Chapter 976 I'll Write This Mandate of Heaven Myself!

"Xiong Tingshan sent me a traveling opera troupe?"

"Yes, they were sent over last night before the battle. Your subordinate has already had them brought here. Xue San checked them out; they're not assassins, just an ordinary traveling opera troupe. However, some of their instruments seem to have some minor spells cast on them by cultivators, minor spells that won't pose any threat. Please rest assured, my lord."

"Is this some kind of Chu aristocratic war etiquette?" Zheng Fan chuckled. "That's not right; Xiong Tingshan himself married a Shanyue woman when he was in Wutong County. He shouldn't be interested in playing those old Chu aristocratic games."

"That's true."

"Forget it; I'm bored anyway. Watching a show is fine. I remember there were traveling opera troupes performing at the docks when I disembarked in Jingcheng back then, right?"

"My lord remembers correctly. However, there are two types of Chu opera troupes: those for commoners and those for nobles."

"Mm."

"Your Highness, the meat filling is mixed."

Liu Dahu handed over a basin of meat filling.

Zheng Fan reached out, took it, and walked to the large iron cage in front of him. Inside the cage were many falcons, a special species from the Heavenly Break Mountains. They were somewhat different from ordinary falcons, with red eyes.

However, Zheng Fan never liked playing with these things. Xue San usually took care of them.

Zheng Fan pinched off a piece of meat and threw it into the cage. A group of falcons began to fight over it.

Zheng Fan maintained a steady pace, continuing to throw meat into the cage.

The Pixiu (a mythical wild beast) crouching nearby saw this and raised its body slightly, making some dissatisfied snorting sounds.

Zheng Fan turned his head to look at it, and the Pixiu immediately lowered itself again.

Actually, at first, this Pixiu was only afraid of the Demon King. It wasn't afraid of its true master, and it treated Zheng Fan as a servant like itself, kept by the Demon King.

Later, the master-servant relationship slowly changed and solidified, and this Pixiu became increasingly afraid of Zheng Fan.

The reason might be that,

Back then, Zheng Fan didn't seem like a true superior, but now, it's no exaggeration to say that he really has the aura of a king.

These demon beasts are extremely sensitive to this kind of aura.

After feeding all the meat in the basin, Liu Dahu brought hot water and soap for Zheng Fan to wash his hands.

After washing his hands,

Zheng Fan looked at his sleeves; he hadn't put on his armor today.

"Will the Chu attack today?"

"Most likely. The flanks have been fighting for two days, and the Chu should be impatient to wait for the flanks to finish. They will forcibly launch an offensive against Zhennan Pass to seize the time."

"Alright, I won't go up to the city wall. Anyway, Ah Li and San'er are watching on the city wall. If the Chu really launch a wave and break into the pass, it won't matter if I wear armor or not."

"Your Highness is right."

"Let's listen to the opera."

"Your subordinate will go prepare."

The Zhennan Pass's general's mansion wasn't very large. After all, the Prince Manor of Fengxin City wasn't particularly luxurious, so the residences of other main generals certainly wouldn't dare to exceed the Prince Manor, but it definitely had everything it needed.

In the courtyard, tables and chairs had already been set up.

Zheng Fan walked over, sat down, and casually grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the coffee table, cracking them one by one.

Si Niang sat next to Zheng Fan, helping him open a frozen pear.

A Ming, who had been abstaining from blood for two days, was slightly listless, leaning back against the chair.

"What, still enjoying yourself?" Zheng Fan teased.

"Soon, soon." A Ming yawned slightly, and couldn't help but stick out his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth. The feast that he could freely choose from was right in front of him.

Outside, the Blind Man led an old man and three girls in.

The old man held an erhu (a two-stringed bowed musical instrument), his beard and hair all white.

The three girls were wearing green clothes, not very old, with good figures, each holding a small drum, a small gong, and bamboo clappers, things used to create rhythm.

However, as Chu people, being sent into the city occupied by the Yan, and facing a prince who was almost like a god of death and demon in Chu, their calves were trembling as they walked.

The Blind Man gave an order and walked back to Zheng Fan's side, sitting down in a chair on the other side.

The old man led the three girls, trembling, kneeling down and kowtowing.

"What's the piece?" Zheng Fan asked the Blind Man.

"Your subordinate asked; it's a specially arranged new piece."

"This doesn't seem like the work of that crude Xiong Tingshan; he's not that poetic."

"Your subordinate thinks so too."

"It doesn't matter. Let's watch it first. Let's cultivate ourselves and appreciate a Chu folk performance."

Zheng Fan leaned back and crossed his legs,

Spitting out a melon seed shell,

He said:

"Begin."

"This humble one obeys."

"These humble women obey."

The old man looked around, finally sitting cross-legged on the ground with his erhu.

The three girls stood in a triangular formation.

One of the girls, holding a small gong, crossed her arms up and down, striking the two pieces of the gong together, symbolizing the opening sound:

"Omm!"

……

"Omm! Omm! Omm!"

The Chu army's catapults launched boulders, some of which slammed into the walls of Zhennan Pass, and many landed directly inside the city.

However, Zhennan Pass was originally a formidable pass during the Three Jin period. After the Prince Manor took control of Jindong, the repair and reinforcement of this important pass never stopped, so the city walls were thick and strong. At least for now, there was no sign of the city walls collapsing.

"Omm! Omm! Omm!"

Soon, the Chu people launched a second round of projectiles. This time, the Chu people no longer smashed the walls, but raised the angle to hit the defending soldiers or the area behind the city walls as much as possible.

At this time, the flying gravel was actually more terrifying than arrows. If you wore armor and weren't too unlucky, you could basically block the arrows, but this gravel, slamming directly into your armor, could knock people over.

Many defenders on the city walls died or were injured as a result. Civilians began to transfer the wounded, while auxiliary soldiers immediately took over their positions.

Next was the Chu army's third round of bombardment, this time with flaming oil. Now on the city walls, you could clearly see clusters of flowing fire, smashing over with a roar.

In fact, this kind of attack wasn't very lethal, but it had a great impact on the morale of the attacked side.

Previously, Xue San was leaning against a battlement, observing outside through a loophole, writing the coordinates on paper with a charcoal pencil, and then throwing it to a soldier beside him. This soldier immediately went to the back of the city wall and began to use signal flags.

Before long, the Yan army's catapults, which had been silent, finally began to counterattack!

"Omm! Omm! Omm!"

The first round of salvoes focused on covering the location of the Chu army's catapult groups, instantly causing great damage to the Chu army's catapult teams.

Hitting anywhere with catapults is basically a matter of luck. It's almost impossible to draw a circle in the distance and hit the center of the circle, but with a salvo, anything is possible.

"Damn it, playing with technology, I'm your ancestor."

Third Master cursed and quickly wrote the position on the paper again, throwing it to another soldier waiting in front of him.

The second round of bombardment arrived. Compared to the Chu army's rough strikes, the Yan army's strikes were too precise.

After two rounds of coverage, the Chu army's subsequent catapult power was reduced by more than half.

At this time,

The Chu army's arrow towers began to move forward, along with a variety of siege equipment behind them also began to press forward.

The Chu army, without gaining any battlefield advantage, and even failing to remove the Yan army's military camps that were still stubbornly resisting on both flanks outside the city, began a forced contact battle siege;

This meant that the Chu army would pay a huge price in casualties, which was clearly no longer what the opposing Chu army commander was considering.

He just wanted to fill in this Zhennan Pass with lives in the fastest possible time, regardless of casualties.

Behind the city gate, Fan Li, carrying double axes, stood there silently;

Behind him was a group of strong soldiers wearing heavy armor and holding knives and axes, and behind them, there was a group of auxiliary soldiers holding jars of flaming oil.

Signal flags were displayed from above.

"General, the order has arrived!"

Fan Li nodded,

Raised his double axes,

And roared:

"Open the gate!"

………

"The Son of Heaven of Xia opened a door for the world. Outside the door is ignorance, behind the door are the Xia..."

"From then on, the glory of Xia covers all directions, the people of the world are all Xia people, and the land of the world is all Xia land..."

The lyrics were a bit straightforward, but combined with this special singing style and some physical movements, it presented some magnificent aura.

It was just this theme…

Zheng Fan was no longer cracking melon seeds, but he would still open his mouth to eat the candied fruit that Si Niang brought.

At the same time, the sound of catapults bombarding continued to sound, shaking the teacups on the coffee table.

The sounds of fighting from the city walls were also getting louder and louder. Around the mansion, soldiers and civilians constantly passed by quickly, and wounded soldiers were being carried down from the front, screaming as they passed the corridor outside the courtyard wall.

However, the Regent Prince in the courtyard was still continuing to listen to the opera.

The courtyard inside and outside were completely two kinds of artistic conception and two kinds of atmosphere.

The only effect was probably that the old man's erhu had to be played louder, and the three girls had to sing more forcefully.

"Xiong Tingshan sent a troupe to sing me Great Xia odes?"

The prince found it a little difficult to understand,

And continued:

"It can't be that Chu's Fifth Xiong is paving the way for his surrender, right?"

The Blind Man opened his mouth and said, "There should be a purpose."

The traveling opera troupe continued to sing, the content was basically how great Great Xia was, how difficult it was for the Great Xia Son of Heaven to start his business, and how the things left by Great Xia have always been glorious and influencing the world.

The words of the script were definitely rhyming and neat, but they could not hide the emptiness of the content.

Si Niang smiled and said, "It's much worse than our Jidong's village opera."

At this time,

A wisp of white smoke rose from the old man's erhu, entering the old man's mouth and nose. The old man's expression instantly became solemn, and there was no fear or timidity in his eyes. He raised his head,

Looking straight here!

The Blind Man stood up, walked in front of Zheng Fan,

And said:

"My lord, the main show has begun."

……

"The main show has begun, ballistae, shoot them for me!"

Xue San saw Fan Li leading the sword and axe battalion out of the city gate, splitting open the Chu soldiers in front of him, and starting to burn their arrow towers and other siege equipment.

Under Xue San's command, the various heavy crossbows that had not been used before were pushed out by the Yan army.

The Jidong Prince Manor has a complete workshop system. Over the years, it has not only completed the major replacement of the army, but also developed and designed many war machines with huge lethality.

One crossbow after another was pushed up, assembled, some were three-arrowed, each of which was extremely thick and long, and some were quantity-winning, arranged densely.

"Ready... Release!"

"Ready... Release!"

The Chu army below the city wall was directly stunned by this sudden, dense, and terrifying arrow. This kind of heavy crossbow could directly break through the body-protecting qi of even a martial artist master, let alone ordinary soldiers. Even if they wore armor, it would be useless, they would still be pierced through, and they might even be strung together.

Relying on this extremely dense arrow curtain, the battlefield below was instantly cut off. The Chu army behind could not come to help in time, so Fan Li and others were able to calmly retreat back to the city after slashing and burning everywhere.

The Chu army's offensive had to be stalled.

But the Chu people's preparations were obviously not few, or rather, the Chu people had long been thinking about taking back Zhennan Pass, and the Chu army had not been idle in these years.

Soon, the Chu people could be seen pushing out another batch of siege equipment on the city wall, and a new round of offensive and defensive battles was launched again.

Below, the Chu people's corpses had fallen one after another. Finally, one cloud ladder after another was fixed up, and the Chu army began to swarm the city, and the arrow towers were pushed closer again, and the two sides began to shoot each other.

Tan Dayong slashed down a Chu soldier who was trying to climb up, and before he could turn around, an arrow shot up from below hit his face;

To be precise, it was the skin on his face, the area of his mouth, that was pierced by the arrow.

Enduring the pain, Tan Dayong pulled out the arrow. A comrade took his place to kill the enemy, while Tan Dayong squatted down with his back against the battlement.

He was in great pain now, feeling that half of his face was rotten, but he couldn't shout in pain to vent, because it would hurt even more.

"Go down and find a military doctor to bandage yourself!"

The squad leader shouted to Tan Dayong.

Tan Dayong shook his head;

The squad leader kicked Tan Dayong in the stomach:

"Get the hell down, we can't be captured by the Chu even if we lose you, go now!"

Tan Dayong had to nod, crawling to the back of the city wall, where a civilian was waiting, and immediately a civilian helped him down.

When he arrived at the military doctor's tent, the civilian who had helped Tan Dayong over shouted a number, a clerk next to him made a record, and the civilian immediately returned to continue looking for the wounded.

The soldiers and civilians of Jidong rejoiced when they heard the war, which could be described as a vivid manifestation at this time. Whether it was regular soldiers, auxiliary soldiers, or civilians, they were all working hard for their military merits.

In addition, the battlefield rescue system of the Jidong Army was established by Si Niang herself. In the past, every time after a battle in Cuiliu Fortress, Si Niang helped to treat the wounds and stitch them up;

In fact, there are military doctors in every army, but the Jidong Army is the most professional.

Sufficient logistical medical support is indeed a considerable expense, but it is definitely worth it, and it is super worth it.

"It will be a little painful, you bear with it." The military doctor said after checking Tan Dayong's injury.

Tan Dayong nodded, while signaling with his eyes that he was fine.

Then,

"Ah!"

This foot of Tan Dayong's involved the wound,

And immediately hurt even more:

"Ahhh!!!"

Finally, the disinfection process was over, and the military doctor bandaged the wound on Tan Dayong's face.

"It's not a big deal, don't worry. Rest!"

Tan Dayong was already sweating profusely, feeling that the Chu slaves were much more lovely than the military doctor in front of him.

At this time, another soldier who had been slashed was carried over by a civilian.

The military doctor who had just treated Tan Dayong walked towards him,

Then,

Under Tan Dayong's gaze, that brother also: "Ah!!!!"

Disinfection, hemostasis, and medication, this process can save the lives of many soldiers who would die from infection, and it can also give the soldiers who would have been disabled more opportunities to return to the battlefield.

However, this process is definitely relatively simple and crude. It is impossible to be as gentle as when seeing a doctor at home.

In fact, many military doctors are doctors who are conscripted during wartime. Some of them also have the identity of standard households, but they can also sit in medical clinics on weekdays;

Therefore, they who need to be gentle with patients on weekdays seem to have also gained a kind of inexplicable catharsis and joy at this time. Looking at the soldiers screaming in pain, smiles actually appeared on their faces from time to time.

Tan Dayong covered his face. He had been arranged to rest, which meant that the military doctor believed that it was best for him to rest and recuperate now, and it was best not to go to the front line;

And once the battle on the front line is tight, these "resting" wounded soldiers will receive orders to return to the battle again. If the order is not issued, it means that there is no big problem in the front.

Tan Dayong found a place covered with white cloth and sat down.

At this moment, he wasn't feeling lingering fear about the arrow being a little further off and hitting the center of his face, but rather rejoicing that he had already married a wife.

I wonder where the two younger brothers are now, are they okay?

Not far away, a soldier who was being rescued was about to die. His wound was too big, and the blood couldn't stop at all.

"What do you want to say?"

The military doctor put his ear over to listen to his last words.

The wounded soldier mumbled his lips,

Opening his mouth...

……

The old man playing the erhu opened his mouth,

At first, his voice was extremely hoarse and he couldn't speak;

Gradually, the voice finally came out:

"Does the Regent Prince know the Great Xia Mandate of Heaven?"

Zheng Fan smiled without saying a word.

"Your Highness, according to the Mandate of Heaven, Great Xia will prosper, and the world will enter a new tripod. Do you know that you are already going against the trend?"

Zheng Fan looked at the old man,

And said:

"Then what was the original trend?"

"Yan, Jin, Chu, and Qian will all be overthrown. A new Great Xia will rise again. Those who violate the Great Xia oath will be punished by heaven!

If Your Highness can turn back to the shore, go along with the will of heaven, you can protect your glory and be blessed by heaven, and your descendants will be prosperous and happy forever.

If you continue to go your own way, you will surely be abandoned by heaven and earth!"

What he said was a prophecy.

"Who exactly are you?" Zheng Fan asked.

"We are people who conform to the way of heaven. We have come to take this opportunity to persuade Your Highness;

The will of heaven cannot be violated. Even if you succeed for a while, how can you succeed for a lifetime?

Your Highness has already done something against the sky, and the pattern of the world has been disrupted by you. You should stop in time, give the Mandate of Heaven dignity, and the Mandate of Heaven will also give Your Highness dignity."

"Sigh..."

Zheng Fan sighed.

"Your Highness has been trapped in a jar. The Mandate of Heaven sent me to help Your Highness escape, and to grant Your Highness an opportunity to follow the Mandate of Heaven and do great righteousness. Your Highness should cherish it."

"But, the so-called Mandate of Heaven in your mouth is just like the script you sang earlier in my eyes;

Empty,

Boring,

There's no point at all.

This script is really rotten, I really can't listen to it."

"What does Your Highness mean..."

"Dahu, give the order!"

"Yes!"

Liu Dahu cut off the chains of the large iron cage with a knife. The cage was opened, and a group of falcons flew out of the cage, soaring into the sky, and then scattered. Their flying speed was extremely fast, and there were other falcons circling around the periphery. After responding to each other from a distance, the news was transmitted even faster.

In the eyes of the falcons soaring in the sky,

Below, on the vast land,

One black torrent after another, like giant dragons that were quietly awakening, were rushing towards the royal flag of Zhennan Pass with thunderous force!

Inside the courtyard,

The prince stood with his hands behind his back,

Without looking at the old man,

But looking slightly upwards, looking at the sky:

"The pen is in my hand, so why should I sit obediently and listen to you sing?

This script, no, this Mandate of Heaven,

Why can't I,

Write it myself?

Just right,

I'll start with these five hundred thousand elite Chu troops,

To wet my brush!"