Chapter 90 Chapter 90 Breakthrough

The sky was about to turn a light blue when suddenly a shrill horn sounded from under Funing City and war drums roared like thunder. The Tangut cavalry rushed towards the city again like a dark cloud.

Arrows flew down like swarms of locusts, shouts of killing shook the earth, and the clashing of swords was incessant.

He Zhong, the deputy general under Duke Xu, led his men to guard the city wall. His eyes were red from fighting and his muscles and bones were exhausted. He could not remember how many times he had repelled the Hu Liao's attacks.

The Dangxiang people were extremely cunning. They first emptied the food and grass in Funing City, then blocked the river, and besieged the city until they ran out of food and water. Finally, they launched a general attack the day before yesterday.

Tens of thousands of elite soldiers came out in droves, and the attack was as fierce as the tide. One wave after another came, and the soldiers had been fighting on empty stomachs and were almost exhausted.

With a single blow, He Zhong chopped down a Hu soldier who had just climbed onto the battlement. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the military doctor rushing toward him. His heart sank, and he yelled, "What's going on? Is something wrong with the Marshal?"

The military doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead and panted rapidly: "We have used up all the Changshan and Artemisia annua herbs in the army! General Xie still has a high fever. If it lasts a few more days, I'm afraid, I'm afraid..."

Before he could finish his words, He Zhong suddenly pulled out his long knife from Hu Bing's body, kicked the body off the city wall, and cursed angrily, "Damn you eunuch!"

A few days ago, not long after the army captured Moqi Pass, Duke Xu suddenly developed a fever and chills and malaria, which then aggravated his old injuries. He had a high fever for several days and his consciousness was intermittent.

Originally, when the Duke was still conscious, he ordered the army to hold fast to strategic positions, rest for a while, and not to pursue the enemy any further. However, he did not expect that the eunuch thief would take advantage of this opportunity and force the generals to fight for merit. However, they underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, and fell into the trap of the Liaozi's feigned defeat and were lured into a tight encirclement.

He once advised to break out while the enemy's formation was unstable, but was rejected by the eunuch, so that the last chance was missed and the 40,000-strong army was trapped here!

"General, what should we do? Can you send another message and ask the reinforcements to bring some medicine?"

Arrows were whizzing overhead. As the military doctor was speaking, an arrow suddenly came flying through the air. He Zhong suddenly pulled the man behind him, and the arrowhead pierced into the place where the military doctor had just stood, less than half an inch away from his feet.

He Zhong gritted his teeth and made up his mind, "I'll go get some help. No matter what, we must fight our way out and help the Marshal break out!"

"I'm afraid, I'm afraid the military supervisor won't open the city gates..."

He Zhonghu's eyes widened and he was about to speak when suddenly a sound like muffled thunder came from the distance. It was vague and unclear at first, and then it rushed closer like a tide.

But in an instant, the sound waves were getting closer and closer, and even the city wall began to tremble slightly.

He Zhong turned around suddenly, rushed to the battlement in three or two steps, tightly grasped the blue bricks on the wall, and looked into the distance.

At the end of the horizon, a team of black iron cavalry suddenly appeared. The surrounding wilderness was desolate and solemn. Countless flags fluttered wildly in the cold wind, and the big word "Thank you" on the flags was clearly visible.

In the blink of an eye, this group of people had torn through the sky, carrying with them a momentum like wind and thunder, and pierced the Dangxiang army like a sharp blade.

The man in the lead was wearing a black armor with fine scales, carrying a longbow on his back and holding a silver spear in his hand. Wherever he went, he was unstoppable. Amidst the clashing of metal, the cold light from the spear tip exploded like stars, dyeing the dust and snow on the ground red.

The enemy troops besieging the city were caught off guard in a hurry, and a huge gap was quickly torn open in the flank formation. The Dangxiang cavalry who were the first to come to their senses rushed to intercept them, but none of them could withstand the sharp momentum and were knocked off their horses one after another.

He Zhong was stunned for a moment, then his whole body trembled with ecstasy.

It’s the young prince!

Reinforcements have arrived!

The soldiers on the city wall also noticed the arrival of reinforcements. For a moment, they were all excited, cheering loudly, and their morale was greatly boosted.

He Zhong raised his long sword and roared hoarsely: "The reinforcements have arrived! Soldiers, follow me to organize the troops and provide support--" Before he finished speaking, he led his men to rush towards the city.

Unexpectedly, before he could run down the city wall, he was stopped by a row of guards in distinctive armor with swords drawn.

He Zhong was stunned, looked around, and suddenly became furious: "What is this?!"

Sun Xian, clad in full armor, was standing at the narrow entrance to the city wall, surrounded by his personal guards. Seeing this, he also shouted angrily: "The Hu Liao are good at field battles. Our army must defend the city walls to the death and must not open the gates!"

"Reinforcements have arrived! Didn't you see that Liaozi's formation is in disarray? We should attack them from both inside and outside and drive them back in one fell swoop!"

"Our army has been trapped for many days and is extremely exhausted. How can we rashly leave the city? If the Jingyuan army is annihilated, who can afford to take the responsibility?" Sun Xian's staff stepped forward and asked coldly, "General He, can you do it?"

The sound of killing outside the city was deafening. He Zhong was extremely anxious. Upon hearing this, he took a step forward, grabbed the aide by the collar, dragged him to the battlement, and pointed at the city below. "Open your dog eyes and see clearly. Who is fighting with Liaozi right now?!"

"That's the little prince!"

"How does the emperor treat him? If there is a delay in meeting the young prince, who among you will be able to take responsibility if anything happens to him?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Sun Xian's face showed some hesitation and wavering.

Although he was extremely reluctant to take risks, he had been serving in the Forbidden City for a long time, and he knew how much the emperor valued the young prince under the city, even if others did not know.

If, if the instructor's family knew, the young prince would be killed by him...

Seeing this, the staff hurriedly spoke out to stop him: "Sir! The young prince's life is indeed precious, but are the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers in the city not more important? If the Jingyuan Army is destroyed, the success of the Northern Expedition will be in jeopardy. Which of the two is more important? The emperor must understand your loyalty!"

Sun Xian was clearly persuaded by his words. He frowned and said, "The young prince only leads a few thousand troops. Even if he goes out of the city to provide support, how can he resist the Tangut army? Why not let the young prince break out first? We can hold on until Qin Feng and Huan Qing's army arrive..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by He Zhong's roar, "Bullshit! Thousands of reinforcements have been trapped in the enemy camp. Withdraw? Do you think this is your backyard, where you can come and go as you please?!" As he said that, he picked up the knife and tried to force his way in.

Disagreements arose among the generals commanding the battle, and the morale of the army was inevitably shaken. The Dangxiang people who were attacking the city keenly noticed something was wrong and suddenly intensified their attack. In an instant, more than ten people climbed onto the top of the wall.

Sun Xian's face changed drastically upon seeing this. He knew he couldn't delay any longer and needed to suppress the situation with an iron fist. He screamed in a trembling voice, "He Zhong! Are you planning a rebellion? Come on, arrest them!"

There was a sudden commotion on the city wall.

Under the city, although Xie Yunzhou's attack was fierce, the Dangxiang army was large in number and extremely elite. When the people in the city hesitated, they reacted and immediately began to reorganize their formation.

The commanding wolf flag was waved, and the army's formation suddenly changed. The flanks that had been scattered quickly gathered together, like a giant beast with its bloody mouth open, intending to completely trap the invading elite cavalry in the formation.

Xie Yunzhou took the lead, personally leading the elite troops to charge left and right. He swung his spear suddenly, and a Dangxiang vanguard fell off his horse. Hot blood instantly splattered all over his face. He had no time to wipe it off and looked up at the movement on the battlements.

Sun Xian was afraid of fighting and would not open the gate to support immediately. He was mentally prepared. Although he was surrounded at the moment, he was not impatient. He immediately ordered a change of formation, and thousands of elite cavalrymen charged towards the enemy again.

**

Three days ago, hundreds of miles away, in Luowu City, the heartland of Dangxiang.

It was a deep, still night, the sky dim with stars, and a north wind howled across the city walls. The Tangut soldiers on night duty huddled behind the battlements, their bodies numb and stiff with cold, their spears cradled in their arms.

The soldier huddled up his hands and feet, and was about to fall asleep, when suddenly, something fell from the sky like rain, pouring down on his head and face, and then flowed down his neck into his collar, sticky and cold.

The soldier frowned impatiently, subconsciously wiped the liquid from his neck, put it to his nose and sniffed it, then shouted in panic: "Fire oil!"

The other Dangxiang soldiers on duty also noticed something unusual. They looked up in surprise when they heard the sound. Suddenly, they heard the sound of "whoosh" breaking through the wind, and countless rockets tore through the night sky, shooting down like meteors. Balls of fire instantly illuminated the eyes of the guards.

Before he could react, the incendiary oil on the top of the city wall ignited as soon as it came into contact with the fire, and a raging flame suddenly shot up into the sky!

The night was illuminated as bright as day, tongues of flame licked the battlements madly, heat waves wrapped in black smoke rushed towards them, and the soldiers with kerosene on their bodies were instantly burned into firemen, rolling and running away with shrill roars.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Someone screamed in surprise, like cold water dropped into boiling oil, and it exploded on the top of the city wall in an instant.

The leading centurion was the first to come to his senses, shouting in the Tangut language at the top of his lungs, trying to suppress the rebellion with his entire team. He just grabbed a frightened deserter and before he could even curse, a cold light suddenly flashed before his eyes, and a figure holding a long sword leaped towards him.

The blazing fire behind him illuminated the cold black eyes under the helmet of the man.

It’s the Zhou people!

Luowu City was built on the natural barrier of Hengshan Mountain, and its shape is like Hangu Pass, with steep mountains on both sides that are difficult to climb. Before this, no army of the Great Zhou Dynasty had ever been able to cross Hengshan Mountain and launch a surprise attack.

How could there be Zhou people? !

Before he could think about it, Lu Chen raised his knife and slashed it. A cold light flashed across his throat and blood spurted out like a waterfall.

Countless elite soldiers followed closely behind, jumping off the city walls one after another, like tigers out of a cage, and charging towards the Dangxiang defenders.

In an instant, the sounds of fighting, fleeing, screaming, and the crackling of flames intertwined into one.

Using the unexpected fire attack, thousands of elite soldiers quickly broke through the pass, killing seven or eight out of ten defenders, and the remaining soldiers fled in panic.

Lu Chen immediately ordered a short rest, to take inventory of the weapons and supplies in the city, and to strengthen the city defenses in preparation for reinforcements from the enemy troops in the direction of Wang Ting.

They worked until dawn, the wounded were all bandaged and properly treated, and the burned areas on the city walls were reinforced. Nan Heng wiped the dust and blood from his face and stepped forward to report, "My lord, everything has been handled."

Lu Chen nodded slightly and said, "Before the reinforcements arrive, gather the wounded and retreat."

Nan Heng was stunned for a moment and asked, "Didn't you, my lord, lead the troops to retreat? I will leave this place to hold!"

Lu Chen looked towards the distant royal court. He glanced at him and smiled faintly, "Retreat? After all this, can I still go back?"

That day, he set out from Lingzhou with only 3,000 light cavalry, bypassed the border between the two armies, crossed the dangerous Hengshan Mountains, and rushed to Luowu City in the heart of the Dangxiang.

Luowu City is located between Lingzhou and Funing, and is the closest dangerous throat to the Dangxiang King's court.

Once this pass is lost, a fast horse can reach the Dangxiang royal court in two hours. It is a key point that the Dangxiang must recapture at all costs.

However, it is backed by the natural barrier of Hengshan Mountain, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Moreover, the road is narrow and dangerous, making it difficult for a large army to pass through. It is also deep in the enemy's territory, making it difficult to maintain reinforcements and supplies. Therefore, for many years of war, this place has been bypassed, either through Lingzhou or through Moqi Pass. No one has ever risked trying to take this shortcut.

If a surprise attack could be launched to capture Luowu City and crush the Dangxiang royal court to the point where they could no longer withstand the pressure, the enemy troops under Funing City would be forced to return for support.

Attacking the enemy means rescuing them. This way, not only can the crisis in Funing be resolved and the results of the Northern Expedition be preserved, but it can also buy her a glimmer of hope for Mingqi's survival. It is a rare way to have the best of both worlds, both publicly and privately.

However, for him, this is a dead end.

Taking the pass was already a life-or-death struggle, and we had to hold on for at least five days, repel the reinforcements pouring in from the direction of the royal court, and force them to send a message to the main force on the front line to return for support in order to lift the siege of Funing.

Such an isolated army went straight into the heart of the Hu Liao people, with no supplies, no reinforcements, and powerful enemies on both sides.

As the commander-in-chief, he must fight in the front line to stabilize morale and rally the troops.

Nan Heng opened his mouth in astonishment, unable to utter a word for a long time. Before setting off, his husband had said that he would lead the men to evacuate after capturing the pass. Why did he change his mind?

Nan Heng realized that he had already made up his mind to die. His eyes turned red and he said anxiously, "My dear!"

Lu Chen's expression was calm, and he chuckled, "You don't even listen to me?"

"Go back and guard Lingzhou City for me."

Keep her safe.

Nan Heng wanted to persuade him again, but he heard the faint sound of hoofbeats like thunder in the distance. If nothing unexpected happened, the first wave of counterattack reinforcements from the direction of the royal court had already arrived!

Lu Chen's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Let's go!"

Nan Heng was used to following orders, so he didn't dare to argue any more. He could only grit his teeth and hold back his tears, kneel down and kowtow deeply. Then he stood up, counted the wounded soldiers, and led the crowd to withdraw from the pass through the south gate.

Behind him, heavy snow fell, dust and snow intertwined in the fields, and the shouts of killing shook the world.

The bloody battle lasted for nearly a day, the battle line stretched for more than twenty miles, and the snow on the ground was stained with blood.

Xie Yunzhou was so exhausted from killing that even the cracks between his fingernails were covered in blood. His palms were so slippery that he could hardly hold the spear. He looked like he had been fished out of blood and was almost at his limit.

The number of personal guards around him was dwindling, and the ranks were broken up by the heavy cavalry.

A blood-soaked general chopped down an enemy cavalryman and rushed to Xie Yunzhou's horse, shouting urgently, "Prince! We can't delay any longer! While we still have the strength to fight, we will help you break through the encirclement!"

Xie Yunzhou shot through the throat of an enemy cavalryman, and the blood splattered and fell on his cracked lips.

He reined in his horse and looked up at the towering battlements.

Although Sun Xian was hesitant at first, after missing the opportunity and seeing he was no match for the enemy, he decided to play dead and retreat. He Zhong was pinned down on the top of the city wall and screamed, "Major General, go! Go!"

Xie Yunzhou licked the blood foam from his lips and actually smiled, "Uncle Zhong."

He Zhong looked at him, his eyes filled with tears, and his knuckles tightened the blue bricks on the parapet.

Xie Yunzhou no longer looked at the top of the city wall.

Heavy snow fell, and in a trance, that gentle and soft smile suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. The bright eyes like autumn water looked at him and called him in a trembling voice: "Take care!"

Xie Yunzhou raised his head slightly, squinted his eyes and looked towards Lingzhou, then smiled.

Jiu Niang, I'm sorry.

This time, I'm afraid I'll break my promise.

I originally promised you that I would go back.

But the one in the city is his dad.

I once caught up with him in the snow and asked him, "You little bastard, you just ran away like that. Do you have any money on you?"

Daddy.

Xie Yunzhou closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again and shouted, "Reorganize the formation, follow me—kill!"

Seeing that the opposing army was already in ruins and it was difficult to gather the troops into formation, Iron Harrier waved his wolf flag, and the horses' hooves rolled like thunder, and dozens of heavily armored cavalrymen rushed forward with cries of relief.

Xie Yunzhou suddenly reined in his horse and stepped forward, drew his longbow with his backhand, aimed at the horse's hooves and shot rapidly, each arrow penetrating the horse's legs without missing a single target.

The three generals and four vanguards of the Dangxiang who rushed forward first all fell off their horses and were hacked to death by the Zhou army in a blink of an eye.

Thus, a man and a horse stood in front of the formation, firing more than a hundred arrows in a row. His fingertips were cut by the bowstring, and blood kept gushing out, flowing down his sleeves and staining the fallen snow red.

The remaining vanguard of the Dangxiang army was overwhelmed by his momentum and hesitated for a moment, not daring to move forward.

Taking advantage of this gap, the remaining elite cavalry behind Xie Yunzhou had re-arranged themselves into a spear-shaped charge formation, but that formation was not facing the weakly defended flanks, but directly facing the enemy's central army!

He Zhong finally realized what he was going to do——

Abandoning the plan of withdrawing troops and breaking out, they put all their strength into forcibly breaking through the Iron Harriers' defense line and directly attacking the central army of the Dangxiang commander, risking their lives to buy a chance for the defenders in Funing City to catch their breath.

He Zhong reacted and felt like his heart was about to be pierced and broken. He struggled and screamed, "Go! Go quickly! Don't be stupid! Mingqi, listen to Uncle Zhong! Mingqi——"

Xie Yunzhou reined in his horse and stood still, unmoved.

Seeing that he was determined to die, and that if he were surrounded by the central army, there would be no chance of survival, He Zhong's chest exploded with blood and energy. He didn't know where the strength came from, and suddenly broke free from the obstacles on both sides, drew his sword and roared: "Are you going to watch your comrades die?"

"The young prince has already been pushed through the front line. The bravery of the Hu Liao cavalry is no match for them! Eunuchs are afraid of death, so are you going to let them ruin the country? If you still have a man and some blood in your veins, stand up! Hold the knife tightly in your hand, follow me to kill Sun Xian and destroy the Hu Liao!"

The soldiers defending the city had long been filled with resentment. Now, looking at the reinforcements fighting hard outside the city, the struggle and hesitation in their eyes were only a moment, and they all clenched their weapons and forced their way towards Sun Xian.

A riot suddenly broke out on the city wall.

At this moment, a rapid and sharp sound of a bugle suddenly came from deep within the Dangxiang army, which was attacking fiercely and determined to win.

Several messengers rushed out of the central army like crazy, rushing towards the commanders of each formation, and heard the intermittent Tangut language, "Luowu... Wang Ting... Withdraw and return to support!"

The cavalry's offensive, which was about to charge again, suddenly stopped. The cavalry formations on both wings instantly shrank towards the center like a tide. With orders intertwined and formations changed, it seemed as if the entire army was beginning to retreat.

Xie Yunzhou was almost covered in wounds. When he saw this scene, he lost his strength and his body swayed violently, almost falling off his horse.

The guards around him exclaimed in unison: "Prince!"

Xie Yunzhou gritted his teeth, steadying himself, and gave a hoarse command: "Chase!"

At the same time, the war drums on the top of Funing City sounded loudly, and the rumbling drum sounds swept across the four fields. Tens of thousands of elite Jingyuan troops who had been waiting for a long time opened the city gates and rushed out in formation!

**

Hundreds of miles away, corpses had already piled up like mountains at the foot of Luowu City, the city walls were broken, and broken limbs were everywhere, with blood everywhere.

Of the three thousand elite soldiers, only one in ten survived, and the surviving soldiers were all injured. They relied on their last breath to cling to the ruins and barely hold on.

Lu Chen stood with his sword in hand, breathing heavily, the muscles in his arms cramped and trembling from the prolonged swinging. The armor on his body was soaked with dark red blood, which had turned into pieces of red frost, cold and heavy. He could no longer tell whether it was Liaozi's or his own.

The enemy troops under the city once again piled up like locusts, and the shouts of killing shook the whole area. The remaining defenders helped each other to stand up, supported themselves with broken swords, and defended the battlements to the death.

An arrow came from nowhere and suddenly pierced through his right shoulder. Hot blood flowed down his arm armor. Lu Chen's right hand instantly lost strength and shook violently and uncontrollably, almost unable to hold the hilt of the knife.

He fumbled for a while with trembling hands, took out Zhe Rou's hairband from his arms, bit one end with his teeth, and tied his bloody right hand tightly around the hilt of the knife, tying a knot to prevent the weapon from slipping out of his hand.

Thousands of enemies swarmed in and snow fell heavily.

Large snowflakes fell on his eyelashes. Although Lu Chen was covered in blood, he felt a strange sense of peace and joy in his heart.

His blood-stained fingertips gently rubbed her soft hairband. He slowly raised his head, calmly looked at the swarming enemy troops, and raised his sword to meet them.

At the centurion's command, more than ten Hu soldiers rushed forward shouting, intending to kill him with their swords.

The blade of the long sword in Lu Chen's hand had already been bent. He turned his wrist and chopped the sword horizontally. With a crisp "clang" sound, the sword was completely broken between the enemy soldier's ribs.

The next moment, he felt a sudden chill on his waist, and warm blood gushed out. Severe pain instantly swept through his body, and half of his body became weak and numb. He could no longer tell whether it was a knife strike or a halberd stab.

His vision became bloody. After fighting till exhaustion, Lu Chen's knees softened and he fell straight to his knees in the snow, blood boiling in his throat.

Before I lost consciousness, I finally saw smoke rising into the sky from the northwest.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment, the sounds of fighting around suddenly faded away, and there was silence between heaven and earth.

He suddenly wondered what Yaoyao was doing at this moment.

Is it snowing in Lingzhou?

Does she know that Funing’s crisis has been resolved?

Ever since they had a disagreement, he had been forcing her, but this time, he wanted to fulfill her wish.

I thought that three years of separation and the excruciating pain day and night would teach him to let go.

But it doesn't work.

Human hearts are always greedy and insatiable. When he thought she had fallen into the river, he felt deep remorse and thought countless times that as long as she was alive, everything would be fine.

As long as she was alive, he asked for nothing.

As long as she lives.

But when he really saw her standing in front of him, he couldn't help but feel crazy and wanted to keep her by his side at all costs.

This thought was so strong that it had burned out his will and made him almost possessed. There was no telling what kind of crazy things he would do in the future.

Rather than watching her walk towards someone else and worrying that one day he would really lose control and go crazy, letting the beast in his heart break free and hurt her again, it would be better to let him die.

Dying here in battle would be a relief for him.

Seven years ago, Lu Bingyan's family was destroyed, he was exiled, and all his fame, wealth and glory were scattered like water. He was left with nothing.

If I could meet her once and have her accompany me for a while, it would be enough for my life.

Back then, she was a thin and frail young lady who crossed the desert alone and dragged him out from the pile of dead bodies. But now, no one would come to drag him out a second time.

If he died, it wouldn't be considered that she had abandoned him.

妱妱.

The cold north wind blew from north to south, blowing up the blood-stained hair on his temples, passing through the vast wilderness of the Hehuang land, passing over the eaves of the Big Buddha Temple, shaking the clear and clanging golden bell, and blowing up the countless wooden prayer plaques under the ancient Bodhi tree.

The wooden sign swayed, clattering against the wind. One side was flipped over by the wind, revealing the strong and powerful words on the back:

My wife is in good health, free from illness and disaster, and all my wishes are fulfilled.

Lu Chen suddenly lowered his head, smiled very lightly and slowly, and his eyes became warm.

妱妱.

妱妱.

I asked the gods and Buddhas to bless you in the past, and in the future... I will also bless you in the future.