You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 82 A Heart Full of Courage

When Chen Shao and his men entered the city, it was already in complete chaos.

The garrison of Youzhou could neither find their general nor their soldiers; fires raged everywhere, and the air was filled with roars and carnage.

The Yanzhou soldiers took the opportunity to plunder.

Standing atop the city wall, Chen Shao was surrounded by a group of personal guards. Their future and wealth depended on Prefect Chen, and he absolutely could not afford to have anything happen to him.

In the darkness of night, the situation is especially difficult to control.

Seeing the city in complete chaos, Chen Shao frowned slightly.

To be honest, he didn't want to see the killing, but at this point, it was indeed inappropriate to forcibly stop it.

Because it's too chaotic.

He leaned on his sword, one foot planted on the low wall of the city gate, and shouted:

"Old Master Meizang, send men to occupy the east and west city gates. Cui Lin, take your troops to the Youzhou government office, secure all confidential documents, and search for the seals and command flags. Yang Tong, tell your men to stop killing indiscriminately and quickly seize the government granary and granary. I will reward those who have contributed tomorrow!"

"I will use half of the city's treasury to reward those who have rendered meritorious service this time. The people of Youzhou are now mine, and no one is allowed to kill them indiscriminately. In this day and age, people are more valuable than cattle and sheep. Anyone who kills one of my people will have to pay with their life."

Chen Shao used both kindness and force, demanding that each unit restrain its soldiers and end the chaos as soon as possible.

He needed to quickly take control of Youzhou City, which was more complicated than Yanzhou and could not afford any mistakes.

Because of his recent killings and rising power, coupled with his victories and prestige, his subordinates dared not outwardly comply but inwardly defy him, fearing they would be made an example of.

Fortunately, they usually acted like patriarchs, and they enjoyed high prestige within the tribe. Moreover, Chen Shao said he would bestow half of the city's treasury upon them as a reward.

Everyone believed him, and the chaos gradually subsided. Although the city was not completely quiet, at least there were no more murderers or arsonists.

Then Chen Shao sent men to arrest all the families in the city whose houses were the largest and most luxurious.

They used soldiers to lead them, carrying flags, and swept through the city to eliminate the remaining resistance forces, shouting to gather troops along the way.

Many of the Youzhou soldiers who had not escaped and were fighting in scattered locations gathered around the banners of their superiors, waiting to surrender.

Outside the city, Han Shizhong and his brother Pang Ge were chasing Li Zongyao.

Li is the royal surname of the Western Xia Dynasty. Li Yaozong did indeed have some Western Xia royal blood, but by his generation, the blood ties with the royal family of Xingqing Prefecture had become very weak.

"Ah!" A scream rang out as a soldier beside him suddenly fell from his horse and collapsed to the ground. Li Zongyao was shocked and ordered his personal guards to protect him.

On the flat grassland, there wasn't a single bunker in sight.

If they keep trying to escape like this, they'll eventually be shot down and caught.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The shouts rose and fell, terrifying him.

As the enemy drew closer, Han Shizhong sneered inwardly. Unable to display his flags in the dark and unable to use drums and music to signal his troops in the haste of the pursuit, he immediately used torches to signal his troops to form a ring around the enemy and prevent any from escaping. Meanwhile, his own troops dispersed and surged forward like a flood towards the Western Xia soldiers.

Seeing that escape was hopeless, Li Zongyao had no choice but to resort to his old trick. Suddenly, he pulled on the reins, drew his sword, and shouted, "I would rather die in battle than surrender! Dongyang Sheng, you lead the troops back!"

Dongyang Sheng had been holding back his anger for a whole day, and at this moment, his anger reached its peak.

This incompetent fool not only caused the deaths of countless soldiers, but also abandoned Youzhou and fled for his own life. First, he sent Weiming Litong to his death, and now he wants to go himself.

Staying behind to hold off the pursuers at this point is tantamount to risking one's life to buy this cowardly man time to escape.

He shouted and spurred his horse on the flank, saying, "The enemy is hot on our heels. To hold them off, we need something to defend ourselves!"

"Good, good, well done! I knew the warriors of the Dongyang tribe were the most loyal and brave. Tell me what you want! I'll give you whatever you want!"

"I'll borrow your head!"

Dongyang Sheng swung his blade fiercely, severing half of Li Yaozong's head, which hung suspended from his neck. Dongyang Sheng then struck again—
"Chen Shao broke through Youzhou City, and Li Zongyao, the garrison commander of Youzhou, abandoned the city and fled. Han Shizhong pursued him. Dongyang Sheng, a member of the Dongyang clan of Hengshan, abandoned Xia and joined Song. He killed Li Zongyao, the garrison commander of Youzhou, and led his people to surrender." Inside the tent, you could hear a pin drop.

Zhong Shidao didn't need to look at a map at all; he knew the terrain of Yanzhou and Youzhou perfectly well.

"Where did this message come from? Has its authenticity been verified?" Zhong Shizhong stood up and asked the messenger captain.

After Zhong Shizhong finished shouting, the messenger captain did not answer; such a question was actually meaningless.

Such military achievements have no need to be exaggerated; otherwise, it would be risking one's life to challenge military law.

But the fact is so hard to accept.

They were judging others by their own petty standards. In the past few days, Xiao Zhong had been secretly thinking and sneering, wondering how anxious Chen Shao must be, with his Zhong family army remaining inactive and hiding in the city waiting to seize credit.

Since leaving Hengshan, they hadn't fought a single major battle. They originally planned to rest for another three to seven days before discussing the specifics of their advance.

In this situation, even if one were to scoop up all the water from the three rivers, it would be impossible to wash away the shame!

The people in the tent were no longer relaxed as before; they all had blank faces and didn't know what to say.

There is another point, which they are most reluctant to mention, that is, among Chen Shao's achievements, there is a dazzling name - Han Shizhong.

Those were veterans in their Western Army, who had made countless contributions, yet they hadn't even been promoted to captain.

The reason is obvious to everyone.
Now that he's under Chen Shao's command, in just a few months he'll be famous throughout the land, a slap in the face to the Western Army.

Putting aside other issues, the Western Army's reputation for burying talent and appointing relatives and cronies is something it can never shake off.

Zhong Shidao also fell silent. He had always prided himself on being a skilled warrior and loyal, but he never expected that while he was scheming against each other, someone else was fighting to the death.

Will people eventually become the kind of person they hate the most?

Zhong Shidao couldn't help but reflect on how Tong Guan had blatantly sown discord among the Western Army and controlled the various military families in Shaanxi since he came to the Northwest.

He seemed to be caught in a vicious cycle.

He began a constant battle of wits with Tong Guan.

At first, he still considered the interests of the country and the people, and when faced with matters that would harm the Song Dynasty, he would grit his teeth and make concessions to Tong Guan.

However, as the battles continued for more than a decade, everyone gradually abandoned their bottom lines.

Just like when Richard attacked before, he secretly instructed that all the generals in Shaanxi, except for Liu Yanqing who was determined to follow Tong Guan, should remain inactive.

As a result, Tong Guan refused to send troops to fight Richard first.

In the end, it was Chen Shao who, with several thousand defeated soldiers, managed to hold off Richard for seven days.

Seven days!

Zhong Shidao was a veteran of countless battles; how could he not understand the significance of these seven days?

If Chen Shao hadn't held them off, and Richard had stormed in, wouldn't it have been the people of Shaanxi who had died?

If I had known in my youth that some people, in their struggle for power, allowed foreign tribes to enter the pass and slaughter the people of the Song Dynasty, I probably would have been furious and drawn my sword!

Time flies, and Xiao Zhong and I are no longer as brave and spirited as we were in our youth, but in this world, there will always be young people with a heart full of courage.

Just as an odd silence fell over Old Zhong's tent, a personal guard entered from outside, clasped his hands, and said, "Youzhou has sent someone to request an audience outside the tent."

Old Zhong nodded. "Bring him in."

The man who came was a personal guard under Han Shizhong. He was originally a member of the Western Army. He had some respect for Old Zhong and respectfully clasped his hands and said, "Old Zhong, my prefect wants to advance eastward to take Hongzhou and Longzhou. I hope that the Zhong family army will send troops at the same time to support each other and make it difficult for the Xia bandits to deal with both ends."

(End of this chapter)