Outside Dragon City, in the ranks of the Cloud Banner Army.
The deputy commander, Chang Chenghu, was restless, his eyelids twitching, and he had a feeling that something big was about to happen.
He rode his warhorse back and forth on both sides of the drawbridge high above the moat, occasionally shading his eyes with his hand as he looked at the tall city walls and tightly closed gates of Longcheng.
At this time, almost an hour had passed since Wu Fengxian, the vanguard general of the Yunhui Army, led his troops into the city to receive the military seal and official seal of the Longcheng garrison.
On the crenellations of the city wall, the four-clawed yellow dragon flag, symbolizing the Po Lu Army, still flew high, and the figures of Young General Wu Fengxian and Imperial Envoy Sun Heling, who were on the city tower, were nowhere to be seen.
The sun was setting, and it was getting dark.
After much deliberation, Chang Chenghu finally decided to order a strong attack on Longcheng. Even if Sun Heling, that old scoundrel, later accused him of "treason," he could not stand idly by and watch his young general fall into danger.
Otherwise, if Wu Fengxian were to suffer any mishap under Chang Chenghu's nose, the General would probably behead him on the spot the next day.
Chang Chenghu was clear about the relative importance of dying immediately versus possibly dying later.
"Messenger, convey my personal order: the Yunhui Army stationed at Jubeichuan must set off immediately and arrive at Longcheng within one hour!"
"Understood!"
"Vanguard, Central Army, Left and Right Guards, listen to my command: Cavalry, dismount and prepare for battle; infantry, prepare siege equipment. Join me in a fierce assault on Longcheng to rescue the young general!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
With each military order issued by the deputy commander Chang Chenghu, the vanguard of the Yunhui Army immediately sprang into action. The messengers rode swiftly to the temporary camp at Jubeichuan, while the other branches of the army prepared siege equipment in an orderly manner.
Just as the vanguard soldiers of the Yunhui Army were busily and orderly connecting the flying bridge to cross the moat outside Longcheng, the two heavy solid wood gates of Yongding Gate in Longcheng were slowly pushed open from inside the city.
Immediately afterwards, the drawbridge suspended high above the moat began to slowly descend, and finally, with a "boom," it spanned the two banks of the moat, reconstructing a passage connecting the inside and outside of Dragon City.
Seeing this, Chang Chenghu hurriedly ordered: "Pass down the order, all troops to cease preparations for attacking the city and remain on alert!"
As they spoke, a tall figure clad in golden armor slowly rode out of Yongding Gate. The yellow horse he rode was also clad in golden armor, majestic and extraordinary.
Following closely behind were eighteen knights clad in silver armor, wielding longswords, and their faces veiled in black. Their warhorses were also clad in silver armor, gleaming and menacing.
Then, as far as the eye could see, a vast, dark mass of black-armored cavalry rode out of Yongding Gate in an orderly fashion, men with swords and horses clad in armor, their approach fierce and menacing.
Oh no! Chen Huai'an is planning a rebellion! The young general is in grave danger!
Chang Chenghu's heart skipped a beat. He immediately recognized the man riding the golden-armored yellow horse out of the city as Chen Huai'an, the former heir of the Prince of Jin, who had been reassigned as the Prince of Beihai by the emperor and exiled to the extremely cold and barren lands of the north!
"Quickly, quickly, order the cavalry to don their armor, mount their horses, and meet the enemy!"
In an instant, Chang Chenghu broke out in a cold sweat and fear welled up inside him.
As a deputy general in the Yunhui Army, he knew very well that once Chen Huai'an's Polu Army cavalry charged, his 10,000 men, without the protection of cavalry, would be unable to stop them, and then it would be a chaotic massacre.
He and his 10,000 Yunhui soldiers were responsible for the fighting, while Chen Huai'an and the Polu Army cavalry were responsible for the indiscriminate slaughter!
Chang Chenghu never dreamed that Chen Huai'an, with only 8,000 troops, would dare to lead his troops out of the city to launch a proactive attack, which immediately disrupted all his plans.
In the plans of Chang Chenghu, Wu Qingyun, the Northwest General, and his advisors, there was a possibility that Chen Huai'an might disobey the imperial decree, or even resort to desperate measures to confront the court.
This is why Wu Qingyun, as the General Commander of the Northwest, was instructed by the reigning Emperor Zhao Gan to mobilize 100,000 troops from the three towns of the Northwest to approach Longcheng in three routes, blocking all escape routes for Chen Huai'an and his 8,000-strong Po Lu Army.
They simulated on the sand table that Chen Huai'an led his troops to abandon the city overnight and flee straight to the Western Regions to make a living;
It was also deduced that Chen Huai'an would defend the city to the death, fighting like a cornered beast, and that after a bloody battle, the city would fall and everyone would perish;
He also deduced that Chen Huai'an endured humiliation and hardship, suffered the same fate as King Goujian of Yue, went to the North Sea to be granted a fief, and then slowly plotted against him.
They even deduced the possible way out that Xu Ruoyun, the eldest daughter of the former Duke of the State and the Princess Consort of Jin, might seek for Chen Huai'an.
But no one expected that in the Great Xin Dynasty, where "martial prowess is paramount," Chen Huai'an, a good-for-nothing who had accomplished nothing on horseback for so many years, would have the courage and audacity to launch an attack on the Yunhui Army with only eight thousand remnants of the Polu Army.
They did not believe that the eight thousand soldiers of the Polu Army would be a united force, and that they would dare to risk the extermination of their entire families to follow Chen Huai'an in rebellion against the imperial court, even knowing that they were isolated and without support.
However, the facts were undeniable, leaving Chang Chenghu no choice but to believe them.
Ironically, Chen Huai'an, the seemingly useless and weak heir apparent, has led the remnants of the Po Lu Army out of the city to confront the vanguard of the Yun Hui Army, which is ordered to take over the military seal and defenses of Longcheng.
Chang Chenghu's initial visual estimate suggests that the number of Po Lu Army cavalry that followed Chen Huai'an out of the city and formed ranks was over three thousand, which should be the last cavalry unit in the Po Lu Army.
Chen Huai'an has deployed all his elite troops this time; it seems he's prepared to fight to the death!
With three thousand cavalry against ten thousand infantry and cavalry, the advantage should theoretically lie with Chang Chenghu's Yunhui Army.
But at this moment, Chang Chenghu was on high alert and dared not relax for a moment.
Firstly, the fate of Young General Wu Feng is still unknown, and the Yunhui Army is hesitant to act rashly.
Secondly, Chang Chenghu must have understood the principle that "a desperate army is bound to win";
Furthermore, he had just ordered the cavalry to dismount and prepare for the attack on the city, although he immediately ordered them to put on their armor and mount their horses to meet the enemy after realizing that the situation was not right.
But it takes time for them to go up and down and then form ranks, and Chen Huai'an and the Po Lu Army on the other side will not give him that time.
Sure enough, as soon as they started talking, the Po Lu Army cavalry on the other side began to move!
Upon seeing this, Chang Chenghu trembled with fear and turned pale.
But with the two armies about to clash, in order to stabilize morale, Chang Chenghu, as the commander, could only force himself to abandon the idea of galloping away on horseback and turning tail.
Instead, they shouted at the top of their lungs towards Chen Huai'an and the Po Lu Army on the other side of the moat, in order to distract the enemy and buy time for their own cavalry to mount up and prepare for battle.
"Chen Huai'an, where did you take our young general?"
Chang Chenghu roared angrily, only to find that no one on the other side paid any attention to him. There was only the sound of warhorses' hooves hitting the ground and the occasional snorting.
He continued shouting, "Chen Huai'an, do you know what this means?"
Still no one answered.
Chang Chenghu continued, "Chen Huai'an, you defied the imperial decree and openly raised troops to oppose the court. Your crime is tantamount to treason, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family!"
"Soldiers of the Po Lu Army, are you determined to join Chen Huai'an in plotting against the imperial court?"
Chen Huai'an's actions are leading you down a path to your deaths. Think of your wives, children, and elderly parents!
It's not too late to pull back from the brink; otherwise, once the Yunhui Army arrives tomorrow, you'll only have one path left: the extermination of your entire clan!
"Now, I, Chang Chenghu, as the deputy general of the Yunhui Army, guarantee you that as long as you lay down your weapons and surrender to the Yunhui Army on the spot, I guarantee that I will not hold any of the past transgressions against you, my brothers of the Polu Army."
If you are willing to join the Yunhui Army, everyone will be promoted three ranks!
"Whoever can capture the traitor Chen Huai'an alive will be rewarded with ten thousand gold pieces and granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!"
"Living is not acceptable, but dead is also acceptable!"
Chang Chenghu shouted until his voice was hoarse, but no one from the opposing Po Lu army responded. The three thousand iron cavalry had already assembled into a goose-shaped formation.
Clad in golden armor and wielding a halberd, Chen Huai'an took the lead, raising his halberd, which was about twelve feet long and weighed about a hundred pounds, straight at the vanguard of the Yunhui Army, which had hastily formed a battle formation outside the city. He stood proudly at the head of the goose-shaped formation.
At the same time, deep and powerful drumbeats suddenly resounded from the gate tower of Longcheng.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
The person beating the drum was none other than Xu Ruoyun, the former Princess of Jin, who never lifted a finger in her daily life.
Her slender, jade-like arms moved up and down, the drumsticks striking the cowhide drumhead repeatedly, silently conveying the intense emotions of a mother sending her son off to war.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of more musical instruments being struck came from the city tower.
The performance featured a variety of instruments, including the clear and resonant sound of the drum gong (a type of gong similar to a bronze bowl) accompanying the bass drum, the deep and powerful tone of the war drum to enhance the rhythm, the crisp and moving melody played by the bamboo flute, and the sound of gongs to create atmosphere and musical effects for the entire performance.
In addition, dozens of women from the royal family dressed as men, some playing instruments such as the xiao, sheng, and guan, and others playing the guzheng and pipa in accompaniment.
The main instrument was the large drum played by Xu Ruoyun, the former Princess Consort of Jin, accompanied by various musical instruments from the royal family, including drumsticks, war drums, bamboo flutes, guzheng, pipa, xiao, sheng, guan, and gongs.
On the city tower of Longcheng, a stirring and passionate piece, "The Music of the King of Qin Breaking the Enemy's Formation," was played for Chen Huai'an, the Prince of Jin, who was about to lead a southern expedition to quell the rebellion, and the soldiers of the Po Lu Army.
Accompanying the resounding "Qin King's Battle Song" was the resounding chant of the "Proclamation to Pacify the Rebellion and Subdue the Rebels" by thousands of soldiers of the Polu Army standing on the city wall's battlements:
"I, Chen Huai'an, am the eldest son of Prince Chen Polu of Jin, and the heir apparent to the Prince of Jin personally appointed by Emperor Gaozu. Since receiving this title, I have abided by the law, fulfilled my duties, and remained loyal to the emperor and patriotic."
"The new emperor ascended the throne, favoring treacherous officials and allowing villains like Wu Qingyun and Chang Chenghu to mislead the court and the public, acting perversely. If these treacherous officials are not eliminated, the empire will not be secure."
"Now, I, the King, have received the late Emperor's edict and wield the imperial Golden Whip to quell the rebellion, raise an army to punish the traitors, eliminate the treacherous officials, cleanse the court of corrupt ministers, secure the nation, strengthen the foundation of the country, and restore a bright and clear world to the Great Xin Dynasty!"
At the same time, Chen Huai'an shouted sharply: "All soldiers of the Po Lu Army, listen to my command—"
"Your subordinate is here!"
More than three thousand Longcheng cavalry responded in unison.
Chen Huai'an: "Follow me out of the city to meet the enemy, march south to punish the rebels, and slay the traitor Chang Chenghu!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
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