MLMD -Chapter 283 Driven into a Dead End

Yue Yang’s words stunned all the officials of Hunyuan Prefecture who were present. What was Lord Yue trying to do? Governor Chen had only just arrived, and Yue Yang was already seizing the vanguard of his entourage—was he openly turning hostile?

When the cavalrymen of the Governor’s Standard Battalion heard Yue Yang’s words, they first froze in unison, each wearing an incredulous expression. Then they instantly exploded in anger.

“Let me see who among you dares!” The leading rider drew the long saber from his waist, pointed it forward, and shouted, “We are men of Governor Chen’s Standard Battalion! Touch us if you dare!”

Yue Yang could not be bothered to waste words with them. He merely cast a glance at Chen Dazhi. Seeing this, Chen Dazhi raised his hand. Dozens of nearby bodyguards immediately removed the Minié muskets from their shoulders. Amid a chorus of clanking metal, they fitted the triangular bayonets onto the muzzles, then charged forward and surrounded the riders in an instant. A forest of cold, gleaming bayonets was leveled at them, and a clash seemed about to erupt at any moment.

Chen Dazhi also urged his horse forward and shouted loudly, “Disarm yourselves and dismount at once, or be killed without mercy!”

“You… you just wait! Governor Chen will never let you get away with this!” The leading rider looked at the soldiers pressing in from all sides. Though furious, his face had gone pale with fear. Bullying commoners or brawling in the streets was something they were good at, but truly fighting for life and death was another matter entirely. Having never experienced the fires of war, how could they have seen such a scene before?

“Do you know who we are? We are men of the Standard Battalion! Touching us is outright treason—Governor Chen will never spare you!”

“Hahaha…” At this, the generals around Yue Yang burst out laughing. At a time like this, these flashy, hollow fellows still dared to bring up Chen Xinjia’s name to intimidate their general. If the general truly cared about giving Chen Xinjia face, would things have come to this?

Seeing how cowardly these men were, Yue Yang could not even be bothered to speak. He waved his hand, and a group of bodyguards immediately pressed forward. The leading squad leader shouted, “By order of the general, dismount and surrender at once! Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!”

“Never!” The leading rider of the Standard Battalion panicked. He brandished his saber, about to say something more, but a bodyguard standing beside him mistook the movement for resistance. This seasoned soldier did not hesitate at all—he thrust the bayonet of his musket straight at the warhorse beneath the rider.

A mournful, agonized neigh rang out. The horse reared up violently in pain, throwing its rider off its back at once.

With a heavy thud, like a sack crashing to the ground, the rider slammed hard onto the earth and let out a howl of agony.

This was like a signal. The surrounding bodyguards all surged forward, using bayonets or rifle butts to unceremoniously knock these pampered “young masters” from the capital off their horses one by one. Cries of pain and shrill screams instantly filled the air. By the time Chen Xinjia and his party’s ceremonial procession reached the city gate, the dozens of Standard Battalion riders who had been clearing the way were already tightly bound and forced to kneel in a row before the gate.

At the sight of this scene, Chen Xinjia trembled with rage. Gao Qiqian was startled, while Xu Dingchen, Tang the steward, and the generals who had accompanied Chen Xinjia—Hu Dawei, Yang Guozhu, as well as Wang Pu and Tang Tong—were all left dumbstruck.

Chen Xinjia was furious. He, together with Gao Qiqian and Xu Dingchen, had brought the generals of the Xuanfu–Datong region to Hunyuan Prefecture precisely to force Yue Yang into submission. Yet before he had even entered the city, he had been given a crushing show of authority—the Standard Battalion under his command had actually been disarmed.

What was the Standard Battalion? It was the governor’s personal guard, the governor’s very face. Yue Yang binding the men of the Standard Battalion was equivalent to slapping Chen Xinjia hard across the face. This slap was far more vicious and direct than when Yue Yang had openly contradicted Chen Xinjia in front of everyone the previous year. If Chen Xinjia could not reclaim his dignity here today, he might as well stop being governor. What authority would remain for a governor whose own personal guards had been bound by a subordinate?

At this moment, Chen Xinjia, Xu Dingchen, Gao Qiqian, and the other generals either dismounted or stepped out of their carriages and walked to the city gate. Yue Yang, meanwhile, stood calmly before the gate with a group of officers and several hundred soldiers, quietly watching Chen Xinjia.

Yue Yang stood there, meeting Chen Xinjia’s gaze for a moment. Then he smiled faintly, dropped to one knee, and called out loudly, “This subordinate, Yue Yang—Assistant Regional Commander of the Northern Shanxi Route and General of Fèngguó—pays his respects to Governor Chen, to Lord Gao, to Lord Xu, and to all honorable superiors.”

After Yue Yang saluted, Chen Xinjia did not speak. He merely stared at Yue Yang with a livid face, saying nothing at all. He had made up his mind—today, he would make Yue Yang kneel here until death.

But events did not unfold as he expected.

Yue Yang waited for a moment without hearing Chen Xinjia speak. He then stood up on his own, casually brushing the dust from his left knee and his hands.

At this sight, not only did the crowd stare in shock—they were utterly stunned. What was this man trying to do? The superior had not yet spoken, and he dared to rise on his own? Did he have even the slightest sense of hierarchy or propriety?

“Yue Yang… you… you are outrageous!”

Now it was not only Chen Xinjia—even Gao Qiqian’s eyelids were twitching with anger. What was Yue Yang trying to do? Had he completely abandoned even the most basic etiquette of rank?

“Yue Yang, you are so arrogant and insolent—are you not afraid that this humble servant and Lord Chen will punish you?” Gao Qiqian pointed at Yue Yang, his shrill voice echoing at the city gate.

“Arrogant and insolent?” Yue Yang looked at Gao Qiqian unhurriedly. “Eunuch Gao, which eye of yours saw this official being arrogant and insolent? Did I not already pay my respects? Or is your eyesight failing—such a living person standing right in front of you, and you still can’t see him?”

After Yue Yang spoke, a dead silence fell over the area.

The crowd gradually recovered from their shock and realized that today’s situation seemed to have slipped beyond the control of Chen Xinjia and Gao Qiqian. The Yue Yang before them was even more arrogant—and far more difficult to deal with—than they had imagined. Some of the generals who had come with Chen Xinjia, such as Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei, thought even further ahead. They furtively glanced at the ranks of fully armed troops standing around and the densely packed soldiers lining the city walls, and alarm bells immediately rang in their hearts.

Although Chen Xinjia lacked those generals’ battlefield experience, seeing Yue Yang’s unyielding attitude made him realize at once that he had underestimated Yue Yang’s ambition and audacity.

He took a deep breath, pointed at the row of kneeling Standard Battalion soldiers beside Yue Yang, and asked, “Yue Yang, what is the meaning of this? Why have you seized my personal guards? If you do not give me an explanation today, do not blame me for being ruthless toward you.”

Though alarms were blaring in Chen Xinjia’s heart, he had already been driven into a dead end. There was no room left for him to retreat…