The Battle of Xiangyang, Chapter 1 (Parts 1 & 2)

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This article was last edited by ptc077 on 2018-7-21 05:48.
Chapter 1:
The stars hung low, and the plains were vast. A large army galloped across the land, its head and tail nowhere to be seen. The cavalrymen wore long
robes and armor, carried long wooden bows with wide arms, and rode warhorses with large heads, small necks, broad chests, long manes, thick skin, and coarse hair—
the incomparably fierce Ujumqin horses of the Mongolian steppe.
The army marched on, leaving no survivors in its wake; corpses littered the ground, mostly Song soldiers and civilians, severed
limbs arms everywhere—a truly horrific sight.
The thundering of ten thousand horses made the earth tremble. In the distance, a light cavalryman could be seen catching up from the rear.
"Report!..." The messenger finally caught up, "By order of Marshal Uriyangkhadai, General Ashu is ordered to lead his troops
back to camp immediately."
The general called Ashu stopped his warhorse, raised his right arm slightly, and the thousands of cavalry behind him stopped in response.
The neighing of the warhorses made the messenger's eardrums feel like they were about to burst.
Ashu said coldly, "Changsha is so close, yet my father orders me back to camp." He glanced sideways at the messenger,
his blood-stained hand pointing a finger at him, saying, "Judging by your appearance, are you
Han Chinese "
The Han Chinese general Li Tan, who had surrendered, said, "If you are Han Chinese, I think it must be a false report by the Song people. Kill him."
The deputy general Ali Haiya said, "Why don't you listen to him for a few more words?"
The messenger trembled, cold sweat pouring down his face, and he stammered, "I'm not a spy, I'm not a spy...
Here is a letter from Marshal Uriyangkhadai." He then pulled a piece of parchment from his clothes and handed it to Ashu.
Only then did the messenger see General Ashu clearly. He had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a handsome appearance, but unlike other Mongol
generals who were broad-shouldered and burly, he seemed to be Han Chinese. The messenger was secretly alarmed.
Ali Haiya asked from beside him, "Is this the Marshal's own handwriting?"
Ashu glanced down at the parchment, frowned, and said, "Indeed."
Ali Haiya asked again, "Is it indeed an order for us to return to camp?"
"That's right." Ashu slowly put down the parchment.
Li Tan said anxiously, "Changsha is right in front of us, within easy reach. We can then join forces with the Northern Army to attack Xiangyang, and it will be captured
in no time . This was the plan when we set out. Why are we being told to retreat now?"
Ashu turned his horse around and shouted, "Pass on my order: set up camp here and return to camp at dawn tomorrow!"
"What's going on?" Ali Haiya asked in confusion.
Aju sighed and said, "Ari B?ke has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops and is attacking again while our army is on a southern campaign.
The Great Khan has ordered us to return north. This time, we will not be able to take Xiangyang again."
Ari Haiya, upon hearing this, said, "I have some things I don't know if I can say. In my opinion, Ari B?ke is ultimately
insignificant , and the western kings are merely pursuing their own interests—a motley crew. If we don't attack Xiangyang now, once Xiangyang
recovers, when will we have such a good opportunity again?"
Aju shook his head and said, "The letter says that Ari B?ke has Haidu advising him on this campaign." This man
is resourceful and adept at inciting people's hearts. The Great Khan has always been wary of him and would never dare to underestimate him. Furthermore, the various tribes in the desert
have always opposed the Great Khan's implementation of Han policies, and this return campaign is also to force the tribes to submit.
Ali Haiya looked towards Changsha and could only sigh, "Several years ago, M?ngke Khan was defeated here. I thought
today was the perfect opportunity for revenge, but I never expected... Xiangyang was not destined to perish."
The generals said no more, and the camp was set up. It was October, and the autumn wind was bleak. Du Fu's poem "Ascending the Heights"
says: "The wind is fierce, the sky is high, and the monkeys howl sadly; the islet is clear, the sand is white, and the birds fly back." The Xiang River flowed gently outside the army camp, perfectly matching this scene.
Aju sat in the central command tent, alone in the tent, with an oil lamp on the table illuminating the military books. Night had fallen,
and all was quiet. A-Shu was absent-minded, his resentment palpable. Since leading his army from Dali, he had swept through Guizhou, ravaged Xiangzhou
, entered Jingjiang Prefecture, and successively conquered Chen and Yuan prefectures. His advance had been unstoppable, covering thousands of miles, with thirty battles large and small fought without a single
defeat . It was precisely the time to achieve great merit by defeating Xiangyang, yet he was forced to return north. A-Shu was filled with resentment. He randomly
picked up a book, not knowing which one he had turned to, but his gaze fell upon it. The book read: "The Daoist school originated from historians, recording
successes and failures , survival and destruction, fortune and misfortune, the ways of the past and present. Only then can one understand the essentials and the fundamentals, maintaining purity and emptiness, humility and weakness—this
is the art of a ruler facing south."
It was from the "Treatise on Literature" in the *Book of Han*, given to him by Li Tan. Li Tan was a Daoist of origin, originally from
the Central Plains . Due to the war, he organized villagers to rise up against the Mongols, later surrendering to Uriyangkhadai, and frequently propagating the Daoist
philosophy of non-action. A note followed: "Its art is based on nothingness and uses following the natural order. It has no fixed form, no constant shape,
thus it can understand the nature of all things. It neither precedes nor follows things, thus it can be the master of all things."
Ashu, who practiced martial arts, exclaimed in amazement, "These words actually align with martial principles! It's a pity I am a general; the art of war
is the true path."
Ashu closed the book, feeling utterly bored. Suddenly, he regretted giving the women he had abducted along the way to
the soldiers, who had raped and killed them. Now, he longed for pleasure but had nowhere to find it. He then thought, why not go to the surrounding
villages and rob another one? After thinking this, Ashu laughed self-deprecatingly. Along the way, there wasn't a single village still inhabited. He had
truly brought this upon himself. Thinking of the Song women he had violated, he realized how beautiful they were, far
superior to the Mongolian women of the desert .
That slender waist, that delicate face… Just as he was lost in his fantasies, he suddenly heard a clear and melodious female voice, “
Are you Uriyangha Ashu?”
Ashu was startled. He glanced around, remembering that he was alone in the tent, and blamed himself, “Ashu
, Ashu, you’ve really gone mad with desire for women.”
“Are you Uriyangha Ashu?” the female voice suddenly rang out again.
Ashu was startled and stood up in a panic, “Who’s speaking? Someone come quick!”
The two soldiers guarding outside the tent entered upon hearing the noise and asked, “General, what is it?”
Ashu was flustered and asked, “Did you hear a female voice?”
“No,” the two soldiers shook their heads.
Ashu was puzzled when suddenly he heard a whooshing sound, and the two soldiers fell to the ground with a thud. The female voice came again:
"I only stabbed their pressure points to make them fall asleep. If you shout again, it will startle my hand and I won't be able to hit your
pressure point. I'll ask you one more time, are you Uliangha Ashu?"
Ashu, having survived countless battles and risen from the ashes, immediately calmed down. This
was undoubtedly an assassin, but the woman's voice was clear and melodious, sounding like that of a young girl. How could she possess such high martial arts skills?
Ashu immediately shouted, "I am indeed Ashu."
The female voice said, "That's good. It's not easy for you to be a general at such a young age. How about I just blind you?"
Another whooshing sound came from the air. Before A-Shu could even see what it was, the ground suddenly
shook, and the oil lamp on the table was jolted up and flew up to block A-Shu's throat. With a clang, A-Shu was hit by the flying lamp and
fell to the ground, losing his balance. Looking closely, he saw two gleaming silver needles on the ground.
"What a brilliant finger-flicking technique!" A Taoist priest burst out of the tent in the northeast corner and stood protectively in front of A-Shu.
"Taoist priest, quickly save me!" A-Shu cried out joyfully. Since Guo Jing and Huang Rong had guarded Xiangyang, the martial arts
world had mobilized in droves. There were countless highly skilled martial artists, making it impossible to guard against them all. The Mongol army suffered greatly from assassinations. Therefore,
whenever a large army went to war, they would always seek out a master to protect the commander.
The female assassin outside the tent secretly cried out in alarm. She hadn't expected there to be such a master, but this was her only chance
. In the future, the enemy would surely strengthen their defenses, and it would be extremely difficult to assassinate them again. The female assassin, determined, didn't hesitate any longer.
She burst through the tent, her face veiled in black gauze and dressed in night clothes. Her movements
were swift and agile strikes unpredictable, aimed at the Taoist. The Taoist, focused, parried the palm and then attacked his lower body.
Unexpectedly, the female assassin met his kick head-on, one foot braced on the ground while the other swept across in a whirlwind kick.
Footwork wasn't the Taoist's forte, and he inwardly cried out in dismay, but behind him was his commander, Ashu; avoiding the attack would have dire consequences
.
Seeing he was about to be swept away, the Taoist leaped into the air, unleashing his ultimate technique with both palms facing downward. This leap
exposed half of Ashu's body. Seizing the opportunity, without time to draw his silver needles, the female assassin flipped a button from
her sleeve , and with no other option, she used her finger-flicking technique to launch the needle.
The Taoist's palm strike followed, pressing down on the female assassin. She had no time to dodge and had to forcefully gather
all inner strength, raising both palms to meet the attack. With two loud "bangs" and "clangs," the assassin, sent flying, saw that A-Shu
had blocked her attack with his iron wrist guards. Just as she was about to draw her silver needles to fire another, she suddenly felt an unusual coldness in her palms, as if
frozen. A strange chill seeped from her palms into her forearms. The assassin was terrified. Having practiced martial arts since childhood, she knew
this chill was extraordinary. She immediately abandoned the fight, stamping her foot in frustration at her mishap, and turned
to leave .
The Taoist, after exchanging blows, tumbled in the air and landed behind A-Shu, hurriedly checking her injuries.
A-Shu gritted her teeth in pain. The finger-flicking technique was incredibly powerful, but fortunately, A-Shu had been physically strong since childhood, giving her
exceptional . Furthermore, her opponent had been in a hurry and hadn't used his full strength. She had managed to use her wrist to protect her vital points, saving her life. But
her wrist was broken.
The Taoist priest knelt on one knee and said, "I failed in my duty of protection; please punish me, Young General."
A-Shu waved his hand and said, "If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would be dead." He immediately summoned his guards and ordered them
to pursue the female assassin.
The Taoist priest helped A-Shu to the bed and said, "Young General, don't worry. I have excellent wound medicine. In less than ten days,
your hand will be able to move freely again."
A-Shu removed his wrist guard and saw a large bruise on his wrist, purple and bleeding, extremely painful. He gritted his teeth and asked:
"What kind of martial art is this? It's incredibly powerful!"
the Taoist explained. "This is the Finger Flicking Skill created by Huang Yaoshi of Peach Blossom Island. Huang Yaoshi is hailed as
one of the Five Greats of the Central Plains, so his martial arts are naturally extraordinary. Even M?ngke Khan died from Yang Guo's Finger Flicking Skill."
A-Shu was secretly shocked, wiping away a cold sweat, and said, "Thanks to you, Taoist Master, I've
escaped with ." He paused, as if remembering something, and exclaimed, "Ah!" He then said, "Peach Blossom Island, Peach Blossom Island…
Could the female assassin just now have been Huang Rong? No, no, her voice sounded like a young girl's." "And who is it?"
The Taoist stroked his beard and said, "Huang Rong holds a high position and would never risk her life to assassinate someone alone. As far as
I know, she has two daughters. Guo Fu is a good-for-nothing, and Guo Xiang is just an ignorant girl
. Everyone in the martial arts world knows that she is searching for the Condor Hero all over the country. Could it be that Xiaolongnu learned this martial art from Yang Guo
? No, she also used the Falling Flower Sword Palm. Could it be Cheng Ying, Huang Yaoshi's new disciple?
Several years have passed since the Battle of Xiangyang. I don't know how good Cheng Ying's martial arts are. However..." As he spoke, the Taoist smiled mysteriously.
"What?" Ashu asked hurriedly.
The Taoist laughed heartily, "However, my reputation as the Hundred-Loss Taoist is not for nothing
. Anyone struck by my Xuanming Divine Palm has no chance of survival. That little girl was poisoned by the Xuanming Divine Palm's chilling poison. Even if her inner strength is profound enough
to suppress it for several days, she cannot escape death. General, rest assured, hahaha..."
Ashu laughed along, "Taoist, your skill is superb! With you by my side, what do I have to fear?"
The guards carried away the two unconscious soldiers from the tent and circled the tent three times. Ashu was relieved
. Nothing more was said that night. The next morning, the army broke camp and marched overnight to Guizhou to join the main force.
Needless to say, the guards outside the tent were strengthened along the way. Several days later, Ashu led his army to Guizhou at midday. Before they could even settle in,
a soldier came to report that the marshal had captured a group of martial arts practitioners gathering near Guizhou and ordered him to deal with them.
Ashu asked where the marshal was. The soldiers only said that a surrendered Song general had led a rebellion, and the marshal had gone to quell the rebellion and
would return soon.
A-shu thought to himself, "Father must be sending me to persuade them to surrender." He immediately summoned the Taoist Bai-sun to accompany him to the prison. Upon arrival,
he found the prison overcrowded, with more than twenty cells, each holding at least three people.
A-shu had a grand chair brought over and placed in the middle of the aisle. He sat down leisurely and loudly proclaimed,
"I am General Wuliangha A-shu, the Imperial Guard. Those who wish to submit to me will enjoy endless wealth and glory; those who do not will have their necks stabbed."
The Jianghu people cursed him, "Mongol dog!" "Don't even dream of it, you dog!" The curses
were incessant . A-shu frowned. This wasn't the first time he had been insulted by the Song people, but after only a few days of marching, he was exhausted,
and the bruises on his wrists were still too painful to move. He didn't want to suffer their humiliation any longer and considered ordering them all buried alive.
After everyone had finished cursing, and Ashu was about to give the order, a shrill voice suddenly rang out: "I surrender!
I surrender!"
Ashu looked over and saw a small, weasel-faced old man with a dark complexion and a thin frame like a sheet of
paper. Ashu said contemptuously, "Do you know that every man on our grasslands is a warrior capable of killing ten Song soldiers?
We don't spare anyone who comes to freeload."
The old man forced a smile and said, "Everyone in the world knows that Mongols are capable of defeating a thousand or ten thousand men. We
are just ordinary people; we can't compare, we can't compare. But this lowly fellow knows a few extraordinary skills passed down from my master's family.
This isn't just me bragging; no one else in the world knows them."
Ashu asked curiously, "What's your name? What school do you belong to? What martial arts do you know?"
The old man chuckled obsequiously, "Reporting to the general, my name is Sun Gutou. All my fellow disciples are dead, so I have no sect
. I've been learning transformation, voice manipulation, and bone shrinking techniques from my master since childhood."
Some martial arts figures ridiculed him as a "petty thief," "shameless," and "scoundrel."
Upon hearing this, A-Shu's eyes lit up. "What is transformation and rebirth?"
Sun Gutou smiled, stood up, and touched his neck. Gradually, he tore off a piece of human
skin from his face, revealing his true appearance.
A-Shu stood up in astonishment and approached. Sun Gutou's real face was
far older than the mask suggested, his skin wrinkled and patchy, making him look quite terrifying.
Sun Gutou said, "I'm sorry to have amused you, General. This is Transformation, a craft of making human skin masks. And the
Voice Transformation is a prescription that can change one's voice."
Ashu suddenly realized, "So this voice is not the same as the real one. That's interesting. Tell me more."
Sun Gutou laughed, "I'm not afraid to tell you, General, but these skills are all used for petty theft. With Transformation and
Voice Transformation, even if the Divine Constable came, he wouldn't recognize me." Ignoring the shouts of the others, Sun Gutou continued, "The human skin
mask can be worn for a lifetime, making it impossible for people to tell the real from the fake; the Voice Transformation prescription can be made into pills,
changing one's voice for a month at a time."
Ashu laughed loudly, "Impressive, impressive! Men, let him out."
Sun Gutou was overjoyed, "Thank you, General!"
Several soldiers opened the cell door and dragged Sun Gutou out. Sun Gutou knelt before Ashu, "Thank you, General
, for sparing my life. This old bone of mine is willing to serve you."
"You are indeed somewhat useful." Ashu smiled and said to Baisun Daoren, "Kill the rest."
Baisun Daoren chuckled, "This is my specialty."
Seeing that things were about to get serious, the imprisoned martial artists began to stir, with some shouting, "I
am willing to surrender!" and "I am willing to serve the general!" Ashu remained unmoved.
"I can heal the general's hand injury within three days!"
This voice was too abrupt for Ashu. Ashu followed the voice and found the person, a middle-aged man
wearing a blue robe. Ashu gestured to his men to let him out.

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The Battle of Xiangyang, Chapter 1 (Parts 1 & 2)

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