FVN Chapter 620: 579 is the one we killed
Chapter 620: 579 is the one we killed
Chapter 620: 579 is the one we killed
On the eastern side of Donghe Bridge, the dense masses of Qi Country troops crowded the road, where an officer caught up with his own troops and loudly questioned why these stationary soldiers remained in place: “Why have we stopped? Huh?”
According to the plan, his troops should have crossed Donghe Bridge and headed west, and by this afternoon they could have reached King City. But now it was almost noon, and they were still wasting time near Donghe Bridge, which was absolutely ridiculous.
Who didn’t know that during wartime, every minute and second was precious, and each hour could very well determine the outcome of a war?
An flustered junior officer ran over, stood at attention, and reported: “Sir! The garrison inside the fortress at the end of Donghe Bridge opened fire on us, and we had to pull back.”
He was also completely baffled. There was supposed to be a battalion of Qi Army stationed here, which by all accounts should be as impenetrable as a fortified wall.
With such solid defensive fortifications, even if the troops of Tang Country really came over, they should not have lost their position so quickly.
Upon hearing what his subordinate said, the general who had come to ask about the situation furrowed his brow in disbelief: “The garrison at Donghe Bridge opened fire on you?”
“Yes, they killed over eighty of our men.” The officer nodded and pointed in the direction of the bridgehead. He was indeed not lying; the advance troops had naively walked over and the enemies began firing indiscriminately, sending them scrambling for cover...
The Qi soldiers, not understanding the situation, were thrown into disarray, and those in front were killed while the remaining men rolled and crawled along the railway embankment, looking for cover as they retreated. Upon returning and checking, they found that the front platoon had been nearly decimated.
“Impossible! We’re already close to King City, how could there be enemies here!” The general was even more incredulous upon hearing his subordinate’s words.
This place was Donghe Bridge, and just a bit further ahead was King City. If Tang Army appeared here, did that mean King City was lost?
For him, this was simply inconceivable. Although he had heard the news of Qi King Jiang Xian’s death, he still didn’t believe such a large contingent of Tang’s military could be here.
“We don’t know either.” Faced with his superior’s questioning, the Qi officer was just as confused. What he knew was probably not even as much as his superior.
Suddenly, the loyal officer of the Second Prince realized the key point: those blocking their return to King City might not be the Tang troops at all, but could very well be people of the First Prince!
It was possible that the First Prince, knowing he couldn’t return to King City faster than the Second Prince, deliberately notified his confidants inside King City to take troops and block Donghe Bridge!
Coming to this conclusion, he suddenly understood.
This damn well was a battle for succession!
Immediately, he looked wisely at his subordinates and firmly commanded: “It’s definitely not the enemy! It’s very likely the First Prince’s confidants causing trouble! They want to prevent His Majesty from returning to King City!”
Fighting Tang’s troops was one thing, but battling his own people in a succession struggle was quite another; while he may not have had the guts to fight Tang’s troops, he had more than enough courage to engage in a fight for the throne...
His men also came to their senses and seemed less frightened: “You’re right! It must be so!”
As soon as their leader spoke, it made them forget that the unique sound of firing they had heard, which resembled that of a cloth-ripping machine, was not something the Qi Army had!
Slightly displeased, he pushed aside his cowardly subordinate, the Qi officer took up his binoculars and looked towards the distant fortress at the bridgehead: “Move! Idiots!”
They thought, everyone was fighting for wealth and glory, and what the First Prince could offer, the Second Prince could provide as well.
As long as they let them through, returned to King City, and helped the Second Prince ascend the throne, everything could be negotiated. Was it just money they wanted? Positions of power? They would give it.
“The Second Prince will soon become His Majesty! With the Second Prince, wealth and honor will be abundant! Let us pass! Rewards for everyone!” They initially shouted “His Majesty,” afraid the other side wouldn’t understand, they explained a bit more.
The Second Prince, though not yet enthroned, had already taken to calling himself “His Majesty,” just like the First Prince.
At first, the soldiers of the Tang Army were confused by the shouting, but after listening a bit more, they finally understood the Qi Army’s calls.
This misunderstanding was better left unclear, for once they understood, the paratroopers who had been fighting for so many days immediately burst into insolent laughter, “Hahaha!”
“What are they shouting?” The Tang Army’s paratrooper battalion commander didn’t hear clearly what the other side was shouting and looked toward a comrade with good hearing.
The soldier, amused, looked at his commander and said, “They’re shouting that His Majesty guarantees amnesty! And promises us wealth and honor.”
“His Majesty?” The commander was somewhat bewildered—wasn’t the King of Qi killed by them?
“They’re talking about some Second Prince, about to become His Majesty,” the soldier explained further.
The commander could barely contain himself, his face full of malice: “Get someone with a loud voice to tell them, their former king Jiang Xian was killed by us!”
“Hahaha!” Hearing their commander say this, a few paratroopers beside him immediately joined in with the malicious laughter. Their commander really had a wicked sense of humor.
“Soldiers of Qi Country! Surrender! We’re the Great Tang paratroopers! Your King Qi, Jiang Xian, was killed by us!” Soon, above the bridgehead, there was someone shouting with a booming voice.
When he shouted, even the gunfire seemed to stop, and his slightly hoarse voice echoed over the battlefield, causing the Qi Army soldiers lying on the ground to tremble.
“What!” The Qi Country officer who heard the shouts turned deathly pale. He had heard everything clearly but still couldn’t believe his ears.
“What are they shouting?” Farther away, a Qi Army general commanding the operations asked someone near him.
Soon, all Qi Army attacking soldiers were in disarray, now realizing that it was these Tang forces who had killed their former king!
A Qi Country officer, desperate, got up and ran back, “Retreat! They are Tang Army, not our own!”
“Damn it!” The remaining Qi Country soldiers also started running.
The machine guns roared behind them, but these Qi soldiers had no care for that anymore, running desperately, running recklessly, just wanting to get away, far from the demons behind them.
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