Chapter 1 Zheng Boye’s Plan

Zheng Boye wasn’t aware of Liu Ruqing's thoughts. After all, he was about to go to war and wasn’t so nonchalant as to be accompanied by beautiful women while commanding troops.

After Liu Ruqing left in a bit of a fluster, Zheng Boye smiled as he turned around to Li Fusheng and said,

"Don’t worry, big brother, I’ll be your assistant in this battle."

"Ha, that's the spirit!"

Li Fusheng turned around, picked up his wine bowl, poured out the remaining wine, and then licked the bottom.

"Ah, this wine, we'll have to wait until this battle is over to enjoy it properly."

As he said that,

Li Fusheng seemed to remember something, and continued:

"Back when we were fighting, Li Bao and I sat together. At that time, you sent someone to deliver wine from Shengle City. But drinking during wartime was the iron rule of my Zhenbei Army. So, Li Bao and I each took a chopstick and just dipped it in the wine to get a taste. That guy Li Bao liked to peel garlic and eat it, filling the whole army tent with its smell."

Zheng Boye was silent. Li Fusheng was clearly missing his fallen comrade.

"Zheng, my brother, we who fight on the battlefield, dying on the battlefield is the best ending. I've committed too many killings in my life and never asked to live out my old age in peace.

But I'm not afraid of death either. Since putting on this armor, so many good brothers have been waiting for me down there. When I go down, I won’t feel lonely.”

"Big brother, it's inauspicious to say such things before going to war."

"Inauspicious my foot! They're just wildlings. If that wildling king was still around, it might be different, but the current wildlings are just a rabble. With my soldiers and your soldiers, Zheng, we can muster 100,000 iron cavalry. What do we have to fear?

This bunch of good-for-nothings isn't worth my worrying about."

As he said that,

Li Fusheng walked up to Zheng Fan,

Reached out and patted Zheng Fan’s shoulder,

And suddenly lowered his voice,

Saying:

"Last time, that girl Qian fainted here, was that your doing?"

Zheng Fan didn't know if the princess had written a letter telling Li Fusheng about it or if Li Fusheng had guessed it himself;

But, it didn't matter.

Zheng Boye nodded straightforwardly and said,

"It was."

"You're all young people, it's normal if you don't see eye to eye."

Zheng Fan didn't say anything.

"That girl Qian is also pitiful, just like the Little Marquis in your manor. As their children, they're destined to never be comfortable in this life."

Zheng Fan sighed.

"Come, let's not talk about this anymore. We're going to war, so we need to show the spirit of going to war. Siege warfare is bound to be frustrating as hell, so I have to have a good time on the snow plains this time.

Come on, Zheng, my brother, you're familiar with this place. Tell me, how should we fight this war? We don't have time to go too deep into the snow plains, but plowing through the eastern half of the plains next to you shouldn’t be a problem.

The people, livestock, and fur we plunder will be very useful.

I believe you're aware, Zheng, that our Great Yan seems to have a vast territory, but it hasn't really recovered since annexing the Three Jins. The more we can scavenge from the snow plains this time, the less pressure we'll have in the rear, and the more food the people can keep.

Come, come, let's make it clear. I'll lead the charge, but you decide how to fight and how to arrange everything."

Zheng Fan nodded and smiled:

"My ideas might be a bit roundabout and troublesome, but I think it should be worth it."

………

The sky gradually darkened, and Sang Hu's migration team began to set up camp.

The surrounding troops hadn't retreated yet, and there seemed to be more and more of them. The number of troops had increased from less than 30,000 during the day to 40,000.

That was because even more distant tribes had sent their warriors to try to get a piece of the pie.

However, because Jin Shuke had sent people to warn them, no tribe dared to launch an attack first, but they were unwilling to leave just like that.

This was a tribe of 30,000 people, and it was very loosely organized. It was easy to imagine that as long as a few troops charged, the rest would be looting their population.

They really couldn't bring themselves to give it up so easily.

Most importantly, the Yan army at Xuehai Pass had the same numbers during the day and at night. They didn't see Xuehai Pass sending any more troops.

If that lord had come in person with seven or eight thousand cavalry, perhaps everyone would have dispersed. But with just a few hundred people, did they really think they could control all of them?

For a time,

The tribes began to send people to Jin Shuke's small camp to probe him.

Jin Shuke didn't refuse anyone. He met with everyone and spoke to them, but he flatly rejected the tribes' hints, sternly telling them that the migrating wildling tribe was going to Xuehai Pass.

At the same time, Jin Shuke knew that while the tribe leaders were constantly sending people to him, they were also discussing things among themselves.

After all, they had the numbers. After all, this was their home in their understanding.

The rule of the snow plains, that of annexing surrounding small tribes to strengthen oneself, was an unchanging principle since ancient times.

The Yan people might be strong and good at fighting, but they were only inside Xuehai Pass. They hadn't conquered the vast snow plains!

This stalemate continued until late at night.

……

The bonfire was burning, occasionally making slight cracking sounds from the wood.

Sang Hu was wiping his saber,

Wiping his saber for a while,

Then looking up at the snow wolf king banner in front of him;

Beside him, a group of warriors had already laid down on the ground, wrapped in fur blankets, resting.

These were the most loyal and elite warriors. They were conserving their energy, and as soon as there was any disturbance on the periphery, they would immediately grab their sabers and mount their horses.

Finally,

The neighing of warhorses came from the periphery.

Sang Hu gripped his saber.

Trapped in the center, he didn't send anyone to try to break through and see what was happening outside, because that would be pure suicide. Therefore, Sang Hu didn't know that, on the outer periphery, it was the appearance of a Yan army that had allowed his cobbled-together tribe to survive until now in the face of tens of thousands of red-eyed wildling troops.

Of course, that was only until now.

Even if doing so might anger that lord, firstly, everyone was involved, so there was naturally a sense of "the law doesn't punish the masses";

Secondly, Xuehai Pass seemed to have a shortage of troops. After fighting the Naiman tribe, they hadn't sent troops into the snow plains again.

Most importantly,

The tribe leaders knew that

They could indeed bow their heads to Xuehai Pass, and even kneel down and lick that Lord Pingye's boots, because that was just a matter of face, and they didn't really care about that.

But when it came to their own affairs in their own little corner of the snow plains, if they had to retreat just because of a light warning from Xuehai Pass, wouldn't they be inviting a new "wildling king" back?

If that was the case, what was the point of going through all this?

They would just do this and divide the population. Then, if Xuehai Pass questioned them, they would just compensate the lord with some cattle and sheep to save face.

Surely he wouldn't really get tough, would he?

Because of the lesson of the Naiman tribe, the tribe leaders had taken the opportunity to swear an oath of allegiance to stand together on this matter.

External pressure would, to some extent, cause internal integration. This principle had never changed, but the current snow plains were no longer the same as when the wildling king was around.

All the warriors around Sang Hu quickly got up, drew their sabers, and mounted their horses.

However,

Just as Sang Hu was about to raise his saber and charge forward, the wildling troops on the periphery suddenly rioted.

……

Actually, it couldn't be called a riot, but if the wildling allied forces were considered an army, the current situation was really no different from a riot.

Just as the leaders were preparing to launch an attack together as agreed,

Behind them, a series of horse hooves suddenly sounded, carrying a terrifying aura of "I am the only one who matters!"

Immediately,

All the leaders felt a "thump" in their hearts.

The Yan people,

Were here?

Some wildling leaders couldn't help but curse in wildling language. Why did these damned Yan people come now, neither earlier nor later!

If they had come earlier, everyone would have quickly kowtowed and retreated;

If they had come later, everyone would have finished eating and gone home.

However,

Soon,

The leaders of the tribes realized that something was wrong.

Not only were there large numbers of cavalry behind them, in the south, but also in the north and west.

Each tribe had scouts outside, they had that instinct, so soon, the messages from the scouts made the leaders lose their souls.

Their first reaction was, where did Xuehai Pass get so many Yan soldiers?

The most terrifying thing was that Yan soldiers had appeared in the north, which meant that the Yan army had already detoured there. Now, they should be surrounded by the Yan cavalry corps.

The leaders on the periphery didn't say a word and immediately ordered their own warriors to retreat with them. This loose alliance had just been formed and was already disintegrating. The large number of wildling allied forces had also become headless flies at this time.

This,

Was before any real engagement!

The warriors around Sang Hu looked around in confusion. They didn't know what was happening.

But Sang Hu,

Had a smile on his face. He guessed that the Yan army had arrived.

But he wasn't smiling because he had been rescued, but because of these fools. They were as stupid as ever.

When the wildling king was around, the wildling army could fight the elite iron cavalry of the Situ family. Although the several major battles had elements of ambush and surprise, the wildling warriors dared to charge and fight.

After they entered the pass and seized a large number of weapons and equipment to arm themselves, they even dared to clash with the Yan people.

Before each battle, the wildling king stood on the platform and, after a round of shouting, seemed to inject the light of the stars into the bodies of the warriors, making them fearless;

Even in the last great defeat, the wildling army had taken the initiative to face the most elite iron cavalry of Great Yan led by Tian Wujing and fought them face to face before being defeated, not collapsing at the first touch.

Because a wildling king had appeared, the sheep suddenly had the illusion that they were wolves for a period of time, but when they woke up from the dream, they were shocked to find that they were still sheep.

The disintegration of the allied forces was just the beginning. Soon, the Yan cavalry began to come into contact with the wildlings.

In the south, the Yan army was unstoppable;

In the north, the Yan army was unstoppable;

In the west, it was still unstoppable;

Most importantly, there were a large number of Yan soldiers in each direction.

Some wildling leaders were fleeing with their tribes while wondering, even if all the Yan soldiers in Xuehai Pass came out, there couldn't be so many!

………

"Damn it, this is no fun, no fun, what kind of battle is this, they collapsed before we even charged?"

Li Fusheng was clearly very dissatisfied. This wasn't the battle he wanted.

He had shamelessly asked Zheng Fan for the right to lead the charge, but before he could even get on the field, the other side had quit early.

This wasn't a battle at all, but a sheep drive.

"I say, Zheng, my brother, with opponents like this, do you have to complain to the king, to Yingdu, and to the court every time you write a memorial about the hardship of defending the border against the wildlings?"

Zheng Boye smiled and said, "A squeaky wheel gets the grease."

Zheng Fan really didn't have to hide anything from Li Fusheng. The blind man had said that mentally ill people were often very pure.

"However, the Jin army performed well this time, their morale suddenly rose." Li Fusheng wondered, "When we attacked them, after they were defeated on one route, the rest just collapsed."

"The Jin people don't need to be mobilized when fighting the wildlings."

In fact, the Jin knights weren't bad at all, but they were directly defeated by a surprise attack from behind, and then completely scattered by continuous pursuit, which also destroyed their morale.

But when dealing with the wildlings, the Jin army's confidence was immediately restored.

After all, for hundreds of years, except for the years of the wildling king, the Jin people had been pressing down on the wildlings and kneading them at will.

Once this psychological advantage was established, it would have a profound impact on both sides of the battle.

"Zheng, my brother, I see that your pocket is missing one side, what's going on, are you really going to drive sheep?"

"Yes, drive them to the east."

The war,

Or rather, the pursuit, was still continuing.

If you looked down from a high place, you could clearly see a black sea carrying the miscellaneous colors of the central area and moving eastward.

At this time,

Jin Shuke came to Sang Hu.

Sang Hu asked, "The king, is he in your place?"

Jin Shuke shook his head and said,

"I don't know."

Sang Hu asked again, "Can I see the king?"

"This, I don't know either."

"What's the difference between you Yan people and them? Are you just threatening me with death?"

"Follow me."

After saying that, Jin Shuke turned around and walked out.

A group of warriors around Sang Hu immediately stepped forward to stop Sang Hu,

Sang Hu directly pushed them away,

Saying:

"Even if the Yan people want to kill me, they don't need to go to so much trouble."

Around them,

Were endless Yan cavalry.

After saying that,

Sang Hu followed Jin Shuke all the way out and came to a tent.

Jin Shuke didn't go in, but stood outside with his arms crossed.

Sang Hu hesitated for a moment, lifted the tent flap, and walked in.

He saw a man with a terrifying scar on his face, sitting on a blanket in the middle of the tent.

And beside that man, stood a giant of a man, carrying a pair of giant axes, who showed a simple and honest smile on his face when he saw him come in.

"Sang Hu."

Gou Moli spoke.

Under his clothes, there were actually many chains tied to him. To be exact, the wildling king was locked in the middle of the tent, because under his blanket, there was also a large iron ball tied to him.

Sang Hu smiled,

And then knelt down in front of the man,

Saying:

"King."

Gou Moli also smiled, smiling very happily.

"King, it's good that you're still alive."

"I'm living okay." The wildling king replied, "I've joined the Yan people."

"When I saw the king's letter, I knew it."

"Sang Hu, do you still trust me?"

Sang Hu shook his head and said, "I don't believe it anymore. We really can't beat the Yan people."

"If you can't beat them, join them."

"King, you're wise."

Gou Moli let out a sigh: "I've let go."

"This subordinate has also let go."

Gou Moli pointed south, in the direction of Xuehai Pass.

"I asked that Lord Pingye for a small official position, but he refused."

Sang Hu shook his head and said, "He's stingy."

"No, no, that Lord Pingye said that he nominally has seven garrisons, but he only lacks the first garrison; the soldiers and civilians of Xuehai Pass all believe that this garrison is reserved for the lord himself to lead the central army in the future.

But that Lord Pingye said to me,

As long as I help him take down Zhennan Pass,

He will give me the first garrison."

Sang Hu said, "This subordinate doesn't know much about these things, but from what the king means, it should be a great thing."

"Yes, if I help him take down Zhennan Pass, with Zhennan Pass in the south and Xuehai Pass in the north, if he has these two passes in his hands, given time, it would be equivalent to half of the Situ family being revived in his hands.

At that time, he would indeed have the courage and the capital to take me as his dog."

Sang Hu nodded.

Gou Moli wanted to reach out and pat his forehead, but his hand didn't move, the chains were too heavy, so he could only say:

"But, we'll probably have to fill it with a lot of lives, fill it with the lives of our holy race."

Sang Hu smiled,

Saying:

"That's fine, anyway, the lives of our holy race are worthless."

The wildling king raised his head,

And then lowered it, licking his lips, saying:

"Yes, worthless."

………

When dawn was breaking, Li Fusheng, who had been marching for most of the night, looked like a frost-stricken eggplant, listless.

Reports of the military situation kept coming,

The wildling troops, coerced by the Yan army, had entered the two originally empty cities in the east;

The wildlings really had nowhere to retreat, so they could only rely on the two fortresses that the Situ family had built on the snow plains to temporarily rely on.

At the same time, the leaders of each tribe had sent representatives to plead with Lord Pingye, shouting that they knew they were wrong and hoping that Lord Pingye would give them a way out.

Lord Pingye listened to their opinions carefully,

And expressed his deep sympathy for their plight,

Then,

He had them all beheaded.

Zheng Boye, riding his pixiu, came to Li Fusheng's side. The pixiu under Zheng Boye's crotch arrogantly snorted at the pixiu beast under Li Fusheng's crotch.

"Brother, cheer up."

"Zheng, my brother, what exactly do you want to do?" Li Fusheng asked in confusion.

Originally, everything could have been solved last night.

Zheng Boye pointed behind him,

Li Fusheng looked back,

And found racks of arrow towers, siege rams, and catapults being pushed toward here.

Li Fusheng's eyes immediately lit up, and turned red again.

"This, this is going to……"

Zheng Boye nodded,

And said lightly:

"Use them to practice siege warfare."