The next moment, Huo Wujiu put away the bow, extracted the horsewhip at his waist and swung it in the air.
With a crisp whip, the sound of horses’ hooves was heard in the darkness.
The resounding hooves drew nearer. The soldiers who galloped out of the darkness on horsebacks then surrounded the elites in the crowd who were scattered in a panic. Anyone who dared to move their weapons to resist was immediately beheaded and unseated from their horses. After a spell of sword clashes, the soldiers who emerged from the darkness neatly captured those people.
Huo Wujiu rode his horse and charged toward the Great River.
The night was hazy, and without the moon, the surroundings appeared even darker.
A few months ago, he also led his army across the river on such a night. But as a result, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses that were supposed to cross the river with him did not move, leaving him with only a few soldiers and besieged by Southern Jing’s defending troops.
That was the first time in his life that he had lost a battle.
He suspected that the strategy he formulated was too aggressive, or perhaps his deployment had been flawed. He had always been confident and somewhat conceited, and at that time, he also racked his brains to take the blame for those mistakes. Unbeknownst to him…
It was the Huo family’s army who stabbed him in the back.
He charged forward, stopped in front of Li Sheng’s body, lowered his head, and surveyed Li Sheng in the dim light of the night.
His death was miserably ugly. Li Sheng’s eyes were wide open, and his blood had stained several square feet of ground around him.
Huo Wujiu, however, looked at him as if he were an animal that had been shot to death, without any ripples in his eyes.
“General…” Wei Kai called with some concern behind him.
But Huo Wujiu withdrew his gaze, still without any expression on his face.
“Go and order the troops.” He said. “See how many men and horses Li Sheng has brought as bait.”
Wei Kai knew that he was suffering, and he felt even more distressed to see Huo Wujiu acting as if nothing had happened.
He pursed his lips and said in a low voice, “Understood.”
He turned his horse around and had just taken two steps when he heard Huo Wujiu say, “Anyone who dares to resist even the slightest, kill.”
Wei Kai snuffled and again answered under his breath, “Got it.”
As soon as he drifted away, Ji Hongcheng’s soldiers escorted the captives forward. The dead were many, and only a few were now left alive.
Huo Wujiu sat on his horse, lowered his eyes, looked at the few people who were kneeling on the ground, and calmly asked, “Who instructed Li Sheng to do so?”
One of them struggled to raise his head.
A tall man was sitting upright on a tall horse, carrying a bow and arrows on his back, and a whip in his hand, which he idly flung, emitting a subtle lashing noise.
The whip clearly did not fall on him, but it gave him the creeps.
This was the first time the man saw Huo Wujiu face to face.
Since he joined the army, he had been under the command of General Huo Yuyan, in other words, the Crown Prince. Compared to the powerful and invincible Huo Wujiu, His Highness was gentle and cautious. He always thought twice about using the army, consolidating at every step.
Since the day Huo Wujiu took over all the troops under his father’s command, they had been living in Huo Wujiu’s shadow.
The people said that Huo Wujiu was the God of War who could fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat, but who noticed how hard His Highness thought and toiled for them all night till dawn?
However, it was fine back then. When marching to war, what mattered was life and victory or defeat, not these. But now, the Great Liang had established the state, and the current emperor was also the one who was enthroned. Hence, if His Highness were to live in the shadow of a military general, there would be endless trouble ahead.
Tonight, these people, who knew of the truth, were the ones that the Crown Prince mostly relied upon and trusted.
They must not do anything to betray him.
The man looked at Huo Wujiu, clenched his teeth and said nothing.
But Huo Wujiu continued calmly, “Did Huo Yuyan order him to do it?”
On the side, a soldier immediately shouted, “No! His Highness doesn’t know anything. General Li has been jealous of you for a long time and wants to get rid of you!”
Huo Wujiu answered with a chilly laughter.
“Jealous of me? Get rid of me?” He looked like he had heard some kind of joke. “Who is he, and how can he be worthy?”
As he spoke, he clasped the reins with one hand, and the horse obediently took two steps forward.
“Without Huo Yuyan’s will, he dared to falsely convey an imperial edict, dared to bring troops across the river to kill me? There is no need for you to play dumb with me here. I already know the answer. Today, I just want to hear your confessions before you die.”
The horse paced slowly in front of the crowd.
The eyes of one of them gradually turned red when he heard him speak so blatantly.
He could hardly retain his composure and snapped, “Since General knows, why are you still dragging out your ignoble existence! If you really cared for the good of the Great Liang and truly considered His Highness as your own brother, you should have killed yourself earlier to put his mind at ease. Why did you let him give the order personally?! You’re so proud of your achievements. Do you really think that the Great Liang can’t do without you?! On the contrary, as long as you are alive, His Majesty and His Highness will never sleep in peace!”
The horse that was pacing gently came to a halt.
Huo Wujiu lowered his eyes and looked straight at him.
The man probably didn’t know Huo Wujiu’s words just now were just to swindle them.
… Unexpectedly, he not only deceived them to spill the truth, but also swindled out such… a statement that was so novel to him.
Ji Hongcheng on the sidelines couldn’t bear to listen any longer.
When the bird is gone, the bow is no longer needed; all generals knew exactly how things stood more or less. However… without Huo Wujiu, who else had the ability to beat the rich and prosperous Jing Dynasty into its feeble existence today? It should be noted that the Jing Dynasty might have been ruled by a decrepit and dimwitted Emperor ten years ago, but the foundation left by the former Emperor was still far from being destroyed.
And yet they dreaded Huo Wujiu, were anxious to have him killed… that was his biological uncle and his elder cousin whom he trusted with his heart.
