Chapter 1415: Seizing the Bridge, Blowing Up the Waterway (Part 6) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Su Shiyilu glanced at Chu Jie "inadvertently" out of the corner of his eye.
Someone who should have been forced to stay in the rear ranks leaped into the enemy ranks with a knife, the shockwave from which sent more than ten people flying and violently clearing a large area. Facing dozens of spears thrusting towards him, he struck them with the palm of his hand, sending splinters flying.
They pressed their advantage immediately upon landing, giving the enemy no time to react.
How could one tell that he was exhausted?
Damn it, even in this state, that guy surnamed Chu is still trying to steal my military merits?
This guy is inhuman!
Su Shiyilu's anger flared, and his attacks became increasingly ruthless. Upon charging into the enemy ranks, he suddenly tightened the reins, reining in his horse. The horse reared up, and he channeled his martial energy into his four-sided armor-piercing spear, piercing through several enemy soldiers with a few sharp, slicing sounds. The moment the spear tip sank into flesh, accompanied by a high-pitched, exhilarating dragon's roar, more than a dozen iron-gray dragons exploded from the blood, tearing a gap in the enemy formation.
Su Shiyi cursed inwardly, and the enemy felt the same way—who could have imagined that a situation that should have been a sure win would be turned around? The enemy scholar's face was cold, and his eyes seemed to float with millennia of ice: "In this round, the chances of winning are not high."
However, he did not believe that he was less skilled than others.
They only blamed the Central Alliance for providing Kangguo with many errors in its intelligence.
If they had made strategic preparations earlier, how could they have turned a favorable situation into a disadvantageous one? They underestimated the scholar-strategist from Kang. Right now, winning or losing is a minor matter; losing one's life and fortune is the real issue.
"So what if the odds aren't in our favor? Are you suggesting we run away with our tails between our legs?" The two enemy generals who were rescued felt deeply humiliated. Their once-honorable reputations had been ruined in their later years, humiliated by a few mere youths, and they had nearly lost their lives.
The scholar's expression was meaningful.
"Not so, there is still a chance to turn the tide." The Kang Kingdom sent troops here precisely to seize the water source and ensure a stable water supply. If they cannot take this place, the Kang Kingdom will be unable to break out of the Yudi Mountains in a short time, and will have no choice but to retreat and make further plans.
The two military officers had no idea what he was planning; they were only concerned with how to turn the tide and avenge today's humiliation.
One of them said impatiently, "Just tell me what to do."
There's no need to waste time with other cryptic, nonsensical talk.
The scholar said, "I would rather be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile."
The Allied forces in the central region held a commanding position. Their initial plan was to use water to choke off Kangguo's supply lines, whether by using the water as bait to ambush Kangguo troops or by cutting off their water supply. Now that they couldn't hold the water, they resorted to a more drastic measure: complete annihilation. The Allied forces in the central region could forgo their water supply, and the Kangguo troops would also be denied a single drop! Everything exploded!
However, destruction does not mean indiscriminate demolition.
If things go wrong, it could harm others without benefiting oneself.
He didn't care what would happen to the Central Allied Forces, but offending the Central Branch was too costly, and he didn't want to create unnecessary trouble for himself unless absolutely necessary. However, the military commander seemed to misunderstand him, his brows furrowing as he said, annoyed and embarrassed, "Fight to the death?"
Do I really need someone else to come up with this idea for me?
If there were still hope in fighting to the death, he would do it. The problem is that fighting to the death would not only not win him, but would also cost him his life.
How could he possibly agree?
The two scholars exchanged a glance and tacitly suppressed their displeasure.
Dealing with such a stupid and reckless person requires a lot of patience, otherwise you'll only end up getting really angry: "No, no, no."
To avoid further misunderstandings, I had to explain in a few words.
However, another problem arises—
There's an unshakeable rule on the sandbox battlefield: only when one side is utterly wiped out or surrenders, and a clear winner is determined, can the battle end. Although this world is governed by the principles of the literati, this rule still applies. The general glanced at the chaotic battlefield, a scene of utter infighting, knowing full well that retreating now would more than double the casualties!
If the Allied forces in the Central Region find out, they'll blame us...
The military officer subtly glanced at the two scholars.
They secretly pondered who would take responsibility.
Or will these two literary scholars sell him out later?
The cunning of these two scholars was always more complex than the stars in the sky. Though they appeared upright, their demeanor was sinister; what ruthless things were they incapable of? Thinking of this, his mind wavered, unable to settle. How could the two scholars not know his scheme?
"General, you should make a decision soon."
Every second of delay will result in the loss of even more troops.
Meanwhile, relying on his instincts honed through years of arduous training, Chu Jie slaughtered his way through the enemy ranks, leaving a trail of blood beneath his feet. He intimidated the enemy soldiers, deterring them from advancing and completely extinguishing their hopes of expending Chu Jie's strength to pick off any remaining enemies. Chu Jie wanted to continue fighting when he vaguely heard the sound of retreating drums: "The situation is excellent. What is Kang Jishou doing?"
Knowing that Chu Jie's hearing and vision were severely impaired, the lieutenant shouted at the top of his lungs, "General, it's not ours."
Kang Shi also cursed, "Running away because you can't win?"
I've never seen anyone act so shamelessly!
The enemy's retreat signaled surrender, and the alternate dimension of the sand table battlefield could no longer be maintained. A violent black wind swept across the entire battlefield, forcing Kang Shi to raise his sleeve to shield his eyes. When the wind subsided, the army had already left the sand table battlefield. The air was filled with a nauseating stench of blood and burnt flesh, and countless corpses lay inexplicably on the ground, but there was no trace of the enemy.
Kang Shi gritted his teeth: "...You escaped pretty quickly!"
Unfortunately, those two literary scholars have not yet been caught.
He ordered his troops to rest on the spot and sent soldiers to collect the corpses. His own men were to be kept safe, while the enemy's were to be buried.
There was no need to burn it. Firstly, burning would be too noisy, and secondly, the area was deserted, with only occasional wild animals roaming around, so there was no concern that the rotting corpse would spread disease. Kang Shi hastily wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief and then sent out scouts to gather information.
Before long, Chu Jie and the others returned one after another.
"Here you go, the head you wanted."
The battlefield was too chaotic. Chu Jie's confidant searched through the pile of corpses for a long time before finally pulling out the head that Su Shiyi Lu had ordered. Two of them were still relatively intact, but the other one was split in two, and the brain matter was mixed with some mud. But he wasn't worried that Su Shiyi Lu would renege on his debt.
Three heads rolled on the ground.
One of them was affixed to the upper of Su Shiyilu's combat boots.
Su Shiyi Lu pulled one foot back in disgust, looked up at Chu Jie and almost laughed in anger: "You can't even stand up straight, and you're still pretending?"
"Will you accept it or not?"
"Why shouldn't I accept it?" Su Shiyilu certainly wouldn't allow himself to renege on his debt, but he didn't want Chu Jie to get too cocky, so he tried to find some grounds in his words. He bent down and picked up one of the heads, holding it in his arms and looking at it for a moment. "This is the head of the Siche Shuzhang. I wonder how it feels different when I handle it compared to the others..."
Collecting enemy heads as spoils of war was a rare, unified hobby among military commanders. While others either stored the heads away or displayed them as ornaments on their study shelves, Su Shiyilu was different. In his spare time, he would polish and caress them. His favorite head, polished to a lustrous jade-like sheen, attracted a high-priced offer.
I'll go back and take care of those three heads too.
Chu Jie felt nauseous upon hearing this.
He thought to himself: [A stubborn, incorrigible barbarian.]
Human body artifacts were very popular in Shiwu back then, and they still haven't shaken off this barbaric hobby. Playing with antiques is considered refined, but Su Shiyilu's handling of human heads is truly barbaric and bloody. But since they were colleagues who had just reconciled, Chu Jie didn't want to spoil his fun.
"snort."
When Su Shiyilu pointed out the four characters "驷车庶长", Chu Jie knew that what the barbarians cared about most was his head.
However, don't even think about it in this lifetime.
Perhaps there's a chance if I can get up early in my next life.
Just then, the first group of scouts returned with news. They hadn't found the river they'd discovered earlier, only some traces left by the enemy's hasty retreat. Kang Shi paced back and forth, one hand on his hip, the other slapping his forehead. Chu Jie couldn't see it, but Su Shiyilu said, "That's not surprising. Why would the enemy let us find them so easily? They must have set up an illusion to lure us here to ambush us. They're badly injured; how far could they run? Once we recover our strength, we'll catch up and wipe them out!"
Kang Shi kept pacing back and forth in front of him, sighing and making it seem to anyone who didn't know the situation that they had suffered a defeat and were not showing any victor's spirit! Chu Jie leaned in slightly, and Kang Shi raised his voice: "The more readily the enemy admits defeat, the more worried I am."
Su Shiyi scoffed: "Admitting defeat isn't because you're weak?"
Is it that the enemy doesn't want to win?
It's just because we can't beat them, what's there to worry about?
Chu Jie cursed under his breath again, "Growing tall but not smart," wondering if Su Shiyilu had been living a life of ease for too long or had always been this brainless: "...Is the strategist worried that these people might go all out and kill eight hundred enemies while losing a thousand of their own?"
Su Shiyilu also snapped out of his reverie at receiving the new collection, remembered his purpose for the trip, and jumped up.
"Would they do that?"
Kang Shi exhaled a breath of stale air: "It's me, I can do it."
Su Shiyilu: "..."
He glanced around at his own troops, especially Chu Jie's condition—after a fierce battle, his soldiers were exhausted, but their morale was at its peak. The only problem was that Chu Jie was not in good condition. Killing a few small fry was no problem, but if he encountered a stronger general, he might be forced to surrender: "How about I take over?"
Su Shiyilu tugged at his sleeve: "My lord, you shall obey."
Chu Jie: "But the army's strength has not yet recovered."
They were unaware of how many reinforcements the enemy had behind enemy lines.
Su Shiyilu said, "That's easy to handle. Can't Military Advisor Kang's scholarly way be restored quickly? Let's use that method!"
Chu Jie hesitated: "But the increase benefits the entire army..."
The consumption of literary energy is astronomical; anyone else might have been drained dry and turned into a dried corpse, but Kang Shi is an exception. Su Shiyilu said, "This is not a problem for the strategist."
All that is needed is to offer sacrifices to the Lord.
The Lord offered sacrifices to Heaven, and the literary spirit was boundless.
Chu Jie: "..."
Before the army set off, Chu Jie had promised his lord to keep an eye on Kang Jishou and prevent him from recklessly unleashing his ultimate attack. Yet, just a few days later, he was already urging Kang Shi to unleash his ultimate attack: "If Wu Hui finds out..."
Chu Jie, this childhood sweetheart, tricked his master into giving him his precious eyeballs.
If anything goes wrong, he has no doubt that Chu Yao will come knocking on his door.
"Then don't let him know. If you don't tell, I don't tell, and even Military Advisor Kang doesn't tell, who will know?" Su Shiyi Lu urged, but he had a different idea in his heart—if he ever fell out with Chu Jie, he would tell Chu Yao about this and let them fight like dogs!
Kang Shi resolutely suppressed his conflicting thoughts.
He decisively replied, "...We should prioritize the overall situation."
Protecting the waterways is the most important thing right now, and the lord will surely understand his predicament. Even if something were to happen to the lord, wouldn't it be his cousin Qishan who would suffer first? Kang Shi then ordered the entire army to regroup, pursue the enemy, and crush them all!
If you're fast enough, you might still make it in time.
Kang Shi is very confident in his current luck.
Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.
"...With Xian Deng gone, I knew today was an inauspicious day, a day of great calamity." It wasn't that Shen Tang was a fortune teller, but rather an intuition honed by years of being tricked. She didn't even need to look up to know who those birds in the sky were heading for: "Ji Shou has betrayed me!"
With the emperor far away and the mountains high, was Kang Shi enjoying himself to the fullest?
Years of experience had instilled in her the habit of carrying an umbrella. With her oil-paper umbrella open, she remained unmoved no matter how much excrement was about to befall her. But her composure was short-lived. Enemy catapults exploded in the air above the battlefield, and the shrapnel, by sheer coincidence, shattered her oil-paper umbrella.
She nimbly retreated, a sense of foreboding washing over her.
It felt as if she had stepped on an incredibly smooth stone, causing her to lose her balance and lean backward. In her panic, she twisted her ankle, and a piece of gravel, about half a person's height, flew over the defense line and, by sheer coincidence, hit her right in front of her. The imperial guards protecting the royal carriage turned pale with fright at the sight.
"This humble general has failed in his duty; please punish me, my lord!"
Our troops have been feigning an attack on Changqiao Stone Fortress for the past two days. Both sides have been working in unison, using catapults and other ranged weapons to probe each other. Before the boulders could even fall, they were blasted into pieces by our own soldiers, preventing any large boulders from crossing our defensive line and minimizing the damage.
It can also help your own soldiers integrate quickly and increase their teamwork.
I don't know why, but I kept making mistakes today.
Ordinary mistakes are fine, but several mistakes were directed at the Lord and endangered His safety, which is a big problem!
This made the military commander suspect that there was a traitor within his own ranks!
Shen Tang endured the pain in her ankle, inwardly cursing Kang Shi for letting himself go, but her expression remained gentle and calm as she said, "Don't worry, it must be an accident. You go to the front lines."
The young military officer was worried, feeling that something was wrong with what he was saying.
However, the king's command cannot be disobeyed.
He specially assigned over a hundred men to keep an eye on the falling rocks and arrows near the lord, making sure they were blocked! But before he could even exhale, a dozen or so flaming boulders were suddenly thrown from the direction of the stone fortress, which, unfortunately, passed right through their own defensive line.
What's even more critical is that the landing point is in the upper part of the main direction!
Shen Tang: "..."
Her heart was ice-cold at that moment.
"Cough cough cough—" These falling rocks could not endanger Shen Tang's life, but when you're down on your luck, even drinking water can cause problems. Shen Tang did not want to inhale too much sand and chose to hold his breath, but the noise of inhaling was too loud and caused him to get a side stitch. Instead, he swallowed a mouthful of sand, and his eyes were blurred and he could not open them. He twisted his other ankle when he stepped back, and subconsciously tried to grab something to steady himself, but ended up grabbing a live horse's butt.
This is a warhorse that is defecating.
She touched horse manure, and her fingernails dug into a ring of flesh.
This was a warhorse with hemorrhoids.
The warhorse never expected anyone to pick at its anus, and with a flaming rock hitting its feet, it kicked up in fright.
Shen Tang: "...Damn it!"
(▼ヘ▼#)
Kang Shi: Yuanliang, hold on!
Shen Tang: You're going to die if you come back!
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