The Bodyguard King’s CEO Wife Chapter 1602: Meritorious Service While Bearing Guilt

"Break down the door."

"Yes."

A few Qin Army soldiers stepped forward, using a heavy wooden mallet to strike the door forcefully. The thick wooden door shattered, and flames burst out from the doorway, engulfing several people instantly.

Ahhhh.

The burning soldiers lay on the ground, groaning in pain as the flames spread across their bodies. Simultaneously, the flames that leapt from the doorway climbed up to the roof, setting the entire warehouse ablaze.

"General, the enemy troops inside the warehouse... they set themselves on fire. The flames turned into a raging blaze as soon as they touched the air."

"They’re a bunch of madmen. Hurry, put out the fire!"

"Yes."

"Yes."

In the latter half of the night, a fierce wind blew in, fanning the flames. The raging fire quickly consumed the entire camp. All around were the shouts and groans of the Qin Army. From a distance, the camp engulfed in flames resembled a fireball in the night, visible from afar even without a signal flare.

Lu Lin Ferry.

"General Huo, look, that’s the agreed-upon signal flare."

Huo Ziqing led ten thousand cavalry men stationed in the woods outside the ferry. Indeed, the Qin Army at the ferry began to mobilize; they must be in chaos now.

"It certainly is. All troops listen, charge forward, don’t bother with the Qin Army at the ferry, burn the boats, burn them all, leave none remaining, understand?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Brothers, charge with me!" At Huo Ziqing’s command, ten thousand cavalry burst out of the woods, rushing straight to the ferry. Ten thousand horse hooves galloped simultaneously, raising a cloud of dust in the forest like a sandstorm.

"Look quickly, what’s happening in the forest?"

"It’s... it’s the enemy troops, quickly, sound the alarm, quickly."

At Lu Lin Ferry, some forces had already been dispatched to the mountains to extinguish the fire. Caught off guard by Huo Ziqing’s surprise attack, the main gate was breached in the blink of an eye. The cavalry charged forward unimpeded, and most of the Qin troops had not even managed to put on their clothes, let alone defend.

"Ignore them, the entire army, pour fuel on the ferries and burn them all!" shouted Huo Ziqing.

"Quick, stop them, protect the ferries!"

Leading the charge, Huo Ziqing encountered several Qin soldiers trying to stop him but cut them down. The ferry was on flat ground without any natural defenses, making it easy to attack and difficult to defend.

At the water’s edge, Huo Ziqing ordered his soldiers to place the incendiary materials on the boats and threw torches over, setting a large fire. These ferries were linked together, and with the Qin Army unable to tend to them, one boat catching fire would ignite the next in succession.

"General Huo, all the ferries have been set ablaze, not a single one was spared."

Before long, the soldiers regrouped quickly, having prepared adequately ahead of time. Hundreds of ferries were turned into ’fire ships’ in less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.

"It won’t be long before the Qin Army regroups. Let’s move quickly and withdraw."

"Yes."

Thirty li away.

"Old Ye, there’s firelight to the west and north, it seems Xue San and General Huo have succeeded."

"Indeed, judging by the fire, they’ve had a great victory tonight." Ye Shikai smiled faintly. Without supplies, without ferries, the Qin Army is in chaos and won’t be able to retreat, leading to inevitable disorder.

"Old Ye, with those places burned, the Qin Army is bound to be in disarray. We should press the attack with our one hundred thousand troops to prevent Zheng Lang from retreating through the small roads," Shangguan Jian suggested.

"No rush, I’ve changed my plans. Let’s give the Qin Army two days," Ye Shikai shook his head and said.

"Why is that?"

"If we deploy now, the Qin Army will fight desperately. Besides, with such significant incidents, do you think Zheng Lang would do nothing? He’ll definitely station troops at the front camp fort to stop us. If we fight now, we won’t necessarily lose, but the cost will be high. If we give them two days, the Qin Army’s morale will be in chaos, making it much easier for us. Moreover, on such a narrow mountain road, how many can escape in two days, maybe just two or three thousand?" Ye Shikai had anticipated, not worrying about Zheng Lang himself escaping. On the contrary, he’d prefer Zheng Lang to flee; an army abandoned by its commander wouldn’t resist, let alone stand up to fight.

"In these two days, send more soldiers to shout at the front line, telling them they’re out of supplies and ferries, with no chance of retreat. Additionally, dispatch more agents to spread the message within the Qin Army camp, saying Zheng Lang has prepared a retreat for himself, leaving these soldiers here to await death."

"I see, I understand, I’ll see to it at once."

.................................

Two hours later.

"General Ye, I’ve burned all the Qin ferries to the ground this time!"

"General Huo, leading your cavalry to surprise attack the ferry and burning all of Zheng Lang’s ferries to the ground is indeed a remarkable feat, the master will surely reward you handsomely. Come, have a drink," Ye Shikai bowed in congratulation.

"Not at all. If it weren’t for General Ye creating the opportunity for me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to atone for my mistakes."

"General Huo, you have no faults, only merits; there’s no question of atoning for mistakes."

"General Ye, without your kind words before the master, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity."

"Haha, General Huo, please rise quickly." Ye Shikai stepped forward to help Huo Ziqing up and had a chair brought for him.

"General Huo’s abilities are well-recognized by all; commanding cavalry for so long and besting the Qin Army proves your true talent. I merely facilitated the situation. The ability to atone for mistakes is your merit."

"Regardless, thank you, General Ye. Though there’s no way to express such great gratitude in words, if there’s anything needed in the future, I’ll do everything in my power to assist."

"Report, the... the squad has returned." At this time, a soldier rushed into the camp, breathing heavily.

"It seems Xue San has once again made a significant contribution this time," Ye Shikai stood up. Indeed, the greatest accomplishment this time belonged to Xue San, who, compared to tens of thousands of cavalry attacking the ferry and burning ferries, led only twenty or thirty men in deep infiltration, akin to ’walking on the edge of a blade.’

"General Ye, Commander Xue... he..."

"What happened to him? Speak quickly." Suddenly, an ominous feeling crossed his mind.

"Commander Xue didn’t come back."

"What, how could this be." Upon hearing this, Ye Shikai shouted urgently, not caring about Huo Ziqing beside him.

"The squad only returned with a dozen people. They said... Commander Xue rushed in on a horse to ignite the warehouse, became surrounded by the Qin Army... and then... died in battle."

"Impossible."