It was deep autumn, the wind rose from the north, and cold air roared southward along the Tianmai from the northernmost lands, sweeping across the northern desert, the vast Beihai Lake of unknown miles, and arriving at Cangzhou in the north of Southern Qing. Cangzhou was located at the northern end of Southern Qing, the city closest to Northern Qi. Geographically speaking, it should be southeast of Shangjing City, but because the cold winds traveled south along the Tianmai every year, it was even colder here than in Shangjing.

The autumn trees all around had long shed their leaves, and the fields beneath the city had rushed to harvest their only crop at the end of summer, now turning into fields of stubble covered in frost, looking quite pitiful.

Several snowfalls had already passed, and beyond the Southern Qing farmlands, the distant hills were still covered in white, appearing desolate. Upon those snowfields, many black dots could faintly be seen, and the Northern Qi military flags swayed in the snowy wind.

A general on the Cangzhou city wall squinted his eyes, looking in that direction. Scouts had already reported that the Northern Qi army was coming southward in overwhelming numbers, densely packed and of unknown size, likely gathering all the forces of the Northern Qi southern army.

The Northern Qi people were coming! The Cangzhou city defenders were not particularly afraid. Although the enemy was powerful, they still felt no fear, because the two sides had fought countless battles over the past twenty years, and the Northern Qi people had never gained the slightest advantage. Even though the famous Northern Qi general, Shangshan Hu, had been transferred from Beimen Tianguan by the Northern Qi Emperor in recent years to the south, he had been unable to advance even a step against the Southern Qing army's tight defenses.

The only thing that worried the Cangzhou general was the man named Shangshan Hu. Since Emperor Qing no longer personally led troops twenty years ago, the only person in the world who could truly be called a military god was probably General Shangshan Hu. This was the glory this person had earned in years of bloody battles against the barbarians in the north.

In recent years, the Northern Qi army, clearly inferior to Southern Qing in morale and equipment, had still been able to maintain a balanced situation around Cangzhou, all because of this man named Shangshan Hu. He was a brilliant strategist, adept at using the art of division and infiltration, and without truly exhausting all his strength, he had single-handedly held back the two Southern Qing border armies.

Year after year of small conflicts and frictions, both sides strictly guarded their borders, without engaging in truly large military actions. On the Southern Qing side, they were simply making preparations, accumulating grain, supplies and armaments, waiting for His Majesty to finally issue the order to send troops. The Emperor was still dealing with the affairs of the court, and these vanguard troops of Qing were also waiting, but they never expected that before they could attack, the Northern Qi people would come first.

According to the custom of previous years, once mid-autumn arrived, the two sides would cease their harassment and probes, and General Shangshan Hu would even be summoned back to Shangjing City for his annual leave. Why had he suddenly returned from Shangjing City this year?

The earth slowly began to tremble. The sound of the tremor was not loud, and the momentum was not particularly alarming. Those black lines on the distant snowy hills gradually approached Cangzhou. As the distance grew closer, in the eyes of the officers and soldiers on the Cangzhou city wall, these countless densely packed black lines, the cloud-like military formations, were gradually broken down into parts, into combinations of military camps, into individual people, wearing armor, holding swords and spears, their faces full of solemnity: Northern Qi soldiers. The officers and soldiers on Cangzhou city even felt that they could see the frost flowers凝着 on the Northern Qi people's eyebrows, and their pale hands holding their spears.

An atmosphere of tension and repression quickly spread across the Cangzhou city wall, followed by the low, urgent shouts of the school officers, and the orderlies carrying flags scurrying back and forth in the dozen or so corner towers of the city wall.

The Cangzhou garrison commander put down the single-barreled telescope made by the Inner Treasury, his brow deeply furrowed. He muttered to himself, "What exactly do these Northern Qi people want to do?"

The temperature on the city wall was extremely low, and his words immediately turned into mist, enveloping his face, just like the dense Northern Qi troops far outside Cangzhou City, obscuring the truth and causing countless people to feel confused.

The garrison commander slowly grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist, squinting his eyes, and looked at the impressive Northern Qi people beneath the distant snow hills, seeming to want to see through their true intentions. Could it be that they really wanted to launch a large-scale southward invasion? The garrison commander did not believe this, because he believed that a famous general like Shangshan Hu would definitely not be so confused as to mobilize his troops and directly attack Southern Qing in the harsh weather of late autumn. This would be a suicidal move.

Attack the city? The Southern Qing soldiers also did not believe it, because although the Northern Qi army appearing outside Cangzhou City had an impressive presence, estimated to number 40,000 men, with only these field armies, without sufficient siege equipment, what would they use to take Cangzhou City down?

There were a full 20,000 elite soldiers inside Cangzhou City, waiting in readiness!

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"General, the Northern Qi people have already penetrated deep into our territory." A school officer reminded the Cangzhou garrison commander, his eyebrows twitching twice, clearly angry at Cangzhou's inaction. To watch the Northern Qi army invade the country, without any reaction from the Beida Camp, was a humiliation that Southern Qing had not suffered for many years.

The Cangzhou garrison commander did not react in the slightest. He knew that the conservative response of the past two days had already angered many proud Southern Qing generals. However, he knew that he was facing Shangshan Hu, especially with such an unannounced, sudden, snow-like, large-scale military action by the Northern Qi military. This was something that made him very vigilant. He couldn't guess what the other side wanted to do.

The Northern Qi southern army was divided into three routes, and at an extremely fast speed, broke through the border between the two countries, encroaching on the area controlled by the Southern Qing Beida Camp. This was a large-scale action that the Northern Qi people had not undertaken in twenty years, and yet, before this, neither the Fourth Bureau of the Supervisory Council nor the military's own intelligence system had smelled even the slightest hint of it.

The 100,000 strong Northern Qi army, forcibly entering the country, seemed to have great momentum, but it was impossible for them to break straight south, and every military action had its purpose. So... what exactly was the purpose of Shangshan Hu's earth-shattering move?

There were 20,000 garrison troops in Cangzhou City, and the strong forces of the Beida Camp were scattered in four military camps centered on Cangzhou. The 40,000 Northern Qi southern army in front of the city were aggressive, but they had divided their troops and penetrated deep into the territory of Southern Qing. Didn't they worry that the four military camps of their Beida Camp would mobilize and encircle them?

It was deep autumn, and the cold dew was heavy. The Northern Qi side's isolated army was advancing far, and there were bound to be major problems in logistics. As long as Cangzhou City was closed, attracting Shangshan Hu to attack, and the four military camps of the Beida Camp quietly encircled them, what choice would these 40,000 Northern Qi southern army have other than to retreat first?

They wouldn't be able to gain any advantage, yet they had to mobilize so many troops and expend so much grain, supplies, and energy. Shangshan Hu... what exactly did he want to do?

The Cangzhou garrison commander's brow was furrowed tightly, and he looked at the Northern Qi people in the distance beneath the city, who had already begun to prepare to set up camp, lost in thought, completely ignoring the angry expressions of his subordinates...

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It was already the fifth day. The Northern Qi's largest military action in twenty years had unexpectedly encountered Southern Qing's most tolerant response. The Cangzhou garrison commander closed the city and did not come out, and the military camps of the Beida Camp were also waiting in readiness, watching the Northern Qi people set foot on their own soil without making any strong reactions.

This was too inconsistent with the pride and iron blood of the Southern Qing soldiers. Even the Northern Qi army, who silently entered the Southern Qing territory, waiting to engage in a bloody battle with the Southern Qing army on the battlefield, felt a hint of surprise and strangeness.

In a small town sixty miles away from the border between the two countries, the headquarters of this Northern Qi military action was located. Inside a requisitioned civilian house in the town, the snow charcoal in the fire basin was burning, the red inside permeating through the outer layer of silvery ash, filling the entire room with a warm spring atmosphere.

However, the high-ranking Northern Qi generals in the room were not warming themselves by the fire. They stood around a table, looking at the flattened southern military map with worry, occasionally glancing at the person sitting on the grand master's chair.

Shangshan Hu sat on the grand master's chair, his eyes slightly closed, as if he were pondering or sleeping. Suddenly, he slowly opened his eyes and asked, "It's been five days since the three routes entered the country. Is there any movement on Cangzhou's side?"

The voice of this Northern Qi's top general was not loud, but it was extremely deep.

"Reporting, Great Commander, Cangzhou City is still locked down and not coming out." A general respectfully replied, "Following Great Commander's orders, the three routes of the army did not dare to go deep, except... the route to Cangzhou."

"I didn't expect these colleagues in the south to be more tolerant than in previous years." Shangshan Hu stood up expressionlessly, walked to the long table, pointed to a certain point on the map, and said, "However, the Qing people are mostly proud and arrogant, and this is a righteous battle, so we cannot use deception. The Cangzhou garrison commander can hold on for two more days at most. He cannot wait for the decree from their capital to arrive, so he must fight... otherwise, he cannot explain it to the Southern Qing court."

"What if they still close the city and do not come out?" Shangshan Hu's confidant general said worriedly, "This time, we have poured out all our strength. If the other side drags on for two more days, and the four military camps of the Beida Camp see through the truth of the other two routes and directly encircle us, and we cannot respond in time... I'm afraid we will suffer heavy losses."

This sudden large-scale action by the Northern Qi military not only made the generals of the Southern Qing Beida Camp unable to guess the truth, but even these Northern Qi people themselves did not know why they suddenly sent troops, and at the risk of the severe cold and such great danger, went deep into the territory of Qing. Although it was indeed very satisfying, as soldiers, what they wanted was actual battle results, not paying the price of thousands or even tens of thousands of lives, just to take a walk in front of the other side's city and show off their power.

Perhaps the only ones who really knew the inside story of this dispatch were the Emperor in the Northern Qi Shangjing Imperial Palace, and the silent General Shangshan Hu in front of him, but who in this world would dare to ask them?

"Although we have been on the defensive in recent years, you must not think of the Qing army as too terrifying." Shangshan Hu's palm steadily landed on the map, and he said, "The Southern Qing Beida Camp takes Cangzhou as the hub, but five days have passed, and the other four routes of the Beida Camp have not come to join forces. On the one hand, it can be said that they have been pinned down by our two routes of the army, and on the other hand, it also shows that the Beida Camp currently lacks a backbone."

A trace of listless smile appeared on Shangshan Hu's face. "Southern Qing's equipment and military strength are far above ours. If... Yan Xiaoyi was still alive, five days ago, he would have ordered the other two gaps to be abandoned, and Cangzhou to be encircled, and my 40,000-strong army would be swallowed alive. But who in the current Beida Camp dares to issue this risky military order?"

"Yan Xiaoyi is dead, and Shi Fei has come. Although General Shi is not as good as Grand Protector Yan, he is also a powerful character, but the Southern Qing Emperor is not at ease with himself, so he transferred him to the Kyoto Garrison." Shangshan Hu sneered, "In those years, the Beida Camp was involved in a rebellion. Emperor Qing was very wary of it. Where are the fierce flames that these generals of the Beida Camp had under Yan Xiaoyi in those years?"

"In recent years, Southern Qing seems to be accumulating national strength, preparing to invade my Great Qi, but in reality, it is self-damaging its national strength, especially in the Beida Camp... Emperor Qing is a remarkable figure, but the remarkable figures under his hand are dying one after another." Shangshan Hu sighed, seeming to feel a little bored, and said, "Since that is the case, who can stop me from taking my 100,000-strong army for a walk?"

"Being conservative is their best choice, their worst choice, and their inevitable choice... but that smart Cangzhou garrison commander is probably unable to suppress the desire for a counterattack in the Beida Camp for too long."

"So it will be two days later."

After Shangshan Hu finished speaking, he left the house, leaving behind the generals who looked at each other. Outside the house, wind and snow had risen, the snowflakes were not large, but they were a bit annoying. Shangshan Hu squinted his eyes, looking at the busy soldiers and logistics officers in the city, and a very complicated emotion appeared on his face. He thought of the Emperor in Shangjing City, and the last time His Majesty urgently summoned him into the palace, ordering him to send troops at all costs to help Dongyi City stabilize.

Pointing the spear at the Beida Camp, it was to attract the border army from Yanjing City to come to aid, helping Dongyi City to temporarily alleviate the pressure. A flash of coldness flashed in Shangshan Hu's eyes, and he thought to himself that even if the powerful figure in the south really wanted to turn against Emperor Qing, was it really worth it for his Northern Qi to pay such a great price?

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Regardless of whether it was worth it or not, the Northern Qi's military action was ultimately going to pay a price. Just as Shangshan Hu had analyzed, on the sixth day of the war, the Southern Qing military finally made an extremely strong response. Two routes of elite soldiers from the Beida Camp, in a pincer movement, rushed towards Cangzhou City, while the other two military camps mobilized their entire army, braving the light snow falling from the sky, and charged towards the two routes of the Northern Qi army that had just entered the country.

In just one day, three beacons were lit, and the wilderness in the north-central part of the mainland was instantly transformed into a killing field. Cavalry charged, bowstrings twanged, arrows flew across the sky, iron spears pierced the plains, blood splattered, flames raged everywhere, and corpses lay in the pools of blood. The cries of killing soared into the clouds.

This land, which had been silent for several years, finally became lively because of the Northern Qi military's reckless attack. The battlefield, which had entangled more than a hundred thousand lives, opened its curtain at this moment, and a fierce battle began.

However, this curtain was soon pulled down again by Shangshan Hu.

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The Cangzhou garrison commander, without a single trace of blood on his body, walked out of the city under the protection of his personal guard, coldly watching his subordinates clean up the battlefield, looking at the arrows deeply embedded in the dead trees, and listening to the occasional screams of the wounded. There was no expression on his face. As a soldier, it was his duty to fight for His Majesty, but there was always a chill in his heart, a chill that could not be dispelled, even by the joy after this pyrrhic victory.

The two reinforcement routes of the Qing army's Beida Camp, after a night of forced march, finally formed a siege outside Cangzhou City with the main garrison. However, before they had a chance to rest for even a moment, they were shocked to discover that the Northern Qi army seemed to be showing signs of breaking away from the formation.

Qing's army was mighty, how could they let the enemy swagger around in their country and then leave so freely? An ill-prepared charge began in this way. Fortunately, the border troops of the Beida Camp had been fighting for years, and the military strength of the Qing nation was extremely powerful, so even such a hasty attack maintained an extremely strong impact.

However, how could the Northern Qi elites, personally trained by Shangshan Hu, be ordinary people? After a major battle, the Northern Qi military, after leaving behind more than a thousand corpses, still maintained their formation extremely well, and with an unimaginable speed, broke away from the main battlefield, throwing down several camps of abandoned soldiers, without giving the Southern Qing border army any chance to pursue.

This battle, no, it should be said that this inexplicable battle ended here. Southern Qing held the advantage of terrain and the advantages it already had, and naturally won the victory, but this victory did not achieve the expected results.

The Northern Qi people ran too fast.

Looking at the captured supplies and grain, the Cangzhou garrison commander narrowed his eyes and felt a chill. He finally understood why he hadn't seen any siege equipment from the Northern Qi people from the beginning. Even if it was a trap, they shouldn't have even brought a single cloud ladder.

It turned out that from the beginning, they had only been prepared to fight a battle and run. They hadn't brought any heavy supplies that were difficult to carry. The entire army was lightly armed, so it was no wonder that they retreated without collapsing at the slightest touch and ran like rabbits.

Why did they run? The highest general in Cangzhou fell into deep thought once again. He knew that he was no match for Shangshan Hu, but if he could truly understand Shangshan Hu's thoughts, then he would not be like he was now, winning the battle but still being afraid.

The next day, shocking battle reports also came from the other two battlefields. The two routes of Northern Qi elites did not penetrate deeply into the country. When the Southern Qing military outside Cangzhou City carried out a siege attack, the remaining military forces of the Beida Camp also advanced at the same time, killing towards the enemy military camps at the border... However, those two routes of Northern Qi elites ran even faster!

All the generals of the Beida Camp became vigilant. They didn't know what kind of abacus the famous general of Northern Qi was playing, so they forcibly restrained their subordinates, not allowing the Southern Qing iron cavalry to take advantage of the momentum of the counterattack and kill into the territory of Northern Qi.

On the third day, bad news came. The 40,000 elite Northern Qi troops who had broken out of the siege under Cangzhou City, on their way back to Northern Qi territory, strangely moved east and entered the territory of Song in Dongyi City, occupying a prefecture city on the border of Song.

It was said that the troops on the Song prefecture city did not offer the slightest resistance, and the Dongyi City side also did not have any reaction, and let the 40,000 elite soldiers enter the prefecture city.

This prefecture city seemed inconspicuous, almost abandoned, and no force had paid attention to it in the past. However, now that Shangshan Hu led his troops to garrison it, there was a big red dot on the map, and the Southern Qing military looked at it and suddenly found that this prefecture city was wedged right in the middle of the Beida Camp and the Yanjing City, like a fish bone, making all the Southern Qing soldiers extremely uncomfortable!

Could this be Shangshan Hu's true intention?

In the battle of Cangzhou, Northern Qi lost, Southern Qing won, it seemed that way, but had this inexplicable war ended just like that?

Ten days passed, and the Supervisory Council's Fourth Bureau and the military's intelligence system simultaneously sent intelligence to the generals of the Beida Camp. After the 100,000-strong Northern Qi army withdrew into the country, they did not retreat for rest, but began to set up camps in place, and various supplies began to be continuously transported south from the vast depths of Northern Qi's territory.

A storm was brewing. This was obviously a prelude to a decisive battle. In addition to the inconspicuous prefecture city that Shangshan Hu had seized, the Southern Qing military suddenly became vigilant. Without waiting for the decree from Kyoto to arrive, they had already begun to prepare for the arrival of a real war.

Could the great battle be in the spring?

Grand Marshal Wang Zhikun in Yanjing City was also forced to withdraw his attention from the Niu Tou Mountain direction and invest it in the 40,000 Northern Qi troops lying across his head. His brow was deeply furrowed, and he was extremely angry in his heart. He never expected that the variable that Fan Xian used was actually colluding with the Northern Qi people!

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Immediately afterwards, the decree from Kyoto arrived, and was transmitted to the hands of the senior generals in Yanjing City and the Beida Camp. No one knew what the Qing Emperor said in the decree, but since that decree, the military power of Northern Qing began to rest, to lie dormant, and to become calm.

Immediately afterwards, Yun Zhilan, the city lord of Dongyi City, sent a letter to the world, expressing the strongest protest and anger at the Northern Qi people's reckless invasion, stating that Dongyi City would stand by the side of the great Emperor of Qing, and would inflict the most violent and destructive blows on all invaders.

The thirteen most terrifying disciples of the Jianlu in Dongyi City suddenly disappeared, and no one knew where they had gone. When the news arrived, the defense forces of Shangshan Hu's headquarters in that prefecture city immediately tightened up a lot.

While the turmoil in the north-central part of the mainland was gradually rising, the Northern Qi Imperial Palace was in peace. Consort Li, who was favored by His Majesty, looked at the lazy Emperor on the couch and bit her lip softly and said, "Dongyi City has been saved for Fan Xian. Your Majesty has paid so much, I really don't know what he will use to thank you."

"Thank me?" The Northern Qi Emperor sneered, gently rubbing his belly and said, "That shameless villain, full of bad water, but always posing as a sage, is probably cursing me in his mansion for rashly starting a war."

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(On the first day of the new year, I wish everyone happiness. I am not so happy, because I am sick. My chest hurts like a knife when I cough, and my head is dizzy... The monthly tickets are doubled from the 1st to the 7th... Uh, I will still try my best to ask everyone for monthly tickets. This is the first time in 2009 that I have asked for monthly tickets. I hope everyone will support me more.)