Even on rainy days during the height of summer, fog is rarely seen.
However, just today, a thick fog quietly rose and gradually enveloped the area within dozens of miles of the water source as dawn approached.
Everywhere was shrouded in mist, like layers of light gauze swaying and rising, or like jade ribbons intertwining with each other.
And so, amidst everyone's eager anticipation, dawn finally broke.
Tuoba Ze excitedly led his remaining troops, which he considered to be his most elite force, and finally arrived at the Western Qin army camp where Xuanyuan Han was stationed.
He personally witnessed this exciting historical moment and led his men to break through the encirclement.
He pulled his horse to a stop with the reins in his hand, surveyed the surroundings for a moment, and then raised his hand authoritatively, causing the entire troop to stop outside the camp.
At this moment, a bearded general with a rugged and fierce appearance rushed out of the military camp, followed by a group of men.
As soon as the general approached, he bowed his head and respectfully reported to Tuoba Ze: "Your Highness, I have led my men to thoroughly inspect the entire Western Qin camp, inside and out. All the soldiers have spontaneously combusted due to the poison of the water spirit in their drinking water, and their bodies have all turned to ashes."
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze's eyes immediately lit up, and he glared at the general, anxiously asking, "What about Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han? Is he also dead?"
The general replied, "The body of King Xuanyuan Han of Qin has already been burned inside the main tent, leaving only fragments of his armor."
"Good! Very good! This prince wants to go in and see the death of that valiant and mighty God of War Lingkong, and see him one last time." Tuoba Ze said with considerable satisfaction, and then prepared to dismount.
Suddenly, another general beside him reached out and stopped him: "Your Highness, you must not! This place is filled with smoke, it seems extremely eerie."
The view in front of me was extremely blurry, and I couldn't tell whether what I saw was smoke or fog. I could only vaguely see some scattered sparks and a messy scene on the ground.
Seemingly struggling, the general straddled his horse with a tense expression, his eyes slightly narrowed as he surveyed the raging fire and devastation before him.
Tuoba Ze glared at him angrily, then shouted, "What are you afraid of? Didn't you see how quiet it was all the way here? If it weren't for the fact that all these Western Qin soldiers had been poisoned by the Water Spirit and ascended to heaven, resulting in their complete annihilation, do you think we could have so easily and swaggered into their camp without any hindrance?!"
Seeing the general trembling, hesitant, and looking around anxiously, as if he hadn't heard what he said at all, and still not withdrawing the hand that was trembling violently in front of him, Tuoba Ze shouted at him: "Fool, get out of the way!"
A sharp shout startled him, and he immediately withdrew his hand.
However, he quickly came to his senses, though he still insisted on shouting loudly at the retreating figure to stop him: "Your Highness, you mustn't..."
However, Tuoba Ze was already blinded by the victory he had been longing for and could no longer listen to any advice.
He dismounted in one swift step, kicked aside the messy obstacles under his feet, and strode confidently toward Xuan Yuanhan's tent, led by the general who had scouted ahead.
Upon entering, he knelt down beside the sturdy suit of armor that had been burned to ashes on the ground, and personally picked up a handful of ashes to examine it closely.
Upon seeing this, his two close guards exchanged a brief glance and then quickly stepped forward and knelt down as well.
Tuoba Ze stared at the ashes slowly being crushed in his hand, half-closing his eyes as he pondered. His brows furrowed deeper and deeper, almost forming a "川" (river) shape, as if he were quite puzzled.
"Has Your Highness discovered something?" The guard seemed to have also sensed that something was amiss, so he asked curiously.
For a moment, there was silence, silence, and still more silence...
After a long silence, he suddenly spoke to the guard beside him in a deep voice, "This looks...not like human ashes, but more like..."
Before he could finish speaking, the two guards exclaimed in unison, "If it's not human ashes, then what is it?"
Ignoring their surprised expressions, Tuoba Ze thought about it carefully again, then brought it close to his nose and smelled it, saying, "This seems more like the ashes of sheep bones mixed with... straw, burned together."
After saying that, he quickly got up and moved to the ashes remaining near the other sets of armor in the tent. After examining them carefully, he came to the same conclusion.
As he slowly rose, he suddenly noticed a piece of what looked like bone, still partially burned and stuck in the corner under the table. He drew his sword and yanked it out, staring at it in utter astonishment.
"Your Highness, this...this really does look like a piece of sheep bone?" The two guards rushed forward and stared in astonishment at the bone that they had known all the time on this grassland since they were children.
Tuoba Ze was immediately filled with a terrible premonition. He suddenly realized what was happening and shouted, "Oh no! We've fallen into a trap! There must be an ambush here! Run!"
Before they could finish speaking, the three of them turned around and tried to escape from the tent. Before they could even take a step, they were inexplicably surrounded by more than a dozen Western Qin soldiers who had been lying in ambush under the carpet at the entrance of the tent.
Tuoba Ze and his three guards immediately stood back to back, drawing their swords and holding them in front of them to prepare for battle.
Looking at the magical carpet they had stepped over without noticing anything amiss when they entered, they glanced around in panic, realizing they had no way out.
Just as he was pondering, a young general from the Western Qin Kingdom, wielding a sharp sword and dressed in battle robes, leaped forward, pointing the tip of his sword directly at Tuoba Ze's nose, and said, "Tuoba Ze, I've finally waited for you! Let's see where you can run this time!"
Tuoba Ze looked him up and down carefully, then asked suspiciously, "Who are you?"
At this moment, a man dressed in the uniform of a Western Qin soldier, who looked somewhat familiar, entered and approached the young general to report: "General Yi, we have captured all the Northern Lie troops outside the tent."
Tuoba Ze then realized: "So you are the brave and resourceful new general in the Western Qin army who is said to be 'one man can hold the pass against ten thousand men,' Yi Shangjun."
In an instant, national and personal grievances surged into his heart, churning endlessly within Yi Shangjun.
Recalling the countless Western Qin soldiers who had died or been wounded in this war from the beginning to the present, the death of Yi Shangyun, and the scenes of the past, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Tuoba Ze, you actually did not hesitate to sacrifice the innocent lives of countless of your own people, and even tried to break through by poisoning the water source with such a despicable poison as 'Water Spirit'. Such an act that has lost the hearts of the people and aroused the wrath of heaven and man is clearly a path to your own death."
Tuoba Ze sneered coldly and said, "Hmph, as long as I can annihilate your 160,000 cunning Western Qin troops and flatten Western Qin, what does it matter if a few lowly commoners die?"
Yi Shangjun stared at him with wide eyes, and exclaimed in surprise, "A few lowly commoners die? The water source is within a radius of dozens of miles. Is it really a matter of a few deaths? It seems you've gone mad to think you can win this war?"
After a pause, seeing that Tuoba Ze seemed unmoved and indifferent, Yi Shangjun continued, "But you never expected that not only did our army not get poisoned after drinking the water from that source, but even the people of Western Qin who were captured by you and kept in the Northern Lie army camp for many years are still as strong as ever. They escaped overnight and promptly conveyed your wishful thinking to our army. His Highness the King of Qin had long anticipated that you would personally come to inspect this tent, so your people of Northern Lie killed their most cherished shepherd and worked tirelessly overnight to help our army create these lifelike straw figures in this tent to deceive everyone."
Upon hearing these words, Tuoba Ze was stunned.
Yi Shangjun chuckled and continued, "Today, a sudden thick fog has appeared, which is perfect for confusing you. It's truly 'heaven helping our army.' Since the timing, location, and people are all in such a favorable position, I will immediately take your head to pay tribute to the countless Western Qin citizens who have died and to my poor elder sister!"
Tuoba Ze quickly snapped out of his daze, but before he could even ponder why they hadn't been poisoned, he paused for a moment in surprise and exclaimed, "Your eldest sister? Yi Shangjun, Yi Shangyun, could it be that your eldest sister is...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangjun interrupted angrily, "My eldest sister is Yi Shangyun, whom you tried to forcibly abduct back to Beilie, but who accidentally fell off a cliff and died in the south of the city. You haven't forgotten this debt so quickly, have you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he gripped the sword tightly with all his might, ready to thrust it at the attacker, when a voice suddenly came from behind him, "Stop!"
Yi Shangjun quickly stopped and turned around, only to see that it was Cheng Liang and Xuan Yuanhan who had entered.
As soon as Cheng Liang got close to Yi Shangjun, he said, "General Yi, you can't kill him yet."
Just as Yi Shangjun was about to speak, Tuoba Ze suddenly sheathed his sword and burst into laughter, "Hahaha, hahahahaha..."
"What are you laughing at?" Yi Shangjun asked indignantly.
"Hmph, what I'm laughing about is none of your business," Tuoba Ze suddenly stopped talking and said coldly to him.
Seeing that even though he was about to die, he was still so unrestrained and arrogant, Yi Shangjun angrily raised his sword at him again and said, "Try to laugh again, believe me or not, this general will make sure you never laugh again for the rest of your life."
Tuoba Ze snorted disdainfully at him, looked away, and stopped looking at him.
Yi Shangjun asked with resentment and incomprehension, "General Cheng, why can't we kill this kind of heartless and insane person who should have been punished by heaven long ago?"
Cheng Liang glanced at his master, who had come in with him. Xuan Yuanhan nodded to him, and Cheng Liang said, "General Yi, actually, Miss Yi is not dead."
"What did you say?"
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