Sun Cai was speechless after being asked this question. He opened his eyes wide and said nothing.
Chu Qiao sneered, her eyes became colder, and she said in a sinister tone: "Sir Sun, if I have wronged you today, then one day I will kowtow to you in front of everyone and apologize. But if you are deliberately deceiving me, watch out for your head."
"Walk!"
The army roared past, and the sound of horse hooves hitting the snowy field sounded like the rumbling of war drums. After a while, a deafening thunder was heard from behind. Although the explosives were crudely made, sufficient amounts of them put together were enough to blow up the ice. The Moli River is a tributary of the Chishui River. The water is deep and the waves are turbulent. It will not freeze solid in one day and one night. With three hundred archers here, the Black Hawk Army cannot cross the river easily. No matter what the situation ahead is, you should always go and take a look.
Chu Qiao made up her mind and narrowed her eyes slightly, her eyes sharp like a leopard that saw its prey.
"Sir!" He Xiao rode his horse to catch up and rode beside Chu Qiao. After years of sharing weal and woe, they were both master and servant, as well as close comrades-in-arms. The handsome general asked in a deep voice: "What happened ahead?"
The cold wind was blowing, blowing fiercely between the two of them, and the snow particles hit their faces, which was very painful. Chu Qiao was silent for a long time, and finally said in a deep voice: "Maybe, Cheng Yuan is rebelling."
He Xiao thought about it and connected the previous and subsequent events together. It was indeed possible. He cursed, "I knew that grandson was not a good guy!"
Chu Qiao didn't say anything. She looked straight ahead and cracked the whip hard to command the horse. She hoped that her guess was correct, because she really didn't want to guess another possibility.
No, no. Yan Xun would never betray me like this.
"Go!" Chu Qiao shouted, suppressing all the worries in her heart. The war horses were galloping wildly across the vast snowfield, like a dark storm. The sun was gradually obscured by dark clouds, and the sky and the earth were gray, as if it were night. Zhuge Yue's appearance came without any warning. According to the original plan, luring Chu Qiao here and sending troops to pursue her, Yue Gong actively mobilizing troops, were all just illusions created to confuse Zhuge Yue. The ultimate goal was to lure Zhuge Yue out of Mingxi Valley and then send 20,000 archers to shoot him in front of the valley. The war will end in front of the Mingxi Valley and will never affect the inland of Yanbei, let alone important cities like Yuegong.
Therefore, when Zhuge Yue suddenly appeared in Yuegong City, the first reaction of the entire city was panic, simply because Yan Xun had already led the last of Yuegong’s troops to set up an ambush in front of Mingxi Valley.
Yuegong City was eventually burned down by Zhuge Yue. When Yan Xun got the news and rushed back, Zhuge Yue, dressed in a green fur coat, stood on the Xiema Slope outside the city. In front of Yan Xun, he personally fired a rocket at the high city gate. After receiving the attack signal, 300 rockets were fired at Yuegong City, which was covered with tung oil. God also helped Zhuge Yue. Under the raging wind, not only the food and grass in the city, but also the entire city, was reduced to scorched earth in the fire.
The 20,000 troops led by Yan Xun were horrified. Half of them were local officers from Yuegong. Seeing their homes destroyed and their parents, wives and children unknown whether they were alive or dead, they became furious and rushed forward without waiting for Yan Xun's order.
The battle took place very hastily, with no queues or formations, it was just a mad charge. With a sense of grief, the Yanbei soldiers moved at an astonishing speed, like a group of howling hungry wolves. However, before they could get close, hundreds of Moon Guards' sharp arrows pierced their chests. The arrows whistled at them like rain and fog breaking through the sky. No flesh and blood body could resist this force. After about an incense stick of time, there was no living person standing in the center of the two armies.
The north wind blew across the bloody battlefield, and in the rolling wind, one could seem to hear the heavy breathing of the dying. Yan Xun was standing on the other side. When the Yuegong defenders rushed forward, he did not stop them. In fact, he had no time to stop them, so he just watched the ten thousand defenders die under the arrows, like a group of autumn grass that no one cared about. At this moment, Yan Xun's personal guards stood behind him, like a dark and silent forest, with still ten thousand people, standing silently and without a sound.
This was the first time Yan Xun and Zhuge Yue met after Bian Tang. Although the war lasted for a whole year and there were countless battles of varying sizes, and Zhuge Yue even led his troops to attack Yan Xun's tent, they never met. Now, their eyes met silently in mid-air like lightning, without any sharp sparks, everything was like reefs hidden under the undercurrent, colliding quietly, silently and heavily together, the water surface was rolling slightly, but undercurrents were surging inside, outsiders could not see the sharpness and edge hidden in it, only those who are well versed in the inside story can understand what kind of awe-inspiring courage this is.
From their childhood outside the Zhenhuang City to the repeated clashes after they grew up, this pair of equally talented and powerful men, in terms of power, stood opposite each other with clear distinctions; in terms of military capabilities, they had amazing means and were evenly matched; in the political competition, they were sworn enemies and could not reconcile. But by some strange coincidence, they actually fell in love with the same woman. Such fate and circumstances make it impossible for them to sit down and calmly appreciate each other's strengths and talents in their entire lives. Whenever they clash, there will be hot blood, and the fight will be a victory or a defeat, and a life-and-death battle.
When Zhuge Yue saw Yan Xun, his heart, which had been hanging for a long time, suddenly let go. As soon as he walked out of Mingxi Valley, he knew that he had been deceived. The only difference was whether this matter was led by Yan Xun alone, or was Chu Qiao involved? Did Yan Xun infiltrate the Southwest Town Envoy, or did Chu Qiao personally expose his whereabouts? Life and death on the battlefield are unpredictable and at such a critical moment, these things may have become irrelevant to others, but to him, they cannot be ignored. He was certain that Chu Qiao was not that kind of person, and he was confident that he was by no means an insignificant passerby in her heart. However, he could not measure the position of Yan Xun in her heart, and could not evaluate which side her eyes would look at with worry when his interests conflicted with Yan Xun's.
Zhuge Yue sneered at himself. Even if she would not betray Yan Xun for him, she would not kill him for Yan Xun either. That way, maybe it will be okay.
When Yan Xun saw Zhuge Yue, he was far from being as calm as Zhuge Yue. The disgust and hatred in his heart grew like vines. It was this man in front of him who made him lose his first chance to escape from Zhenhuang and suffer eight years of imprisonment worse than pigs and dogs; when he was crawling on the ground, living like a pig and dog, he was enjoying the glory of the imperial aristocracy, with fine clothes and food, and fine horses; when he was enduring humiliation and being bullied by others, he was indifferent and watched coldly; when his family was broken up and turned to mud, his family rose up, stepping on the bones and blood on the ground, and became the new voice of the empire; after he had finally created this towering foundation, it was he who destroyed his myth of invincibility with his own hands, dealing him a heavy blow.
And, there is Ah Chu...
Thinking of this, the fire in Yan Xun's heart began to burn fiercely, and the resentment and anger that had been suppressed for a long time were like a erupting volcano, out of control.
By evening, the sun was setting and a faint black outline could be seen on the eastern horizon. It was the war horses of Yanbei. Even across thousands of mountains and rivers, one could smell the breath of the horses in the air. The air was filled with dust, and there were at least 30,000 to 40,000 people there.
Zhuge Yue stood still, and Yan Xun did not speak either. With war now upon them, insults and curses would seem too childish. One of Yan Xun’s soldiers rode out of the camp and came to Zhuge Yue’s camp, shouting, “Don’t shoot!”
The Moon Guards were silent, looking at this courageous soldier with indifferent eyes. The soldier licked his lips nervously and began a long pre-war speech. The content was very old-fashioned, nothing more than some cruel and inhumane Daxia, Yan Beixing's army was a righteous army, you trespassed into our land and invaded our territory. Our army swears not to compromise with such provocation. Our reinforcements are ahead. If you want a chance to escape, just put down your weapons and surrender immediately, kneel down and beg for mercy and so on.
The soldier who was trying to persuade the capitulator to surrender spoke righteously and eloquently, but the person on the other side of him did not give him any response at all. Seeing that he had finished speaking, Zhuge Yue waved his hand gently and said without any emotion: "Kill him."
Immediately, a volley of arrows was fired, and the brave orator was shot into a hornet's nest. His body fell straight down, but his feet were still in the stirrups. The warhorse was frightened and ran backwards, dragging the man along, staining the road red with blood.
The soldiers of Yanbei finally flew into a rage, and angry voices filled the entire venue. Thousands of people drew their swords in unison, and the sharp blades were like a ferocious ocean, covering everyone's eyes at once.
The men looked at each other, their gazes traveling through eternity of time and space. Finally, the battle horn was blown with a rumble, and the earth-gray dust covered the army. Someone shouted, and the war horses instantly drew their hooves, and the towering sea of guns and swords rushed towards the other side violently. The war began with a bang, without any warning.
The sun was setting and the sky was getting dark. Although Zhuge Yue's cavalry was small in number, they were like a sharp sword. Their crossbows and arrows were unmatched and their arrows never missed their targets. They could charge and shoot at the same time, and after shooting, they could also follow up with a slash. They are all masters with superb martial arts, strong internal strength and exquisite moves. None of them are ordinary soldiers. The three hundred men were invincible, breaking through camps and battle formations as if walking on flat ground, and were not at all frightened by the enemy's numbers.
Yan Xun's troops were also elite troops selected from hundreds of miles away. They were large in number and well-equipped with weapons. Every one of them was a veteran who had been on the battlefield for a long time, was experienced, and was full of momentum.
The battle revealed its terrible cruelty from the very beginning, blood splattered, broken arms flew everywhere, war horses butted heads, four hooves intersected in mid-air, and the huge formation surged forward, as unstoppable as a mountain torrent and tsunami, making people's backs cold and their scalps numb.
The sky was pitch black and the clouds were so low that they were almost sticking to my forehead. Yan Xun was sitting quietly in a simple tent made of coarse cloth and leather felt. The torches crackled faintly. The soldiers were all terrified and their eyes became increasingly uneasy. The war horses also made annoying neighing sounds and pawed their hooves anxiously. The air was dull and filled with fear and oppression.
It had already been half an hour. An army of 10,000 men against a weak army of less than 300 men, this huge disparity in numbers was not a normal war at all. Even if Zhuge Yue was extremely talented, he should not have been able to hold out until this point. The Moon Guards had long run out of arrows, their swords were broken, and many of them were seriously injured. The cavalry's horses were all shot dead, and they could no longer maneuver flexibly. They could only gather together, back to back, and fight with spears and swords against tens of thousands of people.