Chapter 1 Where Did That Sound Come From?

"Where did that sound come from?" Wen Le asked, somewhat nervously. The northern regions of the Great Qian were currently in conflict with the Yan Kingdom. Although there hadn't been any large-scale battles yet, small units of Yan soldiers had been rampaging and harassing the Qian border areas.

Most importantly, the city he was in had been breached by the Yan only a few months prior!

Like a man who's just cheated, his words aren't so trustworthy.

A city that's just been broken into hardly gives you a sense of security.

"Damn, something's happened at the North Gate. The Yan dogs came in through the North Gate last time."

Upon hearing that the "Yan people" were coming, Mr. Wen immediately panicked.

Unlike Meng Gong, he was just a scholar employed by the Prince's Estate, working as the Prince's advisor, and primarily keeping the Prince company.

No matter how much he analyzed the general situation in the room earlier, it didn't change his shock and panic upon learning that the Yan people were attacking again.

Meng Gong took a deep breath, grabbed Mr. Wen's shoulders, shook him a few times, and shouted:

"Mr. Wen, quickly go and inform the Prince's guards to protect the Prince! I'll go and mobilize the local soldiers!"

"Okay... okay..."

Wen Le swallowed and immediately rushed back to the yamen (local government office).

Meng Gong didn't stop and ran straight toward the warehouse where the local soldiers were stationed.

He hadn't run far when a group of figures suddenly appeared in front of him. These people were wearing dark blue padded jackets, cloth headbands, and holding various weapons.

The leader was riding a horse, wearing a red cloak, and a hairpin crown – a woman over thirty years old.

Before Meng Gong could speak, the woman immediately shouted:

"General Meng, what's the commotion at the North Gate?"

Obviously, these local soldiers had rushed out as soon as they sensed the commotion at the North Gate, which reassured Meng Gong greatly. He didn't bother with formalities and immediately stepped forward to the woman on horseback and said:

"Madam Daxi, something must have happened at the North Gate. The Yan dogs may have come again."

Hearing that the Yan people were coming,

Madam Daxi's face didn't show the slightest panic, and one could even vaguely see a hint of excitement.

The Wolf Soldiers behind her also cheered. Although their equipment was poor, and they had few cotton armors, they let out a long and excited cry.

"Madam Daxi, I don't know if the Yan dogs have already taken the North Gate. The city's garrison is scattered everywhere. If the Yan dogs have already taken the North Gate, the situation may collapse. Please quickly send troops to take control of the North Gate."

"The Yan people are here, so I will naturally fight them. But, Lord Meng, you must keep your word from when we set out. Five taels of silver for each Yan person's head!"

"Definitely!" Meng Gong immediately patted his chest, then quickly pointed to the yamen behind him and said, "Madam, please rest assured, there's a Prince of our Great Qian living in that yamen. If you protect this city today, it's equivalent to saving the Prince's life. The Prince and the imperial court will definitely not be stingy with rewards."

For the Great Qian, the Wolf Soldiers were basically mercenaries.

Back then, when ci mian xiang gong (Tattooed-Face Minister) pacified the southwest rebellion, he took the initiative to subdue some of the local chieftains and used their strength to finally quell the southwest.

Afterward, when rebellions or uprisings occurred in the Great Qian's interior, Wolf Soldiers were often dispatched to help suppress them.

These soldiers were poorly equipped, but extremely brave and fearless in battle!

However, although they were nominally citizens of the Great Qian and recognized the Great Qian's emperor as their emperor, they were more like independent kingdoms in the southwest.

Of course, it was normal to want a reward. The soldiers raised by the imperial court still had to be paid, and during wartime, heads could be exchanged for rewards and military merits. These Wolf Soldiers came from the southwest of the Qian Kingdom to the north, naturally not to relieve the country's difficulties and serve the emperor.

After receiving Meng Gong's assurance, Madam Daxi opened her mouth and let out a long cry from her throat. This kind of long cry would appear in many folk songs in later generations, but at this time, Madam Daxi's long cry carried a sonorous killing intent.

"Men, follow me to kill the Yan people!"

Madam Daxi took the lead, and the Wolf Soldiers behind her rushed forward bravely and swiftly, like swift leopards.

They were children of the mountains. Their feet could walk on mountain roads as if they were flat ground, and when they ran on this flat ground, they were naturally even faster. Even though Madam Daxi was riding a horse, many of the soldiers behind her had already overtaken her.

Meng Gong then immediately followed and ran forward. When passing by the yamen, Meng Gong happened to see the Prince walking out of the door, supported by guards.

"Your Highness!"

"General Meng, have the Yan people really attacked again?"

After hearing the news of the incident at the North Gate,

The Prince of Fu, who was preparing to wash his feet and go to bed, jumped up directly. Of course, he didn't jump very high, and then fell directly to the ground.

"Your Highness, please hide quickly. Please don't stay in this yamen."

Meng Gong was a soldier, and his father was once a prominent general under Tattooed-Face Minister. Naturally, he wouldn't be superstitious about anything.

The reason for not letting the Prince of Fu stay in the yamen was that the yamen was too obvious a target. He had asked the locals about the situation of the Yan people entering the city last time and learned that the Yan people had rushed directly to the yamen after breaking through the gate.

The Prince of Fu was so frightened that the fat on his body rippled.

He was just a prince, and although he was insightful, he hadn't experienced any real situations because the Great Qian had always "locked" the princes in their fiefdoms like raising pigs.

But at this time, the Prince of Fu immediately took out a bright yellow imperial edict from his clothes and unhesitatingly stuffed it into Meng Gong's hand,

And shouted in a trembling voice:

"General Meng, with this, you can mobilize the garrison in Mianzhou City. Also, also..."

The Prince of Fu turned and pointed to the guards beside him,

Said:

"Leave two of these guards to help me walk. Take the rest with you. You can't be without people when you do things."

Wen Le was stunned upon hearing this. He instinctively wanted to stop the Prince.

But Meng Gong spoke first:

"What about Your Highness's safety?"

"If the city is broken, what safety will I have? General Meng, go quickly. I, I, I'll find a place to hide first."

"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness!"

Meng Gong's father was suppressed by the imperial court because of the Tattooed-Face Minister, and died in depression. Meng Gong was also implicated by his father, and his official position had always been low. This time, he was actually following the team north as a guide for these Wolf Soldiers. Meng Gong was really grateful to this Prince of Fu.

"Mr. Wen, please protect the Prince. You guys, come with me!"

Meng Gong unceremoniously took most of the Prince's guards and ran towards the North Gate, chasing after the Wolf Soldiers in front.

Mr. Wen supported the Prince of Fu.

He could feel the Prince trembling, and the Prince could feel Mr. Wen trembling. The two of them trembled together, and after influencing each other, they trembled even more!

The Prince of Fu suddenly didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"Hey, Wen Le, are you supporting me or am I supporting you?"

...

The North Gate of Mianzhou City,

Tonight,

Was breached twice by the same army.

Fan Li stood at the very front like an iron tower, specializing in killing the city guards who tried to approach the city gate. The Blind Man stood behind Fan Li, helping him monitor any incoming arrows.

Zheng Fan, along with A Ming, Xue San, and Si Niang, charged and killed. The Mianzhou City guards reacted faster this time than last time, but the scattered groups of soldiers who arrived were scattered before they could even get close to the city gate.

At this time,

A cavalry unit leading the charge had already rushed in through the wide-open North Gate. The leader wasn't Liang Cheng, but Huo Guang.

The Huo family had many people and few heads, so they were in the vanguard this time.

The first wave of over a hundred cavalry directly charged and massacred the past. The morale of the city guards who were rushing over dropped to the extreme after seeing that the cavalry had already entered the city, and they immediately began to flee when they saw the cavalry charging towards them.

A smile appeared on the corner of Zheng Fan's mouth. The plot had finally returned to a familiar rhythm.

The second wave of cavalry also entered the city, but this time it was the Barbarian Soldiers personally led by Liang Cheng.

Naturally, it was impossible for the cavalry to rush into the city like a swarm of bees, because the city gate was only so big. Liang Cheng had launched the charge in echelons, so as to avoid congestion at the city gate as much as possible.

When the second batch of a hundred riders led by Liang Cheng entered, Huo Guang immediately led his Huo family soldiers to charge towards the center of the city.

Yamen,

Yamen,

Huo Guang and the Huo family soldiers beside him had naturally heard of Zheng Fan's previous exploits in breaking the city,

There are important people in the yamen,

The heads of the people in the yamen are valuable,

One is worth many,

Whether their families can regain their freedom depends on their own struggle!

However, at this moment, a long "woooooo..." sound suddenly came from the street in front, as if hunters in the mountains were chasing beasts.

Liang Cheng's eyes narrowed immediately. As an extremely excellent general, he naturally had his own abilities, which even included a bit of a general's intuition.

This sound, this momentum,

Liang Cheng immediately shouted:

"There are ambushers in the city!"

There were indeed soldiers in the city, but not ambushers, because no one could have calculated that the Cui Liu Fort garrison would visit here again tonight.

But for Liang Cheng at this time, regardless of whether the other party could foresee it in advance, in this situation, it was equivalent to an ambush for his side.

At this moment, Liang Cheng unhesitatingly ordered:

"Turn around, retreat!"

Of course, he could choose to charge. Regardless of whether there were ambushers in front, everyone could rush up and see who was tougher!

But Liang Cheng didn't dare. It wasn't that he was afraid, but as a general, he had to be responsible to Zheng Fan, his lord.

These cavalry were all his lord's possessions, the hard-earned belongings, and he couldn't just send them up to gamble on a result like this.

Most importantly, in the city, the advantage of the cavalry was basically lost, and it could even become a disadvantage.

Liang Cheng didn't like this way of thinking about war. War was war. People were going to die, and people were definitely going to die, but he really didn't want his lord to squat on the city tower of Cui Liu Fort every day and sigh because he had lost too many troops.

The Barbarian Soldiers behind Liang Cheng immediately began to shout to their comrades behind them, and did not directly turn their horses around and rush back, otherwise, if the rear team and the front team collided directly, then those who wanted to get out would not be able to get out, and those who wanted to get in would not be able to get in.

Because the cavalry in front suddenly stopped, it did cause some confusion for the cavalry following behind, but the advantage of Liang Cheng's previous arrangement of entering in stages was reflected. After only a short period of confusion, the cavalry in the rear began to withdraw.

At the same moment, the Wolf Soldiers led by Madam Daxi had already charged over.

Zheng Fan looked at the group of strangely dressed soldiers who suddenly appeared in front of him in astonishment. The Blind Man Bei's voice rang in Zheng Fan's heart,

"My lord, they are the Wolf Soldiers of the southwest Tusi (chieftain) of the Qian Kingdom!"

Then, the Blind Man Bei, this human-shaped radar, said again:

"Too many!"

The Wolf Soldiers rushed quickly, and they were different from the Qian people. The Qian border army had always had a fear of the Yan Kingdom army engraved in their bones.

This fear originated from the "silver waves all over the ground" a hundred years ago, and this fear also came from the Qian Kingdom's humble attitude towards the Yan Kingdom over the past hundred years.

But the Wolf Soldiers didn't have these psychological burdens. When they saw the Yan Kingdom cavalry in front of them, it was like seeing glittering silver ingots!

The street was so wide that many impatient Wolf Soldiers had already climbed onto the walls and started running, and even started running on the roofs on both sides.

They shouted, they yelled, they were fearless.

The vanguard cavalry led by Huo Guang was already charging forward, and the Wolf Soldiers came too fast, so the two sides had no room for thought and collided directly.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The sound of impact came.

The weight of the knight and the warhorse directly knocked the Wolf Soldiers at the front flying, and those who were not knocked flying also had broken bones.

But soon, the Wolf Soldiers behind them surged up like a tide.

They jumped down from the houses on both sides, hugged the knights on the warhorses and fell off their horses, they hooked the horse's legs, and they fought desperately to buy space for their companions behind them.

This wasn't a battle, it was simply ants biting elephants!

Fan Li directly chopped a soldier in front of him flying with an axe, but in the next moment, his right arm was directly hit by two arrows.

Crazy arrows began to shoot out from all directions.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

Fan Li let out a roar and swept away two Wolf Soldiers who were trying to get close.

The Blind Man Bei spread his hands, trying to block the arrows for Fan Li, but there were too many arrows, and those Wolf Soldiers were drilling in from the side one by one, as swift as leopards.

Si Niang's silk threads kept circling around her, ruthlessly strangling the enemies around her.

Zheng Fan also let out an angry roar and killed a soldier.

At this moment, thousands of garrison soldiers suddenly ran from the walls on both sides. Many of them were holding bows and crossbows.

These were the garrison soldiers that Meng Gong had gathered with the help of the imperial edict and the Prince's guards. At this time, even more garrison soldiers were rushing here.

"Shoot!"

Meng Gong unhesitatingly ordered to shoot.

"Puff!"

A Ming turned his body to the side and stood beside Si Niang, an arrow pierced into A Ming's abdomen. He blocked an arrow for Si Niang.

Moreover, A Ming already had three arrows stuck in his body, all of which were blocked for his companions.

In fact, in a real war, the strength of warriors is difficult to play a truly decisive role, because this is not a one-on-one fight.

Back then, Chen Daxia abused Zheng Fan, the Blind Man, and Xue San so badly in the post station, but that was also because Zheng Fan's side had few people. If the Barbarian Soldiers of Cui Liu Fort were present at the time, it would have been difficult for Chen Daxia to escape death if he didn't escape.

Sha Tuo Que Shi was once heroic and unparalleled, but he still died under the encirclement of the Zhenbei Army's iron cavalry.

"Withdraw!"

Liang Cheng had already issued a retreat order, but the reason why Zheng Fan and others had not rushed to retreat earlier was to buy time for the cavalry behind, and the second was to try to respond to Huo Guang and others in front.

But now, it was really impossible not to retreat.

Thinking a little selfishly, Zheng Fan would rather all these soldiers of Cui Liu Fort be explained here than any of the Devil Kings under his command would be confused and lost here.

The Devil Pill seemed to sense Zheng Fan's anger and wanted to wake up, but Zheng Fan gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed the Devil Pill's agitation.

He recognized Liang Cheng's judgment. In the city, the cavalry had no advantage!

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

Huo Guang let out a roar, red light flashed on his body, and he continuously killed several Wolf Soldiers with his long knife, but in the next moment, an arrow directly hit Huo Guang's head. The force of the arrow was very strong, and most of it penetrated through, leaving only the arrow feathers stuck in Huo Guang's forehead.

The Eighth-Rank Martial Artist died in a chaotic battle, which could be said to be quite suffocating.

Just like the Eighth-Rank old man several months ago in the face of the rolling Barbarian cavalry.

Madam Daxi put down the bow and arrow in her hand,

Her eyes swept over the armor of the Yan people's corpses,

The Qian Kingdom prohibits the flow of sophisticated military equipment such as armor into the hands of the Tusi, for reasons that everyone knows.

But what is seized on the battlefield is all their own!

Madam Daxi raised her head and looked in the direction of the city gate. The Yan people were retreating.

Some of the Wolf Soldiers were already cutting off heads and peeling off the armor from the Yan people's corpses, but many Wolf Soldiers who had not gotten heads began to take the initiative to rush towards the city gate.

They wanted to kill the Yan people. The Yan people's heads and the Yan people's armor, including the warhorses under the Yan people, were all temptations they could not resist!

"Woooooo..."

Madam Daxi once again let out a long cry,

This was not a call to withdraw troops,

But,

Pursuit!

The Wolf Soldiers boiled, they ran with all their strength, and even chased out of the city gate.

Madam Daxi rode her horse and rushed forward,

When passing by the city gate, Meng Gong on the city tower above shouted in panic:

"Madam, do not pursue desperate enemies, do not chase out, do not chase out!"

Madam Daxi raised her head and glanced at Meng Gong above, a sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth:

"The Qian people fear the Yan people like tigers, but in her opinion:

The Yan people,

Are nothing more than that!"