Chapter Nineteen: Pursuing Victory

"I don't believe it! How could we be defeated so quickly?" Shi Jiulang stared at the scene, his mind teetering on the edge of madness. He had brought over a thousand capable soldiers, yet nearly a hundred had been wiped out in a single volley. Then, a round of cannon fire claimed dozens more.

Now, another volley of musketry tore through them. Before the lines had even clashed, nearly twenty percent of his men were dead. In ancient warfare, the threshold for casualties was exceptionally low. In close-quarters combat, an army could generally only endure ten percent losses before breaking; here, they were at twenty percent. Even Yue Fei would have bled with heartache, let alone Shi Jiulang, who viewed his soldiers as private property.

"Run!" On the other side, Jiang Bu didn't say a word; he simply turned and fled.

Seeing Old Seventeen charging toward him, Shi Jiulang let out a furious roar, instinctively raising his long saber to meet the enemy. Before he could move, he saw the spears of Old Seventeen’s men darting forward like vipers. A moment later, Shi Jiulang felt a sweetness rise in his throat, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

In his final moments, the battlefield before him showed the three thousand rebel troops with nowhere left to resist.

Watching the defeat of Qin Daluo, Shi Jiulang, and Jiang Bu in silence, Li Yan smiled bitterly. "Quickly, send the order to Red Lady and Li Nian... retreat! I and Li Nian will cover the rear!"

*Ding, ding, ding, ding...*

The sound of gongs echoed through the rebel ranks.

Red Lady watched this, unable to believe her eyes. Just a moment ago, it was only the Shandong Brigade commander Liu Zeqing who had retreated without authorization. How had it now become a full-scale rebel withdrawal?

Red Lady had no time to hesitate. Her own subordinates, Li Guogui and Zhao Magan—who had already suffered agonizing losses—shouted frantically, "Red Lady, let's go! Stop fighting! If we keep this up, all our men will be slaughtered!"

"Li Yan’s three thousand men were decimated by musketeers and cannons; they’ve been beaten senseless. If we keep fighting, we’re all doomed! Red Lady, run with us!"

"Hurry! The imperial army is too strong. If we don’t run now, we’ll all be captured!"

Red Lady glared at the right flank, where the remnants of the imperial army were cheering and reforming their lines. She bit her lip hard, staring toward the north at the young man on horseback—the obvious commander of the imperial forces—and etched the face of the man who had defeated her into her memory.

In the distance, Zhu Cilang was observing the battlefield.

After shattering the three thousand rebel infantry, Old Seventeen and Liu Sheng were losing their momentum. Old Seventeen led the remaining hundred-plus cavalry in a sweep, crushing the smaller, still-resisting enemy squads one by one.

Liu Sheng led his four hundred musketeers, swords and shields in hand, to join forces with the thousand-plus infantry under Xu Yanqi. Though they appeared numerically superior to Li Nian’s forces, their combat strength was far greater.

At this moment, Xu Yanqi was covered in wounds and soaked in blood, his strength nearly exhausted. Seeing this, Liu Sheng could only stabilize the formation, distracted by Li Nian’s retreat while simultaneously leading his men in a charge toward Red Lady’s forces.

Faced with this fresh wave of troops, Red Lady finally abandoned the struggle. With a roar and under the cover of Li Nian, she led her remaining forces in a swift retreat to the south.

Before leaving, Zhu Cilang looked over. Red Lady glanced back, fixing her gaze on the official who had dealt her such a crushing defeat!

Seeing Red Lady look back, Zhu Cilang’s eyes brightened slightly. "This female rebel... she really is quite beautiful. However..."

Zhu Cilang squinted and smiled. He then turned and gestured to Liu Quan.

Liu Quan took up a flag and waved it violently.

Another volley rang out. Ten cannons roared toward the retreating rebel formation, tearing three bloody paths through their ranks.

Seeing this, Li Nian could only let out a long sigh. He watched the countless survivors on the battlefield as they frantically escorted Li Yan, Red Lady, and the remnants of their forces south.

"We won..." Zhu Cilang exhaled a long breath, a weight lifting from his chest. "We won! We actually won!"

Liu Sheng helped Xu Yanqi up. Looking at the thick-browed, wide-eyed middle-aged commander, he said excitedly, "We won! We won!"

Xu Yanqi nodded repeatedly, gasping for air, and chuckled softly. "Good... good... as long as we won..."

At that moment, Liu Zhen heard the cheers of victory and collapsed to the ground. Nearby, the soldiers of the right flank also slumped down, crying out, "We won... we won! I... I can finally get some sleep..."

"Medic! Medic!" Seeing this, Liu Sheng hurried over in a panic.

Zhu Cilang watched the scene, busily helping to manage the aftermath. The military physician checked them and sighed with relief, "No fatal wounds. They are truly just exhausted."

Zhu Cilang and Liu Sheng both breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the aftermath of the great victory, Liu Sheng couldn't help but grin foolishly.

Seeing Liu Sheng’s foolish smile, Zhu Cilang shook his head and laughed. "Liu Sheng."

"Here!" Liu Sheng snapped to attention, straightened his posture, and saluted.

Zhu Cilang nodded approvingly. "The cleaning up of the battlefield can be handled by the new troops of the Linqing Camp. You take your men and assemble immediately; I have a new mission for you!"

Liu Sheng’s eyes lit up. "My Lord, are we going to pursue Li Yan, Red Lady, and the rest of the rebels?"

Zhu Cilang smiled. "You guessed half of it right. We are going to chase down the rebels who went after Liu Zeqing!"

When Liu Sheng heard this, his eyes turned bloodshot. As Zhu Cilang’s trump card, his four hundred musketeers had played the decisive role on the battlefield. Liu Sheng had seen the entire sequence of events clearly. He knew exactly what Liu Zeqing, the Shandong commander who had seemed so loyal and brave, had done. Thinking of Liu Zhen’s wounds, the fact that only a thousand of the fifteen hundred men on the right flank remained, and the countless brothers abandoned by Liu Zeqing to die, how could Liu Sheng not be filled with rage?

"I obey! I will make those traitors pay!" Liu Sheng’s voice was low, laced with boundless fury.

Traitors always provoke the deepest hatred.

Zhu Cilang nodded. "Go. But leave me one alive."

Liu Sheng bowed, immediately mustered his four hundred musketeers, and issued the order. Hearing they were to hunt down the traitors, the soldiers were equally fired up and marched north at once.

Clearly, none of them believed that a mere thousand rebels could stand against their momentum.

In fact, Li Yan was decent enough not to forget Wu Yi, the commander who had sided with Red Lady. After issuing the retreat order, he had sent a messenger on a fast horse to inform him.

Consequently, when Liu Sheng arrived at the rear of Wu Yi’s forces—who were still locked in battle with the remnants of the Shandong Brigade—Wu Yi took the opportunity to withdraw, leading the bulk of his men south.

Seeing this, Liu Sheng only pursued briefly. After one rapid volley, he turned his muskets toward the Shandong Brigade’s formation.