Chapter 00142: The Situation Changes
# The Situation Changes
Chapter 142
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 142: The Situation Changes
He Lingchuan interrupted before he could finish speaking, "The war in the north is urgent, and it is precisely the time to employ people! The royal court is currently in a state of chaos; every additional soldier they can send to the battlefield is something they desperately seek. Why would they sever their own arms at this time? Once the war is over and everyone has military achievements, and they are stationed in Xiazhou, the royal court will want to take control, but they must first pass through the governor's scrutiny!"
The governor of a state is a local high-ranking official, responsible for both the economy and the military, and the royal court holds him in considerable respect.
Throughout history, it has been common to recruit surrendered forces.
Those who surrendered have met various fates; some ended well, while others did not, and there is no unified pattern.
Wu Shaoyi said to He Lingchuan, "This matter is significant; I need to discuss it with my brothers."
Ahead lay Zhuma Slope, which meant that Pei Xinyong's pursuit could temporarily come to a halt.
Lu Yao's seven hundred ambushers at Shuaizi Rock had already been driven to flee over Zhuma Slope after suffering over a hundred casualties.
This place is a natural bridge, easy to defend but hard to attack.
Once they reached here, Pei Xinyong could leave one or two hundred men to guard the bridge while he took the main force back to Xianling Village to rendezvous with Wu Shaoyi.
However, Pei Xinyong was currently feeling somewhat indecisive.
The scouts he sent to Xianling Village had reported back three times.
The first message stated that Wu Shaoyi had successfully ambushed Xianling Village, and Lu Yao's subordinates were caught off guard, resulting in many being slain, while Lu Yao himself was chased to the lakeside, intending to escape by boat.
Pei Xinyong did not like Lu Yao.
In fact, such a man-eater was generally not well-liked, especially after the death of the Holy Master, when all of Lu Yao's merits turned into faults.
Yet Pei Xinyong always believed that their side needed to unite to avoid being wiped out by the officials, which is why he advocated for a three-way meeting to discuss the next steps.
Unexpectedly, Lu Yao harbored malicious intent and set them up.
Since that was the case, he would help Wu Shaoyi eliminate this troublemaker, ensuring that no future problems would arise.
The second piece of intelligence he received was that the officials had abandoned Xianling Village and had also entered the Xishan Road.
Upon seeing these words, Pei Xinyong's expression changed sharply, thinking that the officials had seen through his and Wu Shaoyi's plan and were rushing to Shuaizi Rock to break the siege.
However, the scout quickly wrote that the officials had brought over a dozen horse-drawn carts and were accompanied by over a hundred villagers from Xianling Village.
This was strange; who would bring their families along while hunting down bandits?
These officials seemed less like they were pursuing and more like they were retreating.
Had they realized they could not defeat Wu Shaoyi and decided to flee?
Pei Xinyong had not yet figured out how to deal with this group of officials.
In fact, the appearance of these officials here was itself quite puzzling.
However, the third piece of news relayed by the scout took a surprising turn.
The Crocodile God ambushed Wu Shaoyi, and Lu Yao executed a counterattack, not only resolving the immediate crisis but also seizing Wu Shaoyi's subordinates for himself!
This was terrible.
Pei Xinyong, a seasoned general used to storms, found himself at a loss for what to do next.
Should he leave?
While he was still indecisive, a flurry of wings sounded overhead.
One of Pei Xinyong's personal guards raised a hand, and a mechanism bird landed beside him.
The guard took a note from a hidden compartment and handed it to Pei Xinyong.
The latter took a look and his expression changed drastically!
There were only a few words written, but the stench of blood was overwhelming, clearly written in fresh blood:
"You have fallen for a ruse! Quickly head east to counterattack the officials and join me; past grievances will be forgiven!"
The signature was just one character:
Lu!
Clearly, the scout he had placed in Xianling Village had been found and killed by Lu Yao, who then seized the mechanism bird and personally wrote this edict to Pei Xinyong.
Was this a trap?
As he hesitated, his trusted aide leaned in and said, "General, if Lu Yao truly wants to pursue us, he would just chase us down; there is no need to send this note."
That made sense.
Seeing that he was convinced, the aide continued, "If what Lu Yao says is true, then if we do not eliminate that group of officials, the news of the righteous army moving south will eventually leak out, leading to endless troubles."
After the defeat at Woling Pass, the scattered righteous armies were very cautious about hiding their movements.
Why were these three righteous armies sneaking to Xianling Lake for a meeting? Was it not because they sought a quiet place to discuss matters? If their movements were leaked, and local forces repeatedly sent troops to suppress them, it would truly be a huge problem.
If Lu Yao was telling the truth, then they could join forces to eliminate the officials;
If Lu Yao was trying to deceive him into returning, the officials numbered only two to three hundred, and with Lu Yao's four to five hundred men, they would only total around seven to eight hundred.
Pei Xinyong himself commanded over sixteen hundred men; in terms of numbers and quality, there was really nothing to fear.
If they could not win, they could still retreat! Moreover, he recalled the second piece of intelligence he had received, which indicated that the officials were dragging their families along while heading west, which did not seem like they were preparing for battle but rather like they were fleeing for their lives!
Having thought this through, he raised his head and ordered, "Change direction; we are heading back to kill the corrupt officials!"
The mountain bandits were holding a meeting, and He Lingchuan had no choice but to avoid it.
He was actually quite anxious, not knowing how the officials were faring or whether they had engaged the enemy.
But now, a very peculiar scene appeared on the Xishan Road:
Seven hundred Lu bandits ← Pei Xinyong's army ← officials ← Lu Yao's four hundred men.
So many forces were present on the Xishan Road, one chasing after the other.
Even if He Lingchuan's horse was fast enough, if he were to pursue now, he would at most catch up with Lu Yao's men, leading to an inevitable battle, and he still could not contact his father.
What should he do? He had finally persuaded Wu Shaoyi and this group of mountain bandits to work for him, and it would be a pity not to pull them to break the siege of the officials.
Worries aside, He Lingchuan's stomach began to rumble again.
After a night of fierce battle without food or water, it was time to replenish his strength.
He sneaked into the villagers' houses, rummaging through them, and soon found a few large flatbreads in someone's kitchen.
The new wheat in the warehouse was available for the bandits to feast on; they had forced the village women to prepare a lot of food last night, but suddenly there was a fresh fish feast during the night, leaving many staple foods in the kitchens.
The fish had gone cold and was fishy, not tasty, but the flatbreads would suffice.
He Lingchuan grabbed a few golden-brown pancakes and ate them while walking.
The slight sweetness of the staple food and the aroma of scallions were quite soothing to his stomach.
He was not particularly picky about food.
He then recalled the giant crocodiles and returned to the village to find a pen.
He intended to catch a few chickens or ducks, but to his surprise, the pen was littered with feathers, and only two little chicks were trembling behind the wooden fence.
It seemed that this place had already been raided by the mountain bandits last night.
Just as he was about to leave, he noticed bloodstains on the ground, several chicken heads thrown about, and a few hollowed-out carcasses.
He picked one up to take a look; it did not seem like the work of humans.
Whether bandits or villagers, after killing chickens, they would usually take them to the kitchen for processing, right?
He shrugged and moved to another chicken pen, this time finding a few plump chickens, which he then took to the lakeside and tossed over.
After all, it was just taking advantage of others' generosity.
These feathered creatures squawked loudly, very lively.
The Crocodile God was too lazy to move, still half-closed his eyes basking in the sun, while the other little crocodile demons chased after the chickens and ducks, soon devouring them with feathers all over their mouths.
(End of Chapter)