Chapter 569

Chapter 569: The Return of the War God

Taizhou State

The crises in Feng and Tai provinces emerged almost simultaneously. While Lin Jiang received an urgent message from his strategist, Taizhou State was also in turmoil with internal unrest leading to rebellions in many surrendered counties and prefectures. This was followed by the approaching troops of other states.

"Dai, Jiao, Qiao, Shi attacked Feng State from four different regions, while Tai, Fen, Ping, and Yun attacked Taizhou State. They are making a big move. They seem to have high regard for me."

Lin Jiang gathered information from different places and has determined the enemy’s strategy. There may be around four or five hundred thousand soldiers from eight regions. Quite impressive.

"General, think of a plan quickly, Feng State is in danger."

"General, Feng State is weak in strength, it may not be able to withstand the attack from the large enemy forces."

Tian Xiong and Qin Yong are worried. Their families and thousands of soldiers are still in Feng State. If Feng State falls, they won’t be able to hold on in Taizhou State either, and the morale of the army will be affected.

"You both don’t need to worry, I’m sure the general has a plan."

"General, do you have a plan to retreat from the enemy?"

"Yes, or maybe no."

"Oh, General, please don’t joke around."

"I’m not joking, I’m not a fairy who can make them retreat with just a word, but I have hands that can defeat all enemies who come attacking."

Lin Jiang said coldly, does he have a way? No. but will he surrender? No. When the enemy comes, we will fight back, that’s all.

"Qin Yong, Tian Xiong."

"Here, General."

"Tian Xiong is in charge in Taizhou City, with Xie Yunfeng assisting. You may face enemies from Fenzhou State, Taizhou City is very important, don’t lose it."

"General, don’t worry, I will not die, Taizhou City will not be lost."

"Qin Yong, lead your elite troops to various places in Taizhou State to eliminate the rebels. In turbulent times, we must be strict. Go and kill, all traitors must be killed."

"Yes, General."

Qin Yong received the order with determination, he already felt Lin Jiang’s strong killing intent.

"General, what about you, are you going back to Feng State?"

"No, I will crush all incoming enemies. Fang Rui, Taizhou State surrendered to my Martial Arts Master. Are you willing to serve loyally?"

"General, Feng is willing, but Feng cannot speak for others, I cannot represent them."

"Alright, you take them to camp outside the city. In three days, I will lead them out. Xie Yunfeng, prepare horses for me, all available except for messengers. Also select three thousand elite troops, I want truly elite soldiers."

Lin Jiang said that there were too many enemies, blocking one way wouldn’t work, so he planned a fast and mobile surprise attack to crush them one by one.

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Taizhou StateTai’an Prefecture is located in the southwest of Taizhou State, bordering Yun State. At this time, Tai’an Prefecture has been captured, and the defending soldiers of Zhenguo Army have all been killed. The soldiers of Yun State are burning, killing, and looting in Tai’an Prefecture.

The leaders of Yun State, facing this situation, turned a blind eye because they knew that corruption was rampant in the army, most of the money sent down had already been embezzled, and if they didn’t give these soldiers a chance to make money, the soldiers would rebel. Moreover, this is Taizhou State, not their territory.

"Where is Rebel Wolong?"

"Reporting to the general, there is still no news."

"General, Rebel Wolong was previously in Taizhou City, thousands of miles away from us. If a fight is to be had, it would be against the nearest soldiers of Tai State first."

"That’s true."

The leading general nodded. They divided into three groups and attacked Taizhou State: Tai State and Fenzhou State joined forces to attack Linjiang Prefecture from the east, Pingzhou State attacked from the north, Yun State attacked from the southwest. If Rebel Wolong were to fight, it would be against the soldiers of the other states first.

"General, Rebel Wolong isn’t coming for now, should we head north?"

"Go north, are you coming?"

The chief general asked back, he wasn’t foolish. Rebel Wolong was so powerful, are we heading north to our doom?

"General, what should we do…"

"Let’s first raid a few nearby towns, assess the situation. If Rebel Wolong is engaged from the north, we’ll cut off his retreat. If they are defeated, we retreat to Yun State without delay."

The chief general said, although he wanted to defeat Rebel Wolong, he didn’t want to take all the risk. Let’s wait for the right moment, this plan won’t harm us anyway.

Several military commanders immediately understood and sent out troops to take over other towns. They stayed leisurely in Tai’an Prefecture, where the girls were quite charming.

Little did they know, Lin Jiang was already heading towards them. Starting from Taizhou City, Lin Jiang brought three thousand elite soldiers, some riding one horse, some riding two, advancing day and night and reaching outside Tai’an City.

"Rest for the night, tomorrow morning, follow me to attack Tai’an City. Fang Rui’s men and a thousand elite soldiers will attack with me. The other two thousand troops will ambush to the south. The enemy will be defeated, and if they flee back to Yun State, don’t let them escape."

"Yes, general."

After Lin Jiang gave the command, he let everyone rest. People took out their dry food and water, and slowly started eating. After finishing, most of them fell asleep, leaving only a few scouts.

Early the next morning, when it was still dark, Lin Jiang started to move. Using light-footed techniques, he quietly sneaked into the city. At this time, many of the city residents had already woken up but dared not go out. Most of the soldiers from the Yun State were still deep in sleep as they had been indulging in revelry until late into the night.

The whole city was filled with the smell of blood, and no one knew how many people had been killed. Seeing the current state of Tai’an City, Lin Jiang’s intention to kill grew even stronger.

Lin Jiang silently killed the soldiers guarding the city gate and then opened the gate. The stationed troops had not noticed anything until a thousand cavalrymen started galloping from outside the city, which finally startled them awake.

"Fang Rui, you and I will each lead a team and charge along the streets of Tai’an City. Remember, don’t linger in battle or give them a chance to gather their forces. Maintain high mobility at all times."

"I can tell you with certainty that this choice you have made will be the most precise one in your life. After this is over, you will receive the greatest rewards."

Lin Jiang spoke to Fang Rui at the city gate, then spurred his horse and raced forward, with five hundred men following closely behind.

The commotion had already woken up the soldiers and generals of the Yun State. They hurriedly gathered their troops, but what they faced was Lin Jiang’s devastating blow.

"Rebel Wolong."

"It’s Rebel Wolong."

"Run quickly!"

Mr. Wolong’s name was famous all over the land. When he saw Lin Jiang’s iconic mask, everyone was terrified.

Lin Jiang kept charging into the enemy forces without hesitation, scattering them time and again. After doing this a dozen times, the enemy forces collapsed. The enemy general ordered a breakout, thinking that once outside the city, they could regroup their forces and possibly not lose due to their numbers.

Lin Jiang intended for this outcome. He quickly released a large group of fleeing soldiers from Tai’an City, almost about ten to twenty thousand men. Lin Jiang then blocked the city gate once more, and sent Fang Rui out of the city to assist in battle, expecting the ambush outside the gate to commence.

As Lin Jiang had predicted, the soldiers rushing out were unable to regroup in time, and were ambushed by the reserves he had stationed outside the city. Unlike inside the city, where they could seek shelter in buildings, outside the city was wide open.

After a few rounds, the enemy forces completely crumbled, beginning a chaotic retreat. The two thousand cavalry of the Zhenguo Army pursued vigorously, managing to catch some and also taking several thousand prisoners.

Five hundred of the two thousand soldiers outside the city were left to guard the prisoners, while the rest entered the city to aid in the battle. However, those inside the city quickly surrendered one by one, as many of their leaders had already been killed by Lin Jiang, and the rest had fled. Lin Jiang’s intimidation further shattered their morale.

The battle in Tai’an City came to a thorough end early the next morning. Shortly after, Lin Jiang made a ruthless decision to execute the prisoners in a mass grave.

"General, I understand that it may not be appropriate for me to speak now, but I estimate that there are around twenty to thirty thousand captives from this battle. I hope the general can show mercy."

After learning the news, Fang Rui immediately approached Lin Jiang and advised him that killing captured enemies was a very cruel thing to do. If he did that, no one would dare to surrender to Lin Jiang in the future.

"Mercy, I have lost. How many people in Feng State and Taizhou State have been kind to them? Shall we ask some people from Tai’an City to find out how many people they have killed these days?"

"General, I know all of this. It’s better to spare one out of ten. Even sparing one out of ten is better than killing them all."

"I don’t have time to spare one out of ten, nor do I have enough soldiers to guard the prisoners. Let’s do it this way. There’s no need to say more. If it’s fate, I will take full responsibility."

Lin Jiang firmly refused. He only had over three thousand men with him and didn’t have enough soldiers to guard the prisoners. He decided to kill them all to put an end to it.