The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

"Three were killed, and the rest were imprisoned in the county government dungeon."

These people from Zheng are ungrateful; they refused a chance to live and insisted on courting death.

As they turned a corner, several stones suddenly flew from the shadows and hit the patrol team in the middle.

"There's an ambush!"

The veteran shouted, and the soldiers quickly formed a defensive formation.

A dozen or so ragged men emerged from the darkness, wielding crude farm tools and wooden sticks, and roared as they charged toward the patrol.

Their eyes burned with hatred, and the leaders were the surviving students of Iron City Academy.

"Revenge for the dead folks!"

The young man, who looked like a scholar, held a torch aloft, his face contorted in pain.

The veteran spat.

"court death!"

At his command, the archers released their arrows, and the first few men fell to the ground.

The remaining men were surrounded by spearmen and were quickly stabbed until they were covered in blood.

The battle ended quickly, and the streets returned to silence, leaving only a dozen or so corpses and bloodstains.

"Hang the corpses on the city walls, let those unruly people see the consequences of resistance!"

The veteran coldly gave the order.

In a dilapidated courtyard in the distance, an old man witnessed everything through a crack in the door, tears streaming down his cloudy eyes.

He spoke softly to the woman behind him.

"Go and tell the villagers not to act rashly for now and to wait for Mr. Chen's reinforcements."

At Sishui Pass, Chen Shouren stood on the city tower, gazing solemnly at the fires of the Song army camp in the distance.

He was dressed in a scholar's robe with light armor on top, and looked more like a scholar than a military general.

"Sir, an urgent report from Zhengdu!"

A soldier ran up quickly and handed over a secret letter.

Chen Shouren unfolded the letter, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

The adjutant beside him couldn't help but ask.

"Sir, has something happened to His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Chen Shouren sighed deeply.

"The Crown Prince has been assassinated and injured, and will be unable to lead troops to support us in the short term."

An uproar erupted on the city wall. The deputy general exclaimed urgently.

"What do we do then? We only have enough food to last half a month, and we don't have many arrows left."

Chen Shouren raised his hand to stop the panic among the crowd.

"Pass down the order to conserve resources and strengthen the city's defenses. Also, send out scouts to closely monitor the Song army's movements, especially their newly arrived supplies."

He turned to look into the distance, his voice low but firm.

"As long as we hold Sishui Pass, the State of Zheng still has hope."

The night breeze blew, and Chen Shouren's robes fluttered in the wind.

Behind him, the soldiers silently gripped their weapons, their fighting spirit rekindled in their eyes.

It was late at night in the Song army camp.

More than a dozen senior generals were summoned to the commander's tent.

They looked at each other, puzzled as to why they had been summoned so late at night.

"Eunuch Zhang, what important matter brings you to summon us so late at night?"

One of the generals couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Yan sat upright in the main seat, slowly sipping his tea, and only spoke after a long while.

"Generals, I have received a secret decree from the King that there is an important operation that needs to be planned."

He put down his teacup and looked around at everyone.

"At dawn tomorrow, the entire army will launch an attack and must capture Sishui Pass in one fell swoop."

The generals looked surprised.

Song Zhiwen frowned.

"My lord, Sishui Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and Chen Shouren is skilled at defending cities. A rash attack might be disastrous."

The candlelight flickered in the military tent, casting distorted and menacing shadows of everyone present.

Zhang Yan's fingers tapped lightly on the table, each tap seeming to strike the hearts of the generals present.

He looked around, his gaze finally settling on Song Zhiwen, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

"General Song, a righteous army is certainly admirable, but war is not child's play."

Zhang Yan's voice wasn't loud, but it caused the temperature inside the tent to drop sharply.

"It's been half a year, and we've been blocked here by the mere Sishui Pass. Are you still sticking to that 'don't harm the people' excuse?"

Lieutenant General Yang Cheng slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, his armor clanging loudly.

"Zhang Yan! You—"

"Yang Cheng".

Song Zhiwen raised his hand to stop him, his voice as calm as a deep pool.

He turned to Zhang Yan, the candlelight casting varying shades of shadow on his angular face.

"The way of war should be based on benevolence and righteousness. It is easy to massacre cities and seize land, but difficult to win the hearts of the people."

Zhang Yan sneered and took out a scroll of bamboo slips from his robes, slamming it onto the table.

"Look at the reward the people of Zheng have given you! In the past half month, our army's supply lines have been attacked seven times, all by those innocent people you couldn't bear to harm!"

The tent was deathly silent, save for the rustling sound of bamboo slips being unfolded.

Song Zhiwen frowned almost imperceptibly. He recognized the handwriting—it was Lu Yunshan's intelligence record.

"General."

"I am Lu Yunshan, the strategist," Lu Yunshan said softly.

"What Lord Zhang said is true. Our army's rear is indeed secure."

"enough."

Song Zhiwen interrupted him, his fingers unconsciously tracing the patterns on the sword at his waist.

This sword was a gift from the King of Song before his departure, and the four characters "Renyi Zhi Shi" (meaning "benevolent and righteous army") on the scabbard were burning his palm with pain.

Zhang Yan suddenly stood up, the copper studs on his armor gleaming blood-red in the firelight.

He walked up to the hanging map and pressed his finger heavily on the location of Sishui Pass.

"Winter is coming. If we don't break through the pass, our army will be trapped and die in these eighteen empty cities!"

As he turned, his cloak billowed out like a black battle flag.

"Benevolence and righteousness? Wait until we're turned into ice sculptures and see if the people of Zheng will even collect our corpses!"

Veteran general Zhao Rong coughed.

"Lord Zhang, that is true, but the Sishui River is a natural fortress."

"A natural fortress?"

Zhang Yan suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter sharp and metallic.

Do you all know why I arrived at the military camp three days late?

He clapped his hands, and the guards outside the tent immediately carried in a black iron box.

The box made a dull thud when it hit the ground, as if it contained something alive.

The moment the lid was opened, a pungent smell of sulfur filled the air.

Inside the box were a dozen sealed ceramic jars, their surfaces gleaming with an eerie oily sheen.

Zhang Yan took out a jar, shook it gently, and heard the sound of viscous liquid flowing inside.

"Black Fire in the Deep South China Sea".

His voice suddenly lowered, like a viper flicking its tongue.

"It cannot be extinguished by water, but it will burn if it touches the body."

One jar can burn half a mile; that's enough to turn Sishui Pass into a wasteland!

A collective gasp filled the tent.

Young Captain Sun Huan couldn't resist moving closer, but froze under Zhang Yan's warning gaze. Lu Yunshan suddenly coughed violently, his face turning deathly pale.

"This is forbidden! It's against the laws of the late king!"

"The late king has passed away!"

Zhang Yan interrupted sharply.

"Now is the era of the virtuous Qi!"

He slammed the earthenware pot onto the ground—

"stop!"

Song Zhiwen strode forward, but stopped when he saw Zhang Yan's mocking expression.

The earthenware jar stood firmly at Zhang Yan's feet, unbroken.

"It seems General Song is also afraid?"

Zhang Yan sneered, running his fingers over the seal of the pottery jar.

"Don't worry, it's not time to use them yet. First, we need to transport these treasures across the Sishui River."

He walked back to the map and traced his finger across the eighteen cities that had already been captured.

"Tear down the doors of these cities and build boats."

"We can transport the siege equipment to the other side overnight."

Yang Cheng's eyes widened.

"Take down the door panels? How will the people keep warm then?"

"Either freeze to death or burn to death." Zhang Yan casually adjusted his wristband.

"choose one."

His gaze swept over the generals, finally landing on the silent Song Zhiwen.

"King Song has given us ten days. If we fail to capture Sishui Pass, the families of everyone present will be executed."

He deliberately left his sentence unfinished, but everyone in the tent felt a chill.

Lu Yunshan suddenly trembled violently, and the teacup slipped from his hand, leaving a dark stain on the wool carpet.

He stared at the pottery jars, his lips moving but no sound coming out.

Song Zhiwen noticed his unusual behavior and quietly moved aside to block his view.

"Specific plans."

Song Zhiwen said in a deep voice, his fingers tightening on the hilt of the sword.

Zhang Yan revealed a victorious smile and unfurled a new sheepskin map.

"At the hour of Chou tomorrow, Yang Cheng will lead the vanguard in a feigned attack on the east gate."

Zhao Rong led archers to create chaos on the west bank of the river. The real killing move was…

His fingernail drew a deep line on the map.

"West Gate Sluice. Take advantage of the chaos to burn down the sluice gate with black fire, and the flood will wash away half of the city wall."

"The village downstream from that sluice gate."

Old Zhao Rong's voice trembled.

Zhang Yan's eyes suddenly turned dangerous.

"General Zhao is old and hard of hearing? I mean—all of him."

He turned to Song Zhiwen, his tone suddenly becoming so respectful it was chilling.

"Of course, the final decision rests with General Song."

All eyes were on Song Zhiwen.

The candlelight flickered in his eyes, like two struggling flames.

The sound of a night patrol soldier's clapper came from outside the tent, indicating that the water clock had passed midnight.

"I need to think about it."

Song Zhiwen finally said.

Zhang Yan's smile froze on his face.

"No time!"

I will give you an answer before dawn.

As Song Zhiwen turned around, his cloak billowed, creating a gust of wind that nearly extinguished the candle.

"Yang Cheng and Mr. Lu, please stay. The rest of you, go and make preparations."

When only three people remained in the tent, Lu Yunshan suddenly slumped onto the mat, his collar soaked with cold sweat.

"General, the Abyss Black Flame is a demonic creature! It was the cause of the chaos in the Qi Kingdom thirty years ago..."

"I know."

Song Zhiwen interrupted him and took out a secret letter from his bosom.

"Received this morning. Junziqi has already approved its use."

The letter trembled slightly in his hand, and the royal seal on the sealing wax was as red as blood.

Yang Cheng punched the pillar.

"Then what are we? Butchers?"

“We are soldiers.”

Song Zhiwen's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

He walked to the tent entrance and gazed at the outline of Sishui Pass in the distance.

Lu Yunshan struggled to his feet.

"General, there's another plan. Give me two hundred elite soldiers to climb up Eagle's Sorrow Gorge."

"That's too late."

Song Zhiwen shook his head.

"Zhang Yan is right, winter is coming."

As he turned, the moonlight reflected off his armor cast cold lines on his face.

"Yang Cheng, go and count the number of door panels that can be disassembled. Mr. Lu, calculate the amount of black flaming iron needed—the minimum amount."

After the two left, Song Zhiwen stood alone in front of the map.

His fingers traced the villages downstream of Sishui Pass, where there were at least three thousand people. Suddenly, the sword at his waist felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Laughter from Zhang Yan and his generals could be heard outside the tent; they were discussing the rewards for breaking through the pass.

Song Zhiwen closed his eyes and seemed to see flames soaring into the sky, while screams were drowned out by the sound of the waves.

His hand unconsciously went to his chest—where a warm jade pendant was hidden, which his daughter had tied around his neck before he went to war.

"Father, come back as a hero!"

The little girl's voice still echoes in my ears.

The candle suddenly popped, startling him from his reverie. Two plans lay quietly on the table.

Lu Yunshan's surprise attack would take five days, with a success rate of less than 30%; Zhang Yan's fire attack would only take one night, but at a cost of...
Chen Shouren leaned against the battlements, his fingers unconsciously tapping the hilt of his sword at his waist, his gaze fixed on the surging Sishui River beyond the pass. The river water shimmered with tiny silver sparkles in the moonlight, resembling a swimming silver dragon.

"Young master, what profound question are you pondering now?"

Aqin stood with her sword in her arms, tilting her head to look at Chen Shouren.

She was fifteen or sixteen years old. Her blue dress fluttered slightly in the night breeze, and the silver bells in her hair jingled crisply with her movements.

Chen Shouren withdrew his gaze, a smile playing on his lips.

"I was thinking, if there were a pot of Drunken Immortal Wine right now, how beautiful the moonlight would be."

Ah Qin burst out laughing.

"You're thinking about wine again! Wasn't the lesson you learned from being caught sneaking a drink by the Master and punished by copying 'Military Strategies' thirty times enough?"

"You little brat, you always find fault with people."

Chen Shouren pretended to be angry and reached out to flick Aqin's forehead, but she nimbly dodged it.

"How could a little girl like you understand a man's romance?"

"What romance? Young master, you're just spouting useless pretty words."

Aqin pouted, but her eyes sparkled.

"Last time you said that swordsmanship is like tea, which needs to be savored slowly. As a result, I almost threw the teapot out as a sword when I was practicing swordsmanship."

Chen Shouren burst into laughter, his voice ringing out clearly against the silent city wall.

"That was an accident! The aroma of the tea was so tempting that it distracted me."

Just as Aqin was about to retort, she suddenly seemed to remember something, and her eyes lit up.

"By the way, young master, when you were at the Jixia Academy, did you really solve the Heavenly Secret Chess Game as rumored?"

"That's nothing."

Chen Shouren waved his hand, his eyes filled with nostalgia.

"There are many interesting things in the academy. Speaking of which, I have a junior brother named Jiang Chuan, who is a real character."

"Jiangchuan?"

Ah Qin blinked.

"This name is very strange, it sounds like the name of an ancient mythical beast."

Chen Shouren nodded.

"It was taken from the mythical beast Jiangchuan."

When that boy first entered the academy, the teacher asked him why he named himself Jiangchuan. Guess what he said?

Aqin shook her head, looking curious.

He said that Jiang Chuan was knowledgeable about all things and could speak human language. Although the student could not match the abilities of the divine beast, he hoped to emulate his diligence in learning.

Chen Shouren imitated Jiang Chuan's tone at the time, which made Aqin giggle.

"As a result, the Master immediately gave him a copy of the Classic of Mountains and Seas and told him to study the origin of his name."

"This guy is really interesting!"

Aqin's eyes lit up.

"Is he really your junior brother?"

"Half."

Chen Shouren extended his index finger to emphasize.

"He only listened to the teacher's lectures at the academy and did not formally become a disciple, so he can only be considered half a disciple. However, this kid has extremely high talent, especially in swordsmanship, which even Uncle Yuan praised highly."

Aqin immediately became interested.

"Is his swordsmanship very good? How does it compare to yours, young master?"

"this one"

Chen Shouren stroked his chin, feigning profundity.

“We have never had a formal competition, but once he watched me practice swordsmanship and pointed out three flaws on the spot.”

"what?"

Aqin opened her mouth wide in surprise.

"Then, young master..."

"Of course I'm not convinced."

Chen Shouren smiled.

"As a result, we sparred on the spot. He was still using a wooden sword, and he made me lose within ten moves."

Aqin's eyes were filled with admiration. (End of Chapter)