The five-man formation originally devised by the Chu army was a fixed formation — each person had their designated role and could not be swapped.
The Ning army, however, could rotate positions freely, fluid as flowing water, pushing the speed of mutual support and coordination to its absolute limit.
Do not think this was merely a matter between five individuals — the entire battlefield was composed of countless such five-man units.
Once engaged, the soldiers of the Yongzhou army found that they were always just a step slower than the Ning army.
Having lost great numbers of common civilians as shields, the Yongzhou army bore the full brunt of the Ning army’s storm from the very beginning.
After roughly two hours of battle, Han Feibao knew that he could not hold the frontal engagement for much longer.
He had assumed his forces were roughly equal in strength to the Ning army, but he had overlooked one thing.
His troops had marched all the way from Yongzhou and had not truly fought many battles — they had only crossed blades with Li Chi once, back in Jingzhou.
On the surface, the training appeared nearly identical, the tactics showed little difference, and the physical condition of his soldiers was no worse than the enemy’s.
The gap lay in experience and killing intent.
The Ning army had fought from the north all the way to the south — how many great battles had they survived, and in which battle had they not clawed their way out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood?
Moreover, the Ning army had just won a great battle against the Left Vanguard Guard, and their morale was surging.
If the Ning army had always been extraordinarily confident before, then after defeating the Left Vanguard Guard, they now carried an aura of invincibility beneath the heavens.
The Left Vanguard Guard — once said to be the strongest army in history — had fallen. The belief that there was no longer any worthy opponent in the world would cause a profound shift in the mindset of every soldier.
“Report!”
A messenger came galloping from a distance and said urgently to Han Feibao: “My lord, the Ning army is attacking from the south with an overwhelming force — they have already broken through the first line of defense.”
Han Feibao knew he could wait no longer, and ordered the signal to be sent.
Columns of smoke rose one after another into the sky — his signal to call the ambush forces from the south to advance and attack Tantai Yajing’s forces from the rear.
Tang Pidi saw the smoke columns rise on that side and immediately passed down his orders. Before long, the Ning army on their side lit a great number of beacon fires in response.
Tantai Yajing, advancing from the south, saw this and ordered his own beacon fires to be lit, which immediately threw the Yongzhou army’s signals into confusion.
The enemy force that had originally been stationed even further south of Tantai Yajing’s troops was already pinned down and deeply troubled.
Behind them, the forces of Lord Guanting had appeared, and within the borders of Liangzhou they had burned a considerable amount of their supplies in successive raids before moving north, attempting to press in.
The Yongzhou general commanding this force, Pang Youde, had no choice but to split his troops to deal with the threat, leaving him with barely half the soldiers he had started with.
Now that the frontal battlefield was raging so fiercely, his troops could only sit and wait for the signal.
The lookout had barely called out that the signal had appeared when, before the troops could charge out, the lookout cried again that the signal was wrong.
In his urgency, Pang Youde climbed to a high point himself to look — he saw the battlefield shrouded in drifting smoke, and where the agreed signal was supposed to be one beacon fire, there were now at least fifty.
“General, do we advance or not?!”
“General, if we miss this opportunity, my lord will surely not let us off lightly.”
A crowd of men surrounded Pang Youde as he climbed down and began urging him with a clamor of voices.
“Advance!”
If they went and lost, that was the will of Heaven. If they did not go and then lost, that was human failure.
Knowing Han Feibao as he did, if the battle were lost because he had failed to provide timely support, it would not just mean his own death — Han Feibao would dig up his ancestors’ graves.
The Yongzhou reinforcements pressed hard against the rear of Tantai Yajing’s forces, and Tantai Yajing knew the critical moment of the battle had arrived.
He immediately ordered his troops to form defensive lines on both flanks, abandoning the offensive, and instead arrayed his formation to separate Han Feibao’s forces from Pang Youde’s.
In doing so, Tantai Yajing’s troops would inevitably face an assault of savage ferocity — yet as long as he held, Han Feibao’s army would find no path of escape.
By this point the Chu army that had caught up numbered roughly two hundred-some-tens-of-thousands — approximately two thirds of the Chu forces within Daxing City.
They found themselves caught like filling in a pastry, enemies pressing in from both sides, wave after wave hammering at their defenses.
At this stage, no one could pull back.
On the walls of Daxing City, Chu Emperor Yang Jing watched through his spyglass, visibly tense.
This was the first time Yang Jing had witnessed a battlefield of such staggering scale. With both sides combined exceeding a million combatants, virtually the entire northern range of Daxing City visible to the eye was swallowed in battle.
Wherever the gaze fell, there were people — particularly near Tantai Yajing’s force, where the density of troops from both sides had reached a point that defied description.
“Your Majesty, does Han Feibao still have a chance of victory?”
The loyal minister Yu Wenli quietly asked from Yang Jing’s side. Though he was a man of great learning, warfare was something he truly did not understand — even now as he watched, he could not read the shape of things.
“Not without.”
Yang Jing kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield, and his voice was slightly hoarse, perhaps from tension and agitation.
A scene like this would stir anyone who witnessed it.
Even though this battle no longer had as much to do directly with Yang Jing, he was still deeply captivated.
“Everything now depends on how long Tantai Yajing can hold. By my estimation, if he can hold until dawn tomorrow, Ning Wang Li Chi wins. If he cannot, and Han Feibao cuts through his defenses and links up with the reinforcements, then even if he cannot defeat Li Chi, he can at least use the opportunity to disengage.”
Yang Jing continued: “The sky is almost dark now, and darkness is Han Feibao’s best opportunity.”
Yu Wenli understood little of warfare, but he understood the shape of things. Hearing the Emperor speak this way, he felt a sudden dread rise within him.
The Emperor had already made his choice, and if the Ning army were to lose in the end, the fate of His Majesty and the court officials who remained — it did not bear thinking about.
So the anxious Yu Wenli asked again: “Your Majesty, is Ning Wang’s chance of victory not the greater?”
Yang Jing set down the spyglass and looked at Yu Wenli: “You are afraid Li Chi will lose?”
Yu Wenli immediately bowed: “This minister is guilty.”
Yang Jing said: “There is no guilt in it. I too hope Li Chi wins — the realm in Li Chi’s hands will be far better for the people than in Han Feibao’s.”
Having said that, he raised the spyglass once more: “But every man on that battlefield fights better than I do, so if you ask me who has the greater odds, I cannot say with certainty.”
“However…”
The Emperor murmured something very softly to himself: “The most critical moment has not yet come. When it does arrive…”
He cut himself off there, leaving Yu Wenli in quiet agony — he wanted to ask, but did not dare; not asking left his heart in knots.
In less than half an hour the sky had gone completely dark. Firelight blazed across the battlefield, making it look as though everything within a hundred li had been set ablaze.
Yang Jing seemed unwilling to miss a single moment of this grand spectacle, and would not come down from the wall to rest, watching on.
Only late into the second half of the night did he finally give in, and rather than descending, he dozed off right there on the city wall.
He woke when the sky had only barely begun to lighten, grabbed the spyglass, and looked out.
“Tantai Yajing is truly remarkable!”
Seeing that Tantai Yajing’s defensive line still held, the Emperor could not help but utter a word of praise.
“Han Feibao is going to lose!”
The Emperor grew agitated — his voice trembled faintly with excitement. He turned and shouted: “Jin Jieyin — quickly, make ready!”
General of the Cavalry Command Jin Jieyin immediately ran down from the city wall. In the city there were still several tens of thousands of soldiers who had chosen to remain and serve the Chu Emperor in loyalty.
“Your Majesty, the troops are assembled.”
Jin Jieyin, having gotten the forces in order, ran back up to the wall to report.
Yang Jing immediately commanded: “Go — now is the optimal moment. Lead the men and cut through. You can earn yourself a bright future, and this is all the help I can give you.”
Jin Jieyin knelt and touched his forehead to the ground, then turned, descended from the wall, and led those tens of thousands of Chu troops charging out.
These suddenly arriving Chu forces were not many, but they appeared at the precise moment when the Yongzhou army was most exhausted after fighting through the night, and instantly caught Pang Youde’s troops off guard.
Jin Jieyin was no mediocrity — he also understood why the Emperor had chosen to act this way.
Three purposes. First, the Emperor had said long ago that if the realm were to change hands, he hoped it would pass to Li Chi, for only then would the common people live better lives.
Second, if he helped Li Chi now, Li Chi would at least feel some gratitude, and would not be so ruthless as to wipe out him and his children entirely.
Third — and equally importantly — to buy a good outcome for the few loyal ministers still at the Emperor’s side.
After Jin Jieyin’s several tens of thousands joined the fray, the Yongzhou army on the southern route collapsed entirely.
And in the north, Han Feibao was still caught in a vice from all sides.
His troops were simultaneously hammering at Tantai Yajing’s line and fending off Tang Pidi’s fierce assault from the other direction.
He had thought that with the cover of darkness he might be able to carve out a path through the chaos — but after a full night of fighting, Tantai Yajing’s line stood as firm as a mountain and could not be broken.
“My lord!”
His subordinate general Yi Boteng had also seen that the situation was hopeless, and urged Han Feibao: “My lord can still lead the Geling Army in a breakthrough from the flank — there is still time. If we wait any longer, my lord will not be able to escape.”
Han Feibao raged: “I have not lost yet — why should I flee?!”
Yi Boteng said urgently: “My lord, while the green hills remain, one need not fear for firewood. Withdraw first, regroup your forces, and seek revenge against Li Chi later — it will not be too late. My lord still lives — please, break through now!”
Han Feibao raised his whip and lashed Yi Boteng three times across the face, leaving him bloody.
“I will say it once more: I have not lost yet! Whoever dares again to speak chaos and shake the army’s will — do not blame me for dealing with them on the spot, without mercy!”
Seeing Han Feibao’s ferocious expression, for a moment no one dared to say another word.
But just then, a Yongzhou general covered head to toe in blood came staggering forward.
“My lord — Tang Pidi has led his troops through the defense line. He is less than five li from the main force.”
Han Feibao seized his weapon: “Geling Army — follow me!”
Yi Boteng immediately grabbed the reins of Han Feibao’s horse and shouted to the Geling Army: “Protect my lord and break through!”
He could no longer afford to stand on ceremony, and hauled Han Feibao’s horse by the reins and ran.
At this point, even those around Han Feibao knew that all was lost, and they immediately wheeled around and drove for the flank.
They had barely begun to retreat when Tang Pidi led his army crashing through the final defensive line of the Yongzhou forces, driving straight into the main force.
Seeing one unit breaking for the flank, Tang Pidi immediately ordered the pursuit to cut them off.
“Cheng Wujie! Xiahou!”
Tang Pidi called out: “You two — take your men at once and support Tantai. Join forces and finish the Yongzhou army in the south!”
After a day and a night of fighting, both Xiahou and Cheng Wujie had blood and grime smeared across their faces and bodies. Exhausted though they were, they knew that this great victory would belong to whoever could bite down and endure — so they rallied their soldiers’ spirits and moved toward Tantai Yajing.
Another half day passed. In the south, Pang Youde’s Yongzhou army could no longer hold on. After a third of his men had been killed in battle, and with no hope of breaking through, he led his army in surrender.
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