Chapter 388: Divine Punishment
Late at night, Shen Yuexi left the camp and headed for the lake where the Black Cavalry was defeated.
The Queen of Xiliang was afraid that she would be unsafe alone and insisted on following. Shen Yuexi persuaded her that the enemy was just across the road, ready to attack. As the commander-in-chief, Mei Dai would easily cause instability if she left the camp, so she asked Qiang Lin to lead a cavalry team for protection.
Mei Dai felt that what she said made sense, so she stopped insisting.
Shen Yuexi left the camp and walked towards the northeast under the starry sky. Soon he arrived near the lake.
This lake was not on the route of the battle between the two armies. Xiao Beiheng had used a fake defeat to lure the Black Cavalry here, so it was empty and no one was guarding it.
"Qiang Lin, I'm going to pray for the soldiers who died in the battle. This ceremony is very important. You guys stay here and don't go over there." After saying that, Shen Yuexi patted Xiaobai's neck and walked towards the lake alone.
Qiang Lin and other Western Rong cavalrymen originally believed in gods. When they saw Shen Yuexi mention the ceremony, they knew they should not disturb her, so they stood far away and waited.
The weather was cold and a thin layer of ice had formed on the surface of the lake. Compared with the snow surrounding the lake, the ice surface reflected the starlight like a huge mirror.
Xiaobai stepped on the broken snow on the ground and stopped by the lake. Shen Yuexi jumped off the horse, walked to the edge of the lake, stood there, and looked at the lake.
Beneath this seemingly calm ice surface, thousands of soldiers and thousands of war horses are sleeping.
"It takes a woman ten months to give birth to a child," Shen Yuexi lowered her head and clasped her hands together in front of her chest, "but just half a day of fighting can kill thousands of children and destroy thousands of families."
An inexplicable sadness swept through her heart, and she couldn't help but ask aloud: "Big Bear, why do people like war?"
Big Bear's cheerful voice rang out in her mind: "Dear Master, Big Bear is here. What would you like to make, Master?"
Shen Yuexi smiled helplessly. Big Bear was just a manufacturing machine. It was incredibly powerful, but it had no emotions, unable to understand human joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. Even its voice was always a cheerful one.
She could only continue talking to herself.
"Actually... the vast majority of people don't like war, yet they are willing to sacrifice their lives for the minority who enjoy killing. It is these few who, out of their own selfish desires, create war and bring suffering..."
The bear's cheerful voice rang out again: "Dear master, the war and suffering you wish to create are abstract nouns. I cannot create them for you."
"Shut up."
Shen Yuexi interrupted Daxiong and knelt on the ground.
This kneeling is to mourn for the soldiers who sank into the lake.
"There are fifty thousand Xirong troops between us and Sumo. If we don't defeat them, we can't save her. But if we kill those people, what's the difference between me and those who started the war?"
She stared at the lake in silence, the night wind caressing her cold face. Xiaobai seemed to sense her mood and rubbed his head against her back, as if to comfort her.
After a long moment, Shen Yuexi said, "Big Bear, let's end this war. Those who started the war should be punished, not these innocent people."
The Western Rong cavalry in the distance were puzzled when they saw Shen Yuexi kneeling at the edge of the lake with her hands clasped together as if praying.
A cavalryman who had never served as a secret guard and had never experienced the battle at Langya Pass was confused and said to Qiang Lin, "King Qiang Lin, the war isn't over yet, and Princess An is coming to the battlefield to pay her respects. Isn't that too early?"
Qiang Lin said, "Princess An is not an ordinary woman. She has her reasons for everything she does. We just need to protect her well. If she goes east, we will follow her east. If she goes west, we will follow her west."
At this time, a cavalryman pointed at Shen Yuexi and said, "Look, the wind is blowing around Princess An."
Qiang Lin looked over and saw Shen Yuexi's hair and cape fluttering violently. It was as if a strong wind enveloped her, sweeping away the snowflakes around her. Xiaobai's mane was ruffled, and he neighed as he ran off for a distance, raising his hoof and calling out to Shen Yuexi.
Everyone was stunned, not knowing what was happening. Qiang Lin wanted to go over and help, but then he stopped, thinking that this might be part of a ritual.
The strong wind blew for a full cup of tea before it finally subsided. Shen Yuexi stood up, called Xiaobai over, jumped on his horse, and galloped to the front of the crowd, saying, "Let's go."
Qiang Lin asked, "Is the ceremony completed?" "It's completed." Shen Yuexi said, and rode ahead.
Since Shen Yuexi had left first, everyone followed. Qiang Lin lagged behind, looking back at the lake as he walked, and found that the huge mirror seemed to have disappeared.
He thought he was dazzled, so he squinted his eyes to look carefully, turned around and quickened his pace to catch up with Shen Yuexi and his group.
Back at the camp, Shen Yuexi found Mei Dai and Shen Lan.
"Sisters, let's go raid the camp. I've observed the celestial phenomena and know that the enemy camp will be hit by a natural disaster tonight, which is perfect for us to attack."
Mei Dai was a little confused and asked, "Sister, can you observe the celestial phenomena?"
Chen Lan said, "Queen, the military manual says that a good general must understand astronomy and geography. My sister predicted the coming of fog when we were at Mount Baixiu, so we used the fog as cover to escape."
Mei Dai was impressed and immediately summoned the generals to make arrangements according to Shen Yuexi's plan.
At three o'clock in the morning, Chen Yuexi rode out of the camp first, and generals such as Qiang Lin and Geng Hong led their soldiers out of the camp and headed towards the Western Rong army camp opposite.
The camp of King Thomas' army was set up in a depression. Shen Yuexi rode his horse to the edge of the depression and looked at the overwhelming tents and scattered bonfires below.
"Big Bear, keep collecting."
"Dear Master, we are collecting the raw materials needed for the rainstorm... Progress is 99.9%, 100%."
The next moment, dark clouds appeared above Shen Yuexi's head, swirling and surging, rising into the sky with swirling fangs and claws. Soon, they enveloped the entire camp. Lightning flashed in the seething black clouds, and thunder rumbled.
The entire Xirong army camp was awakened by this strange sight. Soldiers came out of their tents, looked up at the sky, and pointed. Many people's faces were filled with surprise and disbelief.
The rain came down in sheets, like a lake suddenly falling from the sky.
Xiao Beiheng rushed out of the tent in panic and looked up at the sky with rolling dark clouds.
The cold rain lashed his face, causing him pain. He couldn't believe what he saw and reached out to confirm.
The freezing rain pierced their faces and hands. Bean-sized raindrops extinguished the campfire one after another, leaving only a wisp of smoke. They crackled against the tents. They pounded the soldiers, soaking them and leaving them cold.
It was the end of December, the harsh winter, and it was raining heavily.
"Is this... a punishment from heaven?" He looked up at the sky. "Even Heaven can't stand this anymore?"
Torrential rain fell from the third to fourth watch, extinguishing all the campfires used for warmth. The downpour then turned to hail, pelting the entire camp with devastating force. All the soldiers huddled in their tents, afraid to emerge. However, the accumulated water from the heavy rain surged into the tents, forcing the soldiers to seek shelter from the water.
It was so cold, and all the bonfires for keeping warm were out. If one soaked in ice water, he would freeze to death in less than half an hour.
Qiang Lin and Geng Hong didn't even need to lead their troops into the enemy camp. They could simply stand in a dry area and wait for the Western Rong soldiers to emerge from the knee-deep water and surrender.
By noon the next day, nearly 50,000 Xirong troops had surrendered. The most important thing the Xiliang army prepared to receive these captives was a bonfire to prevent anyone from freezing to death.
Everyone searched carefully among the surrendered soldiers, but no one found any trace of Xiao Beiheng. They thought he must have escaped.
Mei Dai was overjoyed and immediately hosted a banquet for the generals. Shen Yuexi, observing the celestial phenomena at night, predicted a heavy rain, a major achievement. However, she was pregnant and couldn't drink much, so she only drank half a glass.
The celebration lasted until sunset, when the rear army arrived with the Tiger Crouching Cannon. Mei Dai took Shen Yuexi in one hand and Shen Lan in the other and went to the rear tent to discuss matters.
A soldier from the Xiliang Army took advantage of the fact that no one around was paying attention, went around to the outside of the tent where Mei Dai and the other two were, stepped on the edge of the box next to the tent, and climbed to the top of the tent.
He pulled out a dagger and cut a small hole in the top of the tent. The voices of the three women came out from the crack along with the light.
He looked through the crack and found Mei Dai, Chen Yuexi and Chen Lan inside, so he slowly drew out the Yanque sword from his waist.
As long as he jumped into the tent, he was sure that he could kill these three people in an instant, and they wouldn't even be able to scream.
Just as he was about to act, a patrol of Xiliang soldiers approached. He quickly crouched on the roof of the tent, sheathing the Yanque Sword while covering the light-transmitting gap with his palm.
The patrolling soldiers did not notice him on the top of the tent and gradually walked away.
He stood up again and drew the Yanque Sword. The cold light of the blade shone into his eyes, which were burning with resentment and anger, reflecting a cold light.
Shen Yuexi's voice rang out: "Sister Mei, when are we going to chase King Doma? I'm afraid he's gotten too far."
Mei Dai said, "Sister, King Doma has lent all his cavalry to Xiao Beiheng. He only has infantry and cannot outrun us. We will be able to catch up with him soon and rescue Su Mo."
Chen Lan followed up, "Sister, I know you're anxious to rescue Su Mo. It's just that we're too short-handed here, and it's too time-consuming to house so many captives. Qiang Lin and Geng Hong have been busy all day."
The man on the top of the tent listened as if he were a wooden sculpture, and slowly put his sword back into its sheath.
Shen Yuexi and the others were talking when they suddenly heard a sound from the top of the tent and looked up.
"Is it the wind?" Shen Yuexi asked.
Mei Dai saw the opening at the top of the tent, through which a cold wind was whistling in. Her face changed color, and she hurried out of the tent. She first looked at the top of the tent, but it was empty. Mei Dai then looked around and saw only groups of soldiers gathered around the fire, chatting and laughing as usual.
She was lost in thought when Shen Yuexi and Shen Lan came out. Shen Lan asked, "Queen, what's wrong?"
"It's okay," Mei Dai said calmly, "The tent is damaged, and I want to call someone to fix it."
After saying that, Mei Dai looked into the darkness and said in her heart: "Xiao Beiheng, you also want us to rescue Su Mo, right?"
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