Chapter 42: Confrontation
The General will surely return safely.
42
These past few days, Luo Cheng had been following Xuan Rui’s commands. Suddenly hearing that the two armies were about to engage in battle, he felt deeply unsettled. Stiffening his neck, he rushed off to confront Xiao Ziqi.
Xiao Ziqi looked at him as if he were a fool and directly ordered him tied up and thrown into a storage room, lest he try any tricks and leak information about the city’s situation to the other side.
Long before arriving at Ming City, the boss had already sent word back to the camp, ordering Yuchi Meng to bring three thousand elite troops to rendezvous.
Now they were lying in ambush outside the city, waiting for those good-for-nothings of the Red Feather Army to deliver themselves to their doorstep.
As for those young masters, with their minimal real combat experience, when it comes to actual battlefield fighting, no one cares if they’re the only son in their family—they’ll still get a hole stabbed through them.
After noon, Xuan Rui changed into a suit of Mystic Iron armor, mounted his horse, and led five thousand Zhenbei Army soldiers out of the city gate in a grand procession.
Li Youqing had heard earlier that he would be away for three or four days and had restrained herself from disturbing him. Now that it was crowded outside, she naturally wouldn’t go to the city gate to see him off either.
During dinner, Auntie Chen chattered beside her ear again: “The General truly dotes on you to the core, miss. He sent over many nourishing items and instructed me to stew ginseng chicken soup for you these past few days.”
Li Youqing ate a little absentmindedly before listlessly setting down her chopsticks. Seeing Auntie Chen serve her a bowl of richly stewed chicken soup, she frowned and said, “I can’t drink it.”
She had no appetite all day, not knowing what she was worried about—just that her heart couldn’t settle.
Moreover, Cong Ying would soon come to find her, and the matter of returning to the capital made her even more restless.
Since Zhenbei Wang had already rebelled, what about him? What was he really thinking…
She had always vaguely felt that he was loyal to Father Emperor. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to Wu City to investigate those matters, nor would he be battling Zhenbei Wang’s lackeys today.
Li Youqing thought she would wait until he returned to clarify these matters face-to-face before going back to the capital—it wouldn’t be too late then.
“Even if you dislike this old woman’s cooking, miss, you should at least have a couple of sips. Otherwise, when the General returns and sees you’ve grown thin from hunger, he’ll surely blame me,” Auntie Chen persuaded kindly, using a spoon to skim off a layer of oil from the bowl.
For ordinary folks like them, meals should have some richness to be good.
“Your cooking is excellent, Auntie,” Li Youqing replied politely with a smile. Picking up the bowl with both hands, she slowly finished the chicken soup.
Auntie Chen brightened up and comforted her further: “Don’t fret, miss. The General is a seasoned veteran—he’ll definitely return safely.”
Li Youqing didn’t respond, quietly finishing her bowl of rice.
~
The next day
The desolate gravel-strewn land formed a natural battlefield. Meng Yi, commander of the Red Feather Army, stared at the enemy formation ahead with a deeply troubled expression before riding forward to meet them.
He had originally intended to try persuasion before force, using Confucian and Mencian principles to convince the other side to return Ming City to him, thus achieving victory without fighting.
But the moment he saw the enemy approaching, his resolve faltered.
The setting sun elongated the man’s robust figure on the ground, his shadow pressing down heavily like an insurmountable mountain.
From beneath the helmet emerged a pair of utterly cold eyes, brimming with undisguised killing intent, sharply fixed upon him.
Meng Yi instantly realized there was no room for negotiation in this battle.
He had been in the northwest for a long time—this year he turned thirty-five. The Prince had promised he could return early next year and would be enfeoffed as a marquis and appointed as a general.
Over the years, he had practically witnessed Xuan Rui’s growth.
When he first led the wolf pack seized from the border garrison to join the Zhenbei Army, the other was still a hot-blooded youth. Through years of tempering, it was evident that his methods had grown increasingly formidable, and his actions more ruthless.
Though barely in his twenties, that youthful temperament had long vanished. Meng Yi sometimes pitied such people—born from humble origins, knowing only how to climb relentlessly upward, their lives monotonous with nothing but slaughter.
What meaning was there in living like that?
Ingrained upbringing made him choose to reason first: “Xuan Rui, back when His Highness entrusted the prosperous Wu City to the Zhenbei Army and assigned the Red Feather Army to manage Ming City, making us the grain depot for the northwest garrison, I, as General, have always treated you well. Yet you seize another’s place, attempting to take Ming City for yourself—this is outright lawlessness! If you still have a conscience, come with me at once to the Prince’s residence to plead guilty!”
Hearing his long-winded speech, Xiao Ziqi, Xu Tao, and others nearby burst into laughter.
Xuan Rui had some recollection of the Meng family’s broad-faced hereditary features, having once met his father, Governor Meng, and listened to him boast about his son’s great achievements in the northwest. It was utterly ridiculous.
“Wasn’t Rou Lan conquered by King Bai? Where is your Ming City now? General Meng, you are truly naive.” Beneath his helmet, the man’s sharp eyes held a trace of mockery as he spoke unhurriedly: “When General Luo wrote seeking reinforcements, out of righteousness, I came. It was you who abandoned the people of Ming City first, and I cleaned up your mess afterward. So who exactly should go to the Prince’s residence to plead guilty? At your age, General Meng, shouldn’t you have some sense?”
“You’re twisting right and wrong! Xuan Rui, with such rebellious actions, are you plotting treason?!” Meng Yi, provoked into fury, remembered he had brought thirty thousand troops and no longer feared him.
Xuan Rui’s expression remained cold as he raised the Mystic Iron Sword, watching its sharp blade gleam under the setting sun.
The passionate war drums sounded, armor rustled in unison, and the formation gradually unfolded. Five thousand Zhenbei Army soldiers, their momentum soaring to the skies, divided into two columns to flank the enemy from left and right.
No matter how different their usual personalities, every soldier wore the same expression on the battlefield.
Resolute, courageous, and fearless of death.
Meng Yi initially paid little mind—after all, he had more troops. How dare they attempt to flank? It showed sheer disregard for his forces.
Unexpectedly, sudden screams erupted from the rear, plunging the scene into chaos.
Someone rushed to report: “General Meng, Yuchi Meng has suddenly charged over with a large contingent of troops!”
Three forces surrounded Meng Yi’s troops, while dozens of wild wolves suddenly burst from the rear, swift as lightning, weaving through the warhorses.
The wolf pack, well-trained, assisted the leading officers of the three forces, pouncing and tearing at any formidable opponents they encountered.
Only then did Meng Yi realize what kind of formidable enemy he truly faced.
Daliang soldiers, more valiant and skilled in battle than the Barbarians’ iron cavalry, had roamed arrogantly across the northern deserts for years, striking fear into every tribe… Was this how they truly fought?
Did he really stand a chance this time?
Winter nights fell early. As the sun sank westward, the surrounding light grew dimmer, and the wolves’ role became increasingly prominent.
The northwestern armies had maintained the tradition of raising wolves over the years, but only the Zhenbei Army had truly mastered training wolf packs to be effective on the battlefield.
Stared down by those pairs of eerie green eyes, even Meng Yi felt as though facing a formidable enemy, constantly brandishing his spear to keep the beasts from approaching.
It was well-known that the Zhenbei Army excelled at night marches, and the darkness would undoubtedly become a death warrant for their side.
With the situation unfavorable for continuing the fight, Meng Yi began directing his troops to retreat when a horn suddenly blared through the wilderness, its sound exceptionally stirring.
The two sides had been locked in fierce combat for nearly two hours, but with the sound of that horn, the true battle had only just begun.
As the encirclement tightened, a rider and a wolf shot out like arrows, charging straight into the heart of the Red Feather Army.
Yuchi Meng and Xiao Ziqi flanked him as guards, covering the lone rider who surged ahead.
The Mystic Iron armor emitted a cold, faint glow in the darkness, the rider’s arched back like a fully drawn bowstring, brimming with boundless power.
Countless spears were hurled at him simultaneously, but Xuan Rui pressed his upper body close to the horse’s back, weaving through the onslaught like a phantom.
Suddenly, the steed let out a loud neigh, and at the moment its front hooves lifted highest, the rider vanished like a ghost.
Meng Yi was startled, only to realize his own horse’s throat had been torn out by a vicious wolf.
At the same time, he felt a chill run down his spine and looked down to see a gaping hole pierced through his chest by a Mystic Iron Sword, his body plummeting stiffly to the ground.
Xuan Rui operated with ruthless decisiveness; when others provoked him first, he left no survivors.
Amid the chaos, someone shouted, “General Meng is dead! Everyone, retreat!”
Yuchi Meng’s mocking laughter echoed through the night, laced with extreme sarcasm: “You Red Feather Army are nothing! How dare you stir trouble? Those who surrender willingly today will be spared. Those who resist or flee will pay with their lives!”
At these words, some cowardly soldiers dropped their weapons, raising their hands and kneeling on the ground.
A line of archers rode forward, mercilessly slaughtering those who attempted to flee.
Flaming arrows shot into the sky, illuminating the wasteland brightly, the ground littered with corpses like a living hell.
The pursuit lasted until dawn, with the Zhenbei Army spirits high, singing triumphant songs and chanting General Xuan’s name, thoroughly savoring the moment of victory.
Xuan Rui rode his steed across the battlefield, accompanied by the alpha wolf whose fur was stained crimson.
The moonlight glinted off his Mystic Iron armor, making him appear like a deity risen from hell, coldly surveying his conquest.
The alpha wolf beside him emitted eerie green glows from its eyes, howling commands to the pack as they searched among the corpses for soldiers feigning death, then swiftly biting through their necks.
As dawn’s first light tinged the horizon, the Zhenbei Army split into two groups: one remained under Xu Tao’s command to continue clearing the battlefield, while the other, led personally by Xuan Rui, drove the prisoners to a nearby plain to set up camp.
Yuchi Meng rode up proudly to Xuan Rui and said, “Boss, wasn’t I clever this time? You only told me to bring three thousand elites, but I brought those beasts along too. Scared the crap out of those bastards.”
Xuan Rui, his aura of bloodshed and slaughter still palpable, removed his helmet and tossed it to him. “Keep those beasts in check. Don’t let them harm any nearby villagers.”
“Don’t worry, there’s no one around here.” Yuchi Meng patted his chest in assurance, saying cheerfully: “If any commoners get frightened, I’ll slap myself ten times across the face.”
Xuan Rui gave him a cool glance before spurring his horse to leave first.
Selecting suitable recruits from this group of prisoners to reorganize into Ming City’s garrison was undoubtedly a task that tested one’s discernment to the extreme. He usually assigned this to Xiao Ziqi first, then conducted the final screening himself.
But before that, he had something more important to attend to.
【Author’s Note】
Everyone remember to take protective measures, boost your immunity, and go to bed early. I don’t dare stay up late anymore either!