Chapter 194: Rookie
Xiao Zhuo led the Xiliang army into battle, and the opposing Xirong army had no choice but to fight as well.
Each side had tens of thousands of soldiers, with swords and spears in hand and flags fluttering, and they lined up against each other on the banks of the Benniu River.
The morale of the Xiliang army was high, and everyone was eager to fight. On the other hand, the soldiers of the Xirong army had lost their fighting spirit and had nowhere to escape.
The victory of the Xiliang army is certain.
Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi stayed in the formation. Qiu Liming rode his horse, raising a cloud of dust, to the front of the formation and shouted to the Western Rong army on the opposite side:
"I am Qiu Liming, a subordinate of the Crown Prince of Great Yan. You are now in a desperate situation. Quickly lay down your weapons and surrender. If you persist in your wrongdoing, rivers of blood will flow wherever our army goes. Then it will be too late to regret."
Upon hearing Xiao Zhuo's name, some soldiers in the Western Rong army couldn't help but begin to retreat.
"Hold on, hold on!" The captains of the Western Rong army scolded the soldiers and ordered them to hold their ground.
Song Zhen said to Xiao Zhuo in the battle line, "My lord, the enemy's morale is already in disarray. If we attack now, we will be invincible."
Xiao Zhuo said: "Order the infantry to go out first, and the archers to follow."
Song Zhen shook his feather fan and was about to turn around to give orders to the soldiers beside him when a general came out from the opposite formation, reined in his mount and said:
"General Qiu, I am Su Monai, the commander of the 10,000-man army. Please ask His Royal Highness to come out. I have something to tell you."
Seeing that the other party had something to say, Qiu Liming turned his horse and galloped back to the formation. He said to Xiao Zhuo, "My lord, the enemy general Su Monai wants you to step out of the battle. He has something to tell you."
Shen Yuexi was blowing her hands on her horse. Upon hearing this, she quickly grabbed Xiao Zhuo's hand and said, "Husband, you can't go out."
She had suffered from Xiu Muye's hidden arrow before, and was deeply afraid that Su Monai would use the same trick again.
In this clash of armies, Qiang Lin, a Western Rong person, was unfit to fight. She left all her secret guards in Zhangwu City. If someone from the Western Rong launched a hidden arrow, there would be no one to shield Xiao Zhuo.
Xiao Zhuo smiled and said, "Don't worry. Even Xiao Beiheng's arrows can't hurt me, let alone others. You are protected by soldiers in the formation, so don't move rashly."
After saying this, Xiao Zhuo rode his horse through the army formation, came to the front of the two armies, and said loudly:
"It's General Sumonai. How are you?"
Sumonai loosened the reins of his warhorse and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, I still remember the time you single-handedly broke into my camp and gave me the spear."
Xiao Zhuo smiled and said, "You have no chance of winning. The best strategy is to lay down your weapons and surrender."
Sumonai shook his head and said, "Your Highness, I have something to say. I hope you will listen carefully. If we need to engage in battle later, I will lead my army to fight to the end."
"Speak." Xiao Zhuo simply replied with one word.
"In the past, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince swore an oath with our King Thomas, declaring a one-year ceasefire. Has that period expired yet?"
Xiao Zhuo said: "No."
"Is it considered a breach of contract if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince leads his army to attack Xirong?"
"Calculate."
Shen Yuexi heard Xiao Zhuo's frank confession from within the formation and couldn't help but grow anxious. The other party was trying to pressure Xiao Zhuo. And yet, Xiao Zhuo admitted it completely and frankly without any excuses.
She looked at Qiu Liming and Song Zhen. They both frowned and remained silent.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince led his army to attack Zhangwu in order to relieve the siege. I may have considered it a helpless move. But now the pressure is on... How will Your Highness the Crown Prince gain the trust of the people from now on?"
"What is your intention, General?" Xiao Zhuo asked after he finished speaking.
"Your Highness, please withdraw your troops and allow us to build a bridge across the river," Sumonai said. "In this way, I will regard Your Highness as keeping his promise. After we retreat to Xirong territory and the one-year agreement expires, we can fight again, is that okay?"
"Okay." Xiao Zhuo turned his horse around.
Su Monai seemed to have not expected Xiao Zhuo to be so straightforward. He said in surprise, "Your Highness, once a word is spoken, it cannot be taken back!"
"Of course." Xiao Zhuo waved his hand without turning his head.
He rode back to the formation, and Shen Yuexi came forward and asked, "Husband, are we really going to let these Western Rong soldiers go?"
Song Zhen also stepped forward and said, "My lord, the opportunity to annihilate these tens of thousands of enemy troops is right before our eyes. Are you going to let it go?"
"I made an oath with King Duoma of the Western Rong. Now I am leading my army to attack. The fault lies with me," Xiao Zhuo said. "I am the Crown Prince of Dayan. I have broken my promise before. I cannot attack again. All troops, return to camp."
The Xiliang army was deeply disappointed upon hearing Xiao Zhuo's words. However, military orders were unwavering, so they withdrew and returned to camp. The Xirong army, on the other hand, began to arrange for their soldiers to search for a spot on the Benniu River's ice that could support a large force.
Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi rode back to Zhangwu and arrived at the prefectural governor's residence. Xiliang King Mei Cheng and Mei Pu had already received the news from the scouts. Mei Pu stood beside Mei Cheng, his mask on again, his expression unrecognizable.
Mei Cheng was furious and yelled at Xiao Zhuo:
"The Xirong army was about to be annihilated, yet you actually let them go."
Xiao Zhuo did not answer, but remained silent.
Shen Yuexi didn't know what Xiao Zhuo was thinking, but she couldn't bear to see him suffer such an injustice, so she stepped forward to defend him, saying, "My husband and King Doma had a one-year truce agreement. Your Highness knows this, too."
"The armistice agreement means nothing. This great opportunity is right before our eyes, how can we miss it?" Xiliang King Mei Cheng waved his sleeves and walked quickly towards the door of the hall.
Shen Yuexi noticed the oppressive atmosphere in the hall, so she quietly tugged at Xiao Zhuo's sleeve and whispered, "Husband, say something."
"Nothing to say." Xiao Zhuo shook his head.
Mei Cheng walked to the door of the hall, turned around and said to Mei Pu, "Follow your father."
Mei Pu glanced at Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi, took a few quick steps to catch up with Mei Cheng, and followed him.
"I went to the battle to relieve the siege of Zhangwu. Although I saved my friends, I have already broken my promise," Xiao Zhuo said somewhat dejectedly. "I always thought I would keep my word, but in the end, I found that I am just an ordinary person."
Seeing Xiao Zhuo unhappy, Shen Yuexi comforted him, "We are all ordinary people. Everyone has their share of broken promises. Besides, you did this to save Meipu."
Xiao Zhuo shook his head and said, "Before I went out to fight, I had thought about letting it go. After all, I had already broken my promise, so it was fine to let it go. But when Su Monai questioned me in front of tens of thousands of people, I wanted to find a hole to crawl into. I, as the crown prince, have no real status to begin with, but I have been holding on this whole time. I just don't want to give up. I believe that my father will clear my name..."
Shen Yuexi said, "If you keep your promise, you will have to watch Meipu die. My husband saved his friend, which was an act of righteousness. And the agreement with King Doma is just an agreement with an enemy. It doesn't matter if it is broken."
"Just to save my friend, I broke my promise to the world," Xiao Zhuo said, "If I were the emperor, how could I govern the world?"
"I remember an emperor who gave up his entire kingdom to avenge his brother." Shen Yuexi tried to cheer Xiao Zhuo up. "There was also an emperor who once said he would never see his mother again, and later broke his promise. I don't think there is any right or wrong. If you think it is right, just do it. There is no need to worry about these empty things."
"Where did you hear all this?" Xiao Zhuo reached out and pinched her tender cheek. "Did you make it up?"
"It's all true." Shen Yuexi swore.
Xiao Zhuo smiled and said, "Although I spend more time practicing martial arts, I am also well-read. How could I not know that such an emperor existed? I won't say much. I want to have a drink. Come and join me."
"Drink only when you're happy. Drinking when you're in a bad mood is harmful to your health." Shen Yuexi disagreed and pulled Xiao Zhuo up and said, "Let's not think about those troubles. Go back to your room and rest. I'll go to the kitchen and cook two dishes for you."
"I want some chicken soup. I haven't had the chicken soup you made since I left Xiaogang Village."
"It's been so long, and you're still thinking about me?" Shen Yuexi smiled and pulled Xiao Zhuo's hand as they walked towards the bedroom.
"Of course, the chicken soup you made, Yuexi, is the most delicious soup I have ever tasted."
Shen Yuexi let Xiao Zhuo lie on the bed to rest, and she went to the kitchen next door to start working.
Zhangwu had just been through war, and the city was sparsely populated. Even the governor's mansion had few servants, but the kitchen was stocked with ingredients. She didn't care, as long as she didn't have to kill the chicken herself.
She cooked a pot of rice first, then chopped the chicken on the chopping board. As she chopped, she asked, "What did Mep and his father do?"
"They will not miss this opportunity. They should go to attack Xirong." Xiao Zhuo's voice sounded in the bedroom.
"Will he be defeated?" Shen Yuexi was a little worried. The King of Xiliang was a well-known weakling.
"The Western Rong army is trapped in a desperate situation and their morale is in chaos. Even if we send an armadillo to lead the Western Liang army in battle, as long as it can talk, it will not fail." Xiao Zhuo seemed to be in a better mood and started joking.
"That's good. I feel sorry for Mep, so I'm planning to make him a prosthetic hand..."
The two chatted while busying themselves, and spent a rare leisure time. The chicken soup simmered for an hour and a half, and the kitchen was steaming hot and filled with the aroma of chicken and rice.
"It's out of the pot." Shen Yuexi dipped the spoon into the boiling hot chicken soup, scooped up a spoonful of chicken pieces, poked it with chopsticks, and found that it was almost melted.
It was very tiring for Xiao Zhuo to lead the troops in battle. He had to drink a big bowl of chicken soup and a big bowl of rice.
Before the soup was even served, Qiu Liming's voice rang out from outside the door: "Your Highness, I have urgent military information to report."
Without even putting down her spoon, Shen Yuexi hurried to the door. Xiao Zhuo had also stood up, and the two of them reached the door together. They ran into Qiu Liming, who looked nervous.
"My lord, Mei Cheng and his son led their army to attack the Western Rong army at the Benniu River. Initially, the battle went smoothly, but the Western Rong launched a desperate counterattack, cutting the Western Liang army in half. Mei Cheng and his son are currently surrounded and defending a mountain east of the Benniu River. The situation is critical."
The spoon in Shen Yuexi's hand fell to the ground.
Xiao Zhuo said that even an armadillo could win, but I didn't expect that the King of Xiliang couldn't even beat an armadillo...
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