Chương 523: Fire

Zhang Fei and Cheng Yaojin reined in their horses, their faces ashen.

The 20, 000 soldiers behind them were all battle-hardened elites. Upon hearing of the rebels' atrocities, their eyes were bloodshot, and they gripped their weapons tightly.

"Pass down the order," Cheng Yaojin's voice was as cold as ice, a stark contrast to his usual jovial demeanor, "The entire army must advance at full speed and reach Pingyu County within one day. Any delay will be punished according to military law."

"General," the adjutant advised, his face showing hesitation, "our army has marched a long distance, and both men and horses are exhausted. The soldiers haven't slept for two days, and the horses can't run anymore. Why not set up camp outside the city for a day to rest before launching the attack? Sharpening the axe won't delay the work!"

"No," Cheng Yaojin shook his head, his tone resolute and brooking no argument.

"Every day we wait, the people of Pingyu County will suffer another day. Every day we wait, who knows how many more families will be torn apart and lives lost."

Moreover, the rebels have just captured Pingyu County, and they will surely become arrogant and complacent, thinking that the court can't do anything to them. This is the perfect opportunity for our army to defeat the enemy.

Opportunity knocks but once, or it will never come again.

He raised his hand and pointed to Pingyu County in the distance, his finger gleaming like a sword in the sunlight:

"Yuan Kai thought that as long as he raised the banner of restoring ancestral systems, he could gain the support of the powerful families and overthrow the new policies. He was wrong. He didn't realize that this world no longer belonged to the powerful families. This world belonged to the common people!"

At dusk that day, the army arrived at the city of Pingyu.

The setting sun was like blood, dyeing half the sky red.

Just as Cheng Yaojin had predicted, Yuan Kai didn't take the imperial army seriously at all.

He was hosting a grand banquet for his guests at the prefectural governor's mansion in Pingyu County. He was completely drunk, with wine jars filling the room and people lying haphazardly on the floor.

Upon hearing that Liu Ce's army had arrived, he smiled contemptuously and sent 50, 000 troops out of the city to meet them, muttering, "So what if they're here? What's the big deal?"

"A rabble." Cheng Yaojin sneered, mounted his horse, drew his sword, its blade gleaming red in the setting sun, and shouted, "Charge! Kill!"

Twenty thousand soldiers descended the mountain like tigers, their battle cries shaking the heavens and earth, instantly shattering the rebel army's formation.

The cavalry were in front, and the infantry were behind, their coordination was seamless.

The 50, 000 rebels collapsed at the first contact; some were killed, some were wounded, and more than half of them were killed or wounded. The rest knelt down and surrendered, throwing their weapons all over the ground.

Some people knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, and cried out, "Grandpa, spare my life!"

Blood flowed like rivers on the battlefield, and cries of agony filled the air.

Cheng Yaojin gave the rebels no chance to catch their breath and immediately ordered an attack on the city.

He rode his horse back and forth around the city, rallying morale: "Brothers! The people in the city are waiting for us! Charge in and save them!"

First came several volleys of arrows, a dense swarm of arrows shooting towards the city walls like locusts, and the rebel soldiers on the walls fell to the ground one after another.

Subsequently, the soldiers erected ladders, bravely scaled the city walls, and swiftly captured the city gate.

Zhang Fei took the lead, wielding his eighteen-foot spear with great skill, causing the defending soldiers to flee at the mere sight of him.

Cheng Yaojin rushed up the city wall and chopped down the rebel leader guarding the gate with an axe.

"Kill them!"

The soldiers surged into the city like a tidal wave, and the street fighting lasted less than half an hour before the rebel army collapsed completely.

Upon hearing the shouts of battle in his residence, Yuan Kai instantly sobered up considerably.

He pushed away the woman in his arms, and without even putting on his armor, he fled in panic with several hundred personal guards, shirtless, without even taking any gold or silver treasures.

They had just run out of the west gate when they ran into the cavalry led by Zhang Fei himself.

Zhang Fei rode his horse like a black lightning bolt.

"Yuan Kai, where do you think you're going!" Zhang Fei shouted, his voice like thunder, startling even Yuan Kai's horse.

He leaped forward on his horse, brandishing his eighteen-foot spear, which gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and aimed straight at Yuan Kai.

Yuan Kai was so frightened that he turned and ran, losing one of his shoes in the process.

Zhang Fei spurred his horse to catch up, raised his spear, and knocked him off his horse. He screamed in agony, and blood splattered five steps away.

With no leader, the rebels laid down their weapons and surrendered, kneeling on the ground.

The entire battle took less than two hours.

After entering the city, Cheng Yaojin immediately ordered: to appease the people, open the granaries to distribute grain, and severely punish the wicked rebels and powerful families.

He ordered the execution of the entire families of more than a dozen prominent clans involved in the rebellion.

Those arrogant and domineering scions of noble families were all taken to the execution ground, crying and begging for mercy; none of them met a good end.

The millions of acres of land confiscated were all distributed to local landless farmers.

The mansions of those aristocratic families were dismantled and used as timber to build houses for ordinary people.

The people cheered and took out their own grain and wine to reward the soldiers.

Some men held a bowl of wine, knelt before the soldiers, and insisted that they drink it.

An elderly farmer with white hair knelt before Cheng Yaojin, tears streaming down his face, snot and sobs flowing freely:

"General, you've finally arrived! Ever since Yuan Kai entered the city, we haven't had a single good day. He stole our grain, kidnapped our daughters, murdered and burned—he committed every imaginable atrocity. But now, thankfully, we can finally survive! Our entire family of seven finally has a way to live!"

Cheng Yaojin helped the old farmer up and said loudly, his voice echoing throughout the entire square:

"Fellow villagers, His Majesty has said that from now on, no one will dare to bully you. With the court and the army here, you can farm in peace and live a good life! If anyone dares to bully you, go and complain to the authorities. If they don't care, come directly to His Majesty in Luoyang!"

"Long live Your Majesty!"

Cheers resounded through the sky, like waves crashing one after another.

News of the suppression of the rebellion in Runan spread throughout the country at lightning speed.

All the powerful families that were still observing fell completely silent, as if someone had grabbed them by the throat.

They finally understood that this new emperor not only had determination, but also ability.

He meant what he said; he killed without hesitation.

Anyone who dares to resist the new policies will suffer the same fate as Yuan Kai: beheaded and their family destroyed.

...

Just as Zhang Fei and Cheng Yaojin were quelling the rebellion in Runan, a strange accident occurred at a cement factory outside Luoyang.

Late at night, a fire broke out in the raw material warehouse of a cement plant.

The flames shot into the sky, illuminating half the heavens, and could be seen from miles away.

The fire burned all night, destroying thousands of kilograms of limestone and coal, and killing two workers on night watch...

Upon receiving the news, Song Yingxing rushed to the scene overnight.

He was riding his horse so fast that he almost fell off.

He looked at the chaotic warehouse and trembled with rage; even his beard shook.

"What's going on?" Song Yingxing asked sharply, his voice particularly jarring in the night.

The cement plant manager said with a mournful face, his voice trembling with tears:

"Sir, we don't know what happened either. The night watchman said that a fire suddenly broke out in the middle of the night, and the fire spread very quickly, so there was no time to put it out. By the time we arrived, it was already burned like this."

"Impossible!" Song Yingxing squatted down and carefully examined the scene, rummaging through the ashes with his hands.

"Unless someone deliberately set the fire and poured igniter on it, it's impossible for it to burn so quickly! Limestone is stone, it can't burn, and coal isn't that easy to ignite either."