Chapter 54 Chapter 54 "...Xie Tingyu"
"Chen Yu, are you going to tell me or not?!" Cui Yuanying rolled up his sleeves, his face furious, and reached out to grab her.
Chen Yu's body moved faster than her mind. She immediately set out, circling the table to confront Cui Yuanying. "Even though I'm a prisoner, I, Chen Yu, will remain a prisoner with integrity and not betray my sworn sister. Don't even think about getting any information out of me."
Cui Yuanying circled around several times, but couldn't even touch a scrap of clothing. Furious, he turned and yelled at Xie Tingyu, "Xie Er, how long do you want to watch the show? With your skills, you'd definitely break Chen Yu's legs by now. What are you still standing there for?"
Xie Tingyu folded his arms and nodded: "To be honest, I can watch this play for a whole year."
"You are really sick!" Cui Yuanying cursed.
After walking around the table dozens of times, Cui Yuanying was the first to give up. He picked up a chair and sat on it carelessly, breathing heavily.
Xie Tingyu chuckled. "Why should you be so afraid of us? Although you're a prisoner, you're well fed and well cared for, not even shackled."
Chen Yu's expression remained calm. "This is just a ploy to win over people. If you want to kill me, do it quickly. Don't resort to such sinister tactics as slow slicing."
"I don't want to kill you. I want to do business with you."
Chen Yu ignored him without saying anything.
Xie Tingyu continued, "Excluding your own forces, the Black Mountain Army still has approximately 60,000 men. If you are willing to surrender to the Great Zhou, not only will you be spared from war, but you will also be able to join the army. One day, if you conquer the barbarians and capture the enemy chieftain, you will also gain meritorious service. Isn't this a great deal?"
Chen Yu remained silent. It had been three or four days since she was captured. Although she hadn't suffered any physical pain, she couldn't predict how she would be treated in the future.
Xie Tingyu put her hands behind her back and sighed. "Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the moon is full on August 15th. Can you really bear to be separated from your sisters? It's only a matter of time before we capture Black Mountain Stronghold." She looked up, peering through the cracks in the tent at the moon hidden behind the thin clouds. "If you change your mind, I can make the decision to induct you into the Xie clan."
"I am from the Xie family of Chen Commandery. My mother currently holds the position of Grand Tutor, in charge of establishing a government office." She turned and looked directly at Chen Yu. "When the time comes, I will ask General Huan for permission, and I will personally lead you all."
As soon as the curtain fell, Cui Yuanying grabbed Xie Tingyu's shoulder and grinned, "So that's what you were thinking! You want to train your own troops so soon?"
Xie Tingyu nodded: "This will make it easier to go on expeditions in the future."
Cui Yuanying's arm stiffened, and he abruptly retracted it: "Go to war? Against whom?"
Xie Tingyu glanced at Cui Yuanying curiously. "Of course, we're going to fight the rampant Xianbei tribe in the north. What are you doing? Don't you read military books and strategies? Even though this foreign tribe is now our vassal, there's no guarantee they'll turn against us one day. Of course, we have to beat them into submission."
Cui Yuanying hissed and suddenly began counting on her fingers: "From the Cuju shot after returning to Jiankang, to volunteering to suppress the riot, to the current suppression of bandits, and even that amnesty rhetoric just now." Her eyes suddenly widened, and her voice rose an octave: "Xie Er, you haven't been planning to join the army and fight since all along, have you?"
Xie Tingyu glanced at Cui Yuanying as if he was a fool. "Could it be that I'm just bored?"
Cui Yuanying felt a wave of loss. It was like someone walking side by side with him suddenly saw a bright future ahead, while he himself was still in a state of confusion.
"Hey! Then I want to go with you!" Cui Yuanying suddenly grabbed Xie Tingyu's arm, "Xie Er, whatever you're going to do, I'm going to do too! Remember to take me with you!"
"Lord Cavalry Captain!"
A personal guard trotted up to Xie Tingyu's guard, saluted, and then reported, "The prisoner, Shen Yu, said he wants something, sir! He also wants some... some corn kernels and a handful of grass stems."
"Ah?" Cui Yuanying waved his hands, his voice filled with impatience, "Tell her to get out, don't make trouble for no reason."
"Yes, Master Cui!" The guard turned around and was about to leave when he heard a voice behind him, "Wait!"
Xie Tingyu rubbed his chin with his fingertips. "Find these for her." He glanced at Cui Yuanying from the corner of his eye. "Let's go. She's changed her mind."
Inside the tent, Cui Yuanying folded his arms and frowned as he watched Chen Yu pick up a grass stem. He saw her first glance at Xie Tingyu, then put his hands together and muttered something to the sky, then folded the grass stem into several pieces. He took a look and found that the lengths were even. Then he took a few more grass stems and did the same thing. When he got the same result, he turned his head to look at Xie Tingyu in surprise.
"What are you looking at? Are you going to cast some kind of witchcraft on Xie Er?" Cui Yuanying rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward to beat Shen Yu, but Xie Tingyu quickly stopped her.
Chen Yu grabbed another handful of millet and sprinkled it on the table. The grains gathered into a round shape. She was amazed and looked at Xie Tingyu a few more times. "Well, since it is God's will, I will accept it."
She straightened her clothes and bowed solemnly to Xie Tingyu. "My Lord, I am willing to serve you at your service. Why don't you bring me some brush and ink, and I will draw you a map of the Black Mountain Army's granary."
Xie Tingyu asked, "What were you doing just now?"
"Divination." Chen Yu first clasped her hands together and bowed devoutly to the heavens. "I have been studying this art since I was young. I originally wanted to be a wandering sorcerer, but my stepmother was born a bandit, so I was forced to inherit a mountain stronghold."
Chen Yu pointed at the grass stems and rice grains, "Just now I asked if following the master would make any difference, and the divinations I performed were all auspicious. If this is God's will, I will just let it be."
Cui Yuanying looked at the auspicious hexagram and stole a few glances at Xie Tingyu.
After the paper, ink, brush, and inkstone were brought, Shen Yu rolled up her sleeves, picked up the brush, and leaned over to outline the location of the granary, then carefully drew several hidden paths. After the ink dried, she held the drawing in both hands and respectfully presented it to Xie Tingyu.
Xie Tingyu glanced at it briefly and said, "I'll send scouts to verify it." She put the map away. "It seems you and those two sisters are not of the same mind."
"Even ants are greedy for life." Chen Yu said seriously, "If you can meet a wise master, fight for a title and a son, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Xie Tingyu raised her eyebrows slightly. "Oh? Didn't you just say you would never betray your sworn sisters?"
Chen Yu said coherently, "Is this called betrayal? That's wrong. I really think that if I can help Zhang Yan and Chen Yuan secure a decent family, it won't be considered betrayal." She bowed again and said, "If we capture Zhang Yan and the others, I can act as a lobbyist and persuade them to submit to the court."
The scouts quickly reported back, confirming that the map drawn by Chen Yu was accurate. Everyone gathered in the tent again to discuss the next step.
Since capturing Shen Yu, Yuan Wangshu and Wang Lanzhi have surrendered six to seven thousand remnants of the Black Mountain Army, significantly reducing the bandits' range of activity. Now, only Zhang Yan and Shen Yuan's main forces remain, stubbornly resisting.
Zhang Yan, fully aware of the terrain's advantages, stubbornly defended the stronghold and refused to leave. Huan Zhanyue sent Wang Lanzhi and Yuan Wangshu to launch several unsuccessful flank attacks, leaving her furious and calling Zhang Yan a coward.
Now that Chen Yu has taken the initiative to surrender and even presented the granary map, it is like timely help.
Yuan Wangshu slammed the table and said, "This time, we'll just burn down the granary of these thieves, cut off their source of food, and force them to surrender."
Wang Lanzhi nodded, "I agree."
Xie Tingyu pondered for a moment, "The first push is powerful, the second weakens, and the third is exhaustion. Now our army is unstoppable, and we should seize the opportunity to pursue them. They can either defend the stronghold and eat up all the resources, or come out and fight us."
She rested her knuckles against her chin, a habit she used when she was deep in thought.
"We'll divide our forces into several groups. The front group will feint an attack on the granary, while the rear group will set up an ambush." Xie Tingyu paused, his lips curled slightly. "We need to pick a good day to attack. How about the 15th day of August, seven days from now?"
Xie Tingyu's eyes flashed with a cunning light, "The fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a good day for family reunion. This time, let's take down the Black Mountain Stronghold in one fell swoop."
On the night of August 15th, the full moon was like a silver plate, hanging high in the night sky, without any clouds.
It was supposed to be a happy day for the whole family, but now the village was filled with a heavy and oppressive atmosphere. Everyone had a gloomy face, especially Chen Yuan.
Now that Shen Yu has been captured, the smaller villages surrounding Black Mountain Stronghold have been completely annexed by the imperial court, leaving the people in a state of panic. Even though Zhang Yan has led his men in repelling several imperial attacks, morale remains low, unable to conceal the decline.
Even the mooncakes we eat tonight during the Mid-Autumn Festival have a bitter taste.
All of this was caused by Shen Yuan sending people to Jiankang to incite riots. The people in the village more or less felt resentment towards Shen Yuan, even hatred.
Every day in Black Mountain Village was like sitting on pins and needles for Chen Yuan. She couldn't eat or sleep.
Just when she was feeling depressed, the door was violently kicked open. She looked up and saw Zhang Yan striding towards her with a gloomy face. Without saying a word, she punched him in the left cheek.
Chen Yuan was caught off guard and fell to the ground. Her left cheek immediately swelled up. Zhang Yan's shadow loomed over her, grabbing her by the front of her hand, veins bulging on the back of her hand.
"If you hadn't insisted on having your own way, how could the village be in this situation today?"
Shen Yuan spat out the blood foam from her mouth: "Now that things have come to this, is it still useful for you to blame me now?"
"Just got a tip," Zhang Yansong sneered, "there are traces of strangers near the granary. Tonight is Mid-Autumn Festival, and these court lackeys will think we're letting our guard down." She grabbed Shen Yuan by the collar and pulled her up, "Come with me to the granary and wait for her."
The mountain road is rugged and even more difficult to see at night.
Zhang Yan galloped on his horse, a line of torches trailing behind him, creating a swirling dragon of fire through the forest. The shadows of the trees shone in the flames.
"Zhang Da! Look! Our granary is on fire!" someone shouted in panic.
Zhang Yan raised his Mo Dao high, his voice shaking the valley: "Follow my orders. Tonight we are not here to plunder, but to protect our homeland! If the imperial court wants to cut off our mountain roads, we will fight them to the death!"
"We will follow you until death!" The bandits responded, raising their knives.
The roar was like waves crashing against the shore, sweeping in with the mountain wind.
Wang Lanzhi's ears twitched slightly, and he blew the whistle: "The enemy bandits are attacking, our army is in formation, to fight!"
Suddenly, all kinds of metal clanging sounds and heart-wrenching roars intertwined together.
Seeing the bandits pouring in like a tide, Yuan Wangshu charged headfirst into the enemy lines, her valor unmatched. She had vowed to sever the bandit leader's head, and now her fury was ignited. Wherever her blade flashed, blood splattered.
Suddenly, a gust of wind came.
Yuan Wangshu looked up and saw a man holding a large Mo Dao sweeping towards her in the thick night.
It’s Zhang Yan!
Yuan Wangshu's expression turned stern, and he thrust the sword in his hand upwards, barely blocking the powerful blow.
She rolled sideways, and the man on the horse also flew down. The two of them fought with their swords.
Zhang Yan possessed immense strength, wielding his nearly ten-foot-long Mo Dao like the wind. Each strike was as powerful as the crushing weight of a mountain. Yuan Wangshu's horizontal sword, hampered by its length, narrowly avoided being struck in the side of the neck by the Mo Dao several times, its sharp edge sending a piercing chill through his bones.
The personal guards surrounding Yuan Wangshu were all distracted by the melee and could not get close enough to protect their master.
Several bandits seized the opportunity and pounced on them like jackals.
Although Yuan Wangshu tried his best to kill one person, he was unable to withstand the bandits' successive sneak attacks.
Under the siege of many people, Yuan Wangshu had been stabbed in many places. Even if she killed one, another would take his place, not to mention she had to deal with Zhang Yan's powerful Mo Dao.
Suddenly, a sharp, tearing pain shot through the back of her thigh. The bandit who had been knocked to the ground by Yuan Wangshu had scrambled to his feet with brute force and thrust the sharp weapon between her legs.
Yuan Wangshu knelt on one knee, opened his eyes in despair and watched Zhang Yan raise the Mo Dao in her hand high, the cold light illuminating her blood-stained face.
Whoosh whoosh——
Three arrows were fired at the same time, whizzing past Zhang Yan's wrist and forcing her to retreat several steps.
In the firelight, a figure rose from its stirrups, its red silk-handled sword slicing a sharp arc of light in the moonlight. With a swift turn, the figure thrust the blade straight at Zhang Yan's face, forcing him to hastily retreat.
Yuan Wangshu raised his eyes and stared at the familiar figure in a daze.
It was this person who came to save her, and this person actually came to save her.
Yuan Wangshu's throat was filled with the smell of blood, and he called out the man's name in a hoarse voice: "...Xie Tingyu."
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Author's note: The next chapter should be about the army returning to the capital, right? Let me see...
Xiao Xie is going to have his own army!
When I think of the emotional lines in the last few chapters, I want to laugh.
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