Chapter 646: Reinforcements

"Split their forces?"

An Shen Ziyang rubbed his chin, remaining silent.

After the old man finished delivering the news, he had already departed; he still needed to continue monitoring the movements of the Tumet tribe to ensure this wasn't some elaborate ruse staged by the Tatars.

In the hidden, cramped mountain cave, Wang Hai and An Shen Ziyang sat side by side. Gao Gao Gao Anyu leaned against the stone wall, Zhi Qing sat cross-legged on the ground, and beside them, Deng Deng Deng Baixuan and Liu Baiyun were circulating their Qi to heal their wounds. The white funeral banner inscribed with the name Tang Tang Lanzhou lay to the side, stained half-red and half-white with blood.

The two groups of people from Datong had already converged.

These few individuals were the ones who had managed to delay half of the Tatar army until now.

After hearing the situation described by the Beggar Sect elder, everyone in the room fell into a heavy silence, until several breaths later, when the Mount Mount Wudang elder Zhi Sheng spoke up hesitantly.

"The enemy is splitting their forces; isn't that a good thing? Why is everyone so grave?"

An Shen Ziyang was still deep in thought, so Wang Hai took up the reply.

"Not only is it not a good thing, it is a catastrophic one."

"We've captured quite a few prisoners over the past few days, so we have a fairly clear grasp of the Tatar situation. The reason we've been able to drag them out until now is twofold: first, because of Fourth Sister's Gu insects, and second, because of everyone's desperate, life-risking combat, and... the blood-courage of the border garrison remnants, ignited by Tang Gong with his very life."

"But, in truth, these two points are not enough."

Wang Hai reached out and held up a finger.

"The infighting within the Tatar ranks was the root cause."

"The Tumet tribe tacitly allowed, or even secretly assisted us in spreading Gu insects and raiding other tribes; Yibucai was also secretly bleeding the Tumet tribe dry. The foreign masters belonged to different tribes and thus held each other back—that was the foundation of our success. Otherwise, with our numbers, it would have been impossible to hold off the main army."

"But now, they have realized this."

"By voluntarily splitting their forces, they no longer hold each other back. Whoever enters the pass first will be enfeoffed by He Shang Monk Zhangren and ascend the throne as Emperor... This means they are going to start fighting with their lives on the line. No matter which path we choose to block, we will be met with their all-out assault."

"With our numbers, it will be very difficult to survive."

Upon hearing this, Zhi Sheng’s face clouded with difficulty, and he asked again.

"What about the Gu insects?"

Wang Hai shook his head.

"Fourth Sister has confirmed that the Gu insects she spread among the Tatars have all died. The enemy has mastered a method to purge them; that tactic is now useless. To continue the delay, we can only fight them head-on... but our numbers are truly too few."

Zhi Sheng pursed his lips.

Logically speaking, it was already a stroke of heaven-sent luck that they, along with a group of garrison remnants and a band of beggars, had managed to delay half the Tatar army for nearly half a month; they could not ask for more... yet he truly felt unreconciled, unreconciled to accepting such an outcome.

Thus, he looked up at An Shen Ziyang with a glimmer of hope.

After a long while, An Shen Ziyang looked up and sighed.

"There is no other way."

"Either we leave, or we gamble tonight and charge once."

"But the enemy has likely already prepared a trap, just waiting for us to walk into it. If we go, it will likely end in us being surrounded and dying of exhaustion... Which one do you all choose?"

Zhi Sheng gritted his teeth fiercely.

"I want to charge once! My Sect Leader brother's body is still in their hands!"

An Shen Ziyang nodded and looked at Gao Gao Gao Anyu.

"And you?"

Gao Gao Gao Anyu shivered and opened his eyes, dazed.

"Ah? Me? Anything is fine... Uncle Li told me to listen to you two. Just let me know once you've decided."

Having said that, he closed his eyes again, his spirit wandering beyond the heavens.

An Shen Ziyang nodded and looked at Deng Deng Deng Baixuan and Liu Baiyun.

The two bowed in unison.

"We naturally follow the orders of the two Commanders... it's just..."

An Shen Ziyang waved his hand and sighed.

"I know you two don't want to leave."

"Tang Gong staked his life on you two; if you don't stake your own lives in return, you won't find peace."

Deng Deng Deng Baixuan and Liu Baiyun lowered their heads in silence, evidently acknowledging An Shen Ziyang's words.

An Shen Ziyang twisted his fingers, unable to make a decision.

Rationally speaking, he should be overriding everyone's objections right now and forcing them to leave.

The capital had fallen, Nanjing was in danger, and He Shang Monk Zhangren could arrive at any moment. The forces they could currently mobilize were so limited that they could not afford any further losses. There was a ninety percent chance the Tatars were waiting for them to deliver themselves; if they charged, there was a ninety percent chance the entire force would be wiped out.

They should leave.

But... he also had to consider the morale of the people.

Zhi Qing's body was still in Tatar hands, so Zhi Sheng would not leave, and the martial arts righteous men who had come to reinforce them based on Mount Mount Wudang's reputation would not leave either. The Beggar Sect and the garrison remnants were holding on by a thread of blood-courage; if they left now, the courage bought with the lives of Tang Tang Lanzhou and Lao Lao Lao Qifeng would instantly dissipate.

With this departure, the Tatars entered the Central Plains, the River-Upper Father-in-law supplemented the troops, and I think he will immediately canonize a Tatar Emperor, and then lead the army south, just like smashing the Juyong Pass, smashing all the cities of the Great Shu... By then, people’s hearts will really be impossible to clean up.

And the common people of the Central Plains would face a catastrophe—just like in the previous dynasty.

"Tsk!"

An Shen Ziyang clicked his tongue.

Why was it so difficult... How could he make such a decision!

Could he even choose correctly!

His twisting fingers began to tremble involuntarily, but were suddenly grabbed.

An Shen Ziyang looked up and saw Wang Hai holding his arm, saying in a deep voice.

"Brother An, let it be."

"You have already done enough; you don't need to try to do more."

An Shen Ziyang shook his head slowly.

When the sky falls, the tallest must hold it up. Now that Li Miao was absent, he was the tallest, so he had to hold it up! How could there be any talk of "enough"!

An Shen Ziyang closed his eyes.

Amidst his chaotic thoughts, a sudden idea occurred to him.

"If the Commander were here... how would he choose?"

"Heh... if the Commander were here, he would only crush these border-dwelling vermin in a straightforward manner."

"Come to think of it, the Commander must know the situation here, and he must be trying to find a way to return. I don't know what formidable means He Shang Monk Zhangren has prepared to delay him for so long... but for us to have bought him half a month of time is already—"

Suddenly, An Shen Ziyang opened his eyes.

"No!"

"No, this is wrong!"

"Half a month—why have we been able to buy half a month of time!"

"Why hasn't He Shang Monk Zhangren come to kill us himself!"