A drop of rain fell from the thick clouds, piercing through the air and landing on the muddy ground, ultimately vanishing without a trace.
This was the last drop of rain after the torrential downpour.
"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"
"Don't fall behind!"
"Hyah!"
… …
Beneath the clouds, a black flood of steel snaked across the earth. In this black flood, black banners soared into the sky, the character for 'Tang' engraved upon them glaringly. It had been a day and a night since they had withdrawn from battle last night.
The nearly one hundred thousand soldiers of the Annam Protectorate had not slept or rested this entire time. Even though all of them were exhausted, even their warhorses panting, not a single one of them had stopped. And not a single one of them had complained.
This time, they were all in a race against time, fighting for that sliver of a chance at survival.
"Milord, just where are we going?"
Xu Shiping and Xu Andun, flanking Wang Chong on the left and right, couldn't help but ask.
From yesterday until now, the march had never ended. However, the two of them realized that Wang Chong's army was not moving in the same direction. There was no mistaking the fact that the army had fled northeast at the very beginning. But later on, this was no longer the case.
Slowly, even the slowest officer began to realize that Wang Chong's army was not heading north at all.
But if Wang Chong did not say anything, no one could ask.
Even the highest-ranking officers in the army, Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong, tacitly approved of Wang Chong's actions. In this entire process, neither of them had asked a single question.
"You'll know in a little while."
Wang Chong indifferently said, his eyes looking forward. He did not directly answer.
The short battle had come to a temporary end, and the Mongolian army had been left far behind. But although Wang Chong appeared calm on the surface, the anxiety in his heart had not lessened in the slightest. The Annam Protectorate had far too many infantry and far too few warhorses.
Even though he had already done his utmost to change his movements and confuse the Mengshe – Ü-Tsang army's target, he had no choice. But it could only confuse them for a while. With the speed of the Ouzan cavalry, they would soon catch up. Therefore, Wang Chong felt as if there was a needle on his back and a maggot in his bones.
It was not just Wang Chong. In fact, this anxiety and uneasiness shrouded the entire army.
"Xu Qiqin, it's all up to you now whether I and my hundred thousand men can survive or not!"
Looking at the dark clouds circling above his head, thoughts flashed through Wang Chong's mind.
The battle was still far from beginning. Although an expert of the Imperial Great General level like Huoshu Huizang had appeared in the battle last night, it had only been a brief encounter. Dalun Ruozan had not appeared, nor had Gelofeng. The intelligent and courageous Mengshe Zhao Great General Duan Gequan and his 300,000 soldiers, who were on the same level as Huoshu Huizang, had not appeared. Moreover, there was still the 70,000 Ouzan soldiers in the rear who had not yet arrived.
The decisive battle between the Annam Protectorate and the Mengshe – Ü-Tsang army was still far from here.
But this decisive battle was not far away!
Although he had already arranged for Xu Yi-qin to make all sorts of arrangements, Wang Chong had no idea if this move would have any effect.
"Young Master, we've arrived!"
As Wang Chong was in a daze, he heard a voice at his ear. The Eagle was riding a buckskin horse, a massive eagle perched on his shoulder.
Wang Chong opened his eyes and followed the Eagle's gaze. He saw that on the horizon, beneath the roiling clouds, a towering mountain towered over the earth, imposing and majestic. Upon seeing this mountain, Wang Chong took in a deep breath and came back to his senses.
"All soldiers, advance at full speed! No one is allowed to stop! Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with according to military law!"
While his voice was still echoing through the air, Wang Chong urged his horse forward and charged forward. Behind him, the army of a hundred thousand seemed to be stimulated by something. Suddenly, they surged forward like a tide.
… …
On the majestic mountain, a few dozen zhang from the foot of the mountain was a horse-tethering stone. A stone tablet stood beside it, exuding a desolate aura.
As Wang Chong rode past, he gazed at the stone stele with a complicated look in his eyes.
"What's this?"
A curious voice came from beside him. The Eagle, Chen Shusun, Xu Shiping, Xu Andun, and the other generals had all rushed over from the rear. A horse-tethering stone in a place like this was extremely strange, and the stone tablet beside it made it even stranger.
More importantly, the words on the stone tablet were strange and twisted, and no one could read them.
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"This is a horse-tethering stone from the second year of the Great Han Dynasty's Yuan Feng!"
Wang Chong looked at the horse-tethering stone and stone tablet and sighed.
"It's been almost a thousand years since then!"
As soon as Wang Chong finished speaking, everyone's expressions changed. The Eagle, Chen Shusun, Xu Shiping, Xu Andun, and the other generals all looked over, their eyes filled with astonishment. Wang Chong was able to determine that this was a horse-tethering stone of the Great Han, which was nothing special.
But to be able to determine that it had been in the second year of the Great Han Dynasty's Yuan Feng was truly astonishing.
"This is the Han Dynasty's seal script, specially used to carve stone tablets. It's been more than a thousand years, so it's normal that you don't recognize it."
With a complicated expression, Wang Chong extended a finger, pointed at the stele, and began to read out the words on it one by one.
"Bahu General Guo Chang, under the orders of the Great Han's Emperor Wu, returns north to Kaidian! Tie the horse here and erect this stone tablet as a record! "
The words on the stone tablet were written in bold and vigorous strokes, and it inadvertently revealed a spirit of being in high spirits and looking down arrogantly upon the world.
Wang Chong paused, his gaze sweeping across the crowd. Finally, he said the most important words.
"This stone tablet has another name, the Kaidian Decree!"
"Buzz!"
As soon as Wang Chong said this, everyone's expression changed. Even Xianyu Zhongtong and Wang Chong's father, Wang Yan, who had rushed over from behind, suddenly paled.
The crowd finally understood why Wang Chong's expression had been so grave when he had passed by this stone tablet.
Bahu General Guo Chang was a martial artist with a transcendent status, a 'Titled General'.
Although this person's name was not well known in later history, not many people knew of him. But in the south, especially in the southwest of the empire, there was practically no one who did not know of him. The reason was very simple. Bahu General Guo Chang was the first person in the history of the Central Plains to open a path through Erhai and conquer the Six Zhao.
During the Great Han Dynasty's Yuan Feng era, Bahu General Guo Chang returned with Great General Wei Qing after pacifying the Xiongnu in the northern desert. He led his army south to quell the rebellion in Nanyue. On the way back, Guo Chang received an order from Emperor Wu of the Han to pacify Yunnan. On the way back, Guo Chang stopped to look south and set up a stone tablet. This was the famous' Han Wu Opening Yunnan Tablet ', also known as the' Han Wu Opening Yunnan Order '.
When Guo Chang opened Yunnan, Mengshe Zhao was not called Mengshe Zhao yet, and Erhai was not Erhai either. Instead, it was called the Ancient Yunnan Kingdom.
It was in the hands of this Bahu General Guo Chang that the power of the Central Plains Dynasty expanded from the hinterland to the Six Zhao of Erhai.
In the following dynasties, all the powers of Erhai submitted to the Central Plains, and this was the root cause.
It could be said that this Bahu General of the Han Dynasty was the true first person to open up territory in Yunnan!
Without this Bahu General, the Tang Dynasty would not have been able to expand its influence to Erhai.
The people of the Annam Protectorate had been guarding the southwest for a long time, so they were naturally very familiar with Guo Chang's deeds. Thinking back to nearly a thousand years ago, in the Han Dynasty, when this ancient general led the army into and out of Yunnan, high-spirited and vigorous, invincible. Thinking back to today's army looking north in panic, hurriedly fleeing for their lives, everyone's hearts were heavy and incomparably ashamed.
"Our Annam Protectorate has the duty of guarding the southwest. Now, not only have we disobeyed the imperial order, we have to abandon the city and flee. If General Guo were still alive, he would probably feel deep disdain for us! "
Xianyu Zhongtong raised his head to the sky and gave a long sigh, his heart filled with complex emotions.
As the Annam Protector-General, he could not escape the blame for the development of the southwest. As he stood before the Tablet of Emperor Wu of the Han Opening Yunnan, there was no one who felt worse than him.
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