Chapter 215 The Tiger-like New Army Surrenders to the Prince of Jin

After making the decision that his Liangjiang New Army must defect to the enemy, Governor-General Su Chen hesitated for only a moment before deciding to join the Longcheng army of Prince Chen Huai'an.

At this moment, he had no time to worry about the safety of Wu Sanjia and the current emperor.

Self-preservation is the only way out.

Su Chen said with a solemn expression, "General Lu, I have made up my mind. I will lead my 50,000 Liangjiang New Army troops to surrender to Prince Jin and cooperate with the Longcheng Jingnan Army to kill the traitor Qin Ruhui!"

"Your Excellency is wise!"

Deputy General Lu Jiang immediately clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Su Chen to express his stance.

Um!

Su Chen nodded and then instructed, "General Lu, before His Highness Prince Jin's Longcheng naval fleet arrives at the city, I will immediately write a letter and have the general personally sail a small boat to deliver it to the Longcheng naval fleet tonight."

Lu Jiang straightened his back and said firmly, "My lord, for the future of 50,000 soldiers of the Liangjiang New Army, this humble general is willing to go!"

Seeing this, Su Chen stopped talking and instead patted Lu Jiang on the shoulder meaningfully.

Then, Su Chen instructed Lu Jiang to grind the ink for him, while he himself picked up a brush and sat down on the Xuan paper to write, writing furiously.

A short while later, a memorial to the Prince of Jin, with the ink still wet, appeared on the paper.

Su Chen handed the letter to his deputy general Lu Jiang and said earnestly, "General Lu, the lives and future of myself and the 50,000 Liangjiang New Army are all in your hands!"

"Please rest assured, my lord, I will certainly live up to your expectations and those of the 50,000 soldiers of the Liangjiang New Army!"

With that, Lu Jiang bowed to Su Chen once again, saying goodbye: "My lord, this humble general is departing!"

General Lu, take care!

Soon, Lu Jiang, the deputy general of the Liangjiang New Army, carrying the earnest hopes of Liangjiang Governor Su Chen, sailed away alone in a small boat and disappeared into the vast river.

Su Chen, who was in the Liangjiang New Army camp, seemed to hear the lonely, long watchman's gong coming from Jinling City.

It's past midnight!

At the same time, inside the Tiger Warriors' New Army camp on the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Tang Ziyi, the deputy general acting in the capacity of the general, was awakened from his sleep by his personal guards.

"Vice General, something terrible has happened!"

"The Grand General died in battle at Jiangyin yesterday. Fang Tianyao, the King of the Four Seas, has taken Emperor Lingwu and Empress Dowager Su hostage and launched an attack on the rebel navy fleet in Longcheng!"

"What?"

Tang Ziyi, the deputy general whose peaceful sleep had been disturbed, was about to unleash his fury on the commander of his personal guards.

However, the shocking news brought by the latter was like a bolt from the blue, giving Tang Ziyi a rude awakening.

Tang Ziyi didn't even bother to put on his clothes. He rushed to the commander of his personal guards, grabbed his collar, and glared at him with his bull-like eyes, asking, "Is this news true?"

The commander of the personal guards said, "Reporting to the deputy general, the news is absolutely true. It was brought back by the general's personal guards who just escaped from the Jiangyin naval camp!"

With that, the commander of the personal guards shouted sternly towards the outside of the tent, "Bring the man up here!"

As they were talking, a 100-year-old commander of the Tiger Warriors' Right Guard, soaking wet and utterly exhausted, was helped by two bodyguards to his left and right to his deputy, Tang Ziyi.

The centurion of the Yuhou Army, barely holding on to his last breath, knelt down beside Tang Ziyi and said with tears streaming down his face, "Reporting to the Deputy General, the General, the General has died for his country!"

It turned out that this man was a military officer who had accompanied Wu Sanjia on his expedition to Jiangyin to welcome back the emperor.

He narrowly escaped being hit by the cannon fire of the Dragon City Navy fleet while on the Tiger Warriors' warships, and witnessed General Wu Sanjia commit suicide in front of the naval camp.

Afterwards, suppressing his grief, he fled the battlefield, seized a fishing boat, and sailed north along the river back to the main camp. Finally, just as the Longcheng naval fleet was about to arrive at the city, he brought the news of General Wu Sanjia's death on the battlefield back to the Tiger Legion's main camp.

Because another deputy general of the Tiger Warriors, Zhao Kui, was stationed at the Tiger Warriors naval camp a little further away, the news of General Wu Sanjia's death was reported to the deputy general Tang Ziyi, who came after him.

This centurion of the Yuhou Army, who had managed to escape, witnessed the naval artillery battle outside the Jiangyin naval camp and the general's suicide in Jiangyin.

He truthfully reported to Vice Admiral Tang Ziyi the scene of Fang Tianyao, the King of the Four Seas, surrendering his troops and handing over Emperor Lingwu and Empress Dowager Su to the officers and soldiers of the Longcheng Navy.

After listening to the report from the centurion of the Yuhou Army, Deputy General Tang Ziyi felt as if his head was about to explode.

He didn't even bother to verify the authenticity of the information.

The first thought that flashed through my mind was that this news must be kept secret and must not be allowed to reach my mortal enemy, Zhao Kui.

Tang Ziyi was well aware that he had only recently been promoted to deputy general, and his seniority and prestige in the Tiger Warriors were not as high as Zhao Kui's.

If news of General Wu Sanjia's death in battle were to spread among the Tiger Warriors, Zhao Kui would only need to raise his arm and immediately receive the response and support of 250,000 Tiger Warriors.

This guy is the kind of person who holds a grudge and seeks revenge.

Back then, Zhao Kui must have harbored a grudge against me for sending a large army to surround and kill him in Jinan.

Previously, with General Wu Sanjia suppressing him, Zhao Kui did not dare to do anything out of line.

Now that General Wu Sanjia has died in battle, if Zhao Kui were to seize command of the Tiger Warriors in one fell swoop, then Tang Ziyi would only face certain death.

Thinking of this, Tang Ziyi hurriedly asked, "Does anyone else know about the General's death in battle?"

The soldier shook his head and said, "Reporting to the deputy general, the Tiger-like navy suffered a crushing defeat at Jiangyin; only I, the general, survived and escaped."

"This humble general is well aware of the great importance of this matter, and reported it to the deputy general immediately. No third party knows about it!"

Um!

Having received a satisfactory answer, Tang Ziyi finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You did the right thing!"

"Someone, take this brother from Yu Houjun away to rest!"

"Yes, Vice General!"

The centurion, seemingly unaware of the impending danger, remarked to Tang Ziyi before leaving, "Vice General, the rebel navy's warships in Longcheng are equipped with a new type of weapon."

"Its power is immense, and its range far surpasses that of our catapults and ballistae. I urge the Vice General to make preparations as soon as possible and avenge the General!"

Tang Ziyi naturally did not answer the centurion, but instead gave a wink to the commander of his personal guards, who immediately understood and followed him out.

A moment later, the commander of the personal guards returned to the main tent.

Without looking up, Tang Ziyi asked, "Is it done?"

The commander of the personal guards nodded and said, "Reporting to the deputy general, it's all settled!"

Um!

Tang Ziyi hesitated for a moment, then ordered, "Pass down the order to give him a proper burial!"

"Yes, Vice General!"

After thinking for a moment, Tang Ziyi added: "At daybreak, in the name of the General, order the assembly of the three armies. During the period of alert, without the General's written order, no one may move a single soldier of the Tiger Warriors."

"Furthermore, in the name of the Grand General, draft another military order to dispatch the Tiger Fleet northward to defend against the enemy and block the southward advance of the Dragon City rebels!"

"Prepare another small boat for me, as I wish to personally travel to the Dragon City naval fleet to meet His Highness Prince Jin!"

"Your subordinate obeys!"