Slay Thirty Thousand Barbarians Outside the Capital

Ten miles north of the capital, Liulin Relay Manor.

The various barbarian chieftains, great and small, rode over swiftly.

However, they did not follow Su Pengcheng's suggestion to bring only one or two personal guards. Almost everyone brought a substantial retinue; some had over a hundred, while even the lesser ones brought twenty or thirty.

Upon arriving, they did not enter immediately. Instead, they scouted the surroundings first, finding that the manor sat right beside the official road, backed by a shallow stream, and faced an open grassland.

The entire terrain had no walls, no narrow passes, and no blind spots.

Instantly, they felt greatly relieved.

For these barbarians, being able to see any movement from three miles away naturally put them at ease. After all, it was impossible to ambush a large force in such a place, so they did not fear being surrounded.

Even if something did happen, they could quickly mount their horses and flee.

"It seems the Su family has learned to behave this time!"

"Hahaha, it's all thanks to His Highness the Third Prince for making the Empress so obedient. As subjects of the Great Yu, how could the Su family dare to constantly defy Her Majesty?"

"I'm looking forward to seeing the expressions on the Su family's faces later. As a family of historians, they slander us barbarians every day, but now they have to bow and scrape, don't they?"

...

These barbarian chieftains soon saw the demeanor of Su Pengcheng, the head of the Su family. He was waiting inside the tent, which was flanked by piles of various meats, wines, and grain. Su Pengcheng's face was plastered with a wide smile, full of fawning and subservience.

As he invited the barbarians to take their seats, he apologized to them, essentially saying that he had been unappreciative before and had neglected his honored guests, but now, under Her Majesty's orders, he was delivering rations and supplies for their army.

The barbarian chieftains were naturally beaming with joy.

Under Su Pengcheng's enthusiastic hospitality, they feasted on the fine wines and delicacies of the Central Plains. In less than two hours, they were all somewhat intoxicated.

After all, since the Ministry of Revenue had stopped supplying them with grain, the rations needed by the barbarian army had either relied on previous stockpiles or what they could buy locally, and those had long since bottomed out.

Faced with such an abundant feast, prepared entirely according to barbarian customs with delicacies like roasted leg of lamb, how could they not eat to their hearts' content?

Just as the wine was flowing freely and both host and guests were enjoying themselves, Su Pengcheng walked behind the desk in the center of the tent. The fawning, lowly, and sycophantic expression on his face vanished in an instant.

Even though he had also drunk a fair amount of wine, his eyes at this moment were clearer than anyone else's. He suddenly let out a cold sneer and shouted loudly, "You barbarian dogs, occupying the north of the capital, harassing our people, and destroying our homes and fields! Do you really think our Great Yu is so easily bullied?"

"Still drinking wine?"

"Do you beasts even deserve it?"

"Today, you shall all die right here!"

These words were spoken with surging momentum, swift and ruthless. Before the drunken barbarians could recover from their daze, he violently... smashed the wine cup in his hand fiercely onto the ground.

With a loud smash, the axemen and swordsmen who had long been lying in ambush surged forward. Guard after guard, wielding sharp blades, charged straight at the barbarians, bringing their weapons down upon them on sight, severing heads left and right.

The barbarians had brought quite a few men as well. After suffering heavy casualties, they finally reacted and mounted a resistance, throwing both sides into a chaotic melee. Meanwhile, under the protection of his personal guards, Su Pengcheng retreated from the relay manor, completely unpanicked by the current situation.

Although the main army was far away, they were already rushing over.

Most importantly... this was merely a scheme to lure the tigers away from their mountain.

The true target was those thirty thousand leaderless barbarian soldiers.

...

Ten miles north of the capital, Luanliu Slope.

At the barbarian encampment, the sound of ox-horn bugles suddenly blared.

These miserable barbarians, who had been waiting for their chieftains to bring back grain, hurried out of their tents, only to be shocked to find elite Yu troops rapidly advancing from all sides.

Charging from every direction.

Peering closely, they saw ten divisions of cavalry surrounding them, each numbering around five thousand. They were all light cavalry, charging swiftly and aiming straight for the heart of the camp.

Looking further, they could see massive numbers of crossbowmen flanking the light cavalry, holding their weapons ready in the rear.

And gazing into the far distance, the surroundings were a sea of black, as if an endless, inexhaustible army had long since completely encircled them.

"It's over, it's over! Didn't the Empress marry our His Highness the Third Prince? Why are they coming to kill us?"

"With so many Yu soldiers, how can we possibly fight them?"

"Have the chieftains not returned yet? If they aren't here, how are we supposed to resist?"

...

The sheer overwhelming momentum alone was enough to terrify these barbarians out of their wits, not to mention that they were entirely leaderless. This caused the battle to become a completely one-sided slaughter right from the start.

Wei Shuo, who was commanding the entire army, saw the scene and knew that everything was proceeding exactly as planned. His eyes burning with fervor, he immediately ordered the main banner forward, surging madly into the barbarian camp.

In the past, he had penetrated deep into the northern deserts and slain countless barbarian nobles, a feat he took great pride in. Now, heaven had given him another chance, and he had to grasp it firmly to slaughter every last one of these barbarians!

Only then would he not let down this life, nor let down this realm!

"Kill!"

...

The panicked cries of over thirty thousand barbarian soldiers, the battle shouts of the Northern Frontier Army and the Imperial Guards, the chaotic blaring of ox-horn bugles, and the crisp clashing of blades and spears combined into a unique and continuous wave of sound. Carried by the wind, it swept straight into the northern part of the capital.

It instantly threw the capital into a state of panic.

Because the vast majority of people had the illusion that the sounds of slaughter were drawing closer, they could not help but step outside to look. Seeing the raging fires to the north, their faces were filled with horror.

Inside the Pei Residence, Pei Jingzhi also felt it clearly.

He rushed out of his study, looking at the sky-filling flames outside the city, and his expression drastically changed.

"Has the Su family already made their move?"

"Ren Tianye, how ruthless!"

The situation was critical. Once Ren Tianye made his move, it would inevitably enrage Tuoba Xiangtai. Tuoba Xiangtai would then surely strike at Her Majesty. It was a moment of life and death for the Great Yu, leaving Pei Jingzhi with no time to worry about anything else.

"As an old minister of the Great Yu, at such a time, I would rather die than fail to save Her Majesty!"

Right now, he could not count on Lu Qing, nor could he count on Chen Liang. So, he would use his old bones as a torch and risk his life to break into the Yuchen Mansion.

Pei Jingzhi was decisive. He quickly stripped off the official robes and brocades that represented his noble status, changed into coarse hemp clothing, and headed entirely alone straight for the Yuchen Mansion.

There was already commotion on the streets, but Ren Tianye seemed well-prepared. Patrols made up of border troops and imperial guards were everywhere, pacifying the crowds. He could not afford to get entangled with these people, so he merely kept his head down and walked rapidly.

The closer he got to the Yuchen Mansion, the more he felt the changes in the surroundings.

The dark corners surrounding the Yuchen Mansion exuded an icy crisis sharp as a blade's edge; evidently, an ambush had long been laid here as well.

With a single glance, Pei Jingzhi saw right through Ren Tianye's intentions.

"This traitor wants to wait until Tuoba Xiangtai murders Her Majesty before coming in to clean up the mess. By then, he will be both a hero and a powerful minister. Once he props up a new emperor, the entire world of the Great Yu will be in his grasp!"

Pei Jingzhi gnashed his teeth in anger, but the only thing he could do right now was to find a way to save Her Majesty. Thus, his pace quickened. Relying on the topographical map left by Sun Da and Sun Er, he astonishingly managed to reach the front of the Yuchen Mansion all by himself.

However, the gates of the Yuchen Mansion were currently guarded by barbarian soldiers. On his own, it was simply impossible to get inside.

What should he do?

Just as he was burning with anxiety, he saw a horse-drawn carriage approaching.

When the carriage stopped, the soldiers on it pushed a person out. With just one glance, Pei Jingzhi was dazed: "Tuoba Xiangtai?" Then he saw that the person was wearing a hood, and knew it was not him.

Soon after, he heard the soldiers on the carriage shout: "This is a great gift from our Grand Commandant to Tuoba Xiangtai. Please accept it, Tuoba Xiangtai, and absolutely do not decline, hahaha..."

Amidst the loud laughter, the barbarians guarding the Yuchen Mansion did not dare to stop them. The carriage paused, dropped off a person, and then swaggered away.

...