newbobooks Chapter 498 Is this the Thunder Gate's Blood Tax? A lucid Lei Mengsha!
Chapter 498 Is this the Thunder Gate's Blood Tax? A lucid Lei Mengsha!
Outside Hanzhong city, at the northern army camp.
It was the third day since news of the defeat in the southwest arrived.
The atmosphere in the camp was as oppressive as an impending storm. Soldiers whispered amongst themselves, officers wore grave expressions, and everyone's gaze frequently drifted towards the central command tent.
There, Lei Mengsha and Xun Yichuan had been discussing matters behind closed doors for two whole hours.
Inside the tent, the candlelight flickered.
Lei Meng slammed his fist on the table, causing the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone to jump around.
"Impossible! Seventh Brother is a brilliant strategist, how could he suffer such a crushing defeat?! Two hundred thousand troops! Even if they couldn't win, they shouldn't have lost more than a tenth of their army!"
Xun Yichuan's face turned pale, and his hand holding the military report trembled slightly: "Meng Sha, the military report was written by Ye Xiaoying himself and sent by express urgency. It can't be fake."
The Prince of Langya was surrounded by Baili Luochen outside Juzhou City. After a fierce battle lasting half a day, his main force of 30,000... only managed to escape with a little over 4,000 men.
"Where's Ye Xiaoying? How's his journey?" Lei Mengsha asked anxiously.
“Even worse.” Xun Yichuan’s voice was hoarse. “When Ironthorn Ridge encountered the drug-using people, the three thousand-strong Double Blade Battalion was almost completely wiped out. Ye Xiaoying himself was seriously injured, and his left arm… may not be salvageable.”
"The drug man..." Lei Meng slumped back into his chair, his eyes filled with horror. "That brat Wen Yanzhao, he really refined that evil object..."
The two were relatively speechless.
The tent was deathly silent, with only the crackling of the burning candlelight.
After a long silence, Lei Mengsha finally spoke slowly: "Old Xun, what do you think... should we do now? Continue the siege of Hanzhong? Or..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Xun Yichuan understood.
With the main force in the southwest defeated and Ye Xiaoying seriously injured, their detachment was isolated and there was no point in continuing the siege.
Furthermore, if the Hanzhong garrison learns of this and seizes the opportunity to launch a counterattack, their exhausted army may very well suffer the same fate as Ye Xiaoying.
"Let's withdraw our troops," Xun Yichuan sighed. "We'll retreat to Ezhou, join forces with the remnants of the Prince of Langya's army, and then devise a plan for the future."
Lei Mengsha gritted his teeth: "But we've besieged Hanzhong for many days, suffering heavy losses, and we're just going to slink away like this?"
"If we don't leave, are we just waiting to die?" Xun Yichuan smiled bitterly. "Meng Sha, I know you're unwilling. But the tide has turned, and if we keep fighting, more brothers will die in vain."
Lei Mengsha clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm, drawing out traces of blood.
He certainly understood that Xun Yichuan was right.
But he just wouldn't give in!
Just then, a soldier outside the tent urgently reported: "General! A group of men has arrived outside the camp, carrying the banner of Lei Family Fort. The leader claims to be Lei Yunhe, saying that they have been ordered to come and assist in the battle!"
"Yun He?" Lei Mengsha was taken aback, then abruptly stood up. "Why is he here? By imperial decree? By what decree?"
Xun Yichuan also frowned deeply: "Doesn't the Lei Sect have an ancestral precept of 'not joining the army, not getting involved in court politics'? Why would they suddenly come here by imperial decree?"
The two looked at each other and saw doubt and unease in each other's eyes.
"Please let them in!" Lei Mengsha said in a deep voice.
A moment later, the curtain was lifted.
Lei Yunhe, Lei Hong, Lei Xiaoyu and other disciples of the Lei Clan filed in, a group of more than ten people, all covered in dust, but with sharp eyes and a calm demeanor.
"Yunhe greets Senior Brother Mengsha!" Lei Yunhe clasped his hands in greeting first, his expression complex.
Lei Meng rushed forward and grabbed his shoulder: "Yun He, why are you here? Lei Men never gets involved in court affairs, and Uncle... he even said he was acting on imperial orders, what exactly is going on?"
Lei Yunhe smiled wryly, took out a scroll of bright yellow imperial edict from his bosom, and presented it with both hands: "Senior brother, please take a look!"
Lei Mengsha accepted the imperial edict and began to read it carefully.
The more he looked, the uglier his expression became.
When he saw the words "The head of the Lei family, Lei Hong, is hereby granted the title of Marquis Jinglei and bestowed with a certificate of merit and iron," his hand trembled, and the imperial edict almost slipped from his grasp.
"This...this is His Majesty's will?" He looked up at Lei Yunhe, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Yes." Lei Yunhe nodded, his voice low. "The Shadow Sect Master, Yi Bu, personally went to Jiangnan to deliver the imperial decree, and the Patriarch... accepted it."
"Foolish!" Lei Mengsha blurted out, "How can the Lei Clan's century-old ancestral precepts be broken by a single imperial edict? Besides, this title... it's clearly the court trying to drag the Lei Clan down to deal with the Wen family's medicine people!"
Lei Hong spoke up from the side: "Meng Sha, the patriarch has no choice. The imperial decree has been issued, and if we do not accept it, it will be considered disobeying the imperial decree. Although Lei Clan is large, it is still under the rule of the imperial court. This crime... cannot be borne."
Lei Xiaoyu, young and impetuous, couldn't help but interject, "Cousin, I think this is a good thing!"
The imperial court bestowed titles upon the Lei Clan, bringing glory to their lineage and forever elevating them from mere outlaws of the martial world. Moreover, the evil art of poisoning people harms the world; our Lei Clan uses thunder and fire to counteract it, thus eliminating a scourge for the people!
"What do you know!" Lei Mengsha shouted sharply, "Are you saying that medicine people are so easy to deal with? Ye Xiaoying's three thousand double-sword battalion was almost completely wiped out in Ironthorn Ridge!"
"No matter how elite the Lei Men disciples are, how much stronger can they be than the Double Blade Battalion?"
He paused, his voice trembling: "This title... was earned with blood and flesh! The court is sending Lei Men to fill the void, to consume the medicine people, while they reap the benefits!"
For us, the Rai-mon sect, this is a blood tax paid to the imperial court!
The tent fell silent for a moment. When Xun Yichuan heard the words "blood tax," he felt a deep sorrow in his heart.
Although he wasn't a member of the Thunder Gate, he could still see everything clearly as an observer.
The disciples of Lei Men looked at each other in bewilderment. Before they came, they only thought about making achievements and bringing glory to their family. They had never thought of these things.
Lei Yunhe remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Meng Sha, things have come to this point, there's no point in saying more."
The patriarch sent us here for two reasons: first, to assist in the battle, and second... to have you take good care of the Lei Clan members while you're in the army.
He looked at Lei Mengsha with earnest eyes: "The patriarch said that Leimen came here only to uphold the name of loyalty and righteousness, not to fight to the death. If we really encounter the medicine man... our priority is to protect ourselves."
Lei Mengsha felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this.
It seems that Uncle Lei Luoshi was not confused. He accepted the imperial decree out of necessity, but he also left himself a way out.
He took a deep breath to calm himself and said to the Lei Men members, "Since you're here, stay in the camp for now. The situation in the southwest... has changed."
He briefly recounted Xiao Ruofeng's crushing defeat and Ye Xiaoying's serious injury.
Upon hearing this, everyone from Lei Men turned pale.
Lei Xiaoyu blurted out, "The Prince of Langya has lost? Then... then what are we supposed to do fighting?"
“That’s the problem,” Xun Yichuan continued. “Our main force has been defeated, and our detachment is isolated outside. Attacking the city is pointless. Meng Sha and I are discussing the withdrawal.”
Lei Yunhe frowned: "Withdraw the troops? But we've only just arrived..."
"We have to retreat even if we get there!" Lei Mengsha said decisively. "If we don't retreat now, once the garrison in Hanzhong finds out and launches a counterattack, we won't be able to leave even if we want to!"
He looked at the Lei Men members and said, “You’ve come at the right time. Retreat back to Ezhou with the army. Remember, this journey is fraught with danger. Stay close to the main force and do not act on your own.”
The members of Leimen responded in unison.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the tent.
……