Chapter 385: Hundred Thousand Special Forces
The Southern Army led by Xiao Beiheng personally joined forces with the Northern Army to form an army of 170,000 people. It became unprecedentedly powerful and marched towards Xiliang in a mighty manner.
Unlike the Northern Army generals who had been fooled by Xiao Zhuo before, Xiao Beiheng was much smarter. While advancing, he sent out 20,000 cavalry to constantly harass Xiao Zhuo's coalition forces to delay their retreat.
Xiao Beiheng's cavalry specifically targeted the Xiao Zhuo coalition forces as they were breaking camp and setting up camp, firing a barrage of arrows from afar. The soldiers of the Xiao Zhuo coalition were forced to dodge the rain of arrows, unable to pack their bags. By the time the crossbowmen formed their array and prepared to fire, the disruptive cavalry had already fled.
If the Xiliang cavalry left their camp to engage, Xiao Beiheng's cavalry would immediately and rapidly retreat back to their own formation. Unable to pursue them alone, the Xiliang cavalry would turn back. Xiao Beiheng's cavalry would immediately close in again. This repeated pattern, like a harassing hornet, refrained from direct engagement, exhausting the Xiliang cavalry.
This strategy was incredibly effective. Even with Xiao Zhuo's talent, he was helpless against this tactic. If they stopped, the coalition would immediately face an attack by 170,000 enemy troops. Xiao Zhuo could only continue his forced retreat westward, accepting troops from Xiliang to supplement his own forces.
The distance between the two armies continued to shorten. By the beginning of December, Xiao Beiheng's army was only a day's journey away from Xiao Zhuo's coalition forces.
As long as they caught up with Xiao Zhuo, even if he didn't want to fight, he wouldn't be able to. With 170,000 men against 50,000, Xiao Beiheng was sure of victory. In a good mood, he personally led Su Mo to the front of the battle line for inspection, followed by a group of generals.
"Your Majesty, this place is called Leye Plain. Further ahead is Leshan County," a guide said, pointing to the vast wilderness ahead. "Xiao Zhuo once led 9,000 Xiliang cavalrymen in battle against 20,000 Xirong cavalrymen here, winning a resounding victory and lifting the siege of Leshan."
Su Mo looked around. The barren plain was covered in snow, patches of black and white, as if the earth had scabies. Two crows cawing across the desolate sky, circled a few times, and landed on a dry, crooked tree. A rag like a flag hung from its bare branches, pulled straight by the howling wind.
"In the summer, the sky here is filled with vultures. They're very large birds that feed on carrion," the guide said, looking up at the sky. "It's winter now, and they're all gone. Otherwise, I could catch a few for Your Majesty and the Empress to see."
"It's just 20,000 barbarians," Xiao Beiheng smiled, "Now it's 50,000 versus 170,000. I want to see what tricks he can use."
Su Mo looked towards the west silently, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness in her heart.
She had no chance of intervening in the impending war. The only thing she could do was to follow Xiao Beiheng and helplessly watch everything unfold before her.
"Pass on my command," Xiao Beiheng instructed the generals following behind him, "All troops, speed up! I must catch up with Xiao Zhuo's army before they reach Leshan County."
The general took the order and left. Xiao Beiheng asked again, "Where are the reinforcements from Anzhou and Yuzhou?"
A deputy general stepped out of the crowd and said, "Your Majesty, the troops of Yuzhou Governor Guo Xinyuan have been halted in Zhongzhou due to heavy snow blocking the roads. Only the troops of Anzhou Governor are marching this way as planned and will arrive in half a month."
"As expected, my father-in-law is the one I can trust," Xiao Beiheng smiled and put his arm around Su Mo's waist. "That Guo Xinyuan, he fought against my father-in-law during the campaign against Emperor Yongde. Now he's pledging allegiance to me, but he's stopped halfway on the pretext of the road being blocked by heavy snow. Could it be that he wants to see the outcome of the battle between me and Xiao Zhuo before deciding which side to side with?"
Su Mo forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty has 170,000 troops here, and the 50,000 Yuzhou troops are far away, so we really can't rely on them."
"That's true," Xiao Beiheng said, "By the time the father-in-law gets here, I should have completely annihilated Xiao Zhuo."
The generals at the back seized the opportunity and began praising Xiao Beiheng in various ways. One general from the Dingbei Army said, "Your Majesty has a wealth of strategies and is unparalleled in the world. Even the general would have to admit defeat."
"General?"
Xiao Beiheng let go of Su Mo and patted her head gently: "I had completely forgotten about this matter. Has Zhao Mu been taken to the capital? It's been over ten days, why hasn't he replied yet?"
He had a terrible sleep, often awakened by nightmares, and was languishing, relying on blood-tonifying medicine to sustain his energy. If someone hadn't mentioned the general this time, he would have forgotten about Zhao Mu.
None of the generals could answer, until one clever one finally said, "Your Majesty, wasn't it snowing heavily for two days and two nights recently? They must have been delayed on the way. Now that the snow has melted, we should have a report soon."
Xiao Beiheng nodded vaguely, but felt a little uneasy.
He sent two of his trusted aides to escort Zhao Mu to the capital, intending to have them kill him en route to eliminate future trouble. However, more than ten days had passed, and the two hadn't reported back yet. Could it be that they had really taken Zhao Mu to the capital?
After returning to the camp, a Yan general came forward to greet him and said, "Your Majesty, an envoy from the capital has just arrived and is waiting in the imperial tent."
Xiao Beiheng entered the imperial tent and was shocked to see the person who came. It was Lin Kui, who was disguised as an envoy. He turned around and said to the attendant in the tent, "Step aside for now."
When only he and the messenger were left in the tent, Xiao Beiheng sat down and asked, "Lin Kui, why are you here?"
Lin Kui had been waiting impatiently for a long time. Seeing that no one was around, he knelt on the ground and cried, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent and have disappointed you."
Seeing Lin Kui crying bitterly, Xiao Beiheng knew that it was not a good thing and said angrily, "Don't just talk nonsense, tell me what happened."
Lin Kui cried, "I deserve death. The capital... the capital has fallen into the hands of others."
Xiao Beiheng's face changed drastically, but he couldn't believe what he heard. He stood up, grabbed Lin Kui by the collar and lifted him up: "What did you just say? Say it again."
Lin Kui felt his collar was so tight that it made his chest feel stuffy. He managed to say, "It's Zhao... Zhao Mu. He has taken over the capital."
"How could he... didn't I tell you to close the four gates? And... what are all those defenders in the capital doing? How could he possibly capture the capital by himself?"
Xiao Beiheng bombarded Lin Kui with questions, leaving him dizzy and confused. He kept saying, "Your Majesty, calm down and listen to my explanation!" Xiao Beiheng loosened his collar, pushed him, and said, "Hurry up and tell me!"
It turned out that Xiao Beiheng had sent his troops to Shengjing, leaving Lin Kui to guard the capital and command the garrison there. Lin Kui had indeed followed Xiao Beiheng's instructions and guarded the city carefully, so nothing had happened.
Late one night after a snowstorm, Zhao Mu and dozens of Western Rong soldiers scaled the city walls and entered. They were spotted by patrolling soldiers, who immediately notified Lin Kui. Lin Kui, believing he had thousands of defenders at his disposal and that a few dozen enemies would be easy to deal with, mobilized his own troops to encircle and suppress them.
What he never expected was that Zhao Mu's single call would trigger a rebellion by half the defenders. When the two armies faced off, the prime minister and officials from the six ministries who arrived upon hearing the news not only failed to help him, but actually added insult to injury, accusing Xiao Beiheng of patricide and usurpation of the throne, which in turn led the remaining defenders to side with Zhao Mu.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Lin Kui, under the protection of his trusted followers, fought his way out and ran all the way to find Xiao Beiheng to report the news.
After listening to Lin Kui's statement, Xiao Beiheng felt dizzy and took two steps back before falling into his chair. He held his forehead and said, "I underestimated this old fellow Zhao Mu after all."
Lin Kui knelt on the ground and took a few steps, holding Xiao Beiheng's legs with both hands and crying, "Your Majesty, I know that I have committed a serious mistake. Even death is not enough to atone for my sin. But I am afraid that Your Majesty does not know about this, so I am trying to survive and report to Your Majesty..."
Xiao Beiheng shook his head and placed his hand on Lin Kui's shoulder: "This matter is not your fault. It's my fault. I underestimated Zhao Mu. But you... know everything about that matter?"
Lin Kui was stunned for a moment, then shook his head fiercely and said, "Your Majesty, those people are traitors. They and Zhao Mu are all on Xiao Zhuo's side. I absolutely do not believe Your Majesty would do such a thing. They are all lies."
Xiao Beiheng said word by word: "What if I tell you this is true?"
Lin Kui's body shuddered violently, and he looked up at Xiao Beiheng, his eyes showing fear at first, then he lowered his head, forehead touching the ground with a sound: "Your Majesty, I have been by your side for so many years. In life, I am your Majesty's man, and in death, I will be your Majesty's ghost. If there is even the slightest falsehood, Your Majesty can chop off my head right now."
Xiao Beiheng was touched by Lin Kui's loyalty.
Lin Kui was his subordinate who had been with him the longest. His father Xiao Ming had assigned Lin Kui to him mainly because Lin Kui was a doctor with excellent medical skills and could prescribe medicine to relieve his insomnia symptoms at any time.
Over time, he began to discuss military strategies with Lin Kui. Although Lin Kui was not very smart and liked to make decisions on his own, he was as loyal as a dog, so he could trust Lin Kui with important matters.
A loyal person, even if he is a little stupid, is better than a very smart person who is double-minded.
He nodded slightly and said, "No need to swear or swear. You are my most trusted subordinate. Stay with me. I can prescribe some medicine for you. Losing the capital city is not a big deal. It's just a group of civil servants and a few thousand soldiers. It won't cause any big trouble. It won't be too late to return to the army and clean up after Xiao Zhuo is eliminated. However, the garrison at the border is a little worrying."
The 100,000-man garrison at the border were Zhao Mu's troops. Before dispatching the troops, he had specifically instructed Zhao Mu to issue a general's order, sending his trusted generals with the order and the imperial edict to the border to replace Wei Liang. Logically, nothing should go wrong. But now that Zhao Mu had survived, he couldn't help but worry.
Lin Kui wiped his tears with his sleeve and said, "Didn't Your Majesty send generals to replace the border guards before the troops were dispatched? They are all loyal generals to Your Majesty, so Your Majesty need not worry."
"The two men I sent to escort Zhao Mu were equally loyal," Xiao Beiheng said disappointedly. "But since Zhao Mu survived, it must have been those Western Rong people who saved him... Who was the leader?"
Lin Kui said, "It was night and I couldn't see his face clearly, but I seemed to hear Zhao Mu shouting the words 'King of Qianglin'..."
Xiao Beiheng frowned and was about to reply when a messenger rushed into the tent, shouting:
"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Border Guard General Wei Liang and the defected General An Guo Qi Shengjue have conspired to rebel and have killed the generals Your Majesty sent. Now, led by Zhao Mu, 100,000 border troops are heading our way. The vanguard is only three days' journey away."
Lin Kui nearly collapsed upon hearing this and shouted, "What the hell? Your Majesty sent a general to the border a long time ago. Why are you only telling Your Majesty now?"
Xiao Beiheng couldn't believe it either. He stood up and said, "A hundred thousand troops marching through Xirong territory—such a large target, and the Xirong army didn't actually stop them? And what were our scouts doing? Why didn't anyone report this?"
Compared to the loss of the capital, this news was the real shock. He had always been wary of troops supporting Xiao Zhuo coming to his aid, and had sent out multiple scouts to investigate, with daily reports of no trouble. He had never expected a 100,000-man army to arrive so quickly.
"They've been suppressing the news since they killed your Majesty's generals. Zhao Mu and the Western Rong King Qianglin set out on light cavalry from the capital to reunite with Wei Liang and his men. King Qianglin led the vanguard and persuaded the Western Rong kings... Mainly because none of our scouts had explored the Western Rong territory..."
"Enough!" Xiao Beiheng slammed the table, causing things on the table to jump up.
The messenger's words were incoherent, but he understood. After escaping from the capital, Qi Shengjue went directly to the border and, together with the border guard Wei Liang, killed the generals he had sent. While concealing the news, they sent their troops westward. After Zhao Mu and Qiang Lin captured the capital, they traveled day and night to join the border troops and attack Shengjing.
The border troops were passing through Western Rong territory, and their own scouts were not there at all, so naturally they had no way of knowing. As Qiang Lin was one of the Western Rong kings, he led the way, so of course the Western Rong people would agree to let them pass.
One hundred thousand troops came here quietly.
"Report!" A drawn-out voice, almost shrill and out of tune, came from outside the tent. A scout rushed into the tent, clasped his fists and saluted:
"Your Majesty, Xiao Zhuo's army is advancing to meet ours instead of retreating. Commander Xiao Zhuo has sent a declaration of war, and the two armies are about to engage in a decisive battle at Leye."
Xiao Beiheng laughed in anger, drew out the Yanque sword, chopped off the corner of the table with one blow, and said proudly:
"You really know how to seize the opportunity, Xiao Zhuo. Then I will take advantage of your intention! Reply to the other party and fight to the death in Leye tomorrow."
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