Chapter 1086

Thousands of able-bodied men in Dongliang Jun waved clubs, spears, and forks; they were approaching the south gate. Tang Tiehan and Tang Qingxuan, brother and sister, stood on the city tower, leading a thousand soldiers in solemn readiness. Yet these Dongliang Jun civilians were trying to force open the south gate to welcome the Da Yong army's arrival. They had no idea of the battle situation outside; in their view Dongliang Jun could not be held, and Da Yong's army could retake it today. Faced with this surging, ever-growing crowd of commoners, the Tang siblings couldn't help but feel a bit panicked. Tang Qingxuan whispered, "Elder brother! What should we do?"

Tang Tiehan's forehead was covered in cold sweat: "What else can we do? Sir Hu said, as long as they dare to rebel, kill them without mercy!" He ordered: "Brothers, ready the bows and arrows; whoever dares to step forward another pace will be shot on the spot."

Tang Qingxuan bit her lip, whispering: "But if we kill them, wouldn't that provoke public outrage?"

Tang Tiehan said: "Women's benevolence; now we can't worry about that."

The onlookers gathered more and more, the situation was getting out of control.

At that moment, someone in the crowd said: "Fellow villagers, we are originally Da Yong's subjects; why should we serve the foolish ruler of Dakang? Now the court has sent troops to rescue us, letting us return under Da Yong's banner; let's now charge out of the city to meet our army."

This person's call drew a hundred responses; the crowd surged forward again, and Tang Tiehan roared: "Let's see who dares to move forward!"

At that moment, a soldier squeezed up beside Tang Tiehan, whispered something in his ear, and Tang Tiehan burst out laughing: "Who wants to welcome the Da Yong army? They've already been defeated—even Tang Bohsi has been killed!" Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Someone in the crowd shouted: "Don't listen to his lies sowing discord—how could the Da Yong navy possibly lose to this rabble?" Hearing this, the crowd boiled again; a riot seemed imminent, when a melodious flute sound came from the city tower above.

Everyone was startled. At such a time, who would have the leisure to come here and play a flute? Looking up, they saw a gracefully dressed foreign beauty blowing a jade flute; the flute's sound was soft, like spring rain silently nourishing the earth, quietly seeping into everyone's hearts. People's emotions had been highly agitated, on the verge of eruption, but after hearing the flute, most felt their anger ease considerably, each seeming to forget what they had intended to do.

Zhuge Guanqi inserted a freshly broken plum blossom into a flawless white jade vase; Hong Lingxue gazed at her husband full of tenderness, whispering: "I thought you would be by his side at this time."

Zhuge Guanqi smiled faintly: "Whether I'm there or not doesn't matter. No matter who governs Dongliang Jun, we'll continue living as before."

Hong Lingxue said: "You've never been this nervous before."

Zhuge Guanqi chuckled, taking his wife's soft hand: "Am I nervous?"

Hong Lingxue nodded: "This battle for Dongliang Jun concerns whether Hu Xiaotian can establish a firm foothold here in the future; you not only regard him as your benefactor, but also as your wise lord. By his side you can display your ambitions."

Zhuge Guanqi's gaze fell on that plum blossom; he whispered: "I don't like war, but without war, how can there be peace?"

Hong Lingxue said: "You still don't trust him enough to be certain he has the ability to turn the tide."

Zhuge Guanqi said: "It's not that I lack confidence in him; it's that I lack confidence in myself."

Hong Lingxue reached out to caress her husband's face, whispering: "Nothing in the world can stump you." In her heart, no one could compare to his wisdom.

Zhuge Guanqi said: "I haven't made the preparations yet; I haven't even convinced myself to leave this courtyard."

Tung oil on the water surface burned out quickly; although it had blocked the enemy warships, it only delayed their landing time, unable to inflict serious damage on their vessels. Seven warships had already broken through the unextinguished burning belt. They forced ashore.

At this moment, Zhu Ba led a thousand beggars, having completed their task, rushing to reinforce Xia Shagang; together with Hu Xiaotian's five hundred men, the defenders of Xia Shagang numbered fifteen hundred. Ten warships on the south bank had already crossed the center of the Yong River, racing full speed toward Xia Shagang.

The one commanding the Dakang warships coming to assist was Li Yongfu; although Hu Xiaotian had previously stressed to him to hold the southern defense line and not send reinforcements, Li Yongfu, seeing the enemy situation, could no longer restrain his excitement. As fellow Dakang soldiers, Hu Xiaotian leading a mere three thousand dared to clash with Da Yong's thirty-thousand navy; seeing the enemy warships forcibly break through the blockade and reach Xia Shagang, Li Yongfu could no longer stand idle; he ordered his men to gather ten warships to head for Xia Shagang as reinforcements.

Hu Xiaotian and Zhu Ba met at one place; Zhu Ba had brought a total of two thousand people, while another thousand were aboard fishing skiffs on the Yong River, pursuing and slaying the Da Yong soldiers who had fallen into the water. These beggars were strictly organized, advancing and retreating with discipline; under Zhu Ba's command they displayed formidable lethal power.

Hu Xiaotian said to Zhu Ba: "You take command; I'll go capture Tang Bohsi."

Zhu Ba said: "Young master, be careful!"

Yet Hu Xiaotian had already climbed back onto the arrow tower, swooping down from high above like a great bird, gliding over everyone's heads toward the dock; Hu Xiaotian, using the Art of Soaring once, could glide more than twenty zhang through empty air.

In the Da Yong camp, someone noticed the situation in the air; dozens of archers simultaneously shot upward. Hu Xiaotian waved his Hidden Edge Sword, shredding the arrows aimed at him, then he made a vacant slash in the air, a chilling sword qi bursting forth, straight at those archers. Seven archers were hit at once, their chests and abdomens severed by the invisible sword qi; blood spattered everywhere, a horrific sight. Hu Xiaotian, mid-flight, tapped the mast of a docked ship with his toe, launched himself again, and flew straight toward the command ship where Tang Bohsi was.

On the warship, seeing a person flying through the air, everyone panicked and shielded Tang Bohsi; Liu Yuncai shouted: "Archers, ready!"

The archers had just nocked their arrows when Hu Xiaotian, from above, struck down with a sword; today his inner energy was exceptionally strong, achieving free release and control, and his sword qi emission succeeded at a hundred percent rate.

The invisible sword qi sliced vertically into the crowd, blood plasma and severed limbs flying everywhere, wails unceasing.

Tang Bohsi's face was splattered with the flying blood; only then did he recognize that the figure swooping down from the air was Hu Xiaotian, whose martial prowess was astonishingly formidable. Several dozen soldiers raised their spears to thrust at Hu Xiaotian; he tapped the tip of his foot on a spear, leapt over the soldiers' heads, and rushed straight at Tang Bohsi, slashing with his sword.

Tang Bohsi had already witnessed the terror of that sword qi, not daring to meet it head-on; he grabbed a nearby deputy commander and shoved him forward. That deputy was struck squarely by the sword qi, his head flying off, blood spurting from the severed cavity like a splendid red fountain in the sunlight.

Tang Bohsi roared: "Hold fast! Hold fast!" While Hu Xiaotian was held back by the soldiers, he, under the protection of a few close aides, hastily disembarked the warship.

How could Hu Xiaotian let him escape? He continuously slashed, carving a bloody path, closely pursuing Tang Bohsi.

At this moment, Li Yongfu leading ten warships also arrived at Xia Shagang; seven thousand Dakang navy from the rear launched a pincer attack, engaging in fierce battle with the Da Yong navy.

Tang Bohui fled in haste, his helmet lost at some point, his feet sank into mud, Liu Yun cai led a troop of one hundred to his front, helped Tang Bohui mount, and Liu Yun cai said: "Sir, the Dakang navy has arrived, the situation is lost; we can only go downstream—let's talk after leaving Lower Sand Port."

Tang Bohui looked around, but saw fires everywhere, smoke billowing, shouts of killing all around; for a moment he didn't know how many enemies lay in ambush; only then did he realize the situation was lost, he nodded and said: "Just as you say…" Behind him came waves of screams—it was Hu Xiaotian carving a bloody path in pursuit.

Tang Bohui, already frightened out of his wits by Hu Xiaotian's ferocity, spurred his horse, whipped it, and led this force of less than a hundred desperately downstream along the north bank of the Yong River.

The commander only cared about his own escape; the Da Yong navy on the scene had no leader, falling into a melee. They had come full of confidence, but they never expected to encounter such fierce resistance in Dongliang Jun. Hearing that the Dakang navy was rushing reinforcements from the opposite bank, the Da Yong troops lost the will to fight, and many surrendered their weapons voluntarily.

Tang Bohui galloped madly, finally escaping the limits of Lower Sand Port; turning back, he saw only a dozen or so cavalry still following him. Looking toward Lower Sand Port, he saw smoke choking the port; the dozen-odd warships he had brought for a forced landing had now lost more than half, and the flagship he had used to command was already ablaze. Tang Bohui's regret reached its peak—he had never suffered such a crushing defeat in his life: thirty thousand elite navy, fifty warships, including three invincible armor‑piercing vessels, were routed by Hu Xiaotian leading three thousand rag‑tag troops. After this battle, what face would he have to meet the court, what face to stand in this world?

The more Tang Bohui thought, the more his heart ached; he suddenly drew his side‑sword from his waist, thinking only of ending it all here—better than returning to face the blame of myriad.

Liu Yun cai beside him had been watching Tang Bohui's movements; seeing him about to kill himself, he lunged, grabbed his arm, and shouted: "General, you cannot!"

Tang Bohui snapped: "Damn it, let go of me!"

Liu Yun cai was about to advise him when he saw a troop approaching from the front; its leader wore black helmet and black armor, wielding two great hammers—none other than Xiong Tianba, who had successfully blocked the Yong army's landing at Duck‑Child Pass. Xiong Tianba and Liang Yinghao had joined forces to repel the Yong troops that had landed there, then, having received an order from Yu Tianxing, Xiong Tianba led a hundred cavalry racing to the downstream of Lower Sand Port to cut off the enemy commander's escape. Seeing Tang Bohui indeed fleeing in haste, Xiong Tianba was both startled and delighted, and he admired Yu Tianxing to the point of prostration—this poor scholar really does have talent, his foresight divine, having predicted that Tang Bohui would pass this way.

Two updates delivered, seeking Monthly Ticket! (To be continued~^~)