Green Mountain
Chapter 341 - 281, Assassination

Chapter 341: 281, Assassination

Li Xuan glanced at the firelight, then at Chen Ji.

Earlier, when Chen Ji said that Guyuan was a trap set for the Heavenly Strategy Army, he didn’t believe it.

After all, half of the city’s population in Guyuan had been slaughtered, the border army suffered countless casualties—just how ruthless must the strategist be to craft such a "decapitation trap"?

In this age, the Imperial Capital had a population of a million, Luocheng City had two hundred thousand, and even Guyuan had at least one hundred thirty or forty thousand people. Half the population of the city meant tens of thousands of lives!

How utterly sinister and cruel!

Yet now, seeing the fire blazing at the city gates and the once-impregnable Guyuan City collapse with a thunderous roar, cutting off all routes of retreat for the Heavenly Strategy Army, Li Xuan could no longer doubt it.

Li Xuan turned to look at Chen Ji, and despite his attempts to remain calm, he couldn’t suppress the panic in his voice. "Who exactly set up this trap? What other tricks do they have up their sleeve? The armored infantry I saw earlier—what army are they from? How dare they commit such a colossal crime against humanity, using tens of thousands of civilians as bait?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "It’s not just that."

Li Xuan froze: "What do you mean?"

Chen Ji said softly: "The bait is not only the civilians, but also the grain warehouses, the military equipment, the wells... and the Crown Prince."

Only at this moment did he finally understand why the court had suddenly sent the Crown Prince, accompanied by an untested ceremonial army, to Guyuan; why Bai Long had withdrawn and purged the Crown Prince’s staff; why the Heavenly Strategy Army was able to attack through the inn’s secret passage; and why the Crown Prince, even when hiding in the cellar, could still be found.

It was all because the Crown Prince was the final piece of the pledge of loyalty! Without the Crown Prince, how could the Heavenly Strategy Army have stepped into this ambush?

At that moment, another explosion rang out, and even the East City Gate was destroyed by firearms.

Amid the flames and the deafening explosions, the warhorses of the Heavenly Strategy Army were startled, scattering in all directions.

Yuan Zhen’s warhorse began to rear, nearly throwing him to the ground.

The Great Commander of the Heavenly Strategy Army, a Second Grade Product officer under the Jing Dynasty, was, after all, just an ordinary person. How could he control a panicked warhorse? Fortunately, an armored soldier rushed forward, grabbing hold of the reins and forcefully calming the horse in place.

Just then, a clamor of shouting and killing came from the North, as a group of armored infantry, long hidden within the city, launched a counterattack from Xuwei Lane, shields in one hand and blades in the other, charging southward.

One armored soldier exclaimed urgently, "It’s an ambush! Escort the Great Commander to safety!"

Yuan Zhen lashed his whip across the soldier’s face. "Panic breeds chaos. Disorderly soldiers will be executed!"

After speaking, he squinted his eyes toward the North and pondered for a long time before turning to the Crown Prince and sneering, "Quite the grandiose scheme—to use half the city’s population and the national reserves as bait. Let me ask you—did you know about this plot yourself?"

The Crown Prince remained silent.

Yuan Zhen suddenly burst into laughter. "So you didn’t know either! Southern Dynasty scholars are truly ruthless—acting in the name of the greater good while committing treason. And now, even the Crown Prince of an entire nation is but a toy in their hands! If the Zhu family’s founding ancestor were to rise from his coffin, he’d likely slaughter every one of these Confucian scholars to extinction!"

A trusted aide rode up and whispered, "Great Commander, shall we stay or retreat?"

Yuan Zhen replied gravely, "They’ve destroyed the South and East City Gates to force us to flee through the West Gate. There must be more troops lying in ambush waiting there. Issue the order: charge North! The Military Intelligence Department of the Southern Dynasty claims that the Ning Dynasty’s three main camps are all stationed at Chongli Pass. I’m curious to see what Hu Junxian plans to use to destroy my Heavenly Strategy Army!"

As his words fell, the orders spread layer by layer, and the main forces of the Heavenly Strategy Army’s Central Army immediately dispersed, unfolding like a fan and spreading toward the North.

Li Xuan watched as the Crown Prince and his entourage were taken away by the Iron Cavalry of the Heavenly Strategy Army. He called out anxiously, "I have to save the Crown Prince! If you’re unwilling to take the risk, then stay here..."

But as he turned his head, he was startled to see that Chen Ji had already taken action.

Chen Ji wiped his face clean with his sleeve and stealthily approached one of the Heavenly Strategy Army’s Iron Cavalry soldiers.

As another explosion from a firearm reverberated through the air, Chen Ji suddenly leapt lightly onto the soldier’s horse, landing behind the soldier’s saddle. He covered the soldier’s mouth and swiftly broke his neck.

He tossed the soldier’s corpse toward Li Xuan. Startled, Li Xuan caught it awkwardly, but despite his careful handling, the clinking of the armor on the corpse was unavoidable. Some nearby soldiers heard the sound and turned alertly toward them, only to see Chen Ji now wearing a black pheasant-feathered helmet and the armor of the Heavenly Strategy Army. Satisfied, they turned back around.

Chen Ji spurred the horse into the ranks of the Heavenly Strategy Army, blending in with the Guard Camp heading northward.

...

...

Chen Ji observed silently as he infiltrated the marching army.

In the Heavenly Strategy Army, ranks were distinguished by the pheasant feathers on soldiers’ helmets. Ordinary soldiers wore no feathers; Divine Archers, Guard Camp soldiers, and Centurions wore one black pheasant feather; Chiliarchs bore one long feather and one short feather; and Households Commanders bore one long feather and two short feathers.

Chen Ji saw Yuan Zhen riding unhurriedly, while elite scouts continually reported military intelligence to him and then departed with new flag orders.

The infantry of the Heavenly Strategy Army escorted the Crown Prince and others, trailing closely behind Yuan Zhen, who was surrounded by a tight cordon of protection from the Guard Camp. Chen Ji took only a brief glance before averting his eyes to avoid arousing suspicion.

He redirected his gaze to a figure beside Yuan Zhen—the Shopkeeper of Dragon Gate Inn.

The man had now donned the armor of the Heavenly Strategy Army, wearing the feathery insignia of a Chiliarch, a position of considerable authority.

As Chen Ji discreetly observed, the Shopkeeper seemed to sense something and slowly turned his head.

In the flickering firelight, Chen Ji saw the left side of the man’s face branded with the character "Surrender," his eyes cold and murderous—nothing like the innkeeping persona he used to know.

Before the man’s gaze could sweep toward him, Chen Ji lowered his head and silently followed the marching troops.

The Shopkeeper grew suspicious and seemed ready to turn his horse back to investigate but was interrupted as several scouts returned together with intelligence reports.

"Report! Elite infantry have been spotted at Kule Street, engaging the Vanguard Camp—numbering five hundred!"

"Report! Elite infantry are moving westward from Qie Mo Street—numbering five hundred!"

Yuan Zhen frowned from atop his horse and asked, "How many groups of elite infantry have been discovered so far? The eleventh? Or the twelfth?"

His trusted aide whispered, "Great Commander, it’s the twelfth."

The sound of fierce fighting from the frontline grew louder, with occasional firearm explosions punctuating the chaos. It seemed as if the more the border army fought, the more soldiers appeared.

Looking into the dark night, Yuan Zhen’s face hardened. "Where is Hu Junxian conjuring all these men from? Deploy the Central Army’s main forces at Xuwei Lane to create a pocket and draw them in!"

At this moment, another scout rushed back, kneeling on one knee ten steps away from Yuan Zhen, and reported loudly, "Great Commander! Centurion Yuan Chong has perished at Dragon Gate Inn—his entire unit annihilated!"

At the mention of Dragon Gate Inn, the Shopkeeper snapped his head around, disregarding any earlier suspicions about those observing him.

Yuan Zhen casually gestured behind him, and the Guard Camp immediately cleared a path, allowing the Shopkeeper to approach within ten steps to respond.

Without looking at the Shopkeeper, Yuan Zhen stared ahead and asked calmly, "It was based on your intelligence that I sent Yuan Chong there. Now that Yuan Chong is dead, how do you explain this?"

As he spoke, the Guard Camp soldiers beside the Shopkeeper suddenly moved. Five or six of them grabbed his arms, forcing him to kneel and pinning him to the ground.

The Shopkeeper raised his head and shouted, "Great Commander, I reported earlier that there were Yulin Army guards stationed at the inn and that the Crown Prince was accompanied by a Military Intelligence Department Commander at the Seeking Dao Realm. Now that the Crown Prince is here, you can confront him directly."

Yuan Zhen nodded, motioning behind him, and the Guard Camp brought the Crown Prince and his group forward.

Along the way, Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia struggled desperately, but to no avail.

The group stopped ten steps away from Yuan Zhen. He asked, "I’ll ask, and you’ll answer. Anyone who responds properly will live."

Chen Wenxiao hurriedly said, "Great Commander, I’ll answer!"

A cold smile appeared on Yuan Zhen’s lips. "Did you encounter my Heavenly Strategy Army’s Vanguard Camp at the inn?"

Chen Wenxiao nodded quickly. "We did! They burst out from the inn’s secret passage and killed all the Yulin Army guards stationed inside. We were trapped upstairs and nearly died."

Yuan Zhen turned his head and asked, "If you encountered them, why are your clothes so clean, without a drop of blood? And how did you escape to Taohuai Square?"

Chen Wenxiao explained, "At the time, it was Chen..."

Before he could finish, Chen Wenzong began thrashing wildly and shouted, "Shut your mouth, you beast!"

Yuan Zhen laughed heartily. "And who is this man?"

Chen Wenxiao lowered his head, avoiding Chen Wenzong’s gaze. "He’s my legitimate elder brother, Chen Wenzong."

Yuan Zhen waved dismissively. "Gag this man. Continue speaking."

Just then, Xiao Man exclaimed loudly, "Let me speak!"

Yuan Zhen smiled and asked, "Oh? And who are you?"

Xiao Man took two struggling steps forward. "I am the Chen family’s maid. If you give me a way out, I will tell you everything..."

Before she could finish, Xiao Man suddenly broke free from the Guard Camp soldiers beside her and struck at Chen Wenxiao’s Taiyang acupoint with a palm strike.

This strike carried the force of wind and thunder but stopped just shy of hitting Chen Wenxiao, caught mid-air by a large, rough hand.

A towering, shadowy figure loomed over Xiao Man. Astonished, she looked up to see one of the Chiliarchs beside Yuan Zhen, who had appeared as if out of thin air to intercept her.

The Chiliarch sneered menacingly. "How dare you attempt such tricks in the presence of the Great Commander. Courting death."

Yuan Zhen waved it off, his expression indifferent. "It’s fine. The fact that someone is so desperate to stop him proves there might be some truth in his words. Let him continue."

Chen Wenxiao said, "My name is Chen Ji, a bastard of the Chen family. At that time, I stood at the staircase, preventing your Vanguard Camp from reaching the second floor to apprehend the Crown Prince. Eventually, we hid on the inn’s rooftop. When we came down, he and this maid had already killed all the Vanguard Camp soldiers!"

Even Yuan Zhen was momentarily stunned. "Killed them all? Just the two of them?"

He turned a cold gaze toward the Shopkeeper. "Why didn’t you mention these two individuals earlier?"

But Yuan Zhen noticed that the Shopkeeper was also frozen, muttering to himself, "I saw him leave with my own eyes this morning. How could he have been inside the inn..."

Chen Wenxiao chimed in, "Great Commander, my younger half-brother did leave earlier in the morning, only returning after the border army had opened the city gates."

Yuan Zhen uttered a faint acknowledgment, then coldly chuckled at the Shopkeeper. "Even if he left the inn, it was your duty to report everything truthfully. Speak—why did you withhold this information?"

The Shopkeeper ignored him, instead turning to ask Chen Wenxiao, "Where is Chen Ji? Why isn’t he among you?"

Chen Wenxiao appeared taken aback. "After he placed us in the cellar, he left. I have no idea where he went."

The Shopkeeper lowered his gaze, pondered for a moment, then knelt and crawled toward Yuan Zhen, saying, "Great Commander, it was my failure to handle things properly and neglect such crucial intelligence. I am willing to accept punishment."

When the Shopkeeper was only seven steps away from Yuan Zhen, he suddenly sprang to his feet and lunged at him.

Yuan Zhen’s face remained unchanged as he coldly watched the Shopkeeper approach. The Guard Camp soldiers encircled him tightly, forming a human wall. The Chiliarch who had subdued Xiao Man also shoved her aside and darted back to defend.

The Shopkeeper and the Chiliarch collided in a thunderous exchange, the wind from their strikes so fierce it was difficult to keep one’s eyes open.