Chapter 958: The Main Act

That fall... might very well become the greatest humiliation of Chen Xianba’s entire life.

At least, at this moment, that was how Chen Xianba himself regarded it.

As the mass of Chu soldiers surged toward him, Chen Xianba slapped one palm against the ground and launched himself into the air.

He had never released his saber when he fell.

Now it swept horizontally and sent a blade of saber qi ripping outward, forcing the Chu troops in front of him back.

Immediately afterward, Chen Xianba roared:

“Dismount! Form ranks!”

“Yes!”

All the Yan cavalry whose charge had been blocked behind him immediately dismounted and rushed forward to gather around their general.

The Chu came with terrifying momentum.

Between the riders thrown from their horses at the start and the effects of the other traps, the Yan cavalry suffered real losses immediately.

But after a fierce initial struggle... the Yan force recovered its structure.

Armored soldiers on the outer edge fought to stop Chu troops attempting to wrap around them.

Those in the inner ring immediately drew bows and began firing.

At this point, there was no chance to think about building some shield formation.

Truthfully, proper cavalry did not normally train that way in the first place.

The Prince’s Brocade-Clad personal guards... were exceptions among exceptions.

But even without forming a shield wall, the quality of Chen Xianba’s soldiers was beyond question.

The Residence had raised Chen Xianba as the seed of a future “God of War.”

He had killed the Dugu Pillar of State and won great military merit while still extremely young.

His talent for warfare practically overflowed.

So although his own force was not large... it still counted among the elites of eastern Jin.

Otherwise, Chen Xianba would never have tried to compete for the opening battle in the first place.

The Chu, by contrast, had prepared the ambush in advance and possessed overwhelming momentum at the beginning.

Yet they still failed to crush the Yan troops whose charge had been disrupted.

Instead... the battle fell into a stalemate.

Commissioner Cui himself took an arrow.

After snapping off the shaft, he felt a trace of shock at the ferocity of these Yan soldiers.

For an arrow to pierce his armor and penetrate even his protective blood qi... it had clearly come from a genuine heavy war bow.

If the Chu could now use what they were traditionally best at—tight formations to compress the Yan soldiers’ space, then advance in a more coordinated and orderly manner...

Chen Xianba’s trapped force would inevitably be smothered to death.

Unfortunately... the men Commissioner Cui had selected were elites only by the standards of commandery troops.

Then there were the Phoenix Nest Internal Guard agents under his own command.

Individually, many were excellent fighters.

But coordinated battle formation?

They had never trained for it.

Jianghu killing... and battlefield killing... were two entirely different things.

So all Commissioner Cui could hope for now was that nearby Chu units would turn around and converge upon this position.

Use human lives... to bury the Yan force alive!

“Brothers! Your father here isn’t dead!”

Chen Xianba roared again.

From the ground, he picked up a Double-Headed Eagle Banner that had fallen when one of the Yan standard-bearers overturned during the charge.

Without another word... he snapped the flagpole in half.

Then he shoved the broken end into the gap at the back of his armor and wedged it there.

In effect... he was now carrying the army banner on his own back.

“Follow me! Break their formation! Rip down their command banner for me!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Chen Xianba charged first.

Alone, he looked like a killing god.

He was the most conspicuous figure on the entire battlefield.

According to the theories of that Prince so beloved by eastern Jin’s soldiers and civilians... being the brightest, most eye-catching bastard on a battlefield was an extremely stupid thing to do.

For a very long time, Zheng Fan had rejected anything resembling glittering or conspicuous armor.

Yes... he understood perfectly well the importance of leading from the front.

He still hated doing it.

Later, once his army became strong and his cavalry abundant, Zheng Fan could sit atop the mobile headquarters and boost the morale of the entire army simply by being there.

Naturally... he had even fewer opportunities to personally charge into formation.

In the Blind Man’s words, Master’s realm had long since risen above the low-class pleasure of individual bravery and ascended to the grand strategy of the entire board.

Mm.

Zheng Fan agreed with that explanation very much.

But in truth... on a battlefield... the image that inspired the greatest admiration... the image countless men dreamed of becoming... was still this:

A great general of one side.

Saber in hand.

Standing at the very front.

Leading ten thousand tiger warriors into the charge!

A good man... should be exactly like this!

Chen Xianba was the purest example of that kind of person.

Back when he was still a fishing-village boy, he had dared attack Li Liangshen again and again despite knowing full well he was no match.

Deep in his bones... he was a true fierce general.

The same kind of heroic man Tian Wujing had once been: one man... one Pi Beast... golden armor... charging before an army of thousands!

You want to show me the splendor of your Great Chu?

Then I’ll show you... what real Yan barbarism looks like!

Chen Xianba charged at the front.

And the men beneath him were equally unwilling to treasure their own lives.

While preserving formation as much as possible... the Yan soldiers threw themselves directly at the Chu defense like a pack of wolves, jackals, tigers, and leopards.

Yes.

The Chu defense.

Even the Chu themselves found it strange.

How had they suddenly become the side defending?

Hum!

Hum!

Hum!

Three arrows had already struck Chen Xianba.

Two were lodged in gaps between his armor plates.

One had passed through the armor and entered his flesh.

He did not care at all.

His saber kept rising and falling.

Governor Xu was still beating the drum.

Though he was a man, his movements now carried an airy, almost weightless grace.

The singers and dancers atop the platform... were far less composed.

They were still dancing.

But their steps had become ragged.

They were still playing.

But the music had broken into fragments.

Commissioner Cui took a saber cut across one arm.

With no choice, he changed hands and continued fighting.

At that moment... he could not help looking back.

He saw his Governor still standing on the platform, completely relaxed.

For some reason... the sight calmed him too.

If only... he had three thousand imperial-clan Imperial Guards beside him now.

Unfortunately... he did not.

Then the Chu units on the outer perimeter finally began moving toward this battlefield to provide support.

At last... the terrifying, cornered-beast state of the Yan force was suppressed.

Commissioner Cui released a long breath.

But the breath had barely left his lungs... when he drew it back sharply.

From the mountain... an enormous battle cry suddenly erupted.

The Yan troops who had been surrounded for several days... had begun charging down.

They were coordinating with the Yan force already fighting below.

Originally, Tian Tian had planned to wait until Chen Xianba killed the enemy commander and seized the enemy command banner.

Only then would Tian Tian charge downhill with the momentum of victory and roll up the entire Chu army.

That would have produced the best effect.

Unfortunately... what Tian Tian saw instead... was that Chen Xianba’s cavalry had been blocked after charging into the formation.

Put simply...

Brother Ba seemed to have screwed up.

Tian Tian dared not delay.

He immediately ordered every soldier on the mountain to charge down toward the position of the Chu command banner.

Governor Xu and Commissioner Cui had planned for this day long ago.

They both understood that the Yan probably intended to use an inside-outside coordination attack.

This was, after all, one of the Yan army’s favorite tactics.

So they had prepared for a counterattack from the mountain.

The Chu soldiers below had received orders to stop it at all costs.

The problem was... first, the central command banner had already come under direct attack.

The Chu army was broadly unsettled.

Second, the best soldiers from each Chu unit had already been pulled away to defend the command banner.

That left the already-poor commandery troops even worse than before.

The disgraceful performance in the previous days’ mountain assaults had not been some elaborate baiting tactic.

That had genuinely been their normal level.

Most importantly... the Yan troops on the mountain had never committed their full strength to the defense either.

They had rotated units and preserved their stamina.

So once the Yan army on the mountain concentrated and charged downhill in one direction... the Chu line collapsed immediately.

Many times, victory and defeat were not decided by which side was better.

They were decided by which side was worse.

The battlefield situation changed once again.

Large portions of the Chu army began routing.

They knew perfectly well that they outnumbered the Yan by several times.

But when they saw the men beside them running... they naturally ran too.

On top of that, Xu Weichang had previously conscripted large numbers of laborers merely to inflate the army’s numbers.

How many of those men had ever stood on a battlefield?

During the previous days of mountain assaults, they could shout from behind and help build momentum.

When real close combat erupted... their most useful contribution was to run first... and help collapse the whole army.

“KILL!”

Chen Xianba was still shouting, rallying his men and driving them forward again.

Once a large-scale rout began, it rapidly infected every local engagement.

Even places where the Chu still held the advantage lost the will to continue fighting.

Many men began scattering and fleeing.

There were still genuinely loyal and courageous soldiers among them.

But as one side rose and the other fell... they could only be forced backward again until they were trapped beneath the command banner.

Governor Xu was tired.

He stopped beating the drum.

Then he smiled at the singers and dancers around him.

“Thank you for seeing me off. I am the one who wronged you. Do not worry. I will ask them to give you somewhere safe to go. I, Xu Weichang, have always fancied myself a romantic man. In this life... what I have hated most is the cruel destruction of flowers.”

Squelch!

Chen Xianba drove his saber into Commissioner Cui’s chest.

Commissioner Cui had already exhausted almost all of his strength.

In the end, he could only lift the saber in his hand and tap Chen Xianba’s armor a few times.

Bang!

Chen Xianba kicked his body away.

The armored soldiers behind him were already gasping for breath.

Even so... they surged forward fiercely and cut down the remaining Chu troops who refused to surrender.

Beneath the command banner... around the raised platform... corpses lay everywhere.

Not far away, Tian Tian had led his men through from the other side.

The instant Chen Xianba saw that silver armor... his face instinctively heated.

Humiliating.

Utterly humiliating.

If Tian Tian had not led the troops down in time and shattered the broader Chu army’s momentum...

Chen Xianba really might have died here today.

Xu Weichang sat cross-legged atop the raised platform.

A smile rested on his face.

Seeing him like this...

Chen Xianba could not help remembering Wang Qingmei, the Magistrate of Xiawei County.

But... there was still something different.

When he looked at Wang Qingmei...

Chen Xianba had felt nothing but disgust.

Looking at Xu Weichang... he simply could not bring himself to feel that same disgust.

Even though this man... had nearly ruined his lifelong fame before it could properly begin.

Yes.

Chen Xianba had always firmly believed he would one day become someone as towering as the Prince.

But the Prince had never lost a battle in his entire career.

And Chen Xianba... had almost lost his undefeated virginity the moment he debuted.

He wiped the blood from his face.

Without so much as glancing at the women on the platform... he walked directly to Xu Weichang.

Xu Weichang bent forward in a bow.

“Do you wish to surrender?” Chen Xianba asked.

“No.”

Xu Weichang straightened his back.

He pointed toward the women around him.

Then he took a jade pendant from inside his robe.

A paper fan.

Two pieces of gold.

“I ask the General to show mercy and not make things difficult for these women.”

“Nothing else?”

“Nothing else. Oh, there is one more request. General, could you allow me to choose the manner of my death? You can strangle me with a bowstring. Leave me a whole corpse.”

As he spoke, Xu Weichang felt around inside his sleeves.

He found nothing more.

Then he gave a bitter smile.

“General... this robe is embroidered with gold thread. Please do not disdain it.”

Chen Xianba raised his saber.

The blade rested beneath Xu Weichang’s chin.

“I can give you a chance to live.”

“There really is no need. General, I am a man who values reputation. All my life... I have loved the taste of fishing for fame and buying praise. Please grant me this ending. Even beneath the Nine Springs, I will remember the General’s kindness.”

Then Xu Weichang seemed to remember something.

He rose, walked to a guzheng, and pulled a booklet from beneath it.

He voluntarily presented it to Chen Xianba.

“General, please look.”

“What is this?”

“General, this is the dialogue where you treat me as a worthy man and attempt to recruit me... and I refuse. Take a look. I designed your lines for you too. They are orderly. They have strength. They set off the General’s image perfectly. The court historians would not even need to revise them. They can simply copy this directly into the histories.”

“But this says ‘His Highness Heir Prince Jingnan’...”

“Eh? That must be a mistake. A mistake. You are not...?”

“I am.”

At that moment...

Tian Tian climbed onto the raised platform as well.

Most of the Chu army had already routed.

The Yan did not pursue very far.

They did not have enough cavalry for pursuit to mean much.

“Then...”

Xu Weichang scratched his head.

“What a pity. I only wrote one copy.”

“Give him brush and ink. You can rewrite it. Write both of us into it,” Chen Xianba said.

“My name is Chen Xianba. He is the Heir Prince.”

“But... the sun is almost setting!”

Xu Weichang suddenly sounded anxious.

“If I die at night, I lose the elegance of dying beneath daylight. Look. Sunset is almost here. Dying now is the most appropriate. Beautiful. Truly beautiful.”

“Heh.”

Tian Tian could not help laughing.

“Brother... the way this fellow speaks actually resembles Father Commander a little.”

“Write it!”

Xu Weichang shouted instantly.

“That sentence must be included. I’ll write it!”

He could add another line for himself:

**His Highness Heir Prince Jingnan said: This man possesses the bearing of the Regent Prince!**

Magnificent praise!

What magnificent praise!

Compared with that... sunset suddenly did not matter so much anymore.

“Enough. I won’t delay you on your road.”

Chen Xianba stopped him.

“I’ll add it for you.”

Xu Weichang nodded.

Then reminded him:

“You absolutely must not forget.”

“I won’t. But first... you need to write me something else. The commandery capital’s gates. You need to have them opened for me.”

“Rest assured on that point. Even setting aside the fact that with my army defeated here, the commandery capital itself is already empty and would never dare continue resisting... I arranged everything beforehand. You may simply send men to call at the gates. The people inside will open them. I only hope the General and His Highness the Heir Prince will show compassion for the common people. What needed to be fought has been fought. If we cannot win... then we cannot win. A loss is simply a loss. Eight hundred years ago... we were all one family anyway.”

“If you possessed that much understanding... what were you doing earlier?” Chen Xianba asked.

Xu Weichang shook his head.

“I was one tiny step away from getting you killed, General. Wasn’t that worth trying?”

“That’s true.”

Xu Weichang turned sideways.

“General... I will trouble you to do it.”

Chen Xianba reached out and took a heavy bow from one of the armored soldiers.

Then he looped the bowstring around Xu Weichang’s neck.

And pulled hard.

Xu Weichang’s hands instinctively clamped around the string.

His body began struggling violently.

He seemed desperate to break free.

Mucus and tears streamed down his face.

In the end... his death was hideous beyond description.

Tian Tian sighed beside him.

“This fellow genuinely didn’t know. Being strangled to death is actually the ugliest way. It would have been better to keep smiling, cut off his head cleanly with one stroke, and sew it back on afterward.”

“Give him a proper burial.”

Chen Xianba released the bowstring and ordered the men beside him:

“Bury him on this mountain. Raise a monument.”

“Yes.”

Chen Xianba turned toward Tian Tian.

Then lowered his voice.

“What happened today... cannot be spread outside. Especially not to the Prince.”

“Brother... do you really think that’s possible?”

“At the very least, the Prince cannot learn the details!”

“Impossible. You think every one of Father Commander’s Brocade-Clad personal guards actually wears brocade?”

Prince Pingxi Residence had hidden Brocade-Clad personal guards inside the various armies.

That was not even much of a secret.

“Ah.”

Chen Xianba sighed.

“I’ll personally write a memorial later and admit fault to the Prince.”

“I’ll sign with you. We planned this together.”

Chen Xianba neither agreed nor refused.

He stretched lazily.

Then said to one of the armored soldiers beside him:

“Go find out whether Zhou Feng is dead.”

“He’s dead,” Tian Tian answered.

“I killed him to make an example for the monkeys.”

“Oh.”

Chen Xianba did not care very much.

“Do we need to write that into the memorial?” Tian Tian asked.

Chen Xianba hesitated.

Then said:

“Heh. That one can go in.”

“Brother... Father Commander actually dislikes outsiders spreading that rumor most of all.”

“I know.”

Chen Xianba nodded.

“That is exactly why I think I should help shoulder a little of the burden for the Prince. The Prince is too tired.”

...

“These two little bastards.”

Zheng Fan tossed the memorial onto the table before him.

“Master, are things going smoothly on Tian Tian’s side?” Siniang asked.

“Nothing major. Chu’s imperial-clan Imperial Guards have all gathered in front of us. Those two brats have run into some small trouble over there, but nothing big enough to matter. Besides, Gou Moli is helping watch that side too.”

“Master really has worried himself sick this time.”

Siniang smiled.

“Heh-heh.”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“I am not sitting here merely helping those two little bastards accumulate experience. The two of them... are actually one part of my next arrangement too.”

Zheng Fan stretched.

Then said:

“Watch.”

[End of Chapter 958]