C197

All the ten pens around Xuanyuan Zilong began to laugh loudly as if they were all looking at a joke. Everyone pointed at Li Kui while laughing. Some of the more exaggerated ones were already laughing heartily.

It had to be said that Sad Breeze had temporarily ruined most of Li Kui's and his Lieutenant General's minds, and so even now, they still didn't know what was going on. When they saw the surrounding soldiers laughing, they could not help but point furiously, "What are you laughing at? If you keep laughing, you'll be punished by military law." Li Kui shouted when he saw the soldiers.

However, the aide-de-camp beside him seemed to have recovered from his shock. His face was pale with fright, and he carefully pulled Li Kui along. "General ?"

"What are you doing, cowering?" Li Kui looked at the adjutant with distaste, dissatisfied with his appearance.

"General ? we ?" We seem to have been captured ? "

Li Kui's expression froze as he stared at the aide in a daze. "Do you know what you're saying?"

"We've been captured ? Hmm, we've been captured alive ?" At this moment, he finally realized the situation he was in.

"Now I'll ask you questions, you guys just answer honestly. The one that answers slowly, I'll cut off one of your fingers, and if you guys can't get five questions in a row, I'll cut off one of your hands, do you understand?" Xuanyuan Zilong looked at Li Kui and his aide with a smile on his face, but to Li Kui and his aide-de-camp, he looked like a devil from hell.

"I am a noble of the Blackwater Empire, and I am a first tier duke. You absolutely cannot do such a thing to a duke like me!" Li Kui shouted.

"I didn't ask you to open your mouth, but you did. Ye Xu, go cut off one of his fingers." Xuanyuan Zilong did not want to speak any more nonsense. Not to mention a small Duke of the Empire, even an emperor was just trash in front of him.

"Yes, General." Ye Xu had already drawn his blade and walked forward. At this moment, he naturally would not oppose Xuanyuan Zilong's order.

Li Kui had already been pinned to the ground by five soldiers. "Let me go, let me go ? If you dare to touch me, I'll ? take you, I ?" A terrible scream resounded across the vast field. Ye Xu had cut off Li Kui's pinky.

The aide-de-camp by the side was drenched in cold sweat as he looked somewhat panickedly at Xuanyuan Zilong.

"What's your name?" Xuanyuan Zilong asked.

"Li Yi!" The aide-de-camp said hurriedly. At the moment, Li Kui was still wailing in pain.

Just like that, he was about to cut off this general's finger again. However, he had learned his lesson this time, so after a slight hesitation, he immediately stepped forward, raising his blade and bringing it down.

"Ah ?" Li Yi, you slut ? " Li Kui cursed.

"Shut up. If you don't get the next question, your arm will be gone." A cruel smile appeared on Xuanyuan Zilong's face.

Li Kui's forehead was already drenched in cold sweat. His lips were trembling in pain, but he did not dare to make a single sound.

"Are you leading an army of ten million just to stop us?" Xuanyuan Zilong asked.

Li Kui and his aide-de-camp were both stunned. That was because this issue was related to the military. If it could be said that they were betraying the country, then it would mean that they were betraying the country.

"No." Li Kui gritted his teeth and harrumphed, "Since the allied army didn't have enough fodder, the tens of millions of soldiers of the Blackwater Empire that I led were sent out by the Allied Generals to loot the cities along the way and provide the allied army with sufficient foodstuffs."

This time, Ye Xu did not wait for Xuanyuan Zilong's order and had already walked in front of the aide. He raised his blade and cut down the aide's finger, the aide holding his right hand and with fresh blood seeping through the gaps between his fingers, Li Kui looked at the aide's expression and felt that he had become a lot more balanced.

"How did you know we were coming here, and yet you set up an ambush for us in Eastriver City?" Xuanyuan Zilong asked again.

"Because we had sent spies to Huai An City where you had settled down earlier, we guessed your goal, and so we ambushed the city you were likely to settle in in East River City." The aide-de-camp spoke first.

Ye Xu would not hesitate any longer and raised his hand, and his blade would fall. The following intense fight had already caused the two of them to lose the last bit of consideration they had for the answers, and they could say as much as they wanted.

Poor Duke Li Kui only had three fingers on his left hand. His entire life could be considered as crippled, and even if he safely returned to the country, he would most likely be stripped of his title and would then be left with a miserable life.

"Lord, please let me follow by your side. I know the situation of the allied army like the back of my hand and can provide you with a lot of information that your scouts cannot understand." The aide suddenly said.

Apparently, he was smarter than Li Kui, because he had already guessed that now that he had betrayed his empire, the only thing he could do now was to rely on the enemy. Only by making a meritorious contribution to the enemy could he escape the punishment of his own country.

Of course, he did not need to worry about being used up and discarded, because if this kind of surrender was accepted, it would be equivalent to a contract. If the agreement was broken, it would also be taken into account by others.

In addition, compared to his own subordinates, this kind of traitor was easier to control because if he betrayed him again, then there really would be no place for him in the world. It was also because of this that, in the clash between two countries, there would always be many traitors afterwards, becoming nobles of other countries.

"Lord, I am also willing to rely on you." Li Kui was unwilling to be outdone. This was because he had quickly figured out the relationship between the two parties. Returning meant death, and if he didn't return, he would still have a slim chance of survival.

However, a high official like Li Kui might have been able to save his life, but he had betrayed his empire and his family. His family might have been implicated and turned into commoners or even slaves.

"My lord, the information I possess is definitely not information that can be obtained by others. Please accept my surrender!" Li Kui sincerely looked at Xuanyuan Zilong.

"Good, as long as you sincerely pledge your loyalty, I will report to our Emperor that we will let bygones be bygones. Moreover, as long as you do great deeds, there will naturally be benefits for you." Xuanyuan Zilong casually said as he glanced at the two of them.

As for the surrender of others, although Xuanyuan Zilong did not really like them, he would not reject them either. After all, they did indeed have value in using them, and as for whether or not they could truly obtain the title of nobility in the Great Zhou Empire, that was not something Xuanyuan Zilong should be concerned about.

However, Xuanyuan Zilong's harvest this time was merely the annihilation of tens of millions of troops. The bigger gain was the two traitors, Li Kui and Li Yi, as well as the large amount of food and items that he had obtained. Xuanyuan felt that Senior was right: War was indeed a good opportunity to make a fortune, but that was only if you win the battle.

But from the two traitor's mouths, Xuanyuan Zilong even more so received shocking news, even to the extent of making people feel despair. Of course, that was only for other generals.

The army that entered the Great Zhou Empire this time was not just forty million, but eighty million. However, the real forty million army had always been behind the forty million strong army, and they had never attacked the city, which was why it was such an illusion.

Even Li Yi, as his aide, did not know of this news. Among the three allied armies, only the generals of several empires and their generals as well as their marshals knew of it. If it were not for Li Kui's words, perhaps even Xuanyuan Zilong would not have been able to guess the truth.

However, there was a bit of excitement on his face. Helplessly, he had originally thought that the annihilation of over ten million troops had already given the allied army of the three nations a huge blow, but he hadn't thought that entering the Great Zhou Empire would result in an extra forty million troops. Even after exterminating over ten million troops, the three thousand allied army still numbered seventy million, and it could be said that they were not even injured in the slightest.

As for his excitement, Xuanyuan Zilong had never once thought of losing this battle because if he really couldn't win, he definitely wouldn't mind using any means possible, so these eighty million people were actually stepping stones for him to gain glory. As for whether he was cruel or not, hehe, this world is always so cruel.

One day later, in the palace, Mei Niang's expression was unsettled. Other than Wu Mu and Huo Quou, all of the ministers in the court lowered their heads, not daring to open their mouths. They were all wondering if His Majesty had received any bad news.

"Your Majesty, have you received any news from the front lines?" Prime Minister Li finally asked.

"General Xuanyuan Zilong, at the front lines, sent two messages." Prime Minister Li's heart thumped as he thought to himself, Could it be that the three million army has already been annihilated and is requesting reinforcements from the Imperial City?

Every courtier's heart was in turmoil as they stared at Mei Niang.

"Xuanyuan Zilong led three million troops and annihilated tens of millions of Blackwater Empire's troops." However, the joy in his words was still very obvious. It was just that he did not know if he was happy for the Great Zhou Empire or his own master.

"Huala!" Everyone in the imperial court cried out in alarm. Prime Minister Li sucked in a breath of cold air. "How is this possible ?"

"He did not waste a single soldier. Not only did he destroy tens of millions of soldiers, he also captured General Li Kui and his deputy." Wu Meiniang said as indifferently as before, but in her heart, she was extremely yearning for her master!

"What ?" Duke Li Kui was actually caught ? " After all, in every empire, although there were quite a few titles, only a few famous dukes were present. Therefore, even if these ministers didn't know who they were, they had heard of one or two names. Now that they heard that Xuanyuan Zilong had actually captured Duke Li Kui alive, they were naturally shocked.

With an army of three million, annihilating an army of ten million was already an almost mystical feat, and even captured the Duke alive. This was practically equivalent to establishing Xuanyuan Zilong's achievement, and as long as he could survive and return, there was no doubt that he would be placed as Duke.

"According to the information obtained from Duke Li Kui, the number of people entering our borders this time isn't forty million, but eighty million. This is double the amount, and excluding the ten million army that Xuanyuan Zilong annihilated, that means we have seventy million people in our territory. Furthermore, the three kingdoms may send more troops at any time." She was worried that her master wouldn't be able to handle it.

Although it was an unexpected surprise for the Great Zhou Empire or herself that Xuanyuan Zilong had destroyed their great army of ten million so quickly, there was still news that made her even more worried.

"Your Majesty, is this news true?" Prime Minister Li asked in shock.

What is there to be uncertain about? Li Kui's ten million army was led by Xuanyuan Zilong because they wanted to loot the grain of the cities. That was why they encountered Xuanyuan Zilong's three million army; otherwise, why do you think they would suddenly stop and attack the cities along the way? Mei Niang said coldly.

He had thought that as long as his master was given an extra million troops, he would have a better chance of defeating those forty million soldiers. After all, that was only a dozen or so of a battle, and with the equipment and pills that his master had given him, there was no problem at all.

"Your Majesty, I wonder if General Xuanyuan Zilong can continue with his original plan?" Prime Minister Li seemed to be thinking about something.

"Of course, I believe that General Xuanyuan Zilong will not disappoint us!" Wu Meiniang's face suddenly broke out into a smile, causing the officials of the imperial court to be unable to recover from their shock for a while. Mei Niang continued to speak, "General Xuanyuan Zilong is the candidate recommended by the two Princes, and he has already easily eliminated tens of millions of enemy troops. We believe that he will definitely complete his mission!"

Wu Meiniang felt that she would not pour cold water on her master. Moreover, she also believed in her master's ability. The reason why she had been worried was because it was inevitable. It was just like how parents would always worry about their children.

"Your Majesty is wise, and the two princes are wise. But since the enemy forces are so large, should we send more reinforcements?" Prime Minister Li flattered.

"We have to discuss this properly ?" Actually, Wu Meiniang was not even prepared to send reinforcements because her master had said that she did not need it. However, she could not tell such things to the ministers, so she had to put on an act!