CHAPTER 1882: CHAPTER 1238: HOW THE PATSY WAS MADE

The new year began with constant excitement.

The Allied Army continuously churned out explosive news, acting as the most dedicated chef of the new year, greatly satisfying the curiosity of bystanders.

First, Wei Yi raised his own banner.

Then he swiftly dispatched troops to suppress the rebellion.

Just when everyone was anticipating how this internal conflict would end in mutual destruction, it ended so swiftly it was shocking.

—And in an even more jaw-dropping manner.

[Rebelion Army surrenders to Rebel Army]

At the moment this news was heard, almost 99.99% of people doubted their ears, wondering if the subject and object of the sentence were confused.

Never in life has one heard of a legitimate army surrendering to rebel forces, have they?

It was so unbelievable, like absurdity itself opening the door to absurdity, reaching the extreme!

The supreme art of war.

Losing without a fight.

We all understand this principle.

But shouldn’t it be executed in a right manner?

Isn’t this like turning heaven and earth upside down?!

No script would dare portray it this way.

But reality is reality. Scripts require logic and rationality, while reality often isn’t constrained by rules and thus is more absurd.

Wei Yi’s legend not only did not extinguish but climbed to new heights, resolving the first major hurdle of his venture without a single soldier lost, without a shot fired.

But this isn’t the crux.

The important thing is, instead, he absorbed the Rebelion Army for his own use, causing his strength to explode exponentially.

Although the battle didn’t occur,

there was plenty of confrontation behind the scenes.

Strategies like "capture the ringleader first" were all employed.

Without their leader Nai Wen, the leaderless Supervision Camp naturally didn’t resist stubbornly and reasonably surrendered their arms since they never had much loyalty to the Allied Army.

Moreover,

to their view, there wasn’t much difference between Wei Yi and the reigning aristocracy. It was akin to two leaders forming separate factions; choosing whom to work with was easy without much psychological burden.

At the same time,

the Supervision Camp’s surrender announced the complete collapse of the Allied Army’s plan to swiftly crush the rebellion.

Not only failing to reclaim lost ground, but they also "lost a lady and broke the soldiers", delivering ten thousand soldiers and countless weapons to the Rebel Army.

Practically a living Buddha, a money-distributing child.

There’s a saying that goes well,

When you’re out in the world, you always have to reap what you sow.

The foundation of the Allied Army wasn’t actually achieved through their own hard work and sweat, so it’s indeed easy for it to slip away again.

From this perspective, optimists can console themselves that it wasn’t theirs to begin with, so losing it shouldn’t be distressing.

But one must know not everyone is an optimist, capable of maintaining a good mindset constantly, and able to view the world positively.

At least speaking from the perspective of the main victim, even being cautiously dubbed "the big fool" in public, the Allied Army’s leader likely wouldn’t be delighted after knowing the outcomes of the battle.

Even stepping ten thousand steps back,

leaving aside the loss of armaments and weapons,

those ten thousand men should rightfully belong to him, correct?

Yet all of them ran to the other side.

For someone not in a good state of mind, failing to catch their breath could land them in the ICU.

Wei Yi’s rebellion indeed stirred up a huge commotion.

But in most people’s rational conception, they know very well who is strong and who is weak; they are not optimistic about Wei Yi going it alone, thinking that regardless of how tortuous the process is, the Allied Army would ultimately regain unity.

But with the end of the first rebellion suppression war, which concluded without any actual battle, the situation underwent a drastic change.

Wei Yi not only didn’t suffer any loss, but he also gained ten thousand elite soldiers and numerous logistical support without any damages. Following the law of conservation, his wealth is, however, the Allied Army’s loss.

In such a rise and fall,

the gap in paper strength between the two camps significantly narrowed, not quite an even match, but at least it made the outcome difficult to predict.

No one can maintain absolute confidence in the Allied Army anymore.

Military morale must be in turmoil, no need to mention, now even the "public sentiment" starts substantially dwindling.

Wei Yi’s rebellion was actually acceptable, so the leader of the Allied Army didn’t get too agitated; one could say they handled the situation calmly. But Batulu’s betrayal at the critical moment was truly damaging to the Allied Army, making it extremely challenging for anyone to remain unflustered in the face of danger.

"Bang!"

The low table almost fell apart.

"Batulu!"

The leader of the Allied Army gnashed his teeth, his neck protruding with snake-like veins.

The cautious Grand Steward Mu Lun kept his head bowed and remained silent.

But even if he didn’t make a sound, it was evident that the leader of the Allied Army wouldn’t let him off.

"Mu Lun, don’t you have anything to say?"

The leader’s face was so dark it almost dripped water; considering a leader should not let emotions show on their face, one can only imagine the extent of his wrath.

If resentment could kill, the far-gone Batulu likely wouldn’t leave a single hair in this world.

Say what?

At this moment.

In this situation.

What else is there to say?

Yet pretending to be mute had already been attempted and wasn’t allowed, so Mu Lun could only say, "What’s been done is done, General still needs to remain calm, the urgent matter now is how to..."

"Bang!"

The overburdened low table wobbled again, on the verge of collapse.

"How can you expect me to stay calm?! That beast, despite my trust, giving him men, giving him guns, he dared to betray me!"

With fleshy cheeks trembling, the leader’s fierce demeanor was chilling.

"You can only blame him for hiding too well, already colluding with Wei Yi long ago, even deceiving the General’s eyes..."