Seeing Feng Yao walk away, Wei Zhong stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, Miss Chun Zhi’s handkerchief hasn’t been retrieved by my men yet, but the son of Pingyang City’s magistrate has sent it over, saying he found it by chance today. He also sent word that he wishes to enlist and serve at Your Majesty’s side.”
This son of Pingyang City’s magistrate was quite interesting—one couldn’t tell whether he truly fancied Chun Zhi or merely coveted her status as Great Zhou Emperor’s personal maid.
“Take him to General Yang Wuce. If General Yang is willing to accept him, treat him as an ordinary soldier. Tell him… even though he’s the magistrate’s son, the position of imperial guard is not something he can aspire to. Even Minister Lu’s grandson started as the most ordinary soldier, nearly losing his life several times in life-and-death situations. Whether he dares to enlist… let him weigh it carefully himself.”
“Yes!”
·
The heavy snow had stopped, and both sides of the rushing Dan River were wrapped in silver, a vast expanse of white.
On the east side of the Dan River, Great Zhou’s winding army moved like a black tide, particularly striking against the snowy landscape.
Black banners with golden edges and white python designs were held high, fluttering loudly in the wind. Bai Qingyu and Yang Wuce led the heavy armored cavalry at the front, followed by Great Zhou Emperor’s carriage, with the infantry army close behind, their armor gleaming.
Scouts sent from Canine Fang City first saw the Yan army advancing eastward along the north bank of the Dan River, and now saw Great Zhou’s army advancing eastward along the south bank. They finally breathed a sigh of relief—with Zhou and Yan’s armies departed, at least Canine Fang City was safe for now.
At this time, within Canine Fang City, the Great Shaman’s disciple wrapped himself tightly in a black cloak, exposing only his face under the hood.
Just as he had anticipated, their Tianfeng nation’s sovereign had already left Canine Fang City in advance, still fearing attacks from Great Zhou and Yan. But fortunately… His Majesty had left guidance for him before departing.
Now their sovereign was advancing eastward to rendezvous with General Akxie, but he had received word… that Great Zhou and Yan’s armies had also set out for the eastern territories. If General Akxie rushed to meet His Majesty and instead collided head-on with the Zhou-Yan allied forces, it would be disastrous.
He believed they should first retreat beyond the snowy mountains to preserve their strength, and wait until the master of this land was born and spring flowers bloomed… then Tianfeng could lead the elephant army to attack. Only then would Tianfeng have the advantages of timing, terrain, and people.
He needed to catch up with Sa’er Khan quickly and suggest he turn back toward the snowy mountain passage, then send word to General Akxie to have him lead the elephant army back to Tianfeng.
Setting aside that the master chosen by the heavenly gods for this land had not yet appeared, it was now the depths of winter, and Great Zhou and Yan had already learned to use pungent odors to counter the giant elephants. Fighting both the Great Zhou and Yan at this time was truly unwise.
The Great Shaman’s disciple borrowed a horse from Canine Fang City’s defending general and, supporting his feverish and weak body, left the city to pursue Sa’er Khan.
Before leaving, the Great Shaman’s disciple warned Canine Fang City’s Western Liang defending general not to think they could rest easy just because Great Zhou and Yan’s armies had departed. The Great Zhou and the Great Yan would never allow Western Liang to hold the Dan River natural barrier. In the words of the Yan and Zhou people, Canine Fang City was a strategically contested location.
The Western Liang garrison in Canine Fang City paid no heed to the Great Shaman disciple’s words, thinking that without their elephant army, these Tianfeng people were nothing special—they had been thoroughly frightened by Great Zhou and Yan!
When night fell, the surroundings were quiet except for the sound of wind and snow.
The sentries of Canine Fang City had relaxed their guard after the main forces of Great Yan and Great Zhou withdrew. They huddled together around a campfire, with a copper kettle hanging over it, using still-warm wood ash to roast peanuts and potatoes.
A sentry using a wooden stick to poke a roasted potato from the charcoal ash vaguely sensed something amiss in the surroundings. He tossed the potato to a companion and stood up, walking toward the Dan River. The other sentries also stood up, stepping on peanut shells that crackled underfoot.
Across the Dan River, the darkness held an ominous aura.
Before the sentry could react, an arrow suddenly shot through the air and struck his heart.
The campfire flames, leaping high and low, illuminated the faces of the three standing sentries in bright red, followed immediately by countless arrows flying straight toward them.
The campfire flickered and swayed wildly as arrows shot past it.
The three men had no chance to even scream before being shot full of arrows like porcupines and falling to the ground.
Soon, boats quietly crossed from the other side of the Dan River, setting up pontoon bridges. Soldiers crossed the Dan River one by one, swiftly and orderly, then headed toward Canine Fang City.
The campfire flames, as soldiers charged toward Canine Fang City, were carried by the wind… trembling as they pointed toward the city, as if giving Canine Fang City a final warning.
But Canine Fang City’s soldiers had been tense for days, thinking Great Zhou and Yan would attack. However, after seeing Yan’s army and Zhou’s army depart along the Dan River today, the tight string in their hearts suddenly relaxed. Their vigilance was even lower than usual, paying no attention to the campfire’s abnormality, instead attributing it to the wind.
By the time the Great Zhou soldiers reached the base of the city walls, they finally discovered the Zhou attack and sounded the alarm.
“Great Zhou attacks the city! Archers prepare! Fire oil, prepare!”
Horn sounds accompanied by the terrified shouts of Western Liang soldiers. The entire Canine Fang City, which had been peaceful moments before, erupted like hot water hitting oil, instantly becoming tumultuous.
Those Western Liang soldiers who had been warming themselves and chatting in their barracks immediately grabbed their weapons at hand and rushed toward the city walls.
But it was already too late…
When Bai Jinzhi captured Pingdu City, Western Liang learned that the Great Zhou had a very special shield unit, practically a siege weapon. They didn’t know what method was used—swords, arrows, and fire oil were all ineffective against them!
Seeing these legendary special shield soldiers beginning to scale the city walls, the Western Liang soldiers also gave their all, hurling stones and shooting arrows downward. But the combined shield surface formed a slope that stones couldn’t damage in the slightest.
Shen Kunyang and Bai Jinzhi sat mounted behind the main army, watching as the Shouyang Army was about to scale the walls. Bai Jinzhi immediately requested permission from Shen Kunyang: “General, let me lead troops to charge! I’ll open the city gates for you!”
Bai Jinzhi’s mount, Ping’an, pawed the ground restlessly, even more eager than Bai Jinzhi to charge forward.
However, Shen Kunyang shouted to Cheng Yuanzhi, who stood to his left: “Cheng Yuanzhi! Attack the city!”
Cheng Yuanzhi responded, his gaze resolute. He suddenly drew his sword from his waist, his voice deep as a bell ringing outside Canine Fang City: “Soldiers of Great Zhou! The Western Liang dogs have wronged our Great Zhou people deeply. Today… we shall avenge our dead civilians and brothers! Charge!”
“Charge!”
Every Great Zhou soldier’s fighting spirit boiled over.