Chapter 121: Coming and Going

Seven consecutive days of fierce attacks.

The entire Qingfeng Gorge seemed to have been sliced in half! Whether it was the canyon or the ground, everything was stained red with blood. Because the weather was starting to turn hot, the entire gorge reeked, and flies buzzed everywhere.

Every time the Xiongnu Army charged, they left behind many corpses and remains in the gorge, including those of the Liangzhou Army, the Baiya Army, and the Pingzhou Army... Cart after cart of corpses were hauled back, and no one knew how to dispose of them.

War is just this tragic.

War is just this heartless.

As the Pingdi General, even though Zheng Yuxing was accustomed to scenes of war, he could not help but feel grief in his heart. He could only try his best to make himself more numb, so as not to think about the soldiers who had lost their lives defending the Longyan Dynasty.

A qualified general should treat the battlefield and the soldiers as a chessboard.

More mechanical, more cold-blooded, more standardized, and more formulaic.

Only in this way could a general's calmness be guaranteed, because every tiny mistake by a general would result in an unknown number of casualties.

"General, the Xiongnu soldiers have retreated again!"

"Our losses are..."

"The damaged fortifications are being repaired!"

"General, our provisions are running low again!"

"And the arrows!"

On the high tower, one military report after another had not stopped from dawn until now. Zheng Yuxing remained expressionless, listening quietly. Another three days had passed. The Pingzhou Army, sent by Prince Lu to reinforce them, had originally been full of confidence, but who would have thought that when facing the Xiongnu soldiers, the Pingzhou Army was still not up to the task.

The Xiongnu soldiers were becoming increasingly fierce, coming and going like the wind.

Zheng Yuxing gritted his teeth hard: "Are we really so helpless against these Xiongnu Long-handled Curved Sabers!"

"Rest well and prepare to meet the next round of attacks!"

"Yes!"

According to the habit of these past few days, the next charge of the Xiongnu would unfold in half an hour.

Just then, a Lieutenant riding a horse and dressed in clean, sharp attire galloped from the rear, arrived under the city tower, stopped proudly, looked up at Zheng Yuxing, and said loudly: "Pingdi General, hear the order! The Crown Prince is leading an army of fifty thousand to reinforce you; you are ordered to immediately go ten miles outside Longhu Pass to welcome him!"

The Crown Prince is here?

A group of generals looked at each other in dismay.

Zheng Yuxing stood up and frowned: "The war is critical, I have no time to welcome him!"

The Lieutenant's expression changed drastically, and he rebuked angrily: "Does General Zheng intend to defy His Highness's order? Who gave you the nerve?"

The generals were all furious.

A mere Lieutenant, no more than a fifth-rank military officer, actually dared to be so disrespectful and arrogant toward Zheng Yuxing; who wouldn't be angry? Zheng Yuxing had guarded the Beijing for so many years and was well-loved in the army; he was the War God in the hearts of these soldiers of the Beijing. Anyone who dared to be disrespectful to him was like insulting them!

Zheng Yuxing waved his hand to signal everyone to calm down, and replied loudly: "I shall naturally obey the Crown Prince's order. But the Xiongnu Army is about to attack, and I must hold Qingfeng Gorge and cannot leave for even half a step! With this responsibility on my shoulders, a general in the field may refuse the sovereign's order; I hope His Highness will understand!"

"You, you, you..."

The Lieutenant pointed angrily at Zheng Yuxing, cursed him for having the heart of a wolf and being treacherous to the Emperor, and then rode away in a rage.

"This fellow..."

"General, isn't this Crown Prince's air a bit too arrogant?"

"He actually wants you to go ten miles out to welcome him?"

"Since when does a frontline general have to go and welcome someone else! Even the Emperor would not make such a demand!"

Everyone spoke up to defend Zheng Yuxing.

"Shut up!"

Zheng Yuxing barked with a dark face: "The Crown Prince is reinforcing us and is also single-mindedly resisting the enemy; how can we slander him at will? General Luo!"

"Subordinate is here!"

"Go and prepare to welcome the Crown Prince!"

"Yes!"

Just at this moment, the Xiongnu Army launched another fierce attack. War drums shook the heavens, and battle cries shook the wilderness; Qingfeng Gorge was about to face another great slaughter. It was yet another test of the Longyan Army's combat effectiveness, logistical support, and the general's ability to coordinate.

"What? Did this Zheng Yuxing really say that?"

The Crown Prince, Xie Fang, looked gloomy and slammed the table as he rose: "What kind of thing is this Zheng Yuxing, to dare to bully me like this!"

The Lieutenant said insidiously: "Crown Prince, this Zheng Yuxing is the uncle of the Third Prince; this must be a deliberate humiliation of the Crown Prince!"

The Third Prince?

Hearing these three words, Xie Fang's expression became even uglier: "So what? I am the true Crown Prince! This time, Father Emperor ordered me to resist the Xiongnu; if I succeed, the one to inherit the throne will be me! I will settle the score with this Zheng Yuxing sooner or later!"

"Let's go, I'm going to demand an explanation from him!"

"Your Highness, absolutely not!"

"General Zheng is a pillar of the nation; Your Highness should respect him!"

Others heard this and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

A sinister look flashed in Xie Fang's eyes, and he roared: "Shut up! For Zheng Yuxing to insult me is to insult Father Emperor. If I don't teach him a lesson, how will I have any face after leading this expedition myself?"

The crowd tried to persuade him again, but Xie Fang could no longer listen.

His army of fifty thousand was deliberately stopped ten miles away, all to wait for Zheng Yuxing to come and welcome him in person. In the Capital, Xie Fang, as the Crown Prince, had to keep his tail tucked every day. This time, leading the expedition himself, he naturally wanted to show off his power, especially toward Zheng Yuxing, who was closer to the Third Prince, Xie Ling; he wanted to regain his standing even more.

So, regardless of the raging fire of war ahead, he stopped right there.

When General Luo came out to welcome him, although the ceremony was considered grand, seeing that it was not Zheng Yuxing who came in person, Xie Fang began to grit his teeth: "This Pingdi General insults me too much! Tie him up!"

The crowd was shocked and kept shouting that it could not be done.

However, General Luo was quickly tied up by the Crown Prince's personal guards.

General Luo glared at the Crown Prince: "Why does the Crown Prince tie me up?"

Xie Fang sneered: "Zheng Yuxing disregarded the Crown Prince's order, a crime punishable by death! You shout at me; it seems the Liangzhou Army is full of people who like to act spoiled and arrogant. Beat him!"

The Crown Prince's personal guards whipped him repeatedly, and General Luo screamed incessantly until he was finally beaten into a bloody mess.

Crown Prince Xie Fang then smiled with satisfaction: "Let's go, let's go meet that Zheng Yuxing first! If he can't even handle a mere Xiongnu Army, what use is he?"

The army of fifty thousand then set out once again.

……

And at this time.

The Third Prince Xie Ling's troops were also following unhurriedly behind the Crown Prince's main force.

"Your Highness, why are we not going first, instead letting the Crown Prince go ahead?"

Someone asked Xie Ling.

Xie Ling chuckled: "Why bother arguing over who goes first or last? The Crown Prince is narrow-minded and deeply suspicious; letting him make contact with my uncle first is a good thing."

Because of Zheng Fu's relationship, Zheng Yuxing was Xie Ling's legitimate uncle.

"Besides, do you really think his fifty thousand troops can truly resist the Xiongnu Army?"

Xie Ling laughed heartily: "Do you think he is more capable than my uncle? If my uncle couldn't do it, he will be even worse off when he gets there!"

Just then, a scout under Xie Ling came to report.

"Your Highness, Your Highness! Outside Longhu Pass, the Crown Prince is furious that General Zheng did not come out of the city to welcome him. He is publicly whipping General Zheng's Lieutenant, and has even had him tied up, demanding an explanation from General Zheng!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Ling's face was full of pleasant surprise: "Just as I thought, I knew it, I knew it! Haha, this Crown Prince is truly stupid to the extreme!"

The several Military Advisors beside him also revealed joyful expressions: "Your Highness's opportunity has arrived!"

Xie Ling smiled slightly: "Immediately arrange for the supply and logistics troops to prepare hot meals for the soldiers at the front, and replace all their bedding, mosquito nets, and mats with new ones! Order the team of physicians to enter Longhu Pass first; do not be stingy with any medicinal herbs, and do everything possible to help treat the wounded!"

"Yes!"

"Your Highness is Great Good!"

"Your Highness will surely win the hearts of the army!"

Very quickly, the Third Prince's side began making arrangements.

……

"Look, what did I tell you?"

Liu Zheng walked along, reading the military reports from the front, feeling as if he were reading a storybook, and laughed heartily.

The Crown Prince whipped a deputy general in public and berated Zheng Yuxing. Although Zheng Yuxing, who was commanding the battle on the front lines, was furious, he was the Crown Prince after all, so he could only swallow his anger and return to apologize in person before the Crown Prince's rage subsided. However, the generals of the Liangzhou Army and Pingzhou Army all dared to be angry but dared not speak.

Because of the lack of Zheng Yuxing's command, Qingfeng Gorge was almost breached by the Xiongnu Army.

Looking at the Third Prince Xie Ling, who had just arrived at Longhu Pass today, he was the complete opposite of the Crown Prince. As a prince highly favored by the Emperor, he had no airs at all. He walked into the city from outside Longhu Pass, and the first thing he did was not to seek out Zheng Yuxing or the Crown Prince, but to visit the wounded and disabled soldiers. It was said that when he arrived there, Xie Ling's tears flowed freely and he was choked with sobs; all who saw him were filled with admiration, and all who heard of it were moved to tears.

This series of actions by the Third Prince, sending food, bedding, mats, golden sore medicine, and physicians.

Directly overshadowed Crown Prince Xie Fang.

The two sides, with a total of one hundred thousand troops reinforcing, finally won a victory under the command of Zheng Yuxing, forcing the Xiongnu Army to retreat thirty miles! This battle was the one where the Xiongnu Army suffered the heaviest losses since the war began.

With one victory, the morale of the entire army was greatly boosted, and they finally felt proud and elated.

"Young Master, do we not need to hurry anymore?"

Jiang Xuan asked.

The forced marches over the past few days had exhausted him.

Since they had won the battle, there was no need to rush over.

Liu Zheng, however, chuckled: "That may not be so. A victory at this time may not necessarily be a good thing. Do you really think the Xiongnu couldn't win?"

Jiang Xuan and Qin Zhangfeng were both stunned.

A victory is a victory, isn't it?

Liu Zheng laughed heartily: "It seems there are capable people among the Xiongnu Army! The Xiongnu are strategically avoiding battle! They must have already known that the Crown Prince and the Third Prince had arrived as reinforcements, and they clearly grasped the situation here, so they retreated to avoid a confrontation. In reality, they are not as fragile as they seem!"

Jiang Xuan's eyes lit up: "Young Master means the Xiongnu are about to counterattack?"

Liu Zheng smiled: "Not a counterattack, but an ambush!"

He pointed at the map: "Beyond Qingfeng Gorge lies Rongshan Pass! If the Crown Prince is arrogant and his confidence is inflated at this time, he will certainly want to retake Rongshan Pass. In doing so, it will be very easy to fall into the enemy's ambush!"

Everyone was shocked.

If that were truly the case, then after a great victory would come a crushing defeat!

【Author's Note】

Thanks to the brother at the top of the tipping list for the tip, thanks for the support...