RP Chapter 1 - Chang Feng - Part 6

Chapter One - Part 6

This battle lasted from day to night, and then from night to day.

The fire on the mountain of Changfeng City illuminated the darkness of the night. In the commander's tent, the Commander stared at the map, his silhouette in the candlelight trailing beside the desk. Jingyun, who was accompanying the Commander, frowned slightly: "Among the armies under the Commander’s command, the Guan Ning's army is the best at endurance fighting. They were stimulated by the Tiger cavalry and, two days later, they are still fighting to the death."

Jiang Zaichu clasped the solid wood tabletop and said softly: "How many casualties have Guan Ning's troops suffered now?"

"25%"

"When it reaches 30%, we will withdraw them. The entire army will rest and attack again tomorrow."

"Will there be another battle tomorrow?" Jingyun was surprised, "Commander, our total casualties in the Yacheng battle were less than 10,000. Now that we are attacking Changfeng City with such force, will we use up all the residual force we have preserved?"

"Only a strong attack from our side can attract the attention of the defenders in the city. If it is a feint attack then, based on the old gentleman's battlefield experience, he will know at a glance that it is a trick."

"Commander, do you really trust that woman? She clearly promised that the dig would be completed on the day the army arrives but there are repeated reports of delays. What if she is colluding with the other side and is deliberately luring us into a trap to die?"

Jiang Zaichu gave a short laugh and said firmly: "She wouldn’t dare."

"Commander!"

Jiang Zaichu only waved his hand, interrupting Jingyun. He looked faintly towards the eastern mountains where the fire was raging, "Go and check it out yourself to see how the progress is on the other side of the ditch."

"Yes."

From the side of Duxiu Peak, you can see the foot of Changfeng City. Both armies have withdrawn their troops.

Soldiers and medics shuttled across the battlefield, busy treating the wounded and burying bodies on the spot. The thick smell of gunpowder smoke and blood became even more pungent in the hot weather. Han Weisang rolled up her sleeves and dug in the soil along with the ordinary soldiers.

It should have been completed during the city storming two days ago but no one expected a landslide to occur and the progress of diversion of the water channel was immediately delayed. Weisang understood  the situation on the battlefield better than anyone else. If she can complete the plan one day earlier, Jiang Zaichu's pressure will be alleviated. If it is delayed for a few days, Jiang Zaichu would be unable to keep up the attack momentum and the morale of the army would fall. Even if her plan eventually succeeded, it’s possible that the army would no longer be able to muster up a final attack on Changfeng City.

Her face was miserably covered in the dirt and the gauze wrapped around her hands had long since fallen off. Fortunately, it was just a scratch and the itching was not serious. Weisang heard the sound of gurgling water but unfortunately the water was blocked by the three huge rocks in front of her. The water had now reached her ankles but it still could not flow smoothly.

"Where is Han Weisang?"

Suddenly there was a fire from the direction they came from. A young officer came up surrounded by several soldiers. Amidst the clang of weapons, Weisang raised her head. By that time, the end of the riding whip had already wrapped around her wrist, causing her to she stagger. 

"When will it be completed?" Jingyun's eyes were red. He dragged her in front of him and said angrily, "Do you know how many brothers will die if you delay for even a moment?!"

Weisang struggled for a moment before she finally was able to stand upright on the spot. She hissed: "Everyone is digging hard."

There was another crisp crack of a whip in the air and everyone stopped their movements and stared blankly at General Zuo, whose face was as cold as frost.

He glared at Han Weisang for a long time and then pushed her away hard. He jumped into the ditch and started pushing the first boulder with his guards.

The day slowly got brighter and brighter.

General Wang stood on the city wall. In the last three days, they had repelled dozens of enemy attacks. However, Jiang Zaichu didn’t seem to care about his casualties and continued to dispatch the regiments under his command; the Tiger Cavalry, the Guan Ning Army and the Black Armor Army to besiege them day and night. 

This guy has never been so reckless before... The old General stroked the rough city wall and fell into deep thought. Why was he fighting so desperately this time? Just as General Wang was doubting himself, a white horse leaped out from the crowd gathered below the city wall. The man on the horse was wearing black armor, held a silver spear and looked up at the highest point of the city.

Old General Wang was stunned. Even though he was hundreds of feet away, he could still recognize the young man's appearance.

The first time General Wang had met him, he had been a little bit disdainful. He always had the feeling that this child was too handsome. However, during his stay of more than a year in Changfeng City, His Highness Prince Ning, who was still young at the time, proved to everyone his will, tenacity and determination. He could get up and do drills with the soldiers until the starry night sky; he could follow the scouts and lie motionless in the deep winter snow to check on the military situation; he could also swallow moldy steamed buns that were as cold as bricks with his colleagues.

Prince Ning, Jiang Zaichu, trained for more than a year. When he finally left, he kowtowed deeply to the old General three times.

Three smacks of "dong dong dong". He didn’t hold anything back and when he lifted his head, his forehead was broken but his eyes were clear. He said, word by word, "General, I'm leaving."

The old General did not shy away and smiled at him for the first time: "Boy, you can inherit my mantle."

Later, Jiang Zaichu did not disappoint him. The late Emperor sent him to the Western Regions to wipe out the Huns. He spent three years defeating enemy invaders in every battle. Whenever good news reached him, the old Commander would have a drink in his room and hum songs.

But now, the child who seemed immature back then, is full-fledged. He was rebelling against the Jin Dynasty and confronting himself.

The old General wondered whether he will now be another notch on his unbroken winning record. 

Would this be a victory or a defeat?

As soon as the old General stretched out his hand, the archers behind the arrow pile on the city wall quietly retreated. The battlefield was silent and you could hear a needle drop.

"Zaichu pays homage to his mentor."

Under the gaze of thousands of pairs of eyes, the Commander dismounted and knelt down on one knee respectfully as a disciple.

Old General Wang raised his hand in the air and said: "We meet on the battlefield, Your Highness so there’s no need to be polite."

"Teacher, are you willing to give up the city?" The Commander stood up and looked up at the city wall that reached into the sky. The torches on it were burning and blinking and so he couldn't clearly see the old general's face. He could only speak every word very clearly.

"I understand His Highness's goodwill. Since I have pledged my allegiance to the Jin Dynasty, I can't be wavering back and forth." Old General Wang smiled heartily, "Although I am old and see you on the battlefield, I will never go easy on you. Your Highness, consider the master-disciple relationship from back then completely wiped out."

In full view of everyone, Jiang Zaichu lowered his head slightly and no one could see his expression clearly at that moment. But then he knelt down, kowtowed three more times, turned around, mounted his horse and rode away.

"General, your reminiscences about old times with him were fair and honest but… if it reaches the court, I'm afraid they won't spare you." The deputy officer lowered his voice and whispered in the old General's ear.

"Haha..." For some reason, the old general raised his head indifferently and looked at the red-hot sky. The old man who had been on the battlefield for a long time seemed to have heard some joke and laughed even louder.

"Old General?"

"Did you smell it?" The old man looked around and murmured, "It seems to be the smell of death."

*

"Our army is attacking again!" Jingyun leaned down and looked down the mountain. Seeing that two of the three boulders had been removed, he felt anxious and excited at the same time, "Quick! Quick!"

Weisang hadn't slept a wink for several days and was persevering on sheer willpower alone. It's just that this stone was more than ten feet high and completely blocked the gap in the mountain. Moving it by manpower alone wasn’t enough, and it can only be pulled by dozens of horses transported into the mountain.

"We can't go on like this!" Uncle Xu wiped his sweat and looked up at the clock. "The snow in Yushan Mountain in the distance has melted and the water has risen. Now the water channel has been changed. If this huge rock is not moved away, the water will flow over it. If that happens, none of us can escape.”

A soldier leaned over and listened to the rumbling sound coming from deep in the ground. His face turned pale and he said, "The water is coming soon!"

"Why don't you retreat quickly?"

Jingyun's eyes were about to burst into flames: "If this diversion of the water channel cannot be unblocked, our plan will fail! If it fails, how many brothers will die under us in Changfeng City!"

Without saying a word, he took off his armor, revealing his strong muscles. He jumped into the water which had already reached waist high and pushed the stone. Weisang's strength was naturally not as strong as these men. But suddenly something occurred to her. She suddenly cursed herself for being too confused and called several soldiers to signal them to move the pine trees that had been cut down in the past two days.

"Put one end against the gap between the stone and the ground, pry the other end hard and let's all work together to pry the stone apart!"

The men jumped into the ditch one by one and raised their crowbars one after another. The stone moved slightly and everyone cheered. But they didn’t have time to be happy for a long time when they suddenly saw the first huge wave of snow water coming from the mountains in the distance—

"Water! The flood is coming!"

Everyone was shocked but Jingyun remained unmoved and he shouted: "Pry again!"

"One, two, three!"

Amidst the low roars of the men, the boulder finally moved and rolled to one side with a rumble.

A new channel was opened!

There was no time to cheer. Everyone hurriedly scrambled up to the high ground on both sides using all four limbs and only just managed to avoid the mountain torrent. 

The power of the rushing water shocked everyone who saw it.

Mountain torrents rushed down from top to bottom, deluging the entire burning mountain. Suddenly, water and fire met and a thick black smoke rose between the sky and the earth, almost obscuring the sight. When the two armies fighting in Changfeng City heard the loud noise, they all looked towards the hilltop with a thick wall of smoke rising to the east of the city. They were so shocked they even forgot to fight each other.

Boom!

Boom!

...

After dozens of loud noises, half of the majestic Duxiu Peak slowly slid down at a speed visible to the naked eye and broke apart!

The expressions of the soldiers guarding the city became horrified - the mountain actually exploded!

“Goddammit! Run!"

"We’re going to be buried alive! Run!"

Amid the rumblings of heaven and earth, the soldiers dropped their weapons and began to run away. General Wang stood at the top of the city and watched Duxiu Peak being blown apart. In the flying dust, the sky and earth were darkened and he could not see his fingers. He suddenly smiled grimly.

As early as half a month ago, Jiang Zaichu ordered people to set off this fire, which burned the entire mountain. He must have sent people to dig channels behind the mountain to divert the first wave of flash floods formed by snow water this year into the entire burning mountain.

The heated rocks were suddenly inundated with snowy water and naturally exploded!

The aggressive attacks on the city was a diversion! It turns out that this was Jiang Zaichu’s killing move!

Although the collapse of Duxiu Peak will not annihilate the entire Changfeng City, it is enough to make everyone in the city frightened and lose all will to fight!

At this moment, the Divine Army who had been dormant behind the military formation and the direct army of Commander Jiang Zaichu came out, stepped forward in unison and began to attack the city!

The trumpet sounded and the defenders who had long lost their fighting spirit abandoned their guns and armor. The Divine Army, who had been conserving their strength for this moment, climbed onto the wall without any effort. They held torches and began to attack the city amid the sand and rocks. {Actually ‘Divine Strategy Army’ but also a bit too much of a mouthful.}

General Wang saw the path of defeated escape in front of him but didn’t take it. Instead, he stood up with emotion, held his sword in hand and shouted: "All the defenders, follow my flag and defend Changfeng!" There were only a thousand people in his personal guards but not one person ran away along with the mainstay retreating crowd. Instead, they firmly held back the Divine Army.

Three hours later, the sound of the earthquake gradually subsided and the sky was no longer pitch black but gradually revealed a haze.

Victory or defeat is the final score.

This awe-inspiring city finally slowly lowered its huge city gate, as if it were a tamed giant beast that had gone through a baptism of pain and now welcomed its new master.

Jiang Zaichu rode in, and the war was coming to an end.

"Where is General Wang?"

"Old General Wang took the last of his bodyguards and retreated into the General's Mansion in order to defend it."

"Let Lian Xiu go to the rear and clean the battlefield." Jiang Zaichu closed his eyes, "The rest of you will follow me."

To this day, he is very familiar with the streets of Changfeng City.

Go past the training ground and turn right, then you would reach the General's Mansion. The sound of horse hooves could be heard clearly on the bluestone floor. He closed his eyes. It seemed that he went back to when he was still a child, sweating all over from toiling in the military training field, looking forward to returning to the General's Mansion to change into clean clothes.

"Uu——"

The black gold horse stopped at the gate of the General's Mansion.

The soldiers who were tightly surrounding the mansion made way for him. Jiang Zaichu dismounted and knocked on the door.

The old voice was calm and calm, just like before: "Who is it?"

"It's me, Prince Ning!" He suddenly smiled and answered proudly.

"Oh, I don't have a Prince Ning here, only soldiers and officers!" The door opened and old General Wang sat calmly in the courtyard holding his long sword, surrounded by his few remaining soldiers. He was covered in blood and frowned at the visitors. 

"General, can I come in?" Jiang Zaichu stood quietly. The pungent wind blew on his face and made the young man look even more picturesque.

"Come in." The old man stretched out his hand and called. 

"General, the Jin Court is corrupt. Are you willing to come and help me?" Jiang Zaichu stood with his sword clasped in his hand in a sign of respect. His words did not sound as though the two of them had just been involved in a life-and-death struggle, but instead more like old friends chatting to each other.

"I was just saying, if I were dozens of years younger, I might have rebelled with you." The old man touched his beard. "It's just that I'm already seventy-nine this year. If I rebel again, wouldn't I be laughed at?"

"I see." Jiang Zaichu spoke respectfully. "In that case, this student dares not force the teacher."

"That's good, that's good!" The old man raised his head and smiled. He had a very calm expression  but his voice gradually lowered and became softer, "Chu'er, Master knows that these years... you have suffered a lot." {Chu'er is an affectionate nickname using the character "Chu" in Jiang Zaichu's name, something like "my son Chu" or "my child Chu".}

Jiang Zaichu stared at him for a long time. All kinds of complicated expressions flashed by his face before it finally returned to calmness.

"...You did a good job in this battle." The old man continued in a praising tone. "You will continue to do so in the future."

"Yes, Master."

The old man and the young man said nothing more. Jiang Zaichu turned and left. He walked outside the door and the door was closed again.

The old man's generous and heroic voice came from inside: "Children, accompany me to fight to the death here. Are you afraid?"

The soldiers roared in unison: "We will follow the General! We will defend Changfeng to the death!"

"Where is the Divine Army?" Jiang Zaichu turned his back to the General's Mansion and shouted softly.

"Here!"

Jiang Zaichu looked at the sky with his hands behind his hands and said in a smooth voice: "Capture the General's Mansion. Kill those who resist."

*

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