Chapter 356: Strange Road
Xiao Beiheng sat in the tent, playing with the Yanque sword, and occasionally listening to the sounds of fighting coming from the battlefield ahead.
A general entered the tent and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, General Zhao Mu has engaged Xiao Zhuo's army in the north. The initial battle was evenly matched, with both sides suffering casualties."
Xiao Beiheng smiled and said, "Alright, as long as the general can hold Xiao Zhuo back, it will be fine. Once I capture Baixiu Mountain, Xiao Zhuo will be destroyed."
The battle unfolded largely as he had envisioned. Zhao Mu's entire family was under house arrest in the capital, guarded by his trusted confidant, Lin Kui. Zhao Mu, concerned for his wife and children, obediently led his army to attack Shengjing. At Baixiu Mountain, Qiang Lin fell victim to his provocation and was severely defeated. The original 20,000 defenders on Baixiu Mountain were now reduced to less than half, making the attack much easier for his army.
When he decided to attack in two directions, he prepared for the countermeasures that Xiao Zhuo might take.
Given Xiao Zhuo's character, he would never passively defend Shengjing while the army laid siege to the city; that would be a dead end. The most likely thing Xiao Zhuo would do was to use the terrain to deplete his forces in a field battle. As Baixiushan was the only strategic point east of Shengjing where a smaller force could defeat a larger force, he suspected Xiao Zhuo would personally lead a large force to defend it.
He deliberately exchanged flags with Zhao Mu and chose the Baixiushan route, firstly to confuse the other party, and secondly in the hope of confronting Xiao Zhuo. Unexpectedly, he encountered Qianglin's Western Rong Army.
He could fight anyone. He had a massive army of 300,000 men, and his brains were far superior to those of Xiao Kai. He could win this war by taking steady steps, capturing Baixiu Mountain first to cut off Xiao Zhuo's retreat.
The only thing he couldn't understand was that the King Qianglin of the Western Rong army had fled and disappeared, but the defenders on the mountain still had methods of attack and defense and made steady progress. His army launched three powerful attacks but failed to break through the enemy's camp.
He asked the general who had brought the news, "How is the Xirong army's camp doing?"
The general said, "Your Majesty, we are intensifying our attack. The enemy's camp has been cleverly chosen. We can't get around them, so we have to attack head-on. The mountain road ahead is narrow, so we can only send 1,800 men at a time. However, we've already broken through a hole in the enemy camp..."
In short, there was no progress.
"I never thought a barbarian nation like the Western Rong would have a general skilled in attack and defense," Xiao Beiheng said, waving his hand with great interest. "Go and find out who the general commanding the battle is, and then report back to me."
After giving all the instructions, Xiao Beiheng began to eat dinner.
He was already the Son of Heaven, and even when he was on the march, his meals were meticulously prepared by the imperial chef. Accompanied by Empress Su Mo, the couple sat opposite each other, servants bringing dishes to a overflowing table.
Xiao Beiheng picked up a piece of beef and looked at Su Mo opposite him, noticing that she had lost weight.
I remember when Su Mo led the Dingbei Army on the Western Expedition, she also ate with him like this. At that time, he was just the prince of Qi, far less glorious than he is now. But back then, Su Mo would pick food for him, force him to take medicine, and urge him to read the books of ancient sages. When she was angry, she would turn her back and ignore him. At that time, you had to find a way to coax her.
Now he had finally reached the pinnacle of power, the Son of Heaven, yet Su Mo hadn't even a single kind word of advice. She spent her days alone in her tent, either lost in thought or absentmindedly reading. When she ate, she lowered her head, picking up rice with her chopsticks, shoving it into her mouth one grain at a time, as if she were taking medicine. Though they were husband and wife, they were like strangers.
Xiao Beiheng was unhappy, but because there were many servants in the tent, he couldn't lose his temper and put down his bowl and chopsticks.
Su Mo noticed his movements, shuddered slightly, and looked up at him. Her eyes were no longer filled with the concern she had before, but with fear, like a servant looking at her master.
"Your Majesty, you only ate half a bowl."
"I'm done eating." Xiao Beiheng waved his hand irritably, signaling the servants to clear the dishes.
He knew why Su Mo had become like this. She didn't agree with his decisiveness in killing people, and she hadn't agreed from the beginning. But he didn't think he had done anything wrong. Wasn't he the emperor, and wasn't she the empress? In order to achieve his goals, wasn't it natural to eliminate all obstacles?
But when he thought of what he had done before, his hands began to tremble again. In order to hide his presence, he quickly lowered his sleeves and hid his trembling hands in them. However, his sleeves also began to tremble. Fortunately, no one in the tent dared to look directly at the emperor, so no one noticed his inner fear at this moment.
The general who had brought the news earlier entered the tent again: "Your Majesty, although our army lost over 2,000 men, we successfully opened a larger breach in the enemy camp..."
Xiao Beiheng knew that this attack had been repelled again, and he was in no mood to listen to his whitewashing. He interrupted him directly and said, "I want to ask you, who is the general on the opposite side?"
The general heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Xiao Beiheng ignoring the failure and said, "The general on the opposite side is... is..."
After thinking about it for a long time, he still didn't dare to say it, mainly because he didn't quite believe the results reported by the spy.
"Tell me." Xiao Beiheng seemed calm as he picked up the teacup and blew it to his lips, but his voice was filled with murderous intent.
The general felt a chill on the back of his neck, remembering that Xiao Beiheng was not the kind and benevolent emperor his father was. He quickly said, "Your Majesty, the intelligence our spies have received is that the Western Rong army is led by two... Dayan women, the two granddaughters of the Zhenguo Duke, Shen Lan and Shen Yuexi."
"What?" Xiao Beiheng's teacup stopped at his lips, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, "Chen Lan and Shen Yuexi?"
Su Mo was also surprised. She couldn't hold the teacup steady in her hand and spilled a lot of tea. She looked up at Xiao Beiheng in surprise.
"Your Majesty, the intelligence is correct. The Xirong Army is indeed commanded by these two."
"I understand. Let's stop the attack for now." Xiao Beiheng put down the teacup and looked at Su Mo.
"Momo, the Xirong army wants to block my way to encircle Xiao Zhuo's retreat, and they will definitely defend this place to the death. You and Shen Yuexi have a very good relationship, right? Now I give you a chance to persuade them both to surrender."
Knowing Shen Yuexi was at Baixiu Mountain, he immediately recalled the fire in Xiayuan Valley. That fire had been set by Shen Yuexi, and it had nearly burned him to death in the valley. Even now, the thought of the flames still filled him with fear. While his own army was large, he didn't know what tricks Shen Yuexi might pull next. He didn't want to lose troops here for no reason. Persuading them to surrender directly would be a good option.
Su Mo shook her head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, my sister-in-law may seem weak, but she is determined. She will never surrender."
Xiao Beiheng said, "Xiao Zhuo has no chance of winning. As long as I don't act rashly and am cautious, how can he resist an army of 300,000? I am a merciful person, so I will ask you to persuade them to surrender. If they refuse to accept my fate, tomorrow morning I will personally lead the charge and flatten this mountain. Tonight will be the last time you and Shen Yuexi will see each other. Will you go or not?"
Su Mo seemed frightened by his words. She changed her hesitation and stood up and bowed, saying, "I am willing to go."
"Okay, let's go see Shen Yuexi right away," Xiao Beiheng closed his eyes, "You know what the Queen Mother said."
He didn't hate Shen Yuexi as much as his mother did. He only hated Xiao Zhuo. Shen Yuexi was already pregnant, so it would be best if she could surrender.
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