Chapter 40: War Breaks Out Again, Target: Anwu County

"Hmm?"

Chu Feng suddenly felt somewhat surprised.

How did Zhao Ping know that he had composed this poem?

Upon second thought, Zhao Ping must have sought out his subordinates, so it was only natural that he would know.

"Haha, General, this was just something I made up on the spot, inspired by the moment."

Chu Feng added to himself, "Actually, I plagiarized it!"

"Haha, no need to be modest!"

Zhao Ping smiled slightly and continued, "You were a scholar to begin with; choosing words and crafting sentences is second nature to you. I wonder if you could complete the remaining half of the poem today?"

"Since it is the General's request, then I shall complete the remaining half of the poem!"

Seeing Chu Feng agree, Zhao Ping felt very satisfied.

Although he was a mere martial man, he was very fond of poems depicting the battlefield at the frontier.

Despite the many scholars who had come to present and recite their works over the years, not a single one had caught his eye.

It was rare to encounter a poem today that interested him, and it was even a half-finished one at that.

Therefore, Zhao Ping could not wait to know what the other half of the poem was.

"Vowing to sweep away the Xiongnu, disregarding my own life; five thousand in brocade armor perish in the barbarian dust."

As soon as these words were spoken.

Zhao Ping stood there, completely stunned.

Memories could not help but flood his mind.

"This... could this be Heaven's will?"

Zhao Ping recalled the previous commander of Dingning Pass, who was his own father.

Back then, he had led five thousand elite cavalry of Dingning Pass to launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu army.

In the end, all five thousand elite cavalry were killed in battle, and he himself was severely wounded and perished shortly thereafter.

He had taken up his father's mantle and become the new commander of Dingning Pass.

From his youth to his graying temples, he had always guarded this place, resisting the invasions of the Xiongnu.

"Pity the bones along the Wuding River, still the people in the dreams of spring boudoirs!"

Everyone present fell silent.

They thought of the comrades who had once been by their sides.

So many years had passed, and their corpses had long since turned into piles of white bones.

Those wives and maidens waiting for their return had likely long since fallen ill from longing.

They could only meet them in their dreams.

"Good, good, good!"

Zhao Ping praised repeatedly.

This poem was truly excellent.

It expressed the thoughts and experiences of the frontier soldiers to the fullest.

At the same time, it also integrated the longing of their families.

If such a poem were to reach the Capital, it would surely shock the entire literary world of Great Wei and become an eternal masterpiece.

"Great talent! Truly a great talent!"

"To think that my Dingning Pass has actually produced a general who is skilled in both literature and martial arts!"

Zhao Ping's heart was very agitated at this moment.

Such an excellent talent had actually been discovered by him.

Just as Zhao Ping was preparing to reward Chu Feng properly.

A messenger suddenly burst in.

"Report!"

"General, urgent report!"

"What is it?"

Zhao Ping's face was full of displeasure.

He had been happy here, and now someone had come to pour cold water on him.

"Reporting to the General, Anwu County is under siege by a Turkic army of thirty thousand. The situation is critical, and the Magistrate of Anwu County hopes we can send troops to rescue them as soon as possible!"

The messenger took out a letter that had already been stained red with blood.

"The soldier who came to seek help is already dead; he handed this letter to me before he died."

Zhao Ping hurriedly took the letter and quickly checked its contents.

Bang!

"Damn it!"

Zhao Ping slammed the letter onto his table.

"What an eventful autumn! We just finished dealing with the Xiongnu siege, and now these Turkic bastards can't sit still either!"

Anwu County was located two hundred li to the northwest of Dingning Pass.

Its original name was Anwu Prefecture.

In recent years, due to the intensifying internal conflicts within Great Wei, the Xiongnu and the Turkic people had taken the opportunity to launch invasions against Anwu Prefecture, capturing many areas of it one after another.

Only the last remaining piece of land was left, which was the present-day Anwu County.

"General, Anwu County is the throat of our northwestern region. Once it falls, Fuzhou will be exposed to the enemy's eyes, and the fall of Fuzhou will certainly threaten our rear."

"If the Xiongnu invade again, we will fall into the predicament of being attacked from both front and rear!"

Deputy General Xu Hong enumerated the importance of Anwu County and the situation that would arise thereafter.

"I certainly know this!"

Zhao Ping frowned tightly at this moment.

"But right now, we have just experienced a great battle, our troop losses are extremely heavy, and the Left Worthy King is likely still lurking in the shadows, ready to make a move; it is truly..."

Everyone immediately fell into silence.

Their current situation was not much better.

Yushan Fortress had already completely fallen, and the imperial court would certainly dispatch personnel to recover the lost territory.

They themselves could only manage to protect their own, and were truly powerless to go and rescue Anwu County.

But Anwu County could not go without support, otherwise they would fall into a situation of being attacked from both front and rear.

"Which general is willing to lead troops to reinforce Anwu County?"

Zhao Ping finally decided to dispatch reinforcements.

Even if the difficulties were numerous, this matter had to be done.

"This subordinate is willing to go!"

"This subordinate is willing to go!"

"This subordinate is willing to go!"

Even the Deputy Generals of the Innate Realm were willing to lead troops to support Anwu County.

Anwu County was simply too important to them.

There must absolutely be no problems.

"General, please entrust this mission to me!"

Chu Feng also stood out at this time.

There were no more points to earn at Dingning Pass for the time being, so he had to change to another place.

It just so happened that this Turkic invasion gave him an opportunity.

Zhao Ping deliberated for a while.

He finally determined the candidate.

"Good, this mission is entrusted to you, Chu Feng!"

Zhao Ping knew that Chu Feng was a guy who could not stay idle, and even possessed formidable strength comparable to the Innate Realm.

At the same time, he also intended to cultivate him, so there was no one more suitable for this mission than him.

"This subordinate obeys the order!"

Chu Feng was overjoyed; this mission had finally fallen into his hands.

"Your unit now has fewer than three hundred men left; I will supplement you with over a thousand more from the Dingning Pass Iron Cavalry. I hope you will not let everyone down!"

At the moment, Zhao Ping could only spare this many people for Chu Feng.

After all, too many elites had been lost in the previous great battle.

These one thousand men basically took away half of the remaining strength of Dingning Pass.

"This subordinate will certainly not fail the General's trust!"

"Good, after you resolve the crisis in Anwu County, I will celebrate your success!"

"Yes!"

After receiving the order.

Chu Feng immediately went to the camp to assemble his subordinates.

Watching Chu Feng's departing back, the other Deputy Generals could not help but look at Zhao Ping.

"General, the Turkic soldiers number a full twenty to thirty thousand; Chu Feng only has two thousand men—can he really do it?"

"Heh heh, others might not be able to, but he might not necessarily fail!"

"Oh? It seems the General has great confidence in Chu Feng!"

"Hahahaha..."

Zhao Ping laughed heartily and twisted his beard, "How could someone I have taken a liking to be an ordinary person?"

After returning to his camp, Chu Feng immediately assembled all his subordinates.

He told everyone about the mission he had received.

Upon learning this, everyone was somewhat unable to restrain themselves.

They had not had their fill of killing in the previous battle, and this time they could finally kill to their heart's content again.

At the same time.

The troops Zhao Ping provided to supplement Chu Feng had also arrived.

These were the last of the Dingning Pass Iron Cavalry, and now they were all handed over to Chu Feng.

Chu Feng mounted his horse and raised his long spear high: "The whole army, set out! Target: Anwu County."