Chapter 30 The Luosang River

Beiyan County in the north of Dazhou had steep mountains and was always easy to defend but difficult to attack. Dazhou didn’t need to send many soldiers to the northern border these years not only because the Chen Country to the north was unwilling to start a fight but also because of the natural defense.

But this natural defense was broken officially several days ago. The two hundred thousand soldiers of the Chen Country had passed Beiyan County and went to the south, and their destination was certainly Shaoliang City.

And the battle even made the sixty thousand soldiers in Beiyan County feel depressed. The two sides didn’t fight on the city walls or gather all the soldiers to fight a battle outside the city. It was just that the cultivators in the army of the Chen Country took actions casually and killed the generals and commanders of the North Army, causing the army to lose its leaders and fall into chaos, so the army of the Chen Country crossed Beiyan County and headed for the south on horseback easily.

However, after the Chen Country’s main force crossed Beiyan County, the remaining force with more than thirty thousand generals and soldiers of the North Army still insisted on following the enemies and kept fighting against them all the way. The cultivators in the Chen Country’s army didn’t take the thirty thousand soldiers seriously, so they ignored them, but the generals from the Chen Country could only deeply admire the North Army who kept harassing their main force, yet they could hardly destroy Dazhou’s army at one fling, while they still tried to figure out a way all the time to wipe out the remaining force in the north of Dazhou. These days, the spring rain never stopped, so as the cultivators requested, the Chen Country’s main force rested by the Luosang River for a few days and didn’t go to the south in a hurry. Although the Chen Country’s commander complained secretly, he didn’t dare to show it in front of the cultivators who had complete disregard for human life. He just considered silently how to eliminate the North Army after they stopped.

Behind the Luosang River were mountains with dense forests, and it was more difficult to walk on the mountain road, but who expected that the remaining force of thirty thousand soldiers from Dazhou was hidden in the mountain? These days, the Chen Country’s army stationed by the river had been attacked for at least three times.

Every time, the soldiers from Dazhou came out of the mountain at midnight and then disappeared inside before dawn. The commander of the Chen Country had thought more than once that if the cultivators could follow his order, there might be only few of the thirty thousand soldiers left, but he was a commander from a small country and couldn’t order the cultivators who were worshiped in Yanling. So after thinking for a while, he lost hope.

At dusk, standing in front of the general’s tent and hearing the happy laughter and chatting from more than ten tents in the distance, this commander of the Chen Country who was in his forties furrowed his brows with disgust.

Since the spring rain started falling, the cultivators were unwilling to move forward. In the beginning, he hoped to find a nice camp site depending on his position as a commander, but those cultivators didn’t want to obey him at all and demanded to encamp by the Luosang River, which was a military taboo, so he objected sternly, but the cultivators ignored him. At last, he had to pitch camp here unwillingly.

Although there were more than ten cultivators in the army, he was still worried about the current situation, and the three attacks from the persistent enemies these days frightened him all the time.

The persistence of the soldiers from Dazhou told him a fact that Dazhou couldn’t be destroyed easily.

In the mountains behind the Luosang River, a troop of armed soldiers from Dazhou was hidden in the dense forests and carefully observing the camp of the Chen Country by the river.

This troop from Dazhou’s North Army contained a number of about one thousand and the leader was a young general. In fact, this young general was just a middle-level military official a few days ago, who didn’t qualify to lead one thousand soldiers alone logically. But most of the generals in the North Army had been killed by the cultivators hidden in the Chen Country’s army. So this official was one of the few commanders left and naturally took the responsibility to lead the troop. This young general with blood stains all over his face had grown a deeply tacit understanding with his one thousand subordinates. After fighting for several days, the old soldiers who didn’t approve of his leadership could only admire him.

The young general sat on the grass full of dews and took a deep breath. Looking at the deputies surrounding him, he said in a low voice, “Last night, Wu sent somebody to tell us that we will attack once more tonight. We won’t do anything but burn the granary. We will take actions in the evening.”

The deputies nodded, but one of them hesitated and then asked, “General, what if the cultivators in the Chen Country’s army take actions?”

The young general breathed in and laughed in a soft voice, “What should we do? Think if we can kill one more.”

Hearing that, the deputies smiled.

After Beiyan County was conquered, the North Army of sixty thousand soldiers had lost half of them. The remaining thirty thousand soldiers didn’t give up, but facing the two hundred thousand soldiers from the Chen Country and more than ten cultivators in the army, everybody felt powerless.

So the atmosphere in the army was depressing these days, as if there was black cloud hanging over their heads and suppressing them.

The young general laughed calmly, “In fact, no need to worry. We’ll try our best to delay the Chen Country’s army going to the south. I believe that Shaoliang City must have reactions. The South Army would arrive at least before the Chen Country’s army reaches Shaoliang City. Our seniors in the army won’t let Dazhou be destroyed.”

Although he said so, the deputies could hardly cheer up at the thought of the more than ten cultivators in the Chen Country’s army.

It was getting dark, and the dense forest looked darker. The young general kept silent for a long time and then finally pressed the broadsword handle on his waist. He got up and said only one word, “Go.”

The one thousand armed soldiers behind him stood up quietly and went down the mountain in order.

The military camp of the Chen Country at the foot of the mountain beside the Luosang River was brightly lit. Obviously, the first three attacks from Dazhou made the commander of the Chen Country anxious and prepared.

They passed through the forest. Although they walked slowly, they would inevitably make sounds.

But it was dinner time for the soldiers from the Chen Country, and they were relaxed. The guards looked at the camp from time to time and nobody noticed the sounds in the mountains.

In a dense forest on the mountainside, another troop with many soldiers from Dazhou bent and went down the mountain. The middle-aged leader looked calm and his armor was worn out. When he walked, his strong muscle could be seen, and there was even a scar on his face, from his forehead to the corner of his mouth, which looked scary indeed.

Looking at the rising smoke from the kitchen in the camp at the foot of the mountain, the middle-aged man said peacefully, “In the past, we attacked them when they were having dinner, but now they are alert, so today we will attack after they finish eating, when they are most relaxed.”

Beside him, a short but burly man asked in confusion, “Wu, is this a last-minute decision? Shall we inform the other troops?”

The middle-aged man called Wu laughed, “I have informed them and even told the bloke Xue Zhong, but I told him to take actions eight minutes later. This time they will attack the granary, and we have to clear the obstacles for them first. Otherwise, this guy would suffer disasters rather than blessings.”

The short burly man snorted, “Wu, you don’t care about that bloke at ordinary times. Why are you concerned about him so much now? Do you really want him to marry your daughter?”

After that, laughter could be heard around. Obviously this funny story was known to all in the army. In fact, although Xue Zhong came from Wu’s hometown and Wu joined the army a few years earlier than Xue Zhong, Wu had never helped him since he joined the North Army. Later, others from their hometown spread the news that Xue Zhong had a crush on Wu’s daughter, but Wu always objected their marriage. In the past, everybody thought Wu disliked Xue Zhong, but now the North Army had a difficult time, and they didn’t know why Wu changed his mind.

Wu looked at the sky and guessed that the Chen Country’s soldiers could finish eating in about eight minutes, so he didn’t speak. He waved his hand to tell the soldiers behind to follow closely. When they were close to the foot of the mountain, Wu whispered to the short burly man next to him, “We probably won’t stay alive, but it doesn’t matter. Somebody would remember what we have done.”

The short burly man nodded seriously and then took out his broadsword slowly.

Wu moved two steps forward and took out the big boxwood bow from his back before shooting arrows at the guards in the camp of the Chen Country. Then he grabbed the broadsword and strode forward.

Somebody shouted “Attack” in the camp of the Chen Country, and the war broke out.

…

At the moment, on the mountain in the distance, Xue Zhong looked at the figures in the enemy’s camp with fighting roars and frowned.

He punched the pine tree next to him while yelling, “Do I need your help?”

The deputies around him were confused, but Xue Zhong soon ordered them to go down the mountain. When they were walking, he gave an order, “Don’t hesitate to run to the granary after entering the camp.”

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When the last troop came to the Chen Country’s camp, it was a mess inside and the screams in the fight could be heard everywhere continuously. Xue Zhong didn’t say more and just shouted, “Go.” Then he headed to the granary they had inquired about before.

Xue Zhong looked ferocious.

A group of people from Dazhou looked serious.

At the moment, a middle-aged man in white walked out of one of the more than ten tents which the Chen Country’s army and Dazhou’s soldiers tried to avoid. Looking at the fight with roars to the sky, he opened his mouth and sneered, “Mole crickets and ants.”