A lowly soldier becomes king, I slaughter my way through the late Tang Dynasty!

Inside Taizhou City.

Several braziers warmed the room as if it were springtime.

The Khitan emperor Yelü Deguang sat high above, with four people sitting on each side.

Among a group of bald heads reflecting the firelight, only one person had a Han Chinese-style hairstyle.

His name is Zhao Yanshou.

This man was originally the military governor of Lulong Army of the Later Tang Dynasty, but later surrendered to the Khitan.

When Yelü Deguang marched south this time, Zhao Yanshou was the commander of the vanguard.

He was especially forceful when he beat Han Chinese!

Because Yelü Deguang promised him that as long as he conquered the Central Plains, he would make him the emperor of the Central Plains.

"Your Majesty, Du Chongwei is cowardly and timid, only knowing how to greedily amass wealth. He is completely ignorant of military affairs. Now is the perfect opportunity for us to annihilate the Jin Kingdom in one fell swoop!"

Excitement gleamed in Zhao Yanshou's eyes.

Once Du Chongwei's army is destroyed, the Jin state will be powerless to fight again.

At that time, he will be able to become the emperor of the Central Plains under the investiture of Yelü Deguang!

Yelü Deguang smiled, a hint of mockery in his narrow eyes.

"Yanshou, don't worry. Although the Jin army has been fleeing in disarray, our army is also exhausted and needs to rest."

After he finished speaking, Yelü Jieli, the commander of the Khitan Pishi army, also nodded.

"That's right, and there's also a Manchu city next to Taizhou City, with who knows how many Jin soldiers are inside. We have to wipe them out first!"

Otherwise, if we engage in a decisive battle with the Jin army, and they launch a surprise attack on our rear, it could easily cause chaos.

Zhao Yanshou gave a forced smile and said dismissively.

"General Jie Li, how many Jin troops could there be in that small Mancheng? At most two thousand! I'm afraid Du Chongwei ran too fast and left them behind."

Yelü Jieli thought about it briefly and agreed that it made sense.

After all, with a full 80,000 iron cavalry here, what kind of waves could a small city like Mancheng possibly make?

Seeing that his two trusted generals had said so, Yelü Deguang naturally concluded that Mancheng posed no threat.

"However, I remember a saying from the Central Plains: 'How can one allow others to snore beside one's bed?' No matter how small the city is, it is still a thorn in one's side, and it cannot be left unremoved."

Zhao Yanshou quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

"Your Majesty is right. I have already sent Xiao Pudu with five thousand cavalry to attack Mancheng. The city should have been breached by now."

"Xiao Pudu? I remember him. He's the chieftain of the Chuli tribe among the Six Xi tribes, isn't he?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Hmm~ Xiao Pudu is a brave warrior in battle, a rare hero in the Chu Li tribe."

"Your Majesty, there are at most two thousand Jin soldiers in the city. Chief Xiao Pudu is leading five thousand iron cavalry. He will surely bring you good news without any risk."

Yelü Deguang was very pleased upon hearing this.

The other Khitan generals nodded in agreement, none of them doubting these words.

Their attention was entirely focused on the main force of the Jin army, and Mancheng was not yet worthy of their attention as Khitan leaders.

It was in the early hours of the morning.

Yelü Deguang was already asleep.

suddenly!

A series of hurried footsteps approached.

The emperor's personal guards standing at the door stopped the person and glanced at the urgent military intelligence that had been delivered.

Then, his expression suddenly changed!

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Yelü Deguang was awakened by the noise, his brows furrowed, and he opened his eyes and scolded.

"What is it!"

"Your Majesty, urgent military news! Xiao Pudu has been killed in battle, and the five thousand cavalry of Chuli have scattered. Only about two thousand have been found so far."

Boom!

In the pitch-black night, a clap of thunder exploded at just the right moment.

Yelü Deguang sat up abruptly from the bed, his narrow eyes filled with fury!

He questioned her almost through gritted teeth.

"What did you say?!"

The guards dared not say anything more and instead offered their gratitude with clasped hands.

Yelü Deguang read it himself and was immediately enraged!

"Damn it! What a disgrace! Where is Zhao Yanshou? Tell Zhao Yanshou to get over here!!"

……

"What exactly happened?"

Zhao Yanshou rushed over in a panic, not even having time to tie his hair or put on his shoes.

Accompanying him were Yelü Jieli, Yelü Anduan, and Yelü Balide.

The four looked at each other, completely bewildered.

Yelü Deguang finished dressing, his face icy cold, and stared intently at Zhao Yanshou.

The latter shivered violently and hurriedly said...

"May I ask, Your Majesty, what has happened?"

Yelü Deguang said coldly.

"Mancheng, who will you send to attack?"

Zhao Yanshou was completely baffled and replied.

"Xiao Pudu, I've already said that before."

Yelü Deguang sneered.

"Can you win?"

Zhao Yanshou was even more bewildered.

"We can win... right? There shouldn't be too many enemy troops in the city, Xiao Pudu should be able to..."

"should!?"

Before Zhao Yanshou could finish speaking, Yelü Deguang angrily interrupted him.

It would be foolish to still not be able to guess what happened at this point.

A look of disbelief flashed across Zhao Yanshou's face, and he quickly knelt down to apologize.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty! I gave the wrong order. However, I do not know how Xiao Pudu was defeated, or how many of his five thousand cavalrymen were lost. I beg Your Majesty to enlighten me."

As he spoke, Yelü Jieli also spoke up.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Xiao Pudu's attack on the city failed; it should only be a minor defeat that will not affect the overall situation."

Yelü Balide also waved his hand.

"Xiao Pudu is a good-for-nothing! He can't even take the entire city. Send him first thing tomorrow morning, and he'll definitely conquer it within an hour!"

Seeing that his generals were clearly underestimating their enemy, Yelü Deguang was furious.

"Come and see for yourself!"

He threw the battle report hard on the ground.

Zhao Yanshou reached out and picked it up, but after only a few glances, he screamed in horror!

"How is this possible!?"

Three Khitan generals surnamed Yelü behind him quickly stepped forward and squeezed together to watch.

Yelü Jieli's eyes widened in surprise.

"Xiao Pudu is dead?"

Yelü Balide scratched his head in exasperation!

"Five thousand cavalry! How come only a little over two thousand returned? How the hell did they fight this battle?"

Even Yelü Anduan, who was usually low-key and composed, couldn't help but curse at this moment.

"Shili Bi! Shameful!"

Zhao Yanshou stared wide-eyed, flipping through the battle report several times, still speechless with astonishment.

"This...this..."

The four top Khitan generals looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

There's nothing we can do; this battle is just too damn humiliating!

It doesn't matter if Xiao Pudu dies, or if only two thousand of the five thousand iron cavalry return.

The Khitan were a large and powerful nation, and they didn't care about such a small loss.

But the key point is...

You can lose, but you can't lose in such a humiliating way!

Xiao Pudu, a dignified tribal chief, was in the tent of his own 5,000 iron cavalry guards.

He was actually stabbed through the neck by a spear by an unknown general from the state of Jin!

Their heads were chopped off, and their banners were confiscated. They've lost all face!

Then there are the five thousand iron cavalry.

Bullshit iron cavalry!

From the moment he was ambushed until he fled for his life, he didn't even see how many Jin soldiers there were!

When many people escaped back, they had no weapons or armor, and they didn't even have time to put on their clothes!

All he had was a horse.

In short, from the commander to the soldiers, this battle can be summed up in two words.

Lose your face!

If Yelü Deguang hadn't personally led the expedition, this defeat wouldn't have been so bad.

But he, the dignified Khitan emperor, personally took command at the front lines.

As a result, the chieftain under his command suffered such an absurd and crushing defeat.

Don't I have any dignity?!

Yelü Deguang was furious and cursed.

"What are you standing there for? Go and investigate! Before sunrise, I need to know how many men this Jin army has and who their commander is!"

"I want to see what kind of talented people the State of Jin has produced this time!"