Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Taking advantage of the enemy chief general’s death, the confused troops, and both flanks’ failure to completely encircle him, Yan Bai immediately spurred his horse to return quickly . Along the way, the armored cavalrymen that were still withstanding the attacks gathered together by him . One after another, they followed him the whole way and the scattered troops gradually converged — However, merely a moment after they charged, of the three hundred armored cavalrymen he brought with him, in the blink of an eye, there remained only a hundred or so left .
Nevertheless, those soldiers who were still fighting bitterly and had followed by their general’s side did not have the slightest amount of fear in their eyes .
All of them were seasoned fighters that he had personally selected from the remaining men of the right flank that hadn’t left the city to transport the provisions . From the moment His Seventh Highness had the light cavalry be clad in iron armor and lead them out of the city, they knew that this would be a fight to the death .
“Those on the city wall, open the city gates!” Braving arrows, he led his troops as he fought his way back to the city . Yan Bai reined in his horse and loudly shouted to the defenders above the city’s walls, “Vice General Shao, I have already beheaded the enemy general . Hurry and open the city gates! Let us in!”
However, in response to his words, Shao Yun laughed heartily as he stood atop the city wall . He stretched his body forward from behind the bulwark, the whip in his hand pointed at the dense mass of the enemy camp located at the back of the Dragon Head Plains, and sarcastically rebuked, “Your Seventh Highness! —Crown Prince has decreed that until you have taken the head of the traitor King Yonglin as well, the city gates will not open!”
“What?” Prince Xueya’s hand which held the reins shook . His left hand covered the arrow wound on his waist, yet blood still spurted out like crazy from under his armor — Having been hit by an arrow such as Iron Arrow Sun’s, even his internal organs had been injured by the tremors .
“Shao Yun! Are you revolting? What punishment is deserving for issuing a false order? —Let Imperial Brother come out and speak with me!” He raised his sword to point at the defending general and the area between his brows revealed his fury . Before long, however, his eyes froze—
Above the tall city wall, there stood someone in a yellow gown beside Shao Yun facing the wind . The one with hands clasped behind his back looking down from the city wall was, in fact, precisely his own elder blood brother!
At that one moment, Yan Bai felt as if a sharp sword had suddenly drilled into his heart . He reeled, his hand unable to grip the reins of his horse, and almost fell from his horse . The surrounding soldiers who had dauntlessly fought their way through ten thousand troops, seeing the current situation, finally couldn’t help but turn pale — They weren’t afraid of the enemy’s weapons which resembled a forest, however, unexpectedly after returning, they were confronted with the bayonets of their own people!
“Elder Brother! Speak —Open the city gates! Why didn’t you order the gates to be opened!” Having heard the sound of a large number of horses’ hooves approaching behind him, Yan Bai finally couldn’t endure it and harshly questioned him . Veins bulged out of his hands and he only felt that his heart had shattered bit by bit .
“Open the city! Open the city!” The surrounding soldiers turned back and saw that the enemy had already regained their footing . Their iron hooves rumbled as they pressed forward . Everyone’s blood rushed upward to the extent that even their enraged voices changed, “Brothers on the city wall, open the city gates!”
However, the yellow-robed prince on the city wall didn’t say anything whatsoever . He only gazed below the city wall . Behind him, the long-clothed Chief Advisor Xu with the feathered hat was like a grey shadow attached to his left and right .
Today, their blood must be splattered beneath the city walls!
Xueya…there will be three hundred strong warriors to be buried with you . Even after you have reached the netherworld, you will not be alone .
“Open the city!”
Below the city walls, a hundred cavalrymen that had returned from the bloody battle shouted in unison, their voices hoarse from the fierce battle . And the rumbling sound of the rebel army’s iron hooves pushed closer . The sound spread to the city walls and shook the hearts of the defending troops .
Even if they weren’t soldiers under the Seventh Prince’s command, the expressions of the right flank’s troops atop the city wall, nevertheless, somewhat wavered . After all, they were all from the same army that had previously supported the crown prince and fought for Li Country most of the time . It was difficult to sustain their efforts all the way up to now, and all of them had experienced life and death together on the way there .
Xu Fuyan stood beside Crown Prince Chengde and looked down from the city wall, only to see Lord Yonglin’s armored troops and horses as they surged forward layer by layer just like a tidal wave . The momentum was extremely astonishing and their minds were overwhelmed with shock . He secretly glimpsed at Shao Yun next to him . Their gazes merely met for an instant and immediately moved away, yet both had knowing smiles .
The hundred or so cavalrymen in front of the huge army were similar to a single leaf adrift in the middle of the ocean .
“Open the city! Open the city!”
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Before the city walls, the voice cried out and was hoarse with anger, however, Crown Prince Chengde looked at the Chief Advisor, who nodded and turned around to shout an order, “Crown Prince has commanded that His Seventh Highness must carry the head of the traitor Lord Yonglin and only then can the city gates be opened! If you insist on defying this command, then you will be punished in accordance with military law!”
Once Shao Yun noticed the Chief Advisor’s meaningful glance, he waved his hand and ordered the soldiers on the city wall, “Release the arrows!”
The soldiers below the city wall who were shouting outside the gate had not yet prepared themselves, and indiscriminate arrows just then struck several cavalries who had returned with injuries as they fell off their horses . Gaze becoming colder, Yan Bai repeatedly ordered his subordinates to retreat and with the flip of his hand, he had already caught several of the arrows shot at them .
The clattering of hooves from Lord Yonglin’s army from behind approached them with enough force to topple the mountains and overturn the seas . Quaking, the earth’s surface trembled .
“Elder Brother!” He looked at the yellow-robed figure above the tall city wall, standing motionless as he peered down from the city wall — And he momentarily found it difficult to believe that he was a sibling born from the same mother and the brother he had devoted his life to supporting for years!
Yan Bai’s fingers gripped the shaft of the arrow and snapped the long arrow in his hand with a loud crack .
He urged his horse to retreat amidst the flurry of arrows, but his gaze remained fixed on the city wall, his eyes about to crack . Blood flowed between his fingers and his white robe was stained red from the arrow wound at his waist . The cold wind of winter in the Dragon Head Plains blew the long hair from under his helmet messily, and Yan Bai’s eyes possessed a sharp glare in them . His cold lips were pursed and his bony fingers held the broken arrow shaft firmly .
Confronted with a hopeless situation, could it be that he was going to dejectedly retreat?
Yan Bai suddenly turned his horse around, however, the earth-shaking sound of iron hooves behind him came to an abrupt halt as they drew near .
Those who haven’t personally experienced and braved the untold dangers of the battlefield were incapable of understanding the cold and dark pressure that permeated from the current ten-thousand soldiers, who were still and silent — Lord Yonglin’s army, like so, quietly stood on the Dragon Head Plains and condensed like a lofty mountain .
There was only a distance of a hundred meters between them .
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On one side was an army of thirty thousand . On the other side was more than a hundred wounded and tired cavalry .
Lord Yonglin’s war chariot was in the core of the army’s cascading layers of troops, however, his words were clearly transmitted word for word through to the more than one hundred wounded soldiers who were rejected by Ye City, “Today’s situation is like Mount Tai bearing down on an egg . I, the Lord, could make thy break into pieces with the flick of a finger . However, looking at the fierce battle and astonishing bravery of thee, if willing to join my army, I, the Lord, will surely live up to thy fervor . ”[1]
Words like that triggered a period of uneasiness among the remaining cavalry . The left flank’s armored cavalries looked around at each other, but their eyes finally rested on their commanding general . However, Yan Bai’s handsome, gaunt face completely lacked expression as his thin lips pursed .
“Look, everyone! This is exactly how that guy Chengde treats his brave general!” Lord Yonglin stood up from his war chariot, the horsewhip in his hand pointed straight at the Ye City whose gates were tightly shut, and sneered loudly, “In this way, Your Highness —What is the point of your desperate struggle?!”
The cavalrymen all had unconcealed resentment in their expressions and a few were already inwardly nodding, yet more soldiers were still waiting for Prince Xueya’s decision — They were all soldiers and generals who went through life and death together through a hundred battles and still had never defected even under such circumstances .
“What he said was . …In this way, Your Highness, what is the point of your desperate struggle?” Finally, a single sentence slipped out of Yan Bai’s mouth as he lifted his head, looked around at his subordinates, threw his sword to the ground with a bang, and slowly said, “Everyone, surrender . ”
The cavalrymen under his command were all not only tired, but also wounded, and because of Crown Prince Chengde’s cruelness, their determination to fight to the bitter end had also continuously faded . Having heard such an order from their commanding general, they all spoke out no longer . One by one, they threw away their weapons and spurred their horses to slowly return to the other side’s camp .
Someone from Lord Yonglin’s vanguard left his position to receive this small group of wounded soldiers who had just surrendered .
Yan Bai slowly spurred his horse while he looked back fixedly at Ye City’s securely closed gates . Looking at it, he seemed a little foolish . When he came back to his senses, all the armored cavalrymen had gathered together with the opposing army and had dismounted to remove their armor .
There was unexpectedly a bit of a miserable smile on his lips .
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“Your Highness, do you think…Seventh Prince will simply surrender to Lord Yonglin?” Atop Ye City’s walls, among the people watching the battle, Shao Yun couldn’t help but ask as he watched the white-robed cavalry slowly head toward the tens of thousands of troops .
Xu Fuyan was silent, yet there was a feeling of joy from within his eyes .
Crown Prince Chengde didn’t move and said indifferently, “Seventh Brother, this individual, can be killed but not humiliated—” He looked at the large banner in the enemy camp and his eyes shined, “What’s more… this bastard, Lord Yonglin! When the civil war first started in Li Country, Queen Mother Xinning died by that guy’s hands…”
When it came to the death of his birth mother, Crown Prince Chengde, who had always remained composed, couldn’t help but grit his teeth .
That sudden palace riot started by Fourth Imperial Uncle… Only Xueya fled with him, and all imperial concubines and princes were exterminated, along with their mother, who was also killed in the chaos .
“Then why did he want his men to all disarm and surrender?” Shao Yun looked at the lone cavalry on the battlefield looking back at this side of the city wall and surprisingly unconsciously lowered his head, not daring to meet the fierce gaze of Prince Xueya .
Crown Prince Chengde also saw his brother had halted his horse as he looked back, yet he didn’t avoid Yan Bai’s gaze .
“He’s decided to fight to the death and is not willing to have a hundred armored cavalry follow him to his grave!” the Crown Prince suddenly blurted out as he heaved a sigh . His eyebrows were furrowed, but when he saw Shao Yun’s puzzled look, he abruptly laughed, “You and I are unable to understand Xueya… he’s too stubborn . He’s been too stubborn since he was a child…”
Footnotes:
[1] He speaks like this to Yan Bai’s soldiers and says “you” in a different way and refers to himself in a way feudal princes may talk about themselves . I used thy and thee to signify this difference