Wang Yan gave the order.
Regarding Song Hai and others' surrender to the imperial court, Dong Zhuo directly contacted the central government, and Wang Yan was unaware of the progress. He only knew that the negotiations were probably not yet finalized, and his adoptive father had not yet obtained the result he most desired.
The question remains: will things become more complicated once Xu Rong's adoptive father learns of his death?
The twenty-fourth day after Xu Rong's death.
Ya Province City, 3:45 AM.
The city gates were wide open, Song Hai led the Mount Liang leaders out of the city to welcome the Shannan Army.
Today, Song Hai changed into a clean blue cloth robe, combed his hair neatly, and looked serious.
The Mount Liang heroes who accompanied him out of the city to greet him were all neatly dressed, without armor or weapons.
On the official road ahead, Wang Yan rode a white horse, leading more than 20,000 Shannan Army slowly forward.
Wang Yan himself was not wearing armor, but only a scarlet official robe with a jade belt around his waist, and he was holding a bright yellow imperial edict in his hands.
Upon seeing the imperial edict from afar, Song Hai's throat tightened, and he led the crowd quickly to greet it, kneeling in a row along the official road.
Wang Yan reined in his horse and looked down at the kneeling crowd.
He did not dismount, but unfolded the imperial edict in his hand and read it aloud.
The words and phrases were all written by civil officials, with ornate language. The gist of the message was nothing more than the emperor's holy virtue, the Mount Liang bandits' surrender under imperial grace, and the forgiveness of all their past crimes. Song Hai and his leaders were to lead 5,000 elite troops to the capital to receive their titles, while the remaining troops were to be sent to the three provinces of Shannan, Shanbei, Longyou to be incorporated into the border army and await orders.
Song Hai listened expressionlessly as Wang Yan read the imperial edict, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
He had already learned these details from Wang Yan beforehand.
If the decision to offer amnesty had been made at the very beginning, he would never have accepted such terms!
He hoped to gain access to an army and lead tens of thousands of Mount Liang troops to surrender to the imperial court, while retaining military power himself.
Even if I have to compromise, I still have to be a general leading tens of thousands of troops!
Song Hai had inquired beforehand and knew that the Military Governor Dong of Shannan Circuit, was ambitious. He believed that as long as he could lead tens of thousands of troops to surrender and join the Shannan Army, Dong would be able to accept such a condition.
However, a series of unexpected events completely disrupted Song Hai's plans.
First came the news that Lu Yulin had killed Wu Yan and led a rebellion.
This incident caused a huge uproar within Mount Liang, completely igniting the conflict between the amnesty faction and the rebel faction!
After Lu Yulin committed such an act, Wu Song and his group, who were unwilling to accept the imperial pardon, could no longer remain silent. In the end, Wu Song, along with two First Rate martial arts masters and several thousand men, also withdrew from Mount Liang!
The series of misfortunes caused Song Hai's power and prestige to decline again and again, and he no longer had the confidence to bargain with the imperial court.
Therefore, when Wang Yan informed Song Hai of the terms of the amnesty, Song Hai had no choice but to accept them.
"Song Hai decree."
Wang Yan closed the imperial edict, his voice calm.
Song Hai stood up, stepped forward, and accepted the imperial edict with both hands. His fingers trembled slightly when they touched the roll of yellow silk.
After a lifetime of hard work and meticulous planning, all that was gained was this roll of yellow silk.
Wang Yan looked at him with a warm smile, "Commander Song, congratulations."
Song Hai forced a smile, "Thank you, Commander Wang."
Wang Yan dismounted, patted Song Hai on the shoulder, and turned to the Mount Liang heroes, saying, "Tonight, I, the commander, will host a banquet to celebrate with Commander Song and everyone else!"
That evening, at the largest restaurant in Ya Province City.
The entire restaurant was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers. Dozens of tables were set up in the main hall on the first floor, filled with generals of the Shannan Army and leaders of Mount Liang.
The private room on the second floor was reserved for the leaders of both parties.
Wang Yan sat in the main seat, while Zhang Liao, two generals from the Shannan Army, and Mount Liang leaders such as Song Hai and Li Lin sat on either side.
After the banquet began, Wang Yan was the first to raise his glass to Mount Liang and the others.
"We'll be colleagues in the military from now on, so please take care of me."
Wang Yan smiled.
His words were polite, his smile gentle, and he never mentioned anything other than the offer of amnesty, giving Song Hai and the others ample face.
This made Song Hai feel much better, and he drank several cups with Wang Yan.
Everyone was in high spirits at the banquet.
Li Lin sat next to Song Hai, drinking silently. He drank very quickly, barely speaking, and his glass was never empty from the moment he sat down.
When the third jar of wine was brought up, Li Lin's face suddenly turned bright red, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Tie Niu, what's wrong?"
Song Hai noticed something was wrong with Li Lin and asked him a question.
"Elder brother..."
Li Lin turned to look at Song Hai, his voice tense, "This wine... something's not right!"
The atmosphere at the table changed immediately after these words were spoken.
The smiles on the faces of the Mount Liang men froze, and they stopped drinking, all looking at the wine in their cups.
Song Hai felt a chill run down his spine and subconsciously circulated his Internal Skill, but he felt that his blood and qi were not flowing smoothly.
There's definitely something wrong with the alcohol!
Song Hai suddenly looked up at Wang Yan: "Commander Wang, what does this mean?!"
Wang Yan sat in the main seat, holding a wine glass in his hand, smiling as he looked at Song Hai and the others, his smile as gentle as before.
"Don't panic, everyone. It's nothing deadly. You are all experts; poison would be too easily detected. So I gave you a medicine. As long as you don't accelerate your blood circulation, you'll be fine after a good night's sleep. But if you forcefully push your Internal Skill, things might go wrong."
Song Hai suddenly stood up, causing his chair to tip backward and crash to the ground with a thud. His right hand instinctively reached for his waist, only to remember that he had put the knife down that morning.
"I kill you!"
Li Lin roared and grabbed the table, intending to flip it over in the direction of Wang Yan.
Snap!
A general from the Shannan Army slammed his palm on the table, preventing Li Lin from moving it.
He was First Rate top-notch expert, yet his attack was interrupted so casually, simply because he had drunk the most alcohol, and at this moment he could only unleash 40% of his Internal Skill.
Everyone stood up. Wang Yan took a step back, and Zhang Liao stood in front of him.
Mount Liang and the others gathered behind Song Hai.
"You..."
Song Hai's voice was forced out through clenched teeth, his face full of anger, "His Majesty has already pardoned our crimes, what do you want?!"
Wang Yan still wore a smile, but his words sent chills down everyone's spine:
"You feigned surrender while plotting treason; tonight, our Shannan Army will annihilate you all!"
"This is treason!!"
Song Hai roared.
"Let's do it!"
At Wang Yan Yan's command, the elite troops of the Shannan Army, who had been lying in ambush inside the restaurant, charged in, clad in infantry armor and armed with swords and spears!
"Grab him!"
Song Hai remained lucid and charged towards Wang Yan, shouting as he attacked.
He knew that only by capturing Wang Yan could he have a chance to survive tonight.
However, the two Shannan Army generals that Wang Yan brought to the banquet tonight are both fierce generals and First Rate- notch experts, with Zhang Liao being First Rank expert.
With these three protecting him, it would be very difficult for Song Hai and his group, who had been drinking, to capture him!
Chaos erupted inside the private room. Li Lin and other Mount Liang masters temporarily held off the incoming elite troops of the Shannan Army, while Song Hai charged towards Wang Yan alone.
Zhang Liao strode towards Song Hai. Neither of them wore armor or carried weapons, and they fought each other bare-handed!
Song Hai was able to maintain his position as the Grand Commander of Mount Liang not only because of his personal prestige, but also because he was First Rank expert.
After exchanging a few blows with him, Zhang Liao realized that this Mount Liang commander was quite skilled in martial arts, and that if they were to fight normally, he might not be able to defeat him.
But Song Hai also drank alcohol.
As Wang Yan said, this wine is harmless to the body, but if a master of Internal Skill wants to accelerate the circulation of qi and blood, it will be affected.
Song Hai didn't drink excessively like Li Lin, so the effects were limited. But in a battle between masters, it's all about that fine line!
Song Hai gradually fell into a disadvantageous position, Wang Yan ordered one of the Shannan Army generals protecting him to join the battle.
A battle was also taking place in the lobby on the first floor, right beneath everyone's feet.
All the Mount Liang leaders had also drunk the contaminated wine and were slaughtered by the elite soldiers of the Shannan Army!
Inside Ya Province City, at the city gates, in the military camps, on the drill ground... everywhere was filled with the sounds of fighting and screams.
Wang Yan's Shannan Army simultaneously launched an attack on the tens of thousands of Mount Liang soldiers inside the city!
Tonight, Song Hai and others attended a victory celebration banquet, and the other Mount Liang warriors were also drinking and celebrating.
The alcohol they drank wasn't the problem; they were simply too drunk and caught off guard when they were suddenly attacked, leaving them no time to react!
The vast majority of Mount Liang soldiers were not wearing armor and did not even have decent weapons at hand, which is why they were attacked by the Shannan Army.
Under the cover of night, Mount Liang warriors were cut down by the well-prepared soldiers of the Shannan Army, falling to the ground in pools of blood, their eyes wide open in death!
Many Mount Liang warriors, filled with the beautiful dream of finally being granted amnesty and living a peaceful life thereafter, fell into a drunken stupor early in the morning, and thus their lives were taken in their sleep...
Cries, pleas for mercy, questions, and angry curses rose and fell, echoing over Ya Province City.
That night, the Ya Province City was stained with blood!
Inside the restaurant, the lobby on the first floor was a mess, with corpses lying everywhere and blood flowing freely.
Squads of armored soldiers were still rushing up to the second floor.
The private rooms on the second floor have been completely demolished. Song Hai and his men fought their way from inside the private rooms to outside, smashing the wooden partition walls to pieces and sending wood chips flying everywhere!
Li Lin was covered in blood, with five crossbow bolts stuck in his body. He brandished the two steel knives he had seized, slashing wildly left and right like a madman, shouting:
"Brother, hurry! Hurry..."
His voice trailed off as a spear pierced his throat.
"Tie Niu!!!"
Song Hai turned his head and saw this scene, and was filled with grief and indignation.
He was also covered in blood, had lost an arm, and was seriously injured.
Of all the Mount Liang leaders on the second floor, he was the only one still alive.
Song Hai, holding a long spear, leaned on the ground and looked around—
Huyan Chi was pierced through the body by three long spears and fell at the bottom of the stairs.
Qin Ming was ripped open by a large knife, his intestines spilling out onto the ground, and he was already lifeless.
Hua Rong's head was chopped off, lying not far from Song Hai's feet, his eyes wide open in fury, dying with his eyes still open...
The faint screams from all over the city could still be heard outside the window.
Song Hai's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at Wang Yan, who was being tightly protected. "Why? Why?!"
He didn't understand why the Shannan Army would still take action even after the emperor had issued an edict.
Wang Yan sneered, "Originally, my godfather genuinely wanted to recruit your Mount Liang men into my Shannan Army. The only one to blame is some old fogies in the court who insisted on interfering!"
"..."
"Furthermore, it's also your fault, Song Hai, for your incompetence in managing your subordinates, allowing Lu Yulin to lead his men in a defection from Mount Liang and even kill my adoptive father's trusted and beloved general!"
Wang Yan shook his head.
He received a secret letter from Dong Zhuo, instructing him to eliminate Song Hai and his men, and annihilate the Mount Liang Army!