I Built a Territory in Ancient Times Chapter 153

Chapter 153

The sky was beginning to lighten, and the air was already charged with tension.

Everyone was on high alert. They had spent the entire night digging trenches, setting up horse traps, and arranging barricades, taking only brief turns to rest. Yet at this moment, their spirits were high—each person was eager for battle, flexing their fingers and ready to charge.

These soldiers were the elite, selected from thousands. They had long been accustomed to large-scale battles. Now, they waited for their general’s command, poised like a drawn bow, ready to be released at any moment.

Tuoba Ren and Song Lian sat in the camp, playing chess, while the waiting generals stood by for orders. Tuoba Ren glanced at the sky, placed a chess piece on the board, then covered his mouth with his hand as he coughed. Afterward, he waved his hand lightly and said simply, “Go.” The generals understood immediately, took their orders, and issued the command to attack.

He paid no further attention to the battlefield, calmly continuing his game, as if the sounds of battle outside did not exist.

“Mr. Song, care to guess how long it will take to capture them?” Tuoba Ren asked leisurely.

Song Lian pinched a chess piece between two fingers, placed it on the board, and said unhurriedly, “What do you think, Wang Ye?”

The two exchanged a glance and smiled. Tuoba Ren shook his head helplessly. “Mr. Song, you are always so meticulous. It was just a casual remark—no matter what I say, you won’t take it seriously anyway.”

Song Lian merely smiled, lifted his teacup, and took a sip. “Then, does Wang Ye hope to capture them quickly or take his time?”

“Tsk tsk,” Tuoba Ren clicked his tongue and looked eastward. “That depends on the timing.”

Song Lian chuckled. Thinking about their future plans, he felt particularly pleased. “Then everything is already within Wang Ye’s calculations. Why make me guess?”

Tuoba Ren laughed heartily and waved the matter away. Then, his expression turned unreadable. “I just wonder—what choice will they make?”

“A force of a thousand men—they can’t possibly abandon them. If they want to save them, they’ll have to prove their skill,” Song Lian said, gently placing another chess piece on the board. His movements were graceful, and his smile carried a deeper meaning.

Tuoba Ren tapped a chess piece against the board, producing a crisp sound. He pondered, “If they don’t come, all our planning will be wasted.”

“Wang Ye need not worry. With five thousand troops and yourself as bait, they won’t let this opportunity slip away,” Song Lian said confidently.

Tuoba Ren nodded, his gaze fixed toward the east. “Let’s hope so. We’ve prepared for so long—it’s time to pull in the net.” With that, he placed his chess piece firmly onto the board, making a sharp “pa” sound.

Meanwhile, Song Lian lowered his gaze, the corners of his lips curving into a barely perceptible smirk. A cold glint flashed through his eyes. Ming Yu, Ming Ye—we will settle our debts one by one.

For days, the barbarian forces launched relentless attacks. Vice General Yang and his men, relying on their defenses and the remaining military supplies, managed to hold their ground.

Both sides suffered casualties, but overall, the losses remained within an acceptable range.

As night approached, the barbarian forces finally retreated. Vice General Yang patrolled the camp, watching as the soldiers repaired the damage to their defenses from the day’s battle.

The continuous high-intensity combat over the past few days had exhausted everyone. Yet, in each soldier’s eyes burned a stubborn, unyielding light.

A Bing was among them. He firmly secured the last of the barricades, signaling that the day’s work was nearly done.

He found a spot with the other soldiers and plopped down, clapping the dust from his hands. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a few strips of dried beef, shared some with the men around him, and then tossed the rest into his mouth, chewing slowly. Someone beside him passed over a bamboo flask of water. A Bing took it, gulped down a mouthful, and let out a long breath.

“Dammit, staying holed up in here all day, not even able to face those barbarian bastards head-on—it’s so suffocating,” A Bing grumbled.

“Hahaha, young general, you should go complain to General Yang. Saying it here won’t do any good!” someone quipped.

A Bing turned his head and protested indignantly, “What young general? Speak properly! Call me General—General, do you understand?”

Seeing him flustered, the men burst into laughter. A Bing was the youngest among them, and everyone had long gotten used to calling him “young general.” But every time they did, he would get worked up, much to their amusement.

He was well-liked among the soldiers. In their free time, he would often joke around and banter with them. The men treated him like a younger brother, looking after him in their own way.

After exchanging a few more jokes, A Bing suddenly caught sight of Vice General Yang and immediately sprang up, bounding over in just a few steps.

Vice General Yang glanced at him and asked, “How’s the repair work in this section? Any issues?”

“How could there be mistakes? Do you know who was leading the effort?” A Bing grinned. “It’s nearly all fixed up.”

Then, he looked at Vice General Yang with eager eyes. “General Yang, when will you finally let me go out and fight those barbarian bastards? Staying here all the time—I’m practically growing moss!”

Vice General Yang was speechless. This brat still wants to fight? Looks like he hasn’t burned through all his energy yet. “I just came from the other side. The horse traps over there aren’t fully set up yet. If you still have strength to spare, why don’t you head over and help out?”

A Bing pulled a bitter face. He hadn’t come here to take on exhausting tasks, so he muttered awkwardly, “Our unit just finished a mission and barely caught our breath… Can’t we take a break?”

Vice General Yang snorted coldly. “Oh? But I see you’re still full of energy. Otherwise, why waste your breath talking nonsense with me?”

A Bing scratched his head. “It’s just that I haven’t had a chance to face the enemy in direct combat yet, and my hands are itching for action.” He let out a long sigh and then asked, “General Yang, is there still no news from the reinforcements?”

Vice General Yang shook his head. “Not yet. For now, our only task is to hold off the enemy as long as possible and wait for reinforcements. Don’t even think about anything else.”

A Bing pouted. Since Vice General Yang had made things clear, he didn’t dare bring up the idea of going out to fight. He could only accept it in silence.

Vice General Yang looked up at the sky, calculating in his mind. It had already been so many days—surely, news would arrive within the next two days. Fortunately, the barbarians seemed to believe they had them trapped. Instead of going all out, they were slowly grinding them down, as if toying with them like a cat playing with a mouse, leaving them just enough breathing room.

“Cuckoo… cuckoo…”

The bird call was somewhat abrupt in the quiet night. Hearing it, Vice General Yang’s expression turned serious. His fingers twitched slightly before he turned and motioned for A Bing to follow him back to the command tent.

A Bing had no idea what was going on, but he obediently followed.

As soon as they entered the main tent, he saw Vice General Yang pacing back and forth anxiously, clearly troubled by something.

A Bing opened his mouth several times, wanting to ask, but hesitated and held back. He could only speculate silently about what was happening. Before long, a dark figure slipped into the tent.

A Bing immediately tensed up and reached for the knife at his waist, but Vice General Yang pressed down on his hand.

“Shh! He’s one of ours.”

A Bing’s eyes widened as he saw the man hand over a bamboo tube. “General Yang, this intelligence report just arrived.”

It turned out he was one of their scouts.

Vice General Yang had been waiting impatiently. He snatched the tube, checked the wax seal to ensure it was intact, then finally relaxed and opened it.

A Bing was so excited that he started pacing in circles. He wanted to peek at the report but didn’t dare, so he could only stare eagerly. This must be a secret message from the reinforcements! Their main army had finally arrived! If they coordinated well, they could crush the enemy and capture Tuoba Ren and Song Lian alive.

Vice General Yang quickly finished reading and nodded before turning to the scout. “I understand what needs to be done. Go back and report that we will fully cooperate with the battle plan.”

The scout cupped his hands in salute and, without another word, slipped out of the tent like a cat. In just a few moments, he had disappeared into the night.

“General, has our main army arrived? What should we do next?”

Vice General Yang no longer kept it a secret. His face flushed with excitement as he said, “General Xie has led his troops here. We only need to hold out for three more days and then feign a retreat. When the time comes, our main forces will find a way to annihilate the enemy in one decisive blow.”

“That’s great!” A Bing rubbed his hands together. He had been waiting for this day for so long that he didn’t even know what to say. In the end, he could only mutter, “I’ll go prepare right away.”

Vice General Yang nodded and instructed, “Make sure the information doesn’t leak prematurely. Gather the unit commanders—we need to discuss our strategy.”

A Bing quickly acknowledged the order and left.

Three days could be considered short or long, depending on how one looked at it.

The Great Yan’s forces soon showed unusual movements, which Tuoba Ren’s side quickly noticed. Their resistance was weakening, and by the third day, most of their defenses had been destroyed. A single charge would be enough to wipe them out.

“Wang Ye, it seems they can’t hold on any longer. Just give the order, and I’ll slaughter them to the last man,” a general requested.

Tuoba Ren waved his hand, dismissing the others and keeping only Song Lian behind.

“It looks like their reinforcements have arrived,” Song Lian remarked first.

Tuoba Ren nodded. Their strange behavior could only mean one thing. “Then let’s proceed as planned.”

A calculating smile spread across Song Lian’s face. “Good! Once we eliminate Xie Yixiu and the Red Robe Army, the Great Yan will have no one left to oppose us. The borderlands will be ours for the taking, and Wang Ye will finally achieve his long-held ambition.”

His words struck right at the heart of Tuoba Ren’s desires. For years, he had endured humiliation and hardships for this very moment. Now that it was finally within reach, how could he not be thrilled?

Tuoba Ren steadied himself. His health did not allow for excessive emotional fluctuations, but even so, the excitement made his cough worsen. After a while, he managed to suppress it and nodded. “Then let’s drink to our success.”

Meanwhile, Xie Yixiu’s Red Robe Army was fully prepared—not only to rescue their besieged comrades but also to wipe out Tuoba Ren’s five thousand troops and capture him alive.

Vice General Yang led his troops in a strategic retreat, falling back twenty li. Seeing victory within reach, the barbarian forces refused to relent and pursued them aggressively.

However, when they reached a small forest, the retreating troops suddenly stopped fleeing and turned to fight. They intended to fight to the death!

That was fine—none of them would escape.

But as soon as the enemy charged in, a hail of arrows rained down on them like a swarm of locusts.

The vanguard was instantly decimated. Some quickly realized something was wrong and shouted, “It’s an ambush! We’ve fallen into a trap!”

They immediately turned their horses to retreat, but then another battle cry erupted from behind them—it was the Red Robe Army of the Great Yan. They had been completely surrounded.

In an instant, no one cared about the small retreating force anymore. Chaos broke out as soldiers tried to counterattack but had no idea where to direct their blows. Amidst the frantic battle, someone shouted with clarity, “Protect Wang Ye! Get him out of here!”

Yes, Wang Ye was still with them. Since he couldn’t ride a horse, he had been traveling in a carriage. They had to ensure his escape—if he was lost, they would all be doomed.

With that clear goal, everyone fought desperately to break through the encirclement. The Great Yan’s forces, well-prepared and relentless, launched a ferocious assault.

The enemy had never expected the Great Yan’s army to suddenly appear here. There had been no signs at all—could they have somehow foreseen the course of the battle?

The barbarian soldiers were baffled, but there was no time for questions. They could only hope to carve a path for Wang Ye’s escape.

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