Chapter Seven: The First Cry of the Young Phoenix Ignites the Night
Upon receiving the reply from Yuzhou, Zhongli An led his already trained soldiers to prepare to send troops to Yanzhou.
Before dawn, thousands of soldiers were already arrayed and ready in front of the drill ground. The troops stood on both sides, awaiting Zhong Li'an's orders.
The drums beat loudly, the banners fluttered, and the bugle calls surged like a flood, spreading throughout the entire command platform.
A strong wind suddenly rose, and Zhong Li'an stood in front of the platform, his wide sleeves and hem fluttering in the wind. He stared intently at the only two generals and officials from the state below the platform, as well as the officers of various ranks who were on high alert. He nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, then walked around behind the table.
"Today's battle concerns the prestige of our army, and even more so the survival of Ji Province." He stood on the platform like a willow tree swaying in the wind, solemnly gazing at the crowd. "Everyone must be on high alert and fight with all our might. Victory is the only option; defeat is not an option."
The crowd below the stage also looked back at Zhong Li'an solemnly, clasped their hands in front of them, and said in unison, "As you command!"
"Zhong Lishuo, obey my command!"
"Here!" Zhongli Shuo, fully armored, strode to the front of the stage.
"You will lead three thousand troops to bypass Jibei and descend to Dongping. There is no need for detours; you will advance straight in and attack Shanyang." Zhongli An picked up a token from the table and handed it to Zhongli Shuo. "There must be no mistakes."
"Understood!" Zhongli Shuo stared intently at Zhongli An, stepped forward, accepted the order with both hands, and then bowed.
"Yang Xiao!"
Yang Xiao looked at Zhong Li'an, stepped out from the ranks and walked to the front of the stage, clasped his hands and said, "Your subordinate is here!"
Her battle robes fluttered in the wind, burning like rising flames, while Yang Xiao's gaze was as resolute and agile as flowing clouds.
Zhong Li'an looked at Yang Xiao standing below the stage, nodded slightly, and breathed a sigh of relief. He traced his fingertips across the table, then looked intently at Yang Xiao, "Do you still remember the military orders you issued before?"
How could I dare to forget?
Zhongli An nodded and picked up a token. "You will lead the Eagle Cavalry and 1,500 soldiers from Wei Commandery, and attack Chenliu and Jiyin from Dong Commandery. When you arrive at Jiyin, you will see reinforcements rising from Yuzhou. At that time, you can join forces with them and turn around to attack their remnants."
"Yes." Yang Xiao looked at the token that Zhong Li'an was reluctant to hand over, then looked up at him, waiting for what he would say next.
“Your journey is different from Yu De’s. He only needs to charge forward without hesitation, but you have to consider many things.” Zhong Li’an leaned forward slightly and looked at Yang Xiao solemnly. “The road ahead is lined with dense trees and the terrain is open, which is why the Yanzhou granary is located here. You must proceed with caution, prepare enough tinder, and wait for the right opportunity to act.”
"Understood." Yang Xiao nodded solemnly and accepted the token from Zhong Li'an with both hands. "Rest assured, my lord."
Zhong Li'an nodded, watched Yang Xiao return to the queue, and then picked up two orders from the table.
"Outpost officer!"
"exist!"
"Send out scouts to ascertain the enemy's situation and report their intentions and movements truthfully to the two generals."
"Yes, sir!"
After handing over the token, Zhong Li'an picked up another one, "Grain and Feed Officer!"
"exist!"
"You must carefully check the army's provisions, distribute and record them, prepare sufficient vehicles and horses, and be ready to be called upon at any time without any mistakes."
"Yes, sir!"
Zhong Li'an nodded, his fingertips tapping the table as he looked at the crowd below who had received their tokens. "All troops must act in accordance with orders and must not make any mistakes."
Everyone clasped their hands in greeting and said in unison, "We await your command, our lord!"
"Disperse the accounts!"
Everyone inside the platform dispersed, like the receding tide, stirring up layers of yellow sand. Sunlight poured down, reflecting the golden light on the rolling yellow sand, like flowing fire.
Zhong Li'an gripped the long sword at his waist, looked up at the sun, which was shrouded in a thin layer of sand and glowed red, and stood in front of the platform, remaining silent for a long time.
-
"Soldiers!" A gust of sand swept by, and Yang Xiao stood on his horse in front of the Eagle Army, which was standing ready for battle. The crimson sunlight fell on the soldiers, creating waves of gold.
The red-lacquered steed also became excited, neighing eagerly and pawing the ground.
"This is our lord's first battle in establishing his empire! We are determined to win!" The spear tip pointed directly at the red sun, and Chi Lian Di's hooves lifted off the ground, soaring high into the air.
A horn sounded, followed by the beating of drums, and banners fluttered incessantly, echoing through the vast mountains and fields.
"We are determined to win! We are determined to win!" The Eagle Army drew their swords and pointed them straight to the sky.
Yang Xiao nodded, brandishing his spear, "Follow me into battle!"
"Charge!"
Chi Lian galloped down the slope under the setting sun, the large banner bearing the character "Yang" behind him seemingly unable to keep up with Yang Xiao's figure. Dozens of cavalrymen charged straight down the slope to the enemy camp like rolling stones, and more than two thousand men marched in a mighty and imposing manner under the city.
The enemy camp was thrown into chaos. A few soldiers scrambled out of the tent, but when they saw Yang Xiao standing atop the crimson flame, they lost all will to fight and fled in disarray.
Before long, the camp fell into a deathly silence, with only the chirping of insects and the faint glow of lights.
Night had fallen, but Yang Xiao continued forward without stopping. Looking at the indistinct road, she frowned and raised her hand to summon the soldiers beside her.
"General." The soldier rode forward, clasped his hands in greeting, but looked at Yang Xiao and involuntarily yawned.
"Turn on the light..." Yang Xiao was about to ask him to turn on the light when she came to her senses and looked at him with confusion. "I can understand being sleepy at night, but why are you sleepy right after we finished playing?"
"General, please calm down. I was just momentarily drowsy, but I assure you, I will not let this delay military matters..."
"Alright, alright—" Yang Xiao waved her hand, about to say something, when a scout hurriedly came from the front, carrying an extinguished torch in his hand.
"Why didn't you even light a lamp?" Yang Xiao reined in her horse, frowning as she looked at him.
“General,” the scout clasped his hands in greeting, “there are enemy reinforcements ahead. I was afraid of alerting them, so I extinguished the lamps.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao looked behind him and saw a few points of light flickering in the dark mountain road in the distance.
"Well done." Yang Xiao nodded. "The enemy is in the open while we are in the dark, which is perfect in the darkness." She turned her head to look at the woods on the gentle slope and immediately had an idea.
Seeing that the head of the army was not moving, the two thousand soldiers also slowly stopped, halting on the mountain like black pythons hidden in the night.
Approximately how many enemy troops are there?
"Only the vanguard of Yanzhou has arrived, with only about two thousand men. The main army has not yet arrived." The scout clasped his hands in greeting. "Your advance is faster than General Yude's. The governor of Yanzhou seems to think that we are the only force, so he has sent most of his troops to meet us. Conservatively speaking, there are about four thousand men."
“Four thousand…” Yang Xiao muttered with a frown, then turned his horse around and waved to the soldiers, “Ambush in the woods to the west, and do not light any lamps! Three hundred archers, set up your bows and arrows, and place fire-starting materials nearby!”
After a brief commotion, the more than two thousand men were all hidden in the western forest. Yang Xiao dismounted and, watching the approaching lights, whispered to the person beside him, "Who was that yawning just now? The one who was about to fall asleep?"
Zhang Ping, who was wiping his knife, quickly sheathed it, walked briskly to Yang Xiao, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "General, did you call me?"
Yang Xiao looked him up and down several times, then nodded slightly. "Although every soldier in the Chi Ying Army is a talent capable of taking on ten men, falling asleep on the battlefield is a major taboo in the army. What's your name?"
"My name is Zhang Ping." Zhang Ping clasped his hands in a fist salute and looked down at his arm guards.
“You just said you would never delay military intelligence. In that case, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself,” Yang Xiao smiled at Zhang Ping and patted him on the shoulder. “You will now act as the commander of the 100-man Eagle Squad. Lead 200 men and the remaining 300 men to go around the mountain from behind. Bring arrows and sulfur and gunpowder. When you reach the granary in Chenliu, and see that my place is on fire, take advantage of the terrain to set it on fire.”
"This..." Zhang Ping was stunned. "You want me to set fire to the grain?"
Yang Xiao looked up at him and smiled, "What, you can't do it?"
"I can do it!" The drowsiness in Zhang Ping's eyes immediately disappeared, and he looked at Yang Xiao with bright eyes. "General, I can do it."
Yang Xiao nodded. "Retreat once the fire is over. Do not linger in battle, and do not be greedy for merit or advance rashly. Make sure that once the granary is on fire, join forces with my troops."
"Yes, General." Zhang Ping nodded, then mounted his horse and said to the soldiers behind him, "I am ordered by General Yang to lead five hundred soldiers to burn the grain around the city! Zhao He and Qin Jun, each lead one hundred men of the Eagle Cavalry Team, and Qi Li, Zhou Fen, and Wang Kuan, each lead one hundred men outside the teams, with sufficient sulfur and gunpowder, and follow me!"
The men he summoned responded with clasped hands. In no time, the five hundred men formed a new team and followed Zhang Ping out from behind the mountain.
Yang Xiao mounted his horse early, then held the reins and watched Zhang Ping's troops go further and further away. He then looked back at the approaching enemy army and nodded to himself.
I had heard Zhong Lishuo say before that the guy who always seemed to be sleepy had excellent leadership skills, and seeing it today, it's true.
The vast army marched through the valley. Yang Xiao frowned as she looked at the hundreds of strong soldiers in front of her, then glanced at the general sandwiched in the middle of the group. She couldn't help but click her tongue and muttered angrily, "What kind of general hides behind his soldiers?"
As the lead troops marched across the valley, Yang Xiao drew his bow and aimed an arrow at the enemy general's back. Without turning his head, he shouted to the archers behind him, "See the grain carts? Fire!"
A shout suddenly came from the mountains and forests, and several flames shot into the night sky. The enemy's supply wagons suddenly caught fire, and the valley was thrown into chaos.
The enemy general was startled by the sudden shout and hurriedly turned around to look. As soon as he turned his head, his neck was immediately exposed to Yang Xiao's view.
The sound of the bowstring was barely audible amidst the chaos, and an arrow instantly pierced the enemy general's neck. The heavily armored man tumbled from his horse like a ball of cotton wrapped in iron.
With a wave of his hand, Yang Xiao's soldiers immediately lit torches, and in an instant, the entire mountain forest was as bright as day.
"Brothers!" Yang Xiao shouted, holding his silver spear horizontally behind him and pulling on the reins, "Follow me!"
The sound of drums and horns immediately resounded through the valley. The soldiers shouted and yelled, pouring down like a flood. The leaderless enemy army had no power to resist and was immediately routed.
At that very moment, chaos erupted in the distance as a flame suddenly blazed up from the direction of the Chenliu granary, billowing black smoke rising straight into the sky. The moon, hidden behind the mountain, was shrouded in layers of black mist, swaying and trembling incessantly.
"The granary is on fire!" the soldiers shouted excitedly upon seeing the flames. "Zhang Ping has succeeded, General!"
Yang Xiao slashed the enemy soldiers in front of him aside with his spear, looked up at the flickering firelight in the distance, and couldn't help but laugh wildly, "Good! Brothers! March south!"
The enemy troops in the valley all fled. Yang Xiao pointed his silver spear, and the thousand elite soldiers slithered down like a fire dragon, heading straight for Chenliu.
-
Under the cover of night, Yang Xiao's men fought their way through the enemy lines, utterly annihilating the reinforcements sent by Yanzhou. After a night of fierce fighting, Yang Xiao's strength was no longer what it had been before.
"Giddy up!" She speared the enemy general who was fighting her in the fire, and with a sudden tug on the reins, Chi Lian leaped out of the wall of fire that had risen from the ground.
Zhang Ping had just ridden past the fire when a red horse galloped past him. Startled, he quickly tugged at the reins.
"Well done," Yang Xiao nodded to Zhang Ping, then spurred his horse toward the main army. "This fire directly cut off their rear, leaving them no time to defend themselves."
Zhang Ping clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yang Xiao. “General, you flatter me,” he said, following closely behind Yang Xiao. “However, you just jumped into the fire and fought that enemy general. You took a huge risk.”
“If I don’t stop him halfway, he will flank us and attack our weaker forces.” Yang Xiao frowned as he looked at the endless stream of troops ahead. “This Yanzhou is really well-equipped and well-supplied. Even though Yu De has already tied down a portion of them, how come there are still so many people?”
"Hold on a little longer, General. It's almost dawn, and the reinforcements should be arriving soon."
Yang Xiao gripped her gun, then frowned as she looked at the approaching troop of soldiers. She had never encountered such a spirited group overnight.
The enemy attacked their weakened army with overwhelming force, and Yang Xiao tensed up to the last thread of his nerves. It seemed that this battle would determine not only the victor but also life and death.
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