My son, how could you be Lü Bu?!

Chapter 71 Raid on the 9th Plain

Chapter 73 Raid on Jiuyuan

"Marshal!"

"The statistics are in!"

"Nearly a hundred were beheaded, two hundred were captured, and a large number of short weapons and long swords, totaling about three or four hundred, were seized. As for the number of horses, there were also more than a hundred."

"These bandits had actually hidden all the horses earlier."

"We searched for quite a while before finally finding it in several dense forests!"

"And what's more, there were even several pure white horses inside!"

After the great battle, the battlefield was cleaned up.

Lu Ping stood on the edge of the valley, looking down, his brows slightly furrowed.

There.

Wei Xu, who had originally led a hundred archers to hold the line below, now looked smug as he led dozens of bandits and a few villagers slowly toward the mouth of the valley.

Previously, seeing the great victory on the mountain, Wei Xu, who hardly needed Lü Ping's orders, became itchy and took the initiative to lead the archers to pursue.

I witnessed this scene.

Before Lü Ping could express any sentiments...

Cheng Lian and Song Xian, who was less seriously injured this time and was in charge of counting the spoils, stepped forward almost together.

Song Xian didn't notice Cheng Lian and spoke directly.

Seeing that Song Xian had taken the initiative, Cheng Lian hesitated for a moment and stepped aside.

What about our casualties?

Lu Ping frowned slightly again and asked a question.

"The count is still being done. Because we were protected by our armor, the number of dead was only a dozen or so, but the number of wounded was much higher, numbering in the dozens."

When the topic of his own casualties came up, Song Xianxian's expression turned solemn.

Then, as if he had thought of something, the solemnity on his face quickly faded, replaced by a look of joy.

Song Xian spoke repeatedly.

"General, this is a great victory."

"This military achievement surpasses even your previous victory against over a hundred bandits outside the city!"

"After you go back, you'll probably be promoted again!"

"Xian is congratulating the military commander in advance!"

Lu Ping waved his hand, signaling Song Xian not to say so many flattering words.

He wasn't like his own adopted son, Lü Bu, who believed whatever he heard.

These casualties were not unexpected by Lü Ping. After all, with both fierce generals and equipment advantages, it would be unreasonable for the casualties to be too high.

Seeing his uncle Lü's reaction, Song Xian looked slightly embarrassed.

Seeing that Song Xian had finally finished speaking, Cheng Lian, who had been listening patiently for a long time, finally understood.

He took a step forward, a look of anxiety on his face, and spoke in a low, rapid voice.

"Sir, something terrible has happened!"

Upon hearing this...

Having heard no good news in the past few days, Lü Ping took a deep breath, feeling somewhat helpless, and turned to look at Cheng Lian.

"Brother Lian, please speak."

"Has the comrade noticed that the clothing of the men who fought against us earlier was noticeably different?"

Cheng Lian's face was solemn. He pointed to the bandits and royal retainers who were squatting in the distance with their heads in their hands, their hands bound by the Han army, and said in a low voice.

Indeed.

Lu Ping nodded slightly; he had actually noticed this long ago.

I just felt that the bandits who came down from the mountain this time were mainly under the command of the two leaders, so I subconsciously overlooked this issue.

Seeing Cheng Lian's expression, Lü Ping subconsciously spoke up, wanting to make a joke to ease the atmosphere.

"What's wrong?"

"Could it be that they aren't bandits from the Ula Mountains, but were all sent by our Lord specifically to kill me?!"

"They killed so many villagers just to lure us in; it doesn't seem like something the Wang family's retinue would do."

And then Lü Ping spoke.

Cheng Lian's expression grew increasingly solemn.

He leaned close to Lü Ping's ear and spoke in an extremely soft voice.

"Lian just asked."

"One group of them are bandits from the Ula Mountains, and the other group is the Wang family retinue you mentioned that previously robbed Master Cai!"

"Sui Gu led three hundred bandits from the Ula Mountains, while the son of the prefect, Wang Ren, personally led three hundred royal retainers."

"Six hundred of us have gathered here, seeking only to annihilate us!"

talking.

There was a hint of anger in Cheng Lian's words.

Upon hearing this...

Lu Ping was stunned for a moment, and then he suddenly flew into a rage.

"How utterly unwise are Wang Zhi and his son Wang Ren!"

"It was a difficult task for Ping to gather five hundred soldiers!"

"The original plan was to send troops north to accompany the general in conquering the Xianbei and protecting the borders and people!"

"He colluded with bandits, leaked military secrets, and used the villagers as hostages, causing the loss of dozens of soldiers!"

"What are these two thinking?!"

The more he spoke, the more intense the anger on Lü Ping's face became.

He simply couldn't understand what Wang Ren and his son were thinking.

If I were to lose my entire army, and all my soldiers were to perish at the hands of these bandits, the imperial court would be shaken!

How could Wang Zhi, as the prefect, escape being implicated?!

How can there be such foolish people in this world?!

Thinking this way.

Lu Ping then looked at Cheng Lian and shouted sternly.

"Cheng Lian!"

"Where is that Wang Ren?! Bring him here!"

He was usually calm and composed, and it was rare for him to show such anger.

This startled Song Xian, who had just wanted to share the good news from the battle report and win favor, causing him to lower his eyelids repeatedly, afraid of offending his master, Lü Bo!

Cheng Lianben was initially angry, but upon hearing his master Lü Bo's words, his anger faltered slightly.

"The person..."

"He was already dead. Before we got here, he was shot dead for some unknown reason!"

talking.

Cheng Lian merely nodded slightly to the soldiers in the distance.

Several robust men dragged Wang Ren's remains—which had been trampled repeatedly in the recent battle and was barely recognizable as human, with an arrow still stuck in his heart—forward.

Lu Ping had seen Wang Ren some time ago when he rescued Cai Yong outside the city.

Upon seeing the skeleton, he recognized it instantly.

"Oh! He's really dead!" He felt a sense of relief at first and muttered to himself.

then.

Just thinking about the identity of the person in front of me...

After all, he was Wang Zhi's only son. If this man died, the family line would end, and who knows how crazy Wang Zhi would go.

Lu Ping took a deep breath, remained silent for a moment, and then, fueled by his lingering anger, suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"Song Xian!"

"Xian is here!" Song Xian, whose eyelids had been drooping, immediately looked up.

"Write down everything that happened today, cut off Wang Ren's head, and send a few men back to the city to report to the governor!"

"It is said that Wang Zhi, the prefect of Wuyuan Commandery, instructed his only son to collude with bandits and ambush government troops! He intends to rebel!"

"Let's see if we can teach Fangbo to submit a memorial to the throne!"

Even if we can't bring down Wang Zhi, we'll still make him look bad!

Song Xian was delighted and readily agreed.

Without needing any further instructions from Lü Ping, he drew his long sword from his waist, went straight to Wang Ren's corpse, and cut off his head.

Despite the blood flowing, Song Xian remained completely unconcerned.

"Cheng Lian!" Lü Ping called out again.

Cheng Lian stepped forward repeatedly.

Lü Ping drew his long sword from his waist and handed it to Cheng Lian.

"This time, upon returning to the city, you will be in charge, also leading Song Xian's infantry and the archers still stationed below!"

"Protect the captured prisoners and their families, and ensure their safe transport to Jiuyuan!"

"If anyone disobeys, kill them with this sword!"

Cheng Lian was taken aback. Despite his hesitation, he quickly stepped forward, took the long sword, and whispered his agreement.

Both men agreed.

Lu Ping's expression grew even colder. He chuckled, looked up, glanced around, and shouted loudly.

"Cao Xing! Take your garrison and call upon Wei Yue again!"

"Walk!"

"Riding the captured horses, Sui Ping surrounded Wang De's manor!"

"Ping must find Wang De and kill him!"

"Since you've already killed your own son, you've thoroughly offended that Prince Wang!"

"If we're going to do it, we might as well go all the way!"

"Why not kill another nephew to vent your anger!"

After speaking, Lü Ping took the lead and headed down the mountain towards the place where the horses had just been found to be hiding.

Cao Xing dared not hesitate for a moment, and called out repeatedly, then led his troop of infantrymen to follow closely behind.

We arrived at the foot of the mountain.

More than a hundred men mounted their horses and gathered together Wei Yue and a hundred other cavalrymen.

The two hundred-plus riders, lightly armed and simple, charged straight back to Jiuyuan.