"Kill!"
In May, at the end of the fifth month of the first year of the Yanjian era, beneath the city of Jizhou, in the open fields, the eldest son of the Left Virtuous King of the Great Yan, General Huaiwu, Murong Chi, personally led five thousand iron cavalry, drawing their sabers and urging their horses, charging towards the defending forces arrayed beneath Jizhou city.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Kill all enemies, avenge our hatred!"
The five thousand iron cavalry let out earth-shattering roars, galloping alongside Murong Chi. Their long sabers gleamed like snow, their lances formed a dense forest, and the hooves of their warhorses kicked up dust that billowed like tornados, soaring towards the heavens.
The arrows shot by the Jizhou defenders were equally dense, almost obscuring the sun, raining down from the sky onto the charging Changshan cavalry.
"Thud... thud... thud..."
The arrowheads fell like rain. Constantly, Changshan cavalrymen tumbled from their horses. But Murong Chi's eyes did not blink. He merely gripped his long saber tightly, staring intently at the ever-approaching Jizhou defenders.
"Kill!" As they neared the enemy formation, Murong Chi suddenly roared. His legs spread wide, his upper body leaned forward, and his long saber pointed directly at tens of thousands of Jizhou soldiers.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Though the Changshan iron cavalry numbered only five thousand, they were a battle-hardened force that had long guarded the border. Even facing overwhelming odds, they showed no fear, charging into the enemy ranks with Murong Chi, fearless and ready to die.
"Ah..."
The two forces crashed together with a roar, followed by cries of agony. Many Changshan cavalrymen, before their sabers could even strike an enemy, had their bodies pierced by rows of long spears, their blood splashing out. Yet, even more Changshan cavalrymen charged their horses into the Jizhou defense lines, swinging their sabers, slaughtering like tigers among sheep.
"Hoo!"
Murong Chi roared, his voice like a demonic sound from hell. His cry carried not only killing intent but also boundless grief and the pain of losing loved ones. His eyes had turned crimson. The gleaming long saber in his hand hacked wildly, its speed astonishing, leaving phantom afterimages in the air, like the scythe of death reaping the lives of Jizhou soldiers.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
In moments, the entire battlefield ran with rivers of blood, and the ground was strewn with corpses. Murong Chi had become a humanoid killing machine, like a god of slaughter, drenched in blood. His face was ferocious and terrifying, his eyes filled with endless killing intent. He swept his gaze across the surroundings, and no one could withstand a single blow.
Looking at the mountains of corpses, listening to the pained moans of the fallen Jizhou soldiers, he felt an extreme sense of satisfaction.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Murong Chi was short-tempered, but not incompetent. Having fought alongside his father, Murong Bole, for many years, he was skilled in warfare and a fierce warrior on the battlefield.
The Jizhou defenders, underestimating Murong Chi and the strength of the Changshan army, did not hold the city and wait for reinforcements. Instead, they sallied forth to engage the Changshan rebels in open combat, hoping to annihilate them in one fell swoop. What happened instead was that Murong Chi led his five thousand elite cavalry in a frontal assault, while dispatching the Xiaowu and Shenrui armies to attack from the flanks. Taking advantage of the Jizhou defenders' panic, they charged in from the left and right of the battlefield.
Under the pincer attack from three directions, the Jizhou defenders were routed, utterly defeated. In the end, even the city of Jizhou was lost.
Murong Chi and the Changshan army under his command thus gained immense momentum, capturing several cities in Yan, shaking the entire realm.
...
"Report!"
As Murong Chi led the Changshan army triumphantly towards Jizhou, a scout galloped up from the front.
"Reporting to the Heir Apparent, the people within Jizhou city are fleeing outside the city gates in a desperate rush. There are also remnant troops causing trouble within the city. The generals request the Heir Apparent's instruction on how to proceed?" the scout reported.
"Flee?" Murong Chi's eyebrows shot up. He roared, "My royal Changshan army has arrived here. If they don't open their gates to welcome us, so be it, but they actually intend to flee? And there are remnant troops causing trouble?"
The Changshan generals around him felt a chill, a shiver down their spines.
...
That day, a light rain fell, and the city of Jizhou was enveloped in a thin layer of mist. Mist should be white, but the mist of Jizhou at this time was red, a blood-red mist, a fog of blood. The blood mist seemed to have stained the entire sky red, like a scene from Asura's hell.
The city walls of Jizhou, the gates, the watchtowers, the houses and streets within the city of Daming Prefecture, all were stained blood-red. Blood flowed down the walls with the rain, forming a small stream that flowed in all directions. The blood seemed impossible to wash away in the rain, continuing to flow drop by drop.
Ten thousand heads hung from the walls of Jizhou city. Twisted faces, tied to the city walls with straw ropes. The bloodless heads had a chilling pale color. Beneath the severed necks of some freshly hung heads, blood still dripped. In the moat beneath the city walls, countless headless or beheaded corpses were piled up, submerging the water.
"The Heir Apparent has decreed that all people of Jizhou who did not welcome the royal army and instead sided with the traitors shall be executed!" a Changshan general, mounted on a tall horse, coldly commanded.
Murong Chi's order was that the men and women of Jizhou were not to be spared.
Upon receiving the order, over a thousand Changshan soldiers drew their sabers and swung them at the thousands of men and women bound and kneeling on the ground.
In moments, blood splattered, and another thousand heads fell, further rendering Jizhou a terrifying spectacle. Some Changshan soldiers' sabers became dulled, chipped with countless nicks. The Changshan soldiers had to resort to using their saw-like sabers, sawing off the heads of Jizhou soldiers and civilians as if they were logs.
Blood flowed like rivers, and corpses littered the ground, a sight too horrific to behold!
Indeed, before long, Murong Chi issued the order for a massacre, allowing the Changshan army to massacre the city for three days. Ten percent of Jizhou's military and civilian population remained.
Murong Chi vented his personal grievances on the soldiers and civilians of Jizhou. The catalyst for this was not only the murder of his family but also the news that over four thousand troops outside Youzhou city had been ambushed and killed.
Murong Chi's malevolent spirit intensified. If he were to capture Youzhou city, it would undoubtedly be a scene of bloodshed and chaos.
...
"Heir Apparent, a guest seeks an audience."
On this day, as Murong Chi was meditating with his eyes closed in his tent, a attendant entered and reported.
"Who is it?" Murong Chi opened his eyes, asking in surprise.
"An envoy from King Qi, Murong Sheng, and King of Donghai, Murong Hong." the attendant replied.
"What?" Murong Chi's thick brows furrowed. He stroked his dense beard, narrowing his eyes and asking.
King of Runan, Murong Xiong, King of Qi, Murong Sheng, and King of Donghai, Murong Hong, were all younger brothers of the late Emperor Murong Xi. Murong Qing had ordered Murong Xiong to attack the Left Virtuous King's mansion, and Murong Chi naturally harbored deep hatred for Murong Xiong. This hatred extended to his brothers, and he wished to mince them into meat paste.
King of Runan, Murong Xiong, King of Qi, Murong Sheng, and King of Donghai, Murong Hong, were half-brothers to Murong Xi.
"Summon the cauldrons!" Murong Chi thus ordered.
...
"The Heir Apparent of the Left Virtuous King, General Huaiwu Chi, invites you!"
In front of the central military tent, a tent attendant, sword at his side, stood and announced loudly.
"Dong... dong... dong..."
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
A hundred bare-chested strongmen stood before the tent, holding wooden staffs as thick as a bowl, striking the ground and roaring low.
Over a thousand mighty warriors, clad in iron armor, with only their eyes visible, stood guard on the left and right, glaring at the envoys of King Qi, Murong Sheng, and King of Donghai, Murong Hong, as they approached the tent.
In front of the military tent, amidst the warriors, stood two large cauldrons. Three-legged round bronze cauldrons, beneath which blazed furious fires, crackling loudly. Within them were oil pots, the boiling oil emitting white steam, bubbling and gurgling, a terrifying sight.
The three-legged round bronze cauldrons were large enough at the mouth to hold a calf, let alone the two envoys of King Qi, Murong Sheng, and King of Donghai, Murong Hong. If thrown in, not even bone residue would remain.
"Brother Hongming..." Faced with such a formidable display by Murong Chi, Qin Yundao, the envoy of King Qi, was already petrified, his body turning weak. He leaned on Wu Mingzhi, the envoy of King of Donghai, almost being dragged along by him.
"It's just a show of force." Wu Mingzhi showed no fear, walking with his head held high and chest puffed out.
"Who are you?" Murong Chi, fully armored, sat on a wide barbarian chair, his hands resting on his waist saber, glaring at Wu Mingzhi and Qin Yundao and asking.
"Wu Mingzhi, Scribe under King of Donghai!" Wu Mingzhi answered loudly, shaking off Qin Yundao's hand.
"Qin Yundao, Scribe under King Qi, Murong Sheng..." Qin Yundao grabbed Wu Mingzhi's sleeve again and muttered in a low voice.
The so-called scribe was an official in charge of various documents and archives, responsible for drafting memorials and dispatches. Yet now, they were sent by their kings to perform such a task...
Murong Chi glanced at Qin Yundao and then asked, "Why have you come?"
"Our lord sent us to discuss matters with the Heir Apparent," Wu Mingzhi replied calmly.
"Heh heh, discuss matters? Why don't Murong Sheng and Murong Hong come themselves?" Murong Chi sneered, pointing at the two bronze cauldrons. "These are prepared for the two kings. Since they dare not come, how about you two take their place?"
"Hahahahaha!" Qin Yundao almost collapsed onto the ground upon hearing this. Wu Mingzhi, however, burst into laughter and said, "Why not try the cauldrons? Why doesn't the Heir Apparent go first?"
The guards around them were enraged and moved to seize him, to throw him into the cauldron.
"You learned scholar, what do you mean by that?" Murong Chi stopped his guards and asked.
"The Heir Apparent has mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to avenge his family, breaking through Jizhou and other cities, gaining great momentum. However, Heir Apparent..." Wu Mingzhi changed his tone and sneered, "You are ultimately a lone force. As the saying goes, a single hand cannot clap. The court only needs to dispatch one brave general to secure the key passes, and then gather the world's loyal troops. At that time, you will surely be defeated! And once you are defeated, there will be no way out. At that time, I believe, it would be better for the Heir Apparent to leap into this cauldron and end it quickly!"
"Please come into the tent, Sir!" Murong Chi said after a long moment of stunned silence.