Chapter 415: A conscience exists, but not much

The Tuyuhun cavalry in the rear watched as Old Zhong's head flew off. First, there was dead silence, and the next second, someone cried out heart-rendingly: "General Zhong!"

"General Zhong!"

The shouting was like a spark thrown into a pot of oil, instantly igniting panic.

The formation that had barely been maintained completely scattered!

Some cavalry reined in their horses to retreat, wanting to avoid the Shura field before them.

Some wanted to rush forward to retrieve Zhong Lifang's corpse, but were scared away by Lu Ming's black figure.

Others had their warhorses startled, uncontrollably spinning in place, bumping into those around them until they fell off their horses.

The sound of weapons colliding, the neighing of warhorses, and the exclamations of soldiers mixed together; the entire team was in a mess, no longer having half the sharpness of the charge.

Some cowardly soldiers even quietly turned their horses' heads, wanting to escape toward the city gate, but were squeezed by the chaotic crowd behind them, unable to advance or retreat, and could only roar in place, their eyes filled with fear.

Gu Yuci in the rear locked his gaze like a torch onto the black figure at the center of the battlefield.

When Lu Ming beheaded the enemy general, his pupils shrank, and then he sighed while stroking his beard, his voice filled with admiration: "Good, worthy of being a fierce general personally subdued by the Grand General!"

"Beheading a general is too easy for him..."

Lu Ming taking the enemy general's head easily amidst ten thousand troops looked very difficult, but in reality, it wasn't easy!

That zhang-eight horse spear was simply like a dragon out of the sea, incomparably fierce.

Great Zhou obtaining such a fierce general is truly Great Zhou's fortune!

"Cavalry against cavalry, and winning with fewer..."

Hua Jiao stared closely at the chaotic battlefield ahead, taking everything into his eyes, his taut jawline relaxing slightly, a low sigh emerging from his throat: "This time, I'm afraid it has completely cut off the Tuyuhun's heart to break out from the South Gate!"

With Lu Ming's extremely brave operation, like a god of slaughter descending...

In Hua Jiao's view, it would likely become the source of fear and a psychological shadow for the Tuyuhun.

Eight or nine times out of ten, they wouldn't try the South Gate again, touching this bad luck and increasing casualties in vain...

It could be called striking one punch to avoid a hundred punches.

When Lu Ming picked off Zhong Lifang's head with a spear, the forty-odd cavalrymen who charged with him were stunned for a moment, then burst into deafening shouts: "General Lu is mighty!"

"General Lu is mighty!"

The cavalry in the front row widened their eyes, their hands holding the horse spears trembling slightly from excitement.

They had witnessed their main general break the formation and behead the general with the momentum of thunder, and their originally taut nerves were instantly ignited by ecstasy and admiration.

The subsequent cavalry followed closely, their hooves stepping over Zhong Lifang's corpse.

Everyone's face was stained with blood, but their eyes flashed with scorching light.

Someone pointed their spear at the Tuyuhun remnants on the verge of collapse, repeatedly shouting "Mighty" in their mouths, the sound layering and covering the neighing of the battlefield.

Lu Ming stood on the horse's back like an iron tower, his height of nearly two meters making his black armor appear even thicker, the moonlight falling on it, reflecting only cold, hard light.

He had no expression, and there was no ripple in those deep black eyes, as if the person he had just beheaded wasn't an enemy general, but just an ant he had crushed to death.

The horse spear probed downward violently, accurately hooking Zhong Lifang's head rolling in the stone fragments.

Lu Ming raised his arm slightly, the tip of the spear shaking lightly, and that head stained with blood and sand flew toward the Tuyuhun cavalry like a thrown stone.

"Thump," it hit in front of a cavalryman's horse, scaring the warhorse into retreating repeatedly.

"Go back and tell Xiahou Shun, next time don't send such shrimp soldiers and crab generals to come..." Lu Ming's voice was like cold stone in the Gobi, exploding in the night with unparalleled power, "If he really wants to die, let him come himself!"

Then, he tightened his reins, the warhorse pawing at the ground uneasily, blood beads on his black armor dripping along the gaps in the armor plates, "Just let me behead his head and achieve a great merit!"

The Tuyuhun cavalry looked at that hideous head, then looked at Lu Ming, who was imposing on horseback; no one dared to answer, only subconsciously reining in their horses to retreat, their eyes filled with fear.

Lu Ming stood in place with his spear, his black armor glinting coldly in the night wind, like a Shura demanding life, forcing the enemy army to have no courage to counterattack.

A Tuyuhun minor general wearing brown leather armor had his throat bob, the blood color on his face fading, but he still gritted his teeth, dismounted, and grabbed Zhong Lifang's head with trembling hands.

Blood stains dripped through his fingers, and the sticky sensation made his stomach churn.

The minor general didn't dare to stay long, stuffed the head under his arm, and stumbled onto his horse.

He didn't even have time to straighten his crooked saddle before kicking his horse's belly hard. The warhorse beneath him felt pain, neighed, turned, and galloped toward the Fouhan South City Gate.

The remaining Tuyuhun cavalry followed closely.

The night wind carried the lingering cold of the Gobi, making the tooth-flag at the South Gate of Fouhan City rustle.

When that Tuyuhun minor general ran in a sorry state to the city gate, he threw the head under his arm onto the ground in a panic.

In the torchlight, that face frozen in pain and astonishment was clearly visible, blood and sand covering half of the cheek, hideous enough to make one's heart palpitate.

"General Zhong was actually beheaded in the formation?!"

Niluozhou's pupils shrank, his voice trembling with uncontrollable astonishment. Although he had seen Zhong Lifang fall off his horse from afar, facing this cold head at this moment, he still felt like he was in a dream.

One had to know that in terms of martial arts alone, Zhong Lifang was one of the best generals in their army...

Yet he was killed by a young, nameless person in the Zhou army?!

Simply inconceivable!

Suhe Gui gripped his reins tightly, his gaze locked onto Zhong Lifang's head on the ground, his voice trembling uncontrollably, turning to look at Xiahou Shun, who was beside him with a grave expression: "Cr... Crown Prince, are we still going to send people to charge the formation?"

Just the spear wound on Zhong Lifang's head, deep enough to see bone, was enough to make those who witnessed it incomparably terrified...

I really don't know where the Zhou army found such a monster, and he was so young...

Charge your grandmother's leg... Hearing this, Xiahou Shun twitched the corners of his mouth, couldn't help but curse in his heart, made a difficult decision, gritted his teeth and said: "Retreat... quickly retreat!"

"Everything will be discussed in the long run!"

Then, he turned his horse's head and retreated back into Fouhan City.

The calculation of trying to exchange death-seeking cavalry for a breakout had ultimately completely failed and miscarried...

Early June.

Afternoon.

The sun was dazzlingly poisonous, baking the earth bricks on the Fouhan city wall until they were hot.

The flags on the city wall had long since faded, and the air was filled with an atmosphere of thirst and scorching heat.

Xiahou Shun, wearing a semi-old gold-woven cloak, stood alone on the city wall, his brows knitted into a tight knot.

He looked at the continuous military camp of the Zhou army in the distance.

The black tents were like dormant giant beasts, the soldiers patrolling outside the camp coming and going endlessly, the camp flags snapping in the hot wind, every place revealing an intimidating pressure that could not be underestimated.

Xiahou Shun pursed his lips tightly, his eyes filled with hard-to-conceal worry, his hand unconsciously gripping the jade pendant at his waist, his finger pad rubbing the cold jade surface, but it couldn't dispel the irritability in his heart.

"Crown Prince, drink some water!" Suhe Gui's voice came from behind, carrying a coarse porcelain bowl, the edge of the bowl still bearing slight traces of bumping, containing turbid but cool water.

"Hmm."

Xiahou Shun came back to his senses upon hearing the sound, only giving a low response, his gaze still not moving from the Zhou army camp.

Then, he took the bowl, his finger pad touching the coolness of the bowl wall, tilted his head slightly, and the turbid water slid down his Adam's apple. His parched throat was slightly relieved, but the wrinkles on his brows didn't loosen at all.

"It's fortunate that the Zhou army still has a conscience and didn't poison this water..."

Suhe Gui shook his head and sighed: "Otherwise, I'm afraid we would have died of thirst!"

"Still has a conscience?"

Hearing this, Xiahou Shun twitched the corners of his mouth and snorted lightly: "Chen Yan is afraid of affecting the people's livelihood in Fouhan in the future..."

A conscience exists, but not much, and it's not for them.

The reason he didn't poison the water wells wasn't because of womanly benevolence or oversight, but because he was afraid of harming the Fouhan commoners in the future.

Just at this moment, Niluozhou's stumbling figure appeared at the stairs of the city wall, his brown leather robe stained with dust, his face filled with anxiety. Before he could walk close, he said urgently: "Crown Prince, the dry rations carried by our army, as well as all the food that can be found in the city, are almost exhausted..."

Xiahou Shun turned his head to look. Niluozhou had already rushed to his front, his hands supporting his knees, panting violently, his voice hoarse from urgency: "At most, we can only hold on until the day after tomorrow!"

"What?!"

With a crisp "clatter," the coarse porcelain bowl in Xiahou Shun's hand fell heavily onto the city bricks, porcelain fragments splashing everywhere, the turbid water stains instantly soaking his boot soles.

He suddenly gripped Niluozhou's wrist, his knuckles turning blue from the force, his eyes filled with incredulous astonishment: "Didn't I tell you to arrange to eat sparingly!"

"Why could it be consumed so quickly?!"

His voice rose suddenly, carrying uncontrollable rage.

Regarding the logistics in the city, Xiahou Shun had completely handed it over to Niluozhou...

He was preparing to drag Chen Yan to death before breaking out.

As a result, the Zhou army's tens of thousands hadn't run out of grain, but his side was going to run out first?!

Niluozhou was dragged until he staggered, his face turning increasingly pale, trembling as he explained: "No matter how sparingly, we have already been trapped for more than a month..."

He truly had unspeakable bitterness.

A clever woman can't cook without rice!

Being able to hold on for more than a month was already sparing to the extreme; the soldiers in the city could only eat three-tenths full every day...

"This..."

Xiahou Shun was stunned, his anger dissipating instantly. He sighed long and smiled bitterly: "Indeed, it has already been more than a month..."

"Moreover, there are already soldiers and generals eyeing the warhorses..."

Niluozhou was full of worry and added: "Subordinate is worried that if we drag it out any longer, there will be a risk of mutiny!"

These words were definitely not alarmist.

One had to know that before in Hezhou, when chasing Chen Yan, the people below were already dissatisfied...

"Crown Prince, General Ni's words are reasonable!" Suhe Gui nodded and echoed, "We need to plan early!"

"Forget it!"

Xiahou Shun raised his hand, pinched his brows, made a difficult decision, and said in a deep voice: "Send an envoy to the Zhou army main general Chen Yan, to... beg... for... peace talks!" ===== CHAPTER 416 =====