, and welcomed Shi Meng into the city, which led to the capture of WenShui County. En, the firearms team in Shi Meng's hand also played an important role."

Mo Chou read out the intelligence with a strange expression:

"After Shi Meng captured the city, he discovered that fire points had been set up everywhere in WenShui County. According to the intelligence given by the surrendered soldiers, the plan to burn WenShui County would be launched today, but fortunately, we captured it in advance."

After a pause, she added:

"As for Wei Xianzong, he has already led the dare-to-die battalion, disguised as defeated soldiers again, and fled to Ning'an County, trying to blend in."

Is that even possible? The generals looked at each other.

The intelligence only mentioned the results in a few words, but they knew that the process was definitely not that simple.

The enemy general was not an idiot. How could he be so easily deceived into opening the city gate?

"Wei Xianzong… Governor Zhao has secured a great general for us," Xue Shence sighed, even he was amazed by the courage and ability of the former Qingzhou commander.

Xue Shence waved his hand:

"This is good news. With WenShui broken, Shi Meng's side has no refugees to hinder them, and they are likely to attack the rear of Ning'an City first, cutting off the enemy's retreat route. This time, it's Su Dan's turn to have a headache.

However, the time they buy is limited, and we must also speed up our advance. We can no longer advance steadily. Pass down the order to violently drive away the refugees and clear the road as quickly as possible!"

He turned back, gazing towards the direction of Ning'an County, the Fang Tian Halberd in his hand heavy and icy cold.

… …

… …

Inside the county government hall of Ning'an County.

The atmosphere was tense, with generals hurrying in and out, yet without any sign of disorder.

The entire city had begun preparations for evacuation the day before. This should have been chaotic, but under Su Dan's governance, it presented an orderly effect.

Ning'an County was now almost deserted, the common people having been driven away, while the remaining rebels acted like a precise instrument, executing Su Dan's military orders.

The "Scholar General," vanguard general of the Yunfu rebels, sat upright in the main hall.

He wore an official robe, a black gauze hat, and only half a suit of soft armor on his upper body. Tucked within the gaps of the armor were several books, frequently read.

Su Dan's appearance was proper, with a fair complexion and a light beard, possessing the air of a scholar.

"General, the sixty-seven fire points within the city are prepared and ready. The people have also been driven out of the city. We only await a single order to set the city ablaze."

An officer reported from below the hall.

Su Dan nodded slightly, smiling, "Good, order the main force within the city to prepare for withdrawal. We will leave today. The moment we leave will be when we burn the city."

The officer acknowledged the order and left.

The order to withdraw was only issued temporarily today. No one below knew that this arrangement was made to prevent the spies of the imperial court within the city from finding out in advance.

From behind the main hall, a deep voice suddenly rang out:

"Amitabha. General, you previously said that we should defend the city. Burning the city should only be done as a last resort."

The speaker was actually a large monk, but he wasn't wearing a monk's robe, instead donning a common cloth shirt.

Behind him was a large bamboo hat with a gauze veil, and a long staff. However, the ordination scars on his bald head exposed his origins.

Su Dan turned back, smiling at the large monk, "Master Fanlong, as the saying goes, all warfare is deception. The imperial court's forces are strong. Holding onto this city is useless. The news we released before was only to confuse Xue Shence. As for the four signals needed to burn the city, ha, why would it be so troublesome?

The real signal is only one: 'Burn when withdrawing.' As for the wealth in the city, it is indeed a pity, but transporting so much wealth would take too long, create too much commotion, and would be impossible to hide from Xue Shence. We can only consign it to the flames."

He explained patiently.

This was naturally because of the other party's special identity.

This monk, "Fanlong," was a martial arts expert from a temple of the Shenlong Temple in the Huai River region.

The Shenlong Temple headquarters in the capital was destroyed, but the branch temples scattered throughout the land, especially in rebel-occupied areas, still existed.

Monk Fanlong had come at the request of Prince Mu to protect General Su Dan.

Fanlong put his palms together, his stern face filled with emotion:

"Amitabha."

Hypocrite… Su Dan smiled without saying a word.

Suddenly, a messenger reported from outside the hall:

"General, a hundred-strong rout from the garrison of Wenhsui County has fled to the city, claiming that Wenhsui County has been breached by Shi Meng, the commander of the imperial court's Divine Machine Battalion, using firearms! The garrison commander died a tragic death!"

What?!

Su Dan's smile froze on his face, and he finally felt uneasy!

After careful questioning, he murmured:

"New firearms, the Divine Machine Battalion of Qingzhou was indeed powerful…"

He quickly walked to the map on the inner wall of the hall, examined it carefully, and his expression became even more unsightly.

Wenhsui County's location was rather special. Once occupied by the imperial court, it would cut off his retreat.

In this way, his plan to lead troops to withdraw today would be difficult to implement, because once he withdrew, even if Ning'an County was burned, the road would still be open.

As long as Xue Shence broke through the obstacles of the refugees, he would be able to drive straight in and catch up, while the Yunfu army would be blocked by the Divine Machine Battalion of Wenhsui County…

Attacked from both sides, this was a major taboo in military strategy!

"Order! The entire army defends the city, using the city to resist Xue Shence. Also, escort the batch of civilians held captive to the vicinity of the city gate. Once the enemy uses those cannons, use them to force the enemy to avoid harming them."

Su Dan immediately ordered:

"Further order that the eastern troops cooperate with the cavalry to retreat, opening up a retreat passage!"

The retreat route did not need to pass through Wenhsui, so as long as the cavalry, who were not good at defending the city, were sent out to contain the Divine Machine Battalion, they could still withdraw.

Monk Fanlong saw this, his eyes lowered, and a sense of unease rose in his heart.

… …

At the same time, inside Ning'an County.

In an empty residential area, "Sikong," a member of Prince Mu's assassination organization "Embroidered Uniform Direct Command," vigilantly looked at a group of mysterious people who suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

The boy, about seventeen or eighteen years old, was very thin, but his arms were extremely long, and his eyes rolled around, full of intelligence.

At this moment, he held a handle-less dagger in his hand, staring at this group of uninvited guests in cloaks:

"Who are you?"

The leader was tall and straight, two heads taller than Sikong. He looked down at the boy, casually pinched a token from his waist, threw it over, and said coldly:

"Where is the Embroidered Uniform Envoy Nie Yurong?"

He knew of Big Sister's existence? Sikong was shocked, and quickly caught the token, examining it carefully. He saw the word "Mu" on the token, strikingly obvious.

The various anti-counterfeiting details also matched.

It was a warrant only available to inner retainers of Prince Mu's mansion!

Sikong did not dare to be careless, and respectfully saluted:

"Embroidered Uniform Envoy Nie is currently lurking in the enemy camp. May I ask what brings you here, sir?"

"Not here…" The leader frowned, but still raised his hand to take off his cloak, revealing a thin, long face:

"We are here on the order of the Prince to cooperate with General Su in defending against the enemy."

When he took off his cloak, Sikong finally saw that this person had a strange wooden bow on his back.

The boy was stunned, and blurted out: "Lord Lu Tong?!"

He recognized the identity of this person, Lu Tong, the number one archer among Prince Mu's retainers, a worldly realm sharpshooter nicknamed "Tilting the Heavens."

… …

… …

Just as the two armies were mobilizing, and a great battle was about to break out.

Taicang Prefecture, inside the Lu Mansion's villa.

Zhao Du'an watched as the formation in the room gradually dimmed, and strands of flame were frantically absorbed into the Scarlet Flame Sacred Armor.

For two whole days, he had been constantly refining, almost throwing all kinds of usable strange objects scavenged from the gentry in the city into the "furnace" that was the Scarlet Flame Sacred Armor.

And the effect was extremely significant. The color of the Scarlet Flame Sacred Armor was no longer scarlet, but had turned white.

This was a change that occurred after the accumulation of internal mana broke through a certain limit.

"At this moment, the mana within this armor definitely exceeds the worldly realm, and may even have reached the Celestial Human realm."

Zhao Du'an raised his hand and took the armor, which felt warm to the touch. However, just touching it gave a thrilling feeling.

It was as if this was a fiercely burning furnace, with the potential to explode and burn everything at any time.

He put on the "full health" version of the Scarlet Flame Sacred Armor, covered it with clothes, stepped out of the courtyard, and raised his hand.

In the pool, an ancient seal also flew over, spinning, covered with hazy water vapor. This was the Xuan Turtle Seal.

Its color was now almost pure black, forming a clear contrast with the pure white Scarlet Flame Sacred Armor.

"Who would have thought that this seal would contain almost an entire underground river? But it has already reached its limit. With my true cultivation, I have no way to activate either of these two treasures to their full potential."

Zhao Du'an murmured.

Suddenly, he raised his eyes and saw a certain place on the courtyard wall, saying:

"Come in."

A black shadow twisted and jumped into the courtyard, gradually condensing into the appearance of the eunuch Song Jinxi, who was offering sacrifices. This assassin eunuch cupped his fists:

"Master, the scholar has sent back information, and this subordinate believes it is necessary to inform you."

Two days ago, Zhao Du'an asked him to ask the Golden Medal Shadow Guard scholar for information about Bai Jun.

"Speak," Zhao Du'an said faintly.

Song Jinxi said:

"The scholar said that Bai Jun has been captured by the Embroidered Uniform Direct Command under Prince Mu's command, and is likely already dead. Therefore, the Bai Jun in the government office should be fake, possibly impersonated by the Embroidered Uniform Direct Command."

Zhao Du'an was not surprised, as if he had expected this, nodded, and walked out of the Lu Mansion:

"Very good, follow me back to the government office."

Song Jinxi said: "Does Master want to capture this person for interrogation?"

Zhao Du'an shook his head, his gaze looking south, and said softly:

"Xue Shence has already set out on an expedition, right? Then we can't be absent either."