Reborn Together: The General and I Reach for Power-Chapter 476 - 473: Bad Luck

Song Xian looked at the map in the Xizhou military camp. This had been the fortified land of Commander Wang, who rebelled with Prince Lu after being punished by the Emperor.

Those people were captured by the Song Family’s House General from horseback and thrown into prison.

The Xizhou Government Office was tidied up, and Song Xian temporarily handled official duties there.

This time, the court mobilized troops from the eight states, and he and Du Zhuo had people guarding the Yan State and Xizhou line to prevent Prince Lu from fleeing north if defeated.

Guarding this place was not only for the court but also to keep the northern people away from the ravages of war.

"How is Ji Yuan?" Song Xian asked Chang An.

Chang An spoke softly, "Ji Yuan was assigned under General Zhang Chi of the court-appointed commanders. Initially, General Zhang didn’t give him much responsibility because of his uncle’s association with the Wang Family, but throughout the campaign against Prince Lu, Ji Yuan proved valiant, and with the court short of personnel, Zhang Chi let Ji Yuan lead a team of cavalry."

A chill appeared in Song Xian’s eyes: "Ji Yuan can join the court’s army in attacking Prince Lu, most likely under Prince Lu’s arrangement, intending for him to act as an inside agent at a critical moment. However, if Prince Lu unfortunately loses, and Ji Yuan’s role as an inside agent isn’t exposed, he could continue to serve in the court."

Chang An said, "Even after the fall of the Wang Family, Ji Yuan managed to stay here without arousing suspicion from the court, which shows some ability."

Chang An continued, "Does Master intend to block Prince Lu’s escape route and assist the court in capturing him?"

Song Xian shook his head: "If Prince Lu wants to escape, he must head south, but with the southern prefectures guarded by court troops, Prince Lu can only first head west past Weizhou before thinking of escaping south."

"We don’t have many people, only enough to set up checkpoints north and south of Weizhou, forcing Prince Lu west. West of Weizhou, there are hundreds of miles of desolation, and Prince Lu will inevitably struggle there. Although the court wants to capture Prince Lu, they’ll face hurdles, but those have nothing to do with us."

Chang An understood. The Master needed to guard against the Emperor and couldn’t get tied down with too many troops. Securing the north and south checkpoints of Weizhou was already difficult enough. Besides, the credit for capturing Prince Lu would not be bestowed upon the Master by the Emperor.

But the Master didn’t care for those accolades. Once there was court staff at the southern checkpoint, the Master would withdraw without hesitation to avoid being secretly targeted by the court.

After Prince Lu fled to the Northwest, whether the court would rally troops to encircle him or deploy scouts for an ambush or pursue him was the Emperor’s concern.

Song Xian said, "Continue to watch Ji Yuan. Find the inside agents Prince Lu left in the court’s army, and we’ll be able to obtain information about Prince Lu."

Chang An responded.

Song Xian continued, "Let’s leave Ji Yuan here!" He had allowed Ji Yuan to live long enough.

...

Ji Yuan felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, as if his entire arm was being torn off.

"Your injury is severe, and it must be treated and stitched up to prevent festering. You must endure it."

The doctor handed over a clean cloth for Ji Yuan to bite on.

Ji Yuan immediately felt the pain as if his bones were being scraped, his teeth clenched, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, yet his mind remained unusually clear, not allowing him to faint.

Ji Yuan closed his eyes and endured bitterly. He intended to make a contribution in front of General Zhang Chi, to protect him at a critical moment, as he had planned. Seeing Song Xian’s reinforcements arriving, with Prince Lu’s troops soon to retreat, he then took a few men to rescue the besieged Zhang Chi.

Considering the speed of Song Xian’s reinforcements, he shouldn’t have suffered any serious injuries, but unexpectedly, Song Xian’s men seemed deliberately late, appearing only when he was on the brink of exhaustion to save General Zhang Chi.

When rescuing General Zhang, they left him behind. By that time, his shoulder had already been slashed by Prince Lu’s men, and he barely escaped the heavy injury.

Ji Yuan once suspected Song Xian might have discovered he was Prince Lu’s man, intentionally testing him to see if Prince Lu’s men would really attack him.

His secret allegiance to Prince Lu was known to very few people, let alone the ordinary soldiers under Prince Lu. A momentary delay would indeed result in his death at the hands of Prince Lu’s troops.

Thus, his injury was genuine, and the suffering and pain he endured were all too real.

Ji Yuan regretted it a bit, thinking if he’d known he’d get this injured, he might as well have gone later with the Song Family Army to rescue him.

Since losing the Meng Family’s engagement, every step he’d taken became increasingly difficult, at times feeling like he’d offended something. Even the doctor treating his injuries seemed to intentionally torment him, taking a long time to properly tend to the wound, messing around in his flesh, causing his heart to pain along with it.

Just as Ji Yuan was about to lose patience, the doctor finally finished applying the medicine, and Ji Yuan sighed in relief, collapsing there.

The buzzing in his ears made Ji Yuan feel like he’d been to the brink of death.

"Mr. Ji," the Deputy General came to visit Ji Yuan, "You should go back to the tent to rest. General Zhang said you’ve been seriously injured and don’t need to follow the cavalry to pursue Prince Lu."

"How can I not," Ji Yuan replied, "There aren’t many men by General Zhang’s side. These injuries are nothing." Having finally gained General Zhang’s trust, he must seize the opportunity to move forward with him; otherwise, Prince Lu wouldn’t spare him either.

Ji Yuan thought clearly. If given the chance, he’d let Prince Lu escape. If there’s no chance for Prince Lu to get away, it’s not his fault. He’d find a way to protect himself; after all, once Prince Lu and his confidants were dead, no one would know he ever served Prince Lu.

The Deputy General sighed, "Do you really want to go with us? You saved General Zhang’s life. No matter what, General Zhang will report your meritorious deed. You don’t have to force yourself..."

"The General is also wounded, yet he’s still leading the charge," Ji Yuan responded, "What does it matter about my condition."

The Deputy General, hearing this, patted Ji Yuan, "General Zhang truly sees you well. Rest assured, after capturing Prince Lu, your major contribution will be recognized, and no one will mention your uncle’s affair back at the court."

Ji Yuan looked sincerely grateful.

The Deputy General turned and left, and Ji Yuan took a long deep breath, feeling he was finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

After a brief rest, Ji Yuan gritted his teeth and forced himself to the main camp to listen to Zhang Chi’s arrangements.

The court troops intended to encircle Prince Lu in Weizhou. Ji Yuan memorized Zhang Chi’s deployment and arrangements, ready to inform Prince Lu.

Once Prince Lu knew the weak points in advance, he would be prepared to forcibly break through.

"Song Xian is unwilling to lend us troops," Zhang Chi said, "He only agreed to guard the north. Thus, we’re short of men in the south, but we sent a team to camp there, deliberately letting Prince Lu’s scout hear about it, making him believe that we’ve made preparations at the southern checkpoints, so he wouldn’t easily head south."

"We’ll then concentrate our forces to attack Prince Lu. He’ll have no choice but to escape westward. We’ve set up ambushes in the west, and surrounded on both ends, he’ll have no choice but to surrender."

Ji Yuan analyzed Zhang Chi’s plan meticulously and indeed found it right... Now, he just had to inform Prince Lu that the southern side was a feint, allowing Prince Lu to depart from the south.