Another day passed.
In Liuhe Commandery, Luo Yi received an envoy from Yeon Gaesomun.
After hearing the envoy's words, Luo Yi was furious, cursing inwardly while smiling outwardly, not daring to utter a single harsh word.
At present, his only hope was Goguryeo.
Otherwise, if Li Er mobilized a large army, his fifty thousand Yanliao troops would truly be no match!
Originally, Luo Yi had eighty thousand troops.
They were subjected to a barrage of cannon fire and explosive packages by Chai Shao.
That battle reduced morale to an all-time low.
While fleeing towards Yan Commandery, stragglers began to appear continuously.
On the way back from Yan Commandery to Liuhe, more had deserted.
Upon entering Liuhe and taking inventory of his troops,
When he heard that only fifty thousand remained out of eighty thousand,
Luo Yi almost vomited blood from anger.
The eighteen riders of Yan Yun and the eighty thousand Yanliao troops were his foundation.
With this campaign, he had lost so many men.
Now, Goguryeo wanted him to be cannon fodder.
He couldn't help but doubt if he had made the wrong choice in remaining loyal to the former crown prince.
But the path he had chosen had led him this far.
When he rebelled, the surrender document written by his subordinates had insulted Li Er as harshly as possible.
Therefore, he could only brace himself and persevere!
He left twenty thousand men to guard Liuhe Commandery.
Luo Yi, with thirty thousand Yanliao troops and the eighteen riders of Yan Yun, marched grandly towards Beiping Commandery.
The entire Beiping Commandery had indeed become the liveliest place in the Great Tang.
Gao Gu's fifteen thousand men.
Chai Shao's seven thousand Tang troops.
Luo Yi brought another thirty thousand.
And Yeon Gaesomun also brought twenty thousand, camping less than a hundred li away.
Coupled with laborers and auxiliary troops from various factions,
There were over a hundred thousand men in total!
Fang Er stared at Luo Yi's army passing below the mountain.
A cold smile touched his lips!
A tune surfaced in his mind.
Luo Yi knew my martial skills were refined,
He greeted me with a smile, then bowed with folded hands.
With a plop, he knelt on the ground,
Shamelessly asking to be my disciple.
He wouldn't be satisfied without learning my Spear Art;
I told him we must set rules for discipleship.
He declared your embroidered shoes would be my instruments of discipline.
This was a piece of Henan opera he had heard in his past life, titled "Dui Hua Qiang" (Facing the Spear).
The story roughly went as follows:
In his youth, Luo Yi was skilled in both literary and martial arts. While traveling to the capital for imperial examinations, he passed through Jiangjiaji in Nanyang and fell gravely ill.
He was rescued and taken in by a wealthy man surnamed Jiang.
The Jiang family had a daughter named Jiang Guizhi, who, upon seeing Luo Yi's talent and handsome appearance, fell for him at first sight.
The two became engaged under the arrangements of the Jiang family elders.
At that time, the Jiang family's ancestral spear technique, comprising 108 forms, was incredibly formidable.
Luo Yi then requested instruction from Jiang Guizhi.
Jiang Guizhi said that to pass on the art, rules must be established.
Luo Yi replied, "Your embroidered shoes shall be our rule."
Thus, during the day, Jiang Guizhi accompanied him in his studies,
And at night, she taught him the spear technique.
Luo Yi learned seventy-two forms of the 108-form spear technique.
This fellow, intent on securing an official position in the capital, abandoned the remaining thirty-six forms he hadn't learned, along with his wife Jiang Guizhi. He took the travel money provided by the Jiang family and headed to the capital.
After Luo Yi left, Jiang Guizhi gave birth to a son for him.
Following Luo Yi's instructions before he left, she named the child Luo Song.
Luo Yi had been gone for forty years with no news.
This greatly worried Jiang Guizhi and her son Luo Song.
During the chaotic times of the late Sui Dynasty, Jiang Guizhi took her son and searched everywhere for Luo Yi.
They eventually found him at Wagang Fortress.
However, after leaving the Jiang family, Luo Yi had married a woman named Qin and fathered Luo Cheng.
How could he possibly acknowledge them?
Jiang Guizhi, pointing at his nose, scolded him fiercely.
"Little Luo Yi, call out to you,
Listen carefully, my dear.
It was I who taught you your spear skills,
How dare you forget your lawfully wedded wife!"
Afterward, in front of the heroes of Wagang Fortress, she used her family's ancestral spear technique to beat Luo Yi into a pulp!
The more Fang Er thought about it, the more he despised this fellow.
He was just like Chen Shimei, a scoundrel.
He took everything, reaped all the benefits, and then, once he was done, he pretended not to know them.
He couldn't understand how Li Er was willing to keep such a person around.
After Luo Yi's troops had all passed through Shanhaiguan Pass,
Fang Er also sent someone to report the information to Chai Shao.
Upon hearing this, Chai Shao was overjoyed.
Heh heh.
The old man still dared to deliver himself to my doorstep.
So, he paid no mind to Yeon Gaesomun.
As soon as Luo Yi entered Beiping,
Chai Shao directly ordered an assault on the city.
Twelve cannons,
Thirty catapults,
Unleashed a furious bombardment on Beiping City.
Gao Gu on the city walls was completely stunned.
Damn it, didn't the Tang army not bring any cannons?
How come as soon as Chai Shao arrived, all the Tang army's cannons appeared?
With just catapults and explosive packages, the Tang army couldn't capture Beiping City!
These were scattered projectiles; they could injure people but were ineffective in siege warfare.
But with the addition of cannons, they were unstoppable!
He sent ten teams of messengers in succession to request reinforcements from Yeon Gaesomun.
When Chai Shao attacked the city, he had already sent someone to inform Fang Er.
Therefore, the messengers this time were not intercepted.
Yeon Gaesomun learned that the Tang army had deployed cannons.
Moreover, within Beiping City, there were over thirty thousand men, and with his twenty thousand,
He was confident he could destroy the Tang army at the walls of Beiping.
Thus,
He led his troops, along with cannons, towards Beiping.
Fang Er had a rather vexing time on Shanhaiguan Pass these past few days!
Damn it!
It was winter now!
Although it hadn't snowed, the wind was chillingly cold!
Even urinating could freeze into icicles!
Yesterday, Zhao Hu complained to him.
He said the food was bad, causing constipation.
When he went to relieve himself, a large piece of stool, not fully broken, froze inside!
Finally, Sun Zhou had to forcibly pull it out!
Thinking about that feeling made him shiver!
Fang Er, huddled in a cave, was warming himself by the fire.
Sun Zhou ran in.
Young Master, more troops are coming from the north.
Fang Er quickly got up and had everyone prepare.
He stepped out of the cave and looked towards the troops below the mountain.
He immediately saw Yeon Gaesomun's banners.
A young general in his twenties, with a long saber at his waist, a tiger-head helmet, and chain mail, his cape billowing high as his horse galloped, a long spear also hung on his saddle.
Holy crap!
Has this guy been possessed by Zhao Zilong?
He grabbed his four-times scope and searched the ranks of Yeon Gaesomun's army for his target.
Finally, at the very rear of the army, he saw soldiers pushing wooden carts.
On top of them were sacks.
They were the gunpowder seized from Chai Shao!
Looking further back, he saw the cannons.
But then Fang Er's brow furrowed.
The quantity was wrong!
There were only seven of them!
Damn it, did they leave one behind as a sample for replication?
Li Daniu, look behind them, see the carts with sacks; that should be the gunpowder!
Fang Er called Li Daniu and pointed towards the rear of Yeon Gaesomun's army.
Li Daniu raised his Dragon Fang, looked towards the direction Fang Er pointed through the scope.
Indeed, he saw the carts containing sacks.
"Notify everyone. Assign targets. This time, we'll split into two groups again. We're not attacking people, only the gunpowder. Do you understand?"
"Captain Fang, rest assured!"
Li Daniu turned around and began assigning targets to the members of the Extermination Army.