Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Kill one person every ten steps, leaving no trace in a thousand miles.
In the autumn of the 16th year of Jian'an, the Great Zhou Dynasty sent 300,000 troops to the north on the grounds that the Xianbei Helian clan had repeatedly invaded the six towns of Shuofang and plundered border residents.
Among them, the Wang family of Langya led an army of 200,000, the Yuan family of Runan sent 80,000 Qingluan troops, and the Huan family of Qiao State sent 20,000 troops.
Because the iron-blooded Wang family army of Langya has strict discipline, obeys orders, and is brave and good at fighting, the people of the Great Zhou all have high hopes for them.
This time, the Wang family army should be the main force, with the Qingluan army supporting the two wings, and the Huan family troops as the vanguard to break the enemy lines. However, because Wang Hengyan was ill, His Majesty specially ordered his daughter, Wang Zhuozhang, to march in her place, granting her the seal of a mighty general and commanding three battalions of the central army.
Three months before the expedition, Wang Zhuozhang requested the transfer of Wang Xuanji, a member of the Jinwu Guard, to the Flying Cavalry Battalion, citing the need for skilled generals. Following the imperial decree, Wang Xuanji immediately resigned from his position as Imperial Guard and was appointed Captain of the Jifeng Cavalry, commanding 3,000 elite cavalry.
On a clear autumn day, three hundred thousand soldiers marched out in formation, watching from the mountain road as the dark army filled the valley.
When Ji Lian, who was only five years old at the time, dreamed of this scene, he did not understand its meaning.
And now, the dream reappeared, he looked at the overwhelming military presence, and thought in his mind, "The drums beat on all sides, the snow surges, the three armies shout loudly, the Yinshan Mountains shake."
The army crossed the river from Jiankang, passed through Guangling and Xia Pi, and headed north to Pengcheng.
Although Wang Zhuozhang was leading a large army for the first time, she was exceptionally alert. She employed a combination of unconventional and conventional tactics, successfully defeating seven Xianbei camps. Wang Xuanji led light cavalry behind enemy lines, and the two, working together seamlessly, recaptured the towns north of the Huai River. Both battles were resounding victories, forcing the Xianbei Helian clan into retreat.
On the eve of the third decisive battle, the army decided to launch a night attack. Wang Xuanji then selected 800 death warriors and attacked King Helian's tent at night.
This night attack on the king's tent was very risky.
Sitting in the tent was Helian Shu, the eldest daughter of the Xianbei king.
The Helian King's tent was stationed in the center of the 40,000-man army, with three layers of deer forts outside. Hundreds of personal guards took turns guarding the inner circle, and six sentry towers stood in front of the tent, staffed with archers.
It can be said that if they are not careful, Wang Xuanji and his assassins will be shot like a hornet's nest and there will be no return.
Wang Zhuozhang sat in the tent, staring silently at the sand table in front of him. The guards beside him also said nothing. The flickering candlelight cast their shadows on the tent.
The curtain was suddenly pulled open, and a tall captain walked in.
She wore a black iron lieutenant's uniform, outlining her sharp figure with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. At her waist hung a horizontal sword, the hilt wrapped in red silk. She was beautiful, with a few slightly messy strands of hair falling in front of her forehead, tied in a high ponytail with a red headband. Drops of water from her freshly washed face trickled down her jawline.
"Wang Zhuozhang, I'm already lying in bed. Why did you call me over?" Wang Xuanji raised the corner of her eyes slightly, and without even greeting her superior general, she sat down next to Wang Zhuozhang, reached out to pick up the teacup on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.
Wang Zhuozhang wasn't angry at this overstepping of authority. Instead, he pushed a small dish of preserved fruit toward her and said, "This night raid is extremely dangerous. I had no intention of sending you, but among all the generals in the army, you're the only one who can accomplish this task, both in terms of riding and archery skills and in terms of adaptability."
Wang Xuanji held up her chin and looked at Wang Zhuozhang for a long moment, narrowing her eyes and smiling. "Are you still not confident in my skills? I will definitely be able to take the head of that Xianbei woman from among the thousands of soldiers, and then pack it up and send it to your tent."
Wang Zhuozhang's inner tension was greatly relieved by Wang Xuanji's words.
A smile finally spread across her lips. "No need for heads. If this plan succeeds, you will surely be crowned the leader of the three armies and be granted the title of a noble."
Wang Xuanji shook her head repeatedly, her expression unchanging at the news of the title. "I'm not fighting for any false reputation, you know me. I'm simply fulfilling the five-year promise we made back then. I'm not loyal to the court, I'm simply fulfilling my duty to you." She curled her lips, "We agreed back then: you'd pay off my debts, and I'd stay by your side for five years."
She patted the sword at her waist and said, "For the past five years, I've been a bodyguard and a member of the Jinwu Guard. Now you've tricked me into coming to the battlefield. I've had enough."
Wang Xuanji smiled brightly, "I'm not really from the Wang clan of Langya, so what do I need these empty titles of marquis for? When the five-year agreement is over, just give me a famous horse. Then I can ride away from Jiankang and travel all over the mountains and rivers of the Great Zhou."
Wang Zhuozhang pretended not to have heard Wang Xuanji's dissolute remarks about being "disloyal to the court," but she was saddened by her words about "riding off Jiankang." Since her friend had already decided to leave, she could not keep her.
She picked up the teacup and said, "Okay, then I wish you a successful journey and a safe return."
Wang Xuanji also picked up the teacup and said, "I'll give you some good wishes."
Five days later, at midnight, the moon was dark and the stars were sparse, but there was no rain.
King Helian's tent was stationed in the heart of the valley, surrounded by steep cliffs.
The commander of the personal guards on duty suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Although he looked around and saw nothing unusual, he still felt that something was lurking in the darkness.
Suddenly, a muffled sound was faintly heard from the valley entrance.
Boom.
Knock knock.
Boom boom boom.
The drumbeats grew from slow to rapid, like a surging flood. In an instant, torches lit up throughout the Xianbei camp, and archers in the sentry towers drew their arrows onto their strings.
From the distance came the loud thuds of "dong dong dong", the sounds of horses' hooves and the clashing of metal mixed together, and it sounded as if thousands of troops were approaching from three sides.
Wang Xuanji left five hundred cavalrymen in the valley, with three people in each place, and ordered them to raise dust and beat drums loudly to create the illusion of an army of tens of thousands.
"North? South? West?"
"No! They're coming from all three sides! It's the Wang Iron Blood Army! They're coming! Their entire army is here!"
Suddenly, the Xianbei camp was in chaos. Some men hurriedly put on their armor, some accidentally injured their comrades, and some horses were frightened and broke free from their reins.
Helian Shu walked out of the tent with a stern expression, running head-on into two soldiers who were about to flee. The captain of the guard beside him raised his sword and slashed it down. With two "puffs", two heads tumbled to the ground, and blood splattered on the tent.
"Beat the drums and gather the troops." Helian Shu said coldly, "Each battalion shall form a battle array according to the predetermined positions. Anyone who leaves his post without permission will be executed immediately."
The order was as strong as a mountain, and the chaotic camp suddenly fell into silence. The captains of each tent quickly gathered their troops and erected a shield wall around the camp. The archers immediately took up the commanding heights.
At that moment, over two hundred dark figures were moving close to the shadows of the tents. Wang Xuanji, holding his sword in reverse, knocked out the fifth patrolman with the back of his blade when a Xianbei soldier finally noticed something was amiss: "They're taking the food..."
Before she could finish her words, a copper-clad staff struck her knee fiercely. Wang Xuanji spun around, stepped on the fallen soldier's throat, and gestured to the cavalry behind her, "Keep setting fire. Injure the enemy, don't kill." She tore off the burning tent cloth and flung it toward the stables, "Let these frightened horses charge for us."
"General, it's bad, there's a fire!"
The sentry standing at the highest point suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned his head and saw that the two granaries at the back were suddenly on fire. The flames licked the night sky, and the scarlet flames reflected people's faces.
"ah!"
Three flaming war horses had already knocked over the shield wall.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Wang Xuanji ordered the cavalry to split into three groups. One group continued to create chaos, while the other two groups sneaked towards the east and west watchtowers.
Armed with long clubs, the assassins targeted the enemy's knees with furious blows. Wherever they passed, Xianbei soldiers collapsed and wailed. The valley reverberated with shouts, drums, the neighing of war horses, and the recurring warnings of "enemy attack." Chaos erupted around Prince Helian's tent. In the firelight, only shadows could be seen, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe.
Helian Shu pushed aside her personal guards and shouted, "Order! All archers, shoot indiscriminately. Anyone who comes within a hundred steps of the king's tent will be killed without mercy!"
Sixteen riders rushed towards the eastern tents from different directions. Due to the darkness, the guards only realized the sound of horses' hooves when they were close at hand. "Protect the commander!"
Some archers close to Helian Shu quickly turned around, drew their bows and aimed, but they saw dark shadows approaching from all directions, and for a moment they didn't know where to aim.
The sound of sharp arrows piercing the air was incessant, and fifteen cavalrymen were shot and fell from their horses. In a moment, only one rider was left to break through the hail of arrows. It was Wang Xuanji.
"Shoot! Shoot!"
Arrows rained down like locusts, attacking the lone rider.
Seeing this, Ji Lian couldn't help but exclaimed, thinking that this person would not be able to escape no matter what. She didn't expect that she was a desperate criminal who wanted to take Helian Shu's head in a one-for-one exchange.
Wang Xuanji suddenly dropped sideways, hooking her foot on the stirrup, her entire body dangling over the horse's belly. Dozens of arrows whizzed past, barely glancing at the saddle. This move, known as "hiding in the stirrup," was a supremely difficult military archery technique, a truly exceptional skill.
In a flash, Wang Xuanji thrust his waist and abdomen hard, and his hand had already touched the sword at his waist, and the sword was already unsheathed.
"Zheng!"
The guards turned around in horror.
A line of blood appeared on Helian Shu's neck, and her head shot up into the sky.
Wang Xuanji had returned to his horse, grabbed the hair in mid-air, and holding the head in his hand, he and his horse disappeared into the night, disappearing without a trace. Only the gushing column of blood was particularly glaring in the firelight.
It's so shocking.
This scene gave Ji Lian a very shocking feeling.
What it means to take the general's head as easily as taking something out of a bag, what it means to kill one person every ten steps and leave no trace in a thousand miles, what it means to reduce the masts and oars to ashes in the midst of laughter and conversation, all these descriptions are perfectly embodied at this moment.
Before Ji Lian could digest it, the scene suddenly changed.
"Report! Captain Wang, the general has been ambushed!" A blood-soaked cavalryman galloped over, a half-broken arrow still stuck in his shoulder. "The remnants of the Helian army have ambushed the general in the swamp. Please provide assistance as soon as possible!"
"How could our plan go wrong? How could she fall into an ambush?!" Wang Xuanji's pupils shrank suddenly, and the head in her hand fell to the ground with a thud. "Follow me!"
At the edge of the swamp, Wang Zhuozhang's warhorse lay in a pool of blood. Three feathered arrows lodged in her left shoulder, and she fought desperately, sword in her right hand. She panted heavily, her premonition this time being ominous; she feared she would die.
Four Helian soldiers were closing in on her, and one of them suddenly raised his knife and slashed at Wang Zhuozhang's open goal. She closed her eyes in despair.
With a puff.
Wang Xuanji slid forward, her left hand holding the horizontal sword, and the tip of the blade accurately pierced the attacker's throat. As the scalding blood splattered on her face, her right hand caught Wang Zhuozhang's weakened sword and with a backhand stab, she pierced another enemy soldier's chest.
In an instant, the four enemy soldiers were beheaded.
Wang Zhuozhang coughed up blood and said hoarsely, "Get out of here! This is a trap!"
"You want me to leave? I came here specially to save you." Wang Xuanji tore off the arrow shaft and protected Wang Zhuozhang behind him, "Wang Zhuozhang, you..."
"Shut up!" Wang Zhuozhang shouted. "This is a military order! I command you to find Huan Zhanyue. She is trustworthy and loyal, unlike Yuan Zhaoyun."
Wang Xuanji looked at Wang Zhuozhang. The wound on her thigh that was so deep that the bone could be seen was bleeding. There were many wounds on her body where the flesh was turned inside out. Her pale face was covered with mud and blood, and was covered with scars.
"Do you obey this general's orders or not?"
An unspeakable sadness welled up in her heart. Wang Xuanji looked at Wang Zhuozhang. If she really left now, would they ever have a chance to meet again?
Wang Zhuozhang leaned weakly against the tree behind him. "I am from the Wang family of Langya. My mother was General Zhenyuan of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I am her daughter. I died on the battlefield today. It was a worthy death."
Her eyes were earnest. "You must stay alive, rescue the trapped Wang soldiers, and live for me."
There is no need to say the rest.
"Take care of yourself."
Wang Xuanji abruptly turned her head away. She leaped onto her horse and galloped along the edge of the cliff. Her mind was so preoccupied with summoning reinforcements that she didn't notice the flash of cold light in the bushes at the edge of the cliff.
Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in the abdomen. It turned out that a three-foot-long armor-piercing crossbow arrow shot out from the bushes and directly pierced Wang Xuanji's abdomen.
Then a rain of arrows poured down.
Unable to resist the attack due to the excruciating pain, Wang Xuanji was struck by several arrows. Her horse was startled and began to neigh and struggle wildly. Both she and her horse plummeted down the cliff, dead.
Jiangzhu, who was sleeping peacefully in the dark night, suddenly heard bursts of crying and sobbing coming from inside the tent.
He quickly stood up, lit the candle, and opened the curtain to see that Ji Lian was twitching slightly all over, and the water on her face was gleaming in the candlelight, and it was hard to tell whether it was sweat or tears.
"Your Highness, please wake up."
Amidst the shoving and pushing, Ji Lian opened her eyes.
Ji Lian looked at Jiangzhu with grief in her eyes, crying uncontrollably. Tears fell from the corners of her eyes one by one, wetting the pillow and quilt.
"Your Highness..."
Jiangzhu wiped Ji Lian's tears with a handkerchief. Ji Lian climbed up from the bed and leaned on Jiangzhu's shoulder, tears unable to stop because of the sadness in his heart. His shoulders trembled violently from crying, and he covered his face with his hands, tears constantly flowing out from between his fingers.
Why was he so heartbroken?
Was it the heartbreaking pain for his father? Was it the grief for the two generals who fought so bravely but died on the battlefield? Or was it simply the grief for Wang Xuanji, who had so bravely fought on the battlefield, only to fall off a cliff and be found dead?
He doesn't know.
He only knew that after experiencing the two dreams, his heart seemed to be empty.
The author has something to say:
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1. Kill one person every ten steps, and leave no trace in a thousand miles. --- "The Knight-errant" by Li Bai
2. In the midst of laughter and conversation, masts and oars were reduced to ashes. --- "Nian Nu Jiao: Nostalgia for the Red Cliff" by Su Shi
3. The drums beat on all sides, the snow surges, the three armies shout loudly, the Yin Mountains shake. --- "Song of Luntai, Presented to Doctor Feng on His Western Expedition" by Cen Shen
4. This chapter focuses on psychological warfare and night ambushes, drawing inspiration from the historical Battle of Fukou fought by Erzhu Rong. Specifically, "Rong's troops were deployed in the valley as a surprise attack. They were divided into groups of three generals and above, each with several hundred cavalrymen. They were ordered to raise dust and drums, making a great noise, so that the enemy would not know how many there were. Furthermore, when fighting with horses, swords were no match for clubs. Miller's soldiers were each given a magic club on horseback, placed at their side. During the battle, they were not allowed to execute the enemy, but only to beat them with clubs, to prevent them from being displaced. They were then assigned to specific positions for the battle, with strict orders and a united fight."
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