Chapter 656

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Night fell, and the Prince of Huainan and Cui Shang’an halted their assault.

After Prince Yan was killed in the chaotic battle, the Yan army fell into disarray. They took the opportunity to attack the city, but unexpectedly, the originally smooth battle was turned around again by Cui Cheng’s appearance.

This time, to deal with them, Prince Yan had forcibly conscripted many able-bodied men. The relatively small Yingzhou actually held 250,000 people.

After a fierce battle, they were once again driven out of the city.

‘This Cui Cheng indeed has some ability. However, during the day today, most of the Yan army already fled. Tonight, probably even more soldiers will flee. Precisely because of this, the Yan army will inevitably expend their energy on stopping deserters, and won’t think we would take advantage of this night to launch a surprise attack.’

Cui Shang’an nodded. He had already prepared 10,000 elite troops for a night raid on the Yingzhou Grand Camp. At midnight, he led his soldiers quietly into Yingzhou City through the damaged city walls.

As the Prince of Huainan guessed, as night fell, more and more soldiers fled from the Yan army’s grand camp. The patrolling soldiers were constantly distracted by the escaping soldiers.

In the darkness, the patrolmen could not distinguish between deserters and enemy troops. In this situation, Cui Shang’an quickly led his soldiers to the Yingzhou Grand Camp.

“Light the arrows,” At this time, the Yingzhou Grand Camp was brightly lit. Then Cui Shang’an gave the order.

Upon receiving the order, a dozen torches lit up. Soldiers took arrows with oil-cloth wrapped tips, lit them one by one on the torches, and drew their bows.

“Fire!”

At Cui Shang’an’s command, a sky full of flaming arrows flew towards the Yan army’s grand camp. The arrows accurately landed on the Yan army’s tents. These tents, sewn from cotton cloth, ignited instantly, and the fire spread rapidly, illuminating the Yan army’s grand camp brightly.

The towering flames illuminated the night sky. At this moment, the Prince of Huainan led the soldiers outside the city and immediately charged into the city.

Cui Shang’an’s objective was merely to disrupt the Yingzhou Grand Camp and cause chaos.

The Yan army’s grand camp fell into chaos. At this moment, the Prince of Huainan stood up and shouted, “Kill!”

“Kill!” His response was the furious shouts of the Huainan soldiers. They charged into Yingzhou City like ferocious tigers descending from the mountains.

A Yan army soldier woke up from his sleep. Amidst the raging flames, he rushed out of his tent in terror, without even time to put on his clothes. But what greeted him were Huainan army soldiers covering his entire body. Before he could even shout, he felt a chill in his chest, then he watched his own blood spurt from his chest. Before dying, extreme fear made him let out one last shriek.

The Huainan army charged into the grand camp like tigers entering a flock of sheep. The Yan army soldiers, as soon as they rushed out of their tents, died under their swords and sabers. Some were even stabbed through the heart in their sleep.

Chaos quickly spread throughout the Yan army’s grand camp. The entire camp was filled with the stench of death. Cui Cheng, protected by his personal guards, rallied his soldiers. He looked at the flaming camp, his body even colder than winter blades. A voice told him that the Yan army was completely finished this time. The Huainan army soldiers, clad in armor, slaughtered them like cattle and sheep, leaving behind only cold corpses wherever they went. He had organized several attacks, but the terrified soldiers offered no resistance and were quickly disintegrated.

During the day, he had been able to repel the Huainan army because his troops had no idea that Prince Yan had died in battle. Now, all the soldiers knew, and the Yan army’s morale had plummeted to rock bottom.

“Your Highness, let’s go! If we don’t leave now, it will be too late!” a general said, covering his arm. At this moment, his arm was bleeding from a cut inflicted by a soldier. If not for a few Yan soldiers who had timely helped him resist, he would have likely lost his life.

Cui Cheng looked at the flaming grand camp, stomped his foot fiercely, and swung onto his horse, fleeing towards the west gate under the escort of dozens of riders.

When Cui Shang’an attacked, the Prince of Huainan, according to plan, led his soldiers to capture the Yan army’s west gate. In the darkness, they still used cannons. Although the Prince of Huainan had witnessed the power of firearms, he never expected such immense destructive power in warfare. The Yan army soldiers guarding the gate, numbering at least three to four thousand, were all defeated by a few volleys of cannon fire.

After taking the West Gate, the Prince of Huainan said to a cavalry general beside him, “General Qi, the pursuit of the routed soldiers is entrusted to you.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” he then shouted, “Soldiers, it’s time to reap the enemy’s heads! Charge!”

“Kill!” The soldiers’ morale was high.

The thunderous sound of hooves pounded like war drums. Hearing this sound, the Yan army soldiers completely lost the will to fight and fled in disarray. More often, they threw down their weapons and surrendered to the Huainan army.

When the Prince of Huainan and Cui Shang’an entered the camp, they encountered almost no resistance along the way. Yan army soldiers were kneeling everywhere.

Leading the cavalry to dismantle the last resisting forces of the Yan army, the Huainan army soldiers did not stop but lit torches and pursued westward directly. They had already learned that Cui Cheng had fled westward.

However, the Prince of Huainan was not in a hurry, because the west city gate had already been taken by them, and other city gates were also successively taken. Now Cui Cheng had nowhere to escape.

So, he simply ordered his soldiers to clear the battlefield. Because of the surprise attack, most of the Yan army soldiers had not mounted their horses, and a large number of warhorses were tied in the stables, allowing him to gain a great advantage.

Besides warhorses, he also captured many common people from the Yan army. He ordered that those common people who did not resist should not be killed. This time, over 50,000 common people were captured, along with nearly 80,000 surrendered and captured soldiers, making a total of 130,000 Yan people taken prisoner.

The clearing of the battlefield continued until the next morning. At this time, the Huainan army’s cavalry returned, with General Qi, their leader, holding Cui Cheng’s head.

Upon reaching the Prince of Huainan, General Qi dismounted and threw Cui Cheng’s head onto the ground. He said, “Your Highness, Cui Cheng refused to surrender and has been killed by this subordinate.”

The Prince of Huainan nodded. Yan had always oppressed Huainan, so he deeply resented Prince Yan. This attack on Yan was also in line with the will of the people.

Now Prince Yan was dead, and Cui Cheng was also dead. However, he suddenly thought of a question and said, “I remember Cui Cheng also had a younger brother, Cui Hao. Where is he?”

Cui Shang’an then said, “Imperial Father, after Cui Cheng learned of Cui Hao’s rebellion, he led his troops and slaughtered the powerful families involved in the rebellion. This Cui Hao was killed by him.”

“Is that so? So, the Prince Yan’s lineage is completely cut off.” The Prince of Huainan sighed. “Yan is destroyed.”