Chapter 429

Bai Ze laughed at his absurd idea; Da Wang didn't believe it.

This guy took out a map, measured the distance again, then pulled out a mid-grade beast-taming pill and cut it in half on the spot—what a piece of work, what can this Zhetian Lord do?

It immediately began using its other claw to tug at the letter tied to its leg; Da Wang doing that, those two sheets could only be halved.

Da Wang could only give the other half to it, losing fifteen hundred taels in pain. His messenger refused to charge by distance.

The full three thousand taels went into its belly, and Zhetian Lord, satisfied, went to work; in a moment, the people of Shanyang Pass discovered someone had come knocking at the gate……

Zhetian took on night-shift work for the first time, arrived at Shanyang Pass to find pitch darkness outside, with very few people about—where could it find Tang Qian? This guy repeated his old trick, starting to smash houses.

Fortunately, Shanyang Pass didn't have those expensive glass windows, so being smashed by it caused little loss—just the selected house was unlucky, and the people inside were startled.

It was already late at night; Tang Qian was roused by his personal soldiers saying, "Da Wang's eagle, Zhetian Lord, has arrived," and his heart jumped.

He had just returned from the Western Regions, still unaware that Da Wang had already marched to his Liangzhou.

Tang Qian indeed held the post of Liangzhou Inspector, but he spent most of his time at his Shanyang Pass, hardly meddling in the internal affairs of the major commanderies within Liangzhou.

Da Wang—this king—had reached Liangzhou, gone to Anding and Longxi; without prior agreement, not a single commandant had specially sent someone to inform him of this, assuming Da Wang's close aides already knew everything.

After a trip to Youzhou, he already knew Zhetian's speed—this eagle could make a round trip between Youzhou and Shanyang in half a day, plus the time for Zhetian to find him, him reading the letter and replying. Subtracting that, the time Zhetian spent on the road was negligible, almost ignorable. So… a letter arriving late at night meant it had just been written not long ago—what could Da Wang's late-night message be about?

Could something have changed in Youzhou?!

Tang Qian didn't have time to put on his clothes, rushed out wearing only his shoes……

Zhetian glanced at Tang Qian's ragged, horse-and-Zhang Fei–like appearance, disdainfully turned its head aside, and merely extended its right leg arrogantly. Tang Qian hurried forward to untie the letter, read it once, and was dazed.

The characters, he knew them all.

How could he not understand them when put together?

The deputy commander who had just arrived anxiously asked, "What's going on? Is there an urgent military report from Youzhou?"

He handed the letter to the deputy commander, saying, "Take a look—how could I see that His Highness has already reached Liangzhou and is bringing a five-hundred-strong army to attack the Qiang?" Five hundred troops?! Attack the Qiang?! Just reading it left everyone bewildered.

He didn't know that Da Wang's five-hundred-strong army was just a rough estimate.

After reading it, the deputy commander exclaimed, "……It looks genuine—His Highness orders us to bring our own rations to support Jin Hui; everyone, wake up and get moving!"

Old Tang wiped his face, "You stay behind to guard the home; I'll go myself! Muster ten thousand!"

Deputy commander: "His Highness ordered five thousand, but we only have five thousand good horses."

Tang Qian: "Then… five thousand it is! Immediately tally the rations; we must set out at dawn!"

Da Wang had something on his mind, hadn't slept enough, and got up as soon as it was light without being called. The whole camp had just begun to stir; Da Wang saw the soldiers tying that string of mischievous kids back to the wagon's rear, and he went over again.

"Before, I didn't know about the Jin Hui affair, and you didn't send the news to Youzhou. Today I will attack Jin Hui City, take back my city—just watch. Everything within sight here is my land, and you are my people; no one can take it away."

He looked at the leading boy, "You will someday be proud to be a northerner. No, you should be proud now. If you weren't a northerner, I wouldn't spare you for your youthful ignorance; you would already have been reduced to black ashes, scattered by me across this grass~plain."

Five boys: ……

Burned to ashes and scattered?

Da Wang strode off with his head held high; the boy who had eaten Da Wang's beef jerky swallowed and said, "Boss, he sounds even scarier than the Qiang."

Wei Shen came out of Da Wang's tent just as Da Wang returned, "Why are you up so early? Wei Ke has compiled a stack of statements to report to you!"

Da Wang: "I went to scare the kids~ Now I feel refreshed; I think I could cut down a hundred Qiang in a moment."

Wei Shen: ……

Da Wang also had no time for a detailed report; he gathered everyone and had Wei Ke briefly summarize, before all, Jin Hui's twenty years of suffering and the atrocities of the Burnt Tang there.

After Wei Ke finished, everyone was filled with righteous indignation.

This is worse than Youzhou.

Youzhou, before Da Wang arrived, also lived in fear; the northern barbarians also snatched slaves when lacking them, but being too close to Shanggu Pass, they never reached the extent of Jin Hui.

After Wei Ke finished, Da Wang had already slung the Sun-Shooting Bow over his shoulder, hung the Eagle Riders' straight sword at his waist, and mounted the White Dragon's back.

He regretted a bit not bringing the Tai'a Sword on this sortie—it was too eye-catching, and drawing it now would be hard to explain.

He was now seated on horseback, and after a night's digestion he had become much calmer.

"Every inch of northern land, I will not abandon. Jin Hui City has been exploited and enslaved for twenty years; I didn't know before, but now I do, and I will certainly not let the Qiang off!"

We didn't bring many people, but every one here is an elite troop that His Highness painstakingly cultivated, capable of fighting one against a hundred, equivalent to a thousand. This time the enemy is the Shaodang on the plateau; His Highness says these people are just right—though the snow cavalry are all present, he cannot bring them all, only the elite.

Soldiers, the opportunity to kill the enemy and earn merit has come again! His Highness is confident in leading you to retake Jinhui City, slay the Dayun Valley, and make them wash away with blood the twenty-year humiliation the Shaodang have imposed on the Jin people. Do you have confidence?

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Slay the Dayun Valley, exterminate the Shaodang Qiang.

All right, now follow His Highness to retake the land belonging to our northern border! Let's go!

The snow cavalry and His Highness's personal guards mounted with a clatter, ready to spill hot blood in battle, while the only two scholarly weak princes, Xie Tu and Zhou Huang, were stunned—are we really charging just like that?

What are we to do with the two of them?

It seems the two of them are so at a loss that they stand out; His Highness looked over, and Xie Tu immediately stepped forward to ask, "Your Highness, are we starting the fight now? Should we wait for reinforcements?" No matter how you count, it doesn't look like there are even five hundred people.

His Highness still thought they were afraid, pointing at the few snow cavalry whose armor had been stripped off, and said, "Don't be afraid; with them protecting you, you can just stay in the camp, and barring any mishap I'll fetch you into the city this afternoon—Zhao Bao is here too." The armor taken from those few remaining snow cavalry was given to the Wei and Xue brothers who are taking part in the siege, so now this force consists of him and Ling Yin without armor.

Ling the Great Hero has no need for fearlessness, and His Highness can't wear it due to his build.

Your Highness, I'm not afraid...

His Highness quickly interrupted, "Oh, oh, it's fine if you're not afraid—just stay safe; His Highness is setting out now, taking advantage of the cool morning to fight swiftly and settle the battle quickly."

Xie Tu: ……

Having said that, His Highness spurred his horse and chased after the departing column, with the Wei and Xue brothers following behind; Jinhui City is already within His Highness's range.