Mountain River Festival 259. The War Begins

When Zhang Qilan led his army to fight Ye Lifengzhiyao, it was another tough battle on Jiantian Cliff, but it was much better than expected. At least they were still on Jiantian Cliff instead of being attacked from above. In addition, most of Lu Jinxian's 30,000 troops had been destroyed. However, the losses on his side were less than 10%. When he thought of this, Zhang Qilan couldn't help but want to laugh.

Outside the small town a few dozen miles away, Mo Xiuyao stood outside the camp and looked at the small town with its gates closed in front of him, isolated in the wilderness, and sighed helplessly. Yun Ting and Chen Yun, who were following him, looked at the prince strangely, somewhat puzzled as to why the prince sighed. Yun Ting couldn't help but speak up, "Prince, what's bothering you?"

Mo Xiuyao shook his head and said, "I'm afraid Lu Jinxian won't be able to hold out for a few days." Not only Yun Ting, but also the usually calm Chen Yun didn't believe it. He frowned and said, "Qiantian Cliff is a dangerous place. Even if General Zhang has 100,000 soldiers, he may not be able to deploy them. Why, Your Majesty..."

Mo Xiuyao casually handed the battle report to Chen Yun and said, "From the beginning, we haven't seen A'li and Feng San in Zhang Qilan's army. I'm afraid these two people took their men to go around Lu Jinxian. If so, Lu Jinxian's defense twenty miles in front of Jiantian Cliff is useless. When both armies reach Jiantian Cliff, even if Zhang Qilan's 100,000 troops cannot be deployed, they can still kill Lu Jinxian's 10,000 or 20,000 men by taking turns to attack them."

After hearing what Mo Xiuyao said, Chen Yun and Yun Ting's faces changed. Yun Ting said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go to reinforce General Lu!" Mo Xiuyao looked at him sideways and said calmly, "Reinforce? Where can we get the troops to reinforce? Besides, even if I give you 10,000 or 20,000 people, what can they do in front of an army of 100,000?"

Yun Ting was speechless, "Then...what should we do?" Mo Xiuyao turned his gaze to the isolated town in front of him and said in a deep voice: "Attack the city with all your strength. We must capture the city before Zhang Qilan's men arrive." Chen Yun and Yun Ting looked solemn, and stood up and said: "I obey your orders!"

Although Mo Xiuyao said that he would attack the city with all his strength, this small city was not so easy to capture. Yuan Pei was a veteran of the Mo family army, and was particularly good at defending the city. When Mo Xiuyao's troops were not superior, as long as Yuan Pei ignored everything and waited for reinforcements, Mo Xiuyao would really have no way to deal with him for a while. No matter how many plans Mo Xiuyao had, Yuan Pei was as stable as a mountain and did not care. Even if Yun Ting and others shouted and cursed at the foot of the city every day, they could do nothing if the city gates were not opened to fight.

On the cliff of Jiantian, the two armies confronted each other for four or five days before finally annihilating all of Lu Jinxian's 10,000-plus troops, who were captured by Zhang Qilan himself. The two had worked together for more than a decade and had always fought back and forth, with each winning and losing. Although Lu Jinxian lost to Zhang Qilan this time, he was not too embarrassed.

Seeing his subordinates being annihilated, the exhausted Lu Jinxian readily threw away his weapon and said to the triumphant Zhang Qilan, "I lost." Zhang Qilan pulled him up with a smile on his face and said, "Victory and defeat are common in the military, don't take it to heart." Lu Jinxian snorted and said, "You will never be able to break through my defense so quickly. Where is the princess?"

The young generals who were watching were all stunned. Although there was still a princess of the previous prince in Dingwang Mansion who refused to leave Da Chu and was secretly protected by Leng Haoyu under the order of Mo Xiuyao, she still stayed in Chujing. However, in the minds of the Mo family soldiers, there was only one princess now. But...how come they didn't know that the princess was in their army?

Everyone's eyes were directed at Zhang Qilan at the same time. Who made him the commander? If even he didn't know the whereabouts of the princess, then no one else would know. Zhang Qilan chuckled twice and looked at Ye Li who was following Feng Zhiyao. Lu Jinxian was stunned for a moment, and was unable to recognize Ye Li. But he was very familiar with Qin Feng and Wei Rui who were following Ye Li. It was self-evident who Qin Feng and Wei Rui were following at the same time. When he took a closer look at Ye Li standing next to Feng Zhiyao, he immediately felt that it was clearly the princess.

"I've met the princess." Lu Jinxian stepped forward and saluted.

Ye Li smiled helplessly, looking at the petrified crowd in front of her and said, "General Lu, please don't be polite."

Lu Jinxian bowed and smiled, "I am defeated by the princess, and I am convinced."

Ye Li smiled and said, "General, you have praised me. I just tried my best." Lu Jinxian didn't care. He would never admit that he lost to Zhang Qilan, at least not to his face. "There is nothing else for me to do. I will take my people and take my leave. I wish the princess a safe journey." Ye Li nodded and said, "Thank you for your kind words, General."

Seeing Lu Jinxian walk away with the soldiers who were declared dead in battle, the people who stayed behind were silent. Is it really okay to wish the enemy's commander a safe journey?

After crossing the Jiantian Cliff, the road behind was not completely smooth but it was very easy. Without delaying for even a second, the group rushed to the distant lonely city to support Yuan Pei.

At this time, on the tower of the small lonely city, Mo Xiuyao, dressed in white without even a battle robe, stood leisurely on the tower, looking at the elderly General Yuan Pei and said with a smile: "Old General, this time I won."

The old general Yuan Pei, with gray hair and beard, looked at the man in front of him whose hair was white as snow but still proud as the wind. A trace of relief and joy flashed in his eyes, and he nodded and said, "It is indeed the prince who won. I admit defeat." In terms of military strength, Mo Xiuyao was only slightly better than Yuan Pei. Originally, attacking a city was much more difficult than defending a city. At that time, the hundreds of thousands of troops in Xiling failed to break through the small city of Jiangxia, but now Prince Ding broke through it in just a few days. This is his ability. Yuan Pei is not a person who refuses to admit defeat. He will only feel extremely relieved that there is someone to succeed the Prince Dingguo Palace.

"If it was a real battlefield, it would not be so easy for me to capture this city." This lonely city is a truly lonely city, because it is a newly built city, and there is not even time to move residents in. On the battlefield, there will not be such a city with basically nothing. Yuan Pei laughed loudly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, but if it was a battlefield, Your Majesty would not bring only a few tens of thousands of troops to attack the city, right?" The two smiled at each other, and it was obvious that they were in a good mood.

"Your Majesty, there are troops coming this way!" The soldier who was looking out on the city wall ran over to report.

"Oh?" Mo Xiuyao looked over and saw the sound of horse hooves and smoke rising in the distance. But in half an hour, Ye Li, Feng Zhiyao and Zhang Qilan had already led the army to the city. Mo Xiuyao looked around and saw that there were at least 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers and horses. He couldn't help but praise: "We were able to wipe out all of Lu Jinxian's troops and the loss was less than 20,000. It's not bad." Looking down at the people below, he smiled and said, "General Zhang, Feng San, A Li, you are late." Feng Zhiyao gnashed his teeth with regret. It seemed that the situation would be very different if it had been one or two hours earlier. Unfortunately, on the battlefield, a difference of half a minute can completely change the outcome of a battle. "Princess?"

Ye Li looked up at the man in white standing on the tower, and a faint smile slowly appeared on her lips. She raised her right hand slightly, and her voice was clear and gentle, but it spread throughout the battlefield, "Attack the city!"

On the tower, Mo Xiuyao looked helplessly at the army below that was preparing to attack the city. Yuan Pei, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but burst into laughter. He looked at Mo Xiuyao with a smile and said, "My Lord, it seems that we haven't finished this battle yet."

Mo Xiuyao smiled bitterly and said, "The old general is right. I am too happy too early." According to the rules of the exercise, the exercise would be over when the city was broken, and they would win. But since it was an exercise, they would naturally train these new soldiers to the maximum extent. Besides, there was no rule on the battlefield that a city could not be taken back after it was broken. Thus, a fierce siege battle began again.

This siege was more difficult than Mo Xiuyao's previous siege. The two sides fought for seven days without a clear winner.

In the end, they could only declare a draw, because there was no military rations left in Mo Xiuyao's city. It was a completely isolated city. Although no civilians needed to consume extra food, it also meant that there was absolutely no food in the city except for the military rations they brought with them. Yuan Pei had "destroyed" the food that originally belonged to the defenders on the day the city was captured. Mo Xiuyao's men not only suffered casualties, but also had no food to eat and could only defend the city on an empty stomach. The army outside the city was not much better. Most of the food and grass were accidentally destroyed by the people sent by Mo Xiuyao.

In the end, neither of them was willing to admit defeat, and seeing that they were running out of energy, the old general Yuan Pei had to come out and call for a stop. In the end, both sides agreed that it was a draw.

When Prince Ding and Princess Ding on the tower announced the end of the exercise, many soldiers couldn't help crying with joy. This was certainly not because they felt they had won, but because they could finally eat. There were still a lot of food and grass piled up in and outside the city, but they had to watch their "fallen" brothers eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks, and at the same time deceive themselves that they had run out of food.

. These days are ten times or even a hundred times more miserable than when there is no food. As soon as the exercise is over, everyone can’t care about anything else. They set up camp and cook meals on the spot. The soldiers who were fighting fiercely just now are now saying hello to each other. Especially when you see that the other side is also hungry, a special feeling of comradeship arises spontaneously.

In the small town, the generals who had just finished eating and drinking also gathered together, because the siege battle between the two sides lasted too long, and in the end even Lu Jinxian, who had already gone back, ran back to watch the battle. Now that the battle was over, both sides had won and lost, and no one was embarrassed, so they were still in harmony.

However, the young generals of the Eastern Army who followed Ye Li looked at Ye Li, who was still dressed in white men's clothes, with a dazed look in their eyes. They were so busy with the war a few days ago that they didn't think much about it. Now that the war was over, the young men remembered that the young man in white, who had been intentionally or unintentionally excluded and ridiculed by them before, and who had led them to defeat General Lu, was the princess they always admired. Such a strong shock made the young men feel unwell.

"Princess...Princess..." Several young people pushed each other and finally pushed out a bad guy, "Princess, we were blind before and offended you. Please punish us."

Zhang Qilan glanced at the useless youngsters and said, "How dare you say that? I've told you to be polite to the princess, what have you done?" Everyone stared at him silently. You're talking about Mr. Chu, not the princess? Seeing the young people's aggrieved eyes, Zhang Qilan also fell silent. He smiled at Ye Li and said, "Well...Princess, I didn't explain this matter clearly to them. Please don't blame me."

Ye Li smiled and said, "General Zhang, you are too serious. This was my original idea. Besides, young people are bound to be full of youth and vigor. General Zhang and other generals have taught them well, and these young generals are also good seedlings." Being praised by the princess, everyone felt their mouths twitching. They are young, but compared to the princess who is only 21 or 22 years old, most of them are still older. Being called young and vigorous by such a princess, everyone blushed. Yun Ting on the side silently complained in his heart: What are you talking about? When the master met the princess, the princess was only 15 or 16 years old.

Ye Li praised him like this, and the other generals smiled. Although these young people followed Zhang Qilan this time, they were not all his subordinates. Among them were Lu Jinxian, Yuan Pei, and even Sun Yan's subordinates who were stationed far away at Feihong Pass. They were all elites among the younger generation, and their superiors felt proud when they were praised.

After hearing the princess say that they didn't blame them, the young men finally breathed a sigh of relief. Young people are very curious, and even though they were far away, they all looked at the princess in secret. After all, they had heard about Princess Ding's deeds before they joined the Mohist Army. Who would have thought that one day they would be able to see her with their own eyes or even fight side by side with Princess Ding? But they didn't know that their self-proclaimed secret behavior had already displeased someone. So much so that when they returned to the army, they were thrown into a certain training camp and tortured for two or three months before they could even catch their breath. They could only think that the generals were dissatisfied with their performance in the exercise.

The exercise was over, leaving Zhang Qilan and Lu Jinxian to clean up the aftermath, while Mo Xiuyao took Ye Li, Feng Zhiyao and others back to Li City.

As soon as he returned to Prince Ding's mansion, before he had time to enter the study, he met Master Qingchen who was coming towards him. Just by looking at his face, he knew that Master Qingchen was very dissatisfied with the irresponsible prince who threw the political affairs of the northwest to him as soon as he had time. He calmly glanced at Mo Xiuyao, who looked better than usual after nearly half a month of marching and fighting, and asked calmly: "It seems that the prince has been doing well these days?"

Mo Xiuyao smiled happily and said, "I haven't moved for several years. It's really good to move around." Xu Qingchen smiled calmly, "Really? Then congratulations, Your Highness. You can move around more often in the future."

Huh? What do you mean? Mo Xiuyao looked at Xu Qingchen in confusion. Xu Qingchen sighed, waved the battle report he had just received, and said: "The Great Chu Army has been defeated in the northern border. In less than a month, the northern border army has taken four cities in a row."

Mo Xiuyao was silent for a moment, raised his head and smiled faintly at Xu Qingchen, saying: "This has nothing to do with us." The Mohist Army and Da Chu had long since severed their ties, and what happened to Da Chu had nothing to do with them.

Xu Qingchen nodded and said calmly, "Your Highness, just keep it in mind. In addition, there is news from the Northern Rong that the Northern Rong army is also ready to move. Once the war between the Great Chu and the northern border is unfavorable, the Northern Rong will definitely move south in the spring of next year." Mo Xiuyao listened to Xu Qingchen's words and walked towards the study without stopping. He asked, "What's the news from Nanzhao?" Xu Qingchen said, "The Prince of Zhennan led an army of 300,000 and has deployed troops at the Nanzhao border. The two countries are in a standoff, and it is unknown when the battle will start."

"Will there be a war?" Mo Xiuyao turned around and asked.

Xu Qingchen was silent for a while, then replied in a deep voice, "Yes."

Mo Xiuyao paused and said, "Okay, once the battle starts in Xiling, I'm sure we won't have time to take care of him for a while."

Feng Zhiyao, who was following behind him, frowned and asked, "Prince, should we also get ready?"

Mo Xiuyao thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "After the war between Nanzhao and Xiling, a conscription order was issued in the northwest." Feng Zhiyao agreed. Xu Qingchen received Mo Xiuyao's look and shook his head, saying, "I don't know anything about marching and fighting. You guys can handle it."

Mo Xiuyao nodded and said to Feng Zhiyuan, "Go and get ready."

After the Dingwang Mansion took control of the Northwest, the conscription system was implemented after many explorations and reforms, and it was somewhat different from the current military service system. All young people over the age of 18 in the Northwest need to serve in the military for two years, and then they can return to the fields. However, they still have to undergo a month of military training every year during the farming season. The most important thing is that this two-year military service is not only for ordinary people, but also for businessmen and even scholars. However, scholars can shorten it to one year at their discretion. Therefore, among the students who are now studying at Lishan Academy, as long as they are over the age of 18, they have already served in the military.

In addition, the Mohist Army also has 900,000 standing troops. The soldiers in these armies have served for more than five years, and the total military service period will reach 30 years or even longer. They are the real fighting force of the northwest. Moreover, they are different from the two-year conscripts who have no military pay and most soldiers of various countries who basically have no military pay. They have a certain amount of military pay every month, and they also have a certain amount of pension after they die in battle. Although this Dingwang Mansion has caused certain financial pressure, it also competes for the fighting power and cohesion of the Mohist Army from another perspective.

Although compared to the millions of troops of the other three kingdoms, the 900,000 troops of the Mohist Army sandwiched between the three kingdoms are not impressive enough. But once a war really breaks out, once the conscription order is issued, the Dingwang Mansion can instantly organize a million-strong army that has received formal training. Although the combat effectiveness may not be comparable to that of the real Mohist Army, it is definitely not comparable to some armies that have just been recruited into the army and go to the battlefield. At least they have all been trained by real Mohist Army generals.

Looking at Mo Xiuyao's departing figure, Feng Zhiyuan sighed and looked up at the sky. Once Nanzhao and Xiling go to war, Beirong will definitely get a share of the spoils in Dachu. And Dingwang Mansion will definitely not be able to remain immune. After so many years of preparation, is it finally going to start?