Ch53 - Desperate

“Wait!” Mu Hanzhang hurriedly called out to the right protectorate general and said quickly, “I’ve already ordered people to put in stakes all around the camp. Quickly, have the soldiers tie stumbling ropes between the stakes.” 

The right protectorate general was stunned for a moment, then turned to run out.

Mu Hanzhang turned his head to the left protectorate general and said, “How might infantry win against cavalry?”

The left protectorate general said calmly, “Cavalry only relies on speed. Three infantrymen can take down one cavalry soldier.”

Mu Hanzhang nodded slightly when he heard these words. “In terms of numbers, we have a great deal more people, but the enemy troops are attacking our large camp in a surprise raid. However, we must not panic. The right protectorate general is impulsive. Quickly, go and deploy your troops: set up a defense in all directions. Station the troops behind the stumbling ropes. The camp is square in shape, 165 meters on each side.” 

The left protectorate general cupped his fists and said, “Yes, sir!”

Zhao Meng’s soldiers were given a sound beating right after they entered Sheng Jing Pass. A large number of foot soldiers brandishing curved blades rushed down from the mountains and focused on cutting the horses’ hooves. This forced Zhao Meng’s soldiers to continue on foot, killing as they advanced. Unexpectedly, not only was this path heavily garrisoned, it was also dangerous everywhere. There were rolling stones, traps, and spikes, all of which made them suffer the entire way.

“General!” The captain of the cavalry supported Zhao Meng. They had just made it through a rolling stone setup. Even Zhao Meng was hurt, and they stopped for a rest. “After walking for so long, we’ve only advanced less than ten li. What should we do ah?!”

Zhao Meng gasped for breath. There were ambushes in front of him and troops pursuing from behind. He was trapped in a dilemma. Suddenly, he thought of what the military advisor had said. He quickly took out the second brocade pouch and opened it for a look. On the paper inside was written these big words: “The sea of misery has no border; turn back and there is the shore”.

“What does that mean?” The cavalry captain was very confused; why did the military advisor have to write such a cryptic message? He wanted them to guess the meaning in this desperate situation?

Zhao Meng stroked his beard and carefully pondered his current situation. It was obvious that the Southwest King had come up with this plan to catch turtles in a jar. Since the military advisor had given them this sentence, he must have calculated that Zhou Meng would fall into this trap. Thus, this was a reminder for Zhou Meng to quickly turn back. His infantry was still outside the gate. The cavalry couldn’t afford being ground down like this – they had to go back and get the infantry.

Finally, Zhao Meng, who had calmed down, quickly mounted his horse. “All officers and soldiers, hear me: Turn back to Sheng Jing Pass, quickly!”

Jing Shao rushed into the pass with his soldiers and horses. As a group of southwest troops rushed down from the mountain, Jing Shao tightened his grip on the reins and roared, “Cavalry, advance first. Infantry, prepare your swords!” He spoke with internal power, and the sound resounded like a gong being struck, which intimidated everyone. 

Xiao Hei reared up and whinnied before charging forward. The other war horses behind him also sped up. The infantry behind Jing Shao heard his words and grasped their weapons as they quickly fell back, and those holding swords took several hurried steps to both sides of the formation.  “Whoosh!” Their blades turned toward the enemy soldiers, who swooped down from the mountain to attack with momentum. Curved swords were only good for cutting off horse hooves, however, and the enemy only wielded broadswords with those kind of sharp edges. At the very front of the charge, the southwest army leader ran right into the prepared swordsmen.

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Jing Shao fought alongside his army the entire way, and bodies, crushed stone, abandoned armor, and weapons were strewn everywhere. Xiao Hei had a talent for avoiding obstacles which other horses didn’t have. Jing Shao reined in his horse and ordered the foot soldiers to clean up the battlefield first. Soon, he saw a dust cloud up ahead, which turned out to be Zhao Meng rushing over with his cavalry, his head and face filthy with grime. 

“Wang Ye!” Zhao Meng was extremely moved to see Jing Shao.

Jing Shao looked at him coolly and saw that his armor was damaged, as if he had sustained some injuries. He said, “You, scram back to the camp for Benshuai; after I clean up here at Sheng Jing Pass, I’ll go back to deal with you!”

When Zhao Meng heard this, his expression immediately changed. He got off his horse, knelt down, and said, “This general was rude and impetuous, and is willing to receive punishment, but as Wang Ye is the commander, and for the sake of defending the camp, I earnestly request that the commander give this general another chance…”

“Reporting –” Before Zhao Meng could finish, a soldier messenger rode a fast horse through the sea of people as the army gave way. 

“Reporting to Commander, more than a thousand cavalry soldiers have launched a surprise attack on the camp!” The soldier was very flustered.

“What?!” Jing Shao’s eyes widened, as if he had been hit by lightning. All their cavalry were away. The sudden attack on the camp would surely cause heavy casualties. Moreover, his Jun Qing was still there!

“Wang Ye, cavalry is useless on this mountain road. We’ll take the foot soldiers and go first!” Zhao Meng took the opportunity to stand up.

Jing Shao gave him a profound look and quickly turned his horse around. “Cavalry, hear me: return to camp at once!” He hadn’t even finished half the sentence before he took a large part of the cavalry with him and vanished in a cloud of dust. 

—

Mu Hanzhang stood outside the center tent and looked into the distance. Dust and smoke had been kicked up, bringing with it an aggressive and overbearing air; it was clear that these people had come with bad intentions.

“Neigh~~~” The surprise attack wasn’t actually focused on a single point, but rather, was divided into three cone-shaped formations that attacked from the east, south and west. They moved too quickly. When one horse tripped over the stumbling rope and fell, the ones behind would trip over the fallen horse in turn. For a moment, all one could hear was the neighs of horses. The camp troops that had been split in eight directions quickly gathered into six and quietly watched the horses fall.

Soon, the people behind realized that they were stumbling because of the ropes, so they slowed down, one, two, ten… One after another, the soldiers and horses slowly stepped over the ropes, and some who wielded broadswords on their horses leaned down to cut at the ropes. The people behind followed suit, and soon, the ropes were destroyed. The enemy was like a torrent leaking through the cracks of a dam, which turned into sharp icicles that pierced right through the foot soldier arrangements, and soon, the shouts and sounds of killing shook the sky. 

Jing Shao fiercely whipped his horse, faster, faster. He didn’t dare distract himself thinking about where those people had come from and what their aim was. He also didn’t dare imagine the situation Jun Qing was in at the moment.

Xiao Hei felt his master’s impatience and let loose, galloping wildly with all his might and leaving the soldiers and horses far away behind him; one horse took the lead and rushed off.

In fact, cavalry didn’t have much of an advantage over infantry; even if one cavalry soldier could deal with three infantrymen, the soldier would also sustain severe injuries. Mu Hanzhang frowned as he watched these people rush in to attack, and wondered why they didn’t seem to care for their lives.

“Whoosh ~” For one moment, Mu Hanzhang was stunned, before he subconsciously turned to dodge. An arrow flew through where he had just been standing as it pierced the tent. Looking outside, he saw arrows flying through the air. The enemy didn’t just have cavalry, but mounted archers as well! 

Cavalry didn’t have much of an advantage over infantry, even if it was one cavalry soldier to three infantrymen, since it wasn’t very cost-effective. But if they were mounted archers, their arrows would be extremely lethal and could indeed increase camp casualties. However, mounted archers were elite troops. The Southwest King had to have an objective for giving the order to attack the camp, and the target of this objective was…

“Whoosh whoosh!” Countless arrows were shot at the center tent, and Mu Hanzhang vaguely felt that he might be the target! He turned around and quickly ran to an area with more people in order to obstruct the arrows; the closer he was to other people, the less likely that he would get hurt.

“Be careful, military advisor!” The right protectorate general looked back and saw Mu Hanzhang dodging the arrows. He pulled him to his side and slipped him a dagger. “Don’t leave my side!”

Mu Hanzhang held up the knife horizontally in front of him and blocked a pike wielded by a soldier on horseback. The right protectorate general slashed at the soldier and immediately cut off the arm holding the spear, before he kicked the horse’s stomach. 

“Ah ~” The man fell off the horse with a scream, and a nearby soldier immediately used a knife to end his life.

“The military advisor truly is versed in all things.” It had just been a precaution to give Mu Hanzhang a short knife, but unexpectedly, the military advisor really could use it. The knife technique was accurate and his moves succinct. Even though it lacked internal power to support it, the execution of the skill itself was quite good.

Mu Hanzhang smiled but didn’t answer as he stuck to the right protectorate general’s back. He couldn’t practice martial arts with his weak meridians, but that didn’t prevent him from practicing these skills. To prevent himself from becoming a useless, sick person, Mu Hanzhang, who really yearned to be able to truly practice martial arts, often secretly watched his father practicing with his weapons, and memorized the moves one by one. He then practiced secretly in his courtyard in the evenings, and as the days and months went by, he learned some life-saving moves, and his body also gradually improved.

A surprise attack by cavalry troops depended on being swift and violent. Now, they had been obstructed, and couldn’t find their target as well. Overwhelmed by a sea of foot soldiers, they gradually lost their spirits and were eliminated one by one. 

Mu Hanzhang had just breathed a sigh of relief, when there was the sound of horse hooves once again in the distance. His heart immediately tightened. Looking up, he saw a black horse and silver armor. It was a single rider who emerged from the boundless dust. Mu Hanzhang’s lips, which had been tightly pressed together, slowly curled up – his Xiao Shao had returned!

Jing Shao rushed into the camp with his legs clamped tightly around his horse. He had seen the chaos from afar as he got closer and closer. The person in blue was so conspicuous in the crowd of dark uniforms. Mu Hanzhang was holding a short knife with blood on it, but it gave people the illusion that it was actually a long flute. Seeing that Mu Hanzhang was safe and sound, Jing Shao’s heart, which had been in his mouth, finally settled. Jing Shao couldn’t help but grin as he ran toward his Wang Fei.

At that moment, an enemy soldier hiding behind the tent suddenly jumped out and slashed at the blue-robed Mu Hanzhang with a long knife.

“Jun Qing!” Jing Shao felt his heart seize up fiercely. He watched helplessly as that long blade swung at that fragile person. Blood splattered; it felt like the sky and earth had suddenly turned gray, and only that blood was a striking, stinging red! 

“No ~” Jing Shao roared and rushed forward. He pulled out the sword at his waist and immediately cut off the head of that man on the horse with a “ka-cha”, and three feet of the area in front of the man was immediately splashed with blood! Xiao Hei kicked away the half-standing horse to reveal the man behind it.

“Military advisor!” The right protectorate general looked back and roared angrily. He reached over, but someone was faster.

Jing Shao leapt off his horse and took the man into his arms. His eyes were red and his voice trembled. “Jun Qing, Jun Qing!”

“En…” Mu Hanzhang groaned with pain. He covered his injured shoulder as blood flowed through his fair, slender fingers. His slightly pale lips curved up and he said with a smile, “It’s just a small wound, don’t worry… hey!” 

Jing Shao looked at the cut that wouldn’t stop bleeding, and there was an incomparable ache in his heart. He picked up the man in his arms and walked to the imperial tent as he said in a loud voice, “Fetch the military doctor, quickly!”

With no need to focus on protecting the military advisor anymore, the right protectorate general raised his sword and swore. “Damn it, you dare hurt our military advisor! Kill!”

“Kill~” Hearing those words, the soldiers rushed toward what was left of the cavalry.

“Jun Qing…” Jing Shao kept calling to the man in his arms, for fear that he would faint. 

“Xiao Shao, I’m fine. Don’t be afraid.” Mu Hanzhang leaned against him. The wound was just a superficial injury. He originally wanted to ridicule this rascal for making a big fuss out of nothing, but he felt the arms carrying him tremble slightly, so he couldn’t bear to scold him. Thus, he lifted his bloody hand and used a gentle voice to comfort him.