Chapter 113 Sea of Fire "Tomorrow morning, I will personally come to collect your body..."
The northern border region is vast, and the wind never stops, no matter the time of day. Even in the dead of night like this, the wind blowing from afar never ceases.
In the reeds, Xia Jun was crawling, the tall reeds providing them with a large natural cover. One of the young soldiers, after being attacked by mosquitoes countless times, impatiently raised his hand and waved it away.
"What are you doing!" The veteran lying next to him saw this and quickly stopped him: "If you move, the reeds above will sway even more!"
The young soldier knew he was in the wrong, but he still spoke with some irritation: "We just won a battle, and it should be time to rest and prepare for another battle, but we have less than three days of rest before we have to attack again! My wounds haven't healed yet, and I'm lying here in the reeds for more than an hour. Who can stand that?"
The veteran had initially intended to reprimand him, but upon hearing these words, his eyes dimmed slightly. He touched his right leg; the wound from the last major battle hadn't healed yet...
In military campaigns, it's not uncommon to pursue the enemy after a victory. In fact, some generals, if skilled in military tactics, can annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop. With the foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty for hundreds of years, there have been many outstanding generals in each generation.
But that kind of pursuit battle could only be fought when the soldiers had enough food and were strong enough. In the last battle, they were already at their last gasp. If it weren't for King Huan's encouragement of morale and the turn of the tide, most of them would have lost their lives on the battlefield.
Even so, after King Huan fell, King Wu still ordered a pursuit.
Another soldier beside him, upon hearing this, immediately became enraged: "Isn't it that King Wu again? The moment Prince Huan fell, he ordered a pursuit! Bah! What does that child know about military strategy? How could His Majesty send him—"
"Stop talking!" The veteran glared at the man, then added, "General Qi and General Liu are both seasoned commanders. With their assistance, King Wu will not make any mistakes!"
The two men glanced at him, and although they didn't say anything, they still rolled their eyes.
No one spoke up anymore, but they all harbored resentment. Even the old soldier who was trying to mediate sighed silently, touched his leg for a moment in melancholy, and then rallied himself to continue crawling and waiting.
A full 30,000 Xia troops were waiting for the Northern Di army on the opposite bank to rest.
Tonight, the Xia army's plan is to launch a night attack on the Di camp. Unlike the Xia army, which has a unified time to prepare and eat, the Northern Di army's diet mainly consists of beef and mutton, and they eat one battalion after another.
Qi Mao wanted to launch a surprise attack while they were having dinner, but Liu Ziyue was determined to attack when they were all drowsy after dinner. After discussion, Qi Mao finally compromised with Liu Ziyue because of his firm attitude.
So the Xia soldiers lay prone in the reeds for nearly two hours.
"alert!"
The squad leader at the front whispered a warning, and the soldiers behind him immediately assumed alert positions. According to their plan, the troops should have charged out like arrows from a fully drawn bow at the sound of the command, but at this moment...
The young soldier felt his entire right side go numb as soon as he stood up. He couldn't support himself and fell back to the ground. However, he was not alone. One after another, the soldiers got up and lay down, helping each other to quickly adjust their condition.
Their location was somewhat in the rear, while Liu Ziyue, leading his elite troops, was lying in ambush at the very front. Completely unaware of this situation, he was intently watching ahead, waiting for the Di army to be most relaxed before launching a surprise attack.
As the night grew later, the moonlight hanging high in the sky became increasingly clear, illuminating every inch of the vast land of northern Xinjiang and all living things. All was quiet except for the chirping of insects.
Finally, as night deepened, Xia Jun received the long-awaited order: "Go!"
Thirty thousand Xia soldiers concealed themselves in the night. The swaying of the reeds caused by their rapid crawling advance gradually faded into the sound of the wind. A quarter of an hour later, the first squad that reached the border of the Northern Di camp launched an attack—"Kill!"
"Kill them! Avenge our brothers!"
"Charge! We must take another city today!"
Under the leadership of Generals Qi and Liu, the Xia army launched a night attack on the Northern Di army camp on the banks of the Beidao River. The 30,000 troops were divided into six and a half routes to surround the entire camp. The Northern Di soldiers on the outer perimeter were killed without any warning. In an instant, cries of agony gradually spread from outside the camp into the interior.
As the army surged forward, Qi Mao and Liu Ziyue's troops drew ever closer to the innermost general's tent. With the enemy general's core within reach, Liu Ziyue's sense of exhilaration nearly reached his head. If he could capture Hulü Guang alive, he would instantly become the greatest contributor to this campaign, and the most trusted general by the King of Tai would no longer be a member of the Qi family, but Liu Ziyue himself!
"call--"
Immersed in the euphoria of impending victory, Liu Ziyue was unaware of the commotion behind him. By the time he realized what was happening, the surrounding area was ablaze with flames, and the outermost ring of tents was engulfed in flames, with the towering flames forming a high wall of fire.
Liu Ziyue was shocked: "Who? Who set the fire!"
Their surprise attack tonight had no intention of setting fire to the place. Which team dared to set fire to the outer tents? The winds of the northern frontier never cease. Given the current intensity of the fire, not only will the Northern Di army perish in the flames, but they too will be consumed by the inferno.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Before Liu Ziyue could figure it out, Qi Mao opposite him had already given the order. Victory was just around the corner, how could Liu Ziyue give up this opportunity? If he missed this surprise attack, the Crown Prince would lead his army to arrive. At that time, the Northern Frontier Camp would be under the Crown Prince's control, and there would be no chance for his faction to make a move.
"We can't retreat!" Liu Ziyue shouted at the opposite side, "The main tent is right in front of us, how can we—"
"Foolish!" Qi Mao no longer cared about saving face for him in front of the soldiers: "Can't you see the situation? We're trapped like turtles in a jar!"
Qi Mao was both anxious and angry, but he felt even more regret. If he hadn't failed to stand firm, he wouldn't have put his entire army in danger today. He knew that Liu Ziyue was eager for quick success and instant benefits, but he was persuaded by him because both families belonged to the Thai King's faction.
He truly understood the meaning of "a small act of impatience can ruin a great plan" today.
Upon hearing this, Liu Ziyue was stunned for a moment. Before he could even process what was happening, he had already swung his spear backward. In the blink of an eye, he clearly saw a man and a horse approaching from the flames. The main general's tent was gradually engulfed by the flames, but Hulü Guang, who was inside, was completely unharmed.
The most formidable force of the Northern Barbarians was their iron cavalry, and Hulü Guang was the supreme general who held the power over all the iron cavalry.
“Young man of the Liu family,” Huli Guang spoke in a strange tone in the Mandarin of the Great Xia Dynasty, but it was still understandable. His voice was deep: “You are far inferior to your grandfather.”
In contrast to Liu Ziyue's current exasperation, Huli Guang's expression was calm and composed. He even had the leisure to straighten the tassel tied to the handle of his whip: "Your eldest son, whom I admired greatly before, has shown your stupidity in today's battle."
"Everyone says that the Xia army is skilled in warfare and that the generals of the Great Xia are like gods in commanding troops. But in the past six months, I have seen that your Xia army is nothing special... or even that we have overestimated the Xia army."
Sitting on his horse, Hulü Guang looked down at Liu Ziyue, who was gritting his teeth. He smiled contemptuously and said, "Boy, this fire is a gift I gave to your eldest son. I am also very disappointed in him."
Having said that, Hulü Guang didn't give Liu Ziyue a chance to refute him, and turned his horse around and galloped forward.
Liu Ziyue stood alone in the sea of fire, the intense heat shooting straight into his nostrils. His hand gripping the spear trembled violently, and the flames shooting upwards almost pierced through his armor and burned his skin. But such torment was nothing compared to the feeling of being scorned by Hulü Guang.
For all the Xia soldiers, the surname Huli was a deep-seated and indelible hatred. They could accept defeat and death, but they could not accept being mocked by Huli Guang on the battlefield.
"Hurry up and leave! What are you waiting for!"
As Qi Mao led his troops in retreat, he also fought off the Di army that was lying in ambush in the dark. He glanced over and saw Liu Ziyue standing there blankly. In an instant, the disgust he felt for Liu Ziyue reached its peak—this good-for-nothing who was more of a hindrance than a help!
Liu Ziyue wasn't waiting for anything; he was simply caught up in his emotions. Upon hearing Qi Mao's voice, he went berserk, roaring and wielding his spear, single-handedly slaughtering all the Di soldiers around him. He seemed tireless. While the other Xia soldiers retreated, he also slaughtered the Di soldiers who blocked their path during the retreat, leaving no survivors.
With his spear piercing the horses, knocking away the scimitars, and striking the cavalry, Liu Ziyue fought with increasing ferocity. However, the surrounding fires burned ever brighter. After killing countless people, Liu Ziyue's hand holding the spear began to tremble uncontrollably.
No, he can't fall. He hasn't redeemed himself yet. If he retreats like this, how can he face tens of thousands of Xia soldiers? How can he face King Huan and King Wu?
If he had won, that would have been fine, but given the current situation... Liu Zi bit his tongue harder, drawing bright red blood from the corner of his mouth. The sudden pain brought some clarity to his mind.
At this time, half of the Xia army, led by Qi Mao, had already retreated to the other side of the Beidao River, but the other half remained in the fire to fight the enemy. Liu Ziyue gathered the Xia army in the fire and tried to lead them out of the encirclement. However, when they reached the gap, they found that Huli Guang had already led tens of thousands of cavalry to wait there.
This is the only gap in the firewall of the Northern Di camp. The flames have engulfed the camp, but a path to survival has been left here. The Di army had just retreated along this path with Hulü Guang, but they could not leave.
"You really are stupid, you actually followed us."
Hulü Guang still wore that mocking smile. He rested his hands on his horse, looking relaxed. The two generals beside him each held a torch, ready to extinguish the breach at any moment. Hulü Guang shook his head and clicked his tongue, saying, "What a pity. Your Great Xia was once a military power, but it will not be anymore."
The torch fell into the grass, and the flames that shot up instantly connected with the wall of fire next to it, completely isolating the Xia army and the Di army on opposite sides of the wall of fire.
Even through the raging flames, Liu Ziyue could still clearly see the sarcastic smile on Hulü Guang's lips. He felt a hatred as intense as the flames themselves, but his right arm no longer had the strength to lift the spear. He could only watch helplessly as the fire spread, and there was nothing he could do.
"I will personally come to collect your body first thing tomorrow morning."
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