The color of the night was vast and distant.
Under the vast night sky, the enormous wheel that gathered more than a hundred thousand people was currently crumbling and shattering. Within the speckles of flames of all sizes, the disorderly clashes of the crowd were intense and enormous.
At the hour of the night, the greatest wave of chaos was currently spreading through the Western Xia camp. People and warhorses were running chaotically, the flames igniting the tents. The frontlines of the hostage army were already caved in, the rear involuntarily taking two steps back. An avalanche of defeat had appeared while people were still scratching their heads. A Black Flag Battalion charging into the crossbow formation caused a chain reaction, crossbow bolts flying chaotically amidst the chaotic flames. Screams, running, an atmosphere of oppression and fear tightly wrapped around everything. Luo Ye, Mao Yishan, Hou Wu and the others were doing their best to kill. Not many people could remember the specifics. They charged into the depths of the flames, first one step, then two steps … …
The armored warhorses were driven into the camp. Some of the warhorses had already collapsed. Qin Shaoqian took off his helmet, lifted off his armor, and picked up his long blade. His field of vision was also faintly trembling. In front, the Black Flag Battalion was attacking the enemy formation.
The two hundred or so riders responsible for releasing the hot air balloons passed through the layers of defeated soldiers, threading their way through.
The pressure coming from the darkness, the pressure coming from the internal chaos. This afternoon, the seventy thousand people on the periphery were still unable to stop the enemy army. The pressure brought about by the enormous defeat was erupting. The Black Flag Battalion had more than one point of attack, but at every point, those bloodstained soldiers with savage and crazed eyes still erupted with enormous destructive power. Fighting to this point, warhorses were already no longer needed, there was already no need for a path of retreat, and there was no longer any need to consider the future … …
Under the night sky, the evening party reached its climax, and then they attacked in several directions.
From order to disorder, from compression to expansion, the people who were pushed back first came in patches, then gradually became waves, groups, and then finally scattered into specks. The specks of flames also began to gradually become sparse. The enormous Dong Zhiyuan, the enormous tide of people. At the hour of the night, the wind blew across the plains.
… …
Wolf howls sounded in the plains.
The spread of the smell of blood attracted the hunting animals on the plains. At the borders, they found corpses and gathered in groups to devour them. Occasionally, voices and torches could be heard in the distance. Sometimes, there were wild wolves following the smell of blood on people's bodies.
Within a radius of more than ten li, battles that were governed by the laws of nature would occasionally occur. Large groups of soldiers would pass by, or small groups of defeated soldiers would pass by. The sounds in the surrounding darkness would make them frightened by the mere twang of a bowstring.
After the defeat of the periphery, the center formation was broken through, and then the main formation collapsed. Victory and defeat on the battlefield were often confusing. An army of less than ten thousand charging at a hundred thousand people was a concept that could only be roughly thought about. However, only when fighting on the frontlines would the pressure and fear at that moment be truly profound and real. After these fleeing soldiers roughly knew about the chaos on their own side, they ran even faster, no longer daring to look back.
Luo Ye and his two companions were supporting each other as they walked on the dark plains. On the right was his subordinate, Li Zuo Si, and on the left was Mao Yishan, who they had met on the way. This person was honest and simple-minded, but he was an expert on the battlefield.
When the Xixia army was defeated, they chased after them all the way. Some of them were exhausted and stayed on the road, but a few of them still chased after them in different directions. They were eventually shaken off. When he realized that there was no one around, Luo Ye stood for a while and finally began to walk back. The three bloody men supported each other without talking much. Luo Ye nagged, "Are you okay? Are you okay? Don't stop. Don't stop. You have to hold on at this time … "
He whispered the words all the time. Mao Yishan touched his body occasionally. "I don't feel anything. But I'm okay …"
"Don't stop. Stay awake …"
"Did we … win?"
"I don't know. I don't know …" Luo Ye answered subconsciously.
They fought all the way through the Xixia camp and chased after large groups of defeated soldiers. But they were not very clear about the outcome of the whole battlefield.
On the road, they found a torch that was about to go out. They blew on it and continued to walk forward. There was the smell of blood on the road, and there were corpses on the ground. They put the torch over to take a look, and after a while, they found two injured companions. They were lying back to back on the ground, as if they were dead, but Luo Ye tested them and found that they were still alive. He slapped each of them in the face, and then took off a small leather bag from their bodies.
"Don't sleep. Don't sleep. Drink some water. Just a sip …"
"You're injured. You'll die if you sleep. Come on, hold on …"
Then the five people supported each other and walked forward. After a while, there was a rustling sound from the opposite side. Four figures stopped and then a voice came, "Who's there?"
"China …"
"Two-one, two-one, Mao …" Mao Yishan reported his team. He was from the Second Squad, First Platoon, Second Company, First Battalion, Second Squad, Second Squad. Before he finished his words, the opposite side had already seen the people in the dim light. A voice came, "Yishan?"
"Ah? Platoon, platoon leader? Brother Hou? "
The four people also supported each other and walked over. Hou Wu and Qu Qing were among them. The nine people gathered together. Qu Qing was seriously injured and almost fainted. Luo Ye also knew them. He shook his head and said, "Let's not go. Let's … take a rest first …"
The wind whimpered as it neared midnight. The smell of blood permeated the wasteland. They gathered some dried grass and firewood and stripped off the clothes of the dead Western Xia soldiers that they could find nearby. Then, they started a bonfire and boiled water. They used the medicine they had brought with them to bandage Qu Qing's wounds. Then, they began to bandage the wounds of the other soldiers with great difficulty.
At this moment, the nine of them were forcing themselves to do this. As they slowly applied medicine and bandaged their wounds, they discussed the situation of the battle in low voices.
"Did they win?"
"Who were you chasing?"
"The King of Xixia? You were chasing Li Qianshun? I think so too … "
"I don't know if it's true. It's a pity that we didn't chop off his head …"
Even at such a moment, Luo Ye was still thinking about Li Qianshun. He shook his head with regret. Hou Wu nodded and said, "Yes, I don't know who killed him. I think the one who chased after him won. Who killed the King of Xixia? Otherwise, how could he run away … "
As the bonfire burned brightly, these words came one after another. Suddenly, a sound came from not far away. It was the sound of footsteps and the light of torches. The crowd came from the mound behind them. After a while, they saw each other.
They were not the Black Flag Army. They were the Xixia army under the light of the torches. Although they looked a little embarrassed, they didn't have many wounds on their bodies. They were not stained with blood. There were about 20 to 30 of them. As soon as the two sides saw each other, they stopped. A dozen people in the front were holding spears, and some of them pulled out their swords.
No one spoke. Mao Yishan, who was covered in blood, stood still for a moment. Then, he grabbed the long sword on the ground and stood up.
The wind blew over the ground. The flames were burning, elongating the silent and terrifying figure. Then, Luo Ye stood up with a slight smile on his face. Then, the people around the bonfire slowly stood up. Nine figures stood there. Luo Ye raised his sword.
"I'm going to die here." Luo Ye said in a low voice, "It's a pity that I didn't kill Li Qianshun. The first officer of Xixia was snatched by you. It's so boring …"
"Ah …" Hou Wu looked ahead absent-mindedly. "Isn't there another one here? How about I give him to you? "
"Oh, I … uh …" He was about to say something, but he was stunned. In his field of vision, 20 to 30 people slowly retreated and then ran away.
"…"
There was a long silence around the bonfire.
"Hehe …"
"Haha …"
When the sound rang out, it was weak laughter. "I was scared to death …"
"Say, do you think we won?"
"It looks like it …"
"Hahahaha … cowards!"
In the flickering firelight, nine figures stood there. Their laughter spread far and wide in the wilderness …
There were similar figures walking around the wilderness. The flames in the place where the Xixia King's army was originally located were gradually extinguished. A large number of supplies and vehicles were left behind. The exhausted soldiers were still moving about. They helped each other, helped each other, bandaged their wounds, and drank some water or meat soup. Those who still had strength were let out to search for the wounded and the soldiers who were separated. The soldiers who were found and helped each other back were bandaged and treated. They leaned against each other on the supplies by the bonfire. There were people who talked from time to time, so that they would not fall asleep at the most exhausted moment.
The hour of 'zi' passed, and then came the hour of 'yi'. There were still people coming back one after another, and there were also those who had rested for a little while, carrying torches and riding captured warhorses that could still move, patrolling outside. Mao Yishan and the others came back around midnight. Qu Qing was seriously injured and was sent to the tent for treatment. Qin Shaoqian dragged his tired body to patrol the camp.
When they rested again, Luo Ye, Hou Wu, and the others looked at each other and said, "Did we win?"
The first glimmer of dawn appeared. In the quiet camp, the people were still sleeping. But when people woke up one after another and shook their companions to wake up, some of their companions who had fallen asleep last night had left them forever. Under the leadership of the officers, these people were sent out one after another. Throughout the day, they searched for the corpses of the dead or the traces of the surviving wounded along the route of the battle.
…
On the first day of the seventh month in the second year of Jingping, at dusk, an army of more than three thousand people was lined up on the Dong Zhiyuan. The war had stopped. Corpses were laid out on the side, densely filling the field of vision.
The tall one-eyed general walked to the front. In the sky on one side, the clouds were burning like flames, spreading out in the vast sky. The black flag stained with blood was fluttering in the wind.
He said something about it, and said something else. Under the fiery setting sun, accompanying their fallen comrades, the soldiers in the formation were solemn and resolute. They had already gone through an unimaginable tempering. At this moment, every single one of them had injuries on their bodies. They did not even have much of a sense of reality regarding this tempering process. Only their dead comrades were all the more real.
No one could avoid paying the price for their living space. They paid the price, and many even paid the price of their own survival.
Compared to Li Qianshun's army of one hundred thousand and the banners that covered the sky, the army before them was pitifully small. But at this moment, even though they stood on the battlefield covered in pain, their formation seemed to have a soaring essence and smoke that stirred the clouds.
The army on the Dong Zhiyuan suddenly roared. The roar was like thunder, followed by another. The ancient bugle sounded on the battlefield and spread far away with the night wind.
This was a memorial.
On this day in the wilderness, they hadn't thought of celebrating yet. As the warriors left, they opened the way with shouts and bugles.
Countless things were still waiting for them in the future. But right now, the most important thing was to rest …
*****
At this time in the northwest, it was still in the scorching heat of autumn. Zhong Lie's thousands of Zhong family soldiers were being chased by more than ten thousand Western Xia soldiers and were moving southward. He knew about the advance of the Western Xia army on the Dong Zhiyuan. The army that suddenly jumped out of the mountains and defeated Iron Sparrow Hawk with firearms. Facing an army of one hundred thousand, they could only retreat. But at this time, they finally had a chance to breathe. In any case, they could threaten Li Qianshun's retreat. The Yuan, Qing, and other places would give them some help.
This regicide army was quite powerful. If they could be taken under their command, perhaps the situation in the northwest would turn for the better. But they were arrogant and unruly, so they needed to be cautious. But it didn't matter. Even if they talked about cooperation, once the Western Xia could be driven away, the Zhong family would still have a righteous and orthodox position in the northwest, and they would be able to control them.
In the northeast, after receiving the news of Iron Sparrow Hawk's destruction, the She family army had turned out in full strength and moved southward. Zhe Keqiu, who was leading the army, sighed. Sure enough, people who were cornered were the most terrifying. He knew about the food shortage in the Little Cang River, so he prepared to pluck the clear stream and other places as the fruits of victory. Previously, he was indeed afraid of the Western Xia army, but since Iron Sparrow Hawk was destroyed, the She family army could fight with Li Qianshun. As for the Black Flag Army, since they had already conquered Yanzhou, there was no harm in letting them continue to attract Li Qianshun's attention. But he also had to find a way to figure out how they had destroyed Iron Sparrow Hawk.
The regicide could not be used, and he did not dare to use it. But in this world, ruthless people had their place. Whether they could survive under Li Qianshun's anger, he did not care.
In the Little Cang River, the debate between the young and the old continued every day. But in these two days, both of them were a little absent-minded. Every time they were in this state, Ning Yi's words became more and more unrestrained.
"… Currently, the training method in the Little Cang River is limited. Our current location is also a little special. But if it is as Duke Zuo said, if we really start fighting with the Confucian school and the whole world, it is not that there is no way to do it. If the whole world really comes pressing down on us and you want to get rid of me first at all costs, then why should I have any misgivings … For example, I can first distribute the land rights, so that the tillers have land, and then I … "
"… The core of what I want to fight is reason and law! Only the order of reason and law is the biggest dross of the Confucians … That's right, that's right, you are right. But if the world changes again, reason must come first … Uh, what's the use of scolding me, let's talk about reason … "
The old man left angrily again.
Walking into the yard, the sun was setting. Su Tan'er was teaching Ning Xi how to read. Seeing Ning Yi come out, she smiled. "Husband, you won again." But she saw Ning Yi looking into the distance, still a little absent-minded. After a while, he came back to his senses and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Not really. Some things can be said to be unreasonable now, they should not be said."
He looked in the direction of the setting sun. Su Tan'er knew what he was worried about and did not disturb him anymore. After a while, Ning Yi took a deep breath and then sighed. He shook his head as if mocking himself for not being calm. Thinking about something, he walked back to his room.
The messenger cavalryman was already hundreds of miles away on the road.
In Green Wood Stronghold, a solemn and oppressive atmosphere enveloped everything.
Thousands of miles to the southeast, Prince Kang's troops headed north. This silent world was preparing for the coronation of the new emperor.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
