Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 816 Happy
He Xing couldn't believe his eyes.

He Tanming is clearly dead.

Cao Jun witnessed He Tan fall into the icy river, but why... is he here?

The surroundings suddenly fell silent, and He Xing could only hear the sound of He Tan's horse hooves.

They came toward him step by step.

He Xing wanted to turn his horse around and escape, but found that he had no strength in his hands. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and his whole body began to tremble.

“He Xing,” He Tan said coldly, “you colluded with the Wuya tribe, plotted to kill me, and then falsely conveyed my military orders in an attempt to create a mutiny. What is your crime?”

"I...I...no," He Xing heard his own voice, "I...I..."

"What? You dare to do it but not admit it?"

He Tan drew closer and closer to him, and the He family soldiers around him were filled with rage in their eyes. Clearly, he was the only one who was kept in the dark.

“The token you gave us was fake,” He Ji said. “We wanted to kill you back then, but for the sake of the bigger picture, we had no choice but to keep you alive until now.”

He Xing's eyes narrowed, and he looked at He Tan: "You...you lied to me?"

He Tan said, "I threw away the token so that you would believe it was real, and that the real token is still with me."

He Xing immediately understood: "So, you've been plotting against me from the very beginning."

“You are the one who plotted against me,” He Tan gripped the long knife in his hand tightly, “colluding with the rebels and harming your own family. This is intolerable under the law.”

He Xing watched as He Tan moved his long knife, and he begged for mercy. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, he felt a lightness on his neck. The next moment, warm blood gushed out, and his head rolled to the ground.

He Tan didn't look at He Xing again and ordered, "All soldiers, listen to my command! The Prince of Qin has usurped the throne and rebelled. You will go with me to tear open the rebel army's throat, safeguard the stability of the northwest border, and then enter the capital to defend the emperor."

"Here."

He Ji, He Heng, and the others responded. The "beatings" they had been enduring for several days had fueled their pent-up anger, and they were just waiting for the moment to unleash it.

"kill!"

……

Umu could faintly hear the sounds of fighting coming from ahead.

"Have they clashed with the He family army?"

The general beside him said, "It should be possible. It shouldn't take more than half an hour to slaughter all those soldiers."

Umu chuckled: "Even if you obediently let us kill you, it will still take some effort. It's not as simple as you make it out to be."

“The He family army is no longer what it used to be,” the general said. “They are like they’ve lost their souls. They’re terrified when they see so many of our troops pressing in.”

“What a pity,” Umu said. “Those soldiers were quite good; if we could have recruited them…”

As he spoke, he vaguely saw cavalry charging back, and Umu was immediately surprised: "The results are out so quickly?"

For his own safety, he did not go forward, but stood in a place where he would not be affected and watched the battle. Now that he saw someone returning, he assumed it was his own troops coming to report the news.

But soon, Umu realized that something was amiss.

Behind the cavalry were many infantrymen who seemed to be fleeing for their lives. Some of them fell down, but they didn't care about the flags they had dropped. They got up and continued to run forward.

"what happened?"

Before Umu could even finish asking the question, he had already grabbed the reins, turned his horse around, and galloped away.

He instructed his generals to investigate before questioning him, but fleeing was his instinct.

Even without looking too closely, Wu Mu knew something was wrong. Whether reinforcements had arrived or they had fallen into He's army's trap was unknown.

Wu Mu headed northeast with practiced ease. If things went wrong, he would make a quick trip back to Da Shun City. Besides, Cao Jun, who had helped him capture He Tan, was also heading this way. If he encountered Cao Jun's troops, he could get Cao Jun to come to his aid and launch a surprise attack.

Umu's choice was correct; he quickly escaped the chaotic battlefield and discovered Cao Jun's approaching troops.

"Umu, where are you going?" Cao Jun's face showed a look of surprise. "Is the battle with He Tan's troops over?"

Umu picked up the water pouch and took a few gulps before saying, "We were about to win, but something unexpected happened halfway through. I... came here specifically to deliver this message to you."

Cao Jun frowned: "Is the He family army still this powerful even without He Tan?" Wu Mu dared not tell the truth, knowing that just a moment ago he had boasted, but in the blink of an eye he saw the troops who had fled back.

"General Wu, don't worry," Cao Jun turned to look behind him, "I've brought these elite troops, which will surely help you take down the He family army. Now let's go and see what's going on?"

Wu Mu was naturally happy to do so. Running back to Da Shun City alone would surely be a huge loss of face, but now that Cao Jun was going with him, they were sure to turn the situation around.

"I'll show you the way."

Umu led the way, with Cao Jun beside him. The two didn't talk much, only wanting to get there as quickly as possible.

Not long after they turned back, Wumu saw the Wuya tribe's troops who had fled back.

"Where to go?"

At Umu's shout, the routed soldiers immediately knelt down.

"How could you be defeated so quickly when we ordered you to besiege He's army?"

One of the military leaders said, "That He family army...they..."

Umu frowned even more deeply: "Speak."

The military leader then said, "He...He Tan is not dead...He has led the He family army to attack."

Umu was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he turned to look at Cao Jun, but he did not see the same look of surprise on Cao Jun's face.

When He Tan escaped from the mountain, Cao Jun led his troops to the scene first. Cao Jun then witnessed He Tan fall into the water. If what Cao Jun said is true, He Tan could not have survived.

Umu wasn't stupid; he quickly figured it out and began trying to distance himself from Cao Jun. Surprisingly, a smile appeared on Cao Jun's face.

“You let He Tan go, but you lied to us and said that He Tan was dead.”

Cao Jun watched as He Tan escaped across the river. The ice bed had been prepared long ago to get rid of Wu Mu and the others.

Without Cao Jun giving any orders, the troops he brought surrounded Wu Mu and his men.

“You actually betrayed your employer,” Wu Mu said. “Have you forgotten that the Cao family was harmed by the He family? He Tan is your enemy.”

Cao Jun said coldly, "My coming to Dashun City was arranged by Wang Yan and He Tan. If our Cao family hadn't had a grudge against the He family, you wouldn't have trusted me so much."

Umu felt a chill run through him, and fear gripped his heart: "You knew all along that we were the master's people?"

Cao Jun said, "I don't know... I mean, I don't know." But Wang Yan and He Tan must know.

Wang Yan was able to persuade him to come because he saw that the Cao family had only made a mistake in a moment of confusion, and that if they could make a contribution, the Cao family could return to what they were before.

To put it bluntly, his situation was similar to He Xing's, except that he chose a different path.

This is also what Cao Jun admires about the He family; they don't protect the He family members when they make mistakes.

The sound of horses' hooves grew closer and closer. Wu Mu subconsciously looked over and saw a large banner with the character "He" fluttering in the wind. He Tan had arrived.

At the last moment, Wu Mu was slightly stronger than He Xing and still had the courage to draw his blade and fight. However, his skills were really not good. Before He Tan could get close, Wu Mu was killed by Cao Jun.

Cao Jun looked at He Tan: "What's the next step?"

He Tan said, "First, take Da Shun City, kill the guards, reorganize the remaining troops, and head south to continue quelling the rebellion."

The soldiers in Da Shun City were unaware of the truth and were simply following their commander's orders.

After killing the prison guards, He Tan and Cao Jun, with their reputations, would naturally be able to command and control the soldiers.

Cao Jun said, "Besides Da Shun City, many officials and generals have also defected to our master." He had learned a lot of information these days and had roughly figured out our master's current military strength in the Northwest.

"Putting everything else aside, it's probably difficult to get much military supplies."

Even if we have to rob them, we have to let them find it first. Along the way, we can manage to feed the people and horses, but we probably won't be able to get weapons.

He Tan looked at Cao Jun: "Don't worry, someone has prepared in advance. If all goes well, reinforcements should come."

Cao Jun was immediately delighted: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's stay in Dashun City tonight."

(End of this chapter)