Delong

Chapter 561 Sending Wu Xing (11)

Under the bright sunshine, the army, like a dragon, with its golden spears and iron horses, was passing over the frozen Yu River.

Commander Sima Zheng was standing on the ice of the Yu River when he suddenly dismounted, pinched a strangely colored ice shard with his hand, and even licked it with his tongue without caring about the dirt.

"Even the endless flow of heroes' blood can stink." Sima Zheng sighed.

Niu Fang Sheng, who was standing on horseback beside him, scoffed upon hearing this: "Marshal, how can you not be disgusted by what you're saying? It's been several days already, and it's not like the sun hasn't come out. You should be concerned about how the ice on the Yu River has been ruined like this. What if the ice is thin and breaks when you come back tonight?"

“When that time comes, Zhang Xing will be the one who’s worried.” Sima Zheng said dismissively. “I’d rather the ice break today, so we can return north directly from the west side of the Yu River. He’ll have to expend his true energy to build an ice bridge, won’t he?”

Niu Fangsheng smiled and continued, "I didn't expect Zhang Xing to be so bold. He could have just watched the battle from the shore, but he insisted on making the long journey to join the fight... Will he just give up now?"

"That's perfect," Sima Zheng said seriously. "Then let's defeat Bai Hengqiu first, and then turn around and defeat him! If we get far away from the camp, he won't dare to linger and will surely retreat before evening!"

Niu Fangsheng nodded: "Marshal, your decision is wise!"

Immediately, he rode past Sima Zheng.

Wang Daiji, who had remained silent the whole time, squinted as he watched Niu Fangsheng leave, his tone strange: "Marshal, don't you think these Imperial Guardsmen are all incredibly rude?"

“Those who have murdered their rulers have no scruples in their hearts,” Sima Zheng said dismissively. “Now that I can no longer protect the counties of Huaixi and Nanyang and provide them with military and civilian supplies, and my official position has become meaningless, I am naturally dissatisfied with them. In addition, as long as they do not violate the law, I am not willing to interfere with them... so they will be reckless for a time.”

“We shouldn’t have come to fight,” Wang Daiji said with difficulty. “We shouldn’t have agreed to send troops just because they all egged us on. First, we don’t know how difficult this battle will be; second, it will damage the marshal’s authority.”

"Sending troops was my own intention. Do you really think any of them can force me?" Sima Zheng's expression was unusually lively as he sneered. "They've already slapped you in the face, accusing me of monopolizing the Eastern Capital and bringing disaster to the people. If I don't send troops, and let the three families fight each other on the battlefield, wouldn't you have suffered for nothing?"

Wang Daiji was taken aback, then smiled bitterly: "Marshal! Marshal Sima! Zhang Xing guessed that there would be many casualties in the snow, so he got angry and lost his temper. How could he, a smart man, not know that since Cao Lin left behind the Eastern Capital and also took in the Imperial Guards who returned from Jiangdu, even if you were not originally here, there would probably be some people who have caused harm to the people here... Now that you are in charge of the Eastern Capital, I'm afraid you will die far fewer people than others."

This time, it was Sima Zheng's turn to look Wang Daiji up and down, and he looked him up and down several times. Wang Daiji felt so uncomfortable that he directly asked, "Why is the Marshal looking at me?"

"If I weren't in this world, you might be the one ruling Luoyang," Sima Zheng replied with a smile.

“Isn’t it Li Shu?” Wang Daiji was amused. “This man has only recently surrendered, and the Marshal has already put him behind him to guard the rear. In a few days, he will probably replace the Seventh General in defending the Eastern Capital.”

"If we expect Li Shu to have the appearance of a dragon, then there will be no Zhang Xing in the world!" Sima Zheng laughed loudly, then turned around and took off his helmet from his warhorse.

"Since there's no Marshal and Zhang Xing left, then we might as well not have Bai Hengqiu and Bai Sanniang either." Wang Daiji really couldn't hold back anymore.

"It still depends on whether there are three radiant heroes and four imperial guards!" Sima Zheng laughed as he finally put on his helmet. "I just wonder what other heroes will emerge when that time comes. You, Wang Laojiu, may not be the winner."

After saying that, he mounted his horse, the golden beast-patterned winged dragon helmet gleaming in the sun, and proudly crossed the Yu River.

Dozens of miles to the southwest, Zhang Xing could clearly sense the dazzling armor. Similarly, he also noticed the grid laid out on Mount Funiu... Although his ability was indeed more focused on perception, the other two should also be able to sense him.

I just don't know what I'll look like in the eyes of the other two people with their true energy.
"What did the Heavenly King just say?" Coming back to his senses, Zhang Xingfu looked at the person in front of him again.

"I say, should we stop and watch the fight at the Yu River?" Xiong Bonan asked solemnly. "Let them fight first... What if the two families are secretly colluding to lure us in?"

“There’s a possibility like you mentioned, but it’s very small,” Zhang Xing explained, shaking his head. “Given the current situation, it’s more likely that Sima Zheng has arrived in Wuchuan because he needs to maintain the army’s fighting spirit and morale. Plus, he himself can’t stay away from Luoyang for too long, so he’s eager for battle. And Funiu Mountain is closer, that’s all. At this point, knowing we’re coming, he should want to quickly defeat the Guanzhong people first, and then turn around to fight us. But if we stop to observe the battle, I’m afraid they will hesitate and leave room for maneuver, and it might not even start a fight.”

After thinking for a moment, Xiong Bonan continued, "Then I'll stay. It's always good to have more fighting power."

Zhang Xing hesitated for a moment.

Xiong Bonan immediately followed: "If I go back now, I won't be able to reach Ye City until the evening of the day after tomorrow. The troops will not be dispatched until the next day. If I go with you, we can just arrive in Ye City at night."

Zhang Xing was speechless.

It turned out that Xiong Bonan had caught up with them on the way. After hearing the report, Zhang Xing knew that Li Ding had broken through the main force of the Eastern Wu tribe many days ago before the military intelligence was delivered normally. In addition, based on his feelings on the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year, he naturally understood that Li Ding in the north should indeed have made progress. Now that things have come to this point, it is indeed possible to send the main force of Hebei directly to Jin, just as Xiao Zhou suggested.

The idea is to entangle all of the enemy's manpower that can be entangled, and to do everything in our power to stiffen the enemy's military deployment and political mobilization capabilities. At this point, if we break through any of their vital points, we may be able to overwhelm them on the whole.

In this situation, it is entirely possible to temporarily abandon the planned battlefield in Dongdu.

Therefore, they immediately agreed to the plan proposed by the Grand Secretariat.

But on the other hand, the current battle is still meaningful.

The battlefield logic remains unchanged, because in the long run, the overall logistical and manpower advantages of the Chulong Army have not changed. Strategically, the battle to unify the world cannot be won by taking shortcuts or trying to avoid it.

Therefore, we must take advantage of the fact that Dongdu is impatient and Sima Zheng has a unique mindset to resolutely join the war, thereby causing a three-way war and weakening the fighting power of the other two!
And so, at noon, amidst the slightly melting snow, the outer flank of the Dongdu army's vanguard of two hundred cavalrymen officially engaged in battle with a Kansai army of over a thousand men who had established a fortified position along the road.

Two quarters of an hour later, the vanguard of the Eastern Capital army, three thousand cavalry, arrived at Xue Wanping's location. They quickly dismounted, attacked the fortifications, and joined the battle. The Guanzhong army facing them dared not fight for long and abandoned their camps and roads, fleeing towards the main camp at Funiu Mountain. The Eastern Capital army pursued relentlessly. Upon seeing this, the Funiu Mountain camp did not hesitate to send reinforcements of three thousand men to meet them. At the same time, they deployed a lieutenant general on the flank, attempting to flank and encircle the Eastern Capital army before the main force arrived, thereby eliminating or repelling the enemy vanguard.

Soon, the vanguard of the Eastern Capital army noticed the situation but showed no intention of retreating. Instead, they sent messengers to request immediate support from the main force. Upon receiving the message, the main force of the Eastern Capital army, numbering 20,000, accelerated under the command of General Qu Tuda and marched straight towards Funiu Mountain.

At the same time, the main force of the Chulong Army officially crossed the Yushui River from a further downstream area, only twenty miles away from the battlefield.

But only a quarter of an hour later, the Chulong Army began to engage in battle with the Dongdu Army.

Specifically, a cavalry unit of the Chulong Army encountered a cavalry unit of the Dongdu Army traveling in the opposite direction on the official road beside the river in the wilderness. Neither side retreated from the moment their scouts discovered the situation ahead. Instead, they immediately engaged in a scout battle on the official road, which quickly escalated into a small-scale cavalry melee. At the same time, neither side's main force showed any intention of stopping—however, the battlefield was not in the Nanyang area, but in the Xiangcheng area, hundreds of miles away.

Specifically, it refers to the northernmost part of the Ru River, bordering Xiangcheng County of Yingchuan Commandery.

Indeed, Xiangcheng County did not belong to Xiangcheng Commandery, but to the neighboring Yingchuan Commandery. This is a typical and common phenomenon of place name drift. This strange place is located at the border between the two sides' actual controlled areas, behind Luyang Pass. This was an unexpected new battlefield, an unexpected encounter, but without a doubt, it was part of the Battle of Nanyang.

The commander-in-chief of the Chulong Army was Liu Heihuang, while the general of the Dongdu Army on the other side should be Shang Shisheng.

While organized battles had already begun ahead, the three leaders of the Chulong Army were still discussing things in the rear.

"Why is Shang Shisheng here?" Zhang Gongshen was the most cautious. "Whether he wanted to support Sima Zheng or protect Sima Zheng's retreat, he should have stayed in Xiangcheng County. Why is he here?"

This is the biggest problem.

"I don't know, but can we retreat now?!" Liu Heihuang was somewhat agitated. "They're all cavalry. If we retreat, what if they push us all the way into Yingchuan, or even Huaiyang and Qiao County? What was the Chief sent us here for?"

“We definitely can’t retreat, and no one has said we should, but Teacher Shang must have something to rely on,” Qin Bao interjected.

"Isn't his cultivation just something he relies on?" Liu Heihuang sneered. "Old man, his cultivation has reached the edge of Grandmaster, and he thinks he's invincible after achieving the Core Formation stage. He also has the Four Treasures, and he knows that all our famous generals are in the south, even you, Qin Erlang, are in the south. That's why he's acting so recklessly... Fine, let's fight! Anyway, we still have a backup plan! Otherwise, why would we dare to run into Xiangcheng County?"

Zhang Gongshen was not angry at all, he just nodded: "It's just a pity. If we had known he was here, we could have gone directly to Dragon Prison Pass and succeeded... Oh well, let's do it!"

“You guys go first,” Qin Bao said, gesturing with his chin. “If you disrupt the battle lines up front, I’ll lay low and lead the White Riders around from behind… He doesn’t have his four treasures anymore, only his two. The Dragon Steed was originally mine, but without the helmet, his senses are much weaker.”

The other two had nothing to say, and the battle immediately began to spread. Several thousand cavalrymen from each side quickly spread out and engaged in battle in the fields northeast of the Ru River... and then the two commanders turned into a messy battle in the blink of an eye!

At this point, the Ru River had become very narrow, and no one dared to ride a horse across it. Meanwhile, the ice and snow in the fields beside it were melting faster than expected. There was still a white layer on the surface, and people could walk on it without any problem. However, when warhorses carrying armored soldiers stepped onto it, they immediately broke through the ice and snow and sank into the damp soil below. Some horses even injured their legs.

This is completely different from the official road beside the river embankment before.

Even Qin Bao, who attempted to flank and behead the enemy, and the White Knights were momentarily at a loss.

Shang Shisheng was also dumbfounded. He could only frown and order his troops to maintain the front line and retreat—he had already requested reinforcements from the other side of the river after the scouts discovered each other's presence.

Now, this battle originated from Shang Shisheng's unauthorized actions. He received a military order from Li Shu, the Minister of War, to go to the Xiangcheng County seat to set up troops. However, he was all smiles when he came out of Yique Pass, but after leaving Yique, he felt extremely disgusted.

This is not surprising. As one of the most senior veterans and generals in the Eastern Capital, he not only failed to become the main general of the central army in the previous battle, but also had to take orders from a surrendered person and be responsible for a node of the rear army.
It would be strange if you didn't get tired of it.

Therefore, after arriving at Chengxiu, the seat of Xiangcheng County, yesterday, he briefly observed the military deployment of the rear army and had an idea: to go to Xiangcheng County, which is located outside the Ru River, under a dubious pretext.

He had thought it all through. The Ru River was so weak; how could the army's rear be protected without occupying Xiangcheng County on the outer edge? Therefore, when he saw the words "Xiangcheng," he assumed that they were going to Xiangcheng County.

This cannot be said to be wrong, especially since he actually encountered troops coming from the opposite direction.

However, once the battle began, it turned into a messy one, and they could only wait for reinforcements to come to their aid before retreating by evening, which only made them more frustrated.

As the sun began to set, the vanguard of the Chulong Army in the Nanyang Basin finally made contact with the Guanzhong Army's garrison at the foot of the southern slope of the Funiu Mountains... Meanwhile, the main force of the Chulong Army began to prepare for battle outside the city with dry rations and water.

"Order the garrison to withdraw." Although the situation hadn't changed drastically, Bai Hengqiu was already in a state of utter chaos. "Concentrate your forces on the mountain!"

"Your Majesty," Bai Liben solemnly reminded him. "I know Your Majesty has already considered this, but I must remind you... If we abandon Xiangcheng and it falls into Zhang Xing's hands, then we will lose control of the Nanyang region, and the Huainan army in Nanyang will immediately side with the Chulong Gang!"

“They can’t control it,” Bai Hengqiu blurted out. “Sima Zheng and Zhang Xing have come from afar to fight. If they can’t break through our main camp before dark, Sima Zheng will definitely retreat. If Zhang Xing wants to hold Xiangcheng, he needs a lot of logistical support to cross the Yu River to provide assistance. Otherwise, Xiangcheng will become a sitting duck… I can personally cut off his supply lines.”

Bai Liben nodded: "It's good that Your Majesty understands."

Immediately afterwards, he personally turned around and ordered the troops to abandon their advance on the city.

Bai Hengqiu breathed a slight sigh of relief. He knew that Bai Liben was doing this for his own good, and he also felt relieved after reviewing his own strategy.

But the next moment, he was startled and stepped out of the tent to look down the mountain. After he came out, a series of shouts, like a tidal wave, rose from the battle line below the foot of the mountain—some were shouting, some were exclaiming in alarm.

Zhang Xing wasn't hungry, but he forced himself to sit down and eat with the other soldiers on the southeast side of the city. But now, he stood up, just like Bai Hengqiu, before the raging waves arrived.

As the commotion around him arose, Zhang Xing saw the golden-armored giant once again.

It wasn't as tall as last time, only a few feet high, but it was incredibly lifelike... Almost every armor plate seemed to be made of real metal, and the dragon and phoenix wing patterns on the helmet were clearly visible. The breastplate on the chest was like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding scenery. If it weren't for the ten-foot-long sword in its hand and the fact that its face was still somewhat blurry, it would have looked like a real giant appearing on the battlefield.

If one had to pinpoint the essence of this image, it would be that it seems, it seems that He is no longer the deity from the Hanoi battlefield, but rather a human being, merely shining because of the sun's reflection.

However, because He was more like a human being, He aroused greater fear among all enemies on the battlefield and greater reverence among all his fellow warriors.

Zhang Xing held the pancake, chewing it diligently, while simultaneously watching the other person's shiny helmet and rushing up the mountainside.

At such close range and with such a clear view, he no longer needed to guess; he could now draw conclusions.

Sima Zheng meant exactly that; he already knew his fate, he knew he would be defeated, he knew he was the predetermined reward left by the Four Emperors for the victor of the predetermined destiny, but if that fate truly came, he would still resolutely put on his shining armor to face the challenge.

This is not about submitting to fate and becoming its plaything, but about knowing everything yet firmly believing that everything one experiences and oneself are meaningful existences, thus resolutely choosing one's own destiny.

This action is a mockery and a form of resistance against the Four Emperors.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xing looked at the sky. At this moment, the sun was shining brightly, the Three Stars were present, and the Four Emperors retreated.

At the foot of the distant mountains, Sima Zheng brandished his long sword and shattered the gate... Meanwhile, in the vision of true qi, a corner of Bai Hengqiu's chessboard was directly cut off.

The White Emperor dared not hesitate any longer. The chessboard in mid-air and the countless chess pieces began to solidify, forming a unified whole with the entire army and camp.

On the other side, Zhang Xing finished his meal standing up, then forced down half a bag of water before summoning the three leaders… This wretched place in Henan had weak troops and few battalion commanders, but plenty of leaders… He then issued a simple military order:
"As previously agreed, Shan Tonghai will still command the entire army, with Niu Da as his deputy, and Wu Jingfeng will accompany me into the White Cavalry... However, since Sima Zheng has taken the lead in this battle, and Bai Hengqiu is not giving way at all, we cannot show weakness. In addition, Xiangcheng is actually useless, and even seems like bait... Therefore, Wu Longtou, the two Grandmasters, and I will lead the White Cavalry past Xiangcheng and head straight for the foothills. Shan and Niu will command the rear guard on the left and right flanks, following around the city! Heavenly King, do not move. Keep him as a reserve force and cover the rear before dusk. Any objections?"

Shan Tonghai, Niu Da, and Wu Jingfeng looked at each other, while Xiong Bonan, Niu He, and Wei Wenda looked serious. Yu Chirong was eager to try, but none of the seven people beside Chief Zhang spoke.

"Let's start the war." Zhang Xing drew the scimitar, which was gleaming from the nourishment of his true energy, and breathed on it.

Despite feeling somewhat hot from the half-day sunshine and the drive, a puff of white breath sent a chill through the air, and the surroundings suddenly became cold again.

A quarter of an hour later, under the watchful eyes of Bai Hengqiu and Sima Zheng, a long-lost white mist suddenly appeared in the direction of the city, and then rolled towards the foot of the mountain with a chill that was completely out of place with the atmosphere of the afternoon. When it reached the camp at the foot of the mountain, it stretched out a golden dragon claw and climbed onto Funiu Mountain.

But it quickly disappeared into the rolling white mist.

Amidst the deafening shouts of battle, both grandmasters paled – had things really come to this without their knowledge?
PS: The autographed paper has finally arrived, so I'm really getting to work. The next chapter might be delayed. But strangely, another reader, Water Peach, arrived this morning at the same time. I was stunned when I received Water Peach. If I hadn't later discovered there were two more packages, I would have felt like I was crying wolf.