Zhang Yan and Wang Zha lunged into the guard crowd, their rage leading them to mercilessly kill anyone in their path. Three fierce tigers among sheep—unstoppable. The guards, who were usually pampered, fell one by one as they fled in terror. When the trio emerged from the crowd, there was no one left in sight.
Their military instincts made them continue riding forward.
Prince Shizhi and Ruyi Liu watched helplessly as the three riders vanished into the distance on horseback.
Zhang Yan, still shirtless and wearing only his underpants, turned back with a spout of blood. The humiliation from Prince Shizhi had nearly extinguished all hope in him; a few guards' lives weren't enough to satisfy his thirst for revenge.
"Go back, commander said that the emperor will surely have countermeasures against Prince Shizhi. There's no need for you two to take any action. Disobedience is not a good habit."
Zhang Yan shook his head and replied, "We can’t return with such a punishment on us. Let’s go back to Bean Sand Fortress and decide what to do there."
Wang Zha looked at the empty camp gate, no one chasing after them. He angrily stabbed his sword into the ground and shouted, "What does he want?"
Wali Li smiled and said, "I've seen people like him before. Nenglingge of Western Xia used to be this way, but he died later on. Prince Shizhi will meet the same fate.
People like him always believe they are meant to rule the world, and once they fail, their lives become meaningless. They only think about destruction, trampling anything good in sight, even if it's just a pile of dung."
Zhang Yan, feeling anxious, asked, "We still have our imperial orders. How can we go back to Bean Sand Fort and risk angering the emperor?"
Wang Zha replied stubbornly, "I won’t return. I’ll only return once I’ve taught the Dali people a lesson and reclaimed Jianchang Prefecture in its entirety."
Wali Li sighed, "Why are you in such a rush? Why not? The imperial edict ordered us to select six hundred men from the Western Army and bring all the young princes training on the grasslands. It never said anything about two generals controlling the Divine Guard Corps."
Zhang Yan dismounted his horse and said with bitterness, "Of course I know, but we don’t have much time. We just want to join the Divine Guard Corps soon and select our troops for the campaign. Who could have thought this would happen on day one?"
Wali Li chuckled and patted Zhang Yan’s shoulder, "You've spent too long in the Western Army, you’re losing your mind. Do you think everyone is like cloudzheng? Just do what’s right regardless of consequences? You should be ashamed that you're still part of the imperial family.
Come with me. We’ll find Prince Shizhi later and settle this."
Zhang Yan and Wang Zha were nearing middle age; thirty-one was their golden years. They wanted to achieve great feats by then, driven by their lifelong hero’s dream. But now, they faced a setback that destroyed their hopes of leading an army. How could they accept it?