Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Jinjiang First Release
Chapter 70
Deep in the night, there is a lone star and a pale moon, and the snowy land is vast.
Cui Jue was wearing black and gold armor, a helmet on his head, holding a sword and riding a horse. His posture was as straight as a pine tree, and he looked at the towering city in the distance.
Cui Jue led the 100,000 Cui family troops to fiercely resist the enemy, killing 80,000 Li family soldiers without leaving a single one, and forcing the remaining 40,000 enemy troops to flee in panic into the fortress of Longhu Mountain.
The Li family army was trapped in the besieged city, while the Cui family army was stopped outside the city. The two armies were on the verge of a war and fell into a protracted battle.
The most terrible thing when two armies are fighting is that the enemy stations troops in a fortified city, making it difficult to capture it after a long siege.
Doing so would not only severely damage the morale of Cui's army, but would also waste manpower and money, putting them in a dangerous situation where they would run out of ammunition and food.
The Art of War states: "Victory is more important than duration."
When marching, the biggest concern is the difficulty of maintaining a steady supply of food and fodder. Therefore, Cui Jue did not transport large quantities of his own food and fodder over long distances. Instead, he collected supplies locally or plundered military supplies, including chariots and weapons, from the enemy. This way, he could reduce the consumption of manpower and military expenses and prevent the army from being depleted.
In this battle, Cui Jue was controlled by others and could not attack the fort, and his food and grass were almost exhausted.
If the Cui family army wanted to fight another month of fierce siege, they would probably have to temporarily retreat to Pingyao City where Su Li was located to replenish food and weapons, or order the rear team to send food and weapons to the front line before launching a siege.
But Cui Jue knew that once they retreated to rest, Li Fuyun would surely take the opportunity to take the remaining 40,000 soldiers, break out of the siege, and escape back to the northwest, or even to the border city outside the Great Wall.
This move is undoubtedly like letting a tiger return to the mountain, which will cause endless troubles.
As long as these 40,000 elite soldiers are killed, the powerful tribes in the northwest can be dealt a heavy blow and the northern counties will be severely damaged.
This will ensure the stability of the Wu Kingdom for at least ten years, and allow the common people to recover from the brutal war and recuperate.
Ten years was enough for Cui Jue to ascend the throne, extend his favor to the imperial examinations, promote the poor, cultivate his disciples, suppress the aristocratic families, concentrate the imperial power in the center of the court, and form the Cui family's one-man show.
From then on, the nine provinces of the world were under the command of the Son of Heaven. As an emperor, Cui Jue had military power in his hands, which enabled him to truly prevent local warlords from separatist regimes, stop frequent civil wars in Wu, and prevent the devastation caused by war. From then on, the people of Wu were safe and peaceful, and they could live a comfortable life.
Considering the future, Cui Jue must not retreat in today's siege battle!
Since we can't maintain a stalemate, we can only storm into the city.
After thinking it over, Cui Jue deliberately spread the news to let Li Fuyun, who was guarding the city, think that his baggage was stored in the rear and the infantry had not arrived yet, so he could only use light cavalry as the vanguard.
Cui Jue's calm demeanor seemed to have been completely worn away by this fierce battle. In an effort to achieve a swift victory, he didn't even wait for the infantry to deliver their weapons and provisions to the front lines, and instead led 10,000 cavalrymen to launch the siege.
Hundreds of catapults and battering rams were pushed to the high walls of the fortress defended by the Li family. Cui Jue took the lead and rode his horse proudly.
The man's jaw was set, his hardened bones clearly illuminated by the blazing firelight. He closed his eyes slightly, gazed at the city wall, and shouted the order: "Attack the city!!"
The chariots had already been prepared to attack the city, and the Cui family cavalry were riding horses with guns in hand, ready to go.
Cui Jue issued military orders with a voice as loud as a bell.
At the command, the flints coated with tung oil were sent as fast as lightning by the catapults into the towering walls.
Boom——!
Huge rocks fell and sparks flew everywhere.
The tung oil-coated rolling stones burned fiercely and could not be extinguished by water. In an instant, the soldiers in the city erupted in tragic wails, which were deafening.
The fort erupted in flames, blazing the heavens and earth. The sharp clash of falling rocks shattered the tranquility of the night. Unfortunately, Li Fuyun's arsenal of arrows had been swindled by Cui Jue in previous battles against the enemy, using empty ships to fake night raids, stealing over a hundred thousand arrowheads. Bows and arrows were now scarce, and even if Cui Jue sent his troops to scale the city walls, they wouldn't be able to counterattack with a rocket array!
Li Fuyun's food and grass in the city will not last for a few days. He cannot feed these 40,000 soldiers and horses, and sooner or later they will all die at the hands of Cui Jue.
Li Fuyun, standing on the city wall, looked at the raging fire in the distance, feeling sad and heartbroken. He saw that Cui Jue dared to attack the city with only 10,000 cavalrymen. He hesitated whether to open the city gates and kill the light cavalry led by Cui Jue first, or to keep his troops in place and wait for some time.
Li Fuyun knew that Cui Jue was probably feigning underestimation, deliberately luring him into opening the city gates so he could plunder. But Li Fuyun wanted to take a gamble. He bet that Cui Jue was also short of food and fodder. He feared that once Cui Jue had ample supplies, his death would be even more tragic...
In the vast sky, the flames all over the mountains were torn and stretched by the snow and cold wind. The blood reflected in Li Fuyun's hateful eyes. He stared at the man who was scolding Fang Zun on the hill in the distance.
Cui Jue had a plan for everything and was calm and composed, as if everything in the world was under his control.
How could there be such an arrogant person! He hated him! He hated him so much!
Li Fuyun seemed to have made a decision. He calmed down and gave the order in a stern voice: "Open the city gates! Cui Jue has only 10,000 cavalrymen, and we have the advantage! Generals, follow me to meet the enemy! Kill him before he returns!"
As Cui Jue expected, the gate of the fortress, which had been blocked for nearly a month, finally opened slowly.
Cui Jue knew that Li Fuyun was at the end of his strength. Rather than wasting food and supplies and waiting to die in the city, it would be better to fight him to the death.
Cui Jue's eyes were icy, and he sneered, "Your father previously said he was a bad parent, but I don't think that's entirely true... At least you've grown up to be quite courageous, fearless, and able to leave your body intact."
Cui Jue drew his bow and pointed it at the sky. With amazing arm strength, he resolutely shot a sharp arrow towards the sky that was burning bright red with flames.
With a sharp whoosh sound, it pierced through the clouds and split the rocks!
This is an order to send troops into battle and a signal to summon ambush troops.
Since Li Fuyun was deceived and opened the city gate to Cui Jue, the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses that Cui Jue had ambushed in the dark should naturally provide support and fight side by side with you to attack the city with all your strength.
Now Cui Jue's 60,000 troops are facing the 40,000 Li family troops. The gap in strength between the two sides is huge. Li Fuyun is bound to be defeated!
The two armies then engaged in a head-on confrontation.
Cui Jue gave the order to form a battle array, and countless black feather arrows shot out like flowing fire and flying stars.
The sky and the earth were illuminated by the scarlet flames.
The sharp arrows pierced the enemy's heads and chests. The generals were injured, cried out in pain, and fell off their horses. When the arrows shot in succession pierced the horses' eyes and bellies, the horses kicked madly and crushed the soldiers below.
The entire fortress was filled with a terrifying smell of blood. The battlefield was like hell on earth, with billowing black smoke everywhere. The city walls were covered with blood, and the broken walls were piled with corpses and blood. The smell was nauseating!
But the soldiers of the Cui family were not afraid at all, because they followed Cui Jue, and because they had the brave and warlike god of war Cui Jue cutting through the thorns in front of them. All the soldiers shouted loudly, and followed the monarch in their hearts, one after another, and attacked the enemy with swords!
Snowflakes are fluttering and scattering all over the fields.
Cui Jue took off his heavy helmet, and his black hair, like a waterfall, fluttered in the biting cold wind.
The man had thin lips and phoenix eyes, and was as cold and handsome as usual. He held a long sword in his hand to kill the enemy, but he crouched down and flew across. The cold thin blade quickly penetrated the enemy's waist and abdomen, and cut down the soldiers who were chasing him on horseback.
Cui Jue seemed to be accustomed to blood, and even when he was covered in blood, he remained calm.
Cui Jue stood tall, his broad hands tightly gripping the reins as he rode on Chixia, a horse with fiery red fur, chasing after him amidst a hail of arrows, heading straight for Li Fuyun!
The horse's hooves shook the earth, breaking up the snow and frost, and splashing up a cloud of snow dust.
In the vast universe, there was only the murderous figure of Cui Jue galloping with reins in hand.
Li Fuyun heard the rumbling sound of horses' hooves chasing him from behind. He was so frightened that his liver and liver trembled, fearing that he would die. He just ran forward regardless of his life.
Until the next moment, he heard the sharp sound of an arrow breaking through the air!
Then, the sharp arrowhead instantly penetrated into the flesh, making a thrilling dull sound.
Li Fuyun was horrified to find that Cui Jue was an expert archer, and as if assisted by God, he shot an arrow through the horse galloping under his crotch!
The blood-stained black feather arrow entered the horse's buttocks and came out from the horse's neck, and blood flowed all over the ground.
The warhorse didn't even have time to neigh mournfully before it crashed into the snow with a loud bang, dragging Li Fuyun off the horse's back.
Li Fuyun fell into a snowdrift in a panic. He wanted to turn over and run away, but at this moment, a long sword with a biting coldness was already against his throat as he was swallowing.
At this point, Li Fuyun's life was hanging by a thread, and he dared not move at all.
The world seemed to be silent and still, with only the muffled sound of falling snow.
When Li Fuyun raised his head in embarrassment, he only saw a pair of dark phoenix eyes that made him shudder.
"Cui Jue..."
Cui Jue jumped off his horse and walked towards Li Fuyun step by step, walking through the cold wind.
Cui Jue held the sword firmly, the blade did not move at all, and went straight to Li Fuyun's vital point.
Tonight, Li Fuyun will definitely die.
When death was imminent, Li Fuyun suddenly had an epiphany. Thinking back on the past, it was not difficult to guess that Cui Jue had started to make plans since the moment he escaped from Jianye City. Cui Jue wanted to replace the Li family and would definitely use Li Fuyun to smash the good name of the Li Dynasty. Now Li Fuyun has become the number one sinner who has caused suffering to the people of Wu State, and the savior hero has become Cui Jue, who is well aware of the righteousness.
He lost so badly!
Li Fuyun laughed bitterly: "Cui Jue, you are so cruel!"
Cui Jue curled his lips slightly and said, "You should be thankful. At least in my eyes, you are still a rival, someone I can personally slay with my sword."
Although Li Fuyun was afraid of death, he felt excited when he thought that Cui Jue could also lose once.
Li Fuyun laughed out loud and asked Cui Jue, "I knew you were deliberately showing weakness to lure me out of the city to fight, so why do you think I fell for your trick?!"
Cui Jue did suspect Li Fuyun's ill intentions of falling for his trick, but compared to those insignificant losses, he wanted to take the opportunity to slaughter the 40,000 enemy troops. Therefore, Cui Jue would rather lose something tonight than gain something now. From then on, he led his troops to attack the city and slaughtered the remaining Li family soldiers without regard for anything.
Cui Jue was silent for a rare moment. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Oh? I'd like to hear more about it."
Li Fuyun's smile deepened. "I know we're not as clever as you, and even if our armies were to clash, we might not gain the upper hand! Therefore, we've long been prepared to cut off our rear and survive! You're only focused on the whereabouts of my army, but you don't know that I and those elders of the aristocratic families have already divided our forces to fight the enemy. Tonight, the 10,000 troops left behind by the Northwestern faction will launch a surprise attack on your food and supplies stored in Pingyao City!"
Cui Jue understood their deployment.
Li Fuyun still had 40,000 remaining soldiers, and another 10,000 soldiers from the aristocratic families took advantage of Cui Jue's unpreparedness and made a detour to raid the city in the rear where Cui Jue stored grain.
If Cui Jue wanted to preserve the military supplies in the rear, he would have to withdraw his troops immediately and return to rescue them.
But in this way, Cui Jue would give Li Fuyun a chance to escape.
The remaining troops under Li Fuyun would be able to survive and return to the north, retaining some of their combat power.
This move was undoubtedly like letting a tiger return to the mountains. Countless children from aristocratic families in the northwest died at the hands of Cui Jue. They would not forget their family feud and were just waiting for an opportunity to invade the capital from the south again and fight with Cui Jue.
Therefore, Cui Jue could not spare the remaining Li family soldiers in the city.
But if he insists on not retreating and is determined to slaughter the soldiers.
Cui Jue would also lose a large amount of military supplies. Not only did he have to end the civil war immediately, he also had to retreat back to Jiangzhou, and even had to prepare the food and fodder for the return trip on his own.
Using the 10,000 soldiers and tens of thousands of food supplies to attack the camp in exchange for the 20,000 to 30,000 remaining soldiers of the aristocratic families trapped in the fort under Li Fuyun's command... This was a deal proposed by the major family in the northwest, and it was also a sign of weakness.
They hoped that Cui Jue would withdraw his troops immediately and return to give them a chance to catch their breath, instead of killing them all!
If it were in the past, Cui Jue would not have agreed after weighing the pros and cons, but today, Cui Jue is about to ascend the throne. In order to implement the new national policy and to maintain the internal stability of Wu in the future, he must be ruthless and inflict heavy damage on the big clans in the northwest!
Cui Jue cannot let the tiger go back to the mountain.
But in Pingyao City... there is also Su Li.
If he didn't send troops back to the city, Su Li would surely die!
"It's really good." Cui Jue's eyes were cold, and his chest was heaving violently, as if he was shocked and angry. Under the thin skin of the wrist holding the sword, the blood vessels were dilated and the veins were bulging.
The man stared at Li Fuyun fiercely, as if he were a dead object.
Li Fuyun naturally didn't know about Su Li's existence, and he didn't think that a woman could shake the prince's ambition to conquer.
He just thought that Cui Jue was frightened by this tactic of retreating to advance, and he finally posed a difficult problem that even Cui Jue had to consider for a long time.
Li Fuyun burst into laughter: "Cui Jue, if you don't withdraw your troops back to the city, I'm afraid it will be too late..."
Without waiting for Li Fuyun to taunt him, Cui Jue quickly twisted his wrist, placed the sword across his throat and twisted it with all his might.
With a loud crash, the skin and flesh were torn apart and blood plasma burst out.
Li Fuyun's head rolled neatly to the ground and hit the pale and cold snow.
Cui Jue shook off the blood from the cold sword in his hand, and his eyes were filled with only cold murderous intent.
His battle robe was dripping with blood, which seeped into the piles of snow like fallen plum blossoms.
Cui Jue held his sword and rode his horse, galloping towards the battlefield.
The cold wind blew up his snow-black hair, and the cold wind blew on his face, like a knife or a gun, causing him pain that pierced his heart and cut his skin.
Cui Jue's eyes were bloodshot, he didn't know how many people's blood had stained them. He was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot, and he shouted orders to his own soldiers in a harsh voice.
"Everyone, march to the fortress and slaughter all the Li family soldiers and horses. Cut them into pieces and leave no one alive!"
"Send another 7,000 cavalrymen to follow me back to Pingyao City to annihilate the enemy!!"
In order to avoid future troubles, Cui Jue continued to slaughter the remnants of the Li family. At most, he could allocate 7,000 cavalrymen back to the city. However, he was always brave, and these 7,000 troops were enough for him to defeat the enemy.
I just hope Su Li is smart enough to avoid the sneak attack.
I just hope that Su Lifu is lucky and doesn't die in this battle.
Su Li promised him that she would wait for him obediently at the mansion.
"Su Li..."
"You must wait for me."
-
Pingyao City.
The storm was about to come, and a thunder dragon exploded in the clouds. The lightning was so bright that Su Li in the house trembled constantly.
She was startled and kept touching her chest and calling for help.
But outside the house it was quiet, without any sound of servants.
Su Li was curious and couldn't help but put on her clothes, stood up and looked outside again.
But the scene she saw made Su Li shudder with fear and speechless for a long time.
The courtyard wall was covered with bloody corpses, flames shot up into the sky, and black smoke filled the air.
The roar of soldiers could be faintly heard coming from outside the house. The streets were in chaos, filled with noisy screams. The smell of blood became stronger and stronger, covering the sky and drifting in from the high courtyard walls.
No matter how stupid Su Li was, she knew what happened.
Pingyao City was captured by the enemy... How could this be? Cui Jue had a strong army and horses, there was no way he could have been defeated.
But right now, she had no time to think about these things. She had no martial arts skills and she had to save her life.
Several guards left by Cui Jue rushed into the yard, shouting the respectful title of "Madam Li".
Su Li hurried forward and was surrounded by anxious guards, and then she mounted her horse and ran straight out of the courtyard.
Su Li was riding on a horse, watching these tragic scenes. She was so frightened that her pupils trembled and she couldn't even speak.
This was Su Li's first time in the midst of a war. When she saw the piles of corpses, the rotten heads, and the broken arms, she realized the cruelty of the battle.
The enemy troops attacking the city from behind surged in like a tide. They surrounded and wiped out the garrison and common people in Pingyao City.
The sound of the enemy's fighting came from far away and filled the air with a boiling atmosphere.
The people were in a panic and even shouted "Your Majesty" before they died, begging Cui Jue to send troops to support them quickly and drive out these brutal enemies.
The enemy seemed to want to burn down this small city as quickly as possible, so countless arrows, burning with blazing flames, fell from the sky, weaving a dense but tight arrow net, which entangled Su Li who was riding a horse in the snow.
Su Li's mind was in a mess, her palms were covered in sweat, and her hands, which were tightly gripping the reins, were shaking slightly.
She ran forward against the wind and snow.
The guards who protected Su Li fell one by one. The sound of their bodies falling from the horses' backs was so light and dull, like a piece of unconscious meat.
Su Li rushed forward without stopping. Her robe was pierced by an arrow and flames quickly licked up. She had no choice but to take off her outer robe, put on a thin gauze skirt, and escape in the wind and snow.
Su Li's hands and feet were weak, she was shivering with cold and almost fell off the horse.
Su Li doesn't want to die, she also wants to live.
She wanted to live to eat some street food again, she wanted to live to see her grandmother and Qiu Gui again...
She didn't have the chance to fly out of the high walls of the aristocratic family, and her life was not destined to end.
But the next moment, an arrow shot out and pierced Su Li's waist and abdomen, and blood flowed out and dripped all over the ground.
A sour taste suddenly came up in Su Li's mouth, and there was even more of a strong smell of blood.
The intense pain made her eyes wet and red, and she had to try very hard to suppress the piercing pain.
Su Li took a deep breath and held the reins tightly, not wanting to fall off the horse.
There were some fleeing civilians beside her, and the enemy army was chasing them closely behind. Those evil-like generals raised their butcher knives and ruthlessly killed the common people.
Su Li's almond eyes were filled with tears and there was a red light in front of her eyes. She wanted to live, but she also felt that dying like this would be fine.
Until the next sharp arrow pierced straight into the warhorse she was riding.
The warhorse raised its head and neighed, then fell to the ground with a loud bang.
Su Li rolled off the saddle and fell suddenly into the freezing snow.
She was choked by the cold snow and coughed violently, leaving the ground covered in a frightening red...
The fire was blazing, and the flames spread from behind Su Li, sweeping through the house and spreading towards her. Su Li watched this scene with her own eyes. She wanted to move, but her hands and feet were already stiff. She could not escape from the hell.
Su Li lay in the snow, motionless.
The snow is still falling.
She felt the blood flowing from her waist and abdomen gradually getting colder, and her breathing gradually became weaker, almost non-existent.
Su Li's fatigue, fear, sadness, and other similar sad emotions all disappeared.
She lay quietly and obediently in the snow, letting the flames burn her dress and devour her body.
Su Li suddenly felt unprecedented calmness.
Never mind, she had fought.
At least now Su Li is no longer afraid of anyone or anything.
At this moment, she gained the long-lost freedom.
Like a frozen bird.
Die in this cold world.
-
Outside Pingyao City.
Cui Jue rode his horse at full speed, but even though he had traveled day and night, it was too late.
The entire city had been bathed in blood, with thick smoke and broken tiles and ruins everywhere.
He urgently issued military orders, arranged the battle formation, and ordered his generals to take up arms to resist the enemy.
Cui Jue pursed his thin lips, gripped the reins tightly with his palms, squeezed the horse's belly hard, and ran straight towards his home.
He calmly deduced the direction Su Li was in. He left someone to protect her, and that person should be able to help her escape...
Su Li will be fine.
But the closer Cui Jue got to his home, the more uneasy he felt.
Finally, he saw the horrifying charred corpses scattered all over the ground, and also saw the scarlet cloak that was hanging on the tree branch and had not yet burned out.
Cui Jue once praised Su Li for her graceful demeanor, saying that she looked like a pretty beauty in a red robe.
This is one of her favorite clothes.
Cui Jue said nothing, riding on Chixia, and continued to rush forward along the alley where the fire was blazing.
He is so lucky that logically no ghost would dare to take his wife.
But Cui Jue, who was smart all his life, miscalculated in the end.
The wind and snow suddenly stopped and a thunderstorm poured down.
On such a cold night, Cui Jue saw several charred corpses crushed by horses' hooves in the snow in the distance.
Next to the black bones, there was a piece of crane jade pendant that was broken into two pieces.
Su Li tied it around her waist...it was a token of love that Cui Jue gave to his wife.
The man was silent. He dismounted from his horse, and a sharp buzzing sound came from his head.
With a loud bang, Cui Jue's rationality was finally shattered. The pain pierced his chest and ribs, almost like the pain of being tortured to death, so painful that his liver and gallbladder were torn apart.
At this moment, Cui Jue wondered inexplicably, Su Li was so timid, would she feel pain when she was shot by arrows and burned by fire?
It must be painful, and maybe scary.
At that time, would she have wished for someone to protect her? Would she even have begged Cui Jue for help?
But he seemed... still a step too late.
Cui Jue felt as if a heavy rock was pressing down on his chest, and his anger and rage were almost boiling over.
Cui Jue held the pile of charred bones and silently pieced together the body.
But the bones were burned to a crisp and were crushed into powder at the slightest touch.
He couldn't even return Su Li's body to her...
Cui Jue was suddenly speechless.
Watching this tragic scene, Cui Jue's eyes finally flashed with ferocity. His jaw tightened, the veins in his neck bulged, and he shouted fiercely, "Come here, pass on my military order! Kill all the enemy troops who attacked Pingyao City! Chop them into pulp! Leave no one alive!"
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