Chapter 77 (The last part is a separate, unrelated sentence: "but it's a man.")
A quarter of an hour ago, a young general wearing golden scale armor and a white robe rushed in from behind Qu Guozhen.
Holding a cloth bundle high in her hand, she shouted, "Urgent report from Fengdu! I need to see the Crown Prince!"
The soldiers on the perimeter dared not stop him, and the man reached Xiao Chengying's vicinity without any hindrance.
The crown prince's chief guard sensed something amiss and stepped in front of the emperor, asking suspiciously, "You look unfamiliar. Who sent you?"
The young general in white robes hurriedly replied, "The matter is urgent; Your Highness will understand once you've seen the message in my hand."
The head guard frowned. "Your accent..."
As they spoke, the young general in white robes opened the cloth bag, and a flash of cold light appeared. The head guard immediately shouted, "Protect the Emperor!"
The newcomer hurled a short knife at the chariot. Xiao Chengying calmly dodged to the side, and the knife pierced the wooden plank behind her with a clang.
Seeing that he could not win, the young general in white robes did not linger in the fight. He immediately leaped backward, seized a warhorse, and prepared to flee.
The captain of the guards immediately led a small team to give chase, and nearby soldiers followed suit, quickly surrounding the young general in white robes.
The woman, wielding a long sword, fought back fiercely, and for a time, hundreds of soldiers could not get close. In the chaos, the captain of the guards seized a crossbow and shot it at the horse beneath her.
The man fell from his horse instantly, and the head guard exclaimed with delight, "Let's go together!"
Before he could finish speaking, a wail suddenly came from behind him. The head guard turned around and saw another unfamiliar face rushing into the formation.
Dressed in a black robe and covered in golden armor, wielding a silver spear, she charged forward with lightning speed, knocking dozens of soldiers away in her wake.
The captain of the guards rushed forward to meet the attack, but was knocked off his horse by the man in one move.
"No misfortune, mount your horse!"
Yan Wuxin immediately grabbed Xiang Ruzhen's hand, and the two rode together on a horse, heading into the distance to fight.
Xiao Chengying watched coldly from the sidelines, and at this moment he had already stood up.
"This person is skilled in martial arts; we must not let them escape. Go and help; whether they live or die, you must capture him."
"Yes!" The two teams of men on the left and right responded and charged towards Xiang Yan and his companion.
The scene was chaotic and noisy, so much so that no one noticed a warhorse taking advantage of the confusion to gallop over.
Standing on the chariot, Xiao Chengying's keen intuition told her that danger was approaching.
But where was the danger? The two assassins of unknown origin were clearly getting further and further away from her.
She looked around and spotted the unmanned warhorse. At first, she didn't think much of it, after all, there was no precedent for a general being killed by a warhorse on the battlefield.
As the warhorse drew near, a young general in red robes flipped off the horse's belly, nimbly leaped onto the chariot, and pounced on her in the blink of an eye.
Unable to protect him from the hundreds of armored soldiers around him, Xiao Chengying grabbed the three-pointed double-edged halberd beside him and parried the sword in her hand, but was hit by a powerful kick to the chest.
Her body instantly lost its balance, crashing into the wooden frame behind her with a loud thud, shattering it. Xiao Chengying stared wide-eyed in disbelief. She had never felt such a powerful attack before. Did Huaguo have such a young master with profound skills? How come she had never heard of him?
Before she could think, the sword strike came again. Xiao Chengying dodged with all her might, but the blade still grazed her headdress. As her hair fell in a flurry, Xiao Chengying knew she had encountered the greatest enemy of her life, her life hanging by a thread.
Ignoring the dull pain in his chest and the metallic taste in his throat, he gripped his weapon tightly and fought back with all his might.
When masters clash, their movements and techniques are as fast as lightning. The bystanders, though eager to help, are powerless to intervene. Dozens of men hold their arrows, hesitant to fire.
The two were so close that they kept shifting positions, not even giving each other a moment to catch their breath.
Xiao Chengying grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. Each of her opponent's moves contained immense power, feeling as if Mount Tai were pressing down on her. Every time she parried a blow, her arms went numb. After three moves, she dared not even meet her opponent's punches and kicks, and could only desperately dodge on the cramped chariot.
However, the opponent's strength did not diminish. Each move was like a thunderbolt, destroying everything in its path. His fists, feet, and weapons struck the chariot as easily as splitting a mountain or chopping wood, smashing everything around them with a crackling sound. In an instant, the chariot was damaged, and wood chips flew everywhere. The frightened horses pulled the chariot around like headless flies.
Xiao Chengying turned to jump off the carriage, but the man grabbed his wrist and pulled him back forcefully, then thrust his sword at him.
Xiao Chengying struggled to avoid the sword aimed at her heart, but the sharp blade still pierced through her shoulder blade, and blood gushed out immediately.
"Your Highness!"
Knowing they were no match for him, the four loyal guards still leaped onto the carriage, forcing Lu Jinlan to draw his sword and finish them off.
Taking advantage of the situation, Xiao Chengying covered his wound and retreated several steps in a panic, falling off the carriage.
Arrows rained down like a storm, and the chariots and horses, struck by arrows, bolted wildly.
Lu Jinlan turned her head and saw a group of people rushing forward and carrying Xiao Chengying away. She immediately kicked the banner with the character "Xiao" in half, picked up a blood-soaked head from the ground with the flagpole, and shouted, "Xiao Chengying is dead! Surrender now!"
The soldiers of Qu Kingdom were fighting with their backs to the rear when they suddenly heard a great commotion behind them. When they turned around, they saw that the enemy was standing on the crown prince's chariot, holding up a bloody human head. They didn't even have time to tell if it was real or fake.
The head guard groggily got up, and upon hearing that the crown prince was dead, picked up his weapon and shouted, "Avenge the crown prince!"
The people next to her quickly pulled her back, saying, "The national mourning should be the priority."
With morale in shambles, the battle was unwinnable. The commander-in-chief was "dead," and the frontline soldiers took matters into their own hands, shouting, "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
*
Only after Zuo Suizhi reported the news did Song Jingxiao realize that Lu Jinlan was so bold as to dare to bring two friends to assassinate the enemy's commander.
She hurriedly ordered Yue Chan to lead her guards to meet them, while simultaneously directing the army to press forward relentlessly.
But when Yue Chan rushed over, she found that Qu Jun had no will to fight and was fleeing for his life, abandoning his armor and weapons.
Standing on the speeding chariot, Lu Jinlan shouted at the top of his lungs, "Xiao Chengying is dead! Surrender now!"
Qu Jun didn't even try to stop her; he just kept his head down and hurried back to camp.
Only when he saw the large number of Song family soldiers did Lu Jinlan jump off the carriage, coughing twice in a hoarse voice, "Is there any water?"
Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin arrived shortly after, and the three changed horses and headed straight for the central army camp.
In this battle, Qu's army suffered a major defeat.
The three entered the tent and learned that Song Jingxiao had personally led her troops in pursuit and had not yet returned.
The first dozen or so vanguard generals who returned stood in two rows in the tent, arranged according to their rank, passionately reviewing the battle.
The three of them stared blankly at each other, not recognizing a single one of them. Yue Chan wasn't there, and there was no one to introduce them to.
No one noticed them, so the three of them quietly stood at the back, waiting for Song Jingxiao to return.
Then a general said, "Xiao Chengying is dead. I think we should seize the opportunity to advance immediately and take advantage of the Qu army's unstable morale to capture Chizhou City."
Lu Jinlan couldn't help but remind him, "That... Xiao Chengying might not be dead."
The generals turned to look at the sound and saw three young men standing at the end of the line, covered in blood and dirt, all of them unfamiliar faces.
One of them was leaning against the doorway, holding a knife, as if he were asleep.
The first reaction of the crowd was: These are the students from the capital? What are these little captains doing in the commander's tent?
Seeing their exhausted appearance, the general who had spoken earlier didn't rush to reprimand them. Instead, he asked, "How do you know Xiao Chengying isn't dead? Her head was cut off by a young general, and the Qu army was busy returning to mourn her. Didn't you see that?"
Lu Jinlan couldn't help but laugh and said, "I am that young man, but that head is not Xiao Chengying's."
"Wh...what? Then you are..."
"Oh, my name is Lu Jinlan. Greetings, generals. These are my two friends who helped me assassinate Xiao Chengying: Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin."
Xiang Ruzhen helped the exhausted Yan Wuxin to his feet. "Greetings, generals."
Everyone was shocked and asked in disbelief, "Your name is Lu Jinlan? Are you the Marshal's son?"
Lu Jinlan nodded, when suddenly he heard loud laughter coming from outside the tent.
Song Jingxiao strode into the tent, and everyone bowed their heads, "General."
Song Jingxiao raised her hand with a smile and patted Lu Jinlan's shoulder, "Lan'er, thanks to your brilliant plan. This is the biggest victory we have won since our army started fighting the Qu army."
Lu Jinlan hurriedly said, "It's a pity that my sword failed to hit a vital spot. Although Xiao Chengying was seriously injured, he may not really be dead."
Song Jingxiao laughed and said, "It doesn't matter. Whether she lives or dies, Qu Jun suffered a crushing defeat in this battle, and his morale will be hard to recover in the short term. You are truly a lucky general, bringing me such a big surprise as soon as you arrive."
Song Jingxiao then looked at Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin, "How are you? Are you injured?"
The two quickly shook their heads. Song Jingxiao said to the generals, "Did you see that? As expected, a heroine emerges from among the young. She assassinated the enemy commander amidst hundreds of thousands of troops and managed to escape unscathed. Gentlemen, the younger generation is truly formidable!"
Everyone offered their congratulations, and soon a series of good news arrived.
"Reporting to the commander, the Qu army has withdrawn fifty li and has retreated into Chizhou City, a border city of the Qu Kingdom, where they have raised a sign of truce."
Song Jingxiao said, "Draft a battle report immediately and send it to the Emperor with urgent dispatch."
"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, after a preliminary count, our army captured more than 30,000 enemy soldiers, seized more than 12,000 horses, and 300,000 dan of grain and fodder. In addition, there are thousands of tents, chariots and other supplies."
Song Jingxiao smiled and nodded, looking at Lu Jinlan and the others, "The three of you deserve great credit for this battle. I will temporarily appoint you as my adjutants, and will reward you further after I request permission from the Emperor."
The three men's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Commander!"
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that their efforts hadn't been in vain.
Song Jingxiao quickly ordered the army to set up camp thirty miles ahead, eyeing Chizhou City.
Lu Jinlan returned to the tent arranged for her, finally able to remove her armor and get some rest.
Someone outside called out, "General Lu, your subordinate has come to bring you some supplies."
"Come in."
The visitor put down his things but didn't leave in a hurry. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Does the general still recognize me?"
Lu Jinlan looked her over carefully. The person was in her early twenties, with a burly build and an honest face. She did look somewhat familiar.
Lu Jinlan thought for a moment, "Your surname is Kong?"
The man laughed and said, "General, you have a good memory. My name is Kong Luan."
Lu Jinlan asked happily, "Are you the centurion that Thirteen has his eye on?"
Kong Luan smiled and said, "I was just promoted to captain of a thousand women last month. Thirteen... he has become my husband and is now three months pregnant. He often talks about how his seventh brother and you, General, have taken care of him. We, husband and wife, are both grateful. Please accept my bow, General."
Lu Jinlan quickly helped her up, saying, "You're older than me, and from Qilang's perspective, we're relatives, so there's no need to be so polite. I never imagined that Shisan would get married so quietly without even telling us."
Kong Luan said awkwardly, "Neither Thirteen nor I can read. A few days ago, he said that once the pregnancy was stable, he would ask someone to write a letter to inform you of the good news. The letter has already been sent, but I suppose you were away from the capital at that time and didn't see it."
Lu Jinlan smiled, and Kong Luan continued, "Thirteen is currently in Lingzhou City. Today, General, you displayed great prowess on the battlefield. I'm afraid the news will soon spread from here to Lingzhou and then to the capital. Soon, everyone will know about it. We, the Song family army, are overjoyed to have you as our successor."
After this battle, all three made a name for themselves in the army for their extraordinary achievements. Lu Jinlan, in particular, gained prestige within the Song family army due to his special status.
Although the Emperor's bestowal of titles has not yet arrived, and Lu Jinlan is merely a lieutenant general, everyone knows she will be the future commander of the army. Regardless of rank, all officers treat her with utmost respect.
Three days later, Lu Jinlan and others accompanied Song Jingxiao to the pass to challenge them.
Qu Jun held firm and refused to come out. Yan Wuxin, with his sharp eyes, said, "Why is there a masked person on the Chizhou city wall?"
Xiang Ruzhen took the binoculars and glanced at the city wall. In addition to the generals she had seen before, there was indeed a mysterious person dressed in green and wearing a black iron mask.
Xiang Ruzhen said, "Is it reinforcements sent by Fengdu of Qu Kingdom? Perhaps they are some kind of fierce generals who are wearing masks on purpose to launch a surprise attack while we are unaware of their true strength."
Lu Jinlan remained silent, because she could sense the person hiding behind the mask, staring intently at her. Her intuition told her that it wasn't some fierce general, but a man.
Qu Jun held firm and refused to engage, so Song Jingxiao did not launch a full-scale attack. Instead, she led her army back to camp to discuss the situation further.
That night, Lu Jinlan lay in bed, inexplicably tossing and turning.
What is a man doing at the front lines?
As she was still half asleep, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. "Someone has been spying on the military camp!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: I'm late, I had a bit of writer's block. Ta-da! My new favorite has arrived.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com