Chapter 967 National War (3)

The rain after the start of winter had become incredibly strange.

The night they retreated, it rained heavily.

Seven or eight days later, there was an even heavier downpour. This rain was saturated with the bone-chilling cold of winter, especially for the soldiers wearing armor; this period was the hardest to endure.

Thankfully,

there was still the blood of the enemy to feel the true warmth.

The new round of offensives still failed to break through the Chu army's defenses. The Chu people's proud infantry formations had thoroughly displayed their prowess in recent days.

The Savage Army's cavalry pierced through, dismounted for infantry combat, using all sorts of methods, but the Chu army's lines remained as solid as a rock.

Gou Moli sat on a rock, drinking water from his waterskin. Nearby, many tents were also heating water, but most of the soldiers were disregarding the Jin East Army's military regulations at this point, freely taking water to drink.

As for food, because logistics had been cut off early on, shortages had begun to appear.

It could be said that

the situation was extremely unfavorable.

And according to the scouts' reports, the Chu Kingdom's Imperial Guards, the Zhao Clan Army, and other Chu forces on the east and west sides were methodically pressing in. Xie Zhuyang, that old fox, was also slowly advancing from the south.

The Savage Army was now a trapped beast.

They had just finished a very brief meeting where a general suggested breaking through to the east, hoping to receive reinforcements from the Prince's main force.

But Gou Moli directly rejected this proposal.

"Our army came from Fancheng, sticking close to the Qi Mountain range southward. Geographically, the road to Guyue City is relatively easy, with the terrain rising on the east and west sides, leaving a lower-lying area in the middle.

Of course, compared to the Qi Mountain range in the west, the terrain to the east is relatively flat, but still filled with marshes and valleys.

Our army is currently maintaining its organization, and can continue to try to fight its way back north. But if we choose to go east, the cavalry will lose all their advantages, and will also face the Chu Kingdom Imperial Guards, who will divide and slaughter us.

It's hard to say how many will be able to break through by then, and the organizational structure is bound to be shattered.

Most importantly, the Prince and our main force in Jin East are indeed to the east, but they are too far away; distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.

If we are lucky enough to break through, I'm afraid only scattered soldiers will be left to see the Prince. What's the point?"

"Is that your reason for rejecting this suggestion?" the Sword Saint asked, sitting beside Gou Moli.

"Yes," Gou Moli nodded. "It's really difficult."

"What's difficult?"

"The day you arrived, weren't those two brats rebelling against me? That's the most difficult part.

I'm afraid of the Blind One, and many of the Wangfu's (Prince's manor) and the army's systems were designed and implemented by him.

It's true that I built this army, and it's true that the Prince gave me great authority, but the major systems and rules are there. Unless I'm determined to prepare for rebellion, it's difficult to truly and completely control this army.

Perhaps that's why the Prince sent you here. He also knows my difficulties. In the entire Jin East, even the entire Great Yan Kingdom, the only person who can truly command at will in the army is the Prince himself."

"So, you're complaining?"

"Yes, I can only complain to you." Gou Moli took another sip of water, looking up at the rain. Heaven still had no intention of stopping.

"I don't understand military matters."

"You just need to protect me," Gou Moli immediately replied.

"But I don't think you're in danger," the Sword Saint said. "You haven't hidden anything from me."

"You can't say that. I'm a person who's seen storms. I can keep my eyes open even with a knife to my neck, but who can guarantee that I won't be unlucky?"

"I've seen the unluckiest."

"Ha."

Gou Moli poured out some fried noodles from his bag and began to eat, saying:

"Tell me, if the Prince were here, and we switched places, what should the Prince be eating now?"

The Sword Saint replied, "Hot pot, probably."

Gou Moli frowned, suddenly feeling that the fried noodles in his hand were no longer fragrant.

The Sword Saint said, "It's one thing for Xian Ba and the others to admire and imitate him every day, but why do you have that feeling too?"

"Why, can't I? Do you think it's beneath me, the dignified Savage King, to be trying my best to live like the Prince?"

"Isn't it?"

"It's okay, it's okay. Actually, you're the same."

Gou Moli swallowed a large mouthful of fried noodles, washed it down with water from his waterskin, and continued:

"Tian Wujing was the one who truly defeated me back then, but I don't feel resentful. Tian Wujing's victory was unfair; he simply crushed me with his strong troops and horses. What could I do?

This is different from your duel with Tian Wujing. You also know that individual martial prowess can't make much of a splash in front of a million soldiers. I heard that the Prince's Embroidered Uniform Guards have reached a terrifying level in their assassination of so-called experts."

"Yes," the Sword Saint nodded.

"But leading troops is different. It's a matter of luck. When war falls into practice, it's actually constantly practicing this allusion.

Ask myself, I originally just wanted to lower my head, to be beaten down. In order to save my life and have a chance to rise again, kneeling down and being a dog is not shameful.

But later I discovered,

the Prince and those gentlemen,

hehe,

are quite interesting.

I once heard that the literati of the Qian Kingdom like to compare a person's life to a game of chess, in order to show their unrestrainedness.

But true unrestrainedness is not playing chess on a chessboard, but placing three dishes and a soup on the chessboard, eating while enjoying the evening breeze, and complaining that the chessboard is not high enough, so eating requires bending over uncomfortably.

Do you think that's the feeling?"

"There's some truth to that."

"Just as you let go of your concerns about the Yu Clan Imperial Family, I've also let go of about seventy or eighty percent of the things on the Snow Plains. Do you know why?

Wait, don't answer that yet. Let me give my answer first.

You are a Jin person, but you don't care about the Jin Kingdom's destiny anymore; I am a Savage, and I don't care about the stars on the Snow Plains anymore.

Why is this?

Because I realized,

the Prince is a Yan person,

but looking at the things he does, one by one,

there's not even a hint of him considering himself a loyal subject of Great Yan!

Since ancient times,

no one has started a rebellion as professionally, meticulously, and systematically as the Prince!

Following a Prince who is a Yan person but doesn't consider himself one for a long time, the Jin people no longer seem like Jin people, and the Savages... no longer seem like Savages."

"Interesting," the Sword Saint pondered for a moment, adding, "I really didn't think of that."

Gou put his hands outside the tent, using rainwater to wash them,

and said;

"Perhaps, this is what it means to be Zhuxia (a cultural and ethnic concept of Chinese civilization)."

The Sword Saint's eyes narrowed, and he looked very seriously at Gou Moli.

But he found that this Savage King had put away all his previous cynical expressions and become extremely serious.

Countless literati in the Qian Kingdom had spent a hundred years thinking, finalizing, and writing countless articles to correct the name of Zhuxia. Although there was a political purpose in trying to make the Qian Kingdom the orthodox Zhuxia, they had indeed conducted countless positive and negative arguments about the definition of Zhuxia.

The Sword Saint had read and seen many of them.

But in the Sword Saint's view, the writings of countless scholars over the past century could not compare to Gou Moli's sigh just now.

Gou Moli seemed to notice the change in the Sword Saint's gaze. Just as he was about to change his tone and say something else, a general was carried over by soldiers from the front.

The one being carried was Chi Lin. He was seriously injured. Although basic bandaging had been done, blood and rainwater were still flowing down together.

"Great Commander... This subordinate is incompetent."

"Carry him down for treatment." Gou Moli didn't comfort him, but waved his hand.

Chi Lin was carried down, which meant that the Savage Army had failed in the previous round of offensives.

The Chu army blocking the north was unreasonably tough.

"The Qingluan Army led by Qu Tiannan back then was able to face the Jingnan Army and Zhenbei Army's iron cavalry in field battles.

The Chu army north of us now has that kind of feel."

"You said that before."

"Oh, I really have nothing else to say, so I'm just repeating myself.

I've seen the Jin East opera. Sometimes, when the actors haven't had time to put on their makeup, the warm-up act can only stand on the stage and repeat the Prince's achievements that they just said."

The Sword Saint asked, "When will the makeup be ready?"

Then,

the Sword Saint pointed to the sky,

"On a rainy day, makeup is easy to come off."

"Hahahaha."

Gou Moli laughed loudly:

"On a rainy day, who the hell can see clearly whether you've put on makeup or not!"

...

"Dada! Dada! Dada..."

The cavalry's hooves stepped into the puddles, splashing layers of mud to both sides.

In fact, in this type of terrain and weather, galloping at full speed was a very foolish choice, as it could easily cause the precious warhorses to sprain their legs.

But this group of knights in black armor couldn't care less. They were rushing south at an extremely fast speed.

The valleys were filled with forests. Under the heavy rain, everything was like ink dripping into moist rice paper, spreading out with nothing but vagueness.

However, the leading captain in front suddenly raised his hand. In an instant, all the knights behind him reined in their horses.

They stopped, but the sound of hooves didn't stop. Moreover, the sound of hooves came from the south, the direction they were going.

Before long, figures appeared in front. Leading the way was a Chu cavalry unit. Behind them, there were also many infantry soldiers. They were also on the move.

Heavy rain, dense forests, and valleys caused even the vigilance of the eagles to become blurred.

The two armies actually met face-to-face here in this way...

Both sides seemed to be somewhat unprepared at the beginning, and even a brief moment of peace occurred.

Then,

both sides' generals drew their weapons and pointed forward. Immediately afterward, in this muddy area, the soldiers of both sides charged at each other.

Similar scenes were densely playing out in this tens of miles of valley area.

Everyone was intertwined with each other, and all that was exchanged were the warm greetings from the sharp edges of weapons.

Perhaps, they felt that the curtain of rain was a bit too monotonous, so they had to add a layer of blood red to achieve the true artistic conception.

Bugle calls began to rise and fall one after another. The messengers on both sides were frantically relaying the news from the front lines to their respective rears.

"Report!!! Our vanguard army has made contact with the Chu army!"

"Report!!! The main force of the Yan people has arrived!"