The meadow was seventy miles to the southwest of the City of Wei. Compared to the Xiangwan Plain, it was in the south, but the temperature was lower. The water and grass were not fertile. However, the Tang army was willing to pay a high price to camp here in the snow, ready to attack at any time.
Why? Because the Tang army was running out of warhorses. They had to take back the meadow before next spring. That was their last hope.
On the other side of the snow, the Tang camp was full of bonfires. Thick mattresses covered the backs of the warhorses. The Tang army valued the remaining warhorses more than their own lives. This only made A Da feel more contemptuous. He would never sympathize with the weak.
Just like how he would never sympathize with the defeated general.
Was the Tang army without warhorses still the same Tang army that used to dominate the world with cavalry? Was the man who was killed still the famous general?
Hua Ying was drinking in the Tang camp. He was a middle-aged general who was bare-chested. He was sweating profusely and his pale face was full of pain.
In the summer, he was defeated by the young barbarian on the battlefield. Since then, he had never recovered from his injury. He disobeyed the order to drink because only alcohol — only the strong alcohol in the Nine-river Double Distilled Liquor could help him suppress his injury. He could stay awake and continue to lead the two thousand cavalrymen.
In the last war, the Tang Empire signed a peace treaty with the Divine Halls of West-Hill. The heaviest price they paid was to cede the Xiangwan Plain to the Golden Tribe Royal Court. Princess Lee Yu apologized to the Tang officials and people, and Prince Li Peiyan even committed suicide.
Without the Xiangwan Plain, the Tang Empire lost the main source of warhorses. But in the following years, the small-scale battles at the border never stopped.
Chanyu was cruel and vicious. He wanted to consume the warhorses of the Tang army. For this, he did not hesitate to let his cavalrymen pay twice or even thrice the price.
The Royal Court could replenish the warhorses, but where could the Tang army replenish their warhorses?
The number of warhorses of the Northern Battlefront Army decreased rapidly as time went by and the battles never stopped. Now they were in a desperate situation.
As a famous general in the Tang army, Hua Ying was extremely powerful in martial arts. In the Northern Battlefront Army, he was only second to General Xu Chi in both experience and ability. He had over ten thousand cavalrymen and three thousand heavy cavalrymen under his command. But now …
Two thousand four hundred and thirty-two men, with two thousand four hundred and thirty-two warhorses, made up two thousand four hundred and thirty-two cavalrymen, all the cavalrymen under his command.
They were the last cavalrymen of the Northern Battlefront Army.
Hua Ying accepted the military order and brought all the cavalrymen here to confront the Golden Tribe's cavalry from summer to now. That was equivalent to throwing all their hopes into this battle, because the Tang army needed the grassland. They wanted to find hope.
Of course, the Tang Empire would not have only these horses left. However, it was pointless to send horses from the south, because the number was not enough to change the current situation. What made the Northern Battlefront Army even angrier was that the imperial court did not seem to have the same idea.
Hua Ying stared at the wine bowl. There seemed to be a fire burning in his eyes. It was the Academy that decided to cede the Xiangwan Plain to the Golden Tribe Royal Court, and it was Ning Que who promised that he would solve the problem of the warhorses. However, years had passed, and the Tang army had been bleeding and dying on the grassland. He and his soldiers had been tortured like ghosts. Where were the horses?
"If you are lying to us, I will come back to Chang 'an and ask you even if I die in the snow."
He picked up the wine bowl and said to Ning Que, looking to the south.
At this moment, a warning came from outside the camp. At the same time, there was a fierce challenge. In the wind and snow, the voice was clear and fierce, echoing in the wilderness.
Hua Ying looked back at the face in the wine bowl. It was a haggard face that was not as handsome as before. He suddenly smiled.
With the help of his bodyguards, he carefully put on his armor and walked out of the tent.
When he walked out of the tent, he was still in the camp. When he walked out again, the snowflakes fell on the armor, but they did not melt. Soon, the cracks were filled.
The Tang army stood outside their own tents and looked at their commander in silence.
Outside the camp, Hua Ying looked at the barbarian youth through the wind and snow. He said bitterly, "The general will definitely scold me."
Of course, he remembered who the barbarian youth was. He was defeated by this inconspicuous youth on the grassland in the summer and had been injured ever since.
No one knew when such a powerful cultivator appeared in the Golden Tribe Royal Court. If he was defeated by the infamous General Lebu, Hua Ying would understand. But he could not figure out where this youth came from and why he was so powerful.
It was not until the rumor spread in the grassland that people realized that this young slave, A Da, was a gift from Haotian to the human world, just like Hengmu Liren from the Divine Halls of West-Hill. He was a powerful cultivator bestowed by Heaven.
Hengmu Liren had an unimaginable position in the hearts of the followers of Haotian. If A Da did not live in the Wilderness, his reputation would not be any weaker.
After knowing the truth, Hua Ying realized that he had not lost unjustly. Haotian had truly abandoned the Tang Empire, just like how she had abandoned the Desolate a thousand years ago. He would not be afraid because of this, but his state of mind was still affected.
He looked into the distance. On the horizon, there was a magnificent mountain that divided the entire land into two parts. It was the Min Mountain and the Tianqi Mountain.
"Is it … terrible to be abandoned by Haotian?"
Hua Ying smiled. He reached his hand into the air and took the podao from the bodyguard. The cool sensation in his palm lifted his spirits.
The barbarian youth was powerful and terrifying. Hua Ying knew that he was no match for him. If he fought, he would die. There was no reason for him to do so.
When two armies confronted each other, there was no reason for the commander to fight alone. On the battlefield, the brave would never win. No one could say anything if he chose to avoid the fight.
However, on his way out of the camp, he saw the soldiers' expressions and eyes. He saw the exhaustion and the terrible tiredness. He saw the old horses wrapped in blankets like sick people. He knew that the morale of the Northern Battlefront Army was at an all-time low.
If he chose to fight, even if he lost and died, it would still be beneficial for him … The mourning army might not win, but it could hold on until the situation changed.
So he held the podao and walked to the other side of the snow.
"I will take your head and bury it with my tribe."
A Da looked at Hua Ying and said emotionlessly, "And one day, I will lead the warriors of the Royal Court to Chang 'an and kill that man."
Hua Ying patted the snow on his armor and said, "You might be able to kill me, but I don't plan to let you go back alive. You won't live to see Chang 'an."
When he said this, the second most powerful warrior of the Northern Battlefront Army looked calm. He was not confident that he could defeat Haotian's gift to the human world, but he was confident that he could survive.
When a man was not afraid of death, he would not be afraid of fate.
His fingers on the hilt slowly closed, like iron. Snowflakes fell on it, but there was no sign of melting. Because his hand was just that cold.
From his body to the long and thin hilt, and then to the heavy black blade, an extremely cold and sharp aura was slowly released, and then suddenly increased.
The snowflakes in the air were disturbed by this aura and shot to all directions, making the sound of breaking the air like sharp arrows.
A Da expressionlessly drew out the machete on his waist. It was a precious saber given to him by Chanyu. It was extremely sharp, as bright as his eyes at this moment.
Just like before every important battle, the young man started to pray silently, asking Tengri to give him the power to defeat all the enemies.
The snowflakes in the air seemed to hear his prayer. They timidly slowed down and floated in the air. The remaining snow on the field gradually melted, revealing the remaining grass underneath.
The snow melted and the grass appeared, but it was not full of vitality. On the contrary, it gave people a very gloomy feeling.
A Da looked at Hua Ying in front of him. His eyes were as bright as gemstones and as sharp as blades. There was a look of contempt and pity. Then he took a step forward.
He only took one step forward and then stopped.
He felt something was wrong.
He looked up at the snowy sky and suddenly felt endless sadness in his heart. His slightly blue lips slightly moved, as if he was moaning, "Tengri …"
When the tribe was defeated, he was still young and did not know how to be sad. Later, when he worked hard for the nobles in the royal court, he did not have the time to be sad. When he was collecting dung, he did not have the strength to be sad. Later, he became a great young warrior and was far away from the sadness.
But at this moment, the sadness was so strong that it instantly occupied his body and mind. He seemed to see his own death in the next moment.
Why was it like this?
He stopped looking at the sky and looked to somewhere far away in the south. He felt that someone was watching him.
Although he was thousands of miles away and could not hear any sound, he had a strong feeling that the person was talking to him. As long as he took a step forward, he would die.
A Da's dark and childish face was full of unwillingness and anger. If that person could really shoot him from thousands of miles away, why didn't he do it in the summer?
What made him most angry was that he felt the person's undisguised arrogance. And in front of this arrogance, even Tengri remained silent!
And he began to fear!
A neigh came from the wind and snow. No one knew where it came from, but it was full of arrogance.
A Da looked at the Tang camp, holding the machete, not knowing if he would take that step forward.
…
…
Thousands of miles away in the south.
Snow was falling on the city wall. Ning Que stood on top of the city wall with his back against the whole Chang 'an. He looked at the direction of the distant Wilderness and the invisible battlefield.
The dark and heavy iron bow was placed on the brick in front of him. The array eye pestle of the God-stunning Array was held tightly in his hand. His sense of perception spread around.
It was his order for the Northern Battlefront Army to kill all the captives of the Golden Tribe Royal Court. He knew it would put a lot of pressure on the Northern Battlefront Army, but he did not care. Because the way he talked to the world was not only the falling heads in the autumn rain, but also the box of iron arrows behind him.
What was puzzling was that even with the help of Chang 'an, he could not see the entire world no matter how far he could see. The Wilderness thousands of miles away was just a blurry gray image in his sense of perception. As long as the powerhouses of the Golden Tribe Royal Court were not stupid enough to light themselves up, it would be meaningless.
But he still looked to the north, as if he could see those lights at any time and then send them to the Underworld or the Divine Kingdom with an iron arrow. Or was the fire in the Academy's hand all the time?
…
…
(I wish you all a happy weekend. I suddenly feel that labor is really a happy thing.)
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