Chapter 75 The Situation in Baishi City

The messengers that Chi Lei had positioned outside Baishi City needed to ride cautiously for four hours to deliver intelligence to Xuecheng, where preparations for supplying the front lines were in full swing. The first piece of military intelligence they sent was immediately copied and sent to both Zhuo Mang and Danyang.

The situation in Baishi City was not good. Although they were holding back tens of thousands of Xiling troops, the repeatedly thwarted Xiling army continued to mobilize forces to attack the city. Tong Bingwen had personally arrived at Baishi City to oversee the battle, and Zang Keming was attacking like a madman, launching two offensives every morning and afternoon, and occasionally organizing continuous battles throughout the day. However, more and more troops were being decimated, while Baishi City remained unyielding. The casualty figures for the Baishi City defenders, compiled by the front-line generals, were surprisingly low. Considering the generals' habit of covering up their poor performance and exaggerating reports, the number should be discounted somewhat.

The walls of Baishi City were not built with incredibly hard super-rammed earth, nor with heavy rocks such as granite or basalt. In any case, Baishi City was originally just a town near Ningshi City. Although it had been upgraded to a city, it was neither a defensive stronghold nor a large population center. Baishi City had expediently used limestone for construction. The limestone, which was not very strong, had been damaged in many places, but the seemingly crumbling Baishi City continued to wear down the lives and morale of the Xiling soldiers. Several elite units had already been decimated. The generals under Tong Bingwen had begun to regard attacking Baishi City as the most embarrassing and undesirable task.

Baishi City, while constantly suffering considerable casualties, was mobilizing all available forces to defend itself. The heavy infantry's armor and weapons were now being rotated among several people to ensure that there were always active heavy infantry on the city walls. Although their combat effectiveness was far from that of the Blood Kirin Army's genuine heavy infantry, they were still very useful on the city walls. The crossbow team, formed using the archers' spare hand crossbows, had also played a huge role. Later, Ye Tao came up with an idea, which Qiu Haohui executed: using the leather armor and weapons stripped from fallen Xiling soldiers to equip some of the civilians who were willing to go up to the city to help in the battle. They were mainly responsible for battlefield services such as evacuating the wounded, transporting stone bullets, and filling gaps in the city walls with sandbags, allowing the soldiers with more and more combat experience to focus all their energy and strength on killing the enemy.

Overall, although suffering heavy casualties, Baishi City was barely holding on. But another piece of news caused another storm.

"Ye Tao led troops to the city walls and was wounded by an elite enemy unit. Judging from the injury, it should be Hei Sha Zhang (Black Sand Palm)."

The amount of information that could be conveyed using lights to transmit military intelligence was limited, but this message alone was enough for those in the know to make a judgment.

"Hei Sha Zhang... When did the Daoming Sect start interfering in the Xiling military?" Tan Xiaopei said with a frown in the political hall of the Danyang Palace. The Daoming Sect was a very influential organization active in the Xiling Kingdom. It was both a Taoist sect, with its own unique religious doctrine, and a martial arts sect, with its accumulation of martial arts skills and a system for cultivating talent. But more importantly, the Daoming Sect had extensive industries, and the financial and material resources at its disposal were astonishing. The Daoming Sect and the Xiling court were aloof from each other, but they had always been excluded by the Xiling military. The Daoming Sect, with its great ambitions, had always been a target of vigilance for the Xiling military. And now, if there were Daoming Sect disciples in the army who had mastered the Hei Sha Zhang, it was definitely not good news. If it wasn't that the Daoming Sect had infiltrated the Xiling military, then the Xiling court was no longer able to restrain the Daoming Sect's ever-expanding ambitions. Compared to the Xiling court, which, although strong and arrogant, at least had a rational way of doing things, the Daoming Sect, which was fanatical, extreme, yet skilled in planning and conspiracy, was a very troublesome opponent. If the Daoming Sect's influence on Xiling's policies increased, then there would be a lot of trouble in the future.

Compared to Tan Xiaopei, who had too many things to worry about, Tan Weixin's approach was much simpler: "Sisi, go to the Imperial Hospital and ask Doctor Song to come here. Tell him it's about treating Hei Sha Zhang injuries. Oh, and have Chief Steward Liu come by as well..."

From that day until now, Tan Weixin's state of mind had been so complicated. She was amazed that Ye Tao, who embodied the elegance, talent, and humility of a modern person, would do such an extreme thing. Tan Weixin was moved by this behavior, but she was also worried about Ye Tao. She never expected that Ye Tao would not only lead troops to the battlefield, but also personally go to the city to fight. What she didn't expect was that Ye Tao, fighting on the city walls, was so important that the enemy sent wolf riders to specifically assassinate him. The short message that Ye Tao left before he left was unfolded again. This message, which probably only the two of them could understand in this era, made the image of that guy who wrapped all his recklessness in delicacy, mixed rationality and sensibility, and melted creativity and humor into his bones, even clearer. No matter where his actions would lead the relationship between the two of them, Tan Weixin didn't know, and she believed Ye Tao didn't know either. But in any case, Ye Tao was someone worth her spending her mind and energy to cherish and protect.

Tan Weixin did not underestimate the role that the Daoming Sect played in this matter. She at least knew one thing that Zeng Man had told her: there were many East Peace spies lurking in the Xiling Kingdom, but until recently, it was suddenly discovered that many spies had been controlled by the Daoming Sect. When they started to be controlled and what kind of losses were caused was still unclear. Those who could be sent out as spies were undoubtedly people who everyone thought were unlikely to be bought off, but these people inexplicably lost their loyalty. This made Tan Weixin extremely vigilant, and she had asked Zeng Man to find some people with special backgrounds for her. She would wait until all the conditions were ready before deciding whether to take action.

A few days later, Liu Yong, the chief steward of the Princess's mansion, arrived at Baishi City. This was the first time in years that he had left Princess Zhaohua Tan Weixin's side on a solo mission, a mission that might seem insignificant to others: delivering a letter. In order to get him to agree to send this letter to Baishi City, to Ye Tao, Tan Weixin even moved to the Embroidery Garden. The defensive forces around her, plus the two masters beside the little princess, who were not as good as Liu Yong, but were still passable, might not be able to completely reassure Liu Yong, but they let Liu Yong see the princess's determination that could not be disobeyed. So, he came.

Liu Yong didn't have the patience to wait until night to sneak into Baishi City. He directly rode his horse through the two patrols of the Xiling army. After Liu Yong's mount was shot dead, Liu Yong directly plunged into the Xiling camp, and after one person disrupted the camp, he suddenly turned and rushed into the range of the crossbow cannons, trebuchets, and Shen臂 (shen bi) bows on the city walls of Baishi City.

"What does the Princess mean by this?" After finding Ye Tao, Liu Yong leaned over to see what Tan Weixin wanted to say to Ye Tao, and Ye Tao did not refuse.

Ye Tao unfolded the letter in front of Liu Yong, and there was still nothing Liu Yong could understand on the snow-white letter paper. In the middle of the letter paper was a curved check mark drawn in vermilion ink, with a line of English written below, also a slogan: justdoit.

What tacit understanding we have... Ye Tao closed the letter and couldn't help thinking. How much meaning was contained in this short slogan? Without a doubt, Tan Weixin was not unhappy with his actions. She would silently support him behind his back, trying to minimize the responsibilities that he would inevitably bear, and trying to protect Ye Tao's family and property. All she needed Ye Tao to do was to do well in front of him, such as winning this war, such as healing his wounds.

Didn't she herself need to slowly recover from weakness and pain? When the Blood Kirin Army attacked privately, the master of Dai Yun's very precious apprentice rushed from afar day and night because he was afraid that his apprentice would be severely punished by East Peace, just to offer the three "Heaven and Earth Righteous Qi Pills" treasured in their sect to the East Peace royal family, so that even Tan Weixin's life-threatening disease could be alleviated for at least a year or two. Perhaps it was the medicine, or perhaps it was the uplifting mood, that made Tan Weixin's body really better, and Dai Yun, who could not be held accountable in the first place, was naturally even more stable.

Apart from the battle on the city walls of Baishi City still going on, in addition to continuing, there was really not much that Ye Tao could worry about now. When Zhuo Mang entangled the troops sent by Tong Bingwen to contain the East Peace army with 30,000 troops on the front, and then used a little less than 100,000 troops to quickly attack Miancheng, he began to attack as soon as he arrived at Miancheng. Then, after nine consecutive hours of siege warfare, he took Miancheng at the same moment that Tong Bingwen received the military intelligence document urgently reporting Miancheng. Two hours later, after clearing the remnants of the Xiling army in Miancheng, Zhuo Mang left slightly more than 50,000 troops in Miancheng to defend, of which 10,000 would be used to maintain the supply line from Zhuo Mang's original northern camp to Miancheng. Zhuo Mang then personally led the remaining troops out of Miancheng after a night of rest. Unlike the Blood Kirin Army, which placed cavalry units outside the city for better striking at the enemy, Zhuo Mang's army could not be concealed, nor was it necessary to conceal it. Zhuo Mang frankly explained that the purpose of doing so was to buy time. Given the scale of the Xiling army, any tactical action of a certain scale would take time to complete, and this time was measured in days. In this situation, keeping the army outside and keeping it mobile, while potentially suffering some losses in a series of engagements and ambushes, could effectively disrupt the rhythm of the Tong Bingwen army's assembly and concentration. And by maintaining a certain distance from Miancheng, his army was large enough to force Tong Bingwen to leave a considerable force to be ready to defend against him at any time. The wavering of the besieging army was fatal. Even more, Zhuo Mang's move also retained the aftertaste of a strong attack on Xunshan Pass when necessary, or after the Blood Kirin Army captured Xunshan Pass, rushing to Xunshan Pass at the first time to disrupt the Xiling army's action to retake Xunshan Pass, ensuring that all of Tong Bingwen's army would be left in East Peace and annihilated on the spot.

The mixed force of three thousand tribal soldiers and Jianghu (martial world) friends led by Chi Yun had already rendezvoused with the Blood Kirin Army. Fortunately, Chi Yun had a younger brother like Chi Lei, and he himself had some understanding of the Blood Kirin Army's order system, so it did not cause a misunderstanding. Although everyone in this mixed force of three thousand people could ride a horse, and the horses they used were quite good, most of these people were not capable of fighting on horseback, or rather, they could not fully utilize their abilities on horseback. In addition, they also received another batch of reinforcements: a small mixed infantry and cavalry detachment of about three hundred people: one of the FedEx escort teams.

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ps: It's time for the bonus chapter for fifty votes again. The original two chapters today, plus this chapter... these three chapters are still very conscientious, right? Everyone encourage me with monthly votes?

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Regretfully reporting that, due to an error when helping Ge Zi update, the chapter order was wrong. After asking the Qidian boss, the chapter order cannot be adjusted, so I can only take the method of modifying the content and modifying the chapter name to make up for this mistake.....

But because of the word limit for VIP chapters, the number of words in the modified VIP chapter content must be more than the original chapter number of words. This chapter has too many words, and I am trying to make up the number of words to modify the content.

Paste a chat log with him, about Kwokka's question in the book review area at that time, I don't know if it's enough to make up the number of words.

The chat log pasted directly, many emoticons are not displayed, it may be a bit messy, just look at it.

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:34:00

To explain all the questions clearly, I have to upload my brain to Qidian, let him go.

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:34:10

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:34:30

Rolling all over the floor

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:37:42

The first point: The people who infiltrate don't need to bring weapons and horses at all. They can purchase them locally, and obtain military uniforms and weapons through East Peace officials. They receive East Peace-style training, and it doesn't make sense to bring Xiling equipment.

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:38:10

Second point: Actually, it's the same as the first point. I didn't deny Xiling's advantage in intelligence warfare.

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:38:10

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:39:25

Going to reply?

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:40:16

Third point: East Peace has a tradition of valuing family and the personality of its leaders. For future development, actually cutting off Tan Weixin is more meaningful than acquiring a piece of land with little production, and this piece of land has no geographical advantage in defense.

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:40:35

Not going to.

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:40:45

But I want to help you reply.

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:41:00

So many editors of yours didn't say that I wrote unreasonably, let them say whatever they want.

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:41:09

Continue rolling

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:41:13

If you really want to nitpick, what book can't be nitpicked?

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:41:55

You've read all the drafts, you know the structure of the book and the foreshadowed plots behind it, and you don't think there's anything too unreasonable, right?

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:41:56

Anyway, I'm upset.

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:42:05

That's because I read faster than them.

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:42:05

Besides, it's just a novel, relatively reasonable is enough.

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:42:13

You won't think it's unreasonable if you read the back.

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:42:27

If you want to see rigorous stuff, go read documentary works.

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:42:46

When it's put in the Cultural Revolution, documentary works are even more YY.

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:42:54

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:44:09

I still want to help you reply.

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:44:33

No need to reply, let him go.

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:47:12

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:47:43

Hasn't someone already said, to be reasonable... what is time-traveling?

Fei Zi (Prickly Heat) 16:48:01

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:48:20

Now the most reasonable books for writing time-traveling are like "Ming."

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:48:28

But "Ming" still has a lot of flaws.

Ge Zi Li De Ye Wan (Night in the Grid) 16:48:41

Not to mention my otherworld continent.

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Well, it's barely a reply to the discussions in the book review area these days. Because this time it's just adjusting the chapter order instead of modifying the content, it actually has no impact on the subscription price (a lot of messy free chat logs, haha), friends who have already subscribed can re-read these three chapters, very sorry for this mistake.

ps: I just realized that this update of mine is actually 4985 words... too extreme, it seems to be nearly 1000 words for free, can it be considered a compensation for everyone?