Chapter 523

When the Great King saw Luoyang City, the sun was just halfway up the sky. The army had set out at first light, and now they could roughly rest.

The Great King rose from his horse's back, stood on the stirrups, and gazed into the distance at the city, completely free of any idol baggage: "First eat, then attack the city this afternoon, striving to have a roof to sleep under by night!"

In the army, the Great King's word is law; the remaining force of over eighty thousand troops immediately halted and rested in place.

The Great King's usual boundless energy was unstoppable; after marching all morning he was still bouncing around, and this guy even ran ahead with Wei Shen, stopping two li outside the city to sneakily observe Luoyang.

"Not bad for the secondary capital of the Great Jin!" He held the binoculars, able to see the archers filling the city walls, and even saw them hauling stones onto the walls.

"Looks like they want to fight us to the death~ I, the Prince, am still making my first visit to Luoyang; what about you, Cousin?"

"I've never been there, but I've heard. I heard Luoyang alone has twelve city gates, and inside there's also a temporary palace; its prosperity rivals Chang'an. Earlier Bai Li Jin even wanted to move the capital there, but later for some reason he gave up."

The Great King said solemnly: "Understood. Situated in the Central Plains, with convenient transportation, a strategic point, the starting point of the Silk Road."

Wei Shen ahead could still understand, asking: "What road is the Silk Road?"

"A road that will appear once we catch our breath?" Now the Great Jin is a huge disaster zone, and on top of that war has broken out; any trade or exchange is a matter for later.

While waiting for his meal, the Great King looked around again; compared to the chaotic terrain of the Northern Border, he still longed for the flat expanse of the Central Plains.

"Why not say those bearded Xiongnu and Xianbei all crave the Central Plains, dreaming of chasing the deer there? Look, even I crave it! As they say, whoever controls the Central Plains rules the world—just look at how suitable this land is for farming, how many people it could feed!"

Wei Shen also looked all around: "Really no mountains?" His hometown is surrounded by southwestern mountains, and even coming to the Northern Border he never lacked mountains and sea.

The Great King: "If there are any, they're rare sights, specially reserved for viewing."

Wei Shen: "Understood, who wouldn't want to send troops to Luoyang?" Compared to gullies and ridges, the flat Central Plains are indeed rare.

When the Marquis of the Eastern Capital came over, uneasy, the Great King was performing acrobatics, standing on horseback with hands on hips, gazing afar: "The Bai Li clan's ancestral teachings say you can discard anything anywhere, except the Central Plains—you must never abandon it. Today we will seize this Central Plains!"

Marquis of the Eastern Capital: ……

This guy's smugness makes him look like a villain.

"If Your Highness understands the importance of the Central Plains, that's good. Luoyang's defenses are second only to Chang'an. When the Jiangxia Rebel King marched north, he went straight northwest to assault Chang'an; Luoyang should still be in the hands of the Taihe Emperor. If… he's still alive, I believe his first choice would be to come to Luoyang, then Langya."

"Can that good uncle of mine really let Bai Li Jin escape?" The Great King didn't really believe it.

"Either secretly imprison him for possible future use, or he's already been executed. I think it's the latter." Just thinking about this, he had a feeling that Bai Li Jin was already gone.

The Great King didn't like to dwell on this, changed the subject: "Uncle Liang, do you know the Luoyang guard commander?"

The Marquis of the Eastern Capital nodded: "The Luoyang guard commander is Feng Xiang, appointed Chariot and Cavalry General, equal in rank to the general responsible for Chang'an's garrison. Previously the Luoyang garrison numbered sixty thousand; now it's unknown if there have been changes, but it will certainly not be less than sixty thousand. This man Feng Xiang is brave beyond the three armies; leading troops, he always puts himself ahead of the troops, impossible to underestimate. His grandfather Feng Yi once held the rank of Grand General, and Your Highness's exalted ancestor praised him as a pillar of the state."

The Great King felt sour, sensing it was a family of three generations deep in learning.

"Brave beyond the three armies" shows he's a capable fighter; "leading from the front" shows he has popular support and influence in the army. Who wouldn't love such a commander?

"Then Luoyang is still a tough nut to crack; it's a pity if Feng Xiang dies. Uncle Liang, you should persuade him when the time comes."

Inside the city, Feng Xiang felt a hundred times worse; he had long heard of the fame of the Northern Border's Xuan Jia Cavalry, and earlier when the Northern Border's troop review caused a commotion he had also heard of it—those newspaper pictures truly made the blood boil. Feng Xiang also thought that next time the Northern Border King held a review, he'd sneak a look, after all they'd beaten the Xiongnu, and we could learn whatever strengths they had. Now it's fine—he never imagined his first sight of the Xuan Jia Cavalry would be them besieging Luoyang.

Feng Xiang stood on the city wall gazing north, hearing from scouts that the only banners in the Northern Border formation were the "You" character flag representing the Xuan Jia Cavalry and the "Xue" character flag representing the Silver Armor Cavalry; with the enemy at the city gates, he actually didn't know who the commander was.

Just then another scout returned, reporting: "General, we just discovered a white giant beast in that formation, very like the legendary White Ze beloved by the Northern Border King. My subordinates suspect… the Northern Border King is also in the formation."

Feng Xiang's expression also turned grim; with the Northern Border King present, it was certainly all their elite forces committed, and there was no way they'd easily give up Luoyang. If the assault on Chang'an faltered, the Northern Border could occupy the secondary capital and stand off against Bai Li Jun.

Sure enough, not long after, a black mass appeared at the edge of his vision—the Northern Border's Xuan Jia Cavalry was on the move! He hurriedly ordered the defenses of the other city gates to be shifted to the north gate.

Soldiers garrisoned at the other major city gates began moving toward the north gate, troops running through streets and alleys, and the city's populace followed with anxious hearts. In this world, human lives are as worthless as weeds, and Luoyang's future already looked bleak. General Feng ordered them to stay indoors and not go out, but if the city fell, what use would hiding at home be?

All they could hope for was that the Northern Border King would be as magnanimous as the newspapers claimed, giving the people a way to live. Everyone rumored that Marquis Hanshou had slaughtered Wuling City; now the people of Luoyang's greatest expectation of the Great King was simply not to massacre the city.

Feng Xiang personally climbed the watchtower, but his heart was far from calm despite his composed face.

Is this the Northern Border's Xuan Jia Cavalry?!

Under the bright afternoon sun, yellow dust on the horizon blotted out the sun. A hundred thousand iron cavalry poured down from the north, bringing a black steel torrent that swiftly rolled over—a sight he had never seen in his life.

As a Chariot and Cavalry General, Feng Xiang had garrisoned Luoyang for twelve years, never having commanded more than three thousand cavalry, and now this was also his first time seeing a hundred thousand iron cavalry charging in such a grand scene.

It turned out that when cavalry reached a certain number, their gallop wasn't a light clatter but a continuous rumble like rolling thunder!

It shook the earth until it trembled!

Banners fluttered, blotting out the sky, paired with the black steel torrent, a chilling killing intent. Even before they closed in, they made the warm winds of the Central Plains freeze.

Feng Xiang also saw the newly erected black‑gold‑edged dragon‑patterned great king flag, and whispered: "... the Northern Border King is in the formation."

It is a narration, and also a sigh.