Chapter 347: The Decisive Battle at the Lu River

Beneath the walls of Ami Prefecture, a thousand horses neighed; the thunder of hooves could be heard ten li away.

Nine li southeast of Ami Prefecture, on the south bank of the Lu River, upon a hillside called Phoenix Ridge, Qin Liangyu was leading a group of generals in surveying the terrain. The army staff officer, hearing the hoofbeats from afar, said, "That is Sha Dingzhou's cavalry arriving—by the sound of it, no fewer than five thousand riders. This place is dangerous, General. Better to return to camp."

Qin Liangyu said, "No matter."

It was Luo Daoqi who asked curiously, "Five thousand riders? Where did Sha Dingzhou get so much cavalry?"

Wei Wenkui explained, "Yunnan has produced Dian horses since ancient times, and Dian horses have several main breeding regions.

Among them, the imperial military horse farm is built on the flatlands northeast of Dian Lake—the area around Kunming, Songming, and Xundian—with nearly ten thousand horses in stock. Sha Dingzhou took Kunming, so those warhorses came cheap to him."

The thunder of several thousand cavalry was utterly terrifying; even from Phoenix Ridge, the rising dust could be seen.

The staff officer urged again, "Generals, let us return to camp first."

It was not that he was a coward—it was simply that every senior general of the Great Xia army's Yunnan expedition was on Phoenix Ridge. If Sha Dingzhou's cavalry surrounded them, they would be caught in one net.

And then what would be left of this Yunnan campaign? They would thank heaven and earth just to avoid total annihilation.

Ma Xianglin, however, said carelessly, "What's there to fear? How big a spectacle is a few thousand riders charging over? We see them coming and run off early—they have horses, don't we?"

Wei Wenkui sneered, "Dian horses have endurance but poor burst. Even if they charged to close range, our Jeju horses could still get away. And even if we fought, heh heh! My Donglan wolf riders are no pushovers."

Ma Xianglin said, "When it comes to sheer majesty, Dian horses and Jeju horses still fall short—you'd need the ones in the King's household…"

"Stop your idle chatter and look at the terrain!" Zhang Fengyi snapped.

Ma Xianglin shut his mouth, disgruntled.

At this moment, Qin Liangyu stood atop Phoenix Ridge, the entire flatland spread before her eyes without obstruction.

To the south of Ami Prefecture lay a stretch of level ground sandwiched between two mountain ridges to east and west—nearly fifteen li from north to south, and ten li from east to west.

The flatland was divided into eastern and western sides by the Lu River. The east side was mainly paddy fields, the west mainly dry farmland. Almost no trees or vegetation could be seen; the view was utterly unobstructed. It was already late October; the fields had long been harvested and left fallow, the water drained from the paddies, exposing cracked earth. Looking out, both banks showed red-and-yellow intermingled soil, strewn with uneven stubble.

Between the fields on the eastern and western banks, there was one village each.

Qin Liangyu pointed at the two villages and asked, "What villages are those?"

The local guide replied, "Tianxin Village and Xinzai Village—both small hamlets of a few dozen households. The people have all fled by now."

Luo Daoqi murmured in admiration, "How meticulous General Qin's questions are!"

Wei Wenkui snorted coldly, "You think everyone's like you—duck into the woods and ignore everything else? Do you see any difference between the paddy fields and the dry fields?" Luo Daoqi said, "Nothing more than the paddies having more ditches?"

Wei Wenkui smiled smugly, "Exactly. More ditches means cavalry can't move well. Once we start fighting, Sha Dingzhou's cavalry won't attack from the east bank."

Luo Daoqi suddenly understood: "Brilliant!"

Wei Wenkui said triumphantly, "Follow General Qin, and there's plenty more to learn!"

Qin Liangyu paid no heed to the chieftains' bickering, remaining wholly focused on scouting the terrain.

The Sha-Pu allied army was massing heavy forces at Ami Prefecture, clearly intent on a decisive battle—and the ground south of Ami Prefecture city, on both banks of the Lu River, was the battlefield.

This place was a stretch of flatland Qin Liangyu had carefully selected from among Yunnan's shattered river valleys, the most suited for the Great Xia army's firearm units to bring their full power to bear. To force the Sha-Pu allied army into battle here, Qin Liangyu had expended no small amount of effort. On the eve of battle, every last detail had to be considered—she was determined to win it all in a single stroke.

Beside Qin Liangyu, staff officers were drawing maps, but she had no need of them—anything she had laid eyes on, every blade of grass, every tree, every ditch, every ridge, was etched into her memory.

After a long while, she said, "Let's go."

The staff officers all breathed sighs of relief—but the next words sent their hearts leaping into their throats.

Qin Liangyu said, "Let's look at the riverbank."

The staff officers urged her against it one after another, but Qin Liangyu was unmoved.

Ma Xianglin chuckled, planting his white-shafted great spear into the ground and saying, "Rest assured, gentlemen—with me here, even Sha Dingzhou's main camp is reachable!" Since entering Yunnan, no fewer than twenty—perhaps thirty—men had died beneath Ma Xianglin's spear. He was the foremost fierce warrior of the expedition, and even the chieftains accompanying the army acknowledged his prowess.

When others said things like "even Sha Dingzhou's main camp is reachable," it was bragging—but when Ma Xianglin said it, there was truly no arguing.

The party mounted their horses with Qin Liangyu, descended Phoenix Ridge, and followed the Lu River southwest.

North of the flatland, the Lu River originally ran north-south, but before reaching Phoenix Ridge, the channel shifted to a northeast-southwest course.

It was the dry season now; the Lu River's surface was less than seven zhang wide, the riverbanks two to three chi high, and the water six chi deep. Having soldiers or cavalry wade across was out of the question.

The party rode on for a long while until a flat, broad road running north-south appeared. The road was made of rammed earth, about one zhang wide—this was the official highway leading from Mengzi toward Ami Prefecture, the same road Qin Liangyu's main army had taken.

Where the highway crossed the Lu River was a ferry landing—only a small pavilion, no pier, and no ferryboat in sight. The riverbank sloped gently, covered all around with cobblestones.

Qin Liangyu asked, "What ferry is this?"

The local guide said, "This is the South City Ferry, the official crossing for heading north to Ami Prefecture. It's been abandoned since Pu Mingsheng's rebellion."

Luo Daoqi asked suspiciously, "And what's so special about this ferry?"

"Er…" Wei Wenkui couldn't answer, so he could only bluff, "Ask clearly, so we can call it by name."

"Oh." Luo Daoqi looked thoughtful.

Ma Xianglin couldn't help saying, "Ferries are usually placed where the current is gentle and the channel straight, which makes it easy for us to lay a pontoon bridge. And since this spot connects to the official highway, it's also convenient for marching."

Both chieftains wore expressions of sudden understanding.

Another two or three li on, a shallow ford appeared. The ford was all sand and gravel, with water flowing over it, and surrounded by a great thicket of reeds—extremely well concealed. From atop Phoenix Ridge it was utterly invisible; one had to come close to discover it.

Qin Liangyu had the accompanying cavalry test the crossing. The water came only to the horses' bellies; the riders passed through without hindrance, and infantry could wade across as well.

Zhang Fengyi said in a low voice, "That was close."

Had this spot gone undiscovered, enemy troops crossing the river would certainly have caught them off guard.

She looked at the guide: "Does this river shoal have a name?"

The guide said, "This one is called Cold Water Shoal—it can only be waded in the dry season. Downstream there's also Dragon Pool Shoal, same deal, though the current there is swift and dangerous—" Hearing this, Qin Liangyu said, "Let's go take a look!"

In the Ami Prefecture stretch, the Lu River generally flowed south to north, so the further downstream they went, the closer they came to Ami Prefecture—and the more dangerous it grew. The staff officers all broke out in cold sweat; even Ma Xianglin and the chieftains stopped their joking and watched their surroundings warily.

The party soon rode to the edge of Dragon Pool Shoal. This spot was even more hidden—without a local to point the way, no one would ever guess it was a shallow ford. Qin Liangyu had ropes tied around the riders' waists, then sent them wading through to test. The water still came only to the horses' bellies, and they crossed back and forth with ease. Qin Liangyu looked around: continuous paddy fields lined the riverbank, Xinzai Village lay not far to the northeast, and Phoenix Ridge stood due south of this spot. Along the way, aside from the paddies, there was almost nothing to block the path.

Just as she looked up at the sky, she heard Ma Xianglin say in a low voice, "Someone's coming!"

The words had barely left his mouth when hoofbeats sounded from the northwest. The party followed the sound and saw a squad of allied cavalry scouts charging straight toward them at full gallop.

The scouts numbered about twenty, wearing wool felt cloaks, white turbans wrapped around their heads, and carrying long spears and crossbows. Though slightly fewer in number than the Xia troops, they showed not a trace of fear—they came straight on like hunters spotting prey.

Wei Wenkui said, "Perfect timing!" He was about to spur his horse forward to meet them when Qin Liangyu called him back: "Don't go."

Wei Wenkui could only forcibly rein in his horse.

Qin Liangyu watched for a moment, then her gaze sharpened as she said: "Bo people cavalry?"

The others looked at what she indicated and immediately saw that the attackers' garb differed from both the Sha and the Luo Luo—it was indeed in the Bo style.

Ma Xianglin laughed: "Haha, Wu Bikui is rushing here to die on his own!"

Qin Liangyu watched a moment longer, then turned her horse around and said: "Let's go, back to camp!"

She led the group retreating southward.

That Bo cavalry unit chased them all the way to the banks of the Lu River, tried several times to cross but could not, and could only curse endlessly from the riverbank.

Qin Liangyu did not linger for battle either, and led the troops back to camp.

That evening, Qin Liangyu convened a war council and assigned tasks to her various commanders.

The staff officers combined the results of the day's field surveys with intelligence gathered by scout cavalry over the previous days into one enormous map.

The map was extremely detailed—shoals, rivers, and ditches were all carefully marked, as if they wished to render every single tree with clarity.

Qin Liangyu ordered the engineers to lay ten pontoon bridges overnight in the area from south of the city to Cold Water Shoal, while the artillery set up positions on Phoenix Ridge.

Hearing this order, everyone understood that they were preparing to cross the river for a decisive battle.

For the Sha-Pu allied forces, there was now no further room to retreat—they had to seize the moment of their greatest military strength and fight Da Xia to the death.

For the Xia army, annihilating the main force of the rebels in a single battle would save much trouble in subsequent pacification. Thus they too had to fight decisively, fight swiftly, and inflict as many casualties as possible.

No matter how one looked at it, this battle was inevitable.

In terms of troop strength, the Sha-Pu alliance had thirty to fifty thousand men, of which cavalry numbered around five thousand.

When Qin Liangyu entered Yunnan, her total force was twenty-five thousand. Having detached over three thousand to hold various cities and stockades, guard supply routes, and besiege fortresses, her current strength was twenty-two thousand—barely half of the Sha-Pu alliance's numbers. She was at an absolute numerical disadvantage.

In terms of terrain, the flat ground of the basin favored the use of firearms, but it equally favored cavalry flanking attacks and hit-and-run maneuvers—a draw. In morale, equipment, and logistics, the Yunnan Expeditionary Army held complete superiority.

Thus all the commanders were brimming with confidence, shouting that they would make the rebels feel the shock of cannon fire.

The native chieftains, meanwhile, yelled about tearing off Wan Cailian's flesh and dipping it in sauce to eat, and squeezing out Sha Dingzhou's blood to drink as wine—remarks that made the new army commanders glance at them askance.

Qin Liangyu let the commanders make noise for a while, then spoke in a low, firm voice: "Tomorrow at the beginning of the si hour, the entire army crosses the river..."

The beginning of the si hour was nine o'clock in the morning.

Ami Prefecture had large day-night temperature differences, and radiative fog would form at dawn, unfavorable for using firearms against the enemy. Qin Liangyu therefore deliberately waited for the fog to disperse before crossing. "Chen Gensheng, Bian Xiao!"

"Your subordinates are here!" The two men whose names were called stepped forward and clasped their hands in salute.

Chen Gensheng was the Mobile Corps Commander of the Da Xia New Army's Sixth Battalion, commanding five thousand troops.

Bian Xiao was the Garrison Commander of Nanning under Da Xia, commanding three thousand men—all of them Nanning garrison troops personally drilled by Qin Liangyu, using the White Staff Army's tactics. "After crossing the river, you two will form up on the army's right flank, and also guard the pontoon bridges to the rear!"

After crossing, the army's right flank faced the Lu River directly, and the right-rear flank was covered by the artillery positions on Phoenix Ridge—the pressure was light, hence fewer men were assigned there. "You Shunfa, Wei Wenkui! You two are responsible for the left flank, with Ma Xianglin in overall coordination."

Those named stepped forward to receive their orders. Among them, You Shunfa was the Mobile Corps Commander in charge of the New Army's Fourth Battalion, also at full strength.

Wei Wenkui's Wolf Cavalry numbered only five hundred, but for this battle he also brought fifteen hundred infantry, totaling two thousand men.

The terrain on the army's left flank was flat, suitable for cavalry charges, and Cold Water Shoal also allowed for outflanking attacks from the rear. Qin Liangyu therefore concentrated the most troops on the left flank.

"Zheng Dawang, your New Army Fifth Battalion will form up in the center. Luo Daoqi, your men will conceal themselves on Phoenix Ridge and must not emerge without orders!" "Your subordinates obey!" The two named men stepped forward and clasped their hands in salute.

With the orders complete, Qin Liangyu swept her gaze across the assembled commanders and was silent for a long while before speaking: "For all military orders, any delay will be punished by execution without mercy. Return to your camps and prepare!" "Yes!" All the commanders clasped their hands together in unison.

The camp passed a silent night, the atmosphere extremely oppressive.

The next morning, before the mao hour had even arrived and before the reveille horn had sounded, many people had already opened their eyes, staring blankly at the tops of their tents.

Though the New Army soldiers had fought many times and were all veterans, facing a great battle, tension was unavoidable.

Especially this battle—the New Army's first time deploying in full formation for a large-scale pitched engagement—which only added to the tense atmosphere.

"Ming—" a long, drawn-out conch horn sounded, and the soldiers all got out of bed to wash up.

Water-carrying troops had long since purified the river water and placed it in camp. The soldiers took out soap to wash their hands and faces, then waited for breakfast to be distributed.

At this time, thin fog shrouded the camp's surroundings, and from afar came the sound of hoofbeats and cannon fire, pressing down on one's breath.

Because the great battle was imminent, this morning's breakfast had also been adjusted—seven parts white rice, two parts cooked buckwheat, and one part sweet potato mixed together, a full bowl for each man.

The main dish was air-dried lean pork with dried pickled vegetables, plus a little minced ginger.

This breakfast had meat to stave off hunger yet was not greasy, so it would not give the soldiers diarrhea.

After the meal, the soldiers went to the latrines in groups, then received their field rations and checked their weapons—all done in silence.

As the sun rose, the fog gradually dispersed.

Behind the camp, Wei Wenkui, responsible for catching deserters, watched this somber scene and could not speak for a long time.

If some greenhorn ignorant of military affairs were to see this, the army's somber silence would look like cowardice and low morale—surely a strong army had to be full of laughter and talk, with overwhelming noise and spectacle. But Wei Wenkui knew that the Da Xia army was tightly coiled and inwardly focused; every man held a pent-up force within, eager to kill the enemy and establish their might.

To put it in terms of dogs—it was the same principle as barking dogs not biting.

An even more terrifying point: how many deserters had his men caught while patrolling from the latter half of the night until now?

Only three, and all of them new recruits...

An army of over twenty thousand, facing an enemy twice its size—before a great battle, there were only three deserters...

This was nothing short of heaven-defying!

Even if the Qi Family Army were reborn, with General Qi himself in command, the deserters would likely number more than three...

By the end of the chen hour, the Da Xia army had made one more collective trip to the latrines, then each battalion formed up in ranks. From a distance, the camp's tents had been struck and palisades dismantled, and dozens of neat, orderly dark-green squares appeared across the open field.

As soon as the beginning of the si hour arrived, another conch horn sounded from the camp.

The entire army formed columns and marched toward the Lu River. In the ranks, no one spoke or made noise; their steps were uniform, and they moved swiftly while maintaining strict formation without the slightest disorder. When they reached the South City Crossing, the ten pontoon bridges had long since been completed. The army crossed the river safely, and on the dry fields around the bridges were more than a dozen shell craters, with five or six corpses of men and horses lying to one side.

Clearly, when the enemy had come to harass the pontoon bridges, they had been blasted by the artillery on Phoenix Ridge.

An hour earlier, south of Ami Prefecture city, the Sha-Pu-Wu allied forces had also been filing out of the city and forming ranks, numbering nearly forty thousand.

Of these, Pu Mingsheng's former troops accounted for thirty thousand, Sha Dingzhou had nearly ten thousand, and Wu Bikui had only five hundred elite cavalry.

Forty thousand men spread out, filling the vast farmlands west of the Lu River beneath Ami Prefecture city—a magnificent sight.

Standing in the midst of the army formation, he looked around in every direction—there was nothing but an endless sea of humanity, with no edge in sight.

At this moment, Sha Dingzhou sat astride his warhorse beneath the White Tiger banner, feeling a surge of heroic pride. Holding his horsewhip, he pointed at the army behind him and said to his subordinates, "With an army like this, even the whole world could be taken—let alone a mere Qin Liangyu?"

"Hahahaha..." His generals burst into laughter.

Someone shouted, "Once we win this battle, take us to conquer Liangguang, Regional Commander! They say the Xia King's domain is rich and prosperous—we've never even seen it!" Sha Dingzhou laughed and said, "I've heard that in the Xia King's palace there are countless rare treasures from the Southern Seas, and the gold and silver in his treasuries are piled higher than the city walls. The women there are more beautiful than the flowering water plants of Lugu Lake!"

His generals all laughed and cheered along.

Sha Dingzhou said, "But what is a mere Xia King, after all? If our tribes unite our strength, never mind the Xia King—even the imperial palace in the capital is within our reach!"

One of his generals laughed loudly and said, "Then we'll all be founding meritorious ministers, with the merit of aiding the dragon's rise!"

Sha Dingzhou drew his blade and said, "Indeed! Our kingly enterprise begins from this very moment. Advance!"

At his command, the signalmen blew their ox-horn trumpets, and then farther away, and farther still, the ox-horns sounded in succession. The great army slowly began to move, the sound of hooves and footsteps drowning out even the beating of bronze drums.

When the march reached the northwest bank of the Lu River, they happened to catch the Xia army halfway across the crossing. Sha Dingzhou could hardly believe his eyes. After looking carefully, he smiled and said to those around him, "During the morning fog, the Xia army did not cross the river, but chose precisely this moment instead. Heaven truly aids me!"

Sha Dingzhou's subordinates all cupped their fists and requested to join the battle.

Sha Dingzhou pondered for a moment, then denied them all. Instead, he looked toward Bai Cha and said, "The Pu army has the greatest strength among the three tribes. Please, Steward Bai, take the field!" "Very well!" Bai Cha knew full well that Sha Dingzhou intended to use the Xia army to weaken the Pu forces and thereby seize control of their power, but with a powerful enemy before them, they should unite against the external threat. Such a golden opportunity would vanish in an instant—he did not wish to haggle.

Soon the Pu army's bronze drums thundered. Thirty thousand Pu soldiers pressed forward slowly like a mountain range. There were so many of them that on the left bank of the Lu River, they could not even run, let alone fight—they could only attack in waves.

Bai Cha ordered Li Achu to send ten thousand men forward first.

At this moment, Qin Liangyu's central army and Ma Xianglin's left wing had only just crossed the river, their formations not yet fully deployed, when they saw five thousand Pu soldiers surging toward them like a flood. Qin Liangyu said calmly, "Order Ma Xianglin to hold the left flank, split five battalions to hold the right flank, and the rear army is to delay its crossing!"

Signalmen galloped off with the orders. The army followed its commands, adjusted its formation, and lined up in horizontal ranks before the pontoon bridge, stretching nearly four li from east to west like a wall the color of a crow-blue Great Wall.

The Luoluo army revered the color black, and most of their soldiers wore black garments. They charged forward in loose formation, like a mountain torrent or a roaring sea.

"Boom-boom-boom..."

The Fenghuang Ridge artillery position opened fire first. Over thirty solid iron shot smashed into the Pu ranks, instantly carving out channels of blood.

The mist of blood gathered almost into a single mass in the air, visible to the naked eye.

After the cannonballs struck the ground, they would ricochet several more times. Wherever they passed, men were either killed or wounded—the carnage was appalling.

Immediately after, the tiger-crouch cannons interspersed in the gaps between the musket lines were also lit in succession. These small cannons had little power and short range, but there were simply too many of them—the Xia army had brought nearly two hundred in total.

Their barrels were packed with over a hundred small lead shot and one large iron ball weighing twenty liang, designed specifically for close-range assaults on massed crowds.

With one volley, two hundred thunderous reports merged into a single sound, like muffled thunder—even the heavy cannon fire from Fenghuang Ridge was drowned out by the din. Twenty thousand small lead pellets scattered like a goddess scattering flowers, slamming down hard upon the charging Pu soldiers. Rattan shields were useless against such shot, riddled with countless holes, and the soldiers behind them were punched through like sieves, blood spraying wantonly from the wounds. It was utterly horrific—the front ranks of the Pu army fell in an entire layer at once.

Meanwhile, the large lead balls arced through the air, carving two hundred small channels of blood through the Pu formation. A single shot could blast four or five men into mangled remains; even at the least, it could kill one or two.

Before the Pu army could even react to the cannonade, they heard voices rising and falling from the Xia army's front ranks: "Fifty paces!"

"Fifty paces!"

"Raise muskets!"

The command to raise muskets was passed continuously along the entire four-li front of the Xia army. The whole formation moved as if cast from a single mold, soldiers leveling their muskets one after another.

Over two thousand thin tongues of flame spat simultaneously from the muzzles, forming a flickering wall of fire. Bullets screamed toward the Pu soldiers, raising a layer of blood blossoms among the crowd.

The front-rank Pu soldiers fell like wheat before a scythe.

Because the interval between the tiger-crouch cannon volleys and the musket volleys was so short, the slain front-rank soldiers piled together, actually forming a low wall as high as a man's shin! "Charge! They're reloading—charge now while they reload!" Li Achu, gripping his Husao saber, stood amid the crowd and shouted desperately.

But the next second, following the squad leaders' commands of "Raise muskets!" rising and falling along the Xia front, the muzzles of the rear-rank musketeers extended over their comrades' shoulders. Then came a single shout of "Fire!"—after which all further commands were drowned out by the piercing roar of gunfire.

Over two thousand flintlock muskets fired in succession. The gunfire shook heaven and earth, echoing and reverberating endlessly between the mountain slopes on both sides of the basin.

The Pu soldiers charging at the front fell in another layer. Fortunately, the Pu army lacked training and relied entirely on individual valor in battle, their formations extremely loose—a weakness in cold-weapon combat, but when facing the Xia army's firearms plowing through their ranks, it actually reduced their casualties somewhat.

"Charge! Five taels of silver for every enemy soldier you kill! A thousand taels of gold for killing Qin Liangyu!"

Li Achu roared without cease. Hearing of the rewards, the soldiers under his command had their morale greatly boosted and charged forward recklessly into the volleys.

After several rounds of musket fire, the tiger-crouch cannons had finished reloading, and another volley followed immediately.

Along the entire four-li Pu battle line, it was as if an invisible scythe had swept through—the front-rank soldiers' bodies suddenly burst into great clouds of blood mist, severed limbs flying everywhere. The scene was utterly horrifying.

On Fenghuang Ridge, Luo Daoqi, hidden among the trees, now had his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide as saucers, staring at the battlefield as if his soul had been sucked out of him.

He was no stranger to bloodshed—even eating human flesh and drinking human blood was merely a topic of jest to him—but what he saw before him now left him in complete stupefaction. The Pu soldiers charging were dying in swaths, and accompanied by that thunderous roar that shook endlessly between heaven and earth, enemy bodies burst apart one after another as if struck by sorcery.

A living, breathing man would, in the space of a finger-snap, become a pool of shredded flesh—his lower body collapsing where he stood, his arm flying a dozen paces away.

Luo Daoqi knew the Xia army's firearms were formidable, and along the way he had grown accustomed to seeing the Xia army recklessly blasting city walls as if gunpowder cost nothing.

But seeing firearms used against living men—that was his first time.

After several rounds of volleys, the fallen lay so thick on the ground they could not be counted, almost equaling the entire population of a small tribe.

Those Earth Wolf soldiers, working in groups of seven and straining every sinew, could barely earn a single head's worth of military merit—while a Xia soldier merely bent down to light a fuse and collected a whole handful. Even massacring a city was not this efficient!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

While he was lost in thought, the heavy cannons on Fenghuang Ridge thundered once more. The sound was so great it stabbed painfully at his eardrums and made his chest feel tight. After the blasts, his ears rang without end, and he could not even hear what the people beside him were saying.

Even the awesome might of heaven itself could be no more than this.

Braving the fierce gun and cannon fire, Li Achu's troops finally reached close range with the Xia army. They hurled javelins and loosed crossbow bolts, finally inflicting a few casualties on the Xia forces as well.

But this drizzle of an attack was soon scattered by the musket volleys and tiger-crouch cannons. Of all who exchanged fire with the Xia army, not a single one could survive a single round of volleys.

Li Achu's ten-thousand-man force could not even get close enough to begin melee combat before signs of collapse began to appear.

Just then, the faint sound of thunder came from afar.

Zhang Fengyi's heart sank—but when she looked up, the sky was clear and blue, without a single cloud.

And behind Li Achu's army, great billows of gray smoke were rising.

Zhang Fengyi suddenly understood, and hastily warned Qin Liangyu, "General, the enemy's cavalry is on the move!"

Elegant Black

Tapioca Pearls