During the reigns of Emperors Dajing and Shang, Zhao Cheng was not a good rider and did not enjoy riding horses. However, after going to the battlefield and fighting for many years, he was forced to develop his riding skills.
Although there were carriages and chariots along the way, he still chose to ride a horse during this personal expedition.
As before, Zhao Hu and Heng Wenhao guarded Zhao Cheng on both sides.
The difference is that Zhao Hu is now the commander of the Imperial Guards, while Heng Wenhao is the chief of the Imperial Bodyguards.
Zhao Hu excelled at charging into battle, while Heng Wenhao was suited for assassination, but neither of them were selected by Zhao Cheng to be sent out. Firstly, there were too many generals going on campaign at the time, and secondly, Zhao Cheng was simply afraid of dying and had become accustomed to being protected by the two men.
Of course, Zhao Cheng had told the two of them that they were considered reserve generals, and that when needed, they would be given the opportunity to make contributions and achieve success.
Upon reaching the southern border, Zhao Cheng contacted Tuotie Wuhua, ordering him to continue guarding the southern front while transferring Chai Xin with 50,000 troops to accompany the army. Originally, the claimed army of 500,000 was merely a figurehead, but with Chai Xin's 50,000 men, the actual number of troops in the southern expeditionary force reached nearly 400,000.
Before entering the territory of Southern Zhou, a man came to Zhao Cheng.
Atao.
"Your Majesty, we have learned of the movements of the Miaoyin Pavilion. Ming Yingluo has led the Miaoyin Fairy Troupe from the northeast of Wu and has arrived in Jinjiang County."
Zhao Cheng asked, "How many troops are there?"
"No less than 100,000."
As the core trio of the Yiwen Society, Yuan Fei and Yan Zheng stayed in China, while A Tao followed Zhao Cheng on an expedition to be responsible for intelligence work.
Apart from the first batch of members of the Yiwen Flying Team who were trained by Yuan Fei alone, A Tao served as their instructor. A Tao also had leadership over the flying team members, and the team worked together very well.
Zhao Cheng then asked, "What about Hechong County?"
Atao said, "In Hechong County, we only see the 100,000 troops stationed by the Southern Zhou, and no generals have come from Kangye to reinforce us."
"Zhou Jinghuan is gone, the Yang family has fallen, and the Southern Zhou has no more generals to defend the border."
Zhao Cheng sneered and said, "Issue my military order to divide the troops into two routes."
"Grand Commander Xiao Luofeng and Xuanwu Divine General Zhou Chuan led an army of 200,000 to march from Yunjing into Hechong County."
"The Vermilion Bird General Yang Taozhi and the White Tiger General Gong Xue led an army of 200,000 to enter Jinjiang County via Yunshui."
"Both armies have only one objective: to take Kangye!"
"Yes, sir!" Atao led her troops away, glancing back at Zhao Hu as she turned.
The couple's subtle exchange didn't escape Zhao Cheng's notice. Zhao Cheng tapped Zhao Hu's expression and asked, "Are you worried about your wife?"
Zhao Hu said, "With her skills, there aren't many people who can hurt her. I'm just worried about tiring her out."
"Tsk tsk tsk, what sweet talk you've got... It's good that she's keeping the Empress company. I didn't want her to come, but who told you to be so useless, failing to produce a child after three years? If you two had a child, would I have let her go through all this trouble?"
“Master, I’m not useless either. You know about Ah Tao’s and my health…”
"Alright, after we go back this time, I will have Mr. Minghua keep an eye on you every day until you produce a child."
"Isn't it inappropriate to keep showing Mr. Minghua this?"
"She's used to it, what's wrong with it?"
Heng Wenhao coughed twice, interrupting the inappropriate chatter between the two masters, and asked, "Your Majesty, which route should we take?"
After Zhao Cheng ascended the throne, everyone around him changed their address to "Your Majesty," but Zhao Hu still called Zhao Cheng "Master."
Zhao Cheng was also very satisfied. Perhaps it was because of this title of "master" that he continued to make silly jokes with Zhao Hu as before.
Zhao Cheng said, "I don't know either."
"You don't know??" Heng Wenhao and Zhao Hu were both stunned.
Zhao Cheng said, "Isn't this a good thing? Even I myself don't know, so how would the enemy know?"
...
Xiao Luofeng is a Grand General, and Zhou Chuan is a Xuanwu Divine General; the two are of equal rank. However, Zhao Cheng appointed Xiao Luofeng as the Grand Commander of the Southern Expedition, giving Xiao Luofeng supreme command authority second only to Zhao Cheng.
Zhao Cheng arranged for Xiao Luofeng and Zhou Chuan to travel together, intending for Xiao Luofeng to take command and Zhou Chuan to be the vanguard.
The journey from Yunjing to Hechong County went even more smoothly than Xiao Luofeng had imagined.
The Southern Zhou garrison in Hechong County was utterly routed.
During these three years, the Southern Zhou Dynasty focused on developing its economy and recovering from the wounds of Yang Qingzhi's numerous northern expeditions, but it became noticeably lax in its military operations. Coupled with the propaganda by the Yiwen Society about the four great generals of Zhao Han, the morale of the Southern Zhou garrison collapsed after learning that the vanguard was the Xuanwu General.
From Hechong County to the outskirts of Kangye City, Xiao Luofeng's army hardly had any trouble.
The other side is different.
After Yang Taozhi and Gong Xue led their troops into Jinjiang County, they saw the Southern Zhou army waiting ahead.
Leading the group was Ming Yingluo and her Wonderful Sound Fairy Troupe.
This is the beauty of Zhao Cheng's arrangement.
If Xiao Luofeng and Zhou Chuan were to go to Jinjiang, Zhou Chuan alone would be no match for Miaoyin Pavilion. Of course, they could use a human wave tactic to advance, but that would cause a lot of unnecessary casualties.
Yang Taozhi had followed Zhao Huan in many battles over the years and was an excellent general herself. When she partnered with Gong Xue, she naturally took the lead.
Mingying landed in front of the battle formation, playing the zither, with a cup of tea beside her.
Yang Taozhi rode her horse forward a little closer.
"Master Ming, it's a pleasure to meet you."
On the battlefield, Ming Yingluo was no longer dressed in her finest attire, but rather in a smart brocade robe. She smiled slightly at Yang Taozhi and said, "Zhao Han's Vermilion Bird General, the sword immortal who once borrowed half of Changsui's sword, Yang Taozhi, I am very happy to meet you."
Yang Taozhi said, "Even someone like Master Jinghai only dares to call himself a swordsman. It's inappropriate for you to call me a sword immortal. On the contrary, Master Ming, you displayed extraordinary swordsmanship in your battle with the Prodigal Swordsman. Your swordsmanship is probably closer to the word 'immortal'."
Ming Yingluo laughed heartily and said, "Such politeness is really boring. We'll find out who is closer to the word 'immortal' by testing our swords."
Yang Taozhi placed her hand on the sword hilt and said, "Testing swords is fine, and even the entire Wonderful Sound Immortal Group behind you can come at me, but until the outcome of our battle is decided, neither side's army will move. How about that?"
Ming Yingluo glanced at Zhao Han's army and said, "The Han army far outnumbers ours. Aren't you at a disadvantage?"
"Zhao Han's southern expedition was aimed at recovering the Southern Zhou, unifying the world, and bringing years of peace to the world. War is not the goal, and bloodshed is even less so. There is no need to needlessly commit murder."
"Are you so confident you can beat me?"
"We should at least give it a try."
Ming Yingluo plucked a string with her fingers, then stopped talking and began to play a melody.
Yang Taozhi immediately drew her sword, and a red light suddenly appeared in front of her, shattering several incoming sound waves.
The battle began as soon as it was declared.
Ming Yingluo switched to playing the zither with both hands, and plucked the strings several times faster, sending countless colorful sound waves flying towards the starfruit branch.
Yang Taozhi leaped off her horse and galloped forward, closing the distance between herself and Ming Yingluo while resisting the sonic boom.
The eight fairy maidens exchanged glances, then suddenly grabbed their musical instruments and ran towards the starfruit branch.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
