Chapter 392: Took another look at this fellow. [Thanks! Bow again! Owe a chapter]

"Woo-oom~" 【Suggested music: Master Zhao Jiping's "Footsteps of War"】

Listening to the horn calls of the Bai Gao Kingdom in the distance,

Xu Minghua's brows furrowed even deeper.

This was the third horn call he had heard.

Each horn call meant another large army of the Bai Gao Kingdom was about to arrive on the battlefield.

The first horn call was for the largest group of Bai Gao infantry in the front,

and the latter two were for the mixed infantry and cavalry army emerging from the mountains.

As the defending side, once the gates of the camps built in the mountains on the flank of Keyi Gate were closed, it was a case of "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand unable to open it."

The defending army had scouts clear the path in advance, so once the gates opened, there were mountain paths barely wide enough for an army to march.

At this moment,

the sun had already shifted to the west,

and judging by the heat, it was the hottest time of the day, the Wei period (shortly after 2:00 PM).

Orderlies were running incessantly around Xu Minghua, relaying the situation across the entire battlefield.

Others were watching the flag signals from the watchtower carriage, continuously reporting military intelligence to Xu Minghua.

Another sound of hoofbeats,

"Hee-ryu-ryu—"

The horse neighed as it was reined in.

An orderly arrived beside Xu Minghua, knelt on one knee, and shouted:

"Commander! Small boats from the River Navy have sent word! They were observing from the river beside the battlefield and estimate that the Bai Gao Kingdom's reinforcements arriving later number nearly sixty thousand!"

"Although our cavalry is obstructing them, they are still flanking and encircling our army's left side near the river!"

Another orderly reported:

"Commander, scouts report that the two teams of Bai Gao infantry and cavalry emerging from the mountains total about ten thousand!"

Xu Minghua's expression grew even uglier as he listened to the orderlies' reports.

These pieces of news were much the same as the information relayed by the flags in the watchtower carriage.

But, the Great Zhou only had an army of seventy thousand infantry and cavalry.

Counting the fifty thousand Bai Gao defenders already engaged and the sixty thousand reinforcements behind them, that was one hundred and ten thousand.

Plus the ten thousand that emerged from the mountain gully nearby.

It was now seventy thousand against one hundred and twenty thousand!

If one accounted for the soldiers who had died in the fierce battle just now, the Great Zhou side might not even have seventy thousand left.

Thinking of this, Xu Minghua took another look toward the northwest.

At this time,

Zhang Fangyan and Xu Zaiduan, their armor covered in bloodstains and marked by many arrow, blade, and hammer dents, returned to Xu Minghua's vicinity on horseback, panting heavily.

"Commander, we have returned!"

"What are the battle losses?"

"Reporting to the Commander, after a count, our two units combined still have over twelve thousand cavalrymen."

Xu Minghua nodded: "Go to the right side of the main formation and reorganize. You must defend against the Bai Gao infantry and cavalry coming out of the mountains."

"Order received!"

Zhang Fangyan and Xu Zaiduan rode off again.

Soon,

the sound of thundering hoofbeats came from behind the infantry formation. The main body of the cavalry rushed toward the right side of the infantry formation, and after leaving enough distance for a charge, they engaged the Bai Gao infantry and cavalry winding their way out of the mountain gully.

Marquis Yongyi, Xu Minghua, as the Commander of this army,

knew that Imperial City Division secret agents were lurking among the important officials of the Bai Gao Kingdom.

The previous provocations and feigned defeats in front of the fortress were specifically to lure the Bai Gao defenders out of the city.

Even the Bai Gao Kingdom's subsequent "mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" plan to encircle and kill his army was something he was aware of.

For these past days, the military equipment in the Great Zhou infantry formation had been prepared for the situation of being besieged.

There were numerous standing shields, a large quantity of arrows, and so on.

Although the Bai Gao Kingdom had many troops, it would certainly take them quite some time to break through the Great Zhou military formation.

However, the force was ultimately less than seventy thousand against the Bai Gao Kingdom's nearly one hundred and eleven thousand-strong army.

The Bai Gao infantry and cavalry army had almost surrounded the Great Zhou army on this flat ground six or seven li away from Keyi Gate.

In the Great Zhou military formation,

on the watchtower carriage,

inside the high-hanging watchtower,

Marquis Yongyi's personal guard looked around the formation from the height.

The Bai Gao infantry and cavalry in light-colored uniforms were about to close the encirclement.

However,

because of the ten thousand Great Zhou cavalry on the right side of the main formation,

and because the Bai Gao army was furthest from the northwest corner,

therefore,

there was a gap at the northwest corner of the military formation, to the right rear of Commander Xu Minghua.

At this moment, running toward that spot should be a way to survive.

Thinking of this, the Marquis Yongyi's personal guard took another look in that direction.

Then he discovered,

the northwest corner was indeed a gap,

but in the distance, elite Bai Gao scouts were also engaged in fierce combat with Great Zhou scouts.

The Bai Gao scouts wanted to go to the northwest to investigate the military situation, but were desperately blocked by the Great Zhou scouts not far from the main formation.

Suddenly,

the personal guard's eyes widened!

He saw two riders with four horses in the distance, charging out from the mountain gully, galloping toward the military formation.

Seeing the two riders with one man and two horses, the Bai Gao roaming cavalry actually split their forces to intercept them.

The two riders coming from afar dodged arrows by shifting and moving on horseback, and occasionally they could even turn back to shoot an arrow in retaliation.

The Marquis Yongyi's personal guard hurriedly waved the flag in his hand.

Immediately,

the military order was issued from the army's command center where Xu Minghua was, and soon Great Zhou cavalry rushed out to provide support.

The two riders who entered the military formation were not allowed to go near Marquis Yongyi, but instead had an orderly convey the message on their behalf.

"Commander! Scout squad leader Xu Zaijing from Commander Zhu's camp has sent word back: four li away in the mountain gully behind our flank, over ten thousand enemy troops have been discovered marching!"

"He will lead his subordinates to block them and delay the enemy's march! I request the Commander to quickly send reinforcements!"

Upon hearing this news,

Xu Minghua did not speak for a moment. As the commander of the army, he understood that the strategic goal was to lure the Bai Gao army out of the city!

But...

He bit his back molars hard, not letting himself show any loss of composure.

His youngest son said he would block them?

At such a young age, with only seven or eight people, what could he use to block them?

Did Jing'er not know that the goal was to have the Bai Gao army surround them?

If he really wanted to block them, as the commander, he would have sent troops to guard that place long ago!

Marquis Yongyi furrowed his brows tightly and closed his eyes. For the sake of the overall situation, he subconsciously wanted to abandon Xu Zaijing.

In the darkness before his eyes,

in a trance,

Xu Minghua thought of a winter day fifteen or sixteen years ago,

when he was about to go serve under the command of the Empress's father, General Cao Lao,

and his youngest son had just been born,

small and soft, held in his arms...

In the years since his youngest son grew up, he had been even more obedient and sensible.

"Father~"

It seemed as if the voice of a blood-soaked Xu Zaijing calling him rang in his ears.

Thinking of this, Xu Minghua was about to issue an order to have a cavalry unit from the formation go to the mountains on the left rear to search for and support his youngest son.

But he did not issue the order. At this moment when the Bai Gao army was pouring out in full force and the Great Zhou formation was about to be surrounded, sending people to the left rear would very easily make the soldiers who saw it think that someone was deserting.

Would that cause a rout and shake the entire main formation?

Xu Minghua opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and thought of the current troop ratio between the two armies!

If the Bai Gao Kingdom really sent more reinforcements to flank them, it would not only be a psychological blow to the Great Zhou soldiers—who did not know the specific troop ratio and only felt that ambushes were rising everywhere—

This reinforcement force might also obstruct the Great Zhou's encircling main army.

Someone should be sent to the mountains where Xu Zaijing is located to support and block the enemy!

He cast the thoughts that had just been in his mind out of his heart.

Cavalry moves fast.

"Pass the order: have Zhang Fangyan's unit dispatch a battalion of men to the mountains on the flank and rear to block the enemy!"

"Yes!"

The messenger behind Xu Minghua spurred his horse and galloped toward the cavalry unit where Zhang Fangyan was located.

"Also, pass the order to the entire army: our Great Zhou reinforcements are right behind us!"

"Yes! Commander!"

Xu Minghua looked at the messenger before him, who was about the same age as Xu Zaijing.

This messenger was the third grandson of Xu Zaijing's eldest maternal uncle, one year older than Xu Zaijing.

Privately, he had to call him Great-Uncle, and call the younger son, Xu Zaijing, Cousin-Uncle.

Xu Minghua took a deep breath and said, "Pass the order: my Marquis's Great Standard..."

Hearing the order, a light appeared in the eyes of the young messenger.

"Go, spread the news that reinforcements have arrived!"

"Yes!"

After speaking, Xu Minghua gazed at the mountain gully on the flank and rear mentioned by the scouts in the distance, then looked at the smoke and dust in the northwest direction.

On the day of the great battle,

Time pushed forward,

On the walls of Keyi Gate,

The autumn wind blew the slightly graying beard under the chin of the Bai Gao Kingdom's Great General, Ren Ren Duosiyi.

He watched expressionlessly the Great Zhou cavalry in the distance, who were provoking and cursing in the Bai Gao language.

After looking up at the sky, Ren Ren Duosiyi turned his head to look at the Keyi Gate defense general, Mele Achuo, at his side.

Mele Achuo understood and ordered the Bai Gao Kingdom soldiers on the city wall to wave their flags vigorously.

Immediately after,

The gates of the military camp outside, which formed a pincer position with the fortress walls, swung wide open, and the Bai Gao Kingdom cavalry charged toward the Great Zhou cavalry.

Ren Ren Duosiyi turned back and walked toward the side closer to the interior of the city.

From the high city walls, he looked at the Bai Gao Kingdom's main army in the city, ready and waiting to set out.

Listening to the sound of the city gates opening beneath his feet,

The horn sounded on the city wall.

Tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry passed through the three city gates not far apart on the wall, flowing out of the fortress like water.

Ren Ren Duosiyi stood on the city wall and gazed further south, where reinforcements transferred from Xingqing Prefecture were entering the city.

After descending from the city wall,

Riding on his horse, Ren Ren Duosiyi also left the city.

Outside the city, looking at the distant mountains on his left hand, a flash of brightness passed through Ren Ren Duosiyi's eyes.

Turning back to glance at Mele Achuo following at his side, Ren Ren Duosiyi said in the Bai Gao language, "Wait for my horn, then you have the reinforcements surround them!"

"Yes, Great General."

Ren Ren Duosiyi nodded and followed the main army as it galloped toward the Great Zhou's military formation.

Ren Ren Duosiyi found a high point from which he could see the battlefield, stationed himself there, and observed the slaughter in the distance.

Watching the Great Zhou cavalry bearing the 'Zhang' banner smash through a portion of the Bai Gao Kingdom's formation like a flood dragon,

Ren Ren Duosiyi's expression did not fluctuate at all.

Seeing that the two nations' armies were already engaged in battle, Ren Ren Duosiyi then signaled the messenger at his side to have someone sound the horn.

Seeing several thousand cavalry bearing the 'Xu' banner come to block them, Ren Ren Duosiyi's expression still remained devoid of any emotion.

However, when he gazed from afar at the Bai Gao Kingdom infantry within the Great Zhou infantry's forward formation being slaughtered by the Great Zhou infantry like boiling soup poured on snow, not knowing what painful memory he recalled, the corners of Ren Ren Duosiyi's eyes twitched several times.

After watching the battle for a long time,

Bai Gao Kingdom cavalry arrived one after another before Ren Ren Duosiyi to report news.

The horn sounded twice near Ren Ren Duosiyi: the first and second ambush forces had already walked out of the mountain gully.

In the afternoon,

When he saw the movements of various units within the Great Zhou formation, with over ten thousand cavalry splitting off to face the ambush forces that had walked out of the mountain gully.

Ren Ren Duosiyi, at the high point, looked toward the area further behind the Great Zhou formation, turned his head slightly, and said to the deputy general at his side, "In the northwest of the Great Zhou formation, can our scouts still not get through?"

The deputy general bowed, placed his right hand over his chest, and said very shamefully, "Yes, Great General. The boys say the Great Zhou's roving cavalry and scouts are like mother wolves protecting their cubs; even if it means perishing together, they won't let them get close."

Ren Ren Duosiyi nodded, pointed at the distant Great Zhou formation, and said, "Wait until they are surrounded, cut off the path between the Great Zhou scouts and their formation. Spare no cost; even if they all die, you must investigate it clearly!"

"Yes, Great General."

Listening to the sound of the deputy general issuing military orders not far behind him, Ren Ren Duosiyi looked at the mountain gully on the flank and rear of the Great Zhou formation, a look of slight expectation in his eyes.

Suddenly, Ren Ren Duosiyi's eyes widened.

In his field of vision, he saw a group of Great Zhou cavalry seemingly intending to gallop into the mountain gully.

"Block that group of Great Zhou cavalry!"

Ren Ren Duosiyi said, his tone showing a slight emotional fluctuation.

As soon as the words fell,

The order was passed down through both flags and messengers.

It was also at this moment,

"Dong!"

"Dong!"

"Dong!"

Drum sounds came from the Great Zhou formation!

One could see the large banner inscribed with the character 'Xu' leading the center army within the formation, slowly moving toward the forward army.

Di Jing and the others, who were currently slaughtering in the forward formation, naturally had no time to look back.

But they heard the shouts of their comrades in the army:

"The General's great banner is coming over!"

"The Commander is behind us!"

"Marquis Xu lives and dies with us!"

"Great Zhou, ten thousand victories!"

With such roars ringing in their ears,

Di Jing and the others felt their spirits shake, and someone behind a mask said in a low, powerful voice, "Great Zhou, ten thousand victories!"

Not far away,

Deng Yuanjue gripped the long-handled golden melon hammer in his hand and smashed it forcefully toward the elite Bai Gao soldiers opposite, who were fully armored but filled with terror and thoughts of retreat in their eyes!

The Bai Gao Kingdom infantry and cavalry were organizing their ranks at the exit of the mountain gully.

The leading Bai Gao general looked at the battlefield where the disparity in troop strength was stark, and lifted his chin with great satisfaction.

At this moment, his personal guard, who was constantly monitoring the flag signals in Ren Ren Duosiyi's direction, said urgently:

"General, the Great General orders: our unit, north, block the enemy!"

"North, block the enemy?"

The general asked, looking at the Great Zhou formation with slight confusion.

He immediately saw that under the 'Zhang' banner, a unit of several hundred Great Zhou cavalry was galloping west!

Subsequently, flags and drums sounded within this Bai Gao Kingdom infantry and cavalry unit, and they began to charge toward the Great Zhou formation; furthermore, a portion of the Bai Gao cavalry spared no effort to crash into the Great Zhou cavalry that had split off.

The Marquis Yongyi's great banner moved forward,

The Bai Gao Kingdom reinforcements launched their attack,

The entire battlefield became even more turbulent.

Mele Amai,

Nineteen years old,

A scout squad leader of the Bai Gao Kingdom's Chaoshun Military Division.

His elder brother, Mele Achuo, was merely a regional military commissioner of a Chaoshun Military Division army of over two thousand men two years ago.

But the violent, earth-shattering turmoil in the Bai Gao Kingdom over the past two years allowed his elder brother, who was originally a subordinate general of the Liang Yi family, to rise in rank rapidly, as if sitting on a catapult.

This allowed him, who already possessed outstanding archery skills, to become a squad leader just two months after joining the Bai Gao Kingdom scout team.

After the hour of Si (after 10:00 AM),

In the mountains in the morning,

The mountain breeze was still somewhat cool, but after the sun came out, there was a bit more warmth.

Under a tree on high ground by the mountain road,

Several yellowing leaves drifted to the ground with the mountain breeze.

Several fine horses were tethered under the tree that was shedding leaves.

Several subordinates of Mele Amai, who had just executed an ambush that morning, were lying to the side, somewhat exhausted.

"Squad Leader Mele!"

A comrade on guard in the tree shouted.

Hearing this, and seeing the person walking over not far away, several subordinates hurriedly sat up.

Mele Amai waved his hand, signaling them to continue lying down.

He walked closer.

"Squad Leader, you are knowledgeable and experienced. Look at these horses of the Great Zhou scouts; they are Hehuang horses raised by the slave savages in the south, right?"

A whispered, slightly happy voice in the Bai Gao language came.

Mele Amai looked at these horses, then nodded and said, "Yes! I've seen people from the southern military division before; their mounts were just like these! Bringing them back will fetch a lot of money!"

Several scouts looked at each other and smiled.

"Rest a bit more. The mountain peak where you ambushed this morning is the furthest point the Great Zhou scouts have explored."

"At noon, there is still a hard battle to fight! If we win against that Great Zhou dog-fart Marquis Yongyi, we can have even more spoils of war!"

After the few responded, they lay back down again.

After speaking,

Mele Amai looked toward the mountain road below.

Looking from here, the mountain road below was unobstructed: this mountain road was a dividing section; after walking past this section, the horses could run.

Scouts are the tentacles of the main army.

The actions of the Bai Gao Kingdom scouts this morning, in the eyes of the Great Zhou, should just be the usual ambush attacks between the scouts of the two nations.

Moreover, the Bai Gao Kingdom's movements could not be too large, clearing out the scouts the Great Zhou sent again.

Because after clearing them out again, the Great Zhou would definitely send more scouts over.

Just by taking a glance at the terrain here, the Bai Gao Kingdom's plan might be detected by the Great Zhou commander.

If the prey detects something wrong, it won't fall into the hunter's trap.

When the sun gradually rises, the Bai Gao Kingdom's main army on the other side of the mountain will arrive nearby along the mountain road.

When the garrison and the Great Zhou army are engaged in a chaotic battle, the main army arriving here will be able to appear on the flank of the Great Zhou army in less than half a quarter of an hour.

These were all things Mele Amai's elder brother had told him.

Thinking of these things, a leaf fell before Mele Amai's eyes.

"Squad Leader!"

"There are Great Zhou scout... cough cough cough..."

"Clatter, slap!"

Hearing the coughing sound from behind,

The group under the tree stood up quickly with rapid reactions.

They had heard this coughing sound several times; it was the sound of the enemy in discomfort when they shot them in the throat.

Looking at the comrade who fell from the tree with a feathered arrow stuck in his throat.

"Has an enemy sneaked close?"

Someone under the tree asked in the Bai Gao language.

Someone else observed the feathered arrow and said:

"This feathered arrow, why does it look somewhat familiar?"

Mele Amai, hearing this, also took a glance at the feathered arrow.

Below the mountain,

By the roadside.

He Guan's eyes were filled with disbelief.

He glanced at Xu Zaijing,

Then glanced at the place not far away where someone had fallen.

"No, Fifth Young Master! That person in the tree, how did you see him?"

Xu Zaijing said somewhat uncertainly, "Maybe... he took a look at me?"

He Guan:...

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing turned to the side.

"Thud."

A feathered arrow, which looked extremely sharp just by its arrowhead,

The tip of the arrow was shallowly embedded into the shield that Qingyun had reflexively raised behind Xu Zaijing.

Qingyun looked at He Guan, who was again somewhat uncomprehending to the side, and exhaled with a bit of pride in his eyes; he had almost failed to react.

Because it was embedded in the shield behind Xu Zaijing, Xu Zaijing could see the Bai Gao Kingdom characters carved on the arrow shaft just by turning his head.

After pulling out the feathered arrow, Xu Zaijing shot it back casually.

Listening to the pained neighing of the horses on the high ground, Xu Zaijing lifted his chin and said, "Let's go, let's go get revenge!"

(End of chapter)