The sky was greyish-white, and the 170,000-strong army appeared imposing amidst the vast autumn landscape of the Yellow River's north bank. The north wind swept across the land, breaking withered grass, and dust, accompanying the sprawling formation stretching into the distance. As the army moved, signal fires rose in the distant sky.

Even within the massive formation, the occasional sounds from the surrounding soldiers converged like a tide. Li Xizhi, mounted on his horse, watched the dust stirred up by the army's movements ahead, his blood already boiling.

Even at the last moment, he was still pondering the true purpose of the Black Flag Army's attack: was it to coerce and intimidate him, preventing him from launching an all-out assault on Daming Prefecture, or was it a feint, with other objectives behind the scenes? However, the enemy had finally struck, echoing the fact that Wang Shanyue and others of the "Guangwu Army" had opened Daming Prefecture and were charging from the south in formation. The opponent's strategic intent was so simple and brutal that he no longer needed to be paranoid. Yet, what this revealed chilled him to the bone, leaving him feeling humiliated as if he had been slapped in the face.

Five thousand men were attacking an army of 170,000, with such unwavering resolve. This could only mean they believed their combat strength was far superior, and they intended to sweep his army of over 100,000 off the battlefield before confronting the Jin Dynasty armies of Zong Fu and Zong Wang.

The anger and humiliation upon confirming this fact made Li Xizhi tremble, but he transformed it into surging killing intent and motivation. If Li Xizhi had previously harbored some hesitation about playing along, the determination to crush both factions now dominated his mind. To be so underestimated, how could he face anyone if he failed to defeat these 5,000 men?

The army of over 100,000 spread out across the battlefield spanning several square miles. To prevent a large-scale rout, Li Xizhi broke the army into lines of defense, using dense formations to counter the Black Flag's sharp attacks. Li Xizhi did not underestimate the enemy; he understood the power of the Black Flag's offensive. But even the strongest attack was limited to a few thousand men. Even if it meant a war of attrition, he would grind them down on this plain.

This day was the eleventh of the eighth month of Jianshuo's ninth year. As the morning sun rose, the Huaxia Army launched a two-pronged attack, beginning their piercing assault on Li Xizhi's army. At the same time, from the direction of Daming Prefecture in the south, the Guangwu Army, divided into three groups, launched attacks on Li Xizhi's positions from different directions.

As the sun gradually rose, the sounds of battle and booming cannons from the engagement of over 200,000 men north of Daming Prefecture boiled the sky. Showers of arrows flew chaotically, and charges and explosions occasionally scarred the autumn hills. Smoke filled the air, drifting with the explosions. This was the first major battle in the Central Plains since the Xiaocang River conflict. Cannons were becoming more common, but regardless of their quality, neither side was yet proficient in their use. On the southern battlefield, Guangwu Army units occasionally broke through the lines and destroyed enemy artillery positions, causing massive explosions. Occasionally, units would collapse under the enemy's artillery fire.

The Huaxia Army took a much better approach to dealing with artillery fire. During the three-year war at Xiaocang River, some were deliberately left behind by Ning Yi, and others were separated from the main force and unable to retreat south. Those who were lost in the Central Plains and gradually rejoined the ranks mostly gathered around Liangshan and joined Zhu Biao's forces. These soldiers had experienced the most brutal battles and had become accustomed to the battlefield atmosphere during the three-year war. Later generations often said that veteran soldiers feared guns and new recruits feared cannons, but these soldiers already understood the power of artillery and how to deal with it. Within two hours, the Black Flag Army advanced rapidly, successively defeating several of Li Xizhi's ten-thousand-man units, including those commanded by Tang Dingyi, Liu Hui, and Geng Guoan, pushing their offensive to the withered grass plains about five miles from Li Xizhi.

Riding the momentum of their initial advance, the Guangwu Army's attack from the south was also progressing steadily. Under Li Xizhi's command, the defense line formed by the 170,000-strong army continued to operate. Units would occasionally collapse and flee, with new units rushing to fill the gaps. The routed units were then reorganized. After more than an hour of fighting, Kou Li, a general assigned to the southern defense line, suddenly defected with 3,000 men, causing the collapse of nearly 10,000 men in the immediate vicinity. Li Xuanwu, Li Xizhi's nephew, led nearby troops in a desperate fight to stabilize the situation.

However, despite the continuous advance of the offensives from the south and northeast in the first two hours, Li Xizhi, stationed in the central army, finally breathed a sigh of relief at noon. In the withered grass plains to the northeast, nearly 40,000 men had finally managed to stall the Black Flag Army's offensive. Although the fighting in the south was intense, the advance had also begun to slow down. As long as they could slow down the enemy's offensive, the situation would turn in his favor.

That's what he thought, and it wasn't wrong.

But at noon, a massive explosion suddenly erupted from the flank and rear of his main formation. The smoke from the explosion billowed, and the ground shook. Li Xizhi turned to look, and the explosion had occurred just 200 feet from his flank and rear. Someone had detonated the supply train's gunpowder. Warhorses screamed and ran, and chaos spread. A group of men on horseback charged forward, shouting, "The Black Flag is here! Kill Li Xizhi!"

"Lu Jianyun has defected!"

"That villain seeks death!" Li Xizhi's eyes narrowed, and he drew his saber. "The Black Flag's offensive is weakening! These clowns are just making a desperate gamble! Victory is ours today! Men, follow me and kill this traitor! I will personally cut off his head!"

He no longer bothered to investigate why there were still spies so close by – it was not surprising that the Black Flag would plant spies. He was a veteran soldier himself. With a loud roar, he was about to charge toward the disturbance, but the elite troops behind him blocked the cavalry charge. The rebellious men retreated in panic, and nearby troops surrounded them from all directions. As Li Xizhi was shouting orders, a blood-soaked rider galloped from the northeast. The scout fell from his horse nearby, and his first words stunned Li Xizhi.

"The withered grass plains have fallen!"

"...What did you say!" Li Xizhi's mind went blank for a moment. For a moment, he raised his saber to strike the scout, but the scout, in tears, spoke a second sentence.

"Tang Dingyi has defected and beheaded General Liu Hui..."

"Def... you bastard, Tang Dingyi..."

Li Xizhi trembled, speechless with rage. However, five miles was not far. A growing chaos was erupting in the northeast. Soldiers were being swept along, collapsing, and surging toward him. Li Xizhi immediately sent 20,000 men forward. Military law officers drew their swords, both to maintain order and to gather the routed troops, blocking the advancing Black Flag. However, a chain reaction had begun. Lu Jianyun and the others who had defected earlier had not yet been surrounded and killed, and two more uprisings erupted within the army formation, followed by the explosion of more supply trains.

The 20,000 men in the front lines, upon first contact with the charging army, began to collapse. The Black Flag Army cleaved through the ranks, spreading like a tide. Voices shouted, "The Huaxia Army is here! Surrender and live!" Li Xizhi ordered the military law officers to start killing, and he wanted to lead the elite troops of his main formation to charge, but he was already facing a complete rout. From the side, a unit of about 5,000 men, originally under Feng Qize's command, now shouted for rebellion and fiercely charged toward Li Xizhi – Feng Qize's greatest fear during the Battle of Linhé Gulch was the defection of spies within the army, but no such spies had appeared during that battle. This unit had returned to Li Xizhi's command after their defeat and had been reorganized. No one had expected them to defect at this moment.

After fighting for a morning, the battle involving over 200,000 men had finally become a complete mess. At this very hour of noon, Li Xizhi witnessed the most surreal drama of his life. With Tang Dingyi's defection as the turning point, the army of 170,000 men was instantly riddled with holes as units led by generals who had been turned defected en masse, on a large and small scale. At the same time, this shattered the morale of the army of over 100,000 men.

Li Xizhi, with bloodshot eyes, led his 20,000 elite troops in a desperate charge. Soon after, his nephew Li Xuanwu also arrived with his troops. These 30,000 men clashed on the battlefield, while the rest of the army of over 100,000 collapsed and scattered. The Black Flag Army and the Guangwu Army pursued from behind. The entire battlefield stretched for more than ten miles, extending from the west side of Daming Prefecture. Li Xizhi's direct forces were pursued all the way to the banks of the Yellow River southwest of Daming Prefecture.

By dusk, more than 15,000 troops were surrounded on the banks of the Yellow River, trying to put up a last stand. In the ensuing bloody attack, large numbers of troops were crushed together, pushed into the Yellow River. Li Xizhi was protected in the center by his nephew and guards. By this time, he had lost his spirit and kept shaking his head, saying only, "Impossible, impossible..."

If the Black Flag Army had possessed so many spies from the beginning, this battle could not have progressed to noon.

Yet all of this had unfolded before his eyes.

Before this, he was a regional warlord ruling over the Central Plains. In this world, he should have been a player on the chessboard. Yet, with the outbreak of the war, his elite army of 170,000 men, facing an attack of 50,000 men, collapsed in a single night.

It was hard to imagine how many wavering individuals there were in his army before this. As this decisive battle progressed, the Huaxia Army's internal contacts completed the subversion of these wavering individuals.

The sun was setting, and the Huaxia Army began to call for surrender. Li Xizhi, covered in blood, dirt, and dust, picked up his saber, unwilling to surrender. His guards were met with artillery fire. Li Xizhi was knocked to the ground by a shell. He staggered to his feet, waving his saber and charging toward the advancing Huaxia Army soldiers. They hacked him down to the ground.

"We told you, when adults are fighting – kids get out of the way!"

At this moment, countless bodies floated on the Yellow River, and the smoke outside Daming Prefecture had not yet cleared. This day was only a few days before Wanyan Zongbi's Jin Dynasty vanguard arrived, but the defeat of this army of 170,000 men would surely alarm everyone in these few days.

Time shifted back more than twenty days earlier. Wang Shanyue met with the Huaxia Army's Zhu Biao on a hill, bringing up a dangerous topic.

"I have a reckless plan to bring to you today."

"..."

"Since the Jin Dynasty invaded south, the Central Plains have been silent for many years. I want to seize Daming Prefecture and create some trouble for the Jin Dynasty, but such small troubles may not be inspiring enough, nor can it be certain that they will keep the Jin Dynasty in Daming... The Black Flag has countless inside contacts. First, help me take care of Li Xizhi."

"...The Huaxia Army has internal contacts, but they aren't gods. No matter how incompetent Li Xizhi is, 170,000 men are there. It's difficult."

"You help me take care of Li Xizhi, and I won't ask you to help me defend Daming."

"...You are truly reckless."

"...In recent years, Li Xizhi and the Jin Dynasty have become more and more cruel, but fewer and fewer people are resisting. This time, the Jin Dynasty's southward invasion will leave no room for the Wu Dynasty. But in the Central Plains, few dare to act. Even if you capture Liu Yu and return the world to the Wu Dynasty... Dou Mingde, the leader of Huangshe Fortress, whose entire family was killed by the Jin Dynasty, is now too afraid to resist. Yan Kan of Huishan, whose daughter was captured, tortured, and killed by the Jin, I went to ask for his help, but he doesn't believe me. If we can defeat Li Xizhi and hold the Jin army in Daming Prefecture, every extra day will give them a little more confidence... Ning Yi is right, to save the world, we must rely on the people of the world. Relying on us alone is not enough."

As he spoke, the stars filled the sky. Wang Shanyue's long hair and feminine features held a cold hope in his eyes. Zhu Biao understood even better that with the Huaxia Army's operations over the years, it was not impossible to defeat Li Xizhi with all their strength. But if Li Xizhi was defeated, who would watch over Daming Prefecture? Without Li Xizhi watching over Daming Prefecture, only the Jin army would come to Daming.

But the Wang family had always been like this. More than twenty years ago, when the Liao invaded south, Wang Qisong led all the men of his family to fight against the Liao army. They were all slaughtered, and the old man was skinned alive. His remains were incomplete when they were buried. Now, the only remaining man in the Wang family was about to embark on this path.

"You help me kill Li Xizhi," he said.

"I will turn Daming Prefecture... into another Taiyuan!"

On the eleventh day of the eighth month, Li Xizhi's army collapsed like an avalanche under the fierce offensive. The Guangwu Army reorganized a small number of troops and took over the supplies, but most of the untrustworthy people were released after a propaganda speech. On the thirteenth day of the eighth month, hundreds of people from Huangshe Fortress arrived in Daming Prefecture. After that, groups of people came every day and were absorbed into the Guangwu Army. By the sixteenth day of the eighth month, when Wanyan Zongbi's cavalry advanced within a hundred miles of Daming Prefecture, as many as 6,000 righteous men had arrived in Daming Prefecture. These people had either lost their families under the Jin Dynasty's knives, or they were patriots with great ideals who had been suppressed by the Jin over the years. Most of them understood that once they entered Daming Prefecture, it would be difficult to leave.

The Huaxia Army left Daming Prefecture.

The moon was full on the sixteenth day of the eighth month. That night, Zhu Biao left at the rear of the formation. Looking back at Daming Prefecture, Wang Shanyue smiled and waved from the city wall, his robes flowing. At this moment, autumn was deep, and the Yellow River in the south continued to surge. The isolated city, illuminated by the moonlight, contained a magnificent dream.

I will hold the Jin army, for as long as I can.

Until...

...victory arrives.