Yu Pin Yanâs reputation was so renowned and his martial arts skills were so exceptional that his name alone was equivalent to tens of thousands of troops â a true killer on the battlefield. The news of his death and resurrection sent the Western Barbarianâs army into a state of chaos. Furthermore, it was unknown where the surprise attack of 50,000 troops from the rear came from, but it was just like a divine army descending from heaven.
Cowardice settled in their psychology. As a result, they completely lost the will to fight on the battlefield. In just one day and one night, the Western Barbarian army suffered repeated retreat and defeat. Not only were the newly-acquired cities of Wulan Province and Fengxing returned to the Han, but they were also driven to the banks of the Wu River by Yu Pin Yan. In desperation, they had no choice but to risk wading across the river.
To swim when the heart was filled with dread and disorder, this confusion caused many of those from the Western Barbarian army to drown and instantly reversed the tide of the battle for good.
The Second Prince of the Western Barbarians, bare-legged, had clearly become an easy target. He was struck by Yu Pin Yanâs arrow and fell off his horse. He was then swiftly tied up and dragged back to the barracks by several low-rank soldiers.
Although the tide of the battle was turned, the Han army still suffered heavy losses. While Fang Daâs 50,000-strong army suffered no casualties, Yu Pin Yan lost more than half. There were only three men left in the central army. The right flank was ambushed, and barely a few thousands of men survived. Only the left-wing army led by Xu Mao had suffered hundreds of casualties, which was a miracle.
However, such a miracle was obvious to the discerning eye.
Looking at the battle report in his hand, Yu Pin Yan laughed coldly and immediately ordered his men to receive Yu Xiang and Master Ku Hai, who were staying at Xuluo Road, to Wulan Province.
At the moment, the imperial court of Western Barbarian was in pandemonium. Several imperial princes leading their respective tribes were in a chaotic battle. All of them wanted to fight for the highest position of power.
Yu Pin Yan waited. To minimize the damage to the Han army, he waited until the Western Barbarian army had an internal defeat before he delivered the fatal blow. But in order to paralyze the Western Barbarians, he sent a letter to the Western Barbarian Emperor asking them to ransom the second prince with land, cattle, sheep, war horses and gold. This was to give them the illusion that he intended to seek peace.
After everything was arranged, he strode to the dungeon, took a whip that was immersed in salt water from a soldier and struck the second prince severely. His miserable howl reverberated in the cramped space, making one feel terrified.
The Second Prince was only nineteen years old, fresh and inexperienced. It was his first time on the battlefield, so he could not withstand such torture. After a couple of blows, he begged loudly for mercy, âDonât hit me! Donât hit me! I will confess everything! The one who colluded with me was Xu Mao, who wanted to use my hand to kill Yu Pin Yan! The person backing them is the prince of your Great Han. He said that killing Yu Pin Yan will clear the way for him to ascend to the throne and become Emperor. As for which imperial son, I donât know. Alright, I have confessed. So donât hit me anymore, (whimpers)â
The rest of the generals were also interrogated. When they heard this, they turned their heads to look at Xu Mao and his confidants.
Xu Maoâs heart was in a state of frenzy. However, on the surface, he gritted his teeth and questioned, âShut up, you are making false accusations! I am loyal to His Majesty, I have never had any dissenting thoughts! You cannot convict me on the basis of this barbarianâs words alone! You must show proof, or I will not be reconciled! Furthermore, I would like to ask the Commander why he has moved the border troops on his own accord? It is clearly written in the law that this is a capital offence of treason! If you donât punish him, why are you punishing me instead? Oh, I get it. You are killing me to silence me!â As he said that, he drew his sword and was ready to charge forward.
Zhang Meng and Lin Jie immediately surrounded him and trapped him. After some struggle, they tied him to the torture rack. Without searching for any evidence, let alone seeking for a confession, a red-hot branding iron was pressed into his chest, followed by branding the word âtraitorâ on his cheek. He was promptly declared convicted.
âIâm not reconciled! You have no evidence. You have abused the law. I am not reconciledâŚâ Xu Maoâs bellow could have shattered the sky.
His confidants stood up and shouted their disagreement. They also said that if it was a crime, then the commander secretly mobilizing the troops was really a crime deserving of death. They wanted to kill the traitorous officials for the emperor. Subsequently, they also pulled out their sword in resistance.
In this way, the left wing became Xu Maoâs personal army.
âTie them all up. Itâs better to kill them by mistake than to let them go.â Yu Pin Yan waved his sleeve and the soldiers swarmed up to tie the rest of them. There were many of them and they were prepared, so they quickly subdued the men. They were trussed up andhung on the torture rack.
Once the left general was removed, the soldiers under his command still had to follow the orders of the commander. A private army without a leader was nothing more than scattered sand.
After all the commotion, the dungeon fell silent with the remaining generals wanting to say something and looked towards Fang Da frequently. Although these two men won the battle, Xu Mao was right on the basis of the charge of moving troops. Yu Pin Yan and the others would still be dead when they returned to the capital. They were loyal to their commander, but even more loyal to Emperor Cheng Kang. At this moment, all of them were contemplating on how to handle it.
Yu Pin Yan swept an indifferent glance at everyone present. He saw that there were no suspicious-looking people among the remaining people nor were there any treacherous people. Then, he took out a Xuan Iron token from his inner pocket.
Once they saw the token, everyone was shocked, and even Xu Mao stopped shouting and cursing, appearing dumbfounded. They never thought that the Emperor would trust the Commander to such an extent that he even bestowed him a gold medallion to protect him from death. So why had they been plotting for so long? Yu Pin Yan was just toying around with them!
âUse torture. Make sure to find out the mastermind behind them.â Yu Pin Yan waved his hand and walked out of the dungeon.