The armies of the Western Tribes advanced relentlessly, storming camps and seizing cities with overwhelming momentum. To everyone’s shock, they managed to capture nearly a third of Dan Province. This was partly due to Dan Province’s own sparse population and limited number of cities, but the disparity in strength between the two sides was now glaringly clear.
The civil officials brought to Wu’an by the Emperor, though anxious and alarmed, understood that such a situation was almost inevitable. Under the relentless and misguided reign of Emperor Li, the Great Zhou had been worn down to a hollow shell, riddled with weaknesses from top to bottom. The capital, Jianping, could still barely maintain a semblance of order and dignity, but Dan Province was a remote region with a sparse population. In times of peace, it held its own, but when ambitious forces stirred, it proved almost defenseless.
In fact, some local officials in charge of the cities did not even bother to put up a fight. As soon as they heard rumors that the Western Tribes were approaching, they simply abandoned their posts and fled.
In the camp of the Western Tribes’ left army.
The forces of the Western Tribes were currently divided into three routes. The central route was led by Wang You herself, while the left route was commanded by Li Huaidao, an outstanding figure among the younger generation of the Li clan.
After defeating Tao Jia, Li Huaidao declared himself General of the Eastern Expedition. Within his own clan, he naturally gained full support, and even the Lao clan began to recognize his leadership. As for the Fuhe clan, although they did not openly pledge allegiance to Li Huaidao, they were willing to cooperate and follow his lead.
A member of the Li clan laughed and said, “Thanks to the general’s mighty prowess, we were able to repel those Jianzhou scoundrels so easily.”
Another added, “Given the current situation, not only Dan Province and Tai Province, but we might even march straight to the doorstep of that young emperor. In my opinion, we should simply support Old General Li as emperor, with General Li as the young emperor. Wouldn’t that be splendid?”
A scholar in the army sighed with emotion, “Had we known that Dan Province’s defenses were so fragile, why would we have waited until now to make our move!”
“In my view, the timing was just right,” someone remarked. “If we had acted earlier, when would we have had the chance to achieve such military accomplishments?”
The officers bantered and laughed without pause – it was no wonder they were in high spirits. Originally, the Jianping army could receive sufficient grain and fodder supplies from the central regions, while they had only the harvest from Tai Province to rely on. However, after defeating Tao Jia, the Western Tribes had captured the provisions and equipment abandoned by the Jianping army as supplementary supplies. Yet their advance was so rapid that some of the supplies were left behind, scattered and uncollected.
Li Huaidao himself did not join in his subordinates’ triumphant chatter and laughter. He stood outside the tent, gazing into the distance toward the opposite side.
Across a shallow river that could easily be waded through lay the camp of the Jianping army. To the eye, the two camps appeared quite similar, as both had been constructed under the supervision of Jianping. Li Huaidao sneered inwardly. To build so many camps in such a short time, he wondered how many craftsmen the young emperor of Great Zhou had dispatched here and how much silver had been squandered in the process.
Just as Li Huaidao was quietly lost in thought, a squad of riders galloped up – they were subordinates of the Tiger Might General, Wang You.
The junior officer saluted with cupped hands, then spoke up with a hint of reluctance. “General Wang You has ordered that since our battle line has already been stretched too thin, pressing further would prevent our front and rear forces from coordinating. She requests that you temporarily halt the pursuit.”
Upon hearing this, Li Huaidao’s expression changed sharply. It was only after a long pause that he let out a cold laugh. “General Wang is certainly thorough in her consideration for me.”
The junior officer lowered his head and withdrew. A staff officer remarked, “What ‘battle line stretched too thin’ – she simply doesn’t want you to claim the foremost merit!”
Another seconded the opinion, “Tao Jia himself is in the main camp ahead. If you can take his head, you will naturally be credited with the greatest achievement in this entire campaign.”
In the camp across the river.
Tao Jia had already received reports from scouts indicating that something unusual was happening on the opposite side – the troops under Li Huaidao, who had earlier displayed an eager, sharpening-their-knives momentum, were now subtly showing signs of pulling back.
“General, could it be that Li Huaidao is planning to retreat?”
Tao Jia pondered for a moment before replying, “If a more prudent commander were leading the troops, they would likely choose to withdraw some distance at this point, waiting for reinforcements before making further moves. But judging by Li Huaidao’s temperament, I doubt he would be willing to share the credit with others.”
The enemy had pursued them relentlessly for so long, nearly scattering the Jianping vanguard several times. How could they possibly let go of the juicy prize that seemed almost within reach, allowing someone else to take it?
Tao Jia analyzed slowly. From the perspective of a soldier, he held some admiration for the Western Tribes across the way – they were bold, fierce in battle, and fearless even in the face of death. His encounters with Li Huaidao also left him with a sense of how each new generation replaces the old.
Since the war officially began, the wrinkles on Tao Jia’s face had deepened. Though he stood inside his tent, traces of bloodstains remained uncleaned on his face. Halfway through speaking, his throat felt unbearably dry, so he picked up a waterskin filled with weak wine and took a large gulp.
He felt exhausted… and he truly was growing old.
Yet an old general had his own advantages. Someone like Tao Jia would no longer be discouraged by immediate setbacks, and his rich experience on the battlefield was something the young could hardly match.
Tao Jia narrowed his eyes to see more clearly. “Tonight, tell the men to stay alert. No one should sleep. Judging by Li Huaidao’s temperament, he will most likely launch a surprise attack on the camp.”
A staff officer in the army asked, “But what if the enemy doesn’t come…”
Their troops were already exhausted. If they stayed awake all night and the enemy chose to attack during the day instead, they would likely be unable to hold out.
Tao Jia replied, “If they don’t come, then we’ll go to them instead.”
The staff officer reminded him, “General, you said just the day before yesterday that Li Huaidao was too fierce to confront directly and that we should avoid his momentum.”
Tao Jia nodded. “Exactly. That’s why we don’t need to engage them head-on. We just need to probe from the side, disturbing them enough to keep them restless.”
While the military council was still in session, a report suddenly came from outside: messengers from Shangxing Pass had arrived.
Hearing this, Tao Jia’s spirits lifted, and he personally received the messengers.
After about a quarter of an hour, the messengers took their leave and exited the camp. “General, there’s no need to see us off. We have other letters to deliver as well,” one of them said quietly, lowering his voice. “Rest assured, General. For the sake of absolute security, Her Majesty did not send only our team.”
Some lower-ranking officers in the army did not know exactly what the messenger had discussed with General Tao, but they noticed that after the messenger departed, a trace of certainty had appeared in their commander’s gaze.
After midnight.
Tao Jia’s contingency plan ultimately didn’t need to be put into action – unsurprisingly, Li Huaidao chose to launch a night raid.
In truth, Li Huaidao hadn’t originally planned to do this. However, provoked by Wang You’s blunt and commanding orders, a bold determination to settle the matter in one decisive move surged within him instead.
A fine drizzle drifted down. Tai Province and Dan Province were always raining, yet the rain never grew heavy. By this stage of the war, soldiers on both sides had long since ceased to care about such minor weather hindrances.
The two camps were too close together. If they lit fires to cook, they risked being detected by the enemy. Moreover, the weather was hot and humid, unlike the winter cold that easily chilled the bones. Li Huaidao had his soldiers consume some dry rations, then personally led five thousand elite troops out of camp in secret. The men moved with bits in their mouths and their horses’ hooves wrapped, advancing under the cover of night. They did not cross the river directly but instead headed upstream, deliberately detouring a distance to flank and break through Tao Jia’s main camp from the side.
The river separating the two sides was never wide to begin with. Li Huaidao ordered a pontoon bridge built and successfully reached the opposite bank. Gazing downstream, he could directly see the glow of the enemy camp’s fires – the lanterns of the night patrol soldiers swayed back and forth, revealing a weary, sluggish exhaustion.
A thrill of exhilaration raced down Li Huaidao’s spine and spread throughout his body. Among the Jianping army’s vanguard, central forces, and rear guard, only Tao Jia could be considered a renowned veteran general. The rest – Song Nanlou, Zhong Zhiwei, and others – were young and incompetent. As long as he could crush Tao Jia, he could fight his way all to Shangxing Pass. Seeing the enemy camp now appearing completely unprepared, he immediately ordered the entire army to charge and attack alongside him.
Since he began his campaign, Li Huaidao had fought and triumphed repeatedly along the way, and the army’s morale was exceptionally high. In moments, war drums thundered. Li Huaidao ordered three thousand men to guard the rear while personally leading two thousand cavalry at the forefront, charging directly into the military camp.
“…”
Li Huaidao encountered no resistance whatsoever, yet he had no choice but to rein in his horse.
He stared fixedly at the utterly empty tents before him, his eyes bloodshot. Suddenly, he hurled his weapon to the ground with force and spat out bitterly, “That old traitor Tao Jia! How dare he mock me like this!”
The company commander who had come with him glanced around, also impressed by Tao Jia’s audacity in slipping away at will. Moreover, seeing the camp fully stocked with supplies, he understood why their side had failed to detect the enemy’s movements – when Tao Jia retreated, aside from soldiers and horses, he truly took nothing else.
Li Huaidao’s chest heaved with rage. He resented Tao Jia’s slippery escape and seethed at Wang You – if not for Wang You’s obstruction earlier in the day, he could have led his troops across the river and attacked the camp during daylight.
The company commander advised, “That traitor Tao will fall to you sooner or later, General. Why rush for just one day? Capturing the enemy’s main camp today is still an achievement in itself.”
But how could Li Huaidao take such words to heart? After fuming for a long while, he spurred his horse toward the commander’s tent. Moments later, his expression suddenly brightened with delight.
The enemy had left in too much haste, leaving many things behind in their rush. In what had been Tao Jia’s tent, a bronze basin held documents that had not been fully burned.
Li Huaidao said, “The documents weren’t fully burned – he must not have gotten far.”
Because of the frequent rain lately, which made it easy to leave traces of movement, Li Huaidao went to examine them. He found the marks on the ground chaotic, but upon closer inspection, he could confirm that Tao Jia had retreated eastward.
Li Huaidao said, “He must be trying to fall back and regroup with his own forces. Let’s pursue him!”
His accompanying officers had always placed boundless trust in this young general, who had never lost a battle. They immediately obeyed and followed.
Fearing that Tao Jia might truly slip away, Li Huaidao ordered his personal guard to pursue at full speed. He wasn’t unaware that this would scatter his own formation, but in his eyes, Tao Jia – whom he had repeatedly defeated – was utterly weak. As long as they encountered him, Li Huaidao was confident of victory.
After charging forward for about three li, Li Huaidao suddenly tightened the reins. He raised his head to look ahead, and a flicker of confusion passed through his eyes, as if he struggled to comprehend the change in the scene before him.
Had the sky grown dark again?
It was almost the hour of the Ox (1AM to 3AM), and the sky could grow no darker. What obstructed Li Huaidao’s view was a formation of black-armored cavalry astride dark horses.
Looking at the Western Tribes cavalry charging toward them, the leading general had her men raise a banner that read: “Zhong, General of the Rear Army of Zhou.”
Li Huaidao’s pupils contracted sharply. It was actually Zhong Zhiwei, the commander of the Imperial Guard who should have been protecting the Emperor – General of the Rear Army!
He hadn’t even reached Shangxing Pass yet – how could he have encountered her here?
Zhong Zhiwei had come on the Emperor’s orders. Tao Jia knew that the reinforcements accompanying him were elites from the Iron Armor Battalion, each capable of facing ten, or even a hundred, enemies. Though called cavalry, they could also be seen as candidates for squad leaders, leaders of ten, or even leaders of a hundred – meaning that these three thousand cavalrymen had the capability to command thirty thousand.
Considering that Li Huaidao’s side was at the peak of its morale, Tao Jia didn’t want the Emperor’s uniquely significant personal guard to be depleted in battle. He originally proposed that they secure the retreat route, but Zhong Zhiwei refused.
The Iron Armor Battalion was positioned on slightly elevated terrain. Zhong Zhiwei looked down at the approaching enemy from above and, seeing their formation already scattered, immediately ordered a charge. In an instant, the Iron Armor Battalion – rested and waiting for this moment – transformed into an inseparable dark cloud, rolling down upon the incoming foes.
Zhong Zhiwei herself led the charge at the forefront. Knowing well of Li Huaidao’s formidable martial prowess, she was determined to face him personally. Her long spear danced and whirled in her hands as she clashed head-on with his steel blade.
When blade met spear, Zhong Zhiwei felt a numbness in her hand – a sensation reminiscent of her past spar with Xiao Xichi.
Li Huaidao, too, could not conceal the shock on his face. Since his successive victories over Tao Jia, he had held no regard for the heroes of the realm. Yet now, he found himself thwarted by an unknown young general.
After their first exchange, both had gained some understanding of the other’s strength. Dozens of lightning-fast moves followed in a flurry. Zhong Zhiwei grew fiercer with each strike, while Li Huaidao’s edge remained keen and unveiled. Just as he was fighting with rising fervor, he suddenly heard his warhorse let out a sharp whinny – its two front legs buckled and knelt to the ground.
Li Huaidao knew the situation was dire. Pushing off from the saddle, he leaped without touching the ground, directly switching to the mount of a personal guard. Yet swift as his horse change was, Zhong Zhiwei’s movements were even faster. Seizing the opportunity firmly, she unleashed a tempestuous flurry of over ten spear thrusts. The final thrust pierced straight through Li Huaidao’s shoulder armor, leaving a deep, bone-grazing wound on his left shoulder.
The pain made Li Huaidao instinctively rein in his horse and retreat. Though this spear wound wasn’t a severe injury, it was the first time since he had taken the field that he had suffered such a significant blow. He immediately resolved to summon cavalry to his side, but as he swept his gaze around, he found his soldiers in an even worse state than himself.
A young Li clan officer, looking familiar, swung fiercely at an enemy, only for the opponent to evade with superb horsemanship. The cavalry from the Iron Armor Battalion could attack while galloping at full speed, yet never had to worry about losing balance and falling from their mounts. They charged like a dark whirlwind, their long blades gleaming with a chilling cold light. The edges swept through the bodies of Li clan warriors, cutting them in half at the waist.
Li Huaidao’s eyes nearly burst with fury – those who had followed him here were all valiant warriors of the Western Tribes. Yet now, they were being slaughtered by the Jianping forces as if they were mere chickens or dogs, utterly defenseless!
