Chapter 685: The White Horse Crosses the River

When the battle report from east of the river arrived, Gong Lince and the others inside the central command tent were overjoyed. Song's seemingly impregnable river-defense line had actually been broken in one stroke, and in so short a time. Beforehand, none of them had imagined such a thing possible.

Inevitably, Gong Lince and the other cultivators showered Meng Shanming with praise, saying again and again that Marshal Meng was truly worthy of being Marshal Meng.

After witnessing Meng Shanming's ability in this battle, Gong Lince and the others gained confidence in the fighting still to come.

Meng Shanming himself, however, could not feel happy when he read the report.

Gong Lince and the others did not understand. Perhaps, in the eyes of cultivators like them, the dead were only a number. Meng Shanming understood exactly what price had been paid to win this ground.

One glance at the battle report told him which units had fought most bitterly and where.

Not even counting Zhang Hu's side, the imperial court's troops alone had nearly two hundred thousand men missing after this single forced assault. Add Zhang Hu's losses, and Yan's total casualties were actually greater than Song's losses along the Hukou defensive line.

And all of it had happened because of one order from him.

With a single command, how many soldiers of Great Yan had lost their families and homes?

How could he possibly rejoice?

Surrounded by voices praising him, Meng Shanming felt ashamed to accept any of it. He slowly closed his eyes and spoke into the excited atmosphere inside the tent.

"Send the victory report to An Xianzhao, Su Qitong, and Xin Mao. Order all three forces to prepare to cross the river at any time. At the same time, order Xu Jingyue's force to march toward me. Also tell Zhang Hu to send men to return the river-crossing rafts as quickly as possible."

"Yes!"

The communications officer accepted the order and left.

When news of the victory reached the forces under Xu Jingyue, An Xianzhao, Su Qitong, and Xin Mao, the officers of all four armies were stunned.

It was not that the four forces lacked confidence in Meng Shanming. They simply had not imagined he could break Song's river-defense line so quickly. The speed was astonishing.

With the experience of those four commanders, they naturally understood how difficult Luo Zhao's carefully arranged river defenses were to break. One could almost say it should have been impossible.

And of course they understood what the breach meant.

Song's entire river-defense line facing Yan had been loosened.

"From the time we received the order to make a feint until now, it has only been about six hours, hasn't it?" Zijin Cave Elder Yue Yuan asked.

"That's right. Roughly six hours, and he broke through the Hukou sector defended by three hundred thousand Song troops." Xu Jingyue shook his head and sighed with deep feeling. "Marshal Meng is still Marshal Meng. The old saber has not dulled!"

For now, he knew little about the details of the battle and genuinely could not imagine how it had been done.

Yue Yuan asked again, "Now he wants our force to go over there as well. Does he intend for us to cross from that point?"

Xu Jingyue nodded slightly. "Most likely. We are the closest force to Hukou, and Marshal Meng now controls that defensive sector. Other than having us cross there, I cannot think of another reason."

"There's no point discussing it now. Once we see Marshal Meng, we'll naturally know."

He turned and shouted, "Transmit the order! Assemble the army. March south along the river!"

At that command, the Gongzhou army, together with the imperial court troops attached to it, immediately struck camp and began moving along the river.

...

"What?"

Inside the headquarters of the River Defense Governor-General, Wu Qunlie had been unable to sleep all night. When the battle report arrived announcing that Hukou had fallen, his expression changed violently. He staggered backward several steps, almost losing his balance.

"My lord!"

The generals in the hall cried out and hurried forward to support him.

Wu Qunlie shook his head, steadied himself, then flung both arms out and angrily shoved away the hands holding him.

His face was extraordinarily ugly. Hatred twisted his features as he said painfully, "The Hukou defensive line was lost in less than six hours! They couldn't even hold for half a day. All they needed was half a day! My Qingqu reinforcements would have arrived!"

"Xu Laiping, Xu Laiping! You betrayed the Grand Commander-in-Chief's trust. You deserve ten thousand deaths!"

"How am I supposed to explain this to the Grand Commander-in-Chief? And how is the Grand Commander-in-Chief supposed to explain it to the imperial court?"

Shing!

He suddenly drew his sword and hacked downward, slicing a corner clean off the nearby desk.

His entire body trembled with rage.

One general said, "My lord, matters have already reached this point. Anger will accomplish nothing."

"Fortunately, Xu Laiping was not completely muddleheaded. He preserved roughly one hundred thirty thousand troops. Zhang Hu's force also suffered heavy losses. Xu Laiping estimates their casualties at no fewer than two hundred thousand."

"He burned the grain depot as well, so the provisions did not fall into the Yan bandits' hands. Their grain is already running short. They cannot hold out much longer. The situation can still be salvaged!"

Wu Qunlie steadied himself with his sword and released a long breath.

His voice sank. "In other words, Zhang Hu has only a little over three hundred thousand men left."

"Immediately order Xu Laiping's remnants to join Liao Nanqing's Qingqu force. Combine the two armies. Whatever the cost, they must retake the Hukou defensive line!"

The order had barely gone out when another urgent report came from outside.

"Report! Xu Jingyue's force on the opposite bank is moving. His troops are advancing at full speed toward the Hukou sector."

A group of generals immediately gathered around the map.

One said, "Plainly they intend to have Xu Jingyue's troops cross through Hukou, reinforce their hold on that sector, and prepare the way for the rest of Yan's army to cross afterward."

Wu Qunlie turned and asked, "Any movement yet from An Xianzhao's, Su Qitong's, or Xin Mao's forces across the river?"

The answer came from below. "None for now."

Thud!

Wu Qunlie drove a fist into the wall.

Meng Shanming's strategy was obvious.

By refusing to gather every army along the river and send them all across through the Hukou breach, he was pinning Song's other river-defense forces in place. Those forces did not dare concentrate everything on Hukou. He was forcing Song to reinforce the breach only in increments.

If Wu Qunlie dared pull away the river-defense army in force, the moment the line became empty, An Xianzhao, Su Qitong, and Xin Mao would immediately cross and attack elsewhere.

Then Song would not merely lose Hukou.

That was the helpless situation created once a single point in a defensive line had been broken.

"Send another order to Liao Nanqing," Wu Qunlie said, punching the wall again. "The Qingqu reinforcements are to advance at full speed. They must join Xu Laiping's remnants as quickly as possible and retake the Hukou defensive line before Xu Jingyue's troops can cross!"

...

Dawn came.

The rain had stopped, but the air remained so wet it felt as though a man could close his fist around it and squeeze out water.

Wooden rafts moved back and forth across the river.

Rafts scattered along both banks were being gathered. Many had already been carried away by the current, but every one that could still be recovered was collected and ferried from the Hukou sector back toward Yan's side.

A very large raft crossed the river under the control of a group of cultivators.

A wheelchair stood upon it.

Meng Shanming sat upright in the chair, his eyes webbed with blood. From time to time he coughed. He had simply worked too hard in recent days and had barely rested at all.

Luo Da'an stood behind the wheelchair, steadying it.

Gong Lince and the others stood to either side.

There was also a white horse on the raft.

Tall, magnificent, and spirited, it was the very white warhorse Luo Zhao had given Meng Shanming.

It too was crossing the river.

The animal seemed somewhat uneasy. A creature born for the land was more accustomed to firm ground beneath its hooves and plainly disliked floating over a muddy, surging great river.

When the raft reached the opposite bank, Zhang Hu and a group of generals were waiting to receive them.

Two cultivators lifted Meng Shanming ashore together with his wheelchair.

The entire stretch of the Hukou defensive line suitable for landing now resembled an enormous worksite.

Great numbers of soldiers were dismantling every defensive installation. Anything that could still be used to resist a crossing was being destroyed. Not even a single building was being left standing. Long-range engines and other useful equipment were being taken apart and hauled away.

As Luo Da'an pushed the wheelchair forward, Meng Shanming inspected the scene and asked, "How is the inventory going?"

Zhang Hu replied, "Fortunately, our army struck with the force of thunder and broke through before they were prepared. Their defeat came too suddenly for them to destroy much of what was here, so we benefited."

"The grain stored at this position is enough to feed several hundred thousand of our men for about six or seven days."

"As for the main grain depot... by the time Guo Xianfu reached it with his troops, Xu Laiping had already burned the whole place to charcoal. We failed to take it."

Meng Shanming frowned slightly.

That much grain was precisely what his side desperately needed. Knowing it had all been destroyed naturally pained him.

But he also knew nothing could be done.

War was that merciless.

No one could expect an enemy to pity provisions he could not carry away and leave them behind for you. If he could not have them, destroying them was perfectly normal.

"Where is Sun Gaotian? Take me to see him," Meng Shanming said.

Zhang Hu immediately led the group to a tent.

There were no houses left to use. Their own men had dismantled them all.

When the group entered, the utterly exhausted Sun Gaotian was still not sleeping.

He lay on the bed staring blankly at the roof of the tent without blinking.

"Marshal Meng has come to see you." Zhang Hu stepped to the bedside and gave him a push.

Sun Gaotian came back to himself.

The moment he saw Meng Shanming, tears poured from his eyes. He struggled to sit up.

"This general was incompetent..."

Meng Shanming reached out and pressed him back down.

"You did very well. You completed every task assigned to you with distinction. In this battle, the first merit belongs to you."

"Sect Leader Gong of Zijin Cave is here. He is very curious how all of you crossed the river. Tell him the details yourself. Explain the whole course of the battle."

The moment the painful memories were raised, Sun Gaotian lost control of his tears.

Choking, he recounted everything from beginning to end.

By the time he finished, he was sobbing uncontrollably.

Perhaps only a battlefield could make a man who had killed without blinking cry like that.

When Gong Lince and the others learned that fifty thousand troops had forced the crossing at Rolling Dragon Gorge and lost twenty thousand men almost immediately, then that four thousand troops had held back an army of one hundred thousand for nearly one hour, they too were deeply shaken.

Either feat had amounted to marching knowingly toward death.

Only now did they understand how bitterly these men had fought, and how decisive their role had been in winning the battle.

"Sect Leader Gong," Meng Shanming said, staring at Gong Lince, "Guo Xianfu and Sun Gaotian rendered great merit in this campaign. This old man wishes to petition the imperial court to enfeoff both as Marquises. Two empty titles of Marquis are not too much to ask, are they?"

Gong Lince nodded. "Merit should be rewarded. It is appropriate."

Meng Shanming said, "This old man is a man of little weight whose words carry little force. If I submit the petition myself, the imperial court may have doubts."

Gong Lince understood immediately.

If Meng Shanming alone made the request, Shang Jianxiong would most likely refuse it.

"I will handle this matter," Gong Lince said at once. "I will do it immediately. There will be an answer within three days."

Meng Shanming continued, "Fifty thousand brave men staked their lives on that crossing. I have one more request."

"After the war, I hope the imperial court will raise a great stone stele at Rolling Dragon Gorge and carve upon it the names of all fifty thousand men."

"I want their names to endure through the ages."

"Let them stand for a thousand generations as an example to the sons of Great Yan, as a source of pride to the descendants of Great Yan, and as the spirit from which Great Yan's army is forged!"

Gong Lince said, "If Great Yan is fortunate enough to survive intact, I will take responsibility for seeing it done. I will not break my word!"

The promise cost him nothing personally.

He had now made it openly before everyone, leaving himself no room to go back on it.

[End of Chapter 685]