Chapter 112 Yinglong Reappears, Shaking Yin and Yang
I slept soundly through the night, and before I knew it, it was morning.
As dawn broke, golden rays shone on the Azure Dragon Palace, but the solemn and imposing atmosphere could not conceal the commotion inside.
Almost everyone was talking about Zhongli's death, Xue Chang's march into Chenliu, and his subsequent attack on Longcheng. A small group of people were also glancing sideways at Yang Xiao, seemingly lost in thought.
Xiao Yan emerged from behind the tent, raised his hand and patted the table, immediately silencing all the civil and military officials present, who then looked at each other in bewilderment.
She looked up at Yang Xiao, smiled lightly, pointed to the seat next to her, then looked up at the sergeant beside her, "Report the military situation in detail."
"Yes." The officer stepped forward, clasped his hands and said, "Zhong Li'an was assassinated, and the entire Ji Province is shrouded in mourning. Now Xue Chang and Bai Ming are leading an army of 100,000 and plan to attack Longcheng again."
"Assassinated?" Yang Xiao exclaimed in shock. She turned her head and immediately understood the scheme. Feigning displeasure, she looked at Xiao Yun. "In your plan, how could you be so ruthless?"
The civil and military officials were immediately thrown into chaos again, and for a time the entire hall was abuzz with discussion about Zhongli An's death.
Xiao Yan sneered and put down his teacup. "You sent the people, you killed Zhong Li'an, and you forced Yang Xiao here. You couldn't have a peaceful time in the palace when I was leading the troops into battle. Now it's your turn to quell this mess."
"Isn't this all for our sake!" Xiao Yun exclaimed indignantly. "With Zhongli An dead, the morale of the Ji Province army will surely be thrown into chaos. If we take the opportunity to attack, wouldn't the cities of these four provinces be within our grasp?"
"You'll do anything to become emperor." Xiao Yan looked coldly at Xiao Yun. "This was supposed to be a contest of strategy and strength, but you've turned it into a trick! You know perfectly well the morale of his army..." Xiao Yan glanced at Yang Xiao, who remained calm to the side, and took a long breath, suppressing his anger. "If you really want to prove yourself, then lead your troops to fight, bring a few strategists, and follow my previous formation."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yun clasped his hands in displeasure.
“I will do what I promised you,” Xiao Yan said, propping his head up as he looked at Xiao Yun. “I will make you emperor the day we conquer the Central Plains.”
"Yes." Xiao Yun sighed and nodded to Xiao Yan. "Sister, what if they break your previous formation?"
"Immediately regroup and break the Chang'an formation."
Xiao Yun was taken aback. "But I haven't figured out the Chang'an Formation yet..."
"There's no need to figure it out; just arrange it according to the rules."
After Xiao Yun clasped his hands and withdrew, Yang Xiao looked at Xiao Yan with great interest, "It really is called the Chang'an Formation. Is it really that powerful?"
"It is indeed called the Chang'an Formation, but it's not particularly powerful." Xiao Yan glanced at Yang Xiao, smiled, and shook her head. "It's just that the outside of this formation is extremely difficult to break through; it's only there to protect his life." She looked at the thoughtful Yang Xiao and asked, "Do you have any plans for dealing with your former colleague?"
"A countermeasure..." Yang Xiao nodded and pondered for a moment, then chuckled, "Neither of them are easy to fight, so it's best to be careful."
Xiao Yan was speechless for a moment, then paused, "That makes sense..."
“General Xiao has gone to lead troops into battle,” Yang Xiao turned her head to look at Xiao Yan, “Aren’t you going to assign me any tasks?”
“Okay,” Xiao Yan turned around and smiled at Yang Xiao, “play chess with me.”
-
Paper money fell like snowflakes, blanketing Jizhou City in a ghastly white. Every household hung white cloths in front of their doors, and even more so in front of the military camps. The pale paper money and the blazing sun created a blinding contrast, stinging the eyes.
Having just finished breakfast, Xue Chang went straight to the tent. As soon as he entered, he saw Bai Ming, looking completely lost, propping his head up on the table.
Xue Chang sighed, walked over, patted his shoulder, and sat down beside him.
"Still worried about Lingyu?"
Bai Ming suddenly came to his senses, then shook his head with a wry smile and said, "How can I not be anxious? She went deep into the tiger's den alone, with no one to take care of her..." As he spoke, he sighed deeply, "The only thing we can do for her is to break Xiao Yan's formation as soon as possible, to enter Chang'an City as soon as possible, and to... quell this war as soon as possible."
"Don't worry for now. With Yang Song around, Xiao Yun won't dare to do anything to Ling Yu." Xue Chang patted Bai Ming's shoulder upon hearing this. "But you, don't be impatient for quick success. You have to defeat the enemy step by step."
Bai Ming propped his head up with his hand and sighed, "I understand, thank you for your guidance, strategist."
After speaking, Cen Xun stepped into the tent, covered in sweat. She was wearing a battle robe and carrying a spear as tall as herself. She looked at the two people who had already arrived in the tent and said breathlessly, "Why are you both here so early today?"
Xue Chang looked at Cen Xun and smiled, "You started practicing your sword too late. How is it? Have you made any progress?"
“I feel like I’ll be on the battlefield soon. Lingyu’s methods are really effective.” Cen Xun put his knife aside. “By the way, Master, I was studying Xiao Yan’s formation last night and I’ve made some progress.”
"Really? That would be perfect." Xue Chang looked up at Cen Xun with delight. "By the way, why hasn't Qi Gu Fan arrived yet?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Ming turned to look at Xue Chang, "He is currently by the lord's side, presumably discussing the matter of faking his death."
Xue Chang nodded. "Alright, it'll just be the three of us."
“Alright,” Cen Xun didn’t care about seating arrangements and moved a chair to sit opposite the two of them. “Xiao Yan’s formations are flexible and varied. They are mainly based on the Long Snake Formation and then change according to our attack methods. As for the later Circular Formation,” Cen Xun paused and looked at Xue Chang, “it is difficult to break through from the outside. I suspect that it is the Chang’an Formation created by Xiao Yan.”
Bai Ming nodded and pondered for a while upon hearing this. "That makes sense. Remember the last battle? A-Xiao led her troops into the Long Serpent Formation, and the formation immediately transformed into a circle. I couldn't break through from the outside at all. In the end, she had to fight her way out herself..." Bai Ming suddenly thought of something and stopped to think. "If this really is the Chang'an Formation, then wouldn't that be..."
Cen Xun nodded. "Judging from the current situation, it seems that Lingyu will have to break through from the inside again. However..." Cen Xun stroked her chin and pondered for a moment, "I always feel that we can slowly infiltrate from the outside. To be able to set up such a formation, it seems that Xiao Yan has been exposed to Taoist teachings quite a bit. If that's the case, it must be based on the Yi Yan (a Taoist deity) as the core, and the formation is arranged around the eight gates..." She pondered for a moment, then waved her hand dismissively, "Never mind, that's a matter for later. If we want to break Xiao Yan's formation, we must not fall into it."
“That’s right,” Xue Chang nodded upon hearing this. “If we break the Long Snake Formation and then launch a fierce attack, they will have no way to continue changing their formation, and the Chang’an Formation will naturally not be formed.”
"Grab its head, sever its tail, cut its waist." Cen Xun leaned against the table and said, "Then we can send Zhang Ping and Qin Yi to attack its head and tail, while Zhao Qing, you lead Ling Yu's Eagle Team to attack its waist. In this way, the long snake formation will definitely be broken into two sections. At this time, the easiest formation to break is the double-wing formation. At that time, Zhao Qing, you just need to advance and attack its leader. Zhang Ping and Qin Yi will join forces to prevent its wings from merging and go to support you. In this way, the enemy will be in chaos, and we can naturally take a city."
“Alright,” Bai Ming nodded. “I heard that Xiao Yun led troops to attack us. It seems that news of our lord’s matter has reached Chang’an. In that case, once we have stabilized the morale of our troops, we can launch a strong attack on their arrogant soldiers. This matter can be accomplished.”
He raised his eyes and looked solemnly at Cen Xun, "This time, we must take Dragon City."
“Whoever controls Longcheng controls Chang’an.” Upon hearing this, Xue Chang stood up and patted Bai Ming on the shoulder. “After such a long stalemate, we’ve finally managed to turn the tide. Xiao Yun’s military strategy is far inferior to Xiao Yan’s, so we have a very good chance of winning this battle.” He paused, frowned, and sighed softly. “However, news of our lord’s death has already spread throughout Ji Province, and I’m afraid the morale of the army has already collapsed.”
“Speaking of this,” Bai Ming also stood up and took out Yang Xiao’s token from his waist, “we still have the command token. Do you remember what Gu Fan said before? As long as the token is there, the person is there, and the heart is there too.”
“Alright,” Xue Chang’s brows relaxed, “I will borrow the order from my lord right away.”
-
The autumn wind howled, and yellow sand filled the sky. The maple leaves fluttering on the paper money looked like spots of blood on the snow, with bright red flakes sweeping over the heads of the soldiers.
Bai Ming strode towards the command platform, standing on it in a white robe. He took a sudden step forward, and the light of his sword flashed past everyone's eyes in an instant, reflecting the rising sun.
"Brothers," Bai Ming shouted, pointing his sword to the sky, "we have followed our lord for many years and have been grateful for his kindness. Now that our lord has been murdered and General Yang has been unjustly wronged by Xiao Yan, how can we not avenge this!"
The soldiers below the stage immediately felt a surge of strength in their arms, looking at Bai Ming with unwavering resolve as if they were facing certain death.
"Nowadays, treacherous officials are rampant, disrupting the morale of our army. If anyone does not believe my verbal order, then," he took out a gilded token from his waist and held it high in the air, "men, do you recognize this token?"
A collective gasp rippled through the audience, followed by an instant silence. They stared intently at Bai Ming, gripping the hilts of their swords tightly, as if they were already prepared to charge into battle and fight a final stand for the deceased Zhong Li'an.
"Do you remember when General Yang and I, in the name of General Yude, borrowed the Vermilion Bird Token to mobilize troops to avenge him?" Bai Ming held the token in his hand, looking firmly at the soldiers below the stage who were nodding repeatedly. "But now! The Yinglong Token in my hand was personally issued by our lord, not borrowed! This battle is not fought in the name of our lord, but we are specially dispatched by our lord to win back a victory from Xiao Yan!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in uproar, and a spark ignited in the eyes of the soldiers.
"A special envoy from our lord! Did you hear that? Doesn't this mean..." A soldier turned to his companion with excited eyes.
"Yes, he's still here, he's always been here," the companion excitedly patted the man's shoulder. "Xiao Yan is celebrating too soon! Our lord is still here, the world will be ours sooner or later!"
A soldier beside them raised his hand and shouted to Bai Ming, "General! What are we waiting for! Let's send out the troops!"
“General,” the scout said, bowing as he approached Bai Ming, “Xiao Yun is already waiting outside the city gate with his troops.”
"Alright," Bai Ming smiled at everyone, then suddenly swung his gun, "Send the troops!"
"Smack."
With another crisp sound of a piece being placed, Xiao Yan's "dark horse" leaped across the river and launched an attack.
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