Chapter 142: The Situation Changes

He Lingchuan interrupted before he could finish, saying, "The war in the north is urgent; this is a time when manpower is desperately needed! The Royal Court is currently overwhelmed; they would be thrilled to have even a single extra soldier on the battlefield. Why would they cripple themselves at a time like this? After the war, with military merits to your name and command over Xiazhou, if the Royal Court wants to exert control, they'll first have to get past the Governor-General!"

A Governor-General is a high-ranking local official, managing both the economy and public welfare while also serving as the top military and political leader. The Royal Court holds them in considerable respect.

Throughout history, amnesties for rebel forces have been common. Among those rebels who accepted amnesty, some met a good end, while others did not; there was truly no consistent pattern. Wu Shaoyi told He Lingchuan, "This is a serious matter; I need to discuss it with my brothers."

***

Ahead lay Zhumapo, which meant Pei Xinyong's pursuit could temporarily come to an end.

Lu Yao's 700 ambushing soldiers at Saozi Cliff, after losing over a hundred men, had been driven by him past Zhumapo.

This place was a natural bridge, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Upon reaching this point, Pei Xinyong could leave one or two hundred men to guard the bridge and return with his main force to Xianling Village to rendezvous with Wu Shaoyi.

But Pei Xinyong was now somewhat undecided.

The scouts he had sent to Xianling Village had sent back messages three times. The first reported that Wu Shaoyi had successfully raided Xianling Village. Lu Yao's men were caught off guard and many were slain, while Lu Yao himself was pursued to the lake, intending to escape by boat.

Pei Xinyong personally disliked Lu Yao. In fact, this cannibalistic fiend was inherently unpopular, and especially after the Holy Master's death, all of Lu Yao's virtues had turned into flaws.

However, Pei Xinyong had always believed that their side needed to stick together to avoid being defeated one by one by the government troops. That's why he had advocated for the three factions to meet and discuss their next steps.

Who knew Lu Yao harbored ill intentions and had set them up?

Since that was the case, he would help Wu Shaoyi eliminate this culprit, ensuring no future trouble.

The second intelligence report he received was that the government troops had abandoned Xianling Village and also entered Xishan Road.

Pei Xinyong's gaze sharpened as he read these words. He thought the government troops had seen through his and Wu Shaoyi's plan and were rushing to Saozi Cliff to relieve the siege. However, the scout immediately added that the government troops were traveling with more than ten carriages and over a hundred Xianling villagers.

This didn't quite make sense. Who brings their families along when suppressing bandits?

These government soldiers seemed less like pursuers and more like they were retreating. Had they realized they couldn't defeat Wu Shaoyi and decided to flee?

Pei Xinyong had not yet decided how to deal with these government troops.

In fact, the very presence of these government troops here was suspicious.

However, the third message from the scout took an unexpected turn.

The Alligator God ambushed Wu Shaoyi, and Lu Yao staged a desperate counterattack! He not only averted the immediate crisis but also seized the opportunity to incorporate all of Wu Shaoyi's subordinates into his own forces!

This was terrible news.

An old general like Pei Xinyong, who had seen many storms, didn't immediately know what to do next.

Should he leave now?

As he deliberated, a fluttering of wings sounded in the sky. A personal guard beside Pei Xinyong raised a hand, and a mechanical bird landed on it.

The guard took a note from a hidden compartment and handed it to Pei Xinyong. The latter took it, glanced at it, and his expression changed drastically!

There were only a few words on it, but the strong scent of blood indicated they were clearly written with fresh blood:

"You've fallen for a deception! Immediately head east to counter-attack the government troops and rendezvous with me. All past grievances will be forgiven!"

The signature was just one character:

Lu!

Evidently, the scout he had placed in Xianling Village had been discovered and killed by Lu Yao. Then Lu Yao seized the mechanical bird and personally wrote the ultimatum to Pei Xinyong.

Was this a trap?

As he pondered, a confidant approached and said, "General, if Lu Yao wanted to pursue and kill us, he would simply do so. There's no need to write this note."

That was true.

Seeing that Pei Xinyong was listening, the confidant continued, "If what Lu Yao says is true, and those government troops aren't eliminated, the news of the rebel army's movement south will eventually leak out, leading to endless trouble."

After the defeat at Woling Pass, the scattered rebel forces had been very careful to conceal their movements.

Why did these three rebel armies secretly gather at Xianling Lake? Wasn't it precisely because they sought the quiet there to hold their discussions? If their movements were exposed, and local authorities repeatedly sent troops to suppress them, that would be a huge problem.

If Lu Yao was telling the truth, then they could combine forces to annihilate the government troops.

If Lu Yao was trying to trick him into returning, the government troops were only two or three hundred strong. Even adding Lu Yao's four to five hundred men, the total would be seven to eight hundred. Pei Xinyong himself commanded over sixteen hundred men; in terms of numbers and quality, there was nothing to fear.

If they couldn't win, they could always retreat. Furthermore, he recalled the second intelligence report he had received earlier: when the government troops moved west, they were bringing old people and children, which looked nothing like going to war; it looked more like fleeing for their lives!

Having considered all this, he looked up and ordered, "Reverse direction! We're heading back to kill those corrupt officials!"

***

As the bandits held their meeting, He Lingchuan had to stay away.

He was actually very anxious, unsure of the government troops' situation or if they had engaged the enemy. But now, a very peculiar scene was unfolding on Xishan Road: Lu Yao's 700 bandits, Pei Xinyong's army, government troops, and Lu Yao's current 400 men.

There were so many factions on Xishan Road, one group chasing another. Even if He Lingchuan's horse was fast enough, if he pursued now, he would at best catch up to Lu Yao's forces. A major battle would be unavoidable, and he still wouldn't be able to contact his father.

What was he to do? He had finally managed to persuade Wu Shaoyi and this group of bandits to serve his purpose, and it would be a terrible waste not to use them to relieve the besieged government troops.

Despite his worries, He Lingchuan's stomach began to rumble again.

After a night of fierce fighting with nothing to eat or drink, it was time to replenish his strength. He slipped into the villagers' houses, searching through them one by one, and soon found several large flatbreads in a kitchen.

The new wheat in the storehouse allowed the bandits to eat and drink freely. They had forced the village women to prepare a lot of food last night, but then a sudden feast of fresh fish appeared, leaving plenty of staple foods in these kitchens.

Cold fish tasted gamey and unpleasant, but the flatbreads would do.

He Lingchuan found a few crispy, golden-brown flatbreads and ate them as he walked. The slight sweetness of the staple food and the aroma of green onions were very comforting to his stomach. He wasn't particularly picky about food.

He then remembered the giant alligators. So he returned to the village and found a pen.

He intended to catch some chickens or ducks, but to his surprise, the pen was covered in chicken feathers. Only two small chicks were huddled, trembling, behind a wooden fence.

It seemed this place had been ransacked by the bandits last night. As he was about to leave, he noticed patches of blood on the ground, several chicken heads lying around, and a few hollowed-out carcasses.

He Lingchuan picked one up and looked; this didn't seem like human work. Whether bandits or common folk, wouldn't they take a killed chicken to the kitchen for processing?

He shrugged and went to another house to find a chicken coop. This time he found several plump chickens, so he caught them and threw them towards the lake.

He was, after all, being generous at someone else's expense.

The feathered birds squawked loudly, full of life. The Alligator God was too lazy to move, still sunbathing with half-closed eyes. But the other smaller alligator demons chased the chickens and ducks, and soon their mouths were full of feathers from eating.