Chapter 952 King vs. King

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

"Wuwuwu!!!"

The war drums thundered, and the horns sounded. The various troops were quickly taking their positions, the sound of weapons clashing enveloped in a strong aura of death.

The royal carriage entered the front line, and Regent Zheng Fan sat alone on the high platform.

On either side stood the Princess Consort and Mister Bei.

On the next level of steps stood A Ming and the Sword Saint.

On the level below were the flag bearers and messengers. Near the carriage were the adjutants of various units, fully armed and ready, to ensure that the Regent's will could be transmitted to every corner of the battlefield at the fastest speed.

The Blind Man's hands were getting itchy again, and he was starting to peel an orange, but now he was peeling it very slowly.

His lord would refuse, Si Niang would refuse, the Sword Saint would refuse, A Ming... would also refuse;

If he peeled it too quickly, he could only eat it himself, and that wouldn't be good.

"My lord, today's atmosphere is indeed different from any previous time.

No need to rush, no need to bet everything on one throw, comfortable, pleasant, perfect."

Zheng Fan smiled;

At this time, the entire Wei River front was divided into four sections.

Li Chenghui's 30,000 iron cavalry had entered the San Suo Prefecture, but naturally they were not going deep, but were stuck in a position along the Wei River, pretending to cross the river.

Jin Shuke's troops were upstream, that is, to Zheng Fan's east.

Liang Cheng led his troops downstream, that is, to Zheng Fan's west.

Why were the Chu troops so obediently pretending to retreat?

The reason lay here.

And this battlefield was personally controlled by Zheng Fan, as Regent.

Leaning against the commander's seat, Zheng Fan gently waved his fingers forward,

and said,

"Advance."

"Dongdongdong!!! Dongdongdong!!! Dongdongdong!!!"

This battlefield wasn't far from the Jing City ruins. In the past, this place was the Chu army's logistics base, but it was raided and burned by Zheng Fan leading his troops over by boat.

Over the years, the Yan and Chu sides have been skirmishing around the Wei River, and the strategic location of Jing City has not been rebuilt.

However, once the Jin East troops cross the river and create a large buffer zone, Jing City will definitely be rebuilt.

Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng had discussed the purpose of this campaign against Chu very clearly: to severely damage the Chu imperial guards, then take the Mo Cliff, Wen Qiu, and Shang Yang Prefectures, and then take the San Suo and Liu Sha Prefectures. On this basis, the Shang Gu Prefecture, which had always been in their hands but could not be developed, would also change from a strategic buffer zone into the hinterland.

Added together, the territory of six prefectures was larger than Jin East. It was equivalent to taking a big spoonful in Chu's north and giving his brother-in-law a passive "Emperor guards the nation's gate."

Even if the Jin East forces were to take this large piece of land, they wouldn't be able to hold it, but fortunately, this was a national war.

"Advance!!!!!!"

Xue San stood on Fan Li's shoulders, holding a command flag in his hand, and under his command, catapults and other war equipment began to move forward.

In fact, since the previous two days, attacks had been launched against the Chu army's water village on the opposite bank, but the actual damage caused was not significant. After all, this thing couldn't be guided.

Not everyone could have the Regent's excellent luck back then...

However, the killing effect could be put aside first. When this long row of catapults smashed down with a "boom boom boom," it could significantly strike the morale of the opposite side and greatly boost the morale of their own side.

Most importantly, some obstacles and fortifications set up on the opposite bank could be destroyed to the greatest extent.

After a few rounds of throwing, Xue San ordered a halt.

At this time, the Yan army's boats had already sailed over, with not many large ships, mainly small and medium-sized ones.

Next was the delivery of the vanguard.

Sitting on the high commander's seat, Zheng Fan clearly saw the silver-armored young general standing on the shore.

"Blind Man."

"My lord?"

"Do you think Tian Wujing looked at me the same way I look at Tiantian now?"

"This subordinate thinks it's different."

"Oh?"

"My lord back then had already shown his talent. Whether it was his vision or his mind, he was already a good choice. On this basis, the Prince of Jingnan valued you."

The Blind Man meant that you had to have the ability and show your skills first before you were qualified to enter the Prince of Jingnan's eyes.

Without this premise, there would be no subsequent events.

"And my lord is now looking at Tiantian purely as a father hoping his son will become a dragon."

Zheng Fan remained noncommittal and turned to look at the Sword Saint standing below him.

"Do you want me to go?" The Sword Saint sensed Zheng Fan's gaze.

Zheng Fan shook his head and said, "He is a fledgling eagle."

The Sword Saint's mouth showed a smile, and he said, "After all, he is more promising than his father."

"I'll just take that as a compliment."

Zheng Fan looked at the flanks of the battlefield and said to Liu Dahu standing below:

"Pass down the order and keep a close eye on the upper and lower sections."

"Yes!"

Liu Dahu immediately went to pass on the order.

What Zheng Fan had to do was to ensure that the Chu army on the opposite bank would either not fight at all or simply retreat. If they did fight, it would only be a brief exchange.

"My lord, the Prince of Jingnan didn't arrange things for you so carefully back then."

He remembered that every errand assigned by the Prince of Jingnan seemed to be the one with the greatest merit, but each time, it was extremely dangerous.

Zheng Fan didn't care and said:

"One I call him brother, one he calls me father;

Can they be the same?"

"My lord is right."

…

As the supervising eunuch, Huang Gonggong needed some opportunities to show his presence.

Therefore,

at this moment,

Huang Gonggong stood on the shore,

holding the imperial decree in his hands,

and began to recite the decree of the Great Yan Emperor to the opposite bank;

The wording of the decree was very grand, written by a Grand Secretary, revealing the Great Yan Emperor's ambition to swallow the universe and unify the Xia;

It was a pity that,

the opposite bank, which had just experienced a round of random smashing by catapults and was facing a wide river with wind blowing, could see some figures of the Chu army, but probably couldn't hear Huang Gonggong's voice at all.

Even if they did hear it, they would probably think that it was a wild duck's nest that had been hit by a catapult and was now flapping and calling.

But Huang Gonggong still finished reading it from beginning to end and felt very refreshed.

What was even more refreshing was that after he finished reading, the Heir Apparent standing next to him took the initiative to ask him:

"Gonggong, can I go to battle now?"

Huang Gonggong only felt that this Heir Apparent was so lovable, and naturally did not dare to be arrogant, and immediately bowed and said:

"This servant wishes His Highness a triumphant return!"

Tiantian smiled and said, "This time, my father's intention is to occupy the territory, not to come back after the fight."

"This servant misspoke, this servant misspoke." Huang Gonggong gently slapped himself twice on the mouth.

Immediately afterward,

Huang Gonggong signaled to the group of god-sons and god-grandsons behind him.

These eunuchs immediately opened the boxes they were holding and took out a military flag from inside, the flag of the Jingnan Army.

Although Huang Gonggong had already "retired," it was called enjoying life. Just based on his speed of arriving in Jin East ten days earlier, it was enough to show that his body was still extremely strong.

Immediately, Huang Gonggong personally carried the Jingnan Army flag and said to Tiantian;

"Heir Apparent, this servant will carry the flag for Your Highness!"

Tiantian looked at the military flag and did not show any excitement.

To be honest, he didn't have much closeness to his own father. If his father hadn't liked to tell him about his father since he was a child, he might have forgotten that he had a father.

This Jingnan Army flag...

Tiantian looked worriedly at the royal carriage behind him;

"Gonggong, isn't this a little inappropriate?"

Although Tiantian knew that his title was Heir Apparent of Jingnan, he didn't want to fight under this military flag when he went to battle for the first time today, especially when his father was sitting behind him watching him;

Dad,

would be sad.

Huang Gonggong was stunned for a moment, then immediately said:

"Your Highness, don't worry, don't worry, this military flag was entrusted to this servant by the Prince.

Your Highness, please don't worry too much. As an old man, I am clear about how close our Regent and the Prince of Jingnan were back then. Today, when Your Highness goes on the first battle, the Prince also hopes that the Prince of Jingnan can see you."

Since it was his father's arrangement, Tiantian directly agreed.

"Thank you for your trouble, Huang Gonggong."

"Aiya, Your Highness is too polite, too polite."

"Buzz!"

Tiantian drew his saber, faced the rows of Jinyi guards behind him;

"Brothers, uncles;

Some of you,

watched me grow up, and some of you, accompanied me to grow up.

Today, my father was granted permission,

to let you all be by my side and go to battle with me.

Being able to lead you is my fortune and my glory.

My Jin East Army orders,

One, can we be as firm as a mountain with military orders!"

All the Jinyi guards shouted in unison:

"Huo!"

"Two, can we be brave and take the lead!"

"Huo!"

"Three, can we treat death as a return!"

"Huo! Huo! Huo!"

Tiantian's eyes swept across the front,

and then,

slowly turned around, facing the river, held his knife horizontally, and shouted:

"Swear from today,

I will definitely charge into the formation in front of you!

Everyone,

follow me on board!"

…

On the royal carriage, the Blind Man suddenly lowered his head and asked Zheng Fan:

"My lord, when you gave the Jinyi guards to Tiantian, did you give him the royal warrant?"

Zheng Fan reached out, smiled, and gently patted his forehead, saying:

"Oh, I forgot."

The Blind Man also smiled.

"Order, the royal carriage to move forward, I want to watch my son."

"Yes!"

…

The Jinyi guards began to board the ship. These guards were all dressed in Jinyi, looking solemn and mighty, and under the Jinyi, there was inner armor, and the defense was no problem at all.

The scale of this team has been fluctuating around three thousand. This time, Zheng Fan gave Tiantian the full number of three thousand Jinyi.

Their selection and training were the most strict, after all, under normal circumstances, they were the last line of defense to protect the Regent.

When the fleet began to move towards the opposite bank,

on the shore, the Jin East Army's catapults completed two more rounds of throwing. The Chu army on the opposite bank was sparse, purely for encouragement.

Xue San also had "exploding bombs" and "incendiary bombs" here, but after all, the time hadn't really come yet, so he didn't launch them.

The Chu army on the opposite side was very quiet. When the ship docked, no Chu army of any established size appeared on the shore.

Tiantian led the soldiers off the ship, and the ship returned to prepare to transport the second batch of other soldiers over.

And in the following period of time, the first batch of soldiers transported over will bear the brunt of resisting the possible counterattack of the Chu army, holding up this beachhead area, and giving the rear troops time and opportunity to reinforce.

In fact, it was similar to attacking a city.

The difference was that in the Chu people's naming, it was clearly a river, they called it a river, and it was clearly a river, but they called it a river. For example, Mi River was a river, but they called it a river, and the Wei River was called 'River', but it was more like a river.

After landing, Tiantian immediately ordered:

"Form up!"

"Yes!"

Nearly three thousand Jinyi guards began to form up, shield soldiers in front, axemen in the back, archers in the middle, and some spearmen interspersed among them.

In order to transport more people over, it was naturally impossible to transport war horses;

This first battle on the beachhead was bound to be a battle on foot.

…

"The Yan people have landed, Your Highness."

"This Prince, sees it."

Xiong Tingshan put a sour fruit into his mouth.

"Your Highness, then…"

"Don't worry, let's take another look."

At this time, messengers kept riding over:

"Report! The Yan people's vanguard has landed!"

"Report! The Yan people's vanguard flag… is the Jingnan Army flag!"

Hearing this military report, Xiong Tingshan's eyes immediately narrowed.

The deputy general beside him hurriedly said: "Your Highness, I'm afraid that the Zheng fellow is playing tricks again."

Back then, Zheng Fan had come to the Wei River and erected the Jingnan Prince's flag, scaring the Chu army on the opposite bank into a shiver.

Of course, the Great Yan Regent would no longer do this kind of mischievous thing, because his royal flag already had the same effect as the Jingnan Prince's flag back then.

It's just that the name of Jingnan Prince was a thorn in the eyes of the Chu people.

Because that man had broken into Ying Du, and the luxurious and extravagant palaces and pavilions were set ablaze by that man.

"It can't be my brother-in-law. Others may think that his use of troops likes to take a gamble and bet everything on one throw, but the Emperor said that he actually cherishes his life very much.

Furthermore, he is now carrying a great responsibility, how could he possibly take the risk of landing first as soon as the war begins?"

Xiong Tingshan spat the pit out of his mouth.

At this time, Xie Yu'an walked to Xiong Tingshan's side and continued:

"It is naturally impossible for that Regent, but in the entire Jin East, there is actually only one person who is qualified to fight under the banner of the Jingnan Army and go to war openly.

He is more qualified than anyone else.

That Regent is really willing to let him be the vanguard."

As Xie Yu'an spoke, he gently smoothed the long hair on both sides of his temples. The Chu people's hairstyle liked to leave it long on both sides, and Xie Yu'an was now a proper handsome talent.

"Report, the Yan army that landed is wearing Jinyi!"

Hearing this military report,

Xie Yu'an smiled;

"Then there is no doubt that even the Jinyi guards are willing to be dispatched. It is really the first battle of the Heir Apparent of Jingnan in person. Your Highness, this is not taking our Great Chu seriously. In fact, they are opening light to the juniors in this way."

"Isn't my Great Chu the same now?" Xiong Tingshan looked at Xie Yu'an and said.

The Chu Emperor's imperial decree appointed Xie Yu'an as the supervising minister, and at the same time, issued a secret decree, clearly requiring Xiong Tingshan to listen to Xie Yu'an's instructions.

"Your Highness, no matter what, I am much older than that one, right?"

Xie Yu'an certainly knew how dissatisfied this Highness was with his control of the border military affairs. In fact, he was also unwilling to take this errand, but the Emperor's imperial decree was very straightforward, and he was not given any room to refuse.

Right now,

he was commanding the Great Chu border army here, while his own father was leading the Xie family army in the west to guard against Fan Cheng. These two fathers and sons could be said to be contracting an entire line of defense against Yan.

It was ridiculous to think about it.

You should know that in the original plan, the father and son had thought about rebelling against the Xiong family.

But now, there was no such thought, and there was no need for it.

The pressure from the Yan people was too great. What was the point of grabbing a chair that couldn't be warmed up?

"Then let's withdraw," Xiong Tingshan said.

Earlier, he had suggested fighting a few arm-wrestling matches with the Yan people on the Wei River, but Xie Yu'an had rejected it, meaning that if he wanted to fight, he should fight a decisive battle directly, and if he didn't want to fight a decisive battle, he should directly admit defeat and retreat.

Today, it was actually just a matter of seeing which way the wind was blowing.

"Don't, Your Highness, I changed my mind." Xie Yu'an clapped his hands, "The juniors have all taken the stage, and we elders always have to go and help support the scene, right?"

"You go?" Xiong Tingshan asked.

"Hahaha." Xie Yu'an laughed, "I am a sick man, Your Highness, are you joking?"

"Then who are you planning to let go?"

As he said this, Xiong Tingshan's eyes swept over the generals behind him.

Xie Yu'an reached out and poked at Xiong Tingshan's chest mirror:

"Your Highness, I want you to go."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"The opposite side is that Zheng fellow's adopted son!"

"Tch, what's wrong with an adopted son, Your Highness, do you feel wronged? Not matching you? Are you afraid of losing your lifelong reputation if it spreads out?

Aiya, my Highness, the account is not calculated like this."

Xie Yu'an grabbed the beautiful hair on both sides of his temples and threw it back hard,

turned around,

looked at Xiong Tingshan,

and pointed to the north:

"Why does that Great Yan Regent dare to let a snot-nosed kid lead his troops to battle?

Is he looking down on us, is he just looking down on us?

Why does he look down on us?

He and his brother, that is, the Prince of Jingnan,

killed how many pillars of the nation, destroyed how many elite soldiers, and dug up how many ancestral graves?

Most of the older generation and his peers have been defeated by the two of them.

They are numb from killing and winning. They are no longer interested, so they send a junior to the field to muddle through qualifications and see some blood.

What kind of face do you still want at this moment,

We Chu people,

where can we find a ghostly face,

where is it?

Is it on the ground,

you point it out,

I'll bend over and pick it up for you!"

Xie Yu'an roared out the last few words.

Then,

he changed to a peaceful tone again:

"If we can win once, let's win once first. Winning by bullying the small is still winning, isn't it? The Yan people are starting to cross the river upstream and downstream.

My main force has already retreated.

Your Highness,

you only have the troops behind you, and you probably only have this one chance to charge. After the charge, you have to come back, otherwise, you are worried about being surrounded by the Yan people.

It's very fair. He's young, and you only have one chance to draw your sword."

…

The Jinyi guards were lined up on the shore, waiting in battle.

Tiantian vigilantly watched the situation ahead,

just then,

the ground began to tremble slightly, and in front, dust began to fill the air.

Tiantian sheathed his saber,

walked in front of a Jinyi guard, took his spear, and then walked to another shield soldier and took his shield.

Tiantian held the shield in his left hand and the spear in his right hand, and came to the forefront of the army.

"Dong!"

The shield was knocked on the ground,

Tiantian squatted down on his knees, and put the spear on his side.

He shouted loudly:

"Jinyi guards, change formation!"

"Yes!"

The formation quickly changed, becoming a cone, and Tiantian was at the tip.

No one in the guards spoke to let Tiantian go to the back, nor did anyone rush to the front to show loyalty and go to the front of Tiantian.

An army is built by people, but at the same time, it also needs to be conquered by people.

In the eyes of the Jinyi guards,

the Prince's eldest son,

should be in that place!

The Chu cavalry had already seen their figures, and they were about to charge over.

At this moment, Tiantian thought in his mind that he should say something in this gap to boost morale again.

Now, he regretted a bit that he had said everything he could say before crossing the river, which made him speechless now.

Since there was nothing to say,

then let's not say anything.

Tiantian reached into his armor pocket with his empty hand, took out a sachima,

put it to his mouth, and ate it bite by bite.

When the last bite of sachima was put into his mouth,

the Chu cavalry also entered the stage of accelerating their charge.

Tiantian grabbed the spear placed on his side,

clamped it under his arm,

and shouted;

"Raise spears!"

"Yes!"

At the outermost edge of the formation, two rows of spears were raised, wrapping the entire formation like a hedgehog.

In front,

the sound of horses' hooves was approaching, and the air seemed to be dyed with a kind of heat.

At this moment,

he was not nervous at all,

nor did he float any pictures in his mind, because there was no time for it.

Only one sentence,

echoed in my heart:

"Dad, watch carefully.

Your son,

has grown up!"