Chapter 177 Fire
The sound of horse hooves shook the sky and the dust rose. Zhao Ji led 500 elite soldiers like a black torrent, rushing towards the Khitan cavalry that were trying to escape with the momentum of a tiger descending from a mountain.

Seeing this, the leader Li Shaogu sent some of his men to turn their horses around and block Zhao Ji.

At the same time, the remaining troops closely guarded the carriage carrying Li Jinzhong's body and tried their best to break out.

A small number of Khitans turned back to guard the rear and tried to stop him at all costs, temporarily delaying Zhao Ji's attack, but they were all killed soon.

However, the carriage was not moving fast enough, which delayed Li Shaogu's escape. Zhao Ji quickly caught up from behind and was about to stop him.

Faced with the desperate situation, Li Shao had no choice but to draw his sword, turn his horse around and fight hard with the Zhou army.

He recognized Zhao Ji's armor and knew that he was the main general. He felt that there was still a chance of survival if he captured Zhao Ji.

When Zhao saw Li Shaogu coming towards him, he was not angry but happy, and sped up his horse to meet him.

The two horses crossed each other, and in a flash, Zhao Ji's sword tip swung lightly and accurately cut off the head of Li Shaogu's mount.

Li Shaogu lost his balance instantly, flew off his horse, and fell heavily to the ground. The carriage in front was also intercepted by the Zhou army, and the surrounding Khitans were all wiped out.

Since Zhao succeeded, the battle on the entire battlefield soon came to an end.

Due to the numerical disadvantage, the Khitan army's temporary mob was dispersed and fell into a state of collapse.

The Xi people led by Li Dafang had already been defeated, and now they took advantage of the situation to rush into the Khitan royal court, intending to loot, burn and kill.

However, the Khitans did not sit idly by and wait for death. Instead, they rose up in resistance.

What was even more bizarre was that fires suddenly broke out in many places in the Khitan royal court's camp at the same time. It was unclear whether the Khitans wanted to burn themselves to death or if there was someone else behind the scenes.

It was late autumn, the weather was dry and the wind was strong. The fire engulfed the entire Khitan camp at an unimaginable speed and showed signs of spreading.

Fortunately, the main force of the Zhou army was under strict orders from Zhao Ji to pursue the fleeing Khitan nobles and was not immediately affected.

The fire shot straight into the sky, illuminating half the sky red, and interweaving with the afterglow of the setting sun to form a tragic picture. Thick smoke filled the sky, and this shocking scene could be witnessed dozens of miles away.

After Zhao captured Li Shaogu and seized Li Jinzhong's body, he returned to the high hill, stood on his horse, and looked at the blazing fire in silence for a long time.

The elite Khitan troops left behind were basically wiped out, and most of the civilians who went to the battlefield were also driven out to fight, but in the end some old and weak people were left in the camp and died in the fire.

A moment later, Shen Tao rode up, dismounted, and knelt to give orders: "General, the Khitans fleeing eastward have been defeated. I have captured Li Jinzhong's banner, as well as the families of Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong. Only a small number of them fled in all directions, and I was unable to wipe them out completely."

Zhao Ji nodded and said, "There will always be some who escape. It is a great achievement to capture the enemy chief's family and seize his banner."

Xiao Bao followed and dismounted to report: "General, some nearby tribes saw the smoke and came to rescue us. I have defeated them all."

"The Xi people led by Li Dafang rushed into the Khitan camp and suddenly encountered a fire. Some of them did not have time to evacuate and suffered heavy casualties. Li Dafang himself escaped, but he fainted due to the smoke and fire and the heavy losses."

Zhao Ji frowned when he heard this, feeling both a headache and a little regretful.

At this moment, Li Kaigu, covered in blood and with bloodshot eyes, rushed over angrily.

He happened to see Li Shaogu tied up next to Zhao Ji, and without paying any attention to Zhao Ji, he rushed up and beat Li Shaogu violently.

"Li Shaogu, you are a beast in human form! How could you be so cruel as to set fire to the camp when there are tens of thousands of our people inside?"

Li Shaogu was tied up and couldn't fight back. He was beaten until he vomited blood. He was even more confused and puzzled: "When did I give the order to set fire?"

"You dare not admit it?" Li Kaigu became even angrier when he heard this and beat him even harder.

Zhao Ji finally spoke up to stop them: "Kai Gu, stop! Before the fire, many Khitans had already left the camp to fight, and most of them also fled in all directions. Calm down."

Upon hearing this, Li Kaigu stomped his feet and let go of Li Shaogu, but knelt on the ground: "Commander-in-chief, please let me kill this beast with a human face and a beastly heart to avenge my people!"

Li Shaogu's mouth was full of blood, and he said ferociously: "Even if I, Li Shaogu, have no heart, I will never learn from you, Li Kaigu, and kill each other with my clansmen. It was not me who asked people to set the fire." "Anyway, it was you unscrupulous beasts who did it! Governor, let me kill him!" After scolding Li Kaigu, Li Shaogu looked at Zhao Ji again.

Li Shaogu suddenly thought of something and sighed, "No one in the Zhou Dynasty can be trusted. Brother, you let the wolf in and brought misery to the Khitan people!"

Zhao Ji was moved when he heard this, and asked coldly: "What do you mean by this? Is there someone in the Great Zhou who is cooperating with you?"

Li Shaogu sneered: "Yes, there is."

"Who are they? Who are they?" Zhao Ji couldn't help but ask.

"Great General Wang Xiaojie, Yingzhou Governor Zhao Ji, Yan Fei Shi, Zong Huaichang, Su Honghui... Oh, yes, and this Li Kaigu, they are all Khitan accomplices." Li Shaogu couldn't help laughing after he finished speaking.

Li Kaigu flew into a rage upon hearing this. He drew his knife and was about to chop at Li Shaogu, but Zhao Ji immediately reached out to stop him.

"Li Shaogu, it seems that your allies betrayed you first and killed so many Khitans. Don't you want to avenge them?" Zhao Ji instigated.

"Come, listen closely and I'll tell you." Li Shaogu smiled, wanting to leave some mark on Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji saw through this trick and snorted coldly: "Li Shaogu, don't refuse a toast and drink a forfeit."

Li Shaogu laughed wildly again: "Zhao Ji, don't be so proud. You may have won now, but Wang Xiaojie is finished, and your 100,000 troops in Dongxishi Valley are also finished."

"When Sun Wanrong returns, none of you will be able to escape. That will be the way to avenge my brother, me, and my people!"

Zhao Ji's expression suddenly fell when he heard this: "What do you mean by this?"

"You will know when the time comes." After saying this, Li Shaogu turned his head away, apparently not planning to speak anymore.

Zhao Ji suppressed his anger and waved his hand, saying, "Take him away and watch over him carefully. Don't let him die."

Li Shaogu just laughed like a madman, and did not resist, so he was taken away by the soldiers.

"General, I think this person has malicious intentions and is probably just exaggerating," Xiao Bao said.

Zhao Ji shook his head and said worriedly, "It's hard to say, it's hard to say, maybe General Wang is in trouble."

Shen Tao advised: "But we are now in Songmo, and we are out of reach. General Wang is a veteran of the battlefield, and I believe he can handle it properly."

Zhao Ji nodded slightly and ordered, "Pass my order to gather all the pursuing troops, clean up the battlefield, set up camp, and pay attention to fire prevention. Xiao Bao will watch over the prisoners. Shen Tao will work harder and arrange night guards to prevent the Khitan tribes from attacking the camp."

"Yes." Shen Tao and Xiao Bao left after receiving the order.

Zhao Ji turned around and looked at the blood-stained Li Kaigu, and said with a slight gesture: "Kaigu, I don't mean to kill everyone. I don't want to see things come to this point."

"At this point, the army is exhausted and the food supply is running out, so I plan to withdraw tomorrow and join General Yang."

"I'll give you a favor. I won't kill any of the old and weak Khitan captives, except for the families of Li, Sun and other bandits. I'll release them all."

In fact, this was just a favor. Since the decision was made to withdraw the troops, it would be too slow to move with the old, weak and sick. Killing them all would make the Khitan army united in their hatred of the enemy. Letting them go would consume the Khitans' food and destroy their morale.

Li Kaigu still wanted to accept this favor. After all, these were also considered as gains and military merits. He knelt down and said, "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief. My life belongs to you, and I will follow your lead!"

Zhao Ji quickly helped Li Kaigu up and said, "Kaigu, please stand up. The imperial court is only trying to suppress the rebellion. It is impossible to really kill all the Khitans. Tell these captives to pass on the message. If any Khitans return after this battle, we will welcome them and forgive their past mistakes."

"Your Majesty has a bad temper and will inevitably vent his anger on those who are ignorant of the current situation and stubbornly resist. I don't know how many people will suffer when that happens. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Li Kaigu accepted the order and turned to leave. Zhao Ji looked up to the south, worried about Wang Xiaojie's situation.

(End of this chapter)