war
The sandstorms in the south of the desert are still there, but they cannot blow away the new iron and blood in the air.
The setting sun was as red as blood, dyeing the continuous tents a layer of solemn golden red. The flags fluttered in the dry wind, blowing up sand and hitting the soldiers' armor.
Wang Mengzi had just finished tidying up the camp affairs when he heard from his personal soldiers that a light cavalry was coming from the south, carrying a flag with the word "Pan" on it, and heading straight for the central army.
The sound of horse hooves came from far away, shattering the silence of the earth and raising a trail of dust.
Wang Mengzi strode out of the tent and saw Pan Hao reining in his horse in front of him, looking exhausted.
The dust of battle could not hide the sharpness in his eyes. Although there were not many knights behind him, they were all strong and powerful, and it was obvious that they had come from a long distance. The war horses were emitting thick white air, and their sweaty manes were stuck to the sides of their necks, which showed that the journey was hurried.
"General Pan!" Wang Mengzi greeted him in a rough voice, having already guessed his purpose.
Pan Hao dismounted swiftly and took out a roll of bright yellow silk from his bosom. His expression was solemn: "General Wang, the emperor's decree has arrived!"
Wang Mengzi and the surrounding soldiers immediately knelt to receive the order. The wind seemed to freeze at this moment, leaving only a bright yellow hue standing out against the vast sky and earth.
Pan Hao read aloud.
The decree highly praised Wang Mengzi for leading an isolated army deep into the southern desert, winning battles one after another and expanding the territory. He was officially promoted to the rank of vanguard general of the Northern Expedition, and was appointed as the third rank official. He was also specially decreed to confer the title of Wuding Earl as a token of honor.
"Your Majesty, I, Wang Mengzi, thank you for your grace! Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty!" Wang Mengzi's voice was like a bell. He kowtowed heavily and took the heavy imperial edict with both hands. His blood boiled in his chest.
His rough fingers stroked the smooth silk surface - this was the first time he received an imperial edict.
The title of Earl...
Before following His Majesty out of Mingzhou, he was just a farming boy, but now he has become an earl! This is an honor that he never dared to dream of in the past, and now he has achieved it in the wind and sand of the southern desert.
Your Majesty has not forgotten these soldiers fighting outside, nor has he forgotten the children of Mingzhou...
Pan Hao stepped forward, helped him up, and whispered, "Marquis Wu Ding, His Majesty has another oral order."
Wang Mengzi's expression was stern: "General Pan, please speak!"
"Your Majesty is well aware of Beishuo's movements. Tuoba Hong is not one to sit still. I'm afraid he might take advantage of our army's decisive battle with the Western Qiang to launch a sudden attack, cut off our retreat, or even attack the capital. Your Majesty orders us not to rush back to Heshuo to join him."
Wang Mengzi's thick eyebrows knitted together. "Not going back to Heshuo? Then where should we go? Should we continue to wipe out the remaining Western Qiang in the southern desert?"
His eyes swept over the tired but burning-eyed soldiers around him. There were still blood scabs of the enemy embedded in the seams of their armor. It would be worth killing them again.
Pan Hao shook his head and looked further north, where there was a territory even more desolate and vast than the south of the desert.
He lowered his voice even more: "Your Majesty has ordered us to attack Mobei directly, aiming at the old land of Beishuo's ancestral temple!"
"What?" Wang Mengzi took a breath.
Even a man as bold as him was shocked by this order.
As far as the eye can see, the northern sky is dim. That is a more harsh and unknown territory. The Mobei area is bitterly cold and the journey is long. It is also the rear area where Beishu has been operating for many years.
But he immediately understood: "Great! Attack them and they will surely come to the rescue. If Tuoba Hong knew that his ancestral land was in danger, I wonder how much time he would have left to fight in Heshuo! I've wanted to wipe out his lair for a long time!"
"That's exactly what I mean!" Pan Hao nodded heavily. "Your Majesty will personally lead the attack in Heshuo, confront the main force of the Western Qiang, and pin down Tuoba Hong at the gates of Weizhou. We will be the sharp knife stabbing Beishuo's back! This journey will be extremely difficult and dangerous, but if we succeed, we can turn the tide of the situation in one fell swoop."
Wang Mengzi pounded his fist into his palm. "No question! Your Majesty gave me this life, and this title was bestowed upon me by Your Majesty! I'll fight wherever Your Majesty points me, regardless of whether it's Mobei or a sea of fire! My men have been eager to settle accounts with the Beishu dogs!"
The two warriors clasped their hands tightly together, their eyes burning with the same fighting spirit.
In the distance, the desolate sound of a horn wailed, as if seeing off the army that was about to go on an expedition.
A new arrow has been strung and is about to be shot towards the hinterland farther to the north.
*
The land of Heshuo is shrouded in war clouds.
Low, leaden clouds pressed against the horizon, and the air was thick with dust and a faint smell of rust. On the official road, military chariots rumbled, horses' hooves thundered, and countless footsteps kicked up a cloud of yellow dust, rolling toward the beacon fires in the north.
Ning Lingyi's main force of the central army is advancing rapidly northward.
In the carriage, she stared at the latest military report with a calm expression. Outside the window, there was an endless marching army, with swords and guns like a forest, reflecting the cold light.
Xue Cheng stood aside, his brow furrowed with worry. "Your Majesty, General Pan and General Wang's surprise attack on Mobei is certainly a brilliant move, but distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. Scouts have confirmed that Tuoba Hong has personally led a large army and has begun a fierce assault on Weizhou. The defeated Western Qiang army is also regrouping and could launch a counterattack at any time. Our army may be unable to sustain the attack from two fronts. The Beishuo cavalry is far superior to the Western Qiang. If they attack with all their might, Weizhou will be in danger!"
Ning Lingyi traced the location of Weizhou on the map with her fingertips and spoke calmly, "Tuoba Hong won't do anything reckless. Xue Qing, you've misjudged the true enemy. Right now, the only ones desperately trying to kill me are the recently defeated and humiliated Western Qiang, desperate to save face. And Tuoba Hong?"
"He always judges the situation best."
"The Western Qiang are growing stronger and stronger, threatening their flanks. He's happy to see both our Southern Dynasty and the Western Qiang suffer losses, so he can take a piece of the action and reap the benefits. He's fixated on Heshuo because he knows the importance of this place. He wants to use it as a base to maintain a long-term confrontation with our dynasty, rather than risking the fate of Beishuo in a life-and-death battle with us right now."
Xue Cheng was also a veteran general, and after a little guidance, he immediately understood: "Your Majesty, is your intention that Tuoba Hong's ferocious behavior is actually a means of forcing peace through war? You want to force our army to make greater concessions to him now, or even cede land, in exchange for him temporarily standing aside so that our army can focus on dealing with the Western Qiang?"
"That's right!" Ning Lingyi said firmly, "He saw the difficulty of our two-front war and wanted to bite off another piece of fat meat, but we must not feed this greedy wolf again. Every inch of Heshuo was bought with blood, and we must not lose it again."
She stood up, her figure appearing remarkably resolute within the slightly swaying carriage. "Send an order! Weizhou, Youzhou, and all the military garrisons along the route, cease all defensive positions and launch an all-out counterattack! Tell every soldier that imperial reinforcements are imminent, and I am with them. If Beishuo dares to advance further, I will stop them with my own life."
"In this battle, there is no retreat. We can only fight to the death and never retreat!"
"Order the central army and the entire army to speed up and rush to support Weizhou! We want Tuoba Hong to understand that the Southern Dynasty will never compromise." Her voice was clear and penetrated the wall of the car, as if it merged with the deafening marching sound outside.
When I fought with Tuoba Hong in the past, I was mostly gentle, which made him bolder.
But this time, the Southern Dynasty was no longer a soft persimmon that could be bullied by anyone.
*
The battle was fierce under the city of Weizhou.
Smoke and dust mixed, enveloping the shattered city walls. The Beishuo cavalry charged at them in waves, arrows pelting the battlements and shields like locusts. Huge rocks hurled by catapults repeatedly smashed into the walls, leaving scars and shattered stones flying everywhere.
Corpses were piled up outside the city, broken ladders and burning battering rams were scattered everywhere, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood and burning.
The defenders relied on the city defenses to hold on, suffering heavy casualties, but no one retreated. Hoarse shouts, dying wails, and the sound of weapons clashing merged into one.
Inside the central army tent, Tuoba Hong listened to the battle report from the front line with a frown on his face.
The roar and shouts of killing could be faintly heard in the distance, and the candlelight in the tent swayed slightly due to the vibration of the ground.
The tenacity of the Southern Dynasty defenders' will to resist exceeded his expectations.
He had originally expected that in the face of the dual pressures of Western Qiang and Northern Shuo, Ning Lingyi would make more concessions at the negotiation table in order to get out of the predicament as quickly as possible, even if he did not cede land, such as opening up mutual trade and paying huge annual tributes.
He could use this to greatly weaken the power of the Southern Dynasty, strengthen himself, and at the same time make the Southern Dynasty bleed to the last drop of blood from the Western Qiang.
However, what he waited for was not the envoys from the Southern Dynasty seeking peace, but an even more frantic resistance from the Weizhou defenders, and the news brought by scouts that Ning Lingyi was frantically heading north at all costs!
"Well done, Ning Lingyi!" Tuoba Hong put down the battle report and laughed instead of getting angry. However, that laugh was filled with a hint of admiration that was hard to conceal. "She actually refused to give an inch and even bit back! Isn't she really afraid that I will fight her to a mutual loss and let the Western Qiang take advantage?"
A trusted general in his command was filled with worry: "Great Khan, reinforcements from the Southern Dynasty are expected to arrive any day, and the Weizhou defenders are fighting to the death. If our army attempts to storm the city, even if it succeeds, it will suffer heavy casualties and severely damage its strength. If the Western Qiang take advantage of the situation and invade, the consequences will be disastrous. Are we gambling our national destiny for a mere city or a piece of land..."
Tuoba Hong raised his hand to stop him from speaking, and his gaze returned to the map. Outside the tent, another wave of attack horns shrilly sounded, which was immediately drowned out by even louder cries of killing.
How could he not know the risks involved?
But once Heshuo was taken, the Southern Dynasty would be like their own backyard, free to explore and take it at any time. The temptation was too great. However, Ning Lingyi also had a grasp on his lifeline. If they fought to the death with the Southern Dynasty at this moment, and let the Western Qiang gain the advantage, it would be a loss.
"She has calculated that I won't fight her to the death..." Tuoba Hong whispered to himself, his eyes changing in complexity, with anger at having his plan seen through, but also admiration for her determination and courage.
Her growth rate is becoming more and more amazing.
The world is a chess game, and as chess players, we must never give in.
After pondering for a long time, he made a decision.
"Send a message to the frontline troops to intensify the offensive and show that we will do whatever it takes to let Ning Lingyi know that I will take Weizhou at all costs and see how she responds." His voice was cold and hard with a hint of unwillingness.
"After she reacts, I'll send her a message, telling her I can temporarily suspend the offensive and even negotiate with her. As long as she shows enough sincerity, my Beishuo troops will remain in place."
In the end, he was unwilling to give up the fat meat in his mouth, and tried to make a last effort before retreating to squeeze out the last bit of benefit.
He knew very well that since Ning Lingyi had already taken an all-out counterattack stance, this final blackmail would probably not succeed.
But he had to give it a try. If she was scared, then he won.
All is fair in war, Ning Lingyi, do you know?
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