Chapter 439: Facing Battle

The two armies joined forces, and Wang Yang's prestige was unprecedented.

The Jingzhou army saw Wang Yang directing the barbarians as if they were his own arms, and all thought he was a god! The barbarian soldiers saw Wang Yang commanding the large army, the king returning, and respected him even more than a celestial being!

Le Luo Luo couldn't help but admire his father's keen eye for talent and his far-sightedness! He thought to himself that Wang Yang was indeed a dragon among men, and his background was unfathomable! He could easily conjure up soldiers like clouds and had official provisions supplied! This foundation was extraordinary!

When Wang Yang was an envoy to the Wenyang tribe, he said that the large army was abroad and that if the negotiations failed, they would go to war. Now, looking at it, it was really not an empty word!

As for Angta, he was obedient, serving Wang Yang hand and foot, bowing his head and listening to his orders. Not only did he lead the whole army to worship the Divine Envoy, but he also personally participated in the morning and evening prayer rituals of the Yidu tribe, opening and closing his mouth with "My God is above" and "The Divine Envoy is immortal," and begged to join the Holy Guard, hoping to be the "sharp blade forged by the Divine Envoy's own hands" and the "loyal shield of Pan Wang."

Tian Dadao regarded Angta as a great enemy. He didn't say anything on the surface, but behind his back, he reported to Wang Yang many times, vividly describing how Angta had colluded and how arrogant he had been since the arrival of Wu Ning chieftain Dahan!

And Dahan also had his own preparations.

Long before sending troops, he had prepared three levels of greeting gifts for Wang Yang. The lowest level was a silver-handled willow-leaf sword, the middle level was tiger-pattern iron-bathing armor, and the highest level was a golden Han official seal of unknown origin but passed down through generations, engraved with the six seal-script characters "Han Guiyi Congyi Marquis." (Two pictures above)

A camel-knobbed gold seal from the late Eastern Han period, currently housed in the National Museum. "Cong" refers to the Banshun barbarians.

Dahan originally planned to wait until they met to decide which level to give. But given the current situation, there was no need to choose; he directly packed the three gifts together and sent them to Wang Yang!

He also took the opportunity of offering the seal to say a few beautiful auspicious words, saying that Wang Yang would be ennobled sooner or later! He immediately won a round of applause!

In short, regardless of their previous performance, after Wang Yang arrived, whether it was Yongning or Wu Ning, they were all very sensible, but the Tianmen Louzhong barbarians were not so sensible.

Tianmen Commandery was deep in barbarian territory, with many barbarian tribes. The government soldiers could not control them and only defended the city. (Yes, not all commanderies at that time had many Han and few barbarians; in some places, the population ratio was reversed and vastly different. Although they were called commanderies and counties, they were actually barbarian areas. The Northern Dynasties were also like this; for example, the Northern Wei's Xiyang Commandery was "without people on all four sides, only the land of one city. The mountain roads are deep and dangerous, surrounded by groups of barbarians." *Book of Wei, Biography of Xin Zuan*)

(Picture above)

Taken from the fourth volume of the Historical Atlas of China.

And the Louzhong barbarians were the largest barbarian tribe in the area, fierce and combative, and had never feared the Han court. Chieftain Lou Wudi not only refused to negotiate but also incited the tribes, spreading rumors that Wang Yang had come to exterminate their lineages and slaughter the tribes of Tianmen!

(Chapter 56, "Strange Transfer Order": "Tianmen Commandery is located among the barbarians, the barbarians are probably even more rampant." Chapter 197, "In the Formation": "The Tianmen Louzhong barbarians are hostile to the Han people and are the most combative, they are the front line." So that transfer order given to the black man back then was for Tianmen Commandery.)

The barbarians rose in response, gathered together, pushed Lou Wudi as the leader, gathered to protect the two places of Louzhong and Songliang Mountain as a base, and exhausted the strong men, gathered a large army, and went to meet Wang Yang in battle!

None of the generals expected that the Tianmen barbarians could have such momentum when they all came out. No one dared to be careless, and they offered strategies around how to clarify the truth to the tribes and disperse the enemy crowd. Among them, there were many ingenious ideas.

Like sending personal letters, sending many envoys to talk face-to-face, etc., there were even shouting across the air, carving wood to drift, sending paper kites to show, and composing songs, etc., all of which were endless.

There was also a suggestion to wait for the Jingzhou rear army to arrive, gather troops, line up the drums, show the barbarians the momentum, and it would be best to intimidate the barbarians into sending envoys themselves, at which point they could explain clearly.

Wang Yang rejected them all:

"There are three reasons why we cannot clarify this to the tribes.

First, the matter of clarification should be done by the strong facing the weak. Now the tribes are gathered like ants, thinking their momentum is strong. If I send an envoy to explain the right and wrong, they will not necessarily think I am sincere, but will easily think I am afraid.

Seeing my fear, they either gather a crowd to demand profit, brazenly making insatiable requests, or their courage grows, strengthening their resolve to unite and resist.

Our army is deep in barbarian territory; showing weakness before fighting not only dampens our army's morale but is also easily exploited by the enemy.

Second, the so-called 'he who strikes first gains the advantage' and 'the distant cannot alienate the close.'

The Tianmen barbarians share the same mountains and waters, with evil words in front and alliances first. I want to use words to gain trust and persuade them to disperse; this is to use empty words to take away their solidified momentum, which is truly difficult—"

Le Luo Luo, Tian Dadao, Angta, and others thought below that this was difficult, but if Wang Yang were willing to go as an envoy himself, it might really work!

But you can't let the commander-in-chief go to be a lobbyist! Think of Sima Yi suddenly hearing that the enemy envoy Zhuge Liang had arrived—wait, who?! Zhuge Liang! Personally here? Right! Hehe...

"—Furthermore, the tribes are now gathered in one place, and their advance and retreat are linked. Even if there are those who believe me, they may not dare to leave alone. And wanting to bypass the Louzhong barbarians to talk to the tribes alone is even more difficult.

Third, although the tribes have come in a large force, they may not all believe the words of Louzhong.

There are those who are watching and hesitant, following the crowd; or those who are forced by their power and have to come; there are those who have long harbored hostility and originally wanted to resist me; there are those who see that the crowd has formed and want to take advantage of the fire to seize profit!

These all only look at strength and do not distinguish between right and wrong. Even if told the truth, they will not disperse, but only laugh at my cowardice!

And the Tianmen barbarians are naturally fierce and combative; if they are not subdued by force, they will never be subdued.

More importantly—

Who said I wanted them to disperse?!"

Wang Yang's eyebrows lifted, his heroic spirit bursting forth:

"The small barbarian tribes in Jingzhou are scattered like stars. If we conquer them one by one, it will take a long time; when can we pacify them?

Now Louzhong acts as the leader and gathers the crowd to resist me; I am just waiting to use them as a target to destroy them with one arrow! Let all the tribes in Jingzhou know the difference between submission and rebellion!

This is an opportunity given by Heaven for me to establish prestige!

I am not happy enough, why should I disperse them?!

You only see their crowd, but not their emptiness.

Their tribes are mixed together, their orders are not unified; they look like rolling stones on the outside, but they are actually gathered sand on the inside!

Do you believe it? If I station troops and do not advance, and send envoys to explain, their momentum will surely be fierce, and they will press me!

If I roll up my armor and advance, sharpening my weapons and heading straight, then the group of barbarians will not dare to take a single step past the Hot Spring Water!"

The generals felt their doubts disappear, their blood boiling, only feeling a sharp spirit bursting out from their chests!

Chen Qingshan stared at Wang Yang without blinking, thinking: The Young Master's appearance when leading troops is much more majestic than my father's...

Wang Yang's gaze was like lightning:

"Li Zaifu!"

"The general is here!"

Li Zaifu responded and stepped out, his voice loud and clear.

"You lead your troops, advance rapidly, and seize the North Mountain. If there is an enemy, attack; if there is no enemy, defend. If you hesitate and do not advance, or lose the position after occupying it, I will execute you according to military law!"

"The general accepts the order!"

"Li Tao!"

Li Tao stepped out with a tiger's stride:

"The general is here!"

"You are the vanguard, lead three thousand troops, head straight to the Hot Spring Water, and act as support for Li Zaifu. Your safety is tied to Li Zaifu's, and your victory or defeat is connected. If Li Zaifu suffers a loss, you will be punished as one with him!"

"The general accepts the order!"

Angta and Dahan had been worried about being used as cannon fodder by Wang Yang, or having their troops deliberately consumed by the war, and were anxious every time they thought of this. At this time, seeing that Wang Yang did not order the barbarian soldiers to face the arrows first, and that the vanguards he pointed were all Jingzhou soldiers and generals, their worries disappeared!

Even Le Luo Luo couldn't help but feel comforted in his heart.

Only Tian Dadao was full of regret, fearing that Wang Yang would not see him!

"You two depart immediately. I will lead the large army as rear support. You all return to your camps, inspect the prepared reed rafts, soil bags, large carts, and iron chains, and ensure they are all complete. Strictly organize your troops and advance in order. Anyone who is not prepared or disrupts the formation and fights for the road will be executed without pardon!"

The generals roared and cupped their fists:

"Order received!!"

Wang Yang led the large army to advance while waiting for Li Zaifu's news. By dusk, he finally received Li Zaifu's report, saying that the enemy soldiers had not yet reached the North Mountain, and he had already camped on the North Mountain.

Wang Yang was overjoyed! On horseback, he slapped his palm with his whip!

He immediately ordered Yang Fu to lead three thousand elite Jingzhou troops to act as a mobile force north of the Hot Spring Water, and ordered Tian Dadao to lead the Yidu army to act as a mobile force south of the Hot Spring Water, not focusing on attacking or defending, but rushing to emergencies and saving those in danger, moving as soon as they heard the alarm, without delay!

Then he ordered the whole army to accelerate and set up camp on the east bank of the Hot Spring Water before dark.

Things were indeed as Wang Yang expected. Once they moved like lightning and advanced with the edge of the sword, the Tianmen barbarians did not dare to advance lightly.

The Hot Spring Water originated from the North Mountain, flowing from north to south and injecting into the Li River. The two armies faced each other across the Hot Spring Water from east to west. Wang Yang didn't even have time to enter the commander's tent; he took more than a hundred people from the commander's camp and arrived at the North Mountain first, climbing to the top to look at the enemy's situation.

The barbarian momentum was very strong, lining up camps directly opposite the Hot Spring Water, horizontally from north to south, the campfires illuminating the wilderness.

Wang Yang watched for a while and said:

"This is just to show me their strength, wanting me to respond with heavy troops. The enemy's desire is not in the Hot Spring Water, or perhaps they are secretly moving troops to the side of the North Mountain. Immediately order—"

Before he finished speaking, fire suddenly broke out at the foot of the mountain, and the sound of weapons was loud!

Everyone's expression was stern. The commander-in-chief's prediction was correct; there was indeed a sneak attack!

And it happened just when the commander-in-chief was on the mountain! If something went wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Soon, they received a report that an army had suddenly appeared on the north side of the North Mountain. They didn't know their identity or how many there were, but they were fiercely attacking the mountain! They were determined to seize it!

Wang Yang's eyebrows moved slightly:

"They came so fast..."

Li Zaifu's face changed drastically:

"Commander, leave quickly! This might be someone leaking the commander's whereabouts! The general will go out to attract their attention, and the commander can take the opportunity to break out of the mountain!"

Wang Yang's expression was calm:

"No need, the whole army raises fire, raise my large banner to meet the enemy! The front row of the commander's tent, banners, gongs, and drums, let the enemy see!"

The generals were all anxious when they heard this:

"The commander is the commander-in-chief of the three armies, how can he take risks!"

"The enemy is looking for the commander's location, how can we expose our tracks!"

"The victory or defeat of the three armies is tied to the commander's person, the commander cannot act on impulse! Please, commander, withdraw quickly! We will cover the rear!"

Wang Yang waved his hand to stop everyone:

"No need to say more, I have a plan in my heart. When the enemy knows the commander-in-chief is here, they will naturally retreat."

When the enemy knows the commander-in-chief is here, they are too busy surrounding and killing him, how can they retreat?

What if the enemy soldiers are very strong and break the mountain defense in one go? How to clean up?

Although the generals had doubts, first, the military order was like a mountain, and second, they had always admired Wang Yang, so they could only accept the order.

A moment later, torches on the mountain were bright, illuminating the night sky red!

A large "Wang" commander's flag was raised with a *whoosh*. Under the canopy, long banners, standing signs, six *duo* (large banners), five-direction flags, general flags, and command flags were lined up in order. Horns were lined up in front, gongs and drums stood in the back, facing the enemy from a high position, surrounded by armored guards, displaying the majestic dignity of the commander-in-chief sitting in command here!