Chapter 246

East Xianbei Royal City

Black clouds pressed the city, wind and snow loomed.

In March, the northern lands had not yet seen true spring; life was harsh, and Wan Niuyu, who was trying to go south to grab a share, met his retribution.

The Great King's ten thousand iron hooves finally, in mid-month, silently surrounded the royal city.

Along the way they went straight ahead, also encountering two or three large settlements; the army followed the same pattern. Thus, aside from the fatigue of marching, their food and drink were decent.

Wei Shen didn't complain about the rations either; although the dry food with mutton got a bit greasy, thinking that this was something the Xianbei people were reluctant to eat, he found it fragrant.

The Great King thought this diet wasn't enough; he had vegetable buns and fruit supplied by Baiyang, plus some vitamin supplements, while others eating only meat wouldn't do. He began handing out one vitamin pill each day to everyone.

Such a marching standard would be considered luxurious even in ancient times.

On the day the Great King besieged the royal city, the sky was overcast from early morning, as if it could change at any moment.

He sat high on his horse, holding his newly favored wolf-tooth spear, squinting to survey the city ahead; at that moment, no one could recall that he was still young.

Beside the Great King crouched the mighty, divine beast Bai Ze, behind him fluttered the Youzhou flag, and surrounding him were fully armed Owl Cavalry; the icy white spikes on the Owl Cavalry's warhorses gouged the eyes of the defending Xianbei soldiers.

The Black Wind Horse was steady-tempered; people had seen many grand scenes, but now the great army pressed to the city walls, so quiet that not even a warhorse's neigh could be heard, achieving utter stealth.

This probably qualified to be called the army of the Celestial Empire, yet the Great Jin, lost for a hundred years, had never seen such a force.

The Black Wind Horse was steady-tempered; people had seen many grand scenes, but now the great army pressed to the city walls, so quiet that not even a warhorse's neigh could be heard, achieving utter stealth.

Outside the royal city, the well-protected soft grass muffled the horseshoe clatter, and the Black Wind Horse's light steps reduced ground vibration. This caused the cavalry to surround the city; inside there was not a hint of alertness until the garrison soldiers saw the enemy with their own eyes and shouted of an attack, whereupon people grew slightly tense.

The people of the plains aren't afraid of fighting; it's just that this time things turned out differently than they expected.

Wan Niuyu on the city walls still couldn't believe it.

He was woken from his sleep by someone saying that the little brat from Youzhou had led cavalry to besiege the royal city. He thought it was just another brother plotting rebellion and had come up with such a lame excuse.

He stood on the city wall in disarray, his armor unfastened, gazing outward; the Youzhou iron hooves had already reached arrow range.

He loudly cursed the city guards for dereliction of duty and shouted for the soldiers to loose arrows, but this could not hide his panic.

Just looking at the enemy formation outside, anyone would panic.

"How dare he? How dare he!!"

Outside, the Great King raised his Sun-shooting Bow, and the flag bearers waved their small flags, sending flag signals that were the sign of an imminent attack.

"Soldiers, take the Xianbei people's royal city and capture Wan Niuyu alive!"

After the Great King finished shouting, he lifted his Sun-shooting Bow, aimed at the gate, and with all his strength loosed an arrow; the arrowhead of the Sun-shooting Bow, capable of piercing stone walls several li away, blasted a hole straight through the gate, and the arrow kept flying straight into the city……

The Great King laughed heartily.

Obviously East Xianbei lacked enough copper to cast a sturdy metal gate.

The Great King patted Cover Heaven on his shoulder, glanced at Bai Ze, and said, "Cover Heaven, Bai Ze, the time to give our all has truly come! This time don't just watch—lend a hand, help out, so we can take the Xianbei and return home soon."

Having said that, he didn't wait for their reaction and raised his Sun-shooting Bow again.

The Dunjia Soldiers shielding him from arrows stepped aside to make a gap, and the Great King continued bombarding the gate.

Wan Niuyu had never regarded the Great Jin as a threat; he didn't think the Great Jin, which possessed the Central Plains, would covet his patch of poor grassland, so his main force was stationed in the West City Main Camp, and he only guarded against his kin neighbors.

Now he came out of the palace half-believing, half-doubting to check the south gate, without first mobilizing troops. And the Great King observed no martial decorum—no formation, no words of explanation—he simply launched a fierce assault on the south gate, catching him completely off guard.

Others might besiege a city for three or five days, failing to communicate before fighting, but the Great King silently approached, paused to let everyone catch their breath, and then launched the attack!

Shouts of killing rose up, and the entire south gate was filled with the sounds of arrows piercing the air and blades clashing.

The Great King blasted three or four large holes in the gate; the Vanguard Camp, under the cover of archers and shields, had already rushed to the gate's base, and they hacked and smashed at the gate using the holes the Great King had blown open.

The south gate was smashed open at astonishing speed!

Wan Niuyu found it unbelievable; the Great King shook his head and sighed.

"Look, the gate simply can't be made of wood; no matter how thick, it's wasted—overdone!"

Wei Shen twitched the corner of his mouth, "Come on, there are still a few Sun-shooting Bows in the world!"

Youzhou Cavalry pulled open the wavering gate, and the charge's bugle sounded again.

This was the Youzhou Cavalry's greatest test.

Hooves stepped onto the stone steps of the gate, emitting a heavy boom, and with unstoppable momentum they surged into the royal city. The townspeople finally reacted, beginning to panic and flee.

They didn't know whose army this was; seeing Bai Ze mixed in the ranks, some couldn't escape in time and knelt in the street begging for mercy.

Wan Niuyu had already fled toward the main force at the West Gate Main Camp, and the inner city had become a battlefield.

The sounds of slaughter and clashing weapons filled the air; amidst the dust raised by horse hooves, wails mingled. Da Wang and the owl cavalry quickly found their bearings, heading west to meet Wanniuyu's main force.

Wanniuyu led fifty thousand cavalry and several ten thousand infantry, finally regaining his composure.

"Ha! Who do you think you are! You little brat of the Great Jin emperor's household, did you eat a bear's heart and a leopard's gall? Not going northwest to save your old man, you run here to throw away your life?!"

Da Wang chuckled: "Who's going to die is still up in the air~" He also spread his arms to let Wanniuyu look around—corpses littered the field, wails shook the heavens. Anyway, the battlefield wasn't inside his city, so he didn't care.

That little arrogant attitude—needless to say!

Wei Shen joined in with a loud laugh; these two guys are really aggravating.

Wanniuyu's eyes were about to burst; he could no longer keep up a calm façade.

But Da Wang hadn't finished speaking when he said: "I heard the East Xianbei sent fifty thousand cavalry to the northwest to throw away their lives; seeing how enthusiastic the East Xianbei is about meddling in neighboring countries, I, the king, am deeply moved. I've also learned a thing or two, personally heading north to pay a visit to the East Xianbei royal city. This way, those barbaric northern barbarians will know—what are propriety, esteem, going forth and returning!"

Wanniuyu shouted in rage: "You ignorant brat! Do you think I'm your incompetent emperor father? Do you think the steppe youths are your weak Jin people? Even if you enter the city, today I'll make sure you never return!"

Da Wang continued to chuckle: "In the past you freely marched south to invade Great Jin, slaughtering its people; today I'll give you a lesson—times have changed! Because I, too, am no saint. My father loved music and dance; I—devote myself to military conquest."

You're in for good fortune from now on!