Chapter 186: The Vanished Army

Zheng Fan returned to his own tent. He badly wanted a bath, but the army simply did not have the conditions for that, and this was hardly the time to be particular.

Feng Siniang rested Zheng Fan's head on her lap and massaged him. The Blind Man had already told her about his stint as an envoy.

As far as Siniang was concerned, so long as he had not died, there was no problem. They were all playing the game anyway—what difference did the particular game make?

So she did not behave like some traditional woman, weeping and telling the Master never to risk himself again.

Siniang understood the Master's temperament. A man's true nature often revealed itself most completely when he was playing with needles.

She knew that, given a choice, the Master would not deliberately seek danger. He valued his life greatly. But when it came to military orders, there truly was little one could do.

Liang Cheng entered.

Zheng Fan remained lying on Siniang's lap. Liang Cheng had long since grown accustomed to such scenes.

"Master."

Zheng Fan opened his eyes.

"How are the siege implements coming?"

Liang Cheng shook his head. "We've only had a single day. Even after conscripting and driving a great many Qian people into forced labor, we've managed to build only some scaling ladders. We also gathered some weapons and equipment left behind by Qian troops."

Siege warfare was inherently difficult, and preparation beforehand was crucial. But they had been given far too little time. Most of the equipment that could be used in a siege simply could not be prepared in time.

Battering rams, siege towers, trebuchets—there was not even a shadow of them yet.

Upper Capital's walls were exceptionally high, and there were plenty of defenders inside. Their morale might be low, but they were defending a fortified city. That psychological advantage alone was enough to soothe much of their fear.

Zheng Fan sighed.

Perhaps, just as Li Fusheng had said earlier, they all knew there would probably be no result.

They were fighting simply for the sake of fighting once.

They could hardly come here looking at these smooth, slippery walls and then leave with those same smooth, slippery walls untouched.

Even a dog knew to piss somewhere unfamiliar to mark its territory.

"All right. I understand. You should go rest too," Zheng Fan said.

Faced with a situation like this, the role an individual or small group could play was genuinely limited.

Even Zheng Fan and the Demon Kings beside him could do little more than stand by and watch.

If they insisted on doing one additional thing, it would be praying that Li Fusheng did not throw their troops into the vanguard tomorrow.

"Master, sleep. Dawn is almost here," Siniang said.

Zheng Fan obediently closed his eyes.

At that very moment, a cavalry detachment came galloping from West Wind Crossing. They rode straight into the camp and woke Li Fusheng, who had intended to steal a little more sleep before dawn so he would have more energy for the coming siege.

Inside the command tent, Li Fusheng stared at the letter that had just been delivered into his hands.

He cursed viciously.

Then smashed the table apart with one palm.

Naturally, Zheng Fan knew nothing of this.

When the horns sounded throughout the army, Zheng Fan hesitated briefly over whether he should call in sick.

Instead, he handed command of his troops directly to Liang Cheng and went to the central army to find Li Fusheng.

If hiding in camp looked too bad, then he might as well stand beside Li Fusheng.

Zheng Fan could roughly guess Li Fusheng's martial cultivation. Perhaps he was not Third Grade, but Fourth or Fifth Grade seemed likely.

The key was that battlefield killing emphasized efficiency and adapting to circumstances. It was nothing like a formal duel where both sides could freely display everything they had learned, so directly judging someone's exact strength was difficult.

Veteran soldiers who had never even entered the Grades might kill far more people in a chaotic battle than an expert did. Their chances of surviving could even be higher.

But regardless, staying beside Li Fusheng at least meant he did not have to fear that woman coming after him.

Li Fusheng had heard about Baili Xianglan from Zheng Fan yesterday.

Seeing Zheng Fan come directly over to report for duty, he merely smiled.

Yesterday he had sent the man into the city as Yan's envoy, where Zheng Fan had nearly died.

He could hardly send him to risk his life again today.

Besides, with the Demon Kings helping him cheat, Zheng Fan had accumulated quite a few favorable impressions with Li Fusheng and the two Marquises.

He deserved a little protection.

What surprised Zheng Fan, however, was that after the Zhenbei Army formed its battle lines, he saw no distinction between front and rear formations.

In fact, everyone remained mounted.

The Zhenbei Army was by no means weak fighting on foot.

In this age, cavalrymen were generally of higher quality than infantry to begin with. Their training and maintenance simply cost more.

Zheng Fan had watched dismounted Zhenbei troops suppress Qian soldiers many times during the march south.

He had also been studying warfare all along.

Which was precisely why he genuinely could not understand what the hell they were doing now.

Shouldn't the armored troops intended for the assault be resting first?

Why was everyone mounted?

Were they so convinced Upper Capital's walls were shoddy construction that they planned to ride their horses straight through the gates?

Li Fusheng turned his head and glanced at Zheng Fan.

Then gave a slight nod.

"............" Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan immediately put on an expression of understanding.

Li Fusheng sighed and nodded again.

Zheng Fan lifted his head and released a melancholy sigh, as though he felt exactly the same.

In reality he had understood absolutely nothing.

Liang Cheng was not beside him.

There was no one to slip him the answers.

Just then, cheers suddenly erupted from the walls of Upper Capital.

At first they came from one section.

Then entire stretches of the wall began shouting in unison.

"LONG LIVE HIS MAJESTY! LONG LIVE! LONG, LONG LIVE!"

"LONG LIVE HIS MAJESTY! LONG LIVE! LONG, LONG LIVE!"

Zheng Fan looked up.

Sure enough, an imperial golden standard had appeared atop the wall.

That meant the Qian Emperor had personally come to the battlements.

When a ruler—especially an Emperor—personally appeared on the walls, the effect on morale was enormous.

Particularly now.

Yan's only hope was not to kill every Qian defender through siege warfare, but to use pressure until the Qian army collapsed on its own.

After all, there were far too many precedents of Qian armies collapsing by themselves.

A man had to have dreams.

But the Qian Emperor's appearance nearly shattered that possibility.

Zheng Fan secretly glanced toward Li Fusheng.

There was no unusual emotional fluctuation on Li Fusheng's face.

Today, Li Fusheng's mood felt strange.

Less manic.

Less arrogant.

Far too calm.

In his previous life, Zheng Fan had kept pets.

Today Li Fusheng reminded him of the studio dog after Zheng Fan had taken it to have its balls cut off.

On the wall, Emperor Zhao walked forward in his dragon robe with a smile on his face, occasionally stopping to ask soldiers after their welfare.

There was no such thing as a ruler who did not know how to win hearts.

The only question was whether he could be bothered.

The Qian soldiers were practically pumped full of stimulants. They cheered wildly, almost wishing the Yan would attack immediately so His Majesty could witness their valor.

Baili Xianglan walked behind the Emperor.

Her gaze repeatedly swept across the Yan formations below.

At last, Emperor Zhao climbed into the gate tower and sat upon the platform.

Wine and refreshments had already been prepared there.

All of this had been arranged in advance.

Only after confirming that the Yan possessed no trebuchets had they dared let the Emperor sit there so openly.

What slightly displeased Emperor Zhao was that only tea had been placed there.

There was no chessboard.

Like an actor with extremely high standards for his own performance, even the slightest flaw left him dissatisfied.

The stage on both sides was ready.

The principal players were in position.

Now those meant to strike the gong would strike the gong.

Those meant to beat the drums would beat the drums.

Li Fusheng waved one arm.

The signal troops behind him immediately responded, transmitting the commander's order.

The next instant large numbers of Qian civilians were driven forward from both flanks of the Yan formation.

They carried sabers, swords, and spears.

They still wore their ordinary clothes.

Zheng Fan pursed his lips.

The Blind Man had warned him about this long ago.

Using Qian lives to fill the moat and consume Qian defensive supplies was a common battlefield tactic.

The Qian troops atop the walls immediately erupted in outrage, cursing the Yan for their shamelessness.

When the Qian Emperor saw that the people surging forward were his own subjects, his face darkened at once.

"LOOSE!"

"LOOSE!"

The defenders showed no feminine softness.

Once they saw the civilians below beginning to raise scaling ladders, the order to attack came immediately.

Arrows fell like locusts.

The civilians below suffered horrific casualties.

Instinctively, they tried to retreat.

But Yan cavalry patrolling the perimeter immediately drove them forward again.

Then, a second wave of civilians from the Capital Region was driven up to fill the pit.

"Cough... cough..."

Zheng Fan could not help coughing twice.

The scene was too brutal.

Ultimately, he still found it difficult to stomach.

Even so, he tried to restrain his reaction.

People who lived in the Capital Region inevitably had deep ties to Upper Capital.

The families of many Qian defenders probably lived outside the city.

For a time, curses rose continuously from the wall.

Many defenders loosed arrows downward while shouting through tears.

Li Fusheng merely closed his eyes slightly.

His fingertips tapped gently against his saddle.

Yes.

He was enjoying this moment.

He felt no discomfort whatsoever.

Zheng Fan understood that a commander had to be cold-blooded enough.

Even so, seeing Li Fusheng genuinely savoring this left him somewhat speechless.

This Commander-in-Chief, who long ago had told Zheng Fan to stop him if the killing urge in his heart ever became necessary to restrain had not been bluffing.

The next group of Qian civilians driven forward did not even have weapons.

They could only pick up the sabers and spears beside those who had already died.

The scaling ladders had long since been destroyed.

On the wall, the Qian Emperor rose and left.

He had come here to watch his army fight the Yan.

But the scene before him stripped an Emperor of dignity.

Because the civilians below were his subjects too.

What was happening was equivalent to slapping him across the face.

When the imperial golden standard disappeared from the wall—

Li Fusheng smiled faintly.

It was as though he had just finished listening to a concert.

Earlier, he had been immersed in the cultivation of art.

"Ah..."

Li Fusheng yawned.

Then made a withdrawing gesture.

The messengers behind him rapidly transmitted the order.

Soon the Yan army sounded the gong for withdrawal.

From beginning to end, not a single formation composed of Yan soldiers had attempted to storm the city.

Everyone had simply stood by and watched.

When the time came they all turned around and returned to camp together.

After returning to the main camp, Li Fusheng went directly into his command tent and ordered that unless there was military intelligence from Qian, he would see no one.

"No one" included Zheng Fan.

Garrison Commander Zheng returned to his own camp.

Everyone had already set the cooking pots over the fires.

The Demon Kings sat together.

Xue San spoke first.

"So what exactly were we doing today?"

The Blind Man did not answer.

Liang Cheng did not answer either.

They remained silent because they did not know.

"He changed his mind at the last minute," Zheng Fan said.

Only last night, Li Fusheng had sworn he would attack the city.

He might even have personally led the vanguard against the walls.

Yet today he had been extraordinarily quiet and peaceful.

Something must have happened to cause this change.

At last, the Blind Man spoke.

"Looks like we're withdrawing."

Liang Cheng shook his head.

"If we were withdrawing, the notification should already have been issued.

"It hasn't.

"That means the army will remain here tomorrow."

Dinner ended beneath that strange atmosphere.

In truth, there were certainly many others who could not understand what had happened on the battlefield today.

Even the Qian commanders inside the city were probably wondering what game the Yan were playing.

That night the Blind Man walked to Liang Cheng's tent.

With some dissatisfaction, he said, "I called you over.

"Why did I still have to come here?"

Liang Cheng answered, "Wasn't I worried it might be inconvenient at your place?"

The Blind Man and that young married woman were currently sharing one tent.

"Heh."

Mental power lifted the tent flap, revealing A'Ming inside.

The Blind Man said, "I was worried it might be inconvenient for you two as well."

Liang Cheng and A'Ming shared a tent.

The Blind Man bent down and entered.

Liang Cheng picked up a waterskin and prepared to pour him some water.

The Blind Man hurriedly waved him off.

"No, no. I'm not drinking your water."

"It is water," Liang Cheng said.

"Not drinking it. Not drinking it."

Heaven knew what that waterskin had contained before.

"What is it?" Liang Cheng asked.

The Blind Man pulled a letter from inside his clothes.

"This was sent by Wen Sutong."

"He actually managed to get one through?"

With war raging everywhere, delivering a letter here was no easy feat.

"When we left, I gave him two clever men."

Since they belonged to Green Willow Fortress, even if they encountered Yan troops on the road, there would be no problem.

"But the two came together.

"One died on the way."

The price of this letter had truly been high.

There was no helping it.

At any time, keeping information channels open was extraordinarily important.

Even sacrificing several cavalrymen for it would be worthwhile in the Blind Man's eyes.

"What does the letter say?" Liang Cheng asked.

"It describes the situation in Chuzhou City.

"Everything is basically calm.

"Judging by what Master told us, the Qian Emperor truly must have issued an imperial decree forbidding the armies of the Three Frontiers from returning as reinforcements.

"So Chuzhou City remains in our hands.

"Wen Sutong and the others are still comfortably serving as our puppet troops."

"Mm."

"But one thing at the end of the letter struck me as strange."

"Go on."

"Wen Sutong previously sent people throughout the surrounding area to contact defenders in other cities of Chu Commandery and persuade them to surrender.

"The results were minimal."

"As expected."

Although Chu Commandery had been trampled by Yan troops, it was still far from a situation where every city surrendered at the mere arrival of a proclamation.

The armies of Qian's Three Frontiers had not yet returned.

According to the original plan, once those returning armies were destroyed, northern Qian officials would despair.

Except for a small number of diehards, the rest would either flee south or surrender directly to Great Yan.

"Wen Sutong is an old fox.

"He didn't say it outright.

"But I understood what he meant."

"No need for him to say it outright.

"You grandfather and grandson-in-law are both foxes anyway."

The Blind Man simply ignored Liang Cheng's jab.

He continued, "Wen Sutong's attempt to notify the entirety of Chu Commandery effectively served as a survey.

"In the letter, he said that aside from Chuzhou City and the route our force traveled, several towns in western Chu Commandery were also attacked by Yan troops.

"The Yan replenished provisions and supplies there before continuing south."

At this, Liang Cheng's expression suddenly became serious.

Clearly, he had realized what information was hidden here.

"Judging by their direction of march, that force should have been Li Bao's."

Liang Cheng nodded.

"It was.

"And that means we have a problem."

"Exactly.

"Wen Sutong is a surrendered man.

"He didn't dare openly ask about our military plans, so he could only raise the matter indirectly.

"But he has genuinely done us a great favor."

"Yes.

"He gave us something to settle our hearts."

A'Ming, who had been sitting inside the tent pretending to sleep, finally spoke with some dissatisfaction.

"Hey.

"I'm the only outsider in this tent.

"What's the point of you two speaking in riddles?"

Liang Cheng turned toward A'Ming and pointed at the letter in the Blind Man's hand.

"The meaning is simple.

"The main force of two hundred thousand led by the Marquis of Zhenbei and the Marquis of Jingnan—has vanished."

"Vanished?" A'Ming asked, puzzled. "Maybe they're hiding somewhere?"

"Chu Commandery is basically plains.

"You can barely find a mountain.

"Two hundred thousand troops, together with their horses—that's several hundred thousand living creatures.

"How could they possibly hide completely?

"When we entered Chu Commandery, Li Fusheng's force separated from the main army.

"We also know another force continued south just like ours—Li Bao's.

"But after leaving Chu Commandery, only these two forces have been fighting and interacting with the enemy.

"The main army has never appeared."

"Hey.

"Weren't you the ones who said they were hiding somewhere waiting to destroy Qian's reinforcements?"

Liang Cheng shook his head.

"But there is one problem.

"You must understand that an army of two hundred thousand, together with that many warhorses, consumes an astronomical amount of provisions and supplies every single day.

"Yet according to Wen Sutong's letter, aside from our force and Li Bao's force breaking into towns for supplies, nowhere else in Chu Commandery has experienced anything resembling a pack of wolves descending upon it."

A'Ming fell silent.

The Blind Man licked his lips.

"Interesting.

"Very interesting."

"It certainly is.

"The Qian Emperor saw through Great Yan's plan from the beginning.

"So from the very start, he ordered the Three Frontiers not to send a single soldier south, intending to use that method to trap Yan's cavalry group.

"But after all this fighting—the only forces that have fought from beginning to end are Li Fusheng's half-command and Li Bao's half-command.

"Together—perhaps sixty thousand cavalry.

"Meanwhile, the main body of two hundred thousand iron cavalry led by the Marquis of Zhenbei and the Marquis of Jingnan... has disappeared."

(End of Chapter)