On June 20th, An Guo was finally overwhelmed by the navy of Dongqing, and once again was vanquished by Da Yi. Subsequently, the monarch withdrew the 50,000 soldiers stationed in Da Yi Guangxi.

The Lang Army of Guangxi lost the support of An Guo. Except for the camp of Donglan, its military strength in Nadi, Guishun, Nandan, and Ensi had been brutally suppressed by the Southwest Army of Da Yi. Therefore, its force was greatly undermined.

After several battles with the Lang Army of Donglan, seven troops of the Eastern Depot successfully blew up Lang Army’s arsenal.

Min Rui carefully studied the topographic map of Donglan and asked the local people for inquiries. Finally, he adopted Leng Qingtang's suggestion and forced all the remaining 40,000 troops of Lang Army into the Tiandang Mountain in Donglan.

Dongqing Fleet and the Imperial Guards of Leng Qingtang encamped at the foot of the mountain.

The mountain was named after "Tiandang" as "Dang" had the meaning of "block", with its special terrain characteristics.

This mountain was high and steep. In the mountain, there were few birds and beasts but lots of different wood and poisonous plants.

On the south side of the Tiandang Mountain, the high and steep mountain road was wide enough to allow horses and people to enter and exit; on the north side, there was a bow-shaped hole, which was bottomless and insurmountable.

The Lang Army was forced to enter the mountain. Due to lacking drinking water and food supplies, they couldn't live for a long time.

Leng Qingtang believed that since they were in a mountain and there was only one entrance and exit, the best way was to guard this place strictly, thus subduing the enemy by siege.

As expected, two days later, the spy of the Eastern Depot brought news that the broken bones of horses could be seen everywhere on the mountain.

Three days later, news came that horse bones on the mountain disappeared, and many soldiers of the Lang Army had died after eating poisonous weeds.

Leng Qingtang knew that now that Lang Army had eaten up all the horses and had no food. They really reached the boundary of death.

Then Leng Qingtang selected a number of eloquent people, took them into the Tiandang Mountain, and ordered them to take turns to speak to the Lang Army.

Leng Qingtang wanted the leader of Lang Army to know that the Wan clan who used to take responsibility for soldier's pay and provisions had already been killed because of deceiving the emperor. Now with infinite royal graciousness, the wrongdoers were given a way out. The emperor intended to recruit them as the official army of the imperial court.

God helped those who helped themselves. On the eighth day when Leng Qingtang entered the mountain, Lang Army sent people to meet Leng Qingtang and submit a capitulation. The tribal female leader Lang Mucha personally led a team to greet the Eastern Depot and knelt down before Leng Qingtang.

For fear of tricks, Leng Qingtang only led Mrs. Lang and the 500 armies down the mountain. The rest stayed on the mountain to rest and wait for the food supplies from the imperial court.

Min Rui led his men and horses lined up in front of the Dongqing military camp from a long distance. There was a heart-pounding atmosphere around the camp.

Leng Qingtang knew it in his heart and walked over as usual. He held the fist in the other hand to Min Rui,

"Duke, Mrs. Lang has accepted the court's offer, and she is willing to lead her team into Yunnan to fight against Bo Ku to protect our country."

"Humph," Min Rui said with a deep voice. He looked unwell and his eyes were vaguely ferocious,

"She lost the arsenal and they have been hungry for over ten days. I am afraid that she pretends to surrender!"

Leng Qingtang was very patient and waved his hand,

"Only five hundred soldiers have gone down the mountain, and their leader is here, so please don't worry."

"Lang Mucha? I'm looking for her! Come on and tie her up—"

Min Rui suddenly took his sword out. With the light, his subordinates rushed forward to surround Mrs. Lang and her people.

Leng Qingtang scowled and stared down. He shouted,

"Wait! What do you mean, Your Royal Highness?"

"What do I mean?"

Min Rui narrowed his eagle-like stern eyes and glanced at the man's angry handsome face. Then he looked at the panicked Lang Army with no expression,

"The barbaric ethnic groups are hard to tame. I'm afraid that they will kill us as soon as they're full. Why not kill them all now?"

Leng Qingtang frowned, "Offering amnesty is His Majesty's order. Do you want to resist the decree?!"

Min Rui's heart was filled with hatred, and his scarlet eyes were almost ready to breathe fire. He looked at Leng Qingtang and suddenly yelled,

"Don't want to use His Majesty as the excuse to suppress me! Yes, what if I resist the decree? The Wans persecuted Concubine Yu and killed the imperial heir. I will accept the enemy's men unless I die first! Kill them all—"

Immediately it was bloody.

The wailing covered the movement of the flesh being pierced by metal, and the soldiers' spears were stained with blood.

Standing in the blood, Min Rui slightly raised his face to feel the smell of death. He smiled contentedly.

He hated the Wan clan, and even more hated the Lang Army supported by the Wans!

At that time, he received a letter from his daughter in Guiping. Knowing that the prince had died, his heart ached.

The Wan clan was overthrown overnight. Min Rui then received a handwritten letter from Empress Qian. The letter mentioned that Wan Yuyao had bribed the maidservant of Jingyang Palace and murdered his daughter and that Wan Yuyao then blamed Concubine Xu in Chuxiu Palace.

Taking the emperor's order this time, Min Rui was bound to avenge her daughter.

Now facing Lang Army and their leader, Lang Mucha, Min Rui once again thought of his enemies, the Wan clan. It was definitely hard for him to let go of his hatred.

"Stop—"

Leng Qingtang roared and pulled out his saber. At the same time, guards of the Eastern Depot prepared their weapons one after another.

He rushed into the encirclement, protecting Lang Mucha and shouting,

"Shi Lei, take the imperial sword!"

Shi Lei entered the camp at the sound. He quickly walked out with a three-foot-long sword in his hands.

This sword was given by the emperor. The hilt was a forged gold dragon head. The 1,880 dragon scales on the scabbard were exquisitely carved, shining brightly under the scorching sun.

Leng Qingtang knew well that Empress Qian was deliberately embarrassing him this time when the Eastern Depot was sent to the south. Therefore, before leaving, he asked for a token from Emperor Jingxiao, so that he could win a reputation in the camp and deal with those soldiers.

Taking the imperial sword from Shi Lei, Leng Qingtang ordered,

"Min Rui resists the decree and has no respect to His Majesty. Remove his armor and bind him up. Behead him at noon."

"Leng Qingtang, how dare you—"

Min Rui snarled wildly and was unwilling to submit.

Min Rui's three generals took out their swords at almost the same moment, ready to risk their lives to protect their leader.

Leng Qingtang's face was gloomy. He raised the golden sword and look around,

"I'm ordered to be the inspector in the army, with the imperial sword. Who dares to take actions—"

It was quiet for a while, and the scene fell into a deadlock.

Leng Qingtang raised his sword and walked to Min Rui, righteously speaking,

"The sword represents His Majesty. You defy His Majesty's order and kill the surrender. Aren’t you deceiving His Majesty? Shouldn’t you be beheaded?"

Min Rui frowned, closed his eyes slowly, and threw his weapon in pain.

Leng Qingtang motioned to Bai Qiying, the fourth captain, and Shi Lei, the seventh captain. The two accepted the order and took off Min Rui's armor. With only underpants, Min Rui was tied to the pillars in front of the camp.

All the armies of Dongqing knelt down and kowtowed to plead for their commander in chief.

Leng Qingtang ignored them and led Lang Mucha to the camp. He awarded a banquet to get her over a shock.

The sun went up to the sky. At this time, it was much hotter in Southern Jiang than in the north.

Min Rui was tied under the scorching sun. Soon he was sweating profusely and felt dizzy. He felt tightness in his chest and found it difficult to breathe

"Master, please forgive His Highness—"

"Master Leng, please bestow favors!"

"Duke has a remarkable record and is the relative of the emperor. Please be merciful, Master Leng..."

The three troops, Chi, Lv, and Zi, continued to entreat Leng Qingtang and the howling sound hit the eardrum of Lang Mucha one after another. Even if she picked up the glass, it was difficult for her to drink and eat happily.

Leng Qingtang squinted at the woman. He then looked out of the camp and smiled.

He shouted loudly,

"Transmit my order. It's noon now. Behead Min Rui!"

Just as the three troops of Dongqing were in chaos outside, Lang Mucha got up and walked. Facing Leng Qingtang, she knelt down sincerely and bowed her head. She spoke Chinese disfluently,

"I implore Master Leng to forgive His Highness's crimes and treat him as generous as you did to Lang Army. Now the war in Yunnan is not settled. If the enemies know you kill your own good general, they will laugh at us."

Mrs. Lang came forward to intercede for Min Rui, which fitted in exactly with Leng Qingtang's wishes.

Just now Min Rui's words were critical but somewhat reasonable.

Lang Army had stayed in a wildland for a long time. If offering amnesty failed to completely convince them, even if they became the regular army of the imperial court in the future, they would regenerate disasters.

Just now, Min Rui ordered his men to kill a few people of Lang Army, which just happened to give them a head-on blow at the first encounter.

Leng Qingtang understood the real reason why Min Rui hated the Lang Army. He was courteous before using force because he wanted to win popular support and put on a play for Lang Mucha. Besides, he wanted to deflate Min Rui's evil spirit through the crime of disobeying the decree.

There was also another deep meaning. Leng Qingtang was determined to put down his hatred after the incident and forgive Min Rui's past misdeeds.

It was true that Min Rui, as a trainee in the army, deliberately concealed the fact that the deceased emperor was prevented from returning from the western tribes to Baishui Gate. He did not ask for assistance from the guards, which made the deceased emperor frustrated. In the end, the deceased emperor and Noble Concubine Lan both committed suicide so that the ninth prince could survive.

However, Min Rui was also a rare general for Da Yi to command the navy.

It was imperative to kill the chief culprit Huanan Ze. For sake of the country, Yunxi, and Yunyao, Leng Qingtang decided to keep Min Rui alive.

Seeing Lang Mucha interceded for Min Rui, Leng Qingtang felt that he succeeded in being a peacemaker. Therefore, it was better to leave well alone.

Leng Qingtang smiled like a breeze when he lifted up Lang Mucha,

"What Mrs. Lang says reminds me that the war in Southern Jiang has not been over at the moment. It is indeed inappropriate to behead a good general. He resisted the order and killed your subordinates, but you're magnanimous. I really admire you."

Lang Mucha held the fist in the other hand,

"Master Leng, you overpraise me. Could you allow me to untie His Highness?"

Leng Qingtang's eyes lightened slightly. He became more respectful to the woman in her early thirties. He nodded frequently,

"OK."

Lang Mucha turned around and walked out of the camp. She strode to Min Rui and knocked her head on the ground. With a solemn expression, she stood up,

"Your Highness, Lang Army was favored by the Wan clan, and it is a capital crime to fight against the imperial court. Now the army of Bo Ku has violated our border and killed our people. We are also citizens of Da Yi. Please temporarily allow me to redeem myself by leading my army and going to Yunnan to kill the enemies.

If I die on the battlefield, it is God's will. If I don't die and win the war, you can behead me at your proposal. However, please forgive all the members of the Lang Army."