AEOGA CH98

Qin Yulong stared in disbelief, his face flushed with indignation.

The practice of killing civilians to claim military merit was far from unprecedented in history.

In the military, merit was measured by severed heads; the more enemies one slew, the greater one’s accomplishments, paving the way for promotions and titles. Among those with outstanding records were genuine heroes, yet there was no shortage of frauds taking credit where none was due.

When some commanders grew greedy for accolades—or simply feared being punished by superiors for failing to slay the enemy—they would massacre innocent civilians and pass them off as enemy heads to fraudulently claim military achievements. Despite repeated bans, rulers often turned a blind eye so long as the battle reports looked impressive; after all, those dying unjustly were not themselves.

Slaughtering civilians often meant targeting people of enemy nations, but for a state to massacre its own citizens like Yelang was doing was truly an act devoid of all humanity, utterly monstrous.

Changli strictly prohibited killing civilians for military merit; not only were reported heads subjected to rigorous verification, but anyone caught committing fraud was executed immediately. For a soldier as principled and dedicated to defending his country as Qin Yulong, such madness was unthinkable. Even knowing the term, he could hardly accept the reality in his heart.

“How could they—” Qin Yulong slammed his hand on the table and stood up in rage. “Those are their own citizens!”

With weapons like gunpowder at their disposal, why would they need to go through the trouble of close-quarters combat and slow tactical advances? They could have flattened everything with explosives directly! It was only because His Majesty ordered that no civilians be harmed that they were delayed, even incurring many unnecessary casualties in the process.

In the end, the very Yelang civilians protected by Changli’s troops were being slaughtered by their own countrymen—it was utterly farcical.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Lu Xuechao said coolly. “Wu Feng lost the Battle of Wolong; how could Emperor Chongxing possibly spare his life? Passing fake news of victory back home is merely a ploy to buy time. At this moment, he is likely plotting a gold-shell shedding maneuver to flee.”

A man like Wu Feng was no heroic general willing to die for his country; otherwise, he would never have agreed to hand over his own troops for Gu experiments. Once this battle was lost, Emperor Chongxing would never let him live, so he had to find another path to survive.

What was so surprising about a man like that committing atrocities to fake military accomplishments?

Qin Yulong was filled with righteous anger: “Are we just supposed to shoulder this blame then?”

Yelang murdering its own people to frame Changli was a move so despicable that it truly opened his eyes.

“There is never a shortage of sharp-eyed people among the common folk,” Xie Chongjin said calmly. “Even if they are deceived, we will simply open their eyes.”

Qin Yulong hurriedly asked, “How do we open them?”

“Of the teahouses and taverns previously opened in Yelang, though many were closed on the surface, plenty remain operational in secret. They lack no ability to spread rumors. Besides, we are merely telling them the truth—even if that truth is absurd and hard for ordinary people to believe,” Lu Xuechao said. “Yet is there anything more authentic than an imperial decree?”

Stumped by the question, Qin Yulong glanced secretly at Xie Chongjin: “His Majesty’s words are sacred law; an imperial decree is naturally the most absolute truth.”

What a joke—with the Emperor standing right here, claiming there was something more authentic than an imperial decree would be no different from treason!

Fearing nothing from Xie Chongjin, Lu Xuechao spoke bluntly: “The casual gossip of tens of millions outweighs a single imperial decree.”

…

For several consecutive days, a surreal spectacle unfolded in Yongye City.

—Yelang was killing people, while Changli was saving them.

The defenders acted as executioners, while the invaders became saviors.

When casualties first occurred among the civilians of Yongye City, the initially uninformed populace believed Changli was responsible, instantly igniting their hatred toward Changli and even sparking spontaneous civilian resistance.

Soon after, Changli brought them back to reality.

Without using military force to suppress them, Changli simply captured a “Changli soldier” who was slaughtering innocents right before the eyes of the Yelang civilians. They proved his weapons belonged to Yelang and forced him to admit aloud that he was a Yelang soldier.

The Yelang civilians naturally refused to believe it at first—no one wanted to believe their own country would harm them, or that the enemies invading their homeland were the good guys. They all assumed it was a crude sowers-of-discord tactic by Changli.

However, the disillusioned puppet soldiers who had voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered soon saw their commander’s actions. Completely heartbroken, they used their local dialects to reveal the entire conspiracy of Yelang refining soldiers into Gu and slaughtering civilians for military merit.

The populace began to waver, half-believing and half-doubting.

Yet none of it compared to the shock of seeing their own friends and relatives fall under the blades of the Yelang army with their own eyes, only to be rescued by soldiers wearing Changli armor.

Through personal experience and word-of-mouth, the atrocities of the Yelang army became known to everyone in Yongye City. Armed Yelang soldiers became hated by all, forcing Wu Feng to evacuate Yongye City early, which marked the loss of Yelang’s border fortress.

While Wu Feng fled in disgrace, Xie Chongjin pursued the victory, advancing city by city.

The border was distant, so news of Yongye City would not reach Langcheng so quickly; he still harbored hopes of escaping.

Little did Wu Feng know that rumors had already spread like wildfire across Yelang, exposing every foul deed of the imperial family and military. Backed by the testimony of soldiers who had laid down their armor and returned home, public anger boiled over.

The economy was already depressed from the war, leaving the people struggling to survive. With such rumors breaking out at this critical juncture, the public’s dissatisfaction with the reigning imperial family reached its absolute peak.

An uproar of such magnitude naturally alarmed Emperor Chongxing in the imperial palace.

Having just been rejoicing over false reports of victory from the front line, Emperor Chongxing was shocked and enraged upon hearing the “rumors” outside regarding “the imperial family refining soldiers into Gu” and “the army slaughtering civilians for merit.” He immediately ordered Wu Feng’s arrest and execution on the spot.

Thousands of miles away, Wu Feng also heard the overwhelming rumors. He had no idea when Changli had gained control over Yelang’s public discourse, managing to strip Yelang of its people’s support in just a few short days!

Admittedly, Yelang had indeed done atrocious things, but to rapidly expose their deeds across the entire realm, fanning the flames and inciting public fury—Changli had already infiltrated Yelang without anyone noticing.

Wu Feng knew that after this, his crime of slaughtering civilians for merit could no longer be hidden. Perhaps the imperial decree for his execution was already on the way. He fled overnight to the outskirts of the city. All under heaven belonged to the King; fleeing to the ends of the earth as an outlaw offered him no future whatsoever.

Just when he was in utter despair, a sudden turn of events brought hope out of nowhere.

…

The outskirts of the city.

The disheveled Wu Feng wiped away the mud he had smeared on his face to disguise his identity, looking as wretched as a roadside beggar.

Now, he not only had to evade Changli’s pursuit but also dodge Yelang’s wanted notices, hiding like a rat in the gutter, unable to face the light.

Hiding behind a giant boulder, he suddenly heard a faint, distant shout: “Your Highness.”

…In the wild countryside, far from the palace, where did a “Your Highness” come from?

He poked his head out to look, only to see a soldier wearing Changli armor in the distance. He instantly pulled his head back.

Changli had pushed forward relentlessly, taking several of Yelang’s key border cities over the past few days, and had already pursued their way here.

Wu Feng hid behind the rock to catch his breath for a moment, then peeked out again cautiously.

He saw a squad of ordinary soldiers following a young man clad in white. One soldier stammered, “Your Highness, whatever medicinal herbs you are looking for, just command us to search for them. Why must you come out in person and dirty your shoes…?”

Another soldier chimed in, “If something happens to you, His Majesty will surely punish us…”

“Bah!” Before the sentence was finished, the first soldier smacked him on the head. “How are you talking? Her Highness the Empress enjoys boundless good fortune; how could anything happen to him?”

Lu Xuechao smiled faintly: “This medicinal herb looks almost identical to common weeds. Those who do not understand it wouldn’t find it even if they searched. I had to come in person.”

The number of wounded in the army was increasing daily, and existing medicines could not heal everyone. Lu Xuechao had studied the Compendium of a Hundred Herbs and discovered that a certain herb native to Yelang might have miraculous efficacy when used as medicine. However, it looked unremarkable; when he drew it for others to find, they only brought back ordinary weeds, forcing him to search personally.

Xie Chongjin needed to preside over the overall situation and could not spare the time to accompany him. The dark guards had also been dispatched on their respective missions. Unable to set his mind at ease, the Emperor had sent a squad of soldiers to protect him.

The soldiers assigned to the mission took great pride in it. His Highness treated them with utmost dedication and even picked herbs for them personally; naturally, they had to protect him well.

Hearing the words “Her Highness the Empress,” Wu Feng’s eyes lit up. An Empress who was also a man—wasn’t that the Empress of Changli?

He had heard that the Empress of Changli possessed extraordinary strategic intellect. During this clash between the two nations, he had contributed significantly to Changli’s plans. Emperor Jin Chao of Changli protected him like the apple of his eye; the assassins Wu Feng sent several times had all failed to return.

Xie Chongjin personally acted as Lu Xuechao’s guard, usually resolving assassins before they could even get close, never disturbing Lu Xuechao’s peaceful sleep.

Yet today, the sun had risen from the west—this noble Empress had actually appeared alone in the wild countryside?

Ignoring that squad of escorting soldiers, everyone knew the Emperor and Empress of Changli were normally inseparable.

Wu Feng scrutinized the face of the young man in white; his features were indeed peerlessly breathtaking. Unfortunately, Wu Feng was a straight man with no heart for cherishing beauty. Seeing such a fairy-like figure untainted by dust, and thinking of his own muddy state—which was largely thanks to him—a twisted desire to drag the fairy down from the clouds surged within him.

Truly, Heaven never blocks all roads for a man! If he captured the Empress of Changli, would he still need to worry about being unable to report back and redeem his failure through merit?

This Empress was different from an ordinary decorative consort. Not only was he exceptionally talented and wise, but most importantly, Emperor Jin Chao truly loved him.

Emperors were mostly cold-hearted because love was a flaw—a weakness that those meant for greatness could not afford to have. Yet Emperor Jin Chao had never hidden his weakness.

He never concealed that he loved him; he proclaimed it to the whole world.

Then Wu Feng would seize this weakness and threaten Emperor Jin Chao to withdraw his troops and surrender.

If Emperor Jin Chao refused to withdraw, would this brilliant Empress remain completely devoted to him and continue devising strategies for Changli?

Between the realm and the beauty, no matter which choice he made, Emperor Jin Chao was bound to lose.

Having attained the rank of commander-in-chief, Wu Feng was naturally a skilled martial artist; knocking out that squad of ordinary soldiers would be a trivial task.

Setting his mind, he began to move silently.

…

Lu Xuechao crouched on the ground, carefully distinguishing between various wild plants, finally discovering a subtle difference in one stalk among a cluster of identical-looking weeds.

He plucked the herb and said casually, “Found it. Let’s head back.”

No one behind him responded.

Lu Xuechao’s expression remained unchanged as he discreetly turned the silver bracelet on his wrist.

On his birthday, Qin Yulong had gifted him a self-defense silver bracelet. Xie Chongjin had been secretly jealous over it, sulking that he wore a bracelet given by another man. Yet Xie Chongjin did not say it outright; he simply crafted a better-looking one himself that also served as a self-defense tool, handing it to him casually while saying, “It’s better that I protect my wife myself.”

Just as Lu Xuechao prepared to strike back, a sudden commotion broke out not far away, accompanied by the sound of a search party.

“Has this area been searched yet?”

“The criminal Wu Feng fled to avoid punishment. His Majesty said to kill him on the spot upon capture—search thoroughly, everyone!”

…Emperor Chongxing’s men.

Lu Xuechao’s identity was equally dangerous. With such a disturbance breaking out, a single bracelet of his could not match a fully armed, large force.

Lu Xuechao possessed no martial strength to speak of.

He decided not to meet force with force.

Since that group was searching for Wu Feng, then the person standing behind him right now must be Wu Feng.