Chapter 98, Chapter Nine: Blessed by Heaven

This fierce battle was only mentioned briefly in later historical records; only those who were present knew how brutal it was.

Whether it was Liu Jun's Bingzhou cavalry, Shi Le's Youzhou elite cavalry, or the Xiliang cavalry, Yuzhou soldiers, and Yanzhou soldiers who accompanied them in battle, they were all battle-hardened elites. However, in this narrow valley, these cavalry elites, skilled in charging and sudden attacks, were no different from ordinary infantry. Their formations, which had been practiced many times, were all in disarray, and their clothes were soaked in blood. Sometimes, they could only tell whether someone was Hu or Jin by looking at their face when they were right in front of them. As a result, many Han Chinese in Shi Le's army were mistakenly killed by friendly forces, which gave Liu Jun some advantage.

In close combat, bows, crossbows, and shields were thrown to the ground, horses neighed in the narrow valley, and the sounds of swords, spears, and halberds clashing shook the heavens and the earth.

Liu Jun was skilled at training troops, and the troops he brought were elites from the Lynx Camp. They had fought side by side for many years and had excellent teamwork. Even on such a chaotic battlefield, they could advance and retreat with strategy. Even when facing the famously brave Shi Le's army, they could fight two or even three opponents at once.

However, the fire was still not extinguished, and the number of people in Liu Jun's army who were burned by the fire was no less than those who were injured by swords.

As Liu Jun watched the blood and flesh flying everywhere in the valley and smelled the acrid stench mixed with the stench of blood, he almost numbly hacked and slashed—the so-called Avici Hell in Sima Ye's Buddhist scriptures was probably no more than this.

Shi Le was overjoyed. He understood that the bigger the fire, the better for him. Liu Jun was fighting and retreating at the same time. No matter what his intentions were, he would suffer greatly in this boundless karmic fire.

Seeing that more than a thousand men had already withdrawn from the valley, and that Shi Le's army had suffered more than half its casualties, and looking at the sky, Liu Jun began to hesitate about whether to withdraw his troops immediately.

If the troops are withdrawn, all efforts will be in vain.

If they do not withdraw, they may turn a small victory into a major defeat.

The setting sun was like blood, and blood mist had already appeared on the battlefield. Liu Jun could no longer bear to see his soldiers suffer, so he decided to sound the retreat.

Just then, Lu Jing suddenly exclaimed, "Rain! It's raining!"

Liu Jun suddenly looked up and saw that the sky, which was dyed blood red by the afterglow, was filled with rolling dark clouds, and then large raindrops poured down.

The valley was mostly inhabited by northerners who had never seen such heavy rain in their lives. Many people forgot about hand-to-hand combat and stood there blankly as the raindrops fell from the sky, extinguishing the wildfire that had been spreading.

"Kill!" Liu Jun's spirits lifted, and he beat the drums again. The Jin army roared, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

With no major fire, the Jin army had an absolute advantage, and everyone endured their injuries to continue fighting the enemy. Soon, Shi Le's army was routed.

Shi Le gritted his teeth, decisively gave up, and fled the valley in panic with less than a thousand men.

The victory was a Pyrrhic one, and Liu Jun had no intention of celebrating. He ordered his men to collect the remains and immediately returned to Jinyong City.

"How could it be so horrific?" Wen Qiao rushed over while bandaging the wounds and frowned deeply when he saw the three or four wounds on his body.

The doctor sprinkled wine on the arrow wound. Liu Jun gritted his teeth and endured it. After a long while, he said in a trembling voice, "I originally wanted to use fire to attack Shi Le, but the wind changed direction. Fortunately, a torrential rain came later, otherwise my life or death would have been uncertain."

"Heavy rain?" Wen Qiao smiled slyly. "I heard Shi Le boast that the sudden change in wind direction was a sign of destiny. In my opinion, we are not far behind. If there hadn't been heavy rain in Shangfang Valley, Emperor Xuan would probably have been captured alive by Zhuge Liang long ago; if there hadn't been heavy rain in the fifth year of Ganlu, the Duke of Gaogui would have already killed Emperor Wen; and today... to put it bluntly, our dynasty should not be associated with the element of metal, but with the element of water."

Upon hearing the names of these familiar faces again, Liu Jun could not hide his bewilderment. Seeing Wen Qiao's composed expression, he asked, "How are things? What about the other battles? Is there any news of Shi Le?"

Wen Qiao laughed and said, "I can't hide it from you. That's right. Ji Dan annihilated 5,000 enemies, Xi Jian's army annihilated 3,000 enemies, Liu Dan annihilated 2,000 enemies, and the Liangzhou army and Di-Qiang army that came to help annihilated 3,000 enemies. The main force of the central army annihilated 15,000 enemies. In addition, there were more than 3,000 enemies that the lord had just killed in Hulu Valley. This time, we have annihilated more than 30,000 enemies in total. It can be called a great victory."

"Good." Liu Jun hadn't expected such a victory, and quickly asked, "How many casualties have we suffered?"

Wen Qiao's smile faded: "After several fierce battles, we have more than ten thousand men."

“Especially in Calabash Valley just now, many of them were veterans of the Lynx Camp.” Liu Jun felt a pang of pain in his heart. “The soldiers temporarily conscripted, I wonder how long it will take before they can compare to those old soldiers. In the end, it all comes down to who has more veteran generals and soldiers…”

"Don't worry, Shi Le's side is not far behind. Three of his eighteen generals from Yan and Zhao have already been killed this time," Wen Qiao comforted him. "The key is to see what happens next. Will he abandon or take back Luoyang?"

Liu Jun sneered, "No matter which it is, I'll fight to the end this time. I'm determined to take Luoyang!"

After saying this, he reluctantly took out paper and pen, "I will first write a letter to His Majesty to report the victory. His heart is set on attacking the Xiongnu, avenging the humiliation, and conquering the capital. Now I have accomplished most of the task and have lived up to His Majesty's expectations."

Wen Qiao ground ink for him, saying, "I was just thinking, how should His Majesty reward him for such an unparalleled achievement?"

"Reward him as you see fit. Surely Jun hasn't reached the point where there's nothing more to reward him with?" Liu Jun wrote swiftly, glossing over the perilous journey but omitting any mention of the carnage in the city. He only gave a brief report of the battle results, then vividly described the scene of Liu Yao's capture. Finally, he casually asked Sima Ye for instructions on how to present the captive, how to report to the temple, and how to offer sacrifices to Heaven.

After finishing writing, he felt a little proud, but then he felt that Shi Le's situation was unclear and he should not relax too early, so the excitement in his eyes faded.

Wen Qiao watched coldly. Ever since the Yongjia era, he felt that Liu Jun's emotions and desires were particularly obvious in front of Sima Ye. Not to mention today, when his official position and prestige are growing, even when he was a child, sometimes even he himself could not see through him. He was not like an innocent child at all.

Could it really be a divine intervention?

Oblivious to the scrutinizing gaze, Liu Jun was busy opening and reading letters from Chang'an. To his astonishment, he discovered a letter sent over a month ago, informing him that his eldest son, Liu Liang, had arrived safely at home and was studying at the family school. However, on the second day after his arrival in Chang'an, his youngest son, Liu Yong, suddenly fell seriously ill, seemingly on the verge of death. His stepmother, Zhang, took it upon herself to summon imperial physicians to treat him, and thankfully, he survived. Aside from that, he only inquired about the well-being of his wives, concubines, and children as usual, without mentioning them.

Liu Jun closed the letter and slowly said, "Next time I go on an expedition, I plan to take the young men of my clan with me in rotation. If I could have a few as capable as Ziyi, what would I have to worry about in achieving great things?"

“Indeed, the saying goes, ‘Manage your family, govern your state, and bring peace to the world.’ Many heroes have lost great things because of small gains. We must not be careless.” Wen Qiao said meaningfully.

Liu Jun gently stroked the scabbard of Fei Jing sword, pondering the meaning behind his words, "I have been somewhat lax in managing my family, but I don't know who intends to take advantage of this situation."

His gaze swept across the colossal, crouching Jinyong City. "No matter what, take Luoyang first!"