Section 29: Assault by a Group
Just as everyone was scrambling for food, a team of knights in shining armor from the Taizi Right Rate entered the Left Wuwei Camp and made their way to the performance arena, waiting to be summoned by the general. These cavalrymen from the capital city looked around curiously, just in time to see over a hundred muddy men fighting for food, especially Liu Jiaolao holding up a pot of soup and drinking from it with a comical expression, which made them burst out laughing. The soldiers eating under the wooden shed glared at them angrily, but these guys seemed fearless and continued to laugh, even pointing at the mud stains on people's faces and bodies, especially Li Huairan, who had lost his hair in the fire net incident a few days ago, and was now laughing so hard he couldn't straighten up. Who has ever been laughed at by others? Li Huairan picked up a rice bowl and threw it at the guy who was laughing the most, hitting him right in the face, causing him to scream and rush forward with a bloody face, shouting: "You mud-legged bastards dare to hit Grandpa! Do you know who Grandpa is?" This was too much, as everyone here was a meritorious descendant. As soon as they heard this guy calling himself Grandpa, they couldn't take it anymore, and bowls and plates started flying through the air. Someone shouted: "Kill them!" The crowd surged forward, fists and feet flying, with cries of pain and panic filling the air. Fortunately, everyone knew that fighting with weapons in the military was a capital offense, so they all threw down their arms. Two hundred men from the Taizi Right Rate clashed with five hundred men from the Left Wuwei Camp, forming a wedge-shaped formation with five men at the front, who were all strong and powerful, charging forward without looking back. The two men on either side followed closely behind the first three, protecting their backs from sneak attacks. In an instant, the performance arena was filled with dust and the sound of shouting and killing. Yun Heng hid behind Cheng Chu's back, occasionally striking at the enemy's lower body with a small hammer he had secretly picked up earlier. The hammer weighed only one jin, but no matter where it hit, the enemy would fall to the ground crying out in pain. Yun Heng mainly targeted the crotches of the enemy soldiers, who would cover their groins and cry out in agony, making the men fighting behind them unconsciously tighten their legs. They vowed never to engage in single combat with Yun Heng again, as it was too dangerous.
The battle lasted only half a watch, nearly five hundred of the Crown Prince's officers and men lay on the ground, groaning incessantly. Several people cried out in agony, louder than others, making those who saw them feel heartbroken and those who heard them shed tears. The Left Wuwei's two hundred elite soldiers were also heavily injured, but they were supported by their comrades and did not fall, gritting their teeth and remaining silent. As soon as the battle was over, Yun Hao threw his small iron hammer into the water pit to destroy the evidence.
On the sidelines, Cheng Yaoguang and Niu Moha, along with a group of veteran generals, surrounded an eleven or twelve-year-old boy who was watching from the side. The boy wore a purple gold crown on his head, a yellow robe on his body, and a pair of deerskin boots on his feet. Old Cheng seemed to hold the boy in high esteem, bowing down to explain the changes in the battle situation to him in a low voice. The boy nodded continuously, indicating that he understood. Niu Moha saw that the battle had subsided, gazed from the front of the troops to the back with his cow eyes, and made a series of "tsk" sounds with his mouth, seemingly in admiration, yet also as if mocking. Everyone was being stared at by the Cow Demon King, their hearts racing like deer, unsure how they would be punished.
"Good grief, two hundred and fifty, tsk tsk, fists flying, feet kicking, bleeding all over the place. You're beating your own people with such ferocity, I wonder if you'll be able to handle the Turks in the future? Who's the ringleader? Cheng Chumo? Yun Ruo? Li Huairan? Or Liu Jinwu? Tell me, and I'll only punish one person. If you don't speak up, everyone will be punished together. This time, I've come up with a new method - no beating, no scolding. I'll just lock one of you in the small black room for three days. That's all. How about that? Am I being kind or not? From now on, don't secretly call me the Bull Demon King behind my back. This is for your own good, you young whippersnappers. I'm afraid it'll hurt your vital energy. Come on, tell me."
Others don't know the severity of confinement, how could Yun Ye not know? Those who can crawl out by themselves in three days are all good men. Seeing Li Huai Ren wanting to stand up, Yun Ye quietly grabbed him, and Li Huai Ren saw Yun Ye shaking his head at himself and didn't go any further. Among these two hundred people, only Yun Ye understood the training and punishment. Niu Mo Wang's soft voice was not a good omen; even a kind mother pig would climb trees. This is Yun Ye's famous saying, which has been proven multiple times to be a golden rule, and it probably won't be an exception this time either.
"Isn't anyone going to stand up? Are you all planning on being punished together? Just finished running 10 miles, 200 people just defeated 500 people, it seems that your strength hasn't been exhausted yet. Everyone has some, let's run around the martial arts arena for 20 laps."
The crowd weakly responded with a "yes" and began to run in unison, supporting each other as they stumbled along. Li Huai Ren approached Yun Yan and asked, "Little Yan, didn't the Bull Demon King only say we'd be punished by being locked up? It's better for me to take the blame alone than for everyone to have to run laps." Yun Yan looked at Li Huai Ren with a mixture of pity and seriousness: "Trust me, little brother, you absolutely won't be able to hold on for three days. By then, you'd rather endure fifty lashes than sit in that small black room. You don't know, being locked up for more than seven days can be fatal. Besides, we're all in this together, if we let them take you away, we'll only be punished even harder. A military unit that doesn't protect its brothers isn't a real army, it's just a mob." The surrounding brothers all nodded in agreement, but Li Huai Ren thought being locked up for three days was no big deal and didn't understand why Yun Yan was being so serious.
The young man stood in front of the defeated Right Rate, his face flushed with anger. His team of 500 men had been unable to defeat the 200 exhausted Left Wuwei soldiers, which made him, the proud prince, lose face. He looked at the soldiers who were still running loudly and then at the Right Rate who was lying on the ground wailing, raised his whip and started lashing down without mercy. The Right Rate commander also punched and kicked the wounded soldiers to get them back on their feet and form a phalanx.
"Why are you fighting with the Left Guard soldiers? Who started it? Come out and take responsibility," As soon as the words fell, a military officer covered in blood crawled out.
"Your Highness, would you please do me justice? I was just standing here watching that group of rough men fighting for food and couldn't help but laugh a few times. That bald-headed man then smashed his bowl on my face and insulted me. How dare this commoner be so presumptuous! Please, Your Highness, execute this scoundrel to serve as a warning to others."
Lao Cheng chimed in from the side, not smiling like Xiao Rou: "In our military camp, there are only brothers, no so-called 'difficult people'. Even when Your Majesty was in charge of the Left Imperial Guard, I've never seen you deal with a single 'difficult person', only punishing Fan Lü's soldiers. I don't know where this talk of 'difficult people' comes from? Please, Your Highness, make a clear decision. Martial competitions are common occurrences in the military, and minor injuries can't be avoided. Please, Your Highness, show leniency in your judgment."
"General Cheng, you are worrying too much. You are a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, who has fought on the battlefield and killed countless enemies. How could I dare to be disrespectful to you? This time when we left the capital, my father, the Emperor, repeatedly instructed me to learn from you about military strategies. Just now, two hundred of our tired soldiers were able to defeat five hundred of their elite troops, which shows that your men are all brave and fierce warriors. Please do not hesitate to teach me. As for the small conflict earlier, it was the Right Guard who was rude first. Since the Left Imperial Guards have already been punished, in order to be fair, I would like to ask you, General Niu, to discipline the Right Guard according to military law."
Niu Jin Da expressionlessly came before the officer who had come to report, and with a look of disgust, patted his head saying: "If you were in my army, this would be the sixth time you'd be fed to the dogs. Five hundred men defeating two hundred and still having the face to report, in the military the strong are respected, even if it's the Fire Head Army that defeated you, then the Fire Head Army is more noble than you. The Tang Dynasty was able to unify the world relying on its powerful military might, killing off countless petty kings, not by reporting. Furthermore, the 'insubordinate commoner' you keep mentioning, I'm afraid even the Crown Prince would call him 'older brother'. The Crown Prince let out a sound of surprise upon hearing this and looked at Cheng Yaojin. Old Cheng explained: "That person is the second son of your uncle, Li Xiaogong."
"Could it be that it's actually Huai Ren Gege?" The Crown Prince really couldn't connect the muddy, bald-headed soldier from earlier with his usually elegant and refined older brother.
"Not just him, there's also your nephew Zhang Chong, and Liu Jiaolao San, Pei Jiaoxiao, Ping'an County Nan Yunyan, all the wealthy and influential families in Beijing can be found."
The crown prince stared at the left Wuwei army soldier who was like a mud man, somewhat dazed.
