Fengyue Continent Episode 13, Chapter 1: Feint to the East, Attack in the West

page views:1 Publication date:2023-06-05 08:14:24

December 24th, 537 Fast Calendar, Anyang Region, Qingzhou.

Snowflakes were still falling, but much lighter than the day before. The earth was a vast expanse of white, with distant mountains and nearby fields all covered in pristine winter snow, creating a serene and peaceful scene.

A narrow official road stretched north to south. These past few days, Anyang Region had been under fierce siege by the Tianhe New Army, and the fighting was intense, so there wasn't a single traveler to be seen on this road.

The faint sound of hooves came from the south, indicating a large group of strong horses turning from the mountains. The horses' hooves trampled the snow, turning the once-good official road into a muddy mess.

A cavalry unit of about a hundred men galloped in with effortless ease. Each rider wore a nonchalant expression, dressed in the attire of ordinary rangers, wearing only a very simple short vest-like armor that barely covered their torso and abdomen, leaving their hands, feet, and heads exposed. The patterns painted on the short armor of these cavalrymen revealed them to be soldiers of the Tianhe New Army.

These patrolmen, responsible for scouting the perimeter of the main force, were in no hurry, riding slowly in a loose formation, occasionally exchanging a few words. This place was only twenty li from Anyang Town; at the slightest disturbance, the main force at the Anyang front could arrive in moments. It was practically within the Tianhe New Army's sphere of influence, so these patrolmen felt quite at ease.

The snowflakes in the air were decreasing in size; it was nearing noon.

"Have you heard?" a ranger said to his companion. "It's said that Ye Tianlong's army has already set off from Renqiu."

"What are they coming for?" his companion scoffed. "He only has a little over 20,000 Fast recruits under his command. Are they going to fight our 100,000 elite troops? Isn't that like throwing eggs against rocks?"

"That's right, that's right!" a ranger behind him chimed in. "General Qin's army is attacking Taidun Town in Renqiu. Ye Tianlong and his men are too busy trying to get there to help. How could they possibly come to Anyang?"

"I heard from the commander that the general has given us all a warning to be careful these next few days. Ye Tianlong's army might very well be coming to Anyang." The captain at the front of the column suddenly turned around and said, "You bastards, don't let your guard down. Maybe the Fast army is already at our side!"

"That would be great. We could make a great contribution." The first ranger said excitedly, "I don't think they have the guts to venture deep into Anyang and fight our army."

“That’s right, like those Fast soldiers before, they retreated before even engaging in battle.”

“Captain, look what’s that!” A ranger who had been following silently suddenly spoke up.

Several rangers who were engrossed in conversation looked in the direction their companion was pointing. About three hundred paces to their side, a figure had appeared out of nowhere.

It was a knight in full armor, standing alone, motionless. Glistening snowflakes danced in the wind above his head. From the rangers of the Tianhe New Army, the view was somewhat blurry, but they could make out the red armor and the fiery red horse beneath him, exceptionally magnificent. He held a long, fiery red lance in his hand. Against

the backdrop of the snow-white world, this fiery red knight stood out like a silent flame.

“He shouldn’t be one of our own, right?” The captain’s tone was hesitant, but with only one knight in front of them, it seemed strange to call him an enemy.

The knight began to move, the sound of his hooves pounding the snow clearly reaching the ears of the rangers.

One step, two steps, three steps.

"It's Fast's cavalry!"

The ranger captain's eyes widened; he had clearly seen the knight's armor—the iron-winged shoulder guards were the most distinctive feature of Fast's cavalry.

"A lone Fast cavalryman dares to challenge us!"

Several knights had already charged out from beside the ranger captain, each brandishing their sabers, heading straight for their opponent.

"Idiots!" The ranger captain couldn't help but curse. In this situation, the sudden appearance of Fast's cavalry within their territory was definitely not a simple matter.

Before the rangers of the Tianhe New Army had even charged fifty paces, the knight, his entire body ablaze in red, drew his lance, and dozens of cavalrymen surged out from the trees on either side of him, their fiery red armor like flames dancing on the snow.

In the blink of an eye, the thirty cavalrymen were beside the knight, forming a neat formation without any confusion. Dozens of bows were drawn, the gleam of their arrows blinding and ominous.

The Tianhe New Army cavalrymen who had charged too fast were immediately terrified. They abruptly stopped their horses, knowing that charging into the formation of dozens of bows would be suicidal. These

bows, issued to Fast soldiers, were lighter in power but sturdy, effective, and easy to carry. If fired at full power, they could pierce ordinary leather armor within two hundred paces. A hit through a gap in the iron plate armor of a heavily armored soldier could also be fatal.

"Charge! I'll give you a quick death!"

the lead knight in fiery red shouted. "I am Qing Ji, the deputy commander of the Fast Eastern Governor's Office!"

The captain of the cavalrymen's heart leaped, and he raised his hand, sending a banner flying like a meteor into the sky. This was the warning signal of the Tianhe New Army, carried by every patrolling cavalry unit so they could immediately inform the main camp upon discovering the enemy. As

soon as the signal was given, the captain didn't linger, spurring his horse around and shouting, "Retreat!"

It was too late. Countless Fast cavalry had already surrounded them from all sides, their lances like a forest, trapping the cavalry in the center, leaving them no chance to break through.

Bows were drawn to their fullest extent, arrows flew like shooting stars. Arrows,

mingling with the snowflakes, rained down, the whistling of eagle feathers echoing in the air like the death knell, a song of demise.

"Ah..."

Several cavalrymen at the forefront fell from their horses, followed by a steady stream of others.

The long cries of charge and the battle cries were deafening as the cavalrymen drew their swords and charged towards the Fast cavalry ranks. Only those close to the Fast cavalry could avoid the arrows; every life was a chance, and dying under the arrows was the worst possible outcome.

The ranger captain drew his sword and charged towards the flank, where a gentle slope lay, sparsely covered with weeds and shrubs less than two feet high, not hindering the galloping horses. Because there was no cover in the woods, Fast's cavalry was the weakest in this direction.

Along with his five rangers, the captain parried the lances thrusting from both sides and charged towards the slope with all his might. The ranger captain's ability to make such a judgment and act under these circumstances earned a silent nod of approval from Qing Ji, who was galloping at full speed.

These rangers were indeed quite skilled; their agility and eyesight were above average. In just two charges, they had broken through the encirclement.

Seeing this, Qing Ji spurred his horse, let out a long neigh, and shouted, "Fire, go!"

The horse moved like a dragon, a streak of lightning, appearing before the ranger captain in a flash of red. With a flick of his spear, the red tip unleashed a streak of crimson lightning, darting through the narrow gap in the mountain of knives on his right, the spear's shadow appearing and disappearing in an instant.

The ranger on the right let out a gasp, his horse swayed, then staggered twice before blood gushed from his left side, causing him to collapse forward. His horse charged, pulling him from the saddle. The

ranger captain, caught off guard and without even considering his comrade, charged forward, his blade flashing. If he could just get past the Fast cavalry ahead, he could unleash his full power.

One Fast cavalryman in his path, struck by the fierce blow, staggered back two steps, horse and all. The attack had worked, and the ranger captain charged forward, sword drawn.

Figures flashed, and two spears formed a dense net before him, their cold light aimed directly at the captain's face. Qing Ji had also arrived from the side, his flaming spear swirling with powerful energy, stirring up a storm of killing intent.

The moment the ranger captain's saber touched the flaming spear's force, he felt a tremendous surge of power; his hand burned, and the saber flew three feet away.

Just then, two spears pierced through the air. The ranger captain trembled, involuntarily falling from his horse, thus avoiding immediate death.

In the instant he fell, the Tianhe New Army ranger captain saw that none of his men had survived; they were either shot down by arrows from the Fast cavalry or stabbed by spears. The earth was stained red with blood, and the snow melted from the blood.

When reinforcements from the Tianhe New Army camp arrived, besides the corpses of Tianhe New Army soldiers and broken swords and arrows, even the warhorses had been taken away by the Fast cavalry. After a count, the entire hundred-man ranger unit, except for the captain whose whereabouts were unknown, had been wiped out.

Starting with this incident, in just a day and a half, the Tianhe New Army's patrol rangers lost seven units. The enemy left no survivors, each time slaughtering all of the Tianhe New Army's rangers. The main force dispatched from the main camp hadn't even caught a glimpse of the enemy. Instead, the constant deployment of the main camp's reserves had exhausted the soldiers within.

"What exactly is the enemy trying to do?"

All the soldiers of the Tianhe New Army were silently wondering. If it was merely a harassment tactic, there was no need for such frequent attacks. To annihilate seven cavalry squads in such a short time must have come at a considerable cost.

Yang Feng, the deputy commander of the Tianhe New Army, had also asked himself this question countless times. He was certain these enemies were Ye Tianlong's army, because within Qingzhou, there was no other force possessing such formidable cavalry. Ye Tianlong's cavalry's unpredictable attacks on his cavalry were likely an attempt to sabotage his campaign and prevent him from successfully capturing Anyang.

But if he were to withdraw his forces and stop sending out cavalry patrols, wouldn't that play right into Ye Tianlong's hands? Their aim was to force him to consolidate the range of his cavalry, thus depriving him of his intelligence and preventing him from monitoring Ye Tianlong's troop movements or knowing where they would launch their military operations.

Regardless, the siege of Anyang was nearing its end. Allowing Ye Tianlong's army to run rampant behind their lines would threaten the safety of the main camp and hinder their own forces' movements; therefore, this problem had to be addressed as soon as possible.

Under the cover of night, two 10,000-strong units quietly left the Tianhe New Army's camp. Each unit consisted of 3,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry—nearly half of the Tianhe New Army's strength.

When Zhang Lie emerged from his seclusion and learned of this news, he couldn't help but feel secretly worried. Since the battle of Qingfeng Mountain, Zhang Lie had been seriously wounded and immediately went into seclusion for three days to heal upon returning to the camp, finally recovering more than 80% of his former strength.

Zhang Lie was not entirely satisfied with Yang Feng's decision, but since it was his deputy commander's arrangement, he couldn't easily change it. His plan was to focus all efforts on capturing Anyang. If all forces were deployed to take Anyang in the shortest time, Ye Tianlong's plans would naturally fail.

However, Zhang Lie now had a new understanding of Ye Tianlong's strength, knowing that Ye Tianlong had many powerful men around him. Ignoring Ye Tianlong's harassment might be disastrous. Yang Feng's plan was quite sound. Using 20,000 troops to control their rear would eliminate any worries about attacking Anyang. After removing those 20,000 troops, the main camp still had nearly 30,000 soldiers, more than enough to handle the situation.

In the middle of the night, urgent intelligence shook the main camp of the Tianhe New Army: Fast's cavalry had launched a surprise attack on Song'an Town, and the situation was extremely serious.

Upon receiving this urgent report, Zhang Lie and Yang Feng jumped up. Ye Tianlong's army's previous actions were all a deception! Fast's soldiers' true objective was Song'an Town, where their army stored supplies. Because Song'an Town was located midway between Tianhe and Anyang, it was used by Zhang Lie's Tianhe New Army as a transit point for supplies. Since the siege of Anyang, the Tianhe New Army had stockpiled a large amount of grain there to supply the main camp and the more than 100,000 soldiers at the front.

Due to the importance of Song'an Town, the Tianhe New Army stationed 15,000 soldiers there. Zhang Lie personally appointed his trusted general Shi Weiheng, along with subordinate commanders Yuan Jinqiong and Luo Weihuang, to jointly defend Song'an Town and be responsible for escorting the grain supplies.

They thought this arrangement was secure enough, but unexpectedly, after harassing the main camp, Fast's army launched a surprise attack on Song'an Town. The fact that the defending general Shi Weiheng sent someone to the main camp for reinforcements indicated the ferocity of Fast's attack. Ye Tianlong was determined to capture this place where large quantities of grain were stored.

If Song'an Town fell into the hands of Fast's army, the consequences would be unimaginable. Because the Tianhe New Army's main camp only had enough rations to last seven or eight days, the loss of supplies in Song'an would cause the more than 100,000 troops in Anyang to fall into disarray without a fight.

There was no time to recall the 20,000 elite troops sent out to lure and search for the Fast cavalry. Zhang Lie decisively dispatched the remaining 20,000 elite troops to Song'an Town at full speed. Simultaneously, he sent dozens of cavalry squads to quickly locate the remaining 20,000 elite troops lying in ambush outside and reinforce them towards Song'an Town, aiming to coordinate with the garrison to annihilate the attacking Fast army.

In the blink of an eye, the Tianhe New Army's main camp was left with fewer than 5,000 soldiers, a stark contrast to the tens of thousands of troops who had just been there.

Yang Feng said to Zhang Lie with some concern, "Shouldn't we pull some of the troops back from the front lines? Otherwise, the entire camp will be difficult to defend."

Zhang Lie confidently replied, "It's alright. Ye Tianlong's troops should all be deployed to Song'an Town now. Otherwise, the situation in Song'an Town wouldn't be so dire, and Wei Heng wouldn't have sent anyone to the camp for reinforcements."

Yang Feng secretly calculated and knew that Zhang Lie was right. Ye Tianlong only had a little over 20,000 men in total. After deducting the soldiers fighting the Qin army at Taidun Town, the remaining force would definitely not exceed 20,000. Meanwhile, their own forces alone numbered 15,000 in Song'an Town, plus the troops transporting supplies, which was at least no less than Ye Tianlong's troops. Therefore, to capture Song'an Town, Ye Tianlong had to commit all his forces to have any hope of achieving his goal. The 50,000

troops at the front lines were being rotated to besiege Anyang. If some were temporarily withdrawn, it would only cause unnecessary trouble. The 100,000-strong Tianhe New Army besieging Anyang was divided into two groups that attacked in shifts, with the aim of not giving the Anyang defenders any chance to regroup. This strategy was highly effective; after holding out for several days, the Anyang defenders began to retreat steadily, surrendering many strategic locations to their enemies.

Zhang Lie patted his trusted lieutenant Yang Feng on the shoulder and laughed loudly, "Stop overthinking it. Once our troops arrive at Song'an Town, Ye Tianlong's army will be trapped like turtles in a jar. He doesn't dare challenge our main camp because he knows that with his limited forces, he can't possibly contend with us. A surprise attack on Song'an Town is their best plan."

"I'm worried that the garrison at Song'an Town won't be able to wait for reinforcements before being defeated. In that case, all the supplies will fall into Ye Tianlong's hands." Yang Feng frowned slightly, finally voicing his concern.

A hint of unease flashed across Zhang Lie's face. The supplies currently stockpiled at Song'an Town were not only for the current siege of Anyang, but also for the future attack on Renqiu, which Ye Tianlong had occupied. They originally planned to advance into Renqiu after conquering Anyang and the other two cities, and Qin's vanguard was already implementing this plan.

But he quickly burst into laughter, grabbing Yang Feng's hand and saying, "Unless Wei Heng is an idiot who can't even hold Song'an Town, his forces are not much different from Ye Tianlong's, and he also has the advantage of terrain. Let's trust his abilities!"

With that, Zhang Lie turned and shouted, "Bring wine!"

He pulled Yang Feng to sit down at the table, laughing, "Let's drink here and wait for their good news. Perhaps, before dawn, not only will news of victory come from Song'an Town, but the front lines in Anyang might also bring us good news!"

The commander's composure and unwavering confidence reassured the Tianhe New Army soldiers in the tent. After all, Ye Tianlong's army's elusive movements had indeed made them uneasy; these enemies were far more formidable than the Fast army they had encountered before.

The wine was quickly served, and everyone in the tent breathed a sigh of relief.

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Fengyue Continent Episode 13, Chapter 1: Feint to the East, Attack in the West

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