Transmigrated as the Princess Consort of a Fallen Nation-Chapter 97

There have been rumors among the people that Chu Chengji sought the assistance of ghost soldiers.

With all the strange phenomena happening before their eyes, it’s no wonder they think it’s the work of ghosts.

The soldiers from Chen’s army were terrified, turning back and running for their lives.

Even the commanding officer’s shouts couldn’t stop them.

“Anyone who retreats will be executed!” The commanding officer, in a fit of anger, beheaded a fleeing soldier, finally gaining control of the situation.

He said sternly, “Form shield walls in groups of ten! Don’t get separated! These are just some tricks!”

With his sword in one hand and a torch in the other, the commanding officer led the way himself.

The forest floor was covered with fallen leaves, obscuring the ground.

The commanding officer remained vigilant, observing from above the forest canopy to see where the arrows were coming from.

The soldiers held their thick shields, trembling, as they followed behind him.

As the commanding officer stepped on the dry leaves, he suddenly fell into a deep pit.

Arrows shot out from the forest again.

The soldiers screamed in terror.

Hindered by the arrows, they couldn’t move forward to rescue him and could only turn and run.

A soldier who didn’t know what had happened asked from behind, “Where’s the general?”

A fleeing soldier replied, “The general disappeared as soon as he went forward!”

In the midst of this eerie forest, the rumors grew wilder.

When someone asked about the Chen army’s commanding officer, it turned into “The commanding officer was abducted by the ghost soldiers!”

“The commanding officer is dead!”

Eventually, news spread that the Chen army’s commanding officer had died.

Ghost fires were everywhere in the forest.

Occasionally, soldiers triggered traps in the chaos, getting tangled in vines, falling into pits, or getting hit by swinging tree logs.

In the pitch-black surroundings, the soldiers couldn’t see anything clearly, and the screams terrified them, making their faces pale and some even wetting themselves.

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Only a few soldiers managed to escape from the forest.

They were all in a state of shock.

Those who were waiting outside but hadn’t entered the forest were hysterically shouting, “Run! There are ghost soldiers in the forest! Former Crown Prince Chu asked for their help!”

A junior officer guarding outside asked, “Where’s the commanding officer?”

The soldiers cried out in despair, “He’s dead! They’re all dead! We shot so many arrows, but we couldn’t harm those ghost soldiers at all!”

Sharp screams echoed from the dense forest again, followed by more fleeing soldiers.

The soldier who was asked the question didn’t dare to stay any longer and ran for his life.

Everyone was fleeing in panic.

The soldiers from Chen’s army who hadn’t entered the forest didn’t know what had happened, but seeing the soldiers who had returned in a terrible state, they believed there were ghost soldiers killing people.

In the middle of the night, they were too scared to stay and followed suit.

A military force of tens of thousands had completely fallen apart.

Before they could retreat, thunderous shouts echoed from both sides of the mountains again.

The Chen army, with their morale shattered, couldn’t hold on.

They were enveloped in fear and couldn’t distinguish between friend and foe.

They soon began to retreat.

When the commanding officer finally crawled out of the deep pit, he was immediately confronted by a sharp sword at his neck.

“Well, well, you’re quite resilient to climb out on your own!”

Several soldiers from the Chu army held torches.

The commanding officer saw a woman in a red dress pointing a sword at him.

For some reason, her complexion seemed dark, but there was a heroic air about her, looking very sharp.

The commanding officer spat fiercely, “I knew you lot were just petty tricksters!”

Lin Zhao tapped his face with the sword. “Old man, now that you’ve fallen into the hands of this lady, behave yourself!”

The commanding officer of the Chen army had never been so humiliated before, and his face immediately showed displeasure.

With a wave of her hand, Lin Zhao ordered her men to tie him up tightly.

Seeing the broad shoulders of the commander, she remarked, “This rope is made of tendon, and the buckle is used for tying wild boars. Don’t waste your energy struggling on the way.”

The commander’s face twisted with anger when Lin Zhao mentioned that the rope was used for tying wild boars.

He sneered, “Are there no righteous warriors left among the remnants of the former dynasty? Only women like you know these tricks!”

Lin Zhao didn’t tolerate his sarcasm.

She fiercely jabbed the commander’s stomach with the sheath of her sword several times. “What’s wrong with being a woman? Your army of tens of thousands fell into the hands of women like us.

What’s righteous about that? Isn’t using military tactics also a form of trickery? Was your nighttime raid at the river crossing righteous?”

The commander winced in pain and was left speechless by Lin Zhao’s retort.

Lin Zhao led the bound commander like a dog on a leash to meet with Qin Zheng.

Seeing Qin Zheng from afar, Lin Zhao shouted, “Sister Zheng, I’ve caught an official!”

The commander followed Lin Zhao’s gaze and saw the woman she was referring to among the crowd of people holding torches in the distance.

She was tall and slender, wearing nomadic clothes, with her hair tied up high.

She looked exceptionally capable.

As he got a clearer view of the woman’s face, he couldn’t help but be amazed.

Moonlight filtered through the sparse tree shadows, with bluish ghost fires burning in the distance.

She stood there, appearing untainted by the world, like a celestial being or a mountain spirit.

The commander was momentarily stunned by the sight.

Lin Zhao raised her sword sheath and knocked him on the head. “Stop staring! My sister Zheng isn’t someone you can ogle at!”

Upon hearing Lin Zhao’s call, Qin Zheng turned her head.

She often helped Chu Chengji with his armor, so she had some knowledge of the different ranks of military officers and their armor.

Seeing the armor worn by the commander, she smiled at Lin Zhao. “The person you caught seems to hold quite a high rank.”

Lin Zhao glanced at the commander suspiciously. “This fool fell directly into a trap. Judging by his dim-witted appearance, how high could his rank be? If the commanders leading the Chen army are of this caliber, then they’re in trouble!”

The commander remained silent.

Qin Zheng said, “If he hasn’t exchanged uniforms with the lower-ranking soldiers, then it’s probably him.”

Lin Zhao looked at the man she had tied up with suspicion. “He probably did exchange uniforms with someone.”

She kicked the Chen army commander. “Hey, what’s your name and rank? Speak up!”

The commander squeezed out a few words from his teeth, “A soldier may be killed but not humiliated!”

Lin Zhao was puzzled. “I’m just asking for your name and rank. How is that humiliating you?”

The commander’s face turned beet red with anger.

Qin Zheng said, “Enough, we’ll hand him over to the palace for interrogation later.”

She turned to the soldiers who were removing arrows from the straw men. “Hurry up, everyone.”

These straw men were dressed in tattered Chu army uniforms, covered in arrows, and tied with ropes on their backs, just like the ghost soldiers that had frightened the Chen army in the forest.

The Chen army commander understood now when he saw these straw men.

He realized how those “ghost soldiers” moved so swiftly in the forest with such stiff movements and remained unaffected by the arrows.

They were actually straw men dressed in army uniforms, manipulated by people hidden in the dark.

As for the skulls placed on tree branches and the singing of “Chu Feng”, it was all just a ruse to scare people.

After understanding the truth, the Chen army commander was infuriated to think that he had been defeated by such crude tactics.

He was so angry he almost bit his tongue off.

Seeing his ferocious expression and hearing his teeth grinding, Lin Zhao shouted, “Does he want to bite his tongue and die?”

Qin Zheng glanced over and saw Lin Zhao forcefully twist the commander’s jaw.

With a “click,” the commander’s jaw dislocated, and he couldn’t close his mouth anymore.

Yang Yiguang, who came to report, felt a slight pain in his jaw.

The young miss and young master were as fierce as ever.

The Chen army commander was almost spitting blood from anger.

His jaw was in excruciating pain, and he could only make muffled sounds and drool uncontrollably when he tried to speak.

It was such a humiliation! Unbearable shame!

Yet Lin Zhao clapped her hands and said triumphantly, “Let’s see how he bites his tongue now!”

Qin Zheng nodded in approval. “That’s a good way. No need for a cloth to gag his mouth.”

The Chen army commander was speechless.

Lin Zhao, rarely praised by Qin Zheng, rolled up her sleeves. “It’s simple. I’ll teach Sister Zheng how to dislocate a jaw with just a twist and a push!”

She said she wanted to demonstrate it again for Qin Zheng.

When the Chen army commander noticed her gaze back on him, he trembled all over.

He had been making noises just a moment ago, but now he was as quiet as a mouse, avoiding eye contact as if afraid that Lin Zhao would dislocate his jaw again and violently put it back in place.

Yang Yiguang wiped the sweat from his forehead and coughed lightly before reporting, “Your Highness, General Lin has inspected the traps and ambushes. We have captured over three thousand Chen soldiers and seized more than four thousand weapons.”

After scaring off the Chen army, Yang Yiguang led his men to capture the trapped and fleeing soldiers, picking up the weapons discarded by the panicked Chen soldiers along the way.

The number surprised Qin Zheng.

Their first battle against the Chen army had been a complete victory.

She said, “Well done, General Yang. Spread the word to gather the troops at Shantong Palace.”

The Chen army commander didn’t recognize Qin Zheng at first, but her words confirmed her identity.

His jaw still aching, and his dignity trampled upon, the commander felt utterly humiliated.

Previously, he had thought highly of the former Crown Prince’s consort, but now, even the most beautiful appearance seemed terrifying to him.

He had heard rumors of the former Crown Prince’s ambition and the guidance of his consort, and though he had dismissed them before, now he wondered if they were true after all...

Even though he had suffered defeat at the hands of the former Crown Prince, he couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for him.

And as for the former Crown Prince’s beloved, Shenzi, no wonder the noble ladies in his family paid her little attention.

It seemed his taste differed greatly from that of these refined gentlemen...

To avoid damaging Lin’s traps and ambushes, Chu Chengji had not led his men into the forest earlier.

He had left traces along the way, even tearing pieces of his robe and hanging them in the thicket at the entrance to lure the Chen army, before ambushing them on the nearby mountains.

He had prepared for this ambush from the beginning.

Whether the Chen army entered the forest or not, his troops could launch a surprise attack from both sides of the mountains, catching the Chen army off guard.

Unexpectedly, the Chen army commander, eager for victory and glory, had indeed entered the forest in search of him.

The Chen soldiers were terrified, making the subsequent battle much easier.

Of the tens of thousands of Chen soldiers, only a few thousand managed to escape.

Even those left behind to guard the boats at Hulukou were ambushed by Chu’s army.

Over a dozen official ships disappeared without a trace, and the thousands of Chen soldiers standing by the river, watching the rushing water, couldn’t help but cry at the thought of surviving the night.

Finally, a young officer led them upstream, where they commandeered a fishing boat to cross the river before larger ships arrived to pick up the remaining soldiers.