Chapter 165

Chu Qiao stood there quietly for a long time until the soldier’s voice faded away. The snow accumulated on his face but did not melt. The wind tugged at her sleeves as if to remind her of her old dreams. The sky was desolate and vast. Although the world was big, they had seemingly been abandoned by it. A massive amount of thoughts flashed across Chu Qiao’s mind. She thought of the visions they had since young, their determination to make it happen, those passionate moments of anticipation and hope. She thought of the cold, dark prison cell they were locked in many years ago when the young man grabbed her hands and warmed it. Yan Xun had told her many things about Yan Bei with a bright look in his eyes. He painted a rosy picture of the snow, grass, and horses there, along with the Huolei Plains and Huihui Mountains. He said that the civilians there were diligent and kind-hearted, and that there were no conflicts. There was only peace and tranquility, akin to a utopia.

Yan Bei, Yan Bei… Chu Qiao looked up slowly, a stream of tears trickling down her face. She stood upright, her body shaped like a javelin. The snowflakes landed on her shoulder. No one will protect you anymore. Let me do the job instead. We will wait for them to come back.

No one expected Beishuo City to fall this quickly. In barely five days, under the relentless waves of attacks by Zhao Qi, Beishuo City had been utterly annihilated. If not for the tools of defense that Chu Qiao had left behind, Yan Bei would definitely have been colonized by Xia.

At this moment, Cao Mengtong stood on the city walls looking at the Xia troops who were approaching. He felt the ground trembling beneath his feet. There was one thing that he did not manage to comprehend: where had his army of over a million gone to? How had he lost so completely, despite his valiant efforts? However, he had no time to think about this anymore. Lu Zhi dashed to his side and shouted, “General, time to run! The Xia troops are catching up with us!”

“Run?” Cao Mengtong turned around and asked in a dazed manner. “Run?”

“Yes!” Lu Zhi exclaimed. “Xia An has fled with the Beishuo Army already. I heard that Chidu City has not fallen yet. That girl, Chu Qiao, has defended the city with her soldiers. We can escape to Lan City via there. General, be quick. There’s no time left!”

“Run?” Cao Mengtong was slow to respond. In just a few days, his hair had turned white. Mumbling to himself, he remarked, “No way. I can’t run.”

“General! That old coward, Xia An, has fled already. He’s the general in charge of defending Beishuo. He’s gone already. What are we staying here for?”

Cao Mengtong sighed with sadness. He used his old pair of eyes to look at Lu Zhi, replying, “He can run, but I can’t. Lu Zhi, I am the overall commander in charge of resisting the Xia troops. If I run, Beishuo City is finished.”

“Beishuo is finished even if you don’t run! General, don’t be stubborn anymore!”

Cao Mengtong shook his head. “No way. Lu Zhi, if you want to run, go ahead.”

Lu Zhi was stunned. “General, are you really not leaving?”

Cao Mengtong replied with conviction, “No.”

“Neither am I then!” the boorish man exclaimed. “It’s just death. General, you have groomed me and taken care of me just like my birth father. If I die, I will die with you!”

Cao Mengtong was touched and started to tear. He gave Lu Zhi a pat on the shoulder and remarked, “You only see the kindness in people when you’re in danger. Lu Zhi, I did not groom you in vain.”

“General, please give me 20 thousand troops. I will dash out of the city and fight the enemy to the death!”

“Alright!” Cao Mengtong said. “I’ll give my personal army to you. They are the most loyal soldiers to Yan Bei, and also the most elite troops of the Second Army. Lu Zhi, don’t let me down!”

“I will not disappoint you, General!”

An hour later, the northern gates of Beishuo City opened. Lu Zhi, along with Cao Mengtong’s personal army, swept the city of all its valuable items and fled. Cao Mengtong stood on the city walls and looked on as his trusted aide left him. He spit out a mouthful of blood, collapsing on the ground.

The Xia army carried out another wave of attacks, causing chaos everywhere within the city. All its civilians ran around in panic. The northern gates were sealed shut by the officials of the Military Law Department under Cao Mengtong’s orders, to prevent anyone else from escaping.

Pandemonium, along with the smell of blood and shouts to kill, descended upon the entire city. The Xia army had made their way to within 200 paces of the city. They took out their ladders and began to scale the city gates. As the sun set, the landscape was stained bright red. This was the last assault of the day. The enemy troops let out the signal to charge. They were intent on conquering Beishuo City that very day!

“Surrender! Those who surrender will live!” The Xia army sent about 300 soldiers with loud voices to go beneath the city gates and shout. Some of the civilians in Beishuo City had wanted to open the gates up and surrender but were swiftly killed by the officials. The cries of agony neared. The blood scent of the Xia soldiers was detectable.

“General! General! The third platoon needs reinforcements!” a blood-stained soldier crawled on the ground towards him and exclaimed.

Cao Mengtong looked at him and shook his head slowly. The old general brandished his sword and took two steps forward with a murderous aura around him. How many years had it been since he stepped onto the battlefield? Over these years, he had been mocked and known as a general who was a deserter. The only time in his life where he was courageous, it led to an unbelievably big mistake. From the start, if he had listened to that girl, Chu Qiao… At this instant, thoughts like this flashed across his mind. He shook his head again, laughing at himself. What use was there, thinking about this now? He smiled bitterly and replied, “I am the last reinforcement.”

“General!” the official was stunned, tears streaming down his face. “You’re over 60 years old already. It is my incompetence that has led to you having to fight on the battlefield.”

The old general waved his arm and said slowly, “Let’s fight to the death together!”

“Yes!”

Suddenly, a loud sound erupted from outside the city. The Xia troops activated their emergency signals. The Xia troops froze upon hearing the sound, turning their heads around in panic.

Cao Mengtong and the official from the third platoon were also stunned. They looked up and gazed at the horizon in the distance, spotting a long, black shadow approaching. Subsequently, the black shadow slowly become larger. Eventually, an army dressed in black emerged from the horizon, approaching the city at frightening speed. A red and white colored flag flew over their heads, like a burning fireball in mid-air!

“The reinforcements are here!” the soldiers cheered in tears of joy, their cheers drowning out all other noises.

“It’s our team! Our reinforcements are here!”

“The Southwest Emissary’s Garrison! It’s General Chu!”

“General Chu is here! We’re saved!”

At that moment, the soldiers in black let out a loud war cry. “For freedom!”

They were neatly organized, charging forward rapidly with a rumbling noise following behind them. The team became larger and larger, revealing an army of 20 to 30 thousand elite troops. They raised their swords in the air, using their legs to control their horses. In the sunset, the warriors began their rampage of the Xia troops in an intimidating fashion, riding their horses and flanking the enemy!

“Southwest Emisssary’s Garrison! It’s the traitors!” As compared to the cheers erupting from Beishuo City, the Xia army was thrown into disarray. Although they had more people, they had no time to alter their formations, having been attacked suddenly from the back. In addition, Zhao Qi’s Southwestern Army was less competent compared to Zhao Yang’s Northwestern Army. Also, the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison was well-known. In no time, the troops at the back were defeated.

“Long live General Chu!” the soldiers standing atop the city walls of Beishuo cheered, hugging each other in joy.

“General!” He Xiao dashed in front and shouted, “They outnumber us. We should not clash with them head on!”

Chu Qiao shook her head coldly and replied in a low voice, “Our army has strong survival instincts. We pull off miraculous victories which boost our morale. The Xia troops cannot verify our identity currently. If we do not take this opportunity now, we won’t have any chance in the future!”

The army surged forward at rapid speeds. Before the orders from the Xia army’s central tent had reached the back, the army of 100,000 people behind had been defeated under the first wave of attacks. Chu Qiao ordered the army to ignore any stray troops and dash straight towards the central tent!

The nightmare of the Xia troops had started. The opposition was but an army of a few ten thousand people, but they were all elite troops and experienced in combat. Their reactions were unbelievably fast and agile, causing pandemonium within the battlefield.

“All of you, maintain your formations! Charge!” He Xiao stood at the front, followed by the flagbearer who raised the flag in the air. Chu Qiao was positioned at the center of the army, riding forward on her horse. The warriors, disregarding their own lives, unleashed their frustrations at having been suppressed for a long time, swallowing up the Xia army easily.

“Attack! Reorganize all the formations!” Zhao Qi rode on his horse, shouting loudly. He intended to stabilize the army. He disregarded his aides’ instructions and dashed to the edge of the battlefield. However, at this instant, an arrow homed in on his body. One of his aides dashed forward and blocked the arrow for him as it pierced through his chest. Zhao Qi fell off his horse in panic, avoiding the disaster.

The army was still advancing forward swiftly. Chu Qiao recognized Zhao Qi’s face. With a sharp look in her eyes, she jumped off her horse and stepped on the man’s back. Slash! Before Zhao Qi had time to cry out, his head had been severed by Chu Qiao!

“Zhao Qi is dead! Surrender quickly!”

Boom! Like thunder which had erupted from the ground, the Xia army of 400,000 retreated. Chu Qiao stood tall upon her horse, raising Zhao Qi’s head in the air. She had a stern look in her eyes while her posture was upright.

The Xia army was thrown into chaos. Cao Mengtong, who was standing on top of the city walls, reacted immediately and ordered, “Open the city gates! Open the city gates! Kill them all!”

The gates of Beishuo City finally opened. The soldiers, who had not intended to fight, dashed out of the gates, condemning the Xia army to defeat!

On the 27th day of the tenth month, Chu Qiao abandoned the city of Chidu, setting it on fire. The fire stopped Zhao Yang in his tracks; he could only watch on as Chu Qiao escaped with her army of less than 10,000. On their way to Beishuo, they encountered Lu Zhi and his army of 20,000, which had escaped from there towards Chidu. Once she heard that Lu Zhi had betrayed Beishuo, General Cao Mengtong’s personal troops changed their attitude, killing him and pledging their loyalty to Chu Qiao and the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison. Subsequently, under Chu Qiao’s leadership, they made their way to the back of the enemy and carried out their sudden attack, inflicting a heavy defeat on the Xia army on Huolei Plains, in front of the gates of Beishuo City.

In that battle, about 70,000 enemies were exterminated. The majority of them were trampled to death by the warhorses as they escaped. About 30,000 enemies were captured as prisoners of war, while the commander of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison, Chu Qiao, personally killed the marshal of the opposition army, Zhao Qi. He was the third prince of Xia, the most competent heir to the emperor’s throne. These events were an unbelievably big blow to the Xia army.