Chapter 1109

Chang Fanqi increasingly felt that Hu Xiaotian was extremely sinister; his saying this seemed as if they had already colluded, but he also realized that now even further argument would be useless, with his mother in Hu Xiaotian's hands, he was completely at their mercy, with no recourse whatsoever.

Hu Xiaotian approached Qin Yangming, smiling, and said, 'This is none other than General Qin!'

Qin Yangming snapped, 'You despicable villain, only capable of petty tricks—if you're a man, why don't you dare face me openly on the battlefield and see who wins?'

Hu Xiaotian chuckled, 'Open and aboveboard? You, General Qin, gather seventy thousand troops to deal with me, and still dare call it open and aboveboard?'

Qin Yangming said, 'Hu Xiaotian, how dare you invade Da Yong's borders and break the peace treaty between our two nations? Do you even know what good faith means? Having betrayed it, what face do you have to face the world?'

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said, 'General Qin, your eloquence far outshines your ability to lead troops; it is not I who have betrayed good faith, but you, Da Yong—Tang Bohsi led thirty thousand naval forces first to invade our lands, aiming to seize Dongliang Jun, seizing our territory and oppressing our people; as the lord of Dongliang Jun, leading troops to resist—what's wrong with that? You keep talking about good faith; if you truly understood good faith and shame, why would you again raise a great army to attack my lands? Here you exchange prisoners with me, yet secretly you muster a great army intending to slaughter my city—is this what you call righteousness? Do you not know why you lost? It is precisely because righteousness has always been on my side.'

Qin Yangming said, 'Do you think that by seizing Dongluo Storehouse, this matter will end here?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'You need not worry about what comes next; you have no standing to worry. As a defeated general, I will let you go—though I fear Xue Daohong may also take your life. I never imagined Da Yong's commanders would all be such pus-filled sacks. You are even worse than Tang Bohsi.'

Qin Yangming, humiliated by Hu Xiaotian, flushed red with rage, wishing he could dash his head against the ground and die then and there; he felt his campaign had been utterly pathetic, with nearly seventy thousand troops toyed with in the palm of Hu Xiaotian's hand, rushing back and forth between Dongluo Storehouse and Dongliang Jun, ultimately failing not only to take Dongliang Jun but even losing their military stronghold Dongluo Storehouse—Hu Xiaotian was right; he felt even more useless than Tang Bohsi.

Hu Xiaotian had Zhan Peng first take Qin Yangming away, then approached Chang Fanqi and said, 'General Chang, I'm sorry, but today's actions were truly unavoidable; I harbor no intention of harming your mother. She is currently resting in your residence, and you may return to visit her at any time.'

Upon hearing that his mother was safe, Chang Fanqi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but thinking of his present situation, he could not help but feel sorrow well up from his heart. Because of Hu Xiaotian's coercion, he had committed such a grave wrong, using Qin Yangming as a hostage to secure his mother's safety—what face did he have left to face the imperial court?

Chang Fanqi remained silent, then turned and left.

Zhan Peng had wanted to send someone after him, but Hu Xiaotian stopped him with a glance, whispering, 'Let him go; he now has nowhere to turn.'

Liang Yinghao hurried over to Hu Xiaotian's side, his face brightening, and said, 'My lord, the Yong army seems to be beginning its retreat.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled faintly, 'They had no choice!' He looked up at the still drizzling icy rain. No one knew how long this rain would last; the Yong forces came with mighty force, but they were defeated not only by the strategies of Yu Tianxing and Zhu Guanqi, but also by heaven's will—heaven holds unpredictable storms, and this foul weather favored the defenders; aligning with the seasons could even offset a million-strong army.

Hu Xiaotian climbed back onto the arrow tower, watching as the Yong forces began their slow retreat; this time it was clearly a full withdrawal, with the Yong army leaving no troops behind, for they feared Hu Xiaotian's side would gather superior forces for an annihilating battle. In this war they lost their commander and the strategic stronghold of Dongluo Storehouse, yet they could still be grateful that casualties were not heavy—so long as the green mountains remain, there is no fear of lacking firewood.

Beside him, Zhao Wusheng let out a long breath; this battle had been won perilously and splendidly, and he truly began to believe that Hu Xiaotian was a person of great destiny.

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Brother Wusheng, what are you sighing about?'

Zhao Wusheng gave an embarrassed smile and said, 'Sir, to be frank, I had thought this battle would be extremely difficult.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'No matter what, we have after all won.'

Zhao Wusheng said, 'Dongluo Storehouse is of utmost importance to Da Yong; they will never willingly hand it over, and before long they will muster a great army to make a comeback.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'With grain and fodder, do we still fear being unable to raise troops? With an army, do we still fear fighting them?'

Zhao Wusheng's spirit rose at Hu Xiaotian's words; he nodded firmly and said, 'I, Wusheng, will for Sir go through fire and water, charge into battle.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I believe you! But it seems you have not been telling me the whole truth!'

Hearing this, Zhao Wusheng startled and paled, saying, 'Sir, what do you mean? I harbor no disloyalty toward you, Sir; if you do not believe me, I am willing to die to prove my loyalty.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Is it really worth getting so worked up? I just thought that when you first stepped forward to help me in Wuxing Jun, there might have been other motives behind it.'

Only then did Zhao Wusheng understand what Hu Xiaotian meant; he gave an embarrassed smile and said, 'Sir, there are no other reasons.'

Hu Xiaotian pointed at his nose: 'You, you! If I want to know the truth, I will always have a way to make you speak it; if you don't tell me now, later I will not spare you.'

Zhao Wusheng's face full of embarrassment said, 'Sir, the subordinate has promised others, and naturally must keep his word; I hope Sir will understand my difficulties.' His saying this amounted to admitting Hu Xiaotian's guess; indeed, someone behind him was pulling the strings.

Hu Xiaotian understood in his heart that Zhao Wusheng had initially stepped forward to help him surely because of Ji Feihua; it must be that Ji Feihua had ordered Zhao Wusheng not to divulge this, so Zhao Wusheng still refuses to speak up. Hu Xiaotian nodded, and did not continue to press; his heart filled with gratitude toward Ji Feihua. He said softly, 'Seizing Dongluo Storehouse has indeed stirred up a hornet's nest; these days, while their great army has not yet arrived, we should quickly transport the grain and fodder from Dongluo Storehouse back.'

Zhao Wusheng said, 'I think the Yong forces will not attack in the short term.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled, 'Never mind; if fighting can be avoided, it should be; best is to live in peace.'

Zhao Wusheng secretly thought that the upcoming war would likely be unavoidable, and living in peace was even more impossible; Da Yong, after suffering heavy losses in two consecutive battles, not only lost troops and generals, but now even lost Dongluo Storehouse, that important southeastern stronghold—meaning the southeastern front's supplies are completely strained, and Da Yong would surely not just lay down arms and rest, for whether out of face or strategy they will surely strive to retake this city as soon as possible. Hu Xiaotian must have considered this, which is why he decided to swiftly transfer the strategic supplies within Dongluo Storehouse.

However, for them, the situation has undoubtedly improved greatly; they now hold three cities, and the grain and fodder problem that had previously troubled them most has been resolved once and for all—with Dongluo Storehouse's grain reserves, they can ensure their soldiers and populace have three years without worry about food, eliminating this rear concern, whereupon they can free their hands to focus on developing internal affairs and expanding their forces.

Hu Xiaotian's considerations extend farther than Zhao Wusheng's; although this battle went smoothly and they succeeded in capturing Dongluo Storehouse as desired, that does not mean their pressure has disappeared—given their current strength, they still cannot match Da Yong. The reason their previous two battles yielded total victory was first, their own tactics were sound and plans meticulous; another reason was the mediocrity and contempt of Da Yong's commanders. Da Yong is not lacking in talented generals and strategists, and after suffering two setbacks they will surely draw sufficient attention, so if they launch another expedition next time, it will likely be no easy task to cope. Hu Xiaotian has already prepared for the worst-case scenario of retreating to defend Wuxing Jun, for relying on the grain and materiel gained from Dongluo Storehouse, it is already enough for them to take root and grow in this region.

Two successive great victories left the people of Dongliang Jun beginning to be puzzled; they previously thought Hu Xiaotian was surely doomed to defeat, and that it would not be long before Da Yong's troops drove him out of Dongliang Jun, back to the south bank of the Yong River—but they did not expect that Hu Xiaotian first shattered Da Yong's thirty thousand naval forces, then repelled Da Yong's seventy thousand allied army, both battles being victories of the weak over the strong. Not only were they not routed, they actually seized the opportunity to capture Da Yong's southeastern stronghold, Dongluo Storehouse, uniting Dongluo Storehouse, Dongliang Jun, and Wuxing Jun into one entity. In the lower reaches of the Yong River basin they formed a cross‑bank triangular region, with the three cities watching over and assisting each other, mutually supplementing, giving the formerly isolated Dongliang Jun two powerful supports—like adding two legs—so that the entire territory became completely different, radiating a fresh new aspect.

After the Yong forces withdrew, the icy rain continued as before, falling for a full day and night before ceasing; Hu Xiaotian entrusted Dongluo Storehouse to Zhao Wusheng and Xiong Tianba for garrison, then led Zhan Peng and the others back to Dongliang Jun.

After the rain stopped and the sky cleared, the temperature suddenly dropped considerably; the edges of the Yong River had already begun to ice over, the snow on the ground had not melted, yet freezing rain caused a thick layer of ice to form, making walking on it extremely slippery, and on the streets of Dongliang Jun one could see people slipping and falling everywhere.

After returning to Dongliang Jun, Hu Xiaotian did not go to his mansion but went straight to Zhu Guanqi's home; before even entering his courtyard, he smelled a tempting meat aroma, inhaled deeply, and saw the gate wide open, with Zhu Guanqi holding a broom, sweeping snow in the courtyard.

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Brother Guanqi, you're not being fair—while I was away from Dongliang Jun, you sneaked off to eat the good stuff.'

Zhuge Guanqi heard his voice, looked up and couldn't help but laugh; at that moment, a stunning golden‑haired maiden burst out from the kitchen, her icy‑blue eyes shimmering with delight like autumn sunshine, exclaiming, 'Master! You've returned!' She stood about five feet from Hu Xiaotian, then noticed that behind him followed Zhan Peng, and Zhu Guanqi was also at his side; she abruptly halted her steps, her skin, fair as snow, flushed with a rosy tint, and her demeanor became bashful (to be continued~^~)