Chapter 827 Old Zheng, Your Brother Here

Xie Yu'an walked through the military camp. Instead of the joyous atmosphere one would expect after a major victory, he found a palpable sense of unease.

The wounded were being treated. All the doctors and even the pharmacy assistants from the capital of Liang had been brought here to tend to the injured, but it still wasn't enough.

A pyrrhic victory.

Only when it moved beyond words and became reality could one truly feel the bloody cruelty hidden behind it.

Xie Yu'an found his father.

His father was sitting on a wooden stump, his shoulder bandaged, his lips visibly chapped.

Xie Yu'an had always thought of his father as a "treasure." He cared a lot about his appearance.

His speech could be coarse, his behavior boorish, but his appearance had to be exquisite and proper.

But now, Xie Zhuguo completely disregarded all of that.

Xie Zhuyang also saw his son walking over.

He wanted to smile, but he cried.

His son was precocious. Long ago, this father could no longer put on airs in front of his son. Spanking was the only extreme expression left to him.

Sometimes, he even worried if he should abdicate and let his son take over when he grew older.

Those old geezers in the family seemed to be looking forward to it.

When it came to power, the Xie clan was like a local emperor. Logically, he should have been struggling. Why were the crown prince's days always so difficult throughout history? The reason was that his existence had already affected his father's authority.

But he only had this one son.

After a great victory, won against the Yan army, and the Yan army's elite at that, he could have shown his son his heroic side, but in the end, he couldn't stop the tears.

Son, Dad was so scared.

Son, Dad almost didn't get to see you again.

He didn't say these words, but his expression betrayed everything.

The father didn't feel ashamed of showing such emotions in front of his son, because he knew exactly what his status and image were in his son's heart.

Xie Yu'an stepped forward, opened his arms, hugged his father's head, and gently patted him.

"Dad, the battle is over. It's over. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid anymore."

"Wuwuwu..."

Xie Zhuyang cried loudly, not caring about the gazes of the surrounding family members.

Of course, everyone was used to this father and son's public display of affection, and the soldiers who had experienced this battle with the head of the family could actually find a kind of resonance in this crying.

Xie Zhuyang cried for a long time. After stopping, he even wiped his nose with his son's clothes.

"..." Xie Yu'an.

He sat up straight, and a personal soldier brought a basin of water and a towel. Xie Zhuyang began to wash his face.

Xie Yu'an took off his outer layer of clothing.

"Be careful not to catch a cold," his father said with concern.

Xie Yu'an shook his head and took a cloak from an old man and put it on.

Xie Zhuyang snorted and said, "I'm not bedridden yet. It seems I can't count on you to take care of me when I'm sick in the future, you rebellious son."

"Dad, if our family really falls to the point where I have to take care of you when you're sick, you probably won't be able to stand it yourself. You might as well leave early."

"Ah... that seems right."

"What are the casualties?" Xie Yu'an asked the most important question.

Xie Zhuyang gritted his teeth and cursed, "Those Yan dogs, they're all lunatics!"

Hate for the enemy was actually the greatest praise for them.

People were always more likely to show tolerance and inclusiveness towards their defeated opponents, and if they didn't, it meant that they were really hurting.

"Everything was actually planned," Xie Yu'an began peeling an orange. "From the Yan people coming in to us closing the door, it was all planned.

"Moreover, we calculated half of it correctly, and the Yan people themselves calculated the other half for us.

"In the past, this was the Yan people's treatment. My Chu Qian and the original Jin state were all like fools."

"Son, thank goodness we calculated it correctly. If we hadn't..."

"Dad, you have to get used to it, you have to get used to continuing to fight like this. After this battle, you will be the man of the hour when we return home. We know that Nian Yao isn't a mediocre person, but the imperial guards led by Nian Yao can only be suppressed and beaten by the Yan people, but this time..."

"Let Dad rest for a while. Dad doesn't want to think about these things now."

"Yes."

Xie Yu'an didn't continue to disturb his old father, who was still unable to recover from the shock. Instead, he turned and walked towards another military camp.

The Qian-Chu allied forces' military camps were merged together. After the war, they didn't bother to separate for a while. When licking wounds, everyone's temper tended to be more docile.

The situation in the Qian army wasn't much better than that of the Chu army; it was only worse.

Even, one could vaguely hear soldiers howling like crazy. It wasn't because they were injured and in unbearable pain, but purely because they were mentally deranged.

Xie Yu'an saw Han Laowu sitting against the fence, his right eye covered.

Han Laowu was originally from the Western Army, but was later demoted out of the Western Army for committing a crime. However, he was appreciated by a regional commander, who recruited him as his son-in-law. No one knew what kind of luck he had.

Later, the Yan people went south to attack Qian. The Qian army's three border armies didn't move, and the Qian army that followed from behind was defeated batch after batch.

Han Laowu was also in the defeated army at the time. Once the army collapsed, no matter how brave you were, it was meaningless. Han Laowu could only run away with everyone else.

In later years, he often boasted that he had fought the Prince of Pingxi for three hundred rounds in the chaotic army, and also said that the Prince of Pingxi's swordsmanship was very powerful.

In fact, Zheng Fan did see Han Laowu at the time and thought he was a big fish, so he prepared to use a sap, oh no, a stone.

However, Han Laowu's posture of knocking down a Yan army knight with one spear was too heroic, so the Prince of Pingxi, who was not yet a prince at the time, directly chose to admit defeat.

Therefore, to a certain extent, Han Laowu's boasting was not an exaggeration. He was a man who had once scared away the Prince of Pingxi with a glare!

That year, after the Qian army was defeated, Han Laowu's father-in-law organized the county soldiers in an attempt to intercept Li Bao's troops. As a result, the county soldiers naturally collapsed. Han Laowu, as a son-in-law, was loyal enough. He rescued his father-in-law from the chaotic army, and then took his father-in-law all the way south.

Later, they escaped to the outskirts of the capital. Han Laowu also helped his father-in-law organize some righteous troops to prepare to defend the king.

In fact, he did do so.

At that time, the pain-in-the-ass Prince of Pingxi had just taken a bath at a local tyrant's house in the suburbs of the capital.

At that time, the strength of the Demon Kings was far from what it is now.

As a result,

Bai Lujian brought his sister Bai Li Xianglan, two swords straight over.

A Sword Saint, with a sister whose strength was equally outstanding, the Prince of Pingxi was very nervous at the time, and the Demon Kings had already planned to block them while their lord retreated first.

As a result, Han Laowu led the righteous army to kill at the right time. His actions immediately attracted a branch of the Zhenbei Army cavalry nearby to come to the rescue.

Therefore,

The world only knew that the Bai Li siblings turned around and fled without even drawing their swords when facing the Zhenbei Army's iron cavalry, but few people knew that if they had been given a little more time, or if Han Laowu had come out a little later, the Prince of Pingxi, who would be famous in the future, might have died there.

After the war, the Yan people withdrew their troops.

The official took this opportunity to dismiss the three old prime ministers in one fell swoop and began to take control of the court.

Because everyone performed terribly in this war, they could only choose the tallest among the dwarfs.

After Le Huan was defeated, he gathered the defeated soldiers in the rear and took the initiative to harass the Yan army. Although the gains were not great, he did actually do it.

And although Han Laowu was defeated again and again, because he took his father-in-law with him, many other northern frontier officials abandoned their posts and fled. Only Han Laowu's father-in-law had been persisting in the resistance, and his loyalty and bravery were commendable. After the war, not only was he not demoted, but he was promoted to an official and entered the central government.

Han Laowu's future was naturally further guaranteed.

In the previous battle,

General Ran, who was used as bait, did not choose to directly join forces after responding to the reinforcements, but chose to lead his troops around Wenming Mountain to the south, defeated a Liang army there, and advanced towards the capital of Liang.

This could be said to be Ran Min's wisest choice since the beginning of the war, because the prison had already formed, and his rushing to join forces could only make it easier for the other party to set up fences.

Since the other party wanted to trap him and swallow him, then he would simply mess up the battlefield first!

Li Fusheng, who led his troops into Liang territory, didn't scold Ran Min as a wife-killing thief after learning about Ran Min's movements.

The fact that Ran Min killed his wife was not something that many people publicized. Zheng Fan wouldn't, Xu Wenzu wouldn't, but how should I put it, some things, people with high status and levels, could see through at a glance.

The Prince's Mansion was full and had nothing to do, so they ran to assassinate the wife of a patrol chief?

Were they afraid that they would have no excuse to fall down and be slapped in the face?

Knowing was knowing, but because Ran Min had later been appreciated and recommended by Xu Wenzu and promoted by the emperor, no one dared to hang this matter on their lips to mock him like Li Fusheng did.

And the one responsible for blocking Ran Min's unit was Han Laowu's unit.

When the Xie family army moved north to suppress Li Fusheng's unit,

Han Laowu crossed his army in front of the capital of Liang.

Since the start of the war, the first hearty confrontation unfolded between the two of them.

Han Laowu's first battle lasted for two hours before his subordinates began to collapse and were defeated.

Ran Min led his troops to continue advancing towards the capital, but Han Laowu had left a team behind to gather the defeated soldiers and form another line of defense. This time, it only lasted for more than an hour before collapsing again.

But after that, he even left another team behind, gathered the defeated soldiers again, and formed an array. This last array was almost "as thin as a cicada's wings." Han Laowu also knew that if it collapsed one more time, it would be impossible to recover.

Therefore, he personally charged forward, with three hundred trusted family members closely following him. An arrow shot into his eye. He pulled out the arrow, swallowed the eyeball, and continued to charge forward with his spear.

At the critical moment, General Pu, who was originally stationed in Wenming County, immediately sent troops after realizing Ran Min's movements. He joined the battlefield at a critical moment and ambushed from the rear.

After a fierce battle, Ran Min's troops had already suffered a lot of losses, and the soldiers were also very tired. The previous bloodiness was also inspired by the arrival of reinforcements, but facing this Qian army that was like a piece of beef jerky, they were really exhausted.

In fact, if Ran Min didn't have enough soldiers under his command, as long as there were more soldiers, he could have separated more to chase the fleeing soldiers. Han Laowu would have had no chance to pick up his subordinates again and again.

In the end, with General Pu's kill, Ran Min's troops were defeated.

The plan to stir up the situation and rhythm failed, and they could only lead the remnants to seek refuge with Li Fusheng's troops.

Xie Yu'an stood in front of Han Laowu and stared at his eyes for a long time.

As he looked,

Han Laowu smiled

and said,

"How is it?"

"You are very mighty."

"Haha."

Han Laowu pointed to his one eye and said, "From now on, wherever I go to drink, people will have to ask me how this eye is. Then I can tell them all about it, which is equivalent to bringing my own snack."

"General is heroic."

"Xie Zhuguo is also good, buddy."

"My dad is crying in the tent right now."

"Hahaha."

There was no ridicule in Han Laowu's laughter.

After that battle, the merged Yan army, after maneuvering for several days, its main general, Li Fusheng, finally chose to strike head-on first.

This may have been out of the Yan people's pride, unwilling to retreat like this.

It may also be Li Fusheng's own character, who always liked to take things head-on.

It was also possible that, in Li Fusheng's opinion, rather than retreating in this way and suffering layers of interception and reduction along the way by the Qian-Chu allied forces, it would be better to go against the grain, charge head-on, and defeat the allied forces in the south, so that the remaining allied forces would be frightened, and he would be able to retreat more calmly.

And the real linchpin of this prison was actually the Xie family army.

The position of the Xie family army, standing there, could make the Yan army extremely uncomfortable no matter which direction they were in.

When Great Yan conquered Chu, Zheng Fan was ordered to lead his troops to attack the camp guarded by the rattan armor soldiers for similar reasons. The formation, the terrain, the deployment of troops, and the entire situation were not dead things, they were alive, and they had to be removed in order to break them.

This was the second fierce battle, which lasted a full day and night.

The Xie family army used the already built fortifications, relying on the camp, to exert the most peak combat power of the Great Chu infantry, and stubbornly resisted the Yan army's charge.

What moats, what traps, what antlers, were filled in with lives by both sides in less than half a day after the start of the war. Next, it was actually about exchanging lives for lives.

Xie Yu'an had just passed through his own camp before coming here. The atmosphere in the camp was actually the most realistic portrayal of that battle.

Although the Xie family army only sent more than 20,000 soldiers, first, the head of the family personally led them, and second, these more than 20,000 were also the elite of the family, with excellent armor and well-trained.

The Yan people attacked their strengths with their weaknesses, and they were still able to display such momentum.

In the end,

For the Yan people, it was really just a little bit short. Just when the Xie family army was about to be unable to support it, and the head of the family, Xie Zhuyang, was also injured and retreated with the desperate protection of his personal guards, the main force of the Qian Kingdom finally arrived.

Le Huan's troops and a branch of the Zu family army led by Zu Dongling launched an attack on the Yan people from both flanks.

In the plan,

This third battle should have been the final battle. The Qian-Chu allied forces would eat up the main force of the Yan army here, and even completely bury the Yan army here.

But the Yan army's method of breaking the situation was also very simple.

Two originally supporting troops, led by their respective generals, forcibly blocked and delayed with a fearless and almost certainly fatal situation, hindering the two main Qian armies, making them unable to complete the encirclement, and creating an opportunity for the central army to withdraw from the battlefield.

This kind of arrangement, this kind of decision, was simple to say, but it was just cutting off the tail to survive, but it was more difficult than climbing to the sky. It was not only that the generals below were willing to die to cover you, but even the lowest-level soldiers were willing to sacrifice themselves to die for your flag.

Under normal circumstances, once the main general planned to abandon you, or wanted you to "sacrifice" in this way, what awaited the main general was the instantaneous disintegration of the morale of the troops under his command, and even a mutiny.

The Qian-Chu allied forces really did not expect that this Yan army could be so iron-blooded. The planned encirclement and annihilation ultimately fell short.

Li Fusheng, who had lost all hope of turning the tables, had to order the remaining troops who had withdrawn from the battlefield to begin to retreat.

The route he took when he came was not the Lion Head Pass, but he also broke through several military camps and checkpoints to get in, because what was stationed there was the local army of Liang.

They didn't need to act out a fake defeat. Their current state was basically only good for occupying a pit.

But after Li Fusheng came in, the road he had taken was blocked by the Qian army, and it was rebuilt and filled in.

In this state, if they were blocked on the way back, what awaited the remaining troops was the annihilation of the entire army.

Therefore, Li Fusheng chose to lead his troops around and took the Road of Asking Heart Lake.

As a result, Meng Gong, the commander of the Qian army this time, personally led the central army and sat here, as if he had calculated that the Yan army would eventually come from here.

This was something that even Xie Yu'an had not predicted. Of course, he did not feel any frustration about this. Meng Gong was, after all, a person who had fought against General Nian. His father was also famous for being good at defensive warfare when he was under the command of the Tattooed Prime Minister.

This was a defensive battle, but used in reverse, it could trap people to death.

The intricate battle situation finally became clear at Asking Heart Lake.

The Yan army had to break through the central army where Meng Gong's flag was located in order to leave Liang territory and return to the South Gate Pass, and Meng Gong had to defend this place in order to completely confirm this great victory!

The Qian and Chu countries would meet here, and the heroes would gather together. If Li Fusheng was allowed to escape after careful arrangements, it could naturally be called a great victory to the outside world, but in fact, everyone knew in their hearts that this was not a win!

The Yan army was a trapped beast fighting, erupting with extremely strong death will.

To be precise,

This Yan army, from the very beginning, in terms of fighting face, no matter what the situation was, no matter what the strength was, had never been cowardly!

And at the critical moment of the fierce battle, a light cavalry of more than 4,000 suddenly rushed out from the rear. This was the last resort that Li Fusheng had left behind. Before entering Liang territory, he had reserved a troop to bypass Asking Heart Lake for a roundabout route in order to leave a backhand.

Li Fusheng was impulsive, but he was capable in battle.

This move was very similar to when the Prince of Pingxi led his troops to fight against the Great Chu Pillar State Shi Yuantang under the city. The Prince of Pingxi stood on his chariot and forcibly held on to that breath. Afterwards, Jin Suke led a cavalry force and cut into the battlefield at the most appropriate and crucial moment, completely reversing the situation.

Li Fusheng could have almost repeated the classic of the Prince of Pingxi back then.

But at that moment, the Great Qian驸马 (Imperial Son-in-law) and young commander of the Zhong family, Zhong Tianlang, one of the Four Great Generals who was once juxtaposed with the Prince of Pingxi and regarded the Prince of Pingxi as his true opponent,

appeared at this time, leading the Western Army cavalry, and intercepted and surrounded the Yan army's light cavalry.

Qian's only cavalry field corps with a large-scale establishment was in his hands. After swallowing this Yan army's surprise force, which had been exhausted when it was deployed to the battlefield due to the roundabout route, Zhong Tianlang led his troops and smashed into the extremely entangled battlefield.

It is said that,

after that battle,

the reeds of Asking Heart Lake were dyed blood red, and the corpses of soldiers from both sides filled most of the lake surface.

The Yan people were strong,

No,

to be precise,

this Yan army was really, really strong.

Back then, the same main general and the same group of soldiers as the backbone, more than 30,000 cavalry, could directly kill under the capital city, which was by no means accidental.

It was hard to imagine how they could be subdued if they were given a high-flying environment.

The Yan people had won every battle in recent years, and there was a reason for it.

Fortunately,

there were not many such strong armies and such strong generals among the Yan people.

Xie Yu'an walked into the Qian army's command tent and saw Meng Gong sitting outside as if basking in the sun.

Meng Gong had an arrow in his leg.

At that time, the Yan army had already charged under his flag, which was the most dangerous moment.

Once the flag moved, the morale would inevitably fluctuate, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

Fortunately, he held on.

"Young Master Xie."

"Commander Meng."

This was not the first time the two had met, but it was the first time Xie Yu'an had called Meng Gong "Commander."

In fact, the commander of this joint army was Meng Gong. Xie Zhuyang, the pillar of Great Chu, was on the same level as Le Huan and Han Laowu. However, Xie Zhuguo was very proud, and Commander Meng did not do anything to establish his authority in order to stabilize the overall situation.

In recent years, the Yan people had beaten Qian and Chu fiercely, but the Yan people only looked down on the Qian people. In fact, it was the Chu people who really liked to humiliate the Qian kingdom for fun.

In the final analysis, it still depended on real skills.

"I want to go in and see him."

Meng Gong nodded and pointed to his command tent behind him, saying,

"That's right. Respecting the brave is the way to create more brave people on our side."

"Is that the reason why Commander Meng redressed the grievances of the father and son in Mianzhou City?"

Back then, when the Prince of Pingxi first attacked Mianzhou City and beheaded the governor, the old man who had gone against the tide and tried to stop the barbarian soldiers' horses with one person and one spear, and who had eventually died in battle, and his son, who could have survived, but had shot that arrow on the city wall,

were identified as spies after the war.

It was Meng Gong who personally submitted a letter to redress their grievances and rebuilt their graves.

Meng Gong shook his head and said, "This is not a glorious thing, and there is no need to mention it again."

Xie Yu'an nodded and said, "Yes."

After that,

Xie Yu'an opened the curtain of the command tent.

In the very center of the command tent, on the white tiger skin sleeping mat that should have been used by Meng Gong and bestowed by the Qian Emperor, lay a general wearing black armor.

The armor was so damaged that it was difficult to find a complete piece.

Although the body had been wiped and there was no blood, the large and small wounds all over the body were shocking.

Li Fusheng, the Earl of Tiger Might of the Yan Kingdom,

in the final life-and-death battle at Asking Heart Lake,

he personally led the Assault Camp,

shouting "Assault soldiers, there is no life," as the spearhead of the entire army, piercing Meng Gong's central army eighteen times!

The most recent time, Meng Gong was shot by an arrow, and the flag was right in front of him. He almost used this ferocity to lead his exhausted troops and almost pierced through Meng Gong's central army, which was waiting for work!

Even when he was in the final desperate situation, the soldiers around him did not leave him. They kept surrounding him and protecting their wolf king.

Meng Gong also walked in at this time,

looking at Li Fusheng who was "sleeping" on his couch, he said to Xie Yu'an,

"Before he died in battle, he held his knife and shouted a sentence."

Xie Yu'an asked, "What did he say?"

He shouted,

"Old Zheng, your brother here had a great time killing this time!"

——————

chun jie di xiao long wishes everyone a Happy New Year!

I can write another chapter tonight.