er."It's awful!""Yes, this is starvation death, otherwise he wouldn't be so thin!"The Gong family was considered a large landowner in Aokizaka Town, and they were said to be doing well. It's unbelieva...This small hill is a barren one, with no grass or trees, only inexhaustible stones. It's a natural ambush site!

"My lord, should we contact the border reinforcements and retreat first..."

With Li Laosi's thoughts, he wished to immediately go find the barbarian tribe to seek revenge. But the situation did not allow for it; at this time, prudence was paramount.

With personal guards tending to the marquis' wounds, applying medicine, the marquis seemed oblivious to the pain. He gazed down the mountain and suddenly declared, "It's too late! Immediately gather up your brothers' bodies, collect the wounded horses and the dead ones, and prepare for a last stand!"

Li Lao Si and Mu Xu listened, a little confused. But when they turned their heads to look at the distance, their faces suddenly changed.

Tens of thousands of barbarians rode their horses, galloping across the grasslands like the wind and quickly surrounded the small hill!

The original plan of a pincer movement attack was thwarted before it even reached the border, with our forces being encircled like dumplings!

Mu Xu couldn't believe it either, "I investigated many times, the barbarian reinforcements were always two thousand people! Where did these come from!"

Silence hung in the air for what felt like an eternity. The truth, though hinted at by everyone’s unspoken fear, was so horrifying that no one dared to voice it.

After all, it was the Marquis who spoke first. “The barbarians must have received news a long time ago and deliberately concealed the number of their reinforcements. They only sent out two thousand men to mislead us. And these two thousand are enough to ambush us here. The rest of the troops will appear at the last moment. This is a situation where they are sure to win, and we are destined to die.”

"Who leaked the news" Mu Xu gritted his teeth in anger, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword, ready to seek revenge at any moment.

Li Laosi's expression was complex as he gazed at the distant, looming border wall. "Do I need to ask We'll sneak through the mountain valley and attack the barbarians from behind, flanking them on both sides. Only you, me, Lord Hou, and Jiang Cheng know about this plan. Now that the three of us are here, the remaining one must be the traitor!"

Mu Xu hadn't even responded when an injured captain shouted out, "Impossible! General Jiang has been with the Marquis for many years. He takes care of everything in our camp – food, lodging, and even toilet arrangements. He has never made a mistake."

"I was injured before, and my medicine ran out. General Jiang brought good medicine from home and used it all on me."

"I don't believe it, such a good general... impossible!"

As for the rest, many soldiers also wore expressions of suspicion and astonishment.

Li Laosi wiped the blood from his knife with his collar and replied, "Whether he's a traitor is easy to tell. We were attacked here, making quite a commotion, yet he didn't send reinforcements. He can say it was too dark and he feared falling into the barbarian's trap.

"

But dawn came quickly, arriving right at the time we agreed to attack from both sides. There were no firecrackers to signal the start, instead, barbarians surrounded us. Even a fool could see that we were in danger.

Then we'll see what he does. If he doesn't send troops, don't expect anything from him.

"He is the traitor! He colluded with foreigners, betrayed our military routes, and helped the barbarians hide reinforcements!"

Even if anyone still wanted to speak, hearing this they fell silent.

Yes, the fact speaks for itself!

Everybody was assigned a task: some buried their fallen comrades, others tended to the horses, patrolled, or cared for the wounded. All were busy with their duties.

But no matter how busy they were, everyone's eyes unconsciously turned towards the border.

No one noticed that Mu Xu quietly concealed his figure and disappeared on the summit.

The savages below were gathering in increasing numbers, while the border pass was like a slumbering beast, utterly still...

Until the barbarians prepared to attack the mountain, everyone's anger and sorrow reached a boiling point!

"Jiang Cheng, you bastard!"

“Having been brothers for over a decade, we went through thick and thin together. To think he'd betray us like this! That dog traitor, when I get back, I'll cut him to pieces!”

"I didn't die at the hands of barbarians, only to die at the hands of my own people! What a goddamn joke!"

Let's not talk about how much everyone hates and curses. Let's just say that at the border, many generals were also arguing fiercely.

How could the vanguard have been ambushed in the valley

"Indeed, what plan has the Marquis devised General Jiang, do tell us! We must send reinforcements to the vanguard immediately!"

"We should have deployed troops last night. With all that commotion, how could nothing happen!"

Facing the accusations, complaints and anxieties of the crowd, Jiang Cheng, who sat in the main seat, remained silent.

He stood up and moved aside slowly only when everyone felt something was amiss and looked at him.

At this time, a slow-moving old eunuch emerged from behind the screen, accompanied by two large inner guards.

Could it be that someone from the palace has arrived!

Everyone was astonished and dumbfounded, not knowing when a new person had arrived in the capital, let alone entered the military camp!

Jiang Cheng bowed respectfully. The old eunuch slowly took out the imperial edict and shouted, "All soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army, receive the decree!"

Everyone hesitated for a moment, then knelt down.

Jiang Cheng knelt down as well, a strange curve twisting at the corner of his mouth...

Mu Xu stealthily entered the border army camp, seeing that the soldiers were all looking strange and whispering to each other. He guessed that something had changed.

As expected, he found the most familiar general and was secretly pulled into the tent before he could even speak.

"Mu Huwei, how is the Marquis We were so worried! Was he attacked How many casualties"

Mu Xu recounted what happened last night.

The general stamped his foot angrily, "I told you that Jiang Cheng wasn't a good person! Just now we were all about to go save the Marquis, but he brought out eunuchs from the new capital. The emperor issued a secret edict."

"The entire Bei-Zhen army has been ordered to Jiang Cheng's garrison, demanding that we guard the border and allow no one to leave." This clearly means they want us to watch as the Marquis is bullied by barbarians! We were just about to discuss how to act!"

Mu Xu thought for a moment and said, "Now that the imperial decree has been issued, your troops' actions would be considered treason. The consequences would be too severe! Please wait a while, I will go back and report to the Marquis."

If the Marquis has any arrangements, I will come back and deliver the message. If not, you should remain stationed and wait for the opportune moment.

"Alright, I'll go tell everyone the Marquis is safe and sound." The general replied.

The two quickly separated and acted independently.

But after an hour, Mu Xu returned to Gushan.

More than ten thousand barbarians surrounded Mount Gu like an iron barrel, but they could only stop ordinary soldiers, not him.

Li Lao Si had long discovered that Mu Xu was gone. Finally, he waited for him to return, and with a one-in-a-million hope, asked, "How is the border"

Mu Xu felt pity, but still shook his head.

Jiang Cheng, accompanied by eunuchs from the palace, took charge of the border pass with an imperial decree. No one was allowed to leave the pass.

The light in Lao Si's eyes went out completely.

Back then, the entire village fled their mountain home and were chased by barbarians at the dock. Fortunately, the Marquis arrived just in time to rescue them, but Jiang Cheng also played a part in their escape.

After that, Jiang Cheng remained constantly by the Marquis's side. He and Li Dayong joined the army, and Jiang Cheng took care of them without fail.

And every time Suijintan sent them gifts, she never forgot to include Jiang Cheng's share.

It can be said that Jiang Cheng is only different from the Li family in surname, everything else about him is no different from them!

Anyone can betray, only Jiang Cheng cannot.

But now the facts are before our eyes, why is this so!

Li Laosì couldn't figure it out, so he picked up the large stone next to him and threw it down the mountain!

Today's update is here.t time Mr. Yi took away two baskets, and quite a few fruits were also picked.But with the spacious courtyard of Jia Yin as its backdrop, how could it possibly lack the comforts of home!As always, two...