Chapter 114: with translation of chapter title

Kill!

At Wang Po (Wang Xiu)'s command, the three thousand Iron Control pagodas let out a roar like collapsing mountains and surging seas!

They urged their warhorses beneath them, beginning the final acceleration.

Pfft!

Wang Po (Wang Xiu) took the lead, his saber easily slashing the throat of a Liang army soldier. Warm blood spattered all over him, but he didn't care.

The Iron Control pagoda cavalry behind him were even more like tigers among a flock of sheep.

With their lances and long blades, each swing could take several lives.

The Liang soldiers' swords and spears, striking their heavy plate armor, could only produce a series of 'ding-ding-dang-dang' brittle sounds, not even leaving a white mark.

And the impact force of the Iron Control pagoda warhorses was even more terrifying.

Any infantry blocking their path would be easily flung aside, then trampled into mud by the Iron Control hooves closely following.

This was fundamentally not an equal battle.

The Liang army's rear, originally a hastily assembled, low-morale auxiliary force, collapsed instantly under the Iron Control pagoda's first charge, like an ant nest smashed by a boulder.

The earth trembled; this tremor was not from thunder but from the thunderous roar of thousands of armored warhorses striking the ground simultaneously, deep and powerful, each blow striking the hearts of the Liang soldiers.

Sunlight reflected off the helmets and armor of the Iron Control pagoda knights, forming a cold metallic torrent that swept forward with an irresistible momentum, a sight beyond any soldier's imagination, enough to tear apart even the strongest psychological defenses.

The soldiers cried out, discarding helmets and armor, fleeing in all directions. They only wanted to get as far away from those steel monsters as possible, daring not to look back or stop, with a single thought in mind: to stay as far as possible from those steel monsters covered head to toe in armor, whose hooves thundered like lightning.

But this was only the beginning. The hooves of the Iron Control pagoda still pursued from behind, the spreading chaos of the routed troops just beginning to ripple through the Liang rear, while a new desperation quietly closed in.

Just as the Liang rear was thrown into chaos by the Iron Control pagoda's charge, with soldiers only thinking of fleeing forward, a great cloud of dust suddenly rose on the horizons to both sides.

Initially just a vague black shadow, it quickly became clear—these were the infantry formations of the Wang Family's Second and Third Corps.

Their steps were uniform, their armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight; the synchronized 'thud-thud' of thousands marching sounded like two giant pincers slowly closing, steadily moving to envelop the Liang army's flanks.

The soldiers of the Second Corps on the left had already raised their round shields, the shield faces clashing together to form a solid wall; the Third Corps on the right quickened their pace, the spear tips flashing with cold light, gradually sealing off the Liang army's escape routes.

The Liang soldiers who had been fleeing in disarray only now realized they were rushing into a massive encirclement: ahead lay an unknown path, behind them the Iron Control pagoda's pursuers, and on both sides the infantry formations locked them in a vise, instantly compressing their hope of survival to the extreme.

Divine Machine Battalion! Free fire!

Archers! Launch! Suppress the enemy!

Spearmen! Form ranks! Advance forward!

The Wang Family infantry were well-trained and worked in seamless coordination.

The roar of firearms, the whistling of crossbow bolts, the cold gleam of spears combined into a vast net of death, enveloping the collapsing Liang army.

Under the protection of his personal guards, Zhu Youzhen stared dumbfounded at all this, as wind-blown dust and the stench of blood blew into his face, choking his throat, yet he dared not even blink; the sight before him had long surpassed all his expectations.

He saw the army he had painstakingly built over the years, and now there was not a trace of its former elite bearing; the soldiers who used to shout thunderous slogans during drills now resembled a flock of sheep driven by hungry wolves, fleeing in panic without choosing a path.

The Wang Family army, meanwhile, resembled a well-trained hunter, with the Iron Control pagoda cavalry pursuing from behind and the infantry formations on both flanks advancing steadily, cleanly slicing his army into several pieces.

Division, encirclement, then merciless annihilation—the whole process was like an old farmer reaping a crop, and his army was the wheat stalks awaiting the scythe, utterly powerless to resist.

With a casual gesture, an Iron Control pagoda cavalryman easily cut down the dragon banner symbolizing imperial authority, then trampled it under his horse's hooves.

"No... impossible..." Zhu Youzhen's voice squeezed out from his throat, soft and trembling, so faint he could barely hear it himself. He instinctively shook his head, his ornate hairpin askew to one side, his pearl and jade ornaments swaying lightly with the motion, yet all dignity was gone.

"Your Majesty! Hurry and go! If you don't leave now, it'll be too late!" Wang Yanzhang, drenched in blood, rushed to his side and grabbed his reins, saying, "General, I will hold the rear for Your Majesty!"

Saying this, he turned his horse's head, grasped his somewhat deformed Iron Control spear, and, together with the few hundred remaining personal guards, resolutely charged toward the Iron Control pagoda's assault.

"Officers and soldiers of Great Liang! Follow me in a fight to the death!" Wang Yanzhang tore open his throat and let out his final roar.

That voice pierced the battlefield's chaos, carrying a resolve to perish together; even the fleeing Liang soldiers, upon hearing the shout, halted their steps.

His spear was already soaked in blood, its tip still gleaming coldly; he clamped his legs around his warhorse and charged toward the densest concentration of Iron Control pagoda forces.

Wang Yanzhang, worthy of being the top general of Later Liang, showed no fear facing the Iron Control pagoda, whose riders were clad in heavy armor like steel fortresses.

Seeing an Iron Control pagoda cavalryman thrust his spear, he ducked aside, then lifted his spear upward in a smooth motion, precisely striking the gap in the opponent's helmet and knocking the rider from his horse;

He then swiftly turned the spearhead to block an attack from the other side, flipped his wrist, and thrust straight, unhorsing another Iron Control pagoda soldier.

In just a brief moment, two Iron Control pagoda cavalrymen lay beneath his horse, yet the surrounding Iron Control pagoda forces grew ever more numerous, their black heavy armor joining into a solid wall.

Soon he was overwhelmed by more Iron Control pagoda troops; several spears thrust at him simultaneously, he desperately parried, the shafts clashing with a piercing ring that numbed his arms.

Then his warhorse was tripped by the Iron Control pagoda's hooves, he crashed heavily to the ground, his spear flying from his grasp. Before he could rise, two Iron Control pagoda cavalrymen dismounted, pinned his shoulders down, and icy iron chains instantly wrapped around his wrists.

Finally, this top general of Later Liang, after felling the last nearby enemy soldier, could struggle no more, his eyes wide open, as the Iron Control pagoda dragged him away alive.

His deputy commander Kang Yanxiao, meanwhile, was struck by a stray bullet amid the chaos and died on the spot.

The commander-in-chief was captured, the deputy commander died in battle.

The Liang army, having completely lost its final command, dissolved into scattered sand.

Under the desperate protection of a few loyal guards, Zhu Youzhen finally broke through a gap in the encirclement and escaped.

He dared not look back, he whipped his mount frantically, only wanting to flee as quickly as possible from this place that filled him with endless fear and humiliation.

His splendid dragon robe had long been torn to shreds during his flight; he didn't know where his crown had fallen. His face was smeared with black grime, his hair disheveled, his appearance more wretched than a beggar's.

Wang Po (Wang Xiu) stood on a high slope, coldly watching Zhu Youzhen's sorry fleeing figure.

He gave no order to pursue.

He knew that killing Zhu Youzhen would only let Li Cunxu in the north reap an undeserved windfall; moreover, a dead emperor was far less useful than a living one whose reputation lay in ruins.

He wanted Zhu Youzhen to return alive.

He wanted everyone under heaven to see how this invincible Later Liang emperor, in his presence, was beaten and fled in panic like a dog.

"Convey my orders." He withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "Clear the battlefield, gather the prisoners, treat the wounded."

"Furthermore, tell the captured Liang soldiers that those willing to stay and join my Wang Family to reclaim farmland and build Jiangnan will be taken in by the Wang Family, provided with food and lodging, and given wages."

"Those who wish to return home will be given travel expenses, with no difficulty."

In this battle, the Wang Family, with fewer than five thousand casualties, defeated the Liang army of 150,000. They slew over thirty thousand and captured nearly a hundred thousand; only Zhu Youzhen and fewer than twenty thousand managed to flee by luck.

The captured Weapon, armor, and provisions piled up like mountains.

The news spread, and the world shook.

The Prince of Jin, Li Cunxu, who was facing off against the Liang army, upon hearing the news that Zhu Youzhen's main force had been utterly annihilated, froze on the spot. After the time it took to burn an incense stick, he finally reacted, and then he burst into mad laughter in his military tent.

"Hahaha! Zhu Youzhen, you fool! Heaven helps me! Heaven helps me!"

He immediately ordered the entire army to advance, launching a general attack on the already empty northern defenses of Later Liang.

Meanwhile, Yang Xingmi, far away in Jinling, at the moment he received the battle report, the jade cup in his hand shattered on the spot.

All color drained from his face.

He had originally thought that the Wang family and Later Liang would be like two tigers fighting, with one surely injured.

He never expected that this was fundamentally not a case of two tigers contending.

This was a prehistoric giant beast that swallowed a sick tiger whole in one bite!

His petty scheme of reaping the benefits of the fisherman's gain instantly turned into a huge joke.

He now only felt waves of lingering fear.

If, back then, he had listened to his warmongering subordinates and gone to war with the Wang family, then the force that would have been utterly annihilated would likely have been his own Yang Xingmi's hundred-thousand-strong Huainan army.

"Quick... quickly prepare great gifts!" he said to the equally stunned advisor Xu Wen beside him, his voice trembling, "Send someone to Yangzhou... no! to Xuanzhou! Congratulate the Head of the Wang Family, congratulate him on achieving a monumental victory!"

He knew that from today onward, the skies over Jiangnan would be completely changed.

Wang Po (Wang Xiu) slowly returned to Xuanzhou amidst a chorus of cheers like mountains and seas shouting, "Long live the Head of the Family!"

He walked across a battlefield littered with debris, yet filled with the joy of victory.

Wang Xiu's consciousness was perfectly clear.

It was over. One of the most powerful warlords of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Later Liang, had its death knell sounded by his own hand.

Now, no one in the world dares to look down on the Wang family any longer.

No one dares to stretch their claws into Jiangnan any longer.

He won for the Wang family and for himself precious time and space in which to develop in peace and carry out other plans.

His gaze crossed the Yangtze River, toward the vast expanse of the Central Plains that was about to plunge into even greater chaos.

Then he slowly turned toward the East, to that endless blue ocean.

In his heart, a grander blueprint was slowly unfolding.