strictlysupreme Chapter 2282 Changing Strategy
Chapter 2282 Changing Strategy
Several fierce-looking guards rushed toward the heavily guarded carriage and roughly lifted the curtain.
A moment later, a slightly thin figure dressed in a blue scholar's robe was pulled out of the car.
It was Su Tingmei.
His hair was slightly disheveled, and his clothes were wrinkled from being pulled, but his expression was unusually calm, even carrying a hint of his usual indifference, which was out of place with the tense and murderous atmosphere around him.
He did not struggle, but let the two soldiers tie his arms behind his back and push him to the front of the two armies, just a few steps away from Chu Xuan.
The torchlight flickered, casting shimmering light on Su Tingmei's pale face.
The night breeze ruffled the stray strands of hair on his forehead. He slightly raised his eyes, his gaze calmly sweeping over the disciplined Xue Huaide army formation opposite him, and then over the direction of the Xiliang cavalry.
Finally, the light fell on Chu Xuan, who was standing beside him like a madman, but there was no fear in his eyes.
There was only a faint, complex emotion, almost pity, before he lowered his eyes again, as if all the strife before him was irrelevant to him, or as if he had already foreseen it.
"Did you see that? Xue Huaide! Ma Chao!"
Chu Xuan grabbed Su Tingmei and pushed him half a step in front of him, as if displaying a crucial item, or as if raising a fragile human shield.
His sword was already drawn, its cold blade not directly against Su Tingmei's neck, but pressed close to her side, the threat of which was self-evident.
“Mr. Su is right here! Unharmed—but now, his life or death is in your hands!”
Chu Xuan's voice, heightened by excitement and a desperate gamble, became even more resonant and piercing, echoing through the canyon:
"Immediately! Clear all roads! Let me and Mr. Su leave! I guarantee that as long as we reach the Southern Border safely, I will release Mr. Su. I will not break my promise! Otherwise..."
The blade in his hand drew even closer to Su Tingmei, his eyes flashing with a mad and dangerous light.
"I will count to ten! If you still don't move aside, I will first cut off Mr. Su's arm. If you still don't move aside by the time I count to ten, your head will roll!"
"I want to see whether your military orders are more important than Su Tingmei's life! I also want to see how furious Chu Ning will be when he learns that Su Tingmei died because of you!"
"At that time, you two will be the culprits who killed the pillars of the nation! You will be condemned to death!"
He began the countdown, each number like a death knell, hammering heavily into the hearts of everyone present.
"nineteen!……"
The air seemed to freeze, and even the crackling of the flames could be clearly heard.
Xue Huaide's aged face remained calm, but his weathered eyes narrowed slightly.
His gaze fell intently on Su Tingmei, who was being held hostage, before slowly shifting to Chu Xuan, who was closing in and had already descended into madness.
On the other side, Ma Chao gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, breathing heavily. He was clearly also pushed to the brink of a decision by this sudden and extreme hostage threat.
Time relentlessly slipped away amidst Chu Xuan's hoarse countdown.
The safety of Su Tingmei and the military order to capture the rebel king formed an extremely sharp and suffocating opposition in the cold night of Luoyan Gorge.
Xue Huaide had to make the most difficult and crucial decision in this split second.
Xue Huaide's gaze, like the calm waters of an ancient well weathered by time, swept over Chu Xuan's face, distorted by madness and despair, and the trembling, cold sword blade pressed against Su Tingmei's side.
Chu Xuan's hoarse countdown echoed through the canyon, scraping at everyone's nerves like a dull knife.
The old general understood that he was engaging in a verbal tug-of-war with a trapped beast who had completely lost his mind and had staked everything on a hostage.
In particular, the other party's attempt to use his status as a "former official of the previous dynasty" to launch a fragile attack is not only futile but may even provoke him to take more extreme actions.
The emperor's orders to capture Chu Xuan and ensure Su Tingmei's safety were like two ends of a scale, now violently swayed by Chu Xuan's madness.
A strong attack would put Su Tingmei in grave danger, while retreat would be unacceptable under the laws of the land, and she would be a traitor to the king.
Xue Huaide's mind raced, and in a moment, he had already made a decision.
Since we cannot directly shake Chu Xuan, this tree that has already gone mad, then we should loosen the "soil" on which he stands, which is already teetering on the brink of collapse.
He stopped looking at Chu Xuan, as if the hysterical threats and countdown were just irrelevant noise.
He slowly spurred his horse and took a few steps to the side, making himself fully visible to all the remaining soldiers of Chu Xuan's army.
He took a deep breath, a long and steady one, and then spoke.
The voice was not deliberately raised to overpower Chu Xuan's countdown; instead, it was delivered in an exceptionally clear, deep, and undeniably sincere tone.
Piercing through the noise of the night, it reached the ears of every soldier in the Youzhou army clearly:
"Soldiers of Youzhou! Listen carefully!"
This call bypassed Chu Xuan and was directed at the ordinary soldiers who held weapons and whose faces were illuminated by fire and fear.
Chu Xuan paused in his countdown, then glared at Xue Huaide in shock and anger.
Xue Huaide's gaze swept slowly across the faces of his soldiers, whether young or weathered, but now filled with weariness, fear, and confusion.
"I am Xue Huaide, and perhaps, as your lords have said, I once served in the previous dynasty."
He readily admitted, his voice steady: "But the world belongs to the virtuous, the ruler governs with benevolence, and the soldiers serve with loyalty and courage."
"Since I submitted to the Great Chu, I have been deeply trusted by two emperors and commanded troops to defend the country and safeguard the borders."
"My actions have been clear in my conscience, worthy of this armor, and above all, worthy of the expectations of my family and friends!"
He raised his voice slightly, with a sense of sorrow and understanding: "Among you, there are many brave warriors from Youyan. Your ancestors or fathers either fought alongside me or received relief from the court."
"You join the army to serve your country, protect your hometown, seek merit, and make a future!"
"It is absolutely not to follow traitors, collude with foreign tribes, point swords and spears at our own king and compatriots, and bring war to our own land and fields!"
These words touched the hearts of many people whose sense of right and wrong and their feelings for their hometown had already been shaken by Chu Xuan's crazy behavior.
Some soldiers' eyes flickered, and their fingers, which were tightly gripping their weapons, loosened slightly.
"Look around you!"
Xue Huaide pointed his whip at the surrounding iron wall: "His Majesty's divine might has descended, and the royal army has already surrounded us. Chu Xuan has defied the heavens, and his defeat is inevitable!"
"What he is doing now is nothing more than using Mr. Su's safety as a shield and your lives as fuel in an attempt to prolong his already shattered illusion!"
"He counted numbers and threatened the royal army, but did he ever ask you if you were willing to sacrifice your lives in this foreign wilderness for his own selfish gain?"
"Would you want your parents, with their white hair, to bury their black-haired child? Would you want your wife and children to stand by the door, waiting in vain, with no hope of ever returning home?"