Chapter 152.2: Hello Chang'an
Chapter 152.2
Seeing the chaos in the army, Li Yi gritted his teeth in fury.
This was one of the reasons he had to kill Chang Kuo!
If he and Chang Kuo had swapped positions today, there would never have been such disorder!
The hearts of these soldiers were crooked; they did not trust him and had never truly regarded him as their commander!
Amid the chaos, he ordered the command flag to be raised, attempting to steady their minds.
After all, he held the numerical advantage. Though there was infighting within the army, the situation would not be lost immediately.
Moreover, with a full sixty thousand troops, Chang Kuo’s words could not possibly reach every ear. Many soldiers behind still did not know what had happened and could only follow the waving command flag, charging forward.
Taking advantage of this gap, Li Yi swapped his armor with a personal guard to confuse the enemy, then slipped away from the rear with two advisors and a small group of trusted men.
Li Yi sat on horseback, his heart pounding as if it would leap out of his chest.
Earlier, his display of attacking the enemy had been purely to deceive the soldiers.
Facing Chang Kuo, he knew he had little chance of victory—how could he risk his life!
When it was time to let go, he would let go. Let them fight among themselves as long as they liked; the longer the better. Even a sixty-thousand-strong army, as valuable as it was, could not match his life!
Abandoning this sixty-thousand army, he still had eighty thousand ahead.
Fortunately, the previous night he had already sent a letter to Yu Zai!
Yu Zai must now be on the way to rendezvous with him. Once they met, he could immediately head to Yangzhou to find Xu Zhengye.
At this moment, Li Yi’s only thought was: escape—escape as quickly as possible!
He left in time, and with the command flag still raised, in such chaos, Chang Kuo should not notice immediately.
But one thing he did not know: Chang Suining, when facing the enemy, always favored the strategy of “capturing the king first.”
“Capture the king first” was not only a shortcut to victory but also a way to end a battle quickly and minimize casualties, which Chang Suining especially preferred.
At the same time, it was extremely risky. To capture an enemy commander meant penetrating deep into their ranks—especially one like Li Yi, who preferred hiding at the rear.
Accompanied by Vice General Jin and Ah Dian, Chang Suining charged decisively toward the location of the command flag.
The soldier disguised as Li Yi, with a half-covered helmet, was already terrified out of his wits. When Chang Suining’s spear knocked him from his horse, he scrambled to his feet and trembled: “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!”
“Girl, that’s not Li Yi!” Deputy General Jin realized too late and cursed: “That coward actually ran away!”
He pointed his sword at the soldier: “Tell me, which direction did Li Yi escape?”
The soldier shook his head in panic: “…I don’t know!”
Forced to wear the cursed command armor, he truly knew nothing!
Chang Suining had already seized the command flag and shouted to the surrounding troops: “The rebel Li Yi has fled. Cease fighting immediately!”
Hearing this, the surrounding soldiers panicked—mid-battle, their commander had run off. Who would not panic!
But those farther away could not hear. Chang Suining threw the command flag to Chang Ren: “Deliver this flag to Father. Let him stay behind to stabilize the situation!”
Among those still fighting for Li Yi, aside from his trusted men, most had been deceived and should not die in vain. Stopping the fighting quickly was the best solution.
Chang Ren took the flag: “And the girl?”
“I’m going after Li Yi!” Chang Suining shouted “Giddy-up!” and rode forward with her spear.
Ah Dian, Deputy General Jin, and others immediately followed.
Breaking through the crowd, Deputy General Jin caught up to Chang Suining: “Girl, do you know which way Li Yi escaped?”
“I know!” Ahead lay a fork in the road, and the girl made her choice without hesitation.
Li Yi must be heading toward Yangzhou. There were many routes to Yangzhou, but in his panic, he would only choose the one that connected with the eighty-thousand-strong army ahead.
It was not difficult to guess, especially for someone like Li Yi.
Deputy General Jin quickly realized the same.
The girl had thought of it first, making this veteran of many campaigns feel a bit inferior.
What surprised him even more was that the girl, riding ahead, took them along winding side paths. Though they twisted and turned, after two short periods of time, they actually saw the hoofprints left by Li Yi and his party!
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